Almost instantly, Max’s expression softened and his body went limp.
‘Gave him some powerful stuff. But should be enough for us to get him cleaned up.’
‘Do you have Benadryl?’ Niko asked. ‘It’s worked for us in the past.’
Then Niko staggered backward and just caught himself before he fell. He struggled to stand. He was on his feet, but barely.
‘Sit down,’ Mario snapped. ‘You fall on me and you’ll crush me.’
Niko collapsed onto the easy chair.
‘That’s my chair,’ Mario growled. Then he took a second look at Niko and changed his tone. ‘But you can stay there for a bit.’
Mario fished a pack of pills out of his caddy and tossed it in Niko’s lap.
‘Benadryl. Take four.’ He looked around and his eyes caught mine. ‘You, there. Can you get your friend a glass of water?’
‘Okay,’ I said.
‘Glasses in first cabinet there and water’s in the corner. Not too much water at first, you kids. Take two sips, then wait a moment. Then two more and so on. Otherwise you’ll all retch.’
I opened the shelves. It seemed like it had been years since I opened a kitchen cabinet and looked at stacks of dishes and glasses standing neatly in a line.
I took a jelly glass from the shelf. It had cherries painted on it and a yellow stripe around the rim.
Against the wall there was a large spring water bottle on a stand.
‘Can I have some water, too?’ Sahalia asked. ‘Please?’
Her voice was funny and I saw she was crying.
‘Of course. You all need water right away. And food, too. We’ll get to that. First I have to help this one. And you have to get cleaned up.’
My hand shook as I filled the jelly glass. I took two sips.
It was so clean, that water. I felt it go into my chest and through my whole, parched body, it felt like.
Sahalia had come next to me and I gave her the glass. She took a long drink.
‘Can we have some too?’ Batiste asked.
I went over to him and let him drink from the glass. Then Ulysses had some and by that time there was none left for Niko.
‘There are enough glasses for everyone, you kids,’ Mario crabbed.
But we were used to sharing. We didn’t care.
I refilled the glass and took two more sips. Then I walked over and gave it to Niko. His hands were bloody and blistered.
‘Thanks,’ he said. His voice like gravel.
‘Fella, what’s your name?’ Mario asked me.
‘Alex Grieder,’ I told him.
‘Well, I’m Mario Scietto. You seem to have your wits about you. You want to help me with this one?’ He nodded toward Max.
‘Max,’ I supplied. ‘Sure.’
‘You, missy!’ Mario said to Sahalia. ‘There’s a shower in the back.’
‘Oh my God, really?’ Sahalia asked, perking up.
‘It’s on a timer. You can each have two minutes. Hot water and everything, but two minutes is all, you hear me? It’s well water, and it’s a good deep well, but the hot water heater takes too much power.’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘And be smart about it. Use soap and shampoo and scrub ’til you’re clean. Don’t waste water – it’s the only shower you’re going to get.’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘And put your underthings in a bag, too. The lot of you stink to high heaven. Put those boys in first and watch over them. When they get out, there’s clean clothes you’ll find in the dresser back there. Put them in some of my pajamas, you hear. And there’s some women’s clothes you can use, for yourself.’
‘Come on, you guys,’ Sahalia said, herding Batiste and Ulysses to their feet.
No arguments from them – they went off to the back, stumbling with tiredness, but excited to get clean.
I glanced at Niko. He was already asleep.
‘Now, we’re going to remove your friend’s layers and then we’re going to clean and treat his wounds,’ Mario said. ‘Do you think you can help me to do that?’
I nodded.
‘Good boy.’
I almost fell asleep a couple times, but I helped Mario bathe and bandage Max’s feet.
There was some Troxoidal in one of the caddies. I remembered it as the demi-steroid Jake had been handing out to speed healing.
‘This might help him,’ I said, showing Mario the pack.
I said it like a fact, but it was more of a question.
‘Good thinking,’ Mario told me, examining the pack. ‘Adult dosage is two tabs every six hours. Let’s give him half that.’
So I popped out a pill and put it under Max’s tongue. It melted almost right away. It was still a little bloody in there, in the spit.
Sahalia, Batiste, and Ulysses had all showered by the time we got Max’s feet wrapped up.
‘Wish I had a bathtub,’ Mario muttered as he finished wrapping Max’s feet in gauze.
‘Why?’ I asked.
‘Well, I still gotta get Max here clean. He’s going to trigger the air filter with all this filth.’
He lifted the seat of the couch opposite us. The whole couch had a storage space under the seat.
Pretty cool. I guess in a bomb shelter every inch counts.
The storage space was filled with blankets. He took out a metallic blanket. Like the one that Niko brought you, Dean, back at Greenway after the hailstorm. Do you remember?
He wrapped the blanket over Max.
‘Maybe that’ll help,’ he said to himself. Then he tucked one over Niko’s sleeping body for good measure.
I got the feeling that he cared more about getting the air filter to turn off than he did about their warmth, but I didn’t begrudge him that.
‘I could take a look at your air-filtration system,’ I offered. ‘I’m good with power systems.’
‘Nope, I don’t want you poking around back there.’ He glanced at a metal door at the end of the bunker. It probably led to a machine room of some kind.
Then my stomach growled. Really loud.
‘What’s that you say?’ Mario asked.
‘I didn’t say anything.’
‘Yeah, you did.’
‘No, it was just—’
My stomach made another sound.
‘You’re growling at me. What kind of thing is that to do, after all I done for you?’
I looked at him. Was he serious? Was Mario actually mad at me?
No, he was joking. His eyes were twinkling. He gave my knee a slap.
I tend to read machines better than I read people.
‘Go hop in the shower. While you clean up, I’ll get some food ready.’
It was a feast. To us, anyway.
Lentil soup, brown rice, graham crackers, and applesauce.
Batiste and Ulysses were both in Mario’s pajamas. Sahalia was wearing some kind of baggy dress she’d
