or you starved. It is that simple.
“And there was something else I did not know. Brux had marked me. It was believed, however falsely, that I was his woman. The other raid leaders were afraid of him, so they did not ask me to raid with them next season. There was nothing but to go with Brux again that summer.
“When we left Bluff, things went well at first. And then – misfortune upon misfortune. A sandstorm killed two men and buried the first two months of loot. We spent days trying to dig it up, but we had lost it. After that, everything was lean.”
“Lean?” I asked.
“Had been picked over already. No loot.” She sighed. “We trekked north, far from normal raiding territory. For miles and miles we walked, until we reached the Ice Lands. Though it was summer, the nights were deathly cold. But Brux was a risk-taker – he thought there would be people here, or at the least, cities that had not yet been looted. We were trying to find one – called Portland, but we became lost in a Blight.
“This was my first Blight to see on the West Coast. The trees were twisted and turned. I had seen nothing like it since my original home – Bunker One. One night, we were attacked by a pack of monsters. We killed them, but at great cost. What men did not die in the attack froze or starved on our journey back to southern lands. Somehow, we found our way back – just six of us, out of an original twelve.
“In southern lands again, we found food, but little else. Whatever we raided became lost, or went straight to Brux.
“We were on I-10, along the caravan routes, hoping for a lucky train that another raid hadn’t yet gotten. But instead, we came upon a sick man – a government man, because he wore a Bunker 114 uniform.
“Brux stabbed him, and we dragged him off the road and left him for dead. Little did we know that we were so close to Bunker 108. That Bunker ended up taking him in, and that man spread the Blight sickness to everyone there.”
“Wait,” Samuel said. “Bunker 108 is gone, too?”
I nodded. “It is. I am the only survivor.”
Samuel looked at me with pity. I tried to ignore that.
“So, going there is no longer an option,” Samuel said. “I had hoped to learn more from a certain Dr. Keener. Did you know him?”
A flood of emotion overwhelmed me when I heard that name. “He was my dad,” I said.
Samuel’s eyes widened. “Really? I am deeply sorry. He was a scientist, wasn’t he? He studied the xenovirus.”
I nodded. “He did. He knew a lot, but I don’t know as much about it. How do you know about him?”
“Everyone who has spent any amount of time in Bunker 114 is aware of Dr. Keener’s research. From time to time, notes would be sent back and forth between us.”
“Why were you hoping to speak with him?” I asked.
“To learn more about this xenovirus…I had hoped…” Samuel shook his head. “I’m sorry, Alex. I will not speak of it anymore.”
“It’s fine,” I said.
Makara waited a moment, before picking up where she had left off.
“After the incident with the sick man, we headed toward Raider Bluff. We camped on some hills, and waited by the Twin Routes, as we had in the old days. We might yet come back to trade for enough batts to last the winter.
“But that night was unusual, because Brux slept deeply. It was even more unusual when I saw a boy crawling into our camp. You can imagine my surprise. My eyes half-opened, I watched as he crept up to Brux’s backpack, picked it up, and simply walked off with it. The backpack with all the batts and Brux’s reserve weapon. Instead of stopping him, I let him go. He disappeared into the darkness. I waited. Then, I saw my chance to get out of there. If the boy could share the batts with me, then I could buy my way into one of the towns and never have to raid again. It was a gamble, but my life was not getting any better.
“I left the fire, and the raiding life forever. And here I am now, speaking to my brother.”
Makara then went on to explain everything we had gone through…how Brux had attacked us again, the attack on the caravan, the sandstorm and the monster that had been outside, the meeting with Ohlan, and our agreement to find the lost patrol and recover its supplies in exchange for citizenship in Oasis – all up to meeting Samuel.
Next, I told my story – a little of my life in the Bunker, and what had happened with the infection. I kept it brief. Though it was hard, I talked about losing both my father and Khloe. Samuel seemed especially interested when I talked of my father’s research into the xenovirus. I told him what I knew, however little it was. Samuel nodded, as if he had heard most of it already.
“I have read all of your father’s research,” he said. “He makes some interesting observations on the evolution of the xenovirus. Tell me, did he…”
“You’ve made him talk enough, Samuel,” Makara said. “He needs to recover from the week he’s had.”
I couldn’t argue with that. It was all I could do not to fall asleep on the couch.
“Alright, then” Samuel said. “We’ll sleep. In the morning, I can tell you about what I’ve found out since being here.”
We each went to our rooms, and to our beds. I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
Chapter 20
I slept fully and deeply. When I awoke, I was sore all over – especially my legs, which felt like jelly. I stretched them out, and headed to the kitchen to find some breakfast.
As I was warming up a ration in the microwave, I frowned. A trail of water led from the hallway into a room on the other side of the kitchen. It definitely wasn’t there yesterday.
I left the hum of the microwave behind, and went toward the door. It was open a crack, and dark inside. I paused a moment before tapping it open.
The door opened slightly. Inside, I could see a form.
It was Makara, toweling herself off after clearly taking a shower. She was facing away from me, and was naked and dripping wet. I panicked and backed out just as she started to turn.
I didn’t think she saw, but I felt horribly awkward. I hadn’t realized that was where she was staying. She had been in a different room yesterday.
I went back to the kitchen, embarrassed, where the microwave was now beeping. I took out my food. I looked back at the door. Makara was still in there.
She emerged, wearing new clothes – camo pants and a black tank top. Her hair was still wet. She wore a knowing smirk.
“Showers are down the hall,” she said.
I fumbled my tray, nearly spilling my food on the floor. “Yeah. Okay.”
She looked at me, shaking her head. “You’re so cute when you’re embarrassed.”
“I…I didn’t know you were in there. I’m sorry. I just saw the water…”
She rolled her eyes. “Shower up. Samuel’s already in the break room. I think he wants to get started.”
“Am I the last one up?”
“Yes. We don’t have a lot of time, so try to hurry.”
“You guys could have woken me up.”
“We tried. Twice. Like talking to a rock.”
I felt myself go red. “Fine. Just…”
She raised an eyebrow.
“I’ll meet you there, then,” I said.
I practically swallowed my food and headed for the showers. I let the cold water run over me for about two minutes before the shock of it made me step out. I couldn’t even get suds. Still, it was better than nothing.
While showering, I realized I’d forgotten to find some new clothes. However, after getting out, I found a
