“We’re with you, Chris,” someone else promised, giving that first guy a pissed look. “What do you need?”
“Each bus holds thirty,” he answered. “They’ve got charging trucks headed to meet up with them to get them all the way to Albuquerque and a safe path. We need fifteen elderly and fifteen to help them travel that far in each bus. Some can stay and take care of them or get things set up, but half will come back and pick up more. This is the shuttle so it will be slow.”
“So the most able-bodied first and we can prep the others for later,” he surmised. “Got it. What else?”
“Any assholes, we’re sending right back,” I warned. “We don’t do bigots, zealots, or assholes. The rest are welcome; we don’t have the people to help them, but we can make sure they have what they need.”
“Fair enough,” he agreed.
Things went surprisingly fast, which told us they really were in trouble or just ready to get out before there was more trouble.
I waited until the sixty people were assembled. “We have a hotel for you to start. We fixed it so it’s got utilities, but they’re not fully fixed in Albuquerque. We’re going to be working on that, but don’t waste the power or water. I said it to the others, but let me be clear that if you’re zealots, bigots, or assholes, we’ll show you the door and you’re on the bus right back.
“This isn’t something owed you. This is our settlement and we’re giving you a chance. That’s it. Split between the two buses and your driver will get on after in the hazmat suit. Do not touch them. We’re going to use this place as quarantine just to make sure my people are safe. We’ll work out food deliveries and supply lists later. Behave and help and we’ll keep you safe, or stay here. That’s the deal.”
They nodded and headed to the buses while I moved closer to the guy who had been on Chris’s side.
“How many sick do you have? We can get the hospital back online for basics, but we don’t have the people to handle that and keep clearing and get more power going, plus food.”
“And how to transport them,” he sighed.
“We can figure something out,” I promised, glancing over at Chris. “We have a small cargo plane. Could we rig it so we can use those medivac gurneys or something?”
“That could work but—”
“I think we need to see a bit more of this ‘settlement’ before we entrust you with our sick and needy,” that guy cut in.
I blinked at him. “And I think you need to shut up and realize I don’t answer to you. You don’t matter here. Chris is boss of this settlement. I’m boss of mine. I’ll work with Chris because I have people who vouch for him. It’s an easy equation there, man. You know what’s not there? You. You’re insignificant, so stop wasting my time.”
Jaxon looked about ready to die as I pushed every single button on that guy and hard, repeatedly. Fuck him.
“Enough, Donny,” Chris snapped. “You want to give a sermon, or gather people who want to pray this goes well and we maybe survived the worst, go right ahead. That’s your area. Mine is running this settlement, and looking down at our best chance of all surviving is pissing me off. I get that your doctrine teaches women serve their husbands, but we don’t allow that here, so don’t act like that’s the new world order.”
He opened his mouth to throw something back, but most people were clearly on Chris’s side and not about to let their chance for better be ruined. He closed it and smiled, dipping his head to us. “I understand, we have to wave our morals in the apocalypse to survive. Our lord will understand.”
“I don’t give a shit what your lord approves of or thinks. You don’t have a direct line to him, and until then, I’m sure as hell not taking your word for my morals. I was out there killing corrupted and finding survivors while you were in here praying and letting others keep you alive. Now you’ve got the balls to judge us? Go fuck yourself. We’re not giving you shit as our beliefs are you don’t deserve to be saved.”
“I’ll make sure Donny here never gets on one of the buses or is allowed in our territory,” Jaxon promised, smirking at the guy. “And you speak to my wife like you’re looking down on her again and I will answer you with my fist. Doesn’t whatever doctrine have say something in there about not bossing around another man’s wife?”
He gave Jaxon an annoyed look. “Your marriage isn’t valid as she has multiple ‘husbands’ and our lord would never approve. Polygamy is not the righteous path, nor is homosexuality. She is not a wife, but a whore who cannot be allowed to corrupt others.”
I darted in front of Jaxon. “Wait, if I can’t hit him, you can’t either.” I glanced over at Donny. “Hey, idiot, that ‘law’ you’re so sure of and apparently such a judge on? You’re not even right. Polygamy is men having multiple wives. We’re polyandry, which isn’t prohibited in the Bible, nor is polygamy. So you’re an idiot.”
“And it says not to throw stones at glass houses, so stop starting shit with us when we’re here to help and you offer nothing but judgment,” Jaxon bitched, wrapping his arm around me and
