“And you’re John?” the brunette asked, staring directly at John.
“Uh-huh,” he croaked.
“Where’s the other one?” the woman continued.
“He’s dead too—back up the street a ways,” Jared answered grimly but with the desire to give them answers and a sense of closure.
The woman glanced at Jared and pumped her head, then shook it, then nodded it again. She was very plainly happy to be out of these animals’ control, but she was also clearly not in control of her emotions after what she’d been through. She seemed to nearly compose herself just long enough to step towards John and extend her hand.
“Thank you for doing that,” she said in a shaky voice as she gestured towards the dead man at the gate.
John took her hand, which felt small and fragile in his large callused paw. Before he had the chance to respond, the woman broke down and sobbed. John almost drew her to him in an embrace meant to soothe and calm the young woman’s fears of a very cruel and immoral world, but stopped himself. She had likely been forced to embrace men, and probably more than just embrace, and John didn’t want to be the guy who stirred up those memories. Instead, he released her hand and just stood in front of her with a sad look painted on his handsome face.
Jared was watching the younger blonde, who appeared still terrified, her eyes darting about from Barry to Jared and then over to John. The brunette remained crying in front of John for several seconds, causing an awkward situation for the soldier and the rest of the men. Jared and John had sat up late the nights preceding this little operation, planning for what they thought would be anything and everything they might encounter out on the road. This plot twist had not been planned for.
Jared caught John’s eye and held it as he reached down and withdrew a water bottle full of lukewarm water. He extended his arm, offering the blonde the bottle. The young woman stared at the bottle and then at Jared for a moment before her shoulders relaxed and she took the bottle. John followed Jared’s lead and handed his water bottle to the crying brunette woman, who attempted to dry her eyes on the back of her hand as she took the water bottle. As the women drank, Jared and John dug into their packs, producing several energy bars, which the women took and, without hesitation, devoured. They drank more water and then handed the bottles back to the man.
Jared studied the women, thinking about how, before the event, no woman would have eaten with the level of gusto these two just displayed. He guessed they had been much daintier eaters before the event when food was plentiful and society demanded a person perform their food intake in a certain fashion so as not to offend. Now, chewing with one’s mouth open was more likely to elicit smiles than ridicule since food had grown so scarce that anyone eating would probably be rejoicing at the same time.
“We should probably get to know each other here,” Jared said, breaking the silence.
John pumped his head in agreement. “I’m John.”
“My name is Jared.”
“I’m Barry.”
Jared waited a second, and when Devon didn’t speak up, he introduced the boy. “This is Devon. We just met him last night, and he’s the reason we knew to come looking for you all.”
Both women seemed reinvigorated after their snack and hydration session. They looked questioningly at the teen.
“He lives near here and seems to have his finger on the pulse of the city,” Jared quickly explained, hoping the two women didn’t think Devon was somehow involved in their recent misfortunes. “John, Barry and I live up in the hills and need a source for power, so we came down, met Devon, and thought he could make our transition through the city a little safer. Then he told us about you guys and those two assholes, and John decided we were going to do the right thing first.”
Barry looked at the ground, licking his dry lips. Jared fought the urge to look at him, but felt the sight of the two women and the conditions they’d been kept in, not to mention what Barry’s imagination could probably conjure regarding the women’s treatment, was punishment enough for trying to derail their rescue.
“So now you know our names and story, how ’bout you let us know what we’re supposed to call you two?” Jared added, trying his best to sound cheery and nonthreatening.
The brunette stood a little straighter. “My name is Stephani.”
All heads turned to the younger blonde woman. “Claire,” was all she said.
“Okay,” Jared quipped. “Stephani and Claire, nice to meet you—so what now?”
Even Claire looked up at this question. “What do you mean, now what?” Stephani asked.
“I mean, now what does everyone do? You’re free to go your own way, though I wouldn’t suggest it based on what we’ve seen in the city so far, but you can. I mean, we’re trying to build a safe community in the hills, where people can be free and safe as long as we all work together,” Jared finished.
The women looked at each other, then at the surrounding neighborhood before staring back at the three men.
“I’ll go if she goes,” Claire blurted out.
“Go where, Claire?” Jared asked, immediately feeling foolish as if he had purposely made the rhyme when in fact he had not.
“With you guys—if she goes, I’ll go too.”
Jared turned to Stephani.
“We’ll come with you,” Stephani said in a hushed tone.
“Great, we can—” Jared was cut off as Stephani broke into his sentence.
“We answer to no one. I get a weapon—I don’t care what it is—gun, knife, it doesn’t matter. No one touches either of us no matter what. We don’t share sleeping bags, beds or any of that shit.” Stephani appeared to lose steam after the no-bed demand and fell silent.
“You’re your own person, Stephani. Like John said earlier,
