Snow & Ash: Endless Winter Read online

  Belle nods in relief but I don’t buy it. Ted and his men have ruled over the survivors at the hotel for too many years. They treat those people like slaves and they’re used to getting what they want. Marsh and I will have to stay close to the girls to make sure they’re safe.

  “Will there be other kids for me to play with?”

  Matty’s bouncing on his feet in hopeful excitement making my heart tug for him. Poor kid might have been safe and fed all these years but he’s lonely for other children to play with. We all take turns playing with him and Belle and Ethan teach him school work but he needs to run and yell and play with kids his own age. I put him in a headlock and give him a head rub causing him to belt out a laugh.

  “We’ll see squirt. There should be a few kids over there but you still need to stay tight with us for safety.”

  He wiggles out of my grasp with a hoot of triumph and bounces over to a box in a corner that’s overflowing with toys. A wave of love fills me. I’m so grateful I have Matty. Belle, Sasha, Lance, Ethan and Marsh are my family but Matty’s my blood. He’s a reminder everyday of Mom.

  “Alright, every one, we need to start packing. This move will take a lot longer than when we came here from the store. The hotel is a lot further away but at least this time we can do it during the day. We’re stripping this place bare but we’re leaving the cached supplies in the hiding places. We don’t want to put all our eggs in one basket. All the plants need to go though so we need to start transferring all the box gardens into containers. We’ve scavenged plenty of them so we should be able to transfer everything.

  Even with the large wagon we built a few years ago it’s going to take many trips. We need to do this ourselves. We don’t want Ted’s people to know everything we have so we cover as much as we can with tarps. They’ll know we have a lot but they won’t know exactly what we have. I’m going to head over there in a bit to let him know we’re ready to move and take a good look at the rooms they’re giving us. Once we move the first load over, someone will need to stay over there and keep guard. We might have to live with them but we will NEVER trust them.”

  It took us five very long and tense days to move everything we wanted into the hotel. It was incredibly stressful being on edge constantly as Ted and his men watched our every move. Marsh, Ethan and I rotated guarding our rooms as the others made trip after trip hauling our supplies. Every one of us had to turn away one of Ted’s men at the door when they came sniffing around to try and get a look at what we had, or what they thought they might be able to steal from us. We truly were moving into a viper’s nest.

  Lance had turned down the rooms Ted wanted us in. The guy tried to put us smack dab in between his men’s rooms but Lance said no so our living area was in an unoccupied wing with seven connecting rooms. Before we could move in we had to haul beds out of three of the rooms so we could set up a living room, kitchen area, storage room and a growing room. We took the interior connecting doors off all of the rooms except for the ones we would be using for sleeping and used them to barricade all but two of the corridor doors. Being so far away from the main hotel population meant we would have to haul buckets of water, but it was worth it for our privacy and security. Once we had everything moved in we went to work setting up makeshift wood stoves that we had made from clothes dryer drums. Then we set up our small windmills on the roof above our rooms with the wires coming in through a small hole Lance drilled above the window and to the bank of batteries inside.

  We were dependant on Ted for water but we would try and be self-sufficient in every other way. The price we paid for daily water rations was Lance and Ethan’s skills. Lance would now hunt for both our group and the hotel and Ethan would take shifts doctoring. The rest of us would continue doing what we had been doing for the last seven years. Belle schooled Matty and Sasha and kept our food growing with Marsh's and my help. The two of us did security and scavenged goods from the town when Lance or Ethan was around to watch over the girls and Matty.

  We were all bone tired by the time it was all done and we were sitting down to the first real meal in our new home when a knock came on the door. Every one of us turned to stare at the door. Lance gave a weary sigh.

  “I guess this’ll be the new normal. Seven years with not one visitor. That was nice.”

  He pushed away from the table and reached for the compound bow that he never went anywhere without before opening the door. I tipped my chair back to see around Belle and promptly dropped it back on all fours before nodding at Marsh and Ethan and shooting to my feet. They followed suit and we formed a line shoulder to shoulder between the door and the table.

  “It’s Ted and some of his men.” I told them in a low voice.

  Marsh and I might not be as strong or as hard as Lance but we both had shot up to near six feet in the last three years. Marsh was all long arms and legs but I had a decent width to my shoulders. Living on wild protein and home grown vegetables without the processed junk we used to eat had cut any excess flab from our frames. Chopping wood daily and hauling everything we needed on our backs had added muscle. We might not intimidate them but we would hold our own if we had too.

  “Hello Ted. What can I do for you?” Lance asked while blocking the door.

  “Lance, I just wanted to come by and welcome you all to my hotel. Make sure you’re all settling in ok, see if you needed anything.”

  “Thanks, we’re settling in just fine.”

  There was a pause before Ted spoke again, “Surely you’ll invite your new neighbours in?”

  I could see Lance cock his head to the side before answering giving me a glimpse of Ted’s hard expression.

  “Well to be honest Ted, we’re not quite ready to host such a large house warming party. We’re also just sitting down to dinner.”

  Again there was a pause as if Ted was waiting for Lance to say more. He finally gave a fake laugh.

  “Don’t worry about it, we won’t keep you long from your table. How about just me and Mickey come in? It’s only the right thing to do. As your host I feel it’s only proper for me to welcome your people personally.”

  I saw Lance tense up but he stepped back and allowed Ted and his number one man into the room before shutting the door on the other smirking men in the hall.

  I met Ted’s eyes with a level, blank stare. The last thing we wanted was a confrontation so soon after moving in. There was nothing physically special about the man. He was average height with mouse brown hair and plain brown eyes. It was the look in those eyes that put you on edge. They were always looking at everything and they gleamed with calculation. His number one man, Mickey was another story. Everything about the guy screamed “thug”. Bald on top, with long greasy hair that hung past his shoulders. His skin was heavily tattooed and exposed as he always seemed to be wearing a tank top. In the frigid cold we lived with every day it was a stupid way to project just how tough he wanted everyone to think he was. He had beady, watery eyes that always seemed to look at you with contempt.

  Ted pasted a slimy insincere smile across his face as he stepped deeper into the room.

  “Boys, Ethan welcome to my home. We look forward to you treating our aches and pains doc.” He took a good long look around the room and craned his neck to see into the next one before Lance smoothly stepped forward and blocked his view. Ted’s smile dimmed but he side stepped around Ethan so he had a direct line of sight to the dining room table we had hauled over and the girls sitting at it.

  “Ladies, welcome to my home! We’re so happy to have such loveliness brighten our dreary halls!”

  Belle and Sasha stared back at him but only gave brief nods. Matty, unaware of the tension in the room bounced in his seat.

  “Hi, I’m Matty! Do you have kids I can play with?”

  Ted’s lost his smile completely for a second before he flashed it back on at Belle.

  “Why, what a charming child! Is he yours?”

  Again Belle didn’t speak but gave another sharp nod pulling
Matty’s chair closer to hers.

  “Well, I do believe there are a few other children around here somewhere but not very many. Such a hard cruel world we now live in that such…fragile children don’t survive long.”

  His tone was sweet and wistful but I took his words as a veiled threat so I moved behind Belle and placed my hand on Matty’s shoulder before speaking to him.

  “Matty doesn’t need to be strong when he has all of us protecting him.” My tone wasn’t harsh but it wasn’t nice either, causing Ted’s eyebrows to lift up in amusement.

  “Of course, of course and clearly you’ve all done such a good job, so far.”

  My fist and teeth clenched in anger and I would of said more but I caught Lance’s subtle head shake and hard expression that smoothed out instantly when Ted turned to him.

  “Well, I’m very glad to see you all settling in. Now, we should go over the expectations and compensations of you all living in my home.”

  Lance’s face went hard, very hard and he took a heavy step towards Ted causing Micky to step forward also with a gleam of anticipation in his eyes.

  “That was already negotiated between us! The deal stands!” Lance said in a menacing tone.

  Ted waved his hands around the room taking us all in. “Yes, yes, I just want to make sure everyone is on the same page. As discussed, you will hunt and provide much needed meat for the community as well as be added to the security roster. Your, umm, partner, will treat our ailments and attend to any injuries that might surface. What I wish to discuss is what the rest of your group will be doing to contribute to the good of the community? As the saying goes, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.”

  I hate this guy. He’s so slick with his proper words and fake tone when it’s clear to see he only wants to insult Lance and Ethan’s relationship and have the rest of us under his thumb. I try to keep a straight face when Lance crosses his arms and shakes his head.

  “Nothing. They will bring nothing to your community. The meat I will bring in and security shifts as well as my husband’s medical skill’s will be more than enough to cover their water rations. None of us will need a free lunch from you or your people. As I told you before, this arrangement is for water and nothing else. We will feed ourselves and protect ourselves. If anything, you all are getting more from us than what we are getting. Should we NEED anything more from you we will negotiate a trade on a case by case basis. Now, with that being cleared up let’s definitely be on the same page. If you need me or Ethan then you may send one, ONE of your men to come and get us but other than that there is no reason that any of your men should be in this wing of the hotel. Just to be clear, we are NOT your people. We are trading partners only and that was the deal I made with you from the start. If that no longer applies then we can be out of here in twenty four hours.”

  All eyes in the room were fixed on Ted’s no longer smiling face. All the fake smiles and slickness were gone as he glared at Lance and then like a switch had been flicked they slid back into place.

  “Yes of course, that was the deal we negotiated and I stand by my word. I merely wondered if your people would be interested in participating with the community. I’m sorry if you took it otherwise.

  You may want to train your people in your spare time though. There’s a chance we will need all the fighters we can get in the coming months. I’ve recently received information on a possible threat to us. It seems your well wasn’t the only one to go dry. There’s a large group up at one of the ski resorts and their well has gone dry also. My informant tells me they’re considering making a try for the hotel. Unfortunately, they aren’t as civilized as us. I’ve heard they’ve become rather…primal, if you will. MY men won’t be able to protect YOUR people if we’re attacked. So you should take precautions.”

  Lance’s face was blank but I could see the fury in his eyes as he gave a sharp nod and then walked to the door and held it open for Ted and Mickey. The two men left without another word. The room was silent as we all thought over the implications of what we had just learned until Lance sat back down at the table. He picked up his fork to eat the now cold dinner in front of him before dropping it back down.

  “I’m sorry everyone. This was a mistake. I’m sure that bastard knew about the threat before we made our deal. He was looking for more fighters to handle it. We need to start looking for another base. Boys, Ethan and I will have to hold up our end of the deal so that leaves you two. I know you’ve both been all over this town by now so I need you to start searching again. We need a place that’s close to the edge of town that has a well. We can set up the windmills and batteries to work a pump. Start looking on the other side of the highway on the opposite end of town from where our old base was. If we can find a place over there, it will put quite a bit of distance between this hotel and the ski resort. This isn’t our fight and I have no plans on making it ours. We need to be very careful and trust no one but the people at this table. We’re getting out of here!”

  Chapter Seventeen-Skylar

  Man I’m tired. The past week has been catching up on butter and cheese making as well as canning vegetables and fruit. I honestly can’t think of a good reason why I do it except Dad started us on it and I’ve just kept to his plan. We don’t even need this stuff. There are so many supplies in this place and the barracks next door that Ben and I could live to a hundred and never run out. I guess it just helps to stay busy and feel like I’m accomplishing something. There’s a feeling of satisfaction when I see all those pretty filled glass jars all lined up but man, it’s a lot of work.

  Ben’s taken to video games like a fish needs water. I had to put a timer on his playing after the first few days. The kid would play from morning to night if I let him. He needs to stick to his schooling and chores schedule. If the world ever gets back on track out there he’s going to need to know things to help rebuild when he grows up. Sometimes I feel completely hopeless about the future but I can’t quite give up. Something will change one day and we’ll leave this place and be with other people. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.

  I’m both excited and terrified for that to happen. My entire social structure has been one small boy, an annoying computer voice and characters in TV shows and movies. I’m so lonely for a real friend that sometimes I make up situations in my head where I have a group of girlfriends and we laugh and tease each other about boys. Sadly, those imaginary girls are all from the TV shows I’ve watched. What scares me is that I won’t know what to say to real people if I ever get the chance. Or even worse, there won’t be any people left by the time I leave here.

  My mood’s taken a downturn these last few days and depression is starting to set in again. It’s time for me to take a walk through the dead forest and sit under the broken sky. It’s been months since the last time I went out so I go track down Ben. He’s right where I thought he’d be, with the cow. Ben treats the cow like a pet every chance he gets. Dad and I had never named the cow but when Ben started to get older he insisted that we name the beast. So cow became Nods. Dumb name, but he picked it because every time he talks to her she nods her head like she’s agreeing with him, must be nice to always be right in her eyes. I wonder if she’s as lonely for her kind as I am for mine because I swear she gets excited when Ben comes to visit her. She’s like a dog with Ben, nodding her head and bumping it into his scrawny chest in affection. She even gives him nasty swipes from her enormous tongue now and again making him giggle madly. Me, I get the cold shoulder and have to watch and dodge for a kick now and then. Not sure what I ever did to her but I’m so not her favorite.

  “Hey Benny-boy, chores all done?” He and Nods nod in unison making me roll my eyes but grin too. “I’m going out today so hit the bathroom and grab a snack. You get your choice of movie or game for the next two hours.”

  He lifts those sky blue eyes that exactly mirror mine up to me and they’re shinny with happiness before they dim.

  “Sky, you’ll come back right?”r />
  My mouth rounds in an oh. What, where’s this coming from?

  “Of course I’m coming back! Why would you think I wouldn’t be?”

  He looks away and rubs Nods velvety nose before answering me.

  “Dad went out and never came back so I just wondered if one time you wouldn’t come back too.”

  I’m at a total loss here. Ben was only two and a half when Dad died. I never told him what happened just that he had gone to Heaven to be with Mom so how does he…

  “AIRIA!!!”

  “I am sorry Skylar, he asked and I am not programmed to lie.”

  I close my eyes in frustration for a second before kneeling down in front of Ben and taking his hands in mine.

  “Listen Bug, I will always come back, ALWAYS! I will never not come back for you! AIRIA watches out for me when I go out. She’s always scanning the area out there for anything dangerous and I take my rifle with me as well. I’m very careful so that I will always come back to you. Ok?” He nods his head and so does the big idiot behind him. “Benny, you know you can talk to me, right? You don’t have to ask AIRIA, you can ask me anything. I promise I’ll always be straight with you. I’ll answer any questions you have.”

  His sad little face scrunches up in determination. “I do have a question. Can I have another boy come for a sleepover?”

  My mouth drops open. That so wasn’t what I thought he was going to ask. I take a deep breath to tell him about the fate of the world but he just plows ahead.

  “Cuz I saw this movie where two buddies have a sleep over and they have gun battles with orange guns that shoot soft bullets and then they build a fort with furniture and blankets and then they eat pizza! Sky, what’s pizza?”

  I just stare at him and try to keep the tears that are pushing at my eyes from showing. This kid, this poor sad lonely kid will never have a buddy to have Nerf gun battles with. I have to swallow hard to push down the absolute devastation I feel for all that he will never have.