The Survivors

1

It took a lot longer than Marc had expected. They stripped the entire rig from gas to brake pads and headlights, packing and marking everything. When it was done, all of them were greasy and sweaty. They split up with little talk.

“We’ve got a few minutes if you want to put up your tent now.” Neil led them in the opposite direction Kenn had gone.

“Sure. Where?”

“See the two big tents in the middle?” Neil pointed. “Male and female. Now, see the empty corner on the left? That’s where mine was. Put yours there. I’m now in the tent on your right.”

Not understanding but almost sure Neil hadn’t gotten permission first, Marc frowned. “Is this going to get you in trouble?”

Neil shrugged. “Those are defense slots; they can only be assigned by Adrian and a couple other people. Angela is across the bonfire from you, next to the tent the women are putting up for the new blonde… Samantha, I think.” Neil studied the rippling waves of corn silk being blown around by the cool wind. She’s kinda cute.

“Won’t it cause problems for you?”

Neil kept staring. She needs to gain some weight. I’ll talk to Hilda about it.

“Neil?”

Neil blinked. “Uh, yeah, so...trouble. Maybe with Kenn, but it will tell the camp you have support. As long as Adrian doesn’t overrule it, you’ll get more respect.”

Marc met Neil’s eye at the confirmation of his earlier suspicions. His friend did have a high place. “It’s a blow to your authority here, right, if he says to put it somewhere else?”

“He won’t.” Neil waved. “Let’s get your new home up.”

As they carried things from both Blazers, his and Angie’s personal stuff was mixed up, Marc wondered what Kenn had thought about the identical vehicles. He knew it wasn’t coincidence. Marc believed it was fate that a second match to hers had been there at all. He and Angie had always been alike. All those years apart had faded for him the minute his lips had touched hers.

They were finished quickly; Marc had been putting up tents for decades. He was glad the area had stayed mostly empty because the guards covering the inside of the camp were anything but accepting. The people who walked by were also frowning and whispering as they stared. He hoped Neil didn’t get into trouble with them too.

Marc glanced at his watch.

Neil caught the movement. “You won’t be late.”

Marc kept his tone even. “He must find you handy to have around.”

Neil got them moving. “That’s the idea.”

“Where do I fit? What do you get for helping me settle in?”

Neil’s answer was honest. “Exactly what I have now–more of Adrian’s respect. He asked me a long time ago to watch for people like him. I might have overlooked you if not for Kenn’s behavior. Not many men here can compete with all he does for Adrian. Even I can’t rattle his cage very often. If Kenn considers you a serious rival, and he clearly does, then you must be one of those special people the boss needs.” Neil pointed. “Wait here.” He slid into the shadows behind the tent and vanished before Marc could respond.

Marc waited patiently outside Adrian’s tent, able to smell himself. He hated it, but he had to give them credit. The men had dealt him a tough couple of hours with the heaviest boxes, the weakest bags, the crates that were cracked, the leaking cans of gas. But they had all worked hard and felt like it when they were done. The difference was that he would smell himself longer since his boots had gotten most of the pungent drips.

“Penny for one of those thoughts?”

Marc rotated to find the breeze flirting with a high hemline of a red dress covering a sexy woman with spiteful green eyes and too much makeup. He remained silent, willing himself to feel something, anything, for the redhead. He’d noticed her around; the bright clothing was an instant intentional lure.

Tonya smiled at him. “Like what ya see?”

Nothing. Damn it! “You’re pleasing to look at.” Marc was familiar with the hollow ping of comparing other women to the one who haunted his dreams. Polite was the best he could do.

Tonya’s smile faltered at his disappointed tone. “Only ta look at?”

Marc trusted his first impressions. “Beauty is skin deep comes to mind. I wonder why?”

Not expecting that response, Tonya wrinkled her nose as the heavy smell of fuel came to her on the stiff breeze.

“Because it’s never been truer than with Tonya.” Adrian ducked into his tent, leaving her to wonder how much he’d heard.

“She’s trouble. Untrustworthy…the bottom rung of Safe Haven life.” Adrian enjoyed her sputtered protests. “Come on in, Marc. The whore will keep.”

Tonya stomped away, muttering.

“You probably shouldn’t turn your back on her.” Marc stepped into complete organization and the light smell of smoke. He sat in the chair Adrian motioned to. The table between them was covered in small, perfectly aligned stacks of paperwork.

Adrian removed a little brown box from the long footlocker by his made-up cot. “Good instincts. Tonya is as dangerous as the slavers, maybe more so. When they attack, I’ll have a small chance of seeing it come. She’ll try hard to blindside me.”

Marc grinned uneasily. She was the only one he’d met so far who wasn’t happy with Adrian’s leadership. “What’s her problem?”

Adrian rolled a thick, neat joint from the green buds in the box. “Power. She wants it and can’t find a better way to get it than by spreading her legs.”

Marc thought the mirrors sewn into the tops of the canvas walls were a clever way to illuminate the tent. “Neither you or Kenn are interested, so she’s pissed?”

It was an observant question that would give a confirmation if answered honestly. Adrian called those word traps. He shrugged, listening for the calm footsteps of guards walking their posts outside. “I can’t speak for Kenn, but me, no.” Adrian lowered his voice and began the bonding process that had never failed. “At least, not anymore.”

Marc chuckled, understanding the boss man had been there and hadn’t been impressed.

Adrian lit the joint, inhaling deeply. He met Marc’s eye as he got things started. “Before we talk about anything else, I have a question. A lie will get you an invitation to leave. Ready?”

“Shoot.”

“Are you sleeping with Kenn’s wife?”

Marc went cold. The Marine inside sat up and began storing information. “She’s not his wife and no, not that it’s any of your business. Angie isn’t like that.”

Adrian’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t tell me it’s just friendship.”

“I won’t. I’m not a liar or a Jody.”

“Sex, then. You just want to sleep with her.”

Marc snorted at the obvious. “You’ve seen her. What man wouldn’t? She’s beautiful, inside and out.”

Adrian groaned. “Oh, God. It’s worse than sex. It’s love.”

Marc said nothing.

Adrian leaned in, passing the joint. “You brought her here and you’ll stay close, even though you’ve already begun to realize you may never have more.”

“I’m not the only one with good instincts.” Marc’s expression darkened. “When it gets too bad, I’ll go.”

Adrian leaned back. “Sounds like you’ve got it all figured out.”

Marc inhaled. “It’s the only thing left to me now that she has her man back.”

Adrian thought he would probably end up liking Marc despite the unwelcome tension that had come with him. He was miserable. Angie was right. Marc would need to be kept busy if he was going to settle in. They needed him, even if he did have an ache for another Marine’s woman. “Backing off is the right choice. They were together a long time before the war.” Adrian took the smoldering weed back as the tent flap rustled in the wind.

Marc gestured. “What if I told you I knew her before he did? That I grew up with her? Would that help me here at all?”

Adrian’s stomach tightened. That explains Charlie. “If people knew, yes. Childhood sweethearts?”

“Something like that.” Marc didn’t hold back on the bitterness. “I was the first hands under her shirt, the first blowjob she ever gave. I taught her to use a hammer, to swing on a tire, to smile. The first love letter she ever wrote was to me and I still have it. It almost killed us both when we were…split up.”

The two men finished the joint in silence as Adrian put the rest of the pieces together. He had thought Kenn had the clear claim, but Marc had been her first love. When the war came, Marc had found her, protected her…while Kenn hadn’t searched at all. What a mess. “Kenn know any of that?”

“No. She doesn’t think he can handle it. I agree.”

“I don’t.”

“You don’t really know him.”

Adrian took offense. “Let me tell you what these people know. She’s his. He’s been telling us that all along. We’ve had no reason to doubt him. She was on her way to him when he found her.”

Adrian’s look was hard. The note-taking Marine inside Marc wanted to answer it. “If she was coming to him, then why is she avoiding being alone with him? She spent the night in Charlie’s tent. She came for her son and she was hoping to find people she could build a life with. She hates Kenn.”

Adrian knew it. He also knew Angela longed for a place with people who could accept her for what she was–special. But he also needed more of the past, more of the truth. He waited to see if Marc would reveal it to get his point across.

Marc gave the leader what he wanted. “She spent a lot of years unhappy. She deserves the chance to start over, the chance to be loved and protected. None of those are things your heavy-handed pet can give her.”

Adrian’s face turned to stone.

Marc blew out an angry breath. “I apologize. No matter what it looks like, I shouldn’t have said that, but you don’t know how special she is.”

“Yes, I do. She’ll help me more than either of the men who want her.”

Marc shook his head. “Not with Kenn. She can’t go back under his control. I won’t allow it.”

Adrian didn’t doubt the man would do something drastic if it was called for. “The females have power here. She can do what she wants if she can settle in and be accepted.”

“With Kenn.”

Adrian blew out smoke. “The camp would be calmed faster, but I mean it when I say female choice matters. We need them happy and spreading around all the good things that come with them.”

Marc almost believed him. If not for Kenn having such a high place here, he would probably be sold. The things he’d stored suggested Adrian was obsessive, territorial, and maybe even dangerous, but he was also one of the good guys. “You’ll look out for her?”

“Yes.” Adrian almost wished he were getting her with the responsibility. “As will others.”

Marc wasn’t sure what kind of place they had come to, but he was willing to give them the chance that most of this camp was already denying him.

“And her gifts?”

Marc tensed, dangerous anger rising to the surface. “She’s gifted with a gun.”

Adrian understood Marc wasn’t going to discuss magic at all; he respected it even as it annoyed him. “So what’s the plan for claiming her?” Adrian handed him a soda from the cooler at his feet.

Marc opened it. “Nothing. It’s her choice.”

“And if she chooses him?”

Marc was full of pain he didn’t bother to hide. “Try to make a life here, I guess. For a while.”

“So you can stay close to her?”

“It’ll be hard to leave either of them.”

Adrian leaned in again. “My next question is all about you. What does Marc need to be content?”

Marc snorted. “Beyond getting her here, I hadn’t thought much about it. I wouldn’t let myself.”

“The life you want is here, but you’ll have to fight for it.”

Marc stared coldly. “You have no idea what I want.”

“Don’t I?”

“You may think so, but you’d be wrong. I’m a loner. I don’t fit.”

“That won’t get you what you want. I assume Neil told you about FND work?”

Marc sighed, annoyed and yet impressed by the ambush. Adrian knew how to accomplish his goals.

“If you have something to prove, I’m offering you my support.”

“Why?”

The tone demanded honesty. Adrian gave it. “Because she doesn’t want him; she wants you. That tells me you’re one of us, even if you don’t know it.”

Marc liked the words, but he only shrugged. “You talk sweet and make a lot of promises.”

Adrian nodded seriously. “Yes, and I deliver. Ask any of these people. All you have to do is what you already have been. Be patient, pay attention, and react to each situation as it deserves.” He paused pointedly. “And be useful to me, of course.”

Marc had expected it. “I can do that.”

“Good. FND is the hardest and most respected way to earn a place here.”

“I don’t understand all of it yet, but after this morning, I’m pretty sure I owe Neil a case of beer.”

Adrian crushed out his smoke, buzzing pleasantly. “Neil is a good guy. He has a cement place here. You couldn’t have a better reference.”

Marc stared. “Except yours.”

Adrian leaned down to pick up a manila envelope from his open footlocker. “You’ll have that when you need it. I have to ask you to stay away from her until she makes the official choice. I have great and shitty work for you, though a lot of it will be behind-the-scenes things you won’t get much credit for.”

The decision was an easy one for Marc. There had to be something to take the place of his time with Angie. “Like being a Marine. Shut up when someone asks a question they shouldn’t have, and fight until you win or die. Been doing it for a long time. No reason why that should change here.”

Adrian was pleased. “Good. We’ll start with the FND.”

Marc took the twin of Kenn’s notebook when it was held out to him, reading the word Eagle in glossy print on the front. Kenn would be pissed about this too. “Let me guess. You need someone to shovel dog shit?”

The observant leader snorted. “Close enough. I need a complete inventory and organization system for the supply trucks; maybe an alarm of some kind.”

“How many trucks and do I count supplies?”

“Just the semis for now. I also need to know what’s being used, a sign out system or something. Until it’s ready, Kenn, the cook, and the doctor will give you their lists.”

“Kenn?”

Adrian nodded. “He’s above you in rank, but on some things, you’ll report directly to me. This is one of them.”

“Sounds like fun.” Marc wasn’t anxious for all the awkward moments.

Adrian shrugged ruefully. “Highly improbable.”

“Start in the morning?”

“Yes, the earlier the better. Now, the no credit labor. I need a lethal defensive plan.”

Marc caught the tone. “You’re worried about being attacked.”

Adrian sighed. “Yes. We have food, water, fuel, women. Someone will eventually try to take them. I intend to be ready. But I don’t want a battle plan to trigger or escalate a war...”

Images stirred in Marc’s tactical mind. “You want a plan to end one.”

“Yes.”

Marc knew Adrian was thinking of someone specifically. Did Safe Haven have enemies? Is that why undercover guards lurk in the shadows? I’ve been on bases with less security.

“I want to catch them by surprise, then kill as many as I can.”

Ah, the slavers. Adrian has big ambitions Marc nodded. “Give me a few days.”

“My eyes only.”

“Not even Kenn’s?”

“No, but he did give me the idea to talk to you about it. He said you were good at shit like this.”

Marc shrugged. “We worked well together, but we were never friends.”

“It’s too bad you both want the same woman. You guys probably would have been great here together.”

“It’s more like ironic.” Marc stood, understanding the meeting was over. “Can’t wait to see how fate screws with us next.”

“Be careful what you wish for, Sergeant.” Adrian held out a hand.

Marc didn’t hesitate to shake. “You know it.”

Marc wasn’t surprised to find Neil waiting for him as he came from Adrian’s orderly tent. “What’s next? Roof jumping? A visit to the lion’s den?”

Neil chuckled. “We have time for one more stop before we get a shower and lunch.”

Marc snorted as they passed clusters of people going to the mess, none of them friendly. “You must enjoy your days off.”

“This is it for the week.” Neil shrugged. “I can’t sit on my ass when there’s so much to be done.”

“Point taken.” Marc’s good feeling about Neil increased. “So what’s next?”

Neil leered. “My tent for a beer and guy talk.”

Marc laughed, relieved. Finally, something I can enjoy! “You lead, I’ll follow.”

Neil gave him a long, searching stare. “It will probably be the other way around before long. Come on. Let’s get to know each other.”

2

When Neil and Marc stepped into the short mess line a while later, they were cleaned up, buzzed, and talking comfortably while ignoring the cold and curious stares.

The wind had died down, removing the chill. Neil saw Marc scan their surroundings, then sweep the forty or so people having lunch. He’s searching for Angie.

They got their trays. When Neil led them around Adrian’s crowded center table, the number of frowning people doubled.

Marc noticed. “You usually sit with Adrian?”

Neil nodded as they sat side-by-side, backs to the truck wall. “First time I haven’t since the day he changed my life.” Neil squirted a gob of ketchup onto his fries.

Marc frowned. “Changed your life how?”

Neil was aware of how many hostile glares he was getting, not just from Kenn, but also from the camp and the Eagles. “The day he asked for the help I’d been waiting all my life to give. For you, that’s today. You just don’t realize it yet.”

Marc acted as if he understood; he almost did. Adrian had handpicked these men, given them authority and respect. That kind of bond ran deep. “So shouldn’t you be over there?” Marc groaned as the crisp fish melted in his mouth. “Mmm… I haven’t had fish since December. This is great.”

Neil salted his messy fries. “We found a farm back in Utah and spent three days cleaning and freezing. We also kept some live tanks for when we settle down somewhere.”

Marc was impressed again. He was surrounded by order and efficiency, and like Angela had been, he was a bit overwhelmed. There were women wearing fake nails and too much perfume; dogs with bright collars walked between the trucks. Picnic baskets and coolers were being filled and noises echoed from every direction–voices, barking, dishes rattling, engines revving. But there were other signs too, like the heavy security that said it hadn’t always been this way. There were tables of men dressed as construction workers and elderly sitting at nearly every table, but it was the office types that Marc hadn’t expected. These different people were tolerating each other, bonding, finding friendships. It was amazing. How had Adrian managed it?

“You okay?”

Marc snapped out of his thoughts. “Just checking things out. Won’t Adrian be upset that you’re not eating over there?”

“I’d be surprised.” Neil dipped and dripped ketchup. “He knows I won’t tell you anything that you shouldn’t hear, but I tell him everything. You should know that now. I’m more Adrian’s than I ever was my mother’s.”

Marc heard the warning, but he was an open book. “What about Kenn? He has a lot of friends here.”

Neil tried not to frown. “He didn’t at first. It was what Adrian saw in him. He’s been in the thick of things since we found him; he got close to Adrian as fast as he could. Some of us grumbled when he became the boss’s shadow, but when we understood how much Adrian needs him, we learned to get along.” Neil sighed. He and Kyle had to pin their hopes on somebody. “To be fair, Kenn’s earned his place here. He worked hard, and as soon as these people benefited from it, he had plenty of pals. Though I doubt he knows why. He probably thinks he’s popular because of his winning personality.”

Marc snickered. “It’s really because he’s so helpful to Adrian?”

“Yes. He frees Adrian’s time, keeps him from being overloaded, keeps him content with the progress we’re making. Anything that keeps Adrian in charge, this camp will agree to. He’s our strength, and no one, except Tonya, wants him to leave.”

Marc’s brows went up. “Would he? This is a great set up.”

Neil shrugged, watching people for problems the way Adrian did. “He threatened to once, back in the beginning. He said if we didn’t pull ourselves together and do things his way, he’d go. No one wants to take the chance.”

Marc leaned in, keeping his voice low. “Sounds a bit like a dictatorship.”

Neil wasn’t offended. “With any other man it might be, and we wouldn’t care if he left, but Adrian’s a true patriot. He loves this country. As long as he keeps giving back what was taken from us, we’ll follow him anywhere.” Neil paused, gaze going to where Kenn sat on Adrian’s right. “That’s Adrian. Kenn, well, some of us have always suspected there’s something wrong with him. You already have allies here because of your rivalry. When you can tell right off who they are–the allies, not the friends–talk to me again about Kenn and his secure place here.”

Marc was already able to guess where this was leading. “I don’t want it.”

Neil didn’t call Marc’s bluff. “You’ll have more friends that way, but not what you really want.”

Marc was heartened to think he would even make friends. He was able to give a cheerful welcome to Seth when the man sat down across from them, mug in hand.

Seth smiled. “Ain’t fish great?”

The murmur of the voices lifted another notch.

Neil shook his head at the redhead’s mischievous tone. “You’re going to piss Kenn off. He’s sure you’re his.”

“Guess it’s time he knew better.” Seth’s disgust was clear.

“He’ll make you pay.”

Seth snorted at Neil’s warning. “Kinda hopin’ so. It will take some of the heat off our friend here. Besides, it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve stung his pride.”

Neil shrugged. “No, but being sent to babysitting class had to suck.”

Seth leaned forward, leering. “Not that teacher, though I did try. Yummy, yummy, Miss Peggy!”

They all burst out laughing, drawing attention to how well the new man was fitting in.

It took the trio a moment to realize total silence was coming from the tables around them.

Marc found their leader in the tensing crowd, unaware of the connection that had already been made but responding to it. He followed Adrian’s line of sight.

Dog padded through the tables, following the exact route he and Neil had taken.

“Is he hungry?”

Marc nodded at Adrian’s question, shoving the fighter inside back to his place. “Probably. I have what he likes in the Blazer.”

Adrian was impressed when the beautiful wolf passed fingers holding scraps without even sniffing.

Dog sat at Marc’s feet and stared at him with reproachful golden eyes.

“We feed our animals at night, so they gain more weight. Stop by the vet today and pick up a collar so he doesn’t get shot.”

“We’ll do that as soon as we leave here.” Neil wrote down Adrian’s order anyway, just because it was an order.

Adrian stood and moved their way, much to Kenn’s displeasure. The center table had gotten tense when Seth revealed what most of them had already known. Adrian was almost glad to be away from the simmering man. “Okay to touch?”

Marc shrugged, not lighting the smoke he wanted in case he needed his hands free. “Dog loves Angie. She could ride him like a horse, but he tried to eat some of your guys earlier.”

“Our guys.” Adrian didn’t need to look to know Kenn was getting up, storming away from the mess. “You’re one of us now.”

Adrian let that ring as he sat on the bench across from Marc, extending his hand.

Marc slid his own toward his gun, knowing he would have to shoot his friend if Dog bit Safe Haven’s beloved leader. The camp would demand it. He tried to tell Dog that silently, but he wasn’t sure it had gotten through without Angie nearby to direct things.

Adrian also understood the risk, but he had to show them he approved of both man and beast. They would fall in line where they belonged.

Dog flinched as Adrian tried to touch him; the skin around his teeth drew back.

Adrian understood. Like its owner, the wolf wanted things on his own terms. Adrian put his hands on his knees, palms up.

Almost immediately, Dog advanced to nudge his fingers with a cold nose.

The witnesses were able to breathe again.

Adrian glanced up as his hands caressed the softest fur he’d ever felt. “Tell Chris at least purple.”

Marc knew Neil would fill him in.

Adrian’s next words were sharp and clear in the watchful silence of the mess. “Do you plan to let him roam free? Not worried he won’t return?”

The double meaning was obvious. Marc chose his words carefully, aware of the wolf placing himself between Adrian and the rest of the camp. What is this feeling, this need to serve Adrian that everyone else feels except me and Tonya? “You’re the boss, so his roaming free is up to you, but no, I don’t worry. I’ve never chained him. Who am I to keep him if he doesn’t want to be with me?”

Adrian liked the answer. So did everyone else who heard it. Kenn was right about this one. Marc was definitely fast on his feet. Adrian stood slowly, sweeping the curious mess as the wolf stayed by him. At least he’d converted one of the two targets today. The man would take more effort. “Level tests tonight, then the poker tournament.”

Earning scowls from Kenn’s allies, Adrian included Marc by jerking a thumb toward Dog. “Bring the wolf. We’ll see if we can get him drunk.”

Marc laughed with everyone else, but the minute Adrian was out of sight, the mood of the emptying mess became cold again.

“They’ll come around.” Neil grunted. “What you should worry about is that collar. Red is the most dangerous, with purple right below that. Only four dogs here have made it that far. If the wolf doesn’t pass, you’ll have to chain him up when you’re not with him.”

Marc blew out a sigh as he patted Dog’s chest. “Sorry, boy. Looks like I’m not the only one doing tricks.”

Marc noticed Seth scanning the shadows of the camp. Is he checking in with an undercover guard? Yes. Marc stored it. “Wanna come along?”

Seth nodded as he stood up. “Yeah, but I have a shift right now.” He stared at Neil for a brief second. Marc read an agreement on something.

“I’ll hear about it; heard a lot already.” Seth faded into the shadows near the path Adrian had taken.

He’s Adrian’s guard. Damn. He’s good, coming right into the mess like that. I bet the camp people don’t know. Marc was happy with his powers of observation, and his progress with a few people. He’d made two friends here, and that could be all the difference between sticking it out for a while and running in two weeks or a month.

Marc sighed, cleaning up his mess like Neil was doing. If he wanted to settle in with these people, he needed to earn a place by Adrian, that was clear. Marc didn’t actually want it. He longed to be alone with Angie and their son, who was avoiding him so far. But he already knew Angie wasn’t leaving. This was a good place, with good people. Safe Haven held strong survivors who needed what she had to offer; she would be stupid to go now that she knew there was a place for her.

What about you? his selfish side asked. Doesn’t your happiness matter?

Marc pushed it away. I’m not Kenn. My needs and wants don’t come before hers anymore. I’ve already made that mistake. I’m not doing it again.