Afterglow: An Apocalypse Romance (21 page)

Charlie shook his head.

“You’ll learn soon,” said Nina’s mom. “Now watch this.” She whistled two times, the sound loud and shrill, and sure enough, within a few seconds P.J. came bounding around a shed, fluffy and brown and happy for attention. Nina’s mom showed Charlie how to hold out his hand to be sniffed before petting P.J.

“We can bring him in the house,” she said. “Let’s go in and sit down. I bet you guys are hungry and thirsty. Benjamin, you OK still?”

“Yup.”

Nina had almost forgotten about the old guy who’d held a gun on her when she arrived, but now he nodded at her by way of greeting.

“Got another hour on my shift,” he said.

“We always have someone on watch,” explained Nina’s father as they headed to the house.

“Have you had a lot of people come by?”

“Enough. And enough who were looking for trouble that we had to get serious about it,” he replied.

Nina’s cheeks hurt from smiling so much, and it almost felt like a dream, like seeing her family again was just a fantasy. She knew this probably was weird for Creed, who didn’t know anyone here. She wished there was time to pull him aside and ask him how he was feeling, what he was thinking. But everyone was talking at once, asking questions and telling her things.

Later
, she thought, smiling at Creed to let him know he wasn’t alone. He smiled back, and she tried to ignore the doubt she saw in his eyes as they walked to her grandmother’s house.

–Creed–

Seeing Nina reunited with her family was one of the best things Creed had ever experienced in his life. Hands down. So what was that feeling that kept creeping in, leaving him unsettled and uncomfortable?

He couldn’t figure it out, how when everything had worked out exactly as planned, with only a few hitches along the way, he wasn’t happy. They were finally in a safe and well-stocked place where they could relax, at least relative to how they’d spent the past few weeks. Nina’s family was OK. And Charlie was ecstatic about everything. So what the fuck was wrong with Creed?

He was determined not to be a sulky asshole, though. And his curiosity about the farm got the better of him. When Nina wasn’t pummeling her parents with questions, he had more to ask.

“So how many people live here?” asked Nina when they were sitting around her grandmother’s dining room table. Nina’s mom had made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for everyone, plus potato chips, and served metallic well water in glasses. Charlie was contentedly eating his sandwich, peeking under the table every few minutes to make sure P.J. was still there.

“Seven, before you three arrived. Our family, plus Benjamin. You met him already. And Stan and Katusha, who are out helping Grandma right now. Stan and Katusha lived on the next farm over, and Benjamin lived across the road. They’d been helping your grandmother build up this place before things went bad in exchange for using some of her land for small crops. So the fence was up, though they added the barbed wire after. And you know Grandma and her shelters.” Nina’s mom pointed to the floor, and Creed assumed that’s where her hard-core survival room was.

“Since the world, well, changed, Stan, Katusha, and Benjamin have been staying here with Grandma, and they worked to renovate one of the sheds to a small home for Stan and Katusha. Put in insulation and built a small brick fireplace, so hopefully it’ll be warm enough for them to sleep all winter. They come here for meals.”

“And you guys and Logan?” asked Nina.

“This house has three bedrooms, so we’re in one and Logan in the other.”

“And Benjamin?”

Creed smirked when Nina’s parents glanced at each other, then looked back at Nina.

“He stays with your grandmother.” Nina’s dad cracked a smile as he said it.

Nina’s mom playfully punched him in the shoulder. “You stop,” she said.

“We’ve gotten another of the sheds winterized into a cabin, so you’re welcome to stay here in the house. Or there? Or one of you...” Nina’s mother’s voice trailed off as she looked at Nina, then at Creed.

What was he supposed to say?
Yeah, I’ve been fucking your daughter while we made our way here. I don’t plan to stop, so we’ll take the cabin.
He cleared his throat when he saw Nina blushing and unable to speak.

At that second, the front door opened and an older woman rushed in, looking around until her eyes settled on Nina.

“Neens! I heard you were here, but I had to see it with my own eyes before I believed it. I told them! I told them every single day that you’d make it. I didn’t teach you all those things you know for nothing, now, did I?”

Nina was up in a flash, hugging her grandmother. Creed couldn’t believe how similar the two were. They were the same height, both slim. Even their hair was the same, long and curly, though Nina’s was bright red and her grandmother’s was a soft gray. It was pulled off her forehead by a faded blue bandanna, and she wore blue jeans and a thick beige wool sweater that looked like it had seen better days. On her feet were brown work boots. She looked tough, and Creed understood instantly where Nina had gotten that from.

Creed clenched and released a fist under the table as he watched another reunion for Nina, another person who had waited for her, who would be around for her. Forever, however long that was. What about him? He didn’t have anyone waiting around for him. And was there even room for him in Nina’s already full life? He’d promised to bring her here, and now that he had, all he could think about was the fact that they’d never really discussed what would happen next. And the fact that they’d never really discussed what was going on between them.

“You must be Charlie,” Nina’s grandmother was saying, and the boy smiled shyly at her. “Charlie, let me tell you something,” she said. “I know if a person’s good or not by whether P.J. likes him. And he loves you. So I do too.”

Her eyes weren’t as warm as she looked Creed over. He stood and extended his hand toward her. No room for Nina to complain about his manners this time. Grandma Lottie shook his hand firmly, then stood back, one hand scratching her chin as she assessed him.

“He’s pretty, Nina,” she said finally.

Nina burst out laughing. “Grandma!”

“But pretty’s not enough, now, is it? You know how to shoot?” she asked, her eyes narrowed at Creed.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“You a whiner?”

He shook his head.

“There’s nothing worse than a whiner.” Still her eyes looked him up and down. Creed couldn’t remember the last time he’d been inspected like this since the Marines.

Finally, Nina spoke up. “He saved my life, Grandma...”

“Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Grandma Lottie scolded Nina. “Come here, Creed,” she said, opening her arms.

She hugged him tight, and just as she ended the embrace she whispered into his ear, “Thank you.”

* * *

After lunch, Grandma Lottie gave them a tour of the
farm
. Or at least, that’s what she called it. Creed considered it more of a
compound
, but whatever it was called, he was impressed.

The two sheds that had been converted to cabins were each about fifty yards from the main house, where meals were served. Outside each was a gigantic stack of firewood. Nina’s grandmother explained that one of their main daily chores was chopping wood to make sure they had enough to last all winter. There were several other random small buildings, which she explained could be converted to small cabins or used for storage as they were now.

“I had supplies in the basement, in my shelter,” she said. “But as soon as things started going bad, as soon as I heard about the sickness, we started making runs into town and buying as much as we could bring back. We went again and again. We split up all those supplies—food, medications and first aid, some clothes—between the barn and three of these sheds. We thought if there was a fire in one, we didn’t want to lose everything.”

“Smart.” Creed was impressed with the foresight that had gone into everything.

“Back here,” said Grandma Lottie, “is the chicken coop. We got about twenty hens laying eggs. All healthy. And back there, crops. It’s late in the season, so we’ve harvested most of it. Corn that we dried and ground into meal for cooking. But we still have some late crops, like Brussels sprouts and a few potatoes still in the ground.”

“Right around here we got the smokehouse,” she continued, “for when we catch something big. Deer, mostly.”

“Did you build it yourself?” asked Creed. Who
was
this old woman?

“When I bought the place I hired a few experts to come in and build it. They wanted to run electricity to it, said that’s the way it’s done now. I said I wanted it old-fashioned. That’s why we can use it now.”

“How did you learn how to use it?” asked Nina.

“Eh, trial and error. Lots of error. Lots of overcooked and burned meat at first. We’ve got it down now, so we’ve got a good store of meat for the winter, though we’ll keep hunting for fresh meat too.”

“What
don’t
you have?” Creed meant the question as a compliment, meaning that it was unbelievable how well Nina’s grandmother was prepared.

But she answered as though the question was serious. “We don’t have running water yet. We’ve got the well, but it’s not hooked up to run to any showers or sinks. So we’re bathing the old-fashioned way! We’re working on a gravity-based pump system to bring water to the main house, but it’s a ways off still. And the fence around the farm has worked up till now, but we need to think about reinforcements. If a big group wanted in badly enough, we might not be able to defend ourselves and keep them out. And right now the gate is secured with a few chains. Heavy chain, but nothing an extremely determined or psychotic group couldn’t eventually get through. Speaking of which...”

She reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out two ball chain necklaces, each with a key on it. She handed one to Creed and the other to Nina. “These are keys to the front gate. We want everyone in here to be able to get out if they need to.”

Creed felt like a huge honor was being bestowed upon him when he put the chain around his neck, and he realized it was. He was being entrusted with these people’s lives. He knew that they trusted him because Nina did, and because he’d saved her life. But the weight of the gift unsettled him, though he wasn’t sure exactly why.

“Anyway,” said Nina’s grandmother, putting her arm around Nina and starting back in the direction of the house. “I’m glad you’re finally here. You too, Creed. And that boy, Charlie, though he may have stolen my dog from me!”

“He’s a good kid,” said Creed, surprised at the fondness for Charlie he felt as he said it.

“And you’re good for saving him. And for saving my Nina,” said Nina’s grandmother, and they walked through the thickening dusk back to the main house.

* * *

Everyone ate dinner together at the dining room table in Grandma Lottie’s house, also known as the main house. Katusha and Stan had cooked, a rabbit stew with carrots and potatoes. Creed’s stomach was growling so loud he was sure everyone in the room could hear it. Katusha and Stan were in their early thirties, Creed guessed, and he was surprised to see Katusha’s swelling stomach. She was pregnant, and when Nina asked, she told them she was due in January.

After dinner, Charlie curled up with P.J. on the couch and was asleep within seconds.

“What do you do at night?” asked Creed. “How do you stay safe? It’s such a big farm.”

“We sleep with guns under our pillows.” Grandma Lottie’s tone was matter-of-fact. “And P.J.’s a light sleeper. He barks if there’s so much as a mouse on the doorstep.  I’d like to find some more pups someday, train them to be look-outs so we could sleep better at night.

“And the fence used to be electric, but there’s no power now, obviously. Thinking of looking for a generator. I know that convenience store down the road had a few, though the owner’s long dead from the virus. We’ve been meaning to pick them up, but haven’t had a chance. It’d be nice to turn the fence on at night, at least until we’ve reinforced it properly.”

Creed nodded. Once again he thought about how impressive this place was. But there was a niggling feeling in his gut that he didn’t belong here. Seeing Nina so happy with her family made him realize how close they all were. How little he was needed.

Sure, Nina liked him. She’d even said she loved him, back at the motorcycle store, when all he’d wanted was to say it back to her. The look on her face as she’d uttered the words was forever seared into his mind. But they were words spoken under a stressful situation, and people didn’t always mean what they said in times like that.

Their agreement from the very beginning had been that he’d help her get here, and then... he’d never planned what his “then” would be. They’d never discussed whether he’d stay or leave. And since they’d arrived at the farm, it seemed like everyone assumed he’d be staying, though nobody, especially Nina, had actually asked him to.

And staying would be final. It would be a commitment, not just to Nina but to her family. A commitment to work hard and to protect one another and to be part of a community. More than that, it would be a commitment in his heart, the kind that he’d swore he didn’t want ever again.

He’d promised himself he’d stay out of situations where he risked losing another person. He couldn’t do it. He knew it would crush him—kill him—if he did. Maybe it would be better to leave now, to carry the memory of Nina smiling and laughing with her family than the inevitable memory of her hurt or dead.

* * *

Nina’s parents said they’d let Charlie, who was already asleep on the couch, share their bed that night so Nina and Creed could get settled into their cabin. Again, Creed felt embarrassed. It was awkward being here with her and her family, unsure of how he fit in or what his role would be.
He didn’t like being the odd one out; the one for whom people needed to make changes, accommodations. He was used to being the one in charge.

Alone in their cabin, Nina sat on the bed and bounced up and down like a kid. “I can’t believe we’re really here, Creed,” she said, her voice filled with wonder. “Thank you so much. I would never have made it without you. I can’t believe how naive I was to think I could get here on my own.”

“I told you I’d get you here,” he said. “I don’t break my promises.” Except the promise he’d made to always be there for his brothers in Afghanistan. And to take care of his sister and niece. He winced, unable to stop the darkness from descending.

“What’s wrong, Creed?” Nina was looking straight into his eyes, hers so green and gorgeous. Everything about her was gorgeous. Perfect. She was sexy and strong and funny. What
was
wrong with him?