Suckers Page 17

  I waited at the table while the two of them went to the door, expecting them to return to the table eventually so we could talk, but they never did. The only "talk" I got was Nick calling out an apology to me, saying that he and Blaine had to leave.

  "We'll be back as soon as we can, but don't wait up for us."

  I didn't, feeling somehow guilty or sheepish for allowing lovemaking to get in the way of us getting right down to business and having a talk about whatever was going on. I really couldn't blame myself too much, though. Even after a few weeks, I still found Nick and Blaine's bodies to be just as irresistible to me as they'd been on our wedding night, to the point that I wasn't sure if I could have even focused on any kind of a talk without making love to them first.

  Not to mention that the three of us were supposed to be staying very busy trying to create a baby. Repopulating the world was of course one of the main points of Helena, in addition to being a community where people could live in relative safety, at least compared to the world beyond its walls.

  In the weeks since getting married, I'd had some brief moments of doubt as to whether re-population should even be a goal for any community anywhere. These brief doubts had kind of surprised me, since normally, defeatism wasn't like me at all.

  Throughout my life, I'd always wanted to move forward, and keep fighting, no matter what. And despite the fact that I'd learned that Ebony and Jessica were dead, my new love for Nick had Blaine had somehow renewed my courage and strengthened my resolve to keep going.

  It was just that a baby was such a tiny, helpless creature. And the world had become such a violent, ugly place.

  Helena wasn't ugly, though, and any violence usually took place far beyond its walls. It was this that made me think that a child could be safe. Also, knowing that my child was going to have two incredibly strong fathers made me think our child would be safe.

  Further smothering my tiny doubts, I felt compelled to have a child to honor Jessica and Ebony's legacies in some way. I wanted to have a child because they'd been denied the chance to become mothers. And besides, I'd always wanted to become a mother myself. I’d always imagined that it would happen a few years after my third Olympics, not two years into a vampire zombie apocalypse.

  Figuring that Nick and Blaine were surely out tracking or fighting Borderliners, and feeling terrible that they had to do so in such miserable wet weather, I fell asleep that night curled up with a thick blanket that held traces of their respective scents. Even though I hadn't known my two husbands long, I loved them both deeply already. I was even beginning to feel like I was addicted to them both, though not in any unpleasant sort of way, just in a way that I felt like I needed them beside me during the night, and I felt empty when they weren't.

  The next morning dawned bright and sunny, but the cheery weather didn't match my mood. Shortly after awakening, I discovered that my period had arrived, and I unexpectedly found myself greatly disappointed. Considering the fact that my feelings about bringing a baby into the world had been just slightly conflicted, I'd expected that I might feel relieved if and when my period came.

  I wasn’t, though, and I realized that I was indeed ready to keep trying and fighting. I wanted to help repopulate the world, and hopefully have a daughter who could do the same. But even more than that, I was just developing some deep, primal urge to give my husbands a child, a baby that would be ours. I was even starting to feel like I might want several babies.

  Adding to my glum, disappointed mood, Nick and Blaine still weren't home yet, and I began to worry that maybe all hadn't gone okay the night before. One of the things I hated most about living in the new, post-apocalyptic world was complete lack of any kind of instant communication, like cell phones. Really, there wasn't much I didn't hate about the new world.

  It wasn't completely lost on me, though, that I never would have found happiness with Blaine and Nick had the world not gone to hell, and if I hadn't traveled down to Kentucky in search of Jessica and Ebony. For that I was profoundly grateful.

  I'd also come to realize that there were some other positives about a post-apocalyptic world, such as being part of a very tight-knit community like Helena. People in the village looked out for each other like family, making it an ideal place to raise a child, or several.

  In addition to the threat of Wesley Archer and the Borderliners, though, there was also the ever-present threat of Huskers. Because of the village walls, small groups of them weren't a problem. As long as only residents who were shifters ventured beyond the walls, everyone would be safe. Non-shifter residents even occasionally ventured beyond the walls, too, to go out on supply runs and also to search for more survivors, particularly females. But only those with lots of experience fighting Huskers went on these trips. Usually Kathy went, along with Elisa and their husbands.

  It was the threat of hordes that worried everyone most. Part-steel and part-wood, the walls around the village were strong, but they definitely weren't impenetrable. Not if a horde of several hundred Huskers was to catch the scent of humans and press the walls all in one large group. Hopefully, they’d never do this. Blaine, Nick, and the other men would kill them first before they could.

  When Blaine and Nick still weren't back home by ten in the morning, I left the house, intending to go visit with Chris or Tracy and ask if they'd heard anything. However, the first person I came across was Kathy.

  Strolling down the lane heading toward me, she seemed to kind of startle a bit when she saw me, and then I could have sworn I saw her narrow her round blue eyes. Just for a split-second, though, and she was still a good enough distance away from me that I really couldn't be sure.

  If she had glared at me, it would be the first time in quite a while that she had. Since the wedding, she'd been generally nice to me, not that we'd been spending a ton of time together. Sometimes I got the feeling that she was specifically avoiding me, even though I had no clue why this might be the case. And really, sometimes I wondered if I was just imagining this.

  When we reached each other, we said good morning, and then I right away asked her if she'd heard anything about Nick, Blaine, and the rest of the men who'd went out the night before.

  However, to my disappointment, she shook her head. "Mike and Sam still aren't back yet, either...none of them are. Don't worry, though. I heard they went out just to track a group of Borderline fighters spotted heading east, to a little community called Pine Bluff. I think Nick probably just wants to see what the Borderliners are up to, if they're trying to get the Pine Bluff shifters to form an alliance with them or what."

  "So, Wesley Archer hasn't given up on trying to fight us, then? Not that I really thought he would."

  Kathy shook her head again, biting back a snort. "No...he definitely hasn't given up. Men like him rarely do when they want something. In fact, yesterday, he sent a messenger to deliver Nick an ultimatum."

  "Which was what?"

  "In short, hand over command of Helena to him, Wesley, or suffer the consequences, meaning another full-scale attack. Giving him half the village's women, goods, and assets, and continuing to do so indefinitely, is completely off the table now, not that it was ever really on, because I knew Nick was never going to do that. But now, Wesley wants everything. So, it seems another attack is inevitable. It's just a matter of time now. Just a matter of waiting for it to happen."

  I hated the thought of that. Hated the thought of just waiting for an attack, not knowing if the village I'd grown to love would fall, and the two men I'd grown to love deeply would be injured, or worse.

  Kathy started to say something else, but a distinct whooshing sound coupled with a faint creaking coming from somewhere out of sight but not too far away caught our attention. That was the sound of the village's massive steel gates being opened, hopefully meaning that all the men had returned.

  With Kathy not far behind me, I sprinted to the gates, elated when I saw Nick and Blaine coming through, with all the other men behind them. My elation was sho
rt-lived, though, when I saw the grim looks on their faces after they'd each given me a squeeze and a brief kiss. It seemed clear that the Borderliners had indeed been trying to get the shifters of Pine Bluff to form an alliance with them.

  When Nick, Blaine, and I got to the house and had a seat on the couch, Nick confirmed this, saying that from what they'd been able to gather at a distance, it seemed as if the Pine Bluff shifters had agreed to fight for Wesley Archer, whether temporarily or permanently. The evidence of this was that the Borderliners hadn't left Pine Bluff with any women or any other sign of having been given a "tribute," as usually required by Wesley Archer.

  In fact, peering through binoculars, Nick had seen the apparent spokesman of the Borderliners sweeping an arm in a wide gesture across the village, as if possibly saying something to the leader of the Pine Bluff shifters about how grand the village could be once Wesley Archer gifted them with supplies to fix everything up, or something. Also, Nick had seen the Borderliner spokesman shake hands with the Pine Bluff leader shortly afterward, indicating that they'd struck some sort of a deal.

  Nick went on to say essentially what Kathy had earlier, that a full-scale attack seemed inevitable, now with the Pine Bluff shifters adding to the number of attackers. "I don't want you to worry about a thing, though, Eva. Blaine and I have still have everything completely under-"

  "But how can I not worry? How can I not, knowing that Wesley Archer and all his couple hundred shifters, plus the Pine Bluff shifters, are soon going to be coming for us?"

  Making the faintest of sighs beside me on the couch, Nick took one of my hands. "You don't worry because even knowing what you know, you also know that we Helenian shifters are strong, and we've already beaten back all the Borderliners when they all attacked. We Helenian shifters are more than capable of defending our village and everyone in it."

  "From hundreds of Borderliners and Pine Bluff shifters at once, though? Other shifters that might outnumber us four-to-one or even five-to-one?"

  Sighing again, Nick squeezed my hand. "Have faith, Eva. No one is taking this village from us."

  On my other side, Blaine took my right hand. "What he said. We're going to kick all their asses, Eva. We promise you that."

  I turned my face to look at his and saw him wearing an unmistakable look of conviction. So unmistakable that I finally started to believe him and Nick. They could handle the Borderliners and the Pine Bluff shifters both. Turning to look at Nick again, I could see deep conviction in his eyes as well. He did know what he was doing. No one was going to take our village.

  As if reading my thoughts, he gave my hand another squeeze. "That faith you're starting to feel...hold onto that. Try not to let it waver. This will all be over soon. We just need to get past one single fight, and then everything here in the village will be back to normal, and we can turn our thoughts back to building our family and our community."

  "Well...okay. I do believe you and Blaine that you and all the other men will be able to handle everything. I am starting to have faith. But what am I supposed to do during the fight, whenever it finally happens? What are all the other women supposed to do? I get that regular human women can't go out in a fight against shifters, but I know I can't just sit here at home while everything is going on.

  “I'm going to need some task to do...something I can do to help in the fight, whether it’s looking out from the guard tower with binoculars, and reporting down if I see any more shifters coming, or...." I paused, unable to think of any other way I might help. "Or whatever else needs to be done."

  To my surprise, Nick said that there was something I could do to help. I'd kind of been thinking he was going to say I could "help" just by "keeping myself safe in the house" or something.

  "If you really want to help, you can help Kathy and a few other women charged with driving back Huskers from the village walls during the fight. Kathy and a small group did this during the last fight when the Borderliners attacked, and this was critical in making sure that no wall-breaking hordes built up."

  "What do you mean, 'built up?'"

  "Well, whenever there's a fight raging, the noise attracts Huskers from the surrounding forestland. But instead of the noise causing them to directly attack us shifters, they seem to just catch a whiff of human scent and head straight for the village, coming up against the walls. Kathy and the others took care of them last time by stabbing them through the cracks in the walls, making sure that large groups didn't form at any time.

  “This is part of the reason why we always have a guard up in the tower...all it would take to bring down part of the wall would be a group of a hundred Huskers, give or take...probably a much smaller group if the group was made up of shifters.

  “Blaine and I and the others will take care of the shifters, though...we'll make sure they don't get near the walls. And as long as you and Kathy and whoever else joins in can keep large groups of Huskers from building up around the walls...we'll all be just fine."

  Relieved to be able to help in the fight in some actually meaningful, important, non-token way, I immediately said I'd definitely help at the walls. "As long as I can stab Huskers with a screwdriver, anyway. Me and knives just don't get along."

  Nick said me using a screwdriver would be just fine. "Whatever helps you get the job done."

  "Well, good, then. I guess all there is to do now is just wait for the attack...which honestly, I hope is much sooner rather than later. I hate the thought of waiting for it."

  Putting an arm around my shoulders, Nick scooted closer to me on the couch. "There's no need to wait anxiously, though. Whenever Wesley Archer moves in, whether it be day or night, we'll have advance warning because of the guard tower. We’ll at least have a little time to take our positions. And in the meantime...maybe Blaine and I can help distract you from the thought of an attack."

  Definitely liking the sound of that, I almost asked him what he had in mind, but then I caught myself. "Oh. I almost forgot. The three of us are going to need to take a few days off, because I got my period this morning. Which...." I paused to issue a deep sigh, completely unable to help it. "It's not like I thought for sure I’d become pregnant in the couple of weeks after our wedding or anything, but...I guess I'm a little disappointed that I didn't.

  “And normally, I'd likely be up for a little distraction, but I just don't want to get into any of that during this time of the month. I know some people don't mind, but I'm just far too squeamish."

  Sometimes even just dealing with my own used sanitary items could make me feel a little ill.

  Nick said he understood, but his eyes betrayed a bit of disappointment. Blaine made a faint grunt that made me think that he didn't quite understand my squeamishness and was a little disappointed as well.

  Nonetheless, unlike the last time they'd been forced to keep their hands off me for several days, my two husbands didn't stay away from me. In fact, they both soon served me lunch in bed and ate with me, with Nick saying that they wanted to pamper me during my "difficult time," a phrase that almost wanted to make me giggle for some reason, even though it wasn't at all an untrue way to describe things. My period could be a "difficult time," because in addition to my squeamishness, I often had terrible cramps and headaches, too.

  After lunch, when I mentioned that my head had started to hurt a little, Blaine brought me two painkiller pills, as well as a single wildflower in a bud vase, melting my heart. Then, once they'd both showered, he and Nick rejoined me in bed for a long nap, having not slept at all the night before. Some hours later, I awoke first and studied their handsome faces in the sunlight, determined to never let anything ruin our happiness. I'd kill a hundred Huskers through the cracks in the village walls. I'd kill two hundred. I'd do anything I needed to do.

  *

  By the time Wesley Archer led his shifters in an attack on Helena three weeks later, everyone had started thinking that maybe he'd just given up for some reason. Maybe his men hadn't struck a deal with the Pine Bluff shifters, o
r maybe they had but it had somehow fallen through. Maybe Wesley had just spent some time reconsidering his plan, realizing that if the Helena shifters had driven back his army once before, causing many casualties, they'd likely be able to do it again, even if they had to face shifters from Pine Bluff as well. Surprising myself, even I had almost started to think that it was possible that Wesley had just given up. Almost. But not quite.

  So, when a tower guard sounded an alarm around nine in the morning on a gorgeous, sunny, already-hot June day, I wasn't stunned, just ready. Ready to get the whole thing over with so that Nick, Blaine, and I could resume some semblance of our post-apocalyptic happily-ever-after, focusing only on surviving and building our family, instead of worrying about outside threats on top of it all.

  Nick and Blaine had left the house hours earlier, so when I heard the alarm peal for a few seconds, then stop before pealing for a few seconds again, indicating that the attack was coming from the east, I jammed on my tennis shoes, grabbed two screwdrivers I'd kept by the front door for weeks, and flew out of the house. Once in the street, I met up with Kathy, who'd already unsheathed a monstrous-looking knife that she’d be using to stab Huskers.