The Survivors Book III: Winter (32 page)

I let out a long, deep sigh, and pulled him into a hug.
 "It won't help if I tell you that it wasn't your fault, will it?"

"
Of course not."  He chuckled faintly and shook his head, but he accepted the hug without protest.  "I know that.  Intellectually, I know that.  Emotionally… that's different."

"
Yeah, I know exactly what you mean."  I drew back, but left a hand resting on his shoulder.  "Maybe this will help.  If it weren't for the things you taught me, I probably wouldn't be alive today.  You helped to save at least one person."

"
True," he said, his expression brightening.  "I honestly can't tell you how happy I am to see you, Sandy.  I mean, I know I've said it, but the words can't express how overjoyed I am that you survived.  I've seen some bloody nasty things done to women and children and been unable to stop it, but… you're right.  That does help.  Thank you."

"
No, thank you," I replied, giving him a light-hearted nudge in the ribs to soften the seriousness of the conversation.  "You gave me knowledge that saved my life; I haven't done anything to deserve thanks."

"
Careful, those never healed quite right."  He grunted dramatically, rubbing his ribs.  "Yes, you have.  You saved Lily, remember?  That and what you did for Jasmine more than repays anything I did for you, and puts me firmly in your debt."

"
Huh?"  Confused, I blinked owlishly at him.  "I didn't do anything for Jasmine.  I mean, aside from saving her sister, but I would have done that anyway."

"
It's way more than that," he replied, shaking his head.  "You've given her something that I can't.  You've given her a role-model.  She's never seen a grown woman that's smart, capable, and a leader before.  You impressed her in a way that I never could.  I mean, do you know where she is right now?"

"
You said she went to go get some things?" I answered, shrugging.

"
I did, but to be specific, she's gone to
pack
her things."  He grinned suddenly, and grabbed my arm.  "She wants us to go with you, Sandy.  I've never seen her this excited about something before.  She told me that she wants all of us to follow you, so that she can learn to be like you when she grows up."  He paused, and gave me a long look.  "If you'll have us, that is."

"
Well, that's a silly question," I said with a laugh.  "I plan to build a city, Gav – I'm going to need as many people as I can get.  And if those kids really want to join us, then they're welcome.  All that we ask is that they contribute to the group in some way, and… you know, not try to claw Doc's eyes out again."

Gavin joined in laughing, nodding his head.
 "That wasn't normal!  Lily's the shy, gentle one.  She would never have done that under normal circumstances."

"
Then they're both welcome, and I hope that the other kids will come along as well."  I glanced back over my shoulder, in the direction of the makeshift bedroom where our children were busy teaching themselves to read.  "Everyone's welcome, so long as they agree to abide by our rules."

"
What rules are those?" he asked, looking at me expectantly.

"
Simple ones, really."  I glanced back at him, and smiled.  "Don't kill, hurt, or threaten another member of this group unless it is in self-defence.  No one has the right to abuse anyone else, verbally, physically, or sexually.  Don't steal from us, or from each other.  Treat other people the way you want to be treated.  Breaches of the rules will be decided before a quorum chosen from within the group, as will the punishments."

"
I see you've put some thought into it," Gavin replied.  He went quiet for a moment while he considered what I'd said, then nodded slowly.  "Sounds good to me.  We should go get your radio message out, so that we can move on before it gets too dangerous here.  I, for one, have no desire to meet one of your mutated infected."

"
Hey, they're not
my
mutated infected," I protested, only half joking.  "They're everyone's problem."

"
I know."  He gave me a weak smile.  "Sorry, that was meant to be a joke.  I remember you having quite the sense of humour."

"
And you never were any good at telling jokes."  I grinned at him in return, and clapped my hand on his shoulders.  "All right, then.  Do you want to wake up Doc?"

"
No, no need," he replied, shaking his head.  "Lily's fine.  Doctor Cross told me that she passed the danger point in the middle of the night, and now she's just sleeping it off."

"
Good.  Poor kid doesn't deserve that kind of treatment."  I stepped past him, and led the way towards the exit.  Along the way, I found Michael sitting on the floor in one of the side rooms with a bunch of assorted weapon pieces spread out on old towels all around him.  I stopped and leaned against the door frame, watching him work.  Gavin joined me a second later, but neither of us said anything.

It took a few seconds before Michael noticed us.
 When he did, he glanced up and gave me a smile.  "Morning, sunshine.  Just cleaning the guns; they don't like being wet for too long.  The shotgun's already done, if you want it."

"
What, you're not going to tease me for sleeping so late?" I commented dryly, folding my arms across my chest.

Michael laughed and shook his head.
 "Now, would I do a thing like that?"

"
Of course," I replied with some amusement.  "That's why I agreed to marry you, isn't it?"

"
Oh yeah.  How could I forget?"  Michael grinned that silly grin of his, and picked up the shotgun resting beside his knee.  He held it up to me, and I took it.  I quickly checked that it was loaded and the safety was firmly in place, then I put the strap over my shoulder and adjusted it across my back.

"
Thank you for cleaning it for me," I said, turning serious again.  "I should have remembered to do that myself, but after yesterday's excitement…"

Michael just held up a hand, and shook his head.
 "You don't have to apologise to me, sweetheart.  That's what husbands are for, remember?  We're partners.  We watch each other's backs.  We help each other up if we fall down.  We may not be married yet, but that's what I want to be for you: your partner, through the good times and the bad."

I felt a flush of heat rise in my cheeks, and suddenly I was both pleased and embarrassed.
 I gave him a shy smile, then glanced away and quickly changed the subject.  "We're heading down to work on the radio.  Do you want to come?"

Michael paused to consider it.
 I glanced up just in time to see him shake his head.  "Nah, I better stay here and finish up.  I need to get these back to the troops as soon as possible.  It's still pretty nasty out there, so most of them are holed up in one of the rooms downstairs, playing cards."

"
Okay," I agreed.  "I've got my radio on me.  Call if you need anything."

"
Will do."  Michael sketched a salute, and then he glanced past me at Gavin.  "Keep an eye on her, old man.  I'll hold you responsible if anything eats her."

His sense of humour might have been a little rusty, but Gavin clearly understood the light-hearted comment for what it was.
 It was hard not to, when Michael was grinning like a fool.  Gavin gave him a mock salute in return.  "Sure, I'll keep an eye on her… but only one.  I've only got one to spare."

"
Okay, that one was actually pretty good," I said with a laugh.  "I'm going to have to make you two spend some quality time together, so Michael's sense of humour rubs off on you."

Both of them laughed at that.
 I grinned and waved to Michael, then led Gavin out of the room.  Once we were out of earshot, Gavin glanced at me and smiled.  "He's a good man, your fiancé."

"
I know," I said.  "To be honest, I don't think there's another man alive who could have done what he did.  I was a total wreck when we met.  I didn't think it was possible for me to fall in love again, but he proved me wrong.  I don't know what I'd do without him."

"
Let's hope that you never have to find out," Gavin said softly.  I just nodded my agreement, and led us onwards.  We made our way past the barricade, down the stairs, and into the lobby where I found Nikora and Wiremu on duty beside the door.

"
Morning, Nick, Will," I greeted them, using their preferred nicknames.  "How's it going?"

"
Pretty shite, but it could be worse.  At least we're not out in that." Nikora grinned good-naturedly, and jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the door.  "You two for in or out?"

"
Out, unfortunately," I replied, pulling my hood up over my head.  I shoved my hair under the leather as best I could, and peered past them at the gloomy weather.  "I guess winter finally caught up with us."

"
Well, we were about due for it," Will commented, heaving a long, dramatic sigh.  "Ah, well.  So the Lord deems it, so it must be.  Let's just hope it doesn't start snowing."

"
Amen to that," I agreed.  Nick unlocked the door and held it open for me.  I nodded my thanks and stepped out, only to be hit in the face by a blast of frigid wind.  Behind me, I heard Gavin gasp and mutter a curse under his breath, to which I could only grunt wordless agreement.  I pulled my collar up and hurried off towards the radio station as fast as I could, ducking from one patch of shelter to the next.

No matter how hard I tried, I still ended up soaked by the time I reached the front door.
 I hopped over the broken frame, and ducked into the shelter within.  Elly was alone on watch this time, huddled up inside a thick woollen blanket for warmth.  She nodded to me, but said nothing.

"
Morning," I greeted her.  "No Rebecca today?"

"
No, she has come down with a cold," Elly replied.  She sniffed and rubbed her nose, then gave me a pathetic look.  "She is not alone, but I would rather be here watching over Zain than anywhere else."

"
Aw, no one told me you guys were sick."  I frowned at her and put my hands on my hips.  "You should have said something.  We found a bunch of jars of honey in Arapuni, so the doctor could have mixed you up something to make you feel better."

"
I know, but I did not wish to wake him."  Elly gave me a pathetic attempt at a smile, and made a shooing gesture.  "You stay away.  I do not want you to get sick as well."

"
Okay, but you're on light duties until you feel better," I instructed gently.  "And if anyone has a problem with that, tell them to bring it up with me."

Elly nodded quietly, and huddled under her blanket again.
 I took her silence to mean that her throat was probably hurting, so I didn't press her to keep talking.  I just gave her a sympathetic smile, and headed down the hallway towards the back of the building.  Both of the studios were empty, but the sound of voices arguing led me to the old lunchroom where I found my more technically-minded companions sitting around the table, looking frustrated.

"
This is ridiculous," Jim complained, pounding his good fist on the table.  "I'm not a sound engineer.  None of us are.  How on earth are we supposed to work this out?"

"
He's right."  Zain sighed deeply.  He was holding a thick book, which he dropped on the table with a heavy thud.  "This manual may as well be written in Greek, for all the good it does us."

Suddenly, Anahera appeared from behind the partition that separated the kitchenette from the tables, with mugs of steaming hot black coffee in her hands.
 She set one mug down in front of each of the men at the table.

"
Calmness, my friends.  We'll work this out together."  She glanced up and gave me a warm smile.  "Good morning.  Would you care for some coffee?  I also have some leftover food back here, if you'd like some."

"
I can't tell if that's my stomach rumbling or the thunder, but I'd love some of both, please," I said.  She nodded and went back to the kitchenette, while I shifted my attention to my unhappy engineers.  "As for the radio… well, it turns out that we have someone right here that can help.  Gavin?"

"
I was a communications officer in the army for ten years," he explained, right on cue.  "Radios were my life blood, until I resigned my commission to start a family.  These commercial stations are a little different to the ones I'm used to, but I should have no trouble getting it going.  You blokes willing to give me a hand?"

Zain and Jim exchanged startled looks, but Richard and Ropata smiled.
 All of them rose to their feet and nodded their agreement.

I glanced at Gavin, and raised a brow.
 "Well, looks like you've got your assistants.  Don't you want to wait until after breakfast, though?"

"
No, I don't usually eat in the morning, and I'd rather get this sorted."  Gavin gestured to his newfound comrades, and then the five of them vanished into the hallway.