“Thank you so much,” Finn said, helping himself to another muffin.
After breakfast, we followed Lina outside, and she began her tour.
She started at the front and introduced us to all the guards. They were part of their original hive, who volunteered on shifts to watch for Arvies. Then she took us to a small playground for children. The ground looked like it had been dug out, maybe a foot deep, and there was clean, white sand in its place.
“This looks new,” Finn said, running his boot over the sand.
“It is. Kurt and his wife bought the playset before the fallout and stored it in the bunker. They also had bags of sand put underground, just for this purpose. I guess they wanted the children to have a safe place to play. They thought of many things most others wouldn’t have.”
“True. We had a set like this in our hive, but not one for the outside. Didn’t you say there was only one kid in your hive?” I asked.
“Yeah, I guess they thought there would be more births.” She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. I love the swings, and use them all the time.”
“How old are you?” I questioned.
“Fifteen,” she replied. “I was almost two when we went underground.”
Her answer surprised me. “And here I thought you were my age.”
“How old are you?” she asked.
“I should be eighteen by now. I don’t even know what month or day it is anymore. And Finn will be twenty soon.”
“I thought you were both in your twenties.” Lina sat on one of the swings. “Not as an insult or anything, it’s just you both look mature for your ages.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” I laughed and sat on the swing next to her.
Finn came up behind me and gave me a push. The weightless feeling of flying hit my stomach, and I squealed.
It felt like forever since I’d been on a swing, and it took me back to our hive days, and the years we’d spent in our own little park. Finn, of course, could always swing the highest and would jump off at the swing’s peak, landing perfectly.
As I reached the top point, I leaned back and closed my eyes. Swinging backward, I felt a kiss on my nose, and as I opened my eyes, Finn was standing to the side, smiling.
“Are you stealing kisses, Mr. Armstrong?”
“Yes, and I will continue to do so, as long as I am able,” he replied.
“Then steal away,” I said, making Lina laugh.
“Finn,” Kurt called.
“I’ll be right back,” he said, giving me one last push.
“It’s obvious you two were made for each other.” Lina sighed, pumping her legs to catch up with me. “I haven’t seen anyone in our hive act the way you two do. The older couples don’t show affection around me. But I hope to find my knight in shining armor one day, like in the pages of the fairytales I grew up on.”
“You will,” I noted. “You still have plenty of years for him to find you.”
“And when he does, I hope he looks at me the way Finn looks at you.”
I smiled inside, realizing other people saw the love we shared. And it wasn’t superficial. Our love had taken time to blossom. Thirteen plus years of survival and friendship. I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Finn would protect me in any given circumstance. And he knew I’d always be there for him. We’d trained together, and worked together like a well-oiled machine. He was someone I would always be able to count on.
As he jogged back to us, I admired him. To me, he was the epitome of perfection.
“What’s up?”
He came to a stop in front of the swings. “He asked if I could take a watch for a few hours this evening.”
“Oh, okay,” I said. “We should be helping out as long as we stay here.”
“I told him you were a much better shot than I was, but that you needed your rest.” His grin rose into a full smile.
“What did he say to that?”
“I don’t think he believed me. But we know the truth.” He winked.
“Abi, you shoot guns?” Lina gasped.
“Oh, a little,” I joked. “It was mandatory in our hive. My uncle trained us in weapons and ground tactics, along with hand to hand combat.”
She looked puzzled. “Even the girls?”
“Even my grandma.” I laughed. “I take it you haven’t fired a gun?”
“Oh no. Females are not permitted to use weapons here. They say the men will protect us.”
“What if something happens to the men? Shouldn’t you learn how to fight?”
“I guess. We’ve never had to worry about that until we came topside. Those monsters are dreadful. We saw them the first time we exited. There were three of them in the house, and one of our hive members was bitten.
“My dad was able to shoot the monster, but it was too late for Edward. It was the first time we’d seen someone change. Then we had to watch in horror as my father plunged a knife into his heart. He was an elder, and it felt like my heart was going to break in two. My mom tried to cover my eyes, but I refused. If he had to go through all of that, the least I could do was be there with him when he died.” The sorrow was evident in her eyes as she relived the moment.
“I’m sorry,” I said, placing my hand on hers. “We’ve also seen family members and friends die since we’ve come topside. But if you don’t allow it to break you, your heart will become stronger, harder. It’s what needs to happen to survive these days.”
“I hope so.” She twisted her swing around and with her toe dug into the ground, she spun quickly until she came to a stop. “At least we don’t have to worry about those things getting in now. They usually come during the night, but the men on watch shoot them, then drag their bodies away from the fence to be burned.” Lina’s eyes brightened as she jumped off the swing. “Wait here, I’ll be right back.”
I watched her run to her father. As she spoke, I could see concern furrowed in his brow. He shook his head, pointing to Kurt. She then jogged over to Kurt and Megan, who were stepping down the stairs of the dining house, hand in hand.
After a short conversation, and with a smile on his face, Kurt followed Lina toward us; leaving me to wonder what she could have asked. Bouncing over with a smile on her face, she stood in front of me. “Do you want to see our garden? It’s my favorite part of our hive.”
My eyes averted to Kurt, who nodded. “You are most welcome to see it.”
I turned to Finn who shrugged. He was a big help.
“We don’t want to impose,” I said. “I know how important your privacy is.”
“No, you’re the daughter of one of my best friends. I’ll give you both a grand tour myself.”
“Really?”
“Really.” He turned to his wife. “Meg, honey, would you care to join us?”
“I would love to, but I have a meeting with the ladies. We need to assess how much material and thread we have left for clothing.”
“Sounds like fun.” Kurt rolled his eyes, then gave her a peck on the cheek. “Have a good time with that, I’ll see you later.” He turned back to us. “All right, follow me and let’s begin the grand tour.”
“Yes,” Lina cheered under her breath and pumped a fist.
We followed Kurt into the smallest house, which was half the size of the others. Inside, it was fully furnished, with what looked like new furniture. There were brown leather couches with colorful throw pillows, along with an oriental rug and modern tables. The walls were decorated with paintings, and pictures of Kurt and Megan. Over a mantle, sat a large group photo, and I stopped to admire it. I’d seen most of the faces at breakfast.
“That’s me,” Lina said, pointing to a toddler in her mother’s arms. She had two little puffball pigtails sticking out on either side of her head.
“You were so cute,” I gushed.
“Thanks,” she said. “It was taken before we all went underground. My parents have one of these pictures too. It was a company party at a nearby park, which isn’t there anymore. I
don’t remember it, but everyone said it was a lot of fun.”
“It looks like everyone had fun.” The joviality and frozen laughter caught in the picture made me laugh. This was how the world had been at one time. Now, everyone in this picture had aged, looking tired and worn from the day to day grueling process of surviving.
“Ladies, you coming?” Kurt asked. Finn stood next to him, arms crossed over his chest.
Lina gasped, grabbing my wrist and dragging me toward them. “Yes. Let’s go!”
Kurt took us into one of the bedrooms. It looked like it came out of one of the magazines we’d had in the old hive. The floor was newly carpeted in a plush, dark brown knit, and there was a large queen bed in the middle of the room, decorated with a floral comforter and lots of throw pillows. On each side of the bed was a nightstand adorned with candles, and they were emitting some kind of sweet scent.
Adjacent to the bed was a closet filled with new clothes. Megan must have been a seamstress, or these could have been from before the fallout. Kurt pushed the clothes to the side, revealing the back wall. It was slatted with thick wooden panels, but on the right-hand side of the closet, he pressed something, and the wood popped forward. Kurt then pushed it to the side, revealing a tiny room. On the floor was a steel door with a turn crank, like the one we had used as an entrance and exit to our own hive.
Kurt turned the heavy metal crank and asked Finn to help him pull it open. The thick, steel door creaked open, revealing a ladder which led below.
“Ladies first,” he said with a simple hand gesture. Lina went down first and disappeared from view.
“Is this access open to anyone in your hive?” Finn asked.
“No,” he answered. “We made sure each hive member cleared out all their belongings before helping them relocate into one of the homes. As you could see, we had two extra, which we turned into bathroom facilities and a dining hall. Right now, I’m the only one who has access to the bunker, as it holds the extra stored goods we’d prepped for the upcoming years ahead. If things run low, they come to Megan or me, and we get them what they need.”
“It sounds like you have created a wonderful haven for your people.”
“We prepped well. Megan is a planner, and as you can see, she went above and beyond. Back in the day, we made a pretty decent living and had extra money to throw into this project.”
When we reached the bottom of the ladder, there was a dim light next to a switch.
Lina flicked it on, and the entire hive came to life, buzzing with power.
“Solar?” Finn asked.
“You know it,” Kurt replied. “The strength of the sun and our resident electrician, keeps everything running well.
Kurt took the lead, and Lina followed behind. “Lina would like to show you our garden.”
At the end of the hall, they came to a white door with a tree hand-painted onto it. It looked professionally done. The trunk was thick, and the leaves were full and vibrant, in many shades of green.
Kurt stuck a key into the lock and twisted, before pushing the door open.
“Welcome to our Eden.”
As soon as we walked into the room, I noticed two things; it felt cold, and the air smelled clean. I took in a deep breath, filling my lungs with the fresh oxygen. The room was half the size of the Garden of Eden in the last bunker, but it was filled from wall to wall with what could only be described as breathtaking beauty. After walking inside, we were standing on thick, green grass. To the right of us were flowers in every color imaginable. The next section was vegetables, all labeled. To the left, were patches of berries. Strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries. And at the back of the room were large trees.
I looked over to Finn, knowing he hadn’t experienced the last garden, and his expression made my heart dance with happiness. His eyes were wide, soaking it all in, while his mouth sat agape. I watched him take in a deep breath, then exhale.
“So what do you think?” Kurt asked.
Finn was silent, his eyes sweeping the area, and I knew exactly how he felt.
“It’s amazing,” I answered for both of us.
“The smells,” Finn added. “There are just so many things my senses are trying to process. It’s…”
“A bit overwhelming.” Kurt filled in the blanks. “Believe me, I know. I still stand in awe every time I open this door and step inside. It’s all our hopes and dreams come to fruition. Literally.”
“Who takes care of this place?” I asked.
“Right now, I do,” Kurt said. “Along with being a scientist, I also studied botany. I grew up on a farm; both my parents came from generations of farmers. Growing up, they grew fruit and vegetables to sell at the market and taught me all of their secrets.
“We do have a gardener and another botanist in the hive, and they helped cultivate this. It’s been a godsend and has supplied us fresh fruit and vegetables for the past few years. Right now, it’s at the point where it is self-sufficient. We provide filtered air, special UV lighting, and it has an automatic watering system.” Kurt walked over and checked the berries. “These should be ready in a few weeks, which is why we didn’t have any in the oatmeal today.” Walking farther into the garden, Kurt stopped at another set of bushes. “Ahhh, there are a couple of ripe raspberries. He plucked them, then held out his hand to Finn and me.
“For us?” Finn asked.
“Of course.”
Finn walked toward him and took the berries from his palm. “Thank you so much.”
“I wish there were more. We are right in the middle of the next crop ripening. However, we do have some lettuce, cabbage, potatoes, and carrots that are ready.” He walked over and started picking the ripened vegetables from the ground and putting them into a nearby bucket.
“Would you like some help?” Finn asked.
“I’d love some, if you don’t mind getting your hands dirty.”
“My hands are hardly clean these days.” He looked over to me, and his joy was contagious.
“You go ahead.” I giggled. “I’m enjoying watching.”
In less than a minute, Finn was looking like a professional gardener, pulling carrots and potatoes from the ground. The smile on his face was brighter than I’d seen in a long time, and I could tell he was enjoying himself. Kurt gave him a few pointers on gardening, and I knew, one day, he would grow a beautiful garden for us.
“Kurt!” Megan’s voice made its way down the hall, before she appeared, running into the room and sliding to a halt. “There are soldiers outside. They say they’re searching for someone.” Her eyes flitted over to me, before landing on the grass at her feet.
HEAT RUSHED THROUGH ME, EVERY tendon and muscle in my body tensed. Finn turned with a handful of carrots and a furrow across his brow.
“All right.” Kurt sighed, throwing a few potatoes into the bucket, and handing it to her. “I’m sorry, my friends, but the tour must end.”
“Don't apologize. It was more than we ever could have asked for,” Finn said, his words flat.
As we left the garden and Kurt locked the door behind us, a sense of dread washed over me. Sweat beaded on my forehead and a drip made its way down the side of my face. I didn’t have time to panic; I had to keep my cool, and figure out a way to get out of here safely. But right now, we were trapped in a rabbit’s hole, waiting for the dogs to flush us out.
I couldn’t let them take me, or let them know I was with Finn.
Finn. They couldn’t know I had any connection to him. But then again, these were soldiers from the bunker we’d escaped from. They probably trained with him and knew who he was. He was pretty unforgettable.
“Finn, go ahead with Kurt, we’ll be right behind you. I need to talk to Megan about something in private.”
“Okay,” he said, stepping toward me and hugging me tightly. He then kissed my forehead. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“Lina, go with Kurt,” Megan urged.
“Yes, ma’a
m,” she responded, her head hanging low.
Watching as the group climbed out of the hatch, I prepared myself for the worst-case scenario. As much as possible, I didn’t want to call on Venge. She was a bitch, and I was still weakened from my last encounter with her.
Maybe Dr. Simon could help? No, he must’ve been compromised.
Holy shit! The conversation from the other day… maybe that’s why the soldiers were here. It was the only logical explanation.
As I turned to Megan, I noticed she was continuing to avoid my gaze, and I wondered how much she knew.
“What did the soldiers say?” I asked, in my mellowest voice.
“They said they are looking for a girl named Abigail Park. They told me you were extremely dangerous. That you killed a lot of people, and if we knew where you were, to use extreme caution.”
“It’s not like that,” I said. “I didn’t kill anyone on purpose.”
“What do you mean on purpose? So you did kill people?”
I sighed, knowing I’d have to tell her the whole truth for her to see the big picture. “I have the gift of telepathy. It’s a gift I didn’t know I had until recently. The government has been searching for telepaths, and I was one of four. They spent months isolating us from everyone we knew, while shooting us up with a mind-enhancing drug which was supposed to heighten our telepathy.”
“Why?”
“Because they want to use us to control the Arvies. If we can use our minds to control them, they will have the upper hand. Which sounds fine, but ultimately comes at our expense.”
“I don’t understand.”
“The serum wasn’t tested, just like the ARV-3.” I made eye contact, her eyes showing her confusion. “They just shot us up with large doses and watched. They even studied us like lab rats, by putting us in rooms with the monsters themselves, to see what we could do.”
“Did it work?” she asked. The fear in her eyes turned to want. She looked like a child who was being told a story, hanging onto every word of the storyteller.
“It did, but like I said, at a cost. One of the girls had a seizure and almost died. And do you think they gave a shit? No. They kept pumping us with more serum, pushing our limits with higher doses, until something inside of me snapped.”