Once we were finished eating Sister Frances took us to a large locker room with a communal shower. The nun retrieved three terrycloth white robes and towels and provided us with soap, shampoo, and razors. She stood by awkwardly in the locker room and stared at us.
Callie asked, “Are you going to watch us?”
Sister Frances pantomimed washing our clothes.
“Oh,” I said. Queasiness filled my gut as the déjà vu of teenage awkwardness and the struggle of sexual discovery from my own high school locker room came raging to the forefront of my mind.
I looked to Megan and a flicker of fear washed over her face. My defensive nature was on full alert. She had to know Callie and I were a couple and just because we were gay didn’t mean we were fucking animals. I was about to say something derisive but caught myself when she touched the pocket where she’d stowed the keys. She was worried about being caught with them.
I took Callie’s purse off her shoulder and she made a small disgruntled sound as if to ask me what the hell I was doing.
“We can put our things in Callie’s purse,” I said.
I made a show of dropping my cell, wallet, and knife in the purse before using my body to hide Megan from Sister Frances.
“Oh, thanks,” Megan said. She covertly added the keys before retrieving her cell, ID card, and a few other small items she had in her pockets.
I placed the purse on one of the benches and Callie took a seat beside it.
We avoided looking at one another as we disrobed. Megan appeared as uncomfortable as me with the communal shower, which struck me as odd, as I thought the situation was one someone in the military must’ve dealt with quite a bit. Callie never had shame when it came to getting naked regardless of whoever was around. When we first started dating she’d reluctantly told me about her brief stint as a topless dancer at a gentleman’s club on the weekends. About how she hated it but it helped pay the bills and it was something with flexible hours she could do while she went to school for hair. The job also helped her get over any insecurity she had with being nude, not that she had much to be insecure about.
While Callie was seated I helped to remove her bandage. A lot of the swelling had subsided. Sister Frances collected our clothing once we were done. I entered the shower first, helping Callie as she tentatively walked on her unbandaged foot. Megan lingered in the entry until Sister Frances left with our clothes.
Megan avoided looking at us as she approached a shower head opposite of us and said, “I wanted to keep an eye on the purse.”
“Why?” Callie said.
I said, “I’ll tell you later.”
I showered in a hurry and didn’t bother with shaving. I didn’t see the point in our current situation but I’d at least take advantage of the monastery’s generosity and take the razor with me. Callie took her time and even shaved her pussy which made Megan extremely uncomfortable since it appeared she was keen on the all-natural look. It made me uneasy to watch Callie pull unsteady acrobatic poses as she shaved. I was afraid she was going to reinjure her lame ankle or shave her labia off.
I exited the shower after Callie assured me she could walk on her own and was in the middle of drying off when Sister Frances returned with three new toothbrushes and a fresh round of ice for Callie’s ankle. I pulled on the robe even though I wasn’t dry and wrapped my hair in the towel and could feel my skin flush as Sister Frances seemed to be appraising me. I could’ve fucking swore she gave me bedroom eyes when she handed me a toothbrush and pointed at a tube of toothpaste on a shelf above one of the sinks. I was brushing my teeth when Megan exited the shower. She took a seat on the bench by Callie’s purse and waited to brush her teeth until after I was finished.
I fished a brush out of Callie’s bag, used it, and handed it off to Megan once she joined me on the bench. Megan and I sat awkwardly in silence as Sister Frances observed us and we waited on Callie. Callie finally exited the shower, pink from the hot water, and Sister Frances had her sit in a towel as she iced her ankle again before rewrapping it. Callie brushed her hair and the nun dropped our towels in a laundry bin by the shower entrance.
After Callie was done brushing her teeth I gathered our shoes and her purse and she used both handles gripped together like a staff as Sister Frances led us to a Spartan room with four cots. Callie took the cot closest to the door. Sister Frances lowered her head in an excusatory fashion before exiting the room and leaving the door open.
Megan carefully glimpsed out into the hallway before shutting the door as quietly as possible. She pushed on the knob as if she were checking to see if there was a locking mechanism before placing her foot in front of the door and bracing against someone opening it.
“When do we leave?” I whispered. I sat our shoes on the floor and removed Callie’s purse from my shoulder.
“Leave?” Callie said, a tad too loud.
I laid my forefinger to my lips as a sign for her to keep her voice low.
Megan spoke to Callie, “Something isn’t right. They keep saying there are other people here but we haven’t seen or heard anyone other than the two Sisters.” She turned to me. “I think our best bet is the base but we need our clothes before we can do anything. There will be provisions there and it’s protocol to set up a line of defense and protection in emergency situations like this.”
“But we have food and a place to stay here,” Callie said. “And I’m scared to go back out there. You said yourself the ratio of men to women is high on the base and it’s possible it has been overrun.”
“I can’t make any guarantees,” Megan said. “That’s true. But I’m putting faith in our country’s emergency response training. Because there’s one thing certain… if the base has been overthrown then the probability the rest of the emergency response system has been destroyed is high. And if that’s the case then we are all royally fucked unless we band together and fight back or find a cure or answer or anything that’ll put a stop to what is happening.” She waited a beat to let what she said sink in. “Now, it’s my duty to protect and to serve and I’ll do everything in my power to do so but I can’t help anyone without more information or recruiting more emergency responders. The two of you are welcome to stay here if you want but I’m leaving regardless. I can send troops to clear this area once a plan is established and we resolve this thing.”
“Kitty Cat,” I said to Callie. I sat on the cot beside her. “These people are creepy. I think we’d be better if we went with Megan.”
She made a hesitant but agreeable noise.
I set her purse in my lap. “Megan got the keys for the bus.” I began rooting around in her bag until I found the keychain. None of the keys looked like a car key. “Which one do you think it is?”
“The one with the Blue Bird tag,” Megan said.
I fished out the small silver key. “Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“Do you know how to drive a bus?”
“I’ve driven a deuce and a half. I think I can figure out a bus.”
Callie and I stared at her as if she’d spoken a second language.
Megan added, “A troop hauler. It’s similar to a bus.”
“Wait,” Callie said. “You’re stealing the bus? Why don’t you ask if you can borrow it? Then you can see if there’s anyone else who wants to leave with you. Maybe the Sisters would want to go too.”
“First, in my experience,” Megan said, “religious figureheads aren’t keen on cooperating with the government if they think their beliefs or power are being dismissed or attacked.” She shrugged. “Separation of church and state. Second… I don’t think anyone else is here.”