His friend grabbed his hand and pumped it. “Thanks, man! Don’t worry, after all the walking we’ve done on patrols this trip will be a snap. We’ll be up and back with my family in no time.”
He somehow doubted that. They might be in decent shape but April and her family wouldn’t be, and traveling with children was always difficult. “Head to my place when you’re ready,” he said. “I’ll be waiting.” As he turned and walked away he cursed himself for an idiot, but he really couldn’t refuse his friend.
He was definitely going to strip his pack down to just the bare essentials for this trip. The only downside was that he’d probably have to bring food for more people in case Matt’s family didn’t have enough.
Chapter Ten
Human Tide
“Aspen Hill is a lovely town,” Mandy commented as they made their way to his house. “I’m glad FETF sent me to the evacuation shelter here.”
Matt gave the refugee an uncomfortable look. “FETF may have sent you, but we decided we’re not taking anyone in.”
The sunburned blond’s expression turned alarmed. “Trev promised me I could stay here, that he’d take care of me! Didn’t he ask you to get your parents to let me stay at your place until he got back from helping you?”
What? Matt frowned, trying to remember what Trev had said. His friend had just wanted her to have a temporary place to sleep, hadn’t he? Matt hadn’t intended to offer Mandy a permanent bed in his parents’ house. They were already struggling for food as it was.
But then again he’d done it for Sam, and Trev was risking himself going north with Matt to find April’s family. If Trev had promised to take care of the woman and Matt was taking him away so he couldn’t, didn’t that mean it was up to him to sort it out? Although wasn’t that more Lewis’s responsibility as Trev’s family?
“Yeah, I said I would,” he agreed reluctantly. “But I can’t speak for my parents.” He’d have to see if they could talk to Lewis about getting some of Trev’s food storage to feed her. That seemed reasonable at least.
She gave him a relieved look and took his arm. “Oh thank you! When Trev dumped me on you I thought he was trying to break his promise.”
That annoyed him. “Trev doesn’t break his promises. He just agreed to walk into whatever’s going on up in the cities to the north to help me, right?”
“Of course,” Mandy said, letting go of his arm. “I didn’t mean it like that. I was just afraid he’d forget in the bustle of getting ready to go.”
“Sure,” Matt said, turning to look ahead. He saw Sam stopped dead in middle of the street, staring at him with wide eyes, and in alarm he immediately felt like he’d done something wrong. He hurried to meet up with her, waving.
“Who’s this?” Sam asked. He’d expected her to sound suspicious but there was no trace of that in her words.
Matt hurriedly introduced the two women. “Trev promised her help, and I agreed to ask my parents to find her a bed since he’s going with me up to Midvale and won’t be here to take care of her.”
Sam’s eyes had started to soften at that, but as he finished she stiffened. “Wait, what?”
“We’re going up to find April’s family,” Matt said firmly. “I have to make sure they all get down here safely.”
The dark-haired woman’s eyes flashed angrily. “Are you insane? You saw what we escaped from and you want to go back into that?” Before Matt could answer she abruptly calmed herself, looking a bit embarrassed. “Sorry, I was just surprised. If we’re going we’re going.”
Now it was Matt’s turn to stiffen. “Wait, what? I can’t take you with me.”
“You’re not taking me with you, I’m going with you,” she corrected, although for the life of him Matt couldn’t see the distinction. “I want to help.”
Matt turned and gave Mandy a helpless look. “You just came down, can you tell her what she’d be getting into?”
“Oh believe me, I can,” the blond woman assured him. She stepped over to Sam and leaned close, whispering in the younger woman’s ear for quite a while. At first Sam looked merely attentive, but after a while her eyes widened in horror and she visibly paled, then abruptly threw her arms around Mandy and hugged her tight in sympathy.
Matt looked between them, somehow thinking he didn’t want to know what the refugee had said. “I’m sorry, Sam. I don’t want to leave you but at least I know you’ll be safe here.”
The dark-haired woman gave him a sad look, then gently turned Mandy towards the house. “Come on, let’s get you washed up and in clean clothes. It’s just cold water I’m afraid, but we’ve got soap and shampoo.”
Mandy laughed. “With these sunburns hot water would be a nightmare anyway. Thanks.”
Matt caught up to the two women as they made their way to his house, opening the door for them and explaining the situation to his mom as Sam led the refugee upstairs to the bathroom. It wasn’t ideal, having it there with no flowing water or power, but since it was the only bathroom in the house they didn’t have much choice but to haul water up the stairs for the toilet and for washing.
He just hoped the sewage didn’t back up. He had no idea what caused it or how likely it was, but if it happened that would be a nightmare. They’d have to plug the toilet and dig an outhouse or something. Although he seemed to recall his dad mentioning that the topic had been brought up in the meeting and residents were being encouraged to dig outhouses even before the sewer system failed. It made him feel bad about leaving, thinking of all the stuff his parents and Sam would need his help with.
His mom greeted the news of a new guest with equanimity, although she definitely agreed about getting some of Trev’s food from Lewis. “I’m happy to help a friend, and if he’s going with you we do owe him, but we just don’t have the food to take anyone else in. It would be impossible.”
“Did Trev really agree to take care of her?” Sam whispered, coming into the kitchen. “I mean Mandy seems nice and it’s a nice thing to do, but she’s a complete stranger. Also isn’t he the one who made a big deal about keeping refugees out?”
Matt could only shrug. The decision really didn’t make much sense to him, but he had to trust that his friend wasn’t being irrational. “How is she?”
“Fine I think. I loaned her some more sensible clothes and showed her the system we’re using to wash up.” Sam glanced back at the stairs, frowning. “Poor woman. She’s had a pretty terrible time.”
“Hopefully that’s all behind her.” Matt turned back to his mom. “I’m sorry to leave you to find a way to handle her but I don’t want to waste a minute. The sooner I can get April’s family back here the better off they’ll be.”
“I know, and I agree,” his mom said, coming over to give him a hug. “We’ll make do, right Sam?”
“I still think I should go with you,” Sam insisted stubbornly.
Matt didn’t know whether to be pleased or annoyed that she wanted to stay with him even after he’d already told her no. “It’s going to be dangerous up there. I don’t feel comfortable putting anyone but myself at risk.”
“You asked your friend to go,” she pointed out.
He hesitated, trying to think of a way to respond without insulting her. He was pretty sure she could handle herself, but he didn’t want her to be put in a situation where she had to. “Trev has already been in a fight. Some guy tried to rob him at gunpoint just outside his dorm room.” He patted the 9mm at his hip. “This is the would-be robber’s gun, if that tells you anything.”
She opened her mouth, still stubborn, and Matt quickly cut her off. “Besides, I’d feel a lot better about things if you were here to help my parents. Things are going to be tough and they might not be able to handle it alone. Right, Mom?”