One by one, people wandered into the community center searching for something to eat. Haley, Emily, and Sandy were the first to poke their noses in, sitting themselves at the table as Marnie brought them hot bowls of soup. Jodi, Maru, and Abigail were next, filthy from their work in the fields.
Not long after the women finished, the men paraded in. Kent and Demetrius lead the pack, followed closely behind by Shane, Alex, Sam, Clint, Gunther, Morris, Elliott, Lewis, Linus, and Sebastian. They, too, were sweaty and dirty as they filled the kitchen, looking eagerly on at the hot pot of soup.
“I just don’t think there will be enough,” Leah teased. She filled more bowls, making a point to hand the first few to Lewis and Linus, first. Clint and Gunther were next, then Kent and Morris, until only Shane, Alex, Sam, Elliott, and Sebastian remained.
Leah shrugged. “Looks like that’s all of it.”
“There’s enough to feed an army in that pot,” Sam whined.
“Must be your imagination,” Leah said.
“Must be our starving, malnourished brains,” Alex muttered.
Leah laid out the bowls in front of her and dragged the pot of soup over to them. “Fine,” she said. “But I’m off duty now. Serve yourselves.”
She left them to fight over the ladle. She and Najia made their way out of the warm kitchen, collapsing onto the couch.
“What a day,” she said.
“I don’t know what was harder,” Najia said. “The harvesting, or the drinking.”
Leah met her gaze and winked at her. “And tomorrow we get to do it all over again.”
“Except I don’t think Marnie will want to drink with us again.”
“Who would have thought we’d be stuck in a hum-drum routine again?” Leah said. “Get up, work, go to bed, repeat.”
“Makes the end of the world seem so tedious,” Najia said.
“We’re not even done,” Leah said. “We’ll have to do dishes.”
Najia groaned. “I’d rather be back in the darkness than do dishes. It was the one chore I hated as a kid.”
“Chores. That’s exactly what it is. We’ll make the kids do it.”
“We can’t do that,” Najia said slowly, considering the idea.
Leah shrugged. “Why not? They need to learn some responsibilities, too.”
“I guess we could always ask them…”
“Or tell them. We are adults, here.”
“Is that considered child labor?”
“Who’s gonna sue us? There’s no government.”
“There could be a trial,” Najia pointed out. “Lewis could be the judge since he would be an unbiased party.”
Leah shook her head. “He’s buddies with your gramps. I don’t know if that makes him unbiased.”
“Clint, then,” Najia said. “I hardly know him.”
“And if we’re found guilty,” Leah said, “we could be hanged.”
“I think that’s a bit extreme.”
“Put in the stocks?” Leah suggested.
Najia nodded. “Yeah. Stocks. For like, a day or two.”
“Seems appropriate.”
Shane made his way to them, sitting beside Leah and stretching his legs out. “What are we discussing so intently?” he asked, his bowl of soup in hand.
“Punishment of child labor,” Najia said.
Shane raised an eyebrow and shoved a spoonful of soup in his mouth. “What?” he said when he swallowed.
“You know,” Leah said. “For making the kids do the dishes. In case someone sued. Like Jodi or Marnie.”
“Clint would be the judge,” Najia said. “If we’re guilty, we’d be sent to the stocks.”
“We have stocks?” Shane asked.
“Not yet,” Leah said. “But it’s only a matter of time. One of us is bound to fuck up. We have a community here. Laws need to be enforced.”
“I think those are commandments,” Shane pointed out.
“How about don’t be an asshole?” Leah said.
“Hey,” Shane started. “Unless it’s in writing and signed into law, I can be a dick all I want.”
“Yeah, well, you can clean your own dishes, then,” Leah muttered.
“What happened to your damn legs?” Najia asked, suddenly noticing the dried blood caked on his skin.
Shane lifted them, peering at the wounds for a moment before shrugging and returning to his dinner. “Attacked by a tree. You should see Sebastian. Kicked his ass.”
“They’re too stupid to chop some friggen wood,” Leah said.
“Hey,” Shane started, pointing his spoon at her. “That tree went rogue on us. We’re lucky we came out alive.”
“Well, can you build me a damn place to live before you guys go off and get yourselves killed?” Leah said.
“Just promise you’ll cremate me,” Shane said. “And put me in a big jar so I can freak everyone out.”
“Oh, I’ll cremate you,” Leah muttered.
“Excuse me, ladies,” Shane said as he finished off his soup and stood up. “I have a little girl to play dolls with.” He tipped an imaginary hat at them. “Good evening.”
“You were right,” Leah said as he rounded the corner into the kitchen. “He is different, now. He’s a total fucking sucker.”
Najia smiled. “I think it’s cute.”
“I kind of liked him better as an ass. Made things more interesting.”
Najia shrugged. “You could make fun of him for playing with dolls.”
Leah sighed. “I could. And I probably will. But for now, I’ll let him think he got away with that comment. I’ll give him his moment with Jas.”
“That’s so considerate of you.”
“Someone has to keep him on his toes,” she said, pushing herself off the couch. “You’ve been slacking in that department.”
“What?”
“Come on, you guys would bicker like siblings. Now you barely seem to look at each other.”
“It’s been a hectic few days,” Najia mumbled.
“What’s your deal? You’re not yourself.”
Najia shrugged. “Maybe I am.” She sighed. “The adrenaline is gone. We’re safe. I guess I let my asshole guard down.”
“I kinda liked that about you.”
“Things are good here,” Najia said. “Might as well enjoy it while we can.” She got to her feet and her and Leah walked outside.
“While we can? What could happen?”
“Anything,” Najia said. “We don’t know how long this will last.”
“I guess you’re right,” Leah said softly. “Make every moment count.”
“Yeah,” Najia said. “Something like that.”
“But don’t tell the guys that,” Leah said. “They’ll read too much into it and try to have their way with us.”
Najia shook her head. “Oh, obviously. I’m not an idiot.”
“I think I want to live in the forest,” Leah said as they walked towards the southern forest, wandering aimlessly. “Cute little cabin where I can work on my art. Just like the one I was staying at before all hell broke loose.”
“That sounds nice,” Najia said.
Leah stopped by the edge of the lake. “Right here,” she said. “Overlooking the lake and the trees.” She held her hands out in front of her. “Some flowers over here. A big fireplace for in the winter. One room will be much easier to heat up.”
“I like it.”
“And a big shelf in the corner full of wine.”
Najia grinned. “I really like it.”
Leah met her gaze and smiled. “You’ll have to come visit. We’ll drink wine and gossip and do nothing all day.”
“Sounds perfect.”
“A perfect little place in the depths of hell.” Leah sighed.
“Hell is no where close to here,” Najia reminded her.
“But it’s still there. You said so yourself; things won’t be perfect for long.”
“So we make the best of things while we can.”
Leah nodded. “Right.” She looked out over the lake, taking Najia’s hand in hers. “Every moment counts.” She met Najia’s gaze and smiled.
Najia looked into Leah’s blue eyes and for a split second, her heart seemed to stop. Her breath was caught in her throat. Before she realized what was happening, her eyes were closed, and her lips were against Leah’s. Najia pulled away.
“I’m sorry,” Leah said quickly. “What’s wrong?”
Najia hesitated and smiled at her feet. “I, uh, don’t know what to do with my hands.” She lifted her arms up like a limp doll. “It’s been a long time since I… kissed someone willingly.”
“Well,” Leah said. “I’m not a drunk asshole.” She took Najia’s hands in hers and kissed her again. This time, Najia let her hands move to Leah’s hips. Leah’s hands moved to her neck where her fingers interlocked, pulling Najia closer to her.
