“Amber! I thought I heard your voice. As I said this morning, I am more than ready to return to my ranch. I have goats to milk.”
Amber took the woman’s elbow and attempted to return her to the classroom, but the woman shook off Amber’s hand and planted her feet.
“You’ve avoided me all day. I won’t be dismissed any longer.”
Amber’s cheerful smile was gone like she’d flipped a switch. Her green eyes narrowed and her voice hardened. “Moira, now is not a good time. Our new arrivals are exhausted, hungry, and wet. I need to show them to their rooms.”
Moira crossed her arms over her chest. “Then I will wait right here for you. You cannot put me off, and I will not stay away from my ranch for one more day. Had I known it was this difficult to get out of Madras, I would’ve remained on my property.”
“All right then, just let me get these good people settled. I’ll be back to speak with you in a moment.”
“I’ll be here—though here is absolutely not where I want to be.” Moira leaned against the door to the classroom and stared unblinkingly at Amber.
Amber’s cheery smile was strained as she turned her back to Moira and continued to usher them down the hall.
None of the four of them spoke, but Stella and Mercury shared a looked that telegraphed “What the fuckery?”
Just before they reached the end of the hall, marked by signs on the concrete walls that said “Girls Restroom” and “Boys Restroom,” Amber stopped, opened a classroom door, and walked into the dark room. “Hang on just a sec so I can find the lamp. We want to save as much energy as we can, so we’re only using a very few of the florescent lights in the hallways, cafeteria and gym. It’s a blessing that our light fixture store is always closed Sundays, so all of the lamps were turned off, and those that didn’t fall over and break in the quake still work.”
There was a click and yellow light glowed from a floor lamp to illuminate a modest classroom where the desks had been replaced by four cots, each neatly arranged against one of the four walls. Tacked to the ceiling in front of each cot were long, floor-to-ceiling drapes. They’d been tied back, but could be easily closed to provide some privacy. She turned to the four of them, motioned for them to join her in the classroom, and closed the door softly behind them.
“Before we continue, I really must apologize for that little scene with Moira.”
Stella spoke immediately. “Why can’t she go home?”
“It’s sad, really, and under normal circumstances I wouldn’t share this with strangers—though I mean no offense in calling you that.”
“No offense taken,” Mercury said. “We are strangers to you—just like you are a stranger to us.”
“Well, yes, I suppose that’s true. Anyway, poor Moira is mentally ill. She thinks she has a goat ranch about ten miles outside town. She does live on the remains of what used to be a ranch, but several years ago she went bankrupt. She hasn’t had a goat in years and has been selling eggs and homegrown vegetables at our farmers market to get by. This disaster has unhinged her mind. We’re trying to get her to stay in town because we’re worried about her.”
When Mercury and Stella said nothing, Karen spoke up. “That is sad. I commend you for working to keep her safe.”
“Well, we’re a Christian town. We take care of one another here in Madras.” Amber’s smile blazed at Karen. She included Mercury, Stella, and Ford in her show of exuberance, but when none of them spoke, she cleared her throat and continued. “Ford, the only other classroom here that has men in it is already fully occupied. I would take you to one of our other shelters where there are a few other men you could room with, but you did say you wanted to be close to your ladies.”
“That I did,” Ford said.
“Well, the classroom right next to this one is the last empty one in this wing of the school, and I thought I’d put your ladies there.” She looked through long lashes at Ford and added. “You might not know it yet, but this thing has been pretty hard on men. There aren’t many who have survived, and we want to be sure those of you still with us are happy.”
Beside Mercury, Stella snorted softly.
“This will work perfectly,” said Ford.
“Good! Now, ladies, like I said, your room is just next door. You might have noticed the restrooms are down the hall. Take a right at the restrooms, and about halfway down the hall you’ll find the gym on your left. We have the doors open so that it’s easy for you to find the locker rooms. The girls’ is marked clearly on the left of the gym—the boys’ on the right. The locker rooms have been fully stocked with towels, soap, shampoo, and such.” She grinned and lowered her voice conspiratorially. “As I already said, we do have hot water, though please keep your shower time to a minimum. You wouldn’t want to make the generator work too hard. When you’re all showered and refreshed, keep going down the hall from the gym, and you’ll come to the cafeteria. I believe there’s still some dinner if you’re hungry.”
“We’re definitely hungry,” said Ford.
Amber laughed and gave his shoulder a little push. “Of course you are! Would you like me to show you to the cafeteria?”
“No, I believe I’ll take a shower first and change into some dry clothes,” Ford said. “Then the ladies and I will see about dinner.”
“Well, I’ll show your ladies next door. Oh, one more small thing. Tomorrow we’d like all of you to stop by our makeshift hospital in the courthouse—don’t worry, we’ll shuttle you there after breakfast,” Amber said.
“We’re feeling fine,” said Stella.
“But I see Ford has been wounded. I’m sure he’ll need that dressing changed. And Mayor Cruz asks that all survivors take a blood test. Just a little stick to fill up a small vial—there’s nothing to it.” Amber waved her hand as if brushing away even the thought that the blood test would be uncomfortable.
“Why does the Mayor want us to take a blood test?” Mercury asked.