Chapter 28: A Busy Little Town

 

The guardhouse turned out to be one of the old brick buildings in the center of town. More specifically, it was the closest of the one to the farmland's edge, and the large glass panes of the shopfront style windows allowed the mid-afternoon sunlight to cast a golden glow across the scuffed and battered oak hardwood floor.

A small reception area, two couches, a couple of chairs, and a coffee table, took up the space near the entry. The righthand side of the single-room building housed a row of four large metal desks, all with matching wooden chairs and radio charging stations. Maggie had eventually confiscated their weapons when they reached the guardhouse, and they were all laid out atop the desk at the back of the room where a younger guard was disassembling, inspecting, cleaning, and categorizing every gun and blade, and counting each round of ammunition. To their left, the wainscoted wall was lined with racks of recurve bows, dented personal equipment lockers, a single gun safe, a tiny kitchenette, and a set of stairs leading down to the basement. Overall, it was a fairly bare-bones setup, but it was more well organized than Eli had anticipated based on Maggie's initial lackluster attitude. He felt like he was sitting in a typical rural sheriff's office, except the couch was too comfortable for a sheriff's office.

Eli sat on the middle cushion of one of the faded brown leather couches with Vivi seated to his left and Julie to his right. He'd thought Sophia would've chosen to sit on the other couch, or maybe one of the chairs, but she'd surprised him by squeezing in beside Vivi. Maggie paced around anxiously behind the couch opposite theirs, where the governor sat, tapping a finger against his chin as he read the written statements Maggie had taken from them.

Based on his name, Eli assumed Equoni would be Native American, and that assumption proved correct. Equoni had high cheekbones, dark eyes, a neatly trimmed beard, and richly brown skin the color of milk chocolate. And he had to admit, the older man was in damn good shape for his age. He was surely in his late fifties, but he didn't look a day over forty. There were some pronounced gray streaks in his long black hair, but not many, and it was still thick enough to twist into a wide braid that hung down his back. Judging from the mud caked onto his leather boots, and the dirt on his denim pants and flannel shirt, the governor had been out working in the fields before he'd been called over to the guardhouse. In Eli's mind, the fact that the settlement's leader didn't shy away from manual labor automatically made him more respectable than anyone who'd served on Lancaster's council. It was a sure sign of good character when someone was willing to do a dirty job even when they didn't need to, and Equoni's heavily calloused hands were a testament of his strong work ethic.

"Maggie." The governors deep voice broke the silence.

"Yes, sir?" She stopped her nervous pacing.

"Have Meli or Maria confessed to any of this?" He asked.

"Maria made a full confession and wants to negotiate for a lighter punishment." Maggie's attitude was a lot more professional when the governor was around. "She's offered to give us a list of the names of all the boys they sold, and who they sold them to, and asks for banishment instead of execution in return. She also promised to cooperate under the condition that Julie not be allowed to hurt her anymore."

"Oh?" Equoni raised an eyebrow at Julie, who shrugged and feigned innocence with a smile. "And what about Meli?"

"She's got two broken teeth, a broken jaw, and her mouth's too swollen to speak clearly, so there's not been any confession from her. But Chenoa said she's been extremely belligerent and already tried to escape twice." Maggie said.

"Hmm." He dropped the papers onto the low table in front of him, then leaned back with a contemplative sigh. "For now, I want you to work with Maria to make that list. Hopefully, we can at least get the information to the boys families."

"Yes, sir." Maggie marched across the room and went downstairs to the basement, where the prisoners were being held.

"Now, then. Tell me more about what went down in Lancaster." Equoni prompted.

Vivi described the initial attack, how the JSU massacred hundreds of people, captured the survivors, and was torturing them for information. Julie spoke about how she and Eli returned from a sweeping assignment to find a devastated home, and their subsequent rescue mission to find and rescue Vivi. Finally, Eli told the governor about the dead JSU forces they'd found while on assignment out east, the JSU reinforcements that arrived in Lancaster as they escaped the mines, and his speculation that the invading army would learn of the settlements Lancaster traded with and how they'd likely move to claim the forest in the near future. He also explained his plan to capture JSU scouts as a way to convince the Coalition to take action to prevent such an invasion.

"Hmm. You all seem like fine folks, and I want to believe you, I really do, but this is all....well, a little hard to wrap my head around. Lancaster's more than ten times the size of our little community, and a whole hell of a lot better defended. We've been trading with them for three generations, and nothing like this has ever happened in all that time." Equoni breathed a sigh and shook his head. "But I'm not foolish enough to ignore a possible threat to my people." He turned around and called out to the young guard at the back of the room who was reassembling Eli's rifle, "Hailey!"

The petite brunette woman's attention snapped up from her work, and she hurriedly rose from her chair to approach Equoni's side.

"Yes, sir?" She asked.

"Were you listening to our conversation?"

"Um, yes, sir." She said awkwardly.

"Good, then you know what's going on. Think you, Scarlett, and Walela can go to Lancaster and check on the situation without being seen?" He scratched at his beard stubble and frowned.

"Absolutely." Hailey grinned with a fierceness that contradicted her small stature. "If we leave within the hour, we should be able to make it out of the forest before sunset."

"Alright, but read this before you leave." Equoni passed her one of the reports from the coffee table. "Sophia made note of the detours they had to take getting here. And there's a map of the Wastes in my office, ask Letty to fetch it for you." 

Hailey took the offered paper, promised they'd be safe on the journey, then jogged out the front door. 

"As for y'all..." Equoni's expression softened, and a little more of his relaxed southern drawl crept into his speech. "You're welcome to take refuge here in town, but there's a few things I'd like to discuss. I'll be frank with you; we need more people. Desperately. There's a lot of work to go around, and not enough hands to get it all done. So..." He leaned forward, "... I have a proposition for you. If you're willing to become permanent residents, we'll set you up with your own house, clothes, food, and whatever else you need to start your new life here. You'll be welcomed into our community, and we take care of our own. What do you think?"

Questioning glances passed between Julie, Vivi, and Eli, none of whom knew exactly how to respond to the governors offer. Vivi leaned close to Eli and whispered in his ear that she liked the cozy lakeside settlement and wouldn't mind if they stayed, then grumbled about how much she hated the red sand of the Wastes and how she'd be glad to not have to deal with it anymore. And, honestly, Eli had to agree. In fact, he felt much more at home in the forest than he ever did in the Wastes.

"Even if we did choose to stay permanently..." Julie said to the governor, "We still intend to fight the JSU and drive them out of Lancaster. They have our friends and family, my sisters, trapped in the mines, and we can't just leave more of them to die."

"Mm." The older man nodded with an appreciative grin. "Of course. When Hailey's team returns with her report on the JSU we'll gather the Coalition representatives to discuss a plan of action, and you'd all be welcome to join the meeting."

Julie looked meaningfully at Eli and Vivi, then nudged Eli with her elbow and lifted her eyebrows.

"Fair enough." Eli nodded then grasped Julie and Vivi's hands resolutely. Sophia said it would be fine, and they'd already discussed disclosing it when they stopped during their trip, but he mentally prepared himself for a negative reception to what he was about to say. "And would your offer still stand if I told you I intend to take my mother as my first wife, and have an intimate relationship with my sister as well?"

Equoni's eyebrows shot up, then he let out a surprisingly loud bark of laughter and slapped his thigh. "Damn, son. Both of  'em?" He wheezed between laughs. "I guess that's not really allowed in a big city like Lancaster anymore, huh?  No worries, though, we still allow it here. Hell, it'd be hypocritical of me to turn you away because of your relationships, seeing as my sister Chenoa is my sixth wife and all. We do have just one rule about it, though. You're only allowed one child per inter-family marriage. Too much of that sort of thing is bad for the community, after all."

"So we can still stay?" Vivi asked excitedly.

"Sure, sure, no problem." The governor waved a hand dismissively. "If you want to, that is."

Julie gazed affectionately at Eli, squeezing his hand and smiling radiantly. "Then, I think we'd like to live here." She told the governor without looking away from her son.

"Excellent!" Equoni clapped a hand against his knee. "We'll get your house sorted out tomorrow, and hammer out the finer details, but you folks need a place to stay tonight. Sophia, since you're already acquainted, would you mind letting them bunk at your house?"

"Not at all. We've got plenty of room to spare." She didn't even hesitate to answer.

"Welp, I guess that's settled, then." He smiled and pushed himself off the couch, rubbing his left knee as he stood, which reminded Eli of the way his grandfather massaged his arthritic knees whenever he'd sat still for too long. Eli, Julie, Vivi, and Sophia all stood with the governor, who reached across the coffee table to vigorously shake their hands with a firm farmer's grip. "Welcome to Mist Haven. My office is just across the street, second building from the end, the one with the green awning." He pointed out the front window. "Come see me in the morning and we'll get your work situation figured out. We could use more people in the fields, sawmill, and distillery, but we're also in dire need of more mechanics, craftsmen, and cullers. Think about what you'd like to do and we'll get you started by lunchtime tomorrow, if you're up for it."

"What're cullers?" Eli asked.

"They track roaming ferals in the woods and kill them before any herds can form up." The governor pulled out an ancient-looking silver pocket watch and frowned at the time. "Sorry to cut things short, but I really need to get going. We've got logs coming in, and I promised to help stack them for drying." He stuffed the watch into his pocket and hurried toward the door. "I'll see you all in the morning, bright and early." He waved as he left the guardhouse at a brisk pace.

"The governor's having to help stack logs?" Vivi raised an eyebrow. "Damn, he wasn't kidding about needing more people. Hey..." She pointed to the desk at the back of the room. "What about our weapons? Should we grab them?"

"Just leave them there." Julie said. "No one said we could have them back yet, and we don't want to give anyone reason to think we're starting any trouble."

"Heh." Vivi scoffed. "I don't need a gun to start trouble."

"We know." Eli rolled his eyes teasingly. "But maybe don't say that to the guards."

"Come on." Sophia said. "Let's go to my house before mom starts cooking dinner. She'll be mortified if I bring guests over and she didn't make enough to feed everyone."

They followed the green-eyed woman outside, and Eli took a deep breath of the clean, fresh air. It smelled of grass, trees, and lake water, and it brought a wide, peaceful smile to his face. It was a warm, sunny day, and there was a pleasantly cool breeze blowing across the lake and through the rural town. They strolled north, toward the shore, and Eli had a clear view of the log collection in progress. A mid-sized fishing boat with old car tires lining the exterior of it's hull towed dozens of logs right up to the boat ramp, and a pair of mules were used to pull the logs from the water and drag them to the lot beside the warehouse. A group of about six or eight people with timber hooks cooperated in maneuvering the heavy wet logs into the warehouse, which was where they'd probably be stacked to dry for the next year or so before being cut into useable lumber.

Sophia turned right, leading them away from the main street and onto a compacted dirt road, and Vivi pelted her with questions as they walked through the quiet neighborhood. Everything around them was so new and exciting to the youthful blonde. She asked about the different herbs people were growing in their gardens, how many trees it took to make a house, what they did for fun, how many kinds of animals were in the area; she basically just asked whatever question popped into her head. Julie looked on with a soft smile as Sophia tried her best to keep up with the onslaught of rapid-fire questions.

They strolled past several of the colonial style houses. An old woman with snowy white hair pulled up into a neat bun on the top of her head was seated on a nearby porch and busily shucking corn when she noticed them walking by. She smiled and waved to them, still holding an ear of corn, and Eli returned her greeting. He liked how polite and friendly the old lady was, but he also noticed the large knife on her belt, the smaller one tucked into her boot, and the crossbow leaning against the porch railing beside her.

Damn, I guess country folk never change. He chuckled to himself. Even the little old ladies are armed to the teeth.

The fifth house on the left had a large herb garden that smelled heavily of fresh mint out front, and three extra long clotheslines in the side yard, next to a small, ramshackle shed. All three clotheslines were completely filled with drying clothes, but they were all shirts, all the same color and style, and they ranged in size from extra large adult down to toddler and infant. And, apparently, this was Sophia's home. The gravel walkway crunched underfoot as Eli's family followed Sophia from the street to the house, and he couldn't help his curiosity.

"What's with all the shirts?" He asked.

"Mom's a tailor. We got a shipment of fabric in last week, and it looks like she's been busy."

Eli's boots clunked against the hardwood planks of the porch, and he noticed one of the boards felt a little loose. The governor said they needed more craftsmen, and regular maintenance like fixing loose floorboards was probably one of the tasks he'd have to do if he chose that job. That, and fixing the wonky front door. Sophia had to jiggle the handle and lift up to get the door to unlatch and push it open. He could do home repair work, but he'd been killing ferals pretty regularly for years. It's what he knew, and he was damn good at it, so he was inclined to sign up with the cullers.

"Mom!" Sophia yelled into the house as she let them into the entryway. "I'm home! And I brought guests!"

To their left was a doorway that opened up into what was presumably Sophia's mother's work area. A long table against the far wall was piled high on one end with unsewn pieces of clothing, and a roll of beige fabric was stretched out across the rest of the tabletop with a pair of scissors and a charcoal pencil laid atop the cloth. Directly across from the entryway, a staircase took up the left half of a wide hallway leading to the back of the house. Through the double-wide doorway to his right, Eli saw a cozy living room with a long couch, a cushy armchair, and a deep red area rug arranged in front of a gray stone fireplace. 

Sophia ushered them into the family room just as a woman emerged from a swinging door at the back of the room. The woman looked a lot like Sophia would if she had long hair, and was a couple decades older. It had to be her mother. The older woman's hair and eyes matched the beautiful green shades of Sophia's, but, strangely, she didn't share the same pointed ears.

Huh...that's odd. I guess the gene for long, pointy ears skipped a generation. I wonder if she still has insane super-human hearing...

"Sophia?" The older green-haired woman dried her wet hands on her denim pants as she crossed the room to draw her daughter into a tight welcome home hug. "Why're you back so soon? Is everything alright?"

"I'll explain later." Sophia said. "Mom, this is Eli, Julie, and Vivi. They just agreed to move to Mist Haven, but they need a place to stay tonight. I offered to let them stay here. Is that okay?"

Her mother looked over Eli's family. Vivi's lip was still a little swollen, the bruising on her ribs was visible, and her upper arm was still bandaged. Eli's face was bruised and his knuckles were still raw from his fight with Meli, and his bandages were visible on his forearm and ankle from the wolf attack. They looked rough, to say the lest. She smiled sympathetically at Julie and pulled her into a hug just like she'd done to Sophia.

"Of course it's okay for you to stay here." She quickly hugged Vivi as well, but gently shook Eli's hand instead of pulling him into the same embrace. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. My name's Charlotte. Welcome to our home." She said cheerfully.

"Thank you, Charlotte." Julie said, then Eli and Vivi also thanked the kind-hearted woman.

"Mom, do you have any clean clothes Eli can wear? I can lend Julie and Vivi some of mine, but I don't think dad's clothes will fit Eli."

"Hmm." Charlotte measured Eli with the scrutinizing eye of an experienced tailor. "Just a sec." She murmured, then hurried off into her work area and was back moments later with a stack of neatly folded, and, very likely, recently made clothes. "These should fit you just fine."

"Thank you, ma'am." Eli said as he accepted the gray denim pants, beige t-shirt, wool socks, and surprisingly soft loose-fitting boxer style underpants.

"The bathroom's down the hall, second door on the left. The third door's my room. You're welcome to go through my clothes and wear whatever you like." Sophia said to the two blondes. "Why don't you all get cleaned up while I talk with mom upstairs." 

Eli could tell from her tone and expression that she needed time to tell Charlotte about Lauren and the convoy in private, so he nodded that he understood. Charlotte looked a little confused, but allowed her daughter to lead her upstairs nonetheless.

Julie took Vivi to Sophia's room looking for clean clothes, while Eli decided to go ahead and shower while they were doing that. He went to the bathroom, turned the water on, and undressed while giving it time to warm up. After tossing his used bandages into the little wicker trash bin beside the sink, he picked up a clean washcloth from a small shelf piled high with towels, cloths, shaving supplies, and glass jars filled with what looked like homemade moisturizers and scented oils.

"Oh, heeeell yeah." He sighed when he stepped into the shower and let the hot water wash over him. The water pressure was rather weak compared to what he would've liked, but it was a fair trade off for having a functioning water heater. There were showers at Lancaster's militia headquarters, but the damned heater never worked, so it was always cold showers after long missions. Even better, the bar of soap in the shower was actually scented. It smelled faintly of lavender, honey, and some kind of berries he couldn't quite place. Not strawberry or raspberry, maybe mulberry?

The water ran red as it spiraled down the drain after pouring over his body due to the combination of dried blood and the fine, rust-colored dust from the wastes that always seemed to linger in his hair. He worked the floral scented soap into a lather on his palms and massaged the bubbles into his shaggy blonde hair, but was interrupted by the sound of the bathroom door opening. He pulled the thick, lacquered canvas shower curtain open just enough to poke his head out to see what was going on and found Julie placing her borrowed clothes next to Eli's on the sink's countertop.

"Mom?" Eli pushed his soapy hair back from his face.

Julie smirked devilishly and pulled her skimpy shirt off in one swift motion. "Is there room for two in there?"