Other Under Shadow - An Apocalyptic Fic [chapter 80 added] Complete

Gil pulled the young woman behind him, raising his rifle, waiting for the Shadow People to come around the corner. Shane stepped forward beside him, readying his own gun, and Alex quickly did the same.

Najia slid a new magazine into her gun and cupped her hands around the grip. In the dim light, she saw Shane’s eyes on her from over his shoulder.

“Don’t even think about it,” he hissed.

Najia ignored him as she stood beside Gil and took aim.

“I’m gonna kick your ass,” Shane muttered.

“Not if the Shadow People do it first,” Najia said, holding her position steady.

“My money’s on the Shadow People,” Alex said.

They stiffened as four shadowy creatures rounded the corner, hissing violently when they saw the humans standing before them. The dim lights went out immediately as the creatures scattered around them. The humans quickly pressed into one another, back to back, their weapons steady. Their eyes darted around the darkness, searching for any sign of the glowing eyes, but when the eyes revealed themselves, it was too late.

Gil’s rifle went off first, illuminating the room brightly for a split second. He grunted and Najia felt his body leave her side, falling to the ground.

“Gil!” Najia dropped to her knees, searching for him with her hands until his hand found hers, squeezing tightly.

“I’m fine,” he grunted.

Another gun went off, followed by another, then another. The woman shrieked from somewhere behind Najia. A flashlight clicked on and a beam of light pierced the darkness. Abigail’s face was just barely illuminated in the glow of her flashlight.

The Shadow People continued to hiss, their voices moving quickly around them, making Najia dizzy. She tried to follow their sounds, tried to catch them as the light caught their shadowy edges, but they disappeared into the shadows just as quickly as she found them.

Gil’s rifle went off once more and a shrieking hiss immediately followed. Abigail’s light bounced erratically off the walls and around the room. Footsteps echoed, moving quickly through the room. Najia spun around as she heard the sound of glass shattering. A warm breeze brushed her face and she could distinctly hear the faint sound of an engine growing louder, moving closer.

Flashlight beams illuminated the room from the broken window by the ceiling. The Shadow People continued to screech as the lights brushed over them. Abigail’s light moved to the window where Marlon leapt down on to the floor, his sword in hand. The engine grew louder. From above them, through the ceiling, they could hear the sound of glass shattering.

More guns went off, illuminating the room it their bright flashes. Najia felt a hand on her shoulder as Gil pulled her towards the prisoners.

“Get them out of here,” he hissed at her.

Without hesitation - and eager to get out of the erupted war zone - Najia grabbed the woman’s wrist and pulled her out of the line of fire, towards the wall. Najia felt her way through the room, the wall at her back, as they hurried low toward the other side and back up the stairs on to the ground floor.

Headlights lit the room where they entered, the Hummer half inside, and half outside, Harvey still at the wheel. He stared at them as they rounded the corner, then stumbled out of the vehicle.

Red lights flashed silently along the walls, the alarm triggered as Harvey motioned them towards the vehicle. Najia pushed the woman ahead and waited with her gun drawn as the two prisoners jumped into the Hummer. Harvey climbed back into the driver’s seat and revved the engine, calling to her.

Najia spun on her heels as a cold hand grabbed at her and dragged her backwards, onto the floor, just out of the safety of the headlights. Her gun fell beside her, out of her hand. The dark, boney fingers gripped at her neck as the creature hissed in her face.

Najia grabbed at the hands, gasping desperately for air, but they were too strong. She patted the tiled floor frantically in search for the weapon, but her lungs started to burn and her head spun, deprived of oxygen.

The sound of gun fire grew louder as Najia felt herself fading quickly. She did not have the strength to fight back any longer. She let her body succumb to it’s imminent death and in that moment, she felt more relaxed than she ever had.

*****

Shane threw himself at the creature, knocking it off of Najia’s limp body. He straddled the creature quickly, pressing his gun against it’s head and pulling the trigger. He froze in horror as the head seemed to explode from under him. A dark, shadowy fog seemed to ooze and seem from the beast.

Shane stumbled backwards as he searched for Najia, Harvey was at his side as he pulled Najia onto his lap.

“Najia! Why didn’t you help her?” Shane pushed Harvey away from him, angry.

“I didn’t… I couldn’t…” Harvey stuttered.

“Get in the damn car,” Shane yelled to him, pulling Najia into him and getting to his feet. He threw her over his shoulder and fired two more shots as the creatures moved in around them before shoving his gun into Harvey’s hand.

Harvey stumbled after Shane as he bolted towards the Hummer and yanked open the back door. He grabbed his gun from the doctor, glaring at him.

“Fix it,” he demanded. He raised his gun once more and waited as the creatures moved in, firing at every opportunity that presented itself until Maru and Sebastian ran around the corner.

“We need to go, now,” Sebastian shouted to Shane over the sounds of battle.

“Working on it,” Shane muttered, but Maru pulled at his wrist violently.

“We planted a bomb.”

Shane stared at her, dumbfounded. “A bomb?”

“Long story,” Sebastian said quickly. “We’ve got sixty seconds.”

“We need to find Gil, Marlon, and Alex,” Shane said, his heart racing. His eyes darted, watching for the gun fire that came from Alex and Gil, just across the room.

“We don’t have time.” Maru’s voice shook.

“We can’t leave them to die,” Shane hissed. “Don’t you think you should have mentioned that you were going to plant a bomb?”

“Last minute decision,” Sebastian said, pushing his sister towards the vehicle.

Maru threw herself into the driver’s seat and threw the vehicle into gear. Shane hurried after her, pulling the door open and pushing her across, sliding in behind the wheel, muttering under his breath. He looked over his shoulder quickly as Najia gasped for breath in the back seat, her head in Harvey’s lap. Satisfied, he slammed on the accelerator and the vehicle lurched into the room, clearing the rubble with ease.

The creatures scattered as the headlights washed over them, illuminating Gil, Marlon, and Alex. Shane paused just long enough for them to climb into the vehicle before slamming down on the gas once more, crashing through the large glass windows at the front of the building.

The vehicle tore through the deserted roads, leaving the building behind quickly. In the rear view mirror, he watched as headlights tore into the road behind him, and then the building ignited into flames suddenly. He navigated through the abandoned city and back onto the interstate, stopping only when the glow of the fire faded behind them and he was sure they weren’t followed.

He threw the car into park and sighed. Maru jumped out first, running towards her father, leaving Sebastian standing on the pavement, his arms crossed. Gil, Marlon, and Alex fell out next, eager to get out of the cramped car as they stretched their arms and legs.

Shane turned in his seat. Najia lay across Harvey and the two rescued prisoners, her hands on her head.

“I’m gonna be sick,” she muttered.

“How about you two?” Harvey asked, turning his gaze away from Najia. “Are you hurt?”

The woman shook her head. “No, thanks to you guys.”

“C’mon,” Harvey said, sliding himself out from under Najia and out of the Hummer. The man and the woman followed suit, leaving Najia alone in the back seat. After a moment, she sat up, her head still in her hands. She met Shane’s gaze and sighed.

“Hey,” she said softly. “Where the hell are we?”

“The interstate,” he said. “Blew up the building. It was good. Shame you missed it.”

“My body hurts,” Najia groaned.

Shane pushed the door open. “At least you’re alive,” he said as the door slammed behind him.

im sorry im so bad at fight scenes xD

 

Najia yawned. Her lungs ached, but they welcomed the air. She pulled the blanket that Shane had given her around her shoulders and stared into the flames. Shane had driven the Hummer through the rest of the night as she slept in the back seat under Harvey’s watchful eye, stopping just long enough for Gil and Marlon to have their coffee.

As they sat around the fire, she had learned the names of the two prisoners they were able to rescue; Penny and Morris. Penny was quiet - shy. A preschool teacher back in the city. Morris a manager at JoJa Mart. Najia liked Penny, but Morris was an arrogant ass - even more so than Shane. She found herself cringing when he spoke.

Shane handed her a mug of coffee and smiled when she met his gaze. She accepted it without a word but did not drink it. She realized that everyone was looking to her, as if waiting for an answer.

“Maybe not,” Gil muttered.

“Sure,” Alex said. “We can all just squeeze into two cars. No problem at all. It’s not like we don’t all reek or anything.”

“What?” Najia finally spoke.

“Give her a break,” Harvey said. “She’s had a long night.”

“There were some abandoned cars not far from here,” Marlon said. “Before we found their little headquarters there.”

“Oh,” Najia said, then quickly, “Sure, yeah, I can hot wire them.”

“Listen, kid,” Gil started. “If that chokehold was too much for you-”

“I said I would take care of it,” Najia barked at him.

They fell silent. Uncomfortable, Najia stood and forced a smile. “Chokeholds,” she tried to laugh off. “Kinky.”

She made her way back to the car, sliding into the back seat and let her head rest against the head rest.

“Are you feeling okay?” Harvey’s voice asked her.

Najia peered at him and closed her eyes. “Yes.”

“You could have suffered a concussion,” he muttered. “Does your head hurt? Open your eyes, lemme see-”

“I’m fine,” Najia cut him off. She met his gaze and smiled. “Really.”

Harvey pinched his lips and nodded. “Okay. I just worry.”

“You don’t have to worry.”

“It’s my job to worry about my patients.”

“Well,” Najia started. “I’m not a patient, and you don’t have a job.”

“I’m certainly not getting paid,” Harvey mumbled.

Najia dug through her bag. “I can pay you in my last chocolate bar,” she offered.

Harvey smiled. “Nonsense. I’m joking. Saving lives is what I do.”

Najia shifted uncomfortably. “Well,” she said. “I guess I owe you thanks.”

“I’m not really the one you should be thanking,” he admitted. “Anyone can do CPR.” Harvey straightened as Shane approached. Shane shook a bottle of asprin in his hand.

“We ran out of bitch pills,” he said as he leaned against the car.

“Don’t let her take too many,” Harvey instructed. “I can only do so much out here. Brain bleeds are out of my control.”

“Got it,” Shane said. “Only ouchies that can be fixed with a bandaid.”

Harvey smiled. “That would be appreciative.” He made his way back to the fire.

“So, I have to thank you?” Najia asked, taking the bottle from him and popping a pill.

“Depends,” he started.

“For saving my life.”

“Oh, that,” he said with a shrug. “Nah, that was Harvey. I only, you know, kicked a shadow bastard’s ass.” He paused. “If I had known you were into chokeholds, though, I wouldn’t have bothered.”

“Funny,” Najia muttered, pushing passed him and getting out of the car. She looked down the highway, into the darkness, and sighed.

“What’s wrong?” Shane asked, sounding aggravated with her.

“Tired.”

“Well, cut the shit,” he said. “We’ve gotta get moving, and I don’t want to be stuck in the car with those morons.”

“Who said I wanted to be stuck in a car with you?”

Shane feigned being hurt, his hand on his chest. “And I thought we had something special.”

Najia met his gaze and smiled. “I know, Sweetie, but I don’t get tied down to no one.”

“Players gonna play,” Shane said, shaking his head.

*****

Just as Marlon said, they found a group of cars abandoned just off the interstate in a large parking lot. They waited patiently as Najia and Shane hot wired three more vehicles, bringing a total of five vehicles into their convoy. They split themselves between the vehicles; Shane and Najia in one, Penny, Abigail, and Leah in another, Marlon, Gil, Alex, and Harvey in the Hummer, Demetrius, Sebastian, and Maru together, and Morris bringing up the rear. Gil took the lead in the Hummer, which surprisingly still pushed on despite its forceful entrance the night before, with Shane at the wheel behind them. They drove in silence for a while before Najia finally spoke.

“You know how they say your life flashes before your eyes when you die?”

Shane hesitated. “Sure.”

“It’s not true.”

Shane smiled. “Maybe you’re life was just really boring.”

“Maybe I’ve been dead this whole time.”

“Plot twist.”

“If I could do one thing differently,” she started, “I probably would have gone to college and slept with more people.”

“Are… are those two in the same category?” Shane asked.

“Well, why else do you go to college?”

“Touche.” Shane paused. “I never went, either.”

“Virgin.”

“No,” he said quickly. “Definitely not.”

“Slut.”

“I prefer the term bachelor.”

“Lonely slut.”

“Look who’s talking.”

“I just said I would have slept with more people. Therefore, I can’t be a slut.”

“Smarty-pants slut.”

“At least I wasn’t a lonely arrogant ass.”

“You’re more arrogant then you realize.”

“Here we go again.”

Shane turned to her and smiled. “Just like old times.”

Najia rolled her eyes. “Are we there yet?”

“Yes.”

“No, we’re not.”

“Well, that sucks.”

Najia looked through her window, trying to imagine the landscape. The coast couldn’t be far. Couple days, tops.

“What do you think we’ll see?” Najia asked.

“Honestly?” Shane hesitated. “Maybe some bodies.”

Najia turned to him. “That’s morbid.”

Shane shrugged. “Welcome to war.”

“What about Marnie and Jas?”

Shane did not answer her.

“What will you do if they’re not there?”

“They’ll be there,” he said, not taking his eyes off the road.

Najia settled into the seat and looked out the window. They’ll be there. And they’d go north and find Stardew Valley, where her grandfather would be waiting, just as he promise.

 

The convoy of survivors turned off the highway one last time, heading to the first store they could find to replenish their supplies before reaching the coast. They drove around the city in an attempt to draw out any of the shadow beasts, but the city seemed quiet and deserted. They made their way through the parking lot, between abandoned cars, parking and preparing themselves for whatever may lie in the store.

Najia shoved a loaded clip into her gun and flicked on her flashlight. Shane, Alex, Morris, Marlon, Maru, and Sebastian prepped themselves with their own weapons and lights and together, they made their way inside the store.

Najia wandered the aisles aimlessly until she came across a toy section. She peered at the dusty packages of action figures and dolls. She kicked at a ball on the floor and it bounded into the next aisle, stopping at a container of pool noddles. She fished through them, pulling out a lime green noodle, and hunted the aisles until she found Shane staring into a glass case.

“See this game?” he said, sensing her presence, but did not turn to her. He pointed at the glass. “I cheated so hard at this game.”

Najia peered over his shoulder, gripping the noodle behind her.

“So, you sucked at video games?”

Shane shrugged. “Just a bit.” He turned to her just as she let the noodle whip across his chest and he grunted.

“What the hell?”

Shane ripped the noodle out of her hands and let it come down across her legs. Najia stumbled backwards, bent low, and ran into Shane, flailing wildly in an attempt to grab the noodle from him. They fell on to the floor as Najia ripped the noodle out of his arms and held it over him.

“Any last words?”

“No!” a tiny voice squeaked.

They looked up to see a young boy staring at them in horror. They scrambled to their feet, hesitant.

“Don’t hurt me,” the boy said softly, his voice shaking.

“No, no,” Najia said quickly, dropping the noodle. She got to her knees and smiled at the boy. “We’re friends. Are you alone?”

The boy glanced at Shane, then back to Najia and shook his head. “Don’t hurt my family,” he begged.

“You’re family? Are they here?”

“Oh, they’re here,” Shane muttered.

Najia turned to see a young, blond man with his gun raised, pointing at Shane’s head.

“Drop the weapons,” he hissed.

Najia obeyed, carefully removing the gun from her jeans and placing it on the floor. She watched as the man pulled Shane’s weapon out of his back pocket. She met Shane’s gaze.

“We weren’t going to hurt him,” she said carefully. “We won’t hurt your son.”

“My son?” He hesitated. “No, no. That’s my brother.”

“Okay,” Najia said slowly. “We’re not going to hurt anyone. We’re here for supplies, just like you.”

“What makes you think we’re here for supplies?”

Shane rolled his eyes. “Why the hell else would you be here? You’re survivors like us.”

The young man hesitated, his gun lowering for a moment. “You’re not like, working for the Shadow People or anything?”

“Oh, Yoba,” Shane muttered.

“Please,” Najia begged. “Put the gun down before you hurt someone.”

His arm stiffened and he raised the gun once more. “I know how to handle a Glock,” he hissed.

“Technically, that’s not a Glock,” Najia pointed out. “It’s an SR9.”

Shane narrowed his eyes at Najia. “I don’t think this is the time to be pointing out his ignorance.”

“I’m not ignorant,” he hissed.

“Oh, give it a rest,” Shane barked at him. “If you were gonna kill us, we’d be dead by now, so quit with the tough guy act.”

“Sam is the toughest guy ever!” the boy yelled.

“Big words coming from a little kid,” Shane muttered.

Sam lowered his gun. “That’s enough, Vincent.”

“Can I have my gun back, now?” Shane asked, turning to him and holding out his empty hand.

Sam held his gaze on Shane as he shoved the weapon back in his hand.

“The lady’s, too,” Shane said.

Sam attempted to push passed him, but Shane held him back, keeping his hand on his shoulder.

“The gun,” he hissed.

“Fine.” Sam shoved the other gun into Shane’s hand.

Shane held the gun out for Najia, keeping his gaze on Sam. He waited for Najia’s fingers to brush against his palm before he broke his gaze and turned away.

“Where are you going?” Sam called to Shane.

“Away,” Shane said simply, stepping around Vincent.

Najia’s apologetic gaze met Sam’s. “Are you alone?”

Sam shook his head. “There are three others out back.”

“Where are you heading?”

Sam shrugged. “The coast,” he said. “My dad was supposed to meet us there. He was in the army.”

“Was?”

“We don’t really know if there’s much of an army left,” Sam said. “Don’t really know much of anything right now.”

“We’re heading in that direction, too,” Najia said. “You should come with us. We should all stick together, especially if your dad’s in the picture. He could help.”

Sam hesitated. “Yeah, maybe.” He looked passed Najia towards Shane.

“Don’t worry about him,” Najia assured him. “I call the shots around here.”

“You’re boy friend is kinda scary.”

Najia scrunched her nose. “Why does everyone think he’s my boyfriend?” she muttered under her breath.

“C’mon, Vincent,” Sam said, holding out his hand for the boy. “Let’s go get Mom.” He met Najia’s gaze. “We’ll meet you up front.”

“Stop picking up strays,” Shane said when Sam disappeared around the aisles.

“We need all the strays,” Najia said, pushing passed him.

They found the rest of their group waiting at the front of the store, supplies in hand.

“Najia picked up more strays,” Shane said, motioning with his head toward the back of the store. “We have to wait for them.”

“How many more?” Marlon asked.

“Five of them.”

Marlon whistled with approval. “We’ll have an army of humans in no time.”

“They have a little boy with them,” Najia warned. “Please don’t scare him.”

“Yeah,” Shane added. “And his little brother is with him, too.”

Najia shot a glare in Shane’s direction.

Two men approached first, making their way around the corner of the front aisles, their weapons at their sides, in their hands, ready for a sudden attack. They stepped carefully towards them before smiles split their faces. Sam and Vincent followed, and a woman brought up the rear.

“Well, I’ll be,” said one of the men. “There’s a whole lot of ya.”

“And more of us outside,” Marlon said, throwing his thumb over his shoulder.

“I’m Clint,” the man said, pointing to himself, then around the group. “That’s Gunther, Sam, Vincent, and their Mum, Jodi.”

“We’re going to find Dad,” Vincent said happily. “He’s at the beach.”

Jodi pulled her youngest son towards her, hesitant.

Najia met the woman’s gaze and gave her her best, reassuring smile. “We’re heading that way, too.”

“And,” Marlon added, as if to sweeten the deal, “we’ve got a doctor on board, too.”

Sam turned to his mother and they exchanged a wordless glance. Jodi met Marlon’s gaze.

“Can he fix this?” she asked. She carefully lifted Vincent’s pant leg, revealing a large gash that seemed to be at the beginnings of an infection.

Marlon pinched his lips together. “I sure hope so,” he muttered.

 

Harvey examined Vincent’s wound carefully. The boy leaned against his mother in the back seat of the Hummer, biting back a sob as Harvey poked and prodded at the leg. Sam, Marlon, and Najia looked on over Harvey’s shoulder.

“It’s definitely infected,” Harvey confirmed as he dug through his make-shift medical kit. “It needs to be cleaned and stitched.” Harvey hesitated. “But I don’t have anything to dull the pain for him.”

“He’s just a boy,” Jodi said, her voice shaking. “He can’t withstand that.”

“I don’t exactly have any anesthesia or numbing creams,” Harvey said.

“I can do it, Mum.” Vincent turned to his mother and smiled bravely. “I bet Dad’s had to do it loads of times.”

“That’s different,” Jodi said quickly.

“Jodi,” Harvey began, hesitant. “If I can’t clean up the wound and stitch the leg, the infection will just spread and -”

“Yes, yes, I know,” Jodi interrupted him. “I know. It will kill him.” She sucked in a breath and met Harvey’s gaze. “Please, just help him.”

Najia turned away and made her way to the cars where the others were gathered, waiting. Shane leaned against their car with a beer in hand, casually talking with Gil. They stopped when she approached.

“What’s the prognosis?” Gil asked.

“It seems pretty bad,” Najia explained. “Infected, the whole bit. We might be here a while.”

“Hopefully not too long,” Gil said. “Can’t be sticking around longer than we need to.” He smiled to Najia. “And we’re so close to finding your gramps, too.”

“Maybe,” Najia hesitated. She was eager to get to the coast, but feared what she may or may not find.

Leah, Marlon, and Sam joined them after a moment.

“You just gonna hog all that beer?” Leah said to Shane, reaching around him and grabbing a can from the back seat. She waved the can in the air. “Anyone?”

Najia, Marlon, Gil, and Sam nodded and Leah passed four cans their way before grabbing one for herself.

“Sure, drink all my beer,” Shane muttered.

“You have a damn twenty-four pack,” Leah accused him.

“Best money can buy.”

“Tell ya what,” Leah started. “When we finish these off, I’ll go back into that store and buy you another case.”

“Big end of the world sale, yanno,” Gil added. “Can get ‘em for nothin’.”

Leah elbowed Shane and winked at him as she brought the beer can to her lips. Shane smirked into his own can as he did the same.

Najia shifted her gaze to her feet, then turned her back on the little group, staring out into the darkness.

“Your grandfather’s at the coast?” Sam asked her.

Najia shrugged. “Maybe. Hopefully.”

Sam sighed. “Yeah. I’d like to think Dad will be there. But who the fuck knows any more in this world.”

Najia hesitated. “What if he’s not there?”

Sam met her gaze and searched her eyes as he pondered her question. Finally, he broke his gaze and drank his beer. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead.”

“Me neither,” Najia muttered, turning to her beer. “That’s the only goal I’ve had in my life over the last couple months. I don’t know what I’ll do if he’s not there.”

“I guess we find a new goal,” Sam said softly.

“Like what?”

Sam’s gaze was on the Hummer where Harvey worked on his brother’s leg. “Survive. Live.”

“I don’t know how much longer anyone can survive this.”

“Then we make the most of it, I guess.” Sam turned back to her and smiled. “Do all the things we couldn’t have done before. Steal beer. Shoot shit.”

Najia smiled. “Those things just don’t seem as exciting when you know there’s no consequences.”

Sam’s lips twisted to the side and he nodded. “I guess that’s true. But I’m sure there are other things, too.”

“Travel the world.”

“Find bigfoot.”

Najia laughed. “See the northern lights.”

“Find Nessie.”

“You and I have very different ideas of exciting.”

Sam shrugged. “It’s a goal, isn’t it? And hey, who the hell knows what’s out there, surviving like we are.”

“Well,” Najia said, lifting her can. “To surviving.”

Sam tapped his against hers. “To living.”

*****

Vincent bravely made it through Harvey’s make-shift surgery in the back of the Hummer. The wound was cleaned, stitched, and wrapped carefully, preventing further damage and infection. Harvey admired his work as the boy rested against his mother in the back seat.

Under Harvey’s orders, they agreed to stay the night in the parking lot to let Vincent rest before beginning their journey once more. They positioned the vehicles carefully in a circle in an attempt to block light from the fire that would drawn in any Shadow People. They gathered around in folding chairs dragged out from the store and continued to drink.

Najia watched as smaller groups began to form. Penny, Harvey, and Maru formed one group across from her, none with beer in hand. Harvey seemed smitten with the pretty red head. When she spoke, he leaned in, listening intently, as if she were an angel whispering a prophecy. But when Maru spoke, Penny’s dimples revealed themselves and she looked away quickly, not daring to meet her gaze, intimidated by her brilliant mind.

Gil and Marlon kept to themselves as they often did, observing their group like two alpha wolves guarding their pack. Demetrius found comfort in Jodi’s company as she looked over her son sleeping soundly. Abigail and Sebastian had found their way to one another, but did not speak much, and Morris sat quietly by himself, seemingly disinterested with the people who had rescued him. Leah and Shane continued to enjoy each other’s company, drinking heavily, while Clint and Gunther spoke casually with one another.

Alex and Sam sat casually beside Najia as the three of them simply listened to the chatter around them. Dusty sighed at Alex’s feet, his face towards the heat of the fire.

“Looks like Shane found some new meat,” Alex muttered.

“We’re not meat,” Najia hissed at him. “Leah doesn’t even like him.”

“Why’s that?” Sam asked.

Najia hesitated. “I might have made him sound like an ass when I met Leah.”

“He is an ass,” Alex confirmed.

“I thought he was your boyfriend,” Sam said.

“He wishes,” Alex said with a smirk.

Sam shrugged. “You guys just seem close.”

Najia mocked Sam’s shrug. “He was just the first survivor I found,” she said. “We’ve only known each other a couple months.”

“I’ve only known you a day and I know you deserve better than someone like that, anyway.”

Najia hesitated. “Thanks, I guess.”

Alex cleared his throat. “Don’t try to flirt with her,” he warned Sam. “She’ll run away again.”

“Sam’s been kinder to me than you,” Najia hissed.

“Maybe more women would be interested in you if you weren’t so arrogant,” Sam accused.

Najia rolled her eyes. “That’s what I keep saying.”

“What’s it matter, anyway?” Alex said. “It’s the end of the world. Sooner or later, we’re all gonna die. Might as well not get attached.”

“I mean, if I could get laid before I die, I wouldn’t complain,” Sam said with a shrug.

“Well, yeah,” Alex agreed with a smirk.

“Unfortunately for you,” Najia said to Alex, “you won’t be getting any from me.”

“Please,” Alex said. “You’re not the only option any more.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Najia said. “I warned them about you, too.”

“Give him a break,” Sam said. “Alex was probably the kind of guy that thought his good looks and suave charm could get him any girl he wanted. He’s never had to deal with a pretty girl denying him before. See?” Sam pointed to Alex. “He doesn’t know how to handle it, so he resorts to petty childish insults to make him look tough and manly.”

“Suave?”

“He’s got jock brain, too.”

“That jock brain,” Alex hissed, “got me a full scholarship.”

Sam leaned to Najia, whispering in her ear. “The best part is he has no idea he insulted himself.”

Najia smiled and looked down at her beer can.

“Whatever,” Alex grumbled. “At least I don’t pretend to be someone I’m not.”

“Forget it,” Najia warned them both. “You’re acting like children. Be nicer to each other.”

Alex slunk back in his seat and turned his gaze to the fire.

“I’m sorry,” Sam muttered. “I wasn’t trying to start anything. I just don’t like the way he talks sometimes.”

Najia sighed. “Me neither.”

“For what it’s worth,” Sam said, leaning towards her once more. “You deserve better than every scum bag guy here.”

“Including you?” she said with a sly smile.

“Yeah, including me.”

“You don’t even know me,” Najia reminded him. “I could be a big slut for all you know.”

Sam shrugged. “I’m pretty good at reading people.” He paused. “Abusive ex boyfriend who dominated your life until this war gave you a chance to escape and start over.”

“Actually,” Najia said with a smile. “I had a very lovely life before all this happened. Single, but I had some good relationships. Good friends. It was just Dad and I, but we did okay. I worked in his shop. He was a mechanic.” Najia turned her gaze away and hesitated. “I didn’t even get to see him,” she said softly.

“I’m sorry,” Sam said quickly. “I didn’t mean to.”

Najia forced a smile and met his gaze. “It’s okay. But I don’t think anyone could look at this war as a blessing or a second chance.”

“Maybe not,” Sam said. “But why not try to find the positives? A little light when we’re stuck in this darkness. Sure, we’ve lost people. But I might get to see my father again. And I got to meet you.”

“I used to think that way,” she said. “It just gets a little harder with each day.”

Sam nodded. “I get that,” he said. “But, we’re all in it together, anyway.” His hand rested on her arm and he smiled.

Najia looked across the fire, her eyes scanning the faces illuminated by the light. She stopped on Shane, meeting his gaze. His brows were knit together and he turned away quickly.

 

Najia tossed her empty beer can down on the tiled floor as she searched the aisles for something that tasted better. She needed an excuse to stretch her legs and get away for a moment. She eyed the daiquiri mixed and contemplated the difficulty in crafting such a beverage when she heard shuffling behind her. She turned to see Shane trudging over to her side, bending down to examine the cases of beer.

“Out already?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Just stocking up.”

Najia fingered the old, dusty price labels absentmindedly. Her head was already buzzing. She really didn’t need to drink any more. Maybe she would just crawl into the car and sleep the night away.

“Sam your new buddy?”

Najia turned to him but he continued to stare at the warm cases of beer.

“Is Leah yours?”

“Do you have a problem?”

“Do you?”

Shane straightened and sighed. “Maybe.”

“Maybe?”

“We don’t even know him,” he said. “I wouldn’t be so quick to share your secrets with him.”

“I don’t exactly have any secrets,” Najia muttered.

“Whatever,” Shane slurred. “You know what I mean.”

“Not really.”

“The kid held a gun to my head.”

“Oh, poor Shane,” Najia mocked. “Like it’s not the first time you’ve looked Death in the face.”

“If I’m going down,” he said abruptly, “I’ll be damned if it’s by some kid who doesn’t even know the difference between a Glock and a Ruger.”

“Doesn’t matter what he knows as long as he knows where the trigger is,” Najia reminded him.

“Exactly. He could shoot anyone, any time, even by mistake, and that’s not a chance I’m willing to take.”

“Since when do you care if someone gets their brains blown to bits?”

“I don’t care, as long as it’s not you.”

“Oh.” Najia stared at the beer cases in front of her. She pointed to one at random. “How about that one?”

Shane huffed to himself and picked up the case. The make-shift cardboard handle ripped instantly and the cans tumbled and rolled across the floor.

“Fuckin’ dammit,” Shane muttered, kicking at a stray can. It bounced off the far wall and began spraying.

“Just get another one,” Najia said.

“I don’t want another,” Shane practically yelled.

“Alright,” Najia muttered, turning away. “Fine, Crybaby.”

Shane’s hand pulled at her shoulder and before she knew it, his lips were hard on hers. Najia stiffened but did not pull away until Shane did first. Her head spun as she stared blankly at him.

“What was that?” she asked softly.

Shane turned his back to her and grabbed another case of beer. Najia watched as he hoisted it into his arms and walked it down the aisle.

“Are you pleased with yourself?” Najia said, running after him.

“Should I be?”

“You can’t just go kissing whoever the hell you want.”

Shane shrugged and kept walking.

“I want it back,” Najia stammered.

Shane stopped, turned to her, and smiled. “Yeah?”

“No,” she said quickly. “No. Go away. You’re best friend’s waiting for you.”

“My best friend is dead,” Shane snapped.

“You’re trashed,” Najia hissed.

“Good.” Shane turned again and started walking. “You’re a shitty kisser.”

*****

Najia stared at the roof of the car. She was sprawled out in the back seat. She had half expected to see the sun streaming through the window. She turned to see two bodies sleeping soundly in the front seat. She pushed herself up and winced; her head was pounding. She drank more than she realized, but at least her stomach was still.

She stumbled out of the car and closed the door as quietly as she could. There was a fire going and Marlon and Gil stood with their coffee in hand. They looked up and smiled as she approached.

“What time is it?” she groaned.

“’Round five,” Marlon said.

“Who am I sleeping with?” The more important question.

Gil laughed. “Leah and Abigail.”

Najia sighed, relieved. “I don’t remember going to bed.”

“Leah put you to bed,” Marlon told her. “After you told her how much you hated men.”

“Oh.”

“They’re dick-weasels, as you put it,” Gil said.

Najia smiled apologetically.

“You also said we were best friends forever,” Leah’s voice said from behind Najia. She wrapped her arm around Najia’s shoulder.

“Sounds about right,” Najia muttered.

“’S’okay,” Leah said. “I could always use a BFF. And someone’s gotta take care of your drunk ass.”

“It won’t happen again.”

Leah smiled. “’Course not. But if you ever need me to kick someone’s ass, I’ll do it.”

“At least I have one friend in this hell hole.”

Leah pushed a bottle of pain killers into Najia’s hand. “We’ve got a coast to reach,” she reminded her. “If we get moving soon, we could be there by tomorrow.”

*****

Najia avoided Shane who in turn seemed to avoid her. Najia climbed into the car with Leah, Abigail, and Penny as they continued their journey to the coast.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Leah asked, looking in the rear view mirror at Najia.

“About what?”

“Why we hate men?”

“Oh.” Najia looked out the window. “No. It was stupid.”

“It’s okay,” Abigail said. “We can all hate men. They’re not exactly the brightest beings.”

“Did Shane do something?” Leah asked, narrowing her eyes in the mirror. “You warned me he was trouble.”

“You two seemed pretty friendly last night,” Najia muttered.

“Ah, that was just the booze talking,” Leah said, turning her eyes back to the dark road.

“Yeah, well, booze does a lot more than talk.”

Leah’s eyes flashed to the mirror once more. “What did he do? I’ll neuter him.”

Najia shook her head. “You don’t have to do that. That’s where his damn brain is.”

“So, it’ll kill him,” Abigail said. “What’s the problem?”

“What did he do?” Leah pressed.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Talk.”

“It’s not a big deal.”

“It was to you last night.”

“That was the booze,” Najia pointed out.

“Something happened,” Abigail said. “They’ve been avoiding each other all morning.”

“If he so much as touched you-”

“Stop,” Najia shouted. She felt her face heat up in the darkness. “It was just a kiss,” she muttered.

“A good kiss?” Penny asked.

“No,” Najia said quickly. “I don’t know. I don’t remember. What does it matter? He was drunk.”

“Probably because Sam was flirting with you,” Leah said casually.

“Sam was not flirting with me.”

“Oh, please,” Abigail said.

“Men have such a dominance issue,” Leah continued. “Everyone wants to be the big dick in town.”

“They’re big babies with huge jealousy issues,” Abigail confirmed.

“No one has jealousy issues,” Najia muttered.

“Well, if it’s not a big deal,” Leah started, “then you should both be able to forget about it and move on. Just a little drunken mishap, hm?”

“Sure.”

“What if it was more?” Penny asked.

“Do you think his ego is too big to admit it?” Abigail said.

“Shane’s an arrogant ass that thrives off of making people feel shittier than he does,” Leah said.

“So?”

Leah turned to Abigail. “Oh, I don’t know, I thought we were just making fun on Shane. What were we talking about?”

“It wasn’t anything more,” Najia said. “Not to me, anyway.”

“Right,” Leah said with a nod. “So, fuck that guy.”

“Not literally, though,” Abigail said.

Leah shook her head. “Who cares what he thinks?”

“He’s an idiot if he thinks he has a chance with anyone,” Abigail said.

“Exactly.” Leah met Najia’s gaze in the mirror. “How’s that? Do I ace at being a BFF or what?”

 

They stopped half way through the day to take another exit into town, scouting out a gas station where they fueled up for the last leg of their journey. Najia made her way inside the little mart where Shane stood staring at an assortment of hardened sugary treats, his hands in his pockets. Najia paused in the door way, sucked in a breath and walked passed him.

“Still avoiding me?”

She paused and turned to him. “You’re avoiding me.”

“Why would I be avoiding you?”

“Because you fucked up.”

Shane met her gaze, his lips pursed. “Yeah, I know,” he started. “I’m sorry. But don’t read too much into it, okay? I was just drunk. I think I even tried to pull something on Leah, too.”

Najia raised a brow. “Oh?”

Shane smiled. “You know you’ve had too much when you ask Gil if you can touch his weapon.” He turned completely towards her and shrugged. “I’m surprised he didn’t kill me right there.”

Najia pinched her lips. “Sounds like you had a fun night.”

Shane rolled his eyes. “Come on, I’m sorry. Can we just forget about it? People do stupid shit when they’re drunk. And there’s not much else to do in this wasteland.”

Najia forced a smiled. “Yeah, okay.”

Shane narrowed his eyes at her. “Try again, I don’t buy it.”

Najia sighed. “It’s fine,” she said. “I forgive you. I’m just exhausted and hung over.”

Shane smiled. “You’re telling me.” He pulled a CD out of his back pocket. “Can we be car buds again?”

“Depends,” Najia said. “What’s on the disk?”

“Three Days Grace.”

“Hell, yeah.”

*****

They stopped one last time for the night, building their fire and eating the food they packed in the cars. Vincent was back on his feet thanks to a couple of pain killers and enjoying spending time with his big brother. He bounced around excitedly, begging Harvey to let him show off his stitches, but Harvey remained firm, reminding him that it could get infected again.

Najia bunked with Leah and Abigail for the night, and to her surprise, Shane did not argue. Leah pressed Najia about the incident with Shane, but Najia assured them that her and Shane were on good terms.

In the morning, they gathered once more for their comforting ritual of hot coffee, prepped by Gil and Marlon as it always was. Awake and eager, they climbed into their respected vehicles one last time for the last leg of their journey.

Najia’s knuckles whitened as she gripped the steering wheel, her heart racing faster and faster with each passing minute. It was just a matter of hours before they reached the coast. Her stomach knotted sickeningly.

“I don’t think I’ve ever felt more scared,” Najia muttered. “Not even in a chokehold.”

Shane stared out his window quietly for a moment. “He’ll be there,” he said, his breath against the window.

“They’ll be there.”

Shane met her gaze. “What if they’re not?”

“We keep looking.” She tightened her grip on the wheel as if she were about to lose control of the vehicle and stared out the windshield.

“I don’t want to know,” Shane started. “I don’t want to see if they’re there or not.”

“All this could be for nothing.”

“We could turn around.”

Najia turned back to him. “Turn around?”

“Yeah,” he began. “We could not go to the coast. Drive around the country. Say we’re going to the coast. We’d get there, eventually.”

“But we want to get there,” Najia reminded him. “We wanted to.”

Shane looked out into the darkness. “We did.” He paused for a moment. “I’m scared, too.”

“You can’t be scared,” Najia muttered. “I was banking on you to be the sane one here.”

The highway split as they neared the edge of the country. The convoy followed it around the ramp until it brought them onto a narrower road which they followed across a bridge and into the city. They navigated the dark, empty streets until the buildings began to shrink and thin and they drove along beach houses big and small. They reached the main strip which stretched north and south, seemingly endlessly. The far side of the road was lined with lined parking spots, just on the edge of the beach, while the other side was lined with various attraction buildings.

The convoy pulled across the street, into the lot, and one by one, climbed out of their vehicles. They stood in silence as they listened to the waves crashing on the beach. Their headlights illuminated the beach. Trash and debris littered the sand by the lot. They could just barely make out the peaks of the waves crashing against sand and rocks.

Najia climbed over the damaged cement wall that separated the road from the beach. Her feet sunk into the sand as she neared the ocean. The other survivors stepped carefully onto the beach, wandering aimlessly, as if expecting a welcome party.

Najia stepped mindlessly over the bodies that were scattered along the beach. The Shadow People had been here, just months ago. The beach-goers suffered the same fate as the city dwellers. But Najia didn’t notice their untimely graves. Her eyes searched the beach as if expecting a sign from her grandfather. How much further north should she go? Would she know Stardew Valley if she saw it? Was it really, truly, a safe place? Or would she walk into a sight much like the one there on that beach?

A chill went up her spine at the thought and she tried to push it out of her head. Her journey wasn’t over just yet. She still had to go north, and north she would go. But what of the others? Where did their journey take them? Would they accompany her, or would they part ways?

Her eyes searched the beach for Shane, no longer at her side. She found him standing by the ocean, the waves crashing around his feet.

Shane looked out over the water, his hands in his pockets. He didn’t acknowledge Najia when she stopped at his side, and she didn’t speak. They stood in silence as the sea breeze cooled their sunburnt faces.

“I don’t know what I was expecting,” Shane said softly.

“It’s not over,” Najia reminded him. “It’s far from over.”

His brows knit together as he met her gaze. “It is over, Najia. We’ve traveled across the country and for what? Some stupid idea that we’d find family? They’re gone. There’s nothing left in this world. We lost.”

“How can you say that?” Najia hissed. “Look at all the people we’ve found. Survivors. We’re what’s left. We can fix this.”

“Sooner or later, we will all die at the hands of those bastards, and you need to accept that reality.”

“There’s still a chance,” Najia begged. “We’ve made it this far. If we just follow the coast, we could get to Stardew-”

“Stardew Valley doesn’t exist,” Shane barked at her. “Your grandfather is dead. Marnie and Jas are dead. Everyone’s dead.”

Najia turned away and bit her lip. “I’m not giving up,” she said quietly.

“You’re on your own, then.” Shane turned away from her and made his way across the beach.

“Where do you think you’re gonna go?” she shouted after him, but he ignored her. Najia called after him, but he stepped out of the safety of the headlights and disappeared into the night.

 

Najia stared dumbly into the darkness where Shane disappeared, expecting him to return, but he did not. She did not even notice Sam and Leah standing at her side until Leah spoke.

“What now?”

Najia marched back to the cars, still fuming. “I’m following the coast north,” she said simply.

“Alone?” Sam asked, following her.

She paused in the parking lot and turned to him. “You guys can do whatever the hell you want. But I’m going north. That’s where Stardew Valley is. That’s where I’m heading.”

“I’ll come with you,” Leah said.

“You don’t have to do that,” Najia said, pulling the car door open angrily.

“Yes I do. We’re BFFs, remember?” Leah shrugged. “And I really have no where else to go, anyway. If you think Stardew Valley is safe, I’m going with you.”

“Us, too,” Sam said. “Maybe Dad knows about that place. Maybe that’s why he wanted us to meet him there. Maybe he’s there.”

“That’s a lot of maybes,” Leah said.

“Maybe,” Sam muttered. “But I’m not giving up yet.”

Slowly, the rest of the survivors joined them in the parking lot as they continued to debate their next move.

“Count me in,” Abigail said. “I’m not getting left behind anywhere.”

“You know you’ve got me an’ Marlon,” Gil said. “As long as Doc comes along, too.”

“I’m not getting left behind, either,” Harvey muttered.

“I’m down,” Alex said with a shrug. He patted Dusty’s head.

“Us, too,” Maru said.

“Doesn’t seem like I have a choice,” Demetrius mumbled.

Clint, Gunther, Penny, and Morris agreed to join as well, neither one of them anxious to be left behind.

“You don’t have to do this,” Najia muttered. “I’m not promising you anything.”

“Better than sitting around waiting to die,” Alex said.

“Let’s get movin’, then,” Marlon said. “It’s like D-Day over here.”

They piled into the cars once more and their convoy continued their way north up the shore. Leah, Abigail, and Penny joined Najia in her car, Leah taking Shane’s empty seat beside her.

“Are you sure you don’t want to look for him?” she asked Najia once more.

Najia shook her head. “Fuck it. He’s a self-centered ass who would rather just be alone to die.”

“Doesn’t mean he should be,” Leah said.

“He can do whatever the hell he wants. I’m not going to stop him.”

“I didn’t think you were the kind of person to leave someone behind,” Leah muttered.

“I didn’t leave him behind,” Najia hissed. “He chose to leave. There’s a difference.”

“Well, I don’t plan on leaving,” Leah said. “So, you still have me.”

“I don’t need anyone.”

“I know you don’t need anyone,” Leah said. “But BFFs stick together.”

“You’re never going to let me live that down.”

“What? We can’t be BFFs?”

Najia rolled her eyes but smiled. “I guess I could use someone on my side.”

“Don’t call me your BFF,” Abigail started, “but I can be on your side, too.”

Leah turned in her seat. “What about you, Penny?”

“I don’t normally label strangers I’ve only known for less than a week BFFs, but what the hell?”

“That’s the spirit,” Abigail said. “What have we got to lose?”

*****

The convoy slowed as a figure with a flashlight waved them down on the road. They had driven through the rest of the afternoon, continuing to follow the coast north before the figure approached them from behind a grouping of rocks. The figure leaned against the Hummer as Marlon rolled down his window. After a moment of chatting, the figure climbed in and the Hummer continued forward. Gil waved their group onward, signaling them to follow.

“Another survivor?” Leah said, peering through the window.

“Where the hell is he taking us?” Najia muttered.

“Should we even be trusting him?” Abigail said.

The Hummer turned off the road and bounced its way across a torn up, over grown, abandoned parking lot. They followed it down a dirt road where the trees thickened around them and the road seemed to turn into something more man made. They drove further still until the trees opened up to a small meadow where the tall grass was already flattened from previous entry with other vehicles. They followed this path out to where the old power lines stood tall. They turned downward, across an old railroad bed, and into the trees once more until the terrain grew rockier as they neared the base of a mountain where the Hummer finally came to a stop. Marlon, Gil, Harvey, and the figure stepped out of the vehicle and the headlights turned off.

Najia, Leah, Abigail, and Penny stepped out slowly as the others followed suit behind them. They approached the front of the group, flashlights in hand and inspected the figure before them.

“Daddy!” Vincent ran up to the man, jumping into his strong arms.

“Look who decided to show up,” the man said with a wide grin.

Sam and Jodi pushed their way through. Kent wrapped an arm around his oldest son and kissed his wife.

“Well, Kent,” Marlon said. “This is the crew.”

Kent seemed to look them up and down and nodded. “Quite a crew you’ve got here. Bigger than we’ve got.”

“There are more survivors?” Alex asked.

“A few others I bumped into. We’ve been hiding out down here mostly. But between you and me, I didn’t think I could take it much longer, being alone with them. Rather whiney bunch, really.” Kent motioned them to follow him and he lead the way through the woods until they reached a thicker gathering of trees. A large fire cast shadows against a grouping of rocks with an overhang, where three women and a man stood as their visitors approached.

“This is Elliott,” Kent said, pointing to the man first and making his way around. “Haley, her sister Emily, and their friend Sandy.”

Marlon took the liberty to introduce the members of their group.

“Welcome to our little hide out,” Kent said. “Make yourselves comfortable.”

*****

The survivors were gathered around the fire, getting to know the newest members of their group and talking quietly amongst themselves.

“So, where are you lot headin’?” Kent inquired.

“Stardew Valley,” Leah said confidently.

Kent raised a questioning eye brow.

“Najia’s grandpap is supposedly there,” Gil said.

“Assuming he’s not some crazy conspiracist,” Alex added.

“Claims it’s safe there.”

“Place probably doesn’t even exist,” Sebastian muttered.

“Oh, it’s real,” Kent said. “But it’s nothing more than its name suggests; a valley.”

“There’s legend that there is a bright star that can only be seen from the valley in the winter sky,” Marlon explained. “It has been known as the Winter Star. People believed anyone who laid eyes on it would be blessed with good fortune.”

“So, that settles it,” Alex said, turning to Najia. “Your grandfather is crazy.”

“There are a lot of legends that have formed around the valley,” Kent said. “But they’re only legends that have died over the years. Stardew Valley is nothing more than an inhabited valley between the mountains.”

Najia shifted in her seat and kept her gaze on the fire. “Well, I’m going there.”

“There’s nothing there,” Kent said. “You’d be wasting your time.”

“I’m going to Stardew Valley,” Najia practically shouted. She met Kent’s gaze, then looked around the group. “I need to see it for myself.”

 

Najia couldn’t sleep. She tossed and turned, not just because the ground was cold and hard, despite the padding of the sleeping bag provided by the prepared Kent, but because her mind raced, stuck on the legend of Stardew Valley. What if Kent was right? She could essentially be walking into nothing more than a vast, deserted valley. But the possibility of that didn’t seem all that bad. So what if nothing existed there? So what if her grandfather wasn’t there? It was a place to be. It had been the only thing keeping her going for so long. Kent had been able to make a hideout there in the forest; why couldn’t she make a home for herself in the valley? If it seemed to mythical as everyone seemed to believe, there was a small chance that the Shadow People would even bother to keep tabs on the place. Whether her grandfather was there or not, it could be safe.

And after all this time, she wasn’t about to give up on it. She was going to get to the valley and she would take matters into her own hands, whatever may happen. With or without the rest of the group. It was all she had left; all she hung on to. She was going to see it to the end.

“Hey,” Leah whispered to her. She scooted closer to Najia until their arms touched in the darkness.

“Hi.”

“You’re not sleeping.”

“Sorry,” Najia muttered. “I didn’t mean to keep you up.”

“What’s eating you?”

Najia hesitated. “The valley.”

Leah didn’t say anything for a moment. Her voice was softer when she finally spoke. “Are you still going?”

“Yes.”

Leah was quiet again. She leaned into Najia. “I don’t think you should.”

“What? Why?”

“I’m afraid you’ll just be disappointed.”

“It doesn’t matter what’s there,” Najia said. “Or what’s not there. I’m seeing it through.”

“You shouldn’t go alone.”

“I thought you were coming with me?”

Leah hesitated. “There’s a lot of us, now,” she said. “We’re a big, obvious group. I don’t think we can chance too much traveling.”

“What happened to being BFFs?” Najia accused her.

“We are,” Leah insisted. “And as your BFF, I’m advising you to stay here. We’ve got a good thing going. A safe place to hide out. Hell, we’ve got a soldier on our side. A doctor. We can make a home for ourselves here.”

“A home? In this dark hell hole? This is what you’ve settled for?”

“Do you think it will be any different in the valley? It will be the same, dark hell hole.”

Najia moved away from Leah’s body, but Leah’s hand touched hers.

“Stay here with us,” she begged Najia. “You’ve been on the run for so long. Stop running.”

“I’m not running.”

“Please,” Leah said. “Just think about it?”

Najia sighed. “Yeah. Okay.” But her mind was already made up.

*****

Najia sipped her coffee quietly by the fire as Marlon, Gil, and Kent discussed heatedly with each other. Leah stubbornly brought up Najia’s intentions to continue to the valley. Not to Najia’s surprise, the other’s had quickly given up on that plan once Kent confirmed there was nothing there for them. They were all too eager to settle into the safety of the hideout that Kent had built up. Kent had tried to convince Najia to stay, but Marlon and Gil took her side in the matter.

“Let the girl do what she wants,” Gil said to him. “No one is forced to stay anywhere they don’t want to be.”

“There’s no sense losing survivors,” Kent said. “We need to stick together. Who knows how many more of us are out there.”

“We’ve already lost one,” Marlon said. “Took off and left. And that’s his choice.”

“She’s an easy target alone,” Kent argued. “She’ll be walking into her death.”

“I think she can hold her own,” Marlon said. “And what if she’s right? What if there’s something there?”

“Then she can come back and tell us,” Kent grunted.

Gil scoffed at him. “Why would she want to come back and share the good news with the people who tried to tell her it was all a lie?”

“Then she doesn’t have to and she can be safe in the valley.”

“It’s not worth arguing about,” Najia interrupted them. “I’m going and I don’t care who comes with me.”

“We’ll come with you,” Gil confirmed, but Najia shook her head.

“No. Kent is right. There’s no sense splitting up. It could be safer here.”

“Since when have we ever cared about safety?” Marlon pointed out.

“I don’t expect anyone to follow me on a whim.”

“We just figured there’d be a chance for us to fight some more of those bastards,” Gil said. “We’d never pass up an opportunity to fight.”

“Don’t argue with us,” Marlon warned. “We’re in this to the end and we’re going to go, guns ablazing.”

“Everyone else can stay and hide out here,” Gil said. His eyes scanned the group. “Anyone coming along with us?”

They were quiet as they exchanged glances with one another.

Marlon cleared his throat. “Good. We’ve weeded out the weaklings.”

Najia looked into her mug and said nothing. She felt more determined to get away from the group, now. She felt guilty that Marlon and Gil could potentially be following her to their deaths. While she had enjoyed each of their company over the last couple of months, she wanted to be alone again. She needed to take her own chance, and she wasn’t willing to let anyone else risk their lives. They had a safe place, and they deserved it.

*****

It was late in the morning when she followed Gil, Marlon, Alex, Leah, and Kent back towards the vehicles. They had transported most of their supplies back to camp and were about to make the trip into town to stock up some more.

Najia let Leah drive, following the Hummer across the power lines and back toward the coast where they followed the road south-east towards the larger city. They were closer to the interstate than Najia realized. The long, deserted road stretched north and south just outside of the city, which she could see below from the grocery store at the top of the hill.

She followed the others as they marched across the parking lot and into the store, pausing just outside the building as they picked their way carefully through the shattered glass doors. This was her chance to get away, alone, back on the road. She could take the interstate north as far as she could until it narrowed through the mountains and into Stardew Valley.

She turned her back to the store and looked over her shoulder. They were deep inside now, picking through the cans of food eagerly, anxious to bring back whatever they could. Najia jogged back towards the car, still running quietly, and slid into the driver’s seat. Without hesitation, she peeled out of the parking lot and followed the road to the interstate, heading northbound.

 

The land was still flat near the coastal side of the country, and though it was too dark to see, Najia knew that the distant mountains would be looming before her as she neared them. The air was cooler as she drove through the day, further and further north, and the land gradually began to elevate. The interstate narrowed and started to slope and twist as it neared the mountain range, forcing her to slow her speed, which was well over eighty. She slowed even more as her headlights flashed over a dark figure, standing on the edge of the road. She pulled to a stop beside the man who had his hands shoved in his pockets.

“I wondered when you’d find me,” Shane’s voice said.

“Don’t get too excited,” Najia said. “I wasn’t looking for you. I’m going to Stardew Valley.”

“I know,” he said simply.

“What are you doing out here?”

Shane shrugged. “Stardew Valley or bust.”

“Why?”

“Well,” he hesitated. “I realized I really had nothing to live for, and wandering around the world aimlessly really wasn’t going to accomplish anything.” He paused. “I guess I wasn’t ready to give up, and the valley felt like another goal to work towards. Plus, I figured I’d find you there. And that didn’t seem so bad.”

Najia grew quiet. “And what if we don’t find anything?”

“Like you said; we’ll find something else to get to.” He smiled to her. “I heard the Fern Islands are great this time of year.”

“You know,” Najia said, returning his smile, “I’ve never been.”

“You have just got to go,” Shane said mockingly. “Their Maki Rolls are to die for.”

“So, Stardew Valley or bust?” She nodded to the empty seat beside her.

“Alright,” Shane said, climbing in beside her. “Just don’t go picking up any more hitch hikers. You got lucky, this time.”

*****

They climbed higher into elevation as they neared the night, pausing only for a moment to find the easiest way through the mountains on their map. If the map was accurate, and if Stardew Valley hadn’t changed since the abrupt invasion, the could make their way around the mountain range and follow a set of train tracks through them and straight into the valley.

They followed the route as best as they could, climbing higher and higher, slowly working their way around the range. Shane took a turn driving them through the night and by morning, they had reached the abandoned tracks. Though it was over grown with weeds, it was level enough for them to drive through, so Najia took over, following the tracks as they twisted their way through the mountains.

But as the day wore on, the temperature continued to drop and a light snow started to fall, illuminated by the car’s headlights.

“I wish I stole Kent’s sleeping bags,” Najia muttered. “I didn’t quite plan for the weather change in the mountains.”

“It will be warmer once we reach they valley,” Shane pointed out. “It’s not winter, yet.”

The snow fell more heavily as they drove into the night and the wind picked up, howling around them as they continued to navigate their way through the mountains. Before long, Najia found herself squinting through the windshield in an attempt to see through the heavy snow, but she had already lost sight of the tracks that guided her.

She argued with Shane but eventually agreed to stop for the night. He was right after all; there was no sense getting lost in the mountains and freezing to death. Of all the ways to die in this world, it would be a shame to be defeated by nature.

Shane draped the one blanket they did have over them and Najia turned off the engine. They stared up at the ceiling as the warmth quickly left the car and the cold took over until they could see their breaths. Najia crossed her arms in an attempt to hold the heat in her body.

“We could cuddle,” Shane joked.

“I’d rather freeze to death,” Najia said through her teeth.

“Ouch.”

Najia listened as his body shifted and he turned over.

“You can keep the car running.”

“We can’t waste the gas.”

“We can’t be that far,” Shane said.

“We can deal with a little shivering, too,” Najia pointed out.

Shane sighed. “You’re going to make this a long night.”

“Did you see all the sights while you ran away like a child?”

“Miles and miles of highway,” Shane said sarcastically. “Did you enjoy the beach?”

“We found five more survivors,” Najia said. “Sam’s father was one of them.”

Shane propped himself up in his make-shit bed. “Really?”

“They’ve got a whole hide out and everything. Living the good life.”

Shane settled back into the seat. “Hm.”

“Do you think its weird?” Najia asked. “That through all this, a family has managed to stay alive, together?”

“Lucky, I suppose. Dumb luck. Like winning the lottery. Doesn’t happen often.”

“Everyone else is alone. We’ve all lost people. Yet, they get to be together.”

“You’ve got ol’ gramps,” Shane pointed out.

Najia smiled a half smile at the ceiling. “I guess so,” she said softly. “And you’ve got Marnie and Jas.”

*****

When they awoke, the snow was still coming down heavily. They had made it through the cold night, letting the car heat up every couple of hours, but the fuel ran dangerously low.

“We can’t sit around,” Najia said anxiously. “We’ll be stranded here.”

“We’re already stuck in the snow,” Shane pointed out. “There’s no sense wasting the gas trying to get through.”

“So, we’re supposed to just wait and hope it stops and melts?”

“It won’t be melting any time soon,” Shane said. “But it will stop eventually. And when it does, we can trek through it.”

“We don’t have time for eventually,” Najia argued. “We don’t know when that will be, and we don’t have gas to last us much longer.”

“We’re not going out into the storm,” Shane said, his voice raising.

“I’m not going to sit here and hope it stops before we freeze to death.”

“You’re being irrational,” Shane growled.

Najia pushed the door open with all her might. The snow was still light and fluffy and fortunately had not grown too deep at that point. She stumbled into the snow, slamming the door behind her. Her flashlight illuminated the flakes falling around her, but proved useless in guiding her way.

Shane pushed his way out of the car, chasing after her and grabbing her wrist.

“Will you stop being stubborn, for once in your damned life?” he hissed at her.

“We don’t need the tracks,” Najia insisted. “We’re so close. All we have to do is follow the break in the trees. The valley isn’t far. We just have to go down and then we’ll be out of the storm.”

“We can wait it out until we can see better.”

“See better?” Najia yelled over the howling wind. “It can’t possibly any darker out here. There’s no sun to keep this warm. We can’t stay up here in this storm, Shane. We need to leave.” She pulled her hand out of his grip and trudged through the snow.

Shane followed her wordlessly, pulling his jacket tight around him. He wasn’t sure if she had gone completely mad or not. Maybe she had a point. Or maybe they were just walking to their deaths.

“No, Najia,” he shouted to her. “This is a bad idea.”

“It’s close,” she said to him. She pointed to the sky. “It’s lighter, Shane. See? It’s lighter. It’s real. Stardew Valley is real.”

“Najia,” Shane growled. “Stop. We’re going to die out here.”

“I’m not going back,” she insisted.

“It’s not real, Najia. You’re seeing things. There’s nothing out here.”

Shane started to lose sigh of Najia. Her dark figure disappeared into the darkness, her flashlight lost in the heavy snow which kicked up around them in the wind.

“Najia!”

Shane ran forward, but she was no where to be seen. He called for her again, but his voice was lost in the wind. He stumbled forward, his heart racing as he searched for her. He shouted, but the wind drowned out his voice. He reached desperately into the air, hoping to grab her, but his hands fell, grabbing at air.

He stumbled through the snow as he tried to run, but quickly grew disoriented. His heart raced and his head spun as, but he pushed onward aimlessly until a hand gripped his shoulder pulling him backwards. He turned quickly, panicked, as a grey bearded man stood before him, shining a light in his face.

“Where is she?” the man shouted at him. “Where’s my granddaughter?”

 

Najia pushed herself off of Shane’s lap. She blinked in the bright daylight as her mind slowly came into focus.

“It’s about time,” Shane muttered. “Thought you were going to be out all day.”

Najia’s eyes scanned her surroundings. They were sitting on a road, just outside of a dark tunnel. The light was bright and warm.

“Where are we?” she asked, turning back to Shane.

Shane smiled. “Stardew Valley.”

“It’s real,” she whispered, taking in the sights. She turned her face to the sky, warmed by the son’s rays. “We made it.”

“Well, hello, Sleeping Beauty,” a voice said.

Najia turned to the familiar voice as he emerged from the dark tunnel. She pushed herself onto her feet, stumbling towards him. "Grandpa!“

"Easy now,” he said as he held his granddaughter in his arms. “Found you two hopeless souls in that snow storm. Here, brought you both some water. Drink it slowly, you’re dehydrated. When you’re able, I’ll bring you into town.”

“Town?” Najia stared at the canteens he pushed into her hands.

“Well, a little something Linus and I put together,” he said proudly. “There’s a few of us living here, you know. Got some good crops going. Plenty of sunshine and rain here. Just like life should be.”

“We have others, too,” Najia said quickly. “We need to bring them here.”

“In time,” he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll need to wait for the storms to pass before it’s safe to go back out there.” He turned back towards the tunnel. “Rest up,” he instructed them. “I’ll get the ol’ truck.”

Najia watched as he disappeared in the tunnel, his cheery whistling echoing off the walls.

“This can’t be real,” she muttered, turning to Shane.

“I would have thought so, too, if he didn’t have a gun to my head.”

Najia stared at him. “What do you mean? What happened?”

“You took off into the storm like the stubborn woman that you are,” Shane reminded her. “Gramps there had seen us coming over the mountain, so he headed up to investigate and found us wandering around in the storm. He said if I lost ya, he’d have my head on a stake to scare off the crows in his garden.”

Najia looked up, studying the blue sky and the way the white fluffy clouds floated lazily passed.

“I thought I was going crazy at that point, but fortunately we found you and I could live to see another day. You were exhausted and disoriented and shaking like a damn leaf, but we managed to drag your ass out of the storm and into shelter for a moment where he kept his old snowmobile. Did not think that thing would get us off the mountain, but it did.”

Najia’s cheeks were wet as her eyes continued to follow the clouds. She neared the sun, which seemed far brighter than she ever remembered it, and she had to close her eyes and turn away from the glorious sight. She stumbled into Shane and sobbed into his chest. He wrapped her arms around her and rest his chin on her head until an old, puttering engine echoed off the tunnel walls. An old, battered green truck emerged, shuttering slightly as it came to a stop beside them.

“All aboard,” Najia’s grandfather said with a smile. “And I’ll show you a little place I call Pelican Town.”

*****

Her grandfather first took them down the dirt road into the little place he called Pelican Town. Two homes stood erect, the only buildings in the lush, green meadow. He drove the truck besides one of the houses, just by the edge of the river, and put it into park.

“Linus and I have been doing a lot of clearing and building,” he said as he walked them through the little town. A man made bridge arched its way over the river to the east, and to the south, a trodden path through some brush brought them to the beach. To the west, a thick forest lined the little town. “Lots of resources to use to our advantage, so that’s what we’ve been doing,” he continued. “Plenty of room for a whole crew of survivors. Come, I’ll show you the farm.”

He lead them down the dirt road they drove through to the west, north of the forest, to a wide open space, filled with crops growing high. In the fields, a man and a woman worked side by side, their backs to them.

“As you can see,” he said proudly, his hands on his hips, “life is pretty normal ‘round here.”

Shane squinted in the bright sunlight as the woman stood and stretched, her brown curls bouncing around her shoulders. She turned to the visitors, and her warm, welcoming smile disappeared when her gaze met Shane’s. Her hands flew to her mouth in disbelief.

Shane’s heart stopped. He wanted to run to Marnie, but something wasn’t right. Where was Jas?

“Shane!”

Shane turned towards the familiar voice, dropping to his knees as the little girl ran to him, jumping in his arms. He buried his face in her hair and held her tight.

“I knew you’d find us, Shane!”

“Ah,” Najia’s grandfather said to himself. “So, that’s Shane.”

Najia’s heart leapt as she watched Shane kiss Jas’s face. The little girl giggled, her arms locked around his neck.

“I knew you’d come,” she said. “I told you, Aunt Marnie!”

Marnie pulled Shane to his feet, into her chest, kissing his cheek. Shane winced like an embarrassed child, but did not pull away from her.

“How the hell did you find this place?” Shane asked when Marnie finally let him go.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Marnie said, her hands on her hips.

Shane smiled and met Najia’s gaze. “Fortunate enough to run into this stubborn women with the crazy conspiracist grandfather.”

“Well, I’ve been called worse,” her grandfather muttered.

“We made our way north away from the city,” Marnie said to him. She hesitated. “We tried to find you after we were separated,” she stammered, “but they were on our trail… I didn’t know what to do… I can’t believe you’re here.”

“Yeah,” Shane muttered. “Me neither.”

“We just kept going north,” Marnie continued. “It seemed the further north we went, the further away from those creatures we were. That’s when Lewis found us.” She indicated to the man that was working beside her in the fields. He stood beside her now, smiling at their new visitors.

“Fortunately for Marnie,” he said to them, “she was just outside our doorstep and I was that way on a mission.”

“A mission?” Najia repeated.

“We make it a point to scout out the area as often as we can,” her grandfather said. “Search for survivors, try to keep tabs on the Shadow People, truck in some outside supplies. Whatever we need to do.”

“There’s a hideout just south of the range, near the coast,” Najia explained. “There’s a lot more of us. They should be here.”

“Yes, of course,” her grandfather said. “We can bring them here once the storm settles. In fact,” he paused for a moment. “There’s someone else I should introduce you to.”

The five of them followed him south of the farm and into the forest where another small cabin stood. Penned in beside the house were a couple of chickens and cows.

“Lewis built us this house,” Jas said to Shane excitedly. “Look! We have chickens and cows. And they found me some books and dolls, too.”

Before them, at the edge of a lake, a man was chopping wood on a stump. He stood and smiled as they approached.

“Linus,” Najia’s grandfather said. “My granddaughter, Najia.”

“I could have guessed that, John” he said. “Fortunately she got the good looking genes from her mother.”

“Where’s Rasmodius?” John asked.

Linus threw his thumb over his shoulder. “Inside, fucking with the storm.”

“He’s our key to this war,” John said as he lead Najia and Shane deeper into the forest. After a quarter of a mile, there was a small opening where another little cabin stood. John pushed the door open abruptly. The house was dark except for a single candle in the middle of the room.

“That’s enough, Ras,” John called into the house. “Najia made it, after all.”

A shadowy figure moved about the room, lighting more candles as he passed. “What did I tell you about barging in, John?” the man muttered.

“Cut the storm,” John said. “You almost killed my granddaughter.”

The room lightened, revealing Rasmodius. He looked to Najia and smiled.

“Rasmodius is kind of a wizard,” John said, turning to Najia and Shane.

“Kind of?” Rasmodius echoed, insulted.

John ignored him. “When we see suspicious movement in the mountain, he calls for a storm to protect us from any unwanted visitors.”

“Have you seen Shadow People?” Shane asked.

“Not lately,” John explained. “When the invasion first happened, they were around more frequently, scouting things out. We were able to draw them away pretty quickly. Fortunately for us, they don’t bother fight with rough weather. After a few incidents, they decided to stay away from the range.”

“Is that why there’s light, here?” Najia asked. “Because of Rasmodius?”

“I have nothing to do with that,” the wizard said. “It’s a magic all in its own.”

“I don’t understand,” Najia said. “How did you know about this place? How did you know it would be safe?”

John shrugged. “I may have been here once or twice.”

Rasmodius snorted. John shot him a glare before continuing.

“Sure, I believed the legends. You know me, Naj; I can’t stay away from something interesting. I’ve seen the Winter Star with my own eyes, yanno. And I met Rasmodius who has lived here for many years, almost undetected.”

“I would have preferred to remain undetected,” Rasmodius said with a sigh. “But your gramps is a good man, and I knew our world was going to be in some trouble. He and Linus were here when the invasion happened, and they made it their goal to make this valley a safe place for any survivors to give humans a chance to win their world back.”

“It may be a bit or a stretch,” John said carefully. “But, look what we’ve got here; a place where the darkness can’t touch us. A place where the Shadow People wouldn’t be able to step foot. We’ve got a chance, here, and I’m taking it. And with a wizard on our side, nothing can stop us.”

“I can’t win this war, John,” Rasmodius warned him. “My magic isn’t as all powerful as you may think. There are limitations.”

“And we’re going to use every bit of your magic as we can.”

Rasmodius rolled his eyes. “I’m just a tool in your game,” he muttered.

“Don’t start with me, Ras. You agreed to help us out. In fact, it was your idea.”

“You’re just lucky I didn’t banish you from the valley the first chance I got.”

John smirked and turned his back to the wizard. “What do ya say we get those friends of yours, hm?”

 

The old green truck groaned as it climbed the steep, mountain road out of Stardew Valley. There wasn’t any sign of the snow storm that had taken place earlier. The grass was green and lush as the truck sped through the mountain meadows. As they crested the peak, the sky began to darken and the valley disappeared behind them until they were back in the darkness of the world.

“I still can’t believe it,” Najia muttered as the dark mist shrouded over their world once more. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Magic, my girl,” John said to his granddaughter. “Just a little magic is all we need in this world. It grows each day. The light gets brighter.” He paused and smiled. “I swear, it reaches further and further away from the valley. Little by little.”

Najia smiled as she settled into her seat.

“So, tell me everything,” John said to her. “We’ve got a bit of a drive ahead of us. I want to know everything.”

“There’s not much to say,” Najia said quietly. “The invasion happened and I high-tailed it out of the city on some ridiculous quest to find the mythical Stardew Valley.”

“Don’t get sour on me,” John said.

“What do you want me to say?” Najia said, turning to him. “It was awful. You wouldn’t understand since you were up here in happy sunshine land.”

“Najia,” John warned.

“All you give me are some crazy directions and you expect me to just survive and get there? What if I didn’t?”

“Well, it would be a right shame, then,” he muttered. “But you did make it.”

“You have no idea what we’ve been through,” Najia muttered.

“I thought you were happy to find me.”

“I am.” Najia hesitated. “I’m happy this is all real. But…”

“But?”

Najia turned towards her grandfather, though she could barely see him in the darkness. “There are a lot of people that will never know of this place. People that have died in their most frightful moments. There’s a war going on. If you think I’m just going to kick back and relax while everyone else suffers… well, you’re wrong.”

“I never thought that of you for a moment,” John said. “Why do you think I’ve gone through all this trouble? I want every survivor to come here. We can build an army and take on those bastards.”

“It won’t be that easy,” Najia said. “They’re relentless. Tricky.” She hesitated. “They’re scary.”

John cleared his throat. “Tell me about these people I’m supposed to be bringing home.”

Najia let her gaze drift out the window. “Well,” she said softly. “There’s Marlon and Gil and Harvey - he’s a doctor.”

“No shit? We could use one of ‘em.”

“There’s a family, too. Jodi, Kent, their son Sam and Vincent. Probably around Jas’s age.”

John’s eyes flashed to the rear view mirror. “That girl never stopped talkin’ about ya, kid.”

Shane met his gaze briefly. “Thanks for keeping her safe.”

“She ya kid?”

Shane hesitated and looked away. “God daughter.”

“Well,” John said, turning his gaze back to the road. “She’s a smart one. Nothin’ gets by her.”

They chatted casually as they drove through the rest of the day. The trip was quicker without the snow storm getting in their way, and they reached the edge of the mountain range by midnight. Shane took over driving for John while he napped in the back seat, driving through until morning when they neared the coast.

“Are you okay?” Najia asked Shane quietly as she directed him the way to the hideout. “You’ve been quiet.”

Shane shrugged. “Just hate to leave her again.”

Najia smiled. “We’ll be back in no time. And at least you know she’s safe.”

Shane pinched his lips. “For now.”

“Stardew Valley is safe,” Najia said.

Shane met her gaze. “But for how much longer?” He paused and turned back to the road. “This isn’t over. Not by a long shot.”

Najia didn’t answer him as she peered out the window. They drove along the coastal roads, stopping when the headlights flashed over two figures. Shane leaned out of the window as Kent and Alex approached.

“Well, look who came back,” Alex hissed. “Two cowards.”

“Watch it,” Shane growled at him.

“Enough,” Najia warned. “Or you don’t get a free pass into Stardew Valley.”

“You’re kidding.”

The back window rolled down and John stuck his arm out. “I’m the crazy grandfather,” he said with a smile.

Alex stared at the man in disbelief for a moment but did not shake his waiting hand. “It’s real? You found it?”

“Bring your sunglasses,” Najia said. “You guys coming or not?”

*****

They followed Alex and Kent back towards the hideout. Leah was the first to greet them, pointing an angry finger at Najia.

“I can’t believe you left,” she hissed at her.

Najia pushed her hand out of her face. “Good thing I did,” she said, “because I found Stardew Valley.”

Leah stared at her blankly. Her gaze moved towards John who stood behind his granddaughter. The others began to murmur from around the fire.

“It’s real?” Maru said.

“Is it safe?” Jodi asked.

“It’s real, it’s safe, and there’s a one way train going back there,” Najia said. “Get in now or stay behind.”

They hesitated, looking to one another, then to Kent.

“Hell, I’m coming. No one said this was the place to be, yanno. Stardew Valley or bust.”

“There’s really light there?” Penny asked.

“Warm sunshine,” John said. “Cool rain, lush green grass, pretty pink flowers; you name it, we have it.”

“How can you be sure it’s so safe?” Morris asked.

“The light keeps those bastards away for one thing,” John said.

Morris narrowed his eyes at him. “And how is there still light there?”

“It’s a mythical little valley. Believe in a little magic, will ya?”

Morris crossed his arms, unconvinced.

“I’ve been there since the beginning of this mess,” John assured him. “We’ve had no trouble at all with the Shadow People. As far as they’re concerned, the mountains are too treacherous to even bother investigate. They have no reason to believe any human could survive up there.”

“If it’s so treacherous,” Morris argued, “then how are we supposed to be able to survive there?”

“Let’s just say it will be easy sailing for us. Come and see for yourselves. Najia and Shane here did.”

Morris still seemed unconvinced, but the others were, and they eagerly began packing their things for the trip to Stardew Valley.

 

The convoy pulled out of the forest, leaving the little hideout behind and began their journey north towards the mountain range. They drove through the night, following the mountain road and reaching the valley by morning. The warm sun greeted them brightly as the survivors looked upon it in awe, unwilling to shield their eyes or turn away.

John gave them the grand tour just as he did with Najia and Shane, showing them the space dedicated for housing, and the farm where crops still needed harvesting. Marnie and Lewis were in the fields when they arrived, and Jas jumped into Shane’s arms once more.

“Incredible,” Jodi muttered as they looked over the rows and rows of fresh crops. She leaned into her husband and grinned excitedly.

“Do you want to see our chickens?” Jas asked, squirming out of Shane’s arms and pulling at Vincent’s hand.

Vincent nodded enthusiastically as she lead him across the farm and to the southern forest. The survivors followed the two children absentmindedly, still in awe as they took in the sights around them. They watched the chickens peck at the ground before John lead them back into town.

“It’s not much,” he said, “but it’s a start. We have plenty of resources to build some more houses. Linus is pretty good at that. Don’t have much for electricity or plumbing, though. But there’s a hot spring just north of the town a bit, and we’ve gotten our hands on lots of good soap and shampoo. That’s the plus side to the end of the world; you don’t gotta pay for anything.” John chuckled to himself. When he did not get the response he expected, he cleared his throat and continued. “Anyway, I’m sure you’ll all settle in just fine. We’ve got a nice, big building up this way where you can all bunk until you get your own spaces. Plenty of blankets, wood stove, pillows, you name it. Our own little community center, I suppose. We’ve been mostly using it to store supplies, but there’s plenty of room in there. Now.” John let his hand rest on Najia’s shoulder. “I’ll let ya’ll settle in, then. There’s lots of work to be done ‘round here. I expect you to all do your fair share if you want to stick around, but we can talk about that later tonight.” And with a tip of his hat, John made his way back towards the farm.

“Yeah,” Leah muttered. “I didn’t hear anything after he said hot spring.”

“Do you think he thought to get some razors?” Abigail asked.

“No,” Leah started with a smile, “but I did.” She winked at Najia. “Let’s get these legs looking female again!”

“That’s gross,” Alex mumbled.

“Welcome to the end of the world,” Sebastian said, crossing his arms.

*****

After the group split and explored the valley, they gathered together in the community center. The large, main room was prepped with cots, pillows, and blankets for the night. An old couch and a lazy boy chair sat against the far corner of the room around a carpet and small coffee table. Lanterns hung from the ceiling, burning brightly, and a fire roared in the fire place on the far wall. Penny read from a tattered nursery book in front of the fire as Jas and Vincent listened happily. She showed them the faded pictures and they giggled.

Najia, Leah, and Abigail crammed themselves together on the couch. Maru and Harvey chatted casually beside the fire. Shane, Alex, Sam, and Sebastian watched the children interact with Penny. Dusty curled up beside them, making sure to get as close as he could to the fire. He lifted his head only for a moment to see the visitor that had come through the door, then settled in once more. The survivors looked up as John entered cheerfully.

“It does my heart good to see this place full of people,” he said, making his way to the center of the room. “Now, if this is gonna work, surviving here in the valley and all, we need to work together and help each other out. We’re a community, now, whether we like it or not. And I figured some of you must like each other enough to have stuck around with this crazy caravan of yours. So.” He put his hands on his hips and smiled at his granddaughter. “This is the plan. I don’t expect you to all live crammed in here. Ya’ll need your own space. Tomorrow, I can make a trip out to the closest city and grab some more supplies. Maybe a few nice tents or something, if anyone would like to camp out.” He shrugged. “It’s better than nothing until you can all get something more suitable. And that’s what we’ll work on; building you all proper places to live. This is our home, now, so we might as well make it feel like home. If anyone’s willing to bunk together, that will mean less building for us to do. So figure that out amongst yourselves tonight and tomorrow.”

John turned to Shane, Alex, Sam, and Sebastian, standing together in the corner. “You boys seem young and able, so I expect you to be helping out us old farts. Linus, Lewis, and I can’t do it all ourselves. We need lots of wood. Wood for building, wood for cooking, wood for everything. The forest to the south of us is vast, and there are more than enough resources for us in the mountains. I see some good muscles on those arms; use ‘em.”

He turned to the children sitting at the fire place and smiled. “Jas has been a big help with the crops and the animals,” he said. “It’s nice to see she has a friend, now.” His gaze moved to Penny. “You certainly have a way with kids.”

“I was teacher,” she said.

“Excellent,” John said. “I can’t justify child labor, but I won’t allow them to sit around and do nothing. They deserve a right proper education.” John looked around and shrugged. “I know we don’t have a school here, but we can get you some supplies, some books, whatever you need. Would you be able to do that?”

Penny smiled, eager to be back in a familiar element. “Of course,” she said quickly. “I’d love to.”

John turned to Harvey. “I know we’ve got a doctor in town, too. Some dumb luck for us, but I’ll take advantage of everything I can. We’ll set you up something nice for fixing our boo-boos and ouchies, hm? You may have to come with us on a supply run, though. I don’t know what a doctor would need. But there’s a nice, stocked hospital in the city we can bring you to.”

Harvey’s eyes lit up. “That would be incredible.” He hesitated. “But I can work around here, too. Whatever you need.”

“Of course,” John said. “Anyone able to lift an axe had better be lifting an axe by tomorrow. That goes for every male here.” His eyes moved across the room, nodding at Kent, Morris, Marlon, Gil, Gunther, and Clint. They each nodded in response.

“Everyone else,” John continued. “We’ll need to keep this place sustainable. That means food and water. We need all the help we can get with those crops; tilling, planting, and harvesting. And Marnie could use some help in the barn, too.” He turned to Najia and smiled at her.

“So,” Leah started, “you’re saying the women should be in the kitchen? Because that’s what we do best?”

John hesitated, his eyes darting around the room as if looking for support. “No,” he stuttered. “Of course not. I just thought-”

“Listen here, old man,” Leah said, getting to her feet and pointing a finger at him. “We’re just as capable and just as able to cut down some trees and do your man work, yanno.”

“I am well aware of that,” John said with a nod. “You think Marnie’s farm sprung up over night? Hell, she built the whole barn herself. I don’t mean to place any assumptions, young lady. Just trying to run an organized community here so that everyone has a job and you all know what needs to be done ‘round here. By all means, if you would rather chop down some wood, all the power to ya.”

Leah crossed her arms and smiled. “I don’t know,” she said slowly. “I wouldn’t want to embarrass the guys.” Pleased, she sat back on the couch. “I’ll think about it.”

“Good,” John said, relieved. “Tomorrow morning, I’m driving out to the city.” He turned to Harvey. “I presume you’re coming to check out the hospital?”

Harvey nodded.

“We’ll come, too,” Gil said, patting the butt of this rifle and nodding to Marlon. “We want to check out the area. And you’ll need some help if you run into any trouble.”

“That’ll be just fine,” John said. “We leave first thing in the morning. Now rest up; we have a busy few days ahead of us.”

 

Their clothes dropped in piles on the bank of the spring as Najia, Leah, Abigail, Penny, Maru, Haley, Emily, and Sandy hurried in to the warm water. They waded in until the water just barely reached their hips and settled in on the rocks scattered around the spring, sitting until they were submerged.

The water was refreshing on Najia’s skin. She leaned back and closed her eyes happily. She wiggled her toes and sighed.

Leah tossed still packaged shavers across the spring to each of them and they tore through them eagerly. They lifted their legs and passed around bars of soap, scrubbing until their legs foamed.

“I can’t remember the last time my legs felt this nice,” Haley said dreamily.

“Probably at the beach before the invasion,” Emily said.

“I can actually wear a bikini again!”

Sandy laughed. “Wear it tomorrow when you’re digging in the dirt all day. Give us something to look at, anyway.”

“The guys won’t get anything done if she does that,” Emily said.

“Especially with these legs,” Haley said proudly, lifting her smooth legs out of the water. “Hello again, girls.”

“Don’t forget the man pits,” Leah pointed out. “I can actually wear a tank top now.”

“And pluck our brows,” Penny added.

“Shampoo?” Maru offered, passing the bottle around.

They washed their hair eagerly, not caring when the shampoo stung their eyes. The burning was a familiar pain from before the invasion. They splashed water at their faces to clear the soap and rinse their hair before settling in to enjoy the hot water.

When they finished, they stepped out of the spring to dry off with the towels John had provided them earlier. They wrapped their hair and dressed themselves before making their way south, back into town.

“So,” Leah started as they made the short walk back. “Roomies, anyone?”

“I’m with Emily,” Sandy said, taking her hand. “I guess Haley can bunk with us, too.” She winked at Haley.

“Well, I’m not going to live alone,” Haley snapped. “I don’t know if I trust anyone here that much, yet.”

“I’ll likely just stay with my dad,” Maru said. “He’s scared enough as it is. It will make things sort of normal, anyway.”

“Must be nice to have a family to live with,” Abigail muttered.

“C’mon, Abs,” Leah said. “You’re rooming with me.”

“Me and you, then?” Najia said, turning to Penny.

“Seeing as I’m your only option,” Penny muttered.

“Not at all,” Najia said. “I could crash with Leah, or even my grandfather. But, if you’d rather be alone…”

“No,” she said quickly. “You have survival skills, and I don’t. You’re wth me.”

Najia laughed. “I’ll teach ya,” she said. She patted the gun in her pocket. “We’ll shoot shit some time.”

Penny stared at Najia’s pocket, then met her gaze and forced a hesitant smile. “Shooting guns, sure. Sounds fun.”

They approached the community center, illuminated by a large fire just outside where the guys stood. They turned to the women as they approached.

“Hair in towels,” Alex said, looking them up and down. “Dammit, we missed the bath party.”

“Hilarious,” Leah snarled at him.

“Would have been too dark for you to see, anyway,” Emily pointed out.

Alex shrugged. “Don’t worry, I’ve got a good imagination.”

They rolled their eyes, practically in sync with each other.

“Now, now,” Elliott said. “Leave the ladies alone.”

“Yeah, Alex,” Sam joined in. “Stop being a dog.”

“Give him a break,” Haley said, coming to his defense. She put her hand on his arm as she walked by. “He can’t control himself around pretty girls.” She winked at him as she went into the community center.

Shane whistled playfully. “There you go, Alex,” he said. “Someone who actually wants you.”

“Someone you haven’t scared off, yet,” Sam muttered.

“Oh, I’m sure she’ll figure it out soon enough,” Shane said, drinking his beer.

“Haley doesn’t need another asshole man in her life,” Elliott said. “Stay away from her.”

Alex raised his hands in defense. “Hey,” he hissed. “No one’s going after anyone.”

“By Yoba,” Marlon practically shouted to them. He, Gil, and John had been observing so quietly, the others had forgotten that they were there. “I’ve never seen a hornier group of people.”

“It’s like a college campus,” Gil muttered.

John shifted uncomfortably. “Well, this has been great,” he said, clearing his throat. He turned to leave, pausing for a moment and looking back over his shoulder. “Just remember, if anyone fucks with my granddaughter, I’ll bring you into the woods and introduce you to Betsy.”

They turned to Najia, their expressions a combination of confusion and fear.

“Betsy?” Sam asked.

Najia smiled. “His Winchester 12 gauge shotgun.”

“My Sharps, Jane, could do the trick, too,” John said. “But it would be more fun to watch you boys blow to bits.”

They watched as he disappeared into the night and stepped carefully away from Najia.

“Jeez,” Alex muttered. “Don’t piss him off.”

“Don’t worry,” Najia assured them. “I don’t need him to fight my battles.” Once more, she patted the gun in her pocket and shot them a sly smile.

“Guess crazy runs in the family,” Alex said.

“Watch out,” Leah warned him as they made their way into the community center. “Wouldn’t want you to get your ass kicked by a girl.”

Najia patted Dusty on the head as they passed. She took her hair out of her towel, fluffing it with her fingers, and looked over her shoulder, catching Shane’s gaze before she closed the door behind them.

 

Najia sipped her coffee outside, watching as her grandfather packed his beloved rifle safely on the gun rack in the back of the truck.

“If all goes well,” he said, his hand on the driver’s side door, “we should be back by tomorrow night.”

“And if it doesn’t go well?” Najia asked, sipping from her mug. The morning was hot and muggy already, but the coffee was refreshing.

“Just make sure you get my gun back.” John smiled at his granddaughter.

Najia saluted him playfully. “Yessir.”

“Well,” John called. “Let’s go, boys.”

Harvey, Gil, and Marlon followed him into the truck. Marlon and Gil squeezed into the tight back seat, their arms hanging out the back windows. John winked to Najia as they drove down the dirt path and disappeared into the dark tunnel.

When they were gone, Najia made her way back to the community center. She found Leah waiting for her outside.

“Going out to chop some wood?” Najia asked her.

Leah shook her head. “They’ve got enough guys out there,” she said. “Figured I’d let them feel manly and spend the day with you. You’re more fun, anyway.”

They walked side by side towards the farm where work on the crops was just beginning. Marnie greeted them as they approached. She wiped at her already sweaty forehead with her dirty hands. Her hair was tied back in a messy bun, locks of curly hair bouncing in her face.

“What can we do?” Najia asked her.

“Well,” Marnie began. “Fall is just around the corner, believe it or not with this heat.” She sighed. “Most of the crops are ready to be harvested now. We need to get all these fields harvested before the first frost comes. At this rate, it might be a while, but can’t take any chances in the valley. Temps could drop over night.” She pointed to a large shed beside John’s cabin. “There are baskets and wheelbarrows in there. And,” she turned, pointing to the southern most field near the forest, “I’d start harvesting over there. We’ve got the other fields covered.”

Najia and Leah set to work immediately. They dragged two wheelbarrows out of the shed and brought them across the farm to the southern field.

“So,” Leah said, her hands on her hips. “How should we do this?”

The fields were sectioned off throughout the farm, growing blueberries, melons, peppers, cabbages, tomatoes, radishes, and wheat. The southern field was filled with rows and rows of corn.

“I guess we’ll just each take a row,” Najia suggested. “And start picking.”

They set to work, going stalk by stalk, picking the corn and working their way down each row, side by side. In the distance, they could hear the chain saws roaring as trees were sawed into for building material. The tree cracked loudly and landed a moment later with a thud.

Leah winced. “I hope they don’t clear out that whole forest,” she said. “It’s so quiet and peaceful.”

“It seems pretty dense,” Najia reminded her. “And I don’t think we want to be stuck in tents when winter settles in, or crammed in the same building together.”

“I guess you’re right,” Leah said with a sigh.

They continued to work through the rest of the morning, stopping only when Marnie came to them with sandwiches.

“It’s not much,” she said, “but you girls deserve a lunch break.”

They thanked her and eagerly too the sandwiches.

“I was thinking we could make up some shifts,” Marnie suggested. “Swap everyone between jobs. Figured I’d give you a break here with the fields and you could help us prep for dinner. We have a big crew, now, which means I can’t just throw some shit together for myself and Jas.”

Najia nodded. “Just tell us what to do.”

They followed Marnie to the community center and into the large, make-shift kitchen. Along the wall were saw horses with planks across them, acting as counter space. A large fridge stood in one corner next to a large pantry. In the doorless cabinets were various plastic essentials, from plates and bowls to cups and pitchers, along with rows of jars in all shapes and sizes.

“Electricity is obviously hard to come by,” Marnie said as she showed them the refrigerator. It hummed quietly. Inside were carefully packaged eggs by the dozens and various vegetables from an earlier harvest. “But we were fortunate enough to come across some solar panels. Just enough to run the fridge here, which allows us to keep things preserved a little longer, especially in these warm months.” She opened the pantry where most of the dry goods were kept. Various spices, some with labels that were clearly taken from various grocery stores. Flour, sugar, and coffee in bulk, along with dehydrated creamers. But what filled the pantry were the various canned goods that were taken from grocery stores over time, including boxes of pasta, sauces, and boxed mashed potatoes.

“I’m not planning on making a three course meal,” Marnie said. “There’s enough work to be done every day. We can survive on small, simple meals. Especially if it means I don’t have to slave in the kitchen all afternoon to get it done. No need to make things any harder than they already are.” She turned to them smiling, her hands on her hips. “So, whadda ya say? Shall we throw something together?”

“You’re the boss,” Leah said. “What are we making?”

“I was thinking some home made soup,” Marnie said. She opened the pantry and began taking out cans of soup. “We’ll tell ‘em we slaved all day preparing this.”

“This will take us a half hour, tops,” Leah said as she looked over the cans of soup. “All that needs to be done is warming it up.”

But Marnie wasn’t finished. She pulled out an unopened bottle of whine and fished through a basket on the counter for a corkscrew. She popped the cork off the bottle and took a swig.

“Like I said; we slaved all day.” She passed the bottle to Leah. “No one has to know,” she said with a wink.

 

“Don’t expect this every day, now,” Marnie warned them with a giggle as the second bottle made its way back to her. She drank from the bottle and sighed. “These bottles are only for special occasions.”

“What’s the occasion?” Najia asked.

Marnie smiled as she opened a third bottle. “Well,” she started. “We have a whole crew of survivors here. It’s not just me and Jas and a couple of old guys. Shane is here and alive. Hell, there’s a whole lot of celebrating to do.” She sighed. “I guess we’ll have to share some of this with the guys after dinner. They deserve it.”

Leah raised an empty bottle, tapping it against Marnie’s. “To Stardew Valley, then.”

“To my bat shit crazy grandfather,” Najia giggled.

“Ah, he’s a good man,” Marnie said. “You seem to be all right yaself.”

Najia shrugged. “I’ve been called worse.”

Marnie waved a hand at her, dismissing her comment. “Shane says so, so I believe ‘im.”

Leah raised her eyebrows at Najia. “You hear that?” she said. “He talks about ya.”

“Only good things,” Marnie assured them.

Leah turned to Marnie, eager to hear more. “Like what?”

Marnie hesitated and looked to Najia. “Just that she’s a determined -”

“Stubborn,” Leah corrected her.

“- kind -”

“Sarcastic.”

“ - lovely,” Marnie hissed, narrowing her eyes at Leah, “individual.” She turned back to Najia and smiled. “He said he wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you.”

Najia shook her head. “That’s not entirely true,” she admitted. “He didn’t believe my Stardew Valley story for a second. Just came along for the ride, I guess.”

“Well, nevertheless,” Marnie said. “Thanks for dragging him along.” She hesitated. “Jas lost her whole family. She didn’t need to lose him, too.”

Najia put the bottle of wine on the counter, letting it slam harder than she had expected it to. “We should probably grab some coffee and start on that soup.”

Marnie turned to Leah. “Did I say something?”

Leah shook her head. “They have unresolved sexual tension that neither of them will admit to.”

“What?” Marnie stuttered.

“Piss off,” Najia muttered.

Leah rolled her eyes and smiled. “So, I’m right.”

“No.”

Leah shrugged. “Hey, we all could get laid around here. I’ll admit it. It’s been much longer than the couple of months we’ve been in hell for me, that’s for sure. Everyone’s pretty tense.”

“That’s what we need,” Najia said. “A giant orgy.”

Leah seemed to consider this for a moment. “Hey, if that’s what you’re into. I’m all for trying new things.”

“Can we stop talking about this?” Najia asked hastily.

“Yeah,” Marnie muttered. “Let’s get going on that soup,” she said slowly. “I’ll, uh, be back in a few. Gotta get some… things…”

They watched her leave before turning to the cans of soup on the counter.

“Marnie’s getting laid,” Leah said. “She can’t be the only one around here.”

“You think so?” Najia asked, looking out the window to see where she was heading.

“Hell yeah,” Leah said. “She’s been here for a while and has her pick of four different men. She’s so getting it.”

“Oh, Yoba,” Najia muttered. “You don’t think she’s hooking up with my grandfather, do you?”

Leah laughed as Najia’s face whitened. “He’s not even in the valley right now,” Leah reminded her.

“Doesn’t mean they’re not hooking up.”

“She’s got her back up guys for when one isn’t around.”

Najia groaned. “Let’s just get this soup warmed up.”

*****

Marnie returned twenty minutes later, just as Najia and Leah were finishing up with the soup. The large pot was filled to the top of soup which bubbled slowly.

“Smells delicious,” Marnie said as she reached into the cabinets for bowls.

“Smells like sodium overkill,” Leah said as she scrunched her nose at the soup.

“Can’t be too picky right now,” Marnie reminded her.

Jas and Vincent poked their heads into the kitchen.

“I’m hungry,” Jas said. “What’s for dinner?” She sat herself at the small table on the other side of the room, just out of their way, and motioned for Vincent to sit beside her.

“Soup,” Marnie said. “Chicken noodle.” She turned to the two children and smiled. “Want some?”

They nodded eagerly as Penny made her way into the kitchen.

“What can I help with?” she asked Marnie as Marnie spooned soup into two bowls.

“You can give the kids some dinner,” Marnie said, filling a third bowl. “And have some for yourself.”

Penny brought the hot bowls of soup to Vincent and Jas, placing them carefully on the table. “Let it cool,” she warned them as she sat across from them with her own bowl.

Marnie joined them at the table. “What did you two do today?”

“Miss Penny taught us about the seasons,” Jas said excitedly. “And how different crops grow in different seasons. And about photo…” She paused and turned to Penny.

“Photosynthesis,” Penny said to her.

Jas turned back to Marnie, grinning. “Yeah! That’s how the plants turn the sunlight into food for themselves.”

“No way,” Marnie said, looking shocked. “Plants need food like us?”

Vincent nodded, bouncing in his seat. “Yeah! And plants are good for us, too. They make the air good for us to breathe.”

“Gosh, you two are smart,” Marnie said. “You must have a real good teacher.”

“Penny said she would help me ride a bike,” Vincent said. “Sam tried to teach me, but he’s not a very good teacher.”

“My mom and dad taught me,” Jas said. She stared into her soup quietly for a moment before she returned her gaze to Vincent. “And Shane taught me how to play soccer.”

“I wanna play soccer,” Vincent said.

Jas smiled. “I’ll teach ya.”

 

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 don’t think we have laws here,” Shane said.

“Sure we do,” Najia said. “Don’t kill thy neighbor. Don’t steal. Don’t cheat.”

“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.

 

It was dark when Najia and Leah returned from their walk. People milled about the fire outside the community center, enjoying cold beer as their day came to an end. Haley and Alex stood side by side, talking quietly just at the edge of the fire’s light. Emily and Sandy sat together in lawn chairs with Elliott. Maru, Penny, Sam and Sebastian were together in a group, watching the children giggle. Jodi and Kent stood near by, watching Vincent and Jas play, while Abigail stood with Leah. Demetrius, Clint, Gunther, and Morris stood casually together, but made no huge effort to talk much to one another.

“No Marnie or Lewis,” Leah observed. She turned to Najia and winked at her. “That’s the second night in a row.”

Najia shuttered. “I don’t want to think about that.” She looked around the fire and noticed Shane was missing, too. She made her way into the community center, curiously, finding him in the dark with a bag over his shoulder.

“Going somewhere?” Najia asked.

“Marnie’s,” Shane said simply.

“Too cool to hang out here with us?”

Shane made his way to her and met her gaze. “Don’t be jealous because I have my own room and you don’t.” He pushed passed her towards the door.

“Where, in the chicken coop?” Najia said playfully, but Shane did not respond. He reached the door, his hand on the knob, and paused.

“Maybe next time you and Leah should get a room,” he mumbled. He yanked open the door and let it slam behind him, leaving Najia alone in the dark.

Najia stared at the door dumbly for a moment before making her way back outside towards the fire. Shane was already gone. She hesitated before returning to Leah and Abigail, her gaze fixed on the flames reaching toward the sky.

“What’s up wit him?” Abigail asked.

“I knew happy Shane wouldn’t last,” Leah muttered.

Najia didn’t say anything. She could feel Leah’s eyes on her.

“What did you say to piss him off?” she asked.

“I didn’t say anything,” Najia hissed.

“Okay,” Leah said slowly. “What happened?”

“Nothing.”

Leah hesitated. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Najia met her gaze for a moment, biting her lower lip, then turned her gaze back to the fire and sighed. “No.”

Leah turned back to the fire. “Well,” she started. “At least someone’s getting laid right now.”

“He saw us,” Najia said quickly. She could feel Leah’s eyes on her but she did not turn.

“So,” Leah started. “He’s upset about that?”

Najia shrugged. “I guess.”

“And,” Leah continued, “you’re upset about that?”

“No,” she said quickly.

“Then why do you care?”

Najia pinched her lips together. “I don’t,” she said after a moment.

“It seems like you do.” When Najia didn’t say anything, Leah continued. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to put you into this kind of situation.”

“There’s no situation,” Najia said quickly, meeting her gaze.

Leah’s lips twisted to the side. “Maybe we should talk.

Najia nodded slowly and followed Leah into the dark community center.

“I like you,” Leah said as soon as the door closed behind them. “But if you like Shane…”

“I don’t like Shane,” Najia insisted. “I don’t like anyone.”

“Oh.” Leah was quiet for a moment. “Okay. I’m sorry that I kissed you then.”

“I don’t mean that,” Najia said. “I mean… I do like you…”

“But you like Shane, too?”

Najia shook her head. “Look,” she started. “I… This isn’t the kind of world where I’m willing to get attached to anyone. I don’t want to like anyone.”

“Najia,” Leah began. “You can’t help who you have feelings for.”

“Maybe not,” Najia said. “But I can shove them way down and hide them and lock them up and kill them. That’s how it needs to be.”

“You can’t do that,” Leah said.

“I can,” Najia said sternly, almost interrupting her. “And I will.”

Leah hesitated. “If that’s how you want it to be, then.” She took Najia’s hand in hers. “I won’t talk about it anymore.”

“Thank you,” Najia muttered. She met Leah’s gaze. “We can talk again when the war’s over.”

*****

Leah and Najia worked side by side the next morning in the fields, finishing their work from the previous day harvesting the corn. Najia continued to look towards the dirt road, anxious.

“He’ll come back,” Leah assured her. “I’m sure everything went fine.”

“Yeah,” Najia said turning back to the wheel barrow full of corn. In the distance, they could still hear the rattling chain saws on wood. Najia tried to focus on something other than her grandfather. The sound of the axes and chainsaws only made her thoughts turn to Shane. She quickly dismissed those as well and sighed.

“What’s wrong?” Leah asked.

“These menial chores are killing me,” Najia muttered. “I need something more demanding than this or I’m going to go crazy.”

Leah smiled. “Funny thing, isn’t it? How boring safety and security is? And yet, how quickly we latch on to a familiar routine. We’re in a constant state of being torn between the life we knew, and a life of running and hiding and fighting, for our lives.”

“Getting philosophical, are we?”

“If you think about it,” Leah continued, “on some level, we’re all suffering from some form or another of PTSD. Some of us act like assholes, pushing people away to prevent us from getting hurt again. Some of us flirt obnoxiously in order to cover up some deeper trauma. Some of us sleep around as a distraction. And some of us form societies and a sense of order.”

“I think that’s a stretch,” Najia mumbled.

“Denial.” She met Najia’s gaze and smiled as she continued to work. “Just look at yourself, pushing me away.”

“I thought we weren’t going to talk about it?”

“You know what’s really ironic?” Leah continued, turning back to the corn and ignoring Najia. “This role swap you and Shane have made.”

“Excuse me?”

“He would have been perfectly happy if you had just left him alone, but you clung to him, and me, and Abigail, and every survivor we met on the way. Now that we’re here and, for the time being, safe, Shane is clinging to Jas and Marnie and you’re happy to just be alone.”

“What are you trying to say?” Najia hissed.

“Nothing at all,” Leah said, shaking her head. She met Najia’s gaze once more. “I just thought it was interesting.”

“Stop psychoanalysing me.”

“Can’t help it,” Leah said. “Harvesting corn is such menial work, my mind tends to wander.” She stretched her back. “Normally I would paint or sculpt. What would you be doing?”

“Get off of me!”

“Stop fighting me,” he snarled at her.

The straps around her wrists and neck tightened. She gasped for air as the leather bore into her skin.

“Where is it?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she sobbed.

The straps tightened again.

“Please,” she cried. “I know nothing about Stardew Valley.”

“Probably hanging out with my dad in his auto shop.”

 

The old, green truck puttered down the dirt road as the sun began to set on the valley. The four men that had left the safety of the valley returned unharmed and eager. Leah, Najia, and the rest of the women in the fields left the farm for the day, walking passed John, Lewis, Linus, and Harvey, who were in the process of setting up a large, canvas tent.

“It will do until we can build a good structure for ya,” John said as they hoisted up a long pole. He turned to Najia and winked to her. “You should see all the stuff this guy grabbed. It’s like he was in Doctor Heaven.”

“I have an IV!” Harvey said excitedly.

“We’re sure ready for anything,” Lewis muttered. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

“Where’s Haley?” Leah asked, turning to Emily as they continued on to the community center.

Emily rolled her eyes. “Probably snuck off somewhere with Alex,” she said.

“We should have put money on that,” Sandy said. “I called it when I saw him. Just her type. Dumb, jerk, jock.”

“I’ll kick his ass,” Emily muttered.

“Well, they’re not the only two shacking up,” Leah said, looking over her shoulder. “Najia and I have money on Lewis and Marnie.”

They all looked over their shoulders at Lewis, who had their backs to them.

“He’s old,” Abigail mumbled. “That’s kinda gross.”

“You know who’s totally into Emily?” Maru said with a smirk. “Clint.”

“No way,” Najia said. Emily scoffed.

Maru nodded. “He thinks your hot.”

“Girl,” Sandy said, elbowing her friend in the ribs.

“He’s not really my type, anyway,” Emily said.

“How would you know? You haven’t even talked to him,” Sandy said.

“Okay,” Emily started. “Well, how about Harvey? He’s totally into Penny.”

“I thought Sam was into Penny,” Najia said.

“She’s cute,” Leah said. “I bet they both are.”

“You think so?” Maru said.

Leah nodded. “Definitely.”

Penny was outside with Jas and Vincent when they got to the community center.

“Just in time,” she said to them. “The guys aren’t here yet, and food is fresh and hot.”

They made their way inside, helping themselves to the dinner in the kitchen. They chatted loudly until the guys took over the kitchen, pushing them out as they reached for their own plates.

When dinner was finished, the group stood around the fire once more, beer in hand as they capped off the day’s work. Najia wandered away from the fire, finding Lewis, Linus, Harvey, and John back at their make-shift hospital tent, moving the equipment inside.

“Quite a sight, ain’t she?” John said at his granddaughter’s side.

“As long as he doesn’t have to perform any emergency surgeries,” Najia muttered.

“I think he could do it,” John said. “Let’s just hope he doesn’t have to, hm?”

“Hm.”

“Why aren’t you enjoying yourself at the fire?”

Najia shrugged. “I’m with them all day,” she said. “And have been for the last couple of months. They’re exhausting.”

“You’re twenty-six years old,” John said. “You’re not supposed to be exhausted by people your own age.”

“They talk too much sometimes.”

“What’s on your mind, Rōśanī? You’ve hardly talked to me.”

“What do you want me to say?”

John hesitated. “I want to make sure you’re okay.”

“You want to know what happened.”

“What happened?”

“The same thing that happened to everyone else,” Najia hissed. She avoided his gaze. “They attacked and I escaped.”

“Is that all?”

“You think I’m hiding something.”

“I know when you’re avoiding something.”

Red lights flashed up and down the long corridor. Her footsteps echoed loudly off the walls, her heart beat even louder in her ears. She forced her breathing to slow into a steady rhythm and her mind to focus. She remembered an open window in the next corridor. She could jump. She was on the forth floor, but she could do it. She would do it.

Angry voices shouted to one another as they rounded the corner, their hands on their guns, still pointed at the floor. Her feet slipped as she neared the end of the hallway and rounded the corner. The open window neared quickly.

She stopped in front of it and stared down at the concrete below. It couldn’t be possible for her to survive a jump like that. But maybe falling to her death wasn’t the worst solution in the world.

The men rounded the corner, this time their guns raised, and Najia jumped.

“I’m not avoiding anything, Nanaji.”

*****

Najia let her legs swing under her. She sat on the tailgate of the truck with a cold beer in hand. She stared at her feet as they disappeared and reappeared from under her.

“So, this is where you’re hiding,” Shane’s voice said from behind her. He pushed himself up onto the tailgate beside her.

“Obviously not hiding well enough,” Najia muttered.

“Hiding from me?”

Najia sighed. “Everyone.”

“Why?”

Najia shrugged. “Just needed some alone time, I guess.”

“All right,” Shane said, pushing himself off the tailgate.

“You can stay,” Najia said quickly. “If you want.”

Shane leaned against the truck. “Okay.”

“I gossiped today,” Najia said after a quiet moment.

“I don’t know how to respond to that.”

“The last time I gossiped with anyone was in high school.”

Shane smiled. “Anything juicy?”

“Alex and Haley are hooking up.”

Shane nodded. “Yeah, I caught them at the beach.”

“Everyone thinks Harvey and Sam are into Penny.”

Shane seemed to consider this possibility for a moment.

“I think Maru likes her, too.”

Shane turned to her. “Really? Why do you think that?”

Najia shrugged. “A hunch.”

“And,” Shane started. “Do you find this gossip interesting?”

“Not really,” Najia admitted. “I just find it funny that in the midst of all this, we have found a way to take comfort in gossip.”

“A sense of normality.”

“Leah lectured me today on the irony of everything.”

“Irony?”

“Yeah. She got way too philosophical for me.” Najia forced a smile. “I have enough to think about.”

“Mhm.”

“There’s nothing going on between us.”

Shane met her gaze. “Looks like it.”

Najia turned back to her feet. “I mean it. Everyone else may find comfort in hooking up, but I don’t.”

“Sure.”

“Shane, do you know how long it has been since I’ve had sex?” She narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m practically a virgin again. I’d be terrible at it. I’ve forgotten it all.”

Shane laughed. “I doubt that.”

“Doesn’t matter,” she said. “Getting involved with someone would be the worst thing ever.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because we could all die tomorrow.”

Shane drank from his beer. “Remember when you were Miss Optimistic?”

“Being here,” Najia said, hesitant. “This sense of safety and community… it will take some adjusting to, I suppose.”

“Well,” Shane said. “It’s definitely not as exciting as running for our lives. But I can’t complain.”

“Because you have family here.”

“So do you.”

“I have a crazy ass grandfather who I hadn’t seen or spoken to in years. And suddenly, we’re about to be invaded, and I get a call from him telling me to come to Stardew?”

“Why is that so odd to you?”

Najia sighed and shook her head. “I don’t know. I guess it’s not.”

 

“Don’t let her die,” the voice hissed. “Not before she tells us what we need to know.”

“It doesn’t matter if she tells us,” another voice said. The language was not English. It was unfamiliar to Najia, yet she understood it perfectly. “You will follow her there.”​

Najia opened her eyes. She lay on the cold, hard pavement, blinking up into the blue sky. Her mind was strangely alert and focused; she could still hear the alarm from inside the building.

Najia scrambled to her feet and looked up at the window she had jumped out of. It remained open, but there was no one inside, looking down at her. She turned suddenly as she heard voices coming from around the building. They had made it to the ground floor and were coming quickly.

Najia sprinted across the pavement toward a car that was parked against the building. She yanked open the door and fiddled with the wires until the engine started. She slammed on the gas as bullets peppered her bumper. She flew through the empty, early morning city streets, across the bridge, and onto the interstate, leaving the city behind her.

Najia bolted upright, shaking and sweating. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she threw a pinch behind her, right into Shane’s chest. He grunted and threw his hands up in defense.

“It’s me,” he shouted to her.

Najia scrambled backwards, bumping into the other side of the wall of the bed. “I’m so sorry,” she muttered. “What happened? Where are we?”

“Back of the truck,” Shane groaned. “I was sleeping until you started yelling and punched me.”

Najia rubbed her temples. “I had the strangest dream,” she muttered. She turned to Shane. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, of course,” he said quickly. “I’ve been hit harder than that.”

“I wouldn’t doubt it,” she said. “You probably deserved it.”

Shane smiled. “Probably.” He moved next to Najia. “What the hell kind of dream was it?”

“I don’t remember,” she said quickly.

“You’re lying.”

“What does it matter?” she asked, turning to him.

“It’s clearly bothering you.”

“It was just a dream.”

“Then tell me.”

“I can’t,” she barked.

Shane stared blankly at her for a moment. “Okay,” he said simply.

Najia hesitated. “Did you know I was homeless?”

“I think we’re all homeless,” Shane said.

“No,” Najia said shortly. “Before the invasion. I was living on the streets.”

Shane was quiet. He watched her carefully as she spoke.

“My mom died when I was young,” Najia said. “Overdose. Dad killed himself in his garage seven years ago.”

“You were homeless for seven years?” he asked softly.

Najia shook her head. “No. Only the last year or so before the invasion.”

“That explains a lot,” Shane muttered. “I knew you were a thug.”

“I’m not joking,” Najia shouted. She slunk back against the wall of the bed. “I’m sorry.”

“No,” Shane said. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have joked about that.”

Najia’s fingers scratch absentmindedly at her jeans. Shane put his hand over hers and she stopped.

“So,” Shane said quietly. “Crazy gramps found out and told you to come to Stardew?”

Najia shook her head. “John doesn’t know.”

Shane hesitated. “I’m sure if you told him-”

“He doesn’t give a rat’s ass,” Najia hissed.

“That’s not true,” Shane argued.

“You don’t even know-” She felt Shane’s hand tighten around hers.

“I might not know your life story,” Shane said. “But I know he cares about you. Call it a hunch.”

Najia met his gaze, unconvinced. “Something else happened,” she said, turning away. “His call must have been intercepted or something. Because after he called me, I was picked up off the street. All ‘Taken’ like. Thrown into the back seat of a car, blindfolded, beaten.” Najia hesitated. “The government, I guess. They wanted to know about Stardew Valley.” Najia turned to Shane. “I sound like Crazy John, now, don’t I?”

Shane stared at Najia. “What happened?”

“They wanted information. Information I didn’t have. They tried everything to get me to spill.” Najia turned away again, her fingers scratching at her legs anxiously again, but Shane tightened his grip. “I got out. Escaped.” She met Shane’s gaze. “I jumped out a fourth story window and survived, completely uninjured. I took a car, and I left the city. All before the invasion even happened.”

Shane was quiet as he watched her. She did not break her gaze.

“Why do they want to know about Stardew Valley?” Najia whispered. “What’s here that they want?”

Shane turned away. “The answer to winning this war?”

“I didn’t know,” Najia sobbed. “I don’t know.”

“Hey,” Shane said, pulling her into him. “It’s okay. Okay?” He hesitated. “I know that’s not very comforting but… it’s over with.”

“What if they followed me?” she asked. “In my dream, someone said I couldn’t die until they got the information they needed. And someone else suggested that they follow me.”

“No one followed you,” Shane assured her. “We would know by now. It was just a dream.”

“What do they want with me and the valley?”

Shane wrapped his arms around her. “The light,” he said. “They didn’t want you to hog it all for yourself.”

Najia sighed and let her head rest against his chest. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it all since we got here,” she said. “Before, I thought there was a chance that it was all fake. A misunderstanding. But it’s here, and it’s real, and there’s something more to all this. I just don’t know what.”

“Well,” Shane started. “When you figure it out, let me know, and we’ll take care of it.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“I do mean it. If it turns out some shadow brute followed you, I’ll kill it. If we have to blow up their headquarters, we’ll do it. If we have to leave Stardew Valley, we’ll go somewhere tropical. Travel the world and see the sights, remember?”

Najia pushed herself away and hopped out of the bed of the truck. She watched the stars twinkling in the night sky and sighed. “Yeah. Okay.”

 

It only took them a week to replace Harvey’s medical tent with a more appropriate building, set up with a large fire place and solar power for lighting. They continued to cut wood for buildings and homes in preparation for the winter. The sun was low in the sky, casting orange streaks across the sky when they returned from another day’s work. The men united with the women on the dirt road as their paths’ crossed and they chatted amongst themselves until Vincent and Jas interrupted, running to them from the beach.

“A boat!” Vincent shouted. “There’s a boat and it’s coming right to us!”

They fell silent immediately, looking to one another.

“It can’t be the Shadow People,” Linus reminded them. “They won’t come near light.”

Curious, they traveled to the beach, standing on the shore as the boat neared. A man stood on the bow, waving excitedly as the boat came closer. When he was close enough to shore, he tossed his lines out onto the dock and the men secured the boat as he climbed over the side.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” the man said. “There’s a whole crew of ya here.”

Lewis approached and held out his hand. “Welcome to Stardew Valley,” he said.

The man shook his hand eagerly. “Willy,” he said quickly. “I saw the light. Drawn to it like a moth. Figured there was no way there would be Shadow Brutes here.”

Lewis shook his head and smiled. “Not-a-one.” He walked Willy onto the shore, who tipped his hat to the women and children.

“I was sure this would be some desolate area,” Willy said.

“This is our little survivor’s camp,” Lewis said. “Come, let me show you around and get some food. Marnie’s been cooking all day, I’m sure.”

“Drinking all day,” Leah said under her breath and winked at Najia.

They followed Lewis back into their little town. Najia and Shane trailed behind as the others walked ahead.

“Are you okay?” Shane asked, studying her carefully.

“Of course,” Najia said, not meeting his gaze. “Why?”

Shane shrugged and kicked at a small stone in front of him. “Just checking. Wasn’t sure if you had any more of those dreams.”

Najia sighed. “No,” she said. “Just the one.”

“Are you sure?”

“Well,” she started. “I did have this one dream where you left me the hell alone about it.”

Shane smiled. “Too bad it was just a dream, huh?”

*****

They each gathered in the community center in groups, hungrily eating their dinners. Najia sat with Leah, Shane, and Abigail, while Emily, Sandy, Elliott, and Clint sat together. Alex and Haley made googley eyes at one another from the couch. Sam, Sebastian, Maru, and Penny sat in the kitchen, while Jas and Vincent ate with Marnie, Lewis, Kent, Jodi, Linus, and Willy at the largest table.

When she finished, Penny grabbed another bowl, bringing it to Harvey who was still inside the hospital. She poked her head inside, knocking on the door. Harvey was rearranging the beds in the corner of the room. He looked up and smiled.

“Am I interrupting?” Penny asked.

“Of course not,” Harvey said. “Just trying to get everything all finished up in here.”

Penny made her way inside. “I brought you some dinner. I didn’t want the guys to eat it all before you had a chance.”

“Thanks,” Harvey said with a grin. He took the bowl from Penny as she looked around.

“It looks like a real hospital,” she said.

“Well, without the white walls and floors and the iodoform smell.”

“Is that what hospitals smell like?” Penny asked. “I never liked it, anyway.”

“Me neither,” Harvey admitted. “To me, it just smells like death.”

“I guess you’ve dealt with that a lot,” Penny said softly.

“It’s inevitable,” Harvey said. “Sometimes, there’s only so much I can do.”

“I don’t know how you do it,” Penny said. “Having someone’s life in your hands like that.”

Harvey smiled at her. “I used to think it a very powerful experience. Holding a heart in your hand. Bringing someone back to life. But I quickly learned it’s just terrifying. People are more than just their organs. I learned that their lives didn’t stop at the door to my OR. On the other side of those doors, their lives continued, waiting for them. Friends, family, lovers.”

Penny watched him as he seemed to drift off as he spoke, his eyes glowing.

“My patients became very personal to me. It wasn’t just about fixing them because it was my job. It wasn’t a thrill. It became a much deeper experience. When it came to life or death, they depended on me, and I had to fight for them. And when I lost patients, it crushed me.”

“I could not deal with that kind of emotional stress,” Penny muttered.

Harvey met her gaze. “I’ve learned to find a balance. I care for my patients, but have been able to distance myself just enough when that time comes. It’s been a skill that I’ll probably never perfect. But at the end of the day, I remind myself I did all I could, and at the beginning of each day, I tell myself to always do the best I can.”

Penny smiled at him. “Do you think it will be harder out here?”

Harvey sighed. “In that back of that Hummer, I’ve monitored concussions, I’ve performed CPR, and I’ve cleaned an infection and stitched it up.” He hesitated. “I think that will be the easiest thing I’ll have to do. I’m not used to not having my hospital and my staff around me. But all I can do is my best. I think I’m doing okay so far.”

“I think so, too,” Penny said. “You know, Maru was going to school to be a nurse. Maybe she could help you out in some way.”

Harvey’s eyes brightened. “I could always use an extra set of hands,” he said. “I’ll have to talk to her.”

“Don’t get lost in here,” Penny said as she made her way to the door.

Harvey held the bowl up in front of him. “Thanks for dinner.”

*****

The discussion in the community center was heated when Penny returned.

“Winter will be here before we know it,” Lewis said. “We need to stock up on all the supplies we can before it settles in and potentially blocks our way in and out of the valley.”

“The Shadow People don’t know we’re here in the valley,” Jodi said. “If you go out and they find you, they could potentially follow you back here, right to us.”

“The Shadow People cannot enter the valley,” John reminded her. “The light will drive them away.”

“But they’ll know we’re here,” Jodi insisted. “They’ll find a way in.”

“It will be a very long, cold winter if we don’t go out and prepare now,” Lewis said. “We’re working double time to get some more buildings up so you don’t have to all be crammed in this little space. But without supplies, walls are just walls. We could stock up the pantry, get our hands on some more solar panels, maybe some nice heaters. We have entire stores stocked full of supplies that we can take as we please. We need to take advantage of that.”

“Supply raids are not new for us,” John said. “And no one has to come if they don’t want to. Especially if you don’t have experience with raiding and fighting. We don’t need anyone holding us back or making things more difficult while we’re out there.”

“John’s leaving tomorrow morning,” Lewis said. “He’ll take all the help he can get from anyone who is able.”

“You know Marlon and I are down,” Gil said, patting his rifle. “We’re itching to get out there again.”

“Fine,” John said. “Lewis, keep the rest of ‘em in line while we’re gone. Don’t need anyone slacking on their fair share of work.”

Najia followed her grandfather out of the building, into the night.

“I know I don’t have to ask you twice,” he said over his shoulder. He stopped and turned to face her and smiled.

“I have a few things on my shopping list,” Najia said.

John looked passed her. “You might not get anywhere without that body guard of yours,” he said quietly. He winked at his granddaughter before heading back down the road towards the farm.

Najia turned as Shane approached. “What?” she hissed at him.

Shane smiled and walked passed her. “See ya tomorrow morning.”