What Remains (Book 2): What's Left Read online

“Well, holy shit, the relic speaks,” Nick growled back, his voice losing some of its power in the process. “Surely you have something valid to say about our rogue scout and her behavior? A man of your experience should be able to say with ease that Auska is causing a problem and it will only get worse if it isn’t dealt with!”

  Barry patted the veteran on the back before he could reply. “It’s okay Tony, Nick here has every right to express his opinion. Knowing each other’s minds and feelings is what makes a strong unit and helps us work through potential problems that could result in disaster when danger strikes.”

  Nick snorted in disgust. “Yeah, like one of our scouts always running off, leaving us potentially blind to what’s ahead, behind or to the sides of us!”

  Before Barry could reply, a calm, sweet voice cut through the trees with a response. “You wound me deeply, Nick. I would never run off if there was still danger around.” Auska smirked coolly walking into the clearing as casually as the rising sun. “I always kill everything that needs killing before doing what I need to do.” She walked right up to Nick and patted his shoulder like a big sister would an annoying younger brother, even though Nick was older than her by a few years. “Because I know how scared you get when I’m not around to protect you.”

  Nick pulled away. “Look who decided to grace us with her ever-absent presence for nearly this whole five-day trip.” He spat by her feet. “Might have been better if you hadn’t returned for once.”

  “Curb that shit.” Barry pointed a stern finger Nicks way before turning his attention to Auska. “Where’d you go this time, scout?”

  “And I even brought you back a present Nick as compensation for making you wait for me again.” She ignored Barry’s question, a full pack of cigarettes appeared in her hand and everyone’s eyes bulged a little at the rare find. “It’s all yours if you’ll forgive me again.”

  Nicks hand instinctively twitched to grab them, but he quickly steeled himself. “You can’t think you can just bribe us to forgive and forget your bullshit every time you do this, Auska. This is a serious job, that can have serious consequences if we aren’t all on the same page and know we can trust one another when the time comes.”

  She grinned, knowing his eyes betrayed him. He wanted the cigarettes badly and who wouldn’t? Whether he smoked or not, the trade value on a full pack of unopened smokes was golden. But he still wanted to try and save face in front of everyone else for the sake of his rant.

  As much as she wanted to continue to toy with him, she decided it would serve her better to play it differently. “Wasn’t a bribe, more a gift for a squad member to show that I care about the team even if I am tardy from time to time.” It was a lie, but it sounded pretty good. “Plus, I found enough for everyone.” Reaching into her pack she pulled out the carton of cigarettes and handed the other seven members of the Eighth a pack. It pained her to do so, that many packs would have gotten her a new scope for her rifle and at least twenty rounds. But it was better than someone ratting her out to the council and her getting kicked off scavenging duty. This was the one job she almost enjoyed; it gave her some freedom to do as she wanted. Also, it gave her the ability to find things to keep for herself.

  Nick grabbed the pack bitterly and shoved it into his pocket. “You’re off the hook in my eyes this time, but seriously Auska, stop this shit, it’s getting on my nerves.” He looked around their surroundings with a shiver. “You know how dangerous it is out here; not all of us are hardcore like you. Not to mention it’s starting to get fucking cold out.”

  Jennifer walked up to Auska’s side and casually placed an arm around her shoulders with a cocky smile. “You are always good in my books, girl, if you keep bringing gifts like this.” She lit the cigarette in her mouth and inhaled deeply. “Hell, a gift like this has got to redeem you for a few offenses in the future, too, I’d wager.” She winked at her as she strolled off.

  Tony hid the pack of smokes in his jacket lining. “Next time take me with you kid. You’re having all the fun out there and I’m sitting here getting rusty with age.” He smiled at her. “Your good kid, ain’t no denying it, but I’d bet an old-timer like me could still teach you a thing or two out here.”

  Auska was touched by his words and wondered if it was because of the day it was. “Next time, you can come, so long as you can keep up.”

  Tony smirked. “We will see who can keep up with who kid.”

  “Alright now that we are all accounted for, time to move out, double-time,” Barry ordered. “We got a few miles to cover before we get home. Let’s not be late for dinner!”

  The group gathered their packs and set off, but Barry held back, motioning for Auska to hang back with him.

  Auska rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry, it’ll never happen again. I lost track of time. Thought I saw something worth looking into…” She stopped. “Any of these working for you?”

  Barry held up his hand to stop her. “We both know none of that is true, nor has it ever been.” He handed her back the pack of smokes she had given him. He wanted it, for it was a bartering chip that would get him much, just like all the things she had bribed him with. As always, his moral compass cut at him.

  She sighed, slipping the cigarettes back in her pocket. “I know, but those excuses used to work on you. At least, you use to pretend they did.”

  Shaking his head, he chuckled lightly. “Where the hell do you go all the time? What is it you feel you have to do alone out here?” He knew he wouldn’t get an answer, he never did. “We are a team, a family… a dysfunctional family, but what family isn’t? We need each other, need to work with each other, need to trust each other.”

  “That’s my business, as it always has been.”

  “And the squad and everyone in it when we are outside the walls is MY damn business, and you’d do well to remember that from time to time!” he’d retorted more harshly then he had intended, yet Nicks words had struck a chord. He had been too forgiving with her; he knew of no other squad leader who would put up with such behavior.

  Auska’s eyes darkened. “Then you had better punish me! Want me to carry everyone’s packs? Maybe do extra cleaning of gear and chores around the barracks? Or maybe just go straight to the council and tell them of my rogue outings? Tie myself to the lashing pole and count the twenty?”

  “All fitting punishments for your insubordination. I can assure you any other Division leader would have had all of those things done to you already,” he shot back dangerously. “Do you know what would happen to you if I told the council what you do out here?”

  “Lock me up in solitary again for a few days, maybe a week,” she replied as if it was no big deal. She had spent time there before in the dank little room, with naught but a single candle to give her light and the grating noise of a food tray being push under the door twice a day to keep her company. “It’s rather peaceful. Maybe you should tell on me yourself; I could use the peace and quiet. Maybe it will give me time to reflect on my callous ways.”

  Barry moved in front of her and stared her hard in the eyes, making sure she was looking at him before he spoke. “Oh yes, you would spend at least a week if not more in solitary, but you’d also feel the bite of the lash as well.” His voice darkened. “I’ve seen others get fifteen to twenty strikes for transgressions half as bad as yours.”

  “So be it then!” she spat and tried to walk around him, but he grabbed her arm and held her firmly.

  “Damn it, Auska!” he cursed, drawing her eyes to his again. “You need to understand that this is serious. Every time you do this, it puts me and everyone else in our squad at risk of possible punishment for not reporting it. This isn’t just your ass, it’s all of ours. Hell, I could be stripped of rank and expelled from Sanctuary because of this,” he confessed with a hint of fear in his tone. “So, this shit needs to stop, or at the very least not happen every damn time we come out here. Because it’s only a matter of time before someone talks. Your ”gifts” will only keep them silent f
or so long before greed takes over and they start wanting more and more to keep quiet. I don’t know where you keep finding this stuff, but you’re bound to run out sooner or later.” Her eyes softened and he knew at least some of his words had gotten through to her.

  “Okay,” she replied, barely more than a whisper.

  “Okay? Really, that’s it?”

  Auska rolled her eyes at him. “I fucking said okay already.”

  He sighed, not willing to give up yet. “Look, I can’t even begin to understand what goes on inside that head of yours. Why you feel compelled to be alone all the time, or why you seem to enjoy pushing the limits of my leniency, even with the threat of such harsh punishments knocking at the door each time. But something needs to give, even if it’s just a little at a time.”

  “You’re beating a dead horse again.”

  “You are one of the best scouts these people have ever had,” he told her truthfully. “It would be a shame if Sanctuary lost such a talent due to you not applying just a little more of that skill for the greater good and not just yourself.”

  Auska rolled her eyes again and tried to sidestep him but he would have none of it and his hand held firm.

  “I know you have had a hard time since getting here. I have heard the talk and rumors. You can talk to me, about anything, you know that, right?”

  Her eyes hardened again. “I don’t need a therapist.”

  He released her arm. “No, you don’t, but a friend might not be such a horrible thing for you either.”

  “Are we done here?” Her tone left no doubt that she was.

  “Think about it.”

  Vincent looked down at the large aluminum tray and the thirty scrawny rabbits he had just finished preparing. They had looked so much bigger with their fur and guts but once he stripped the meat from the bones there wouldn’t be much to work with. But this was what had been rationed for the night and he had worked with less before over the years and always surprised himself how far he could stretch the ingredients he was allotted for each meal.

  It was a tough system, ensuring there was enough food for everyone that lived there. Two hundred and nine mouths to feed was a chore under the best of times. But the people who rationed the supplies worked hard at what they did, and he did his part to ensure it was enough.

  Though a good handful of those people were allotted special treatment for their stations and services and did not eat with the commoners from this kitchen. In truth, only a hundred and seventy-three would rely on what he made tonight. But as a rule, Vincent always tried to push that number to the maximum just in case. That way serving sizes for those who did require it could be that little bit more.

  There had been hard times where things were tougher than normal, but still, they had all managed. It was this skill set that he had that made him nearly invaluable to Sanctuary’s cause, even making him and Kelli among the few that were given slightly better treatment and resources, though they seldom took advantage of it.

  Picking up the small boning knife he went to work; he needed to get the bones in the boiling water soon so the broth of the stew would have as much flavor as possible. There was next to nothing in way of spices anymore and those were only allotted a few times a year for special occasions. So, he had to make the flavors of the foods he used work for him to their fullest, a talent he had gotten good at over the last few years since being stationed in the kitchen.

  It was a job he much preferred to what he had been doing before, even if it was harder. He shuddered at the memory of the first two years he and Kelli had spent emptying the bathroom waste and carting it out to the massive hole dug half a mile outside the walls. A primitive and disgusting method, but with no real plumbing, it was the only way to discard it and keep the filth from causing disease. They had done so with little complaint, knowing if they didn’t they would be kicked out of the safety of the walls, and they would endure whatever they had to make certain that never happened. Memories from their time within the wastelands still to this day plagued his nightmares regularly.

  Everyone in Sanctuary had a role to play, everyone worked and did their jobs, and for that, they had a safe place to live and enough food to stay alive. Those who didn’t pull their weight were given only a few chances before they were banished back into the chaotic, dangerous world beyond. There was no room for those who didn’t contribute to the greater good of all who lived there. It was far from a perfect system, but had there ever been such a thing even before all this?

  When they had first arrived, they had been brought in under false pretenses. A cure that wasn’t real, was nothing more than saltwater in a little glass vial. But it had gotten them in and once in he had explained themselves in full and all they had been through to get there, being sure to leave nothing out, in hopes for pity. They had almost been thrown out but had managed to convince the council of their worth and so they had been given a chance.

  It hadn’t been easy. They had had to prove themselves and work twice as hard as the others already there, often working fifteen hours a day for weeks at a time. Harder still, Auska had been young and not in a good way with the loss of Archer, and hearing that the cure was fake had almost destroyed her. Her whole world had been a lie, but Kelli and himself had pulled together and did her share of the work as well until she had accepted it and was ready to accept their new life.

  Vincent shook his head dolefully. Eight years later and she still hadn’t fully accepted it. But they were making it work; it wasn’t easy, but it was better than the alternative. Auska was a woman now at twenty-one and, for over a year, was part of Eight Division’s scavenging team. Even though neither Kelli nor himself liked what she was doing, it was by far the longest she had ever managed to hold a work position. For Auska, her options were running out, as was the council’s patience.

  It was by far some of the most dangerous work anyone could do, and yet she claimed she enjoyed it and, from what her squad leader had told him, she was excelling at it, though rumors were circulating that she wasn’t always a team player and often returned late.

  In the eight years they had lived here, Auska had been punished more than anyone else, spent more time in solitary than most of the others combined, and had even had to endure the lash once before. Her will against them was unbreakable and yet it would only one day spell unchangeable disaster for her.

  Vincent shook his head. “You left a big imprint on her that I don’t think she will ever be free from, Archer. As much good as you did for her, you left equal damage.”

  “What was that?” Kelli asked from the other side of the counter.

  He looked up at her and smiled. She was busy chopping the meager amount of carrots and potatoes for the stew. At least they worked together now and were able to spend more time together because of it. “Nothing, was just talking to myself.”

  “Well, as long as you don’t start answering yourself, I think you’ll be okay,” she teased playfully.

  “What if I need expert advice, though?”

  “Then ask me,” and she winked at him.

  “Have I told you how beautiful you are today?” Vincent asked her.

  Kelli stopped cutting and regarded him with a childish smirk. “No, not today. I was wondering if you had forgotten or had found someone else to catch your eye.”

  “I doubt such a woman even exists.” He paused and pretended to think. “Well, she might have, but likely she got eaten by something out there.”

  “After all this time you still know just what to say to make a girls heart flutter.”

  “With you as my muse, how could I not?” he joked.

  She waved her knife at him. “Well, you just cool your smooth tongue right now, least we find ourselves in the cooler again and we have too much to do still to be acting like horny teenagers at our age.”

  “But when we are done,” he winked at her, “maybe those locked away teenagers can find some time.”

  “You are insufferable!” she laughed, returning her
attention to the vegetables.

  “Pretty sure he’s been called worse.” A reply came from the back door.

  Both turned to see Auska strolling in, her dark grey jacket and faded jeans travel-stained with dirt and grime from her perimeter check with the Eighth.

  “I know you aren’t planning on tracking mud all across this kitchen again!” Kelli scolded her sternly, looking down at the boots she wore, happy to see them surprisingly cleaner than normal.

  Auska threw up her hands in defense. “I wouldn’t dream of doing it again,” her tone dripping with sarcasm. “Not after the thirty-minute lecture I got last time.”

  “How’d it go out there?” Vincent jumped in, knowing if the topic didn’t change it would turn into another fight. These two could never seem to hold a conversation for more than a few minutes before they were at each other’s throats. “Anything interesting happen? The section cleared, or are the infected finding their way through the forest again?”

  “Same old same old. Safe as ever,” came her curt reply as she looked around the counter for something to eat. “Is there nothing ready yet?”

  “No, you’ll have to wait and eat with everyone else tonight,” Kelli said, her tone bordering on annoyance.

  “That’s okay, I’ll just grab a small loaf and some cheese.” She made way to grab at the tray of freshly baked loaves, but Kelli was quick to intercept her.

  “I said no, Auska!”

  Auska took a step back, confusion clear on her face. “What the hell? Why not?”

  Before Kelli could reply Vincent was there. “We’ve been getting a lot of heat about how you never eat with the others and always have your food before anyone else. They’re not stupid. They know where you get it from and it has been told to stop. This isn’t a place we can just free-range and do whatever we want. There are rules in place and we all need to follow them.” He looked at her remorsefully. “That includes you Auska. The special treatment we are allowed can only be played with for so long before it needs a break.”