Free Reborn by Tara Brown Page B

liquid, “To Meg.”
     

 
    I wake the next morning stiff, achy, and hateful. My whole body is an angry mess. I climb from the bed filled with a snuggly eleven-year old and walk to the bathroom. I pull off my clothes and look at myself naked. I'm a mess. Bruises, cuts, stitches, and dried blood.
     
    I sigh and climb into the shower. The hot water is amazing. The soap stings everywhere, but every time I think about the pain, my brain chimes in and thinks, aren’t you lucky to be alive and feeling that pain. The cold hate feels lessened by the people in the house.
     
    I climb out to find Sarah sitting in a corner in the bathroom. I wrap myself with a towel and walk to her. I drop to my knees, “You okay?”
     
    She shakes her head, “I had a bad dream and then I woke up, and Andy was screaming and crying again.”
     
    I hold my hand out to her, “Come on. I think I saw some of those packets of that sauce cook used to make you. I’ll see if Bernie can whip you up some home fries and that sauce. Maybe breakfast will help Andy too. Bernie had potatoes last time I was here.”
     
    She perks up and stands. I pull on clean clothes of Star’s and we go downstairs to try to start our day.
     
    We find only Jake in the kitchen, eating a bar. He smiles at me, “You look pretty.”
     
    I laugh and nod, “You seen Bernie?”
     
    His eyes darken, “He’s in bed still.” I realize what that means and grimace, “Oh.”
     
    He gives me a look, “Trust me, he didn’t have much choice on the matter. He tried to be a gentleman last night after you went to bed.”
     
    I put a hand up, “I don’t need to know.”
     
    He laughs, “Haven’t you ever heard that misery loves company?”
     
    I smile, “I heard that before.”
     
    Sarah smiles brightly, “Me too.”
     
    He smirks, “It’s true.”
     
    I nod toward Sarah, “You want to help me make some breakfast?”
     
    He smiles, “What are we having?”
     
     
     
     
     

 
    Chapter Four
     
     
     
    Bernie puts gold tacks on the places he knows for sure have camps or towns. It dawns on me, I don’t know anything about the world we live in.
     
    “I didn’t know there were so many.”
     
    He looks up, “There are a lot of survivors, especially in the Midwest. The East Coast was completely destroyed in the tidal waves and hurricanes, but the winters were what got most of the people. The disease was worse there too, with the dense population and all.”
     
    He places a red felt dot on the towns he knows have Lord’s Keepers. “Here and here are the worst I’ve heard of. This place has some but it’s a mix of traders and Keepers.”
     
    I look down, “I’ve seen them lots, always trying to get kids to come with them. I figured they were either perverts or just trying to help the children with no parents.”
     
    He nods, “I’m sure it’s a special mixture.”
     
    I snort and cross my arms, “How will we get to them all?”
     
    Will nods, “Same as we did with the breeder farms.”
     
    I give him a look, “You haven’t been to the towns much, have you?”
     
    He furrows his dark brow, “Not a ton, why?”
     
    I shrug, “There aren’t a lot of medical types who don’t know how to shoot a gun properly. Those people are survivors. They’re more like me and you.”
     
    His stare gets cold, “Then we should fit in famously.”
     
    Bernie looks like he’s thinking, “The thing you’re forgetting though, the townspeople want you to succeed. There’s talk of you and the rebellion.”
     
    I frown, “The flashy crow isn’t going to get us anywhere with those people. Yeah, the ones who had family at the farms sure, but we’d have to free the work farms before any of them would really care. Women aren’t as important as men, not any more.”
     
    Bernie laughs, “Not since we went back to constantly barbecuing in a cave.”
     
    I frown again but Will laughs. Anna gives me a confused look as she leaves the room. Star points at a