Free Apocalyptica (Book 3): Ran by Joshua Guess

14
     
     
     
    Everyone let me sleep in. I gave even odds to this being because Jem and his friends were good people, or that no one wanted to wake up the crazy chick with a bunker full of weapons. I was fine either way.
    Breakfast—well, late lunch—was composed of a mountain of food that would be first to spoil when the power went out. That the electricity was still on was lucky, as our chunk of the state got its juice from a nuclear plant. I imagined a good number of people probably hunkered down in that plant, which might mean flowing power for a while yet.
    I stumbled into the kitchen by following the scent of eggs and bacon like a cartoon character. I was so hungry it would have surprised me not at all to discover I was actually floating through the air. Jem stood at the stove wearing an apron—I owned an apron, apparently—flipping pancakes. Carla and Tony sat at my tiny kitchen table eating.
    I flopped into a chair and began to eat voraciously, piling everything I could reach and attacking it with a vengeance. I slurped orange juice noisily, and at first I thought that was why Tony was looking at me in furtive, scattered glances.
    “Sorry,” I said. “Starving.”
    It was a testament to Tony’s blush that it showed up so well on his dark skin. “Ah, no. I mean, your house. Eat how you want. And you saved my life and all, so I’m not judging. It’s just, uh…”
    Carla snorted. “He means you’re not wearing a shirt and he’s too immature to say something.”
    I paused, then looked down. Huh.
    I mean, I wasn’t naked or anything. Jem helped me out of my gear before tucking me in, gentleman that he was. I was wearing a sports bra, and a wide one at that, which highlighted bruising all along my right side with the coloration and style of really good or really bad modern art.
    “Fair enough,” I said, and continued stuffing my face.
    Carla reached over and put a hand on my forearm. “Thanks for taking us in, by the way. Jem mentioned after we came back here yesterday that he thought you might be uncomfortable having other people in your home.”
    I raised an eyebrow at Jem, who was settling in at the table with a stack of pancakes. He shrugged. “You’re antisocial. Nothing wrong with it. Just wanted them to know this wasn’t your comfort zone.”
    “We don’t have to stay long,” Tony said. “There are other places we can hole up. I’ve worked on a lot of construction projects around here.”
    “Nope,” I said, putting down my fork. “My discomfort doesn’t outweigh your safety. I’ve got a fucking bunker under this house. I don’t think you’re going to find anywhere safer than that. After what happened to me yesterday, we’re going to need a fortress to retreat to if things go south.”
    They’d know by now, of course. I explained the broad strokes to Jem before passing out. It would explain the nervous energy in the room. They tried not to show it, but Carla and Tony seemed to be cautious, as if I were a fragile thing on the edge of breaking.
    “You don’t seem bothered,” Jem said, staring at me appraisingly. “Shot at, kidnapped, and escaped. Most people would be shaking right now.”
    I sighed and raised my hands. “What do you want? I’ve been through some shit. And yeah, I was scared out of my mind while it was happening, but it’s over now. Isn’t that enough?”
    “Of course,” Carla said.
    “Sure,” Tony agreed.
    Jem just kept staring.
    I rolled my eyes. “Ugh. Fine. Any of you news junkies about ten, twelve years ago? Watch a lot of CNN?”
    “Not religiously,” Carla said. “But I was in college. I kept up with the news.”
    “Okay,” I said, taking a sip of juice. “Do you remember the story about the religious group called the Church of Transcendence?”
    Carla nodded. “Yeah, I think so. There was a big FBI bust at their compound, right?”
    Tony squinted as if dredging up the details. “They kept children who didn’t behave in a prison under the