Free Gray (Book 3) by Lou Cadle

over.
    Doug said, “These piles are all burnable.”
    Coral said, “You’re burning books?”
    “To stay warm, to cook food. We burned the tables. We burned chairs. We’ve burned flooring and lumber we’ve found that survived elsewhere in the city. This past month a committee has been going through the books and deciding what might have some application. Anything in engineering, agriculture, botany, other sciences, all those are kept. Novels that are older, or set on farms, that might have some  information that might help us stay alive—for now, we’re keeping those.”
    “So what’s getting burned?”
    “Politics, and the history of governments. Analyses of the works of James Joyce and that sort of thing. Computer science. Philosophy. Psychology. Every bound copy of every dissertation. For now, they’ve saved the art books, but they’ll go soon enough.” Doug sounded troubled.
    “Are there books on medicine?” Coral asked.
    “Some. They’re at the clinic.”
    “There’s a clinic?”
    “Yeah, over—” and he was interrupted by a man with a clipboard coming through a door, saying, “You waiting for Levi?”
    Jamie said, “Yeah.”
    “He’s ready.”
    “Thanks, Parnell.”
    Doug waited in the library with their bags while Jamie led them through that door and into an office. A cast iron wood stove was in the corner, vented out of a wall. At a desk messy with paper and books sat a man in a blazer and white cotton shirt. His hair was dark, collar-length, and looked as if he’d been scrubbing his hand through it all day.
    He stood and walked from behind the desk, his hand extended. He approached Coral.
    She made herself not shrink back and took her glove off, shaking his hand. It was dry and warm. The office was warm, almost too warm. She unzipped her jacket as the man shook hands with Benjamin and introduced himself.
    “Levi Balbao,” he said, “Call me Levi. And you are…?” His tone was well-modulated, comfortable with public speaking.
    Benjamin introduced them.
    The man said, “So you’re the doctor.”
    “No,” she said. “I’m a doctor in training. I’m not a doctor.”
    “But you can treat people.”
    “I can try. I know—” and her mind flashed back to the previous conversation with Benjamin “—where the appendix is, but I would hate to try to take one out.”
    “You’re not that far along in your training?”
    “No,” she said. “My hands-on experience is limited to not much more than first aid and some post-surgical care.”
    “But you’re not squeamish?”
    “I’m not,” she said.
    “Good. Edith has been doing fine, but we had an injury or two that…” His eyebrows flicked up for a second. “Overwhelmed her, let’s say.”
    Okay, let’s, thought Coral. She didn’t know why, but she found herself put off by the man’s manner. He was too—something. Glib. Patronizing. Smooth. False.
    “Parnell there is my assistant. And what do you do, Benjamin?” when Levi Balbao turned away from her, it was as if a spotlight had moved off her.
    Benjamin said, “Jack of all trades.”
    “Master of none?” Levi gave him a smile.
    “I can hunt. I can fix things, build things.”
    “Good, good,” Levi said. “We’ll have plenty for you to do. But no experience with growing food? Maybe a little hydroponics pot farm?”
    “Sorry,” Benjamin said.
    “We’ll get you fixed up with a job.” He looked them over. “I’m sure you’d like to get cleaned up. We’ll see if we can find you some fresh clothes.”
    Jamie said, “Shoes for the doc, if there are any.”
    “We might be able to come up with a white coat, even.” Levi shone his smile on her again.
    Benjamin said, “One of my grandmothers was Basque.”
    Levi nodded. “Mine too,” and then he laughed again. He looked at Parnell. “Will you arrange for housing?”
    Jamie said, “Doug says he’ll take them in, get them acclimated.”
    “Good. That’s fine.” Levi shook hands again with Benjamin and