Chapter 10
A loud banging on the door of the subcar pulled them apart. Devlon couldn’t take his eyes off of Heather as she quickly dressed, leaving her undergarments off. They needed to talk about things, a lot of things, but he was shaken too much by the depth of his feelings for her and he couldn’t bring himself to say anything more. The pounding came again, even louder. He frowned with frustration at the interruption. He wanted to stay there with her and make love again and again.
“Who the hell is banging on my door?” Heather asked angrily, stuffing her feet into boots that looked battered and too small for her.
Devlon didn’t have as much to put on as she did. He pulled his pants up and tugged his uniform top over his head. “That’s one of my warriors.”
He moved past her as she was pulling on her shirt and opened the door. There was no lock on it, which he found unacceptable. He would have to do something about that.
“What is it Lt. Falar?”
“Sir, a fight has broken out in the center of the tribe area. Three were injured, including a child.”
Heather was right behind him. “Who got hurt?”
Devlon walked down the steps and moved out of the way as Heather pushed past him. She didn’t wait, just ran toward the tribe’s center square, where most of the communal activity occurred. He followed her at a brisk pace; with his long legs, he was able to keep up with her easily.
They rounded another subcar and caught sight of his other warriors restraining two men while two human women were treating the injured. A little girl around ten years of age, was crying and a bruise was developing on the side of her face. The sight of the hurt child unleashed a fury inside of him, but before he could say a word, Heather lashed out.
*****
“What in the hell is going on here?” Heather demanded as she walked over to squat down next to the crying girl.
“Jeremiah was taking more than his share of food rations!” A short balding man yelled out as he pointed to another man, who was taller with long hair and being held back by two warriors. Mitchell and Jeremiah were trouble-makers that she’d kicked out of the tribe months ago.
“What are you two doing here? Who let you back in, and who gave you permission to have food rations?” Heather stood up and put her hands on her hips.
Both Michell and Jeremiah spoke at once, pointing at her second-in-command. “Leonard did.”
Leonard pulled his thin shoulders back, puffing up his chest. “While you were cavorting with the dome leaders ,they approached us wanting refuge in exchange for supplies. As the interim tribe leader I accepted the supplies and allowed them shelter. We can’t afford to throw people out just because we’re having a bad hair day.”
Heather turned her glare on Leonard. He knew better than to let someone back into the tribe once they’d been banished. She ignored him as she addressed the two men who’d started all the trouble.
“You two are still banished and will be escorted out of my district. Don’t even approach us in the future for trading.”
Both of them sputtered, “You can’t do that!”
She narrowed her eyes at them and Leonard. “Yes I can, becauseI’mthe tribe leader here. No one else has a say over me.”
Devlon motioned for his warriors to remove the men, who left kicking and yelling, calling Heather all kinds of ugly names. She looked at her injured people and felt guilty for entrusting their safety to someone like Leonard.
“One of my warriors is a trained mediko. We’d be happy to assist you,” Devlon offered.
“Yes, thank you. We’d appreciate your help.” Heather sat down next to the little girl, and the child went straight into her arms.
“Are you okay, Kiki?” Kiki was special to Heather. She was an orphan; her parents had died a few years back. There were so many times in the past that Heather had wanted to keep the girl with her, but she didn’t want to be selfish. She had to think about what would be best for Kiki, and that was for her to live with and grow up in a family. So she gave Kiki to a single mother with children who loved her and accepted her with open arms. Family wasn’t always who you were blood related to, but who you surrounded yourself with and loved. Still, she and Kiki had a very special relationship.
The little girl nodded her head but stared up at Devlon with suspicion. “Who is he?”
“That’s Commander Estro. He’s here to help us plan to build our new homes.”
“I live with Mona and her kids in the subcar. I don’t need a new home.”
She patted Kiki’s back reassuringly. “Don’t you want one with maybe your own bedroom and a private shower?”
The little girl poked out her lower lip. “I don’t like taking showers. The water is always too cold.” The shower area that they used was no more than a tiled room where they’d been able to pry open a pipe to allow water out for washing and then reattach the pipe when they were done. Some tribes lived closer to where employees of the subway had had locker rooms and showers, but her tribe wasn’t one of the lucky ones.
She hugged the child to her, trying to comfort her, or maybe trying to comfort herself a little. “I guarantee you’ll love these new showers, and they won’t be cold. Think about having your very own bed to sleep in.”
