“Yes.”
“Anyone else?”
“They didn’t get a chance. Waller left to appear with the other tribes so he wouldn’t be accused of taking me and eventually my death. The two who were supposed to watch over me didn’t bother checking on me at all. They thought I was close to death. Maybe I was. Maybe I still am.”
“Do not say that! You will not die. I gave you a stabilizer and pain medication. The supplement will also help with the weakness of blood loss. You will still need a blood infusion to replace the blood you lost, but you will not die. I won’t allow it.”
She smiled at him. “Thank you for coming for me. I probably would have died right here if you hadn’t shown up.”
“You’re a survivor. Few would have lived through the beating you received.”
“I look that bad, huh?”
“I didn’t mean it that way.” He wanted to take her in his arms but was afraid of causing more harm.
“It’s okay. I know I’m hideous.” She gently reached up and touched her bruised and swollen cheek.
“It is already healing. I promise. Once we get back to the dome, Medic Haggard will do a full treatment. Now that we have a better understanding of human biology, we can safely treat multiple injuries simultaneously.”
“That’s really cool.”
“So, why did you come here? What is this dwelling?”
She stood with his help and walked out of the car. “This is my special secret place. It used to be a subway museum we used to educate the public about the history of the subway and subway cars. The access to the subway was closed many years ago.”
“Does your tribe stay here?”
“No. Only one other person knows about this place. It’s a secret.”
“Why a secret?”
“I like to collect pieces from our world before the nukes hit and place them here on the shelves. Felix would never allow me to do that at our regular home. He thinks it would be a waste of time and energy. He only sees value in what can be worn, eaten, or traded. I also come here when I need an outlet.”
They were standing in front of the painting of the park. It wasn’t the same park from the dome but was similar. He looked at it in awe.
“Did you create this?”
“Yes,” she said shyly.
“It is amazing. The colors are so bright. Did your world really look like this?”
“It did. I mean, I used colors the best that I could with what I could find. Paint is scarce. If Felix or the others saw how I wasted my time, they would burn this place down.”
Logan growled. “I forbid it.”
She laughed. “I can’t imagine anyone forbidding Felix to do something he wanted to do.”
“Why would he destroy something so beautiful?”
“You’ve got to understand. Felix was eighteen when the nukes hit, barely an adult. He had the responsibility thrown on him of not only taking care of his little sister, but an entire tribe of people who needed shelter, food, and medicine. He did an amazing job and I’m so proud of him.”
“But he would have refused you having such an outlet?”
“I never wanted to put him in a position where he would have to refuse me. I hid it from him. Hell, he probably knew I was doing something behind his back. Felix is smart and suspicious. A deadly combination. Do you really like it?”
“I love it.”
“Does art exist on your planet?”
“We have something similar with sculptures, but the colors are not as rich.”
“It’s hard to get the right paints I need.”
“I will find you these supplies or replicate them for you. Let me know what you need.”
“Really?”
“You should know by now there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her with all the gentleness within him.
