We’d help her forget.
“Hey there, little one.” I pulled off her headband and dropped it on the nappy bag, smoothing her wisps of dark hair.
“Oh! Did you find out her name?” Sadie asked, drying her hands.
“Nope.” I rubbed my finger under the baby’s chin and went over to join her. “You’ll have to choose one.”
“Really? Hmm.” A silent beat passed as her features turned thoughtful. “It seems weird to name her after anyone in my family, so I’m going to call her Brynn.”
I’d never heard the name before, but if Sadie liked it, that was good enough for me. “Brynn, it is. Better get moving. I want to show up at Dad’s well before dark.”
Brynn lasted all of ten minutes on the highway before her soft sounds turned into whines of frustration. I’d hoped to make it to the farm before she got restless, but we’d run out of time.
Sadie bounced her in the carrier and talked to her in a calming tone, but the noises kept coming. Pretty soon she’d progress to an all out wail, and I wanted to be outside the car when that part kicked off.
“She’s hungry,” Sadie said. “I don’t think we can make her wait.”
“We should have fed her before we left the crash site.” I nodded at a sign indicating an upcoming rest area. “I’ll pull over here.”
We hadn’t passed another car in the last five minutes, and although the infected had made it out here, they were spread far apart and easy enough to dodge. With only trees and long grasson either side of the two-lane highway, nothing stood out as dangerous.
I flicked the indicator out of habit and eased into the rest stop, parking with the nose facing the road.
When I killed the engine, Brynn’s cries ramped up, and her patience ran out.
Sadie unclipped the seatbelt and removed her from the carrier, her hands fumbling under pressure. “All this noise makes me panicky,” she said, “like I have to move fast.”
“It won’t take long.” I opened the door and caught the faint scent of decay in the air, grabbing my sword just in case.
After I’d gathered all the supplies we might need, I followed Sadie over to a picnic bench near the bin and toilet block.
Brynn was crying harder now, cheeks red, body stiff. Sadie perched on the edge of the bench seat, her mouth pressed into a tense line. I couldn’t blame her. We hadn’t voluntarily signed up for this. She wasn’t ours. But it didn’t change the fact that she needed us.
“That’s a lot of noise for someone so small,” I said to Brynn, unloading the armful of supplies onto the table. I rested the hilt of my sword against the seat and said to Sadie, “We need to get her fed and quiet. Who knows how many infected are around here.”
Her gaze swept over our surroundings as if Brynn had distracted her from considering the dangers. With a baby to look out for, shit had just got a lot more real for all of us.
I handed her a spoon and an opened jar of sweet potato, then prepared the bottle as fast as I could, hoping Brynn was hungry enough not to care that nothing was warm.
Sadie dipped the spoon into the mush and tried feeding her, but she took one whiff and shoved it away, splattering orange goo on Sadie’s t-shirt. As she arched her back and wailed evenharder, Sadie didn’t say a word. Just set the jar and spoon on the table, her eyes shining as they met mine.
“I’ll take her off you in a minute,” I said, working faster.
Brynn twisted and tried to fight her way out of Sadie’s arms, legs kicking, her scream rising to epic levels. I winced as I shook the bottle, mixing the powder and water. Poor kid had reached her limits, and Sadie wasn’t too far behind.
“Here.” I held out my hands for the baby, and Sadie all but shoved her at me.
I lowered myself to the seat and positioned her on my knee, resting her in the crook of my elbow. As soon as the bottle got within arm’s reach, she wrenched it toward her mouth. Seconds later, the noise died to almost nothing, and she drank with deep pulls, her eyes roaming and taking everything in.
“She must have been starving,” Sadie said, swiping at frustrated tears. “Or thirsty.” She flicked the sweet potato off her t-shirt, leaving stained blotches behind. “I’m not good at this,” she said. “I feel like a failure, and we’ve barely known her for an hour.”
“You’re not a failure.” I cupped the back of her neck with my free hand and eased her closer, pressing my lips to hers over Brynn’s head. “You’re the best person I know,” I said beside her mouth. “And I know some good people.”
She sighed and kissed me, holding me to her. Another kiss, and I could feel the tension leaving her.
I didn’t get the chance to try again. Brynn pushed her hand between our mouths, her fingers creeping up to my chin. I pulled back before she could hook my lower row of teeth. “No respect for personal space,” I said, taking her hand in mine. Her fingers wrapped around my thumb, and she drank greedily from the bottle, her eyes jumping between Sadie and me. It floored me that she could trust us without having a clue who we were.
“You’re such a natural,” Sadie said as she smiled at Brynn. “I’ve got some catching up to do.”
