“And we were so scared,” said another, this one with hair the color of flames.
“You look familiar,” Dottie said. “Is Kai your brother?”
“Yes. He’s the only family I have left.”
“Well then, let’s get you boys reunited. Roger wants to speak with everyone in his office.”
“Wait! Does that mean we get to ride in a Xarc’n shuttle?”
“It sure does!”
After a chorus of “Wow!” “Cool!” and “I call shotgun!” they piled into the shuttle.
Dottie grinned, and I mused at how like young hunters they were. These were good males; they simply hadn’t had enough guidance. Though considering the circumstances, they turned out decent, even if they’d tried to steal from the settlement. They were trying to save their brothers the only way they knew how.
There was a collective gasp as we lifted into the air, and I turned on the external feed. The flight back was uneventful, and Roger and several of the settlement’s leadership met us in the main courtyard, even as more flyers appeared in the sky. Theyquickly ushered us into the main survivor building, where Roger had claimed one of the meeting rooms as his office.
The office was plain and utilitarian, but filled with small details that made it uniquely his, such as the framed photo of him with his mate, Melissa, and his son, Junior, known to many hunters as Small Roger.
Despite being a decent size, it was a tight fit, so Jask’l waited outside, but Roger insisted Dottie and I stay. The two older males were already inside and looking much better than the last time I’d seen them. The youngsters were relieved to see their older brothers again, and there was a round of “fist bumps.” Kaj’k had tried to explain them to me, but I never quite understood the appeal. Now I saw that it was like bumping horns.
“Let’s make it quick,” Roger said, getting straight to the point. “Shawn, Kai, and I have already come to a solution. Now that we know the truth, New Franklin can find it in our hearts to forgive you. Butonlyif you boys agree to a few conditions.”
The room fell into a hush.
“First. You must prove your loyalty by joining New Franklin and becoming contributing citizens. Second, we need you boys to apologize to everyone you stole from.”
There were no protests.
“And third, the younger boys must finish their schooling. And if any of you wish to go out and forage, you must first take proper combat and survival lessons.” Roger put a hand up. “I know you boys survived out there on your own just fine, but you can never be too prepared. Any objections?”
The room was silent for a beat, then Jason cleared his throat.
“Can we put our own stipulations up for consideration?” he said, sounding much too formal for his age.
“Jason—” his brother said in a warning tone.
“Just hear me out,” Jason said, not skipping a beat.
Roger looked amused. “Go ahead.”
“If we have to take proper combat and survival lessons, we demand that they be with the hunter Ror’k. He has already started training us. We knew he was trying to see if we would lead him to the missing stuff, but he’s still a good teacher.”
“Yeah!” the other younger males I’d trained all said in unison.
The door suddenly opened, and Jask’l poked his head in. “Ror’k trained the entire contingent. I volunteer him as well!” Then the door shut, and it was like he had never been there at all.
Dottie and Roger looked like they were trying not to burst out laughing.
“Looks like you made a great impression, Ror’k,” Roger said, turning to me. “What do you say? Two hours a few days a week should do.”
“I can do that.”
“Wonderful! We can hash out the details later. Now, boys, do you happen to know how they called the scourge in on us?”
The youngsters looked from one to another until one finally said, “No. Weknowthey can do it, but we never figured out how. We didn’t even know that was what they were going to do. They just said to roll the stuff out behind the buildings for a pickup on the morning of the second Monday when their contact makes a distraction.”
“We didn’t even figure out who the contact was,” said another boy. “I tried to talk to everyone to see if they were suspicious.”
