“You’re a pretty good singer.”
“For the shower maybe. Not for an audience.”
“How about a pole dance?”
He grinned. “That’s only for you.”
I sprouted a chubby just thinking about it. What would it take to get a stripper pole installed in our bedroom? I could just imagine Justin’s face when the Fire Prevention Committee came to conduct their next raid.
“I’m sure we’ll think of something. One of us must have some hidden talent somewhere,” I said.
“I think living here has been good for us. I feel calmer and more relaxed than ever before. I know it’s not what you’re used to, it’s not a big city, but I feel safe here. Do you?”
“Yeah, I do.” My admission was something of a revelation. It was easy to forget that there was a virus raging, that humans were being turned into cannibalistic monsters every day, and some couldn’t even blame the fever for it. Promised Land was everything Brother Larry had said it would be.
“How’s your work going?” I asked him. “Any of the preggers getting close to popping?”
He told me about some of his patients and when they were due, along with his worries about all the unknowns. I tried to be supportive, but it was a hell of a lot of responsibility for someone our age.
“And what if I drop the baby?” he said, truly distressed by the possibility. “I’ve read that they’re very slippery when they first come out.”
“That probably won’t happen,” I said and I hoped to hell that it didn’t. “You’ve learned a lot since becoming Marion’s apprentice and the two of you work well together.” I’d seen him anticipate Marion’s needs, handing her the necessary equipment before she even had to ask, similar to the way Larry and I operated, mostly silent except for the hammering of nails or sounds of machinery, which reminded me….
“There’s something else I want to show you.” I checked my wristwatch. “Let’s take a walk.”
We got up and I led him through the maze of trees, most of which I’d memorized from my many smoke breaks while working on the outdoor stage. As I did, I called out the names of the species so that he might recognize them too–beech, magnolia, buckeye, and so on until we reached the interior fence.
“It’s a good fence,” Kitten said, then glanced over at me, perplexed.
I surveyed our surroundings, making sure there were no guards or farmhands nearby, then went over and dug around at the base of the pilings where a leather string was buried. I pulled on it and the square I’d carefully cut out swung upward on recessed hinges. It was a small space, low to the ground and built like a doggie door, but it was big enough for any of our crew to crawl through, including Macon.
“A trap door?” Kitten asked.
“An escape hatch,” I said before replacing the pilings as they were before and burying the leather strip. “There’s an exact replica on the outer fence too, a straight shot from this one.”
“Could a Rabid get in through here?” he asked anxiously.
“It’s too complex for a Rabid to manipulate and nearly impossible to find from the outside, unless you know what you’re looking for.”
“What if Brother Larry finds out about it?”
“I’m more afraid of being trapped inside here without a way to get out. I can handle whatever punishment the Council might have in store for me.” At his concerned look, I continued, “It’s okay, sweetness, no one will find it, and even if they do, it would be hard to prove that I built it.”
He nodded, seeming to relax. “When did you do all this?”
“My nightly strolls through town. I’ve memorized the guards’ schedule too, so I know where they are at any given time.”
“That’s what you’ve been doing?” he said, slightly awed.
“Reconnaissance,” I confirmed. Old habits die hard.
“Do you think we’ll need it?”
“I hope not, but if they’re not going to allow us to lock our doors or come and go as we please, then we need to make sure we can get the fuck out.” It was true that I felt safe here, but when it came to his life and that of the other Assholes, I wasn’t taking any chances.
“I really am dating the Promised Land bad boy,” he said with a sly smile.
I shook my head at his flirtations. “You’re the only one of our crew who knows about these doors. But I need you to be able to find it and lead the others here, just in case.”
