“She packed us pads.” Artemis lifted up the cloth napkins and passed some over to Teresa who made a face but tucked them away nonetheless.
“These are pretty handy too.” Cipher held up one of the blue tubes, water filters. “New rule. Whenever you leave the compound, take one of these with you in case you run out of water in the field.”
“Can we have these?” Wylie asked on behalf of him and Gizmo, regarding the paracord and carabiners. “We’re working on a pulley system to get supplies to the watchtower and act as a quick dismount in case there’s trouble.”
“Yep.” Cipher pushed them their way. “Anyone mind if I take the flashlight? Batteries on mine are dead.”
“Mine too,” Macon said, “but you need it more than me since you take more night shifts.”
“We can trade off. How are we doing on batteries, Teresa?” Cipher asked. We each had our areas of expertise around the compound. Teresa was in charge of organizing and keeping inventory of our supplies.
“We’re all out of double A’s and nearly out of triple A’s. C’s, and D’s are running low too,” she said.
Double-A batteries were a rarity these days, more valuable than diamonds because they powered most of our hand-held devices. We’d exhausted all of Shady Brook Acres already.
“We could find that military base and make a trade,” I suggested to the group. “Offer them fresh eggs and produce in exchange for batteries and whatever else we might need.”
I expected Cipher to veto the idea immediately, but he remained silent on the subject, even as everyone looked to him for guidance.
“You all know how I feel,” he said at last. “I’d rather them not know we exist, but they already do. I don’t trust them, and we have secrets that could get us in big trouble if they got out. But I’m only one person. We should take a vote on this. Who wants to initiate a trade with the United Forces?”
I raised my hand, glanced around the table, and saw that I was the only one. I shouldn’t be so surprised. Artemis and Gizmo were in that same fire as Cipher, and Teresa didn’t trust anyone but us. I didn’t know of Wylie’s experience with the military, but based on his vote, I had to guess it wasn’t very good. “Not even you, Macon?” I asked.
“Sorry, short stack, but I agree with Cipher on this one. I don’t want any of us getting in trouble. I think it’d be best if we leave it alone.”
I lowered my hand, feeling a little defeated, but it was the will of the group, so I had to accept it. Cipher reached across the table to give my hand a squeeze.
“It’s not a bad idea, Kitten. But it’s important that we keep a low profile after what happened in Promised Land.”
“I know.” I tried not to let my disappointment show. I’d murdered a man, one who deserved it, but it made me a criminal nonetheless. And Brother Larry wasn’t just some random raider we’d met out in Rabid Country but the leader of a prominent community, a man with connections to the government and military too. Cipher was right to be cautious.
“For now, same rule applies,” Cipher said. “No outsiders, no exceptions. We get what we need by scavenging and possibly trading with other civilians, but we keep the United Forces out of it.” He pulled out the little notebook that he carried around with him and retrieved a nub of pencil that he used to mark wood for sawing. The carpentry skills he’d learned in Promised Land had really come in handy when it came to repairing rooftops and replacing rotted wood on the houses in our compound. He’d even helped Macon and I build a chicken coop. “It’s time for a scavenging mission. What’s everyone need?” he asked.
“More fishing line,” Artemis said.
“Hard liquor,” Macon said, which was really more of a want, but we indulged him.
“Electronics?” Gizmo asked.
“Be more specific,” Cipher said.
“Anything with a circuit board,” Wylie said, “and lead solder if you happen to come across any.”
“Candy?” Teresa asked, batting her big blue eyes at Cipher.
“Have you been brushing your teeth?” he asked, revealing his alter ego, House Dad.
“Twice a day,” she said with a big toothy grin.
Cipher added “candy” to his list along with everything else, even though he could probably remember it all on his own. “How about you, Kitten?”
“I’m good,” I said, ducking my head so he wouldn’t see my face. Teresa shot me a look.
“Are you sure there isn’tsomething importantyou need?” she asked me in an exaggerated way.
“Yes, I’m sure.” I shot her a warning look which she completely ignored.
“Kitten needs a new inhaler. His ran out weeks ago,” she said.
