Nathan Jones - Shortage

“What about protection?” Terry asked. “It’s awfully far from town.”

“It’s inside the patrol area, and more importantly it’s out of the way on a dirt road no one would really have a reason to travel on. It’s also hidden between the two hills and is underground so it’s easy to miss from a distance, and it’s got the heavy door sheathed in sheet metal that you’d need a battering ram to break through. To add to all that there’s an observation post on the tall hill the shelter’s built against where you can see in pretty much every direction, including most of the area past the shorter hill on the far side of the flat in the direction of the mountains to the west.”

“There’s only one entrance?” April said, sounding very concerned. “We could easily be trapped in there. And they can get on the roof.”

“Enemies couldn’t do much from the roof aside from maybe shoot down into the vents or stovepipe, but the vents are capped by pretty sturdy turbines as well as screens to prevent anything being dropped down inside, and the stovepipe’s got its own hat and screen.”

Matt hesitated before continuing, imagining Lewis scowling at him. “As for the entrance… you know that everything about the shelter is a secret the cousins trusted me with, but there’s another secret I’m really not supposed to talk about. Just in case they’re trapped in they built a hidden exit going through a secret underground tunnel that runs for a hundred yards and exits out of view of the shelter. It’s cramped, but if we need to we can use it to escape. And since there’s only one visible entrance and no windows it’ll be much harder to break into, so we can lock up and sleep safer at night.”

His dad was nodding slowly. “Another benefit is that it’ll be a lot easier to bring the food from the cache there without being noticed. And it keeps us out of town in case there’s further trouble here, which is always a consideration. Close enough to help but far enough to be out of the thick of it.”

“What about privacy?” his mom asked, still not sold. “I’m sure I heard it was just one big room.”

“Unfortunately that’s maybe the one thing the house beats the shelter for,” Matt admitted. “There are privacy screens that can be hung around the sleeping areas to make rooms, and it’s a large space so it should never feel cramped, but we’ll have to get used to being in each other’s space a bit more than we’re used to. At worst it’s like an apartment complex with shared facilities and paper thin walls.”

There was a thoughtful pause. Matt was trying to think of other things he could mention, but nothing really seemed important enough to add at the moment. Finally Sam spoke up. “Well I for one like the idea. I love this house and it’s come to feel like home, but I haven’t felt quite as safe here since—” she cut off abruptly, and Matt felt pain stab at his heart at the expression on her face as she continued quietly, “since Razor’s attack.”

Matt put his arms around her, and she leaned into his hug as he looked around. One by one the others nodded, even the boys although it was anyone’s guess how much they understood.

“Well that’s decided,” his mom said, standing. “And to be honest the more I think about it the more I like it, even if it’ll mean moving all our things. But in all your talking you didn’t mention two important questions: can we actually live there, and what do we do with this house if we’re not living here?”

“Well the answer to the first question is yes and maybe,” Matt admitted. “I talked to the Mayor, and she gave me the key to the lock Ferris put on the door to keep the place secure after he took everything he wanted. I checked it out this morning and didn’t see any signs that anyone had broken in, and the inside looks good. Catherine also agreed that since the place is available, as friends of the cousins we’re good candidates to move in.”

He shrugged sheepishly. “As for permission from Lewis and Trev, I’ll admit I never asked. But I do know that it’s going to be abandoned over the winter, and knowing what I do about those two I think they’d be happy at the thought that it would make our lives easier while they’re not using it. We could also take care of it in their absence.

“And as for what to do with this house?” Matt glanced out the window towards the town storehouse down the block. “Jane and her refugees that came in yesterday refuse to be separated, which means their only other option is camping out. That’s a scary thought with the days getting colder and the first real snowstorm just around the corner, so I thought maybe we could loan the house to them. Plenty of our neighbors, dozens of families in all, have generously donated their houses to the refugees and moved in with friends, and I think it would be nice to do our part.”

“All right then, I think that’s that.” His dad also stood. “We’ll start moving in tomorrow morning.”

Sam’s arms around Matt abruptly tightened in a brief hug, then she stood up on tiptoes and pulled his head down at the same time to kiss him. “All right!” she said. “If we’re done talking let’s have some dessert! We’ve got cake from a mix with eggs donated by Henrietta, and canned peaches and goat’s milk to go on top.”

Aaron and Paul cheered and bolted for the dining room, and with a grin and another quick kiss for his girlfriend Matt followed them, relieved that the decision had been made. They still had the cache to get, which meant him and probably Terry would be gone for at least a week, probably closer to two like his dad’s trip. He’d feel much better about leaving his family behind if they were in the shelter.

After dessert they spent the rest of the day relaxing and playing games, eating a dinner of leftovers a few hours later as it was starting to get dark. Once Matt had cleaned his plate he asked Sam if she’d like to go out to the swinging bench on the front porch to spend some time alone together, which she happily agreed to as she rushed to get her coat. On his way out the door Matt’s mom gave him a hopeful smile while Sam wasn’t looking, and he felt his face flush.

He felt nervous and a bit awkward about the second announcement he was hoping to make, and he was afraid Sam would notice his mood and guess what he planned. Luckily as they sat down and began gently rocking the swing his girlfriend was intent on looking out at the yard and the view of the mountains to their right, stretching out of view into the distance to the south.

She sighed. “It’s hard to believe we’ll be leaving this place tomorrow. Your family has welcomed me in and made it my home, and even with everything that’s happened I love it because of that.”

Matt put his arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder. “I know how you feel. It’s strange to think we’ll be giving the place where I grew up to a bunch of strangers. But the cousins’ shelter will be a much better place to stay the winter.”

She lightly dug her elbow into his side. “Easy there. You’ve already sold the idea and I was first to get on board.” Without waiting for an answer she leaned against him again and sighed contentedly. “Everything was looking so bad for a while there. But now Ferris and Razor are gone and the town is safe. Your dad’s made it home safely and found a way we can bring the rest of the food home, where thanks to Mayor Tillman we won’t have to worry about it being taken from us. And once we move to the shelter we’ll be in a safe place for the winter.” She snuggled her head deeper into his shoulder. “That’s almost all our worries solved. For the first time in a long time I feel like everything’s going to be okay.”

Matt rested his cheek against her dark hair. “Me too. We have a lot to be thankful for today.”