Nathan Jones - Fuel

It was Sam’s turn to be surprised. “Two weeks? That’s more than half the town, including your parents!”

Matt nodded, stopping abruptly. “Listen, I hate to bail on you but this news changes a lot. I’ve got to warn my parents and help them hide our food before FETF starts going door to door. Can you handle the harvest alone?”

“I could,” she said, coming over to take his hand, “but there’s no need to worry. Ed hid all the food last night. It should be safe.” She sighed. “I wish I could say the same about his hunting rifle. He was on a shift at Roadblock 3 with it when FETF came and Ferris saw him and the others with their weapons. He basically told them right then and there that they could participate in the food for firearms program or have them confiscated at gunpoint.”

Matt wished he was surprised at that news. April had talked about her neighborhood watch program being disarmed as well. “Food for firearms?”

“Ferris’s tactic to get people on board with the confiscations.” The dark-haired woman tugged on his hand, starting forward again, and as they continued on she started filling him in on how things had changed in town, especially since FETF’s arrival.

Trev was happy to escort the Lynns the rest of the way to their parents’ house. Not only because he wanted to make sure Terry made it without trouble but because he wanted to find Officer Turner and tell him about Razor’s thugs and the robbery.

He knew he should’ve been more angry about having his stuff stolen, again, but he was so relieved to be home that for the moment it hadn’t sunken in. Besides, once he got back on border patrol maybe he could do something to prevent others from suffering the same fate. It worried him that the back of town didn’t seem to be patrolled nearly as well as the north, south, and east ends. He’d talk to Turner about that, too.

Mr. and Mrs. Larson were out working in their garden when they arrived, and Aaron immediately gave a happy shout and rushed through the gate to throw his arms around his grandmother, little Paul squirming out of his mother’s arms to follow. Mr. Larson caught him and tossed him into the air a few times, much to the toddler’s delight.

Trev hung back as April and Terry joined the group for their own reunions, while Mrs. Larson fretted worriedly over Terry’s face. When she finally turned to him Trev expected his own hug from the motherly woman, but instead he got a very flat look. “I’m glad you made it back safely,” she said in a cool tone of voice.

He hesitated, confused. After the huge risk and sacrifice of traveling up north with Matt to find her daughter’s family he’d expected at least some warmth and gratitude from the older woman. “Is something wrong?”

“I’ll say,” his friend’s mother snapped. “That girl you left with us. Didn’t do a lick of work, lounges around making demands and spitting venom, and keeps saying you promised to take care of her. She even got in a screaming row with Sam and clawed her arm.”

He stared at Mrs. Larson, bewildered. “Girl I left? You mean Mandy? I just told her she could have a meal and a bed for the night before moving on to Price.”

It was her turn to look bewildered. “Price? Why on earth would she go there?”

“That’s where FETF sent her. I was going to give her enough food to make the trip.”

“Well then one of you is lying,” Mrs. Larson said coldly. “She told me FETF had sent her to Aspen Hill and when you brought her in you promised her a permanent place to stay with you.”

Trev couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Wait, you don’t think I’m the one lying do you?”

The older woman waited too long to answer, which was answer enough. “Anyway it’s your problem you dumped in our laps,” she finally said. “Now that you’re back you can sort it out, and good riddance.”

He supposed that was reasonable, although he could hardly believe she was siding against him after complaining about how lazy and argumentative Mandy had been. “Of course, and I’m really sorry she caused you trouble. We were in a rush to get gone and I didn’t have time to explain her situation, which must have led to some miscommunication—”

“You don’t understand,” Mr. Larson cut in sharply from where he stood behind his wife still holding his grandson. “That hellcat’s been nothing but trouble for us, but we made a promise to take care of her while you were out helping Matt and April and we kept our promise. But that girl? She—” he abruptly cut off, looking down at the children uncomfortably, and when he continued it was in a much lower voice, barely audible. “She says you traded, um, adult favors for letting her into town, and the promise of more of the same to let her stay with you.”

Trev stiffened with shock and outrage. “I did not!”

Mr. Larson nodded, not quite in disbelief. “Whether you did or not that’s what she’s claiming. And not just to us, either. She’s making sure the entire town knows the deal you made with her, and I’m sure she’ll insist you’re beholden to keep your end of the bargain now that you’re back.”

This was a nightmare. After all the arguing Trev had done to keep out the refugees, if Mandy was going around telling everyone he’d only let her in for sex he had to look like worse than a hypocrite. No wonder the Larsons had given him such dirty looks. It was a wonder he hadn’t been slapped. “Where is she?” he asked grimly.

Mrs. Larson turned and nodded to the house. “Probably sleeping in at this time of day. Or at least pretending to avoid work. I’ll go fetch her.”

But before the older woman could take a step a happy squeal from the porch turned them all around, and Trev stiffened in shock when he saw Mandy rushing down the steps and across the yard to throw her arms around him. Almost before he knew what was happening she’d pressed her lips firmly to his, then pulled away and rested her head on his shoulder. “I’m so glad you made it back!”

It was hard to be gentle as he pushed her away. “Are you crazy? What are you doing?” he demanded.

The blond woman backed away, giving him a bright, false smile that did nothing to hide the anger smoldering in her eyes. “Welcoming you back. I’ve been longing to see you again so I could take care of you properly.” She paused, just for a moment, and although her tone didn’t change somehow the intent behind it did. “And so you can take care of me like you promised.”

Trev glanced towards the others, only to find that Matt’s family were retreating to the porch. Even as he watched they disappeared into the house and swiftly closed the door behind them. He still lowered his voice, although he did nothing to hide his anger. “You’ve been telling everyone I made you have sex with me to get into town?”

Mandy’s fake smile remained. “Of course. It’s the truth, isn’t it?” Trev gave her a hard look, and finally after almost a minute of frosty silence her mouth thinned to a straight line. “It’s the truth I needed,” she snapped. “You were going to send me off to Price with a meal and your best wishes, where I’d be packed in with tens of thousands of other refugees and end up starving to death. If I wasn’t raped and murdered first.”

As she’d been talking her expression and tone grew more and more cold, until she was practically spitting venom. “But you didn’t bother to tell anyone my visit was just a one night stopover before moving on, did you? Thanks to that I got to stay in the one town that has its head on straight and is looking out for itself. I’ve been able to eat decently every day while you rushed off to play hero and couldn’t tell anyone the truth. And now that you’re back it’s too late because I’ve already told everyone my own truth and not even your friends will believe you.”