AllFreeNovel
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Life is amazing.
In moments like this, we feel lucky.
Such moments are rare, and when they happen, we hold on to them and each other.
20
MADDY
The three newarrivals fit in perfectly with us. They work, clean, and help out with chores. It’s been days, but we still haven’t had the second meeting about their stay here.
All the while, everyone tries to stay close to them and ask questions.
About the Change.
About how things went down.
What it’s like.
We are all curious. We’ve seen the news when the Change hit. We spent weeks in mourning and tears and discussions when we tried to track family members, only to find out that many of us didn’t have any.
That came with the feeling of helplessness. Then the desire to fuck off to the mainland. Then the news that all the means of transportation had stopped.
A private jet came—the big daddy, Secretary Crone. He held a meeting like we were bootcamp kids, explaining what was happening in the world and that this spring break was going to be much longer than the pandemic one. With nowhere to return to.
He spent hours in Archer’s villa, arguing. Eventually, Archer stormed out, all curses and rage. Then Daddy flew away, taking Anna Reich, who was a congressman’s daughter and Archer’s current girlfriend, with him.
When the first boat came days later, many had a chance to go back. Only about twenty people left. By then, the coastal areas of the mainland were destroyed, because the bombs caused tsunamis that sent nearby islands and coastal towns underwater. Protective equipment became mandatory. Martial law and curfews were the new normal. People were sent to inland areas. Looting and riots became the new way. And those who broke the law were sent to interment camps because prisons were full.
The fallout. Overloaded hospitals. Brutal violence.
The suicide rate was seven hundred percent higher.
The pandemic several years back seemed like an innocent joke.
There was no end to the atrocious news. So most of us stayed.
And then all hell broke loose with Archer and his crew and the new rules and the fighting and that fateful night when the Savages came to claim their island and Kyle and several others were killed. And then the fight between Kai and Archer happened. Kai wasn’t even with the spring-breakers, but the camp divided, and those who didn’t want to lick Archer’s boots left for the Eastside.
“You used to go to Deene, right?” I ask Callie one morning as she joins us for yoga at sunrise.
“Yeah.”
She doesn’t say much more, and I don’t push.
Except, something is happening between her and Kai. They used to glare at each other like enemies. That night at the bonfire, drunk Katura said something about Callie’s past that sent her over the edge.
The next day, Kai and her went on a boat ride, and things changed. Now there are occasional smiles and meaningful glances between them. Two days later, they sit on the beach in the evening and talk for the longest time.
“The boy is in love, eh?” Ty leans over on the dining room beam and watches the two on the beach as I sit with a cup of cold tea and talk to Bo.
“Is that what it is?” I pry. “They knew each other from before, yeah?”
“Something like that.” Ty passes a joint to me as he squints at them in the distance.
I take a tiny drag. I don’t smoke often, but occasionally, it helps me forget about the world outside.
And Jesus, if Ty, who is a natural gossiper, isn’t secretive. They say he and Kai go way back. I was surprised when Ty left Archer’s crew to come here to the Eastside. Now he is the gatekeeper of Kai and Callie’s secrets.
