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“I don’t care. It’s a warning. Plain and simple.”
I didn’t understand what he meant by that until after we returned from the supply run, and Matt was waiting for us at the wall.
“We need to talk,” he said, looking seriously pissed.
“Don’t worry, after yesterday’s theft, we agreed to waive our share of today’s take,” Adam said loud enough for the people waiting at the supply shed to hear. “Don’t want anyone getting too sore about all the effort we’re putting in, risking our asses to help feed everyone.”
Matt looked down at the ground for a minute.
“Why didn’t you come to me?” he asked.
“About the theft? What could you have done? We weren’t home to witness who did it. Hopefully, they left some clues today, though. Or a blood trail.”
“A man died, Adam. Shot in the face.”
My stomach churned, but I remained silent beside Adam.
“I’m guessing he ignored my sign,” Adam said calmly.
Matt ran a hand through his hair. “You’re used to looking out for yourselves. I understand. But that’s not the way things work here. This is your only warning. No more traps.”
Then Matt raised his voice.
“The penalty for stealing supplies is exile. No exceptions.” He looked at Adam. “You lost your right to firearms.”
I could feel Adam tense and set my hand on his arm.
“Without those, you know we’re not safe,” Adam said.
“In here, you are. I’ll have the men patrolling the walls keep an extra eye on your house if you choose to go out again tomorrow.”
Matt turned away from us and started working his way through the crowd, talking to people.
Adam was so angry he was shaking with it on our way back to the house. There was blood on the porch and blood all over the kitchen.
“This is my mess,” he said when I saw it. “Go upstairs. I’ll clean it up.”
I didn’t listen and worked beside him, washing down the cabinets and scrubbing the floor. When we finished, Adam went to the cabinet under the TV and pulled out what we needed to make dinner. Neither of us said much. I hated that someone had died because of us. But I was well aware that the man, whoever he’d been, hadn’t been innocent. He’d ignored Adam’s warning and entered the house with the intention of stealing food.
“I’ll talk to Tor again about what it takes to get out of here,” Adam said, holding me that night. “This place isn’t safe.”
I agreed but wondered how the other place would be any safer once the people here found out there was a surplus of supplies over there.
* * *
It feltlike I’d barely closed my eyes when a hand over my mouth startled me awake. I didn’t fight it, thinking it was Adam, until I opened my eyes and saw a masked head above me. I threaded my arm over the one pinning me and thrust downward, freeing my mouth as soft thuds and grunts echoed in the room.
The man swore and fell on top of me when I started to roll away. His weight pinned me to the mattress long enough for him to grab my hair and pull back. Hard. I opened my mouth to scream and choked on the sock he shoved in it.
That didn’t stop me from doing everything possible to get free. Fear and adrenaline fueled my efforts.
“Help me,” a voice said harshly.
Hands grabbed my feet. Another body weighed down my lower half. Panic overrode common sense. I forgot everything and just struggled to draw in my next breath.
“Smart girl,” a voice whispered next to my ear when I stopped moving. “This was for Wayne.”
The noises silenced, and the weight left me. I lay for a minute, crying, before I carefully lifted myself from the mattress. When I made it to the light, I cried harder at the sight of Adam on the floor. His face was bleeding, and his eyes were closed.
