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“There’s no need to apologize,” I interrupt. “So, they gave you that note.” I pry, hoping he has more to say.
“Shit, they did more than that. Beau or Lewis, I can never tell. What do you call them?”
“BeLew,” I smile.
“Right,” he snaps his fingers. “One of the BeLew two kept pestering me about why their dad was working on the air filtration. Said he was an engineer and should be with the cave in. I brushed them off, but they blackmailed me, Row. Little fuckers.” His eyes widen. “No offense. I mean, I was a little fucker at their age, too.”
“You’re fine, but blackmail?” I ask. “How did seven-year-olds blackmail a grown man?”
“They said they knew I brought you down, and they’d tell. Theodore was fucking around with their teacher, so I figured he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. Looks like I was right.”
Blood rushes through my veins, adrenaline spiking from his words. They’ve seen more than Lori knows, more than Sam knows, and I doubt that their teacher opened her mouth about my family. If he takes that as an explanation, I’ll let it slide. There’s not a chance he would believe what is likely the case.
“Must have gotten their survival instincts from you,” he decides. “Anyway, once I got Sam working the cave in, they wanted you to have that note, and I can’t believe I was a kid’s little puppet.” Alex laughs to himself, covering his face with his hands. “If I’d known how dangerous that Dean guy is like you say, I wouldn’t have done it. But I was sure Adam was about to spill your blood if you didn’t mention him, so maybe it was the right thing to do. Done now, I guess.”
“You did the right thing,” I tell him. “We’re living to see another day.”
“Is this?” he waves his hand around the room. “Living?”
I plop myself back down on the bed, trying to hide the wide smile on my face. Hearing about BeLew, I can’t help but smile. “Don’t get all philosophical on me, Alex. We won’t be down here forever.”
He huffs out a breath, and the bed moves when he shakes his head. “I don’t know anymore.”
“Who’s going to the surface after the storms?” I ask. “Someone will. I’m sure of it. It wasn’t built to last a hundred years. And if Dean’s coming, he has to get in somehow. Someone has to greet him, right?”
“How did you even know about this place?” he asks. “Your creepy twins blackmail some adherents?”
I smack his arm over the pillow. “Sam worked on some plans for survivors. He saw some things and told me about the underground.”
Alex reaches his hands behind his head and grunts.
“There are a few patrols scheduled soon,” he admits.
“Are you going to the surface?” I ask. I can feel he’s regretting this conversation, knowing what I’ll ask of him, but it’s too late. I’m not letting this go.
“Not with the first patrol, no, but at some point,” Alex pauses, tilting his chin toward me. “Actually, I don’t know. Theodore was supposed to lead the mortuary team first. I guess he’s still going if you think about it,” he frowns.
“Mortuary team?” I question. “That doesn’t sound promising.”
“Well, it’s overflowing. The Eminent is quick-tempered, and the cremation equipment broke last year. We don’t have the parts to fix it,” he explains. “It’s not pretty down there.”
“You mean it’s overflowing with bodies and they need to chuck them outside?”
“Something like that,” he grumbles. “I wonder how many dead are out there. It’s not like they’re getting proper burials.”
My heart sinks with his response, knowing he’s right. The thought of my sister sinking into a pond, her body one of the millions that won’t ever see a headstone. I pull myself together, forcing the thoughts away. “When will you know? If you’re going — when you’re going.”
He curls away from me, his large body creating more of a barrier between me and my incessant questions.
“My assignments change every day, now,” he explains. “Used to be month to month.”
“Because of me?”
I notice him nodding in the darkness.
“So, we’ll know more tomorrow?” I ask.
“We?” he questions. He’s silent, but not asleep, mulling over my subtle offer. “You’re worse than your kids,” he chuckles.
