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The fact someone was occupying it was not obvious, but the two windows facing the front were intact, curtains covering them. Unlike the other houses, the roof was in decent shape and had a section of solar panels. As they drew near, she spotted a garden, camouflaged by bushes and hidden behind a barrier of boulders the size of gravestones. Nestled next to the side of the cabin was a rain barrel.
To the untrained eye, it appeared like another abandoned building. To her, it looked like Gus was as self-sufficient as you could get.
“You’re good at that,” she said, offhandedly.
“What’s that, luv?” Moe opened the door, peering inside. “Being an arse?”
“You do it intentionally to get what you want and keep people you care about at a distance.”
He gave a dismissive grunt. “I thought you were my CO, not my therapist.”
“I’m a whole lot of things, including your girlfriend. Your ploy worked. I’m still standing, and now we can get some real help. I hope.”
Being who he was, he chuckled and hustled her inside. “So we’re back on? You and me?”
He’d just saved her again. It was annoying and endearing at the same time. “Yes, but don’t let it go to your head. I can rescind your status at any time.”
He grinned. “The first thing you’re going to do is sit down and let me take a look around.”
The cabin was tiny, the main room containing everything from a small kitchenette with a refrigerator-freezer to a single bed, neatly made with hospital corners. “You need to find that landline and call the team.”
He marched her to the Formica table and pulled out a chair. “It will take two minutes for me to go through this place. Then I’ll get to the phone.”
Her butt hit the seat and relief swamped her. She watched as he opened every cabinet, inspected what was inside the fridge, and checked under the bed. She noted keys and a floppy-brimmed hat hanging on hooks next to the door. Another walking stick stood propped on the other side. A shotgun hung on pegs over the top.
The single remaining room was a bathroom. Moe disappeared inside and she heard some banging around. He emerged with a backpack that had a cross embroidered on it. He raided the fridge and drew out a small vial of medicine with a silver top. Returning to her, he slid a half-drank cup of coffee out of the way and set his goodies down. At the stove, he filled the kettle and turned on a burner while she eyed the vial of medicine. It was a generic brand of penicillin. “Why would Gus have this in his fridge?”
He found a stash of teabags, of all things, and stuck one in a cup, winding the tag around the handle as the water heated. “You have to keep antibiotics cold to keep them viable.”
“No shit, Sherlock. I know that. What I meant is, why does he have them in the first place?”
“Ol’ Gus has a lot of interesting things. Check out that kit.” He grabbed a package and a jar of peanut butter from an overhead cabinet, before tossing both items and a spoon on the table. “I’m guessing he was a corpsman in the Navy. Living out here in the wild, he’s prepared for just about anything.”
The backpack was a tactical EMT IFAK. The kind the military used. Moe used its contents to clean her scalp with an antiseptic wipe, as well as finding a syringe and giving her a dose of penicillin. To cap it off, he made her eat a piece of jerky, which was disgusting, from the plastic bag and a spoonful of peanut butter. “You need protein and rehydration.” He set a cup of tea in front of her. “Your bump is swollen. Do you want a cold pack?”
She wished she could examine the top of her head, but it was hard to see your own. She sipped tea and used her other hand to feel around the edges of the abrasion. At least her vision was no longer wonky. “In a minute. You know, you could’ve just given me some water.”
“A cuppa makes everything better. Learned that from my mum. Drink up.”
A cuppa was slang for tea. She did as instructed and ate a second piece, forcing it down by using peanut butter as her ‘spoonful of sugar.’ The whole thing made her think of her own mother, who sang that song to her or Savanna in childhood whenever they needed cough syrup.
Moe put the rest of the ccs of antibiotic in the fridge, downed a strip of jerky himself, and guzzled a bottle of water. “His generator is as old as this place but works. They don’t make them like that anymore. Plus the solar panels. Not a bad setup, if you like being so isolated. He’s off the grid and is king of his own empire here.”
“Bet it’s lonely.”
“He’s got his bear.” He winked at her. “Can you stand on your own?”
She finished her tea and rose. Her legs trembled, but she felt stronger. “I’m good.”
He gave her a skeptical look. “Walk to the sink and back.”
She wasn’t dizzy, wasn’t running a temperature, and was no longer feeling nauseous. “I told you I’m good.”
“Humor me.”
She made an exasperated noise and started walking.
She might not have passed a drunk driving test, but she made it to the sink, stuck her tongue out at him, and cruised back. “Satisfied?”
