Apocalypsis 02 - Warpaint

those kids away, they’d go start eating vegetables instead, I’d be all for letting them go on their merry way. But that’s not realistic. They have a taste for it now and they have no … I don’t know … moral brakes anymore.”
    She nodded her head. “You’re right. You’re totally right.” She looked up at me, determined. “I’m ready to do this. Sometimes the hardest decisions are the right ones. I don’t think I could live with myself if I didn’t help.”
    “You can help in other ways, you know. Not everyone has to go in and fight.” I said it softly so she wouldn’t think I was challenging her or anything. I really wanted her to make her decision willingly without pressure from me.
    “Yeah, I know. I’m fine with this, really. I just needed to get my head in the right place, you know? Talking to you helped.”
    “Yeah, I get it. I have to constantly remind myself of my reasons and the stuff that goes on in their compound or whatever. Going to talk to Celia helped me. She’s … damaged. I mean, more than her arm. I don’t know if she’s ever going to come back from that.”
    “Yeah,” said Winky, her voice so low I almost didn’t hear it.
    We ate in silence for a while before we were joined by Bodo, insisting on a dinner kiss. I acted put-out, but secretly loved it. I needed his goofy, happy presence to lighten the mood for me. Winky smiled at his antics, so maybe it was working for her, too.
    “Can we stop kissing now so I can eat?” I asked, pushing him away.
    He swayed a little, keeping a hold on his plate and smiling. “Yes. For now. Maybe I will need more for dessert, dough. I will let you know.”
    I rolled my eyes, biting into a hunk of meat. I’d stopped asking what I was eating. I didn’t want to waste my time worrying about snakes or gators or any of the other more exotic foods that were making their way into my diet. So long as it wasn’t human and it was keeping me nourished, I was okay with it.
    Coli came over to sat down with us, and I took the opportunity to ask her about street clothes.
    “Hey, Coli … do you guys have any regular clothes and shoes we could wear when we go out?”
    “Why?”
    “Because I think it’s better if they don’t know who we are or where we’re from when we go. Someone’s bound to see us, and I’d just prefer they not be able to trace us back here.”
    She and Winky both nodded their heads.
    “Good point,” said Coli. “I’ll see what I can find. Once you know who’s going, tell me so I can get the right sizes. I’m sure between all of us we can find something.”
    “Good.”
    “That’s cool,” said Winky, “that you’re thinking about us like that, I mean. Watching out for our whole community the way you are.”
    I shrugged. “Why wouldn’t I? I’m a part of it.”
    “Yeah, but … whatever. Never mind.” Winky went back to eating her food, obviously not wanting to talk about it anymore.
    I didn’t know what she was going to say, but I was guessing it had something to do with the fact that I wasn’t technically a part of their tribe or whatever. But it made no difference to me. Family didn’t fit any straight definition now, and I wasn’t even sure it had before the world had gone crazy either. Home is where the heart is, and family were the ones who held your heart safe. So that meant Kahayatle was my home and Bodo and Peter were my family. These other kids were some sort of extension of that, and for now, I was willing to hold the door open for more if they were interested.
    ***
    Peter and Buster went to bed long before Bodo and I made it there. We took a walk after leaving Peter at the hut and stood under the moonlight kissing. At one point we ended up against a big tree, our hands in each others’ pants, messing around like before, except skipping all the dirty stuff in the hair and butt crack parts. It wasn’t the most comfortable way to get all hot and heavy, but until we had a hut of our own, this was the best we could do.
    After we’d ridden the hot, sexy, exhilarating roller coaster together again, Bodo held me in his arms, his back against the tree, stroking my stomach and chest, and nuzzling my neck.
    He spoke quietly in my ear. “I want to tell you something, Bryn. It’s a true thing.”
    “What’s that?”
    “I say it in my own language: Ich liebe dich fur immer.”
    My heart stopped beating for a second. I was pretty sure I knew what it meant in English; the sounds were too similar to