Apocalypsis 03 - Exodus

home.” Her voice spoke of breeding and elocution lessons, stunning me with their foreignness in this wild world that surrounded us. She looked at Rob for a second and then turned away, acting suddenly shy. Then she took small, tentative steps towards Winky.
    I turned to watch her progress, taking one step back myself so I’d be even with my friend.
    Melody held out a trembling hand, as if she wanted to touch Winky’s bundle but afraid to for some reason.
    “Is it … it’s a baby, right?” she asked.
    Said baby started yelling again, causing Melody to jump. “Oh! My goodness,” she said, startled, her hand flying to her throat. “That frightened me for a second there.” She took another step closer to Winky. “Is it a boy or a girl?”
    “It’s a boy. And it stinks, so I wouldn’t get too close if I were you.”
    Melody smiled. “Oh, I don’t care about baby doo. It’s all a part of who they are, right?” She was talking to Winky as if they shared a bond of some sort.
    Winky must have sensed it too, because she frowned at the girl. “Are you okay?”
    Melody was standing in front of the baby now, looking down. She put her hand up to her mouth and nodded her head silently. That’s when I saw tears in her eyes.
    I looked over at Rainbow Girl, Kiersten, for an explanation.
    “Melody, come on,” she said, almost tiredly. “Go back in the house.”
    Melody shook her head. “I want to hold him,” she whispered, never taking her eyes off the bundle.
    “You can’t. It’s hers, not yours.” Kiersten ignored me and walked over to her sister, putting her hands gently on her shoulders. “Come on, babe. Let’s go back into the house.”
    The group was totally silent. Several of the girls were wiping their noses and eyes now. It was an emotional moment for some reason, for all of them. This group of warrior women were all feeling Melody’s pain, and I had a strong feeling I knew what it was all about.
    Melody let herself be turned away from Winky and the baby, and the sisters began their walk back to the house. No one said or did anything other than watch them go. They got about ten steps into the trip when the words came bursting out of my throat of their own accord.
    “Wait!” I yelled, probably a little too loudly.
    Rob cringed next to me, his shoulders jumping up to his ears as he gave me bug-eyes.
    “She can hold him if she wants to!” I continued.
    Melody spun around, clasping her hands in front of her chest.
    Kiersten shook her head. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”
    “Please?” Melody begged her sister. “Just for a minute. I promise . And then I’ll give him back, I swear to God.”
    “No,” said Kiersten firmly. She gestured to some nearby girls who came running over. “Take her into the house. I need to deal with these people before I deal with her.”
    They nodded and took Melody gently in hand. She walked backwards to the house, staring at Winky, not bothering to hide her tears or her misery. Once she was at the stairs, she turned to walk up, casting glances over her shoulder every few steps. Eventually, she disappeared out of sight without another word.
    “Wow. That was some heavy shit,” said Winky. She looked at Kiersten. “Speaking of shit … you guys don’t happen to have any diapers, do you?”
    “As a matter of fact, we do,” said Kiersten. “It wouldn’t be very intelligent of us to plan to start a new civilization without them, now would it?”
    “So, what’s the deal with your sister?” I asked. “I’m sorry to be nosey, but, I mean, she’s not crazy, right?”
    “No. She’s not crazy. Not like you mean.”
    “Yeah, cuz I’ve seen crazy -one of your neighbors, in fact-and Melody isn’t like that, as far as I can tell.”
    Kiersten nodded. “She’s grieving. She lost her baby recently, and it’s really tearing her up. Us too.” Kiersten cleared her throat and lifted her chin. She looked like she was in the process of defying her emotions.
    “Oh, that sucks. I guess.” I kind of saw it as a blessing in disguise. This world was too harsh for babies, and Melody seemed too young and vulnerable for the responsibility.
    “No kind of about it. It sucks. Period.”
    “But babies are a big deal to take care of. And it’s hard enough just taking care of ourselves,” I said, thinking out loud.
    “We have set up our home to make it as easy as possible. We have tons of girls to help, and our sole mission is to live together in peace