Apocalypsis 04 - Haven

moving from her spot next to Jamal to go stand in front of Paci and the others he brought. “If you can’t walk through this gate and tell me that you’ll have my back the entire time you’re here, then don’t even bother. We don’t need troublemakers like you in here.”
    Things were quickly getting out of hand. Feathers were ruffling all over the place as people got their backs up and squared off on either side of the fence.
    I rushed forward to put some water on the fire. “Hey! That’s enough. Gretchen, get back, please. Let me deal with this.”
    Gretchen only hesitated about half a second before she complied, never taking her eyes off Gail.
    I got there and faced Paci again. “Are you good with the terms?”
    He spoke without emotion. “I’m with you Bryn, no matter what the terms are. You know that.”
    My face flamed up again. “Good. Go ahead in.”
    The crowd parted to let him by.
    I faced off against the three newcomers. Gail was looking definitely mutinous, but the other two seemed neutral. I didn’t feel threatened by them, nor did I feel any warm and fuzzy stuff coming at me either. My gaze took in all of them.
    “Listen … we don’t want any trouble. We all just got moved in here, and we have a lot of work to get done before we’ll be comfortable. We don’t want to exclude anyone, but we also can’t let anyone in who will hurt what we’re trying to accomplish in here, you know what I mean?”
    One of the guys nodded. “Yeah, I get it. It’s cool.”
    “What’s your name?”
    “Zach.”
    “Zach, if you’re good with the terms and agree to follow them, you can come in.”
    “Sure, yeah, no problem. I agree.”
    The second guy gave him a half smile before turning to me. “All you’re getting is words. How do know half the people in there didn’t lie to you?”
    I shrugged. “I don’t. But in my world, you get one chance to prove you’re as good as your word. It’s all about honor. So long as you keep your word to us, it’s gold. You lie once though, and you’re done.”
    “Good luck with that,” said Gail, obviously mocking me.
    The guy rolled his eyes. “Give it a rest, Gail, Jesus.” He turned to face her, scowling. “Aren’t you tired of running?” His head swung back in my direction. “I’m in. I agree to your terms. And my word is good. Always has been.” He held out his hand.
    I took it in mine, noticing he had callouses that spoke of hard manual labor at some point. I prayed it wasn’t the kind that involved the dismemberment of humans.
    “Welcome to Haven … what’s your name?”
    “It’s Joe. And thanks,” he said, giving me the first genuine smile we’d seen from him. “It’s good to be here. Really. I’ve been walking forever trying to find a place to settle down.”
    “You can tell us all about it tonight around the campfire.” I smiled back at him.
    “You have campfires for real? Cool.” Joe seemed easily won over, which was a relief. I much preferred dealing with people who appreciated what we were trying to do here at Haven.
    I turned to Gail. “So what’s it going to be? Oath or no oath?”
    She shook her head angrily at the two guys who were walking away from her, guys who she had probably thought felt some sort of allegiance towards her. “Fuck that,” she said, spitting on the ground.
    I stepped back two paces, bumping into a solid, warm body. I knew it was Bodo from the smell of his sweat and the way he enveloped me in his chest without even touching me. Not breaking eye contact with Gail, I said, “Close the gate!”
    Jamal and Ronald jumped to it, sliding it along its track until it clanged into place against the fence. Peter walked up and put the lock in place, making sure it was shut securely before stepping away.
    It was dead silent except for the sound of the wind brushing past the high grasses that rose up nearby. Everyone stood quietly, all of us on the opposite side of the fence as this one stubborn girl.
    I felt bad for her. And I understood her moral or political predicament, but that didn’t mean I was going to give her a special pass that meant she could ignore rules she didn’t like.
    “I’m sorry you made this decision. If you change your mind, please come back.”
    “Fuck you, Bryn. I promise you I’ll be back, but not like you think.”
    She turned and walked away.
    “Come on, Gail!” yelled Zach. “Don’t be like that!”
    “Go to hell, Zach! You too, Joe! Assholes!” She flipped a bird