Apocalypsis 04 - Haven

something to offer our new world, and everyone made a difference in some way or another.
    The lone kid who didn’t join them stood off by himself, thin, dirty, his hair in knots.
    “What’s your name?” I asked, walking up to him. I could smell his unwashed body long before I got near.
    “Dane,” he said, his voice barely a whisper.
    “You going to wait for us here?”
    He shrugged the slightest bit.
    “If you want us to stop and get you on our way back south, put something on the road as a signal.”
    “Something like what?” he whispered.
    I looked around me for something that wouldn’t look so out of place it would alert anyone else coming by that someone was there. A dirty baseball hat came flying out of the back of the trailer.
    Dane stared at it for a long time, his expression stricken.
    I walked over and picked it up, handing it to him. “Put that in the middle of the road if you want us to stop for you.”
    He held it in his hand so listlessly, I thought it was going to fall out. But then he turned and limped off the highway, disappearing behind some scrub beyond the ditch.
    I shook my head, watching him go. That kid was on his last legs. I made a mental note to check that bush on my way back, regardless of whether the hat appeared or not. In his condition, he’d probably fall asleep back there for three days straight and forget to put it out.
    Turning back to Chantal, I was struck again by how pretty she was, even standing in the back of a nasty trailer covered in grime. She was going to be a serious hit back in Haven if we made it that far. Hopefully she wouldn’t cause any riots. My heart burned at the idea of Bodo falling for her like Rob seemed to have.
    “You okay?” she asked. “We can all wait here if you prefer.”
    I waved her concerns off. “No, don’t worry about it. I’m cool. I’ll try to make the ride as comfortable as possible, but no promises.”
    “Don’t worry. We’re used to it.”
    “How long have you been in here?” I’d caught a whiff of something that smelled like outhouse, so I had a feeling it had been a while.
    “Too long,” she said. “Close the doors and lock them. I don’t want anyone falling out like before.”
    I swallowed the lump in my throat as I walked over to swing the big doors shut. Jumping up on the back step, I secured them in place, hating that I was closing people in and not letting them out.
    Soon, I promise . I banged on the door. “You guys okay?”
    “Yes!” came a muffled voice from within.
    I leaped to the ground and walked around the passenger side of the truck, climbing up into the cab to join Jackson and Bodo. Neither of them said a word as I settled into the passenger seat.

    ***
    We reached the ranch in about a half hour. We left the highway and bumped over paved roads and then dirt ones, finally arriving at a small house with several outbuildings around it. A group of dogs came out to greet us, all of them barking and some of them growling. I quickly counted eight of them running around in the dust kicked up by our arrival. Out in the fields nearby there were cows grazing. It was almost surreal how normal it looked.
    “Dose are some bigk cows,” said Bodo, staring at the herd that paid us no attention. “You got lots of doggies too.”
    “They’re charolais - the cattle. Biggest breed out there, pretty much. They were my father’s pride and joy before … well, you know.” Jackson climbed down from the cab. “The dogs are part of the family, and they do a lot of the work around here with us.” He looked at the ones bold enough to approach. “No, Bully! No Drake! Get back! They’re friends!” The dogs obeyed, most of them turning to either go over to the house or out into the field with the cows.
    Three of the mutts stayed near Jackson. I didn’t know enough about dog breeds to know what they were, but they looked scary regardless. I was glad we didn’t have Buster with us. He would have been an appetizer for these beasts.
    As we joined Jackson on the ground, the front door to the single story home opened and a girl came out with a smaller dog at her feet. Two of the welcome-party dogs walked over to greet her and then followed behind when she launched herself off the porch.
    “Jackson, where have you been?! And what is that damn truck doing here?! And who the heck are these people?!”
    Jackson gave us a conspiratorial smile. “That’s my sister, Katy. She gets riled up easy, but don’t worry, her bark