Apocalypsis 04 - Haven

Peter. He didn’t sound all that happy about being kept in the dark.
    “Bryn is your leader. I talk with the leader, not the city manager or whatever you’re calling yourself,” said Kirsten. She was all business now, and much more like the girl I was used to dealing with. Maybe I’d imagined those stupid looks I saw her making in Bodo’s direction.
    “Excuse me … I’ll have you know that the city manager position at Haven is critical.” Peter was definitely in a huff.
    “Yes, we know, love buns,” I said, patting his shoulder and squeezing it once before letting him go. “Will you go see to the animals with Trip? I don’t want them settling in by Bodo’s future garden.”
    “Fine. But I’ll be back.” He left with his nose in the air.
    “Anyone up for some lunch?” asked Gretchen, giving me a pat on the arm as she walked by. “We have a feast ready for you.”
    “Or not,” said Bianca, coming over as I walked through the doors to give me a hug. “Welcome home, Bryn. We were all really worried about you guys.” She looked at the others. “The food’s not great, but it’ll keep you alive.”
    I smiled at her as she stepped back. “Thanks. We’re glad to be back, believe me.” I looked around. “How’s Fohi doing?”
    “He’s good. Better today. He wants to see you, I’m sure. He’s been worrying about all of you non-stop. And we had a hell of time getting him to just lie down and not get his injuries worse. He’s fixated on making traps of some sort.”
    “Don’t worry, Rob and I will handle him,” I said.
    She winked at me and left me to greet the others.
    Everyone came in from the nearby hallways and got up from their spots on the floor to welcome us home. I finally quit after thirty or so hugs and begged to be left to eat. I wasn’t that hungry, but there was so much to do, I needed to sit down with my main group of friends and figure out what the heck we should do first to get everyone and everything settled.
    I grabbed a plate of lame food, most of it army rations that were stale, and headed to the alcove where I knew Fohi was resting with Yokci and the others.
    ***
    After everyone was settled in with food I started the conversation. Bodo hadn’t made it in yet, but I hoped he’d show up eventually. He always had good input, and I trusted him to think of things I’d forget.
    “Now that we’re back here and somewhat ready to get things rolling, I wanted to get your thoughts on what our first steps should be.”
    Peter was sitting next to me. He pulled a pile of papers from a clipboard he’d put behind him and shuffled through them until he found what he wanted. “I’m so glad you asked. I have input from everyone that was here while you were gone on several issues.”
    Bodo walked in and took a seat, giving me a brief smile. It was missing any warmth but not for lack of trying. It was either my paranoia or reality that made it seem fake.
    I nodded at Peter. “Good. Go for it. Tell us what you know.”
    Peter smiled briefly before getting all serious again. He had his City Manager hat on now. “First, food. Bodo’s garden is planned. We’re just putting the finishing touches on the irrigation part of things, but we have a whole crew of people ready to follow his instructions and we have several gardening books in our library to help educate us.”
    Bodo nodded. “I will start tomorrow. Tell dose people on da crew to come see me later.”
    “Gotcha.” Peter made a note on another paper. “We also have the cattle to take care of. I assume the kids who came with Trip will manage them in the beginning, and I have about five kids who’ve volunteered to learn and help.”
    Derek raised his hand for a moment. “I’m on that list.”
    “Good,” I said, smiling in appreciation.
    “We have water crews who work on gathering water every day,” said Peter. “They already have a routine and are working on some different projects to make it more convenient to use for both consumption and showering.”
    “What about soap?” I asked.
    “I’m hoping some of the kids who came from the ranch will be able to help us with that.”
    “Not a problem,” said Winky, “especially if they have lye in this place. We can make even better stuff than we had before.
    “I believe we do have that chemical,” said Peter, looking through his papers again. When he found the one that must have his chemical inventory on it he paused to circle something before putting the paper