This is from Ivan's Perspective
I limped up the porch steps, my body aching from head to toe. I felt a bruise blooming over my ribs, a souvenir from that damn trawl. But despite the pain, I was home.
"Ah, Ivan!" Tsu's voice rang out like sweet music, and she followed me, wrapping her arms around my neck, straining my ache-tiered body, and pulling me to herself. "You're back! How did you get here?"
"Ugh," I grunted, trying not to wince as she hugged me, putting my arms around her, straining against the straps of my bags and exhaustion. "Truck broke down...Walked to a gas station...stole a bike, and biked home for the past few days."
"Stole a bike? Now you're a bad boy?" Tsu raised an eyebrow but didn't seem too concerned about my new life of petty crime.
"Desperate times, babe," I muttered, leaning on her for support. She guided me inside. "But I made it home."
Tsu filled me in on what had been happening while I was gone. "When the power went out, a few people crashed and needed attention in the clinic. Teruo and I patched them up as best we could. Teruo has mostly taken over the clinic since then. There isn't much need for admin without phones and computers. I help out when he needs a nurse. Since then, I've been helping run the convenience store and tending the garden now that it's spring." She paused at the chairs in the front room, helping me sit. "Looks like it wasn't just a local outage," she mused, her brow furrowing with concern. "But we'll figure it out together, like the rest of our life till now."
"Always." I smiled, feeling a flicker of hope and joy.
"Wait until you hear about Pam," she said, shaking her head. "She's taken to posting handwritten notes all over the community boards since she can't use her computer and printer."
"Sounds like Pam," I chuckled, remembering her as the efficient City Council secretary. "She always finds a way to keep things running...."
I froze, realizing it wasn't quite.
"Wait," I whispered, my heart pounding in my ears. An engine roared in the distance, growing louder and closer. It had been days since I'd heard any car noises, and the sudden eruption of life broke through the eerie silence that had settled over our world like a fog.
Tsu's grip tightened on my arm as we both turned and stared down the road. As the vehicle rounded the bend, I recognized Gator's ancient wreck of a pickup rumbling towards us. What caught my attention, though, was the unfamiliar man in the front seat, his face obscured by the glare of the windshield.
Seeing a non-white person with Gator was a strange thing, too.
"Stay inside," I told Tsu, my voice firm but low. "It should be fine, but I want to make sure." She nodded, her eyes filled with concern and trust. I grunted to my feet.
As I stepped back out onto the porch, the pain that had plagued me for days seemed to recede, replaced by a dull drip of adrenalin. My muscles tensed, ready for whatever might come.
"Damn hillbilly..." I muttered as I stood tall, waiting for Gator's truck to rattle to a stop in the driveway.
The truck screeched and protested as the pickup ground to a halt. Gator jumped out, a wild grin plastered across his crease-streaked face. "Ivan, my man!" he hollered. "You ain't gonna believe what happened!"
"Who's your friend?" I asked, nodding towards the stranger in the front seat. My gut was churning, a mixture of curiosity and wariness. I wasn't interested in his racist rants today. Or conspiracies. Or whatever while hair was up his ass...
"Ah, don't worry about him," Gator waved dismissively. "He's harmless." I glanced at the young man as he was getting out. He absolutely didn't look harmless. Even if he didn't have 2 guns and a knife, I could see his shoulders and biceps, the size of my thigh, would make him not harmless.
"Cut the bullshit, Gator," I said, my patience wearing thin. "What do you want?"
"All Right, all right," he said, holding up his hands defensively. "I brought you some guests. They need help, Ivan. And I figured you're the best man for the job. I owe them a favor; now I owe you a favor."
"Guests?" My tiered brain tried to piece together what he was getting at. "You mean refugees? From the city?" I hushed to a whisper for the last few words.
"Something like that," Gator grimaced, then grinned, casting a sidelong glance at the unknown man.
"Fine," I sighed, knowing I couldn't turn them away. How bad would it be to have an extra guy. "But I didn't owe you anything, Gator. Remember that. You owe me big time for this."
"Fair enough," he conceded, his grin fading slightly. "But they'll work for their keep. Ain't that right?"
"They? Plural?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, feeling my agreement wavering again. "Who's they?"
The camper door swung open with a creak, and the group of people tumbled out, one after another. It was like watching a clown car emptying out; I couldn't believe how many of them had been crammed in there. As they stretched their legs and tried to regain some semblance of bearing and dignity, I noticed the mix of fear, desperation, and determination that had settled on each face.
Especially the kids.
"Fuck this," a blond woman spat, surveying our property with disdain. "I'm not staying in this shit hole."
"Shut the fuck up," a redhead man snapped back at her in a hushed harsh whisper, eyes darting towards the children among them. "We're here for our children's safety, not your comfort and vanity."
I could feel my blood boiling at the woman's insult, but I turned to Gator instead, my voice edged with anger. "What are you doing, bringing all these people here?"
Gator scratched his scruffy beard, grinning sheepishly. "Well, Ivan, I brought them to you since you got the cabins, apartment, and money. I owe Maria here a favor." He gestured to a small, dark-haired woman with a kind, tired smile. "She's Mexican, but a good one."
I clenched my jaw, trying to ignore the casual racism dripping from his words. "Why are you bringing them to me if you're the one who owes them a favor? I don't owe you anything."
"Sir," Maria interjected, stepping forward. "The situation going on in the city is horrible. Please take us in. We will work for our keep."
I hesitated, thoughts racing. How much more responsibility could I handle? But looking into Maria's pleading eyes, then darting around the children, I knew I couldn't just turn them away. They were desperate and afraid – and who could blame them? The world had gone to hell, and we were all just trying to survive.
And Tsu would kick my ass if I turned kids away.
"What am I gonna do?" I muttered with a sigh, my gaze lingering on the children huddled together for comfort.
Taking a deep breath, I glanced through the glass at Tsu. Her eyes met mine, and she gave me a slight nod. That was all the approval I needed. But I wasn't going to let Gator off the hook easily.
"Ok, listen here, Racoon," I said, my voice tense. "I can't eat or feed hard work. What do you expect me to do? Especially with all those people..." I motioned to the newcomers.
Gator rubbed his stubbled chin, considering his eyes narrow and shrewd. "I know you got plenty, but I guess that's fair. How about a couple hundred pounds of meat, a sac of beans, a sac of wheat berries, and a sac of rice? I'm sure my freezers are defrosting anyways, so I might as well give part of it to you and let you deal with it."
A couple hundred pounds? Hell, I was hoping for forty. But beggars getting gold coins couldn't be choosers. I nodded with fake bravado and said, "Sure, that'll buy you a month or two. But if there's any trouble, it's on your head, Gator."
"Understood," he replied, nodding his agreement. Glancing at the blond and redhead, he added, "No trouble will be had."
The redhead stepped forward, his face haggard and stubbled with a patchy red beard but determination in his eyes. "Thank you, sir. I'm Malcolm Allen. When everything returns to normal, I promise I will repay your kindness in full and then some."
Malcolm Allen. His name tugged at the edge of my memory, but I couldn't place it. I shrugged, trying not to let it bother me. "I'll hold you to it when…" I sighed. "If it gets restored. It looks like there are two families?" I asked.
One of the Mexican women and Malcolm nodded in unison. My gaze flickered to the big black guy, who towered over everyone in his group and even looked down at me. He remained quiet, his expression unreadable. I pointed to the first row of cabins. "I'll give you two cabins. I'm assuming you guys are hungry? Go drop your stuff in the cabins and come over to the back porch for food."
As they walked off, relief and dread still churned in my gut. We'd opened our doors to strangers, and I couldn't shake the feeling that we'd just invited in a storm. I hummed, "Paranoia, my old friend..."
I stepped back into the house, my eyes immediately finding Tsu. "You sure this is a good idea?" I asked.
She nodded, her gaze steady and resolute. "Yeah. I can't turn kids away." She threw me an annoyed glance. "Never could." A frown creased her brow, and she added, "But that bitch might need to get put down."
I knew she was talking about the blond woman from earlier, the one who'd insulted our home without a second thought. I nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but let's see how it goes first. Then decide. For now, we got food from Gator and a few extra hands. Let's give them a chance. With what I've seen out there, I don't blame them for trying to come here."
Tsu stopped me as I tried to walk past her, her fingers caressing into my arm. Her lips pressed into a thin line. "You didn't tell me all the details of what you went through, did you?"
"Shit," I stuttered, caught off guard. "No. I'm trying to spare your emotions. It's... It's bad out there right now."
Her face flushed with anger, and she punched me in the chest, harder than I expected, right over the bruise from where she hit me with the trowel. "Don't spare me. I'm your partner... Do you hear me? I'm here to support you through it all."
Guilt gnawed at me, and I realized I should've been more open with her. She deserved to know the truth, no matter how dark or twisted it was. We were in this together, after all. I was the weak one who couldn't confront my own emotions. I wasn't ready to cry just yet.
"Alright," I conceded, taking a deep breath. "I'll tell you everything soon. I promise."
"Good," she said, releasing my arm. "Now, let's figure out what we'll do with our new guests."
I didn't really pay attention to what she said. "Thank you, Tsu," I murmured, my hand gently resting on her cheek. "I'll tell you everything as soon as I can. But for now, let's go make dinner. I'm starving."
"Sure!" she replied, her eyes lighting up with determination. "We need to focus on the freezer meat since it's all defrosting. I think it will be fully thawed by tomorrow."
As we made our way into the outdoor kitchen, I still felt a gnawing tension in the pit of my stomach. We were walking a tightrope, balancing our compassion and safety, and there was no telling when we might lose our footing.