Chapter 5

Two weeks later

“You’re a natural with a firearm, Roja,” cracked Noah, “for someone born in the twentieth century.”

Abby conspicuously rolled her eyes, but there was a twinkle in them just the same. “I’ll take that as a compliment, O Fertile One,” she shot back with an evil giggle.

“Hey now,” said Jason, walking alongside them. “Don’t forget that I was born in the twentieth century too, and I can still out-shoot both of you.”

“Easy there, old-timer,” said Noah, now laughing in earnest. “You military brats think you know everything about guns, but you need a civilian like me to show you how it’s done.”

Jason was, of course, quite familiar with Noah’s act, and more than able to keep up. “I’ve hit more targets in my life than you’ll hit if you live to be twice my age, young whippersnapper.”

“Well, we know one thing for a fact,” grinned Abby. “Fertile Boy here has shot and hit the target ... what, twenty-four times, so far?”

For once, Noah sputtered in response, unable to manage a quick comeback. Jason laughed and gently clapped Noah on the back. “Score one for Abby,” he declared. Kara, the fourth person in their little group, was in stitches.

It was very early in the evening, with the sun approaching the horizon. Noah had just finished up with Abby’s latest weapons training session. Jason and Kara had happened upon the scene as things were wrapping up. Abby had not yet had a chance to tour the large control tower in the center of the enclave, and the four of them had decided to take a little detour on their way to dinner.

Abby had discovered that Essence had been one hundred percent right about Noah: his humor was a godsend for the community. And as Essence had also noted, he greatly enjoyed a give-and-take needling session. He objected not one bit to being teased about his sex life and the number of his offspring, and in fact, appeared to enjoy that line of discourse. Abby had found yet another thing that had been missing from her life in 2023 – opportunities to express her razor-sharp wit. She also learned that Noah was an amazingly well-rounded man who was more than capable of displaying a serious, philosophical side, especially in one-on-one situations. She now felt quite embarrassed about her initial reaction at the first group meeting.

She had also gotten to know Jason quite well. It turned out that he lived by himself, in a small house near Essence’s residence. As a result, Abby ran into him quite often in her daily travels. She and Jason had shared a few long, detailed conversations, mostly revolving around their unique connection. Of all the people she’d encountered in this new world in which she found herself, Jason was unique – he viewed things from a perspective that no one else did. An excellent storyteller, he’d regaled her with tales of his life during Abby’s time. He’d filled her in on the minute details of historical events between 2023 and 2081. His occasional rigidity and super-organized nature – borne from his military background – was more than offset by a dry sense of humor, an empathetic nature, and an open-mindedness that was unusual for someone of his age. More than once, Abby had marveled at the degree to which Jason had managed to survive and maintain himself through all that had transpired - still remaining physically active at eighty-four. In Jason, Abby had found a much-needed link to her former life, one she’d come to relish.

The party of four entered the control tower building. Kara regarded Abby with an apologetic smile. “We don’t have any working elevators. The only way up is the stairs.” She motioned toward a door which led to a staircase, which wound its way upward to the top of the structure, one hundred and twenty feet above ground level.

Abby offered a smug smile to her three companions. “Not a problem at all,” she replied. Abby was, of course, in excellent physical condition, having resumed her jogging routine in this new world. Without hesitation, she went bounding up the stairs, leaving them to follow along behind her.

Astonishingly enough, the next person to arrive at the top was Jason. Noah, in fine physical shape himself, nonetheless opted for a more leisurely stroll up the stairs. Kara was the only one who reached the top somewhat out of breath.

“Whew,” Kara panted. “Abby, you’re putting the rest of us to shame.”

“Sorry about that,” replied Abby, the tone of her voice having turned sympathetic. “I couldn’t resist showing off a little.”

The top floor of the tower was a large circular room, with windows around its entire circumference. As they took in the commanding view, with the entire community and surrounding area visible, their earlier mirth was replaced by contemplativeness.

“Wow,” said Abby. “You can see everything. And it’s a big world outside those walls, isn’t it?”

“A big world containing a lot of unknown, and a lot of danger,” noted Kara. She then introduced Abby to Sara Powers and Winona Slater, the two guards currently on duty. The control tower, as well as the four guard stations on the exterior of the community, was staffed around the clock by two-person teams. Each team worked six-hour shifts. With eight people needed for each station plus backups, the guard staff consisted of about sixty individuals.

Abby’s interest was piqued as Kara spoke about the ins and outs of the guard positions. However, she had a lot on her plate at present, between helping Essence with her research work and the weapons training. She had also begun pilot training with Noah. Not wanting to appear overly ambitious, and remembering her outsider status, she opted to keep this interest under wraps for now. Perhaps she would bring it up with Kara after her various training endeavors were complete.

Jason, ever the military man, started to give Abby an overview of the tower’s value when it came to community defense. “I can’t overstate how important this tower is to us. You can see how commanding the perspective is. We can detect the approach of an enemy from at least ten miles away, in every direction. We also have an assortment of visual aids available.” He pointed at a shelf which contained several sets of binoculars. Two telescopes, mounted on tripods, were also nearby.

“I built those scopes myself,” said Noah. “They’re my babies. I borrowed one of Mimosa’s manuals that she had lying around. I used raw materials that we scavenged. Even shaped the lenses.”

“We’re lucky in that we are geographically isolated here,” commented Kara, rehashing an earlier theme.

“The walls are surrounded by open, flat land,” observed Abby, “which allows you to see what’s going on, for several miles in any direction.”

“That open, flat land works both ways,” pointed out Jason. “It also makes it easier for an invader to get at us, if we don’t keep our guard up.”

“Exactly how much of a threat are invaders?” inquired Abby, a little uneasily, recalling Essence’s earlier story about her community in California being overrun. She pretty much knew the answer already; she just wanted to hear it elaborated upon by the community leaders, outside the setting of a formal meeting.

“Well, you know one of our fundamental truisms around here,” said Kara. “Under these conditions, if you have something valuable, someone is bound to try to take it from you.”

“Kara’s earlier statement is very true,” Jason added. “We are isolated. But we’re not as isolated as we’d like to be.”

“And our greatest concern lies in that direction,” said Kara, pointing due west. “From the Bay Bridge.”

Noah, who’d been quieter than usual up to this point, spoke up. “Kara, can I tell them about our plans for Friday?”

“Go right ahead. I don’t intend for it to be a secret.”

Noah nodded. “Kara and I are flying up to Philadelphia in the helicopter. She’ll try to convince those stubborn son-of-a-bitches - again - to get rid of that bridge. Personally, I want that thing bombed until it sits in pieces at the bottom of the Chesapeake. It’s one huge fucking liability for this community.”

“Amen,” Jason concurred.

A brief pensive silence followed. Abby was the one to end it. “Do you think you’ll be able to convince them, Kara?”

“You can be sure that I plan to give it my best shot,” replied Kara. “But knowing them, I wouldn’t bet on it.”

At about the same time, Essence disembarked from the tram near her residence, at her usual homebound stop, but continued walking onward, heading toward the south end of the residence area. She had told Abby that she would skip the community dinner tonight, that she was “meeting a friend”. This was not a lie; she was in fact meeting a friend. However, this was a part of her life that she kept hidden, most of all from Abby. She didn’t yet feel comfortable sharing this little secret with her.

She arrived at a small house at almost the very end of the residence area. She knocked on the door, as she had so many times before. She wondered if Maeve was inside, by herself, or if Dorian was there as well. Past experience told her that Maeve was likely home alone at this hour, as Dorian was a bartender at the community night spot. His workday typically started right about now.

The door swung open almost immediately. Maeve greeted Essence with a dazzling smile, motioning her inside. “You’re alone,” observed Essence.

“Dorian left for work already,” said Maeve, greeting Essence with a soft kiss on the lips. “But you know that it doesn’t matter either way.”

“I feel a need for some privacy,” Essence said.

“Shall we go right into the bedroom?” said Maeve, equally intrigued and concerned.

“Yes,” came Essence’s hoarse reply. “Lead the way.”

At forty-three years of age, Maeve Adams was a classically attractive woman with fair skin and long straight dark hair flecked with just a few streaks of gray. She had been married to Dorian for over twenty years, dating back to before the Second Incident. They both had survived all that had happened in the interim, taking “for better or worse” to its extreme. However, like Essence, Maeve was unable to bear children; they’d bonded over this issue. Several years ago, Maeve and Dorian had made the decision to open up their relationship. Maeve decided to explore her attraction to the ladies. And given the societal conditions, she gave Dorian permission to create children with other women. He was the father of two kids, with two different mothers; one of whom was Winona Slater, one of the control tower guards.

Currently, Maeve’s “exploration” occurred with Essence and only Essence. Theirs was a no strings attached, friends with benefits arrangement. To Essence, it seemed that every aspect of her life required her to be cool, collected, and in control. With Maeve, she felt able to be vulnerable.

“Oh my, honey, you’re tense,” said Maeve the instant they sat down together on the bed. She confirmed the notion by tantalizingly rubbing her shoulders for just a moment. “Let me give you a full massage,” she purred, “first.” She tugged on Essence’s sweatshirt and underlying t-shirt, taking hold of them both and lifting them over her head in one swift movement, baring Essence’s breasts. Maeve reached over and teasingly passed her index finger across Essence’s nipple, causing Essence to shiver with arousal.

“Now lie forward on the bed and let me do my work,” Maeve directed. “On your tummy.”

Essence compliantly lay down, as Maeve produced a bottle of oil from a nightstand next to the bed. Maeve rubbed in the oil and began to firmly massage Essence’s bare shoulders. Wow, she is very very tense, isn’t she, Maeve observed. She elected to keep that observation unspoken for the time being. She continued working downward, eventually reaching the lower back. She lowered Essence’s jeans to fully reveal that particular part of her body, continuing her work, stopping at the top of her butt crack. “Now turn over,” she directed.

Essence quickly flipped over on her back, as Maeve began to rub oil into her exposed breasts. Every so often, she would catch one of Essence’s nipples in between two fingers, causing Essence to squirm and inhale sharply. It wasn’t long before Essence reached up and began to undo Maeve’s blouse. Maeve’s breasts popped free, and Essence took one of her nipples into her mouth. Essence signaled that she wanted to change positions, so they flipped over, with Essence on top. She continued to suckle on Maeve’s breast for upwards of ten minutes. Essence loved the act of “nursing” at Maeve’s breast – it was such an act of submission, of vulnerability.

Abruptly, she decided to put an end to it. Pulling away from Maeve’s nipple, and looking straight into her eyes, she declared, “That’s enough foreplay. I want you to eat my pussy – and then I’m going to eat yours.”

“As the lady wishes,” Maeve replied. She had a sense that Essence wanted forceful and aggressive, so forceful and aggressive was what she was going to get. She tugged downward on Essence’s jeans and slid them off, rendering her fully naked. She used both hands to part Essence’s legs. Most women in this time period did not shave their pubic regions, and Essence was no exception. Maeve used her thumbs to part her bush and then dove straight into Essence’s center. She proceeded to eat her with a fury, and it only took one lengthy flourish of up-and-down tongue lashings to bring Essence to a fierce, crashing orgasm. Astonished at the rapidity and intensity of her climax, not to mention intensely curious, Maeve pulled away and began to comment verbally. However, Essence was already moving to return the favor. She had Maeve’s pants and underwear removed in no time, leaving her wearing only her unbuttoned blouse. In a flash, she unleased her own barrage of tongue-lashing and clit-sucking upon Maeve, quickly bringing her to a climax, then a second, then a third. At this point, Maeve felt compelled to interrupt the proceedings, for her curiosity – and her concern – had overwhelmed even the intense physical pleasure which had been bestowed upon her.

“Oh, my, my, my!” Maeve squealed, shivering with delight. “What’s gotten into you today? You’re a tigress!”

Essence crawled up beside her on the bed. She looked deeply into her eyes, with a dreamy smile on her face. She’d always been honest and open with Maeve, and she came right to the point; which, truth be told, had been the very reason for this visit.

“It’s ... Abby,” she said softly.

“So, it’s Abby,” Maeve replied, the plaintive tone in Essence’s voice telling her all she needed to know. “And the tigress thing was...”

“I was fantasizing about making love to Abby,” Essence admitted in a forthright manner.

Maeve nodded, unoffended, for this was not the first time that one of them had utilized the other as a proxy for unexpressed lust. That was, after all, a component of their arrangement. Maeve was perceptive, however, and she could tell that something was different this time around.

Essence heaved a sigh and rolled onto her back. “She’s ... incredible,” she began. “That red hair, that beautiful face, that athletic body. But it’s more than that. I’ve...” her voice trailed off.

Maeve remained silent, encouraging Essence to supply the missing words.

“I’ve fallen in love with her.”

“And you’re afraid to tell her how you feel,” Maeve said softly.

Essence didn’t reply directly to this, not yet, for she wanted to elaborate further. “She has this aura ... no, I would say spirit, about her, that I find inspiring beyond words. I mean, look at her. Against her will, she got transferred from one environment to another, placing her in a depressing world where nothing is certain and everyone lives in fear. That would have broken most people. And yet, Abby is not only surviving in this world, but thriving. How can I not love someone like that? The highlight of my day – every day – is when Abby and I sit down together for our nightly coffee and chat. Looking forward to that keeps me focused and motivated during the day. And every night when I go to sleep, she’s right there in the next room. It’s all I can do to keep from entering her room, slipping under the blanket with her and holding her all night long.”

“What’s stopping you?” Maeve asked.

Essence drew another sigh. “Point number one ... you know that Taff is working on repairing the time travel machine that brought Abby here. Abby has repeatedly told everyone who asks that her wish is to go back to her own time as soon as the damn thing is fixed. Now, I understand why she feels that way. I really do. If I was in her shoes, I’d probably wish for the same. But the critical question remains – is it worthwhile to pursue something with a person you’ll be saying goodbye to – forever – in the not-too-distant future?”

“How long will it take Taff to repair the machine?”

“She told us at a meeting that it should take less than a year. That was one month ago. I haven’t checked back with her about it since, so I don’t know how the repair is progressing.”

Now it was Maeve’s turn to sigh; the point had been driven home. “You said point number one. There’s more?”

“Yes, there is. Despite those long nightly talks, where it seems like we’ve discussed every topic under the sun, I really don’t know if she’s attracted to women. I know that she had a boyfriend who she broke up with right before she came here. I did take a big chance and told her that I am bisexual; she took that in stride. So, there’s that. But that brings us to the age-old conundrum. She and I have forged a close friendship, and I greatly treasure it. Do I want to risk losing that friendship, and gamble on pursuing something more?”

“Only you can answer that,” advised Maeve. “But all that you know of her previous love life is that she had a single relationship with a man. That doesn’t prevent her from being, um, open-minded, if you know what I mean.”

“Ah, but there’s one more thing you don’t know,” said Essence. “She seems to be at least mildly interested in someone else at the present.”

“Who would that be?” inquired Maeve.

“Laird Edmunds.”

“Ugh,” said Maeve with a grimace. “Not him. But why?”

Essence couldn’t help but emit a soft giggle at Maeve’s response. “According to Abby, Laird has this keen interest in the way things were back in her time. It’s that ‘old ways’ attitude of his that makes him so annoying to the rest of us. She told me the other day that Laird and Jason were the only ones who fully understand some of the issues that she faces. On top of that, Abby has taken a liking to Laird’s son Jimmy. Actually, I like the kid myself – he’s nothing like his father. For all his faults, Laird seems to be a good parent, and this is another thing that impresses Abby.”

“Do you think anything will come of that?”

“It’s hard to say. I’ve advised her to be cautious with Laird. I know that her friend, Hannah, has similar reservations about him, and communicated them to Abby. He’s pestered her several times for a date, and right now, she seems to be keeping him hanging while making up her mind.”

“Hmm ... maybe he’ll get tired of waiting and give up.”

“Hopefully. But there is another force at work here. I know that Abby is a little bit of a contrarian. If she is tempted to do something, and is being counseled against it by someone, she tends to rebel against the advice just to prove a point. She is stubborn in that way. So, I have to be careful not to push too hard.”

A brief silence ensued, before Essence went on. “Of course, everything comes back to the fact that at some point, Abby will be disappearing from all of our lives forever ... unless she changes her mind.”

With no immediate words of solace to offer, Maeve responded by wrapping her friend-and-lover in her arms, as they exchanged a tender kiss and basked in the skin-to-skin warmth. After a few moments, it was Essence who spoke again, this time in a soft voice, almost girlish.

“I love her. I want to be in a romantic, physical relationship with her. But I also want her to be happy.”

The following day, Abby was in the lab, getting the latest batch of spoiled gasoline ready for distillation. Another large source of old gasoline had recently been found and was in the process of being transported back to Delmarva; this would keep Abby in business for several more months if necessary. Essence was out for the day, having gone on one of the fishing expeditions that she so enjoyed. “Can I go, too?” Abby had asked her.

“I sure wouldn’t mind,” said Essence, “if perhaps someone else – maybe Laird – could keep an eye on the lab for one day.”

But Laird had begged off, claiming he had “errands to run.” Abby had reluctantly agreed to stay, this decision made a little bit easier by Laird’s absence. At least she wouldn’t have to keep saying “I’ll think about it” when he said, “Let’s go to the pub this Friday.”

As he sometimes did, Laird had asked Abby if she could keep an eye on Jimmy after school was out. This was something that Abby was always more than happy to do. She enjoyed the boy’s company; he invariably viewed the world with a sense of wonder, even with it being as fractured and damaged as it currently was. He had inherited none of his father’s cynicism or world-weariness. Jimmy had grown comfortable around Abby as well. Rather than calling Abby by her actual name, Jimmy was fond of referring to her as “Lady with the Red Hair”. Abby found this adorable; it conjured up none of the negative associations she’d experienced when Noah first dubbed her “La Roja”.

Meanwhile, Hannah was sitting in the lab with Abby. It was her midday break; she had finished her morning tram runs, and her afternoon runs wouldn’t start for another couple of hours. Essence, always safety conscious, preferred to have a second person around in the unlikely event of an emergency. So, in yet another example of putting the “wearing different hats” idea into practice, Hannah had been recruited to keep Abby company. This was another development that Abby was quite happy with. Today, she had a pressing question to ask Hannah. She had thought about asking Essence, but for some reason, she felt more comfortable introducing this topic with Hannah.

She decided to just ask away. “Hannah, what do they do here in this community when it comes to ... birth control?”

Hannah glommed right on to the intent of Abby’s question. Her eyes grew serious, and she replied, “Abby, you aren’t thinking about, um, going all the way with Laird, are you?”

“Not necessarily,” Abby answered. “But you never know what might happen, and when it comes to that topic, it’s best to be prepared, right? Obviously, I couldn’t bring my pills with me when I traveled through time, and the ones I was taking are surely out of my system by now.”

“Abby,” said Hannah in a low voice, “the best answer I can give you is ... there is no birth control here.”

“What?” exclaimed Abby, not sure she’d heard right.

“No birth control,” repeated Hannah. “With the population issue we have, everyone pretty much wants as many children as possible. So, preventing their creation isn’t all that important to most people.”

“Wow,” Abby said, mulling over the rather vast implications of that premise. But Hannah chose to expand upon it before Abby could.

“There’s something that you need to think about, and think about very seriously. When the time machine is fixed, you want to go back to your own time, right?

“Of course.”

“If you got pregnant, and wanted to go back to your time, you couldn’t bring the baby with you. Sooner or later, questions would come up about how the baby was created. I can’t speak for Kara, but I’m pretty sure she would agree with me. Don’t you think?”

Abby nodded, having been given some food for thought.

“So, here’s what your choices would be. You could terminate the pregnancy. You could stay here in 2081 with the child. Or you could go back to 2023 and leave the child in 2081.”

“None of those would appeal to me,” Abby said slowly, still thinking it through. “I mean, I’ve always supported a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy, but I couldn’t do it myself. I would never leave a child behind, either. And I’m determined to go back to my time, so...” Her voice trailed off.

“Again, just something for you to think about,” repeated Hannah.

The conversation was interrupted by Jimmy’s arrival. “Hi, Lady with the Red Hair!” he exclaimed. “My dad told me I could come and hang out with you.”

Abby couldn’t help but break out into a grin at the ten-year-old’s enthusiasm. “Jimmy, I’d like you to meet my friend Hannah. She’s also gonna hang out with us for a while.”

“Hi, Jimmy,” said Hannah with a grin. “What brings you around today?”

“My dad just dropped me off,” said Jimmy. “He has some stuff to do.”

“Did you take the tram?” wondered Hannah.

“No, he drove one of the cars,” Jimmy replied. Abby knew that Laird disliked the trams as a matter of principle, preferring to sign out one of the community vehicles and drive himself around.

“I went to the building next door first,” said Jimmy. “For just a few minutes. The guy in that building lets me use his radios, so I can talk to my friend. He’s really gory.”

Abby had to suppress a laugh. She knew that in the youth vernacular of 2081, “gory” was a synonym for “cool” or “awesome”. She also knew that “the guy in that building” who Jimmy had called “gory” was Noah. So, Jimmy and Noah were buds. What would Laird think of that?

“Jimmy, your dad wouldn’t like it too much if he found out you didn’t come here right away when he dropped you off,” Abby said, as she felt a mild scolding was in order. “He might not let you hang out with me again if he finds out. So, next time, come straight here when he drops you off, okay? No detours. Oh, and by the way, who’s your friend that you’re talking to?”

“I won’t do it again,” said a chastened Jimmy. “My friend is Lavender. She’s ten years old like me. She lives down in Virginia. For a girl, she’s really gory.”

At that, both Abby and Hannah had to giggle out loud. “Jimmy’s got a girlfriend,” Hannah said in a sing-song voice.

“Not a girlfriend. She’s just a girl who’s a friend. Know what I mean?”

“I know,” said a still-giggling Abby. “And it’s good that you know the difference.”

Abby was already considering how much of Jimmy’s little adventure she needed to share with Laird. He certainly wouldn’t be happy upon hearing of Jimmy’s side excursion. He would likely be furious when told that Jimmy had been with Noah and had described him as “gory”. On top of that, he likely would hit the roof when he learned that Jimmy had a long-distance friend among the Saviors in Virginia – a community for which Laird held just as much disdain as he did for the Fraggers here in Delmarva.

Then again, Abby thought, why didn’t Laird just accompany Jimmy inside, instead of dropping the child off outside? If he had, none of this would have happened.

Not wanting to overthink this, Abby moved to change the subject. “Time to get some work done,” she declared. “Jimmy, would you like to see what I do here?”

“Sure!” exclaimed Jimmy, never having been given this opportunity before.

“Okay then,” said Abby. “Hannah, we’ll be busy for a little while, okay?”

“No worries. I brought a book to pass the time.”

Jimmy, of course, had watched his father in the lab countless times, but observing Abby at work was a novelty. “Go grab your lab coat,” directed Abby. He ran down the hall and retrieved his coat – one that Essence had thoughtfully made for him. “Now put on these safety goggles, and let’s get to work.”

Goggles in place, Jimmy listened as Abby described the distillation apparatus. “See that yucky-looking dark brown liquid at the bottom? We’re going to clean it up so it’s nice and clear.”

“Yucky,” commented Jimmy. “That’s a funny word.” He’d obviously never heard it before.

“What do you call something that’s nasty, dirty, disgusting?”

“Horry,” Jimmy replied. “Like short for horrible.”

“Got it,” said Abby with a little smile. “I’ll add ‘horry’ to my mental list of 2081 slang words. Now, I’ll turn on the heat, and we’ll start the process.” The sample for distillation had been placed in a spherical flask that had a capacity of five liters. The “yucky brown liquid” filled the flask almost to capacity. The flask was constructed of a transparent shatter-proof plastic-like material, superior to actual plastic in that it did not leach out contaminants into the liquid being distilled, or start to dissolve or degrade, even at very high temperatures. It was one hundred precent resistant to even the harshest solvents. The apparatus itself, along with other equipment in the lab, was powered by high-efficiency solar panels outside the building. This prevented the lab equipment – which required a fair amount of power to operate – from drawing on the community power grid.

It wasn’t long before the spoiled gasoline began to boil. The vapor rose along the side of the distillation column, eventually contacting a section that had been packed with a special reuseable cooling gel. This caused the vapor to turn back into a liquid, flowing down into a collecting vessel.