Chapter 7

Now that I am suitably clothed, Gwen says she will take me back to the men.

"Is this place truly called the Home?" I just had to ask. It seem to me, that would have been too simplistic for these folks.

"No," she giggles which sets her whole body in motion. "It is just called the Compound and we who live here are called the Kindred," she answers back dutifully. "The records show they wanted to name it something else. You know, one of those old cities from the bible or something, but they couldn't agree, so everyone just called it the Compound." She rolls her eyes at that bit of news.

"O' verse, I have found a Compound with Kin in it all in one day, who would have thought it." As quaint as I might think it was, these folk, this family seemed to take it very seriously. I should be so lucky as to have a family anymore.

What I really wanted to know was what happened out there. "Are you completely cut off from any other people, homesteader, or the like?"

"Yes, we haven't needed to venture out," she recites by rote her childhood lessons. "Our founders wanted to make sure we were completely self-sufficient, and we wouldn't be taken over by any of the roving bands of looters"

"But you seem to be in the middle of nowhere. There should not have been any looters." I figure I should mention that.

"It did matter at first." Gwen points this out to me. "People had land vehicles and could drive up to our gate. I don't believe the founders made a secret out of our location. I shudder to think how things would have gone if we did not have the Protectors. I have read the chronicles. It was not good." She wraps her arms around her waist upset by the thought. "Till 50 years ago we did have some radios. If they worked we didn't hear anything. And they finally all broke down. We don't have parts so..."

"I get it," I say breaking in. "No contact. But someone is still trying to kill the Kindred," I remind her, as we rejoined the main group.

"But why would anyone want to do that?" Gwen says in disbelief, that anyone could be so cold.

"Good question. I can only assume your gifted leader, Melville has an idea as to what to do about that."

I look around the main area and see most folks have gone off to sleep. I wonder if I should find some place or try to talk with the leaders again and offer my services as a negotiator.

There is a mechanical beep that sounds in my head. It is my timer, the cloud should be gone by now.

"Time is up. I want to go up and see if it is all clear." I hand my gear, along with my night wear to Gwen. She seems to know where things go in this place.

"You can't go up there, you'll die with the first breath." Poor Gwen, she sounds so afraid for me.

"I can hold my breath for a very long time," I mention, to calm her fears.

"You might be able to, but what about the rest of the people down here?" asks a voice behind me. It is Saber.

I turn, to find the men have come up behind me. I am losing my touch, I should have felt him long before he spoke.

"Point taken." I nod and concede the point. "So we are just going to wait it out till the air systems run down?" Something about this guy just pushes all my buttons, and makes me argumentative. "You know that this cloud could just be a softening up process, they could have people follow behind to take all of your crops or steal the silverware."