Chapter 9

Valerie hardly dared to believe it, after all this time someone had come. They'd sent out balloon messages and built signal fires, but no one had answered, no one had ever come. She was terribly afraid that it was all a dream, but her dreams were never this cold. She shivered as she stripped out of her clothes under the eyes of the two women. They checked her and Vanessa for bites, but didn't take her gun away, just told her to be careful. One of the women was blonde and the tag on her chest read 'Air Force' instead of 'Army'. She pointed to the tree with the stockings hung from it. "Looks like you kids are all ready for Christmas tomorrow." She said with a hint of a drawl in her voice.

"Tomorrow? We thought it was today..."

"Tomorrow?" Vanessa echoed. "But Santa left us presents last night, why did he... ?"

Valerie cut her off. "He probably knew we wouldn't be here, we sent him the letter, so he knew we were leaving." She pulled on the jacket she'd found under the tree, Matt had to have put it there, didn't he? She turned back to the Air Force woman. She was younger than their mom, but pretty old, probably twenty-five or even older. "How did you find us? It was like you knew right where to go."

"We did honey, we got your letter." The blonde woman wrapped one arm around Vanessa and gestured with an open hand to the smaller woman. "Leilia found it, and we followed your map."

Leilia had black hair in a long braid that she wore wrapped around her head. Her ice blue eyes looked strange with her dark skin. She looked like she belonged in high school. She spoke with a thick accent Valerie couldn't identify. "No, I don't find it, it was give to me. The old man give to me, and I give to Benjamin." She pronounced it 'Ben-Ya-Min'.

"She means the colonel," the blonde woman said. "What old man, Leilia?"

"The old man, in the place we stop two day ago."

"Cheyenne?"

"Yes, that place. When you and Benjamin talk to head man there, Old man in red truck he come. He give me paper, say him find on road, he not have time to come, to see. Ask if we go. I give paper to Benjamin, he say we stop here on way." Leilia shrugged expressively. "Man say him name it be Nick."

Matt came into the tent, followed by Colonel Johnson. "Look Val," he said, holding open a green cloth bag slung over his shoulder. "They gave me ammo, lots of ammo, five whole boxes."

"Are they clean?" The colonel asked Leilia.

"Very dirty," she said. "Need bath, yes?" She waited until he started to speak, then laughed. "Not worry, they not bit. They not near dead make two weeks. We check good, like SOP."

"Okay, good." He gave Leilia a quick kiss on the cheek, then looked at Matt and Valerie. "There is a storm coming in, so we have to move fast. You get all your stuff and follow Leilia. She'll find a place for you." He left the tent and gave orders to some of the soldiers, then climbed up to the roof.