Chapter 185: Responsibility for Leo.
Leo’s cries echoed through the stone corridors of the first wall after the confrontation at the gate. His wails carried the weight of fear and grief and even though Sunshine tried to sooth him, the boy continued to cry demanding to be taken back to his parents.
He cried when a thermal band was put on his wrist.
He cried when he was laid down on a bed in the medic bay.
He cried as Nurse Kendall fed him Vita-E, an elixir provided by Sunshine for children with high temperatures and low energy. It worked on normal children and superhuman children.
After feeding him three spoons of Vita-E, a bowl of soft cornmeal porridge and a banana was brought. Leo still cried through the feeding, pausing only to swallow.
He ate half a bowl, threw up a little and had to be given a bath. Sunshine stayed with him through it all. Exhaustion lined her face when she finally placed the crying boy into her mother in-law’s gentle embrace.
Rori’s voice, soft and steady, hummed and old lullaby, and within minutes the boy’s sobs quieted into hiccups. Relief washed over Sunshine.
"I thought I was good with children, but this one has proved me wrong."
Rori shook her head. "I doubt that you are the problem child. This boy is clearly traumatized with what that mad woman did to him. Hades called us and told us about the bruises. Is it true that they drew his blood along the way and sold it?"
Sunshine nodded. That was how it looked. The entire thing reminded her of Nimo and how parts of her body had been repeatedly cut and eaten.
She did not want Leo around too many people right now and she was not ready to share his superhuman status. Who knew if some other lunatic would come up with the same idea as Fifi?
Rori was the only one she trusted to soothe and comfort the child. And when he was released from the medic bay, he would be going home with her, where he would stay until they found his parents or.... forever.
"First it was Damien shooting and killing people and now Fifi is kidnapping and torturing children!! What has happened to us?" Rori lamented in a gentle voice so as not to startle Leo.
Sunshine shook her head and then she shrugged. "I would say that I don’t know but I do. The apocalypse brings out the demons in all of us. Some people are worse than others."
"This should make our next family dinner interesting." Rori joked.
Sunshine laughed and looked at the clock on the wall. "I must get back to work. Other than the doctors, don’t allow strangers near him. Don’t leave him here. Take him home with you."
Rori nodded. Of course she would take him home. A Quinn had separated him from his family. It was up to the Quinns to fix the problem or care for the boy in place of his family.
****
At the information center in the third wall, the villagers streamed in for registration, their faces etched with fatigue, hope and unease. They were even wary of the friendly faces which held smiles for them.
The Fortress Four team was already making them feel at home by giving them refreshments. They were handing out dolls to the children, trying to make them feel at ease before they went through decontamination.
Sunshine went to work immediately, moving among them, offering a steady word here, a reassuring touch there. Yet beneath the surface of smiles and polite greetings unease festered.
Some residents lingered at the edges, their eyes sharp with suspicion. They muttered among themselves, watching as the newcomers resisted handing over their hunting knives and other weapons because they were their birth rights, passed down for generations.
And this was allowed to pass!
The contrast was stark. The residents had long surrendered their weapons as a sign of unity and peace, yet these villagers held tightly to their weapons. Those in authority seemed okay with it. How was it fair?
Nimo approached, her brow furrowed. "The weapons are going to create an issue if they walk around with them in the open. It is already happening, some of our people think that you are giving the villagers special treatment."
Sunshine pressed her lips together, her gaze sweeping the room. She saw distrust flickering like wildfire in the eyes of both groups. There was a subtle crack in their fragile unity.
"Morris assured me that his tribe cannot use the knives to kill humans but to hunt. At least they gave up the machetes and arrows." She said softly. "We will speak on it at the welcome dinner tonight. If the villagers can show their friendly side, maybe the tension will ease. We need them to see each other as neighbors not rivals."
Nimo crossed her arms. "Let’s hope that you are right. Because this...smells like the start of a fire we may find difficult to control. The increasing number of strange birds outside is not helping. Something is coming Suni."
Sunshine peeked at the bubble, watchers were bouncing up and down as if to measure its strength.
She let out a loud sigh. They would test it, and they got lucky and cracked it. It was strange that they had not attacked the people outside the gate just yet.
"And Dwayne, is he still interrogating the Cole guy?" Nimo asked.
Sunshine nodded. "He did not need to be tortured," Sunshine said flatly. "He spilled everything before the whip could touch his skin. The boy is special, keep that to yourself."
Nimo shook her head slowly, disappointment heavy in her eyes. "Of course, that explains why Fifi kidnapped him. When you said being a superhuman child was dangerous, I only thought about their lack of control. I forgot about those who would be looking to buy and sell such children."
Sunshine sighed. "This is only the beginning."
After speaking to Nimo, she went to the watch tower command center and spoke into a megaphone, urging those outside to go elsewhere.
Major Elio had been shadowing almost all day, and he had followed her to the command center as well. He did not think the people would move.
"What do we do? We cannot shoot them, but they are agitating the watchers." He spoke through pursed teeth,
"Get big trucks, pack them in forcefully and take them to camp Pitbull. You have only three hours to do this and return." She made a decision.
"Yes ma’am." He grabbed a walkie-talkie sent a message to soldiers to get ready for the mission which had been in plan for two days.
Sunshine was wondering if there was a shield of some kind which she could put around to stop people from reaching the wall.
But when she thought about the winter which would soon begin freezing those found outside, she figured that she did not need to do that. Winter would do it for her.
She switched to the internal speakers and started relaying her message to the residents, new and old. "Fortress Four would like to welcome the men, women and children of Stone village to our midst.
For those of you who don’t know them, let me tell you about the history of the village and the brave hunters that have kept this mountain safe.
If it were not for their former chief, our base would not be as big as it is today. They were offered room here long before most of you moved in, but they were delayed due to acid rain.
They are part of us now and I hope that you will welcome them just as my family welcomed you.
If you do not like them personally, the solution is easy: stay away from them.
If anyone is reported to be making things difficult for them and disorganizing the peace of this base, they will be expelled."