Chapter 189: Moon’s manipulation.
That night the walls of Fortress four were quiet except for the wind. Morris and his people who had now joined the security team leaned on the watchtower not blinking, their eyes sweeping the area especially the dark forest.
Most of the residents had locked themselves away in their houses as soon as they noticed that the patrols were more intense and there were more soldiers on the walls than usual.
Of course, word of marauders heading their way had already spread. Some had overheard it over walkies-talkies and others had heard it from the soldiers that returned from the mission.
The warning of marauders heading their way was sent to the other bases. So, the situation over there was pretty much similar to the one on Fortress Four.
Even though Sunshine was sure that the base was safe and marauders could not get inside, she still worried about the superhuman that led them. Having one of that kind close by was not good news.
They needed to get rid of him as soon as possible.
Another thing was also bothering her, and it was Fifi. They had scared the woman away but where had she run off to? If she could kidnap one child, there was no doubt in her mind that she could kidnap another.
Perhaps, she should have driven that icicle through her heart and saved everyone the trouble. As she thought about these things, she sipped some ginger mint tea slowly at the dining table.
A laptop in front of her was playing footage of the scenes Major Elio and the team had captured on their mission.
A hand covered hers from behind and she gasped as a jolt of electricity flashed through her body. The cup nearly fell out of her hands.
"Easy." Hades whispered into her ears as she saved the cup with his other hand and placed it down on the table.
Sunshine slowly relaxed, leaning back against him, wondering if their chemistry was so intense that his touch gave her body shock or this was a side effect of her training with Tommy Kirkland. She had absorbed at least a dozen strikes from him during the week.
He was getting better at controlling his abilities. But this was only when he was not thinking about his girlfriend.
Hades leaned forward. His cheek brushed against hers and he nuzzled his face against hers, poking her with his nose gently.
He knew that it was not the best time to be affectionate, but he could not help himself. He had seen her sitting at the table, mist draped around her like a blanket. Some strands of hair had escaped from the fluffiest penguin shaped winter hat that she had on her head.
Perhaps it was an exaggeration to call her ethereal but there was something mysterious or otherworldly about her. It had started happening since winter arrived. Her skin was paler. When light hit her at the right angle, she gave off a bit of a shimmer.
She seemed to be in full bloom like a flower in spring and whenever they were alone, he wanted to explore her skin, feel the texture, kiss the softness and explore what other winter secrets her body was hiding.
"Down boy." Jo-Stride told him.
"Shut up." Hades responded.
Sunshine expelled a tired breath. Snowflakes fell from her mouth, hitting him on the face.
He backed away, laughing. If someone had told him that he would someday be married to a walking ice machine, he would have called them crazy.
Sunshine paused the video and turned to look at him. "Camp Pitbull looks like a mess. I had high expectations because it looked different in my last life."
"Is the timing, right?" He asked her.
She thought for a moment and shook her head. "I saw it in the third year of the apocalypse. I guess it is too soon to expect it to be the safe haven it will be turned into."
Hades pulled the chair back and picked her up. "You need to rest. I am on night patrol so I will be in the command center. But you...." he pushed the door open with his foot, "you need to sleep before running yourself rugged."
He put her in bed, covered her and hovered over her face for moment before kissing the tip of her nose. Then he turned off the light and left.
Amazingly, Sunshine slept off five minutes after he left and opened her eyes in the morning because Castiel slipped into the bed, complaining of hunger.
It was dawn, and the fortress was just waking up.
She carried Castiel with one hand and headed to the kitchen while contacting the command center via walkie-talkie.
"Any updates?"
"Nothing ma’am. It was quiet all night." Major Elio replied. "Maybe they were injured after the attack on the road. I can’t imagine whatever did that letting the rest of them go."
Sunshine pulled Castiel’s cup from a drawer and got some powdered milk. "I guess we have to worry about what attacked them too. Maybe they are in hiding and reorganizing or maybe they are dead. Either way, we should be prepared give them a benefiting welcome if they come our way."
"Agreed ma’am." Elio answered.
*****
At camp Zenith, the cold morning had most residents clutching their blankets while others seemed to enjoy exercising in the cold, especially the superhumans.
Moon was not a superhuman, but she always joined them for half a lap before going off to look for Leah.
Meanwhile, Leah Steward made sure to avoid Moon deliberately especially as she found herself unexpectedly two months pregnant. A normal pregnancy was difficult but a pregnancy in the apocalypse, even more so.
Therefore, the last thing Leah wanted was a pretentious snake like Moon around her. And yet, no matter how hard she pushed, Moon continued trying anyway.
And when Leah was not watching, Moon continued cultivating her relationship with Aliana. The little girl was frail but spirited. Everything she liked in the world, Moon also claimed to like.
They were like best friends, and their friendship was a secret Moon reminded Aliana not to tell her parents about. She convinced the girl it was a game.
When they were alone, Aliana had started calling Moon aunt. She whispered personal things about herself to her: like her peanut allergy, her fear of spiders, her desire to eat a moon shaped cake on her birthday.
The previous night, Aliana had spilled the secret.
Leah hated it.
Dominic, however, saw things differently. He noticed the spark in Aliana’s eyes when she spoke about Moon. At a time when there was not much to look forward to in the world, it was nice for their child to have a distraction.
The issue had caused an argument between husband and wife. Leah claimed that Moon was manipulating their daughter, Dominic accused Leah of being too controlling over Aliana.
With all the security they had, what damage could Moon really do?
So, breakfast at their home was a frosty affair. Leah was still angry. Dominic was waiting for her to calm down. Aliana could not wait to tell her aunt Moon all about the screaming between her parents.