Uprising: A Collide Novel Part 25

He looked up and immediately pasted on a smile.

"Hey there."

"About Friday night? I'm in. I'll go with you. Let me know what time you want to leave and what you need me to do and I'll be ready. G'night."

And I left before anything could talk me out of it.

The next morning, I woke up late. I pressed my fingers into my aching eyes and then stretched my legs, flexing my toes. I half expected to run into warm flesh, another body beside me. It was still weird to sleep by myself, without Michael.

Before this we'd been sleeping wherever we could find a place, mostly not beds of any kind, so it was. .h.i.tting me hard then just how things had changed. And how much I missed sleeping next to someone.

I decided to stop feeling sorry for myself, or I'd lay here all day, and changed my clothes and left the room. The hall was deserted as was the commons room. I saw Cain heading up the steps, out of he bunker. I wondered what it was he did out there. No one else ever went outside, it was kinda forbidden I guess you'd say.

So, naturally, being the bored and curious girl I was, I decided I'd follow him.

I lifted the hatch door, a heavy wooden creaky beast. I remembered the stock room from the other day when that woman had brought us through here. We'd showed up here because of a flyer someone saw at a truck stop. He didn't want to stay he'd said but knew the Lighters were bull c.r.a.p so he stored the info for later. And then told us where to go when he happened to spot us wandering around.

I placed the door back quietly and looked around at the high shelves...and b.u.mped right into Cain.

"Oh!" I cried and silently cursed my always b.u.mping into people lately. I tried to think of something to say as he sat and looked at me with c.o.c.ked head and amused face. "Busted?"

He laughed and it was wonderful. It sent a wave of nerves through me. His face, which had been tight with concern or something, even in his jest, released and now looked five years younger. He seemed stressed and maybe even trying to cover up unhappiness. I didn't blame him. I probably was too.

"Yeah. I'd say 'busted' fits here nicely. What are you doing?"

"Following you. Being bored. Wanting to be useful. Take your pick."

"Well." He smiled again. "I'm really the only one allowed out. We try to keep everyone inside to ward off any suspicions. If someone saw a bunch of people running around outside...ya know?"

"Yes, I know. I a.s.sumed as much, but really, I'm going stir crazy. I have to do something. What are you doing out here? Maybe I can help?"

"Well, Lillian. It's your lucky day." He leaned in to whisper conspiratorially. "I don't follow the rules either."

He grinned and placed a hand on my back to guide me out the back door. The sun hit my face and I wanted to gasp at the feel of it. You never knew when the sun would be out or it would be snowing or raining. It was a treat for it to be so mild outside and I soaked it in.

We walked to a small shed in the back, then behind it I saw a garden, covered with high tarps. I couldn't tell what they were growing. There was barely green sprouts sticking out. They'd made a little sort of green house with all these tarps and I was impressed.

"So, what's all this?" I asked, looking back at him.

"Our garden. Sherry and I came up with it. See, once the need warehouses come, we won't be able to get enough food to feed everyone anymore, so, we're gonna try to grow a majority of it. Right now we are stock piling. That's why so many of us go on store runs every week."

"Need warehouse? What's that?"

He chuckled at some personal joke.

"Where you been?" he asked and then proceeded to tell me all about them and what had been Crandle's plans. When he was through, I couldn't help but s.h.i.+ver and think that the Lighters seem to think of everything.

He walked me around a little more and told me all the vegetables they were planting. How certain ones can grow in harsh conditions. I asked a few questions and he answered them.

I was trying to decide if I should go back inside when a strong gust of wind shot through the yard. It was so strong that I had to grab Cain's arm to keep from falling over.

"This is another reason no one comes out here," he yelled over the howl of the wind and tried to s.h.i.+eld me a little with his body but it didn't work too good. "It get's pretty wicked sometimes."

"I see that."

Once it died down, I started to walk back to the store but was yanked back by my hair. I cried out at the pain and shock. At first I thought Cain had done it but it was so hard and hurtful, surely he wouldn't have. I looked up and back. Sure enough, it wasn't him but he saw what was happening the same time I did.

The wind had wrapped and knotted my hair around one of the poles that keeps the tarp over the garden. But with all the ties and twists and rope and all around the pole to keep everything together and tight, it was snarled within the mess of it and as I started to try to free it, I realized, it was stuck. Really stuck.

I started to panic a little. Cain tried to help as we pulled at and tried to separate pieces of my very long blonde hair, it was past my shoulder blades now, it wasn't working, in fact, it seemed to make it worse.

"Uh, Lillian. I may have to go get some scissors," he suggested.

"No! Please," I cried. "Look, I know it's stupid and silly but I- I love my hair. I don't want to cut it, ok."

We kept trying. We kept not getting it untangled.

"Dang it! Just dang it." I was losing my hope of not cutting my hair.

"Lillian," he said softly. "I promise you, you will look just as gorgeous with shorter hair. I think we have to cut it."

"It's not about my looks, Cain." I wanted to cry. And that thought made me want to cry harder. I was seriously about to cry over something as vain and girly and silly as hair. In the end of the world. But he didn't understand. "Cain, I just...I need my hair, ok? Michael always-" I stopped abruptly and wished I could leave, but couldn't.

"Your husband. He loved your hair. Is that it?"

"Yes," I admitted. "I just feel like I..."

"Ok. Let me look around and see what I can find, ok? Stay here," he said and gave me a c.o.c.ky grin.

"Ha ha," I said and couldn't help smile too.

He came back a few minutes later with some kind of grease. Black grease. I didn't ask what it was, I didn't want to know. As long as I got free.

He rubbed it all over and around the ends of my hair and the pole and slowly started to pull and separate the pieces. Sometimes he had to yank slightly, holding the other side of the strand so as not to hurt me. It worked!

We pulled it all free and I tried to run my fingers through it but it was impossible. I couldn't imagine the mess I must look. Black grease all in my snarled hair nest. But right then I didn't care. I still had it for it to be a mess. I jumped right to Cain and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Thank you, so much. I know you think it's silly, but..." I pulled back to look at him but didn't let him go. "I don't have anything. I have like five possessions to my name. Everyone has always loved my hair, my parents, Michael. I just couldn't...get rid of it," I admitted and wanted to cringe.

They was no way to explain it without sounding stupid.

"It's ok. I understand, really." I hadn't realized his hands were still on my waist until then. His fingers flexed a little and I felt a flutter in my stomach. His face was inches from mine. "I understand better than you think. Being in this place that isn't ours, with hardly anything that belongs to us. Just trying to survive. I understand."

"Thanks, Cain. Really."

"Ok," he said awkwardly and stepped back like he just realized how close we were. He cleared his throat. "Uh, how about we go back inside. We'll see if we can get you cleaned up."

"Yes. Agreed."

We walked to the hatch door and he started to lift it but stopped.

"Lillian." He turned to me. "I'm really sorry about your husband."

I was a little taken back by his sincerity. He looked straight at me. And I stared back into a sea of blue green.

"Thanks. I'm ok, really. We weren't even married that long and didn't know each other very long before that. I miss him, but in a way, I'm almost glad he's not here to see all this."

He knew exactly what I was talking about. This is everything. He nodded.

"Maybe you can come with me again this week and I can show you how we do things, plant some carrots with me. What do you say?"

"Sure, I'd love to help."

"Ok. But, uh, Lillian." He came to stand right in front of me and wrapped a strand of my hair around his fingers. "Your hair is pretty gorgeous. Why don't you wear it up next time, huh?"

He chuckled as if to soften the flirting he was doing but I wasn't buying it. And man did I like it. I swear my hair was tingling.

"I think that's a good idea. Thanks for the quick thinking out there. Most guys would have just said I was being stupid and gotten the scissors...or worse, a pocketknife."

He laughed and continued to rub and examine that same strand of hair.

"No problem. Let's get you inside and see if Celeste can help you with..." He waved his hands in front of me. "..all this."

"Hey now. Is it that bad?"

"Define that bad?"

I groaned and he laughed.

"I'm half joking," he said and laughed again at my furious attempt to produce order to my locks, grabbing my hands and bringing them to out sides. "Come on. Celeste can help if anyone can. I guarantee it."

I followed him down to the bottom of the stairs. He looked around and say Max sitting in his favorite chair.

"Hey, Max. You call Celeste for me?"

"Sure," he said and went right back to reading his book.

Celeste bounded in within a few seconds.

"You know, Max. It's one thing for my own Keeper to be in my head, I don't need- Oh my- Lillian! What happened to you!"

"That's why we called you," Cain said. "We had a little debacle. Can you help?"

"Of course I can. Come with me, Lillian. It hurts to look at you."

"Ok. Just a second." I turned back to Cain. "Thanks again. I mean it."

"No problem. I mean it," he said smiling and winked at me.

"So, you'll come let me know when you head out tomorrow?"

"Yep. If you still want to."

"I do."

"Then, I will. Me. You. Carrots. It's a date."

I laughed and saw Celeste raise her brow and quirk her lips. I bit my lip.

"Ok. Sounds great. Bye."

"Bye, Lillian," he said, almost crooned, and his deep voice just wrapped around my name perfectly.

As I walked away, following Celeste who was whispering that she knew just what to do for my hair, I looked over my shoulder once more and saw that Cain hadn't moved yet. He was still smiling. And he was watching me go.

Pipe Down

Chapter 10 - Merrick.

"Something is definitely up with Cain," Sherry said Wednesday morning as we sat on the floor, leaning on the wall.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. He's just not acting right lately. He's moping once second then smiling the next. He's...fickle. Cain is never fickle."

"He's fine. He's just upset about Lillian and Mitch.e.l.l. He mentioned her on the run."

"How do you know about them? I didn't say anything to you," she asked, looking at me mysteriously.

"Well, I may have caught a glimpse of Mitch.e.l.l's mind here and there, by accident."

She gasp.

"Merrick!"

"Hey, I'm not perfect. It's hard to break old habits sometimes. I only saw a glimpse. But it was enough," I said and smiled, looking at her sideways.

"Merrick! I can't believe you." She smacked my arm playfully. "Shameful, after you've told them so many times to stay out of your head." She paused and I waited, knowing what was coming. "So...what did you see?" she asked and bit her lip.

I laughed, hard. She's so cute and predictable.

"Just a kiss," I said through a yawn.