Vanguard | Post-Apocalyptic YA

Part 23: Homecoming

She fidgets, her legs in criss-cross style. "What do you mean, for now?"

"We're not sure how much longer our fishing can be sustainable. Bigger fish need to eat more, which means they'll eat greater amounts of the smaller fish. They're throwing the balance of the ecosystem off. Even if the residual radiation doesn't affect us, the lack of our biggest source of protein will."

"Then why did you have to sneak away to see if anyone was left above the surface? Why isn't your entire fleet of Skippers out exploring the possibility of leaving Vanguard?" she asks.

I sigh. "No idea. I guess I've never thought about it."

By now, Nelly has ventured closer to my seat again, and she's leaning so far over my shoulder that my entire starboard view is blocked. I wouldn't mind the proximity, except that her hair is tickling the side of my face, and I'm having trouble concentrating.

"Would you like a better look?" I offer patting my knee before I realize how creepy that must have seemed.

Nelly's must agree because she pulls away. "I'm good, thanks."

"Oh, no. I didn't mean it like that," I say apologetically. "No funny business, I swear. But we still have a ways to go and if you want to keep looking out, then your legs are going to cramp up back there."

She sighs, as if considering the lesser of two evils, but ultimately squeezes her body between the chair and the inside hull. Putting an arm around my neck, she plops sideways into my lap. "Happy?"

I smile and nod. "You?"

Ignoring my question, she raises a finger and wags it in front of my nose. "No funny business."

I lift my hands to show that they're as far away from her as I can get them, and she finally pulls her lips into a small smile in return.

My hands can actually stay at my sides and off the yoke because the autopilot guides us at a comfortable fifteen knots toward Vanguard. I occasionally glance at the gauges to monitor system integrity, but otherwise there's nothing to do but sit and wait. I don't mind at all. I've always enjoyed the quiet beauty of the deep and it's cool to share it with someone like this for the first time.

I'm so relaxed I could probably fall asleep to the hum of the rotors as they suck in—and then expel—the water to propel us forward. In the dry clothes and with Nelly snuggled up against me, I'm contently warm, too. I feel like I should be doing something, but I pretty much know how I'm going to play things we get back on board, so there's no further need to strategize. Much of it will have to rely on luck and my powers of persuasion anyway. In eighteen years of life, I've had plenty of both so I'm not going to sweat it. It's actually kind of hard to concentrate on anything else right now other than the nice smelling girl in my lap, which makes me realize that I hardly know anything about her.

"So what's your story?" I ask.

Nelly turns her head, bringing her face dangerously close to mine again. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you were really good at figuring out all this stuff about me—with my sister, life on Vanguard, and all that—without revealing anything about yourself—"

"No," she interrupts. "I didn't figure it out. You told me. Haven't you realized that you liked to talk about yourself, Will? I just gave you the right prompts."

A rush of warmth flushes into my face. "Fine. But at any rate, how about you tell me something to even things out?"

She shrugs. "Sure. What do you want to know?"