The North (#wattys2016)

Chapter 21

Kate took the middle ground – probably so Sid wouldn’t feel his opinion was being ignored. The giant Newfoundlander had always adopted an act first, think later mindset, and Kate Dawson was the only person who could reel him in.

I finished my briefing and Sid took the first sentry shift in the turret. I was about to crawl across the floor of the crew commander’s hatch to catch some shut-eye when Jo tapped me on the shoulder.

“Hey, kiddo, you should be sleeping. What’s up?”

Jo’s eyes narrowed sharply as she hopped onto the crew seat. “I stayed awake because I want to talk about something that’s important.”

I blinked. “Um … okay. You have my undivided attention.”

Jo squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. “I’m part of this team, David, and I want be more like everyone else. I’ve been a helper since we left the city but I can do other stuff, too.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “Yeah? Like what?”

She pointed to my binoculars hanging against the hull. “Well, I’m a good lookout. I can spot creepers from a mile away, plus I’m a good listener. I hear every word you guys say about what we’re up against. And I heard everything about Dawn-Marie. I’ve been keeping an eye on her, you know.”

I leaned forward. “We all have to keep an eye on her. Do you think we can trust her?”

Jo shook her head. “I don’t think she’s one of the bad guys, but that’s cuz we don’t know her yet so nobody trusts her. And you want to know something?”

“What’s that?”

She dug a finger into my chest. “You don’t trust me either, David. You think it’s all about protecting me, but we protect each other and I can help … I want to help. I’m a good shot, I’m small and fast plus a bunch of other stuff that you’re too busy to even notice. You need to let me do more – I don’t want to be the little kid anymore.”

I took Jo’s hands in mine and said, “But, Jo … you are a little kid. You’re just eight years old.”

She pulled away and then fired me an angry glare. “I’m nine in a couple of months and I can shoot better than Kenny or Doug. I’ve shot creepers, lots of them. I’ve seen just as much scary stuff as you and I can do more to help us get to where we’re going. So are you going to give me more to do or are you going to treat me like a baby forever?”

I wasn’t expecting to get an earful from my kid sister but she was dead serious about wanting to be a part of the team. It took guts on her part to talk to me about it but all I could see as I listened to Jo plead her case was the bodies of that family back in Neapolis. If I agreed to let Jo become a full-fledged team member then it meant that I couldn’t protect her. I studied her face as I considered the reality of our situation. We’d been attacked, twice. Our carrier could have been destroyed and we could all wind up dead if I screwed up again. Jo was on the receiving end of that .50 Caliber machine gun just like the rest of us. If we brewed up, she’d burn to death and there would be nothing I could do about it. And the entire world was still filled with monsters that would rip her tiny body to shreds if she wound up getting swarmed – if we couldn’t escape them.

I sighed heavily and gave Jo a slight nod. “You make a good case, kiddo. I promise to let you help out more but there’s still a ton of stuff you need to learn about field craft and fighting.”

She snorted. “There’s a ton of stuff you need to learn too. Okay … well at least you’re listening to me. I’m going to get some sleep. Maybe tomorrow night I can go on sentry?”