𝙵𝙻𝙴𝚂𝙷 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙱𝙾𝙽𝙴 | 𝚃. 𝙾𝚃𝚃𝙾 𐂃

Chapter 5

Cristine dropped on her mattres with a satisfied groan, body molding into the soft surface. She didn't realize how tired she really was now that the day was over and she was by herself. Cristine just showered and changed into a long sleeved shirt and sleeping pants Charlene gave to her. Tending to Luciana took most of her time today. She declined any nightly activities from the guys. She was exhausted and wanted to relax; sharpen her knife or maybe even read one of the books Jake lend her. Just as she was going to do the latter, a loud knock on her door stopped her from finding a comfortable position in her bed.

"Ugh," Cristine wanted to ignore it, but the lights were on so she asked in a half annoyed tone, "who is it?"

"Troy." Cristine rolled her eyes so hard, it was a wonder they didn't get stuck in the sockets. After Troy's pathetic display regarding Luciana and Nick, Cristine hadn't seen him for the rest of the day. She didn't think he would come, hell, ever since she left for outpost beta Troy was too busy with his militia. Even when she visited the Ranch, he'd gotten standoffish with her. And Cristine wasn't going to beg him for attention, she rather liked it that way too. So it surprised her Troy personally visited her this late at night. With his annoyance towards her, it was only a matter of time until things would escalate, so Cristine sucked up her grogginess and mentally and physically prepared herself for the discussion to come. It wouldn't be the first time. It's just been a while since she spoke to the man.

A moment later, Cristine's feet thudded on the wood. The well-known door handle, which always frustrated her didn't turn properly and was as stiff as ever. Cristine opened the door and his eye was the first thing she saw. Its blue darker because of the lack of light and his pupil stretched. He wiped his palm against his pants, still wet from washing. When she stood in the half open entryway, she noted Troy slightly relaxing when he lowered his gaze. Her face and body slackened, mirroring his stance. The arm that held the door handle was slack. Troy was half sure she'd slam it in his face given their scuffle earlier. He saw the curious glint when observing the bandage on his right eye. The emotion quickly dissolved and Cristine leaned against the door's casing, clear by her disposition that she was tired, but open to hear him out.

"Rough day, huh?" It was funny to see her roll her eyes at his attempt at small talk that was a little taunting and a little forced. The fact he still had such an effect on her was hilarious. Her dark eyes never strayed, as if removing her gaze from his would be the same as defeat. Cristine was silent, not even a hello, a sneer, or a how do you do. Hell, its been weeks since they conversed. Most of the information relayed from either Jake or Blake. Even Mike was in the loop cause of his vague relationship with Hailey. "I get it helping people is tiring."

"Who did you help? Sounds to me your run went to shit." Cristine sounded crabby and disinterested.

"I picked new people for the community. Since we're building something, we need them. Sure, at the end it was a bit chaotic, but we made it. Even miss Baja." The last part of his sentence just oozed annoyance and disdain all over. When things bothered Troy, it was noticeable in the manner in which he spoke. Troy was vocal about not wanting Luciana or her boyfriend here. But why vent to her? Jeremiah made that call.

"Who you clearly didn't pick... is that what you want to talk about? My patient?" Cristine wet her lips and crossed her arms over her chest, blocking out some of the chilly wind. "Your father made the call to let her in."

"She's a waste of supplies."

"Those are my supplies. Don't you worry, I made sure to use the stuff I found and added them to what my family contributes."

Troy scoffed, briefly looking away and clinching his jaw. Cristine didn't miss all the tiny signs of him pushing down his annoyance. As if he was holding back his true feelings about this situation so his next comment was just spiteful. "As always, you're bending the rules as you feel like it."

"Just get to the point Troy." Cristine wasn't gullible or dumb. Troy didn't come here to talk Luciana or whatever. He didn't care about that. He wanted to maks them miserable. "We lost people. You lost your godniece and you're keeping me awake with bullshit. What is it?"

Since Cristine was very direct and didn't seem to plan on playing his game, so Troy sighed, "Alright, alright. I need to know if you've seen something- anything in the time you've been out."

"I haven't." Cristine was intelligent enough to put two and two together. Troy was as restless by the helicopter attacked as her. Straightening her pose she continued with a shake of the head, "I mapped out a radius of the area of the crash site. There are a few paces people can use as their strongholds. I showed it to McCarthy, but he wasn't convinced it was larger than the work of some nutjob."

"But you don't believe that." Cristine shrugged at his statement, eyes peering back with a calculated certainty that she weighed out other possibilities too. Troy had been pondering this attack while his father and Jake waited for McCarthy to call in.

"I believe we need to play out all possible scenarios on this. Remember Ben and his friends? Just cause we have a militia that's stronger than before does not mean we need to sit and wait. Whoever this is, drew first blood and we would be stupid not to be prepared for the worst. Even if it's the job of a single person."

As difficult as it was for Troy to strike a casual conversation with Cristine about everything not linked to survival, he could always count on the woman's pragmatic and realistic view of things. They lost and mourned, yes, but they'd have to put all emotions on the backburner. People like Vernon and James were already questioning this attack, but Big Otto wanted caution. People were anxious and their vigilance increased. "My father wants to hold off until we have know more. Jake agrees, of course."

"I get that," Cristine nodded but also added, "but that doesn't mean the militia needs to slack off. If we increase patrol and roate some in the sentry tower outside, it's a start."

Troy nodded in agreement as her suggestions were already things Troy put in place. He stared at the shorter woman for one long moment, almost doubtful, until he proposed, "if you're gonna stay, I can add you to the roster too."

"I'm  free to do the night patrols since I have the morning shifts at the infirmary." Cristine softly rubbed the back of her nape with her palm from having to keep looking at Troy. His visit actually turned out decently im the end, which was a surprise in itself, but Cristine wasn't as annoyed with Troy for bringing up this possibly threatening situation.

They'd have to be prepared for anything, even an all out war or this place getting overrun.

Thoughts?