The woman led them to a shabby looking apartment block. Looking both ways, she let them into the building, telling them to be quiet and quick. The shag carpet had long ago lost its original colour and had since been littered with debris from the crumbling plaster roof.
“Inside, quick.” She muttered, opening the door.
She seemed to be quite the hoarder, bits and bobs scattered everywhere. A fluffy white cat was perched on the kitchen table and hissed when it saw them.
“Hey kitty.” Robyn hobbled over, plunking herself down next to it. It hissed again and she hissed back.
“Don’t tease Billy. He’s old.” The woman chided, dumping her keys in the bowl by the door.
She looked around the room, frowning. “I would have tidied up if I had known I would have visitors.”
Mabel shivered. Valerie led her over to the couch- pushing aside a collection of vintage newspapers and books to make room for her. “Careful with those- they’re priceless!”
Robyn glared at the crazy woman when her back was turned.
Valerie joined Robyn on the adjacent stool. “If it’s not too much of a hassle, we could really use some medical attention now.”
“Yes, yes. I’m getting there. Now where did I put those pills- by the way how bad are your injuries?”
Robyn tested her ankle and winced. “Sprained ankle –I think. Burns, scrapes. Um- just everything really.”
The woman went back to her muttering as she scrambled through her cupboard. “Why do I get myself into these things?”
You should be grateful, anyone else would have turned you away, left you to die. Remember that.
While waiting Valerie looked around the room, surprised at all the junk. There were piles upon piles of books and newspapers everywhere. No sign of a tablet of any kind, just old fashioned paper. Another thing that didn’t escape Valerie’s notice was the collection of deadlocks that resided on the door. Apparently this woman either didn’t trust others very much or was hiding something that she shouldn’t. An outlaw. Perfect.
“What’s with all the stuff?” She said, playing cool.
“Bah- you mean my collection? Some of the finest books and articles ever made. All rescued solely by me. Good literature in its original form is hard to come by these days. I’m sitting on the most valuable treasure in the whole state.” The woman cackled, finally cracking a smile. “Billy here guards them. Try taking one and he’ll scratch you up real good so don’t go getting any ideas.”
This woman is beyond crazy, thought Valerie. Her cat jumped onto the raggedy sofa and sat by Mabel’s head, licking its paws. Mabel sniffed and the cat started purring. It was the woman’s familiar – like her it must have thrived off human misery.
The woman scampered off into another room, letting them have a private conversation.
Valerie leant over to Mabel, crinkling her nose. “We get help, we get food, we get a bed, and we get out. Clear? No looting or light fingered swiping. This woman is bat-shit crazy. One wrong move and she could get us turned in. Okay?"
Robyn nodded, rolling her eyes. “Please. You’d have to reach Preacher levels of crazy to be able to want to pull a fast one by her.” She snorted.
The woman returned with a handful of items, a bottle of milk and a bowl.
"Now who's the poor girl with the burns?"
Valerie showed the woman her hands, palms upwards. The skin was a swollen, red mess in the places where she had grasped the metal and already blisters were starting to form. The woman made a clucking sound and poured the milk into the bowl, placing it on the table in front of Valerie.
"Soak your hands." She instructed. "It'll help with the pain." A reluctant Valerie placed her trembling hands tentatively into the bowl with the fear of the pain becoming much worse. Instead the milk cooled her hands, making some of the pain ebb away. She sighed with relief, resting her head on her arm. "Thank you."
The woman attended to Robyn's ankle, declaring that she had simply landed on it wrong and that it would be fixed by tomorrow. She did her rounds on her three patients, dabbing antiseptic wipes on the majority of scrapes and applying creams and bandages to other injuries. Once she had finished, she stepped back to admire her handiwork, hands on her hips and a look of pure satisfaction on her face.
"Billy, maybe I should give up my day-job and become a nurse." She said, scratching the Persian behind the ear. He mewled contently and leapt away to sit on Valerie's lap, sinking it's claws into her legs. She yelped but the woman took no notice. She was looking a lot happier now that the threats in her lounge room were immobilised and grateful. Her temperament had improved tenfold.
"I'll get to work setting up the beds then, girls. Don't move too much. You, girl - don't take your hands out of that bowl just yet."
She came back in, dragging two mats with her. She threw down a set of sheets and blankets onto the sofa by Mabel's feet and made the beds for them while humming. "The youngest can stay on the couch." Once finished she dusted her hands and ran them through her white hair, making it stick up.
"Okay. Now the final thing - you're going to need some cream and bandages for those hands of yours."
She made Robyn hobble over to the spare seat and sat in her spot, gently attending to Valerie's hands which had improved significantly - nearly all the swelling was gone.
The woman dried her trembling hands with a towel and Valerie made noises of pain.
"You three are spineless- hold still!"
"I-I can't. It just happens sometimes when I'm stressed or scared or overwhelmed." Valerie said quietly. The woman made no reply.
She placed burn cream all over her shaking hands and then wrapped them with bandages. "See, no need to be such a wuss."
The woman tried for some small talk but none had the strength or the motivation to sustain a proper conversation - Robyn ended up being the only one that answered and even then it was monosyllabic.
"I'm going to pop off to sleep now. Keep the noise down - you lot are too chatty." She whistled for Billy and he perked up, jumping off the kitchen table where he had been drinking the left over milk.
"Oh, nearly forget- bathroom's down the hall. Don't wake me up before five. Goodnight."
"Night."
She flipped the lights off, leaving them in total darkness save for the light filtering in through the dirty window.
Valerie managed to stumble to her mattress on the floor, not knowing what to do with her hands. She kicked off her socks and laid there.
Robyn finally spoke. "What do you think happened to all the others?" She whispered.
Valerie shrugged in the dark. "Arrested, killed, escaped, wounded. Who knows. Let's just hope that Rosetta and Tanner are safe."
Mabel stifled a moan, pressing her face into her pillow.
"Listen, Val- about what happened to Cole-" Robyn began.
Valerie grit her teeth, squeezing her eyes shut. "I don't want to talk about it."
Robyn stayed quiet for a few minutes.
"We're some of the few lucky ones, you know. This is what lucky looks like."
The depressed and flat edge to Robyn's tone was prominent. She muttered a goodnight before turning her back on her friends, lying on her side.
Valerie tried to ignore the hollow feel in her heart, the ache of her body and Worse, she tried to ignore Mabel’s pained sobs. All that Valerie wanted was for everything to go back to normal. Whatever normal was. Everyone safe. No injuries. Security. Safety. That's all she asked for.
She curled up on her side, sniffling.
She knew she wouldn't sleep much tonight. Her mind kept rewinding over the deaths of Cole and the guard. It got to the point where the images were getting near unbearable and she had to fight the urge to scream into her pillow. She started to cry quietly.
No use crying, hon. It's not going to solve anything.
"Shut up!" She mumbled.
The voice didn't reply but it did begin to sing her a lullaby softly. That didn't help Valerie keep the tears at bay for long.
She didn't know where her little demon had gotten the song from- Valerie had been brought up never knowing childhood rhymes or songs - she was thrust into childhood from an early age. She had to grow up - with a whore mother who had left her on her father's doorstep and said father who would rather get lost in his hallucinations - she had to step in, get herself fed, make sure that her father did too. That was her one and only priority. By the age of seven she was fed-up. Not a lot of years for a childhood, not a lot of development of social skills. All this amounted to a cynical teenager with daddy-issues that was now stranded in a crazy lady's house with her friends. Perfect.
Sometimes Valerie really hated the things that happened to her. She hoped that they would find Tanner soon, alive and well, and he'd be able to tell them where they could go from there. She would give anything to stand back and let someone else be in charge - she didn't want to be reminded of the time when she was just a child and responsible for herself and her loved ones. Anything was better than that.
***
The next morning the woman shuffled into the kitchen to find Valerie sitting at the counter, her head in her hands.
"Couldn't sleep?"
Valerie started, head nearly hitting the table. She rubbed her tired face.
"Nah. Nightmares. Brain wouldn't shut off." She mumbled. Billy came over and sat on her bandaged hands, purring.
The woman looked sorry for her and went as far as patting her on the shoulder.
"Tonight I'll make sure to slip you a little something extra so you'll pop right off."
Valerie had no idea what she was talking about but nodded anyway. Suddenly something caught her attention. "Wait- tonight? You're letting us stay longer?"
The woman chewed her lip. "I was thinking it over last night. You girls are safer here and you're not too much of a hassle. I couldn't just turn you out to the wolves without getting you back on your feet."
Valerie had the sudden urge to hug her. The woman must have noticed because she got up off her chair and moved safely to the other side of the counter, pulling her leopard print coat firmly around her.
"By the way, since we're on friendlier terms now, I guess first name basis is okay. Call me Calice or Martha.. Well, either those or Alyssa or Mayleen or even Griselda. Whichever one floats your boat. Those and nothing else. " Calice bustled around the kitchen, making herself a coffee. "You want one?"
Valerie grimaced, reminded of Preacher. She truly needed a pick me up so she agreed. She also decided to stick with Calice, it was the easiest for her to remember.
"And what can I call you?" Calice asked, pouring water into two chipped mugs.
She hesitated, wanting to give a fake name. She decided against it. This woman trusted them and they would have to learn to do the same in return.
"Valerie." She said, receiving a mug and putting it down quickly with a gasp. Her hands still burnt. Calice tutted, taking Valerie’s hands into her own. “My bad. Let’s see how it’s going. I fancy myself a real medic by now, with all the fixing up I’ve done. I could work for the State.”
Her hands were improving, she commented. Calice applied more burn lotion gently onto her skin – trying not to hurt her..
“How’s the young one holding up?” She whispered, gesturing at the sleeping figure on the couch.
“That’s Mabel. She lost her mother when we escaped. Chances are that she didn’t make it out.” She replied, swallowing painfully.
Calice’s mouth became tight lipped. “It’s always the children that are worst affected by this – always. The poor dear. How old is she?”
“Fourteen. She’s not coping that well.” Valerie admitted with a sigh.
“Too young. And the other one?”
“Robyn. Seventeen. She’ll cope. She’s stronger than all of us combined.”
“If you don’t mind me asking- how old are you?”
“Nineteen.”
Calice shook her head. “You girls look older. You shouldn’t be on the streets- you should be somewhere safe. Have you got any idea what you’re doing?”
Valerie shifted uncomfortably. The questions were tending to snooping.
Calice threw her hands up. “Fine, I won’t say no more. Suit yourself. Go back to sleep. We can afford to sleep in on weekends.”
Valerie retired to her mattress as Calice shuffled back out of the room, Billy close behind. Weekend already. The days seemed to fly.
Robyn rolled over suddenly, snuggling into her pillow.
“She gave you a full grilling and you sat there and took it.” She smiled ruefully, reaching out to hold Val’s bandaged hand. “We’ll get out of this rut, okay? Don’t stress. As long as we three stick together everything will be fine.”
Valerie nodded and closed her eyes, merciful for the tiredness that had started to overtake her body. She could worry about their sticky situation. Heck-she could worry about everything later if she really wanted to.
Sleep now, hon. Enjoy it, please.
She drifted off to sleep slowly, with Robyn patting her hand rhythmically and humming softly to herself.