Read Apocalyptica (Book 3): Ran for Free Online

what?”
    She gave me an exasperated sigh. “To bringing them here. We agreed you were in charge. This is your call.”
    I stared at her for a few seconds until the words began to work together and make sense. “Yes, Carla. Bring them here. I thought the whole ‘I don’t want to condemn innocent people to death out there’ discussion made that clear. Even if we didn’t have the food and supplies to feed everyone, we’d just figure it out as we went.”
    “I know, I know,” she replied, putting her hands up defensively. “But this is your place. I needed to make sure.”
    “I understand,” I said with a nod. “As long as people agree they aren’t going to come here and start giving orders, I don’t have a problem. Can I get back to work now?”
    Carla smiled and gave me a mocking bow. “Of course, my lady. At your service, as always.”
    I rolled my eyes. “Blow it our your ass. And stop feeding my dog people food. He’s gonna get fat.”
     
     
     
    I had finished the first leg of the trench and started on the second by the time the box truck trundled up the driveway. I wished I could get a bird’s eye view of the lines I was excavating. They were the first step in building a wall, and Tony assured me there would be a huge volume of space inside it. I was less sure how that was going to get done, but worked with enthusiasm anyway. What little girl doesn’t dream of one day having her own castle?
    Look, I know my trailer doesn’t qualify, but it was a work in progress.
    I watched the truck pass, and made my way to the house. My heart fluttered a little, my chest tightened. Fighting was easy. Meeting new people, now, that was a challenge I never seemed able to meet with confidence.
    By the time I made it to the house, Jem was already helping people out of the open back of the truck. Years of training in threat assessment, combined with my suspicious nature, made me automatically assess the new arrivals.
    Three adult women. One girl in her late teens. One young boy, maybe seven. Three adult men. The ladies of the group I scanned and found no problems with. They radiated relief in an almost palpable aura. The young woman, to my surprise, picked up the boy and smiled at him as if her were her own as she hugged him. Brother and sister, maybe.
    The men didn’t strike me as immediately dangerous, though anyone who had made it this far was neither stupid or cowardly. Even staying locked in a store meant keeping quiet enough to avoid detection, and enduring the sounds of the world falling apart around them without utterly losing it. Where the women seemed thrilled to be here, the men looked wary. Made sense to me. When a thing looks too good to be true, it should always be viewed with healthy skepticism.
    Pushing down the part of my brain screaming for me to go hide under my blankets rather than talk to people, I walked up to the biggest of the men and put out a hand. “Hi. I’m Ran. Welcome to my place.”
    The guy was pretty large, maybe six three. He had dark hair and deeply tan skin, though it wasn’t obvious if this was due to genetics or sunlight. “I’m Robert,” he said in an even baritone. He jerked his chin toward the man on his left, who was average size with light blond hair. “That’s Shane. The redhead is Gregory.”
    I half-expected Robert to be corrected, because honestly, who the fuck chooses to go by Gregory? But no, this was apparently what they slight man went by. Okay, then.
    “You guys hungry?” I asked the group.
    Robert shook his head. “We ate not an hour before your friends found us. But I wouldn’t say no to a shower, if that’s possible.”
    “We still have water pressure,” I said. “No reason everyone can’t clean up, though the water heater won’t last for long. If you don’t mind staggering them out a bit, I can make sure you at least all get to clean up some. Why don’t the ladies come with me, and Jem can take you fellas to the guest bathroom.”
    Jem, who was