tip-ex. The ‘total count’ section at the bottom right became their first official population counter.
“Now, when someone goes out” said Leah excitedly “We mark down how many go to what place and mark them back in. She made a point of rubbing R1 and R2 off of the section ‘Ranging’ and adding two to the count in the house. He looked at her, seeing a young girl so pleased with herself for doing something new that his heart melted a little. He really was pleased with her and proud of her work. His eyes rested on the Walther on her hip, and he was about to say something about her using a weapon she hadn’t been trained with. He decided not to; this girl had done everything and more to get his approval and to be the best she could be at everything she did. She had killed to protect her home, and he thought that he should probably give her some leeway. It was way past the point where he didn’t trust her with weapons, so he let it slide.
“Good work, I’m impressed!” he said “you two sure you can keep on top of this then? Lots of people moving in and out nowadays”
“We’ve got it under control Boss” said Rich, giving a conspiratorial wink behind Leah’s back. Dan turned to her.
“I see you’ve switched to the P99 too?” he said. She placed her left hand on the weapon, slightly self-conscious. “Yeah, I like the weight of it. It feels chunky” she said quietly, not wishing to sound childish by admitting that she wanted to carry the same gun as him.
“Me too” he said, satisfied with the flattery of imitation. He walked to the dining room to get a hot coffee.
The kids were excited about the place, not giving any indication that they thought it was a temporary arrangement. He was happy with that. Word went round those in the house quickly about the new arrivals, and he found a small huddle around them. He saw Lucy tucking into a plate of jam tarts brought out by Cara who was ever happy to see people enjoying her treats. Henry was telling them about the place where they had been, and wasn’t making it sound very welcoming. Dan noticed Eve listening intently, lapping up every word he said.
He hadn’t thought of her for a while; her or the child who spent months attached to her leg. He couldn’t see the girl now and looked around for her. He leaned closer to Nina as she walked past carrying drinks for the kids and asked her where she was.
“She’s moved into Cara’s room now.” She said, shocked that Dan didn’t know.
“Both the little ones stay with her, but the girl still doesn’t talk to anyone” he felt a little bit bad for not knowing, but then reasoned with himself that he wasn’t exactly idle and couldn’t be expected to know the social ins and outs of over seventy people. He left them to it, and went to find something constructive to do. Carrying his coffee and two jam tarts he walked out through the lounge area where Ash had curled up on one of the large settees. Smelling food, he jumped down and followed expectantly, receiving the pastry crusts to reinforce his faith in scrounging from people. They walked outside where he lit another cigarette and stood in the cold sunlight.
He suddenly felt very lonely, as if everyone else was busy but him right now. He thought of things he could do to be constructive, and settled on a visit to Pete to see how he was healing.
He found him sat up in bed with Alice reading to him. He could read just fine, but he liked the company. Not wanting to intrude he nodded his hello’s to the pair and left.
Still lost for something to do, he went to his room and took off his boots. With Ash taking up a large portion of the floor – Marie made it clear she was not sharing the bed with him too – he lay back and picked up the book he had on the table next to the bed. He’d meant to start reading it about six months ago, but until now he hadn’t had the chance.
He must have dozed off
“Now, when someone goes out” said Leah excitedly “We mark down how many go to what place and mark them back in. She made a point of rubbing R1 and R2 off of the section ‘Ranging’ and adding two to the count in the house. He looked at her, seeing a young girl so pleased with herself for doing something new that his heart melted a little. He really was pleased with her and proud of her work. His eyes rested on the Walther on her hip, and he was about to say something about her using a weapon she hadn’t been trained with. He decided not to; this girl had done everything and more to get his approval and to be the best she could be at everything she did. She had killed to protect her home, and he thought that he should probably give her some leeway. It was way past the point where he didn’t trust her with weapons, so he let it slide.
“Good work, I’m impressed!” he said “you two sure you can keep on top of this then? Lots of people moving in and out nowadays”
“We’ve got it under control Boss” said Rich, giving a conspiratorial wink behind Leah’s back. Dan turned to her.
“I see you’ve switched to the P99 too?” he said. She placed her left hand on the weapon, slightly self-conscious. “Yeah, I like the weight of it. It feels chunky” she said quietly, not wishing to sound childish by admitting that she wanted to carry the same gun as him.
“Me too” he said, satisfied with the flattery of imitation. He walked to the dining room to get a hot coffee.
The kids were excited about the place, not giving any indication that they thought it was a temporary arrangement. He was happy with that. Word went round those in the house quickly about the new arrivals, and he found a small huddle around them. He saw Lucy tucking into a plate of jam tarts brought out by Cara who was ever happy to see people enjoying her treats. Henry was telling them about the place where they had been, and wasn’t making it sound very welcoming. Dan noticed Eve listening intently, lapping up every word he said.
He hadn’t thought of her for a while; her or the child who spent months attached to her leg. He couldn’t see the girl now and looked around for her. He leaned closer to Nina as she walked past carrying drinks for the kids and asked her where she was.
“She’s moved into Cara’s room now.” She said, shocked that Dan didn’t know.
“Both the little ones stay with her, but the girl still doesn’t talk to anyone” he felt a little bit bad for not knowing, but then reasoned with himself that he wasn’t exactly idle and couldn’t be expected to know the social ins and outs of over seventy people. He left them to it, and went to find something constructive to do. Carrying his coffee and two jam tarts he walked out through the lounge area where Ash had curled up on one of the large settees. Smelling food, he jumped down and followed expectantly, receiving the pastry crusts to reinforce his faith in scrounging from people. They walked outside where he lit another cigarette and stood in the cold sunlight.
He suddenly felt very lonely, as if everyone else was busy but him right now. He thought of things he could do to be constructive, and settled on a visit to Pete to see how he was healing.
He found him sat up in bed with Alice reading to him. He could read just fine, but he liked the company. Not wanting to intrude he nodded his hello’s to the pair and left.
Still lost for something to do, he went to his room and took off his boots. With Ash taking up a large portion of the floor – Marie made it clear she was not sharing the bed with him too – he lay back and picked up the book he had on the table next to the bed. He’d meant to start reading it about six months ago, but until now he hadn’t had the chance.
He must have dozed off
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