at one point, because Marie woke them both having looked everywhere for him to say dinner was ready. As they walked downstairs she said that Eve had come to talk to her. She beat around the bush a lot, but she wanted to go on the trade run to see ‘The Haven’. Dan saw no real reason to refuse her, so agreed.
ESTABLISHING TRADE
The week went quickly, and on the day their first trade caravan went out Dan met an excited Chris ready with a Land Rover and the horsebox trailer. He towed the bull with a lividly aggressive chicken in a cage sat on the back seat. Ana was driving a pickup not dissimilar to Thunderbird Two, only hers had a tin cover on and half a dozen sheep in the back instead of a huge machine gun.
Dan left Ash with Leah, which caused him more worry than giving her guns did. He was satisfied that they would be fine as he would just spend the day in Ops waiting for her to feed him.
They wove their way through the towns and villages until Dan recognised a familiar vehicle sat on an approach to the road. He pointed out to Eve, who had remained annoyingly silent the whole journey. As he slowed down near Gregory’s car, allowing him to pull out and lead the way, Eve sat up.
“I’ve seen that car before” she said. Dan looked at her. “Just before you turned up, that was the car I saw the soldier in”
Dan thought for a minute. If she had stepped out and spoken to Gregory instead of hiding, then she and the girl would have probably been brought here months ago and saved him from hearing her whine.
They pulled up after bouncing along the track, and Eve’s eyes lit up. She got out of the car and walked slowly as if in a daze. Dan got out and waved the others through to the farm area, hoping to get done quickly. Zachary shook hands with Chris and, maybe Dan imagined it, flinched from the strength of his grip. They spoke briefly, then organised the loading and unloading of animals.
Dan walked to the visitors centre or whatever they called it now to find Eve sat with Scarlet and her two flanking clones. They were drinking some kind of herbal infusion, which boring people like him would probably call ‘tea’.
He had never seen Eve smile, and she was smiling now. He was invited to sit down and a cup of infused something or other was poured for him. He tried it, and found it to taste like shit. He politely swallowed and put the cup down, resisting the urge to spit it out.
“Well, ask him child” urged Scarlet with a false smile of serenity.
Eve straightened herself in her carved wood seat, then looked at him. “I want to stay” she said with a grand amount of drama.
“Ok” he said, then turned to Scarlet “They’re swapping animals now. Shall we make this a yearly thing to keep our herds healthy?”
Scarlet seemed taken back that he hadn’t made more of an issue about Eve’s big news. “Yes, that seems like a wonderful idea” she said, recovering her poise.
Eve tried again to get a reaction “I won’t need any of my things, everything I could want will be provided here” she said.
Except shampoo, conditioner, razors, toothpaste… thought Dan.
“That’s fine” he said, not bothering to be as false as the hippies and make up rubbish about how she will be missed and blah, blah, blah. Truth was, she constantly moaned, wouldn’t lift a finger to help and instead of looking after the traumatised girl who clung to her, she tried to dump her off on anyone else. She had finally succeeded and if she wanted to go and live in a tepee or whatever and dance in the mud with no shoes on then that was fine by him.
Dan got up to leave “Thanks again for your hospitality” he said to Scarlet, receiving an annoying slow nod like she was the oracle of all things. If he didn’t like her much before, then he certainly wasn’t under her spell now; Henry had overheard them talking once and it turn out she was a cleaner there and served the overly
ESTABLISHING TRADE
The week went quickly, and on the day their first trade caravan went out Dan met an excited Chris ready with a Land Rover and the horsebox trailer. He towed the bull with a lividly aggressive chicken in a cage sat on the back seat. Ana was driving a pickup not dissimilar to Thunderbird Two, only hers had a tin cover on and half a dozen sheep in the back instead of a huge machine gun.
Dan left Ash with Leah, which caused him more worry than giving her guns did. He was satisfied that they would be fine as he would just spend the day in Ops waiting for her to feed him.
They wove their way through the towns and villages until Dan recognised a familiar vehicle sat on an approach to the road. He pointed out to Eve, who had remained annoyingly silent the whole journey. As he slowed down near Gregory’s car, allowing him to pull out and lead the way, Eve sat up.
“I’ve seen that car before” she said. Dan looked at her. “Just before you turned up, that was the car I saw the soldier in”
Dan thought for a minute. If she had stepped out and spoken to Gregory instead of hiding, then she and the girl would have probably been brought here months ago and saved him from hearing her whine.
They pulled up after bouncing along the track, and Eve’s eyes lit up. She got out of the car and walked slowly as if in a daze. Dan got out and waved the others through to the farm area, hoping to get done quickly. Zachary shook hands with Chris and, maybe Dan imagined it, flinched from the strength of his grip. They spoke briefly, then organised the loading and unloading of animals.
Dan walked to the visitors centre or whatever they called it now to find Eve sat with Scarlet and her two flanking clones. They were drinking some kind of herbal infusion, which boring people like him would probably call ‘tea’.
He had never seen Eve smile, and she was smiling now. He was invited to sit down and a cup of infused something or other was poured for him. He tried it, and found it to taste like shit. He politely swallowed and put the cup down, resisting the urge to spit it out.
“Well, ask him child” urged Scarlet with a false smile of serenity.
Eve straightened herself in her carved wood seat, then looked at him. “I want to stay” she said with a grand amount of drama.
“Ok” he said, then turned to Scarlet “They’re swapping animals now. Shall we make this a yearly thing to keep our herds healthy?”
Scarlet seemed taken back that he hadn’t made more of an issue about Eve’s big news. “Yes, that seems like a wonderful idea” she said, recovering her poise.
Eve tried again to get a reaction “I won’t need any of my things, everything I could want will be provided here” she said.
Except shampoo, conditioner, razors, toothpaste… thought Dan.
“That’s fine” he said, not bothering to be as false as the hippies and make up rubbish about how she will be missed and blah, blah, blah. Truth was, she constantly moaned, wouldn’t lift a finger to help and instead of looking after the traumatised girl who clung to her, she tried to dump her off on anyone else. She had finally succeeded and if she wanted to go and live in a tepee or whatever and dance in the mud with no shoes on then that was fine by him.
Dan got up to leave “Thanks again for your hospitality” he said to Scarlet, receiving an annoying slow nod like she was the oracle of all things. If he didn’t like her much before, then he certainly wasn’t under her spell now; Henry had overheard them talking once and it turn out she was a cleaner there and served the overly
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