Page 7 of Burning Love

“To England? I love the accent, by the way. But you know you’re not making any sense right now. Have you gotten a look at yourself lately? Are you really sure you’re fine? Because I think you were about to get squashed by a rotter just then.”

Sophie made no reply as she continued to put one foot in front of the other as if on autopilot. Alex finally broke the silence. “Listen, lady. There’s a compound nearby. It’s not much, but we’ve got it more or less secure. I’m happy for you to stay for as long as you need to. Get washed up, have a bite to eat, sleep on a mattress in a real cot for the night, but we have rules.”

Sophia turned her head to look Alex straight in the eye. “Rules?”

Alex nodded. “We do our best to work together to keep it safe. Everyone contributes something. No one freeloads. Well, not usually. Let’s say the rules might need tightening up. Basically, you’ll have to pull your weight if you decide to stay.”

Sophia seemed to consider this, her gaze drifting back down to her feet. Alex thought for a moment that she looked as if she might refuse, her mind weighing unknown fears and hopes against the reality of life out here.

After a pause, she whimpered, her voice still on the shaky side of normal. “Alright. I’ll come and take a look, I suppose. And I’ll obviously follow your rules. I can leave at any point, though, can’t I? I have to get home at some point, you see. It’s a lot to trust that you won’t hurt me either.”

Alex allowed herself a small smile. “That’s right. Good choice, Sophia. I’m not feeling too optimistic about getting back to England. Not anytime soon, at least. But we’ll take care of you in the meantime. How does that sound? I have no intentions of hurting you.”

As they continued, Alex explained some of the basics of compound life. Sophia appeared to be listening intently, her expression clearly showing her obvious apprehension. But Alex thought she also spotted a slight glimmer of trust in the woman’s eyes, a willingness to believe that Alex might just be offering her a lifeline.

The sun cast a deep glow over the compound as Alex led Sophia through the barren terrain, the grit under her boots grinding like bone on stone. The air was carried on it, and it was the faintest acrid tang as if someone had been burning something. The distant sound of muffled voices sounded harsh and uninviting.

“In this hangar, we have a few cots, but it’s what we use as the main hall,” Alex said, her voice flat as she gestured to the vast, cold-looking structure. Its walls were scabbed with peeling paint, and the concrete wasrough and pockmarked. The inside, Alex realized, as if looking at it for the first time, wasn’t much better. Rickety tables and mismatched chairs sat in uneven rows, their surfaces scratched and scarred. Several people were huddled in clumps, heads bowed, their voices low and strained.

They know already—the boy.

Alex’s eyes moved slowly across the room, her expression hollow. “Are Henry and the others back?” she shouted out to nobody in particular, but her words hung in the air. A young woman with a gaunt, her eyes ringed with exhaustion, gave her a brief nod.

“Okay. We’ll debrief later. This is Sophie. She’ll be joining us for now,” she said, her sentence falling on deaf, uninterested ears. She turned to Sophia and attempted a smile. “I think everyone’s feeling pretty low. It’s to be expected, given what happened. Look, this place is… it’s functional,” Alex explained, her gaze lingering on a corner where a group of youngsters sat in silence. “We sometimes eat here. Talk when necessary. I’m trying to set up regular get-togethers. I guess it’s all about keeping things moving.” There was no pride in her voice, only a grim acknowledgment of their situation.

The tour continued, the compound revealing more of itself in stark, brutal lines. The doors, windows, and walls bore the evidence of hurried repairs, and the scent of damp clung to their clothes as they made their way from building to building. Alex’s steps faltered at times and her shoulders tightened as she tried to imagine what Sophie must be thinking.

The younger woman followed, her silence speaking volumes. Alex understood precisely what this place must look like to a stranger. Every corner of the compound reeked of desperation masked as endurance. It was survival stripped bare.

They stopped by the supply room, where Alex showed her the essentials they had managed to gather. “We’ve got some food, although nowhere near enough. That’s what Miller and… well, you know the score, right? We have some medicine and other supplies. We have plenty of blankets, for example. I think that’s about the only thing we have plenty of. Other than people,” she scoffed, pointing to the shelves lined with thick woolen bedcovers.

Sophia nodded, her gaze sweeping over the provisions with a mix of gratitude and disbelief. “It all looks very… organized. It’s pretty incredible. You’re doing a great job here. I never thought I’d find something like this after what is left out there.” Her voice carried an undercurrent of emotion.

Is she kidding? The place is the fucking definition of a shithole.

“Well, like my grandpa used to say, you can only piss with the dick you got, right?” she replied, immediately regretting her coarse language. She’d gotten so used to banter with her army buddies over the years that she had forgotten how it was you were supposed to talk to people who weren’t soldiers. “You’ve got to adapt. That’s what we’re trying to do.”

Alex left Sophia in the capable hands of Laura while she found a place for Sophia to sleep.

She found it in one of the quieter corners of the smallest hangar. A narrow frame with a sagging mattress would have to do. It wasn’t much, but she had pulled some of the cleaner-looking blankets from storage, shaking out the faint scent of mildew before folding them onto the cot and tucking them in carefully at the corners.

Alex returned to where she had left Sophia and showed her the way to her new quarters.

“I think this might work for you,” Alex said, her voice steady, though her chest tightened at the way Sophia hesitated before stepping closer. The dim light caught on the strands of Sophia’s hair, illuminating the soft curve of her jaw and the tension in her frame. “My bet is you’ll sleep well tonight. Did someone give you something to eat yet?”

Sophia traced her fingers along the bedframe, her movements tentative. “Yes, I had some soup. It was amazing. And this bed looks perfect,” she murmured, her voice carrying a vulnerability that made Alex want to reach out and touch her pale, delicate skin. But she stayed rooted to the spot and clasped her hands together in front of her.

“Good,” Alex managed to splutter through half-gritted teeth. “Well, goodnight, Sophia. It was nice to meet you. Um… under other circumstances, it would have been nicer. I mean… I don’t know what I’m saying. Just that I’m glad you’re here. Here’s a screen for a little privacy, okay?” The tension between them was palpable now, an unspoken current that only seemed to grow in the enclosed space that Alex fashioned as she placed a screen around the bed. “You’ll be safe here. If anyone upsets you, you come to me, okay?”

“I don’t know how to thank you,” Sophia said, glancing over her shoulder, her lips curving in the faintest hint of a smile before it faltered. She sank onto the edge of the bed, the mattress creaking softly despite her weighing next to nothing. Her gaze lingered on Alex, the shadows deepening in her eyes. “You’ve really gone out of your way to help me, and I appreciate it.”

Alex sat down on the cot next to her. She was surprised at herself and wondered inwardly how she’d managed to think up such a bold move, all the time hoping that Sophia wouldn’t find it unusual. “You’ve been through a lot,” she said quietly. “I just wanted to make sure you were comfy. I know it’s not the Ritz, but I don’t want you to be scared.”

Sophia’s breath caught, her chest rising and falling in a rhythm Alex couldn’t help but notice. The air between them felt thick. Alex’s eyes traced the line of Sophia’s collarbone, the way it disappeared beneath her torn shirt, and she found herself gulping for air.

“I feel safe. And where’s your bed, Alex? Are you nearby?” Sophia whispered, her voice almost breaking. Her fingers played with the hem of the blanket, a nervous gesture, but her gaze was steady now, locked on Alex’s. “I think I’d feel better knowing you weren’t too far away.”

Alex caught the faint scent of Sophia’s skin—earthy, warm, human. She hesitated, her hand hovering near Sophia’s knee, her own pulse a deafening drumbeat in her ears.

---