Page 63 of Once Upon an Apocalypse

My mom must be worried sick. She hated the thought of me going on patrol, but knew how much I needed to do this. To help. To fight back. I wonder what she’ll say to Jonah. I told her my worst memory of who he’d become. Amos too. And yet…he still allowed Jonah in the car with us.

As I pull up to the gate next to the pedestrian bridge, Amos waves out the window, giving the safe signal but also the sign for prisoner. The guards on the bridge hurry to relay the news to the guards at the gate. A minute later, the doors open. Amos’ hoarse voice instructs me to drive in slowly and follow the guards who will grant us safe passage inside.

I can tell Amos is fighting to stay awake. His body is so weak from all the blood he lost, but his skin has regained some of its color. A color that reminds me of a watered-down chai latte.

“What are you thinking about, Copperhead?” he asks, catching me glancing at him.

“Nothing. Just that you are looking much better,” I say as five of The Valley’s patrol guards surround our car. The one in front waves us forward.

“Better than?” Amos asks, holding onto the “n” sound. I dare not look at him as I carefully drive the car down the short distance to the medical center. “You think I look better with one arm? Had I known, I would have chopped it off months ago.”

A smile explodes on my face as I think about the months I had dreamt about Amos, not knowing if he thought of me as anything more than a liability. Now that our feelings are out in the open, I can breathe easy.

The prisoner in the back seat complicates things a bit. Not that I would ever choose Jonah over Amos, just the idea of Jonah being here, at The Valley.

It was hard to find a path toward a peaceful life before. And now? The imminent threat of what Doctore poses to us, to the rest of the world, is right at our doorstep. I never thought I’d get a happy ending, not since prom night. With Amos, I know I’d die happy at least.

The guards to my left step onto the curb and motion me over. I follow their instructions, pulling over as close as I can get, and turn off the car. Though it’s a hybrid car, we are still instructed to turn off any vehicle we operate once the car is put into park. Fuel is a difficult commodity to come by in this world, and these hybrid cars can only go so far on electric power.

One of the guards holds open the door while two others point their weapons at Jonah, motioning him to exit the car.

“Why is the prisoner not restrained?” a guard asks; I think his name is Ryan.

Amos responds with, “He’s not a danger to us. In fact, he saved our lives. But he is a legatus of Dr. Tuwile’s Praetorian Guard.”

At the mention of the Praetorian Guard, every single one of the guards on duty outside our car grips their weapons tighter, focusing their aim directly at Jonah’s head.

“Calm down, boys,” I say, turning around to see Jonah take a hesitant step out of the car.

“Listen to Lori. This man has sensitive information. He is not to be harmed. Escort him to conference room three.”

“Yes, sir,” they all say in response.

As the guards surround Jonah, taking him inside, I hop out of the car to help Amos. My mom intercepts me though, pulling me into a hug that would likely suffocate me if she didn’t stop in the next ten seconds. I gently nudge out of the hug and slither over to the passenger side of the car where Amos has already opened the door.

My mom screams when she sees the stump of his arm. “Oh my god, Amos! What happened?”

“I’m fine, Cathy.” Amos hops out without any assistance, but I’m there a second later as he loses his balance. When I steady him, I take a step away to give him some space, not wanting to smother him. “Angie and Ruth patched me up with some of Lori’s skin.”

“Your arm,” my mom says in shocked astonishment, as if she didn’t hear a single word Amos said. Amos looks down at the phantom limb. “It’s…gone. Oh my god, Amos. What happened?”

I interrupt my mother’s interrogation. “You can examine him inside, Mom, and ask us whatever questions you have.”

My mom nods, standing aside to let us through. “I’ve sent someone to fetch Anna and Jeremy. Norman has been bothering me for days about where the two of you could be. He had a theory that you weren’t taking this mission seriously and had shacked up somewhere to fornicate.”

I burst out laughing and Amos gives a little chuckle, holding back the pain he must be feeling.

“Is that your wording, Mom? Or Norman’s?” I ask.

“Norman’s,” my mom says with a laugh. Then she inspects me closely, eyeing me suspiciously. I can’t help the blush that spreads across my pale face, making it so obvious. “You two didn’t…”

“Didn’t what?” My voice instinctively turns on its defensive mode, which makes me sound incredibly guilty.

“Fornicate?” Amos asks, the weight of him getting heavier as I hold him up. He must be at his limit. “Yes, we did. Many times. Even after I lost the other end of this.” Amos holds out his arm, putting the stump on full display. “Though she was much gentler with me.” He has no freaking shame right now, whereas I’m sure my face is the color of a beet.

I’m gonna hit him. I’m gonna punch him right in that beautiful, perfect face. “You’re lucky you’re injured,” I scowl, but I can’t help the smile that tugs at my lips.

Amos chuckles again, the deep tones of his laughter pulling at my core. My mom clears her voice. “So youwerefornicating.”

---