Page 9 of Jameson

Some of the older invasion survivors still lived underground in the Enclave. A number of them were too afraid to live aboveground, even though the aliens were long gone, and the walls held the monsters at bay.

I walked to the house beside mine, and knocked on Kai’s door. Like me, my best friend was the son of a soldier. Tane Rahia had led Squad Three, better known as the berserkers. The tales about their exploits were wild. Tane was still scary and intense, and my father claimed Tane was one of the best soldiers he’d ever fought beside.

Smiling, I shook my head. The berserkers were all still hellraisers, especially when they got into a bottle of bourbon. Uncle Hemi, Kai’s uncle, owned a local distillery, and the bar in Dawn.

Kai appeared, looking very much like his dad.

“We’re meeting the others at Hemi’s,” I told him.

Kai lifted his chin. “I need a beer.”

“Me, too.”

He pulled his door shut and the electronic lock beeped. We walked down the street. It was lined with more modular houses like ours—small, compact, and environmentally friendly. The engineers had designed them to be strong, and easy to build.

I glanced up. Dawn was surrounded by a fifteen-foot wall with watchtowers and guards evenly spaced along it.

Early on, monster attacks had been common. But over the years, the squads had thinned them out. Now, the remaining monsters tended to keep to the more remote parts of the bush, but the town couldn’t afford to let its guard down. No one wanted kids getting pulled off bikes, or farmworkers getting eaten.

My job was to be a shield between the monsters and people. I was good at it. All I’d ever wanted was to be like my dad. I’d hated school, and sitting in a classroom, and reading books. I’d always preferred to be outside, using my hands, doing something,

We turned a corner and Hemi’s bar came into view. Several tables sat outside of the building. Music was pumping from the inside.

Zeke and Marc sat at one of the tables out front. They already had beers in front of them.

As we approached, two women crossed the street to intercept us.

“Jameson!” My mom smiled up at me.

“Hey, Mom.” Elle Steele was still beautiful. She’d raised three rambunctious kids, and was the most giving person I’d ever met. She’d been the comms officer for Hell Squad, which was how my parents had met. She was tougher than her slim form suggested.

I hugged her.

“I heard you had a call out,” she said. “And you went into a situation alone, without back up.”

I glanced at the woman with my mom.

Sasha grinned back. It was her father’s wide smile. Sasha Rahia was short, curvy, and sassy as hell. She had a wild mane of black, curly hair, and smooth, brown skin. “I may have given her an update. Comms officer to former comms officer.”

“I had everything under control,” I assured my mom.

“You got hurt.” Worry filled her eyes.

“It was just a few bruises. I’ve been to the infirmary. One-hundred-percent healthy.”

I wasn’t going to mention the cracked ribs and swelling on my hip that the nano-meds had healed up. I knew she’d just worry.

My mom sighed. “Just like your father, always downplaying things.” She frowned. “You have a hole in your shirt.” She poked at it. “Bring it to me later and I’ll mend it for you.”

“Thanks, Mom. Where are you headed now?”

My mother smiled. “I’m doing story time at the Enclave creche.”

I knew she loved to volunteer with the little kids at the day care. “I’ll walk you over.”

Smiling, she slid her arm through mine. “Bye, Sasha.”

“Bye, Aunt Elle.” Sasha looked at me. “I’ll have a cold beer waiting for when you get back.”

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