Page 53 of Demon Shock

“We don’t have a lot of them yet. I found an incubator, and one of the fey found a rooster, but it’ll take time to increase the flock and the production. Time and the right people.”

My stomach tightened as I looked at Ryan. Was he saying Ava wasn’t the right person?

“We’re not looking to rebuild things the way they were,” he continued. “We want people who want to be a part of building a better, safer future. People who aren’t focused on getting more than their neighbor, you know?

“Our goal is to have our communities run on a fair-trade system. Maybe we grow the produce, Tenacity bakes the bread, and Tolerance makes the clothes. Who knows? We’re not worried about getting anything out of it but surviving collectively.”

Ava nodded but said nothing.

“It’s a lot to take in, I know. But I want you to know I’m interested in hearing your thoughts, whatever they might be, when you’re ready to share them. We can’t make a community thrive unless all the voices are heard. That doesn’t mean everyone will get their way. It means listening, compromising, and pitching in to be a part of something. If that sounds good to you, the unoccupied houses have the flag up on the mailbox.”

“That’s it? Just pick a house and move in.”

“Yep. That’s it. We’ve made sure they all have a heat source. We fitted them with outdoor wood furnaces or wood stoves if they didn’t already have a fireplace. Not all of them have solar yet, but we have generators we can move if you like one without solar.”

“Why bother with electricity? Gyrik said the light draws in the infected.”

Gyrik said…

Gyrik said…

My cock twitched. I wanted to pull Ava into my arms and breathe in her scent. More than that, I wanted to kiss her and taste her until my name was the only thing she could say.

“And even if the walls keep them out,” she continued, oblivious to the direction of my thoughts, “eventually, the solar panels will fail like all the appliances. Wouldn’t it be better to start out less dependent on what we once had?”

Ryan shrugged. “Adapting takes time. We’ve lost so much already. Small comforts now might make it easier to lose the rest more slowly.”

I thought back to my conversation with Ava. Humans truly had lost so much while my brothers and I had gained everything. Guilt flooded me, and I silently vowed that I would do everything I could to help her live a comfortable life.

She glanced back at me. “Do you like any of these houses?”

“I like any house you like,” I said.

She smiled and looked at Ryan. “Do you mind if we walk through some of them?”

“Help yourselves. I better get back to the fields. We have a lot to clear so we can plant.”

He dipped his head in farewell and jogged away. Ava stared after him. My worry grew.

“I feel guilty that I’m so far behind everyone else. Ryan already seems fine. Adjusted. How old is he?”

“He’s still a child.”

“No. He’s eighteen,” Bauts said, correcting me. “Mom told me.”

I wanted to growl at Bauts.

“Mom?” Ava asked.

“Mya and Ryan’s mom,” Bauts said. “But she said she will be our mom, too, since we don’t have one.”

Ava looked from Bauts to me, her expression hard for me to read.

After a moment, she said, “Well, let’s see if Pete and Repeat like any of these houses.”

Ava and her cats decided on a one-story home at the end of a block near the back of the community. She liked the house because it had a large backyard and because one of the cars in the nearby section of wall reminded her of her grandfather’s.

Bauts and Ashkii helped carry the supplies from the truck and left afterward.

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