Code of Honor

The next morning everyone was up and moving bright an early. With the exception of us under the age of twenty. Billy, Dimitri and I were still tangled in our blankets when my father came in and tried to urge us to our feet. I firmly believed that rising before the sun was unnatural but he never understood that. He also wanted to argue that the sun had already been up for several hours now but I was too sleepy to pay attention.

But alas, we were all eventually dragged from our beds and forced to dress for the day. I found nothing worse than getting out of a warm bed and into cold jeans. We skipped breakfast as usual; I never seemed to be hungry in the morning and used the idea of saving food to get away with it.

My father wanted to get Penny to the base as early as possible to try and avoid any trouble. Early morning seemed to be the best time to move around in the outside world. It seemed that most the soldiers were still in bed unless they were actively put on duty. Still to bed safe, when we left the hideout that morning we stuck to the back roads and alley-ways.

Keeping our guns close at our side. My father had gifted me with another pistol this morning to keep holstered in the side of my jeans while we were out. As always, it felt to big and unnatural in my hands. Thankfully we were blessed with a stroke of luck and didn’t have to use them that morning.

We stopped a block away from the edge of the city. Looking out at what used to be another housing estate, but was now level ground topped with an army base. I didn’t know exactly what had levelled the houses that had once resided there. It could have been bombing, or the army looking for a place to set up camp.

The latter seemed the most believable. From where we were hidden on the outskirts we could see the gates to the base. A tall tower to the left side and two men leaning on the outside of the fence, smoking. The fence itself seemed buckled and bent, the ground around it tramped more than the rest. It wasn’t until Jamison spoke that I understood.

“Do you think those other groups went on their rampage already?” He asked. “Looks like the fence has taken a beating.”

“Possible,” Dad replied. “How are we going to do this? I don’t want anyone else getting closer than we have to. They might recognize us but I don’t want Penny going alone.”

“I’ll take her,” Ben offered, pulling the Red band off his arm. “I’ll tell them she’s my wife or something.”

Jamison nodded. “It’s the best plan we’ve got.” I refrained from adding ‘and the only’.

“Okay,” Dad sighed. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

Carefully Penny bundled Rose into her chest and whispered an emotional goodbye to everyone. No one wanted to see her go, without knowing where she was going. We had no idea what they would do to her once they had her. As long as they didn’t believe she had anything to do with us, she would be alright. Or so I hoped. She turned to me and hugged me gently, whispering a goodbye in my ear. I almost didn’t want to let her go. Then she turned to my father who was beside me. She hugged him to, and kissed his cheek, whispering something in his ear that made him chuckle.

“I’ll try,” He answered. “Look after her.”

Gently he caressed the top of Rose’s head. Penny nodded and offered him one last cuddle. But he shook his head. I didn’t blame him. It couldn’t have been easy to say goodbye to another child. Even if it was for the best. Ben put his arm convincingly around Penny and led her towards the road. We all watched with baited breath.

“I was worried we were going to be closer than this,” Michael said as we watched them walk away.

No one answered him. We just watched one of our own slowly walk into the dragons den. As they came into view, vulnerable on the open road, the two soldiers ahead stood up straight. My heart thumped hard in my chest, almost painfully. I could just picture them lifting their guns and starting to shoot. Instead they stood in wait until Ben and Penny reached the gate, then they approached. My father’s shoulders tensed beside me, it didn’t make me feel good. Instinctively I stepped closer to him, hiding behind his firm back.

I watched Ben talk to them his body movements expressing desperation. One soldier moved away and started talking on what looked like a radio of some kind. The other continued to try and calm Ben down. I took it as a good sign, at least they weren’t taking up arms. A minute later a few more soldiers joined the group and they just talked, and talked. It was the worst part of the whole ordeal. Just watching them talk, not able to hear or see anything that was going on. Not even sure of our friends safety out there.

Eventually, after a good ten minute, one soldier carefully guided Penny and Rose towards the gate of the base. He seemed gentle enough. The rest stepped back towards the gate leaving Ben out on the road. They watched him intently as he turned his back on them and walked away.

Even from this distance I could tell he didn’t like having his back turned on them. My father stepped forward slightly his hands planted firmly on his gun ready to defend Ben if the need came. Watching, for any signs of movement in the soldier behind him. instead, they moved back towards the fence and lit up another smoke. My father still didn’t relax until Ben was right beside us, letting out a deep breath.

“Shit. That’s scary,” He said with a smile.

“They took her?” Dad asked. Ben nodded.

“I had to argue the point for a bit but they took her. They seemed okay with it to.”

“Good,” Dad sighed. It was no longer in our hands.

I looked back towards the base and the gate Penny had just entered. Leaving us behind for good. I couldn’t help the sadness that washed over me. She had been there for so long, we’d just lost another friend.

“She’ll be alright Grace,” Dad said, making me jump as he grasped my shoulder. I glanced up at him. He too was watching the base. “We all will be.”

I couldn’t take his words at face value right now though. It was getting harder and harder to believe him when he told me everything would be alright. Not after all the friends and family we’d lost since this begun. Not after all the nights spent hungry and cold. Things were just getting worse the longer this went on. With his hand still tight on my shoulder he guided me away and started following the rest of the group towards the center of the city.

“How do you want do to this Cameron,” Michael called back “Back roads?”

“No,” Dad replied stepping up his pace to catch up. “We’ll head into the CBD together and split up from there. I want to look around for some more trade supplies.”

Michael nodded in agreement and as always, we all followed my father. This area of the city, which had once been completely unknown to me, was now becoming one I recognized easily. It consisted of mostly office buildings and small companies. My family had always worked the docks and industry. I’d never had reason to be in this part of the city before the war.

We stepped out of an alley-way and onto a clear street. Which only meant one thing, army route. The rest of the streets were covered with litter and rubble. The others must have felt confident that the army was at rest this morning because we stuck to it. Following it into the center of the city. I could tell from the density of the buildings around us that we were getting close.

“Can you smell that?” Dimitri groaned bring the collar of his shirt over his face. “It reeks.”
I sniffed the air, and almost choked. “Yes,” I replied trying very hard to breathe through my mouth.

When even that failed to obscure the smell I copied Dimitri and a few others, pulling my hoody up over my face. Pulling at the drawstrings to keep it there.

“Most likely rotting food,” Jamison called back to us.

“It smells,” Dimitri continued to complain.

Billy stepped ahead of us, walking backwards so that he could see both Dimitri and I. I frowned at him from under my jumper and he smirked. That trademark cheeky grin coming to his face.

“What?” I asked, my voice muffled.

“Nothing,” He replied. “Right now the two of you remind me of a joke my brother used to tell a long time ago.”

“What?” I asked again.

“What does an Eskimo look like without his jacket on?”

The stupid part was, I was stumped. I had no idea what an Eskimo would look like without a jacket on. That was what made them Eskimos. Dimitri burst into laughter. I was still too stunned to react. They just seemed to make it funnier to them.

“You kids want to keep it down a bit back there,” Dad called back, his face scrunched up. The smell was getting to him too.

Then we turned the corner and a sight of incomprehensible death spread before us. Human bodies lined the once immaculate main street. All fresh, a day old at the most. It was obvious this was no accident. The corpses were perfectly aligned. All face down, hands tied behind their back, blood stained bags on their heads. This screamed nothing but deliberate slaughter. Behind them a message was written on the wall in bright red paint. At first I thought it might have been blood.

No Tolerance, No Mercy
Anti Treason/Rebellion laws are now in effect
By Order of the American Government
Punishable by Death

My father reached for me with almost in-human speed, pulling my head into his chest. Turning my back on the scene but it didn’t matter. A second was all it took, every little detail stuck with me and the longer I thought about it, the clearer it became. The stench was making me sick to my stomach.

“Move,” My father ordered pushing me back towards the corner. “Boys you to.”

The three of us, Billy, Dimitri and I, were hustled around the corner and away from the scene. My father seemed adamant that we not witness more than we already had. Not that it mattered. The few seconds I’d had were more than enough. Every time I closed my eyes to try and it out, my mind could perfectly picture those people lined up and slaughtered. I started to feel weak at the knees. I stepped backwards carefully until my back met the wall of a building and used it to support myself. Dimitri continued to stand stunned in the middle of the sidewalk, Billy turned to glance around the corner. Shuddering he quickly turned back to face us.

“Did you see that?” Dimitri asked, his voice low, his face pale.

I nodded weakly not able to get the image of those poor dead people put of my head. This had been a deliberate act, nothing more. An act, to prove a point to people like us. If we failed to fall into line we would be the next rotting corpses lining the street. And now we could be legally executed for not falling into line. It was a terrifying thought. We’d been walking a dangerous line as it was and now the stakes had just been upped.

“Do you think…it was those guys who wanted to attack the base?” Billy asked. “From the other day?”

“Maybe,” Dimitri mumbled.

“Makes sense,” I replied carefully. “They attacked the base and that’s where they end up, with a warning like that above their heads.”

Billy nodded in agreement but didn’t say a word. None of us did. We waited in silence for the other’s to come back around the corner. It didn’t take them very long and when they did return they looked as pale as I felt. As usual my father was at the head, pushing everyone along with a straight face. Even though I could see straight through it. His fists were clenching in his hand. He ushered us all towards the back roads again, away from the slaughter. His hand firm in the small of my back. No one whispered a single word the whole way back. A completely u-turn from this morning when we had left. Everyone had been animated with chatter. Now, no one felt like even thinking.

When we arrived back home, all the heads of the group disappeared to the back room. Where they held most of their meetings. The rest of us were left to sit around, curious and lost. Our minds weighing the risks of what we were really doing.

The boys and I retreated to our room quietly, pulling our blankets over our shoulders and just staring at the floor. Until in an attempt to break our thoughts away from the death we’d seen, Billy suggested we play poker. I agreed half-heartedly.

At this point I think I’d agree to anything as long as it got my hands busy and my mind distracted. We made no material bets this time, again playing for the supreme title of ultimate poker lord. Dimitri currently held the title and made sure to use it against me every time the chance arouse.

“I’d say strip poker, but it’s too cold for it,” Billy said as he dealed.

I rolled my eyes glancing over my cards. Nothing special, if I was lucky I might have been able to make something out of them.

Dimitri smirked as Billy handed him his cards. “I’d only make you jealous anyway.”

Again, I rolled my eyes. This was an old argument I was hoping they’d forgotten about.

“Whatever,” Billy argued back. “You have nothing on me.”

“If you say so,” Dimitri smirked.

I knew exactly where this argument was heading. The same place it always went, but this time I was ready for them before it made it that far and started comparing how great they were.

“Good god,” I groaned. “Why don’t you just whip your clothes off and admit your undying love for each other already?”

At first they looked confused and horrified. Then they realized I was joking…and Dimitri turned to make pouty lips at billy. Who promptly returned them. I lowered my head to my knuckles in exasperation. I would never win with these two.

“Good god,” I repeated.

“What?” Dimitri asked.

“We can’t help it. Desperate times, desperate measures, you know?” Billy replied.

“That desperate?” I asked.

“Not yet.”

“Dude,” Dimitri said, slightly confused. His expression almost made me laugh.

“Kidding,” Billy replied seriously. “…You’re not my type anyway.”

“I fold,” I announced loudly trying to change the subject before it got anymore out of hand.

“What’s new,” Dimitri replied. “Call.”

“Guys?”

We all jumped, momentarily forgetting there was other people around us. We all turned to see Michael in the doorway. He motioned out the door.

“You guys wanna come out for a sec’ Cam wants to talk with everyone.”

Slowly we got to our feet. Keeping my blanket around myself I followed the boys out to the small fire pit where everyone else was gathered. My father waiting patiently with Jamison. It had been a long time since we’d had one of these group meetings. We only ever had them when something serious was going on, and never like this. I sat down with the boys. Worry consuming me.

“From now on,” My father said when everyone was seated. “No one leaves the hideout alone. We avoid the base and the area around it at all costs. There is nothing in that area what is worth losing our lives over,” He paused for a moment. “This had been a serious threat for a long time and it’s about time we treat it as such. We’ve decided that we will do supply runs, just not as often as we do now. If that means surviving on less than we already have then so be it.”

“We barely have anything as it is?” One of the other men argued. Caleb.

“Believe me, we know,” Dad sighed. “We don’t like it either but I’d rather us be a little hungry than dead. Which brings me to another point. I don’t want anyone to feel like they are stuck here. You have every right to leave if that’s what you wish to do. No one here will hold it against you. Like Penny, we’ll walk you to the gate.”

“I don’t plan on going anywhere,” Caleb told him quickly.

“I know, but I’m just letting everyone know the option is there. I don’t want anyone to feel like they’re trapped here. It’s a dangerous, there’s no question about it and I understand if you want out. Don’t get me wrong, given the options, I’d take my daughter and seek safety to but we’ve been doing this too long. They can recognize a few of us…myself included, which is why we have to be careful.”

“So what do we do now?” I asked.

“Survive,” Jamison replied from behind my father. I hadn’t seen him leaning on the wall.

“The same thing we’ve been doing all this time, but with more precision. We need to watch each other’s backs when we go out there and know where were going before we leave. They have permission to kill us now, they won’t hesitate.”

“We want to cut our trips out of here as much as possible,” Dad said. “I know the last thing most of us want is to be cooped up in here day after day but right now we don’t have much of a choice. We’ve also been discussing our water issues. We all know it’s been a long time coming but we’re running out and it’s getting harder to find it lying around. So after much discussion, we think it might be worth the risk to catch rain-water.”

“We don’t know if or how bad it is irradiated,” Jamison explained. “After all this time, we may be safe but I can’t lie to you and say it’s not a risk. But right now we’re running out of options. Our supplies are running short and we’re going to have to be extremely lucky to come across another source.”

“Well,” Ben said. “No water will kill us in two, three days.” Jamison nodded. “Radiation’s gonna take a few years.”

“One way to look at it,” Dad chuckled. “We know it’s a risk but it’s one we’re going to have to take if we want to survive. Michael and I are going to look into making a catchment, one we can hide. If the army comes across it they’ll know we’re hiding somewhere close by.”

“And there’s only one way out of here,” Michael added. “We’ll look into purifying the water if we must. Charcoal, Iodine if we can find some. But as Ben said, a few years is the best we can hope for anyway. But then again, we also have a trader coming through tomorrow night and he may have some to trade.”

“If we’re lucky,” Dad sighed. “Still we’re looking into this catchment idea, unless anyone else has anything to add, I think we’re done here for tonight.”

No one else spoke, there was nothing else to add. So quietly everyone disbanded, some going off towards their beds and some remaining to sit around and chat. Billy grabbed me by the scruff of my blanket and pulled me back to our room and play poker. They needed someone to beat I guess.

“So that’s it,” Dimitri asked dealing out a new hand for us all. “We’re stuck in here?”

“Looks that way,” Billy yawned. “Unless you wanna join those poor barsted’s on the street.”

“No thanks,” Dimitri frowned. “Thought you would found a way out of here by now Grace?”

“Yeah, and got caught remember,” I pointed out glancing down at my cards. I had the beginnings of a winning hand. I had to try extremely hard not to smile and give myself away.

“What are we playing for again?”

“The title,” Dimitri replied slowly, eyeing me carefully. “Why?”

“Just curious.”

“Don’t worry dude,” Billy replied. “Since when does she ever win?”

“True,” Dimitri conceded a smile coming back to his face.

Billy reached over and flipped up the first three cards. I almost fell over myself. Unless Dimitri had cheated I’d already won. There was no way they could beat my hand. His precious title was about to be mine and I was never going to live it down. With a sigh Billy folded, Dimitri called and I raised. Dimitri raised his eyebrows at me with a smirk.

“ohhh,” Billy cooed loudly. “But is she bluffing?”

“Not telling you,” I replied with a straight face. All the while fighting a battle not to smile.
Dimitri, to lost in his own ego, raised me again. So I returned the favor. The smile started to disappear off his face. He called, I called and we flipped up another card. It was in my favor. The poker gods were with me today.

“This looks serious,” My father commented from behind us.

I kept my eyes firmly on the game, Billy looked up at him. “It is.”

“What are we playing for?” Dad asked leaning over my shoulder. I heard his intake of breath at my cards but he didn’t give me away.

“The supreme title of ultimate poker lord,” Billy replied.

Dad laughed. “Who holds the title?”

“Dimitri…for now.”

“You’re so bluffing,” Dimitri accused. “There’s no way.”

“What if I’m not,” I replied carefully. “How do I know you’re not bluffing?”

“Fine, all in,” He said. I smirked and dropped my cards for him to see.

“No,” He howled. “How did…You so cheated!”

“You dealed the cards,” I laughed. “How did I cheat?”

He stared dumbfounded at my spread of cards. Not sure how to define my supposed cheating. It had been a very long time since I’d beaten one of the boys. I’d never been good a bluffing, when it came to card games anyway, they had never seen it coming. I leant back against the wall, my hands on my head and smirked at him.

“Now I am the supreme ultimate poker lord.”