Chapter Five #3
Ibarra studied me for a beat, her expression unreadable.
Then she offered a small smile. Real this time, brief but warm.
“That would usually be the case,” she said.
“But Naomi is acquainted with your brothers-in-law,” Ibarra went on.
“Taylor, Tyler, and most of us met Travis the morning he delivered Naomi and Zeke safely to our gate. He stayed awhile after to make sure they were going to be all right. He even helped around the compound. The General hasn’t forgotten.
Naomi asked that certain allowances be made on your behalf, and that request was granted. ”
Thomas and I exchanged a glance. Gratitude, sharp and unexpected, cut through the fatigue. We hadn’t asked for that, we hadn’t expected it, but the reprieve calmed a fear in me I didn’t know had been present.
Ibarra cleared her throat lightly and straightened.
“Our rules are simple, but they’ll go over them as well as the layout of the compound in detail tomorrow, including Med Bay and Commissary.
For now, understand that you must stay within general access areas unless escorted.
You don’t wander. You don’t ask questions about what you see.
Lights out at twenty-two hundred. Quiet hours are enforced.
If an alarm sounds, you follow posted instructions and wait for command.
” She pointed toward a laminated sheet mounted near the door.
“Those are evacuation routes and shelter protocols. Read them.”
Her expression hardened as her gaze shifted to Bodhi. “Mr. Walker, I strongly suggest you familiarize yourself with all rules and follow them precisely. You’re not considered essential to operations here, and any deviation from protocol will result in your immediate removal from the compound.”
He opened his mouth, then closed it again, nodding once.
“Your meeting with General Marcel will include breakfast,” she continued. “For the rest of you, breakfast will be delivered to the Longhouse before Orientation.” She stepped back toward the door, already resetting into duty. “I’ll be back at a quarter to six to escort you to Command.”
With that, she left us alone. The door sealed behind her with a muted thud and a single electronic chirp, the sound unmistakably tied to security.
I stared at it longer than I meant to, already cataloging exits, wondering if there were smoke alarms and how we should handle any emergency that didn’t wait for permission.
It was a thought that came automatically now, less fear than instinct, the quiet math of a mother who needed to know how fast she could get her child out if the worst decided to test us… again.
“Liis,” Thomas said. Once I met his gaze, he pointed up. Smoke alarms dotted the ceiling every twenty feet, from one end of the barracks to the other.
I exhaled slowly. Bodhi ran a hand over his face. Olive sank onto the lower bunk across from Stella.
“What did she mean that I’m not essential to operations?” Bodhi asked.
Thomas placed our luggage on another lower bunk. “That you’re dead weight, kid.”
“They’re allowing you here as a courtesy,” I said quietly. “From their perspective, you don’t require protection, and Olive doesn’t require yours. If you violate protocol, they can remove you immediately and still consider their obligation fulfilled.”
“So… don’t mess up,” Bodhi muttered.
“Don’t mess up,” Thomas and I said in unison.
I sat on the edge of the bed nearest Stella and watched her sleep, the slow rise and fall of her chest tethering me to something solid.
The Longhouse was too quiet, the kind that came from thick walls and wide spaces.
Outside, the compound was sealed off by rock and desert, contained by design.
Not even in the White House could we have been safer.
For the first time since we left home, I felt the tension in my shoulders ease just enough to get a proper breath.
Thomas shot me a knowing grin. “You good?”
“I’m good.” I turned, catching Olive’s sad gaze. “It’s going to be okay,” I reassured her. “We’re going to be okay. This is temporary.”
She nodded again, but I wasn’t sure if she heard me or believed me, neither or both.
“I’m going to take a shower,” Bodhi said, opening his bag. “I feel disgusting.”
“Top bunk when you’re back,” Thomas said gesturing to the bed above Olive.
“Whatever you say, boss. Not trying to get myself benched… or exiled to the sand dunes. I didn’t bring sunscreen,” Bodhi said.
His attempt at humor veered into annoyance.
I couldn’t blame him. In his eyes, he was Olive’s protector.
Being treated as expendable, always one step from being pushed out without a say, would’ve worn on anyone.
I watched Bodhi gather his shower supplies, kiss Olive’s cheek, and then head for the showers.
As I turned, I let my eyes pass over Olive, just long enough to check on her without drawing attention.
The same distant look lingered on her face, her eyes unfocused, her shoulders drawn in.
I wanted to reassure her, to tell her she was safe, that it would be all right, but I didn’t know if that was a promise I could keep.
Somewhere beyond the compound walls, the world was waking up to a truth we’d worked for years to keep buried.
Screens refreshed. Faces compared. Names resurfaced.
Girl Presumed Dead in Drive-By Shooting Identified in Viral Video.
Even without my phone, I knew the calls were piling up, unanswered. By the time the rest of the Maddoxes arrived, they wouldn’t know which truth to be angrier about first.