When he woke up, sun was already high up on the sky. From the kitchen window he could see small dot on the field. Marie. Well, if she wanted to struggle with their stubborn animals for a change, he wasn’t going to complain. He had been meaning to clean up the stable for days now, but every night he had been too tired to start. And finally he would have the time to catch up with news of the world. He had installed quite powerful radio to their truck, and he usually listened it while he got the camels ready for the field, but at that hour there usually wasn’t anything important on. Just few stations were broadcasting anyway for the civilians, and most of the stuff they sent out was so heavily censored that he could only wonder why the hell they still bothered to push it through.
He got dressed and poured himself some coffee Marie had made earlier. Took the cup with him and walked outside, his gaze fixed to Marie and the animals. Hour. Two tops, and she’d be coming back home, begging him to finish off both camels as brutal and slow as possible.
“Well…” He’d as well go and start cleaning the stable before it happened. At least he would have good excuse to refuse when it happened.
Small alarms he hadn’t had the use for years now blared to life in his gut, every muscle coiling taut. Coffee cup fell to the ground. He was about to turn around when strong arm locked around his throat and pulled him against equally strong chest. He could feel something sharp, probably a knife, grazing over his stomach, then sharp end of it poked his groin, just above his femoral artery.
She couldn’t help wondering why Logan always whined and nagged about Ug and Glug. Sure, they had their flaws, but as long as you kept yourself few steps ahead of them and sensed what they were going to do next, there were no problems. In fact, they had acted like angels for the whole morning.
“Keep this up and there might be something extra in reserve for you tonight,” she smiled, steering the trolley around some loose rocks. Unlike average farmers who kept digging and dragging all stones off from their fields, Logan had to drag stones from surrounding area on to field to stop all fertile soil washing off during winter. Terrain turned soggy, almost like a quicksand, and it was impossible to farm anything but maybe rice, but they had found out it wasn’t worth the hassle. People weren’t paying enough to cover the trouble.
He cursed silently his own stupidity. He had been playing Old MacDonald far too long when somebody managed to snuck up on him like this.
“Wasn’t expecting to find you here…” Voice sounded familiar, and when he inhaled, the scent wafting from the attacker confirmed what he suspected.
“Likewise. Care to let me go, Sam?”
“I don’t know, it depends… Are you going to behave, old man, or are you going to pull the same kind of stunt you pulled the last time?”
“Listen, you little piece of shit… I did it for you, and your mom. If it weren’t for me, you’d be still slumming with her in that piece of crap rubble, with no hope of getting anywhere, ever.”
“Is that so? And somehow it was better that you knocked me unconscious and made the decision for me?” Sam spat, knife digging deeper in to Logan’s thigh. He could feel the tip scraping skin through the jeans.
“You wanted to leave. I showed you the way out. Let me go now, before I show you the permanent way out…”
Boy was stronger than he remembered. He wasn’t going to disgrace himself by struggling. Only way out of Sam’s grip was if he let go voluntarily, or Logan would have to stab him. He hoped the former. Marie would be less than pleased if he as much as cut a hair from Sam’s head. Grip around his throat tightened momentarily, then Sam shoved him forward, letting go.
“What the fuck are you doing here? And how did you find us?” Logan asked, turning face to face with his son.
“Mom once told me about this place. I found some maps and figured that if the Army had already destroyed this place, this would probably be one of those places they wouldn’t come looking for me,” Sam grunted, toying with the knife. There were scars on every exposed patch of his skin. Some older, nearly white already, some fresher. He was missing one finger and an ear.
“Army? What the fuck are you talking about? I set you up with that caravan, they needed a driver…” Logan hissed, reaching for the knife and snatching it from Sam.
“A soon as we arrived to the settlement, I got off and got enlisted.”
“I can’t fucking believe this! Did I hit you too hard, or what the fuck messed up your head? Enlisted? I could have beaten and crippled you by myself if that’s what you wanted! And what? You’re on AWOL now? Huh? And you have the nerve to come here?”
Logan had thrown away the knife and taken firm hold from the front of Sam’s shirt, knuckles shining white as bone, raising the boy partly up in the air.
“Are you fucking insane?” He hissed, their noses nearly touching.
“If they follow you here we’re all screwed. I’m probably marked dead in their records, as well as your mom. If they found out we’re alive… No. There’s no fucking way I’m going to let you put your mom through that hell again. No fucking way.”
“But… But it’s not like that anymore!” Sam tried to argue, but Logan could see the doubt in his eyes.
“Not like that? As far as I knew, we’re the strongest what they can throw against those fucking aliens. You’re a living, breathing proof of that. You really think they would pass the chance to lock us up and start the breeding program again? I’m sure they could find some creative use for you, too. I don’t think your mom is one of a kind. Or if she is, who knows, our next child could be a girl…”
“That’s… That’s disgusting…” Sam was pale as a sheet, ready to wet himself if Logan shook him any harder.
He forced himself to calm down, and lowered his son to the ground, letting go of him.
“Disgusting? You haven’t even seen disgusting, boy. Well, we might as well go and tell your mother that you’re here…”
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