Page 7 of Jude

“Hold on, let me check Tobias’s backpack,” said Cliff. “He’s usually packing something.”

Solomon whistled. “We’ve got two sticks of something spicy here. This will do the job.”

“You need to hurry.” Octavia’s eyes widened as she spotted two red dots change course and move in their direction.

“The last two Dinnorms?” asked Abbie.

“They must have heard you.”

“How long have we got?” asked Cliff.

Octavia pressed her lips together. They didn’t have long enough. “Thirty seconds.”

“Fuck! I’ll deal with the explosives. Abbie and Solomon, you hold off the Dinnorm bastards.”

Octavia could do nothing but wait and watch as those two red dots grew closer to people she considered her friends. She’d listened to so many of their conversations over the last two years. And, although she’d never met a single person from any of the bunkers the Ember brothers ran, she trusted them all. She considered herself one of them. They could not die.

“They’re here!” yelled Abbie.

Octavia worried her bottom lip as she saw the two red dots leap on top of what must be Abbie. “No!” The word flew out as her hands clenched.

“Fucking Dinnorm scum!” Abbie sounded pissed.

“Are you hurt?” Octavia felt sick as she saw two red dots blink out of sight.

“As if a baby Dinnorm could hurt our Abbie,” said Solomon. “I didn’t even need to take a shot.”

“I’m fine. But I’ve got their gross, rank-smelling blood all over my new boots, and I lost the pod sample,” said Abbie.

Octavia choked out a laugh and ran her hands through her hair. “You’re all okay?”

“I’ll be okay after a few hot showers,” said Abbie. “Their blood stinks. Cliff, fire up those damn explosives and let’s get out of this place.”

Octavia smiled wistfully to herself. A shower. That was something she hadn’t had in such a long time. Living in the converted van, she made do with limited water supplies. She’d grabbed a couple of showers in the last year by sneaking into abandoned homes where the water hadn’t been cut off. It had been such a luxury, but a tense one. Getting naked when you never knew what was creeping up on you would never be pleasant.

“The door is open,” said Cliff. “We’re heading outside.”

“Good work,” said Jude. “I’ll see you back at base.”

“You can count on it,” said Cliff.

“You did good as well, Octavia.” Jude sounded tired.

She felt her cheeks heat. It was crazy; she felt shy around a guy she’d never met. “I’m glad I could help.”

“You saved their lives,” said Jude. “Your comms system is so much better than the junk we’ve got down here.”

“It’s not so good.” Octavia’s gaze drifted to the patched-up and jacked circuit boards that surrounded her. She knew her way around a comms network, but most of the equipment she was looking at was held together by wishes and too much soldering. It could break any time and that would be it. Her radio broadcasts would stop. She wouldn’t be able to help the Ember brothers and their fight to destroy the State and bring back the dragons. The thought made her stomach churn.

“You could see what the squad were doing,” said Jude. “You saved them.”

“Well, I need to do something in between choosing the next music to play for my loyal fans.”

Jude chuckled. “What’s the next song?”

“I’m not sure.” Octavia eyed the three data chips she stored her enormous collection of music on. Music brought her alive. She’d been in a dark place after the attack that had nearly killed her. She’d spent weeks lying in a darkened room, earbuds in and her favorite rock tunes on full blast. Music had saved her. It had made her feel positive again. Feel something other than despair and grief. She hoped some of the music she played now made others feel the same and gave them something positive and hopeful in these chaotic times.

“Maybe you can dedicate it to me?”