SurvivorZ: Grave Harbor

77

LILY

Lily winced and clutched her stomach. The baby was kicking harder now, stabbing her midsection with its tiny feet. She took the pain as a sign that everything was normal. She'd ask Maureen to check, but the poor woman had her hands full at the moment.

"You can't be fucking serious," Judith bellowed inches from Maureen's face. "You're not still on that kick about leaving the safety of armed soldiers and dragging everyone up north, are you?"

Lily glanced at Charlie, Danielle, and the other teenagers. They all appeared to be as uncomfortable around the bickering women as she felt. Even the dog seemed uneasy.

"You don't have to come," Maureen retorted. "In fact, maybe it'd be better if you didn't."

"What would be better is if you go on your own and leave the rest of us where it's safe. You obviously have no clue what that word even means."

"Judith," Drew intervened, pulling his girlfriend away. "That's enough."

"Was coming here not proof enough that we're not safe in Boston?" Maureen argued. "Do what you want, but the kids and I are leaving."

"Over my dead body!" Judith shrieked, plunging her hand into her coat pocket.

"Stop it!" Drew bellowed, inserting himself between the hissing wildcats. "Both of you, stop. This has gone on long enough." With a sigh, he directed his next words to Maureen. "It's been a rough night. We're all exhausted right now. Maybe this isn't the best time to be making plans that affect our future. Let's all just calm down and be adults about this, okay?"

"But she's—" Judith started.

"Adults," Drew sternly reiterated, shutting her up.

Maureen exhaled and regarded Danielle and the others. Everyone was staring at her with anxious expressions. "You're right. Sorry. This isn't the time for snap decisions. Let's sleep on it and we can discuss it later. Decide what we want to do as a group." She eyed Judith. "Even if that means going our separate ways."

From the scowl on her features, Judith wasn't pacified so easily. She at least noticed that their argument had become the focus of everyone's attention. Taking a breath to calm herself, she slipped her hand from her pocket and turned away from Maureen with an audible harrumph, settling for shooting her a silent, irritated side-glance.

Lily exhaled, grateful to Drew for shutting down the feud. She disliked seeing their tiny band tearing itself apart like this. It was hard enough getting through the day without being at each other's throats.

Tempers were only growing hotter since their noisy blowup on their first day at Hanscom. As a mother-to-be, she understood Maureen's need to keep her children safe. What she didn't get was Judith's interest. The way she cared so much about kids, Lily figured she must have been an amazing teacher.

"Danielle!" A girl's voice caught Lily's attention. She spotted Danielle's young friend cutting through the crowd towards them.

"Hey, Paige. Now's not really a good time."

"It's the only time I have," Paige replied, hiking up the pack on her shoulders. "I just wanted to say goodbye. I'm not going to the fort with the rest of you."

"You're leaving?"

Lily jumped as a hand squeezed her shoulder from behind. She turned to find Robin's remorseful expression. "Sorry about that," she said. "Didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"I'm good. Might have to sit down soon, though. My back's killing me."

"I overheard some of the soldiers talking. They're fueling up the last of the trucks now. We should be getting underway soon." While she spoke, she scrutinized the thinning assembly, until her gaze landed on something she found distasteful. With a scowl, Robin turned away, mumbling, "Oh, for shit's sake."