Waiting

“He should have been back by now.” I thought, trying not to worry. It was supposed to be a quick in and out mission. He took our son and my brother with him and even though its still dangerous to go back to the surface, it isn’t something they hadn’t done a million times already. They are all excellent fighters. They can defend themselves. Our son should be in elementary school but, they don’t exist anymore. Now, it’s fight or hide. I searched the faces before me. Three new couples. It was a hit or miss with this team. None of them had gone on a mission before. They didn’t know whether or not they could make it against the guards and it was my job to find out. We had practiced but they were all still new to the game. If any of them were caught, they were good as dead. My hand rested on the back of the mismatched chair as i explained our simple mission.

“The tunnels are loud but it is still important to keep quiet. I don’t want anyone getting caught. The ice boxes will be very cold and we will be laying on them for at least thirty minutes or more. This mission could take us days to complete. I need everyone’s complete cooperation. If anyone is too scared to take this mission today, stay behind. It is not going to be beneficial to lose one of you because of nerves.” They all stared back at me, scared shitless. I waited for one of them to speak up but they either were too scared to say they didn’t think it was a good idea or just brave enough to complete the mission. 

Looking out the window of our bunker, I remembered some of my husband’s last words to me, “I’ll be back in about an hour.” it had been two hours already and no sign of any of them. I knew they had to be okay. “He must have found extra supplies close by and the load up is just taking longer.” I tried to assure myself. I scooped up our 6 month old daughter and strapped her to my chest while the six newbies watched me with intrigue. She had been coming on missions since she was a few weeks old. There weren’t enough people to stop trying to make deals and get supplies to build up our army against the guards. I had to keep working. She smiled up at me and I kissed her forehead, knowing she would be safe and quiet in my carrier. She wasn’t scheduled to come with me on this mission but we had to make do.

“Let’s go.” I said solemnly. The others nodded and followed me out the door. Our path was generally free of guards and it was on purpose. The more guarded routes held higher rewards but the risk sometimes wasn’t worth it. I knew there would be guards on the ships passing by but we weren’t likely to get any on ours. My daughter slept while bundled between the lid of the truck and my body for the journey. I lifted the lid slightly when I heard we were leaving the dock. There was a guard on board. He was dressed in full armor and had a large gun with a makeshift sword attached. Our weapons looked primitive in comparison but, were just as effective. He walked back and forth for a few minutes and then lifted a lid. Inside he found what he was expecting, old pornos in some and iced fish in others. The waters of the tunnels underground were dyed blue to signify the lack of real sunlight and therefore the underground caught fish were always a blue hue now. Fish caught above ground was strictly prohibited and rare. Probably, the current dictator had his own fresh fish and game regularly hunted above ground, but down here, most assumed it didn’t even exist. The guard was satisfied and shut the lids. Lucky for us he didn’t lift a lid and find one of our crew. It could have easily even have been me. 

When we arrived at the docks, we were all placed in trucks to get unloaded at specific locations. All eight of us were scheduled to arrive in Pinky’s Castle. A sort of bordello porno house run by a young blonde wisp of a woman named Pinky who claimed to be a virgin. She wore her hair in pigtails and often dressed like she was from a Japanese comic. Upon our arrival, she checked all the boxes and signed her paperwork while I watched from a crack in the lid. Once the delivery men drove away she found my box as I was emerging. Her eyebrows raised when she saw my carrier. 

“I didn’t expect you to bring Ruby along!” Pinky squealed in delight. She clasped her hands at her heart and jumped up and down in excitement. 

“Yeah, it was a last minute change of plans.” I replied, trying to hide my concerns, unblocking the carrier and passing Ruby off.

“Oh,” Pinky changed her face to worry, “I’m sure he's fine.” She reached for Ruby and kissed her chubby cheeks before looking around the emerging boxes and changed her condolences, “I mean, I’m sure they are fine.” She smiled warmly and passed me her paperwork. 

We discussed the roles our newbies had previous to leaving but most were so worried, they hadn’t been listening so Pinky explained everyone’s tasks as she learned their names. I marched to Pinky’s office without Ruby to sort out our agreement. When I had finished, I had several hours left until departure so I retrieved Ruby, to Pinky's frowning and pleading then, helped myself to some food in the nearby den. I couldn’t leave the property, but the in house kitchen made food all day long for customers in the adjoining cooridors so I joined in knowing full well I may be stopped and asked for identification. I had confidence I knew how to act like one of the house girls, even with Ruby attached to my chest. There wasn’t any guards in sight but there always could be undercover or off duty guards so I never stopped my act. 

After lunch, Ruby and I played in one of the abandoned corridors. They were working on a sort of indoor park. The roof had an artificial outdoor ceiling in place but the plants hadn’t been installed yet. The park was supposed to join several businesses together that Pinky had gained allegiance with over the last decade. All the owners were in our pocket. I sat Ruby down on a blanket and played games with her to kill time. She giggled and babbled as I talked to her about how life used to be when I lived above ground. A man with a clipboard walked into the room and we startled each other. Pinky had given me her word that this corridor was blocked off and locked for the week. I was quickly relieved to discover the intruder was familiar. 

“Oh, what an unexpected surprise!” My father grinned while we embraced. He dipped down and picked up Ruby, his granddaughter. He had heard of her birth and hadn’t yet met her since his job usually took him hours away from our bunker for months at a time.

“What brings you to Pinky’s Corner?” I asked without judgment. 

“Oh, I’m just working on this new park! I’m not directly involved with Pinky on this one but she recommended me to Strayer and thank god, since now i have some steady work near my favorite people!” He grinned and kissed the top of my head. I avoided telling him his other three favorite people hadn’t come home when I expected them and in this world that only meant one thing, they wouldn’t be returning. I quickly put the thought aside and answered his questions with spirit. 

The hour came quickly after that, of our departure to the docks. My father and I exchanged goodbyes and he promised to stop by in a few days. He had authority to ride on the passenger ships so it wouldn't be a problem for him when he finished his work for the week. 

I looked at the faces of the six new companions to our operation, still newbies, but with added confidence, as they climbed inside to wait. Ruby yawned and I stuck my breast to her mouth to ensure the departure would be a quiet one on her end. She accepted it with gusto as I closed my eyes and prayed I had a family to come home to.