As Love Shifts (11 page)

“I don’t know. I guess we will find out. At least we avoided showing the clan the truth. Do you think he can honestly be normal after what he went through?”

“I hope so. It’s not like he’s eight years old rather than eight months. He has a long life to forget and learn how to love.”

“I agree.”

Liam stood, turned, and then leaned over, glaring at her as he grabbed her cheeks. “Next time, how about waking me up?”

“What do you mean?”

Leaning closer, he licked her ear, making her squirm. “I mean you reek of sex.”

“Oh. Okay. Next time.”

Daisy got to her feet. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to see who is here. I told my sons to come, but I don’t know if they actually did. They said something about heading across the country to get away from the storm, so hopefully if they aren’t here, they did. I won’t know because it will be days before we can get out of here to use our phones.”

She was right about that. As Daisy was on her way out, Kris walked back in. The babies all climbed up onto the sofa. “Mommy, put a movie on. There are too many people out there to run around,” said Seren.

Ever was surprised that the children didn’t seem the least bit nervous about the events that were taking place. She turned on the tablet and set it up for them, putting on
The Croods
. Soon all four of them were engrossed in the movie, even though they had seen it before.

Kris sat down beside her on the bed. “The storm is still roiling outside, although it looks like the rain has slowed a bit. There are still two cameras above water, but they have water lapping at their lenses. If it gets much higher, the solar panels will also be submerged. They are on the highest ground and were reinforced with steel bars, but…”

That was not good news. Without the solar panels they would be without light and the air circulation outlets were only slightly higher than the solar panels.

“According to the control panels, everything is still working. The CO2 levels are a bit above optimum, but that is to be expected when you have three times the intended occupancy. That may get worse as time goes on.”

“Can we turn the filtration system up?”

“Maybe, but then we are going to overwork the motors which are running on solar that is producing on a minimum level. If the water starts to recede, we can open the temporary escape hatch that was installed on the connecting tube and let some fresh air in, but we can’t do that now. We’re just lucky that they didn’t simply seal it off below ground level.”

“Actually that was my idea. I asked them to install a central escape hatch and the ground in that area is high, so they went with the landscape. How many of the clan members or nonmembers do you think are down here?”

“I don’t know exactly. All the inner rooms in this shelter are full and the main area is filled to capacity. From a quick look down the tunnel, that is also filled with sitting room only and barely room to walk. If the second shelter is the same way, I’m thinking that there are well over two hundred people in the two shelters.”

“They were built to hold a max of forty people each. That’s two and a half times max. I just hope the system can support so many.”

“We will find out. It’s not like we can do anything about it now.”

* * * *

The rain started to seriously taper off late on Saturday, and as the wind came to a slow end, the result of the storm turned to a slow resignation that they were trapped under a lake of water. The mood was solemn and as they all ate their packaged meals, mixed with bottled water, Ever looked at her children, wondering if they had a future. So far the lights were on, but they were dim at best. Before heading to bed, she went to the storage area and dug out a box of battery-powered touch lights. She passed them out, one to a family, stressing that they shouldn’t be used unless absolutely necessary. She left a few extras in the main area, so there would be light throughout the night if the solar power failed. She wasn’t sure who was aware that the solar was also the backup for the air system, but those who knew weren’t discussing it. She checked the gauges and saw that the carbon dioxide had risen to .50. It wasn’t in the red yet, but from what Kris said, it had risen over the day. The system just couldn’t handle the amount of people who were using it. Ever already knew that if it hit 1.0 those in the bunker would start to get mild headaches from it. 2.0 could affect people’s hearing and as it rose, it could cause dizziness and finally death.

She could only hope that before that point came, they could open the outer emergency hatch and let some fresh air in. What she feared the most was that the power would fail completely and then there would be no fresh air being filtered inside. There was a backup to the filtration system if the air outside was contaminated, but the system hadn’t been tested yet and she had no idea if it would work. The generators also hadn’t been installed, so those were a moot point.

She slid into bed between Kris and Liam. Ever was exhausted after staying up late the night before. Kris brushed back her hair. “You okay?”

“I guess so. We are all worried about the same things tonight, so you tell me.”

“I’m hoping that the water will recede quickly. At least the storm seems to be over.”

Someone knocked on their door and Kris got up to open it. It was Julius. “They just posted another emergency bulletin. We have a new problem.”

“What’s that
?
”

“The storm moved out, but left a cold front behind. It is supposed to go down into the twenties tonight and then stay below freezing for the next few days. I know the temperature down here will remain stable, but what happens if everything above us freezes
?
Will we be able to get the hatch open?”

“I have no idea.”

“I think we should open it now and risk letting in a bit of water.”

Kris nodded and turned to look at Ever. “What do you think?”

“I think your father is right. If nothing else, just bring something with you to wedge it open. I don’t know if anyone down here even brought any warm clothing. Most of us are dressed in shorts and short-sleeve shirts. We can’t have anyone freezing to death and they are sleeping in the tunnels.”

“That’s a good point,” said Julius. “Maybe if the water freezes, it will give us a way out of here.”

“To go where?” asked Liam. “If the whole area is flooded then our houses are gone. We have nowhere to go.”

Julius released a long and tired sigh. “I guess you’re right. I can’t believe this is happening. Do you think there will be cell phone reception outside?”

“Maybe,” replied Kris. “I guess there is only one way to find out. I want to look at the camera images first and make sure that the tunnel hatch isn’t under two or three feet of water. If it is, we can’t open it. If the span of the flooding is too great, then it would do far more than let in a little water. It could potentially flood the entire place.”

Julius stepped back and Kris walked out, shutting the door behind him. Ever wanted to go with him, but the children all had their eyes on her. “You, little ones, are supposed to be going to sleep.”

“Are we going to die?” asked Errant.

“I don’t think so. What do you think, Avia?”

Avia gave her a very adult and thoughtful look. “I don’t know. I don’t think we are going to die right now. I’m not sure about later. I guess that I’ll let you know.”

Ever slid down to the bottom of the bed, snatching her daughter off the mattress. She wanted to lighten the mood with the children and laid her on the bed, tickling her to make her giggle and screech. The boys chuckled at her antics and then Liam grabbed Ever and began to tickle her,
so Ever
released his daughter. Ever bucked and thrashed in his arms. “Liam. Stop!”

“Oh, Mommy doesn’t like to be tickled either. I think the children should tickle you and get revenge.”

“Revenge is not a nice quality to teach them.
Liam
.”

He held her down. “You guys wanna tickle Mommy?”

Seren and Errant hopped to their feet, running at them and jumping on Liam. They pushed him back to the bed, grinning at him as they sat on his chest. Ever laughed at his stunned expression. “I think we should tickle Daddy Liam,” said Errant.

“Daddy Liam is not very ticklish,” commented Ever. “I think you four need to settle down and get some sleep. It is late and Mommy is tired. Come give us kisses.”

The children kissed her, Liam, Demetri, and then Daisy before crawling back into bed. Ever got them all snuggled in their blankets and then sat down with them to read them a bedtime story.

Once they were all sleeping, she quietly closed the book and climbed back into bed. “I wonder where Kris is? They have been gone a long time.”

“Yeah, they have,” said Demetri. “Do you want one of us to check or would you feel better going yourself?”

“Do you mind?” she asked with a yawn. “I’m really tired.”

Demetri got up, leaning to kiss her softly on the lips. “Of course not. Get some sleep.”

Who and why was someone shaking her? “Ever, wake up!” shouted Demetri.

What the hell was he thinking? He was going to wake the babies. “What?” she retorted in a low but snappy tone.

He lifted her from the bed, walking with her as she struggled to open her eyes. She was so tired. Her head was pounding and her ears were ringing badly.

“Come on, wake up.”

“I feel like shit. What the hell is going on?”

“We need to join our energy and create a shield.”

“What kind of shield?”

“The kind that stops punches and hopefully stops water from flowing into the bunker when we open the door.”

She was having trouble focusing her mind on what he was saying. “What are you talking about?”

She heard the screech of a door being opened and frowned. Her eyes didn’t want to open, and she squeezed them tightly shut and then forced her lids to move. The light around her was dim, representing the low glow of one of the touch lights. Demetri sat her in a chair and she felt as if she was going to sag into a heap. “Ever, can you hear me?”

“Kinda. I feel like I have fog in my ears.”

“So do I, but you need to listen to me. You need to forget everything you are feeling and concentrate. I can create the shield, but I need your help and your power. They have to open the hatch, but it is still under water. The only way to keep the tunnel from flooding is for us to create a shield. I want you to envision a clear tube, flowing upward and outward that will deflect the water and allow air to flow through it. Can you do that?”

“I think so.”

A warm hand stroked her cheek. “You will feel better once we get some fresh air in here. There was a loose connecting wire for the solar backup, and it failed last night. The CO2 reading has gone up to 2.5. We have to get some air in here. We’re not even sure if this is going to be enough, but we have to try.”

It was Kris and she tried to clear her blurry eyes. That’s why she felt so bad. The carbon dioxide in the air was dangerously high. The flash of fear that accompanied the thought cleared her mind slightly. “Let’s do this.”

Demetri pulled up a chair opposite her and held out his hands. “The exit is directly above us. We have to focus on a shield that only stops the water. We don’t want to impede Kris opening or closing the door, okay?”

“Water, only water. Got it.” Ever closed her eyes, envisioning a circular beam of power radiating upward from the opening to form a low funnel-type shape. She could feel the energy flowing through her body as she heard the click of the inner lock and the slow squeak of the door being pushed open. She looked upward and saw that the door wasn’t really moving. “Fuck, there’s already a layer of ice over the door,” snapped Kris. “I’m going to have to try and smash it away.”

He lowered the door and then heaved upward, once, twice, the sound of shattering ice filling the tunnel and then suddenly, air, frigid air was flowing over her body. It was wonderful and fresh, but it was so cold. Warm, it needed to be warmer. It was too cold. “Kris, come down.” He scrambled down the interior ladder, shivering as sweat rolled down his arms from the exertion. Ever heated the energy, spinning it in a circle, hoping to warm the breeze and create a vortex to suck the air inside. It was working, the freshness warming, blowing around them.

“Open the inner doors,” howled Kris, and Ever felt the whoosh of suction as the doors at the ends of the tunnels were pushed open. “It’s working. You are brilliant, Demetri.”

“Thanks, but Ever is doing the fan and the warm thing. I don’t have that much control.”

Ever inhaled deeply and she slowly began to feel better. The dizziness and unfocused feeling of her brain began to clear as the ringing in her ears subsided. She still had a low-grade headache, but hopefully that would also go away. “What time is it?”

“About four in the morning.”

“So we have to keep this up for another two hours? Is that even possible?”

“I have no idea. Now that the shield is established, it won’t take much conscious thought to keep it in place. The problem is the power itself, because this is going to drain both of us.”

“I figured that. Did you leave the door to our room open?”

“Yes.”

“Are the babies okay?”

“I don’t know. My main goal was to get you up. We have been out here watching the levels climb and trying to figure out what to do about it.”

Kris put his hands to her shoulders, kissing the top of her head. “I just checked and the children are fine. Daisy and Liam are watching them. I’m figuring from what I saw that the hatch is under about a foot of water. We are trying to work out a way to extend the hatch. Gear suggested that there might be some smaller pieces of tunnel tubing, or maybe even more hatches. He sent four guys to go check both of the end tunnels that were sealed off. If not, hopefully when the sun comes up, the solar panels will charge the batteries again. It appears that the system in the second bunker may have failed completely and that’s why the air got so bad so quickly. The panel to monitor the second bunker isn’t working at all.”