Chương 31: The Encounter

When Jack came out of the storage room with the two-person tent, Elias and Marlin were still crouched over the six-person tent. The instruction sheet lay open between them, and both men were studying it with serious expressions. Jack only needed one glance to know they had not made much progress. He smiled, set the two-person tent aside, and went back into the convenience store to make lunch. Something simple would do. Spaghetti with meat sauce. Meanwhile, Vane and Reed had returned to the settlement.

Marg was sorting supplies outside. When she saw only the two of them, she frowned. Before she could ask anything, Reed shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Mom! Come out! Cass is hurt!" The shout spread through the settlement at once. Ray rushed out first. She looked around, and when she did not see Cass, her face went pale.

"Where's my brother?" Her voice shook.

"What happened to him? Where is he?" Marg hurried over as well, her expression turning serious.

"How was he hurt? What happened? Where's Elias?" Susan and Thomas arrived right after her. Vane raised a hand at once.

"Don't panic. He's fine." Then he shot Reed a glare. Reed lowered his head, looking guilty.

"I just wanted Mom to come out quickly…" Ray still wanted to ask more, but Marg spoke first.

"Start from the beginning. What happened?" Vane did not waste time. He briefly told them about the raiders they had run into at Jack's place. Marg's expression changed the moment she heard the word raiders.

"Raiders?" she said, her voice tightening.

"How many? And how bad is Cass's wound?"

"Five," Vane said.

"One was badly injured. The others retreated. Cass's wound isn't life-threatening, but Susan is the only one in the settlement who knows enough to handle it properly." He looked at Susan.

"That's why Elias told us to come back and bring you over as soon as possible." Ray clenched her hands.

"He's really fine?"

"He's really fine," Vane said. Only then did Ray let out a small breath. Vane did not linger on the topic. He turned to Susan.

"I'll stay here, just in case. Pack your things and go with Reed right away." Ray immediately said, "I'm going too." Vane frowned.

"No. This isn't for fun."

"I'm not going for fun!" Ray said anxiously.

"That's my brother!" Before Vane could refuse again, Susan spoke.

"Let her come." Vane looked at her. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Susan said, "An extra pair of hands won't hurt. Cass is her brother. With some things, it may be easier if she's there." Marg nodded as well.

"Let Ray go." Vane was silent for a moment before finally agreeing. Reed urged them from the side.

"Then hurry. Don't waste time." Susan did not say anything else. She turned and went to gather medicine and tools. A short while later, Reed, Susan, and Ray left the settlement and hurried toward Jack's convenience store. Back at the convenience store, Jack finished making the spaghetti with meat sauce. He divided it into portions and carried the plates outside. When he reached the shade, Cass had already come out of the outdoor shower. He was wearing Jack's clothes now.

His hair was still damp, and he looked almost like a different person. If not for the limp, Jack might have needed a second look to recognize him. Cass eased himself back into the chair, looked down at his clean clothes, and muttered, "Why do I feel so much lighter?" Jack heard him and snorted.

"You washed off more than twenty years of dirt. Of course you feel lighter. Did you see the color of the bathwater? I bet it was black." Cass froze. Then he actually braced himself against the chair, trying to stand. Jack quickly pressed him back down.

"What are you doing?" Cass said seriously, "Going to check the bathwater." Jack stared at him. After a moment, he squeezed out, "Are you insane?" Cass sat back down, looking a little regretful. Jack decided not to deal with him anymore. He set the spaghetti on the table and called Elias and Marlin over.

"Lunch first." Marlin was still puzzling over the tent when Jack called them over for lunch. He came to the table, looked down at the plate of spaghetti with meat sauce, and fell silent for a moment.

"Life here is really…" He searched for the right word, then finally said, "Too luxurious." Cass immediately straightened a little.

"This is nothing. Jack treated me to steak before." Marlin's head snapped toward him.

"Steak?" Elias cut in before Cass could keep bragging.

"If there's food, eat. Why are you talking so much?" Cass shut his mouth at once. Jack almost laughed as he handed out the forks. No one tried to be polite after that. They lowered their heads and started eating. The meat sauce was thick, the pasta warm and filling. After the fight they had just gone through, even a simple plate like this was enough to make everyone slow down for a while. When they were done, Jack handed each of them a bottle of mineral water. Marlin took his bottle and looked at it for a moment.

Then he looked at Jack, shook his head, and said nothing. After lunch, the three of them went back to fighting with the six-person tent. Marlin's earlier confidence did not last long. The instruction sheet looked simple enough, but once they actually started, every step seemed to create a new problem. The poles went into the wrong sleeves. The tent faced the wrong direction. The corners refused to line up with the stakes no matter how many times they adjusted them.

By the time the six-person tent finally stood properly, the sun had already begun sinking toward the west. Elias straightened up and pressed a hand against his lower back.

"This thing looks simple. Why is it so much trouble when you actually set it up?" Marlin dropped onto a nearby seat, sweat covering his forehead.

"I thought it was just poles in, fabric up, done. But no. We couldn't even get the thing to stand. That was the annoying part." He looked up at the finished tent, and his tone turned a little more serious.

"But now that it's up, it really isn't bad. At least it's much more comfortable than the metal-sheet shelters back at the settlement." Cass had been sitting quietly nearby until he suddenly raised a hand and pointed to the side.

"Uh… there's still one over there." The others followed his finger and saw the untouched two-person tent lying nearby. Elias's face froze. He waved it off without hesitation.

"I'm not touching that one. This one was already enough." Then he looked at Marlin as if handing the matter to him was the most natural thing in the world.

"That one is yours." Marlin blinked.

"Mine?"

"You handle it yourself," Elias said. For a moment, Marlin had no reply. Jack watched from the side, trying not to laugh. In the end, he still walked over and opened the outer bag of the two-person tent.

"This one is different." Marlin immediately looked over.

"Different how?" Jack did not answer right away. He took the tent out of the bag, found the folding mechanism, and pressed it. The compact bundle sprang open at once. The fabric and frame unfolded together, and after Jack made a few quick adjustments, the two-person tent stood steadily on the ground. Marlin's eyes lit up.

"This…" Jack knew that look and cut him off directly.

"Not for trade right now." Marlin paused.

"I haven't even said anything yet."

"It's written all over your face." Jack rolled his eyes and pointed at the stakes.

"You handle those." Marlin could only pick up the stakes and go secure the tent himself. Jack then looked at Elias.

"You should clean up first. It's about time." Then he turned to Marlin.

"You too. Once you're done with the tent, take a shower before you get into it. Don't make my tent filthy." After leaving that behind, Jack went back into the store. He needed another shower himself. After that, he still had to prepare dinner. There were more people staying tonight, so he would have to make extra. By the time the sun began sinking toward the horizon, three figures finally appeared in the distance. Reed walked in front, with Susan and Ray following behind him.

The three of them were hurrying toward the convenience store. At almost the same time, from behind a low dune on the other side, a crowd of small gray figures slowly came into view. A group of people. A group of Dustchucks. And just a short distance from the convenience store, the two groups met head-on.