Adaptive Instinct (Survival Instinct) by Stittle Kristal

Author:Stittle, Kristal [Stittle, Kristal]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Severed Press
Published: 2013-11-28T00:00:00+00:00

“He can have my sucker.”

“Will he be okay?”

A thousand questions poured from the kids. They had never seen Peter cry either, and they were both amazed and very concerned. Peter had been like a little mascot for everybody. The fact that he was so calm all the time helped to calm the rest of the children. They figured if someone so tiny wasn’t afraid, they shouldn’t be scared either.

“He’s fine. No need to give him your suckers.” Lauren stood and began to shepherd the kids back to their section of the motel. She threw a quick thank you to Richards over her shoulder and told him she would see him tomorrow.

Peter had stopped crying before they reached the motel rooms. Lauren put him down in his crib and gave him a toy to play with. There weren’t a lot of toys, and all the kids had to share, but the scavengers who went out tried to bring back at least one every time.

“I’m hungry,” Leelo appeared at Lauren’s side.

“All right, I’ll go get you something.” Lauren glanced at her watch and saw it was close to suppertime. “Actually, I should be getting everyone’s dinner. Could you round everybody up?”

Leelo just scowled at her.

“All right, I’ll ask Claire to do it then.” Lauren had learned that Leelo could be a nightmare child sometimes. Asking her to do anything could result in an explosion.

“I’ll tell her.” Leelo walked off, hopefully to find Claire. She and Claire could be called friends, in an odd sort of way. When one was doing something, the other was usually nearby, watching. Sometimes they would do stuff together and talk, but most of the time, it was just one watching the other.

Lauren found Jason and asked him to watch Peter. He was a much better kid than Leelo and set to the task right away. He actually climbed into the makeshift crib with Peter to keep out of the way and began playing with him. Lauren had a feeling that if Peter ever laughed, it would be because of Jason. The kid seemed capable of making anyone smile.

Jon was hanging out with some of the older teenagers who had their own room. A few of them were drinking from tiny liquor bottles. Although the mini-fridges had all been cleaned out first thing, a few people raided the supplies and stole them from time to time. Those in charge of rationing usually let it slip by. So long as they weren’t getting roaring drunk or stealing more important, nourishing foods, then they weren’t concerned.

“Jon, come help me get the kids’ dinners,” Lauren called to him from the door. She knew better than to go in. Jon would probably feel embarrassed if she did, and for some of these eighteen to twenty-two year olds, this room was the first place they had ever lived without their parents. It was their private space where they were learning to live on their own, without normal rules. Thankfully, with so many people around, there wasn’t a true lack of supervision.

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