SHEDDING BOUNDARIES: an EMP survival story (The Hidden Survivor Book 4) by Connor Mccoy

Author:Connor Mccoy [Mccoy, Connor]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Published: 2018-08-16T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

“Robbie, come down,” Mia called to the boy. “I need to talk to you.”

“What?” his voice floated down through the remaining leaves.

“Come down!” she called.

“Coming.”

Leaves rustled, branches cracked, and a variety of profanity reached her ears before Robbie was on the ground beside her. She plucked some dried leaves from his hair.

“Come and sit down,” she said and led him to a nearby bench where she sat, and he didn’t.

He stood at parade rest in front of her, watching her intently. He was doing a good imitation of a serviceman. Head tall, hands behind his back, legs wide, and she wondered where he’d learned to stand like that. She’d have to remember to ask him sometime.

“Sit next time me,” she said. “I won’t bite.”

“I prefer to stand, if it’s all the same to you, Ma’am.” His eyes looked straight ahead.

“For Pete's sake,” she said, “this isn’t the military, but suit yourself. You remember the apartment where we were living before we came here?” She knew he did, but wanted to engage him in conversation, not give him orders.

“Yes, Ma’am,” he said.

“This evening we are going to take the enforcer who killed Arthur down to the Court. I’m afraid of what the other enforcers might do while we’re gone, so I want you to take any children who still might be living in the guest house over to the apartment and stay there until we give you the all clear. Do you understand? We want to be sure that none of you get hurt.”

“Yes, Ma’am. I understand.” He still was looking right over her head.

“What do you understand, Robbie?” she asked.

“That I am to take the others to the apartment and they are to stay there until you give the all clear,” he barked.

“Robbie, you are to stay at the apartment too,” she said.

“I cannot do that, Ma’am,” he said.

“And why not?” she asked.

“Because it is my duty to help you in any way I can, Ma’am. The Judge told me so, and I promised I would.” His lower lip quivered the tiniest bit before he got it under control.

So that was it. He was hiding his grief behind a mask of duty and obligation. Arthur had treated him like an adult, and he was honoring Arthur by behaving as much like an adult as he knew how. And pushing his pain underneath that. He wouldn’t sit beside her because he was afraid she would be nice and he would cry.

“Is it your duty to obey orders, Robbie?” she asked.

“Yes, Ma’am. I am to obey orders, Ma’am.” He was blinking hard.

“Then I order you to stay with the other children in the apartment until I give the all clear. Do you understand?”

“Ma’am, yes ma’am.”

She was tempted to order him to stop talking like a soldier, but she figured that once he’d found a time and place to have a good cry, he would go back to his usual self, and only revert to armyspeak on occasion. At least she hoped so.

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