Sunrise by Kody Boye Page B

last few hours shooting dummies at the cars down the road with silencers.”
    “Pretty clever, Corporal.”
    “Yes, very.” Jamie looked about the room, lips pursing in thought when he saw Ian’s still form on his cot. “Sir? Are you feeling well?”
    “I’m good,” Ian said, throwing his legs over the cot. “Didn’t mean to not answer you.”
    “No need to apologize. Just making sure.”
    “We had a rough two days,” Dakota sighed.
    “I can imagine. How long did it take to fortify the bus?”
    “A day, day-and-a-half,” Steve said. “What’s it to you?”
    “No reason.” He paused. “If you’ll excuse me, gentlemen, I’ll get on to business. The sergeant’s instructed me to assign jobs to the civilians based on any useful skills they might have. Can any of you do anything other than cook or fix cars?”
    “I’m guessing you’re filled in those departments.”
    “Yes.”
    “Nothing I can think of,” Steve said.
    “I used to be a plumber,” Ian said. “I don’t know if that’s any help.”
    “It should be,” Jamie smiled. He turned his eyes on Dakota. “What about you, sir?”
    “Me?” Dakota said.
    “Yes, you.”
    Dakota smiled at his stupidity. “I don’t know. I was still in school when this happened.”
    “He can grow shit,” Steve said.
    “You mean like vegetables?”
    “He’d been growing tomatoes before we ran out of water.”
    “I didn’t have the right stuff,” Dakota replied. “I was growing plants out of makeshift terrariums.”
    “The sergeant would like to hear that,” Jamie said, reaching up to brush the hairs on his chin. “Mr. Shaw, sir. Private Roberts has asked me to tell you that he would like to take a look at your arm after dinner tonight.”
    “He gonna fix me up?” Ian asked.
    “Yup. He sure will.”
    “My arm’s been killing me.”
    “I can imagine. Getting shot isn’t much fun.”
    “No,” Ian sighed. “It isn’t.”
    A guilty twang of hurt strummed across Dakota’s heart. It hurt to think that they had been on opposite sides little more than two days ago.
    Oh well. Not much we can do about it now.
    “I guess that’ll be all,” Jamie said, stepping back toward the threshold. “Mr. Earnest, if you think of anything that might be useful, please, don’t hesitate to talk to me or the sergeant.”
    “I’d prefer to talk to you,” Steve chuckled. “Your sergeant seems like a bit of a hardass.”
    “He is, but it’s good for us, especially in times like these. Thank you for your time. Dinner will be at six, just out the door and to your left.” Jamie gave one last nod and closed the door behind him.
    “Why did you mention that?” Dakota whispered.
    “What?” Steve asked. “That you’ve got a green thumb? It’s fucking good, Dakota. We wanna get on their good side.”
    “We don’t have to worry about him. He’s not going to do anything.”
    “I wasn’t saying that.”
    Dakota could barely hide the blush that crossed his cheeks. Steve raised an eyebrow, but quickly brushed it aside by standing and turning the doorknob. “Either of you want to take a look around?” he asked.
    “Not me,” Ian said.
    “Koda?”
    “Gladly,” Dakota said.
    He was more than willing to get out of the room.
     
    Six o’clock arrived with a stream of rain and a flash of lightning. With the lights on and the curtains drawn, the place looked wholesome, even inviting in a strange, tragic sense. The smell of fresh food drifted down the hallway and the sound of voices echoed across the walls, welcoming Dakota, Steve and Ian as they made their way toward the lobby.
    “I didn’t expect this,” Dakota said, pushing his hands into his pockets.
    “Neither did I,” Steve replied. Ian grunted and raised his hands to cough. “You ok, big guy?”
    “The rain’s a killer on my sinuses.”
    “The pressure?”
    “I have no fuckin’ idea.”
    “Not much you can do about it.”
    “Not really.”
    Dakota looked up. Seated around the table were the