And a new chapter! YES! :D

The meat was lumped into a large steel bowl. Alex looked at it blankly. Hannah nudged him with her elbow.

"Come on Sasha." She grinned wickedly.

As Alex was the only one who knew Russian in the house besides Anna, Leon had taken to talking to Alex for long periods of time. It didn't matter to Alex, who welcomed a chance to focus on something besides worrying for Jack. The down side was that Leon called Alex Sasha, the Russian nickname for Alexander. And Hannah enjoyed it.

Alex glared at her. The sunglasses he was forced to wear also added to the teasing. He hadn't been able to look at himself in the mirror yet. He shook his head.

"Does anything make you happy?" he asked irritably.

Hannah nodded sagely. "Sure."

She shoved her hands into her own bowl. There were four bowls lined up on the counter. Two other women stood in front of their respective bowls. Hannah kneaded her meat. Alex looked into his bowl.

"Sasha," she stage-whispered, "you snapped a moaners neck. Don't tell me your sacred to get your hands dirty now."

One of the women giggled. Alex jerked his head to the side. She stopped. Alex felt a brief flicker of satisfaction.

"Come on Sasha." Hannah ribbed.

Alex rolled up his sleeves, and jammed his hands into the dead cow. It was cold. Alex jumped back. This was all Leon's fault. He could have been out getting food. Instead he was stuck in the kitchen.

"You need to keep moving you hands…" the rounder woman said. "Sorry. I don't know your name." she paused awkwardly. "Is Sasha you name?"

Alex shoved his hands back into the bowl. "No, my name is Alex."

Hannah nodded. "I call him Sasha. It annoys him. Therefore, it makes me happy."

The plump woman nodded. "Well, we all can't be Raiders, can we? Now, Alex, keeping moving your hands. Good. I'm Kate, and you'd bet do what I say."

Alex didn't respond.

They worked in silence for a while. His hands were becoming numb. Hannah huffed beside him. Alex had learnt to hate that noise. It usually foreshadowed being asked an embarrassing question.

He wasn't wrong.

"Alex," she asked. "Have you ever kissed a girl."

Alex stared at her. Hannah was looking deep into her bowl.

Alex shook his head. "No."

There was no response. Blessed quiet.

"Well…" Hannah drew out the word like a fish on a line. "Have you ever kissed a boy/."

"No." Alex kept his voice level. Honestly, where did she get these questions?

"Okay." Alex knew she was going to think of something else. He kneaded the meat. To his surprise, it was becoming softer.

Hannah was still thinking of a question. Kate beat her to it.

"Alex?"

Alex looked up unhappily. What now?

"Do you have anyone left?"

Alex's hands stopped moving. "I'm…I'm not sure."

Hannah looked up. "What do you mean, 'not sure'? Either their alive, or their not. "

Alex slammed his fist into the bowl. The meat gave with a slurp. The taller woman moved away from the table. She picked up some bottles and started pouring dry power into her bowl.

He ignored her.

"For lack of a better term, I was kidnapped." Alex had no idea how much they knew, or how much they needed to know. "It was an accident. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Hannah shrugged. She made a ball out of her meat and then pressed it flat. Alex saw at she had also added some power to her meat. Hannah handed him the bottle.

"Put some spices in."

Alex did as he was told. He mix the meat some more. It was now gritty and his skin started it itch. He sneezed.

"The garlic is pretty powerful stuff." Hannah whispered. "Don't breath too much in."

Alex nodded to show he had heard. "Why are you here?"

Hannah pursed her lips. "This is my house."

Alex was surprised.

"Kate is my mum," she continued, "and my dad's in the raiding party today. They take in anyone they can. Which includes you, I guess."

Alex glared at her. It was a relief to be able to do that and get a reaction. Hannah glared back.

"I'm perfectly useful."

Kate rapped him on the head with a ladle. Alex jumped. "I'm sure you are sonny. Put your meat on the tray. Then you can start with the bread."

Alex opened his mouth to respond. The ladle connected again. "No back talk."

Hannah giggled. Her head received a sharp crack.

Kate crossed her arms. "Not a word out of either of you. Get to work."

Alex carried his bowl over to a tray and scooped his meat onto it. Then he copied Hannah, shaping it into a loaf. Meat loaf. Now it made sense.

It was becoming boring, the hours spent in the kitchen.

Hannah and Alex had been left alone. Kate and the spice lady had left; as they had more important things to do than cook.

Hannah was busily mixing the dough for bread. Alex watched her.

She tossed her hair back. "This is boring."

Alex nodded. She would keep talking. He hadn't said much all day.

"I mean…I miss school. How crazy is that? I miss normality. I miss my friends…" she looked down. "I miss people. You know?"

Alex shook his head. He was surprised to see that she was crying. Hannah wiped the tears away. "Sorry."

"It's fine."

"I wish… I wish I could sing…." Hannah shook her head. "It seems silly, doesn't it?"

Alex shrugged. "You can sing."

Hannah scraped some dough off of her hands.

She took a deep breath.

"I never loved somebody fully /always one foot on the ground," she belted out, "and by protecting my heart truly/ I got lost in the sounds/I hear in my mind all these voices/ I hear in my mind all these words/ I hear in my mind all this music."

Hannah stopped. She was blushing. "That's what I miss."

Alex pulled some dough out of her bowl. "What do you miss?"

"No caring…no" Hannah shook her head. "I miss being carefree…"

Alex shaped the dough into a loaf.

She continued. "Isn't that the most awful thing you've ever heard?"

"No." Alex laughed. "I think world domination beats that."

"Oh." Hannah seemed to be at a loss of what to say. "But normal people don't think about world domination."

"That probably why it's only tried by crazy people." Alex muttered.

"And then the government stops them! Like a James Bond movie!" Hannah tossed her wet lump of dough into the air. It became stuck to the ceiling.

"Nice." Alex said dryly. "Want a ladder to get it down?"

He could hear footsteps approaching.

Hannah shook her head. "Nope. I have to go...to the bathroom." She dashed out of the room.

And left him to the wolves.

Leon walked in, balancing a stack of canned soups. "The raiders are back. Go help them unload."

Alex quickly left, not wanting to be there when the dough fell off the ceiling. He walked down a corridor. The house was huge, practically a mansion. There were four rooms for sleeping, full of blankets and mattresses. The front hall had been filled with cardboard boxes. Alex could seen loaves of bread in one, fish in another. Hannah was busily unloading dog food.

Alex moved over to help. "Are there any dogs?"

Hannah hefted a bag with a grunt. "No, this is for emergencies."

Alex hauled a bag after her. He was surprised when they went into the basement. It was a large open space the size of the house, all concrete and wooden beams. The basement had been divided into rooms, one of with Hannah stepped into. Alex gasped. It was filled from floor to ceiling with pounds of dog food and MREs.

"This is ridiculous." Alex muttered.

A hand crushed his shoulder.

"No, it's not." A voice growled. "We are being prepared."

Hannah looked up from where she was storing Eukanuba. "Jeff, leave him alone."

Alex remembered that name. Wasn't Jeff the man he had tackled the first night here?

The hand released Alex's shoulder. "I'll let you go this time, but if you pull any funny business…" Jeff trailed of threateningly.

Alex couldn't resist a jibe. "What? I'll have to meet your mother?"

Jeff growled.

Alex turned to face the man. "Or worse? Will I have to…"

Alex's mouth dropped open. How the hell was he here?

Jeff didn't recognize Alex, and let him and Hannah pass. The two teens hurried up stairs to help unload more food.

When they got there, however, Leon pulled Alex to the side. He smiled reassuringly. Alex was immediately on guard.

"The men want your help."

Alex looked over to where Leon was pointing. They were a tough looking group of men, a little older than himself. Alex walked over. They were conversing, not paying him any mind.

"Hello."

One of the men glared at him. "What's with the sunglasses?"

Alex shrugged.

The man stood face to face with Alex. His rank breath washed of Alex's face. Alex didn't flinch, but he did winkle his nose. The man's greasy brown hair hung in matted strands.

"What's your problem kid?"

Alex stepped back. "Nothing."

"I think you do have a problem kid."

Alex looked around. Where was Hannah when he needed her? Or Darren? Leon would be welcome at this time too. The people nearest were averting their eyes. Was this some kind of test? Alex wasn't sure if he would pass.

Alex squared his shoulders. "Maybe you're the one with a problem."

The man looked at him stupidly.

"You really need to exercise the muscle between your ears."

"Are you calling me stupid?" The man snapped.

"No."

"You are calling me stupid."

"No."

"I'll show you stupid!"

Alex was truly annoyed. "I'm looking at it right now." Alex crossed his arms, and a small part of him wondered if cabin fever had set in. he was not acting smart. "Listen, Stinky. Can I call you Stinky?" Alex paused to nod. "Good." Alex gestured to the people busily working only a meter away. "You may scare them, but you don't scare me."

Stinky moved suddenly. Alex felt the fist hit him in the face, and his head snapped to the side. There wasn't much force behind it. He still fell to the ground. A boot caught Alex in the stomach, and he curled in on himself. Arms wrapped around Alex's waist and pulled him up. Alex turned his head to the side and bit the arm that held him. The person swore and Alex snapped his head backward into the face behind him. Once…twice…on the third hit the arms relaxed and Alex stumbled forward. The back of his head was throbbing. He had somehow lost the sunglasses and the light hurt his eyes. Alex squinted in the light.

Stinky was not amused. The little punk had fought back. No one fought back before. For a second Stinky was at a loss. What should he do? His group was the best moaner reduction force on this side of London. They were never supposed to lose.

Alex's head was spinning. The dull ache had spiked and his eyes were streaming. He saw Stinky make a gesture and two others stepped forward. Alex groaned. He could really use some backup. There nearby box was full of guns and there was a long stick. Alex grabbed the stick. It was about three and a half feet and very thin. The second Alex picked it up he knew it was worthless for smacking. Stinky grinned.

"Still feel brave kid?"

Alex swayed slightly. He thought he saw someone leave the room. He hoped they were going to get him help. Stinky stepped forward and Alex kicked. Not at Stinky, but at the box. Guns slid on the wooden floor and bullets rolled like marbles. There was a large amount of knives. Alex even saw some arrows. He grabbed the closest handgun. Stinky bent down and plucked a knife off the floor.

"The gun's empty kid? What ya gonna do?"

In response Alex spread out his feet. The room was swaying slightly. Alex had a feeling that it was not supposed to do that. He stumbled backwards a few feet. The door was behind him. Alex hurried towards it. He had to get away…

Stinky slashed out with the knife. His swing was stopped by the punk. The blade had been caught in the trigger guard. The boy looked at Stinky with unfocused eyes and twisted the gun. Stinky felt his writs break. It hurt. Stinky swore. The boy swayed slightly and held up the gun.

Stinky grinned. "It's unloaded kid."

The punk looked at the gun. He seemed puzzled. "Oh."

There was his chance! Stinky jumped forward… and felt an exploding pain in his mouth.

Alex knew it was a bad idea. Too much could go wrong. When the man said the gun was unloaded, Alex had honestly forgotten. Then Stinky had lunged, and Alex thrust the gun at his mouth. Alex was sure that chipped a few teeth.

Stinky rocked on his feet for a moment, and then crashed to the floor. Alex was about to join him when strong arms held him up. The stick was still in his grasp. Alex looked up (when had he gotten on the floor?) when a hand closed his eyes.

"It's alright Cub," someone said above him. "You're going t be fine."