Chapter 15

Gel and Ebony, several feet apart, both lay in the grass sunbathing. Lex quietly approached the seemingly asleep Ebony and rested his body on the grass alongside her.

"Lex, go away." She growled without even opening her eyes.

"How'd you know it was me? Can you tell by my charming presence?"

"Yes Lex I can smell your charm a mile away." Lex sniffed his underarms and shrugged. Lex shifted on the uneasily on the ground as both he and Ebony lay in silence.

"Lex I said 'go away'" growled Ebony with growing irritation in her voice. Lex was losing his patience with her as well.

"What is your problem Ebony? Last night you're all over me. Now you won't even talk to me."

"I don't remember doing much talking last night either."

"Oh so now you admit you were with me last night?"

"Did I ever deny it?"

"Well you certainly act like you do!"

"Look Lex. A girl like me has needs and guys like you are there to fulfill them. But the rest of the time there's no use for you. So when I need you again I'll let you know. But until then just bugger off."

"I'm not your toy so don't bother trying to get your needs fulfilled again." Lex scowled and stormed away leaving Ebony in peace.

Slade and Ian sat under a large oak tree enjoying the afternoon shade.

"Man what is the deal with Lourdes anyways?" asked Slade while biting into an apple.

"What do you mean?" chuckled Ian as if he knew exactly what Slade meant.

"Well she's beautiful, powerful, kind, generous, loved by all her people…"

"Oh that…" Replied Ian. "She sounds too good to be true because she is. She's something nasty with sugary coating on the outside As for her being loved by all, lets just say those who let it be known they feel anything but love for her don't get to stick around for long. Those of us who have issues with her have learned to keep our silence or make sure we're irreplaceable."

"And what would your issues be? This place seems like the closest thing to paradise I've seen in a long time."

"Well paradise comes at a price. Here it's about conformity and I don't do conformity. I make my own rules even if they go against Lourdes'."

"Why do you stick around man? Isn't it a bit dangerous? Besides, I'm sure you could find another tribe to lend your skills too. You probably could even run it yourself."

"Naw I can't leave. I get a kick out of disrupting the order she holds so dearly. She tolerates me because we were friends before the virus and I have too much on her. Besides kicking me out would conflict with her image of the 'warmhearted' Lourdes."

"Brady do you want to go in the water?" asked Trudy as they waded deeper into the river, her daughter in her arms. Brady shook her head.

"Mama look." said Brady pointing to the shore. Salene stopped splashing with Sammy, Lottie and May to see a large flock of goats moving towards the riverbank.

"Hey Nano! Hey Bess!" Called Ian to the man and little girl approaching with the goats. A border collie came bounding through the flock and jumped on Ian and began to lick his face.

"Lassie girl not in front of everyone" Ian scolded the dog while rubbing her ears. Ian scooped up the little girl and smoothed her head of dark brown hair.

"Brady, Do you want to meet the little girl?" Brady nodded eagerly and Trudy waded out of the water leaving the others behind.

"Hi" said Nano to Ian solemnly in his usual standoffish behavior. He was a quiet man and didn't socialize freely. His only real friend was Ian and that was because they shared a love for animals. The only thing he gave more attention to then Lassie and his goats was his daughter Bess, whom he was completely dedicated to. Ian also loved Bess and was an uncle to her.

Brady bounded towards Bess in excitement. She had never been able to get close to a little girl her age before.

"Hi" Brady waved shyly.

"Bess why don't you show Brady your goat Blackie?" Said Ian as he set her on the ground. Bess grabbed Brady's hand led her off into the mass of goats. Trudy joined Ian and Nano.

"Hi I'm Trudy" she said a bit self consciously but with a grin. Nano briefly looked at her and nodded.

"Tell the pretty girl your name" Chided Ian.

"Nano" he said receding himself to making pleasantries. "And I don't Talk Much" he added in a detached tone.

"Yeah well I tend to talk too much." This statement caught Nano a bit off guard. Nano was used to people being uncomfortable around him and at a loss for words. He never made the effort to be friendly to people or even really acknowledge their presence. He found his technique effective in making people give up trying to make small talk and they avoided him later on as well. Trudy though was the first person to be seemingly unfazed by his behavior. Sure some people chose to ignore his obvious in-desire to socialize with them or sometimes they were too caught up in themselves to even notice. This girl however acted like it was the most normal thing in the world.

He looked at Trudy again, this time as if he really saw her.

"My daughter talks enough for the both of us," he said as his face softened. Trudy took in his features. He had shoulder length sandy blonde hair tied back into a neat ponytail. He looked rugged and weather beaten. He had a tanned face that was brightened by a very old looking pair of light blue eyes. His mouth was solemn and his chin sported a rough goatee. He reminded her of Martin but he looked more mature, like he had withstanded time and the harsh realities of life. He looked like he spent many a days working hard under the sun.

Stop checking him out. He probably has a girlfriend and more kids somewhere. Thought Trudy to herself.

"Well I should start them on their way back" said Nano gesturing towards his goats. The three of them turned to look at the young girls rolling down an embankment. They were laughing and giggling with joy.

"Want me to bring Bess home later? Asked Ian. A faint smile crossed Nano's faces as he watched his daughter.

"Yeah, she'd be hard to drag away. Well we have an agriculture meeting tonight so I was going to go drop her off at the children's room. "

"Oh man, I hate those things. But I'm supposed to be there as well.

"I can watch her." Added Trudy cautiously.

"I suppose that'd be alright," said Nano thoughtfully as he glanced at Ian for reassurance.

Later, Back At The Dorms….

The Mallrats converged in the commons to hear Amber debrief her meeting with the Linuan leader. Amber told them of Lourdes' offer to stay and of the dangers outside of the campus. "Wait, what are the techno doing so far out of the city?" asked May looking around and resting her eyes on Ram.

"Don't look at me. I don't know hat Mega was up to " Ram said defensively.

"Who cares? We've got it made here." Added Lex.

"Yeah, but living here means living by their rules". Countered Slade.

"Lets just sit back for awhile and gather info then." Lex said as he slouched back into his seat.

"There's something else…. They've had contact with the Chosen." Amber added somberly.

Trudy and Amber sat watching the children play on the carpet. "Daddy" squealed Bess when Nano appeared in the doorway. "Hey baby." He said as he scooped his little girl up and gave her a kiss on the head. Amber got up and introduced herself.

Trudy carried Bess's shoes over to him. "Was she a good girl?"

"Oh a perfect angel."

"I appreciate you taking her. Tell me if there's ever anything I can do for you."

"Oh that won't be necessary. Both Brady and I had fun."

"Daddy when can Brady and Trudy come over?" Asked Bess pulling on her father's hair.

"Well I guess we'll have to ask her mom." Nano said as he looked at Bess and then Trudy.

"Well I'd love too. But on one condition…. You let me make dinner for you too."

Later that evening…

"Come in" Amber replied to the knock at her door.

"Hi, I was wondering if I could speak to your for a minute." Said Ellie taking a seat at the foot of Amber's bed. Amber finished tucking her child into bed.

"Of course Ellie. What's on your mind?" She asked as she sat down next to Ellie.

"You're going to think I'm crazy. Jack already thinks I am. But Amber I swear I'm not. I know what I saw and after you mentioned the Chosen I knew I had to tell you."

"Ellie what did you see?"

"Today we stopped at the Market and the Cafeteria and I swear I saw him Amber. I saw Luke…."

"Ellie are you sure? Did he say anything to you?"

"He was too far away to notice me but I know it was him."

"Even if he was here that doesn't necessarily mean the Guardian is here as well. I think Luke was done with both him and the Chosen."

"I know. I just thought you should know as well."

"Thanks Ellie. You were right to tell me. I don't think you have anything to worry about though."

"I hope not. " Replied Ellie as she left the room.

Ram sat on a couch in the commons reading a worn copy of "War and Peace". Jay approached him and looked at him seriously. "I think we should go for a walk." Ram nodded.

"I've been expecting this." Outside it was dark and the campus was asleep in their beds. The only light was the occasional beam of a patrolling guard's flashlight. They both sat down at a picnic table behind the dorm building.

"Still haven't come clean to Amber?" Asked Ram as he stretched out against the table. Jay sighed.

"You're not lying to her you know? She wouldn't even know the questions to ask."

"It's still dishonest not disclose everything and they're getting awfully close to starting to ask questions about the Technos." The distress was evident in Jay's face.

"Well you already told her we don't know why there would be Technos in this area. It's too late to change your mind plus I won't let you bring me down with you. I'm always on the cusp of getting lynched." Ram was starting to get irritable and it was showing in his voice.

"Well I just wanted to make sure we got our stories straight." Jay said dejectedly as Ram got up from the table.

"Just let them form their own illusions as to where they came from. Steer them in the direction of them being Mega's men and other various Techno deserters" With that said Ram walked off leaving Jay at the table with his head in his hands.

Ram headed back to the dorms and to the kitchen. He sat down with a cup of tea and a piece of paper and pen. He started to write a list of electronic parts he would like to get from either the market or more preferably from their generous hosts. "Hey Ram" Ruby's voice broke his concentration.

"Hi" he said barely raising his head to acknowledge her.

"Can I make you a sandwich or something to eat?" She asked kindly.

"No, I' m fine." He said still not lifting his head from his work. He wished she would just go away. He knew she wanted to talk. Most likely she wanted talk about what to do now that they had sex. Why did they have talk about it? Why should things change? Did she really expect him to turn into a doting boyfriend? Ruby was a strong woman. One of the strongest women he'd ever know.. She didn't need a guy to dote on her. Besides he was busy.

"What you working on?" Ruby sat down next to him.

"Ruby look, I'm busy. Now could you please leave?" Ruby was taken aback.

"Yeah, sure. I'm sorry I bothered you." She turned promptly and headed back into the direction of her bedroom. Ram sighed as he looked in the direction she went.

Ruby's a strong woman he reminded himself as he went back to his list.

AN:

1) In my profile I've added links to maps I created of the dorm the Mall Rats are staying in and a map of the campus.

2) At dragoncon I got a bunch of Wam/Tribe posters and some Official tribe tattoos so I thought I might have a little contest. I'll be posting a quiz and anyone who is interested in some free tribe stuff should try and see how many questions they can get right. Then I'll mail the stuff off to you! So if anyone is interested in this idea say so!

3) I wanted to address a question Tribebohemian asked incase there was anyone else who had any confusion about it. Amber isn't doubting her feelings for Jay she just isn't sure she believes everything he says. For a former General Techno he seems to be rather clueless about their workings. Such as he doesn't know where or why people were taken from the city? He was in charge of that operation so how could he know nothing?

4) ALittleinlove, Arwennicole, and Tribebohmemian for taking the time to review. As a reader myself I know its not always compelling to stop and leave a review. So thank you again.