Chapter 48: Bartering for our Future.

BELLA

On the drive back to Camden, it was mostly silent in the van.

I was going through a lot of scenarios in my mind about what we could use as payment, but we didn't have a lot.

Benito had explained that gas, ammunition, and service were common trades that many colonies made. However, other things like seeds, non-perishable food, and medical supplies were more valuable, so they would give us "bigger bang for our buck." He wouldn't just accept service as a form of bartering. We had to give some other kind of currency too because they used these things to trade with other colonies, keeping a cut for themselves.

Edward broke through my thoughts as he spoke into the silence in the car.

"The only thing we have that is valuable to barter with is people. We need everything else for our settlement," he said. "We can't give up our seeds or medical supplies, but we have fighters… and a year really isn't that long."

My heart stuttered in my chest.

Was he considering volunteering?

He must have sensed my unease because he reached over and took my hand and squeezed it.

Was it for reassurance that he wouldn't volunteer or an apology for doing the opposite?

I was afraid to ask at that moment, but I would fight him tooth and nail if he tried when we got home.

Tia and Peter were silent in the front seats. Peter was driving, while Tia spent her time staring out the window.

Once the confrontation between Benito and her had ended, they'd fallen into an uneasy truce.

After he'd explained to us what his company could offer and what they would accept for payment, he left us with Simon and a few of the other Sea Wolves while he quietly pulled Tia aside to speak to her.

I nervously watched them from the corner of my eye, but things seemed calm. Tia looked guarded, but not defiant while Benito just looked exhausted.

Benito was an older man, probably in his late forties, so I wondered who Lorelei had been to him. Daughter? Girlfriend? Wife? She was probably his daughter, seeing as her age would have been the closest to what Stefan would have wanted in a war wife.

Talking with Simon was fascinating. He told us that he belonged to a colony on Wolf island which was further up the coast from ours. He'd been working for Benito for a little over six months. He was a part of the fighting division of the Sea Wolves because he'd been a soldier before the world had ended. When a colony needed protection from an invading force or herd of zombies, Benito sent him along with other soldiers that were members of the Sea Wolves to give aid.

Everyone had their place in the Sea Wolves based on their skill sets. For example, Benito had made Bree the leader of the recruiters. Paired with her friendly looks and ability to shoot, she'd been studying to become a psychologist in school so she could read colonists fairly accurately and know if it was okay to approach them.

Simon seemed pretty satisfied with his situation. He said that Benito was a fair man. If anyone was seriously injured during their work, they were released from their contract and he never broke a person's contract by releasing them any later than the day they signed up.

However, he wasn't a pushover… far from it.

If he discovered that any Sea Wolf wasn't pulling their weight or was acting against mission, his punishment was swift and severe. When Simon had first joined, there had been a man who'd belonged to a scavenging team that was caught stealing from the colonists who he'd been sent to help. When the man had been confronted about it, he tried to deny it and when that didn't work, he tried to fight his way out.

Benito gathered all the Sea Wolves that were in the area and brought the man kicking and screaming in front of them in the courtyard behind the building. He told them all in no uncertain terms that there was no room for lone wolves in his company who would hurt others for their own gain. Then, without hesitation, he cut off the man's left hand. As the man wailed and writhed on the ground, Benito told him that he should be thankful that he didn't take his dominant hand.

I thought about all of this as we continued on the road home. It was clear that negotiating transportation wasn't going to be easy.

When we arrived back at Camden Head, we immediately gathered the others to discuss what we'd learned.

The main concern that everyone had at first was whether we could trust them. I didn't blame them because we'd been burned before with devastating consequences.

However, after some explaining people realized that it was our best option.

"We took a lot of ammunition from Stefan's cache of weapons. Will we really need all of it once we settle on the island? Couldn't we part with some?" Carlisle asked.

He looked so tired with dark patches under his eyes. It was clear that the stress of Esme's pregnancy was weighing heavily on him. His blonde hair was even turning ashen because of the streaks of grey that were beginning to tint it.

"That's a possibility," Ben said, noting it down on a list.

"Let's just list everything we have that other survivors would want and then eliminate the ones that we can't give up," Esme said, resting her hand on Carlisle's forearm and squeezing gently.

"We might be able to give up some of the gas left over when we finally get to the island," Claire said.

"But we might need the fuel," Quil responded with a frown. "We don't know what's going to happen in the future."

"Let's just write down everything we can think of," Ben reminded him as he continued to jot down what people said.

"We have seeds and some medicine," I said because these things were like gold in this new world.

I saw that Quil was about to argue again, but then he remembered what Ben said and fell silent.

Masen spoke up then. "I think we can give up the power tools. Arthur scavenged them because they would make building easier, but he said they weren't necessary. Plus, once the batteries run out they're useless anyway."

He was a little hesitant to speak up still because I didn't think that he felt quite like part of the group yet.

"We can give up the insulation too. If our cabins are about 300 sq. ft. with beds in the loft, one wood fireplace will keep a household warm. Yes, we might need to get up in the middle of the night to stoke the fire on really cold nights but that's not a big deal," Edward said.

He'd been pouring over the books about the pioneers every chance he got and was spending a lot of time learning about how to build homes with only hand tools.

"We know where we can get more survival gear. That Columbia outdoors store had some sleeping bags, cooking items, and other stuff that survivors might want," Alice said.

We fell silent at that point, not knowing what else we could give. We barely had enough to take care of ourselves.

"I'll work for a year," Quil said, interrupting the silence. "Didn't you tell us that Benito said that was enough for one boat to carry our supplies?"

Benito had in fact told us that he could provide us with one barge that could carry our building supplies and some of our other supplies for a year of service.

"No, Quil. You can't leave," Claire said.

"Claire, we can't give up our seeds. You know that I can take care of myself. It's the best trade we have and a year will go by quickly," he said as he pulled her to him.

Claire began to cry at that.

"I'll do it," a voice said from behind us.

I whipped around at Seth's voice.

"No," Leah said, firmly.

"It's not your call, Leah," Seth snapped. "I can take care of myself and I want to contribute."

Ben shook his head.

"We can give up some of our seeds…" he said. "We just need to keep-"

"No," Seth said, loudly. But after taking a deep breath he began again more calmly.

"I'm my own man and I know what I'm saying. I want to do this and none of you have the right to stop me," he said. "You know it's our best option.

Seth wasn't a gangly teenager anymore. He was still lean, but there was muscle behind it now. He was as strong as any of our group now. And the determined set to his frame told us all that he wasn't going to be treated as a child.

Ben stared at him with a pained look on his face, but I could tell he would give in.

"I could provide free medical care to the Sea Wolves for a year. I'm sure there aren't very many doctors left in the area. They're already going to know where we live. So, as long as they are escorted on and off the island, it could work," Carlisle said.

Ben shook his head at that.

"I don't want people to know that we have a doctor with us. Even if Benito seems like an honourable man, he might not be able to pass up someone who has your kind of expertise. Plus, I don't want them coming and going from our island."

"If one person equals one boat," Quil said. "I'm volunteering too."

"No, Quil!" Claire snapped. "You cannot just make that decision for us. You are not going to leave me for a year."

I saw Edward's mouth open and I knew that he was just about to volunteer, so before he could say anything I pinched his arm as hard as I could and hissed, "No!"

"Shit!" Edward exclaimed, yanking his arm away from me in shock. "What the fuck, Bella!"

"Okay… okay… Everyone calm down," Ben said, stepping away from the table and gesturing for everyone to relax. "Let's take some time to think about this. Maybe we'll think of something more. Let's meet back here tomorrow and we'll decide."

Edward glared at me one last time before storming out of the room.

Before following him, I turned to Ben.

"Edward is not allowed to volunteer," I said in a calm, but serious voice. "He's risked his life enough. If he doesn't listen to me, you have to tell him."

Ben nodded in acknowledgement.

I found Edward on the roof, stewing as he stared off into the distance.

I stepped to his side and said calmly. "Don't you remember us saying that we wouldn't be separated again?"

"If it means getting everyone to the island in one piece and setting up our new home, don't you think it's worth it?" he asked sharply as he turned towards me.

His cheeks were reddened from having been wind-burnt during our travels, but there was a flush of anger there too. I hadn't seen that level of anger directed at me for a long time, but I stood firm in my decision.

"You are not the only member in our group that is a good fighter, Edward. Why does it always have to be you?" I asked, clenching my teeth to keep myself calm.

He just shook his head, running his hand viciously through his unruly hair.

"Claire needs Quil. She's not as strong as you are, Bella," he said, looking back out over the cityscape for a moment before turning back to me. "Jasper's leg is bad. Ben can't go because of Angela. Jane and Tia are fairly good shots, but they've been through enough with Stefan's group. That leaves Peter, me, and you. Peter needs a break, so it's up to me."

"If you're going, then I'm going," I said, grabbing his arm. "That's not up for negotiation. It's either both of us or neither of us."

"You're not going," he said, his eyes flashing in frustration.

"Well, that settles it, then," I said, definitively.

We were at an impasse. Edward wouldn't let me go and I wouldn't let him go without me.

He was angry, but from the slouch of his shoulders I knew that he'd resigned himself to the fact that this was something he wouldn't be able to fight me on. He knew that I'd just follow him if he left.

That night I laid awake long after Edward had fallen asleep because I couldn't stop running things over in my mind.

I felt like there had to be other things that we could barter with that we were missing.

Benito's group was all about helping communities get on their feet and helping them survive. What did we have that kept us alive all these years? If it hadn't been for Company Z, we might still have been living in Elmherst. How did we manage it?

We were strong fighters. That was a given. No one could survive in this world without being able to defend themselves against the dead as well as other survivors. However, that wasn't the only thing that kept us alive.

We'd been able to grow our own vegetables; that was essential. However, giving up any of our seeds to Benito wasn't going to happen.

I looked over at our belongings that were packed into boxes on the dresser. What was I bringing that I felt was integral to our survival. I had two of our reference books, one was about the local flora and fauna, the other was about how to preserve seeds. That information along with what I'd learned from Mrs. Cope would hopefully keep us fed in the future.

I sat up suddenly, startling Edward awake.

"What?" Edward gasped, lurching up into a sitting position and reaching for his gun.

"I know what else we can trade," I said. "We have my notebooks that include all the information about canning and preserving from Mrs. Cope and I'm sure we can find pressure cookers and mason jars. Where did the scavenging team get ours from?"

Canning equipment had been some of the things that our scavenging teams had gathered. We'd lost ours when Elmherst had been destroyed.

"I don't know," Edward said hoarsely flopping back down on the bed.

"I know it's not much," I said. "But it's something. We could write out several copies of the notebook so that we'd have more to exchange with Benito. I'm sure not all survivors would have that kind of information, especially if they're just beginning to set up a colony. I can also give them the notes that I took from Jack about the local plants on the island."

"It's a good idea," Edward said with a yawn. "But it's the middle of the night, babe. Let's go back to sleep."

Tugging on my arm, he pulled me down to him so that I was nestled into his side.

In his semi-awake state, he'd forgotten that he was mad at me. I was sure he'd remember in the morning, so I snuggled in to enjoy it while I could.

In the morning, we all met again this time on the roof where everyone could join.

I knew from the blood shot, red rimmed eyes of Claire that Quil was still insisting on joining the Sea Wolves.

I told Ben about my idea to barter with canning equipment and copies of my notebooks, but he knew as well as I did that Seth's service and my idea wouldn't be enough to get us all to the island with our things.

However, before anything else could be said Tia broke the silence.

"I'm going to sign up. I'm a nurse and I've had lots of experience stitching up wounds and treating injuries after living with Company Z," she said. "I think I'm valuable enough that my year of service would be enough to get you and the rest of our supplies to the island."

Peter looked at her in surprise and then understanding.

"Tia…" he murmured.

"I can't settle down yet, Peter," she said, turning towards him. "I still have too many demons in my head. Maybe a year on the road helping to get communities on their feet will help quiet them. I just can't accept a settled life yet."

I knew that Peter wanted to volunteer too, but he was just too frail and he knew it. Benito would never accept him as a trade.

"Do you think you and Benito can work together?" Edward asked her.

None of us knew what she and Benito had talked about, but the animosity between the two had definitely settled down by the time we left.

"He'll be fine. We have an understanding now," she said.

Tia was hard to read, but I could tell that she was certain about where she stood with Benito.

"Okay," Ben said. "Let's finalize our list of what we can barter with, starting with the things that we can most easily give up."

"Seth and Tia will work for a year. We'll then offer the canning and preserving equipment and instructions. If Benito insists that it's not enough to get us to the island, we'll give him the insulation. We should try to keep the power tools unless we absolutely have to give them up. We can make it without them, but they'll make our lives a whole lot easier when building."

"We're going to need more food for the winter," Esme said. "We're not going to have time to grow any and I would imagine that Emmett, Rosalie, Katie, and Embry haven't been able to forage enough food from the island to feed us for the winter. Didn't you say that Benito barters in food as well?"

The idea of food had been nagging the back of my mind as well. Last winter, many of us nearly starved to death because of a lack of food. Now, Esme and Angela were both pregnant, which meant that food was an even bigger issue.

We all fell silent at that.

"Let's go through the seeds and see if there are any we can part with," Carlisle said. "It would also be good to barter for vitamins as well, especially pregnancy vitamins if his company can find them."

The group erupted into arguing, but Ben shushed them.

"What are your thoughts Carlisle?"

"Some of the seeds are for foods that don't necessarily have the nutritional value we need. Others won't produce seeds that we can use year after year. Those are ones that we could do without. I'm not saying that we should give up anything important, but there's got to be some. We're going to need food and vitamins to last us the winter."

"Okay," Ben said, looking around at everyone who had gathered. "I think it's time for us to finish packing and leave. Let's take two days to get ready and then we'll get on the road. We'll send out one more scavenging group tomorrow to get more canning equipment and Bella you and some of the others can fill notebooks with Mrs. Cope's instructions. We'll pack one vehicle with the good we're willing to part with. Carlisle, pick out what seeds you think we could give up and we'll review them tomorrow."

I heaved a deep sigh feeling both excited and stressed by the prospect of finally getting on the road to our new home. I couldn't believe that we were one step closer to getting there.

Two days passed quickly and suddenly it was time to leave. The six vehicles we were taking were packed to the roof and every bit of gas we'd scavenged was poured into them.

Peter and Tia drove the RV that we'd gutted in order to fit our supplies. We weren't going to need it once we got on the island anyway.

Ben, Angela, and Isaac drove the truck with the supplies that we were willing to barter with.

Edward and I drove with Esme, Carlisle, and Chris. While Carlisle drove and Esme sat next to him, Edward and I sat in the backseat with Chris.

It was a tight squeeze, but Edward kept Chris entertained by playing these little magnetic travel games. They were currently playing connect four and Chris was adamant that Edward was cheating.

I spent the time resting with my eyes closed. My mind was a swirl of emotions and thoughts. My mind leaped from dreams of life on the island to dealing with Benito and whether we had enough to barter with.

Life on the island was going to be so different from what I'd ever experienced. Even before the end of the world, my life was nothing like what we were stepping into. No electricity, no daily conveniences of just scavenging from a store, everything we would have from now on had to be built by our own hands.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by Esme's voice.

"Zombies… There's more than one," Esme said, tapping the window lightly. "I see…four, maybe five?"

We'd been slowly working our way through a maze of vehicles that filled the highway. When it had been Tia, Peter, Edward and me in one vehicle, getting through it had been a lot easier. However, now we had much bigger vehicles and a lot more people, so it was slow going.

I saw movement along the tree line and I was sure that more were going to emerge beyond the four or five that Esme had seen.

"Okay. We'll take care of it," Edward said, reaching for his gun that he'd put in the back.

I grabbed mine as well and silently slipped out of the van, barely making a sound when the door clicked closed.

We were at the head of the caravan. Behind us was an older truck with a topper on the back which was carrying Leah, Seth, and Gianna. Following close behind was the RV with Tia and Peter. The other vehicles were lined up as well, waiting for us to continue. However, they were all forced to stop as we used precious time to deal with the situation.

Dodging between the truck and the back of the RV we climbed up the ladder to the top, finding Peter already there with binoculars in hand.

"Ten," he whispered, giving me the binoculars to see for myself. "Ten, and if we shoot one, we'll draw them all here."

"We have to get rid of them," Edward whispered back. "If we stay here much longer, they'll smell us. Luckily, for the moment, we're downwind."

I groaned but nodded. We were going to have to fight them hand to hand and we had to do it quietly so we didn't attract any other zombie wandering the woods. We still had a ways to go before we moved enough vehicles in our way off the road in order to get through.

Shaking my head, I made my way to the ladder and climbed down.

Gripping my axe hard, I waved Ben out of his truck.

"How many?"

"About ten…give or take."

Others joined us as we stepped to the shoulder of the road. The creature at the head of the group walked with a slow lumbering movement through the swamp. Its moaning was surprisingly loud. Maybe it was the acoustics of the slight valley of swamp land they were coming from. He couldn't have been dead long because the signs of decay were minimal although his wounds were pretty horrific. I grimaced at the sight. One arm was hanging in tatters by its side, while the other hand opened and closed as it reached out in front of it. Its jaw was askew, and the flesh was now a greenish-black.

"God, they stink," Seth muttered as he raised his shotgun.

"We can't shoot them, Seth," I said, grabbing his arm. "It'll be too loud."

We waited for the dead to move closer to us, not wanting to get caught in the little valley with the incline at our back.

When the dead had reached the edge of the road and began their climb, I struck. I brought my axe down on top of the dead man's head with such force that its legs slipped in the dirt and he slid backwards.

Edward grabbed my arm when the momentum I created nearly carried me forward with the dead man.

I smiled at him in thanks before returning to the fight.

The others were quickly dispatching the other dead before they reached the shoulder. However, it wasn't long before I heard Esme hiss.

"There's more."

I spun around to the opposite side of the road and saw that ten, fifteen, over twenty had stepped out of the trees and were moving towards us.

"Shit!" Edward said harshly as he cut down the last zombie on our side of the road.

"Should we let them pass?" I asked, looking behind us to make sure there weren't any more coming from that side of the road.

"We can't afford the delay. There's enough of us that we can take them if we move quickly," Ben whispered, counting the dead spreading out below us.

Grimly, we went about killing the dead as quietly as possible, hoping that once we started the engines more wouldn't appear.

It was a bloody business and by the end all of us were sprayed by all kinds of gore.

I was so sick of the sight. I couldn't wait for it all to be a distant memory once we settled on the island. However, I squashed that the minute it entered my mind. Hope was a dangerous thing that could kill just as quickly as a zombie bite.

"Clear!" Seth finally called out.

I grabbed my old bandanna that I'd stuck in my back pocket and began wiping the blood off my face and neck. I looked over and saw that Edward was doing the same. However, his shirt was so covered in dead man's blood that he'd removed it and was getting out another shirt from the trunk.

"Let's sleep here tonight," Ben said, gesturing ahead of us up the highway that was still littered with obstacles. "We've got a lot to do tomorrow. We've got no choice but to push the cars out of the way. Plus, there may be some fuel to siphon."

Luckily, Ben was right and there was more fuel in the vehicles. The RV, weighed down by our supplies, was using up more gas than we anticipated, so it was a relief to find some in the cars left on the road.

We slept in our vehicles that night, not comfortable being out in the open. Edward had folded down the back seats and laid out sleeping bags for Chris, me, and himself. Esme and Carlisle chose to sleep in the front with their seats tilted back.

It wasn't comfortable and I knew I wasn't going to get much sleep, especially with Chris whining because he'd been cramped up in the car all day.

Finally, we got him calmed down enough that he'd stopped moving around and kicking Edward in restlessness.

However, I wasn't asleep long before he was climbing over me.

"I gotta move," he whined. "Edward stinks."

I groaned in exhaustion and moved to give him room between me and the side of the car.

It was silent for a minute before I heard Edward laugh quietly.

I snickered myself because he really did stink with zombie gore and sweat.

It felt like it had taken forever for us to make it to the ocean and then to Benito's home office, but we'd actually made pretty good time with all of the vehicles still intact. I'd worried for most of the trip that one of the vehicles would get a flat tire or get stuck.

It was Simon that greeted us at the front door.

We'd attracted a few dead on our way through the city, but he sent his men out to deal with them.

"I'm glad you made it back. Are these all the people you want to transport?" he asked looking us over.

"Yes," Edward said. "This is everyone. We have twenty-four in our group."

Simon nodded.

"This is Ben," I said, gesturing for Ben to come forward. "He's our leader."

Simon reached out and shook his hand.

"It's nice to meet you. Benito's in the office so he should be able to meet you shortly. He'll only see a few of you, probably four or five. The rest of you will have to stay in your vehicles."

Ben nodded, looking at Edward and me as well as Carlisle.

Stepping towards us, Simon spoke quietly.

"Don't back down with Benito. If he senses weakness, he won't bend. Start small, don't tell him everything you're willing to give up right away. Benito sees bartering as a game."

Ben nodded and then spoke just as quietly, "Thank you for your advice."

After brief introductions, Benito got right down to business.

"Well, let's look at what you're asking for. You'll need a barge to carry your supplies if what you have in your vehicles is everything you're taking. You're also going to need a boat to pull the barge and transport your people. That means we need to discuss an exchange for the gas, drivers, and the amount of time you'll be renting my boats for," he said jotting down something on a piece of paper. "You said that you had people willing to provide a year's service."

"Yes, Tia, who you've met, and Seth," Ben said.

Benito's eyes widened a bit at Tia and then narrowed in speculation.

"Okay," he said. "Bring them in and let me take a measure of them."

It didn't take long before Seth and Leah were ushered into the room.

"So tell me who you are and what you have to offer the Sea Wolves," Benito said, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms.

"My name is Seth Clearwater and I'm 18. I am a good fighter and can use a crossbow, and a variety of firearms. Ask anyone else in my group and they'll tell you I'm a good shot."

"We'll see about that," he said, then turned to Simon who was clearly his right-hand man. "Take Seth out and test his marksmanship."

As Seth was escorted out of the room by Simon, Benito turned his attention to Tia.

"My age is none of your business, but I was a nurse before the world ended. While I was with Company Z, I had to use my skills a lot. Stefan kept me with him at all times, so I had to do a lot of doctoring in the field," Tia said, matter-of-factly. "I'm not sure how you're going to test me on that, but feel free to try."

Instead of bristling at her tone, Benito huffed a laugh and said, "I'll think about it. Are you a good shot too?"

"Test me and find out," she responded.

Benito gestured at one of his other Sea Wolves.

"Take her out to Simon," Benito said.

"Okay," Benito said, looking back at us. "If they turn out to be good shots, that'll get you the boats, but that doesn't include the gas we'll have to use and the drivers. What else do you have for trade?"

"Edward and Bella told me that you said it was one person in exchange for a boat. And tell me if I'm wrong, but isn't a barge a flat-bottomed boat that is towed by another. So, we're only really talking about a few of your men to drive and monitor the barge and fuel to power the boat pulling it," Ben said, firmly.

Benito's eyes lit with excitement at finding a good adversary.

"Well, what about the time it will take to get you there. That's at least a two day rental."

I spoke up at that point.

"If the colonists that you find are anything like us, then having enough food for winter is all they think about. We learned how to can our own food using a pressure cooker and mason jars. We picked up some extra equipment that we're willing to trade. It was the difference between life and death for us even when we had a garden. We also have instructions on what can be preserved and how to use the pressure cooker," I said.

Benito noted it down and then looked at me.

"Well, that could be useful, but it's not enough. Gas is at a premium. We ranged far and wide for the gas we've stockpiled. You'll need to give me more of than that."

Simon returned at that point with Seth and Tia in tow.

"What's the verdict?" Benito said, looking away from us to scrutinize Tia and Seth.

"The kid is actually a pretty good sharp shooter, but a little clumsy in hand to hand," Simon said and then gestured towards Tia. "She's a passable shooter, but I'm not sure how great she'll be at hand to hand combat."

"Okay. We can make a trade with Seth and Tia for a boat and a barge to carry you and your supplies. However, we're still dealing with the gas situation. I can't just be giving it away for free. Canning equipment is not enough."

"We have insulation for building homes that we could add," Edward spoke up.

"How much insulation are we talking about?" Benito asked, sitting forward in his chair.

The bartering continued on with Ben and Benito going back and forth.

It was like a sports match as they each tried to outsmart the other.

In the end we were able to make the trade for Seth, Tia, canning equipment, insulation, and the remaining gas in our RV and truck. However, Benito's people also had to help us get our supplies from the shore and up the cliff.

However, that still left us with our last problem that would make surviving on the island difficult—our lack of food.

Benito fought a harder bargain for that.

"Food will cost you. A lot of colonists are faced with the same concerns. We do have some to trade, but you'll have to give me more than I think you have," he said, seriously.

The room fell silent at that because the only thing we had left to barter with was the seeds and none of us wanted to part with them.

"My service is worth more than a boat," Tia said, confidently. "I'm a combat medic. I've dealt with a lot of life-threatening injuries from bullet to stab wounds."

Benito didn't seem impressed.

"We already have a pretty talented doctor in our company."

"Does your doctor know how to amputate a limb after a zombie bite in order to prevent the spread of the zombie infection? I did it in the field with minimal medical supplies. That is worth the food that my group is asking for," she said, not backing down.

Benito stared at her for a few more minutes.

"Sign up for two years and you've got yourself a deal," he said, sitting back in his seat.

Tia nodded in response.

"She'll only do it if you can provide us with pregnancy vitamins as well as food," Carlisle said before the deal could be struck.

Benito's eyes settled on Carlisle, seeming to measure his resolve.

"Fine, we'll get you the vitamins while we pack the boats."

Ben, Esme, Angela, Alice, and I went with Benito to a warehouse to look at the food he was willing to exchange.

He must have considered Tia more valuable than he was letting on because he was offering us a good variety.

He had several sacks of potatoes, carrots, and onions that we could can in order to keep us fed over the winter.

However, it was the beans, powdered eggs, and powdered milk that had us the most excited. Not only did it store well, but they were also enriched with vitamins that we might be lacking.

"This is all I'm willing to exchange," he said, gesturing at the food in front of us. "The only other thing I can do for you is to introduce you to other good colonies along the coast. Often they trade with each other for essentials. I don't know a lot about Pendleton island, but I'm sure that it has some supplies that other islands may not have. McManus is your closest neighbour, but they're the most prickly, so I'm not sure you'd get much from them."

"How would we go about trading with them?" Angela asked. "We don't have a boat."

Benito's eyes softened as he looked at her.

I wasn't sure whether it was her advanced pregnancy or that she reminded him of Lorelei, but he was less arrogant and standoffish around Angela.

"I have peddlers that touch base with colonies once a month. They make trades between islands as well as those of us still on the mainland."

"I'm not sure we want strangers coming to our island once a month," Ben said.

"We only approach an island if our sign is left on the shore. We also don't disembark without permission," he said. "We all know about the dangers of trusting outsiders."

There was a slight catch in his voice at his last statement, but his eyes showed nothing of his feelings.

Regardless, Angela reached out and touched his forearm in comfort.

He smiled at her.

"You make sure to use that powdered milk and eggs. I've also sent out scavengers for vitamins. You need to keep yourself healthy for that little one there," he said, looking down at her swollen stomach.

"I will," she said with a smile.

"Okay," he said. "Let's get back to the office."

It took a day for our belongings to be loaded onto the barge and secured, but it wasn't until the end of the next day that Benito's men made it back with a case of pregnancy vitamins.

"Where did you find all of these?" Carlisle asked in astonishment. "There's at least twenty-five bottles here!"

"We don't share where our supplies come from," one of the men said. "When we sign our contract, we have to agree to secrecy."

Carlisle nodded in understanding. Benito was a hard man, but fair. So the last thing we wanted to do was break his trust.

Simon promised that he would look after Seth who was assigned to his team. It was a dangerous assignment, but Seth was a good fighter and Simon seemed like a good man.

We weren't sure where Tia was going to be assigned. Benito still hadn't told her, but we all knew that she wouldn't be far from any violent altercation that happened owing to her skill set.

Leah and Peter were present when Seth and Tia signed their contract. They were both stoic about it, but I knew they were worried.

"A year isn't that long, sis," Seth said with a grin as he was getting ready to leave with Simon. "Just make sure there's a place for me on the island."

Leah nodded and then pulled him into a fierce hug.

Tia and Peter's goodbyes were more subtle. They didn't hug, but their whispered words to each other weren't meant for others to hear.

I knew that there was nothing going on between them romantically, but I hoped that there was a possibility for it in the future.

We settled in for the night planning to leave at dawn the next morning.

I was too full of nervous energy to sleep, so I'd barely closed my eyes when dawn broke and it was time to leave.

Edward and I chose to sit in the prow of the boat, wanting to be the first people to see our new home again.

The spray from the water was cold as it hit our faces, but neither of us cared.

I couldn't stop looking up at Edward who even with water dripping from his hair and probably into the collar of his shirt was grinning wildly as he held me close.

"I can't believe we're almost there," he practically shouted over the roar of the engine.

I squeezed him tight with a laugh. His excitement was fuelling my own which I could barely contain.

I knew things wouldn't be easy on the island, but I just knew it was our home. We were going home.

All of the excitement exploded out of me when I saw the shoreline of our island come into view.

I didn't have it in me to be embarrassed by the squeals that escaped my lips as I jumped up and down in happiness.