The fire crackled softly, its flickering light painting long shadows across the rocky camp. Jenny sat stiffly on the bedroll, her left arm cradling what remained of her right. The bandages were rough, Reed’s handiwork quick and brutal, but it had stopped the bleeding. That didn’t make it easier to look at—or to feel.
She caught him watching her again, his dark eyes sharp and curious, the smirk playing on his lips like he was waiting for her to break the silence.
“Alright,” Reed said finally, tilting his flask toward her, “who are you, princess? Really?”
Jenny’s grey eyes flicked to him, narrowing. “I told you, I’m Jenny.”
“Yeah, yeah, I heard that part,” Reed said, waving a hand lazily. “Jenny what? Jenny the mysterious girl who strolls into cannibal caves without a plan? Jenny who looks like she’s never had dirt under her nails? That Jenny?”
Jenny shifted uncomfortably, her left hand tightening into a fist. He had a point. She didn’t belong out here, not like he did. She knew it, and worse, he knew it too.
“Why do you care?” she asked, her voice sharper than she intended.
“Because,” Reed said, leaning forward, “I saved your life, and now I’m stuck with you. The least you can do is tell me what I’m dealing with.”
Jenny hesitated, her mind racing. Could she trust him? The Bunker had always stayed hidden—discreet. That was the rule. No outsiders could know. But he had saved her. And if he wanted to hurt her, he could’ve done it already.
Finally, she exhaled through her nose, her gaze dropping to the fire. “Jenny Briggs,” she said quietly. “From Bunker 7.”
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Reed stared at her, his brows furrowing. “Bunker 7?” he repeated slowly. “What the hell is a bunker?”
Jenny blinked, caught off guard. “You don’t know?”
“Nope,” Reed said, leaning back against the rock. “Never heard of it. Sounds like something out of the stories old folks tell to keep you from falling asleep in the woods.”
Jenny frowned, her lips pressing into a thin line. “It’s not a story,” she said firmly. “It’s real. It’s... home. Or it was.”
Reed raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “Okay, so what is it? Some kind of... magic cave?”
“It’s not magic,” Jenny snapped. “It’s a shelter. A safe place from... all this.” She gestured vaguely at the ruins around them. “It’s where people went when everything fell apart. To survive.”
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Reed tilted his head, watching her carefully. “People actually lived in those things?”
Jenny nodded. “For generations.”
Reed let out a low whistle, shaking his head. “Huh. Guess that explains the uniform.” He gestured to her camo jacket, the patches on her shoulders. “And the shiny boots.”
Jenny bristled, her left arm moving automatically to cross her chest, only for the absence of her right to leave the gesture half-formed and achingly incomplete.
“What about you?” she shot back. “What’s your excuse for surviving?”
Reed chuckled, taking a swig from his flask. “Oh, I don’t need an excuse, princess. This is just life. Always has been.”
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Jenny frowned, her grey eyes narrowing. “What do you mean, ‘always has been’?”
Reed shrugged. “Exactly what I said. This is the world. Ruins, monsters, magic—it’s all part of the deal. Has been for as long as anyone can remember.”
“That’s not how it started,” Jenny said, her tone sharp.
Reed leaned forward, his grin fading slightly. “Oh, yeah? What’d they teach you in your little magic cave?”
Jenny hesitated, her fingers brushing against the edge of the bedroll. “Resource wars,” she said finally. “People fought over oil, water, food. Then the bombs started falling, and... that was it. That’s why we built the bunkers. To survive.”
Reed snorted. “Figures. People always think it was all about people.”
“What else would it be about?” Jenny shot back.
Reed’s grin returned, sly and sharp. “Gods.”
Jenny blinked, her frown deepening. “Gods?”
“Yeah,” Reed said, his tone casual. “That’s what the priests of the Raven Temple preach. They say the old world screwed everything up—wars, greed, all that fun stuff. So the gods came back, wiped the slate clean, and said, ‘Here. Try again. But this time, we’re watching.’”
Jenny stared at him, her mind racing. “And you believe that?”
Reed shrugged. “Doesn’t matter if I believe it. It’s the world we’ve got, isn’t it? Monsters, ruins, glowing rocks. Sounds like gods to me.”
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Jenny looked away, her jaw tightening. She hated this. Hated needing his help. But she had no choice—not with her right arm gone.
“I need to get my stuff back,” she said finally, her voice low. “My rifle, my pack. My map.”
Reed raised an eyebrow, his grin widening. “You’re serious? You want to go back there?”
Jenny nodded. “Yes.”
Reed leaned back, shaking his head. “You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that. But you’re crazy.”
“I don’t have a choice,” Jenny snapped.
“Sure you do,” Reed said. “You could just walk away. Forget about it.”
Jenny’s gaze snapped to his, her grey eyes hardening. “I can’t. That map leads to Bunker 4, and Bunker 4 is my mission. If I don’t find it, everything I’ve been sent out here to do—everything I’ve trained for—means nothing.”
It came out steady, almost convincing, but her heart raced in her chest. She forced herself to hold his gaze, willing him to believe her. The truth wasn’t his to know—not now, maybe not ever.
Reed tilted his head, watching her closely, his grin flickering with curiosity. “Bunker 4, huh? What’s so special about it?”
Jenny’s fingers curled into the edge of the bedroll, her mind racing. “It’s... important to my people. Let’s just say if I get there, they’ll be more than willing to make it worth your while.”
Reed’s grin turned sharp. “Worth my while, huh? How much are we talking?”
“Whatever you want,” Jenny said firmly. “They’ll make it happen.”
“Oh, I bet they will,” Reed said, leaning forward. “You sure you’re not bluffing?”
“I’m not,” Jenny said through gritted teeth. “You’ll get it.”
“I better,” Reed said, his tone mocking but playful.
Jenny glared at him, but her lips twitched faintly, almost like a smile. “Deal?”
Reed leaned back, smirking. “Deal.”