Morgan took in a deep, controlled breath, then let it out slowly.

Her shoulders ached from strain, but she held her pose with one arm parallel to the ground, elbow bent straight up with wrist hefting the spear.

Her spear was actually a repurposed fence pole, which had been cut in half thanks to a butt-load of sawing. Using a file and two evening’s work, she had ground the tip to a sharp point.

Hopefully, it would be worth it.

There were plenty of fish in the stream, but they were flighty and movement scared them away. The creative use of sawed in half buckets made for a fish trap that could catch the smaller ones. Today, Morgan was hunting for one of the elusive monsters.

Finally, one drifted close to the bank. Morgan had to unfocus her eyes and search for the outline instead of the whole fish, as its speckled body blended perfectly with the rock and gravel.

She flexed her arm, aiming a little downward from where her eyes told her the fish actually lay. Water bent light. Another hard lesson she’d learned.

The modified fence post turned spear flew through the air with a trailing guideline of rope attached to a hole at the end. It struck the water exactly at the angle she’d aimed for. There was a dusky bloom of mud, then red.

“Yes!” Grabbing the line, she hauled her spear back. Something alive flopped weakly at the end. The fish was dead by the time she pulled it to the bank, impaled neatly through.

This was no trout or bluegill. This was a monster of a fish: At least three feet from nose to tail, it had a white head and a wide, gaping mouth. Not a catfish, but not native to North America, either.

She had noticed that more and more recently. Not all the foliage came from North America. One of the girls had identified a weird miniature palm tree as something that grew dragon fruit, and some of the creeping vines were kiwis. It seemed the aliens had planted samples from all over the world.

Whatever this species this fish was, it would supply enough meat to feed the entire group for a few days. It was too large for the bucket she’d brought, so she wrapped it in a tarp. Between this and the heavy spear, her arms were going to be sore. Worth it.

Colton’s eyes are going to pop out of his head, Morgan thought as she made her way across the last field to the landing camp. He had gotten into fishing recently, and kept saying the best way to catch one of the big ones was through fly-fishing. He—

A tingle of foreboding raised every hair on the back of her neck. It was like clouds had crossed over both suns at the same time, though the day was bright and clear.

Morgan stopped in place and looked around.

The waist-high wheat waved gently in a summer breeze. On Earth, there would have been sounds of insects buzzing, of birds twittering. There was none of that. Just the sigh of wind over grass and the creak of branches through trees.

And, even more distantly, panicked shouting.

Setting down the wrapped fish and the spear, Morgan bolted toward the village. She sprinted through the final stand of trees and looked around. It seemed the entire population of the village was out of their cargo boxes and stood in a wide circle.

A fight.

That wasn’t too uncommon—usually between boys who had a beef with one another—but it never attracted everyone’s attention.

Panting, Morgan reached the circled crowd and pushed through. She was of average height for a girl, which put her pretty much at shoulder height of most of the boys. She couldn’t see what was going on. “Move! Let me through!”

Then she saw who was fighting, and why it attracted everyone’s attention.

Lucas and Colton were wrestling like bears in the middle of the circle.

Blood streamed from a cut above Lucas’s eye, and Colton’s shirt was dusty as if he had been thrown down once already. They had gone past the punching and shoving phase, and were trying to grapple each other down, spitting curses practically in each other’s faces.

“Stop! What are you doing? Stop it!” Morgan’s yells were swept up and lost in the general roar.

She had left Lucas sleeping only this morning. He and Colton were friends! What the hell was going on?

Morgan surged forward, her only thought to break the fight up.

Strong arms wrapped around her from behind. “You don’t want to get in the middle of this, girl!” Max yelled, yanking her back.

Morgan twisted in his grip. Out of the corner of her eye, Lucas went down hard, hooked by Colton’s ankle. He fell to the dirt and Colton punched him right in the face.

Lightning fear tore through her. She writhed, nearly slipping free of Max’s grasp. “Lucas! Colton, stop it! Stop it! You’re hurting him!”

Then Timberly was there, her sharp nails like points of fire digging into Morgan’s arms. “Morgan, listen to me. You have to get out of here. Leah, help me.”

Together, the two girls and Max half dragged, half pushed Morgan out of the crowd. Twisting, Morgan caught a glimpse of Colton leaning back to stomp on Lucas while he was down.

“STOP IT!” Morgan’s throat hurt from the scream. “Stop it!”

Even through her scream, she heard the snap of bone.

Morgan couldn’t see Lucas, but caught a glimpse of Colton’s face turning stark white before the crowd closed in and her view was lost.

“In here,” Timberly said, pointing to a nearby cargo container. This one had been only half emptied, though judging by the piles of grasses and leaves, someone slept there at night.

“I gotta go back,” Max said. “Keep her in here and don’t come out until I return.” He gave Timberly a swift kiss before ducking out.

“What the actual hell—“ Morgan started.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“That was close.” Leah pulled the heavy door closed, leaving it open a sliver for fresh air. “I don’t think she saw us.”

“Colton kicked him when he was down!” Morgan would have started for the door except for Leah’s tight grip on her shoulder. “What’s going on? Why were Lucas and Colton fighting? They’re friends!”

Timberly and Leah exchanged a look.

“I told you she didn’t know,” Leah said.

Morgan sucked in a breath to snap at her, but Timberly spoke first. “Colton wants you.”

“What? Wants me to do what?”

Timberly stared at her as if she was an idiot. Then her gaze dropped, meaningfully, to below Morgan’s waist.

“What?” Morgan might have laughed if she weren’t so close to crying from frustration and fear for Lucas. “No, he doesn’t. He’s with Nevaeh, like, every night.”

“Yeah, well, now he wants two for the price of one,” Timberly said.

Morgan’s top lip peeled back in a snarl. But Timberly wasn’t done.

“I guess word got back to Lucas, and he didn’t take it that well.”

They had been fighting… over her?

Morgan felt the blood drain from her face. “I need to see Lucas. Colton could go jump in the stream for all I care. If he touches me, I’ll rip his balls off.”

Leah stepped in front of her. “Don’t be stupid,” she said, uncharacteristically sharp. “We’re not hiding you from Colton. We’re hiding you from Nevaeh.”

The last puzzle piece clicked into place in her mind. Nevaeh would scratch Morgan’s eyes out if she so much as thought she was looking Colton’s way. Her underlings, the ones that sat on the outskirts looking for a way into the group, would be more than happy to help.

“So… you’re saying Nevaeh doesn’t want to be my sister wife?” Morgan asked.

Timberly and Leah stared at her for a second. Then Timberly burst out laughing. “Wow, you can make a joke.”

She hadn’t been joking, but saw no point in telling them. Planning, budgeting, and knowing way too many facts about survival after an apocalypse were her thing. Navigating the choppy waters of high school drama turned up to eleven… not so much. Morgan was way out of her depth.

This isn’t stupid high school stuff. Not anymore, she reminded herself. Lucas had really gotten in a fight over her. He was really hurt, and despite the fact Morgan wouldn’t touch Colton with a ten-foot pole, it was partially her fault.

If she had paid more attention to the social undercurrents in the village instead of dismissing it as gossip, she might have gotten the jump on it. Nevaeh was a manipulative little weasel, but she wasn’t stupid. If Morgan had guessed Nevaeh felt threatened, she could have pulled her aside and talked some sense into her… or maybe not. Nevaeh was the type to gain power through manufactured outrage.

I’m so sorry, Lucas, you didn’t deserve any of this. Not for me.

Morgan looked at her friends. “What do I do?”

“For now, stay here,” Timberly said. “We’ll let this die down. Max will make sure Lucas is fine. Colton was just trying to make a point that he’s still head gorilla around here.”

But Timberly had been busy pulling Morgan away when Colton had been kicking the crap out of Lucas.

Tears started up behind her eyes. Lucas was probably hurting right now—he wouldn’t have tried to fight Colton if some part of him didn’t believe the rumors.

“Why didn’t Lucas talk to me?” Morgan asked. “I could have told him… I could have told both of them…” Her breath hitched, and the dam broke. She sank down, crying into her hands.

Timberly, the more comforting of the two, wrapped her arms around Morgan’s shoulders. It didn’t help. There was nothing any of them could do but wait.

* * *

Max didn’t return until both suns had sunk below the horizon.

After her crying jag, Morgan pulled herself together enough to remember the giant fish she had spent all morning catching—instead of paying attention to the powder keg in the village.

Leah volunteered to go out and retrieve it, so at least they would have dinner tonight.

Max knocked on the door just as Leah returned.

“Where were you?” Timberly demanded, alternately hugging her boyfriend, then punching him hard on the shoulder.

Max winced. “Took us a while to move Lucas. We got him settled with some of Donuts’ gang.”

“What do you mean? Why did it take so long?” Morgan demanded. “How bad is he?”

She didn’t exactly get along with Max, but, like Timberly, he didn’t pull punches. “We’re pretty sure he broke something in his knee. Colton stomped it hard.”

Timberly gasped. Leah put her hand over her mouth.

Morgan knew it. She shouldn’t have been here, hiding out like a coward. “I’m going to go see him.” She looked at her friends. “Can you guys keep Nevaeh off me if she tries to start something?”

Timberly and Leah nodded. Max, however, shook his head. “I don’t think you have to worry about her, tonight. She’s sticking close to Colton.”

Nodding, Morgan strode past him out of the stifling container and into open air. There was definitely a tension in the air through the village. The big bonfire wasn’t going, and conversation seemed muted with gazes flicking toward her as she passed. Morgan kept her head up and headed toward the eastern side of the camp, toward the not-unpleasant smell of the smokehouse.

Donuts sat around his campfire with a few girls clustered around him. They were wannabe hippie types, some with scraps of fabric twisted artfully in their dreads.

Donuts raised his cup in greeting as Morgan approached, and nodded toward their group’s cargo container.

Lucas was in the far back, sitting propped up against the rear wall. The only light came from the fire flickering outside, but what she could see of his face was swollen and bruised.

One leg was laid out straight in front of him, and someone had strapped the last remaining plywood boards against it like a splint.

More tears started behind Morgan’s eyes. She knelt down and took Lucas’s hand. “You stupid, stupid idiot…”

He huffed a tired, painful sounding breath. “Just what every guy wants to hear…”

“Shut up. How’s your leg?”

He shook his head, wincing a little as it jarred on something. “It’s not facing the wrong direction, and there are no bones sticking out, but I can’t put any pressure on it… can’t walk. I think something in the knee’s broken.”

Morgan took a deep, shuddering breath. “Okay,” she said mostly to herself as she ran through first-aid steps in her head. She had a first-aid booklet in her backpack, but that wouldn’t help her here. “A non-compound fracture reduces the chance of infection. It looks like you all got the leg straightened out, so you just have to keep off it and…” No surgery, no x-rays, no antibiotics, no real way to tell how bad the break actually was. “And you should be up again soon.”

“Yeah.” There was a lie in his smile.

One of those quiet, indefinable moments passed between them. It was as if Lucas was asking a question with his eyes, and Morgan nodded without moving her head. Yes.

He leaned up and she didn’t move away as his lips touched her own. It was a soft kiss, and unbearably short because in the next moment Lucas winced and drew back, gesturing to his bruised face. “Ow,” he said. “But worth it.”

“You stupid idiot,” she said again, more fondly.

“I’ll be fine.” He gave a crooked grin.

She wasn’t so sure about that. She opened her mouth to ask about the fight, but the door creaked wider. Jacquelyn poked her head in. “Morgan, Colton wants to talk with you.”

Lucas tensed, gripping Morgan’s hand hard. “Don’t.”

“Colton can fuck off,” Morgan said harshly, for both their benefits. “I’m not going anywhere near him, or Nevaeh.”

Jacquelyn looked surprised. “He kicked Nevaeh out like an hour ago. You didn’t hear them fighting?”

“No, I was on the other side of the camp. Max said…” But Max had been busy helping Lucas. He probably hadn’t been up to date on the news. And Jacquelyn was no friend of Nevaeh’s. She probably wouldn’t lie for her. Probably.

“You aren’t talking to Colton,” Lucas said. “Not without me.”

Morgan turned to give him a flat look. “I don’t need protection, and you aren’t getting up right now.”

“Then don’t leave,” he said stubbornly.

“Actually, that might not be a bad idea. Her hashing it out with Colton, I mean,” Timberly said, stepping in from behind Jacqueline. She looked at the other girl. “Did Colton and Nevaeh really break up?”

Jacqueline shrugged. “She says they did.”

“Uh-huh.” The strength of Timberly’s unimpressed look could have won awards. “And she’s moved out for the night, expecting him to come after her to prove his loyalty, which he will because he’s addicted to her brand of crazy.”

Lucas had a pinched, unhappy look on his face. Morgan’s stomach dropped. “You heard from Nevaeh that Colton was interested in me, didn’t you?”

He looked away. “Doesn’t matter.”

Timberly rolled her eyes heavenward. “Lord, give me the strength to deal with these boys.”

“It’s not their fault. It’s Nevaeh’s.” Shaking off Lucas’s grip, Morgan rose. “And I’m going to tell Colton all about it.”

“Morgan—“ Lucas protested.

She whirled on him. “You are my boyfriend. Not him.” The words fell off her tongue, easy as breathing. “I’m going to give that… that asshat a piece of my mind.”