The Survivors (Book 2): Autumn Read Free Page B

corner and leaned it against the wall .  Once it was safely stowed, she leaned back and heaved a sigh, plucking a few long strands of hair out of her eyes.
    “No kidding,” I answered dryly .  Like a good little hostess, I offered her a hand to help her get out of her coat, which she accepted.
    “I hope you don’t mind that we arrived unannounced.” She shot an apologetic glance towards me.  “We hoped to consult with your doctor on something, and if we waited then it would only get worse.”
    “The doctor?” I frowned at her, feeling a stab of concern.  Although we had only met once before, I considered Anahera and her son to be our friends.  She’d shown herself to be a good, loyal person and had helped me at my lowest point; I felt a sense of gratitude toward her that I wasn’t sure I could ever repay.  “Of course, Anahera.  You’re always welcome here.  What’s wrong?”
    “Ah, my boy has gone and gotten himself hurt.” Anahera sighed and shot a look at her son, drawing my attention to the young man; for the first time, I noticed he was moving strangely, favouring his left side.
    “Aw, mum! It’s not like I did it on purpose,” Hemi protested, but his mother wasn’t having any of it.  She stomped over to him and yanked up the hem of his shirt to show us the blood-soaked bandages beneath.
    “Ouch.” Michael grimaced at the sight of the blood.  “What did you do, lad?”
    “Someone took a pot-shot at me from the bush while I was out possum hunting .  Tane and Iorangi chased him off, but we didn’t get a good look at the bastard.” He flicked a sheepish-looking glance at his mother.  “Sorry, Mum.”
    “It’s fine, dear.  I understand.” Anahera patted his arm, then turned and looked at the two of us.  “I suspect it was an air rifle rather than the real thing, but it got him at a bad angle.  We don’t have the tools to get the pellet out without doing more harm than good.”
    “I’ll go find the doctor,” Michael said, then shot a glance at me to make sure I was okay with being left alone .  I nodded and gave him a reassuring smile; he smiled back and hurried off, leaving me to tend to our guests.
    “Let’s get you somewhere comfortable.” I beckoned them both to follow me and led them off toward the room next to the kitchen, which we’d converted into our communal living room.  The rain pelted down on the courtyard as we passed, and a gust of wind rattled the windows and doors so hard that it made all of us flinch.
    We reached the living area safely, despite the weather’s best attempts to fling things at us .  Once we were back indoors, I hung Anahera’s coat over the back of a chair and cleared a pile of assorted junk off one of the couches so that Hemi could lie down.  He protested weakly as his mother stripped him of his jacket and shirt, but by the time Michael arrived with the doctor in tow, we had his bandages laid bare.
    “Hey, Doc,” Hemi greeted him with a lopsided smile.
    “’Hey’, indeed.  Let’s get these bandages off and have a look at you.” Doctor Cross frowned deeply at the youth and settled down in his chair beside the couch.  Michael and I took that as our cue to leave.  We filtered back outside, with Anahera trailing behind us.
    “You want a cuppa?” I offered, gesturing towards our kitchen.
    “After being out in the storm, I certainly wouldn’t say no,” she answered agreeably, running her fingers back through her damp hair .  I nodded and led the way to the kitchen, where I set about making tea while Anahera and Michael sat at the table.
    “How’s your sister?” Anahera asked me in her usual pleasant way.
    I froze for a second, halfway through setting a pot of water on the stove to heat up, then I turned slowly and stared at her .  The last time she or any of her tribe had visited us was before the sickness, when Skylar had been heavily pregnant but more or less happy.
    Actually, come to think of it, the last time I’d