Juniper Jacobs's Story

Years ago, but not distantly, the Delsis Disease spread through billions of people. Slowly, humanity was swamped into a depression of death. Friends and foes alike, mothers and fathers too. The symptoms were silent, the suffering brief, but the end result the same. The powerful disease took human lives by the ton, and at the end of just a brief month, little humanity was left.

America was shattered, and most people moved to the isolated desert areas to avoid disease. The government was nearly nonexistent, only figureheads remained in quarantined locations. Those able to afford it, lived in parts of the United States with electricity and the old world luxuries. As for the average man, they were left to build their own lives from the dirt. So, with time and dedication a collection of small towns rose from the hot sand, scattered across the Nevada deserts. Those who once lived in the safe, clean suburbs were now raising their children in a dangerous, dirty villages.

Our story follows those who have been born into this world. Men and women knowing nothing more than this hard life that they’ve pursued. Some will live and die in this town, doing the only thing they know; have a family and survive. Others will explore farther, travel into neighboring towns and places they’ve only heard of.

The town Dust, like many settlements is in the secluded desert. It is full of tradition and rules, run by the people for the people, and generally untroubled. The town is small but sturdy, having an abundance of medical supplies. Quaint, but a force not to be reckoned with. Dust is undoubtedly one of the strongest towns in the area.

Villages in the desert keep to themselves and do not welcome the unknown. Dust is not unlike the rest, newcomers are not trusted; strangers readily denied. With new hands leading the town of Dust, unsteady times are in forecast.

---

---

Juniper sat with her back to the hot sun. Her wild blonde hair was scattered across her shoulders and stuck ever so slightly to her forehead. It was a hot day, ranging somewhere around 90 degrees fahrenheit. Though it wasn't the hottest time of the year, this day was particularly sweaty. It was sometime in October, but most people these days didn't keep track of time like that anymore. Everything revolved around the harvesting cycles. Even here in the desert, there were the regular crops that came through and somehow thrived in the anguish of the sun. Juni sat atop of rickety roof, wielding a sling shot and mischievous smile. As of recently she had taken in a young boy named Chip, age 10. He was the perfect sidekick for the rebellious Juniper. For now Juniper was just a transfer house until a more permanent solution for the lad, she figured a bit of fun wouldn't do too much harm. Beside Juni he sat, his brown hair just as messy as hers.

The two of them hadn't been on that roof very long. It was midday now, but Juniper and Chip had done plenty of work before going out to terrorize the town. Chip would only be with Juniper for two more days, why not show him that life has a little more sparkle than the grind of farming and school? Many of the people in town disagreed with Juniper's free ideas and influence on the young children, but the department that helped with orphaned children weren't swayed too much by the old folks. After all, children needed to have every once in a while.

Juniper's blue eyes scaled the Main Street. The town consisted of only the main street, and two dead ends at the top, shaped like a T. At the end of one of those ends was a collection of important buildings, including the Medical Hut, the school, and the Mech Hall. The other end had other official buildings, including the library, the grocery store, and so on. Of course the Town Hall was at the end of Main Street, staring new comers right in the face. There was only one way in and one way out. On the way up Main Street there are a collection of shops run by the residents of Dust, and houses. Behind most of these houses was land dedicated to farming. The majority of the town were just farmers, and crafters. Only a select few were part of the town system. Juniper was among the first people mentioned. She was nothing special. In fact most people thought she was more trouble than she was worth. After all, Juniper lived a sinful life, breaking the laws of Dust, and working at the Saloon.

Dust wasn't big, but it was known for it's remarkable healthy people. Here they were lucky. No one went hungry, there was a decent amount of medical supplies and an actual doctor. There was even a school where children were required to learn to read, write, do simple math, and learn how to farm. It was a good life in Dust, if you liked that sort of thing. Juniper knew that many people outside envied her safe situation, but she wanted more freedom than she was ever offered here.

Juniper's hands ached from holding the wad of weeds that she had made for ammo. Everyone was either still taking a siesta, or no one dared to walk down Main Street because someone had caught them before they even had time to destroy. Impatient, Juniper huffed out a great lug of air. Chip laughed at her exasperated gesture then spotted someone. The boy said nothing, but pushed Juni down and aimed his sling shot.

"Finally." Juniper whispered. Not taking too much time to see who the innocent victim was, just aimed her slingshot as well. What they were chucking wouldn't hurt too bad, it would just be a little surprising sting. Juniper slid up onto her knees while aiming for the head. She looked over at Chip, "Ready?" He nodded his head enthusiastically. "Okay,"

"One, two... Three!" Juniper let her slingshot fly on the last number, and as if she and Chip had been shooting their slingshots together for years. The two wads weaved around each other in mid air before whacking who ever was down below.

"Slow down, girl!" Patrick Clay yelled from the Mech Hall's store front, "you're gonna kill ya'self if you keep that up." The Mech Hall was always loud and full of people when a harvesting cycle rolled around. Patrick by no means was a loud man but had to maintain a steady yelp in order to be heard above all the customers coming to fix their harvesting tools. It was a pretty modest set up, the Mech Hall. When you walk into the Hall you entered into a room the size of a small market. It was set up like any old corner store with rows of items the Clays made. Along the walls were small knickknacks that Patrick and Dana made often, because they were in high demand and easy enough to produce.

Dana, hearing her dad, took her head out from the lead furnace and removed her goggles, "I know what I am doing." Dana turned from the furnace in search for her bullet molds. Her eyes scanned the back room of the Mech Hall, hands down the most interesting room in all of Dust...you know, in her opinion of course. The back room was gargantuan. There were multiple stations set up, about 10 square feet, dedicated to a different type of engineering and at the back wall, opposite the door that led to the store front where her dad sat calmly in his favorite chair, were all of the metals, molds, and scraps that the town managed to find over the last few decades. It was heaven for a young mechanic like Dana. She found her bullet molds, put on her goggles, and headed back to the furnace. She poured the molten metal/lead alloy into the molds and looked up at Patrick, excited to be doing everything exactly how he said, "I learned from the best, dad!" He gave her a wink with a smile before turning back to the last minute harvesters.

Dana took off the goggles once again and began cleaning up after herself, waiting for the bullets to cool off. This was her fourth batch today. She wondered why the town leaders ordered so many of them this time. Maybe the newcomers put the Dusties on edge and they wanted some more protection? Maybe Aaron went on one of his crazy hunting trips and wasted a bunch of deer? One thing Dana new for sure was that this order did not come from Noah. He did not like guns and only had them in town for protection and order. Noah must be under a lot of stress these days with the newcomer vote approaching. Dana could only think what her father would want. He wouldn't turn people away from Dust...especially when the woman was about to pop one out any day now.

*DING*

"Hey, Danimals," Patrick called from the front, "can you help your old man? I'm dying up here!" Dana smiled at the sound of her dad's nickname and made her way to the front. He explained when she was younger that Danimals was the name of an old yogurt company before the disease hit. A wild monkey was one of the leading characters but instead of calling his wild daughter "monkey" he decided on a more subtle name like Danimals. His last sentence didn't make her feel as good.

I'm dying here.

Her dad was dying. The town has already started planning his funeral. It was his idea to be apart of the planning so the Dusties didn't "muck it up."

"What do you need, dad?"

Patrick motioned towards the front door. Dana's eyes followed his finger until she saw what he was gesturing towards.

Pamela.

---

Pamela was a busy lady when harvest came around. She spent the week of harvest checking in on the farmers to make sure they were actually giving their percentage. This is when Pamela becomes the bad girl. There is something powerful about being the bad girl; the one in charge; the one people fear. Pamela sat up from her usual seat in the library and started heading toward the Mech Hall.

The sun wasn’t in a particularly bad mood today, it was only 90 degrees. Pamela sauntered through Main Street, attempting to wave at people who she recognized. See, she wasn’t all bad. The sun was directly overhead, midday. Pamela finally had a day off from all of the harvesting nonsense and decided to pay her sister a visit. She knew Dana would be working her butt off in the Mech Hall because of the huge bullet order that came in and it was time the sisters had a chat. Someone in town was afraid of the newcomers and was getting things in order just in case things went south. If we didn’t have these newcomers lounging around in Dust all this extra precaution wouldn’t need to be taken, Pamela thought. She was waiting for judgment day so those two men and their cow of a wife can get out and stay out. She could only think of the stories that Diane, her mother and the founder of Dust, told her about neighboring towns being overtaken by strangers with another agenda. Trusting outsiders can get you killed and Pamela wasn’t ready to die.

Speaking of death, Pamela finally reached the Mech Hall and could smell her decaying father from outside. The line to get to the front counter was out the door. Lazy harvesters waiting till the last minute to take care of business were littered like trash outside of the Hall. Some heads turned has Pamela made her way to the front door.

“Good morning, Miss Clay.”
“Pamela, hello there!”
“I’ll have your harvest for you soon, I swear.”
“Nice seeing you ma’am.”

It’s funny what little people say when you are in their face; funnier when you aren’t. Pamela ignored them, skipped passed the line, and opened the front door.

*DING*

Pamela and Patrick locked eyes immediately. They haven’t had a real conversation since he and Diane started living in separate homes. Pamela wiped off some of the sweat from her forehead before speaking, “get Dana, if you can manage it.”

"Hey, Danimals," Patrick called back to the back room, "can you help your old man? I'm dying up here!"
Pamela waited, as patiently as she could possibly be, for her sister to appear. A few moments later, out came Dana. She was covered in dirt and grime and smelled like smoke. “What do you need, dad?” Patrick’s eyes never left Pamela as he gestured toward her.

“We need to talk,” Pamela left without seeing if Dana followed her. Of course Dana followed her.

The two Clay sisters began to walk to the middle of town, “what do you want to complain about now,” Dana tried to smile at her sister but it came out looking a little too sarcastic for Pamela. “I don’t have time to deal with your sass, Dana,” Pamela sighed before continuing, “I want to know your vote concerning the strangers in our town.”
Dana smirked at her big sister, “you already know I want them to stay. So why really did you come to see me?” Dana skipped a few paces in front of Pamela and turned to face her, “you miss me?”
Pamela quickened her stride to catch up with Dana. She wasn’t fond of petty games of tag. Pamela knew that she wanted to talk about Juniper and her sister’s weird obsession with her but was finding a hard time coming up with words. “Of course, I miss you,” Pamela still loved her sister even though their opinions were as opposite as their parents. Pamela wanted a safe Dust while Dana dreamed for a free one. You can’t have both.

“I wish I could say the same for you, big sis,” Dana frowned, “now if you have nothing else to say I really have to get back to work. My bullets should be almost done.” Pamela has always been sad that Dana loved Noah and Juniper more than her but if she had to choose between the town surviving and her sister’s affection she would choose Dust every time. It is what Diane would do. Pamela took a few more strides toward the center of town and then turned to face her sister, “I need to talk to you about Noah and Jun-“ Pamela felt two stings on her body, one on the left side of her face and another on her side. She touched her hand to her face, “what the hell was that?” She searched for what stung her and found two bundles of weeds on the ground next to her.

Dana was full on laughing, “looks like you’ve been got, big sis!”

Pamela looked up to see two figures celebrating on a roof nearby. She couldn’t make out their faces but knew that one of the troublemakers must have been Juniper. When there was foolishness, Juniper was always close by.

“Get down here right now!”

Entry:

So far, so smooth. We've only been here a few
days and everyone in this dustbowl looks like they
want to eat us. It's not a comfortable thought that
there's the four of us here. Owen, Gin and the
baby, and me. Breakfast, lunch and dinner with a
bit of a pre-dinner snack. We were only too fucking
lucky to have found this town and actually gain
entry—thank you, little Evie—but it's only a
matter of time before they turn us out. Or me,
rather.

Putting Gin and her family in a good place is all I
care about right now. I don't care if the goddamn
town comes at me with torches and pitchforks, or
if she does it for them by just standing there and
staring at me with those eyes. I'm making sure
Gin's in good hands, and she is—at least, for now
—but it's as if she's waiting for the other shoe
to drop, a.k.a. me getting myself into a fuckload
of trouble. She shouldn't care so much about me.
I'm only the beast of burden. Always have been,
always will be.

Noah rested his forehead on the papers that littered his desk. He had no doubt that their would be ink pressed into his brow, but he couldn't bring himself to care. It was days like these that Noah found his job to be the most difficult to carry out: the mind-numbingly boring days. For whatever reason, Harvest tax paperwork just wasn't doing it for him, and any distraction would've been a godsend. At this point he would even welcome Pamela coming in to bother him about the newcomer vote. While the Thompkins couple didn't pose any kind of threat in Noah's eyes, Robin Bradford was a whole different story. Noah knew that, despite his own indecision, most of the people of Dust had already made up their minds one way or the other. Either way the vote went, though, there was no way he was letting that woman leave the safety of town before she gave birth. He couldn't stomach the thought of her or her child dying because they turned the family away.

Noah's head shot up at the sound of shouting on the main street, one of his unfinished papers sticking to his forehead. He batted it away and smeared the ink off his face with the back of his hand. A smile spread across his face as he approached the Town Hall's screen door. There, in the middle of Main Street, was a strange collection of Dust's usual suspects: Pamela and Dana Clay on the ground, Juniper Jacobs and Chip Darney perched on a roof.

I gotta get out of here, Noah thought, pushing the door open and stepping onto the porch. An arid breeze gently pulled at his green tunic. From what he could see, Juniper and Chip on the roof had done something to upset Pamela Clay. He would think it was breathing too loud, but he knew that Juniper much preferred to earn her disapproving looks. Seeing Evanne join the group, Noah decided to call it a day for his work, and he tried his hardest not to run to join her. He caught the tail end of her offer to Pamela.

"I could go with you as well, Evanne," he suggested. "I need to speak with the newcomers anyway. And Juniper and Chip might require some extra supervision."

A hit! Juniper and Chip cheered as they saw their weed wads slap against a face with long dark hair. They shared a high five before peeking over once again to see who it was. Then Juniper heard the screech of a voice that she knew all too well. “Get down here right now!” Pamela Clay. Juniper rolled her eyes dramatically before looking over at Chip who was swallowing a lump in his throat, he went on to mutter a weak "Uh oh." Juni let out a soft chuckle at this reaction and then patted his back before sliding toward the makeshift ladder that got them up there in the first place.

"Come on. We've got to go." She said, looking back at the boy who was worried he would get into trouble. "Don't worry, she's not as scary as she looks." Juniper reassured him before disappearing behind the back of the house and jumping down until the dry soil. Soon after, Chip was right behind her. While they took their time to approach the roach, Juniper noticed a slew of people gathering around the Clay girls. Maybe she was in more trouble than she bargained for. Not looking over to Chip and moving her mouth only the slightest bit she said "It was a good shot though." Chip snickered a little bit right before reaching them. When they were within ear shot Juni could tell they were already trying to figure out their punishment. The thought of being punished for having just a bit of fun made Juniper boil inside. After all, no one could deny that Pamela Clay was the most hated woman in town.

Coming to a stop Juni crossed her arms across her chest. Chip took his usual stance with his hands in his pocket and his head held high. Juniper was proud that he wasn't ducking his head in shame this time. There was nothing to be ashamed of. They didn't know who was down below... It was honestly all good fun. If it had been anyone else in town there would have a couple of shared laughs and nod goodbye. Pam was just one of those fun suckers. It was unfortunate that she had to be the one down below. Otherwise, Juniper and Chip would have still been on that roof enjoying themselves. Now it looked like they had to do chores.

"What seems to be the problem, your Highness?" Juniper said, her voice drenched in sarcasm. Your Highness was a little nickname that Juni had given Pamela years ago, and somehow it just stuck. It was awfully appropriate since Pamela thought she walked above the rest of the townsfolk. Juniper looked over at Noah, knowing that he would disapprove of her picking at Pam. Juniper let the little fire inside of that wanted to punch Pamela in the face dwindle down. Her light eyes look between the people in front of her. Dana was trying to remain cool, Pamela was just Pamela, Noah was being diplomatic as usual, and Evanne was trying to make things a little less annoying.

She realized that this was her best option, though the mentioning of the newcomers sent her stomach into a pit. She wanted to see Ginny and Owen, but she had mixed feelings about Rob. She was mad, but she knew that he was avoiding her more than she was him. "That's fine." She said, agreeing to run errands. However, she was going to let Chip get away. Juniper looked up at the sky, "Well shoot, will you look at that time." She looked over at the 10 year old next to her, "You're supposed to help Mrs. Crawly gather her crops!" Chip shook his head like he knew exactly what she was talking about. "But Juuuuni," He whined, trying to ham it up. Before he could go on though Juniper slapped him on the back and said "Go on, Chip."

After this little episode Chip began running toward Mrs. Crawly's little shack that was toward the Town Hall. Juniper smacked her hands together, looking at Noah and said "Should we leave?" She could only stand so much time in the presence of Miss Pamela Clay.

First Evanne and now Noah. It seemed that everyone in the town was going to join Pamela in the middle if she stayed here any longer. “Don’t be too hard on them, Pam. Boys will be boys.” That would be the case if both culprits were boys. As they both approached the crowd Pamela learned that her convictions were correct. Juniper was the leader of the destructive duo.
Almost as if Dana was reading Pamela’s mind she came up to her and whispered, “remember Pamela, it was just two weed balls; a little joke. Don’t make it into a big deal.” Dana hugged her big sister and quickly scurried away, “I have to go finish my work…and I uh, remembered I have to run some errands. Bye everyone!” Pamela knew Dana had errands to run but they weren’t that pressing, she had a copy of her mech schedule for the day.

Ah! Pamela thought to herself, Noah Ripley. Dana must have been in a rush to get away because of Noah’s unexpected presence. She did look and smell like a mechanic. Ha, she probably didn’t want Noah to see her like that. Pamela knew why Dana was so infatuated with the monkey for a leader. He was everything Dana loved about their dad and everything Pamela hated about him. His affinity for the newcomers made him weak and is going to singlehandedly destroy everything Diane Clay built.

“No, Noah,” Pamela shot him a look that she reserved only for the Noah Ripley, “we need to talk before you ‘speak with the newcomers’. Understand? Or do I need to explain here in front of everyone the superfluousness of this vote since it really comes down to you in the end. Our votes don’t matter one single bit, ain’t that right? So, as I was saying, we need to-“

“What seems to be the problem, your Highness?” Juniper and the kid that Pamela didn’t really know reached the crowd, interrupting her like they were born to do so. Pamela and Juniper haven’t stopped staring at each other since she started walking towards her. Pamela was cold hearted, she knew that, and Juniper was warm, fun, and inviting. Pamela was jealous of Juniper on top of all the hatred she had for her and it made her furious. She’s never wanted to hit someone until Juniper ruined her life a year ago. She can never forgive her for what she did. Pamela knew Juniper’s flame inside was yearning for a fight and Pamela’s ice cold heart was urging her to kick Juniper in the face. But there were more important matters at hand. The ferocious battle of fire and ice would have to take place at another time. Dana was right, it was just a stupid childish prank. This time…Pamela would let Juniper get away.

“You seem to be the problem, Juni,” Pamela took extra time saying Juniper’s nickname, injecting as much sarcasm to it as she did with ‘Your Highness’. “I don’t understand why you insist of being a child,” Pamela looked over to Evanne, finally breaking the uncomfortable eye contact with Juniper, “but if you insist on being one I will have to punish you like one. Go help Evanne with her errands. You are lucky I don’t have time for this today.” Pamela walked towards Noah and clamped on to one of his pockets, “you and I have to talk now.” She began pulling him towards the Town Hall but stopped midway and turned to Juniper one last time, “I swear to God if you don’t have your harvest this cycle I will be all over you.”


Pamela, before turning back to Noah gave a stern look to the remaining two, Evanne and Juniper, “you are dismissed.”

Dana was beginning to like how this day was turning out. She was going to get to witness a Pamela and Juniper showdown. Juniper was such a brave and free soul. Dana wanted one day to be as open with her feelings as Juniper. Dana was aware that a lot of the town was stuck between thinking she was a kid and she was the best mechanic in the world. Juniper defied expectations and somehow was the sexiest bartender in history and the derpiest kid in our town, maybe in America. Dana dreamed of that level of comfort in her own skin. She was confident when it came to machines but needed to be more like Juniper. Dana thought the majority of the people in Dust could benefit from a little bit of Juniper juice.

Dana was so wrapped up in Juniper and the adorable Chip Darney’s calm and collected entrance that she didn’t notice the fourth member of their group. “I could go with you as well, Evanne,” Dana, recognizing the voice, could feel her face begin to burn, even more than it was in the hot sun, “I need to speak with the newcomers anyway. And Juniper and Chip might require some extra supervision.” Noah Ripley was here, less than 4 feet away from her. Dana turned to him and managed a smile. She then remembered what she was doing before Pamela came and got her which more importantly told her what she was wearing. I look like a dirty bum right now. Crap , Dana thought to herself. Why did Noah have to come out now? There have been so many countless days that Dana put on her nice outfits, attempted eye liner, eye shadow, and even dreaded mascara hoping to see Noah and she never did. The day she looks like absolute poop is when he decides to just appear! Dana couldn’t decide if she was madder at him or herself…or Pamela! Yeah, blaming Pamela is always the way to go. Regardless, Dana had to get out of there. She shimmied up to her sister and whispered into her ear, “Remember, Pamela, it was just two weed balls; a little joke. Don’t make it into a big deal.” Dana squeezed her sister tight and ran off, spurting some poor excuse as to why she was in such a hurry.

---

“That’s a bit of sweat you managed to acquire,” Patrick smiled at his daughter as she entered the Mech Hall, “Pamela grilled you that hard, huh?” Dana walked up to the counter, the store was emptying out, “No, Noah was there.” Patrick raised a brow, grinning harder, “ah, the love of your life!” Dana turned bright pink. She quickly looked around to see if anyone overheard her dad, “can you be any louder? Quiet down.” Patrick smirked and slowly got up from his chair. Dana’s eyes widened in fear, knowing what he was about to do. “Challenged accepted,” Patrick said as he made his way to the front door. He opened it and took a few steps out. “Dad, whatever you are about to do please-“

“Hello world!” Patrick exclaimed, “My name is Patrick Clay and I have an announcement! My beautiful daughter Dana Clay is madly in love with a fine gentleman. We aren’t sure if he knows but today is his lucky day because I am here to let everyone know!”

There was a small crowd of forming in front of the Mech Hall. He always took his jokes too far. Patrick maybe had a little too much Juniper than Dana wanted him to have. “Who is the lucky guy?!” Someone from the crowd called. The mood was light and everyone was enjoying Patrick’s boisterous announcement…everyone except Dana. She couldn’t help but appreciate his ridiculousness though. “Dad, you are already a few weeks from death,” Dana pulled at his shirt, “don’t make me make it a few days.” Patrick turned to Dana, “Ha, I already have one daughter who wants me dead. That’s all I need,” he paused in thought and then continued, “Besides, I might as well go out having fun and getting you that boy of yours.” He gave her his Patrick wink-smile combo before turning back to the crowd.

“The special man who has captured my daughter’s heart,” he dramatically grabbed at his chest with both hands. Someone passing by at the wrong moment could have mistaken it for him having a heart attack. He wasn’t too far off from one these days. “Noah Ripley,” Patrick yelled at the top of his lungs making Dana almost faint, “…needs to find this young gentleman and tell him to open his eyes because Dana isn’t going to chase after him forever! That’s all folks!”

Patrick let out a hefty I-am-proud-of-myself sigh and began walking back towards the shop. Dana’s mouth was wide open and all she could do was stare, “you are such a kid some days, Dad.” Patrick stopped in front of his daughter, put his hands on her chin, closing her mouth, and stared deeply at her. All the childishness left as he said, “you will not chase that boy forever. You are the best thing I’ve ever created and you don’t need a guy who doesn’t know how great you really are. I’m not saying to give up on him, he is a great man. Just know when enough is enough. Okay?”

Dana couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her father never talked to her like this, not about Noah. She couldn’t help but take every word to heart because of how serious he was. He spoke like they were his dying words. He was not joking around one bit. Dana never believed Noah would ever notice her if he hasn’t already. He was married for Christ sake. Noah obviously isn’t worried about little old Dana…but she had to try.

“Okay,” Dana knew her dad just wanted her to be happy and appreciated having someone who cared that much about her happiness. Soon she’d have no one to care for her like her father does.

“Now,” Patrick bent over and picked up a heavy sack and handed it to Dana, “you must go help that Rob character with his water filtration system.” Dana smiled knowing that she’d get to prove her mechanical skills once again. She’ll be in her comfort zone and will get to meet one of the newcomers. Win-win. Dana grabbed the sack, put it over her shoulder and went out into the hot sun. She looked back at her dad who was standing outside, now walking backwards, “I am going to get you back for that by the way.”

“Bring it on, Danimals! Give me your best shot.” Patrick waved as Dana made her way to the newcomer shack at the corner of the town. Dana skipped the entire way to the shack, not hearing the coughs that were coming out of her dad as she left. She was beyond excited to do some tinkering and he didn't want to ruin it for her. Nothing worse than a dying old man bringing the mood down.

When Dana reached the shack she knocked on the door three times lightly and quickly, "Hello! I am Dana Clay, the town mechanic. I was sent to help you with the filter."

Though Juniper and Evanne weren't the most likely of friends, the two ladies gone on well. They had bonded over their hatred for Pamela Clay, and somehow found themselves relating more to each other than they ever had before. After all, it was a bit strange that the town fool kept the secrets of the town's one and only single mother. Perhaps it was their status with the town that brought them together, being outcasts. Along with that, both girls had to have a rough side to them to be able to survive in the wilderness.

Since the "newcomers" had come Juniper had avoided their side of the street. And now, here she was being dragged around by Evanne on their side of the street. Evanne was going to bring Juni face to face with everything she had been trying to escape. Juniper had spoken to Ginny a couple of times, had a brief conversation with Owen, but was taking all precautions in avoiding Robin. Juniper had seen him when they first arrived, and quite frankly that was enough. So she talked around, kept her eyes open, and took note of all the fields that Rob was working in. Juni was fully aware that she wouldn't be able to avoid Robin forever, but she wasn't prepared to see him today.

As they walked Juniper developed a sort of pathetic tunnel vision. She was so focused on keeping her eyes from straying toward the Thompkins' little shack that she forgot what she was doing all together. The short rant that Evanne had was like a bubble of noise with no words. Yet, Juniper knew exactly what Evanne had said. The terror settled in quite nicely, especially once Juniper realized that she would actually be seeing Robin within the next half hour. Before Juni had any time to recover from this mess of isolated thoughts and concentrated memories, she found herself at the daycare. Just the sight of three plump babies made Juniper snap out of it.

There was nothing that invigorated Juniper more than tiny drooling people.

Evanne picked up Evelyn and Juni felt a strange pang of jealousy. Juniper was one of the many women in town that longed to settle down and have children, though she would readily deny it. It was obvious to most everyone in town that Juni had a motherly instinct and a talent with children. If it weren't for her shenanigans she would have been a shoe in for the position as the town teacher. But that's another story. Juniper waved to the woman who was in charge of the daycare as they headed out, and her focus was brought back to Evanne and her precious little girl. "I'm ready!" She said simply. Juniper plopped her hands into her pocket and tried to stay in a calm and collected mode.

"She's so big." Juniper cooed as they walked toward the grocery store. Juni saw little Evelyn often, but for some reason the little rascal looked bigger than she remembered. "You're getting too big for your boots, aren't you little Lottie?" Juniper said while reaching out to hold Evelyn's small hand. They entered the grocery store quickly. Then, Juniper realized she didn't know what they were picking up for Ginny, Owen and Robin. That being said, Juniper took the position as the baby holder. Once there were other things to carry Juniper would be of more assistance, but for now she was more than content bopping around with Evelyn.

Noah barely even had time to register Dana Clay before she scurried away, and Evanne responded to him after what seemed like a moment of thought.

"Sure thing," she said. "I'm sure they'd love to have you over." He grinned back at her.

"No, Noah," Pamela needled, "we need to talk before you 'speak with the newcomers.'" Noah did little more than sigh, but she continued, "Understand? Or do I need to explain here in front of everyone the superfluousness of this vote since it really comes down to you in the end. Our votes don't matter one single bit, ain't that right? So as I was saying, we need to--"

Juniper's interruption had Noah sending a silent prayer of thanks up to whatever gods were watching over his sanity, and the resulting snarkfest, however heated, that followed was just the reprieve he needed to steel himself for the inevitable. Evanne's eyes found his, a question playing out in her irises. He shrugged helplessly. The answer to that kind of inquiry would require too much explaining and too many of Juniper's secrets divulged without her permission.

Noah winced at Evanne's responses to Pamela. It wasn't that he didn't agree with everything she was saying--on the contrary, in fact--but he knew that they would be hearing about it from her later.

"Noah, if you don't find us at the store just meet us at their shack."

He nodded. "Of course," he said with a smile he was sure looked more like a grimace. Evanne had already begun walking away as Pamela continued to talk at her and Juniper. Pamela grabbed on to one of Noah's pockets

"You and I have to talk now," she said, pulling him straight back to his own personal hell. He missed his small window of escape when the she-devil turned back to Juniper to grump some further instructions Noah was far too busy groaning out loud to hear.

Pamela fixed him with another of those patented glares that she saved just for him.

"Come on, Pamela," he said. "What is there to discuss right now? The vote is for me," he admitted as he allowed her to drag him wherever she wanted, "so I'll now how the people of Dust feel. You can't honestly be against that, can you?"

Juniper cooed at the little version of Evanne that was in her arms. The baby Evelyn was an adorable tiny blonde with a combination of features that were recognizable. Juniper didn't know who the little girl's father was, but she didn't want to pry. The situation was messed up, that she understood. Why else would the dear Evanne escape into the wilderness? Honestly, Juni was just impressed that the pregnant woman was able to survive out there. When she was out there by herself the first while was rough. There were even a couple moments when she thought she was going to die.

But those stories are for another time.

While Evanne shopped quickly, Juniper tried not to think of their final destination. She kept herself preoccupied with the little Lottie. When Evanne posed the question about boots Juniper shook her head. Shoes were a hard thing to come by in these days, especially shoes that fit. A shoe maker wasn't exactly the ideal occupation in the desert, but it was definitely desired. People generally just passed down their shoes. Other boots that were too torn apart to wear were reused and parted like old cars. Shoes were important. Juniper thought for a moment before responding to Evanne.

"I haven't seen a kid with her size boots for a couple of years now..." Juniper thought of the collection of boots that her mother had saved for her. Most of the boots she had grown out of when she was a young'en were given away to the kids that she fostered. Juni highly doubted that she had such a small pair of boots just sitting in one of her of wooden chests but she would still look. If she found something then she would tell Evanne, otherwise it was pointless to get her hopes up.

Juniper walked with the baby while Evanne walked with the groceries. "Are you really okay with coming to see them with me? I know there's some... history there." History there? History there!? There was more than history there. Ginny and Owen had been some of the best friends that she ever had and Robin... Well, Robin was Robin. Freckles. The Sand Man. Juniper had loved Robin more than she had loved anyone else. She never had the chance to love and appreciate her parents, and no one in town really cared for her anyway.

Juniper's eyes widened when she looked over at Evanne. She cleared her throat suddenly and nodded her head. "It'll be fine." She said, reassuring herself. A smile and a nod were sent toward Noah from Evanne as they passed. If Juniper were more herself she would have teased Evanne, but she just wasn't spirited enough. Within minutes they were on the porch of the Thompkins' residence, and before she even had time to stop herself she was knocking on the front door.

Well shit.

Ginny apologized to Dana for Rob’s behavior but the entire time Dana couldn’t help but blame herself. She was the one who picked up the damn journal from off the floor. Next time she will just leave the unmarked books where she found them! Ginny looked more pregnant than ever with her hand on her large belly, “You don’t have to worry about him. Really, we’re not bad people. He has a lot on his mind.” He has Juniper on his mind, Dana thought. Did she really want to get between Juniper, the woman she idolized, and her ex-lover from the wilderness?

Noah was beginning to look like a dazzling option once again. Dana just felt like she had no chance with any guy these days. They were all either taken, engaged, or Juniper’s leftovers apparently.

This Dust life was so enchanting.

“Wanna feel the baby kick?” Ginny laughed, her hand still on her belly. Dana shot up from the floor full of excitement and cheer again, “hell yeah, I do!” Dana always wondered what she would look like pregnant. She was a small girl, mostly bones, skin, and muscle. Even though she personally thought that she was blessed by the curvy gods, she always imagined she would look awkward with a big baby lump on her. Dana’s hand was a few inches from Ginny’s belly when a knock came from the front door. Dana remembered that Noah and Evanne were supposed to visit the newcomers so it must have been them. She wasn’t sure if it was okay for her to open the door, especially after the journal incident with Robin. She decided to call him instead, “Rob! Some Dusties are at the door!”

“Ginny, Owen, Rob! It’s Evanne and Juni. We got some stuff for you!” Dana froze when she heard the familiar nickname “Juni”. Juniper was with them and now Dana knew some of the truth. Look's like Dana was getting in between Rob and Juni whether she liked it or not.

“Well, shit,” Dana muttered.

Entry:

We were only too fortunate to have packed all our
shit and left Jonastown before our house could
burn down to the ground. Managed to get Dad's
compass and this, though Gin's been chastising
me for going back in to get them because I got
injured in the process.

Of course I came back for them. Sentimental as it
is, these are the only things I truly own. I keep
telling her it's only a minor arm burn, I've had
worse, and that it'll heal but she just won't have
any of it. She's taken to gathering aloe vera leaves
when she can find them and slathering them on
me. The shit stinks when it first hits air. Reminds
me of how pushy Mom was.

How'd the house burn? Fucking smugglers.
Thought it would be a good idea to smoke very near
a local moonshine distillery and everything caught
on fire. Even our shack at the edge of town wasn't
spared. Stupid fuckers honestly giving us a bad
worse name.

Please don't make me go inside. Juniper thought. She was arguing with herself during these milliseconds between actual communication. Stop being a baby. It's just one man. Besides he might not even be home.

"Rob! Some Dusties are at the door!"

Shit. Shit, Shit, Shit.
Wait... Was that Dana?

Juniper shook her head. What was she doing there? She shook her head again. Dana was probably just there to help repair something. Honestly, what more could she be doing there? Juniper really liked the girl, but knew that she could be kind of burden sometimes. Juni admired her bubbly personality and readiness for adventure, but all of that came with a bit of an overwhelming happiness. That was fine though. She was an energetic person, that's just what Dana was.

Come on in. Juni heard from the other voice that she recognized as Ginny's. She felt a certain calmness knowing that Ginny had always liked her and appreciated her. She knew that Evanne would join the situation with warm open arms and discuss the joys of motherhood or whatever. Juniper knew that she would soon feel very out of place. The door was open before Juni really had a chance to prepare herself. She kept her blue eyes down, perhaps thinking if she didn't see him he couldn't see her.

Evanne, he said. Juniper couldn't help but find herself completely fixed just hearing his voice again. Stop it! Her eyes flashed around anything and everything but the male figure. "And this must be... Evelyn." Junipers attention was whipped, first to the baby girl she was holding in her arms and then to the man in front of her. Then it happened, he said her name.

"Juniper."

Her eyes trailed up to his, remembering the little quirks of his hands and the hundreds of freckles he had. She made eye contact with him and just stood there for a moment in the door way. Then she blinked.

"Don't just stand there you moron!"

Juniper took a timid step inside, slowly coming around. She bit her lip before saying "Robin freaking Braddock." Her voice was nervous. A small smile, partly out of wonderment, was on her face. "You just couldn't stay away could you?" She asked. She was trying to erase all of the feelings by being clever but she couldn't. Her expression was tickled, but her tone was laced with a bitter after taste. Suddenly she felt a mixture of anger and embarrassment.

How ironically disastrous her life was. When she came home to Dust she swore she would never see Robin again, yet here they were. Within feet of each other.

Rob looked like he was sleepwalking as he came back into the room. His eyes seemed glazed over when he gave the mugs of water to Ginny and Dana. He was in such deep thought that Dana almost stood up to shake him out of it.

Was he the guy that Juni promised never to see again? Was he that lost love of hers?

Dana prayed silently to herself, one hand clutching her knife, something she did when she was racked with nerves, and the other hand on Ginny's belly feeling her mutant child do summersaults. What is wrong with me, she thought, I have nothing to do with this. Why am I freaking out? Dana wanted to run away so badly that her legs began to shake slightly. That was always her way of avoiding problems and avoiding people but this time she refused. She forced herself to sit and wait and observe Rob. She needed to know. It was a pain in the ass being in the dark all the time. Too many people had too many secrets.

Dana's questions were answered, but not her prayers, the moment Rob laid eyes on Juniper. The both of them were wax versions of themselves, frozen in time just staring at each other. The tension in the room was palpable. It was getting harder and harder to breathe in the shack for all parties involved.

"What a day I am having. Dad tells me that Noah will never care about me and then I meet a decent guy who turns out to be another Juniper chew toy, strung out on her. Rob, another man for Juniper to devour all over again. Great. Just great, Juniper, the queen of all the perfect blondes in this town. Are you going to leave any for me or should I just give up?"

Dana didn't know what she was thinking. She adored Juniper. Juniper was ferocious and brave and kind. There was no reason to be upset at her right now. Dana knew that. At least she thought she knew that. She didn't know what to think anymore. She was beginning to sound like Pamela and wasn't liking it one bit. Dana longed to be back at the Mech Hall with her father. He always knew what to say and what to do. She wanted to disappear.

She had to leave.

Ginny sensed Dana preparing herself to get up and tightened her grip around Dana's wrist, whispering, "I don't know what's going through your mind right now," Ginny smiled sweetly at Dana, "but you don't want to get involved in any of that. Just sit and try not to get hit in their crossfire." Dana stayed seated next to Ginny, watching the two at the door closely.

Dana didn't have a grasp on it quite yet but she was more than prepared to get caught in some crossfire, she had firearms of her own.

"For the first time in a long time, it doesn't matter what I think." Noah almost fell over in shock, even as Pamela continued, sinking down onto the steps of the town hall.

"Their opinions do matter, Pamela," he argued fervently, his arms spread wide. "I can't just add a whole 'nother family onto their burden with no regard to their thoughts or feelings or needs." He almost argued further, but in that moment he truly saw Pamela for the first time of the day. She looked tired and worn, and her voice lowered.

"What do you think is going to happen when you make your decision and you disappoint the people who voted otherwise? Do you think they are just going to stay quiet?" she demanded. "No, you just gave one hundred little people one hundred little voices and now they will never shut up. It's happened already before in other towns. You keep up this democracy façade and people will revolt, Noah. I promise you that."

Noah scowled, but he paused for half a minute before he replied. "I think you might be overreacting a bit to one little vote. This is far from the first vote Dust has ever had. If it makes you feel any better, you can think of it as an opinion poll."

He winced when Pamela began speaking again. Oh boy, he thought as she launched into her standard speech. At this point he practically had it memorized. Oh, yes, he thought. Everything was perfect when Diane Clay ran Dust. Nothing was ever better, because Dust so-oh-oh-oh great.

"Yes, I remember the drought." Morbid as it is, that's how I got my job. Noah's attention was pulled away once again as Evanne walked by with Evelyn and Juniper. He smiled and raised his hand in greeting to her, but Pamela's voice jerked him back to their conversation.

"You and I both know that this town was not built on democracy," she said. "Don't start giving people the impression that it was. Stop being a carpet and do your damn job." And just like that, Noah was angry.

"A carpet?" he asked indignantly. "Like when you pulled me back here and I let you? Or like when I mostly listened to your little Diane Clay stump speech again?" He took a deep breathe to calm himself before he continued, "I am going to go speak with with newcomers, like I was going to earlier, and try to see whether or not they are shitty people and whether or not I am going to let them stay." And hopefully catch up with Evanne, he thought to himself.

Noah turned abruptly and strode away, leaving Pamela to collect dust on the steps of the town hall. He didn't stop, didn't turn around until he got to the dirty, rundown shanty that the newcomers were currently calling their home. Tentatively, he stepped to the door and knocked.