Where We Go | Book Three

21. A Question of Curiosity

The good mood from the bonfire continued into the following morning. In the restaurant, knives and forks clattered against plates as the room slowly filled with laughter and conversation. 

The morning light streamed through the windows and illuminated the room with a soft orange glow. We picked the same round table where we had first seen Tom and Donut at the very back of the room. In front of us, we each had the same plate of scrambled eggs and a slice of toast.

"Do we have a plan for what happens next?" Chris asked in a low voice, leaning over his plate. "About how we find Will and Dr Lawson?"

"Good morning to you too," I replied, swallowing a mouthful of food. "Can we not finish our breakfast first?"

He narrowed his eyes. "I'm not the one who's going to run out of serum."

"Keep your voice down," I warned.

"He has a point," Tom joined in, putting his knife and fork down. "Do we even know how easy it is to get outside the gates?"

Everyone at the table remained quiet, including Ben who hadn't yet touched his food. At the end of the room, Rose was already walking over to our group. 

"Why don't we just ask?" I nodded my head in her direction.

Chris's eyes widened. "Don't-"

"Morning everyone," Rose greeted with a toothy smile. "How are you all? Did you sleep okay?"

"Morning," I smiled as everyone else at the table suddenly became focused on their toast. "I slept great, I don't know about everyone else."

"Great!" she clapped her hands together. "That's reassuring to hear. I always get a little worried it's too cramped for some."

"Not here," I looked around the table. "We're all very close."

Rose nodded. "Well, let me know if there's anything I can do for you."

"I did have one tiny question about this place," I said before she turned away.

"Of course, dear, what is it?"

"Are we able to go outside the gates, if we wanted?" I asked, watching carefully for the reaction.

Her expression remained unchanged like she was simply unphased by the question. Even Tom and Chris looked up through their lashes to see how it had landed.

Rose clasped her hands together in front of her body. "You won't be able to take a truck unless it's a scheduled supply run but, other than that, if you lot are helping and being sensible about it, you're free to come and go. Just remember to sign in and sign out."

"That simple?" I clarified.

"That simple," she confirmed. "Is there something outside the gates you're looking for?"

I shook my head, too quickly as Rose raised her brows. "No, no," I replied. "It was more a question of curiosity."

She nodded, giving the rest of the table a final smile. "Enjoy the rest of your breakfast... Oh Em, one thing I forgot,"

"Yeah?"

"When you're finished, Julia was asking for you. I've been told she's doing a lot better this morning."

"Thank you," I replied. "We'll pay her a visit."

I exhaled a sigh of relief knowing Julia was okay. Even though I'd convinced myself that Land's End was able to look after her better than we could, there was still a part of me that refused to believe it completely. Only when Rose was far away enough from our table did I speak.

"And now we know," I said, lifting my now cold toast and taking a bite.

"No one is getting very far without a truck though," Tom muttered.

"We could just steal one when nobody's looking," Chris suggested.

I narrowed my eyes across the table.

"What?" he shrugged. "It's an option."

"You'll have to fake a supply run," Pilot said. The table turned their attention to the man beside Chris, sitting with his arms folded.

"Would that work?" Tom frowned.

"Depends how convincing you lot are," he replied simply. "Chris has told me how you guys used to manage supply runs." He looked across the table. "Ben, you know all the maps and what areas have already been hit. Use that to get them to trust you."

I looked to my side as Ben nodded slowly. His expression was firm as he stared down at his uneaten breakfast. "That's not a bad idea," he replied. 

He looked up from the table and the rest of us followed his stare. The restaurant had begun to quieten and was half the capacity it had been when we'd arrived. Ben's wary glance danced around the room as he tried to see if anyone had been listening to our conversation.

"Maybe we should pick this conversation up later," he said as he stood up from the table. "I'll see what I can do about the maps."

"Where are you going?" Chris asked.

"I have an idea," he said, quickly planting a kiss on the top of my head. "I'll tell you later."

"What about Julia?" I asked as his hand dropped from mine.

He shook his head as he backed away. "Tell her I said hi."

"So much for teamwork," Tom muttered as Ben jogged out the door of the restaurant.

"I'm sure he knows what he's doing," I said.

"Are you sure about that?" Pilot asked.

"I don't have a choice."