Page 52 of Into the Mist (Into the Mist 1)

CHAPTER

14

WHEN MERCURY, IMANI, and Gemma stepped into the foyer-infirmary, the aroma from the trays of breakfast casseroles Stella had made, mixed with the distinctively cloying scent of burning marijuana, almost cloaked the sharp smell of ash that rested like a shroud over everything.

Mercury sniffed the air. “Is that weed?”

“Yep!” Gemma nodded enthusiastically. “Doc Hilary is prescribing it for pain and anxiety.”

“I’m gonna have to get on her prescription list,” muttered Mercury. Stella waved them over from her place at the low table they’d commandeered the night before.

“Coffee is over there by the cups and such,” Stella said as the three of them joined her. “There’s another breakfast casserole on warm in the kitchen. Is Karen seriously still asleep?”

“No, she was just getting out of the shower when we left the room,” said Imani.

“Hey, thanks for bringing us clothes,” said Mercury.

“Yeah, you did good,” Gemma said.

Stella shrugged. “No biggie.”

“Imani, if you and Gemma pour the coffee, Stella and I will get the casserole,” said Mercury as she sent Stella a “come-with-me” look. Friends for too long to ignore the look, Stella stood, and together the two women made their way through the room of wounded people to the kitchen. “So, they’re smoking weed.”

“Yeah,” said Stella. “It’s great for pain relief and anxiety. Apparently, some of the full-time staff—all dead now, by the by—had a reefer grow station set up in the basement, with lights, dirt, fertilizer, giant plants, and lots of mason jars of dried bud—the whole deal.”

Mercury stopped and looked at her. “For real?”

“Absolutely. There’s enough stuff down there for an entire greenhouse. Doc Hilary was thrilled. She’s a naturopath who knows a lot about plants, and a whole lot about medical marijuana in particular. She’s writing down recipes for me to make salve and tinctures, and butter for edibles.”

“Huh. That’s a bright spot in a dark day—literally and figuratively.”

“You can say that again.” She gestured toward the wall of boarded-up windows. “It’s a dark mess out there. I plan on joining the weed smokers after I get the stuff the doc needs made and dinner simmering.”

“I’ll help.”

“I’m counting on it. Imani’s useless in the kitchen.” Stella glanced at her friend as they entered the kitchen, and she switched on one of the floor lamps. “I assume you want to talk about how we’re going to tell Doc Hilary about the blood stuff,” said Stella as she grabbed plates from the wire rack.

“Well, yeah, but first you should know that Sadie, Gemma’s mom, left.”

Stella’s hands stilled as she reached for oven mitts. “What?”

“Yeah, she dropped off a letter to Gemma while she was still sleeping. Gave it to Imani, who is mad as fuck all.”

“Of course she is! Imani just lost her kids, and now Sadie abandoned her daughter? I’m mad as fuck all and I’m not even a mom.” She shook her head in disgust and took the casserole from the oven. “How’s the kid taking it?”

“Like someone a lot older than sixteen. She hasn’t cried. At all. Imani and I promised her we wouldn’t abandon her.” Mercury grabbed enough forks for everyone.

“Of course we won’t abandon her. When we leave, she comes with us.”

“Wait. When we leave?”

Stella spooned the steaming egg casserole as she spoke. “We’re not going to stay here. Not forever.”

Mercury touched her arm, and Stella put the spoon down and met her gaze. “You’ve always had great intuition. You’ve always listened to it.”

Stella snorted. “Not always. Just in the decade or so you’ve known me. I had to live awhile first and screw up several times—hence my two marriages—before I learned to trust my gut.”

“’Kay, yeah, but since I’ve known you, it’s been a thing. Wait… I want you to think about your intuition. Has it gotten clearer, or however you’d describe it, since the bombs?” Mercury held up a hand to stop Stella as she began to answer. “No, really think about it.”