Page 10 of Twilight Tactics

Then Ollie’s eyes met hers, and Elena could see the strength beneath it all. “Hey.”

“Hi.” Ollie dropped her gaze to her hands and sucked in a slow breath. “Thanks for coming.”

“Of course. What can I help you with?”

“You said you could teach me ways to cope. To deal with ... stuff. Did you mean it?”

Elena reached across and covered Ollie’s hands with her own. “I meant it.”

“Okay.” Ollie drew back and crossed her arms, and Elena filed that away. No touching. “What exactly does it entail?” Ollie asked.

What exactly does it entail?Elena cleared her throat. The question was legit, she was just surprised at the phrasing. What fourteen-year-old talked like that?

“When you get a chance, you come to my place and I’ll show you something.”

“What?”

“Just something that helps me when I’m feeling lost or alone, scared or sad.”

Ollie studied her for a moment, then nodded. “I’d like that.”

“Great.”

“I want to learn other things too, though,” the teen said, her voice low. “Then I can protect myself and never be afraid again.”

And just like that Elena lost her heart to this girl and vowed to do whatever it took to help her feel confident and secure in her world. “Well, I can help you there too. I grew up in a prepper family. I’m assuming you know what preppers are.”

She shrugged. “I call them human squirrels who hoard supplies like winter is always just around the corner, convinced that their six-month stash of beans, bullets, and toilet paper will be their salvation when the aliens, robots, or mutant hyenas finally take over.”

Elena blinked. Then laughed. A genuine belly laugh that rolled from her and felt so good she didn’t want it to stop. This girl was very smart.

Ollie looked surprised, then her features relaxed into a small smile. “I’m glad I’m amusing.”

“I have a feeling you are way more than that, my friend. That’s a perfect definition, though. Perfect.”

“Now you come up with one.”

Elena sobered. “What?”

“What’s your definition?”

“Oh. Um ... okay.” She thought, then grinned. “Preppers ... um ... preppers are people who look at a Costco’s largest pallet of canned goods and think, ‘Amateurs.’”

Ollie grinned. “I think mine’s better, but that’s not bad.”

“I’m glad you approve, thank you. Now, as I was saying, I grew up in a family of preppers. I learned all kinds of things survivalists would need to know to live.”

“Like what?”

“Oh wow.” Where to start? “From building a shelter with natural insulation and weatherproofing, to collecting, purifying, and storing water. And of course, gardening and foraging for food. I had to know what kinds of berries and mushrooms I could eat and which ones would make me sick. I can hunt and trap, but I’ll be honest—killing game isn’t my favorite thing to do. I’d rather be a vegetarian.”

Ollie smiled. “Me too.”

“But I can do it if I have to. And you have to know how to take care of yourself in an emergency. Before I went to nursing school, I already knew a bunch. Had been stitching up my family’s wounds and setting broken bones since I was a kid.”

“No way!”

“Yep.”