4338.211 · July 30, 2018 AD
What Luke Gets to Keep
The fence stands finished — chain-link and purpose, assembled while half the camp was elsewhere. At the evening fire, Paul's cooking draws everyone together. Then Luke makes an announcement: he's flying to Adelaide tomorrow to bring his family to Clivilius. Parents. Siblings. Everyone he can gather. The settlement will grow by a household. Around the fire, the implications settle differently on different shoulders.
Dusk finds the camp transformed. The fence surrounds them now — chain-link stretched taut between posts, a gate with a functional latch, the beginnings of something that might actually survive. Nial's work, and whoever else contributed while others were occupied with the day's chaos. A boundary. A statement. A line that says this space is ours.
The campfire draws them together. Paul's cooking fills the air with warmth and the illusion of normality. The Ironbachs are there, probably still discussing their two-week assessment. Adrian sits somewhere between dazed and hostile, processing a reality he didn't choose. Karen and Chris maintain their careful distance. Nial looks exhausted. The settlement has grown, its population swelling with arrivals who came through circumstances ranging from deception to accident.
Then Luke makes his announcement.
Adelaide. Tomorrow morning. He's flying to collect his family — parents, siblings, everyone waiting on the other side. Convince their father first, and the rest will follow. By this time next week, the settlement grows by a household.
Beatrix asks questions. Paul offers support. The logistics unfold around the fire — keys, cars, motorhomes, the endless machinery of building something from nothing.
Luke gets to collect his family. Gets to bring them through, keep them close, face whatever comes with the people he loves beside him. Others at the fire carry different weights — isolation, separation, the knowledge that some doors only open one way.
The flames dance. The conversations continue. And beneath the surface, each person gathered here calculates what they've lost against what might still be saved.
