I had told Winnie to let them know, but then I’d written her that I’d changed my mind. I wanted to be back in the city before I saw anyone.Three m...re days, the screw had told me. I’d be released. I had no place to go except the half-way house. I’d be stuck there until I could find me a job. I had to get a job. Well, it was better than nothing, the halfway house. I was forty-seven years old and twenty pounds lighter than when I went in. Health? So-so, it was relative, I guess.The screw waved to. I struggled to speak. My limbs were so heavy I could barely move. I stared in horror at these two mutant creatures sitting on the end of the mattress. They must have drugged me with something to keep me from fighting back. The smaller of the two mutants moved closer to me reaching his hand out to stroke my leg. I wanted to kick him away. I wanted to huddle in the corner. All I could do was watch him put his hands on me. As I looked him over, my stomach churned at the sight of him. He had a. We call him Xander to avoid confusion. He has recently learned to walk, and is now getting into everything.It turns out that too much leisure time can be maddening. With the management company handling the daily operations of the Arms, I started looking for a new project. I searched for another old building I could renovate and turn around, but could not find one that fit my profile anywhere in the State of Oklahoma or Southern Kansas.After Xander was born, I started thinking; do I want my son. Or that the responsibilities that had been meant to be spread over several shoulders should now fall on just a few, or even just the one, his own. Command had been thrust on to him. He had accepted it, what choice was there? Those others still alive were even less qualified than he was. He at least had command training, the others were mostly those in support positions.As they approached closer, the scans that they had been able to make showed that the planet was not as inhospitable as first.