The once a week radio updates kept coming.
It seemed the world was picking up. Some towns even had power again.
Lucky them.
Those towns were the ones populated by those who went to the community camps.
Towns like Franklin, they cleaned up and made fresh for new towns people.
That began in the south and west just before Christmas. One camp at a time. Warmer areas first. They said the northern camps would be empty by summer.
Although Matt didn’t know exactly who ‘they’ were. He got most of his information by word of mouth.
In the beginning it didn’t look good. As much as they wanted to believe it was gone, the virus wasn’t. It still reared its ugly head as fall moved in. The only positive was it lost a lot of steam and it didn’t kill everyone who caught it.
Franklin made it through the first winter without a fatality.
Fireplaces that long since were decorative pieces became a functioning source of heat. They travelled five miles to the well to fetch fresh water. Gone were the days of plumbing. They built outhouses. It truly was like living a century or so earlier.
All would be perfect if it wasn’t for the cows.
Emma skipped and giggled, Matt tugged the rope, less than gently encouraging the animal to move.
It was going to take forever
“Hey!” Hervé called out.
Matt looked to see where he was. He was riding down the street on his bike. “Emma, slow down, honey.”
She did.
“Need some help?” Hervé asked.
Matt grunted. “Why are you even asking? You won’t help.”
“No, I won’t.”
“Where is Luke?” Matt asked. “This is his cow.”
“Technically it’s the town’s cow.”
“So why doesn’t everyone in the town get them when they wander?”
“Because they aren’t going anywhere, Matt,” Hervé said. “Let them wander. And everyone else in this town does the hard work of milking and feeding them.”
“We have machines for that,” Matt said.
“We do and you have no idea how much of a bitch they are to clean every day. Plus, I don’t know why you get all bent out of shape about cows wandering. They go back. They’re only grazing.”
“Grazing what?”
Hervé nodded his head as a point to the cow who was eating the old dried grass from winter. “Grazing.”
“We put food out for them.”
Drop the rope and let her go. Come with me to cut wood. There’s a bunch of us, it’s a wood cutting party.”
Matt grimaced. “I highly doubt it’s a party. Chopping wood is work.”
“It’s work we need so we can stay warm,” Hervé said.
“It’s spring.”
“By the date, yes, but we’re low on wood and the nights are still chilly. Plus, you never know.”
He was right. They didn’t know. That was one thing Matt really missed. The weather service. Even though they we wrong most of the time, Matt still liked the thought of having some sort of an idea of how the weather was going to go.
Every day was pretty much a surprise.
“Okay,” Matt said. “Let me take Emma to Stew’s and I’ll meet you. Will Luke be there so I can tell him about the cow?”
“No, he’s out.”
“Out? Okay, how about Molly, she was big on the cows, I really need to gripe about them?”
“Nope. Sorry, she’s with Luke.”
“And they went out?” Matt asked. “Where the heck did they go?”
“Trading post opened in Washington County today or did you forget?’
“I guess I did.”
“Yeah, they want to register Franklin and see what it’s about.”
“Will they be back tonight?” he asked.
“I would think so,” Hervé answered. “Molly doesn’t like to be away from the kids. Speaking of which …” Hervé pointed at Emma who had started walking again.
“Emma!” Matt yelled. “Stop. Okay.”
She turned and stomped her foot.
“Girls for you,” Hervé said. “Leave the cow and come join us.”
“I’ll be there.”
Hervé nodded and peddled off.
Matt turned and was about to remove the rope from Gretchen, he’d heed Hervé’s advice and let her roam. Just as he did, he stopped.
Matt didn’t get a lot of things right when it came to the animals and leaving her there, just didn’t feel right. He’d take her back and join the others. Even if it did take a while.
After all, what did he have to do?
Life was different. There was no time frame, no rush. It was sad at times when the losses pummeled him, but it was simple.
Something about that Matt liked.
There was a lot of things he was wrong about in his life, before and after the virus, but one thing he had right.
Life was going on.
Slowly, but it was.
◆◆◆
Washington County Fair Grounds, Washington, PA
Luke had watched a post apocalypse show once and on it they had a trading post. So in his mind, he had it all worked out.
He heard it was at a place called ‘Fair Grounds’ and naturally that went along with what he envisioned.
He imagined it like a flea market, where people would bring their stuff, set up a stall on the grounds and barter with others over goods.
Perhaps even some vendor food or something.
It wasn’t the case. It was setup more official.
A main check-in area that registered what items were brought in and in exchange traders were given vouchers that worked like money.
The only way to get a voucher was to bring items of value.
Once vouchers were in hand, those who came to trade could go inside the fair grounds to shop.
The stations were manned by uniformed workers as well.
Some of the workers there wore military uniforms, but most wore the plain gray uniform of the Community Camp volunteers. He supposed they no longer worked for just the camps, but rather the movement to reorganize and redevelop a government structure.
He didn’t know how well that was working out. Franklin was its own entity as he guessed other small towns were as well.
The only interaction Luke had with the community camp was when he went to the camp in Carlisle to register the people of Franklin on Census day, and to register for his town to take in people.
He didn’t bring much with him to trade because he didn’t know what to expect. Maybe his lack of stock was why the guy at the check in table looked at him funny and even questioned it.
“Bridges,” Luke said.
“Franklin, Pennsylvania, you said?” Check in man asked.
Luke nodded. “Yes.”
“And you?” he looked at Molly.
“Molly Webber. Same town.”
Check in man wrote their names down.
“Will you be the representatives of your community each trade day?”
“Yes, sir, we will,” Luke said.
“If you’re registering for trade, you have to be here every two weeks.”
“We will.”
“And you said you brought ... twenty dozen eggs and ten gallons of milk,” the man asked.
“Yes, sir,” Luke answered. “We can bring more next time. We just, you know, didn’t know what to expect.” Luke pointed to the flat dolly he toted. “Eggs are packed pretty good.”
“Are your cows producing well?” he asked.
“Yes sir, an average of eight gallons per cow a day. We feed them well and are pretty good with it. We don’t drink all what we produce. Not even close.”
“And the eggs?”
“More than the Easter Bunny.”
He grumbled an ‘hmm’ and wrote down. “Okay,” he said. “You have it in gallon jugs. We’ll provide you with a small milk buffalo tank. Can you do twenty-five gallons and fifty dozen eggs for a st
art?”
Molly nodded and answered before Luke could. “We can do that, absolutely.”
“Alright. These are your ID cards,” he pushed a large green index size card to each of them. “They list what you bring. You have to have that card. It’s our way of keeping track. You don’t have that card, you don’t get in.”
“Yes, sir,” Luke replied.
“I’m gonna be generous and give you forty vouchers. It’s not a lot, but more than you should get. Make sure you meet that quota next time or I’ll take from that. And ... you bring me a container of cream …” he winked. “I’ll throw in an extra five.”
“Want butter?” Luke asked. “We have a guy named Hervé that makes some awesome butter. We don’t make enough to bring to trade, but I can bring you some.”
“You do that son, I’ll even add more. Just come in my line. Line three.”
“You got it.”
He handed Luke the voucher slip. “When you go to the stations, the official will deduct what you get from that. Like a credit card. But you have to use it all today. No carry overs.”
Luke took the slip and left the items with Check in Guy three and walked into the trade fair with Molly.
“Him and I are gonna be friends,” Luke pointed back.
“Oh, I bet. You have that personality. People like you.”
“Thanks.” Luke paused when he walked in. It was big and while he wished there were more stations, there were a lot of people. He expected that since the trade post covered a portion of Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia.
The trade fair was set up in stations. Food and commodities, clothing, tools, ammunition and farm supplies.
At this point, there wasn’t very much they needed in Franklin, Luke guessed all that would change as time moved on.
“How about some garlic,” Molly suggested. “We can use some fresh garlic. We don’t have any in town.”
“We have to get flour and chocolate. You heard the man, this isn’t much. If we have any left, then we can look for the garlic.”
“There.” Molly pointed to a station that had large sacks lined up. “Bet that’s flour.”
Luke took her hand and walked with her toward the table. There was a line about six people deep and they took their place.
He looked around those in front to see if he could spot a price.
Fifteen voucher points for twenty pounds. He didn’t know if it was a good price, but grabbing one sack would leave them change to get chocolate.
“It’s so exciting. I haven’t shopped in forever,” Molly said.
“Bet this gets better as time goes on.”
“Oh, I’m sure.”
Luke looked around, taking things in as they waited and the line moved.
Once they were two people from being taken, he noticed the table next to it with a sign that read, ‘Do your part to rebuild, volunteer.’
He laughed to himself thinking about how it was the new recruitment thing. Until he noticed the woman with the clipboard standing in front.
Luke knew that face right away.
She smiled and chatted with a person, writing down as they talked, she was obviously recruiting them. When she was free and Luke was close to her, he said, “Hey, I know you.”
Molly nudged him. “What are you doing?”
The woman made her way over. “You know me?” she asked.
“You know her?” Molly asked, as well.
“Not personally. But I feel like I do,” Luke said. “I recognize the voice and a picture of you was always on the TV. You’re the reporter on that cruise. Ellen.”
“Eve,” she corrected. “My name is Eve. Yes, I am.”
“She is!” Molly said excited. “Oh, I am so happy you made it back.”
“Thank you,” Eve replied.
“You’re a recruiter now?” Luke asked. “Trying to get people to help at camps?”
“Camps are almost done. We’ve relocated a lot of people to different towns.”
“No one came to Franklin,” Luke said. “I registered the town to get people. It’s a great town. We have room and supplies.”
“You registered at Carlisle,” Eve said.
“I did.”
“I know. We supposed to bring about two dozen people there in the next week or so.”
“Seriously?” Luke smiled and looked at Molly. “We’re getting more people?”
“That’s so great,” Molly said. “We have so much room.”
“Actually, me and my … well, husband, you can call him.” Eve pointed to the man at the table. “Were thinking of going there. It’s one of three towns left to move people to.”
“You should come,” Luke told her. “Again, it’s a great place. We’d love to have you.”
“Are you the leader?” she asked.
Luke laughed. “No, the glorified errand boy. But I like being busy.”
“Don’t let him kid you,” Molly said. “He does everything in that town. I’m proud of him.”
“That’s sweet. Maybe I’ll see you two in a couple of weeks.”
“Wait,” Luke said. “If you aren’t looking for volunteers for the camp, what are you recruiting for?’
“The camps may be done, but the country needs a lot of work,” she said. “Plus,” she pointed back. “And I say this with pride ... the cure.”
“The cure?” Molly asked. “The cure to the virus?”
Eve smiled brightly. “Yes. My husband is a scientist and doctor and well, he developed a very effective vaccine and treatment for it.”
“Oh my God,” Molly gushed. “That’s amazing. It really is.”
“He’s been working on it since the outbreak. He wasn’t giving up. He did it. We have tested the vaccine and cure and are looking for more people to volunteer to test it. It’s not harmful, and it just requires a week and some blood tests. So, if you want to spread that around your town, please do. Send them to Carlisle. And remember his name is Steve Rogers, I don’t want people to forget his name.”
Luke let out a snorting chuckle. “Yeah, well, I won’t, considering it’s the same name as Captain America.”
Molly nudged him causing him to grunt. “We’ll pass the word. I would be more than happy to volunteer but …” Molly ran her hand down to her small but round stomach.
“Oh!” Eve said cheerfully. “You’re expecting. That’s amazing.”
“Six months along,” Molly answered.
“Do you have a doctor in your town?” Eve asked. “If not …”
“We do. A good one,” Molly replied. “He even said with the heartrate, I may be having a girl. I always wanted a girl.”
“Good for you. I love hearing about new babies. It really lets you realize life goes on.”
“Life goes on,” Luke said.
“I’m heading back. Maybe I’ll see you. Please spread the word and … good luck.” Eve reached out and touched Molly then squeezed Luke’s arm and said to him. “You must be so happy.”
“More than you know,” Luke replied.
Eve walked away.
“She was nice,” Molly said, resting her head on Luke’s arm.
“Yeah. She was.” Luke looked ahead, they were next in line and then he looked down to Molly.
She seemed so excited about the cure, Luke wished he could have that enthusiasm, but to him it was a little late. What was the point in having the cure after the virus? It was like the age old saying close the barn doors after the horse got out.
He thought about his chance encounter with the reporter Eve and hoped her and her doctor husband moved to Franklin and not just because of the cure. They seemed like nice people.
The world needed nice people. In the naivety of his young mind and heart he believed being good to each other was the answer to going forward.
Eve was right, too, on other things.
Life goes on and … Luke was happy.
He was very happy.
A state he never thought he’d be in again.
Nearly a year before, with the tragic death of Hailey Hader, his life was in chaos. Luke’s soul was crushed and self-worth destroyed. How ironic it seemed to be. He believed his life and world had come to an end, yet it took the end of world as he knew it to give him new life.
Luke was grateful and vowed never to take that second chance for granted. He’d never waste a moment.
Ever.
Everything had changed. Loss and despair lingered in the air. But there was one thing the virus didn’t take from mankind … hope. And hope was the one thing, unlike eggs and milk at the trading post, that could never be bartered.
Just as Luke was anxious for his turn in the flour line, he was anxious and happily looked forward to what was to come next in his life.
◆◆◆
Thank you so much for reading this book. It is my hope that you not only enjoyed it but took away that life is so short..
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Plague Book: One Final Gasp Page 23