Survivalist Reality Show: The Complete Series

by Grace Hamilton

  “I’ll give you a hand,” Fred said, getting to a standing position.

  Regan took a deep breath. They weren’t going anywhere and there was no decision being made now, which meant they had a whole day to kill. She was in no state to press for a compromise now, so she’d calm herself down and then try to push for action, whatever that meant. “I’m going to head out and see if I can find that tree we’re looking for, or anything else useful. We’ve been north, east, and west; I’m going to head south and see if we’ve missed anything.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Wolf announced.

  “I’d like to tag along, as well,” RC said, startling everyone. He’d yet to go on a scouting mission of any kind.

  Regan smiled, happy to have him come along. He’d fully recovered from his bout with heat exhaustion, and she had a feeling he was probably tired of being locked up in the van day in and day out. She’d appreciate the change-up in company, as well. RC wasn’t her biggest fan, but she always felt like she could learn from him.

  “We’ll stay with Lily,” Tabitha said, holding Geno’s hand.

  “Me, too,” Travis chimed in.

  Regan grabbed her backpack, slid it on, and waited for RC and Wolf to get ready.

  “Good luck,” Tabitha said with a wave and a small smile on her face.

  Regan glanced back over her shoulder as they moved off into the brush. Tabitha suddenly seemed almost cheery, which worried her, but Geno was with her—he wouldn’t let her do anything rash. Regan eyed her carefully, wondering what she was up to and telling herself that Geno could handle it, whatever it was. She knew Tabitha well enough to know she was faking her smile, one way or another.

  Still, she didn’t say anything, not wanting to call out her friend. She hoped Tabitha wasn’t aiming to do anything stupid, and again had to remind herself that Geno was there with her. For a second, she thought about changing her mind and staying behind to keep an eye on her, but the chance of scouting and finding the medicine Lily needed was too tempting, and she needed the space to get her own thoughts in order and figure out how to push the group into making a decision, assuming they didn’t find what they needed.

  15

  Lily lay back on her makeshift pillow, her eyes heavy as she listened to Travis and Tabitha talking outside the van. They were trying to be quiet, but with all the doors of the van wide open and the quiet of the outdoors, she could hear their every word. The conversation over lunch had made her feel even worse about her illness. They were stuck in this dangerous limbo because of her. And, what was worse, each of them was willing to sacrifice for her.

  They would already have gotten to the swamp by now if it hadn’t been for her stupid arm. She couldn’t believe she had ruined everything for everyone.

  She imagined them sitting around a campfire, happy and safe, even if it was too warm for a fire. They would be eating alligator soup as they talked about their journey to their new home in the swamp. She sighed, wishing like crazy that she could go back in time and change the course of events.

  “I’m going to use that stream to wash up,” she heard Geno announce.

  Lily closed her eyes, counting to ten as a wave of pain washed over her. She refused to cry out like a baby. Her arm hurt more now than it had when she’d first broken it. The waves of pain and nausea were getting more intense, and she could even feel the fever running through her blood. It was making her shaky and weak. Tabitha had told her the skin around the injury was swollen and tender because of the infection—she’d been too afraid to look at it, knowing how it felt.

  Tabitha appeared at the back of the van, smiling as she moved boxes around. “I’m just grabbing a few things,” she said with a smile.

  Lily watched her stuff a can of chocolate sauce in a backpack. That was odd. What could she possibly be doing with chocolate sauce? They had found several cans of the stuff in the restaurant raid, but none of them had touched it until now. It wasn’t exactly something they could sit around and eat, after all, but her dad had insisted it would be more valuable than gold. It had been taking up space in the van for days.

  Lily half-closed her eyes, feigning sleep and peeking at what was happening when she could while Tabitha packed up a few packs of matches and an old necklace that had been found on the road when they’d first set out on their journey. Then Tabitha quietly took the backpack and set it outside somewhere that Lily couldn’t see from her position in the van.

  “Sleep tight, Lily,” Tabitha whispered before she disappeared from view.

  Lily’s eyes popped open. She knew exactly what Tabitha was doing. Tabitha was sneaking off to try to trade for medicine all on her own after Geno had explicitly told her not to. And Lily agreed with Geno. It was too dangerous for Tabitha. Lily had been mulling over her own plan, but she couldn’t tell anyone. If she did, she knew someone would stop her. But maybe Tabitha leaving was her chance. She could make it to the town and ask for help on her own. They’d have to take pity on her. She was a young girl with a very obvious injury. No normal person would turn her away—would they?

  She sat up, grabbing her own backpack so that she could pull out the clothing that had been stuffed into it to make a pillow. Then she packed her own bag, taking her cues from what she’d seen Tabitha do. The chocolate sauce was heavy, but she used one hand to push it into her backpack anyway. Then she crawled to the end of the van, slipping out of the back and waiting to see if anyone stopped her. Pausing there, she dragged in several deep breaths to try to stop her stomach from rolling. The crackers she had managed to eat weren’t sitting well in her stomach. Tabitha and Heather had insisted the crackers would help settle her upset stomach—it hadn’t worked. They’d been wrong.

  She heard nothing as she stood there, leaning against the van. Geno was down at the stream, so maybe Travis had gone with him. She popped her head around the van door and caught a glimpse of Tabitha disappearing into the trees a distance down the road. Lily grabbed the pack and slung it over one shoulder. The can of sauce felt like it weighed a hundred pounds with her current weakened state, but she forced herself to suck it up and shuffle across the road hoping that Tabitha didn’t look back. She prayed she didn’t trip and fall again.

  The first swipe of a branch across her injured arm nearly sent Lily to her knees with pain. She would have to slow down or move to the road to make it easier for her to travel. Tabitha was moving too fast for her. There was no way Lily could keep up with her pace. Realizing that she really would be traveling alone, she began to question her decision to sneak away. What if she collapsed out here and no one knew where she was? What if she was captured? She hadn’t thought her choice through. Still, what choice did she have?

  “You can do this, Lily,” she whispered as another branch swiped across her cheek, bringing tears to her eyes.

  There was no way she would give up. She kept pushing through the trees, ignoring the pain and knowing Tabitha was increasing the distance with every step. She thought about ditching the can of chocolate, but didn’t want to show up to the town empty-handed. She could do this. She could make it a little farther. Then she realized she really had no idea how far it was to the town. Pushing the thought aside, she kept going.

  The farther she walked, the heavier her feet got. The throbbing in her arm was intensifying, too. It felt like she had a club for an arm. Her vision started to blur, forcing her to slow down. She dragged in deep breaths, fighting the urge to vomit. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she could feel sweat on her brow, but it was different than the normal sweat she was used to. Every step stirred up nausea, as well, making it difficult for her to concentrate on walking.

  “A little farther,” she promised herself when, in fact, she had no idea how much farther she had to go.

  Finally, she couldn’t make it another step. The nausea was overwhelming. She turned her head, throwing up whatever bit of cracker she had managed to get into her stomach. Lily used one hand to prop herself up to standing, resting it on her thigh to hold
herself up, sucking in deep breaths until the wooziness passed.

  She managed to stand up and take only a few more steps before the urge to vomit again made her stop. She squeezed her eyes tight, begging the universe to give her some help. She didn’t want to puke again. There was nothing to puke up anyway. But the dry heaves were painful, and jarred her arm—they might themselves be her undoing.

  “Please,” she whispered, asking for help from no one in particular. Suddenly, she heard footsteps running behind her, branches snapping and critters scurrying away in panic. She knew she should run and hide, but couldn’t find the energy to do it. She was helpless. In that moment, she no longer cared what happened to her. She would no longer be in pain and she wouldn’t be a burden to her family if she died. The thought terrified her, snapping some fragile thread that had tethered her to the natural survival instinct every human possessed.

  “Lily!” Travis shouted from somewhere far away—or at least she thought it was far away.

  She turned to see him pushing through the trees, not even pausing as he slapped branches out of the way. She watched him get slapped in the face with a heavy branch. He didn’t seem to feel it as he kept pushing on.

  “Travis?” she questioned, not convinced he was real. She was feverish, after all; maybe it was all in her head.

  “What are you doing out here?” he growled when he stood a few feet in front of her.

  Lily looked at him, ready to tell him to go back. “Don’t,” was all that came out of her mouth before she began to feel like the earth was spinning.

  He reached for her, his hands going to her shoulders. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded her head. “Travis, Tabitha went this way. I’m going with her,” she gasped.

  He glanced into the trees for a moment, as if surprised that Tabitha was already gone, but then he turned back to her and spoke more gently. “You can’t, Lily. Come back. Your dad is going to be furious if he finds out you took off,” he told her.

  As if she didn’t know that. She shook her head. “No. I’m not going to let Tabitha go alone.”

  Travis closed his eyes. “Lily, you’re too weak. You’re sick.”

  With a deep breath, she managed to get more strength into her voice. “I’m going.”

  He stomped a foot, making her laugh a little at his ridiculous, juvenile reaction.

  “Travis, please. I can’t let her put her life in danger for me. This is my problem.”

  “No, it’s our problem. I want to help. I won’t let you do this alone.”

  “You can’t help. Go back to the van.”

  She hated to see the struggle he was dealing with, but this was on her shoulders—he’d already blamed himself enough, she knew, when everything had been her own fault. “Travis, please go back. I’ll be okay. I have to hurry, though—Tabitha is way ahead of me.”

  “I’m going with you,” he said firmly.

  “No, you have to go back. It’s too dangerous for you. They won’t think of me or Tabitha as a threat. They’ll see you as one,” she insisted, her strength quickly fading. She didn’t have the energy to argue with him, she realized.

  “Lily, I’m coming with you,” he said firmly.

  “There is no way I’m going to let you get in trouble,” she insisted.

  He smiled. “I love that you think you can tell me no. I’m coming with you, Lily. You need me.”

  She swallowed down her remaining annoyance and worry. He was serious, and she couldn’t help smiling for a moment, knowing she didn’t stand a chance in convincing him to turn back. He was stubborn, and she didn’t have the energy to fight him. Maybe him being by her side, and her leaning on him, would be enough to convince anyone who saw them that he wasn’t really a threat so much as a crutch. Relenting, she sighed, glancing in the direction she’d been heading before he’d appeared. “Fine. Can we please go now?”

  “Yes.”

  They walked together at a much slower pace, Lily growing weaker by the second. “Travis,” she finally whispered, feeling her body failing her. She stopped moving, her legs no longer obeying her commands.

  “Lily?” Travis asked, alarm in his voice.

  Travis was staring at her, fear in his eyes as she stared up at him. She could feel her body sagging, and only his arm anchored around her waist kept her up. She blinked several times, trying to clear her vision. Everything was blurring in front of her. The darkness pulling her down into sweet, painless bliss.

  She reached out to grab him seconds before her legs gave out completely. She felt both of his arms go around her, protecting her and saving her from hitting the ground. The last thing she felt conscious of was being thankful for the pain finally disappearing.

  16

  Tabitha did her best to appear nonthreatening as she walked up to the gates of the town, which was indicated by two cars parked alongside the walls with a ten-foot gap between their two hoods. An armed guard stood in front of the crude gates with two more standing on the wall above her. She wasn’t going to let them see her fear. She wanted to be brave. She had to be brave for Lily’s sake.

  “Hello,” she called out, a friendly smile on her face.

  “What can we do for you?” the man on the ground asked, not returning her smile.

  “I was hoping to talk to someone in charge, or maybe your doctor?” she asked hopefully.

  The man shook his head. “Sorry, we’re not letting anyone in. This is our town, and we can’t let anyone in that we don’t personally know.”

  She smiled. “I understand your caution, I really do. I don’t want to stay. I was hoping to talk with someone in charge. I need some things, and I’m willing to trade,” she said, taking off her backpack.

  “What do you need?” the man asked.

  “It’s kind of a private matter.”

  He smirked. “Look, I don’t want to be mean, but we don’t take in just anyone. You don’t look like you have much to offer. We got about all we need in here.”

  Tabitha took a deep breath. “Please, it’s a matter of life and death,” she pleaded.

  The man looked her over. She only hoped she looked sad and hopeless—it was certainly how she felt. “Hold on a second.”

  He disappeared behind the wall. Tabitha looked around, trying to see through, but the small cracks in the walls revealed nothing. The men above were staring her down, as well, making her uncomfortable. She shifted from one foot to the other, waiting to see what would happen next. The man returned after several minutes and gestured for her to come forward.

  “Well?” she asked, slightly hesitant to follow him all the way in to what amounted to a secured compound from where she stood.

  “Someone will talk with you. It’s what you wanted, right?”

  She nodded. “Yes, thank you.”

  “Are you armed?” he asked.

  “No.” She held up her arms and spun around, lifting her t-shirt to show her waistband.

  “Come with me,” he ordered.

  She followed behind him, moving through a small opening between two pieces of heavy sheet metal. She wondered if the gate was just for show. She imagined it would be tough to open and close it without hinges or electronic gate openers. Soon after moving inside, she was met by a man wearing a pair of khaki shorts, a dark t-shirt and a pair of sandals. He looked like the typical Floridian, just as this would look like any other poor Florida community if not for the gates. He was clean and well-groomed, too—something that was very rare these days. It took her by surprise to see someone so refined in what was a rundown looking area.

  “Good afternoon,” the man greeted her, stepping off the front porch of a house situated near the gates. The house looked so normal, the yard was in good shape, and there were even little flowers in containers on either side of the steps, and cute little statues decorating the landscaping. It was weird to see them living so normally in a world that was so chaotic beyond their flimsy walls.

  “Hi,” she said, shaking his offered hand and holding
her backpack in her other hand.

  “I’m Mac. I guess you could say I’m the mayor of our little oasis here,” he said with a friendly smile.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Mac. I’m Tabitha. You have a very pleasant oasis. Thank you for agreeing to see me.”

  He nodded his head, taking a few steps up the porch and gesturing for her to have a seat in one of the rocking chairs that looked so idyllic. “What brings you here?” he asked in an easy tone.

  She shrugged ambivalently, not wanting to give up too much information. “I’ve been wandering the area. I noticed the walls and thought this looked like a safe place to take refuge for a couple days, and maybe do a little trading?”

  “You’ve been out there all alone?” he asked, one eyebrow arched high.

  She smiled. “It’s not so bad,” she said, not lying and not telling the truth. She knew she was a lousy liar—better to evade questions if she could.

  He eyed her carefully. “We’re kind of out of the way here. We don’t get a lot of people passing through. Even when things were normal, this town wasn’t exactly a hotspot for tourists, and locals tend to stick to the cities and beaches.”

  She shrugged. “I’m headed east and trying not to get lost. I’ve been sticking to the backroads mostly to avoid running into trouble.”

  “Trouble?”

  She offered a tight smile. “You know what I mean.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t think I do. What kind of trouble are you running from?”

  Her eyes widened. “I’m not running from any trouble.”

  He studied her more closely now, and she could tell he didn’t believe her. She hoped she hadn’t made a mistake by coming to town alone.

  “You said you wanted to trade? What are you looking for?” he asked, leaning back in the chair.