by D A Carey
* * *
A few days later, Ellie was on the bow of the first boat as it docked at Captain’s Quarters. She anxiously searched for Kate yet didn’t see any sign of her. It was all FEMA troops and a couple of civilians. Among the troops, there was a clear hierarchy. One of the civilians stood apart and was given deferential treatment. Ellie planned to get to know him better and determine how much he could be trusted so she could find out more of Kate and the Louisville FEMA camp.
When she stepped off the boat, Ellie was approached by a senior FEMA trooper and the civilian she’d spotted earlier. She held out her hand. “Hi, I’m Ellie Weathers. I represent the community near Carrollton. We got your message about trading for goods and foodstuff. We brought all we could spare. We want to help.” Ellie’s secret was that they only brought a slice of their excess to trade. A lot of excess supplies and foodstuff was safely hidden in caves and cache locations around the C-Town area for “just in case” per Vince’s instructions.
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Sergeant Penders from the FEMA command in Louisville. This is Luke Whitner, a civilian advisor. We brought fuel, electronic repair components, and medical equipment like you mentioned you had a need for. Before we proceed, I have to ask if any of your men are armed. As you know, we’re under martial law, and weapon ownership is prohibited. If you have weapons, I’d be forced to confiscate them, the goods, and take the weapon holders into custody.”
Ellie saw Luke slightly shake his head in warning. She was aware of the executive order and had advised the men to hide their weapons before they docked. “No, we’re aware of the law, and we don’t have weapons.”
Luke let out a breath that was more audible than he intended. Sergeant Penders looked relieved. After that, the negotiations and transfer went well. Ellie got some time alone with Luke and pumped him for information. She learned that Kate was well respected in the camp and that she and Matt’s parents were being treated like royalty. She supposed that was good, except she deduced a hidden undercurrent of evil in the camp that Luke was reluctant to comment on.
When they were close to being done, Luke innocently asked about Vince. At first Ellie was suspicious; however, when she learned that Luke and Vince had worked together and were friends, she relaxed. Once Luke learned that Ellie was Vince’s ex-wife he opened up, apparently deciding she was a safe person to unload a lot he’d been bottling up inside the camp. He was in despair about the increasing estrangement between him and his wife and worried for his oldest son. He shared with Ellie as if he needed someone to talk to, that his wife was coming home later and later to their garage parking spot and talking less about what went on upstairs at the Galt House. He also shared that Cindy was now in charge of other women staffers in the hotel. Luke even suspected the women who worked in the “comfort” rooms now took direction from her. He worried that she only lived in the garage in deference to their marriage.
To make Luke feel comfortable after he unburdened himself, Ellie shared some about her life in C-Town, the trading, and what she knew of Vince. She went on at length about her pride in Malcolm and the mechanical shop he and Mike built up and how important they’d become in the region. She downplayed her own importance and senior role in the community.
For Naught
“I am fortune’s fool.”
- William Shakespeare
<< Kate >>
Matt came into the room well past two in the morning. Even though he was trying to be careful, the stumbling steps and whispered curses as he bumped into one thing or another betrayed his drunken state. Kate was angry and wanted to challenge him, yet those confrontations hadn’t gone well lately. He insisted it was nothing and he was only letting off steam with some of his new friends. He tried to make her think she was being paranoid; however, the perfume and lipstick stains told a different story. Tonight she hoped he would fall asleep and not want to cuddle.
She and Matt had been arguing a lot. She tried to keep it from his parents and the professor. Kate had a deep wellspring of strength that kept people from knowing when she was hurt. While Matt could see her tears, no one else could or would. These days all he did was sleep until late in the afternoon then carouse until the wee hours of the morning. He’d found a group of young men who were related to prominent politicians, academics, or FEMA leaders. Most people allowed them to act so boorishly because there was a definite feudal brand of class system evolving in the camp. Their parents felt sorry for them being cooped up in the camp and hotel with only the occasional boat trip for entertainment. Everyone else was afraid of them or the punishment they could get assigned to someone who crossed them.
What was most egregious was how they treated the “parkers.” Kate had heard them laughing about beating up a parker or making one of them clean their shoes. They snickered and spoke under their breath when Kate was around to hide other things they did. She knew that when they snickered behind their hands, it was about their escapades in the comfort rooms. They thought they were so clever. Kate was disgusted.
As a “guest,” as the hotel dwellers were called, Kate was discouraged from any interaction with the “parkers.” That was hard for a compassionate person like Kate. She may not know these people individually, but she knew them. They were the sales people in the mall, the office manager downtown, or the waitress at a restaurant before things went to hell. They were normal Americans now forced to live in a concrete parking garage like peasants. They were subjected to the twisted amusement of spoiled hotel guests like her boyfriend Matt and his new friends.
* * *
The next morning, Kate woke early and went to the atrium area between the two hotel towers that served as a central communication hub for the FEMA camp administration. It had plenty of sunlight and people for Kate to talk to. She noticed one of the men looking at her. It was obvious he was a parker by the disheveled state of his hair and clothing. In another situation, she might have been alarmed. However, in the center of the FEMA camp with all the guards, it only made her curious. It was rare to see a parker up here.
She walked straight over to the man and said, “I’m Kate Cavanaugh. Do we know each other?”
“Uh, no. I don’t think so. I’m sorry if I was rude. My name is Luke Whitner. I heard you came in a week or two ago from the settlement in Carrollton, and I wanted to ask about someone I knew there. He had the same last name as you. Vince Cavanaugh.”
“That’s my dad! Have you heard anything about him?” Kate asked eagerly.
“No. I was hoping you had.”
“No,” Kate said, obviously disappointed.
“I’d better be moving on. They discourage parkers and guests from speaking much to each other. I’m only waiting to deliver some reports to the professor, then I’ll head back to the garages.”
“How is it in there?” Kate pressed.
“It’s best we don’t talk about it,” Luke countered. He didn’t know how much he could trust this girl. On one hand, she was Vince’s daughter, and Luke was sure he could trust Vince with his life. On the other hand, she was a guest, and none of the parkers could trust the guests. They were the very people benefitting most from this new feudal class system. “The professor will be ready for me soon. I’d better be going.” Luke turned away.
“I’d like to talk more when we can,” Kate said. “How can I find you?”
Taking a risk on a gut feeling, Luke responded, “Find Sergeant Penders. He can always find me. Don’t trust anyone. Not even him or me,” Luke said before moving up the raised area where the professor held court.
Deep in thought about the encounter with Luke, Kate wandered into the hotel restaurant called the Magnolia Room that was used for guests only. She sat by herself and had a long lunch. When she could avoid it no longer, she went back to the room, determined to confront Matt and let him know she would not live like this.
When she got to the room, Matt was awake and sitting in the bed in his underwear playing a video game. He planned his day around the hours the g
enerators were run for this mindless entertainment.
“Matt, what are we doing here? Are you taking college classes or studying with your parents or any of the other doctors?”
“I will,” Matt said distractedly, straining to peer around Kate at the TV.
“Seriously, Matt. We came here to help rebuild. All we’re doing is contributing to some disgusting class system. Don’t think I don’t know what’s going on when you come in drunk with a woman’s perfume on your clothes.”
“That’s none of your business!” Matt yelled, pushing her out of the way of the TV screen. “We’re only blowing off steam. There is plenty of time to learn and get involved in medicine. You’re right, there is a class system here.” He was peering past her at the screen as he spoke. “It’s always been that way in the world, Kate. It’s natural that people of breeding and education should lead those who belong in a lower station. When America got away from that, the world went to hell. It’s only righting itself now.”
“Matt, that’s revolting. It’s abhorrent and not what you and I believe at all. Are you saying we belong in the upper class based on education and breeding?” Kate couldn’t hide the disgust in her voice.
“Well I do,” Matt said in what he thought was a playful tone, yet Kate could see the serious taunting tones of a bully underneath.
“Matt, this is wrong! It has to stop. The elitist bullying, the laziness, and most importantly the womanizing!” Kate yelled as she shut off the TV.
Matt sprang from the bed and in a fit of anger smacked her in the face, hitting her in the eye. Kate fell to the floor in a heap, trying to stifle her sobs.
Matt picked her up and tried to hug her. “Kate, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”
She ran into the bathroom and slammed the door. She heard Matt getting dressed in the bedroom. Before he left, he said through the door, “Kate, you have nowhere else to go. Think about it. You’re best staying here as my woman, protected by me and my family. The professor will trade with C-Town for a while. However, a time will come when he’ll destroy the town. An affront like that to his authority in this region can’t go on forever. Here in the camp, you don’t have a special education or skill. Without me, you’d be a parker and probably end up working in the comfort rooms. You have to get it through your head that this is the way of the world now.” With that, Matt stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
Kate sat on the floor of the bathroom and cried for a long time. Matt was right in much of what he said. She was trapped and didn’t know where to go or what to do. If her dad was here, he would save her. He always did. But she didn’t know if he was alive or dead. She was on her own and making a mess of it. She determined to stay in the room until she could find makeup to hide her new bruise and go along with things until she could come up with a plan. She may not be the strong killer her father was, but she had inherited a lot in the DNA passed on to her from both him and her mom.
<< Liz >>
Liz peered down the barrel through the iron sights of the M4 .556 assault rifle. Vince had told her he preferred to hunt big game with a .308, but they’d lost his AR-10 in the gunfight by the Mississippi River. Vince had walked as far as he could and showed Liz the signs and the correct terrain to look for. She found a place that matched Vince’s description and heard the sound that Vince described as a “fat man sleeping,” took a knee, and waited behind a tree, trying to slow her breathing. A few minutes later, in what seemed like an hour, she spotted the wild boar less than thirty yards away. When it turned the right way and Liz could sight in on the heart right behind the shoulder, she slowly took up slack on the trigger while exhaling the way Vince had taught her. The battle rifle bucked in her hands and snapped back against her shoulder. Vince had warned her that might happen if she didn’t hold it tight to her shoulder. Despite all of her fears of failure, the boar went down and then struggled to rise, thrashing in the grass and leaves. Liz surprised herself at how calm she was as she re-sighted and put another round in the wild boar, putting him down for good. For a brief moment, she saw the face of Chase, the man she killed at the cabin, and experienced a fleeting rush of passing guilt. Then, as now, she was doing what she needed to keep her group safe and fed.
The ground was covered with a dusting of snow, which made it slightly easier to drag the boar, which must have weighed over two hundred pounds, back to the cabins. She wasn’t far from the compound and could count on help when she got closer. She dared not leave the boar in the snow. Winter had been going strong for a month now, and the coyotes were hungry, as evidenced by their nightly howls.
“Hello!” Anoop said in his accented English. He was accompanied by Mary, and Liz welcomed their help. They’d spent the last few weeks searching out meadows in the forest and using the sharpened decorative scythes to stockpile forage for the horses. Their meat and protein supplies had dipped dangerously low. The boar would go a long way, first with the meat, then with broth from the bones. Aditi, Anoop, and Sheetal were vegetarians but were masters at finding edible plants in the forest and harvesting things from Brook’s garden before the first snow fell.
Time in the valley passed rapidly. Thanksgiving came and went without much celebration and little notice. Christmas had been a special time for all of them. They decorated a tree and exchanged notes of how much they appreciated each other in lieu of gifts. Aditi and her family celebrated Diwali from their culture even though the actual date of the celebration was more than a month past. New Year’s would be in a few days. For Liz, that marked the countdown of their time to leave this valley and head north to her family near Carrollton, Kentucky.
Their time at Charit Creek had been a time of healing. The valley was beautiful and peaceful. Even though they had more winter to endure, the countdown was on.
<< Vince >>
Eventually, the days got longer and the snow began to melt. The ground turned to a boot-sucking muck of mud from the frozen turf it had been a few weeks prior, and Vince was well enough to do his share of the hunting and gathering. He usually hunted by setting snares to conserve ammunition and because it was much easier and more productive. Christy and Mary had taken to the snares right away and become naturals. Vince spent the cold or rainy days in the cabin making cart harnesses from discarded leather for the horse that would be pulling a cart. When it warmed up, he spent weeks building a cart, training the horse to pull it, and teaching others in the group to guide the horse as it did.
Vince was becoming stronger and was on pace for his goal to be at full strength when the weather warmed. Still, he worried about a return of cancer. When the world was whole, his doctors had planned CT scans every three months for an early detection of what they told him was a likely return of the disease. His last scan was now nearly eight months ago. Without the medical technology to look inside his body, he wouldn’t know the disease had returned unless he was in pain or coughing up blood. The way things were going, he would be fortunate to live long enough to die of cancer.
These thoughts made Vince wonder what medical devices and scanning equipment had been put in the chartertowns. He’d seen the list and not paid much attention, assuming Dave’s people had planned well. Any chartertown doctor would need to know what to sew up after someone was shot or check the health of a baby or a pregnant woman. It was easy to overlook all the important advancements the country had made and depended on.
* * *
Soon the snows melted and the days got longer. Vince had been doing calisthenics and walks to the cliffs overlooking the valley. He’d even jogged to get his mind and body hardened for the journey north.
The group began planning for their trip and who or what would go in the cart. The plan was to use the cart to carry what supplies they could and be a place to hold anyone who became too frail or injured to walk. The other horse would be ridden ahead as a scout. It would also allow them to take turns away from walking.
They hoped to make it to Carrollton via back roads and avoid major cities by hea
ding north on Highway 27 going through Somerset, Kentucky, and Harrodsburg before roughly following the Kentucky River near the state capital at Frankfort, Kentucky, and then on to Carrollton.
As the strongest horseman in the group and because he was not at full strength yet, Vince rode more than the others. It was a good thing because he scouted out a roadblock at Somerset.
He had halted the group near a cemetery on a steep hill beside the road in the Burnside area. It was only a few miles ahead on a long bridge over the edge of Lake Cumberland that he spied the roadblock. At first, he contemplated approaching the men and asking for passage through. Then from a distance he saw a man and woman yanked from their bicycles and treated roughly. While it was possible they were criminals and the treatment was justified, it wasn’t worth the risking his people. Vince hastily made his way back to the group and moved them further into the brush near the lake to find another route.
They ate while studying the maps. The roadblock had been constructed in a perfect spot. The Cumberland River ran east and west for a long way with few bridges. A man alone might have found a narrow spot to swim it. Two or three people on foot might steal a boat or make a raft. His group, with horses and supplies, needed a bridge. The closest one he could find that didn’t take them right back into the people at the roadblock was at Williamsburg, Kentucky, and he had no way of knowing if that was blocked as well. That route would take them south for a while before heading back north. Once more, Vince considered approaching the men at the roadblock. However, with a doctor, a family, a couple, a movie star, and he and Junior not at their best, it wasn’t a smart gamble. Not wanting to stay too long and risk being found, Vince gave the group an hour to eat and rest before beginning the trek to Williamsburg.