“You’re welcome but this isn’t my house!” At April’s confused look she started to laugh again. “None of these houses were ours. My mom was the domestic here.”
April looked around the large entry again. She knew she was tired but she just didn’t understand what the girl meant. It must have been written on her face because the girl shrugged her shoulders and with a grin explained again.
“Our parents, they were the maids!”
April just nodded and followed Liam up the stairs. She wondered where the owners were and if they had been made to leave when these people had taken over the gated community. She hoped that wasn’t the case but it was just one more question she didn’t have an answer for.
At the top of the stairs, another young girl directed Liam down a hall and April in the opposite direction. The bedroom she entered was as big as her family’s main floor at home and she could see where the furniture had been rearranged to fit two extra queen size beds. Even with the three beds in the room, there was still plenty of floor space. Two of her fellow students were already in the room. Susan and Cindy had both claimed a bed each and they were flopped out on them. Susan raised her head when April came in and gave a half-hearted wave towards a dresser that had two basins of gently steaming water on it.
“You can clean up if you want. We just couldn’t resist the beds!”
April looked back and forth between the warm water and the open bed. She wanted nothing more than to sink into that soft mattress but the sweat and grime that covered her body itched so she turned to the water and dropped her pack. Pulling out her one clean change of clothes she was surprised and happy to see a travel-sized set of toiletries sitting beside the basins of water as well as fresh washcloths and towels. She stripped off her dirty clothes and left them in a pile at her feet. It wasn’t a hot bubble bath but being clean again revived her and gave her a boost of energy. Once she was dressed again, she turned and saw that both the other girls had fallen asleep. She glanced at the soft clean bed but the urge to crash had passed and she was more interested in getting some answers than sleeping so she quietly left the room.
April walked down the hall past closed doors until she came to the top of the stairs. She could hear the faint sounds of people talking coming from below so she went down and followed the sounds deeper into the house. She walked past a formal dining room with the biggest table she’d ever seen. It could have easily seated twenty and she shook her head at the scale of everything in this house. The talking grew louder until she turned a corner and entered a kitchen that would be better suited to a hotel. A long granite island dominated the room and surrounding it were Val, Juan, Mrs. Moore, Liam and another woman April hadn’t met yet.
Mrs. Moore was just finishing up telling them about her group’s journey when she walked in. Liam saw her in the doorway and pulled a chair out and waved her over. She settled in beside him and studied the expressions of the three strangers who were engrossed in Mrs. Moore’s tale. When her teacher came to the end, Val shook her head in disbelief and the woman April didn’t know reached out and squeezed the older woman’s hand in sympathy before getting up and retrieving a stove top percolator coffee pot and refilling everyone’s cups. She offered some to April who nodded eagerly.
“I’m Camila, Juan’s wife,” she introduced herself.
April told her name to the others and sat back. Her eyes flared in surprise when Liam nudged a pitcher of what looked like fresh cream towards her coffee cup. As she added it to her coffee, she again marveled at how well these people were doing.
Val pushed back from the table and started to pace. She took in the faces of her guests before speaking.
“That was brilliant thinking going underground in Disneyland and it definitely saved all your lives but I don’t understand why you stayed in the first place. If you knew right off what had happened and you sent some of your students out of the city so early in the crash, then why didn’t all of you leave?”
Mrs. Moore shot a quick glance at April before looking down at her hands and sighing before answering her.
“Not everyone was willing to leave. Some of our people had a hard time accepting that help wouldn’t be coming. The students that left were naturally independent and didn’t hesitate to go. I couldn’t leave the rest of my students alone so I chose to help them shelter in place. That decision cost two adults and five students their lives. It’s something I’ll have to live with for as long as I have left on this earth.”
April shoved back in her chair and went to her teacher, grasping her hands.
“NO, nothing that happened was your fault! You’re the only reason so many of us are alive!” She turned to face the others and explained, “It was my mother. She fought Mrs. Moore at every turn and convinced the others that they couldn’t leave. Two of the boys ran away at the first sign of trouble and Marco and his men caused the other deaths. What happened today to Molly and Ashley was beyond anyone’s control!” She turned back to her teacher. “YOU saved us. YOU got us this far and YOU will get us home!”
The older woman brushed a silent tear off her cheek and gave April a grateful hug. Val leaned against the counter beside them and asked April, “Where is your mother?”
April sniffed back the tears in her throat and explained what had happened when they tried to escape from the tunnels. Val gave a sharp nod.
“Then she died a hero.”
April nodded in agreement and with a final pat for her teacher, returned to her seat. Everyone was silent as they thought about what they had just heard. April wanted answers so she asked them about what the young girl had told her. Val seemed to look inside herself as she remembered those first days.
“Yes, that’s true. Almost all the people who are here now didn’t live here when the crash happened. A lot of the women worked in these homes as domestic staff or maids. I know what you’re thinking and you’re wrong. There are still original owners living here but there aren’t many and we didn’t force anyone out and take over their homes. My background is military and I was home on leave when it all happened. I knew exactly what had happened when everything went dark. I knew that the apartments my friends and family lived in wouldn’t sustain us so I gathered as many as I could and we came here to get the rest of our people. We had planned on heading up into the mountains, but once we got here I saw how we could use the wall and gate to our advantage as well as the reservoir. Almost all the residents of this neighborhood that were here that day were wives. Their husbands were stuck in the city and not one made it back. They were grateful that someone took charge and blocked the gate. None of them knew anything about surviving without modern conveniences. We helped them to survive and live. A few couldn’t take it and left of their own free will but most stayed and learned how to help us survive. I’m not a dictator. We vote as a community on all major decisions including all the former residents. A lot of the ladies chose to move in together so they wouldn’t be alone and they opened their doors to the rest of us.”
Mrs. Moore leaned forward. “You were more than lucky. Strong leadership and a willingness to work as a team helped you all. We’re grateful to you for taking us in but how do we go forward? Juan had mentioned a refugee camp farther north?”
Val sent a look at her two friends before answering. “Yes. I don’t know their total numbers but we do know there are over a hundred thousand people spread out through the valley in camps and towns.”
April and Liam both gasped in shock at the number but Val just shook her head.
“I know that sounds like a lot but think about how many millions of people lived in California before that day. That’s less than three percent who survived. I’m sure that others got out in different directions but what’s left is just a drop in the bucket compared to how many died in the first few weeks.”
Mrs. Moore nodded. “What do you know about what conditions are like there?”
Val snorted in disdain. “I know you couldn’t force me to move my people up there
!”
At the teachers’ and students’ concerned looks she sighed. “Look, it’s not like they’re bad people. It’s just they’re still trying to run things like the old days. They’ve got politicians running things and maybe that’s what they need with so many people there but they’re constantly trying to get us to move and they just don’t get why we wouldn’t want to be governed by them. It really bugs a few of them that we don’t want to have to carry around ration cards for every meal and water or have a curfew imposed on us. We have a really good thing going here and we work hard every minute to keep it. There’s no way any of us would give that up!”
Mrs. Moore smiled in agreement. “I would feel exactly the same way if I was in your shoes but unfortunately, we can’t stay here. It’s my responsibility to get my students home so we’ll be forced to travel through that area.”
Camila joined the conversation for the first time. “I should be able to help you with that. My job is communication and I monitor the ham radio we have set up here. I’ve gotten to know a few of their radio operators. From what they’ve told me, I know that they’ve set up a trade route that runs north into Oregon and up into Washington. Last time I chatted with one of the girls she said something about pushing into Idaho. I haven’t heard anything about Canada but if they have secure routes that far north, it’s one step closer. I’ll get on the horn first thing in the morning and feel them out. I can’t promise anything but we’ll have more information after I talk with them. You should consider staying for a few days while I put something together. Also, we’d like to hold a funeral for the two girls you lost.”
Mrs. Moore bowed her head. “That would be very kind of you all. We can’t thank you enough for your help.”
Val, Juan, and Camila all rose from their seats. Val reached over and placed her hand on Mrs. Moore’s shoulder.
“There aren’t very many of us left so it’s our duty to help when we can.”
April took that opening and asked, “Will you help me?” At Val’s questioning look, she squared her shoulders. “Will you teach me how to shoot a gun?”
A smile spread across Val’s face as she started to nod her head. “It would be my pleasure. That’s one of the most important skills you can have these days. Tomorrow, after the funeral, I’ll teach anyone in your group who wants to learn.”
After that, the three leaders took their leave and the rest said good night. After April went back to her room she lay in the soft, clean bed and thought about what they had learned that night. She’d always had hope that they would make it home but now that she knew more about what was ahead of them, she had more certainty.
Chapter Fifteen
The next day dawned grey and overcast as if the sun was in mourning with them. The group of city survivors gathered at the community’s new cemetery that already had far too many graves. The group was surprised and humbled that so many people joined them to say goodbye and pay their respects to the fallen girls even though they hadn’t even known them.
April and Liam stood together as a local minister read from the bible. The other girls wept softly but all April could feel was anger. She felt hollowed out inside as if the only thing left for her to feel was the rage of injustice. When the minister had finished his reading, Mrs. Moore stepped forward and scanned her remaining student’s faces before beginning to speak.
“Ashley and Molly were my students but in the last six months that changed into so much more. We’ve become a family. A family that is united in survival. We’ll all feel the loss of our sisters for as long as we live and we’ll carry them in our hearts forever. Our whole existence has changed and we find ourselves in a new, harder, crueler world that sometimes takes lives too soon. Ashley and Molly wanted to go home so we’ll carry their spirits with us and all the others we have lost as we fight every step of the way there. We’ll not give up. We’ll not quit until we have carried them home!”
With tears in her eyes, she reached down and picked up a handful of dirt and dropped it down into the first grave before repeating it at the second. One by one, the fallen girls’ friends repeated the ritual and walked away.
April felt Liam take her hand as they walked towards the hall where lunch was being set up. She acknowledged him with a brief smile but her mind was elsewhere. She was thinking about numbers. They had gone down into the tunnels under Disneyland with seventeen people from home, including her mother. They had left the park with thirteen and now they were down to eleven and they hadn’t even made it out of the first state. Odds were against them all making it home and April was more determined than ever to change those odds. She looked around the busy hall and zeroed in on Val. The woman looked up from her conversation and must have read what April was feeling because she nodded her head and patted the gun she’d holstered on her hip. Satisfied the woman hadn’t forgotten, she headed towards the food tables and filled a plate.
They settled at a table filled with their fellow students. April took in all their faces and sighed. She understood how sad they all were but she’d hoped to see a few with the spark of anger as well. Taking a deep breath, she addressed the other students.
“After lunch, Val has promised to teach me and anyone else from our group who wants to learn how to use a gun. We need to learn how to defend ourselves. We’ve already lost six of our group to violence so we need to learn how to counter that.”
Kara stared across from the table at April in disgust. “How can you be so cold? I just lost my best friend and you want us to learn how to kill? What is wrong with you?”
April stared back at her with hard eyes. “What’s wrong with me is I don’t want to be the next one to die! Maybe if we all knew how to handle a gun, we could have saved Molly and Ashley!”
When Kara broke the look and lowered her head, April scanned the faces of the rest of her group. Mrs. Moore was at the end of the table and gave the slightest of nods for her to continue.
“I’m beyond sorry that we lost two of our friends. Don’t forget my mom died a few days ago as well. I’m not cold! I’m mad! I’m furious that I can’t spend the next month under my blankets sobbing for all that we lost and posting my feelings on Facebook because this world won’t let me. There are a hundred different ways that we can die every day now and I have to face that. We all have to face that! Learning how to shoot a gun and how to defend myself is the only way I know how to try and control what I can’t control!” April threw her fork down on her uneaten meal and shoved back from the table. Standing, she glared at the other girls and declared, “I WILL fight to get home and to live. Will YOU?”
The teenage girls that had been protected all their lives stared back at April in silence until Jessica slowly stood. April gave her a nod of encouragement.
Jessica’s face was filled with anguish when she spoke in a harsh tone. “It’s not just about dying. It’s about how you want to live. One of Marco’s men raped me before we left the tunnels. I had to lay there and take it because I had no way to fight back. Now I have to live with what he did to me every moment of every day. I will learn to shoot a gun and I will fight.”
The sadness and shock that the girls had been consumed by slowly started to clear, and in its place grew anger and determination. One by one they stood and vowed to fight, until they were all on their feet.
Mrs. Moore finally stood up at the end of the table and her expression showed pride.
“Very well, students, let us learn to fight.” She nodded towards the other end of the table where Val stood with her hands on her hips.
The military woman nodded grimly to the teens. “Follow me.”
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Two hours later, April’s ears were ringing and her arms, neck and hands ached from the recoil of the handgun she’d practiced with. She felt good about her results. She was far from a crack shot, but she now felt more comfortable with handling a weapon. Susan, Kara, and Megan were a total mess. All three of them would scream, squeal and flinch every time they p
ulled the trigger. They also refused to keep their eyes open when taking a shot. Val eventually gave up and deemed them too much of a threat to themselves and those around them and dismissed them from the training.
Jessica had been downright scary with a weapon in her hand. Her face had been cold and hard but her eyes were filled with rage as she pulled the trigger again and again even after she was out of bullets. Val had to talk her down and pry her fingers off the weapon. She was escorted away by Mrs. Moore and Maya. April could only hope the two women could get her to open up about the rape and release some of the pent-up feelings she had about what happened to her before they left the tunnels.
Mrs. Hardsky and her daughter, Jenny, did well and kept calm as they practiced. April, Liam, and Emma were the only other students that showed they could handle the weapons so counting Mrs. Moore, they had six people that could help defend the group. Val wasn’t sure about Jessica. After they had all finished shooting, Val had brought them to a table and looked over every weapon that the city group had brought with them. She added one from her own stock and then showed the group how to oil and clean the weapons to keep them in good condition.
“Never point a gun at someone unless you’re willing to shoot it! It’s important for you all to face the reality that the old laws are gone. There’s no 911. There’s no police to come save you. If you want to survive you have to protect yourselves. Your whole lives you’ve been told it’s wrong to hurt others but you have to harden yourselves against that. We’re at war! Until the world settles back into some form of civilization you must think like a soldier. If someone is trying to hurt you or your group, it’s up to you to stop them. If that means taking a life then that’s what you have to do and then you need to move on. Follow your instincts, trust your gut. If it’s screaming DANGER then believe it and act accordingly! I’m not saying you should pull your weapon at every encounter. Sometimes just having it in plain sight is enough of a deterrent. There are a lot of good people still left in this world but there are also a lot of bad ones that are reveling in the chaos. You’re all good people so follow your instincts and you should make the right choices. Now, weapons we have a surplus of, ammunition, not so much. I can give you a few boxes but that’s all.”
STRANDED: Box Set: Books 1-6 Page 71