Hunting parties went after Mule Deer and Bighorn sheep in the right season to build up meat stores.
Moving on, their next stop was the motor and machine shop, where a lot of young people were working on automobiles in various stages of disrepair. They were completely absorbed in what they were doing and seemed to understand all the mechanisms. Christian zoned in on a separate area where they were working with weapons. His mind was always going when it came to weapons and better ways to make a trap.
“The kids here grew up in these parts,” Aaron explained, “and there were a lot of farming communities surrounding the base. This area was a natural choice to rebuild again, and since the military had been decimated by an internal outbreak, the few who were left were more than welcoming when we approached them with this idea. We’ve been selectively welcoming stragglers ever since. We even have an orchestra of sorts,” he proudly added as an afterthought.
The wind had died down and the sun had come out, and with the relative safety and peaceful atmosphere of Aftertown, Sydney found herself feeling refreshingly cheerful. As they walked along, she noticed armed watchmen stationed in the various towers. From their vantage point, it would be virtually impossible for anything to sneak up on them. She later learned that the night watchmen used night vision goggles, and even animals were watched for erratic behavior.
The group eventually came to a structure in the center of town that turned out to be an infirmary, run by civilians and what looked to be ex-military personnel.
“This is not just a hospital,” Aaron told them. “It also has a state-of-the-art research lab. We have four civilian epidemiologists who worked for the CDC and then went into research for the military. They haven’t found a cure yet, but they’re working on an innocuous form of the virus. Once they have that, the next step will be finding the right antigen to pair with it. Hopefully, the body will then produce the antibodies needed to surround the Turners virus and disable it.”
On that bright note, two women, one elderly and the other young and petite, joined them. The younger one smiled and held out her hand.
“Hi. I’m Jennifer, this big guy’s wife,” she said, pointing to Aaron. “If you made it this far, you must have made an impression on my husband. So, if you’re okay with him, you’re okay with me.” She then introduced them to the older woman, who had a prominent limp. “This is Martha Simmons, but everyone around here calls her Mother Martha.”
“And you may too, if you like,” Martha said with a grandmotherly grin. She had to be in her late seventies. This was surprising, since children, the elderly, and the infirm were usually the first to go as the plague spread. Seeing Mother Martha and the children in Aftertown was a tribute to the leaders and all those who worked to keep the town safe.
Before they could proceed with the tour, one of the town’s teachers, Stephanie Anne Schlosberg, a heavyset woman who looked to be in her early forties, walked up and introduced herself. Sydney finished the introductions, and as they all chatted, Stephanie Anne seemed to draw the boys in. By the questions she was asking them, Sydney could tell she was sizing up their education, but not in a bad way. She got the feeling that Stephanie Anne might be planning on taking them on a journey of the mind, and Sydney secretly hoped she would be included.
Suddenly Aaron called out to a couple who, upon seeing the newcomers, waved and started walking over to meet them. The man was tall and very slender, with sandy blond hair, and he made Sydney think of the descriptions of cowboys she had read about in some old books. His brown eyes had a serious look to them, even when he smiled, and there was a shyness about him. The petite woman at his side had thick blond hair and big round brown eyes.
“This is Steve and Deby Eastwood,” Aaron said. “Steve is our resident medical doctor, and Deby is our hospital administrator. Before the outbreak, they raised horses on their ranch when they weren’t at the hospital.” Well, that would explain the cowboy look, Sydney thought.
Turning toward the Eastwoods, he introduced each of the newcomers in turn. Sydney had always struggled with names, so she was impressed with Aaron’s memory. Then again, when she thought about it, she hadn’t run into many people she’d wanted to remember!
Steve put his arm around Deby as he extended his hand to them. “Welcome to Aftertown. If Aaron has cleared you, that’s good enough for us.”
Deby smiled sweetly as she shook their hands. “We’re glad to have you here. This is a wonderful place to settle, if you’re looking.”
As they talked, the conversation once again turned to the hospital, and Savannah immediately spoke up.
“I’ve been nursing for a few years, and I’d love to look at your clinic,” she said.
Deby, who mentioned that she had been putting in some very long hours, jumped at the chance to recruit a trained nurse. Taking Savannah’s arm and smiling at the rest of the group conspiratorially, she said, “We may be a while, so take your time.”
She turned away with Savannah in tow, and the two were immediately engrossed in conversation as they headed off toward the clinic.
As the rest of them continued the tour, Aaron explained that anyone who took refuge in Aftertown had to bring some skill or knowledge to the table. Anything from cooking and cleaning to gardening and general repair work was acceptable. Teachers and anyone with a background in science were especially welcome. The only exceptions to this rule were the elderly and young children. The infirm never made it that far.
Any able-bodied person who would not work or contribute in a positive way was shown to the gate and sent away with two days’ provisions. There was zero tolerance when it came to laziness.
As for security, regular patrols were conducted in a wide swath, so Turners never got close enough to smell or sense what was going on.
25 Settling In
A year passed swiftly in Aftertown while Sydney and the others contributed wherever they could. They thrived as relationships grew. Sydney practiced her marksmanship and became as good as the boys who were now growing into handsome teens, which in her mind was more than good enough.
Stephanie Anne, a very generous woman both emotionally and mentally, became a close friend not only to Sydney but also to the boys. A teacher to the core, she made sure their education took some leaps. She especially loved history and was so good at teaching it that the boys became engrossed in military strategies and getting books on the subject from the community library. The fact that their new refuge had been a military base was in their favor. The material was almost limitless.
Savannah put in long hours at the hospital with Deby and Steve. She was gifted when it came to medicine, and those gifts were desperately needed as Aftertown’s population steadily grew. She and Deby worked closely to improve the flow and organization of the hospital. Having another trained medical professional on board eased the load Steve and Deby had carried alone in running Aftertown’s only care facility.
Jeremy and Savannah were rapidly developing a fondness for each other, as were Joshua and Sydney. Hope filled the air.
The older boys gained in height and skills while the younger boys were able to just be children and enjoy their childhood without fear.
Within six months, Jeremy had proved himself to the point of becoming a prominent member of the town, and he and Aaron had developed a bond as close as brothers. Their thought processes and methods of approaching various situations were uncannily alike, and they were both natural leaders, which was of great importance in governing a growing, civilized society.
The only thorn in Sydney’s garden was Ron Bruski. Because of his ego, he thought that Jeremy was infringing on his territory, so he was constantly creating drama and trying to taint Jeremy’s character whenever he had the opportunity. Sydney couldn’t see how Ron had become a leader, unless it was because he seemed very good at managing the town’s logistics. Or maybe he had saved someone’s life, and a debt was being repaid. Sydney could only guess.
Other than Ron’s shenanigans and some n
ormal personality conflicts, life was peaceful in Aftertown. The patrols were efficient at spotting and removing threats, keeping everyone inside the gates insulated from the day-to-day dealings with Turners.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aftertown had a larger-than-usual harvest, and everyone decided the community should celebrate with a barbecue so that everyone could enjoy the rewards of their hard work. The festivities started in the early afternoon with games and food, and later in the evening there was music and dancing. It was around midnight before people finally started settling in for the night.
But, as so often happens, the good times didn’t last.
About one in the morning, the town woke to shrieks and screams.
They had to be under attack, which meant nowhere was safe. Joshua, Sydney, and the boys always slept in quarters next to each other. Within minutes of the first screams, they grabbed their weapons and ran out of their rooms to meet each other. Sydney had Brandon and Joshi go into her room.
“Don’t come out unless someone comes for you. Brandon, lock the door behind me.”
Filing out of the barrack’s front door, they watched as at least a dozen Turners ran berserk in the street trying to catch anything they could get their hands on.
As Joshua and the boys raised their guns to start firing, Sydney saw him first. She couldn’t help but let out a gasp as Ron rampaged in the middle of the turned group.
Lifting her gun, she focused on thinning out the Turners. At almost the same instant she saw Stephanie Anne coming up a side alley with gun raised. Sydney shouted out to her so she would see them. While Sydney was calling out to Stephanie Anne, three Turners lurched out from one of the walkways that ran alongside the bunkers. Sydney caught them in her peripheral vision and, as she turned toward them, she noticed that in all the commotion the boys had not seen them. The Turners were coming fast, and as Sydney raised her gun to shoot them, it jammed. Desperately trying to figure out what was causing the problem, Sydney noticed Stephanie Anne run past her side, screaming for the boys to move as she kept running toward them.
Almost as if everything were moving in slow motion, Sydney watched as Stephanie Anne ran to Austin. He had a puzzled look on his face, not understanding why she was lunging at him. Just missing Austin, she flung herself at the Turner that was within grasping distance behind him. The Turner was too close to Austin for anyone else to get a shot at it. As Stephanie Anne made contact with the Turner, Sydney saw its jaws clamp down on her shoulder. The other two were on her immediately. Joshua quickly ended Stephanie Anne’s agony and then systematically eliminated the three Turners that had begun to make a meal of her.
Unable to take even a moment to dwell on the heroism and horror of the situation, everyone was forced to turn their attention to the job at hand: eliminating the newly animated ones.
When the attack was over, six townspeople had been lost but Stephanie Anne’s death was the hardest for Sydney to deal with. She thought about the verse she had read in the Bible about how the greatest love one could show another is to lay down one’s life for that person. Stephanie Anne had certainly proved her devotion through her heroism.
26 The Talk
In the days after that terrible encounter, Jeremy worked almost around the clock with Aaron and Joshua trying to figure out how the siege had happened so they could improve the town’s security. Although the entire town was engaged in the security project to some extent, the boys were especially involved.
Christian was in his element, and it seemed there was no end to his creativeness. He always saw things differently, and he was the one who eventually figured out the breech. By talking to all the children, he found out that one of them had been seen bringing a trapped squirrel into his home. The child who saw this said the squirrel had been acting “funny.” When Christian found the cage it had been in, the chain of events became evident. Left alone during the party, the rodent had pushed through the thin netting used to confine it and had started doing its thing. One bite led to another.
Because of their ages, Sydney made certain that Brandon and especially Joshi, understood the importance of not collecting stray rodents and animals.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Over the next few months, Aaron, Joshua, and Jeremy spent long hours together and with other leaders working on strengthening and securing Aftertown, and life began to quiet down again. The older boys and Sydney completely immersed themselves in the town and its people. The work was constant but rewarding because they were part of something bigger than just them. Brandon and Joshi just enjoyed being children without the fear of strangers hurting or abusing them.
The closeness between Joshua and Sydney continued to grow. He was easy to be with, and they had so much in common. Not just frivolous similarities, but deep-down things of the spirit and soul.
Then, late one morning Joshua asked Sydney to take a walk with him.
“I need to leave,” he said quietly as they strolled along. Joshua was not a verbose man, and he often was abrupt when he didn’t know how to approach a subject.
Sydney knew that most of the men had been talking for a while about possibly forming a scouting party, but as far as she knew, no one had taken the lead to put one together. It was just like Joshua to step up and take charge.
“As much as I’ve enjoyed and needed the rest and the friendships, I need to know if there’s anyone else like us out there. If there is, we need to be able to communicate with them and help each other. Maybe even develop commerce again,” he told her.
Stopping and turning toward Sydney, he picked up her hand. “I want to know if you’ll go with me. I love you, Sydney, and I can’t be separated from you.” He drew her close and kissed her so tenderly and lovingly it made her knees wobble.
“Oh, Joshua, I love you so much. I can’t even think of being away from you, but how can we leave the boys? We’ve been together so long and, well, they need me, especially Brandon and Joshi.” A low chuckle escaped from Joshua at the thought of the older boys being “needy.”
He asked, “Do you think the big guys will come with us?”
Sydney’s heart leaped. “I don’t know. I think so. Oh, I hope so!” she said and gave him a big hug. She knew he was fond of them but was so grateful that he understood and didn’t hesitate to include them.
“Hey, you guys! We’ve been looking for you.” Sydney jumped at the abrupt interruption. Around the corner came all five boys. “What’s up?” she asked, a little embarrassed at the thought that they might have seen her and Joshua being intimate.
“We’re going out for some target practice. Wanna come?” Mason asked. Brandon and Joshi loved nothing more than watching the older boys target shoot.
“Uh, no. Not right now,” Joshua replied. “Actually, we were just going to look for you. Sydney and I have a proposition for all of you.”
“Yeah? What about?” Austin asked, excited at the prospect of an adventure.
With a grin, Joshua said, “Let’s go over to the mess hall and talk about it over lunch.”
Joshua and Sydney kept it to small talk on the way to the cafeteria. The boys were curious, she could tell, but they didn’t ask questions. Once there, they all got their lunches, found a table, and started eating. Meals were one of Sydney’s favorite times. She loved relaxing and catching up on all that was going on with them.
Joshua spoke first. “These people have a need for strong leaders without egos, and they’ve asked Jeremy to join them. It’s no secret that Jeremy and Savannah are planning on getting married and have decided to make Aftertown their home.
“Sydney and I have been talking about going in search of other survivors and, hopefully, good communities. If we find them, we can connect them with Aftertown and make each of the towns even stronger. Aftertown has a powerful radio tower, so we’ll take a couple of short-wave radios from here to stay linked with this place.”
Sydney jumped in. “What we want to know is will the three of you come with us? This is a great place, a
nd I couldn’t blame any of you if you wanted to stay, but I would miss you something terrible.” Please, God, let them say they’ll come with us, she silently prayed. She didn’t want to leave Joshi and Brandon, but she needed to know that they would be safe, and the open road held to many unknowns to have such small children there if it wasn’t absolutely necessary. Besides that, there was no place safer than Aftertown for them to be.
Christian grinned as he looked at Mason and Austin.
“Where one goes, we all go. That’s how it’s always been. What do you guys say?”
Brandon and Joshi wanted to go but Joshua gently explained that it would be too dangerous, and they needed to be kept safe in Aftertown. He reassured them that they would all be back soon, and they would get to stay with Aaron and Jen, whom he had already made arrangements with.
That evening at supper, the five began making their plans.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
A week later they were packed up and ready to go, well equipped with dried foods, water, medical supplies, and weapons. Who knew what the possibilities might be? This was a quest worth leaving their comfortable new existence for, and they all shared this crazy sense of destiny. They didn’t like leaving Joshi and Brandon and the new friends they had made in Aftertown but knowing that they could still communicate with them via the radio sets helped to ease the separation.
Aftertown was now their home and they would always return.
They said their goodbyes, with Sydney shedding a few tears, and headed out in a Suburban with dark-tinted windows.
Once on the road the small band of explorers fell into their comfortable patterns. Mason and Christian joked around. Austin entertained them with silly songs, and they all contributed to the friendly razzing going on. Not being even close to keeping up with the boys’ wit, Sydney was content to listen and laugh.
Although they didn’t have a specific destination, their general direction was south because none of them was crazy about dealing with hard weather and snow. Since the weather didn’t seem to significantly affect Turners, they might as well be comfortable.
Turners | Book 1 | The Beginning Page 8