by Alex Gunwick
“That’s too bad. People should be coming together to share the burden, not trying to steal from each other.”
“I don’t want anything they have,” Liz said. “I was minding my own business.”
“Well, here’s the deal,” Harvey said. “I mentioned your situation to Irene and she blew her lid. She doesn’t want trouble. I can’t say I blame her. We’re living a nice, quiet existence right now. Every once in a while we catch a group coming up from Santiago Canyon Road. We’ve got enough people and enough guns to send them on their way. So far, we haven’t had any real problem with our setup.”
“If the preacher’s sending out scouts to look for more supplies, it’s only a matter of time before he finds you.”
“We’ll see him coming long before he sees us,” Harvey said. “We’ve got lookouts on the hills.”
“Really?” Liz lifted her hand to shade her eyes. As she scanned the surrounding landscape, light glinted off something on the highest hill. Probably binoculars or a gun. “Your people aren’t concealed very well.”
“Owen’s on watch right now. The boy doesn’t have more than two cents to rub together in his head. I think he smoked too much pot before the bombs dropped. Fried his brain cells. I keep telling him to stay behind a bush, but he insists on plopping down on his ass wherever he damn well pleases.”
“That’s unfortunate,” Liz said, keeping her own assessment to herself. If she’d voiced her true opinion, it might serve to burn bridges before she’d even built any.
“I’ve been thinking about your situation and here’s where I’m at. We’ll take you on a trial basis. After thirty days, if everything’s going well, we’ll officially welcome you to the group. Based on where you live, we’re going to have to extend our perimeter out to the edge of your property. That means you might catch us walking around out there while on patrol. Now, we can’t have you shooting us, so I’d want you to meet everyone first so we can get this set up.”
“When do you typically meet?” she asked.
“Once a day, usually at night. Sometimes we eat dinner together, but most of the time we just do a quick, thirty-minute check-in right before sunset. We really haven’t had much to report, but if we’re going to be out on your property, we might have more to discuss.”
“I’m pretty sure the preacher’s men are wandering onto my property near the stream.”
“Are they there to take water?” Harvey asked.
“Not as far as I can tell. I think they’re watching us.”
“Maybe if they know there’s more people watching out for you, they’ll back off.”
“That’s what I’m hoping. I’d really appreciate all the help I can get,” she said.
“We’ll see what we can do. Why don’t you come by tonight, right before sunset. I’ll introduce you to the group and see what everyone thinks about bringing your family in on a trial basis. This wouldn’t be a done deal until they’ve all had a chance to meet you.”
“I understand.”
“I’d better get this pail in there before it starts to sour. See you tonight.”
As Harvey carried the pail into the house, Liz and Edwin circled around to the road in front. They walked up the road toward Edwin’s house.
“So, what did you think?” Edwin asked.
“It sounds promising.”
“I don’t think anyone’s going to have a problem bringing you in. He’s just being cautious.”
“As he should be. It shows consideration for the group.”
After saying goodbye to him, Liz strolled back toward the cabin. Along the way, she checked the tripwire. She and Kyle had spent hours tying bells to fishing line before stringing it between trees. It wasn’t the most high-tech option, but in a post-electric world, it worked as well as anything. Whether or not it would be enough to warn them remained to be seen, but for now, it was better than nothing.
An hour before sunset, Liz kissed the kids goodbye before heading over to Edwin and Sandy’s house. They showed her the way to the group’s meeting place, a fire pit behind one of the other cabins. Apprehension tingled in her gut. Harvey and Irene stood across the fire from her. They held mason jars full of clear liquid. Water? Vodka? She couldn’t tell without being close enough to smell it.
“Would you like a drink?” a man asked.
She turned to find a middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair standing behind her. He had the uptight manor of a nobleman, or a literature professor. If his nose was any farther in the air, he could use it as a barometer. Did it twitch when a storm was on its way?
“I’ll have whatever they’re having,” she said.
“One vodka tonic, coming up.”
She smiled until he turned his back, then wrinkled her nose. Yuck! She hated tonic water. Maybe she should have asked for plain water instead.
A pair of gorgeous twin girls walked up from the road. They looked slightly older than Sierra. Probably twenty-one or twenty-two. They wore matching jeans with light pink T-shirts. Even their ponytails swung in tandem.
“I’m Carla,” the one on the right said as she held out a hand. After Liz shook it, Carla gestured toward her sister. “This is Noelle. We’re twins.”
“Obviously,” Noelle said with a laugh. “She does that.”
“What?” Carla asked.
“Likes to state the obvious.”
Noelle snorted hard enough to whip her ponytail to one side.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Liz said, noting the faint mole on Carla’s cheek. She tried to memorize which twin had the mole and which didn’t, but would probably forget as soon as all the introductions were over. She’d never been good with names.
“We’re their parents,” a man said. “I’m Franklin, and this is my wife Jamie.”
Rosy cheeks, frizzy hair, and a trim waist made him look like a cross between a fit Santa Claus and a mad scientist.
Dark roots supported his wife’s platinum-blonde hair. Without access to hair dye, Liz suspected she was showing her true color for the first time in decades. Jamie held out a delicate, but limp, hand. Liz took it, careful not to squeeze too hard. God forbid she broke one of the neighbors.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Liz said.
“I hear you’ve been having some trouble,” Jamie said.
“Some. But I think it’s been resolved for now.”
“That’s interesting, because Irene told me that you told Edwin that the church people were coming onto your property again. Have you resolved something in the last twenty-four hours?”
Jamie cocked her head to one side, a smug expression on her face. She was probably one of those perfect soccer moms who managed to do everything without letting a single hair fall out of place.
“I haven’t spoken to the preacher.”
“How unfortunate. If you’ll excuse me.” Jamie joined Irene on the other side of the fire, leaving her husband standing alone with a sheepish half-smile.
“She’s very protective of the girls,” Franklin said.
“I’m sure.”
“Burt, Tawney, and Owen are coming up the road. Late, of course. That son of theirs has no sense of time. Or he’s just lazy. Let’s find a seat before they get here.”
As Liz followed him to a folding chair, she sighed softly. Even in the midst of a total disaster, some things never changed. Jamie and Irene had already made up their minds about her, but how much weight did they hold with the others?
After everyone had settled into their seats in a circle, Harvey stood and addressed the group.
“Tonight’s going to be a bit different from our other meetings. I’ve already talked with you about the possibility of adding a new member to the group. She has two kids, Sierra and Kyle. They’re old enough to help patrol the perimeter of our community. I, for one, would be happy to share the burden with more people. It will make our community stronger, and will give each of us more time to spend with our families.”
“I have something to say before we vot
e,” Jamie said.
“Jamie, you have the floor.”
“Right now we’re a close-knit community. We haven’t had any problems so far. We all work well together, don’t we?”
Several heads nodded.
“We don’t need to bring new members into the fold. Sure, we have to share a lot of shifts to make sure someone’s watching 24/7, but overall, we’ve got this.” Jamie flashed a thousand-watt smile.
“Does anyone else have anything to say?” Harvey asked.
“I do.” Irene stood. “If we allow her into the community, how do we know she won’t bring trouble with her? If the church has a problem with her, then maybe there’s a good reason. Decent people don’t make enemies.”
“They’re not decent people,” Liz said. “The way he’s running his congregation is cult-like. I wouldn’t be surprised if I went over one day and found them all dead from drinking Kool-Aid. As long as the preacher’s in charge over there, none of us are safe.”
“Do you think he’s going to stop with me? No. He’ll kill me and my family, then come for you next. I’m the first line of defense against him, but I need your help. I can’t do it all alone.”
“What about your kids?” Jamie asked.
“With three people, we’re on eight-hour shifts each. Mine’s about ten p.m. until sunrise. Sierra’s is sunrise to mid-afternoon, and Kyle’s lasts until I take over again. We never see each other together anymore. It’s…” She stopped, not wanting to reveal that their current schedule was tearing her family apart.
“I see your point,” Irene said. “She’s right. If the preacher decides to come for our supplies, what’s to stop him?”
“I promise you I’ll do everything in my power to make sure you never have to deal with him. I’ll contribute to the community in whatever way you see fit. The only thing I ask in return is a break from eight-hour shifts.”
“The power’s been out for days,” Harvey said. “We don’t know how long it’s going to stay out. It could be a few days, a few weeks, or longer.”
“Do you really think the power company’s going to leave us without power for several weeks?” Jamie asked.
“It could be years,” Liz said.
“Years?” Jamie’s face contorted as if she’d swallowed a porcupine.
“If we got hit by an EMP, it’s going to take years to get the power grid back up,” Edwin said. “They don’t keep spare parts lying around. They’d have to get one plant online to even run the manufacturing plant to make more. And even in full production mode, they can only repair a few power stations at a time. If they start on the East Coast, we could be dead last. That’s why we need to band together. We could be in this for a long time.”
A mixture of horrified looks and resolute silence filtered through the group.
“Does anyone else want to speak before we vote?” Harvey asked.
Everyone murmured no.
“We don’t hide our votes, so if you’re in favor of letting Liz and her kids into the group, say aye.”
Everyone except Jamie raised their hand. Her shoulders slumped as she glanced around at the others. After several seconds, she finally raised her hand.
“Great, then it’s settled,” Harvey said. “Let’s spend the rest of the night celebrating.”
Drinks flowed. Animated conversations ensued. It was as if someone had flipped a switch. Any latent hostility evaporated on the chilly night air.
Liz stepped closer to the fire. A canopy of twinkling stars hung over the group. Other than having to deal with the preacher, surviving the apocalypse hadn’t been too bad. They had plenty of food and an unlimited water source. In a few days Luke would be home, and they’d be a family again. She couldn’t wait to kiss him under the stars.
6
Luke pressed the gun to the man’s temple. “You’d better start talking or I’m going to start shooting.”
“Wait…wait…” the man blathered. “I wasn’t following you. I was walking on the tracks. Same as you.”
“You were pacing me.” Luke squeezed the man’s throat and pushed him against the wall.
“No. No. I’m just trying to get home.”
“From where?”
“Las Vegas. I was on vacation when the bombs dropped. My buddy had his bachelor party there.”
“How did you get this far?”
“I walked.”
“Where are your friends?”
“Dead.”
“What happened?”
“We ran into a gang in Barstow. They ambushed us in the middle of the night. They thought we had guns and food.”
“Did you?” Luke asked.
“No. We didn’t have anything but the clothes on our backs. We had a couple of water bottles, that’s how we made it through the desert, but nothing else.”
“Do you have any weapons on you right now?”
“No.”
Luke holstered his gun while still holding onto the man by his neck. He used his free hand to search the man for weapons. Other than a wallet, the man didn’t have anything on him.
“Please don’t kill me. All I want to do is get home to my wife and kids.”
Luke released him.
“My name’s Boyd.”
“Luke.”
“Where are you headed?”
“South.”
“Me too. I’m going to Corona.”
“It’s been over a week since the bombs hit. Why did it take you so long to get here?”
“I wasn’t exactly running marathons before the world decided to take a shit on my plans.” Boyd waved his hand to indicate his physique. “I’ve probably lost twenty pounds already.”
“As far as I can tell, everyone’s lost some weight.”
“Not everyone,” Boyd said with a faraway look in his eyes. “Some people are content to steal from other people. They’ll kill you for a piece of bread these days. Can you believe it’s come to this?”
“I hoped it never would, but I knew it could happen.”
“Nuclear war?”
“Yeah.”
“Listen, I know you’re probably not interested in taking on dead weight, but I was hoping maybe I could walk with you,” Boyd said.
“Why?”
“You’ve got a gun. I wouldn’t mind the protection. It might make these thugs think twice.”
“I walk alone,” Luke said.
“I know. But, man, I’m just trying to get home. You seem like a standup guy—”
“What makes you think that?”
“You didn’t instantly kill me.”
“Only because you weren’t a threat.”
“Right. Do you have a family?” Boyd asked.
“Yeah.”
“And you’re trying to get back to them, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then why not work together?”
“What would you bring to this partnership?” Luke asked.
“Other than my good looks?” Boyd chuckled. “Well, I may as well be a water diviner.”
“Please don’t tell me you walk around with a stick searching for water.”
“No. No mumbo-jumbo stuff. I don’t know why or how, but I seem to be able to find water in the strangest places. Let me give you an example. I was walking through the desert with my buddies. We’d run out of water a full day earlier. It was hot as hell, sun beating down on us, air as dry as a ninety-year-old snatch. But I had this feeling—walk over those hills and you’ll find water. Well, I walked over those hills and—BAM! I found a spring.”
“We’re in the city now. It’s not hard to find water here,” Luke said.
“Then let me carry your pack or something. We’ll be stronger together. It’s not good to go it alone.”
“I’ve done fine so far.”
“Looks like you’re bandaged up pretty good.” Boyd pointed at Luke’s leg. “You’ve got a bit of a limp to you already. When did it happen?”
“Yesterday.”
“Knife?”
“Oh hell. How are you up and around?”
“It grazed me. Look, I’m sorry you’re alone, but we’re not too far from Corona. Maybe thirty miles or so. You’ll be fine.”
“Were you such a stubborn asshole before the bombs dropped too? Or is that a newly acquired trait?” Boyd asked.
“Good luck,” Luke said as he shouldered his pack.
He headed toward the fence that stood between him and the train tracks.
“Wait! Wait!” Boyd yelled.
Luke whipped around and pointed his gun at him. “You’re not coming with me. So unless you want to get shot, you’d better stay put for ten minutes. Then you can get back on the tracks. But if I so much as smell you, I’ll put a round right between your eyes.”
“Asshole!”
Luke narrowed his gaze. If he’d had a full pack of ammo, he would have put a bullet in his head already. Who the hell did that guy think he was? He had no weapons, no skills, and nothing to offer. He’d only slow Luke down. Sure, he felt a pang of guilt for leaving Boyd to fend for himself, but tough shit. Compassion for a stranger sat somewhere near the bottom of his list of priories in a post-apocalyptic world. And he sure as hell wasn’t going to let anyone slow him down. No one’s family mattered more than his own.
After jumping the fence, he headed down the tracks. Ten minutes after leaving Boyd, he turned to check to make sure he wasn’t behind him. The tracks remained empty as far as he could see. Good. He didn’t have time to worry about anyone else. He was already off track and needed to cover twenty miles today.
The next few miles passed in a monotonous parade. The area around the tracks left the warehouse district and morphed into residential streets. Occasionally, a person’s head would appear over a fence. To stay out of the line of sight, he stuck to one side of the tracks. A brick wall separated the tracks from the homes. He stayed as close to the wall as possible. He could pull himself up and over if necessary, but for now, everything seemed peaceful.
Meat sizzled on barbecues. The smell of cooking food taunted him. It would be far too easy to hop over the fence and take whatever they were cooking. He hated to acknowledge the part of him that could imagine stealing from other people. To take food from an office desk was one thing, to take it directly from a hungry person was another.