by David Achord
It had taken a lot of talking and promises to get the Bristol people to agree to relocate to Marcus Hook. They reluctantly agreed, but only after Parvis told them staying at Mount Weather was not an option.
We finally agreed if they would stay at Marcus Hook, we would have a fortified and powered house waiting for them in September. Parvis and I met with a cacophony of resistance when we presented it at the next meeting. Their argument was we were under no obligation to cater to newcomers in this manner, but they were not yet aware of the Russians and that we were going to need as many personnel as we could get to fight this possible threat. President Stark approved our proposal without comment and moved on to the next topic. I met Joe and his family in the cafeteria after the meeting and told them.
The next recruitment pitch was to Ensign Lawrence Boner. It fell upon Bob Duckworth and myself. He was an easy sell. We told him we’d already discussed it with Roscoe Sidebottom and he was all in favor of Boner taking over the fledging naval operations. He only asked one question.
“And I only answer to Sidebottom, right?” he asked.
“And the president,” Bob answered.
He agreed. We left immediately after breakfast.
“Tell me what you really think about this, Zach,” Joe urged after we’d traveled forty miles while engaging in idle chatter about farming.
“I spoke with Johnny G on the radio last night and filled him in. He’s the number two man, so they are expecting us. He assured me they’d have living quarters ready for all of you. I have no doubt you guys are going to be putting in hard work days, but you’re used to that. Roscoe and Johnny G have all kinds of work projects going, much like us.
“There are only thirty people living there, and that includes six kids, so I imagine they are going to be welcoming you with open arms.”
I thought about Riley. Sixteen of the twenty-four adults were single men. Seventeen if you included Boner. Unfortunately for Boner, I don’t think there was a single woman available.
I looked in the sideview mirror. It looked like Boner was chatting it up, probably making a play for Riley. I can’t say I blamed him. She was a good-looking woman. It was my understanding, learned through the Mount Weather gossip hotline, of which my lovely wife was a charter member, Riley had asked Logan to go with her, but he had politely declined. The rumor was, Logan had confided in his brother that he and Riley had a sexual encounter that did not go well. Liam promptly told his new girlfriend, Priss, who was also an active member of the gossip network.
I’d probably never learn the whole story, and although it was probably amusing, I didn’t care. I had many other things on my mind, including getting them settled in Marcus Hook and convincing all of them to stay. It wasn’t going to be easy. Marcus Hook was not a pristine place to live. It was an industrial town, back before, with little aesthetic scenery, and the apocalypse had not helped much.
As we drove down Philadelphia Pike, we saw the first signs of life in the form of a barricade. An old sign hung over the road welcoming people to Marcus Hook and a sign off to the side identified a big industrial complex as once belonging to Sunoco.
“Welcome to Marcus Hook,” I said.
“Shit-hole of America,” Abby added.
“And yet, it is the most important place in America at the moment,” I said. “I want you all to consider something. A hundred years from now, the history books are going to be full of references about Marcus Hook and Mount Weather. A farmhouse in Bristol or rural Virginia won’t even receive a mention. You don’t realize it, but you’ll be a part of history.”
“Oh, boy,” Abby muttered. I didn’t say it, but her sour disposition was beginning to annoy me. Hell, if she didn’t like it, she could always leave.
I could see two guards posted at the barricade as we approached. When they recognized me, both of them gave a big grin. I stopped and rolled down my window.
“Hello, guys,” I said.
“Welcome back, Zach. Hello everyone,” one of them said. He was a man in his forties who had a long, full beard and a few missing teeth. “You’re right on time. Any troubles?”
“None whatsoever,” I said. “I didn’t even see a single zed.”
“That’s good news. Okay, all of them are waiting on you guys at the main building.”
“I appreciate it,” I said and drove forward, stopping at a concrete building with four Greek columns. “They converted this building to their base of operations and living facilities,” I said. “It used to be the Marcus Hook Municipal Building. There are also houses back behind there on Green Street. One of them has been prepped for you guys to live in.”
Roscoe and several others walked out of the front door as we parked and got out. Everyone was all smiles and gave Trader Joe’s family a warm welcome. Raymond Easting was standing there as well. The two of us shook and then gave each other a warm embrace. He then shook hands with Boner, but no embrace.
“Come inside everyone,” Roscoe said. “Lunch is almost ready.”
I started to unload the trailer, which was full of supplies, but a man stopped me.
“No, sir,” he admonished. “Go on in and have some lunch; me and Jimbo will take care of this.”
“I appreciate it,” I said and pointed at the trailer. “It’s full of provisions, but I also brought a few jerry cans I was hoping to get filled.”
He grinned. “Don’t worry, I’ll have them all filled before you leave.”
I thanked him and walked inside. It had been a year since I’d been here. Back then, they only had a rudimentary cafeteria, and although they’d made some improvements, it was nowhere near the caliber of Mount Weather’s cafeteria. They sat us all down at one of the tables and introductions were made. Roscoe and Johnny G paid extra attention to Joe senior.
“We can’t tell you how happy we are that you’re here,” Roscoe said.
“Well, it’s certainly going to be interesting,” Joe replied.
“How many boats do you have?” Boner asked.
Johnny G’s smile faltered slightly. “Two that are operational. We have others that are still floating, but we’ve not had the chance to ensure they’re seaworthy.”
Boner nodded thoughtfully. “Well, it’s a good thing I’m here then,” he said smugly and glanced at Riley, who seemed not to be paying attention.
We talked through lunch, and after, Roscoe and Johnny G gave the grand tour, ending at a park on the waterfront.
“There you have it,” Roscoe said. “We have a large area and a lot of potential, but we probably need a hundred more people to make it a reality.”
“There is a lot of work to be done here,” Joe senior mused.
“Yes, there is,” Roscoe replied.
Joe seemed to ponder this for a moment and then looked at Little Joe. “The Fitzgerald’s have never backed down from hard work, isn’t that right, son?”
“Damn right,” Little Joe replied, but not with much eagerness. The others remained silent. Finally, Ned raised his hand.
“Yes, sir?” Roscoe asked.
“I only saw two greenhouses,” he said questioningly.
“Zach said you three are horticulturists, is that right?” he asked. Ned nodded.
“We have plans of creating additional greenhouses, and we have most of the materials, but we haven’t had time to build them,” Roscoe said. “Now that you three are here, we’ll make it a priority. In fact, I think we can start on it immediately, right, Johnny?”
“Absolutely,” Johnny G said. “If you don’t mind working in the cold, we’ll start on one tomorrow morning.”
“You know we’re only here until September, correct?” Joe asked as he glanced at me. “We have been promised a fortified farmhouse back near Mount Weather.”
“That is my understanding,” Roscoe said. “I hope by the time September rolls around you people will consider this home.” He gestured around. “We all look a little rough around the edges, I’ll grant you that, but we’re good people.”
“Perhaps we will,” Joe said without much conviction, but he smiled agreeably.
“I think your Bristol people are not happy to be here,” Raymond said to me.
After the grand tour, all of us went back to the municipal building, chatted, went over the operations, had dinner, and then Joe and his family excused themselves to retire to their new house for the evening.
“They can always leave, I suppose,” Johnny G said, and looked over at Boner. “What about you?”
Boner shrugged apathetically. “I’m good, for now. I can get you squared away on boats and teach a few of you how to navigate on the waterways, but unless you can get some women or some friendly sheep, I don’t know how long I can hold out.”
Johnny G laughed. “You’re preaching to the choir, brother. I’ll tell you what, once we get some things done, let’s get on one of those boats and wander around. Maybe we’ll find some mermaids.”
Boner actually chuckled, which I took as a good sign.
“But, I’m afraid those other people are going to come up to us one day soon and tell us they’ve had enough.”
“If it comes to that, you’ll need to loan them a vehicle,” I said.
“Bullshit,” Johnny G retorted.
“They left their horses with us, so they don’t have any means of transportation. I’ll see to it you get a replacement vehicle.”
Johnny G emitted a long sigh. “I know you will, Zach. I’m just a little frustrated. We welcomed them with open arms and they acted like this was the last place they wanted to be.”
I caught myself from letting out my own sigh and looked over at Boner. “Did they say anything during the ride over here?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Not much. When we drove up, the first word out of Riley’s mouth was, ugh.” He looked pointedly at Roscoe and Johnny G. “No offense, but this place doesn’t hold a candle to Mount Weather.”
“None taken,” Johnny G replied. “There were several places we all could have landed that were nicer than Marcus Hook, but Roscoe had a vision. Oil has powered this world for over a hundred years, and now it’s more valuable than gold. We want fishing boats, sure, but we also want a tanker operational. Imagine, if you will, having a tanker going up and down the eastern seaboard. We’ll be able to trade for all kinds of commodities.”
“You’ll need an escort ship,” Boner said. “Like a patrol boat, or something similar. Otherwise, I foresee someone deciding they’ll just take it from us by force.”
“Sounds like a job for a naval officer,” Johnny G said with a grin.
Ensign Lawrence Boner nodded at the compliment.
“Okay, getting back to the Bristol people,” Roscoe said.
“I’ll stay here another month and work with them,” Raymond said. “They seem like reasonable people, they’re just out of their element.”
Roscoe leaned back in his chair. “It is what it is, I guess.” He let out a long yawn. “It’s past my bedtime,” he said, slid his chair back and stood. Johnny G did as well.
“Come on, you two, I’ll show you to your rooms.”
I followed and found all of my gear lying on the bed, including my rifle and machete. The room might have been a coat room at one time, or maybe a one-person office. It was really small, but that was okay. There was heat and clean sheets on the bed. I moved my stuff, stripped and was asleep before I knew it.
I was up at my usual time the next morning. They had no tea, even though I knew we’d given them plenty of ginseng. Breakfast consisted of two hardboiled eggs and three slices of hard bread.
Nope, this place was definitely not Mount Weather, but I anticipated it getting better, especially since we’d given Ned several different types of seeds he could grow in their new greenhouses.
After breakfast, I made my rounds, saying goodbye to everyone. Jimbo informed me the truck was gassed up and ready to go, and he’d filled all of the jerry cans. Roscoe practically begged me to stay for a day or two, but I told him I needed to get back on the road while the weather permitted.
When I walked outside to my SUV, the engine was running and Riley was sitting in the passenger seat. I paused in confusion. I heard someone behind me clearing their throat. I turned to see both Joes.
“Zach, I must ask this favor of you,” Joe said.
“I assume you want me to take Riley back to Mount Weather,” I said.
“It would mean a lot to her. She is convinced she would be unhappy here.”
Little Joe leaned forward. “She thinks all of the dudes here are,” he paused and looked at his dad. “Unappealing. I think that’s the word she used. Or, maybe it was butt ugly. Not sure.”
Raymond was standing off to the side, and when I looked over, he shrugged and motioned me off to the side.
“Whatever you decide,” he said. “But if we make her stay here, I don’t think it’ll work. The rest of them I can work with. She’s another story. When I tried to talk to her, she told me to fuck off and rolled up the window.”
I grunted. It sounded like Riley. I thought it over. The fact was, it was a no-brainer. We had a shortage of single women back at Weather, and I could sell her marksmanship skills as a needed asset, even though I’d never seen her shoot.
“Okay. You explain it to Roscoe,” I said to Raymond. We gave each other a bro hug and I shook hands with the rest of them.
“Alright, I’m getting out of here,” I said, already wondering what Kelly was going to think when I showed up back at Weather with Riley in tow.
“Thanks, Zach,” Joe senior said. “We’ll see you in September.”
“Oh, I’ll be around some when the weather warms up,” I said and glanced at Riley. “Okay, I better get going.”
“Did Dad explain?” Riley asked when I got in.
“Yeah, pretty much. You don’t like it here.” I waved again at everyone, put the truck in gear, and took off.
“Not at all, and none of the men here do anything for me.”
“What about Boner – I mean Lawrence? I thought you two were hitting it off?”
She scoffed. “All he did the whole trip was talk about himself.”
“Oh.”
“Is anyone going to be pissed?” she asked.
“No, I’ll take care of it,” I said. “But, you need to stop being so preoccupied with this manhunt quest.”
“Easy for you to say,” she said. “You have someone. I haven’t been laid in over a year.”
I glanced at her, but did not respond.
Roscoe had found a good alternate route on fairly rural roads which avoided the big cities. It added several miles to the trip, but it worked. For the first thirty minutes, we drove in silence before Riley spoke.
“Why did you and Kelly decide to have another kid?” she asked. “You already have two.”
“Frederick and Macie are from my first wife,” I said. “Kelly decided her biological clock was ticking and she wanted to have one before she got old and regretted it.”
“Oh,” she replied, and after a minute spoke again. “You were married before?”
“Yeah,” I replied. I gave her the Reader’s Digest version of how I met, fell in love with, and married Julie. I then told her of the events leading up to her death, the confinement of my kids and myself, and the ultimate reunion. I finished by telling her how Kelly and I ended up falling in love. I left out a lot of the more intimate details though.
“Wow, you’ve been through a lot,” she said. “So, you and Kelly started off as friends with benefits?”
I glanced over at her. Like I’d observed earlier, she was blunt. “I’m not sure I’d describe it like that.”
“How else would you look at it? You were fucking her, but you weren’t in love with her, at least, not at first. Isn’t that what you said?”
“That’s true, but I don’t need our relationship dissected. We’re happy together, that’s what counts.”
“Well, I envy you two,” she said after a moment. “I don’t seem to have any luc
k at all.”
“What happened to the husband?” I asked.
“His name was Ben. There wasn’t any preacher or judge to marry us, so we had our own private little ceremony. He was a lot older than me, but that didn’t matter. We loved each other. One day, a few of us rode into downtown Bristol on bicycles to scavenge. We’d done it dozens of times before with no problems.”
“I take it there are still a lot of zeds there?”
She shrugged. “They used to blindly chase us, but they started hiding, so I don’t really know how many are left. That’s what happened to Ben. We’d split up and took some buildings we’d been in before. Three of them jumped him. By the time we got to him, it was too late. That was over a year ago and I haven’t been laid since.”
I chuckled. “Okay, I’ve got to ask, what happened between you and Logan?”
She groaned. “Are you sure you want to know?”
I backtracked quickly. “I’m sorry, I’m prying. It’s none of my business.”
She only waited a moment. “He had a premature ejaculation.”
Before I could stop myself, I burst out in laughter.
“I know, right?” she said. “I couldn’t decide if I was into him or not, but he was laying it on hot and heavy. It happened that night we went to the movie. We’d been drinking that god-awful moonshine, and as soon as the lights went down, he started getting handsy. I didn’t mind though, and after the movie was over, he suggested we go back to his room. His brother was gone, so we started getting frisky. As soon as I touched him, he exploded. Then it got awkward.”
“Yeah, I bet,” I said.
“Has that ever happened to you?” she asked.
“Uh, no.” I wasn’t lying.
“He apologized and said it’d been a long time since he’d been with a woman. But, no matter what I tried, he couldn’t get it up again. The next morning at breakfast, he wouldn’t even look at me.”