by Dave Bowman
"First, don't waste. Anything. Water, food, fuel, firewood, it's all precious. Conserve, and only take what you need."
Everyone nodded.
"Second, everyone pitches in for as long as you're here. We all have something to offer, something we can do, and there won't be a lack of work. Sound reasonable?"
Nods.
"That's about it, really."
"I think we can all agree to do that," Liz said. "But I worry about us being in the way. This is your lodge and your supplies. Are you sure you have enough for us?"
"There's enough for a while," Nick said. "But it's not enough forever. We'll have to find more food somehow, whether it's hunting and growing our own, or scavenging. As long as you stay here, you'll have to contribute to everyone's survival."
"I can definitely do that," Charlie said. "I've been hunting and fishing in this country all my life. And I worked at the Fat Elk restaurant. I can wash dishes like the best of them."
Nick smiled. “That's good. We'll have to keep this place clean to not attract pests. Jessa, is that a Forest Service truck you're driving?”
"Yeah, I'm a ranger out in the Pecos National Forest -- I mean, I was a ranger. So I know my way around the woods, and I'm good with hand tools. Woodcraft, trail work, tree work -- that kind of thing,” Jessa said.
"I'm afraid I don't have many useful skills," Liz sighed. "I worked as a barista. I don't think I'll be making any fancy coffee drinks anymore."
Nick chuckled. "Don't worry, there's no shortage of chores out here. We'll find something for you to do around here."
He bent down to Mia's level and winked. "And for you too. I had a boy around your age and he was learning how to do all kinds of useful things."
Nick stood back up and looked off at the distant mountain ranges.
"I think the best thing would be to form a kind of community," Liz said. "Maybe we'll come across other survivors, people who need help. We could spread out a little, build other houses nearby. Everybody working together to survive."
"Have you seen many other survivors who weren't shooting each other?" Jessa asked. "From what I saw, everyone else out there is crazy."
"Let's just take it one step at a time," Nick said in his Texas twang. "It might be nice to have other people nearby who are good neighbors, but that's a long-term plan. We need to be careful who we trust. For now, no outsiders coming back here. I took a chance on you all, and it turned out all right. But now that we're here at this house, we can't just let anybody have access here."
"OK, I understand," Liz said, pushing her hair behind her ear. "First things first."
The group returned to the trail where they had turned off from the gravel road, brushing away the tracks and any signs of the vehicles. They dragged fallen limbs to the trail to make it virtually impossible to be seen from the road. They hauled all their gear to the lodge and inventoried all their food.
Mia seemed to enjoy making lists of all the types of food and counting it up. Though she still was barely speaking, her expression was a little more animated. She was wearing the clothes they had brought her, and though they were loose on her, she looked more comfortable.
Jessa was working in the large walk-in pantry, cleaning and organizing the stores of food, when Liz walked by. Jessa motioned for the younger woman to stop.
"Is Mia a relative of yours?" Jessa asked her, whispering.
"No, I found her all alone in Albuquerque. She had spent two days alone after her parents died, just holed up in a little shack."
"So those bruises..."
"I guess those are from her parents," Liz whispered. "She'll hardly talk to me. I asked her if she was hurt, if she needed any medicine or anything, and she said she was fine."
"Poor little girl. Maybe she'll have a better life here, you know? Away from her abusive parents."
"I'm just hoping she'll open up to me sooner or later. I think she will. She just needs time."
After lunch, Nick and Liz got the outdoor shower connected to the well while Mia finished the food inventory. Jessa and Charlie scouted the property for fallen wood they could add to the firewood stockpile. As Nick said, it was never too early to prepare for winter -- and the end of the propane tank, which would mean cooking on the wood stove.
They each got to wash themselves in the outdoor shower before returning to the kitchen for dinner.
It had been a productive day, and they were glad to have tasks to keep themselves busy.
"Canned beets," Nick said as they finished their food. "I never was a fan, and we've got cans and cans of them in there. My wife insisted we stock up on them."
A sad look came over his face.
"What was her name?" Liz asked.
"Kaitlyn. She got sick first, then Owen followed. He was ten years old.”
"I'm so sorry," Jessa said. She thought of her friends and family who she didn't know were alive or dead. A lump grew in her throat.
"It was the hardest thing in the world," Charlie said. "Watching them die like that. All my family. Getting sicker and there was nothing you could do."
Liz thought about how she had been oblivious to the start of the virus, and hadn't been around any loved ones to see them die. The guilt she felt about her best friend dying was strong, and she spoke to break the silence that had fallen upon the group.
"Jessa, did you lose a lot of people to this thing?" Liz asked.
"I'm assuming I lost everyone," Jessa said, sighing. "I didn't see it happen though. I was out in the woods near Pecos when it hit. I was working on Forest Service wilderness, away from civilization for five days, and without radio contact after the first two days. I got back the day before yesterday and everyone I saw was dead."
"Must have been a shock," Charlie said.
"Yeah, it was crazy. Like the world had ended and I was the last one to find out. I went back to my house in Santa Fe and started to pack up and leave, but I got really sleepy and passed out. Slept like a log for a night and nearly a whole day."
"Yeah, I slept for a long time too," Liz said.
"Same here," Nick said. "Couldn't drag myself out of bed."
"It must be the body's way of fighting it off, right?" Charlie asked. "Those of us who were strong enough to fight it off are still living."
"I guess so," Liz said.
Jessa frowned. "There's something that worries me, though. I was exposed to it a lot later than everyone else."
"So?" Charlie asked.
"What if the virus incubates for a few days, and then you show symptoms? I could still come down with it."
"How do you feel now?" Nick asked.
"I feel fine, all thing considered," Jessa answered. "Just worried."
"It seemed like people got sick about three days after exposure to the thing," Nick said.
"So if I make it through tomorrow without symptoms I should be OK?" Jessa asked hopefully.
"I think so," Nick said, and smiled at her.
"You don't have any gray in your skin," Charlie said. "That's a good sign. Plus, you got tired and slept it off like the rest of us, without any other symptoms. I think you're safe."
"I hope you're right," Jessa said.
They were quiet for a moment.
"Does anyone know how this even happened?" Liz asked.
"There are a lot of theories out there," Nick said. "The official line is that the virus is a mutation of the flu. Kind of a super flu. They're not sure where it started -- some people were saying Europe, some were saying Asia. But it spread to every continent before anyone realized how deadly it was."
"Last I heard the government was trying to come up with a cure or vaccine for it, but nothing would touch it."
"It's all so crazy. I just can't get over how many people it killed. It must have been at least eighty or ninety percent of the population."
"About ninety-six percent," a tiny voice said.
They all turned to look over at Mia, sitting in the corner.
15
They w
ere surprised to hear the little girl speak.
"Did you hear them say that on the news, sweetie?" Liz asked.
"No, it's my own calculation," Mia said quietly.
She looked around to see them all staring at her, surprised. Realizing they were waiting for her to continue, she began to explain.
"It's an estimate. I came to that figure based on the populations of El Paso, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Jemez Springs, the number of people each of us has seen alive the past three days, and an estimate of the surface area of each person's hometown we each traveled through. I figured that only one out of every two to five survivors would be out on the streets at any given moment -- admittedly, it's a wild card. Still, though, it seems logical, because some people will be afraid to go out, but they'll also need to seek food and companionship. The actual number of Hosta victims is probably somewhere between ninety-four and ninety-eight percent. Ninety-six is a good estimate."
The four adults stared at Mia, their mouths ajar.
"I know what you're thinking," she continued. "This is a small sample of the world -- just a few cities in the American Southwest. Well, we do know the virus had spread to all the continents on the planet, and it's highly communicable and airborne. There's no reason not to assume its effects were as devastating the world over. There might be some pockets of isolated populations that haven't been exposed to the germ, though."
After a long moment's silence, Nick was the first one to speak.
"Well, here I was thinking you were just an average nine-year-old. I didn't know we had a child genius in our midst."
Mia smiled shyly, her self-consciousness suddenly returning.
"Wow, Mia, now I know how to get you to talk," Liz said, giving her a squeeze. "Just ask you to explain some complicated equation to us."
"I like math," the girl said quietly.
"And geography," Jessa said, winking at the girl.
“I got some help from the road atlas in my dad's truck,” Mia admitted.
"Your logical process sounds good to me,” Jessa said, leaning back in her seat. “So ninety-six percent, huh? Wow."
"Albuquerque seemed so empty," Liz said. "At first I thought I was the only person left alive."
"I think a lot of people left the cities when they realized how bad this thing was," Charlie said. "There was a big stream of traffic into the mountains the first day people started dying. I think folks were trying to get out."
"I didn't see anyone in the woods above Pecos," Jessa said. "Maybe they just didn't make it that far."
"People are probably hiding out all over these mountains," Nick said. "The ones who survived this thing had to leave the cities. They became dangerous."
The women nodded, having seen and heard how hellish the cities had become.
"The population might continue to decrease, even among the immune," Jessa said. "It's like going through the trauma of the end of the world has made people insane."
"Yeah, I heard a lot of gunshots after things got really bad. And explosions," Liz said.
"Those of us the virus spared still have to survive other people," Nick said grimly. "And then there's starvation and dehydration that can do us all in, too."
"I think the population will keep dropping a bit until it levels out," Mia said.
"And only the strong will survive," Nick added. "We need a plan."
They all agreed.
"We may have lost most of the population, but the ones who remain are desperate. If they haven't already left the city, they will when the food and water runs out. They'll be looking for shelter and sustenance, and there's no law to keep them in line."
Nick paused.
"So we'll have to defend this place and the supplies."
"What does that mean exactly?" Liz asked.
"It means we protect with force what he have here.”
He saw the look of worry on Liz's face.
“I'm not saying we can't have a few neighbors. If a few people want to set up camp nearby, I'll consider it. They'll have to be like-minded, though, and be willing to put in the work to pull their weight."
"What about helping people in need?" Liz asked.
"I'm all for helping people when I can," Nick said. "That's why you folks are here. But there's only so much you can do. We can't open up the food stores for everyone who passes through. At a certain point we have to take care of our own. My family is gone, so I can spare enough to help you all out. But we have to draw the line somewhere."
Liz nodded, but something didn't feel quite right to her. Nick had been so generous to her and the others, and she didn't like the idea of turning away other people who might be in need. Of course, it wasn't her lodge and her supplies, so she knew she didn't have much say in the matter. She would follow Nick's wishes.
"Once we've become self-sufficient, that's a different story. We can have people living near here, and we can form some kind of partnership with other groups. That's what humans have always done to survive, in one form or another. I think it'd be pretty hard to make it living off the land all on your own out here."
"You mean like trading with them?" Charlie asked.
"Something like that, yeah," Nick said. "But the plain truth is that right now we're not self-sufficient. We're still eating food produced by factories that don't exist anymore and trucked in through a system that fell apart. Those resources won't last forever. We'll transition to eating what we can produce and hunt ourselves, but it'll take time. Once the gardens and the irrigation systems are in, and once we have a sense of how reliable the wild game is, then we can think about newcomers joining us and working together. But until then, we can't open our doors."
Liz nodded. It made more sense when he said it that way.
"I'm all for defending what we have here," Jessa said. "I've got a pistol to back that up, too."
"I brought my Winchester Model 70. For hunting and home defense," Charlie said.
Nick smiled. "I like the way you two think."
Liz exchanged a quick glance with Mia, then looked back at Nick.
"I have a gun, too," Liz said.
Nick, Charlie and Jessa all looked at her, surprised that she would be carrying one.
"Well, it's Mia's gun, actually. Mia's parents' gun, I guess. She handed it to me when I found her in Albuquerque."
"It was my dad's gun," Mia said meekly.
"We took it with us," Liz said.
She didn't mention that the gun was still underneath the driver's seat in the old truck parked with the other vehicles. To be honest, Liz had forgotten about it, and she was too embarrassed to admit that. She hoped Mia wouldn't bring it up.
"Do you two know how to shoot it?" Nick asked, looking at Liz and Mia.
They shook their heads no.
"Then tomorrow will be gun training for Liz and Mia."
"For me too?" Mia asked, surprised to be included.
"Sure," Nick said. "You need to know gun safety, and you should be able to shoot a firearm in case of emergency. We'll go over everything you need to know. And target practice for everyone, including me."
"OK," Liz said, nervously. She was still uneasy around guns, but she figured she and Mia should learn how to use them. No one in her family had owned a gun, and she had never really been around firearms much.
"All of you will need to get familiar with the property -- where the high points are, where the places to hide are. We can discuss strategies later. The more prepared we are for intruders, the better off we'll all be. Agreed?"
They all nodded.
"So that's the home defense part of the plan. It'll be a work in progress," Nick said. "That leaves the plan for water and food supplies. The well here is safe to drink from, and we've got a shower rigged up for at least the warmer months. It's a deep well, but I'd still like to make it last as long as possible. We'll need to build a water catchment system."
"Yes!" Jessa exclaimed. "I've always wanted to make one of those. A few friends of mine had those rigged up."<
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"Well, good, you can be in charge of getting that system set up before the late summer rains come," Nick said, smiling. "We'll use rainwater for washing clothes and irrigation."
Jessa nodded, excited about her new project.
"Food is something we'll have to constantly work on. We'll have to get gardens in place quickly. Maybe we can even plant some cold-loving crops soon. Then, in the spring, there will be more to plant. We'll need to have a good bit of potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, greens, beans, and corn. I want to focus on the most nutritious and caloric foods we can grow. Got lots of seeds in glass jars out in the shed."
"I hope there'll be some room for chile peppers in those garden beds. I don't think I can live too long without chiles," Charlie said, grinning.
"I think we can squeeze them in," Nick said, laughing.
"Plus they're a good source of Vitamin C," Jessa added. "I don't think we're going to be drinking much orange juice any time soon. No more shipments of citrus from California and Florida. We'll need peppers and greens to keep the scurvy away."
"Good point," Nick said. "Now, getting those gardens going will be a lot of work. We'll start making compost now, but it won't be ready until next year."
He frowned, thinking about that last point.
"I'm not much of a gardener, to be honest. That was Kaitlyn's area of expertise. But I do worry about this soil. Don't know how fertile it'll be without compost. And we don't have any at the moment."
They could hear the worry in his voice.
"It'll produce something the first season, right?" Jessa asked. "It might not produce the county's prize-winning tomatoes, but maybe we could at least grow something easy like some greens. Then next year we'll have more organic matter to add to the soil."
"Yeah, but I was counting on having some food from a fall garden. I guess I wasn't as prepared as I thought I was." Nick frowned again, frustrated with himself, and angry at fate.
"There's always hunting, right?" Charlie asked. "Plenty of deer out there, and grouse, too. If we're lucky we can get an elk. Dry that meat up over a fire, and we'll be set for the winter."
"Yeah, we'll just have to rely more on the animal foods at first. Hunting and fishing," Nick agreed.