by Harley Tate
“I didn’t say that. We could go anywhere.”
“What does a small town have that we don’t?”
Grant threw up his hands and walked into the breakfast area. “You all see it, don’t you? We have to get out of here.”
Susie balked. “Leave my home? Why? I’ve got a place to sleep and a small garden. If I convert the rest of the backyard, I can live off what I grow.”
“You really think your neighbors will let you do that?”
She leaned back in her chair and glanced at Dan.
The big man grunted as he moved his injured arm. “Don’t see how leaving is going to help us.”
“If we get out of the city, we can find a place where it’s still life as usual.”
Oliver snorted. “Good luck. Nowhere has any power. Without electricity, it’s not normal life anywhere.”
“There’s got to be some, somewhere.” Grant pointed at Oliver. “You’ve got solar panels. When I was trying to get home, I ran across a farm totally off the grid. They had all the electricity they needed.”
Leah couldn’t believe the words out of her husband’s mouth. Leave their home? She looked around. Everything she owned was sitting all around them.
They bought the breakfast table with her first paycheck as a nurse. The rug in the living room came from a trip to India her mother had taken before she died. The pictures on the wall were of their wedding.
Grant wanted to pack up and leave it all behind? She pressed her fingers against her lips and thought it over. She didn’t have any faith that another community would let them in or treat them any better than Hampton. “What about the farmer? Would he accept us?”
“No.” Grant shook his head. “He made that pretty clear.”
Leah focused on the floor. “Then we should stay and make the best of it. Help our neighbors.”
Grant jabbed a finger toward the front door. “You mean the ones who set the truck on fire? We should help those people?”
Susie spoke up. “We don’t know who set the fire.”
“She’s right. For all we know, it was someone just passing through.”
“Then why didn’t anyone offer to help?”
“Maybe they were afraid.”
“Or maybe they were complicit.” Grant turned to Dan. “You have to see my point.”
After a moment, Dan nodded. “I do.”
“Thank God.”
“But I don’t know if we should leave.”
Grant opened his mouth, but Leah held up a hand. “Listen to him, honey. Please.”
Dan flashed her a tight smile and eased closer to the table. “Susie is right. We don’t know who started the fire. It could have been Greg or his boys, or it could have been someone we least expect.”
“What’s your point?”
“We need to figure out who our enemies are before we make any decisions. If the whole neighborhood is against us, do you really think they’ll just let us leave?”
“If we leave now, they won’t have a chance to stop us.”
“How do you propose we do that?” Dan shook his head. “We lost our only means of transportation.”
Grant resumed pacing. “I’ve got Stan’s motorcycle.”
“Okay, so there’s room for one, maybe two if you squeeze. But what about the rest of us?”
“We could walk.”
Oliver spoke up for the first time. “And get ambushed by those guys from the sporting goods store? No, thank you. I’d rather take my chances here.”
“We can find a car. I’ve done it once, I can do it again.”
“But in the meantime, we need to stay put.” Leah reached out as her husband approached and stilled him with a hand. She knew he meant well, but they couldn’t run away at the first sign of trouble.
“Leah’s right.” Dan focused on his injured arm. “Until we’re forced to go, I say we stay and make the most of it. We can always prepare so that we’re ready.”
Grant ran a hand down his face. “No one wants to leave?”
Leah looked at their three neighbors. Each one of them shook their heads. She smiled at her husband. “We’re not saying never. We’re just saying not yet.” She squeezed his arm. “We still have a chance to help people here. I don’t want to waste that because we’re afraid.”
Her husband took her hand. “I don’t want you to get hurt because you didn’t know when to give up.”
“There’s no guarantee we won’t be hurt on the road. Even after the fire, our house is our safest bet.”
“What if next time it’s not a truck? What if it’s the house?” Grant looked past Leah to the front door. “Or Faith?”
Leah turned toward the little fluff ball. “If anyone lays a hand on her, I’ll be the first to give them hell. But until then, we should try and work it out.”
“I think it’s a mistake.”
“But you’ll stay?”
Leah waited as her husband struggled with the issue. She understood his need to protect her and his sincerity in thinking leaving was the best strategy. But it was instinct talking. If they were going to leave, they needed transportation and a plan.
If they walked out of the neighborhood with nothing but what they could carry, it would end in disaster. At a minimum, they needed food, water, and a destination. Wandering north through Smyrna and on into Marietta or Alpharetta would do nothing but exhaust their supplies and their bodies.
They needed to hold on to what they had unless push came to shove. Only then would she be willing to go. She opened her mouth to say as much when Grant’s shoulders sagged.
“Fine. We’ll stay. But I want to be ready in case we have to evacuate. Bags packed and by the door.”
“Deal.” Leah dropped her hand and sucked in a breath. Staying meant she could check on the other neighbors down the street and treat any injuries. Maybe if she helped enough people, whoever set the fire would see the error of their ways.
She rubbed her arms. Now that the truck was ashes and warped metal, the cold night air even dropped the temperature inside the house. Summer was coming, but not fast enough.
Yet another reason not to rush out the door. How would they survive without shelter? Even if they made it through the summer months, if they didn’t secure somewhere safe and warm by winter, they were setting themselves up for sickness and even hypothermia.
She shuddered just thinking it over. Her husband draped a sweater over her shoulders. She smiled at him. “Thank—”
A low growl from across the first floor cut Leah off. Even in the dim light, she could make out Faith’s stark white form at the door. The dog growled again.
Grant pulled his handgun from his holster. Dan rose up, but Grant waved him off. “Stay and rest your arm. I’ll check it out.”
“Be careful.” Leah watched as her husband crept out of the kitchen toward the front door. He crouched in the dark beside Faith, more a ghost than a person.
Susie reached out and took Leah’s hand. “It’s probably nothing.”
Leah didn’t respond. From what little she’d seen of Faith so far and what Grant told her about the dog, Leah knew it wasn’t nothing. If Faith growled, someone was outside.
With a lungful of air trapped in her throat, she waited as Grant unlocked the door. He disappeared into the night and Faith darted out with him.
An agonizing few minutes later, both returned. Grant carried a piece of paper into the breakfast area. He tossed it onto the table beside the light.
Leah leaned in to read it.
Attention All Residents
Mandatory Community Meeting
Monday 9:00 a.m., Clubhouse
Bring an inventory of all food and water, first aid, and vehicles
No Weapons Allowed
She glanced up at her husband.
He still held his gun in one hand and a scowl on his face.
“Did you see who dropped it off?”
“No.” Grant pointed at the paper. “And that isn’t our copy of the invitation.
”
“It isn’t?” Dread iced Leah’s spine.
“No. Every front door got one taped to it but ours.”
“Where did it come from?”
“Stan and Debbie’s place. No one knows she’s dead but me.”
Susie gasped. “Debbie’s gone?”
Grant nodded. “She killed herself. I found her lying beside Stan in their bed.”
“Oh my God.” Susie brought a hand up to her mouth.
Oliver paled.
Dan pushed back his chair and stood up. “Looks like it’s going to be a long night.”
Chapter Seven
LEAH
Neighborhood Clubhouse
Smyrna, Georgia
Monday, 9:00 a.m.
Neighbors from the entire development streamed down the street like ants following a trail. Here and there, a few people she knew cast looks Leah’s way. She couldn’t tell if they were surprised because they knew they weren’t invited, or because her husband had called the first meeting.
That morning, Grant had filled her in on how badly everything went down a few days before, with some in the neighborhood calling for confiscation of weapons and food and Grant shouting them down. If today was anything like the prior meeting, she would have to keep an eye on her husband.
The thought of handing anything over wouldn’t sit well with Grant. Not that she liked it, either, but Leah preferred to disagree with silence rather than a shouting match.
Leah hugged Grant’s arm as they approached the clubhouse. “You’re sure about this?”
“Coming to the meeting? Of course. We need to know what’s going on.”
“But the flyer.”
“I’m not letting these people push us around.” Grant forced a smile as they ducked inside.
A giant sign proclaiming No Weapons was handwritten and taped to the clubhouse door. Grant didn’t even pause even though Leah knew he was armed. No sense in arguing with the man when he had a point.
She was willing to give people the benefit of the doubt, but only so far. After the past week, going anywhere without a weapon or her husband was a recipe for disaster. Leah eased through the crowd in Grant’s wake.
The room was at capacity and beyond, with neighbors brushing shoulders just to find a place to stand. Ducking into the rear corner, Leah tried to blend in.
She checked the knit cap she’d pulled from the closet and confirmed it hid her wound. Wearing a winter hat in March was a little odd, but having people stare at her bald head and wound was worse.
Next to her stood one of their neighbors from across the street. As Leah smiled at her, the woman’s eyes went wide. She stepped away.
Leah reached for Grant’s hand.
“What? Is something wrong?”
She leaned in to whisper. “I don’t think we’re welcome here.”
“Of course we aren’t.” He pretended like she’d said something funny and smiled. “Just act like you have no idea why. Make whoever is out to get us be the jerk here.”
“What happened to all of your anger from last night?”
He smiled again. “I can’t flush out our enemies if I’m causing a scene.”
Leah shook her head and pretended to laugh. “You sound like a tough guy in a movie.”
“I’m being realistic.”
“What’s so funny?” Susie made it through the crowd to stand in the now-empty space beside Leah.
“People are avoiding us.”
“Wouldn’t call that laugh-worthy.” Dan huffed out a breath as he filled up the rest of the gap. Holding his wounded arm bent by his side, he surveyed the sea of people. “You all ready for this?”
“As ready as we’ll ever be.” Grant patted Leah’s hand.
She sucked in a breath as a man she didn’t recognize climbed up on top of the fireplace hearth.
“Hello, everyone. Thank you for coming.” Raising up on his tiptoes, the man shouted above the din of conversations.
The room quieted.
“For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Will Greene. I live on Canary.” With his blond hair and easy-going smile, he could have been an actor in a toothpaste commercial.
Leah leaned toward Susie. “I don’t know him.”
“He’s new.” Susie whispered back. “Only moved in a few months ago. Has a wife, no kids.”
“Over the past few days, I’ve had a chance to speak to most of the neighborhood and it’s clear there’s a consensus on our next steps.”
Grant stiffened. Leah squeezed his hand.
“In order to make the most of the coming days and weeks, we need to pool our resources and come together as a community. Aid will be coming. Hopefully, the power along with it. But until then, we need to unite.”
Grant snorted and Leah yanked on his arm to be quiet. She focused on Will and his orange polo shirt. Maybe he would have a sensible plan.
“We’ll start with converting the clubhouse here into a pantry and supply facility.”
Leah nodded. Sensible plan. They could gather more food from the nearby stores and ration it out here.
“Everyone, please deliver your list of food and weapons to Greg. We have a neighborhood directory and once we receive your list, we will cross you off. Tomorrow we’ll begin going door-to-door to collect.”
Will smiled as Greg, their obnoxious neighbor across the street, held up his hand.
Leah swallowed. There was nothing sensible about confiscation. She ran her tongue across her lips. Surely someone else in the room objected, didn’t they? She looked around her.
Everyone stood like sheeple, nodding and unfolding pieces of paper covered in handwritten lists. They queued up in line and muted conversations filled the space once more.
Beside her, Susie pulled out a folded note.
“What are you doing?”
She glanced up at Leah, confused. “Pulling out my inventory.”
“Are you giving it to them? Why?”
“I—” Susie paused. “I guess I don’t really know.”
Dan took the piece of paper and crumpled it in his fist. “You’re not giving them a damn thing. Not now, not ever.”
“But what about our neighbors?”
Dan exhaled and lowered his voice. “Think of it like an airplane crash. You put your oxygen mask on first before helping anyone else. We can help, but not if we’re starving.”
“Or defenseless.” Grant pulled his hand out of Leah’s embrace. “Someone should stop this.”
Leah leaned into him. “I can go ask a few questions.”
“I don’t want you up there with Greg.”
“He won’t do anything with all these people here.” Leah ducked away from Grant before he could pull her back.
Easing through the line with apologies every few steps, Leah reached the front. She checked to make sure her hat hid the gash on her head before smiling up at Will. “Hi, I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Leah Walton.”
“Will Greene.” He shook her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“I just got back home after a few days on the road, so this is the first I’m hearing about the lists and the pantry. Can you explain what’s going on?”
He smiled again, even wider. “Of course. Bunch of us got together and after talking it out, we decided that the easiest way to ensure we all have enough to eat and everyone is taken care of is to pool our resources.”
She smiled wide enough to match Will. “That’s wonderful, how you want to help out and all, but… what about finding a store with inventory? We could fill the clubhouse with food we’ve picked up instead of our neighbors’ pantries.”
Will’s face fell, but he recovered quickly. “I don’t think anywhere’s open for business right now.”
“Have you looked?”
He pulled on the collar of his shirt and glanced at Greg. The man was busy flipping pages of the directory and crossing off names.
“And about the weapons—you said those are being confiscated, too?”
&nbs
p; “I wouldn’t call it confiscating. More like, keeping them secure.”
“Who gets to take them out?”
“Um… well… that hasn’t really been decided yet.”
Leah smiled. “So it is confiscation, then. You’re taking them and not giving them back.”
Will took a step back. “Look, now isn’t really the time to get into any of this. If you have questions, I’m sure we can talk about it at your place or some other time.”
Leah closed the distance between them and raised her voice. “You mean you don’t want to answer the tough questions in front of all of our neighbors.”
Will glanced around. “I don’t want to distract from the purpose of the meeting.”
“To take everyone’s food and defenses so that we’re helpless. Because that’s what this is really about, isn’t it?”
Will’s mouth opened and shut like a fish and the conversations behind Leah trickled off into silence.
Greg shouted over the crowded line. “Is there a problem here?”
Leah turned to him. “I have questions about who is going to distribute the food. I have questions about who is going to police the weapons and whether anyone is going to be able to get them back.”
“We’ve already decided.”
“Who decided? Was there a vote I missed?”
Greg sneered. “It’s not our fault you weren’t home.”
“So I shouldn’t have tried to save lives at the hospital downtown? Or tried to get as many people to shelter as possible before the bomb? Or waited out the radiation plume before finally setting off?” Leah’s voice rose with every question, her words coming out clipped and short.
“Your decision, not mine.”
She opened her mouth to say something more, but a hand wrapped around her wrist. Grant leaned close enough to whisper. “Let it go, honey.”
Leah fumed. Everything Grant had warned about was coming to pass. Even with the truck fire, she hadn’t believed him. She hadn’t been willing to think so little of their neighbors. People who had lived beside them for years.
“That’s right, Grant. You tell that wife of yours she’s out of line.”
Whoa. Leah yanked her hand away from Grant and pushed through the crowd. She stopped in front of Greg. “Excuse me?”