by Chogan Swan
“Well, you will unless all you want for supper is rice and zucchini noodles.” Kaitlin kicked the covered pot. “It’s about twenty-five pounds, and we need to get it down the steps to the spring house to stay cool. It’s hard to see the steps when carrying it alone because you have to lean back.”
She bent down to grab the handle on the left. “Everyone will be hungry tonight, and I don’t want the meat spilled.”
“Got it,” Drew said, taking the other handle.
They made it down the curving pavers that circled to the springhouse and the creek behind the store. Kaitlin opened the low door to the springhouse and slid the pot onto the stone ramp that emptied the spring water into the creek below. Kaitlin straightened again, closing the door before continuing down the steps to the bathing pool.
Bernice and Bernard had come up with the design for the bathing pool in the third week of June, and it had been Wet Gulch’s favorite project. In the evening poker games, using a chore chit for the bathing pool project during the hot months of summer had been an automatic signal for all other players to fold, since the exchange rate was so high. It worked until Kaitlin suspected Sammy was bluffing and won the biggest pot of the summer, not to mention an extra day in the water during the hottest week of the year.
At the pool, she stopped at the patio of flat stones they used for undressing and took off her boots and socks, leaving them on the rocks. The gun belt she hung on a peg on a post.
“I’ll go first so you can see how the bathing system works,” she said, turning to look at Drew. “Your job is to stand right where you are and make sure I’m safe from outlaws, dogs and such while I get cleaned up. You can have a turn when I’m done. In the meantime, I’d like to hear about your trip to get here and what’s going on in the areas you passed through,” she said as she took off her badge and put it in her boot. “Don’t let a pack rat get that, please.”
Kaitlin lowered the plastic five-gallon bucket on the nylon rope that ran through a pulley system and put it to the rough sandstone pavers.
“I’ll guard it with my life,” Drew assured her.
Kaitlin nodded and sat on the bench then tossed her socks into the bucket.
“I’ll start the day the music died,” Drew said but fell silent when Kaitlin pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it in the bucket on top of her socks.
“What?” she said, taking off her running bra and dunking both it and her t-shirt in the wash bucket. “What part of getting cleaned up was unclear to you, Drew?”
Drew’s wide eyes snapped away from her chest when he realized he was staring. “Um. This part, I guess.”
“Let me explain something,” said Kaitlin. “In our community we had two married couples. That soon became one couple because I had to kick one guy off the island, and his wife was a very recent rape victim who decided not to go with him. Since I was the only female trained to shoot—at first—and I wasn’t going to take a bath without someone to watch my ass.”
She grinned at the expression, trying to get Drew to loosen up. “We all decided to dispense with segregated bathing except for her, since she had to work through the issues of being sexually assaulted, and I certainly wasn’t going to spend that much time watching over all the other women just for body modesty issues. Besides, we’d already spent hours tied up naked together after we were captured by slavers. You might have seen the remains of those displayed in front of the store.”
“Did you really kill all of them?”
Kaitlin laughed. “No, I only killed three of those. One when they were capturing me and another after Ayleana, Amber and Kest took the rest out. The last one was the guy I had to kick out of the community. He tried to kidnap his ex-wife and shot Bernard’s wife, Bernice, while trying to kill me. There was another I had to kill the day the lights went out, but his body isn’t out there.”
She stood up. The look on Drew’s face reminded her of the way kids looked at deadly snakes through the glass of a zoo’s reptile enclosures, fascinated and frightened at the same time.
Kaitlin sighed. “I’m getting in the water now. After I’ve had a chance to soak in the pool a bit, you can tell me your story when I come up to scrub and rinse. As long as you don’t forget to watch for bandits, cougars, wolves, dog packs and pack rats, I don’t care if you peek at my naughty bits. Just get it out of your system.”
With that, she stripped her shorts off, dropped them in the bucket and cannonballed from the platform into the five feet of water they had dammed into a pool.
After swimming under the surface for a few seconds, letting the stream take away the sweat, grit, dust and dog’s blood, she drifted to the surface, turning onto her back.
Floating weightless, she let herself feel the emotions recounting Bernice’s death a minute before had stirred up, secure in the knowledge that tears would be indistinguishable from spring water.
Sadness was part of life. It wasn’t that she was ashamed to cry. But who needed people tiptoeing around thinking you were fragile and about to fall apart? That wasn’t her case. The sadness only made her stronger—as long as it didn’t control her.
Sadness and Fear, harnessed in tandem.
Kaitlin floated, breathing in, breathing out, letting the sun flicker across her eyelids as the trees scattered shadows across her body and the minnows of the pool kissed her skin, leaving their tracks of love and hunger along her legs, back and arms.
Chapter 23 — Filled In
When the third shiver of cold rippled through her body, Kaitlin swam to the ladder and climbed back to the patio. Relaxed now, she dribbled soap on her hands and worked it through her hair, squeezing it into the thick locks at the top and working out to the ends before letting them hang down her back.
With a few more drops of soap on her hands, she worked up lather all over her body then rinsed her hands and pulled Blondie from her gun belt, flicking the blade open.
“You can start from ‘the day the music died’,” she said, sitting on the bench and crossing her legs. Without bothering to test Blondie’s edge, she skimmed the blade across her shins and calves, flicking off the soap and tiny stubble of red hair that had accumulated on them over the last week.
Drew—making it a point to keep his eyes on the lookout around them and well away from Kaitlin’s body while he talked—skimmed through meeting Ayleana when she, Amber and Kest treated him for dehydration and heat stroke. After which, they’d left him to recover in a prepper’s dream of a hideout to wait for Daniels.
Kaitlin added more water and lather to her underarms and removed the stubble there as well while he recounted Daniels showing up and the first day’s journey. It was then they first encountered the new mania sweeping the Southeast—blowing up bridges to keep people from moving into territory where new-formed power groups were staking claim.
Kaitlin, wrung out her Tedeschi Trucks t-shirt over the spillway then worked it through her hair so it would pick up some of the soap. She dropped it back in the bucket and repeated the procedure with her sports bra.
Drew’s account of how they’d zigzagged across Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, fighting off vicious, or desperate people and dodging militia groups and municipalities who were ‘taking emergency measures’ made her realize just how fragmented the nation had become. All that anger pointed in the wrong direction—other victims.
Of course that started long before this, didn’t it?
Kaitlin used her cargo shorts to scrub her torso, elbows, knees and feet then put the shorts back in the bucket. After a few more sloshes, she deemed the clothes ready for rinsing and wrung the water from them. She lifted the bucket overhead and poured the water over her hair, rinsing the lather from her body in a flood that sluiced across the sandstone platform and drained into the creek below the dam.
Once again, she hauled water from the pool to rinse her clothes and body while Drew reported on cities in chaos all the way south to Baton Rouge where the US military held sizeable territory. There, they’d use
d Daniels’ military connections to, finally, cross the Mississippi River.
“Are you finished?” Drew said.
“No, I have to do my workout then a final rinse. You still have to tell me about Lousiana and East Texas. But why don’t you take a drink of water first. You’re starting to get hoarse.”
Drew put the bite tube of his water reservoir between his teeth and pulled in several swallows of water.
Kaitlin unrolled the mat she and Danielle used for bath time workouts and started her warm up with yoga and light calisthenics. “Keep talking,” she said. “I’m glad you’re doing a thorough job. I haven’t needed to ask clarifying questions even once yet. Can you keep the rest of the story at about the level you’ve been using so far?”
“Sure, no problem.”
The trek across Louisiana continued while Kaitlin pulled the makeshift kettlebell she and Danielle had built from a metal ammunition container. It only weighed thirty pounds, but that was plenty for the number of swings and Turkish get-ups Kaitlin liked to include in her workouts.
As she worked her way through her sets, the dry breeze cooled her body, wicking the water away as she moved from long sets of kettlebell swings to handstand pushups and extended planks and pullups on the overhead timbers of the gazebo. All the while, Drew continued his story, scanning the meadow and surrounding trees.
“Hold on a minute,” Kaitlin said, jumping in the pool again and swimming under the surface so her hair would rinse straight.
Cooled, refreshed and muscles quivering, she climbed the ladder. “Okay, go on,” she said as she combed the water from her hair. The story continued into Texas as she went through her stretching sequence while the breeze lapped up the remaining moisture.
Their final hundred kilometers, leap-frogging ten kilometers at a time in between letting the engine cool after a sniper had tagged their water pump had been uneventful but slow.
“So as the population thinned out and river crossings became less frequent, things sped up for you, right?”
Drew nodded, eyes wandering over the landscape.
“I hope, because I assume we are headed the same direction as your friends, that should continue to hold true for a while.”
Drew nodded again. “Until it doesn’t,” he said.
Kaitlin stood and looked through her bag for another pair of shorts and a t-shirt. After dressing, she braided her hair, pinned on her badge, and put on her boots and gun belt. “Okay, do you want to take a bath too?”
When he shook his head, Kaitlin rolled her eyes. “So we keep the windows open when we drive? Or are you taking a bath tomorrow before we hit the road?”
“I’ll work something in,” Drew promised.
“Okay then, let’s go,” she said, gathering up her damp clothes. “We’ll collect the meat when the coals are ready for grilling.”
Chapter 24 — Citrus and Lemongrass Marinade
The citrus and lemongrass marinade had done its work well. The savory tang of the tenderized meat had graciously complimented the rice pilaf and fig sauce. Kaitlin leaned back, her shoulder touching Bernard’s, and watched the coals glowing among the ashes.
Jordan sat on her other side. He had given Kaitlin a going-away present—two cases of .45 Long Colt ammunition to accompany her pistol.
Daniels—on learning that Jordan had a ham radio at the ranch—gave him a small unit that could send and receive text messages that would downloaded if the unit was connected, turned on and the receiver was tuned to a certain frequency at certain times. Kaitlin was glad to know she didn’t have to lose touch with her friends.
Kaitlin didn’t have to convince Daniels to allow Bernard to come with them. After all, without him, they would have lost their ride, and the SUV was practically a tank, except for the engine vulnerability in the front. Bernard had convinced Daniels to let him install the sheet of steel in front of the grill, and Milo had already cut it to size. All that was needed was a stop at Hidden Creek to install it before they hit the road.
Jordan cleared his throat. “Roy, Curly and I will be glad to handle watch tonight so you folks can be rested for tomorrow. No telling what you’ll run in to till you get where you can rest again.”
Drew looked at Daniels hopefully.
Daniels nodded. “I won’t turn down your offer. We’ve both been exhausted and sleep deprived for a long time. In fact, if you don’t mind, I’d like to turn in now and have our conference about the travel conditions in the area when we get to your ranch in the morning.”
“That sounds good to me,” Bernard said as he stood. “I’m headed to the bunkhouse then. The one thing I Iearned in the Air Force was to sleep when you had the chance.”
Daniels and Drew stood as well, putting their plates, spoons and forks in the tub of soapy water by the fire. “Thanks for the meal,” said Daniels. “I won’t forget that recipe, especially the fish sauce.”
“It works with chicken too,” said Kaitlin. “Just so you know.”
Drew chuckled. “I will never look at a dog the same way again,” he said as he followed Daniels toward the SUV.
Kaitlin sighed, looking after them. “That’s going to be cozy, even sleeping three at a time. Though I like the hammock setup they have in the back, it’s going to be a lot more crowded than the Westy.”
“And you’re comfortable sleeping in touching distance of two men you’ve just met?” said Jordan.
“It’s better than sleeping in a box car. And at least I’ve had a chance to watch them today. Drew would never dream of even trying to cop a feel, and Daniels works for Amber. To save my life, I couldn’t imagine her keeping someone I couldn’t trust on her team. Besides, I’ve got Bernard. He always has my back.”
“Yeah, that was my take on them too. I just wanted to check what your instincts were telling you.” Jordan leaned back and looked at the sky. “Aliens among us,” he mused. “It certainly expands the possible futures to consider doesn’t it?”
“Yes, to steal a line, it offers so much scope for the imagination,” Kaitlin said, her face breaking into a smile.
∆ ∆ ∆
The rising sun cast long shadows ahead of her as Kaitlin piloted the Westy along the gravel roads to Hidden Creek Ranch, staying a respectful four seconds behind Daniels in the SUV. They had crammed the back of the Volkswagon bus with supplies and useful items from Wet Gulch, cleaning out nearly everything. Though she felt lighter for having her people away from the traffic along the road, leaving Wet Gulch where she had bonded with the people who’d remained was hard. It held some memories she wanted to keep close.
When they pulled into the parking spots by the barn, the van was mobbed by the Wet Gulch crowd who’d all managed to stay close to the house. After Jordan had radioed to say they’d make a brief stop, her friends had made sure not to stray far.
Danielle pulled the door open and smothered Kaitlin with a hug. Cleo pushed into the space at her side to make a hug sandwich. Together they moved Kaitlin through the crowd without interference from anyone, though everyone was cheering, calling her name or making warbling rebel yells as they went.
“Cleo wants to tell you something new,” Danielle whispered. “Everyone agreed she should get first crack at you.”
Kaitlin nodded as they hurried into Jordan’s bedroom where Cleo and Danielle settled Kaitlin into a seated position on the bed.
Something about Cleo’s expression clicked in Kaitlin’s head. “You did it,” she breathed in wonder.
“I did, and want to thank you for helping me make the decision, but there’s more.”
Cleo sat next to Kaitlin and took her hand. “When I made up my mind to remember, I felt like I had to shout it out, so the inside of my head would believe me. Then, I screamed out, ‘let me remember’, and it all came back like a movie in my head. It was horrible, but what I held onto all through it was you. You watched me all the time. And that kept me from being lost. You were furious for what they did, but you held me with your eyes and never looked away.
It let me know you weren’t ashamed of me and I could hold onto myself because you saw me.”
She squeezed Kaitlin’s hand. “You encouraged me without a word. What I saw in your face was like a promise you would try to see there was justice. At the end—right before I passed out for a moment—I knew you had noticed something. I saw hope come over your face, and I thought maybe we were rescued. Then that beautiful, striped face was in front of me, looking into my eyes, and what I saw there was justice.”
Cleo took a deep breath and tears began streaming from her eyes. “Thank you for holding my head up. I would have drowned, but you pulled me through it.” Cleo leaned in and held on to Kaitlin’s shoulders.
Kaitlin’s eyes misted as tears ran from Cleo’s cheek to hers. “I just gave you what I would have wanted for myself,” she said.
“It was what I needed, and now in spite of everything, I feel triumph. I won through because you helped me keep sight of myself, even to the point that I could find a strength I didn’t know was inside me. In a way, it was me that brought them low. Because of me, they were blinded, and it brought justice down on them. They couldn’t even see her coming.”
Chapter 25 — Support your local sheriff
While waiting for the cowcatcher to be installed, Kaitlin, Jordan and Daniels ate a second breakfast in private so they could discuss the route ahead. Daniels pointed to the Gazeteer. “I’d like to use county roads heading southwest of Dallas. First, we need to bypass Kaufman then hook up with route 34 going south. I want to bypass Ennis too, then cross the Brazos north of Waco. As the terrain gets drier, it should open up our options to get to the Mexican border near Del Rio.”
“What’s the point of heading to Mexico?” Jordan said. “Is your destination south of the border?”
Daniels shook his head. “I forgot you might not know,” he said. “Mexico, the Federation of Native American Tribes and the Nii Federation are allied. Tiana, the nii ambassador, warned Mexico of the eminent danger of an EMP attack and Mexico disconnected from the US power grid before it hit. The Mexican power grid suffered some problems in spite of the distance from the burst, but they managed to keep things together.”