“Yes, I am.” He’s giggling so hard, he can barely run. “I will if I catch you!” He reaches out for her and catches hold of the back of her shirt. She squeals and manages to get away. They run toward us and…right by us. We might as well be invisible. I’m happy they aren’t worried about the world we’ve been forced into.
The aroma of whatever is cooking smells amazing and my mouth waters.
“Smells good,” Kane says, with a quick squeeze of my hand.
Out of the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse of Tiny approaching.
“Hope you’re hungry! Tonight’s a celebration,” he bellows as he walks up.
Kane drops my hand to greet him with a friendly handshake.
“What are we celebrating?” Elsie pats Tiny’s elbow.
“It’s the time of year when we have our Game Festival. Every year, we…”
The sparkle fades from his eyes and he looks to the ground. “Well, not this year.” His voice is so low, I can hardly hear him. “With everything that’s happened…” He shakes his head and then regains his composure. “This year we’ll just be having the stew.” The sparkle suddenly returns to his eyes and the pitch in his voice rises. “It’s gooood though. Wait till you try it.”
Skipper gives Tiny a friendly pat on the back of his shoulder. “Thanks again for your hospitality, Tiny. We’re happy to repay the favor and help out around here any way we can.”
“Well, somethin’ ain’t for nothin’, but we can talk about that later.” He rubs his bulging stomach.
My hunger can’t wait any longer and Ben must be on the same page because we nearly smack into each other getting to the food.
He laughs. “Please, you first.” He graciously motions for me to go before him.
“Thank you, Ben.”
Elsie follows us and Kane stays behind talking to the other men.
A cheery woman, who could pass for a gypsy with her colorful garb and flowy skirt, and her long, black hair twisted into braids and dreads, stands behind a makeshift serving line. She tends to several small fire pits with cast iron pots cooking atop metal grates.
“Hello, there. Frank!” She turns around and calls to a man behind her who is bent over a larger fire pit with his back to us. “Frank! New guests!” She turns to face us. “Hi. I’m Ruthie. Welcome.”
“Hello, Ruthie. Thank you for having us. My name is Ben.” He is proper as usual.
“This is Bernie,” Elsie says holding her coat open just enough to let Ruthie steal a peek at the pigeon. “I’m Elsie.” Elsie scans the length of the woman who doesn’t stand much taller than she does. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, my dear. What can I get for you?” Ruthie stirs the largest pot with her ladle.
Ben nudges me. I’ve been staring at the food before me in a daze and haven’t introduced myself yet. I snap out of my daydream. “Oh, uh, hi. I’m Claudia. Claudia Sheeplord.” Ugh, was that all official or what? “I mean just Claudia.” I smile at her.
“Well, hello, Just Claudia, dear. What can I get for you?” She winks at me.
Janie, Skipper and Pug stroll up behind us.
“I’m getting that mixed game stuff. Guys!” she calls for our attention. “The stew has rabbit, squirrel, deer, some duck or something they said. Sounds awful but everyone swears by it. They look forward to it all year long!”
It’s like fish tacos. They sound disgusting, yet people love them. Why not? “I’ll have a bowl of the stew, please.”
***
We have all finished multiple bowls of the stew and are sprawled out around a bonfire. I can’t believe I ate it, but the stew lived up to its reputation. If food wasn’t a scare commodity, I’m sure I never would have tried it and now I’m gorged so full, I can’t move.
A man I haven’t been formally introduced to yet finishes explaining the Game Festival tradition to the rest of us. “So, we take the leftovers each year and freeze them until the next year and that’s what we start with. The hunters and gatherers add the month’s catch and there you have it.”
Tiny and Ruthie walk over from the caboose. “Did they get enough to eat, Ruthie?” he asks.
“Oh, yes, Tiny. I served them up good. Poor things hadn’t had real food for days.”
“Yes, thank you very much, sir,” Ben says standing up to greet Tiny and Ruthie.
“You’re very welcome.” He walks with Ben to one of a dozen large stumps and logs spread around the outside of the fire for people to sit on. “Think your friends would mind if I take a minute to give you all a little background on our camp here?”
“Absolutely, sir. That would be great.”
Tiny sits down and stretches his legs out before him. His black hiking boots have been hard weathered. “If I can get your attention for just a second.”
Everyone stops their chatting, group by group.
“Thank you.” The last group grows quiet.
“I think knowing where we’ve been and where we are now will help you understand why we do some of the things we do here.” He pats the log next to him and Ruthie sits down beside him.
“When the news of the end of the world broke, some of our good friends and neighbors headed east and others went west.”
“They completely lost their mind is what they did. They would have been perfectly safe here,” Ruthie cuts in.
“They’ve never returned,” Tiny says sadly. “Ruthie lost her sister.”
Elsie gets up and walks over to sit by Ruthie. She pats her knee. “I’m sorry, dear. I lost my sister a few years back.”
“What about the people in Georgetown? Do they bother you?” I ask.
A few others mosey over to sit on logs on the opposite side.
“Oh, the lumber district? Good people lived in Georgetown before it happened. The militants running it now don’t deserve to call it that anymore. Georgetown symbolized home and family—it’s the farthest thing from that.”
Ruthie leans in. “They killed him,” she says shaking her finger and squinting an eye. “They tried to say it was an accident…just shot Mayor Parks dead in cold blood.” Ruthie sits back on her log.
Tiny explains further with a sad shake of his head. “Bill Parks was one of the nicest and most giving men you would ever meet. Take in a stranger off the street, he would. He was out hunting and went missing for a few days. We sent out a search party in the areas we knew he liked to hunt and didn’t find a trace of him.”
Ruthie cuts in, “Two days later, one of those soldiers brings us his body on the back of a flatbed truck and says he was accidentally shot in a hunting accident.”
“The only problem with that is…” Tiny’s voice begins to quiver so he pauses. His eyes are aqua from the slightest hint of tears when he looks up. “The only problem with that is that he had a single bullet in his chest—a bullet from a pistol, not a hunting rifle.”
“They killed him,” Ruthie is angry and much louder this time. The other people on the opposite side stare at her for a moment and return to their own conversations.
Tiny gets up and tosses a few more logs onto the fire. “As the Mayor, Bill refused to let them come in and take our supplies. He sent them away with a rifle to their nose, the first time they came after us. That’s when we set up the perimeter watch. It was shortly after that he went missing.”
“Have they done anything since?” Ben asks, looking up from his tin can project. He has strung at least 10 more lids together into a large rectangle with a hole in the center. Ruthie must have given him some extras from the community kitchen.
“They’ve tried, but so far we’ve managed to hold our ground,” Tiny says proudly.
“Yeah, when we first got here,” Brody begins, “Jay and I were on watch…and Tiny here, with about a dozen others. We were right about where you guys found us the other day.” He points to Kane and me.
Tiny stokes the coals. He chuckles. “They sure thought they were going to get us good and we showed them.” He bellows with laughter.
“What happened?” I ask, I can tell this is a good one by the fact that Tiny is now bent over laughing so hard, he can’t get his words out.
“Well, that was before we started making traps, so like I said, we had about fifteen guns in place that night.”
“What kind of traps?” Ben asks. I see the sparkle in his eyes.
Brody continues, “Oh, some rope snappers and old bear traps…they do okay. Well, they thought they could sneak in on us, but they found those fifteen guns pointed at their heads. We made them strip down to nothing, took their weapons and sent them on their way.” His grin widens and we all get a good laugh.
Tiny has regained his composure “The best part is that not only did we send them away, we took them for their own. Remember that night?” He looks to Jay and Brody while stoking the coals in the fire.
“Figured after that embarrassment, they wouldn’t bother us for the night, so the lot of us hit the southwestern edge of Georgetown and ransacked them for all the supplies we could get.”
Janie breaks her dead gaze into the fire. “You think we’ll be attacked again?”
“I reckon they are planning something soon. I spotted one of their rangers on our side of the tracks the other day,” Tiny replies. “He was only there for a second and went back his direction once he saw I had spotted him. By the way, you new folks will be the farthest away in those houses tonight so keep an eye out.”
Pug stands up from the log. “I’ll do first watch, so figure I better get a few minutes of shut eye now. I’ll see you back at the house.”
“Wait, can you take this stew to Finch and other two?” I ask. I’m enjoying the fire and relaxing for what feels like the first time ever.
“Sure thing.”
I stand up and grab the pot of stew I had set aside. “I feel bad I didn’t take it right away, but it still feels hot.”
“They’ll love it like everyone else,” he says and starts down the road.
“Thanks, Pug. I owe you one.” I wave goodbye and turn to Tiny. “Brody mentioned that there are weekly baths? Warm baths?” I look to Janie. “What I wouldn’t do for a bath.”
“Yes, on Wednesdays.” He turns and points toward the west. Over there, yonder is a little yellow house. We heat water from the creek throughout the day for the wooden tubs inside. You can come and check when the line isn’t so long. I recommend early in the morning or late at night.”
“Thank you.”
“You can always use the creek down the way.” Edgar teases me with a quick tousle of my ponytail as he walks up behind me.
“Most people use the gallon water to scrub and wash down each day. There’s plenty of fresh water running down from that mountain top. What else…oh, all of the meals are served here and prepared community style. We have gathered all the food and it stays under lock and key. Which brings me to an uncomfortable request but I have to ask.”
I wait for it—the sudden thud that’s around the corner.
“I need you to turn over the food supplies. It’s only fair. You’ll get to eat like everyone else and we’ll make sure you eat like everyone else.”
I suddenly have visions of Dorian and Fran.
“What about our other supplies?” Ben asks quickly.
“You can keep anything else. We ask that you do inventory it with us though in case there is an emergency and someone needs it, or if someone wants to offer a trade.
Sensing my uncomfortable flinch, Tiny looks at me with his twinkling eyes. “It’s the only way to make sure we don’t run out. Some people can’t help themselves.”
Kane squeezes my hand and stands up from the log. “Want to take a stroll to the creek?”
He pulls me up and we walk toward the caboose where a small group is gathered. The creek is just on the other side. Several of them send friendly smiles as we pass by.
“Hello,” I say. “Beautiful moon out tonight.” The moon is shining and the water sparkles as it streams by, and I don’t know what else to say to them.
I see Kane smile, but he remains quiet.
We mosey slowly over to the bridge, passing another stroller now and then. “Hello.”
“Hello,” one woman replies with a quick nod and continues on her way.
Kane stops in the center of the bridge and we lean against the railing, watching the glistening water. The water splashing against the rocks and gurgling against the bank are the only sounds breaking the silence.
I turn my head when I hear the little girl with the pigtails giggle. I learned at the campfire that her name is Sarah. “Sarah, come on, it’s time for bed.” A woman in her mid-thirties chases after her. Still giggling, Sarah runs from her.
“So, the stew was good.”
Kane turns to stare at me, his expression full of charm. “Yes it was.” His eyes pierce my soul. He isn’t going for this surface chat.
“What?”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Then it hits me like a Mack truck. “No, no actually I’m not. We can’t let Dorian get away with this again. We have to stop him.”
Kane nods his head in agreement. “What do you suggest we do? Looks like they’ve managed to keep a strong hold here.”
“They need to leave. Leave George…I mean the lumber district. They need to get out—they’re too close.”
“Agreed.”
“They pushed them out of here, so why can’t they push them out of there?”
“They have more men there…more weapons.”
Just then, Ben, Elsie and Edgar approach.
“I don’t like those lumberjacks being this close,” Elsie says.
“Me either,” Edgar agrees.
“We were just talking about that,” I say. “Kane says they have more men and more weapons.”
Ben is tying two pieces of rope between his fingers. He pulls both ends to test the strength of the knot he’s tied. “Then let’s take their men and weapons.”
Chapter 6
For a week, those of us that live on the outskirts, as in pretty much our original group, have been making initial plans to run Dorian’s militants out of the lumber district and rescue Molly, Jimbo, and Sam.
“It’s time to make a move,” Ben says one night after dinner. “You heard Tiny. They’re already planning something.”
“I agree.” I stand from my chair and begin pacing the small living room in our cottage. “Let’s get our friends out first.”
“I’ve got just the thing for those guards.” Elsie rubs her hands together.
“I can set a small trap line…you know, right at the edge of the district where we’ll plan to get out. That way, if we get into a chase, we will know where the traps lie, but it will be too late for them by the time they figure it out.”
“You said, ‘take their weapons and their men.’ That’s a great idea, Ben. I almost hope we do get into a chase.” Thinking about it makes my adrenaline rush.
Just then, we hear a light tap at the door. It’s Finch.
Ben jumps up to let him in. “Good timing. Where’s Crepp and Norton?”
“Skipper’s got his eye on them. What did I miss?” Finch asks.
“It’s time to approach Tiny,” Kane adds. He’s dead serious.
“Okay, I’m in.” He takes a seat in an old rocking chair. The legs whine when he sits down.
Elsie is almost giddy. I think I might have even heard her cackle.
I smile at her and my eyes drift to Kane, then Ben, and finally to Finch. They happen to be sitting down around me and I’m the only one standing in the center of the circle. Their energy drives me and I’m ready to fight. “And then we’re going after the whole district.”
***
Kane, Finch, Ben and I pull Tiny aside the next night after dinner. We explain our plan to free Molly, Sam, and Jimbo and he is resistant. “We can’t afford to lose any more men. It’s one thing to hold them off our land, but-”
I can’t help myself and I interrupt him. “Let me tell you
about Dorian Lennox.” I feel the blood rush to my face.
“Now, you’ve got her fired up.” Finch laughs and motions for me to continue.
I fill Tiny in on Dorian and what had happened at the airport shelter. I tell him about the underground city and the nuclear plant, which I’m still not sure he believes. But what finally gets him is when I remind him about how he killed Shane, confirming further his thoughts that Bill Parks was not killed by a hunting accident.
“Misfired rifle, my—it was a bullet for God sake!” Tiny becomes angrier by the second. “You guys are right. It’s just a matter of time before they strike again. Let’s do it.”
Ben knocks his chin with the tied knot in his hand. He’s pondering. “I’ll need a week to set the trap lines.”
“Good. That will give us time to do surveillance. See if we can spot your friends and how many people we’ll need to get to them out of there.” Tiny’s nostrils flare.
“I’ll do it.” I volunteer to be the first spy.
Kane is on point. No one’s letting Claudia out alone. “I’ll go with her,” he says. I chuckle to myself.
“Okay, then one week from tonight.”
***
The next night, Kane leads Ben, Finch and me through the woods to a spot on the eastern edge of Georgetown, not too far from where he’d last seen Sam, Molly and Jimbo being housed. This time we hike the entire way to avoid any chance of being seen or heard. We make it to a dirt road and Kane motions for us to huddle around.
He puts his fingers on his lips to silence us. I can tell by the way he turns his ear to the sky that he is listening for the enemy. Nothing but the sounds of the night—branches creaking in the breeze, and then something small like a rabbit scampers somewhere behind us.
“Okay, looks like we are alone. Ben, do you have the map?”
Ben removes the map from his inside pocket and pulls out the screwdriver flashlight from his pack. The once bright lime color has faded into a muddy shade of green. He spreads the map out against the trunk of a dead tree. All of its branches have fallen off. Holding the map against the bark with one hand, he turns on the flashlight with his other and illuminates the area where we are standing.
The Dark Days: Dark Beginnings - Episode 4 Page 5