The bedding on the bed smelled strongly of smoke, so Sara stripped it off and pulled a blanket from her duffle bag. She smoothed it out on the bed and threw herself on top of it, exhausted. I pulled another blanket out and covered her with it, as she murmured thanks. I made myself a cozy bed on the sofa with yet another blanket, which we had brought with us. I was asleep almost as soon as my head hit the cushions.
Chapter 10
Getting Acquainted
I awoke later in the day just as the setting sun shined through the west-facing living room windows of the apartment. Sara was already up, washing her face in the cold tap water that was, surprisingly, flowing through the building’s pipes. It had been so nice to have running water again after the power came back on at Whitley’s house, but I didn’t expect the water to be on in this partially burned out and abandoned building. Sara informed me that there was no hot water, though, so the excitement I’d felt at the thought of being able to take a hot shower quickly faded away.
We decided to leave the apartment to go and explore. We didn’t have a key to lock it once we left, so we packed up our belongings and took our gym bags with us. As we walked down the three flights of stairs to the lobby, we could hear people talking and laughing and we were a little apprehensive about revealing ourselves, not knowing if we would be in trouble for trespassing or not. At the bottom of the stairwell, we paused and tried to listen for clues as to whether we would be welcomed or kicked out, or maybe even arrested for being there. Most of the voices sounded young, our age or a little older, but there was at least one voice that sounded like an older adult. We heard one boy saying that he thought some newcomers had occupied Apartment 326 and we were somewhat startled when we realized that that was the apartment we had stayed in earlier in the day. He didn’t sound angry or conspiratorial about it; he sounded like he was just stating a fact. We drew in a deep breath, grabbed hands, and came out of our hiding place to face a crowd of about a dozen people standing around or sitting in the lobby.
Everyone looked our way immediately, some with suspicion in their eyes, but most with welcoming smiles. Sara bravely spoke for us.
—Hi. I’m Sara, and this is Ben. We need a place to stay. Is it all right if we stay here?
The older man, who appeared to be in his forties or fifties, with a scraggly black beard laced with gray hair matching the receding hair on his head, smiled and answered,
—Yes, you can stay in any of the unoccupied rooms. As long as you follow a few rules.
Sara and I exchanged glances then nodded as he recited the rules of the building.
—Rule number one: it’s first come, first served around here. Most of the time we sleep in the same room every night, but if someone gets there before you do, you have to find somewhere else to sleep. It’s a good idea to lock your door once you’re in for the night so no one surprises you. Rule two: no lights after dark. The electricity is on in this building, but we don’t want anyone to find out and turn it off. Please use it judiciously. You can use it to warm some water or cook some food on the stove or in a microwave if your apartment is lucky enough to have one, but do not turn on the heat or air conditioning. That would be sure to bring attention to us. We’re all trying to live under the radar here, so to speak. That brings us to rule number three: do not tell anyone about us. By that, I mean don’t invite anyone else to live here or tell anyone in a position of authority about the building. You found us by your own devices and as long as you follow our simple rules, we will allow you to stay here, but we don’t want the world to know about us. Rule four: respect each and every one of us here. Any fighting, stealing, or being otherwise objectionable will result in you being expelled. Do you understand? Do you agree to these rules?
Sara and I nodded in agreement, then the older man stuck out his hand to shake ours and said,
—Welcome to the building. My name is Gerald. I’m kind of the father figure around here.
After that, everyone else came forward and introduced themselves. Besides Gerald, there were only two other adults: a crusty old man who looked ancient, whom Gerald called Skinner, and a forty-something woman named Janice. Skinner barely lifted his eyes to look at us when Gerald introduced him. When he went back to staring at the floor, Gerald said in a low voice,
—He scored a bottle of booze somewhere last night—first he’s had in quite a while. He’s an alcoholic. It’s a wonder he made it through the bad times.
Gerald shook his head sadly as he patted Skinner on the shoulder. Janice was much more friendly than the old man, smiling and shaking our hands when we were introduced. She said she was kind of like the mother to all the young people who stayed in the building. I ventured a question.
—Are you and Gerald married?
—Oh heavens, no! We’re just friends. Gerald and I lived here before the fire. After the fire, they forced us to leave, but we had nowhere else to go, so we came back. We have keys to our apartments.
The rest of the group consisted of young men, teen boys really. Sara was the only girl of the bunch and she was getting some pretty hungry stares. Of course, even in a room full of girls, she would have stood out, as beautiful as she was. I put my arm around her shoulders just to send the message that she was taken, even though she and I had never declared that we were together officially, not even to each other, let alone to others. I half expected her to shrug me off and give me an angry look, but she seemed to welcome the security.
One boy about my age, called Sonny, offered Sara a bag of dried peas, and she took it gratefully. If I weren’t so hungry, I’d have told him to shove it, because I think he only shared it with her to try to lure her away from me. I vowed to myself that I’d find some food for us the next morning. Since it was already almost dark, everyone started leaving to find rooms to sleep in. Sara and I went back up to Apartment 326. She searched through the kitchen cabinets until she found a pot with a lid, then filled it with water and poured the entire bag of peas in. Since there was no microwave in the apartment, she put it on the electric stove and turned the burner on low. We sat on the couch and talked while the peas simmered.
I hadn’t told Sara much about my parents and neither had she about her parents. It wasn’t that we didn’t trust each other, but just that we hadn’t been ready to talk about it yet. For some reason, that night Sara felt like talking about her past. It might have been because Gerald and Janice reminded her of her parents or that she finally felt somewhat safe with me in that apartment. For whatever reason, she just started talking.
—My mom had blond hair like me. She used to be a cheerleader for the Chiefs, back before she had me, before she got married.
So that explained her unusually good looks. Dad used to watch the Chiefs every Sunday during football season, but I hadn’t been too interested until I started playing football myself. Sara continued,
—Dad was a teacher. He was handsome, but he was always amazed that Mom could love him because she could’ve married somebody with a lot more money than him. They really loved each other.
Sara stopped and stared down at her hands for a while. I knew she was thinking about her parents, so I just sat quietly and waited for her to continue. She drew in a slow, ragged breath and started talking again, quietly.
—Mom died first. I thought Dad would cry and scream but he didn’t; he just sat and stared, almost never moving, until I woke up one morning and found him dead, still staring.
Sara started to tremble then, and I couldn’t help trembling a little myself. I put my arms around her gently, timidly, and she cried for just a few seconds. Then she straightened up abruptly and wiped her eyes, almost angrily.
—They weren’t supposed to die. They were supposed to stay and take care of me!
Her sudden anger took me by surprise, and I must have had a dismayed look on my face, because she softened immediately and took my hand.
—At least I have you now.
After that, we listened to her iPod for a while, then Sara got up and
checked the peas. They weren’t completely done yet, but we were so hungry, we decided they were good enough. I found a couple of bowls and spoons and Sara poured us each a big helping. Between us we ate the whole pound of peas, broth and all. I remember thinking as I devoured it, that we should probably save half of it for tomorrow, but I couldn’t stop myself from refilling my bowl again and again. Apparently, neither could Sara.
After we finished eating, Sara asked me about my parents. I felt I owed her some sort of explanation since she had opened up to me about her parents and she had shared the food that was given expressly to her. I felt a huge lump in my throat, and my heart constricted as I slowly pried open the chest of memories in my brain to let out a few to share with Sara. When I spoke, I barely recognized my voice. It was low and raspy, like I had laryngitis or something.
—My mom left my dad and me a couple of years ago. She found somebody she liked better than us, I guess. My dad died alone in the big fire down here because I couldn’t get to him in time. My mom died before I could get to her, too. Time… my timing is never right.
Sara took my hands in hers and looked me in the eyes.
—You know, things aren’t always as they seem, Ben. Sometimes it seems one way when it’s really another.
I had no idea what she was talking about, so I just looked away and changed the subject, asking her what she thought we should do the next day. She let it drop and merely said,
—I guess we’ve got to look for food.
I nodded, and Sara got up to go make her bed in the bedroom while I made mine on the sofa again.
Chapter 11
Foraging
The next morning I was awakened by a quiet knocking at the door. Sara was already up, quietly warming some water on the stove for a sponge bath, so she went to the door and looked through the peephole.
—It’s Sonny.
I rolled my eyes and hurriedly shoved my blankets into my gym bag. I didn’t want Sonny to see that Sara and I slept in separate beds. It was some macho thing, but I instinctively felt that she would be safer if everyone believed that we were really “together.” Sara opened the door a crack with the safety chain still on, then after listening to Sonny’s whispers for a second, leaned back in to me and said,
—Sonny wants to talk to me for a sec. Be right back.
I didn’t want Sara to talk to him, especially in private, but what could I do? She stepped out into the hall and pulled the door gently closed behind her. I tried to listen to what they were saying, leaning my head close to the door, but all I could hear was mumbling. They must have been talking very quietly. After a couple of minutes, Sara came back in alone, as I hurried to busy myself with plumping up the pillows on the sofa. She didn’t say anything for quite a while but just went back to watching the pot of water warming on the stove. After about five minutes I couldn’t stand it anymore and asked, trying to sound nonchalant,
—So… what did Sonny Boy want?
—Please don’t call him that. His name is Jason. They just call him Sonny because there’s another Jason in the building.
—Why do you care so much all of a sudden?
I hadn’t meant to sound angry, but I couldn’t help the jealousy from creeping into my voice. Sara gave me a disgusted look but said nothing. I tried again, this time concentrating hard to make my voice sound neutral.
—Okay, sorry. What did Jason want?
He wants to take me to a secret food cache he’s found.
—You’re not going, are you?
—Maybe. He said there’s enough food there to feed us for several months.
—But we were going to the river today to catch some fish or birds or something.
—You can still go there. Then we’ll have plenty to eat.
—I don’t want you to go with him.
—Why in the world not? Why wouldn’t you want us to know where this is?
—Okay, then I’ll go with you.
—No… He said only I could go.
—Oh, yeah, sure. That’s convenient, isn’t it?
—Why are you being such an ass? It’s just that he doesn’t trust guys. The other guys have been really mean to him.
Sara’s voice rose in anger and frustration. I had a bad feeling about this, but I wasn’t sure if it was because I sensed danger or just because I was jealous. I felt helpless. I felt that if I pushed it too hard, Sara would just leave me, but I still didn’t want her to go with Jason. I could provide for her; I knew I could. We didn’t need some punk coming in to try to prove to Sara that I couldn’t. After an excruciating mental battle with myself, during which Sara stared at me angrily, I shrugged and gave up.
—Do whatever you want. I’m going to get us some fresh meat.
I put emphasis on “fresh meat,” hoping that it would somehow impress her more than canned or dried food. When she answered, her voice was softer, gentler, as if she finally understood the anguish I was feeling.
—Good. I’d like that. I promise it’ll be okay.
With that, she put her hand on my cheek and kissed me tenderly and lightly on my lips. Then she smiled her beautiful, reassuring smile, although it didn’t quite reach her eyes.
Sara cleaned herself up and gave me a quick peck on the cheek before leaving to meet up with Jason. She looked into my eyes, so deeply that I felt like I was swimming in her Caribbean blue eyes, and said softly,
—Good luck. Be careful. I’ll see you back here this afternoon.
Part of me wanted to follow her and Jason, staying well hidden like a spy or a CIA agent. But another part of me wanted desperately to show her that I could provide for her by bringing home some fresh food. I finally decided to do that, even though my heart was squeezing in my chest as I left the apartment with my gym bag. First, I stopped by Janice’s apartment and left Sara’s bag and most of the contents of mine, as Janice had told us we could do as long as we shared some of the food we found while we were out foraging. That put more pressure on me than ever to find food, but I couldn’t very well hunt with two large bags suspended from my shoulders and I didn’t dare trust the others enough to leave them in our apartment.
It took me only half an hour to walk down to the river as the apartment building was fairly close to it. It was a pretty nice day, and there were lots of people on the banks of the river already, foraging for food, many with fishing poles. Even though the electricity had been on for about a month, there still was not a lot of food to be had as manufacturers and grocery stores geared back into business. And even when they did, there was not a lot of food that had been grown commercially to be processed, since the shortage of gasoline kept large-scale farming to a minimum.
I had brought with me a telescoping fishing pole that had belonged to Sara’s dad. I found a relatively empty spot on the river and dug around in the dirt for some worms. I wasn’t very good at fishing, since my dad had never had time to take me, but I had once gone with my Cub Scout troop when I was six or seven. Mom had come along with me and helped me put the worm on the hook. As I struggled with it now, I suddenly remembered how she had grimaced then smiled at me and forced the worm onto the hook. I decided that was a memory I needed to keep, so I tucked it away in the back of my mind.
At first I was unsuccessful, but every time I thought about quitting, the image of Jason handing that bag of peas to Sara came into my mind, and I renewed my determination to catch something. I think I had been there most of the day—Time was not something I cared to think about anymore, even though we now had clocks to mark it again—before I finally had some luck and was able to catch two small fish, which if I remembered correctly were called bluegill, and two larger fish, which could have been bass or trout or catfish, for all I knew. I gutted them, as I observed a fisherman down the way from me doing, stuck them in my bag, and headed for home as the sun was heading down in the west. I hurried, worried that Sara would be all alone in the apartment, or worse, that she’d be with Jason. I wanted to trust Sara, but I definitely did not trust him
.
When I got back to the building, I stopped by Janice’s apartment and picked up our stuff, leaving one of the small fish with her. She was thrilled to have fresh fish to eat and invited Sara and me to dinner, but I turned her down. I didn’t feel much like sharing Sara with anyone else that day. Sara was already in the apartment when I got there, quickly unlocking the door when I knocked.
—I’m so glad you’re home! I’ve been so worried about you. Did you get anything?
I smiled and with a grand flourish, pulled out the remaining three fish. Sara squealed with delight and I felt better than I’d had all day. I was overwhelmed with relief and pride and just plain old love for that beautiful girl who was happily dancing around the living room with a dead fish for her partner.
Sara and I did the best we could to scale the fish and cook them, but we ended up having to pick some of the scales out of our teeth after eating. Neither of us knew much about cooking fresh fish, but they sure tasted good. Sara showed me the few items she had got from the food cache that Jason had taken her to: a bag of rice, four cans of vegetables, and two cans of peaches. We opened one of the cans of peaches for dessert. I wanted to ask her about her trip with him, but I didn’t want her to know I was jealous and worried about it, so I just kept quiet.
After we ate, Sara pulled a Hostess cupcake twin pack out of her bag and told me happy birthday. I’d forgotten that it was my birthday. Most of the day had sucked, but I was touched that Sara had remembered me while she was with Jason. After we shared the cupcakes, we sat and talked for a while.
Teenage Survivalist Series [Books 1-3] Page 20