More than a few heads nodded in agreement.
“Sometimes,” Patty added as an afterthought. “The thing you find is better than the thing you thought you wanted.”
Nell looked at Molly. Molly smiled, and Nell leaned closer and kissed her.
“You two?” Kate asked.
“Nell tempted me,” Molly said.
“It's like Patty said, sometimes the thing you find is better than the thing you thought you would find... or want. I hadn't expected this much out of life in the old world let alone this one,” Nell said smiling, but serious. She worked her hand into Molly's and leaned closer to her.
Mike's eyes swept across Pattie's face, expecting to see a smile but finding a distracted, sadness on her face instead. Patty swept it away so quickly though that he wasn't sure just a second later that it had really been there at all. Maybe, he decided, he had imagined it. After all, Patty had found the better thing she hadn't known she would find in Ronnie. There would be no reason for that sadness to be on her face. He found his own hand holding Kate's, and she leaned into him for a kiss.
“Get a room, you guys,” Tim said as he and Annie passed by. Annie was blushing but had a huge smile on her face.
“Horn dogs,” Tim told her as they walked away, laughing with each other and holding hands as they went.
“Horn dogs?” Mike asked.
“I don't know about you but I am no horn dog,” Janet Dove joked as she passed by.
The thought of prim and proper Janet Dove making a statement like that caused everyone to crack up. Janet stopped, a shocked look on her face.
“Good one, Jan,” Kate said.
“I can't believe I said that,” Janet said.
Everyone cracked up then, including Janet Dove.
~Evening~
Kate lay in the crook of Mike's arm as they talked quietly.
“Gotta go in about five minutes,” Mike told her. “My watch.”
“No,” Kate said. “You can't go if you can't get out of bed. Besides, we paid for the room for the night,” she finished and laughed.
Mike chuckled. “This is nice. Privacy, first we've had in... well, forever.”
“When we leave, we'll be back to getting none at all again,” Kate told him. She snuggled against his side, one hand resting against the flat of his stomach, her index finger drawing small circles. “But,” she lifted her eyes to his. “I guess I have to let you go. Just think about that alone time for later.” She kissed him softly. “Something to keep you thinking about it.” She turned away, swung her feet to the floor and began to get dressed.
“You do give me things to think about,” Mike told her. He trailed his fingers down her back, bent forward and kissed her shoulder.
Kate looked back at him. “Do you want to make that watch?”
Mike laughed. “No, but I have no choice at all.” He leaned forward and kissed her mouth. “Later,” he said.
“Later,” She agreed.
~
The room had not been in bad shape. It was funny how fate could be, Mike had thought. One wing flattened, one untouched. From sleeping in a cave a day ago, to sleeping in a real bed the next.
The room was dusty, a slight musty, unused odor, but dry. The roof had held up. The walls seemed untouched.
“Where are you going?” Mike asked.
“With you.”
“You're not on, Babe,” Mike grinned.
“Correction. I wasn't on. You had Patty on, but she wanted to spend time with Ronnie, so we switched. That way, when we're done, we can come back here again...” She cocked her eyebrows. “And take our time?”
“What, not be rushed?” Mike asked.
She stood and turned into him as he was getting ready to leave. A beautiful woman wearing only a pair of white socks, which was all she had managed to get on. She stretched up onto her tip toes and kissed him. His hands pulled her close. She pulled away with a smile.
“I thought you were coming with me,” Mike said.
“I am,” She giggled.
He reached for her once more, but she skipped away. “We'll never get there, Baby,” she told him.
“As it is, I'll probably be thinking about you throughout the whole watch and waiting to get back here. God, Kate, you're so beautiful.”
She looked at him seriously. “Keep that up and we'll never get out of this room.” She crossed the short distance between them and kissed him once more. “Say it just once more?”
“You're beautiful,” Mike told her as he pulled her close.
~
It was about an hour and a half past sunset when Mike took over one of the perimeter guard posts from Susan. It was simply the far corner of the garage complex that overlooked a field and the highway beyond it.
“Quiet?” He asked.
“Pretty much. The dog... what's that dog's name anyway?” she asked.
“He doesn't have one,” Mike admitted. “We, uh... we just call him The Dog, you know. He survived. He got through it same as us; he made it, you know. He's The Dog.” Mike finished lamely.
“Oh. Sounds like a little guilt there, Mike. Maybe we should all get together and name it,” Susan suggested.
Mike nodded.
“Well, anyway... The Dog kept looking off towards the highway. He didn't, like, bark or anything. I thought maybe deer, cows, something else. But with the meat drying, it could have drawn anything at all. The fires and so many people should be enough to keep anything away. Even if it's wolves, they'll probably stay away, right? I just thought you should know about it.”
Mike nodded. “Could be something, but you're probably right. Most likely it's nothing. I imagine the smell of the meat will draw every carnivore in the area. That's okay as long as they don't try to bother us. There will be plenty of scraps when we're gone.”
Susan nodded this time. “Mike,” she hesitated and Mike nodded for her to continue. “Well, I wondered what you thought about Jan and Bob's idea of settling in the wilderness. You know, deep in the middle of nowhere... a new Nation.”
Mike nodded slowly. “I think they really want to do it. I think they really believe in it, Susan,” he shrugged. Her eyes questioned him. “Okay... and... And I wish I could believe in it they way they do. Not that I believe it won't work. I think anything we do will take hard work, a good deal of hard work,” he shrugged again. “And I think they'll put the work in, I really do. Maybe you're asking me what I want to do, and I can't tell you that. I don't know... I haven't decided. It's something Kate and I would have to take the time to sit down and decide, and we just haven't had the time to do that.”
“You know, in my head the old world was selfish. It was all about selfish. The Me generation? Something like that. And I'm not saying I was any better. I wasn’t. Oh, I had my friends, and I helped them when I could, but when it came down to push or shove, it was me. It was me, and a lot of the people I knew, worked for, with, associated with, were the same way. Social on the surface, but scratch that surface and it's a different story. Push or shove... and not an overly hard push or shove either.” He looked at her and Susan nodded.
“At least for me it's been that way. I guess I sound cynical. But it's not that way anymore. I'm not that way anymore. It's not about me. It's about me and Kate. And it really isn't about us either. It's deeper. There are people here I've really come to care about. I mean really care about. Do you realize that I haven't watched T.V. Since the night this all started? Sounds ridiculous, right? None of us have, but I did computer work. Scripting, C, C plus plus, graphics, more. I used to turn my computer on, turn on the T.V. for company and go to work. Eighteen hours sometimes, even longer on occasion. It... that... was my life. No relationships. No one to really care about. No time for it. And everyone I knew was the same way. Superficial. Shallow? Yeah, that too. Well... I don't do that anymore; I don't want to.”
Susan nodded. “Everyone I knew was too busy living to think about how they were living,” she said.
“That
I do understand,” Mike said. “But not now, you know, somewhere, in some secure building, on some secure server I have a couple of bank accounts that were well over a million dollars each.” He laughed. “All means nothing now, Susan, nothing. I am happy with what I have. I don't want what I used to have.” He sighed.
“The Nation? Probably a great idea. I can think of only a few things that I could do that would matter as much to me as that does to them. Kids... love... Kate, you know? Do it right, not like the old world. And that's the rub. It depends on Kate... and the baby. She's trying to get pregnant. It seems like almost everyone is.” He rubbed the flat of his palm along his jaw feeling the stubble that was softening into a beard. “If she wanted to do it, yes. If she wanted to travel to Alaska, yes. When the time comes, and it's probably not all that far away in the scheme of things, but when the time comes for Bob and those that have committed to go with them, and those that will - I know there will be more - when that time comes, if Kate wants to go with them, I'll jump in with both feet. That's the truth of it.”
Susan's eyes were misted. “Thank you,” she said.
“Thank you for being long winded and entirely too personal on short notice?” Mike asked.
Susan laughed. “No, for being honest. I think I'm going to go have a talk with a young lady. I'll see you later, Mike,” she said. She smiled and then walked off into the shadows of the night.
Mike watched her go. Apparently everyone was more appreciative of people now, not just himself, he thought. He turned his attention to the field and the highway. After his eyes became accustomed to the darkness, he could see the dark shapes of cattle grazing in the field, a few deer mixed in with them.
He thought about what he had just said, how much he felt for Kate. How for the next few nights they would have a real bed. His mind filled with thoughts of her. He almost missed the radio call, almost wrote it off as one of their own, until he realized it wasn't.
~
“Hello the camp,” the voice repeated.
Mike unclasped the radio from his belt and raised it to his mouth and spoke. “I guess you mean us,” he said more calmly than he felt.
“I do,” the voice answered. “We've been traveling. Saw your fires from about five miles back. I guess the question is, are you okay? If you've been living in the same world that we've been living in, I guess you'll understand that question.”
Mike keyed the mic. and let the smooth static play out for a few seconds before he spoke. “You must have stopped quite a way back. We didn't hear the sound of your vehicles.”
“We did. Like I said, it's a funny world. Listen... we kind of wanted to feel you out. I'm Jeff... Jeff Simmons,” he finished.
“Mike... Mike Collins,” Mike told him. “I understand your point. We've been through a few things too. Do you want to come in?”
“Well... we do but we're stopped now for the night. In the morning? Would the morning be okay with you?”
“That will work. I... I guess breakfast will be on us,” Mike told him. “You know where we're at?”
“Yeah, we do,” Jeff told him. “I sent a couple of scouts down. It looks like a little build up off the interstate... No actual town or anything. We're a couple of miles back. But we can see the light of the fires from here.”
“I would've sent scouts too,” Mike allowed. “It's about like you imagine, a wide place in the road. Garage... Motel... A few chain stores. It looks like it all built up around the truck stop diner that's also here. There's plenty of gas here, plenty of supplies also,” Mike finished.
“That's good to hear, Mike. We swung down from Vermont. We're all from there. We've been avoiding the cities as best we can, trying to get out West... somewhere where we don't have to worry about winters,” he said.
“I hear that. We're in the same boat here, only heading South. Or at least right now we are. I guess we're still undecided where we'll end up. We're pretty heavily armed, Jeff. I guess you'll see that when you come in tomorrow. We've been through some stuff as well. I won't apologize for the weapons,” Mike finished.
“Don't need to. We're loaded too. I don't exactly like it, but it's the way life is now. I... Well... I couldn't come in unarmed, Mike. I couldn't. I'm sure you see that.”
“I understand that,” Mike told him. “And I'm sure you know we'll be on the defensive for the first little while ourselves. I don't like it either, but same as you, I do what I have to... we do. We've got some good people here, Jeff, good people, and we're careful.”
“Us too. Well... there's eight of us, Mike. I don't like to give away numbers, but you'll know soon enough anyway. We'll be eight in the morning.”
“Sixteen of us here, Jeff.” Mike told him.
“Wow. No wonder you got so many fires going. We wondered about that.”
“Yeah, well, some of it is the people, but we're smoking meat to take with us. There are cows and deer everywhere. We figured we might as well get some fresh meat while we can. Beats the hell out of stuff from a can.”
“You'll have to show us how to do that. We don't have anyone who knows how to do that. I don't think we even have a hunter of any kind either,” Jeff said. “I can shoot, but I've never hunted.”
Mike laughed. “We're all learning to do new things,” He said. “And we're lucky to have some people with us that do know how to do those things.”
The radio hissed silence for awhile.
“Well, Mike, it was good to talk to you, and we'll see you in the morning,” Jeff said.
“Okay, Jeff. Same here. And I meant that about breakfast, so come hungry,” Mike said.
“Will do,” Jeff said. “Out.”
“We're out too,” Mike said. He clipped the radio back to his belt. He thought about making love to Kate. How she had swapped time with Patty to make it all work out so Patty and Ronnie would have time together too. He thought about how he was going to have to wake Bob, Tom and Ronnie... Patty as well. Well, he realized, most of the camp. Hell all of the camp except the two kids. The V.H.F. Squawked as he was thinking. Kate calling for him.
“Yeah,” he said.
“I'll help you get them all up,” she told him.
“Thank you, Babe. Tell them it won't be overly long. They can go back to sleep after we talk.”
“Okay, Babe. Out,” Kate said and giggled.
Mike's face broke into a grin.
“Uh, Babe. You need anymore help?” Lilly's voice came through.
“Okay,” Mike laughed. “You can go wake up a few as well. And, Lilly?”
“Yeah?” she asked.
“I'll want you there too,” Mike said.
“Um... okay, Mike. I'll go help Kate,” she told him, sounding flustered.
~
As it turned out Mike was able to keep the meeting short. In the end, there was not a lot to say or to discuss. They asked a few questions, made plans to be up early in the morning and then everyone went back to bed.
~Sandy's Diary - March 26th~
I should start calling this a diary not a journal. It's funny, but we started these to leave at the cave but then we brought them with us to keep for the children. Now it's becoming something more, although still for the children, so they can see who we were or are... or both.
I was about to write when I found out we'll have visitors in the morning. I hadn't expected it so soon. I wonder if they are people we can make a part of us? I guess we'll all see tomorrow. I'm excited, but I was already.
Susan and I, well we're together. As in living, as in sleeping together. I can not believe I took the step. I didn't know I could. I didn't really believe there could be someone out there for me. But she made it clear to me how she felt and that she will go with me where ever I want to go. You know, up until right then, all I wanted to do was go and help Bob and Jan start this Nation. I thought that was all I had in my mind. It wasn't though. If she asked me not to go, I wouldn't.
I've never known an emotion that could effect such change inside of me so quic
kly. I'm not sure I've even known this emotion before... not like this. People are coming, and that is exciting. I'm with Susan, and that is life. Do you know what I mean? And that means I'm a lesbian. I guess I knew that. It is important to me to know who I am though. To say it, to own it. In our so called enlightened society it wasn't universally accepted. Oh, on the surface, sure. But not really. And where is that world now? Gone. I guess it's just us now. We don't have time to be so judgmental, or for me, to care if I am judged. I'm happy!!!
~ In the Dark ~
The cow turned her head towards the woods, nervous. Her large eyes reflecting silver glints from the moonlight.
The smell of death and corruption was nothing new, and that was the smell that came to her now. But there was something wrong with it, something not right with this smell... something different. Her calf nuzzled her and began to nurse. The smell of humans came to her along with smoke and mumbled snatches of conversation, and she stopped thinking about the dead smell, turned away from the woods and stared at the firelight across the fields.
~In the Trees~
The eyes watched her and the other cows from the cover of the trees. The hunger was terrible, all consuming, and it came in crashing waves. The impulse to feed seemed to be the only coherent thought she had. It was hard to think around, hard to think past.
A few weeks ago she had been... Been? But it did no good, she could not force the memory to come. A name came, Donita. She had been Donita; she knew that, but that was all she knew. And a name was not everything she had been. She had been something else... something more, but she could not get to whatever it was. Something that did not wander through the woods. Something that was not driven by all consuming passions that she could not understand.
She turned her eyes up to the moon. It pulled at her. Something in it spoke directly to something inside of her., something deep, something she believed had always been there, but there had never been a need to address it because it lived under the surface, out of her line of thought, sight... below her emotions. Now it didn't. Now it ruled everything. It was all she could do not to rush from the trees, find the smell that tempted her and consume it. Eat it completely. Leave nothing at all. Oh to do it... To do it...
America The Dead (Book 2): The Road To Somewhere Page 2