When they reached the stream after stopping off to pick up clothes, Tom was just getting there himself.
"How did it go?" Bob asked.
"Come out good. That Molly can work. We left everything there. Didn't know what we'd do with most of those tools anyway," Tom said.
"Yeah, best place for them," Bob said.
"The rest of us have decided to go," Mike said.
"With Bob?" Tom asked.
"Yep," Mike said.
Tom exhaled. "That's good news. Everybody?"
"We don't know about Nell and Molly," Mike said.
Tom nodded, "They want to go. It is all Molly and I've been talking about as we worked. She's so enthusiastic. As for Lilly and I, Lilly got me to look at it harder, she's... Well, that will come later, I guess. But I was thinking about safety... For her," Tom said.
"That's not fair, you can't almost spit it out and then not say it," Ronnie said.
"What," Tom said.
"Like you were about to say something, but decided not to," Jeff said.
"Yeah," Mike added.
"That's it exactly," Tom said. "That's me. It's not a secret; we just haven't told anyone is all. Lilly is... pregnant," Tom said.
"Wow," Ronnie said. "Fast work, Bro," he clapped Tom on the back.
"Congratulations," Mike said.
"It's not mine," Tom said. "I'm only saying it to say it. She was pregnant when this happened. She was afraid I wouldn't want her, but I do. And the baby... well, I'm pretty excited about it," he smiled hugely.
"All right then. Congratulations, Tom," Bob said slapping him on the back.
"Hey, the first one," Mike said. "That's a big deal."
"Awesome," Jeff said.
"Hey, it's our future," Ronnie said.
"That's why I wanna go... for Lilly and the baby," Tom said.
~
The Dog showed up just before dinner with a companion. She was every bit mutt as The Dog, and very nervous around everyone.
Everyone ate with gusto, slipping bits of chicken to the two dogs, and fussing over Angel, which somebody immediately named her.
"It's not right," Mike said. "Angel here shows up and gets a name immediately and The Dog is still The Dog."
"Yeah, but he's The Dog," Janet said laughing. Everybody joined in.
"The Dog probably wouldn't know what to make of a new name," Tom said. "Probably thinks The Dog is his name."
"Well, it is," Lilly said. "It is his name. Angel and The Dog. Now The Dog has somebody too."
~
Dinner passed by quickly, and Mike broached the subject that had been on their minds and that they had spoken of earlier.
"Some of us talked today about going with Bob and Janet. By some of us I mean, Ronnie, Patty, Kate and myself, Tom and Jeff. We decided to go, Lilly," he looked at Lilly, "had already told Tom she wanted to go. If I have it figured right, we have it figured right, the only ones who didn't say for sure yet are Nell and Molly. But," he held his hands up, " this is for every one of us," he looked to Jeff's group, "those of you who have been here, those of you who just got here."
"We thought we'd ask everybody where they stand right now. But, if you still haven't made up your mind, that's fine. It's a ways away yet. We have some traveling to do, which were going back to tomorrow, I'm told. So, I thought we'd all answer, and there's an awful lot to discuss. And since it will affect all of us, we should all talk about it. Bob will do that, but first, we've got some other news. Tom... Lilly?" Mike grinned hugely. It had been all he could do not to tell Kate. Tom spoke to Lilly, and she had agreed to tell everyone.
Lilly flushed. She seemed to think for a moment and then spoke. "Tom and I are going to have a baby," she said. Cheers went up everywhere. Everybody hugged Lilly and shook Tom's hand. The Dog and Angel ran around between their legs, jumping up and down and barking, joining in the general mayhem.
Lilly explained again how it was not Tom who was the baby's father, but her boyfriend before everything had happened. But it didn't dampen anyone's enthusiasm.
Sandy made her promise to let her know if she felt any way out of the ordinary, and then began to prescribe vitamins and exercise, sounding exactly like a doctor. But, Mike thought, in this world, she was a doctor.
The topic shifted to the forever wild area, what they would need to take with them and what they would need to do once they got there.
"We've got to figure out how to get cows, horses, chickens and pigs there in reasonable numbers," Bob said. "We talked a little about driving them in. Like a cattle drive, old fashioned cowboy stuff, and we talked about trying to drive them in, in cattle trucks, if we could find or build something that can work."
"Bob?" It was Arlene. "I've done a little ranching, worked on one for awhile out of college. I know a little about it. You're talking some real work rounding up cattle and horses, teaching some of the others to ride horses to keep them moving. That's hard work for real cow hands. Really hard to imagine regular folks getting it done easy." She smiled, clearly nervous but also in familiar territory.
"Now, cattle trucks will work, so will horse trailers. We just have to make a few trips is all. We can catch them and turn them loose once we get close to where we are going. There's no way to get the kind of fencing up that we need," she said. "Not now, but late fall or next spring we can. They'll winter fine on their own for the most part. Oh, and I definitely want to go," she added with a surprised chuckle.
"Oh, stupid," Bob said. "First things first. Does everybody want to go? Is there anyone that doesn't want to go?"
Nell raised her hand. "We do want to go, we talked it over last night and again this afternoon. We want to go." Molly held Nell's hand as she spoke.
Another spontaneous cheer went up, and The Dog and Angel went chasing around and barking once more.
"That is really it then," Bob said. "Well, I liked what Arlene said. I didn't know we had an expert."
Arlene laughed. "I'm no expert," she protested.
"To us you are. Hell, to this world you are," Bob said seriously. "So, go ahead. I didn't know about horse trailers that would take more than two horses," he said.
"Oh no, they got horse trailers that will take as many as 10 horses in safety. That is the key. Now, with a cow, they crowd together and it makes them feel safe. With a horse, they have to be separated or they'll just keep on pushing, maybe kicking too. The cattle trucks are easy to find. Any truck dealer might have a few, but we'll be coming into beef cow country soon, and I'm sure we'll find more than a few. We could make a couple of trips, although we'd have to get gas, or we could get us 8 to 10 of those trucks, put the horses in and bring them in," Arlene said.
"Are they a hard drive?" Tom asked.
"Not too," Arlene said. "Standard shift, mostly, but a few automatics. I guess we'll be driving so slow it won't matter much."
"You know, almost the whole of the north west side is flat lands. Mountains to the south and to the east. Once we get them past that, there isn't anyplace they can go. They can winter, and next year when we have a place for them, we could round them up. We might lose a few, and there are probably wild horses in there to, so we could gain some. But it'll work," Bob said.
"That's sounding good," Mike said.
"Easy even," Ronnie said.
"Oh, squash that. It ain't going to be easy at all. We have to catch them first. Cows? Not a big a problem. Horses? Oh brother. Thankfully it hasn't been long, and we shouldn't have too tough of a time of it," Arlene finished.
"That's good enough for me," Lilly said.
"Yeah."
"Me too."
Several others spoke out loud while they were nodding.
"Well, we'll need other things as well I guess. Janet is going to start a list. We'll all add to it. I guess we'll start now," Bob said. "What else can you think of that we need or should take?"
"Books," Janet herself said.
"Medicines," Sandy said.
"Carpenter tools. Hammers. Levels,
and saws. Oh, and nails," Ronnie said.
"Hand plows, saddles, stuff like that," Arlene said.
"Why not some solar panels?" Tim said. "We could use them to keep a few lights running, maybe a 'fridge, monitor a CB maybe. They're easy to hook up and use, and they work pretty well," he finished.
"Good," Arlene said. "Good."
"Some cast iron wood and coal stoves. That is if they still make them," Lilly said.
"We talked about hybrid seeds today, so trying to find a store somewhere along the way would be a smart thing to do," Mike said.
"Maybe one of those metal buildings on a truck. There's nothing to them when they're apart," Ronnie said.
"Maybe a few of them," Jeff said. "They might have to do us for awhile."
"Pots and pans. The heavy duty stuff. Stuff that will last," Patty said. “Cast iron.”
"And those steel laundry tubs." Kate said.
"Maybe some..."
~
The conversation and suggestions went on and on, some drifted away to take the first posts of the night. In the end Janet had most of a spiral notebook filled with notes.
The good feeling stayed with them, fueled by the knowledge that tomorrow would see them back on the road and heading for their destination some twelve hundred miles to the southwest.
~Kate's journal~
I'm tired so this will be a short entry. This is our last night of privacy in a real room, and a real bed, (me with my candle so I can write).
We're going. We're all going. Bob's dream, and Janet's as well really, is about to be realized. And Lilly is pregnant. And I would say we can't top that, except, both Patty and I missed our monthly. Stress? Maybe. But, wouldn't it be nice? We're both only a little late, so we're not getting our hopes up. Of course, we really are!
~Mike's journal~
It's early. We're going to go eat in just a few minutes, but I wanted to write this down. We're all going to do this wilderness thing with Bob and Janet. We must be nuts! I say that, but I'm kidding. I can't imagine going back to the way things were, even if we could. The other big news is Lilly is pregnant. Wow. What can I say after that?
~Arlene's journal~
I was told about the journals, and I thought it was a good idea. There are several keeping them here. I thought I'd be another one. I've never had a child. All the girls here want to have children. I can feel that, and I wish I could, but I've never been able to. Maybe something is wrong inside, maybe it isn't. I don't know.
It was something I was honest with David about. That and our age difference I was sure would keep us part. But he wouldn't have it. He loves me and to him that's enough. I want that to be true. I want that to be the truth. And there are five children here who need parents. I approached David about that, and he thinks that's a good idea. So I guess we will have our family.
We're joined to this other group now, hell or high water as my mother used to say. We're heading out in the morning. We're going towards a large tract of that Forever Wild land, and we're going to settle there. Bob actually took my opinion on horses, cows. How to get them there; how to keep them there.
It has been a long time since someone cared about my opinion, let alone asked for it. It felt good.
We made lists of things we need to take. I remembered something a little while ago that I forgot to mention. Music. Either instruments to make it on, or a medium to play it on. Or both really. Would that be nice? Maybe from those solar panels that were mentioned. Music is important to me.
We are in a room. A real room. Quiet and dry, and who knows when we'll have that again.
~Janet Dove's diary~
I could write for an hour, a week, a month, and still not be able to explain how I feel inside. I am so happy. We're going to do it, Bob and I and all the rest. We're going to the middle of this country, to the middle of the Forever Wild area, and starting all over again. We are leaving in the morning.
~Donita and the boy~
The fires burned bright, freshly banked for the night. She could not say what it was in fire that frightened her, but it did. It touched something deep inside, something that she could sense had not always been there. Like at one time she had embraced fire the same way the breathers did. Now it only frightened her.
Behind her, the boy whined, high pitched and frightened. The fire did the same thing to him. She turned and allowed a growl to slip from her cracked and peeling lips, and the boy quieted down immediately.
She looked back toward the fires. She should have gone already. She should have taken the boy and moved on. The breathers could mean death to both of them. The dog kept coming around. And now there was another dog. She could smell her.
But the breathers didn't usually hang around that long. Others had come and gone just as quickly. These should have been gone when the moon rose into the night sky, packed up and gone while she and the boy had been in twilight. But they were still there. Their terrible fires burning and sending their stink into the air, creating heat. Heat was an enemy of all things cold, she told herself. And she was a thing cold.
She stood, her legs flexing easily, something they did not do just a short time ago. Behind her, the boy stood also, soundlessly, and although she did not see him - hear him - she felt him. She knew he had stood, knew he was waiting for her to move, knew that he believed the entire world revolved around her. All this with no words, touches, conscious thoughts.
She looked off through the trees to the opposite side of the road, across from where the breathers were camped.
Her new eyes saw more than her old eyes had ever seen, though not precisely as she had seen with those other eyes. This sight was not suited to daylight. It could see - would see - in daylight, but not well. The lesser light of the moon was the light she needed.
She could see for more than a quarter mile clearly. But it was not just about the seeing. Smell, the feel of the air upon her skin, things that could not work the way they used to work, now worked with her eyes. She saw the scent on the wind. She perceived the movement of air across her skin with her eyes. She saw it. Her eyes were her windows to the world.
She saw the rabbits far across the field, past the other road, and rabbits were fine, but it was not the rabbits that had attracted her. It was the boy, not much older than the one behind her, that had caught her attention.
He carried rocks in a pouch, held a weapon in his hand as he stalked the rabbits.
He was alone. It was a thing that she knew. He was not a part of the breathers that were camped not far away. He was a loner, and he had managed to avoid the ones like her that must have scented him, followed him. She scented the air and drank in the information.
Alone... Hungry... Mistrustful. He stumbled, and the rabbits spooked. Before he could react, the rabbits were across the balding grass patches near the trees on the opposite side of the road and into the tall grass. She could feel them running through the grass. Tiny hearts beating fast, knocking against their rib cages. She tracked the boy at the same time. He had lunged for the tall grass and then had fallen back. His head came up, scenting the air the way breathers did, and she knew he had caught her scent, the same way any hunted animal did, even when they did not yet know they were hunted. It had been the reason he had stumbled and frightened the rabbits. She said nothing, simply flexed her leg and leapt into the tall grass, the boy behind her.
The woods emptied out into a narrow valley sparsely populated with scrub pines, a small creek running through the bottom. The boy made the creek at a dead run, but the fire in his side caused him to stumble. She was not there to see him stumble, but she knew it just the same. A second later the boy was on him, knocking him flat to the ground. When Donita came upon them, the boy had his hands tightly around the boy's throat, riding his chest as he bucked and thrashed. She flew upon them, pushing the boy aside, driving a knee into the boy's throat and closing off the air he had been fighting so hard for. She pressed her body hard against his, stretched out flat upon him, and held on as he th
rashed and clawed.
~
He fought hard, but he faded just as quickly. With no air, breathers could not fight long. Something she had learned, had known, she told herself now, but she did not remember how she knew, she only knew that she did. When at last he stopped his fight, she rolled off him and rose to her full height, towering over him, looking down at him.
He was barely as big as the boy she had already. He would be just as ignorant too, stupid... but open to learn, and he seemed stronger, built bigger. Wherever he had been - and she could smell places on him that she had never known - wherever he had been, he had used his rocks and weapon well, kept himself well fed. She sighed. It was not her choice alone, and she could feel that the boy resented him, did not want him to be a part of them. She waited for his emotions - still so much like the breather he had been - to pass.
He came to his own understanding. The whole was more than the one. Collectively, they could win. There was no other way. He came to her, and she understood the change in what he had felt. He squatted, his hands planted in the red dirt of the valley floor. His eyes, not quite like her own yet, but changing, turned up to the moon. Silver-blue moonlight painted his face. She stood briefly and then moved to the boy where he lay, his dead eyes reflecting dully the same moonlight that brought so much life to the other boy. She lowered her body and then brought her weight down upon his chest.
There was still warmth and it both excited and repulsed her as her thighs settled on either side of his ribs. She bent forward and lowered her mouth to his throat, finding the hollow. She tilted his chin with one hand and then turned his neck to the side. Her teeth found the artery below the skin and closed over it. A second later the passion took her, and she lost herself.
~The hour before Moonset~
She crouched close to the boy, her hands hanging at her side. The other boy was made. She knew he was made, he was just having a little trouble finding his way back from his first twilight. She had no sooner finished her thoughts than the boy's back arched like a bow and he began to flop and buck. The two waited as he fought the fact of death. The first few minutes were the hardest, when your mind could not yet believe that it could live without drawing breath. That time was barely even a memory for her, clearer for the boy.
America The Dead (Book 2): The Road To Somewhere Page 7