The Survivors Book IV: Spring

by V. L. Dreyer

  "Lots," she replied, then she started handing out gaudily-coloured umbrellas to the others.

  I just laughed, hugged the tank to my chest, and made a mad dash back across the forecourt to the Hilux. The back was already full of barrels of petrol, so I opened the rear cab and set the tank on the seats instead. Aaron and Zain joined me a few seconds later; between the three of us, we had the tanks Zain had deemed to be full transferred to the trucks in no time at all.

  We went back and managed to get in a couple more loads of oil and other useful supplies before the deepening gloom made it too hard to see what we were doing. Just as I was depositing my last armful in a safe place, I heard Hemi shouting. "That's it! We're done! We're done!"

  I glanced at our makeshift barricade and saw that the floodwaters had already risen almost to the top, and a few ominous shadows told me that it was creeping around the sides as well.

  "Then let's get out of here," I shouted back, making a broad gesture to the others. "Into the trucks, quick! The water's coming!"

  There wasn't enough space left in the trucks to carry everyone. Those of us who could still function made way for supplies or people in worse condition than we were. We huddled beneath our umbrellas and waited until the trucks had headed off, then we followed on foot back to our base of operations on the far side of town.

  Johan, Aaron, and Dominic appeared beside me as I trudged through the driving rain. I glanced at them and gave them a weary smile. "Well, we did it. I'm pretty sure the ground is sloping upwards, so that should help us keep above the water for the night."

  "Should do, yes," Johan agreed, sounding just as tired as I felt. "I for one will be glad to find my bed tonight."

  "I really hope we can find beds tonight," I replied, lifting my umbrella a little so that they could find some shelter beneath it. It was a token gesture at best, but Johan gave me an appreciative smile.

  "Even if we can't find you an actual bed, I'm sure we can make you comfortable," he replied, his voice deep, soothing, and somehow familiar. He had the same patient, reassuring tone as Michael, and that put me at ease. "There are several motels at that end of town, and we've scouted them all. I imagine Hannah has already helped your people find the best places to set up camp for the night." He paused and shot a glance at me. "That's my wife. My new wife. We married last year. Dominic's mother died in the plague, sadly."

  "Ah. I'm sorry to hear that," I said, nodding my understanding. I glanced at Dominic and gave him a smile. "It must be nice to have a mum again, huh?"

  "Yeah!" Dominic agreed, nodding vigorously. "Hannah's really nice. She's a great cook, too!"

  We all laughed at that. Once the levity passed, I glanced at the others and tilted my head. "I need to go get Boudicca. Who wants to keep me company?"

  Aaron gave me an odd look. "I don't know how to tell you this, but I'm pretty sure Boudicca's dead. Like, a couple of thousand years ago."

  "Not that Boudicca," I replied, laughing. "That's my horse's name. Don't look at me, I didn't pick the name."

  Everyone chuckled again, but Aaron was the first to volunteer to come with me.

  "We better move fast," he said as we peeled away from the rest of the group. "We're going to lose the light completely any minute now."

  "And here comes the snow," I added, as a couple of stray snowflakes began to drift down around us. They were small, shapeless things, but they were definitely snow. We exchanged a glance, then picked up the pace.

  Boudicca was exactly where I'd left her, tied to the bicycle stand and looking no worse for wear. She nickered a greeting to me and nudged me with her velvet-soft muzzle. I reached up and rubbed her nose affectionately, then I untied her reins and looped them around my wrist.

  "My back hurts too much to mount up, but you can ride if you want," I said to Aaron.

  He shook his head and gave me a wry smile. "After all that lifting? Nah. I haven't ridden in years, anyway."

  "Me either," I said. I handed him the umbrella, so that I could focus on leading Boudicca through the mounting snow. At least the snowfall meant the rain had stopped for the time being, and I was grateful for any small favours that Mother Nature had to offer.

  The conversation trailed off during the walk back to the northern end of town, so that we could focus on where we were putting our feet. The wet ground and sudden cold snap meant everything was dangerously slippery, and more than once I found my feet sliding on a patch of black ice. Boudicca seemed to have no such trouble, luckily; she was heavy enough that her hooves just broke through the fresh ice.

  It was a long walk back, and by the time we got there we'd lost daylight completely. For the last kilometre or so we only had torchlight to guide us, and the distant glow from the motels where our comrades had set up camp. I found myself growing increasingly anxious the longer we were out after dark, but nothing happened that was any more dangerous than Boudicca accidentally inhaling a fluffy snowflake and then sneezing on me.

  Suddenly, one of the lookouts spotted us and shouted a greeting. A minute later, Priya came racing out of the darkness and flung her arms around my waist. "Mama!"

  "Priya!" I cried back, squeezing her with affectionate exuberance.

  She squealed and squirmed for a second, then ducked under my arm and fell into step beside me. "Mama! Baba found a baby!"

  I just about swallowed my tongue in surprise. "He what? He found a baby? Whose baby did he find?"

  "Hannah's!" Priya replied brightly, miming the way one might hold a baby. "He hugged the baby and went 'goo-goo, gaa-gaa', made many silly noises. Why?"

  "That's… something adults do around babies," I replied, forcing myself to take a deep breath to fight down the odd mixture of relief and nausea that suddenly fought to overwhelm me. So, Michael liked babies. That was no great surprise. And apparently he was feeling a bit clucky. Considering my situation, that was most likely a good thing.

  My thoughts were interrupted when Priya suddenly noticed Aaron, and froze in her tracks. I just laughed and gave her a look. "Oh, don't tell me you're pretending to be shy again. Come here, munchkin."

  I held my arm out to her. She raced into it and cuddled up against me, peering curiously at Aaron from the relative safety of my shadow.

  He grinned and gave her a wave. "Hello there, lass. I'm Aaron. What's your name?"

  Priya hid her face in my armpit, and I burst out laughing. I just couldn't help it. She always did that to me. "This is my foster daughter, Priya. Don't mind her; she plays this game sometimes when she secretly just wants a hug. Isn't that right, honey?"

  Priya peeked out, looked up at me, and gave me a huge, cheesy grin. Then she detached herself from me and we all resumed walking.

  "You talks funny," she said suddenly. "Why?"

  "Sorry, we're still working on her English," I added. "She's asking about your accent."

  "I figured as much," Aaron replied, his expression open and friendly. "I'm from another country, a faraway land called Scotland. I moved here when I was fresh out of university, a couple of years before the plague."

  "You remember how we talked about how people's mamas and babas coming from different places?" I said, looking down at her. "Aaron comes from the same place as my baba."

  "Oh, aye?" he asked, looking at me quizzically. "Well, I suppose I should have guessed from the 'McDermott' thing, but you don't have an accent."

  "I never had the chance to visit, unfortunately," I said. "My father moved here when he was a toddler."

  "That's a shame," he said thoughtfully, his eyes turning distant for a moment. "It's pretty country. Much like New Zealand, in many ways. I often wonder what it's like over there nowadays. I suppose I'll never know."

  "Maybe one day we'll find out," I replied, reaching out to pat his shoulder. "In the meantime, though – Priya, where are the horses being kept?"

  "Over here, Mama!" she replied, scampering off towards a field not far away. She opened a gate and led us through it, then guided us across the field to a ra
mshackle barn that glowed with the faint light of an oil lamp.

  Inside, we found Jasmine and Lily hard at work, rubbing the horses down and making sure that they were fed and bedded for the night. Introductions were made, then the girls took Boudicca and led her in with the other horses.

  "Do you need a hand?" I asked hesitantly, hovering near the door with the others.

  "No, this is our job tonight," Jasmine replied with her usual determination.

  Lily gave us a smile and nodded agreement with her twin. "We're almost done, but thank you for offering."

  "Okay," I said. "Call if you need anything."

  "We will," Lily replied, waving a goodbye. I waved back, then led my little party back out into the snow.

  "Lots of kids with you," Aaron commented. "How did they survive?"

  "Lord of the Flies-style," I answered dryly, wrapping my arm around Priya. She gave me a curious look, then snuggled in under my arm for what little warmth and shelter she could get with my coat bundled up tight around me. I briefly explained the origin stories of our various children to him as we walked back towards the glow of the motel, until someone called out and interrupted the conversation.

  "Hello!" the woman called, waving frantically. "Come inside and get warm; it's freezing out here."

  "Amen to that," I agreed, ushering Priya ahead of me up the short flight of stairs.

  "Good evening, Hannah," Aaron greeted with his usual friendly smile. "How are things?"

  "All's well, so long as you lot get in here before all the heat gets out!" Hannah replied. She chased us all inside and closed the door, then turned to offer me her hand. "Hi, I'm Hannah. I've heard so much about you!"

  "Likewise," I replied, shaking the offered hand.

  Hannah gasped at my touch and yanked her hand back. "Good God, you're like ice! Come with me, let's get you all warmed up before you get frostbite."

  The woman grabbed my arm and all but dragged me down a long hallway flanked by doorways. Somewhere along the way, Aaron and Priya both vanished, though I didn't notice until they'd already left. Hannah paused for a second to check the doors, then opened one on the right hand side.

  "Here, this is your room," she said. "Your husband already brought all your things inside, so you should be able change into something dry."

  "Oh man, it's toasty in here," I said, reaching out to rest my hands over the radiator. "I take it the generator's working nicely?"

  Hannah laughed and nodded. "I'm a little vague on the details, but I think they managed to use your little generator to jump start the big generator out the back. Thank goodness, because we're going to need it tonight. Now, you get that wet clothing off so I can get it in the dryer for you."

  "Yes ma'am," I agreed with a playful salute. I closed the door behind me for a little privacy, then pulled my various essentials out of their pockets and set them out on a dresser nearby. My clothing was a mess: my pants were soaked to the knees, my shoes and socks were sodden, and my coat was practically dripping wet. I stared at it for a second, then just dropped it all in a pile on the floor.

  A towel and a stack of clothing sat neatly folded on the end of the bed, obviously waiting for me. I recognised them from our stash of spare clothing, and suddenly I was very glad that we'd brought it with us. I changed quickly, and pulled on a pair of thick socks in lieu of my sodden shoes. When I opened the door, Hannah was waiting.

  "Much better," she said approvingly. "We've got a roaring fire going down in the common room, so you go join the others and I'll take care of this. Just follow this corridor to the end, and you'll hear them before you see them."

  "Thank you so much," I said, grateful to have the responsibility taken away from me for a change. Every inch of me ached, and I longed for the chance to sit down and eat something hot. I left her to take care of my clothes and padded off down the hall in the direction she'd indicated.

  Sure enough, I heard them before I saw them. The buzz of human voices in conversation was a pleasantly familiar sound, and it made me smile. I opened the door, and spent a moment just relishing in the wave of heat that washed out. People were gathered around the big fireplace on the far wall, sitting on chairs or cross-legged on the floor. For once, the scent of so many bodies in close proximity didn't bother me. In fact, I didn't notice it. The moment the joy of the warmth wore off, I only had eyes for Michael.

  He was sitting in an armchair, rocking a tiny bundle wrapped in a pink baby blanket. I slipped inside without being noticed and closed the door, then crept up behind him, watching with mute fascination. His big hands were so gentle, and his voice was so soft that it made my gut lurch. There was something about seeing a man being gentle with a baby that made my most primal instincts scream out in need, even if I didn't really know what to do with them.

  Melody's voice interrupted my reverie. It was raised a few octaves higher than I was used to, which made it clear that she was upset and on the verge of genuine distress. "Sandy! I want to hold the baby. Make him give me the baby!"

  Michael glanced up and gave me that smile he reserved just for me. "Ah, you're back." He looked at Melody and laughed. "Calm down, would you? She's trying to sleep. You can hold her, but you have to sit down and be still and quiet. You wouldn't like it if someone was running around screaming while you were trying to sleep, would you?"

  "Fine, fine, I'll be good, just let me hold the baby!" Melody groaned, plopping down to sit on the floor beside his chair. Once she was settled, Michael leaned over and tenderly placed the sleeping baby in her outstretched arms.

  "That's it," he said guiding her arms into the right places to keep the baby comfortable. "Like this. If she starts to wake up, just rock her gently like I was doing."

  Melody barely even seemed to hear him; she just stared with rapt fascination at the tiny person in her arms. Michael and I exchanged a smile, then he held his arms out to me. I went into them as happily as any baby, snuggling up in the warmth of his lap. He kissed me, hugged me gently, and suddenly I was the happiest I'd been all day.

  "I missed you," he whispered, his voice soft and tender. I could hear the frown in his voice, even if I couldn't see his face. "You're so cold. Are you okay?"

  "Fine, just fine," I replied, closing my eyes to enjoy the warmth. "We got it all, and some propane as well. It should be enough to get us to Avalon with lots to spare."

  "Sounds like we're going to be stuck here for a while, though," he said, his big fingers stroking a few stray tendrils of my hair away from my cheeks. "From what the others were saying, the flooding seems to be pretty bad."

  "It is, but we can wait," I said. "Patience is a virtue, and we've got plenty to do in the meantime."

  Michael pushed me back just far enough to see my face, and I gave him a mischievous grin in return. He just laughed and hugged me tighter.

  Chapter Five

  I pressed my taser to the nape of the infected woman's neck, then leapt back out of the way as she collapsed like a decomposing water-balloon.

  "Ugh, this one's over-ripe," I called to the others. "Who's on slops duty?"

  "Aw, hell. I'm not sure I'll ever get used to that smell," Aaron said, reaching up as though to cover his face with his gloved hands. At the last second, he remembered that his gloves smelt just as bad and jerked them away from his face with a muttered curse.

  "You think it's bad over there? Come closer and take a whiff!" I teased, tucking my taser back into my pocket. "You want some more perfume for your mask?"

  "Ugh, no," he protested, waving me away. "That stuff smells even worse."

  I opened my mouth to make a joke about the heightened sense of smell that came with pregnancy, but caught myself just in time. Instead, I laughed and went for sympathy. "I know, mate. I know. Seriously, though – who's on slops?"

  "Charu, I think," Aaron answered. "You want me to go get him? I don't mind, anything to get out of this stink-hole."

  "Nah," I replied, shaking my head. "You volunteered for this, so you don't get to escap
e that easily. He'll still be busy working on that last place. Looks like the infected around here were in the last stages of the virus. What a mess."

  "Yeah, but like you said, better safe than sorry," Aaron said, his voice carrying a mixture of disgust and amusement. "That's the last one we had marked. You want to go do one last check around town and make sure we haven't missed any of them?"

  "Sure," I agreed. We stripped off our rubber gloves and tossed them on top of the sloppy remains of the infected, then headed out into the street.

  Five days had passed since our arrival in Taihape, and water still blocked the road southwards. We had nothing better to do with our time except explore this side of the flood, and gather up as much as we could carry. Combining our groups and resources had more than doubled the size of our fleet; for the first time, we had enough space to carry everyone and everything we needed, with plenty of room to spare. A few days earlier, there had been a subtle air of uncertainty amongst the group, but now it was gone. Everyone was smiling and feeling hopeful about our chances of making it to Avalon – even me.

  It had taken us three days to finish stripping the resources out of that pretty little town. At that time, there had been no sign to indicate that the floodwaters were going to recede, so I'd decided we should use the time to clear away the bodies of the infected. It had taken all of my oratory skills and a wee bit of exaggerating to convince the rest of my group that the gruesome task was worthwhile, but I succeeded in the end. I'd argued that every infected we put to rest now was one that we wouldn't have to worry about catching the mutated virus in the future. Even those of us who had never encountered the mutants had heard the stories. Still, it was a victory that I occasionally regretted, what with my nose being as sensitive as it was.

  "It's for the best," I said to myself. Aaron gave me a funny look, and I suddenly realised that I was doing 'that thing' again, as Michael called it. "Sorry, yabbering to myself." I paused for a second, then changed the subject. "So, what's his story anyway? Charu's, I mean?"

  "Oh, that's an unpleasant tale," Aaron replied. He sighed heavily and shook his head. "Poor lad had his tongue clipped a few years back. I think it was by that big fellow you were discussing with the woman and her kid the other day, but he hasn't said." He barked a sharp laugh, and just as quickly frowned. "Though I use the term 'said' loosely, here. He can… sort of talk, but usually doesn't. He's self-conscious about it. He used to be some kind of Bollywood icon, back before the plague. A singer or an actor or something."