“I’m not going anywhere without you, Star, so you just rest easy.” Erika was serious and Star knew it. Star relaxed and snuggled back in between the boys.
Erika got up to go with Joan out to this bath she was talking about. As they walked out into the sunlight, Erika was completely dumbfounded. She had expected to walk out into familiar territory and into a town that she had once known so well. All she saw was blackness in every direction, except the one that went down into the dreadful canyon they had just come from.
“Oh my God,” Erika gasped.
It had all burned down, all the trees, all the buildings. Everything there now had been built out of the ruins of the old town. The broken wood and scavenged metal had been made into makeshift buildings where the town once stood. The concrete from the old parking lots was still clearly visible, but it even looked crusted over from the fire.
“This area was massively damaged when the quake hit, Erika. That’s why we never came up here before. From Auburn, we could see the smoke thick in the air, so we didn’t know what we would find. The river was a ready source of water, and the fire had stopped at the quarry. A lot of wildlife found refuge in the woods between here and the river, so we just stayed at the river. We had water and food, so it seemed like the logical decision, until those idiots started to rally up in Auburn.” Joan was reflecting on decisions of the past. “Come on, Erika, let’s get you cleaned up,” she said cheerfully, “and then we’ll worry about all this.” Joan was trying desperately to keep Erika’s attitude positive the middle of all this misery.
Joan led the way to the bath while Erika’s mind raced. If the whole place had burned, how far did the fire go? The fire had stopped at the old quarry that was located on this side of the canyon, but what about the other direction towards Georgetown? She thought of Vince and Dexter and sent her prayers out again as she had done so many times before on this journey. What about Coloma and Lotus? Was her mom safe? This whole idea had thrown a huge monkey wrench into her grand plans of returning home. What home? Was it still there?
Walking through the camp, Erika was really impressed. It seemed like the group had been here for a week, but Erika knew they had only arrived yesterday night. Directly in front of the tent was the main campfire with an eating and preparation area set up next to it. Kim and Tom had returned, with some other older teens, from the Cool camp and were preparing food for the big feast tonight in the preparation area. Further away to the left, there was another fire burning. This one was elongated and burned with a steady low flame. There was a rack set over the top of it, and Erika could see the meat drying on the rack. Steve was standing attentively by that fire with a gentleman that Erika did not recognize.
Joan’s and Erika’s footsteps crackled on the burnt and crispy landscape as they continued on to a small roughly made tent. There was a basin of water outside of it and next to that were two sticks planted in the ground with a line in between them. The tent itself was made of old burned wood and the roof was just a blanket laid over the top. Joan pulled back a panel, and inside was a very small fire with a large metal basin over the top of it.
“I know it’s not the Holiday Inn, but at least the water will be warm,” Joan said encouragingly.
“It’s a whole lot better than nothing.” Erika was actually really glad she could get clean in a hot bath. She felt disgusting.
“Now you just get in there and hand me your clothes, and I’ll wash them for you while you get clean." Joan sounded so motherly.
“Are you for real? Wow! Thanks, Joan.” Erika was kind of shocked to find this much kindness in this hopeless landscape.
“Well, if it weren’t for that blood all over you and your clothes, we wouldn’t be having a feast tonight and food for many more nights to come. Plus, I wouldn’t even be alive if it weren’t for you,” Joan replied. “Just give me your clothes, it’s the least I can do.”
“Thanks again, Joan.” Erika had never been good at taking compliments and didn’t really know what to say, so she quickly got into the little tent with the washtub. There were stones placed on the ground in front of the tub. That way, when Erika took off her moccasins, her feet stayed somewhat clean. Erika had to take a minute and revel in the ingeniousness of this setup. The little stones to keep your feet clean, the tiny fire keeping the water warm under the metal basin, it all made perfect sense. She took off all her clothes and wadded them into a ball.
“Here you go, Joan,” Erika called out while she turned her back to the door.
Joan cracked the door to grab Erika’s clothes, and she gasped when she saw the scars that covered Erika’s body. Erika turned her head when Joan gasped and their eyes met.
“It’s a long story, Joan.” Erika felt really uncomfortable about this turn of events. She didn’t want to face the fact that her body had been altered. At least she was alive and close to home. Hopefully, her beloved, Vince, would feel the same way.
“I’m sorry, Erika. I didn’t mean to… I…” Joan was now stammering with her words. She could feel Erika’s tension heavy in the air.
“It’s okay. I am alive, but I have some scars to prove it.” Erika was regaining her confidence. She knew the Lord made everything happen for a reason, and God made every person just as they were meant to be. Each imperfection made each individual perfect.
“That is one story I would love to hear.” Joan could feel the tension lighten, but she did not want to push it any further right now. She grabbed Erika’s clothes and headed over to the wash basin.
Erika picked up a little wooden bowl that was floating in the water. She washed the warm water over her skin and tried to wash off as much blood as she could. She wanted to try and keep the basin water as clean as possible so she could soak away her worries in the nice, clean, warm water.
Once she had rinsed herself, she got into the tub and immersed herself in the warmth of the water. It was a tight fit into the tub, and it was definitely weird to be in a tub of water directly over an open fire. She pictured herself as a lobster for a minute and had to chuckle at the thought. Even with all her worries, the bath felt great. Soaking in this delightfully warm water, she almost forgot how much she loved long, hot showers. Erika saw a little square of something that looked like soap and when she scrubbed it on her body it started to get sudsy. The water was reviving her, and her mind started wandering. She could not believe how far she had made it. She thought about Henry and Carol and all they had given her. They just gave. They didn’t ask for anything in return, and without them, where would she be? Thinking of Carol and Henry made her remember the outfit made out of old sheets that Carol had made for her.
“Hey, Joan,” she yelled.
“Yes, Erika,” Joan replied. She was busy washing Erika’s outfit in the basin outside.
“If you go into Kit’s packs, I have an extra outfit there. It is the only other clothes in there, so it should be easy to find. I wrapped it up in one of the blankets I have. Would you mind grabbing it for me?”
“Sure, no problem, then you won’t have to wear wet clothes,” Joan responded cheerfully.
Erika could hear Joan leave by the crackling footsteps. She also heard more voices over at the camp. She thought it sounded like maybe the boys came back with some more folks from the Cool camp. Erika decided to get out of the tub so she could drip dry for a while before Joan got back. She always hated putting on her clothes when she was too wet. They stuck to you and were always a pain to get on. She didn’t have a towel, but luckily, it was warm both inside and out, so it felt pretty good to just let the water drip off of her. Then she heard Joan’s footsteps outside the tent, and Joan slid the door open.
“Here you go, Erika. Those sure do look comfortable,” Joan commented on her sheet outfit. “When everything went down, all I escaped with are these jeans. I’m not complaining, but sometimes, I wish I could just throw on a pair of my old sweats.”
“They are really comfortable. A sweet lady who helped me recuperate made them for me,” Er
ika said thinking of Carol.
“Oh, and here are your… moccasins?” Joan said questioningly.
“Thanks. Yeah, I have moccasins. Not something you would expect, but they were made by the husband of that same lady. My shoes didn’t escape the mess that I made it through,” Erika said with a dreamy look in her eyes. “The moccasins were better than nothing.”
Joan was getting very curious about this story but remembered the tension that it had aroused. She remembered Erika saying something about escaping from Sacramento when she had first reached the River Compound, but there was so much going on at that point. Joan had only focused on what Erika’s story meant for them and not really about what Erika had been through. The effects of her ordeal were rather obvious by Erika’s skin but Joan didn’t want to push. She knew Erika would have to tell the story over and over, and eventually she would hear it.
Joan walked over to the wash basin and Erika followed. Most of Erika’s clothes were already hanging on the line, and Joan just had to finish washing her jungle pants. The blood had permanently stained her clothes. They were now a brownish-green color. There was no Tide out here, but they looked a lot cleaner and smelled a whole lot better.
“Cute pants. Good color,” Joan teased.
“Yeah, tell me about it. You got jeans and I got jungle pants. The cooks at the restaurant I used to work at had to wear them. That’s all I could find after mine got wrecked,” Erika explained.
“Okay, we’re done here,” Joan declared. “All we have to do is let them dry. I think it’s going to get rather warm later today so it shouldn’t take long. Let’s go get some food while we wait.”
The smell of meat was wafting every direction through the air, and Erika’s stomach was going crazy. There were lots of people at the campfire now, and everyone seemed to be busy doing something. Erika could not wait to get a bowl of the soup that everyone seemed to have in their hands. Their footsteps crackled through the burnt grass as she and Joan approached the fire. Suddenly, she saw a very familiar face in the crowd. One of her best friends from before the accident, Greg. For a minute, she could not believe it was him. As they approached, Greg saw her as well, and there was no question it was him, not that it was easy to mistake him for anyone else. He had always been one of the most handsome and charismatic people that Erika had known.
There were no words that could explain their feelings of elation in recognizing one another. They ran at one another and hugged. He picked her up and swung her around. There were times in the past when Erika’s husband had been tired and Erika was out on the town with the girls. Greg had always kept his eye on her and protected her from the drunken advances of silly men. This was his big chance to get her back under his wing and home to her husband and his best friend. The tears were rolling as they began to separate.
“You’re alive, Erika! Oh my God, you’re alive!” Greg was ecstatic. He could not believe his eyes. He had gone on watch at the Cool camp many days, and each day, he would hope to see her coming up the canyon.
“I am, G-man,” she teased him and used a nickname that he had gone by in the past. “I am. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for some really great people I met along the way. Including these folks that I’m with, but I made it. I’m home.”
“He survived, Erika, and Dex too. They made it,” Greg said, looking straight into her eyes. She did not even need to ask the question. He knew Erika and knew what she would be worried about. He could always read her like a book.
The tears started to flow down Erika’s face. Her family had made it. They were really alive. She had known it all along. Someone brought her a bucket to sit on as her legs went weak. She knew her family had been waiting, and they actually were.
“You saw them, G-man?” she gasped.
“Yup, Vince has been coming down about once a month to see if you have turned up anywhere. Everyone told him that there was no way anyone made it out of that pit that Sacramento became, but he knew you would. He said he could feel you. He knew you would survive because you always said you would. Last I heard though, the Georgetown group was thinking of heading further up into the mountains because of the conflicts down by the river and the lack of housing for them,” he explained
“What happened around here, Greg?” Erika wondered.
“The fires burned most everything from here to Icehouse to Coloma. Georgetown actually fell into all the old mines that were under the city so those people got double screwed. Now with all the aftershocks and all, who knows what’s going to happen?” Greg said with a faraway look in his eyes.
“Oh my God, he’s okay. I knew it. I have to go now!” Erika got up and looked like she was going to go running across the hill.
“Just wait a minute, Erika. I just found you, and I’ll be dammed if I’m going to let you go running off into that,” Greg stated firmly as he pointed out at the burnt landscape.
“Plus, think about Star,” Joan said in Erika’s ear.
“Star?” Greg questioned.
“Along the way, a lot of crazy stuff happened, Greg, and now I have a daughter. Her name is Star,” Erika stated as a matter of fact.
Greg knew that there were a lot of orphaned kids out there that had to be taken care of and all he said was, “Can’t wait to meet her. Look, Erika, I know that you want to see him, so I’ll send out two guys to run to the Georgetown camp and bring Vince back here. We have horse power too, and we have a pretty good route scouted to the Georgetown camp. They should be able to move pretty quick, and with it being so early in the day, they should be back by nightfall. Okay, Miss impatient?” Greg always had a quick wit and here he was solving problems with humor just like always.
“Woo-hoo!” Erika yelled. “I’m home and my family is safe!” She screamed through the air in sheer delight. She jumped up off the bucket and spun around in the air. It had been a long, hard road but she knew for certain they were safe, and they were coming here tonight. She fell back down onto the bucket as someone shoved a bowl of delicious horsemeat soup into her hands.
Chapter 17
Greg left to go and talk with the other guys that had come with him from the Cool camp. Erika thought she recognized one of them but wasn’t sure. She sat immersed in her thoughts and soup until the spoon was finally scooping up the last pieces of meat in the bowl. Now that she knew her husband and son were alive and safe, her thoughts began to roam to other people she loved. She thought about her mother. She lived in Lotus, a town not too far from Coloma, and Erika hoped her mother was safe. She thought about her father over in Michigan and hoped he was safe as well. Then she thought of her brother, Bob. He lived in Canada. He had taken a job there and had really liked living there. His wife on the other hand was not too pleased with leaving California and missed the weather. She thought of her husband’s parents, who had been on a trip to Washington State visiting her husband’s grandmother. There were lots of people that she was wondering about and felt frustrated that she could no longer just send out a text to see if they were all right or not. All she could do was pray to God for their safety or their acceptance into his Kingdom.
Greg had noticed that Erika was looking way too somber and hit her in the arm.
“Owww! What was that for?” Erika quickly snapped out of her thoughts.
“Just seeing if you still got it,” Greg replied sarcastically.
“Oh, I still got it. At least I’ll still kick your butt anyway,” Erika returned the jest.
“Well, let’s see it,” Greg prodded on. He stepped back with his hands in fists and began to dance around.
Erika put down her bowl and got up with her hands balled into fists and gave him a swift kick in the bootie.
“See, told you I’d still kick your booty.” She smiled wide.
“Oh, you’re gonna get it,” Greg replied, and he started chasing after Erika, punching in the air after her.
It felt great to Erika to act normal again, goofing with her friend in a very old game. Both Greg and Erika were t
rained in martial arts, and they often play-fought one another.
“Okay, G-man, you better knock it off.” Erika was getting out of breath and realized the stress of her recent life might have taken a toll on her body. She needed a little more rest before she would be at full strength again.
“Oh, are you getting tired?” Greg poked on.
“Yeah, actually, I am,” she admitted.
“Well, let me show you around then. I’ll show you the new town of Cool and the awesome pad I’m kickin’ it at now,” he said. His words were thick with sarcasm.
“Is that where you get your chillaxing on nowadays?” Erika teased.
“You got it. My dad is over there anyway with Mike Nostrem.” Greg’s voice sounded very cheerful.
“Really? Mike made it and your dad. What about Mike’s kids, Chris and Burt?” Erika wondered.
“Chris didn’t make it, and we still haven’t heard from Burt.” Greg’s cheerfulness suddenly turned somber.
“Oh man, I’m sorry, Greg.” Erika almost felt bad for even asking.
“Look, Erika, lots of people are gone and the quakes keep coming. All we can do is live each day and hope that one day we can get things back to normal,” Greg replied, trying to keep his voice steady.
Erika could see that talking about the past was something that was hard for everyone to do. Not everyone had been as lucky as her. They had lost their families and now faced a bleak future alone. Erika decided right then that it would be better to leave the past there, in the past, and just focus on the future.
She quickly changed the subject. “Are those guys you were talking to going after Vince?”
“Yeah, remember Denton from high school?” Greg played right into her change of subject.
“I think so. He looked kind of familiar.” Erika was thinking hard. She always remembered faces much better than names.
Day After Disaster, The Changing Earth Series, Uncut Edition Page 14