“I know, Ryan, but we have already searched all the houses left in Cool and we are running out of options,” Greg replied,
“Then we will have to search farther, Greg. More people are going to die without it.” The doctor looked deeply worried.
“I will see what I can do, Ryan. We will get it for you. In the meantime, I want you to meet Star’s mom, Erika.”
Ryan did a double take while he was shaking Erika’s hand. “I expected Star’s mom to be taller and maybe a blonde like she is. You two don’t look very alike. Does she look like her dad?”
“I don’t know, Doctor, I found her on the way here. Her real parents are dead and now I’m Mom,” Erika replied painfully, remembering the lady she smothered that day.
“That explains it. Sorry to be so blunt but, as you can see, I don’t really have time to beat around the bush. I would have brought Star here but we are really full. Oh yeah, and don’t call me doctor, Ryan will do. I was only a nurse practitioner, you know,” he said quickly.
“Well, I really don’t care what you were. I can see from what you’re doing now that you’re a doctor, and I want you to know, Doctor, that I thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything that you did for Star. Do you think that she will have a full recovery?” Erika could see immediately that this man was a healer. He looked sweaty, like he had been running around for days. His constant care for these patients was evident, as the place was clean and the smell of disease was not too thick in the air.
“Erika, she is going to be fine. The bullet did hit her calf muscle, but it was a clean shot, and as soon as it is healed, she will be back on her feet. As long as she keeps it clean and infection free until then, and staying clean is no easy task around here. That’s why I suggested that she stay in bed until it has a chance to heal further; at least then she will stay in a somewhat clean environment,” Dr. Ryan replied.
“Doctor… Ryan,” a man moaning from a bed called.
“Oh, sorry guys, I have to go. Greg, please remember the supplies,” Dr. Ryan said as he ran off toward the bed.
“Bye, Doctor, it was nice to have met you and thanks again,” Erika called out softly as she and Greg left the tent.
“Well, he seems nice,” Erika said to Greg once they were out in the hot sunshine breathing the fresh air again.
“I don’t envy him at all, but he has been our ‘savior’.” Greg used this term on purpose and shot Erika a wink. “After the quake and the fire, there were a lot more of us that gathered here; we were trying to get things figured out and contact someone who could help, but after a while, it was clear there was no one to contact. Thank God all this happened in the summer when most people are healthy, but some people needed their medications. There is no pharmacy up here, and we couldn’t get to a city. The medications they relied on started to run out. For the next couple of months, people were dropping like flies. Ryan tried everything he could think of to make them better, but their bodies had depended on that supply of medicine for so long. There was nothing he could do except make them comfortable and watch them die. It was horrible. Some people have larger stocks of their meds on hand, but eventually, they’ll all run out and then what? If their bodies can’t learn to survive without it or with a natural substitute, then there is nothing we can do.”
“I saw a lot of bodies when I was going through Auburn, but it doesn’t look like that here. What are you guys doing with them all?” Erika wondered.
“Over the hill about a half a mile, a huge fissure opened in the earth. We take all the bodies there and throw them down the fissure. That way, disease doesn’t spread, and people have a place to go to remember their loved ones. We call it Cool’s Trail of Tears. Anyway, there is still stuff left in people’s houses, and we need all the supplies we can get. We remove the bodies and any supplies and mark the house so we know we already cleared it. We are working on a pretty good perimeter but it gets old quick, and we never bring back enough supplies to make everyone happy.” Greg explained the operation in detail.
“Same old story; you can’t please everyone. I am glad you guys are laying the bodies to rest. It really bothered me to see all the decaying bodies just lying there in Auburn. No one cared; I think they even were actually eating meat off of them,” Erika said disgustedly.
“Come on, let’s not get all bummed out. This is going to be a happy day, darn it! Plus, I still have a surprise for you.” Greg knew returning to the mention of the surprise would entice Erika again and get them off of depressing subjects.
Erika had completely forgotten the surprise with all this serious talk, and her curiosity was renewed. “What is it? Come on, you have to tell me.”
“No, I don’t, and you’ll see soon enough,” Greg teased back. “Oh man, it is good to have you back, girl. I was so worried.” Greg gave her a big hug and added an extra squeeze at the end.
Erika didn’t have to say anything. It was good to be with him again too. Friends have always been priceless but nobody had a reason to fully appreciate that fact before. You could come and go and it hardly made a difference, but now everyone knew exactly how important it was to hold on to those little things that really matter in life. Greg started walking toward an area of town that used to be where the feed store was located, but it was no more. It had obviously burned pretty good. Anything that was of use had already been relocated to another survival location. They didn’t walk all the way to the feed store though; they made a sharp right and headed for the area that used to be little fenced patios and porches out behind the buildings. This area was darker and had more clutter. Erika followed carefully behind Greg until they came to a board that had a G on it. Greg moved it aside, and the inside of the area looked great. Greg had collected rugs, blankets, candle holders, and so much more. It looked like the inside of some Persian prince’s tent. One side of it was more of a sitting area, and the other side was definitely a sleeping area. It was basically stacked with blankets and pillows. While standing there, staring at Greg’s setup, Erika didn’t even notice Greg’s dog, Dakota, sneak up on her. All 180 pounds of his bull mastiff ’s body bounced at her leg, and his full weight hit her. Dakota knew who it was, and he was excited. His big old butt wagged back and forth and his curly tail wagged furiously.
“Dakota!” Erika screamed with excitement. Erika was an absolute dog lover and she suddenly realized that she had not seen one in over three months. She petted him and hugged him. “Wow, seeing Dakota makes me realize how much I miss Ripper.”
“He’ll be here soon enough, Erika. Why don’t we sit down and chill out for a little bit? Then we’ll go over and say hi to Mike and my Dad.” Greg found a spot in the sitting room on one of the cushions in the corner. “Hey, Erika, check this out.”
Erika was finding her own cushion to sit on over by Greg. It was an old sofa cushion and looked comfortable. She looked over toward him and replied, “What’s up?”
Greg pulled back one of the blankets covering the interior of the tent, and he was stocked. He had alcohol, canned goods, and even some more smokes. “Why don’t we have a drink and a smoke?”
“Oh yes, no need to twist my arm. I could use a nice break.” Erika was looking eagerly at the bottle of Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum that was on one side of the stack. “Greg, grab that Captain Morgan’s; everyone needs a little Captain in them, you know.”
Greg chuckled and grabbed the bottle. He also grabbed a pack of Camel Lights, Erika’s favorite. “Here you go. You can have this pack. Now, where are those freakin’ shot glasses?”
“Thanks, Greg. I have a couple left, but I am on extreme rationing now. Aren’t those the glasses over there?” Erika had seen some glass sparkling from a corner, but it looked as if another pillow had been accidentally thrown in front of them. “Got a light?”
“Sure do.” Greg reached over and lit Erika’s smoke and then grabbed two shot glasses from the corner pile. He poured them to the brim and handed one to Erika. “Here’s to old times.”
&nbs
p; Erika raised her glass and added, “It couldn’t last forever,” and they drank the shots down.
Greg refilled the glasses and they drank the shots slower this time. Erika had never been one for doing shots. She liked the fruity, girly drinks, and the straight rum was a little overwhelming at first. Then as her insides began to warm and her nerves relaxed, she found it easier to drink. It felt wonderful to rest on the soft cushions, having a drink and a smoke. Erika laid back and was just soaking in the restful feeling when all of a sudden a huge tongue licked her right across the face.
“Oh, Dakota!” Erika sat up quickly and was wiping her face. He had slurped a big, gross drool right across her face. Greg was laughing it up.
“I bet you really miss dogs now,” he said, laughing.
The two of them laughed and laughed. The stress relief was wonderful. Erika had been so out of her natural element for so long, she had almost lost herself. How easy it would have been to forget her life and give into the disparity of her situation, but she didn’t. Now here she was relaxing and drinking with her old friend. A big feast was coming tonight and the most delightful fact of all: her family was coming too. She would see them tonight. She could hardly contain her excitement.
“Greg, I just can’t wait to see Vince and Dexter. I never thought I would make it home. I can’t believe I am here with you drinking rum.” Erika was getting very anxious.
“Honestly, Erika, I can’t believe you are here either. I never thought I would see you again. So many people are gone; I figured you were just one more of them. Come here!” Greg leaned over and gave Erika another great big hug. It was one of those hugs that goes straight through to your bones. A hug shared between friends that fills one another with strength and certainty. “All right, we need to keep moving.” He was feeling the effects of the alcohol. “We need to go finish visiting and then go help get set up for tonight.”
“I will agree with that,” Erika was slurring her words a little. “Plus, if I drink anymore of that, I will be way too drunk by the time the boys get back here, and I have a feeling it is going to be a long night. If you know what I mean.” Erika had a sly little look in her eyes.
“Oh, I’m hearing ya’, sista’. That’s what I need, a little somthin’ somethin’.” Greg had his woman-eater look in his eyes and was staring off into space with visions of grandeur.
“All right, get your mind out of the gutter. Let’s go see Mike and your dad.” Erika quickly changed the subject.
“Okay, let’s go.” They got up and headed towards the door of the tent. Greg turned back and gave instructions to Dakota, “Now Dakota, you stay and be a good boy. Protect Daddy’s stuff; "I’ll be back in a little while to take you out.” He closed the tent and they continued walking down a little trail in between tent after tent after tent.
The sun was past the middle of the sky now and it was hot. Inside the tent had been cool, but the sun was blasting outside. Erika was still in awe of how the people were all living together. Normally, everyone would have been in their own individual home with tons of space in between each family, but when the stuff went down, they had all banded together. They did not know one another. Each one had lived their own life before, getting up for work and coming home. They had grocery-shopped together, or bumped into one another in line at the gas station, but never wanted to socialize. They all had their own friends. They all were part of digital social networks. Now here they were all stacked together, all helping one another. It was kind of miraculous and sad that it took total devastation for people to look at one another and ask: How can I help you?
Finally, Greg and Erika came to a deck that used to be the back area of the local bar, The Milestone. The quake and fire had done its damage here as well, but the people had pushed out the debris and put a makeshift roof over the building. This made it possible to pull a bench up to the bar and have a drink. How long would the alcohol hold out? Originally, it had not lasted too long, but they were resourceful. People needed the stress relief and the doctor was in need of the antiseptic virtues of it. The owners had been strictly rationing the original supply, and they were constantly sending out little gathering parties to look for more. But, that did not keep the supply full, so they made a still and were now doing it the old-school way, making their own. It was really strong and tasted like crap but it did the trick for the stress and the medicine.
“Wow, they have really done a lot with the place since I’ve been gone,” Erika said sarcastically.
“Hey, it’s a lot better than it was. I thought it was gone but people wanted a bar, so people dug the bar out of the rubble and then they threw this crappy roof on the bar, so here it is.” Greg was a construction worker and was having a hard time staring at this world that was so piecemeal. He wanted straight lines and things put together properly, but they didn’t have the tools or the materials to make that happen, so he had to deal with it.
“Greg, we’re over here,” someone called from a table in the corner. Even though it was really bright outside, it was amazing how dark it was inside. Then Erika understood why. There were no windows left. They must have broken out and just been boarded back up. She had to take a moment for her eyes to adjust so she could see who was calling them over to the table. As they neared the corner and her eyes began to adjust, she saw it was Mike Nostrem. Greg’s dad, Cliff, was up at the bar ordering another drink for himself and Mike. Erika was kind of curious what form of payment they were using for the drinks. She quickly pushed the thought back and walked up to Mike, who was talking with Cliff ’s girlfriend, Nancy. Erika did not know Nancy well, so she didn’t really react when Erika walked up behind Mike.
When Mike turned around he saw Erika and yelled, “Oh my God, is that you, Erika? Is it really you? Oh my God! Where were you? What happened? Oh my God! Come and give me a big hug.”
Mike gave Erika a huge hug and Erika loved it. After being alone for so long, it felt wonderful to be wrapped up in the warmth of old friends who loved you and would take care of you. After a while, Mike released his hug and extended Erika out to the reach of his arms and looked at her. Then he hugged her again. Erika had grown up with Mike’s sons, and she knew that one had died. Mike had not seen the other. She did not know how to approach this subject. As if Mike knew exactly what Erika was feeling, he held her closer and whispered in her ear, “Maybe Burt will make it home too.”
“I hope so, Mike,” Erika choked out. Tears were starting to fill her eyes now. It was as if all the emotions of the day could not be held back any longer.
“Hey, nice to see you made it home, Erika.” Cliff had returned with the drinks. Erika and he had not been as close, but they knew one another and exchanged greetings. His distraction from all the emotions was welcome. The alcohol Erika had before did not help to suppress the feelings that the reunion with Mike had created.
Mike had always been friends with Erika’s mother as well and quickly asked, “Have you heard from or seen your mom yet?”
“No. Why? Have you?” Erika was excited. She thought Mike may have seen her mom and knew where she was and if she was okay.
“No, I haven’t. I was just wondering if you had seen her yet. I have heard that there is a camp down in the Coloma area though, so there’s hope. I think Vince was going to check it out,” Mike said solemnly.
“Well, isn’t this shit cheery.” Greg was up to his classic old tricks again. He never let the tension get too high. He had to stomp it down. That's just who he was and Erika loved him for it. Everyone laughed and it was weird. How could they laugh at a time like this? On the other hand, how could they not? If they gave up and succumbed to the negative energy, they would die right along with everything else.
“Erika, there you are. I have been looking everywhere for you,” Joan had come in. “We just about have everything ready to go for tonight. I was wondering if you wanted to come back and get cleaned up at all. Your clothes are dry from this morning if you want to put back on something a little more rugged. P
lus, everyone decided you should present the meat tonight for everyone since you are the one who butchered it.”
“Oh, okay, Joan.” Erika was a little put off by all this attention. She wanted to just blend back in with the group, not ‘present’ things to them. She knew she would have to tell her story tonight and that was going to be quite enough. The more she thought about what Joan had said about her outfit, the more she thought it might be a good idea to go change out of the delicate clothes that Carol had given her, even though they were very comfortable. But, if she did get a little tipsy tonight, she did not want to make a mess out of them. Plus, she was thinking about Star and wondering how she was getting along. “That sounds good. I would like to change my clothes and check in on Star.”
“I’m going to hang out here for now. Margie needs some help getting supplies together for tonight, and I need to go and run Dakota. He has been in the tent for a while,” Greg said. “I’ll hook up with you in about an hour.”
“Sounds good to me, G-man; let’s go, Joan.” Erika’s heart bounced as she left the bar with Joan. She felt so much better, almost fuller. She found a sense of family, and it felt great. Now if her boys would just get here, it would be so much better.
Chapter 19
The sun was just entering an area of the sky that signified late afternoon was approaching. It got hotter and a bead of sweat dripped down Erika’s face as they crossed back over the old highway and headed up the hill to where the river group was camped. The wonderful smell of meat roasting was all over the place, and Steve was still over at the fire, drying the meat. Erika noticed a few more men had joined him sitting around the fire and there was a bottle of something that they were drinking. Erika knew what that must be. It was a good deal, alcohol for meat. Everyone would be well fed and having fun tonight. You could feel the energy in the air. The sense of anticipation of something fun. Something people could use to dispel more stress and disparity. It was a chance for people to come together even more, to dance and play.
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