Resurrecting Home

by A. American

  Jamie pushed her sunglasses up onto her forehead. “It’s a pain in the ass.” She looked in the back of the truck and waved. “Hey, Fred, Jess.”

  I looked back at one of the nearby tents, a cordon of boxes stacked in front of it like a tunnel. Looking back at Ian I asked, “Find anything interesting yet?”

  Ian waved a dismissive hand. “A ton of shit. Interesting to see what the DHS had been stockpiling.”

  “Speaking of the Feds, what’s happening with them?” Thad asked.

  Ian stretched. “We’re keeping them corralled for now. I don’t know what they’re going to do with them, though. No orders have come down yet—same old game, hurry up and wait.”

  “How have the civilians been, any trouble from them?” Thad asked.

  Ian shook his head. “Not really. They seem a little unsure of things. They’d grown accustomed to being told what to do, so they’re having a hard time dealing with the level of freedom they have now.”

  “I can see that being a bit of a shock. Have any of them left?”

  “Yeah, some have, several actually. Honestly I thought there would be more, though. I’ve talked to a bunch of them. The ones that are still here all pretty much say the same thing: Where are we going to go? The ones that left were ones that were grabbed up, a lot of prepper types and real hardheads.”

  I laughed. “I can relate to them.”

  Thad looked at me. “Yeah, you damn sure are hardheaded.”

  Ian laughed. “I could just see you two in here. But that’s why we’ve rounded these guys up: it just isn’t right what they were doing.”

  “You can’t keep them here forever,” I said.

  “No, the captain is working on something. We think a couple of the Feds have blended into the crowd, trying to hide.”

  “Why in the world would the people here allow that? I mean, they weren’t exactly nice to the folks in the camp. You’d think they’d get ratted out quick,” Thad said.

  Ian looked off toward some of the tents. “You’d think, but we’ve learned there are some folks here who liked the idea of being under federal control. Hell, some of them even managed to join the Feds while it was still under their control, till we showed up anyway.”

  “Why in the hell would they want to do that?” I asked, shaking my head.

  “They got better food and more freedom that way. And some of them just wanted to boss folks around,” Ian replied.

  Thad grunted. “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.”

  “Something like that. What are you guys doing here?”

  I jerked my head toward the girls. They were chatting with Jamie, who had climbed off the ATV and was speaking with animated gestures at the window.

  Ian nodded. “Let me guess—Aric?”

  Thad laughed. “You know it.”

  “Where is he?” I asked.

  “He’s over in the mess hall, where Kay works.”

  “How’s he doing?”

  “He’s mobile, up and moving around. That arm will be in a sling for quite some time, though. Ole Ted did a number on him.”

  “He’s lucky to be alive considering who he shot to start with.” I laughed.

  Fred patted my seat eagerly, clearly finished with her conversation. “Hell yeah, he’s lucky to be alive. Now can we go see him?”

  Ian laughed. “Better get a move on. And, hey, come by brass alley before you guys leave. Sarge and Mike are over there.”

  As I started the truck up, Thad asked, “How is the old man?”

  Jamie was back at the ATV, holding on to the roll bar and looking over the top. “Grumpy!” she yelled.

  Ian laughed. “Yeah, he’s limping around. He fashioned himself a real nice cane out of cypress.”

  “It’s a walking stick. Believe me, you don’t want to call it a cane,” Jamie said.

  I laughed and looked at Thad, who clearly had the same idea that I did. “Rock, paper, scissors?”

  Thad smiled and held up a fist. On three I had paper, Thad had scissors. “Looks like you’re calling it a cane,” Thad said, grinning ear to ear.

  Ian shook his head. “We warned you”—he pointed at me—“remember that.”

  I dropped the truck into gear and we made our way toward the mess hall, following signs that identified the route. In the rearview mirror I could see Fred’s face as she craned her neck to see up the road. We pulled up in front of the mess tent, and Fred was out before we even stopped. Jess was close behind her.

  Thad looked over and smiled. “Think she’s in a hurry?”

  I laughed as we got out and went inside. The dining hall was empty but we could hear voices in the back, behind the swinging doors. Thad got a mischievous look on his face and slapped his palms into the doors, throwing them open with a bang. There was a yelp as I came through behind him. Kay was holding her chest, eyes wide.

  “Dammit, Thad, you scared the hell out of us!” Jess shouted, then started to laugh. She was quickly joined by Fred, Aric, and Kay, who was trying to catch her breath.

  Thad held his hands out. “What’d I do?”

  I stepped around him. “Told him not to do it.”

  Thad shook his head. “Thanks, buddy.” I winked in reply.

  “How’s the shoulder?” I asked Aric.

  He looked down at the sling supporting his arm. “It is, ’bout all I can say for it.”

  “Don’t listen to him, it’s healing real well. I change the dressing every day,” Kay said.

  “It’s going to take a long time to get it back up to speed. It’ll probably never be the same again,” Aric added.

  “Once you get out of here, I’ll take care of it,” Fred said with a warm smile. He smiled back at her. It was clear that there was mutual affection.

  Kay looked at her. “You’re not taking him, are you?”

  Fred looked at Aric and shifted back from foot to foot. “Well, that’s actually why I came here. Do you wanna go back to Morgan’s neighborhood with us, Aric?”

  Before Aric could reply, the back door to the kitchen opened. Jess and Fred both let out a gasp and started to run. “I forgot to tell you girls!” Kay shouted.

  Jess slammed into Mary, almost knocking her over, and wrapped her up in a tight embrace. Fred came up behind them and wrapped her arms around them both.

  “You’re crushing me,” Mary choked out.

  Jess let go. “Sorry, sorry, I’m just so happy to see you! How are you?” she said, wiping tears from her face.

  “I’m okay, getting better,” Mary answered with a smile. “It’s good to see you girls.”

  “We were so worried about you. You were, like, in shock or something. We didn’t know what was wrong with you,” Fred said. Jess shot her a look.

  A pained expression flashed across Mary’s face. “I’m better now, getting better every day.” Mary smiled and looked at Kay. “Thanks to Kay—she’s really kind.”

  Kay gave her a dismissive wave. “I haven’t done nothing.”

  “Mary, you should come with us, get out of this place,” Fred said.

  “Yeah, come with us. We’re staying in Morgan’s neighborhood. It’s safe there. You need to come with us,” Jess added.

  Oh shit, just what we need. The girls will just love this: adding even more people to the group.

  Mary looked over at me and Thad. “So you’re the famous Morgan?”

  I smiled. “Don’t know about famous—infamous, maybe.”

  “I’ve heard a lot about you”—Mary looked at Jess—“she talked about you all the time. Jess said you saved her.”

  “Don’t know about that, she just wouldn’t take no for an answer so I was forced to listen to her yammering for days and days.”

  Jess looked over and said, “Hey!” which got a laugh out of Thad.

  Mary looked at Thad. “And you must be Thad.”

  Thad’s grin quickly vanished. “Uh, yes, ma’am.”

  Mary smiled. “I’ve heard a lot about you too.”

  Now I was la
ughing as Thad was clearly flushed and getting a little embarrassed. Looking at him I said, “All lies, I’m sure.”

  Mary walked up and offered her hand to me. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

  I shook her hand gently and replied, “Likewise.”

  Stepping over to Thad she again offered her hand. “And you, nice to meet you. Jess talked about you two so much it’s almost as if I already know you.”

  Thad took her hand and with a nod of his head said, “Pleasure.”

  Mary held his gaze a moment, making Thad even more uncomfortable before releasing his hand.

  “Mary, are you coming?” Jess asked.

  Mary looked at Kay, then back to Jess. “I want to, I’d love to go with you, but I’m afraid.” Mary paused, her eyes drifting to the canvas wall of the kitchen tent. “As bad as it is here, at least I know what it is, and with the army controlling the camp now, I feel safer. I just wish those people in the black uniforms were gone.”

  “That may or may not happen, Mary,” I said gently. “We talked to a few of our buddies in the know, and there’s not a plan for what to do with them yet. But you’re welcome to come with us. There’s plenty of room,” I said. Knowing what she’d been through there was no way I would refuse to allow her to join Jess and Fred.

  “Yeah, we’ll all be together again, like old times,” Fred said.

  Mary’s eyes dropped. “I don’t much care for the old days.”

  “Oh, I didn’t mean that—” Fred was saying before Kay cut her off, putting a hand on her arm.

  “She knows.”

  “You’ll be safe there, Mary. There’s a lot of people, and it’s really nice,” Jess said. “We even have running water.”

  “Are you sure there’s room for more people?” Aric asked.

  “Plenty of room, Aric. You and Mary both are welcome, and so is Kay,” I said.

  “We’ve got plenty of space, but there’s lots of work to do to get the houses into shape. It’s not exactly relaxing, but we’re doing all right,” Thad added.

  “Well, I wouldn’t be much help,” Aric said, looking at his wounded shoulder.

  “That’s all right, we have to man the barricade at the end of the street. Your eyes still work, and I’d wager you could wield a pistol all right,” I said.

  Aric nodded. “Oh yeah, I can handle a pistol, no problem.”

  “Then you can help out. And when the shoulder is ready we have plenty of physical therapy for it,” Thad said with a smile.

  Out of the corner of my eye I caught Mary looking at him, a smile on her face.

  “What about food? You said there are a lot people there already. Is there going to be enough food for everyone?” Aric asked.

  “Food’s always an issue and always will be, but we get by,” Thad said.

  Aric looked at Kay. “Hmm. You still staying here, Kay?”

  She nodded. “I’m still needed here”—she patted his good shoulder—“but you go ahead and go. I’ll be fine.”

  “You’re definitely welcome to stay, Aric. But in the meantime, while you guys sort this out, I’m going to go find the old man,” I said.

  Thad clapped his hands. “I’m going too. I gotta be there for this conversation.”

  Giving Thad a sour look, I said, “We’ll be back.”

  We decided to walk to the command post, or brass alley, as Ian called it. As we walked, we surveyed the camp. Guardsmen and refugees alike were moving freely about. Even though I had only been here once before I could see a change in some of the residents. Put simply, they looked more at ease than they had under the control of the DHS.

  We passed two tents where people were hanging around—some lying on their bunks, others sitting on various improvised seats outside. Other tents were empty though obviously lived in, the inhabitants off on some sort of task. At one of them, we saw Perez and a couple of other Guardsmen along with a number of people sorting boxes and crates. He smiled at our approach.

  “Hey, Morgan, Thad, what’s up?”

  “Hey, Perez, how’s tricks?” I asked.

  His smile faded as he took a quick glance over his shoulder. “Keep an eye on things,” he told one of the soldiers.

  A stern-faced young man in ACU digital camo nodded and turned back to the people. Perez jerked his head and started to walk.

  “What’s going on here?” Thad asked.

  Perez shook his head. “We’re trying to get a handle on what sort of supply situation this place is in, but people are stealing them faster than we can count them.”

  “That why you guys are standing over them?”

  “It’s not like we’re making them work—most of them volunteer. But we’re finding out quickly that a lot of them do ’cause they wanna see what we have. Some of ’em got sticky fingers, is all I’m sayin’.”

  I looked back at the work group. “Can’t say I blame them. I mean, they were essentially prisoners for a long time.”

  “True, but they aren’t anymore. They’ve got the freedom to do what they want, go where they want. We’re giving them some supplies, but rationing them out. But you can tell some people don’t want to play fair. The captain is already talking about banishing some of them from the camp.”

  “That bad already?” Thad asked.

  “Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like everyone here is out for grabs, but there are cliques here and a couple of them are vying for power.”

  I turned back to face the trail we’d walked down and jutted my chin. “Like that tent by the entrance with those guys sitting around out front?”

  Perez nodded. “Yeah, that’s one of them.”

  Looking back at Perez, I said, “You guys better put the kibosh on that with the quickness.”

  He nodded. “We’re hoping to. We’ve started by cutting rations for groups like that one. They’re taking more than their fair share. I mean, when it comes down it, if you’re healthy and strong, you shouldn’t be here. They should be out taking care of themselves.”

  I snorted. “It’s harder than you think, my friend.”

  “Don’t get me wrong, I know it’s hard, but there ain’t no more free lunch. The gravy train has been derailed.”

  Thad chuckled. “That’s an understatement.”

  I thought about what it would mean to be part of this camp, to be liberated from it and then find yourself being booted out the door.

  “It isn’t going to matter much longer anyway,” Perez quipped, still looking at the group lazing in front of the tent.

  “Why’s that?” Thad asked.

  “This was a detention facility. Now it’s not, and it’s not going to be a refugee camp. Sheffield got word from higher-ups that we’re not in the refugee business. He doesn’t like it, but he was told we won’t be resupplied, that there simply isn’t enough to support camps like this.”

  “There were others?” I asked.

  Perez nodded. “Still are in some places. DOD is making an effort at taking them down but we don’t have the usual resources at our disposal, which is part of the reason they want these people to get back to taking care of themselves.”

  “It’s not easy, you know. We’re barely getting by and we’re more prepared than most,” I said.

  Perez nodded. “But you are getting by, that’s the point. Your little community was actually mentioned in the discussions, the fact that you guys are making a go of it. If you can do it, so can everyone else.”

  “I understand that, but a lot of people simply don’t have the knowledge. Hell, any one of us alone would be up shit creek, but with everyone working together we do all right,” I said.

  “It’s a harder way of living, for sure. Takes a lot of work,” Thad offered.

  “We know it isn’t going to be easy on these folks. The brass up the command chain are trying to find the FEMA stockpiles. They haven’t given any of it out yet. If we can find it and organize transport we’re going to try and hand it out.”

  “FEMA isn’t working to help?” Thad ask
ed.

  Perez’s face contorted. “Shit no, all that talk about stockpiles in case of emergency was just that. The marines found a couple of them up in Virginia somewhere and started giving it out, but it got ugly. That’s the other part of the problem—everyone is in so much need that whenever something is available they act like animals. Remember seeing video from any third-world country when food was being handed out, the crowds and chaos? That’s what it gets like. We’re pretty much in a third-world state ourselves now.”

  Thad looked out across the camp. “These people act like that?”

  “No, they’re pretty calm for the most part, but they also know when and where their next meal is coming from. Most of them are happy we’re here. We don’t intimidate them like the DHS did, and they are basically free. Some have already left, but there are others who just want someone to take care of them.”

  With a small laugh I said, “Yeah, there always seems to be plenty of them.”

  “Always will be,” Perez replied.

  “We’re going to find Sarge,” I said. “See ya, Perez.”

  He nodded and walked back over to his detail.

  As Thad and I walked back up the trail, I thought about what Perez had told us. I could understand what Perez was saying—this situation was too big for any government to deal with on an individual level. Sure, it’d be nice to stay in a comfy little camp where someone else provided everything for you, but that just wasn’t a manageable reality. The new reality was much, much harder than what we were all used to, but in some ways, it was almost better, because we appreciated it more. Plus, we didn’t have to worry about other things anymore: work, taxes, traffic. Honestly, though, that was little compensation for the added difficulty of daily life. I’d happily pay my taxes if things would return to normal.

  Thad and I found Sarge sitting in a chair in the sugar sand in front of the office connex, his foot up on a crate and his cane lying across his lap. Mike was lying on his back on a stack of crates beside him, his boonie hat covering his face.

  “Hey, fellers, what brings you two around?” Sarge called out as we approached. Mike sat up, pulling his hat on straight.

  I waved at Mike and gave Sarge a pat on the shoulder. “The girls wanted to come by. Fred wanted to see Aric.”