The ride home was long and slightly boring, considering the company. Ragnar was all death and destruction while Liz was quiet and pensive. When we got back we put the truck in the lift and rode it to B deck. Before we unloaded everything, I took them down to introduce them to the family. Mom and Steven remembered Ragnar. Kaylin was slightly apprehensive, but was soon over her fear and climbing all over him. As my brother and I unloaded the truck, he asked me about Liz.
"Dammit Steve, she hasn't even been here for 30 minutes. She just lost her family. Let her relax and feel safe for a few days, get her comfortable first."
"Alright." He wasn't happy but he knew I was right. We carried the stuff we had gotten from the warehouse and sporting goods store over to the work area, and then everything else we needed was brought downstairs. As we entered C Deck, Ragnar was having a slightly heated conversation with Liz about vodka.
"Sis, what do you think is the best vodka?" Ragnar asked me.
"Hey, don't bring me into this, I can't stand plain vodka. But, vanilla vodka in cream soda is like drinking a cupcake." I put down the box I was carrying and grabbed out a bottle of said vodka. Ragnar looked at me and started laughing.
"Do you think Ragnar will try and get with her?" My brother asked me quietly as he shelved the coffee.
"I doubt it. He's looking for more of a warrior woman; she's too soft for him. Don't worry Steve, you'll have your chance at her." I loved my brother dearly, but he wasn't much of a lady killer. He was somewhat taller than I, dusty brown hair with matching eyes, and a whip thin frame that barely kept him moving. He had an interesting personality though. I guess.
Chapter 7
After everything was put away, I went to the shop and called Sean. I told him about Tony, about the two survivors, and about Steve.
"I've been trying to stay inside but I'm starting to go a little nuts. I went out hunting yesterday and got myself a nice young buck. It's clear out here, I can make it to you guys in no time. By the time I got to any populated area, they would be long gone looking for people to eat or so slow I could run them down." I could see what he was doing. He wanted to come early. Knowing that there wasn't much left in town, I had started thinking about the opposite. Us heading out to him.
"No! I don't want you and the kids out on the road, not with the way things are right now. Do you know how many people are going to be trying to scavenge as much as possible before it's all gone? No, it's too risky."
"I don't care!" I told him "The west coast is full of people and concrete. We need to be somewhere we can grow things, someplace we can have renewable resources. I'll stay on a set path and call you every night. We won't be able to make it out here. Please." I prayed silently that he would understand.
"Alright" he said after a tense silence, "if you're going to do this then do it the right way. Make sure you have a planned route and enough supplies to last. Don't want you getting stuck in the middle of nowhere and have to come save you." That's my man, his way of saying be careful and don't die.
After I got off the phone, I sat there and thought about how things had changed so much in so short a time. Knowing that if I kept thinking about it I would break down, I decided to distract myself. It was the first time in about a week I had a chance to shower and I would take full advantage of it. I headed back down to C deck.
When I passed the living room, Liz and Steve were sitting close on the couch watching a princess movie with Lin. My little girl was sitting in between them, holding both their hands. As I watched, she put their hands together on her lap and put hers on top. All three smiled. That didn't take long, I thought to myself. Maybe they'll date and she can keep him in check. I got some fresh clothes out of the closet and checked on Kenny, sleeping like a rag doll in his playpen. I sighed and headed to the shower.
Standing under the water, my thoughts drifted to what Tony had said. If it was a coup, then who was the one that wanted to take over? No, stop thinking about it now. I let the steam clear my mind. The water soothed away some of the tension in my shoulders. Everything is going to be fine. We'll pack up everything into the truck, get a trailer from town to gather more supplies, and then head out. Not that hard right? Nope, not at all. Then why am I crying? Because I'm just fooling myself into thinking this could go off without a problem. No, stop it. Nothing will go wrong, I won't let it.
The next few days seemed to drag on forever. I studied the road maps, looking for a route that wouldn't take us through too much mountain terrain. Winter was over now, and we had been holed up for over two months. As I planned out the trip, I felt an excitement of going on a road trip without all the modern day technologies. There was also apprehension whether we would all make it there in one piece. If we were lucky, we would make it before the spring rains so we could plant. The kids were getting restless along with everyone else, so I decided an outing might be safe at this point. After I told my mom, who looked so excited at the idea of going outside she reminded me of Kaylin, I went up to the surface to take a quick look around and find a safe place.
As the final door opened, I had my gun in my hand, ready to shoot. It was silent, like stepping into another world. There was the occasional call from the unaffected bird, a chirp from a cricket, the slight rustle of leaves as the wind swept by, the scent of pine, and a memory of cold in the air. But no groans, nothing to show that the world was ravaged by this crazy nightmare. I had made ventures to the surface before, always hoping that there would be someone alive. But the only thing I ever really heard was a distant sound of animals. Not now, now, it was quiet.
I went to the intercom and gave the all clear and my little group soon joined me on the surface. Ragnar decided to stay behind and Liz was napping. My mom had brought along things for a picnic, as well as a sweater for me. We wandered over to a stream-side clearing as Kaylin and Steve went off to gather berries.
"So", my mom said while she spread the blanket, "what's the plan now? Are we going to hang out here or find someplace lower?" I thought that staying in the mountains was a great idea, so I told her of our plan to get to Sean.
"It should be someplace that gets enough rain that we don't have to worry overmuch about irrigation." My mom suggested. "Paso Robles is close enough to the springs and mountains that we would have good resources" Sean traveled a lot when he was looking for a load so there had been many times we had gone touring together. He used to be really big on camping and hunting and, before the children, he had shown me quite a bit. One of the towns we had stayed in was Paso. I handed Kendrick a piece of dried apricot and shook my head.
"It's a flat dry town with a heavy population. We're probably going to meet up in Laramie -" Before I could finish, Kaylin let out a scream that sent my chills down my back, too scared to come back up. I searched for her but couldn't see her. Steven came sprinting up to me.
"Quick! Around the bend! She's trapped in a log and a bear is trying to get her!" He then fell at my mom's feet, gasping for air.
"Mom, get Steve and Kendrick to the bunker, stay in the front area and wait for me. If there is trouble, then you lock those doors and don't open them for anything!" I turned and sprinted toward Lin.
Stupid! I should have never let them go off alone. As I ran, I pulled out my handgun, preparing for a quick kill. But to my disadvantage I had never seen a real live bear, let alone shot one. What I came across was enough to stop me in my tracks. It was like a furry boulder was trying to claw apart a log. To say I was terrified would be an understatement. I saw Kaylin through a small hole in the side of the log, a gash on her left thigh that had blood smeared all over it. She saw me and started trying to crawl out, but I screamed at her,
"Stay there! I'll lead the bear away, then you go back to the bunker, okay?" I hoped she would listen.
"No, I wanna go with you, mommy! Don't leave me, please mommy, please!" She cried hysterically, tears streaming down her dirt stained cheeks. My heart tore in tw
o. I wanted to hold her and tell her it would be okay, but I had to save her first.
"Please baby, do as I said. I love you!" As I finished yelling at Lin, the bear turned towards me. From what I could see, it hadn't been infected yet. If I survived this, at least we would have some fresh meat. The bear started to charge at me. I shot at it and it had no effect so I did the next best thing. I took off running. I knew there was no way I was faster, so I tried to think of something to save my skin. As luck would have it, I ran right over a net that swooped me up moments before the bear snapped at me. Dangling in midair, I watched the bear circle back to me. All of a sudden, the bushes surrounding the trap started to move, firing arrows and hurling spears at the bear. I saw the confusion on its face moments before a hatchet buried itself between its eyes. The bear stopped moving, falling like a tree to the unyielding ground. I had a moment to appreciate that it was dead before I felt myself falling, the world going black as I landed.
Chapter 8
The pounding in my head was unlike anything I had ever felt. Someone had placed a jackhammer in my skull and left it running. Willing myself to move my hands, my fingers determined I was tied to a tree. It occurred to me that being tied wasn't good so I opened my eyes. While my vision cleared, my ears strained to make sense of the voices nearby, a woman and two men.
The woman looked to be in her early thirties and had really taken to the whole end-of-the-world look. She was tall, lean and well-muscled with black hair braided down her back. Her clothing looked like she had painted them on and strapped weapons along her legs and torso. I couldn't clearly see her face but she had a tattoo on her shoulders, the edges of a ribbon peeking out through her tank top.
One of the men was leaning against a tree, looking out at the horizon. A tall, good-looking man with tawny brown hair, he wore jeans, hiking boots and a flannel jacket. His stance seemed pensive, almost depressed. There was an axe leaning against the tree next to him, easy to get to if the need arose.
The other man sat in front of the bear and was murmuring something I couldn't quite make out. He was very tan with the blackest hair I had ever seen cut in a Mohawk that went halfway down his back. He wore a vest of what looked like leather, no shirt underneath. From the high cheekbones and angled nose, I presumed he was Native American.
I cleared my throat to get their attention and wished I hadn't. Before I could blink there was a knife sailing straight at me. I squeezed my eyes shut and felt a reverberating thud as it buried itself in the tree trunk beside me. When I finally remembered I could breath, I slowly opened my eyes to see Mohawk staring straight at me, right arm extended from throwing the knife. The other two were staring at me in stunned silence. Then the woman spoke.
"I can't believe you missed her Kato! It's not like she could move or anything!" Her voice was high-pitched and nasal, already grating on my nerves.
"It was not my intention to hit her." His voice was deep, yet gravelly, the kind that would be amazing for storytelling. He stood and looked to be over six feet tall. His eyes were the color of fresh brewed coffee. As he walked towards me, I wasn't sure whether I should be afraid or not. He knelt next to me, grabbed the knife, and yanked it out with no apparent effort. I saw the knife clearly then. It was an eight-inch blade with a bone handle. I tried to look as un-intimidated as possible.
"What are you doing? She could be infected" The woman was shouting at Kato, strutting over like she was the one in charge. As she got closer, the big fellow rose and turned to her.
"She is not infected Niobe. If she were, she would have tried to bite me as I took the knife out of the tree."
"Well look here, why don't you two stop fighting and just ask the poor lady?" At last, John Wayne speaks. He had come up behind Niobe while she was complaining. They all looked at me expectantly, so I said the only thing that came to mind.
"Can you untie me? My ass hurts." Cowboy burst out laughing, Kato looked at Niobe, and she looked like she had stepped into dog poop. Kato bent down and pulled the knot that tied me. As it came lose, I rubbed my wrists, trying to get the circulation going again. He helped me up then stepped back as I looked at everyone. I had no clue what to say. Cowboy solved that problem.
"Hello there, ma'am. My name is Malcolm. Sorry we tied you up, we weren't sure if we could trust you. What's your name?" I held out my hand.
"Call me Alex." We shook hands all around, with Niobe giving me one of those dainty fingertip touches. Well, I thought, aren't you just a ball of friggin' sunshine.
"What where you doing out here by yourself?" asked Malcolm. It was then that I remembered Kaylin. My heart dropped to my toes. Without saying a word, I took off running to the log, not caring if they followed me. I prayed that she had gone back to the bunker.
There was a hand hanging limply out of the hole in the log which told me she hadn't. I slid up to the log and tore at it, hoping I wasn't too late. To my left I heard wood shattering and saw I had help. The men were tearing at the log with me. As soon as there was an opening big enough, I reached in and pulled Lin out. She was limp in my arms. Laying her on the ground and checked for a pulse, watching her chest for an inhaled breath. Fumbling in my desperation, I found her pulse: strong and steady. Then I remembered her leg and the gash, but everything had gone blurry. I dug into my eyes with the heels of my hands, reminding myself that there would be time later, after she was safe. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to Malcolm's shape.
"We need to be somewhere safe to look at her. We can take you back to camp and fix her up there." Kato picked her up and started to walk away, but I stopped him.
"No, I have a place to take her. Follow me." I stood up and kissed the top of Lin's head as she rested in Kato's arms then started walking back to the bunker. I didn't care about trust at that moment, I was out of choice and beyond deciding factors.
We got to the opening of the bunker, and they all looked stunned. I typed in the pass code to the lift and when it opened, Malcolm let out a whoop like a cowboy at a rodeo.
"Hell girl, how'd you get yourself one of these?" I looked at Malcolm and shrugged.
"Family heirloom, it was my uncle's." I led them into the lift, then started it down to B Deck. Won't mommy be surprised, I thought to myself. As the lift slowed, I looked at Lin and noticed how pale she was. The doors opened and Kato let out a low whistle.
"We still have one more level to go." I walked over to the smaller lift and, Tony's voice in my head, thought about the order: if I went first, they could steal something and take off, but if they went first, then they could kill or take everyone hostage.
"The lift only holds two people at a time. I'll go down first with one of you so my family doesn't freak out. Who wants to go first?" I looked at them and Malcolm stepped forward.
"I'll go." He said. I nodded and opened the lift. I got in behind him and pressed the down button. It was an awkward couple of seconds being that close to someone I hardly knew. After we made it down, the other two followed quickly
"It's not much, but it's home." I led them to the kitchen. My mom and Steve were there, Ragnar sleeping in the living room and Liz was watching a cartoon with Kenny. Mom looked up from her coffee, relief in her eyes. Then she saw Kaylin and turned white.
"Mom, I need you to get the medical kit out of the bathroom. Steve, get me a pillow and a few blankets." I cleared off the table to make room for Lin. As my brother returned he handed me the pillow so he could spread the blankets on the table. Kato laid my little girl down, careful to not jostle her. She moaned and tried to roll to the side.
"Lin, baby, it's mommy. Can you hear me?" I took her hand, waiting for an answer.
"Mommy?" Her little eyes fluttered open, then squinted with pain "Mommy, my leg hurts. What happened?"
"Don't worry baby, mommy is going to make your leg all better." I smoothed her hair out of her face. "I need you to stay very still so I can fix your leg up, okay? Do y
ou want me to get your teddy for you?" She gave a small nod. I started to get up, but felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Malcolm. He asked me where to get the teddy but Steve touched his arm and gestured for him to follow. I turned back to Kaylin and grabbed her hand.
"I'm so sorry baby. I should never have let you and Steven go off into the woods. Mommy was a dummy." I laid my head on her shoulder.
"It was my fault mommy, I wanted the blue flowers and I didn't listen to uncle Steve. Don't be sad, I'll be fine soon. You're going to fix me up, remember?" My strong little baby. My mom returned at the same time as Malcolm.
"Okay, let's do this." I said, then started to cut of the leg of Lin's pants. The gash wasn't as bad as I had originally thought, but it was long. It went from mid-thigh down to her knee on the outside. As I reached for the first aid kit, I saw how badly my hands were shaking. That's when it all hit me. She had almost died, my daughter had almost died because I thought we could pretend life was normal, like we weren't the few people that didn't want to eat one another. I collapsed onto the floor and had myself a nice little breakdown. Malcolm knelt down next to me and touched my shoulder again.
"Ma'am, I don't quite know what you're feeling right now, but I'm a vet. You know, an animal doctor? If you like, I can fix her up for you. It's not that bad of a gash, just a few stitches and she'll be good as new."
Hearing that I didn't have to do it, that I wasn't the one being depended on to save the day, sent me into another wave of blubbering.
"I'll take that as a yes then." Malcolm said. Kato lifted me by my shoulders and sat me in a nearby chair. Niobe helped herself to another chair, straddling the back of it. By this time Ragnar had wakened and was looking at the newcomers as if they might attack at any time. He walked over to me and knelt down.
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