by Diane Butler
Toby said he was pleased that Roxanne had helped in retrieving gas for the group and everyone became quiet. Finally Lucky spoke up, “She’s so strange now that I wouldn’t be surprised to find that she’s gone by the time we get back.” He hesitated before the next sentence. “I told her that we had a relationship in the past and it just made her more suspicious. She asked if I had traded for her.”
Morgan was uncomfortable with the subject but spoke up, “Caleb was telling me about that. It appears that trading women is common in the bayou or at least with her group back there. That was one reason why she was trying to talk Mary into joining us, to protect her.”
Caleb was worried and anxious for his father’s return so to get his mind off of it he asked Lance if he knew where Roxanne was staying. “No, and I suggest that you don’t go looking for her if you know what’s good for you. The only reason why I came back here was because of the larger group. By now she has made this town hers and I don’t think that she will be pleased to find that it has been invaded.”
But the next day the red truck came around the bend and began to slowly cruise the street until it reached the dock. People turned and watched, having heard that there were other settlers but no one tried to wave it down. Once it reached the dock it turned around and stopped where two people were standing on the sidewalk.
Mary rolled down the driver’s window and asked if anyone knew where Caleb was staying and she was directed to the Cunningham’s place. “Yeah, I know where that is, you don’t need to give me directions. You’re the ones who are new around here, not me!” The couple stared after her as she drove off, wondering if that attitude was the norm for living here.
Mary could see activity in the houses as she drove up Elkins St. People were going in and out of houses, tossing damaged furniture and trading items that would be more useful to someone else. She saw some digging and assumed that they were graves for humans who had died inside the houses and turned. Someone was pumping water from a well to fill buckets for other neighbors. It looked like people were organizing after a storm and not from a ZA. The only clues were that people were trying to be quiet, not yelling from house to house and were carrying weapons. Children did not squeal while playing and no pets were in sight.
She pulled up in front of the Cunningham’s house but did not need to get out since Caleb immediately opened the front door. He must have been watching the activity from inside and spotted her since he came over to the cab without her signaling to him. He was surprised to see that it was Mary and not Roxanne and as he stood on the running board he could see that Mary was sitting on some pillows. “Can you see over the steering wheel?” he teased.
“Fourteen is old enough to drive in a ZA. I’m doing just fine!” she retorted. She looked around at the people. “Roxanne would like for you to visit. Do you trust me enough to drive you?”
“I don’t know,” Caleb hesitated. “Me and Lance are supposed to be protecting Maria and Earl Jr. while Earl Sr. is gone. He went with Lucky and Brandon along with my dad back to the paper mill to get more people.”
Mary nodded, “Yeah, we saw.” She saw a man who fit Roxanne’s description of Lance, “Looks like Lance is organizing things here. Can’t he keep Maria and Earl under watch while running things? Put them to work too? After all, they know this town probably better than Lance does since their grandmother lived here. Roxanne would like an update and you're the only one who she trusts. Lance is too spooked by her to be any help.”
Lance looked over to the truck and tried to get a look at Mary while Caleb asked him if he could handle things on his own. “I guess it’s all right. I don’t think that your father would mind since he thinks highly of Roxanne and he would probably feel that you are in safe hands. But what about that Mary? Is she like Roxanne from the bayou? Does she have her wits about her?”
Caleb smiled, “I would say that they are both cut from the same cloth. Both are fighters, both cautious and both understand the pitfalls of people trying to survive in a ZA. They’re my friends.”
Lance looked at him, “Then you are more understanding of people than I am. Roxanne just confuses me. Go on with you then. I don’t expect your dad back for another couple of days if all goes well.”
Caleb was silent on the way to Roxanne’s house and wasn’t critical of Mary’s driving as she often hit the shoulder or made a turn too wide. “I think that Roxanne would like to teach you to drive,” Mary said. When she did not receive an answer she knew that something was wrong. “What is it?”
Caleb sighed, “It’s just something that Lance said about my dad not being back for a couple of days. This is the first time he has gone on a dangerous mission without me for a long period of time. And the situation back at the paper mill was bordering on the critical when we left. No telling what they will find when they get back there. I don’t think that I will relax until I see Jenny pull up and not even then until I see that my dad’s on board.”
They pulled into the driveway and he looked up to see that Roxanne and her entourage were waiting on the porch for them. Roxanne was smiling with one hand on her hip and the other on the pole of the porch. Somehow just seeing her made him feel better.
Roxanne listened as Caleb told her of the deteriorating condition at the paper mill and the plans that Brandon had to bring everyone back. “So it’s a good thing that you had already started to gather gas for the run. That cut the turn-around time and Brandon could get right back on the river again. I know the people we left behind at the mill will be glad to see him earlier than expected.”
“We will wait long enough for Jenny to return and to make sure that your dad is okay before we leave,” Roxanne said.
But Caleb protested, “You can’t keep running like this Roxanne. Stay and meet these people, work with them as a team or just pick a small group and stay within that group. But traveling alone, it’s not a safe or healthy environment, Roxanne. I would hate it if you disappeared again and we never knew what had become of you.”
“I am never alone as long as I have Mutt and Cowboy“, Roxanne said. “I need to deliver supplies to my healer in the swamps. I will probably stay for a week to make sure that she has all that she needs then come back out again. I will be gone for three weeks. I would ask that you and your father check on my house occasionally and on Max so that squatters do not take up residence. I consider this to be my second home and I will return here. I would ask that you and your father move in here while I am gone, but I realize that it is further out of town than you should be from the rest of the group. It’s perfect for me and Mary, but a group should not be separated. We are already packing the pirogue and as soon as I see that your father is safe we will be shoving off.”
“You won’t stay to say goodbye to anyone?” Caleb asked. “I think you will probably hurt a lot of feelings if you do that Roxanne.”
Roxanne shook her head, “My concern is Mary. I want Mary to be sure of her decision to go with me. Until your father returns Mary will drive into town every day and meet you. She will work with you on any duties you are assigned. She will meet people, learn of their plans to fortify the place, decide who she would want to live with if she stayed. She will come home before dark each day.”
“I wish you wouldn’t talk about me as if I am not here,” Mary protested.
“I want you to have options, Mary. If something should happen to me in the bayou, you would not know your way out. You would be stuck there unless some traders came through, and I wouldn’t trust them to be honorable men. You may like the people here, may like the plans they have to build a wall around two residential blocks and start from there. You may find other girls your age and feel comfortable with them. Just do this for me, please Mary and if you still want to come with me, I will gladly take you.”
After lunch Roxanne and Caleb walked out on the back porch. “So this is how you see us come in on Jenny. I think Brandon was looking at houses on the river, but you’re on a separate inlet paralleling the river.�
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“Yes, and unfortunately Lucky has also found the place. I knew he would eventually. He doesn’t respect other people’s wishes, their lifestyles or their differences.” She changed the subject. “I am skeptical of this plan to build a wall consisting of trees, fences and brick intertwined with abandoned vehicles. I’m not saying that it can’t be done, but it will be noisy doing it and will attract zombies. You have seen the numbers that were at the mansion and I know of a large number of them at a school. The fairground also has a herd of zombies although they are either caught by something or penned. But if all of them should gather and surge at once due to the noise, I don’t know if you will be prepared to fight them off. What happens this time if everyone panics and tries to board Jenny? You will need to get more boats in here, or more running vehicles for people to use as an escape.”
“I think they plan on going about it differently this time, than at the Mill. They were concentrating on making that place permanent with Brandon making supply runs. Toby was bringing in more people who were either on foot at the river banks, or stranded on boats without fuel. They stopped looking for fuel except for the generators and let Jenny run manually on her paddlewheels. This time the group will be divided into getting cars, boats and fuel, those who will build and those who will scavenge. It will need to be revised as they go along, but their goals are different this time.” He hesitated, “What if Lucky wants to go with you?”
Roxanne laughed and patted Caleb on the shoulder.
Mary did as she was told and drove into town every day to spend it with Caleb. She followed him to whatever duty he was assigned and participated in the task. People were skeptical and watched her, some trying to form a conversation with her without success. They knew that a woman from the bayou had delivered Lance to Lucky’s group when they were out on a supply run but since Lance would not talk about it they were suspicious of the woman called Roxanne. They had heard of a coyote and a dog as the woman’s companion and now she had a fourteen year old girl with her who also would not talk of the woman. Some were not sure that they would welcome her even if Roxanne decided to join the group. No one liked to travel alone and the fact that the woman stayed elusive told them that something was wrong with her. Only Caleb was welcome to visit and since he was also fourteen some parents had decided that they would not let their children around her.
Mary and Roxanne stood on their back porch and watched Jenny come in from the river with approximately thirty people on board. Roxanne used her binoculars and could see Morgan on the bridge. “He’s safe. I’m so glad for Caleb.” She turned to Mary. “Are you sure that you want to do this?” Roxanne asked and Mary nodded. “Then we go at first light. I’m only sorry that we can’t get past Jenny without someone hearing the motorboat. If it’s part of Caleb’s group I’m sure that they will yell out to us but I will not stop. Since I asked Caleb if he and his father would check the place I am going to leave Morgan a note. Perhaps you may want to leave Caleb one. We’ll leave them on the kitchen table for them to see.”
Mary went upstairs to her bedroom and had to think for a long time before writing her note. When she was twelve she had learned that boys just giggle over a mushy letter so she decided to keep it short so as not to be embarrassed. “Dear Caleb. I will miss you while I am gone. I think you will make a good partner in a battle and I hope that you are still here when I get back.” She signed it “Mary” and put it into an old yellowed envelope with Caleb’s name on it.
It was still dark when Roxanne woke Mary the next morning. She could hear the crickets outside but could tell that the sun would soon rise above the horizon. They had breakfast of turtle eggs and Roxanne gave her canines one of the few cans of dog food left. “You will both be eating off the land again soon,” she warned them. Mary realized that she had a knot in her stomach and that she was afraid of this adventure although she did not want to stay. It was nice seeing people work together again, trying to build a life that would be secure. But she was skeptical that any life would be safe from zombies for a long time yet. And if she were to face zombies she would rather have Roxanne by her side. She had noticed how people looked at her until she realized that it was not her, but Roxanne who they were suspicious of. She was going into the unknown and it wasn’t until the new group arrived with their attitude toward Roxanne that Mary had started to question the person she knew as Roxanne.
They threw their backpacks behind the seat in the Pebbles boat because it was not big enough to hold the two animals. Cowboy and Mutt would ride on the pirogue with the supplies. This meant that Cowboy would not be up front to guide Roxanne if she made a wrong turn so they worked out a plan to keep the motorboat at a very low speed so Roxanne could hear Cowboy if she disagreed with the route.
They looked everywhere for Max before they left, wanting to say goodbye but did not find him. It wasn’t until they left the porch to board the boat that Roxanne heard the tree limbs rattle above her head. She turned around and looked up but in the dark she only saw two orange eyes staring at her. “Goodbye Max. Thank you for the use of the house and be good to Caleb while we are gone.” The eyes blinked and with more leaves shaking on the tree, they suddenly disappeared.
Roxanne was right. No matter how low they tried to keep the motorboat, sound travels on the water. As they approached Jenny in the dark they could see the image of two people come on deck with rifles. Mary heard her name called out and looked over to see the shadow of an arm waving at her in the dim light and knew it was Caleb. She waved back and then jumped when a voice yelled out, “Roxanne, damn you!” She looked over at Roxanne who kept her eyes on the channel and did not turn to acknowledge the group. After a moment Mary turned in her seat to see Jenny disappearing into the darkness and realized that a few tears were running down her cheek.
On the second day Mary asked, “Why is it so hot in here? I can hardly breathe.”
“The plants consume the oxygen during the night but they don’t release any,” Roxanne said. “It will get better. It’s just this area.” She looked over at Mary who was wiping her face with an old t-shirt. “Did you rub peppermint on your skin for those mosquito bites this morning?” Mary nodded. “Well, look into your duffle bag for long sleeves. The Asian Tiger Mosquito can sting through clothing so the more you have on the better.”
“But it’s too hot to put on more clothes!”
Roxanne smiled, “Sorry you came? I warned you that living off the land would not be like living at the cottage. At least you are sleeping on the pirogue with Mutt to protect you and not on the ground.” She laughed, “By the time we reach Shoe’s cabin you will think it to be luxury and we will be sleeping on the floor and using a chamber pot. She is not set up for guests and I slept on the floor the whole time I was there. I found one airbag that I brought back with me but I hadn’t counted on coming back with another person.”
“Are you sorry that you brought me?”
“No, I’m just sorry that you are so miserable. To be honest, I only spent the winter in the bayou so I’m surprised at the heat this early. Shoes will say that I’m a wimp.”
“Do you think that she will be mad that you brought me along? She sounds like a tough old lady to be living out here all alone.”
Roxanne was silent for a moment as she guided the motorboat making sure not to take a corner too short for the pirogue that was being towed. She glanced behind her to make sure the canines were still steady. They had both objected to being delegated on the pirogue so Roxanne started to alternate at lunchtime, putting one of the animals up front with her while Mary rode the pirogue with the other. It was not comfortable for Mary either with all the supplies on board.
“She won’t be mad. I’m sure that she will be delighted but she won’t come across that way. She can be very gruff, but I think it’s all a show. She depleted her supplies saving my life when she could have set the canoe adrift and forgotten what she had seen. She is, however, very superstitious and follows old traditions. I don’t want you
to laugh or scoff at her if you see that side of her. She is a very powerful priestess in the bayou and it is best not to offend her.”
“Priestess?” Mary’s raised her eyebrows. “Are we talking Voodoo here?”
“So some have said.”
“Jesus! I’m not going to have my hair cut off am I?”
Roxanne smiled and took her eyes off the channel long enough to look at Mary. “She may take a lock. She thinks that she did it secretly while I slept but I know that she took a lock of mine, and I’m still safe.” She put her attention back on the waterway and grew quiet. “Sometimes I think that she is with me when I am scavenging with Cowboy and Mutt. There have been times when fortune found me or I found a weapon at the right time, the right place or in a tight situation. Whatever magic she uses to be with me I think that it is draining her and that’s why I must go back. She is weakening so I hope to spend a week and let her gain her strength again. The next time I leave perhaps she will have more confidence in me and spend less time spying.”
Mary stared at Roxanne and wondered what the hell she had gotten herself into. Her stomach suddenly turned and she leaned over the motorboat to vomit her lunch.
Morgan and Caleb each picked up their envelope from the kitchen table, Caleb going out on the back porch to read his. After reading it he stood looking out over the river until his father joined him. “I did everything I could Dad, but Mary never planned on staying. She had an attitude the whole time she worked with me. Not an attitude toward me, but one against the group and what they were trying to do, yet at other times I saw her looking around as if she liked what she saw. I guess she is as confusing to me as Roxanne is to the others.”