Amitola: The Making of a Tribe

by A. Grant Richard

  She was disgusted with herself for thinking that way. Sometimes she hated that her brain operated on more logic than emotion. She wanted to feel empathy for them. The girl didn’t look well. She couldn’t send them back out there for that reason, but she knew if they wanted to live then she couldn’t be so concerned about other people. Either way, logic or emotion, they should stay. She looked at the kids and told them it would be all right.

  “You guys don’t have to go but stay down there where I can see you. My friends are going to be back in a few minutes, and when we leave, you can come up here.” She hoped Caleb and Tye would be back soon.

  The young, dark-skinned man moved the ladder and looked back up at her, “Thank you,” he said.

  She nodded.

  Maia kept an eye on the trio. She put her shoes back on and left her gun out just in case she needed it. She waited to pass out snacks too. There was no need to tempt them. She’d heard them mention that they were hungry and if they were desperate enough then even good people would do bad things. Her own thought processes were proof of that. She resolved to wait until the guys showed up.

  Junior alerted her that it had been over twenty minutes.

  She asked him to look out to see if they were coming yet. He looked but didn’t see anyone. They settled back in and continued to wait. She watched as both of the men took turns calming the young woman. She was a beautiful girl. She had olive skin and long brown hair. She was having a bad day. It was sweet watching her friends. One would stand watch at the door to protect, and one would sit by her side to tend to her.

  The redhead got up to take his turn at the door, and before he got within a foot of it, Tye and Caleb busted through. Tye pinned him up against the wall demanding to know what they were doing. Caleb had a gun out already and pointed it at the man and woman who were sitting on the floor against the wall.

  “No, don’t,” Maia yelled to them, quickly motioning Junior to get the ladder. “They just needed to rest. She's sick. They didn’t do anything.”

  Tye looked back at her. “Is everyone okay? Tye, Sadie, you all right?”

  “We’re all right, dad,” Junior yelled back as he put the ladder in place.

  Once Maia got to the bottom she walked right over to Caleb and looked him in the eye, “Caleb, it’s okay.” She put her hand on his forearm causing him to lower the gun. Tye let the redhead go, and Caleb put his gun away.

  “My name’s Jamil,” the young man said holding out his trembling hand to Caleb. “This is my wife, Saraya. She’s not sick; she's pregnant. Your wife said it was okay if we stayed here a minute to rest.”

  Caleb pointed back and forth between himself and Maia. “No, we’re not married.”

  “Oh, sorry. I saw the rings and,” Jamil hesitated, “it doesn’t matter these days. Married, not married. I just wanted to say thanks.”

  “I’m Preston. And for what it’s worth, we didn’t legally get married either.” The redhead pointed at Saraya. “We just sort of made our vows before God and each other.”

  Ty’s face contorted itself. “Wait, what?”

  Maia spoke in an uncertain tone, “Uh, who’s married to who?”

  “Both of us,” Preston further explained. “We know it might sound crazy, but we’re still traditional people. As traditional as we can be nowadays anyway. We just figured if we’re both going to make a life with her then we should both be married to her.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Maia was suddenly glad that she hadn’t eaten anything because she got sick to her stomach. Her first thought was that they were holding this girl as a slave. Caleb must have had the same suspicion because he put his hand back on his gun, looked her in the eye, and asked her if she was with them against her will.

  “No,” she said, “I love them. We knew each other before and then we found each other again after. I went to school with Preston, and I dated Jamil after high school. If I was going to be with anyone I wanted it to be them.”

  “You look surprised,” Jamil said.

  Tye could hardly respond. His mouth fell open in amazement, and he started flailing his hands while he searched for the words to say. “Surprised? Yes, I mean, a woman married to two men? Besides not knowing how that could even be possible or why either of you would agree to it, I can’t believe you’re so casual about it. Like it’s normal or something.”

  Caleb chimed in, “Look, I think what we’re all trying to say is that we’ve heard of men marrying more than one woman but never a woman marrying more than one man. I mean, to each his own. Nobody’s knockin' ya. But you have to know this is unusual, right?”

  “I’m surprised that you’re surprised. Most of the men we’ve come across who are lucky enough to be with a woman are sharing them now. We’ve seen women with five and six men. That’s what the free women are doing now.

  "Free women?" Maia struggled with that phrase.

  Preston put his arm around his wife and kissed her on the forehead before he continued, "At least that’s how it was where we came from.”

  Saraya hugged him back. “A few weeks after everything started, a bunch of women decided to take two or three guys as partners. She takes care of them, and they take care of her. Everybody wins. It’s better than starving, being raped or sold into slavery.”

  It was like someone had sucked all of the air out of the room. No one spoke. Caleb, Tye, and Maia exchanged looks of confusion. They’d known it was bad, but none of them had any idea the social dynamics were so drastically altered. It was too much to attempt to wrap their brain around it right now.

  “You should know it was all over the radio that you guys were much better off than us and that more women survived here. Although, I gotta say we haven’t seen many.” Jamil looked at his companions, and both of them agreed they hadn’t seen many either.

  Preston added, “Most of the survivors from up north are headed here now to avoid the winter, and if their behavior there is any indication of what they’ll be like here then they’ll be looking for women. And most of them aren’t the courting type if you know what I mean.”

  Maia was sure she was going to throw up now. At some point, she’d put her hands over Sadie’s ears and didn’t even realize it. She just kept looking at Tye and Caleb. She wanted them to say something or do something. This couldn’t be right. None of this could be happening. People couldn’t be living this way. But, they were as astonished as she was.

  “Where did you come from?” Caleb asked.

  “A small town outside of Richmond, Virginia,” Jamil replied. “Raya’s uncle had some horses. We rode them all the way to Mobile before they died. We tried, but we couldn't keep them from inhaling the ash. We stayed in Alabama for a while but, it was bad there." He looked over at Preston then back at Caleb. "Huh, as bad as it is here it is ten times worse everywhere else. We hot-wired some cars here and there but the roads are so busted up, and the floodwaters altered the roads so much it was easier to foot it.”

  Caleb pulled his wallet out of his backpack and took a picture out. “Did you happen to see her? Her name’s Kerri O’Neil.”

  “Isn’t she the chick from that reality show, Women are from Mars or something like that?” Saraya asked.

  “Yes,” Caleb answered, “that’s her.”

  They shook their heads no. “Sorry,” Saraya replied.

  “You’re married to a reality TV star?” Maia asked, shocked and in awe for the second time in ten minutes.

  He just looked at her. Apparently, no one was in the mood to discuss these things. No one was saying anything anymore.

  Jamil must’ve felt the tension and assumed he’d caused it. He walked over to Tye, “Hey, I’m sorry about the whole thing earlier. I just thought that both of you were with her. I hope I didn’t offend you and your wife.”

  He just smiled at him. “No problem, okay?” he said shaking Jamil’s hand. “Just take care of your wife. I wish you all luck. Stay safe.”

  Tye picked up his pack and motioned for t
he kids to get up. He looked over at his crew and asked if they were ready to hit the road. Maia grabbed some protein bars and jerky out of her bag and two bottles of water. She gave it to Saraya. She couldn’t let a pregnant woman go without food and water. They marched out like soldiers; each trapped in his own thoughts.

  “Did that just happen? Did we really just hear that? That can’t be right, can it? And I can’t believe you are married to a celebrity.” Maia rambled irrationally.

  “And you…did you let that man think we were married?” she questioned Tye.

  “Maia, calm down,” Caleb said turning around to face her.

  She stopped in her tracks and tilted her head back. “What?”

  He curled his arms over his head. “Just give us a half hour or so before you go off kilter. I’m aware that you need to talk this through, but I have to figure out what the hell we’re gonna do, and that’s not going to happen if you’re yelling in my ear. Who knows how many men are going to show up here. Look around,” he said throwing his hands up. “How many women do you see because I don’t see hardly any. In fact, I’ve only seen about a dozen or so in the last month, but I’ve seen hundreds of men. What does that tell you? That tells you that my wife, celebrity or not, may not even be alive anymore. Or that if she is…”

  Caleb shook his head, turned around and started walking, “I don’t want to talk about this right now. I can’t.”

  Maia stood there stunned like she’d just been called out by the teacher. But she got it. He had every right. She neglected to think about what he might be going through. Tye gently nudged her along so they could resume their journey.

  The newly formed tribe made their way through two of three cane fields without anyone saying a word. Entering the third, Caleb was still thinking about his wife. If she was still alive who was the person she was traveling with? Was it a man or a woman? Did they encounter any men? Had she been raped or kidnapped? How was she surviving? Should he leave to find her? But he couldn’t. She made him promise not to leave the Baton Rouge area. He wouldn’t know where to look anyway.

  He recalculated all of the facts in his mind. It had been nearly five months, and there were no signs of her. He kept thinking she should’ve been here by now. All of it was beyond his control, and usually, he kept the “what ifs” in check, but today, with this newfound news, it was getting to him.

  They crossed the parking lot of another church, and he walked up to the door with his permanent marker in hand. He drew the infinity symbol inside a circle and put a diagonal line through it. He drew an arrow in the direction they were going then he wrote, “I ♡ U KOF - CF.” Under his breath, he said it, “I love you, Kerri O’Neil Finnigan. Wherever you are.”

  They all watched as he finished his sign. He made one anytime they came across a place where she might seek refuge. He tried to put the sign on every church door too but since Louisiana has one on nearly every corner that was impossible. Tye patted him on the back and then gave him his space. Maia kept her distance. He needed this time to deal with the turmoil. She didn’t want to add to that. He had enough on his shoulders already.

  Caleb put the permanent marker away. He looked over the map with Tye once again before they continued. He glanced over his shoulder and noticed Maia giving snacks and water to the kids. He walked over to her. He put his hand on her cheek and put his forehead against hers and looked her in the eyes. Neither of them said a word at first.

  She reached up and grabbed his hands. “I’m sorry.” She dropped her gaze and pulled his hands down in front of them. “At least I know where Lance is. I can’t imagine how you must feel.”

  “I’m sorry too. We can’t turn on each other. We’re all we’ve got.”

  They hugged it out. Somehow they understood each other. Apologies weren’t necessary. Looking into each other’s eyes again gave them all the hope and strength they needed to keep going. He kissed her on top of the head, turned around and resumed walking again.

  “Let’s go, time’s a wasting,” he said, moving them along.

  Tye and Maia walked side by side. He decided to say something about the incident in the barn.

  “I didn’t say we weren’t married because it didn’t seem worth it to get into that conversation. I just wanted to get out of there.”

  “I know. I’m not bothered by it. I was just thinking out loud when I mentioned it earlier. Unfortunately, I do that sometimes,” she said. “You’re Latino, right?”

  “Uh, that was random.” He continued, “I’m not like 100% Latino. I’m Irish, Polish and German too but my dad was from Puerto Rico. So yes, why?”

  “Hablas español?” Maia asked.

  “Ha! Yes, I do speak some Spanish. Es usted fluente en Español?” he asked back.

  “Oh, I’m fluent in Spanish all right. I grew up knowing a good bit of French. My people were the Acadians, not to mention my dad is half French Canadian. Anyway, I took Spanish in high school because I didn't know any of it and I wanted to, considering my Latin roots and all.”

  Somewhat surprised, Tye said, “Cajuns have Latin roots? I’ve lived in Louisiana for sixteen years, and I didn’t know that.”

  “Well, I can't say my Latin roots come from my Cajun heritage. It likely comes from another ancestor. I mean, my ethnicity is Cajun, as in I have hundreds of years of French names and the like in my family tree but, my DNA consists of Irish, Spanish, Greek, Italian, Maya, Chilean, and Portuguese.”

  “That’s crazy. You don’t look—” Tye said before he was interrupted.

  “Before you finish that sentence you better be prepared to tell me exactly what a Latina is supposed to look like. Besides, I’m mostly Scots and French,” she said matter-of-factly. “Then there’s the Native American and Sub-Saharan African…I’m such a mutt. I have DNA from every continent on this planet but Antarctica.”

  “Me too,” Tye replied with a big smile. “Puerto Rico is nothing but a big melting pot. It’s just, when, people ask what ethnicity I identify with or what my ancestry is it’s easier to say I’m Puerto Rican with Irish and German but the truth is I’d be here all day if I listed the countries the last ten generations of my people were from.”

  “I know, right? Our people certainly had no biases. Anyway, my reason for asking if you speak Spanish isn’t random. It’s right up ahead. This is one of the most populated areas. If we go left, we walk straight into the most violent area around here. If we go right, we take a chance of running into the camps where the dog hunters stay. That means we have a better chance if we go straight ahead, but there’s a Hispanic group that occupies that subdivision. They show respect to other Latinos. They’ll leave me alone but only if you tell them,” she mumbled under her breath, “I’m your wife.”

  “What?” He put his hand to his ear. “Speak up. It sounded like you said I had to pretend you were my wife.”

  “Feel free to mock me later, but that’s the only way around this,” she said.

  Caleb wanted clarification, “I’m trying to understand here. So if they thought I was with you, and I’m not Latino, then they’d take you?”

  “No, they’re not like that,” she said. “From what I understand from previous times through here and watching others try to get through, first they’d try to persuade me to stay with them or try to buy me from you. They have plenty of alcohol that they trade from what I’ve witnessed. If you say no, they won't let us go through. We’ll have to go around. They have great loyalty to other Latinos though so if I’m with him, they leave me alone and we can go through. I don't know what it is, but people always seem to stick with other people most like them.”

  She continued, “Usually one of our boys, Tomas, pretends he’s my son and tells them his dad, my husband, is out scavenging. They’ve respected that, but they keep asking where my husband is and why he lets me out alone. There aren’t that many women who roam freely, so it’s likely he’ll recognize me. So, either we do it this way, or we go around through one of the other routes.”

/>   Caleb stopped and turned around, “Oh, no, no, no. We are going straight through. By the power invested in me by, well, no one, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss your bride.”

  “That won’t be necessary,” she laughed.

  “I’d rather not take a knee to the groin again, so I’ll pass.” Tye grinned.

  They were still a few yards away from the subdivision when several men came out of the houses and formed a line as though they were about to play Red Robin. The difference is, they play this adult version with semi-automatic weapons.

  Caleb fell behind allowing Tye to lead the group through. “You got this, man?”

  “I got it,” he reassured him.

  Tye walked right up to the man in the center of the line who stood two or three feet in front of everyone else. He was obviously the one in charge.

  “Hablas inglés?” Tye said, asking the man if he spoke English.

  The man replied back in Spanish and asked if he needed something. Tye told him that he was seeking to pass through with his family and friends.

  Maia got nervous when the man responded by asking Tye if she belonged to him. The man was looking at her all kinds of crazy when he asked.

  “Yes, this is my wife, Maia. This is one of our sons and our daughter. These are our friends,” he said, pointing everyone out.

  “Tienes grandes cojones dejarla caminar solo. Alguien podría tratar de llevarla por los suyos,” the man said.

  Great, he recognized her. He told Tye he was brave for letting her out alone. He said some man would likely try to take her for his own. Apparently, he remembered her traveling with Tomas. Tye took it as the guy testing him to see if he knew about that.