Amitola: The Making of a Tribe

by A. Grant Richard

  Jason slowed his pace to walk alongside Maia. He whispered to her, “When we get to the camp me and Tony are going to tell Allen we want you. We haven’t taken a turn with any visitors in a while, so he’ll be okay with it. If not, we’ll have a firm conversation with whoever gets the go-ahead; same as always.” He fell behind to talk to Tony.

  Maia rolled her eyes. It was absurd that she was even having this conversation. People she’d known most of her life were no better than the monsters who were auctioning off women or the cretins who were buying them.

  Tye waited until they had gotten several steps ahead and he leaned in front of Caleb then asked Maia, “Is it safe for us to go with them?”

  Caleb looked at her, and he too was waiting for the answer.

  “We’re safer going with them than if we stayed out here. The hunters don't mess with them, and Caleb needs to be checked out.”

  “But…” Caleb said, waiting for what was coming.

  “But, Allen, the guy that runs the place, requires payment for shelter, and he offers the male visitors their choice of women from the camp. He gets highly offended if you decline so…” she said, disappointed in the human race. “I hope you guys are up for some entertainment tonight. Anyway, Allen makes and enforces the rules. They stay because he’s respected and no one messes with him.”

  They had reached the boat before Maia had a chance to clarify. She turned to help Caleb into the vessel. He kept having dizzy spells, and she was afraid he’d fall.

  Jason signaled for Tye to get on the boat. Tye got right in his face, “Let’s be clear. She’s not having sex with anyone so that we can stay there. That’s not happening. We’ll just stay somewhere close to your camp and leave first thing in the morning.”

  Jason looked at him somewhat condescending, “You think that woman would have sex with somebody she didn’t want to?” he laughed. “How well do you know her?” he asked with the intent to prove a point. This just became a pissing contest, and every one of them knew it.

  “It’s all a ruse, Tye.” She grabbed his arm, and he turned to face her. “Jason and Tony tell Allen they want me and then we just pretend we’re going off to spend time together. They don’t make me do anything. It just ticks me off that I even have to go along with this charade. Guests used to just bring wine or flowers. Anyway, I’ll stop…”

  “You are a fine wine, sweetheart,” Jason flirted, smacking her on the butt. Tye looked at him like he was about to put a hole in his screen door. Jason ignored him and held his hand out to help Maia onto the boat. She jerked it away nearly pulling him down. Once she stepped into the boat, she looked him straight in the eye. “Please don’t pretend you know me and if you ever do that again, I swear…”

  “You swear what?” he challenged her. She locked eyes with him but didn't say a word. He continued, “That’s what I thought. You know I’m playing. Now get in the damn boat. And tell your guard dog to chill out.”

  She sat down between Tye and Junior. “Jerk,” she blurted out. Tye looked around, attempting to get a feel for the situation. He was unsure of what was going on or what they were walking into.

  Tony seemed civil enough, so he decided to question him. “This guy who runs the place, what kind of man is he?”

  Jason felt the need to answer. “He’s a good person. He takes care of us. We got food, shelter, women, alcohol, guns. What more could we ask for?” he said while fist bumping Tony.

  “And he’s going to get offended if we don’t have sex with some woman?” Caleb yelled over the sound of the boat.

  “Why wouldn't you? And yeah, he sees it as hospitality,” Tony explained, “It’s kind of like if you come over for dinner and don’t eat what he cooks. He’s proud of his women, and he likes to show them off. When guys decline, it’s like saying his women aren’t good enough.”

  “I’m married,” Caleb informed them. The more times he said it, the less convincing he sounded.

  “Dude, it’s on you, but I can tell you that he won’t care,” Jason said while pulling up to the landing. “He’s married too.”

  Allen’s place had been the envy of all of their friends back home. The main house was party central, and he would host get-togethers once a month. All of his friends and their wives would drive their campers and park them behind his camp. They’d tailgate, grill, play cards, and party it up all weekend. Late at night is when they played. They were all here together when the disasters started. Most of them didn’t make it, but those that did became his core team. Others trickled in over time. Since Judgement Day they’d become a community to be reckoned with.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Three men stood guard at the landing. While the crew exited the boat, one of the men walked over to them. Maia didn’t recognize him. He talked to Jason and Tony briefly then asked the rest of the crew to surrender any weapons they had. Tye was hesitant, but Maia assured him that it would be okay. They turned over their guns and knives then the man asked the other two men to search them.

  “We gave you all our weapons. You want to play handsies now?” Tye objected.

  “We have to be sure,” the man said.

  The guy who came over to search Maia was someone she recognized. She didn’t remember his name if she ever actually knew it at all, but she knew who he used to hang around. He looked at her strange the entire time he patted her down.

  “Did you find what you were looking for?” she asked him sarcastically.

  “Not yet, but I will,” he whispered in her ear before hopping onto the airboat to drive it to it’s hiding place.

  Jason and Tony picked up their guests' bags and led them through a few yards of dense forest to the main house. The woods appeared gray and dingy much like the rest of the area so from the water it didn’t seem to be anything but more dilapidated woods.

  “Dad! Dad!” Elex said pulling on Caleb’s jacket. “Is that a deer?”

  “Holy crap. That is a deer,” he said.

  “There’s a lot of wildlife still here,” Tony offered. “The flood waters trapped them in. We’re letting ‘em repopulate.”

  This camp on the bayou became a haven surrounded by the bayou, but that was a perk nowadays. It was one more obstacle that marauders had to conquer if they wanted to get to them. They walked around a massive tree into the clearing. A guard’s tent was set up just beyond the tree line. An older man and two young children sat around a fire pit not too far from it. Off to the right, they could barely see the tops of the piers that were once elevated over the bayou.

  Laughter and conversation drifted from the crowd of people under the densely screened pergola near the bayou’s edge. Toward the center stood a cabin on stilts. Off in the distance, a variety of travel trailers, coaches, and Winnebagos adorned the tree line.

  The smell of freshly grilled meat gripped their stomachs and pulled them to the pergola. Several faces lit up, and some yelled out, “Maia!” She knew them from back home. She walked around giving hugs and making small talk for several minutes before she made it back around to the guys. By that time Allen walked out from the main house.

  Arms open wide; he called her, “Maia Cameron, come to Big Al, baby.”

  “Graham,” she corrected him. “My married name is Graham. How many times do I have to tell you that?”

  “You missed me? Are these men taking caring of you? Tell Big Al what you need, babe.”

  “We just need a place to stay for the night. Maybe some food? But, first, we need to treat his wound,” she said pointing to Caleb. “We’ll be out of your hair first thing in the morning.”

  He laughed, “You know I’m going bald. I ain’t got no hair to get into.” Still laughing he continued, “Take what you need. All I have is yours.” With his arm still around her, he whispered near her ear, “Are you gon’ take care of a couple of my guys for me? You know they work better when they happy.”

  “Of course, Allen. Whatever I need to do,” she said.

  One of the ladies gave them a small plate of
food. After they had eaten, Maia and Caleb were led to a bedroom in the main house so that the nurse could look at his injury. He sat down on the little twin bed and tried to pull the jacket off with one arm, but he wasn’t able to. Maia noticed him struggling, so she helped him. When she pulled his uninjured arm out of the shirt, she saw his tattoo. She'd never really paid attention to it before. It was the same symbol she’d seen him draw on his messages for Kerri: an infinity symbol inside a circle with a diagonal line through it.

  She reached over and touched it, “What does it mean?” she asked him.

  “After we met, it didn’t take long for us to realize we’d both been scarred by our first marriages. We thought we’d be with those people forever and yet; we ended up divorced. So, when we got married, our vows didn't include to love each other forever.”

  She gave him a puzzled look. "Isn't forever implied when you get married?"

  He ran his finger around the edges of the tattoo. “Forever is scary when you’re staring potential issues in the face, so we talked about it and decided we don’t want infinity, we want to choose each other right now; this time, every time. That’s why the infinity sign has the line through it. It’s a conscious decision we make over and over again, not just once when we're floating on some love cloud. No matter where life takes us, who crosses our paths, or what bad decisions we make, we promise to choose us.”

  “Oh my goodness, Caleb Finnigan, you just melted my heart,” Maia uttered during her lightbulb moment. “That’s why you keep reminding us that you’re married. You’re choosing her at that moment.”

  He shook his head, yes, and she could see the tears starting to well up. Then he sobbed, “I’m never gonna see her again, am I?”

  She buried his head into her chest. She wanted to tell him it would be all right but she couldn’t. She knew it might not be. Worse than that, he may never know what happened to her. She searched for some hope to give him, but she came up empty.

  “I wish with everything in me that I could tell you it’s going to be okay. I don’t want you to give up, but I don’t want to give you false hope either.”

  “I know. I’ll be okay. Can you finish helping me get this off?” he asked while trying to pull it over his head with one hand. She obliged him, and once his shirt was off, she gave him a big hug.

  “You're going to be fine. And I hope more than anything that you find her soon. I can’t imagine any woman being married to you and not fighting like hell to get back to you.”

  He smiled back at her just as the door opened. A tiny blonde with a big smile walked in and greeted them.

  “Tobi!” Maia squealed as her friend walked into the room. They gave each other a big hug then Tobi turned her attention to Caleb.

  “And you must be Caleb,” she said while gathering some supplies. “I’m going to take a look at that arm for you. Are you in a lot of pain?” she asked.

  “Not really from my arm. It’s sore, but that’s about it.” He rubbed his forehead. “My head hurts like a mug though.”

  “Alrighty, I guess I’ll go now,” Maia said on her way to the door.

  “No, please stay,” Caleb said.

  While Caleb was having his wound checked, Tye helped the kids settle into the camper they’d be sleeping in that night. The trailer was small, but it was better than the alternative. None of them preferred sleeping with the dogs. He put their bags away then he heard a knock.

  He opened the door to find a buxom, fiery redhead with tattoos and piercings staring up at him. “Well, hello. They didn’t tell me you were so hot,” she said, flirting unapologetically. “I’m Kat, by the way.”

  “Tye,” he replied, introducing himself. “And these are my kids Junior and Sadie. This is my buddy’s son, Elex.”

  “Nice to meet all of you. I’ve come to let you know that we have the bathhouse ready for you. You can shower in here if you want but it’s only cold water, and it trickles so slow that it takes forever. The bath house isn’t hot, but it’s relatively warm. The water pressure is better too. If you want I can bring you to it.”

  “Sure, let me get our extra clothes and round up the kids, and we’ll be right out,” he told her. As soon as he closed the door, he realized that might have been impolite. He opened it again and cleared his throat. “It’s chilly out. I should’ve invited you in.”

  She grinned, amused by his offer. “I’ll wait out here. I don’t think another person would fit inside that tin can.”

  He asked the kids to grab the other extra set of clothes they’d taken from Charlie’s along with their toiletries. He grabbed his clothes and left a note in the trailer for Caleb and Maia in case they came back while they were gone.

  Heading out to the showers, Kat wrapped her arm around his waist and whispered seductively in his ear, “If you want I’d be more than happy to help you wash up.”

  Tye smiled back at her. Lots of thoughts started racing through his mind, all of them involved telling her what a bad girl she was and how she needs a good spanking. He tried to stop himself but looking over at her again he got excited about the possibilities. Then, something crossed his mind that put a halt to it for him.

  They walked into the gated area by the main house. Inside was a covered swimming pool, a fire pit, a jacuzzi, and a bath house.

  “There’s three showers in the bath house. Before you ask, the water is safe. It comes from the spring you saw just over that way,” Kat said pointing in the general direction, “But, like I said, it’s only warm so you should dry off quickly and if you need to, heat up by the fire.” She handed the towels to the kids and sent them to the showers.

  She walked over to Tye, “You should probably shower then warm up in the jacuzzi. We make it a point to keep that water steaming. Or, you could just raise your body temp in the shower,” she said, brushing his lips.

  Intrigued, Tye replied, “As tempting as that offer sounds I’ll have to pass. I don’t have anything with me, and this isn’t exactly the time to go bare if you know what I mean.”

  “Of you don’t have to worry about that. Allen is compulsive about us using protection. I’m already pregnant anyway so…” she said.

  His face expressed his confusion, “You’re pregnant?”

  “Is that a problem?” she asked.

  “I guess that depends on the baby’s father. Is he around? Is he gonna go postal on me for talking to you?”

  “No, indeed. This is a unique kind of place. Most of us here are free thinkers so either we’re single or the ones who did tie the knot have open marriages, or they're swingers. Most of the women are open to all the men, and if there are visitors like you and we’re interested, then we go for it.” She started unbuttoning his shirt. “Nobody gets mad. It works for us.”

  “Wow, okay,” Tye said, wondering if he just walked into an episode of Game of Thrones.

  “Look, we’re doing the same thing we did before, but now we don’t hide it. We do have our favorites though. Antonio is my baby’s father. I think you met him. He brought you all here today.” She rubbed her belly. “And from what I hear, Tony’s requesting your girl tonight, just like he does every time he sees her,” she said, rolling her eyes.

  “Yeah, that’s what she told me,” he replied. He could’ve corrected her, but he decided there was no point. Everyone they encountered had this expectation that women wouldn’t dare be alone. She had to be with a man so she’d have someone to keep her safe and well. And the truth was, even if he wasn’t romantically involved with Maia he did agree to play that role in her life. So in a sense, she was ‘his girl.'

  “Are you okay with that? Your face says you aren’t,” Kat asked.

  “I don’t know. Every time I think about how things are changing it bothers me. I don’t like it.”

  Kat moved closer, placing her arms around his neck. She said, “Then let me help you forget about it,” as she moved in to kiss him. He welcomed it. He needed a distraction from the world outside this campground and all of the chaos in
his mind even if it was only for a short while.

  Tobi tied off the last stitch in Caleb’s flesh wound. Thankfully, it hadn’t bled that much.

  “Now let’s talk about this pain in your head. Does it still hurt?” Tobi asked.

  “Yes, it’s starting to get worse.”

  Tobi ruled out the obvious diagnoses first then she pondered the remaining possibilities.

  “Open your mouth for me,” she said while grabbing a tongue depressor. “Red and swollen. Chin up,” she said as she shined the scope up his nose.

  “Where in your head are you feeling the most pain?”

  Caleb touched his forehead, “Behind my eyes and around here.”

  “Did you inhale any ash today?”

  He thought for a moment, “Um, you know what, I think I did,” he said recalling the firefight. “I reached under a truck to get my gun. There was a pile under there, and I remember taking a deep breath and realizing I’d just inhaled ash. I started sneezing like crazy right after.”

  “You probably did bump your head, but I don’t think you have any head trauma. It looks like your sinuses are inflamed. That’s where your headache is coming from. You could get an infection too. Are you allergic to anything?”

  “Just wasps,” he said.

  “So you probably need an EpiPen too,” Tobi said noting it on her chart.

  “What can we do about it, doc? You are a doctor, right?” he asked.

  “I’m going talk to Allen. You need a steroid shot and some antibiotics, but we only have so much. Aside from that, we can clean out your sinuses using a saline solution and the good ol’ Neti pot. I’ll boil some water for that.” She turned to walk out of the door. “And no, I’m not a doctor. I was an ER nurse at the Lake for eleven years then I became a midwife. I realized I preferred delivering babies more than the drama ala Grey’s Anatomy; oh, the irony in me living here now. I’ll be back,” she said as she walked out of the door.

  He looked at Maia, “What’s a Neti pot?”