The Human Spring

by Hollingsworth, David

“I think we just need some time. It was rough, but at least you trust us now.”

  “I truly do,” she affirmed. “I understand that you two will feel a little odd after what happened, but as I said before, let me know if I can do anything on my end to help.”

  “We will.” With that, the three of them returned to the school. Ehsan and Fatima checked one of the school’s sun dials. It was only around two in the afternoon. After everything that’d happened, Ehsan would’ve sworn at least twice as much time had passed. They decided to check on Mateo. They walked to his room, hoping they’d see him with at least some of his usual vitality back. When they got to the door, which no longer had any barricades around it, they looked through the open blinds to see Mateo reading a book. Fatima knocked and he told them to come in.

  “How’re you, Mateo?” Ehsan asked as they walked in. “Feeling better?”

  “Yep,” he answered. He used a red heart made of construction paper that read GET BETTER SOON, LOVE ANA AND ESTEFANÍA on it as a bookmark and closed his book, a copy of Hemmingway’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls” with a well-worn cover and yellowing pages. He looked up and smiled. “I’m able to walk around again, so that’s cool. Marcus said if I take it easy today, I’ll be good to go by tomorrow.”

  “Awesome,” Ehsan said.

  “Has Sarah been in here?” Fatima asked suddenly. Ehsan figured she was curious to see if Sarah had told him about what’d happened.

  “Not for a couple hours, no. She’s been on lookout duty, or at least she was. Said she’d be there while you all went to fix the walkway. Why?”

  “No reason. Just curious.”

  Mateo laid back down. “Speaking of which, Deon just came to tell me the walkway repair was a success. He seemed frustrated about something, but it sounds like everyone did good.”

  “Yeah,” replied Ehsan dryly. “We all did what exactly what Miss Torres wanted.”

  Mateo chuckled. “Sounds like she had you working pretty hard. Maybe Deon was just annoyed ‘cause he saw Josue being lazy or something. I’m sure Cecilia’s impressed by you two, though.”

  Fatima smiled. There was a hint of bitterness to it, but not enough for Mateo to notice with his perception limited by the remnants of his infection. “Yes, she told us she was.”

  “Well, that’s good. You two have been a great addition to the group so far.” He stretched out his arms, entirely oblivious to Fatima’s tone. “Anyway, I’m starting to get tired. I think I’ll take another nap. Let me know if you need anything, alright?”

  Ehsan grinned. “That’s supposed to be our line, fella. You’re the sick one here.”

  Mateo chuckled once more. “True. I’ll start crying if something goes wrong.”

  “Just like grad school,” Fatima joked. Ehsan and Mateo both chuckled.

  Ehsan and Fatima partially closed the blinds at Mateo’s request, then left the room so that he could rest. They walked back to their own room. As the hurt receded, Ehsan dreaded the looks of regret and awkward glances he’d get from everyone who was in on it. He wanted everything to return to how it had been the day before.

  “Well, at least we still have the dread from the mystery of whoever is out there to distract us,” Ehsan clumsily joked. “At this point, I just wanna make this whole mess the last thing on my mind. Or at least second to last. Your dating life will always be the last thing on my mind, no exceptions.”

  Fatima rolled her eyes. “I swear, Eshan...”

  The two of them relaxed in their room until the time for guard duty arrived. It went by quietly. Ehsan couldn’t even find the emotional and mental energy to further contemplate the crayon map, as his mind kept returning to the loyalty test. When evening came, Ryan and Josue took over like usual. Josue greeted them cheerfully while Ryan greeted them apologetically. Fatima shot Josue a dirty look that he didn’t notice as they headed back to their room.

  As they got to their room and began getting ready for bed, Ehsan asked Fatima what she was thinking of.

  “Our Costco.”

  DAY 4

  THURSDAY, APRIL 6th

  Ehsan woke up to a knock on his door.

  “Good morning,” they heard Julie say from the other side. “I’m sorry to wake you, but Cecilia wants to have a meeting right now.”

  “We will be right out,” Fatima responded.

  “Okay, I’ll wait here so I can walk with you.”

  The two of them got up and put on their slippers. Unlike the previous morning, Fatima took a moment to fix her hair. She went to do her makeup after, but realized she’d now run out of mascara. They walked outside to see Julie, who barely looked awake herself. Ehsan gave a small wave and she returned the gesture.

  “Cecilia told me what happened yesterday, I’m so sorry you had to go through that,” Julia said. Ehsan didn’t want to think about the previous day’s loyalty test, but Julie’s expression and voice held a comforting empathy. “I hope you two are alright.”

  “Thanks,” Ehsan replied. “We’re okay, we just wanna move past it now.”

  “I understand.” Her smile became more apologetic. “My mom was right, I talk too much. I’m sorry I brought it up.”

  “No, thank you,” Fatima said. “We appreciate it. And you definitely do not talk too much.”

  “If anything, we’d love to hear you talk more,” Ehsan added with a smile.

  “Thanks. I just want you two to know I’m thankful for all you do. If there’s anything I can do, let me know.”

  “Thanks Julie,” Ehsan replied with a smile.

  “Actually, there is something,” Fatima said. “Do you have any mascara stored up around here?”

  Julie nodded. “We have all sorts of makeup here, and there’s a lot in the houses nearby, too. Cecilia and I have had a field day with how much we’ve found. I’ll show you later today.”

  The three of them then walked to the library. They entered to find Deon looking annoyed, Sarah looking uncomfortable, and Marcus and Cecilia looking the same as any other day. They walked over and sat down, Ehsan unsure of how to act. He felt a pang of hurt from the previous day’s events, but more than that, he felt awkward and uncertain. How should he interact with everyone, particularly Cecilia, after what had happened? Sarah greeted them as they entered. Ehsan waved while Fatima replied with a strained “good morning.”

  “Good morning, everyone.” Cecilia’s tone also remained the same as ever. “I called you here today to discuss Tuesday’s events. I know some of you think whoever wrote that map means us no harm, but I think we ought to act like they do.”

  “What makes you think they got bad intentions?” Deon asked, scowling slightly.

  “I do not necessarily think they do,” Cecilia clarified. “Rather, we should take precautions as if they do. If they do not, then we have lost nothing.”

  “I dunno, bad shit tends to happen when folks get paranoid about security,” he countered. “Nothing crazy happened yesterday, or this morning. Maybe they ain’t around no more. Or maybe they never meant us harm in the first place.”

  “Or maybe they were trying something, but it backfired,” Ehsan suggested. “They could’ve been eaten.”

  “I understand your concerns, Deon,” Cecilia said, even if her demeanor suggested otherwise. “However, I simply propose fortifying our defenses. I believe it is possible that they either meant us no harm or have already fallen. However, if we dismiss even the possibility that they still plan to cause us harm, then we could be in danger.”

  “Plus, there are still explanations as to why we have seen nothing since Tuesday,” Fatima added. “They may be trying chipping away at us slowly, to make us question if they are out there.”

  Deon nodded, more willing to agree with Fatima than Cecilia. “True. Okay, I’m down to step up our security, long as we don’t do nothing foolish. What do y’all got in mind?”

  “I propose we reinforce our barricades. Perhaps even have someone patrol the kindergarten area every once in a while to make sure no one sn
eaks in through there.”

  “Cool,” Sarah agreed. Everyone else seemed to agree too, even Deon.

  “Excellent.” Cecilia’s look softened. “There is one more thing to discuss, however. Sarah and Mateo suggested that we have a welcome party for our new members. Not just for Ehsan and Fatima, but for Deon and Marcus as well. You four have given a lot to this group, and we want to thank you for it. What do all of you think?”

  Ehsan didn’t know what to say. He felt his hurt from the previous day wash away. He looked over to his sister, who seemed to have reservations, but still nodded in reluctant approval. “We’d like that,” Ehsan declared.

  “It has been a minute since we got a chance to party,” Deon admitted reluctantly. He turned to Marcus. “Whatcha think, Marcus?”

  Marcus shrugged. “Sure.”

  “Cool.” Sarah smiled warmly, though it contained an apologetic undertone. “It’ll be fun. We can break out the booze, cook a ton of food, and really get to know each other.”

  “Thanks,” Ehsan replied with a smile that told her he forgave her for the previous day. “So when would this happen?”

  “I think we should do it tonight,” Cecilia answered. “That way, it can have the added benefit of letting anyone watching us think we have let our guard down. We shall have it at the lunch tables, that way we are at the front of the school in case something happens.”

  The group discussed more details about the types of food they wanted. Ehsan and Fatima brought up ghormeh sabzi, a type of stew, but the school didn’t have the ingredients for it. After finishing the discussion everyone got up to leave, but Cecilia asked Ehsan and Fatima to stay. Deon, Marcus, and Sarah left the room, Sarah and Deon looking curious about what Cecilia wanted to say.

  “First, I want to say that I truly am glad you two did well yesterday,” she told them. “I imagine neither of you wish to hear it be brought up, so I will not mention it again. But both of you bring a lot to the table, so I am glad you are here.” She looked to Fatima. “With that said, Mateo told me about that kitchen knife you use. He mentioned that you two had talked about getting you a new weapon. Does anything come to mind that you would like?”

  “I think a machete would serve me well.”

  Cecilia nodded with approval. “Good choice.”

  “Thank you. I have a question for you, too.”

  Cecilia raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Yes?”

  “Have you ever thought about trying to expand? I mean, not right now of course. But we have a good system going here. What if we eventually took a few people from each location in our network and had them establish a fifth site somewhere?”

  Cecilia nodded. “I have considered it. I had hoped to propose it after we became more secure in the school, but as we did so, we lost a handful of people.” She gestured with her hand toward Ehsan and Fatima. “With the four of you having joined, however, I believe it is worth considering again. After we sort out this mess with whoever is out there, that is. There are a few places that I think would be ideal candidates, but we can discuss them after we deal with the problem at hand.”

  “Great.” Fatima smiled. “Maybe, if we keep this up, we can recreate the city.”

  Cecilia smiled in return. “I respect your ambition. As long as we avoid spreading ourselves too thin, I am all for it.” She cleared her throat. “Well, with all that being said, I imagine you two are hungry. Go enjoy your breakfast.”

  At breakfast Ehsan saw Mateo, who looked far better. He didn’t quite have his usual level of vitality, and he walked more sluggishly than normal, but he assured them that another day of rest would fix him up completely. Ehsan just felt relieved to see him active again.

  After breakfast every adult spent about an hour grabbing spare furniture from the classrooms and adding them to the barricades. Afterward Ehsan and Fatima joined Deon and Sarah to get the children from the clinic. Deon handed Fatima a machete with its own holster. Fatima slung it over her back. She also decided to keep her kitchen knife on her, just in case. On their way out Ryan wished them good luck and told them to report anything suspicious. Josue still seemed mildly upset about the previous day. He and Deon exchanged glances as Deon passed through the gate.

  Deon and Sarah led the way. The group remained vigilant, careful to look for any sign that someone had tampered with the walkways, or anything else. Ehsan wondered if whoever had been out there really did get eaten, or perhaps even moved on. Only once did they encounter any zombies while crossing the street, a group of five that Sarah easily led away.

  “If only getting rid of customers at Big 5 had been that easy,” she joked as she rejoined the group.

  “Those zombies are probably more level-headed than some of the customers you got,” Ehsan added.

  “Definitely better manners than some of them.”

  They got to the clinic to see Hector standing outside with another boxer, who appeared to Ehsan to be of East Asian descent. This boxer was in excellent shape, even by the standards of the other boxers at the clinic. His body seemed to be sculpted purely out of fast-twitch muscle fiber. He had short, slicked-back black hair and intense, focused brown eyes. Hector waved as they approached the clinic.

  “G’morning.” He looked to Ehsan and Fatima. “Sorry again about yesterday, but I hope you’re doing better.” He glanced at the boxer next to him. “You guys met Ken yet?”

  “We have not.” Fatima turned to Ken. “I’m Fatima.”

  “And I’m Ehsan,” Ehsan added. “Nice to meet you.”

  “Likewise,” he replied with a curt nod.

  “He was a pro before everything went down,” Hector told Ehsan and Fatima with a friendly pat on Ken’s back. “Ken ‘The Fox’ Shimura, the twelfth ranked super middleweight of the world.”

  “That’s awesome,” Ehsan commented with a grin and cocked eyebrows.

  “Thanks, but that’s all in the past now,” Ken responded coolly.

  Ehsan could sense hurt in Ken’s voice. “It must be rough to have that taken all away.”

  “Not compared to everything else that happened.” He looked back toward the clinic. “Anyway, I’ll get the kids.”

  “It was nice meeting you,” Fatima said.

  Ken said nothing as he walked back inside. As soon as the door closed, Hector leaned over toward Ehsan and Fatima. “He gets this way sometimes because of what happened to our coach.”

  “Got bit?” asked Ehsan.

  Hector nodded. “We all miss him, but Coach Alfredo was like a father to Ken. Found him wandering the streets as a teen and took him in.” He shook his head with a somber grimace. “A couple months ago he sacrificed himself to stop a swarm from getting into the clinic.”

  “I see,” Fatima replied.

  “That’s a shame,” added Ehsan with a sympathetic shake of his head.

  “Yeah. It’s made Ken a bit emo, but he’s still our best fighter, by far. He’s been on lookout a lot more ever since you guys told us about what happened out there.” He looked to Deon and Sarah. “Speaking of which, any more news?”

  “Nah,” Deon answered. “We just gotta keep an eye out for now.”

  As Deon finished his sentence Lucero emerged from the doorway holding Andrea’s hand. Juan followed right after, holding Pokemon cards.

  “Sorry for the delay,” Lucero apologized. “Andrea’s been all over the place this morning.”

  Andrea’s cheesy, face-consuming grin emerged. She spotted Fatima and ran up to her. “Miss Fa-mi-tuh!” Fatima waved to her while she jumped onto her leg.

  “That’s Fa-ti-ma,” corrected Lucero as she walked up to pry Andrea off of Fatima’s leg.

  “What you say?” she asked Lucero as she removed her.

  “Her name is Miss Fatima, you silly.” She ruffled Andrea’s hair.

  “Okay!” Andrea started playing with Lucero’s arm.

  “Nice to see you too, Andrea,” said Fatima with a smile. She turned to Lucero and Juan. “And the two of you, as well. We should head ba
ck so we can get you three to class.”

  “Be careful,” Hector warned the group. “Don’t hesitate to come back if you need anything.”

  The walk back went smoothly. By now Fatima seemed more or less comfortable going across the walkways. She still held onto the handrails and didn’t like to look down, but she moved across much quicker than she had just two days before.

  When they returned, Ehsan saw Ryan and Josue taking out a small group of zombies in front of the school. Only three remained when the group turned the corner, and by the time they made it halfway up the street Ryan and Josue had already successfully disposed of them. Still, after Mateo’s spill two days before, Ehsan couldn’t help but worry as he watched. Only when Ryan and Josue finished the last zombie did his anxiety subside. The group walked up and told the two of them that nothing had happened on their way to the school.

  The group walked into the school and the students went to their classrooms, with Sarah escorting Andrea to the other younger students. Deon returned to gardening. Ehsan and Fatima went to go check in with Mateo, both to see his condition and ask about cleaning the school. They walked up to his room to see him inside punching at the air. His punches looked fluid and crisp, though he didn’t put much power or speed behind them. He saw them out of the corner of his eye as they walked up. He beckoned them inside.

  “How’re you feeling?” Ehsan asked as he entered.

  “A lot better.” Mateo stretched his arms. “I skipped out on gardening today so I could focus on getting better, but I don’t like doing nothing all day, either. Figured I’d do a little shadowboxing just to stay sharp.”

  “Your punches look pretty strong,” Ehsan commented. “Wish I could be a beast like you.”

  “Well, the good news is that you definitely could. Anyone could.” Mateo grinned. “The bad news is that you gotta put in a couple years’ worth of effort just to stop sucking completely, and a couple years after that just to get decent.”

  “Effort? Ehsan?” Fatima grinned. “His definition of effort was grabbing as many grocery bags as he could from the car to avoid making more than one trip.”