“Welcome back,” Cecilia said. The bags under her eyes had seemingly dissipated, though it looked to Ehsan that she had more makeup on than usual. “Sarah, Hector, and Emma informed me what happened. Julie is back, too. She is currently reading with our students in the classroom. Did you discover anything useful at the clinic?”
Ehsan blinked in surprise. “You’re not mad we went back?”
“I do not necessarily think it was the wisest decision. However, I understand how Ken felt, and I believe Fatima turning it into a scouting mission at least made it productive. So, did you discover anything useful?” she repeated.
“Yes,” Fatima answered. “We saw that a cement truck had been driven into the side of the wall. That answers the question of how they got past the clinic’s walls.”
“I see. Well then-”
“Hold on,” Emma interjected. Everyone looked at her. “I heard people yelling before the crash. I’m sure the truck helped get a bunch of those things inside, but something else had already happened before then.”
“Interesting,” Cecilia replied, pursing her lips.
“We did see a couple of the intelligent zombies Josue mentioned,” Mateo informed her. “Maybe they said something to whoever was on guard duty right before, through one of the gaps in the wall or something?”
“Yeah, seeing those things in person is something else,” Ehsan admitted. “The sprinters are probably more dangerous than the talkers, but man, something about the way they look at you really throws you off. And that’s before hearing them talk.”
“That sounds like a safe enough assumption, then, for lack of any evidence to the contrary,” Cecilia agreed, though she didn’t seem satisfied. “And I believe that, for the writing on the wall, it is best to proceed with the assumption that it was put there to trick us. Instead of wasting time worrying about that, we should decide what to do going forward. I propose we fortify our barriers even further. Especially those on the other side of the school, by the kindergarten area. I also believe we would benefit from moving some people’s rooms over there and permanently patrolling that area.”
“You think it’s a good idea to separate people’s rooms at a time like this?” Mateo asked, visibly concerned.
“I do. It is an unpleasant proposition, but as of right now, any breach that happens on that side of the school would go unnoticed for far too long. We currently have nothing preventing them from sneaking in on that side of the school. They could open the gate over there, or flank our people on lookout duty, or any other number of surprises we do not want. We need eyes over there.”
“I agree,” Deon declared. “We gotta cover every angle if we wanna keep this place from falling. I don’t mind if me and Marcus get moved over there.”
“Thank you, Deon. I shall take you up on that offer. Josue accepted earlier as well, and has already moved his room. I also ask that we give everyone from the clinic rooms there.”
Lucero walked up to the group as they spoke, hesitant, her normal charisma nowhere to be found. “W-would it be okay if I was by A-Ana and Estefanía?” she asked, a facial tic in the form of a twitch under her left eye appearing when she said her friends’ names. Ehsan’s heart sunk at seeing that facial tic.
Cecilia smiled. “If it makes you feel better, Lucero, then absolutely. You can stay with Miss Emma, and Juan and Andrea, next to Miss Julie and your friends. Mister Ken and Mister Hector can be the only ones from your clinic who go over there, okay?”
Lucero nodded. “Th-thanks.”
Fatima put her hand on Lucero’s shoulder. “You are doing so well, Lucero, and I am so proud of you. But it is also alright to let us know if you are not doing well, too. You saw something no kid should ever have to see. So anytime you need to, you can let me know.” She smiled at Lucero the way she used to smile at Ehsan after especially bad episodes from their dad.
Lucero twitched once more under her left eye. Her jaw clenched as her eyes blurred. “I d-don’t think I’m d-doing okay. I’m s-sorry.” The dam broke; tears poured from her eyes, as they had when the group saved her earlier. She sobbed uncontrollably. The sight of it caused Ehsan’s eyes to become misty. Fatima got off her chair to offer Lucero a hug.
“Lucero, you have nothing to be sorry about,” Fatima told Lucero as she embraced her. She looked Lucero in the eyes. “You have been very brave, but being open about how much hurt you feel is brave, too. Never feel ashamed of that, okay?”
Lucero said nothing but managed to nod, the tears still pouring down, her face still scrunched up as she tried in vain to hide her grief. Ehsan’s eyes only grew mistier. Mateo went to get a tissue and offered it to her with a pat on the back while Fatima continued to comfort her. As Fatima and Mateo comforted Lucero, Cecilia turned to Ehsan.
“Ehsan, I had wanted to talk to your sister about implementing counseling eventually, but I think now we should make it a priority,” she whispered. “The children could really use it. I believe Josue could benefit from it, as well.”
Ehsan grinned through his blurry eyes. “If that guy even accepts it.”
She smiled. “Yes, that might prove a challenge.” She looked to Lucero, then back to Ehsan. “Everyone else, yourself included, might benefit from her services as well.”
“The only service I think I need right now is food delivery,” Ehsan joked clumsily. He cleared his throat and spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear. “Anyway, we should figure out what to do next.”
“We gotta warn the folks at the field,” Deon proposed.
Cecilia’s face became stone. “Deon, we cannot-”
“Actually,” Fatima began, allowing Mateo to take over the role of comforting Lucero, “I believe Deon is right this time. The situation has changed from last night, and at this point I believe it would be more dangerous for us not to warn them.”
“Explain,” Cecilia commanded.
“Last night we still had an intact trade system,” Fatima pointed out. “Not anymore. We can no longer afford to worry about ourselves first. If we choose not to tell the fields and they fall, our last major food source is gone. As you know, we do not make enough food here to sustain ourselves in the long run. We would need to move, and the danger in doing so would be great.”
Cecilia’s eyes widened slightly, for a fraction of a second, before returning to their normal disposition. “I had not considered that,” she conceded. “Very well.”
“So who’s gonna go warn them?” Sarah asked.
“We need a strong group, but also a mobile one,” Cecilia reasoned. “I propose Fatima, Ehsan, Sarah, Deon, and Ken.”
“I think I should go, too,” Mateo protested.
“I apologize, Mateo, but we need you here,” Cecilia countered. “With Ryan gone and Josue needing at least a couple more days to fully recover, we need to be on alert. It seems whoever is out there knew to strike at the clinic when Ken and Hector were gone. By my estimates they need a day to regroup, but we cannot risk being wrong on that front. I shall have you and Hector patrol by the kindergarten area while Manuel and I are on lookout duty. We need to be especially careful until the five of them return.”
“Cecilia, please,” Mateo pleaded. “I wanna make things right. For the last few days I’ve been unable to do anything ‘cause of my stupid mistake. I gotta make up for lost time.” He paused to look around before returning his gaze to her. “What if a couple people you picked stay here? I bet everyone’s tired from everything that’s happened since yesterday. I’m not.”
Cecilia pursed her lips, taking a few seconds before responding. “I understand, Mateo. Alright. If Ehsan and Fatima are okay with it, you can take their place.” She turned to the two of them. “Is that alright with you two?”
Ehsan felt a shameful relief in being asked to remain behind. “Yeah,” he answered, his shame for feeling relieved spilling over into his voice. Everyone looked at Ehsan with sympathy, mistaking his shame as reluctance to say yes.
“I suppose,” Fatima agreed. “Though
I must upfront about something. I’m worried. Everyone on this mission is quite brave, which I admire, but that can also mean unnecessary risks. I know all of you are more than capable, but we also have no idea who we are up against. I worry something might happen.”
“I get that,” Mateo acknowledged. “You’ve got my word that I won’t do anything stupid.” He grinned. “Or at least in terms of unnecessary risks. Can’t make any other promises.”
“To be frank, Fatima, my fellow clinic survivors are my main priority,” Ken added from the corner of the room. Everyone looked toward him, surprised to see him speak. “I’m in no mood to take unnecessary risks for anyone at the fields.”
“We all benefit from protecting each other,” Sarah shot back. Before Ken or Cecilia could say anything, however, she kept going. “That said, throwing our lives away recklessly won’t help anyone.”
Deon spoke last, avoiding eye contact with Cecilia. “I ain’t gonna promise not to help anyone who needs it. But I do promise I won’t be a fool about it.”
“Fair enough,” Cecilia said. She looked like she wanted to say more, but chose not to. “Then the four of you will go warn them. Fatima, I believe now would be a good time to implement the counseling services you proposed Monday.”
Fatima nodded. She made eye contact with Lucero, who forced a smile that flickered out quickly, lost in her own labyrinth of pain and confusion. Ehsan knew his sister could help the kids. While she had little patience for people she disliked, Fatima had a distinct talent for soothing those she cared for. He thought of one time in particular after their dad beat a seven year old Ehsan with such force his left eye blackened. Ehsan had forgotten to take out the trash. Their mom stayed in the other room while the chaos ensued, not wanting to catch any surplus wrath her husband had. Fatima, ten at the time, defiantly told him off. Five minutes later she had two black eyes and a bleeding cut above one of her eyebrows. When he sent them to their room, Ehsan switched from the petrified state of a terror-stricken animal to a maelstrom of tears. His sister, however, gave him a hug and told him everything would be okay. He could always picture her face, bloodied and bruised, smiling reassuringly, telling him that they would get away from that man the first chance they got while handing him his favorite Power Ranger toy to calm him down.
“What can I do?” Ehsan asked as his thoughts came back to the present. His gut burned with the need to do something productive, something to make up for his shameful desire to stay at the school.
Cecilia turned to him. “Our children do not know about the fall of the pier or clinic yet. Julie will be taking them outside to play soon. I believe the two of you are the right people to explain everything to them. Delicately, of course. Be as calm and reassuring as you can, and stay with them as long as you feel is right. Afterward, please guard the kindergarten area with Hector.”
“You got it.”
“Excellent,” Cecilia said. “Alright everyone, good luck with your assignments. For those of you going to warn the fields, tell them to prepare. Because of the attack on the pier yesterday and the attack on the clinic today, it must be assumed that our enemy will attack another site tomorrow. I will spend the rest of the afternoon coming up with a plan. Spend the rest of your day preparing, because we must be ready first thing in the morning.”
After the meeting Mateo, Sarah, Deon, and Ken prepared to hit the road. This time they would walk back to the street before the clinic, then head east along the main road to the fields a block away from the north/south-running 5 freeway. The journey measured almost two miles each way. Ehsan and Fatima stood at the front with Mateo, Deon, and Ken as Sarah ran to her room to get reusable water bottles with built-in filters for everyone.
“Good luck, guys,” Ehsan told them, anxious on their behalf.
“Please be careful,” Fatima added.
Mateo grinned. “You know me, ‘careful’ is my middle name.”
“You don’t have a middle name,” Sarah pointed out with her own grin as she returned with the water bottles.
“No, but I have two last names,” he shot back, holding up two fingers. “Mateo Vasquez-Zapata. Who needs a middle name when you have two last names as cool as mine?”
“Well, mister two last names, we gotta keep each other safe so that I can nab one of them,” Sarah joked. Mateo and Fatima both blushed, Mateo smiling while Fatima pursed her lips slightly, almost imperceptibly, noticeable only to Ehsan.
Before Mateo could respond, Ehsan decided to change the subject for Fatima’s sake. “You guys better all take good care of each other. You’re starting to grow on me.”
“Right back ‘atcha,” Sarah responded. Mateo smiled and nodded in agreement.
“We’re wasting time,” Ken declared. The smiles disappeared from everyone’s faces.
“We’ll see you soon,” Mateo said to Ehsan and Fatima, giving Ehsan a pat on the shoulder.
“Y’all keep these kids safe,” Deon added.
“We will,” Fatima replied with firm enough resolve to sharpen iron. The group left Ehsan and Fatima at the gates, immediately picking up their pace once they left the safety of the school. Fatima turned to Ehsan. “I suppose we will not see much of each other for the next few hours, either. Cecilia asked me to help her plan after I talk to the kids.”
“Guess we won’t, then.” He looked over to the Linda Vista kids walking from their classroom with Julie. The time had arrived to break it to them. “You’re gonna really help the clinic kids. I know it.”
Fatima smiled. “I certainly hope so. I believe you will do the same for our kids.” The smile faded. “Anyway, I should go. Goodbye, Ehsan. And good luck.”
“Thanks, Sis. You too.” Ehsan tried to hide his disappointment that they would be separated for so long, but he knew she could read him as well as he could read her. “See you tonight.”
Ehsan walked over to Julie and the kids as they moved from the lunch tables to the blacktop. He tried to figure out how he could calmly break the news while he felt his own anxiety pulling him like a rip current in the waters of a deceptively beautiful beach.
“Mister Ehsan!” Estefanía cried as soon as she saw him. She ran over to give him a hug. Ana, Andrew, Gustavo, and Sebastian all ran over for high fives right after, Gustavo and Andrew pushing each other out of the way to be the first one to give it to him. During their scuffle Ana and Sebastian moved past them to give Ehsan his first two high fives. Natalia stood shyly at a distance. Seeing them gave Ehsan the strength to keep his head above the waters of his anxiety. He smiled.
“Hello, Ehsan,” Julie greeted with a small wave of her hand.
Ehsan reciprocated the greeting and informed her he had something important to tell her. Julie asked the kids to return to the blacktop. All of them went over without a second thought except for Estefanía and Ana, curious to know what Ehsan had to say. Ehsan promised them they’d find out soon, but they had to go to the blacktop or he would never tell them. They agreed, doing cartwheels and handstands on their walk over. When the girls were no long within earshot, Ehsan told Julie what they had to do. “She said we’re the best people to explain it to them,” Ehsan concluded.
“I wonder why. Honestly, this whole thing is just so terrifying to me,” Julie admitted.
“Same.”
“Really?” Ehsan nodded. Julie raised her eyebrows in surprise, then smiled tepidly. “Well, that makes me feel a little better. All of you look so… ready when you go out there.”
Ehsan chuckled. “I’m basically always panicking. But what about you? I pretty much always have other people with me. You went into the street by yourself like it was nothing yesterday. That’s pretty cool, too.”
“Thank you, though that was one time, and I knew I wouldn’t be doing any fighting. I was terrified, but other than being out of Deon and Sarah’s sight the first few minutes, I knew I was safe. At no point was I expected to fight one of those… things.”
“True. Still, it was pretty brave. Especially knowing those s
printers are out there.”
Julie blushed. “Thanks. I’m sorry I can’t help out more often like that.”
“Well, hey, being here for the kids is plenty, too. Especially now,” Ehsan pointed out. “Speaking of which, we should figure out how to break the news.”
“Right. Sorry for getting us off topic,” Julie apologized.
“You’ve got nothing to apologize for,” Ehsan said with a smile. “So, how do you think we should handle it? You’ve got way more experience talking to kids than I do.”
“Well, we have to say it in a way that sounds as unfrightening as possible, and it should also be put in pretty simple terms, too. Especially for the younger kids. Second graders can’t really process complex information.”
“No wonder they look at me weird when I ask them to explain Shakespeare to me,” Ehsan joked. Julie chuckled. Ehsan and Julie spent the next few minutes trying to figure out what to say. Julie also pointed out that the kids would ask a lot of questions. They tried to guess the questions and come up with responses. They also decided not to tell them about Mateo, Deon, Sarah, and Ken’s mission to warn the fields, as they didn’t want the kids to worry about the school being vulnerable.
After they felt reasonably satisfied about what they’d say, they approached the kids on the blacktop. Natalia, Gustavo, Sebastian, and Andrew took turn kicking a soccer ball against a wall while Ana and Estefanía played hop scotch. Ehsan and Julie took the six of them to the garden. Ehsan chose the location because of how much it comforted not only the kids, but himself, too. They walked over to the area in front of the massive tree and pastel colored tree stumps. All of the kids sat on the stumps right in front of Ehsan and Julie except for Natalia, who stood by herself behind the other kids.
“Everyone, we have something we have to tell you,” Julie announced. “Please get comfortable.”
The Human Spring Page 25