Each day, two of them were assigned cooking duties. Elly was glad today it wasn’t her turn. Her cooking skills before this had been limited to a chicken breast with olive oil, a baked potato, and asparagus. If she ever had anyone over for dinner, that was her go-to meal. Here, she had taken to making soups and biscuits. So far, nobody had complained.
While the house must have been heated by oil at one time, at some point, it had been switched to propane—not that they had enough for the winter. The fireplace and woodstove were going to have to keep them warm. “I just wonder if we have enough food and fuel here to get by in the winter.”
She had only a couple of sweatshirts that Jenna had loaned her, but she felt guilty taking the other woman’s clothing. She had arrived in Chicago in late spring from Georgia expecting to return home in a week or two at most. Packing a winter coat hadn’t occurred to her.
“Well, we have a lot of wood, and,” he gestured to the fish at their feet, “a lot of fish, plus the garden has done well. We have bushels of potatoes, some corn, loads of tomatoes, squash, and soon, pumpkins.”
“That’s great. She’s an excellent gardener.” She waved her hand, coughing when she got a deep breath of smoke from the grill. “Who’s cooking tonight?”
“It’s Joe and Piper’s turn.”
“Do you think we can discuss plans for the winter?”
“Now?”
She nodded. “It’s just that there are things I need. Neither Jake nor I have winter clothing, and I’m pretty sure Sophie doesn’t either. More bedding would be good and sewing supplies. I’m not much for sewing, but it wouldn’t hurt to learn.”
“Yeah. Good point. Well, I was planning on going to the mainland in a few days. I was going to go alone, but Hunter thinks I need another person along.”
“He’s right.”
Cole gave her a look of surprise. “I don’t want to risk anyone else.”
“That’s noble but misguided. What good will it do us if you run into trouble and get killed?”
“That’s not going to happen.” The muscles in his jaw tensed and she knew she’d hit a nerve. She shook her head, ready to contest his assertion but closed her mouth as Joe ambled up to the grill.
“Is that all ready to go?” He smiled a greeting. The man didn’t speak often but had a quiet air of competence that Elly found reassuring.
Cole nodded. “Yeah, the fire’s going, and Piper has bread for dinner. She said she’d take care of veggies and whatnot too.”
“So all I have to cook is the fish?” Joe looked perplexed. “Shouldn’t there be more for me to do?”
“Dessert?” Elly smiled. While they had the occasional pie, cookies and cakes were off the menu—deemed unnecessary and a waste of flour and sugar.
Joe gave her a speculative look. “I might have something I can make next time. There are a few walnut trees on the other end of the island, and they’re chock full of nuts. They should be falling soon. Maybe I could make some nutbread. Do we have any powdered eggs left?”
Cole nodded. “I think so.” He gestured to the grill. “It’s all yours, Joe. If you need any help, just holler.”
Elly nodded her chin towards the dock and the bench at the end of it. “Come and talk with me.”
3
“I get it—I need another person with me, but I don’t want it to be Hunter.” Cole crossed his arms, his stance wide as he stood on the edge of the surf. The waves, topped with foam, lapped at his toes. He’d taken to going without shoes when not necessary since a new pair couldn’t just be ordered online and delivered to the island when needed. Hunter was the one who had pointed out the logic of going barefoot, and Cole, who had never been in the habit had to concede that his son had made a good point. When he went to the mainland, he’d find a shoe store and get shoes for everyone. He’d have to remember to write down sizes. Good sturdy boots were going to be a must this winter.
Elly stood perpendicular to the surf, her hands on her hips. He did his best to avoid her eyes. “Why not your son? He has more experience than you do in this new world.” She flicked her hand vaguely towards the mainland. “Your kid made his way overland, rescued Sophie along the way, and managed to come through hordes of diseased people, blocked roads and a couple of bad guys—all unscathed. Give Hunter some credit.”
Cole shifted his weight, dragging a toe through the wet sand as he shrugged, arms still firmly crossed. “I’m not saying he isn’t smart enough… ”
“Then what are you saying?” Elly moved to stand in front of him, blocking his view of the bay. He couldn’t avoid the challenge in her eyes nor the stubborn tilt to her chin.
He leaned away, taking a half-step back as he flung his arms wide. “I’m only trying to keep him safe! Why can’t Hunter get it? Why can’t you understand that?”
Her eyes softened, but she edged closer. “I do understand. Just because I don’t have a son of my own doesn’t mean I can’t sympathize with your fears, but I can see how much Hunter wants your approval and how you refuse to give it to him.”
“I told him I was proud of him.” It sounded more defensive than he’d intended. He’d been relieved when Hunter had made it to the island. His relief had given way to pride in his son’s ingenuity when he’d heard more about Hunter’s harrowing journey. Hunter must know he was proud. How could he not?
She nodded. “Yes, that’s true, but then you remind him every morning when he goes back to take care of the horses to stay away from anyone and to come right back—you’re treating him like he’s a sixteen-year-old out with your car for the first time—not as a grown man ready to take on adult responsibilities.”
He opened his mouth to protest but replayed how he’d pretty much said exactly what she’d accused him of that very morning. Hunter hadn’t replied and had stalked down the dock, giving Cole a half-hearted wave over his shoulder to let him know he’d heard the warning. At the time, Cole had shrugged off Hunter’s response as his son being young and not taking this seriously. While he hadn’t been able to see Hunter’s face, he had been certain there had been an eye roll involved. But, admitting Elly was right meant that he’d have no excuse to keep Hunter on the island. The idea sent his stomach churning. Jaw tight, he scuffed a trench in the sand. No matter how deep he made it, the surf rolled in, filled the depression, and erased his efforts.
“What are your real reasons, Cole?” Elly tilted her head, peering up at him. He swallowed hard as he searched her gaze, willing her to understand so he wouldn’t be forced to voice his fears. If she understood, she didn’t let on, but she reached out, her hand warm on his cheek.
He closed his eyes, his shoulders slumping. “Look, Elly… I saw what Trent’s loss did to my brother. He and Jenna barely talk to anyone, let alone each other. Piper never mentions Trent—it’s as if he didn’t exist, but when Sophie wore one of Trent’s sweatshirts, she almost ripped it off the poor girl.” He drew a ragged breath. “Don’t you see? I had this great idea to drag everyone here and keep them safe—Sean didn’t even want to come at first. I talked him into it. Did you know that?”
“No, I didn’t.” Her hand trailed down his arm until she reached his hand, and she gave it a light squeeze. “You did the best you could, and you have kept us safe—more than that—you’ve given us the best opportunity to rebuild a life. A community, even.”
Cole shrugged. Whatever. But he held her hand in his, smoothing his thumb over her fingers.
“But don’t you see? You can’t keep everyone safe no matter how hard you try because shit happens. It happens with no rhyme or reason, and we just have to shovel our way out. We’ve all learned that now.” Her hand tightened in his. “Cole, you can’t keep Hunter a prisoner here.”
Her accusation felt like a slap in the face and he sucked in a breath. “Prisoner?” Guilt about keeping Trent locked in the changing house still tore at his conscience even though he couldn’t think of anything he could have done differently, and now she was accusing him of holding his own son p
risoner?
“Not literally, but you have to give him the freedom to make his own decisions. He deserves it—as an adult— but more importantly, he’s earned it.” She covered his hand with her other one, holding it as her eyes pleaded with him.
She was right. He knew it, but that didn’t make it any easier to nod his agreement. “I guess I’ll let him come along.”
To his shock, she shook her head. “No, don’t let him tag along—”
“But isn’t that what you just said I should do?” Confused, he pulled his hand from her grip.
“What I mean is, you can’t grudgingly allow him to go. You need to invite him and let him know you’d appreciate his skill and experience.”
He let her words sink in, hearing the difference but his stomach still clenched as he pictured Hunter on the mainland with danger lurking over every rise. What if he failed again and something happened to his son?
Cole rose and put his plate in the bucket of soapy water that rested on a broad stump in front of the house. The stump was old, but Cole had leveled it and smoothed it until it was only a little shorter than a table. He’d hauled a smaller stump to rest beside it, and the two made a decent wash station. He lifted the bottle of blue dish soap. It had already been watered down as much as it could, and he kicked himself for not thinking of stocking up on it. The only reason they had this bottle was because Jenna had grabbed a couple when she did her shopping.
It wasn’t the only thing that was running low or they had run out of. There were dozens of other items they could use. At some point, they would have to find alternatives, but for now, the products were probably just sitting in stores and warehouses all across the country. He had focused on food when he’d done his stockpiling spree in the early days of the virus, but he worried every night what they would do next year and the years to come. There was so much he had taken for granted and not just technology, but manufacturing in general, and a ready supply of food as well as mundane items like paper, pencils, silverware, tools, nails, screws— the list could go on and on.
Seeing that Elly and Jenna were both done, Cole held out his hand for their plates, adding them to the bucket. He fished around for the dishrag. “If anyone else wants their plate washed, I’m offering. Just stack them.” He nodded towards the smaller stump.
He had planned on making a trip to the mainland—that was never in question. The question was timing. With no contact with anyone since Hunter had arrived, they didn’t know the situation on the mainland. They hadn’t seen any other boats on the bay, nor had any planes passed overhead. Cole was fairly certain that the population was decimated; possibly to the point of the pandemic becoming an extinction event.
He was sure pockets of humanity still survived, just as they had by isolating themselves and taking refuge, but how many people and how scattered were they? If the numbers were too low and the populations too far apart, there was always the danger of humans becoming extinct. He wrung out the dishrag, wishing he could wring the depressing thoughts out of his head just as easily.
It wasn’t Cole’s job to save mankind—not anymore. Now, his only job was to save his family.
He recited the mantra in his head as he scrubbed plates, but percolating beneath the mantra were random thoughts. Were there enough survivors to repopulate the earth, or would humanity dwindle down to nothing? His best guess at a minimum viable population was in the low thousands, and he hoped like hell there were at least that many left alive, globally. There had to be. Even if the virus had run its course, were enough people alive right now to prevent extinction?
Elly joined him, taking a towel from a rack he’d drilled into the side of the stump, and dried the plates, but he was so deep into his thoughts, he barely noticed her. She must have sensed his mood because she didn’t try to engage him in conversation.
There were so many disasters that could finish them off. Hurricanes or typhoons could destroy pockets of survivors on any coast, while drought, snow, bitter cold, earthquakes and floods could take their toll on other survivors. With no emergency services, everyone was on their own. Even best case scenario, if the population fell too far, humanity might have only a few hundred years left.
He didn’t even want to think about disease, but given his training, it was a constant reminder. Since settling on the island, he’d monitored their drinking water, making sure it was treated with the correct amount of bleach. The purification tablets had run out after a month, but bleach worked too, in minute quantities. They boiled water too, but it took a lot of wood and time to boil enough drinking water for nine people.
Some nights he would lie awake worrying about the future of his family. What would Hunter’s future be like? Cole envisioned years of bleakness as they eked out survival with hardship around every corner. He sometimes wondered if those who died in the first few days were the lucky ones.
Winter would be their first real test. Traveling south was an idea he’d toyed with, but he had no information to guide him. While it had been months now since he’d been on the Internet, years of use had ingrained a pattern of thinking that what he didn’t know, he could just research in a few moments. That was something he really missed—instant access to knowledge. Hunter, on the other hand, missed the social aspect—being able to message friends and connect with people. Cole hadn’t been much for social media, so he didn’t miss it, but he knew much of Hunter’s grief was in knowing that even if he had Internet, there would be nobody to text message.
He was young, but he and his generation would remember the lost conveniences of the modern world. Would they long for it or would all of it become just a dim memory?
Cole handed Elly the last plate, returning her smile. “Thanks.”
“Hey, we’re a good team.”
He nodded in agreement and turned to survey the rest of the group. They were all a good team.
Hunter sat at the picnic table beside Sophie, smiling at something she was saying. He nodded his head and took a bite of potato before he caught Cole watching him. His brows knit as he gave Cole a puzzled look that said, ‘What?’
Cole shook his head and smiled back to let Hunter know it was nothing. Sophie caught his look as well, but her smile faded as she averted her gaze back to her plate. Cole frowned as he swirled the plate in the water, then dipped it in the rinse bucket before drying it with a towel. The girl probably hadn’t said more than a dozen words to him since Hunter had arrived with her. He had tried to engage her in conversation, but she gave him one-word replies. He overheard her chatting with Hunter, Piper, Jenna and even Sean, occasionally, so whatever the problem was, it had to do with him. Had he done something to scare or offend her?
He made a mental note to talk to her with Hunter present to see if they could clear up any misunderstanding. She was just as much a part of his family as the rest of them. Jake and Elly, too.
Jenna and Sean had wandered over to the edge of the break wall overlooking the beach, but they turned and ambled back. Piper had collected everyone’s scraps and set the plate down for Buddy, who wolfed it down. Jake had a hacky-sack, and kicked the little bag, keeping it airborne for an impressive number of kicks before Buddy turned from his plate and bumped into him. The teen swore and lamented that he’d been about to break his own record. That sent Piper into a fit of giggles. Cole had a feeling his niece had a crush on the good-looking teen. He couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or not and set the thought aside to ponder later. With everyone gathered and fairly relaxed, now would be a good time to broach the subject of his excursion to the mainland.
“Hey, guys. Could I have your attention?”
Joe lit a cigarette. “Sure thing, boss.”
Cole slanted him a look. “Cut it out—I’m not your boss.”
Joe shrugged, the cigarette clenched in his teeth as he gave Cole a wide smile. The cigarette was Joe’s one vice, and he’d brought his stash with him to the island. Cole didn’t know how often the man had smoked before, but now he only had one cig
arette after dinner. At some point, the man would probably have to give them up altogether.
Once everyone had taken a seat at the two picnic tables, Cole cleared his throat. “With most of the garden work done, and with cold weather just around the corner, I think tomorrow would be a good time to make that expedition beyond the shoreline that I mentioned earlier.”
Hunter and Jake pumped their fists and gave each other a high five.
Elly nodded. “We’ll still need to be extremely careful about coming into contact with anyone who might have the virus.”
Jenna agreed with Elly, and said, “Sean and I were discussing it, and we think we should wait. We have plenty of food and why risk catching the virus?”
“Exactly. We’re fine for now.” Sean and Jenna exchanged a look.
It came as no surprise to Cole that he had met resistance from his brother and Jenna, so he had his argument all worked out. “I realize it’s a risk, but Sean, you said you needed parts for the windmill, right?”
Sean shrugged. “Yeah, but we don’t absolutely need the windmill, and even if you find the right parts, I’m not certain I’ll get it up and running anyway.”
“You’re a genius when it comes to anything mechanical. I have faith that with the necessary parts, you’ll have the windmill spinning like a… a… windmill.” Everyone laughed at his lame attempt at a metaphor.
Sean spread his hands. “Fine. Go. And if you can find the parts, great, but don’t expect me to go to the mainland. I have to take care of my family here.”
“I understand, and I wasn’t expecting you to go. In fact, I wanted you here to keep working on everything.” It wasn’t quite the truth because Sean would be the best one to find the parts or what he could make do with as a substitute, but Cole would also feel better about going if he knew Sean was back here keeping guard, so he just added, “If you could look over that list you made me to make sure it’s complete, that would be great. I can’t promise we’ll find all of it, but we’ll try.”
Sympatico Syndrome Trilogy Box Set Page 30