Cole lifted a hand. “Speaking of henhouses, we have a few chickens. Would it be okay to let them into the henhouse for the night?
Amanda shrugged. “Be our guest. The barn has an office with bunkbeds, probably used by some cowhands at some point, but it looks like it hasn’t been used in a while. It’s a bit dusty. We have a broom you all can use to sweep it. And, the main house has plenty of room for the rest of you. The people who built it must have had a huge family. Six bedrooms! And the basement has an office with a pull-out sofa. Our boys here,” she gestured to the sullen teens, “have agreed to bunk out in the old camper beside the house.”
Cole looked to where she swept her hand out and saw the front end of an RV. He caught one of the boys’ eyes and nodded. “Much appreciated.”
The boy’s sullen expression melted away and he shrugged. “No problem.”
Elly released Cole’s hand. “Hello, Amanda. I’m Elly. Thank you for your hospitality and I would really love to talk with all of you, but the kids are getting hungry, and we’re all tired.”
“Of course. There’s just one more thing. We have been setting up a couple of sentries at night. I know you’re all tired, but if a couple of you could take a turn with ours, it would really help us out. We do three hour shifts with two people each shift. With how it works out for us, it allows everyone to get an undisturbed night’s rest every other night.”
Cole nodded. “Absolutely. I’ll take one of them and ask for a couple of volunteers for the other two slots.”
“And we have an electric stove, so you can use that to cook and there’s a grill out on the deck out back.”
“An electric stove? That’ll be a nice treat.” Elly bit her lip for a second before asking, “Won’t we be in the way?”
“No, we’ve already eaten dinner.” Amanda turned away. “Sandy, why don’t you show the women where they can put their stuff, and Derek, please show the guys where they can bunk.”
“If you don’t mind, while I won’t be bunking inside, I would like to take a quick look around first.”
Amanda’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh wow. Yeah. I wasn’t thinking. Of course you’d want to make sure everything is okay. Be my guest.”
Cole followed Sandy, who didn’t appear to be older than sixteen. Her name fit her, with her long, blonde hair and golden complexion.
The house was an old farmhouse on the outside, but it had been renovated not long ago, judging from the granite countertops in the kitchen and bathrooms, and the stainless steel appliances. One of the younger girls opened the fridge and took out a pitcher of water. Cole stopped to look at the lighted interior for the brief instant it had been opened. If someone had asked him if he would miss that welcoming little light that came on every time the refrigerator opened, he’d have laughed. And yet, here he was getting a longing in his gut for a stupid refrigerator light. He shook his head and trailed Sandy through a spacious living room with a stone fireplace, a large screen TV anchored on the wall above the mantle. A black leather sofa and love seat sat a comfortable distance in front of it.
Cole stopped dead and Elly ran into his back. A movie played on the television—a DVD no doubt—but it was surreal to see the overly bright lights flashing in the darkened room.
“It’s like going back in time,” Elly said in a hushed voice.
“I know.”
“Um, excuse me, but the bathroom is this way, and there are two bedrooms at the end of the hall. You might have to double or triple, in the case of the kids, on the beds, but feel free to grab towels or blankets.”
Cole dragged his eyes from the TV screen. It wasn’t that he missed any specific show, but he missed not worrying about survival, and just being able to kick back in the evening and click on a favorite show or movie. In short, he longed for the security he’d felt his whole life—that all of them had felt and not even known they’d had.
24
Cole rode with Amanda the next morning so she could take them by their family farm.
Her family’s ranch was several miles away by road, but this road had not been completely cleared. At times, they were forced to go off road to avoid obstacles.
Cole sat in the passenger seat gazing at the mountains in the near distance. “So, how have things been out here? What’s survival been like?”
She bit her lip, her expression pensive. “Hard. We lost several family members, including my mom and my uncles and two cousins. They all worked in the city and got trapped there. Roads became impassable as everyone tried to escape to the country.”
She paused and drew a deep, shaky breath and Cole wished he hadn’t asked his question. He hadn’t meant to bring up her own personal losses, just a general sense of how things were. “You don’t have to talk about it.”
Amanda shook her head. “I know, but I’m sure you’re no stranger to what’s happened. We all have similar stories. This is mine.”
Cole nodded.
She continued, “So, we got a string of really bizarre texts from my mom, and my aunt got a strange phone call from her husband—my uncle Lyle. We never heard from the others. When nobody ever arrived home, we realized they’d died.”
Cole nodded. “I’m sorry.”
Amanda tipped her head, indicating she’d heard him, but she remained quiet for a few minutes, seeming to concentrate on driving. With a half-shrug, she finally said, “It’s been almost a year but I still miss my mom every single day. There’s so much I don’t know. Every year, we’d can veggies from the garden, but we always did it together. If I had a question, I could always ask her, you know?”
He nodded along, even knowing it was rhetorical. Amanda sniffed, a tear tracking down her cheek that she didn’t wipe away. “Now, I have a million questions, but she’s not here. And my younger brothers, Derek and Tyler, have had a really hard year. Teen years are already hard on boys, but going through this as a sixteen year old?”
“They’re twins?”
She nodded. “Yep. Not identical though. Anyway, we managed on what we already had on the ranch. We had about fifty head of cattle and the boys rounded up four steers that had wandered away from their own ranches. A ranch hand who did most of the care for the cattle died though, and I don’t know how many cattle we have left. We knew the brands and checked on the owners, but they didn’t make it.” She cleared her throat. “They were good neighbors.”
“I’m sorry.” There was nothing left to say about the losses. Every person left alive had probably lost many loved ones and good friends.
“We butchered two steers—one had gone lame and had to be put down anyway. Along with what we had in the garden, we’re doing okay as far as food goes, but we’re running out of other items like medicines, coffee, flour, sugar—staples. ”
“Can I ask how you all avoided catching the virus?” He hoped that didn’t come out as skeptical or accusatory. His goal was to know everything he could about the virus, from an epidemiology point of view.
“Well, that’s the crazy thing. We only survived because the twins got a nasty stomach bug. And then my little sister got it. I had taken a vacation from my work—I was a hostess at a casino—and had plans to be in my college roommate’s wedding. Maid of honor. But the day before I was to fly out I felt a little queasy and thought for sure I’d caught the stomach bug too. I didn’t want to get the whole wedding party sick so I rebooked my flight for two days later. Luckily, I’d planned to go out early so I had wiggle room in my plans. I don’t even know if they ever had the wedding, but I doubt it.” Her voice became soft and wistful.
With a shake of her head, she continued, “That’s a long explanation to say that I was home taking care of everyone. My mom didn’t want to go to work, but she was a lab tech at the hospital and they were swamped.”
Cole nodded. “You didn’t come in contact with anyone because you all already had a different illness.” They had self-isolated due to a run of the mill stomach bug putting them out of commission for the two or so days between when
the virus still seemed like a distant threat—just before it tore through the country.
“Yep. And the others at the farm came over later, during the winter. They had run out of food and were looking for some. What could we do but take them in?”
“That’s generous of you.”
“Not really. Everyone makes contributions and works around the ranch. It’s a win-win. I have to admit it was scary being around other people at first, but nobody has shown signs of the virus.”
“It could have gone dormant. We can only hope it’s gone for good, but I wouldn’t count on it.” He wished he could give assurance, but there had never been a virus that just disappeared completely without a vaccine being the reason it disappeared in the wild.
Amanda sighed. “I was afraid of that.” She maneuvered around an overturned semi-truck, her moves practiced. It was obvious she’d driven this stretch more than a few times since the truck had overturned. Throwing him a grin, she said, “You want to hear something funny?”
“Sure.” A laugh was always welcome in this grim new world.
“My friend, Tina, was so busy binge-watching a bunch of DVDs of her favorite 90s television shows that she didn’t even know the world was ending until four days had passed. She was feeling nostalgic, I guess, and didn’t notice when streaming services stopped working since our power didn’t go out. It flickered a bit, but someone must have hit the right switches before they died, or maybe they’re still hard at work at the power company.”
Cole smiled at the story, but his thoughts went to what Holland had said, about how power had been kept on in D.C. and wondered if something similar was at work here. He wanted to ask more questions, but Amanda stopped at the end of a long, winding drive. Set well back from the road, protected by a set of closed gates, he saw a large home, several buildings that might have been barns or housed equipment, and pens. The pens contained several horses and a dog lolled in a patch of grass beneath a tree.
“We’re here.” She scowled, peering through the front window. “They chained the gate. Assholes.”
“It’s beautiful.” Cole didn’t know what he’d expected—maybe something closer to the red or white barns common in Wisconsin, with fieldstone foundations surrounded by cornfields and cows grazing in a green pastures. The house was large and modern with a green lawn protected by a few trees, but beyond that, the landscape, dotted with scrub and clumps of dark grass, spread out flat and far, fading to various shades of brown— from the palest tan to deep rust. Mountains in the distance provided a backdrop he’d never find in Wisconsin.
Several horses ambled around an enclosure that looked like a long shed that had been chopped in half length-wise. He guessed that was a stable and on the side away from him would be stall doors. Beyond that was another larger building with various gates and fences around it.
“At least it looks like they’re caring for the horses. I hope the cattle are okay.”
“Are there a lot of cattle around here that survived?”
“Sure, if they had access to water.”
If her assessment was accurate, they could begin building a society that had a secure food source. Despite the arid climate, if the power was running, irrigation could keep the farms that were already established productive. Everything they needed was right here. But how to convince everyone that it was in everyone’s best interest to share and cooperate?
As two armed men approached the gate, Cole drew a deep breath. This was going to be his first—and he hoped not his last—attempt at getting people to work together for their mutual benefit.
Amanda’s mouth twisted. “Here they come.” She reached for her rifle.
“Wait!” Cole put his hand on the barrel. “I don’t blame you, but I’d like to try talking to them first.”
Her eyes narrowed but she finally nodded. “We just want what is ours.”
“I know.” And now he needed to find out why these men chose to take this ranch when there were likely many that were unoccupied.
Cole eased his door open, repeating his tactic of showing his hands before fully exiting the vehicle. He doubted the Jeep door would provide much protection if the men decided to fire their rifles at him, but it gave him the illusion of protection.
At first, the men looked identical to Cole. Both wore jeans, light colored shirts and brown cowboy hats. Dark scruff covered their jaws, but as they came closer, he noted the one on the left was taller, his boots well-worn, and he walked as though he owned the ranch. “This is private property!”
Cole refused to argue the point. Not yet. “Good afternoon. My name’s Cole Evans and we stopped by to invite you to a survivor meeting.”
He was making this up on the fly, but it occurred to him that if survivors could gather some place neutral, they could collaborate to help distribute resources, share information, and help each other.
“A survivor meeting? What the hell for? So we can risk getting sick? No thanks.” The taller man shook his head. “Not interested.”
“Let me explain… ” Cole moved a fraction to bring his arms down, freezing when the rifles leveled on him. “Look, I’m unarmed here, but I’m not going to keep shouting with my hands up, so I’m going to take a couple of steps closer and put my hands down.” He lowered his arms, bracing for the impact of a bullet, but the men held their fire, their expressions nearly carbon copies of wariness and hostility.
“Let’s be honest…I know this isn’t your ranch—not really—but times are crazy and I can understand that you saw this working ranch with all of its resources and decided to claim it for your own. Obviously, you two are strong young men.” Behind the first two men were several other guys back near the stable, rifles angled across their bodies as though eager to be put to use. Cole ignored them, focusing on the taller of the two in front of him.
“Amanda told me how you came and forced them out and killed her dad—”
The taller man interjected, “We didn’t kill anyone!”
Cole shot a look at Amanda, who had left the Jeep and stood on the other side of the hood. She shrugged. “I said they shot him. I didn’t say he died. They made him stay.”
“He’s a prisoner?”
The taller man protested again, “No—he’s only here because they didn’t bother to take him with when they fled. Damn cowards! We took care of him. We’re not barbarians.” The shorter man moved up alongside the taller. Cole wondered if he’d read their body language wrong. Maybe the shorter guy was in charge.
“We’re not cowards! I had to get my younger siblings to safety after you all started shooting! It’s what my dad wanted me to do!” Amanda strode up next to Cole, her fists clenched, her face red.
Cole didn’t debate the issue. “So, is Amanda’s father okay now?” He wanted to keep using Amanda’s name so the men would become familiar with it, thinking it would make it harder for the men to do her harm if she wasn’t just a nameless young woman they’d forced from her home.
The men exchanged a look but then the shorter one shrugged. The taller one said, “Yeah. He’s okay for now. He’s even helping us—”
“Helping you? As in, he’s up and about?” Cole cut in, hoping the good news would take the edge off Amanda learning her father was helping these men.
Amanda shook her head. “My dad would never help someone like you! Someone who threatened his whole family! You’re lying!”
“You’re calling me a liar?”
“Damn right I am! And a thief too!” Amanda drew to within feet of the gate.
“We’re survivors—you heard your boyfriend. We’re not thieves.”
Cole let the boyfriend comment go and Amanda hadn’t seemed to notice it.
“What do you call stealing my home?”
“You found a new place.”
So, they knew of the smaller ranch. That meant someone in the group had a way of keeping tabs on what was going on in the area. Interesting.
“It’s not our home. This is our home!”
“Amanda has a point. She and her family live here and you knew that. You had to have figured that out by now once you saw pictures of all of them throughout the house.”
Cole didn’t know for certain the house contained pictures of the family, but he guessed it must. His guess was confirmed a moment later when the shorter man said, “We could have killed them all and taken it anyway, but we let them live.”
“It’s a good thing too.”
“What? How’s that?”
“It would be incredibly stupid for you to kill someone who could help guarantee the continuation of the human race.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Shorter guy took off his hat and wiped his brow with the back of his sleeve. “Not everybody died, obviously.” His tone dripped sarcasm.
“That’s true, there are survivors, but how many? Did you know that there’s a minimum viable population level?”
The shorter man scratched his cheek as he thought for a moment, then shrugged. “Well, we’ve seen at least twenty people besides ourselves.”
“That’s it?” Cole cocked his head. “And I would bet that Amanda and her family made up a majority of those survivors, right?”
“Well, yeah, but now we can add you to the total, so twenty-one.” He laughed as if he’d told a hilarious joke, and his friend laughed along with him.
Cole wondered briefly if letting these men into the gene pool was the right thing to do. A little culling couldn’t be a bad thing, could it? Maybe the world would be better off if these men stayed isolated on this ranch away from any women and allow their gene pool dry up. But, they did appear healthy and had managed to survive, so, reluctantly, Cole said, “This area is going to be a magnet for people who survived the pandemic. With the dam and a reliable water source, electricity and shelter already in place, I expect the trickle of people Amanda said she’s seen arrive will turn into a flood over the next several months and years.”
“We don’t need more people. Things are fine like they are.” The taller man drew close to the gate, almost touching it.
Sympatico Syndrome Trilogy Box Set Page 75