“I’m Yesenia, and this is my daughter, Margarita. Brian is…well, I guess he’s my son now too.”
Brian, whose Asian features bore no resemblance to mother and daughter, shot Yesenia a look, his eyes widening, then he ducked his head.
Yesenia bit her lip. “I…I wasn’t sure if we should come. Someone drove down the street announcing it on a loudspeaker. I wasn’t sure if it was a joke, but if it was some kind of trap…”
“Loudspeaker? That wasn’t us.” He turned, spotting Hunter talking to Garret and waved him over. “Derek didn’t have a loudspeaker on his truck when you were contacting people, did he?”
Hunter’s brows knit in confusion. “No.”
Garret laughed. “That was me! I was so excited that I drove all over the place announcing it. You all did tell me to spread the word, right?”
Hunter nodded, grinning. “We did.”
Cole motioned to Garret. “So it seems Garret here was the one. I’m glad he was able to reach you and that you came. What this is all about is just trying to bring the community back together. I’m going to talk a little bit more about it after we eat.”
Margarita darted a look at the grills and the table. “You have food?”
All three were painfully thin and Brian raised his head, watery eyes peering at the table. “Can we have some…Mom.” His voice held a note of hope and questioning that went beyond a request for food. Yesenia looked to Cole, eyebrows raised.
“Of course. We have plenty for everyone, and Brian, you look about the same age as one of my boys.” He looked around and spotted Travis racing around with Luke. “Travis! Luke!” The boys stopped then ran to him.
“Yeah?” Travis panted, his eyes dancing at beating Luke.
He noted Yesenia looking at Travis’s dark skin and back at Cole, understanding dawning as Cole introduced the boys to her. He continued, “Travis, this is Brian. Why don’t you guys get out the Frisbee and get some snacks from Piper before we start serving? Margarita, you’re welcome to join them or you can hang out with your mom.”
Both kids looked at their mother, who hesitated.
Elly said, “They’ll be within sight at all times.”
Finally, she nodded, smiling. “Okay. But stay where I can see you.”
As the kids wandered away, Luke’s chatter floated back to them and Zoë ran up to them, taking Margarita’s hand like it was the most natural thing in the world. Cole’s heart swelled at the little girl’s innocent trust and acceptance. He’d grown to love all the kids as if they were his own. Zoë removed her shoes and jumped in the pool. Margarita shrugged, and kicked off her shoes as well. Cole smiled. “Kids. They’re the most resilient of all of us.”
Yesenia agreed. “Yes. As you can see, Brian is not my son by birth. His family all died. About a month after the virus hit, he showed up on my doorstep. He said he’d gone door to door for days and I was the only one who answered. I couldn’t turn him away.”
“Of course not.” Elly dabbed at her eyes. “I’m sorry. I cry at everything these days.”
Yesenia tipped her chin to Elly’s stomach. “When are you due?”
Cole took that as his cue to leave, so he excused himself as other vehicles arrived. To his surprise, the man who had threatened them from his front porch arrived with his son, introducing the boy as Tim. He even brought an apple pie. Where he got it, Cole had no clue, but everyone exclaimed over it and the man, whose name was Kevin, blushed and stammered that it was nothing. Before long, his son was playing with the other kids and Kevin clutched a beer.
By five thirty, the guest number had swelled to around sixty people. Two more young children joined Zoë and Margarita, splashing in the little pool, while a girl of about fourteen played Frisbee with the boys. Cole tried to remember everyone’s name but managed to offer a few words of welcome to everyone.
The beer had been handed out, but a few other people had brought some and added it to the cooler. The buffet table was laden with more food than Cole recalled them preparing. His eyes widened at the dessert table.
Elly approached. “I can’t believe so many people showed up.” Her face wreathed in smiles, she swept an arm out at the people standing in groups. Some of the guests spoke with other guests, some with Amanda’s family, and some with Cole’s group. Music started playing and Cole spun to look at Derek, who had set up a Bluetooth speaker with a cellphone. The boy grinned and shrugged. “It’s not a party without music.”
A parking block just behind the buffet table was the perfect platform for Cole to get everyone’s attention. He motioned for Derek to turn the music down. Spreading his arms wide, he drew everyone’s attention. “Hello and welcome! If I haven’t had a chance to meet you personally yet, my name is Cole Evans. We planned this feast to get to know other survivors and hopefully, this will be the first step in forming a community where we can help each other. But first, I know everyone is hungry, so why don’t we dig in?”
Applause accompanied his suggestion and he hopped off the block.
When the guests hesitated to approach the buffet table, Piper made a show of marching up to it. “I call dibs on the first slice of ham!”
That broke the ice and a line formed as Jake and Daniel manned the grills, serving slices of ham and brisket. Several steaks had also appeared on the grill and Cole learned they had come from some of the guests, to be sliced up for anyone who wanted some. The spirit of giving had gone beyond anything he’d hoped for and his throat swelled. Thankfully, nobody chose that moment to speak to him, and he merely grunted when Jake offered him a slice of ham. Giving him an odd look, Jake set the slice on his plate along with a portion of brisket and slice of medium rare steak.
Cole found a seat beside Elly and welcomed guests to sit with them. Conversation quieted while everyone ate. Jake and Daniel claimed the last two seats as they put down their serving tongs.
A few people offered prayers before eating and then conversation turned to compliments to all the cooks, exclamations about the bread, and warnings to save room for dessert.
As people finished dinner but before dessert was offered, Cole approached the block again. He knew speaking to hungry folks would never go as well as speaking to those who had just eaten a delicious and filling meal, but still anticipated dessert.
He hopped up on the block, and was surprised when Derek handed him a microphone. “It’ll go through my speaker, so everyone can hear you.”
“Thanks.” He must have looked puzzled because Derek lifted one shoulder. “I used to do Youtube videos so I had all the gear still in the truck.” The teen returned to his seat.
Cole drew a deep breath, then startled when it blew across the microphone, drawing everyone’s attention. “Whoops. Well, I guess this thing works.”
Chuckles followed his blunder and Cole grinned. “Once again, I welcome everyone and look forward to getting to know all of you better. I’d like to thank Amanda and her father, Will, for allowing my group to stay with them these last few days. I don’t know how this would have been accomplished without them. Amanda, if you could stand up.”
She did, with a mock bow.
“And Will?”
Will didn’t stand, merely waved his arm. “Too busy eatin’!”
“Will and his family are ranchers from this area. I’d hoped to have Will say a few words, but I guess he’s busy.”
Laughter accompanied his comment and encouraged, Cole launched into an abbreviated account of how they had come to be in Las Vegas. “And my son Hunter had learned that electricity might still be working here, so we came out. He was right.”
Nods all around as people picked at what they left on their plate and a few went back for seconds.
“I know I’m not from around here, but I can tell you first hand that between here and D.C. there’s not much left. I don’t want to be a downer so we won’t dwell on that. We all know the situation. We have to focus now on what happens next. And what happens next will be determined by how all of us move fo
rward from tonight. We can—”
Loud music and revving engines cut him off. He turned to find three pickup trucks, music blaring, turning into the lot. Dust flew in the air as the trucks spun their tires before peeling around the parked cars.
Anger raced through Cole. He recognized Scott and Don driving two of the trucks as they pulled up behind him, rolled down their windows and whooped and hollered as their music blasted. Each truck had two men in the cab and two more riding in the bed. All carried rifles.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Piper rush to cover the desserts from the cloud of dust. After the initial alarmed voices, all chatter ceased as parents drew children close.
Cole turned to face Scott’s truck, one foot anchored on the first block, and planting the other foot on an adjacent block. He raised the microphone and offered a welcome. His voice carried over the music but was hard to understand. Someone in the truck playing the music turned it down. Cole took that as a good sign and repeated what he’d said, “. “Welcome, Scott, Don. Henchmen.”
Scott’s smirk faded as the crowd behind Cole chuckled at his dig. He hadn’t meant it to be funny, but the look of confusion on Scott’s face made him wish he had done it on purpose.
“Hey, you invited us, remember?”
“I do. And you’re welcome to join us, but leave the long guns in the trucks. This is a peaceful gathering.” Cole had looked for Scott’s group and hadn’t been sure if he was relieved or disappointed that they hadn’t shown. But, now that they were here, he couldn’t hold his anger that they had scared everyone. He waved a hand back to the people eating. “Look what you’ve done. You’ve scared the kids, sent dust flying all over the food, and have people ducking under the picnic tables, worried that you all have the virus. What made you think such an entrance would be welcomed?”
“Don’t forget they stole our ranch!” Amanda’s voice carried even without the microphone. Murmurs of anger and questions of why these men were invited rose behind Cole. The men in the beds of the trucks had gone from wild jubilation to abashed feet shuffling.
“We’re not sick.”
Cole shook his head. “I’m afraid it appeared that you all were. Too bad too, because we have baked beans, ham, brisket…” The men in the back of the trucks looked worried, darting glances at each other.
“Hey, mister…” One of them waved to get Cole’s attention. “We didn’t mean any harm. We thought we were just having a little fun. Most of were regular guys before. We had families and jobs.” He took a gulp of air and looked away for a split second. “I… I had a daughter… before. I don’t want to scare kids.” His look rested somewhere behind Cole and when he glanced over his shoulder, he saw Zoë with her head buried against Elly’s stomach.
Shoulders stiff, Cole stared hard at the man. “What your intentions were and what you actually did are not even close. You owe everyone here an apology.” He swept all the men with his gaze, including Scott and Don. “If the people behind me accept your sincere apology, you can join us. If not, you’ll have to leave.” They were outgunned and he didn’t want any shooting at all, but he drilled Scott with a look. “It’s your call.”
Scott stared at Cole for a few seconds, then his eyes slid to the folks behind Cole. He nodded and put the truck in park, shutting it off. His followers did the same. Immediately, the quiet had a calming effect. He hopped out, holding his hands out. “Folks…I am, sincerely, sorry.” He glanced at Cole, then focused on Amanda for a few seconds, seeming to get an idea. He looked at Cole and the microphone. “May I?”
Cole shrugged and handed it to him, but didn’t offer his blocks to the man. Scott tested the speaker, then said, “When I met Cole a few days ago, he asked me why I took Amanda’s family’s ranch, and my only answer was because I could. I’m ashamed of that answer now, and I guess Cole’s question has been percolating in the back of my mind since then. I wanted to come here tonight as, I don’t know, I guess to prove to myself that I was right to take over the ranch. That in this new world, it was survival of the fittest, and I thought we were the fittest.”
Nobody spoke and the unfriendly stares focused on the man made even Cole uncomfortable.
“But, I was wrong. I just realized it. The fittest are people like you.” Scott pointed at Yesenia. “I saw you once, last winter. You were struggling to bring supplies back to your house. I was sitting in a truck, just having slept off drinking too much. I could have helped you, but instead, thought about taking what you had found. If I hadn’t had such a hangover, I probably would have. But, you were a lot stronger than me. Look at you. You survived with your children.”
Yesenia shifted, darting looks left and right.
Cole said, “I don’t think she’s going to feel grateful because you didn’t steal her supplies, so what’s your point?”
“My point is, I was wrong. You organized this and brought all these people together. I guess that makes you the fittest.” He started to hand over the microphone, but brought it back to his mouth. “Once again, I apologize. If you could see fit to let these other men join you, I’d be grateful. I’ll go on my way, but please consider letting them be part of your group. They’re good men. Or were, until they met me.”
Cole hopped off the block and reached the microphone with one hand, and wrapped the other arm around Scott’s shoulders as he addressed the group. “How about we let all of them share this feast with us?”
At first, the claps of approval came only from Elly and Hunter, then Sean joined in, and Garret. Then, Amanda stood and clapped as well.
With a smile, Cole turned and offered his hand. “Scott, you and your men are welcome here.”
Scott clasped it. A contrite group went through the buffet then looked for a place to sit. Most of the tables were full, but Hunter stood. “Someone can have my seat.” That prompted others to offer theirs or scoot closer together until there was space for everyone.
Cole resumed his speech, such as it was. He suggested a sheet with everyone’s address and said they would make copies and send them around in the next few days. When the discussion turned to specifics, such as where they were with supplies, and who had more of one thing than they needed, but not enough of another. Cole offered another list for that. People could put down what they had and what they needed. If others wanted to share or trade, they could do that.
Dessert was announced and conversation only halted long enough for cake to be sliced or pie to be served. As dusk fell, a few people started their cars, the headlights allowing the party to continue. People had been hungry for more than just food. They’d been hungry for company, for laughter, and for sharing stories of hardship and triumph.
Cole noticed a lot of hugging and tears, fears of the virus overwhelmed by the need to connect with other people. He worried about the disease, but for now, he was convinced it had gone dormant. Diseases were like that. The Spanish flu had ravaged the world for a few years, then disappeared. He prayed Sympatico Syndrome had ended as quickly as it had arrived.
Elly strolled up to Cole as he spoke to one of the men who had ridden in the back of Scott’s truck. Cole smiled at her and wrapped an arm over her shoulders as he nursed a beer. “Guess what, Elly? This is Dave. He was a pharmacy student before the virus.”
“No kidding? Did Cole tell you about the clinic we want to start? He and I will run the lab, Jenna will probably help train more nurses, and I’m sure a pharmacist would be a welcome addition.”
“Oh wow. That would be awesome. My buddy, Ben, is a paramedic. I bet he’d love to work there too.”
“Is he the one who bandaged Will?”
Dave nodded. “Yep.”
“Excuse me, Dave. I need to speak with Cole for a moment.”
Cole waved goodbye then focused on Elly. “Are you okay?”
“I’m a little tired. My feet hurt.”
Looking around as one of the set of headlights went out, he realized the crowd had thinned. “I guess we should wrap this up.”
Ga
rret sauntered up to Cole. “I had a helluva good time, Cole. I was about to go crazy out there at my house.” The man’s jovial tone dropped and his voice cracked. “Thank you…for this. You saved me. I was thinking of…well never mind. I have hope now.”
Cole stuck out his hand. “This wasn’t me. This was all of us. We survived Sympatico Syndrome.”
Elly tugged his arm. “Come on. Let’s go home.”
30
“One more push, Elly. You can do it.” Cole bit his lip as he did his best to help brace her as she pushed. He’d been present for Hunter’s birth, but they had been in a sterile delivery room surrounded by lights, several nurses, a doctor and an aide. A pediatrician had been at hand to take care of Hunter once he was born.
Now, it was just Jenna, Sophie, and Amanda and they were in a small exam room at a clinic that had belonged to some doctor who had succumbed to the virus. The clinic had been thoroughly cleaned and had already served as the birth site of his granddaughter, Belle.
Elly sank back against him, panting, eyes closed. She didn’t speak to him or anyone. She’d already sworn at him a few times, but she was past that stage.
“I can feel the baby’s head. It’s right there, Elly. Next contraction, I need you to bear down as hard as you can.” Jenna stood waiting to catch the baby. Sophie waited next to Elly’s left side, clean towels in her arms.
“Almost done, Elly. This is the hardest part.” Cole smoothed damp strands of hair from her face. Her eyes opened.
He felt her body tensing as the beginning of another contraction brought her up off the bed. Gripping her knees, she almost squatted as she bore down. Cole tried to steady her and get out of her way at the same time.
“The head’s out! Hold on. Don’t push.” The wet sound of a bulb syringe came, and then Jenna said, “Last big push. When you’re ready, hon.”
Elly took a deep breath, her face scrunching with effort as she grunted long and loud.
“The baby’s shoulders are out!” Sophie peered over Elly’s leg, her arms out.
Sympatico Syndrome Trilogy Box Set Page 80