The beloved Father
and Founder
Of Bluffsville, Texas
1955-2033
Lou couldn't attend the funeral. It looked as if she would survive her injury, but would never be able to walk well again. Maggie sat beside her quilt covered bed and held her hand, cried along with her as the sounds of Mayor's favorite hymn...How great thou art...floated up to them from the mourners. The companions sadly moved away from the cemetery. Indi walked between Tanner and Airi, the young woman held tightly to his hand. Tom, Cynthia and Will trailed silently behind. Will was sad, he respected the toughness and generosity of the mayor. He looked to the woman between himself and his good friend. Her color was better today, very few lingering effects of the bump on the head or cold swim. Ahead, the three young adults. He also felt sad for the young man who obviously had lost the father of his heart. With this sadness, there was also relief, a thankfulness that he felt no guilt for. They, all six of them were unharmed, survived.
The days to follow would be hard, weeks of recovery and repair. Many others had been wounded and lots of damage done to the simple housing. Work is good for the heart and there would be plenty of it. Spring eased in, the healing progressed. The town once again felt stable. Lou hobbled around with the help of a cane that Indi decorated for her. The absence of Mayor was very real and apparent, but life moved on.
Will sat on the porch of the house one evening, Maggie and Airi in rocking chairs nearby. “How do you think Indi is doing?” he asked his daughter.
“I think pretty good. You know, he has his bad days.”
Maggie said, “He sure has stepped up and become helpful and protective of his mother.”
“I've noticed that,” Will smiled, “Not that he isn't his usual flamboyant self. But, I've seen him take on a lot of the responsibility of the town recovery. It's like he feels it's his legacy, his inherited duty. It's possible that people need a leader to look to, I don't know. As much as Mayor was respected, I 've seen no signs of the people here rejecting Indi's guidance.”
“I can believe that. He loved and respected Mayor and so did his mother. Mayor never left any doubt that Indi was equal to a son,” said Airi. “Funny thing, though. Just like Indi is somewhat of a mystery, I never quite figured out the relationship of Mayor and Lou. Do you think they were a couple, you know, like man and wife?”
“I think they loved each other and Indigo,” said Maggie. “There's lots of kinds of love, sweetie, some of it much deeper than physical.”
Airi looked up at the moon that cast a soft glow on the shabby town. She still felt a tingling excitement when Tanner was nearby. I'll have to think about that deeper kind of love, she thought.
Will was thinking, too. He thought of that question he had, seemed like a long time ago...would this be their permanent home? As the pain of loss here in the settlement lessened and Indigo took increased responsibility, the question kept popping back into his mind. Day by day, more and more, the answer seemed to be no. Perhaps it was time for them to continue on their journey, seek out their original destination, the coast of Texas.
A night later, Will and Maggie lay in their tent, the flap tied open to let in the cool dry air. Maggie's gray hair was loose and spread across the pillow, Will picked up a soft strand, “How're you doing, my pretty magpie?”
Something was up, he called her “magpie”. “I'm fine. Been pretty rough here, the last few weeks. It's feeling better, don't you think?”
“Yes, I do think it's better. I've been thinking...”
Before he could finish, she placed her fingers on his lips, “You want to leave, don't you? You're thinking about leaving the settlement.”
“Yes,” he said. “It's different now. Feels like time to go on. Just like we planned.”
“I'm not a wanderer like you. I get all nested in and I'm content. You'll have to choose, have to decide. You know that I'll be with you, no matter what,” she said.
“I'm not sure about the others, they may want to stay. What would we do then?”
“We'll never know until you make your decision and we talk to them, will we?” She turned over on her side, away from him.
“You're not a lot of help, you know.”
“I love you, Will,” a whisper of a reply.
He ran his hand down her curled up back, “Love you, too.”
***
For the first time in months, Will saw the five figures, their heavy packs on their backs, walking single file ahead of him. Tom led, Cynthia in his footsteps, Airi, Tanner and the pleasant view of Maggie's hips in front of him. As they stepped around prickly yucca plants and cactus, they were quiet. The leaving from Bluffsville wasn't an easy one for them. He was always excited to be heading out to new places, but even he had to admit to the heaviness of his heart.
Years ago, the evacuation from Washington, DC was instant and not voluntary. Nearly a year ago, Far View City was dying. Even though it had been home and they lost friends, there was no choice. Bluffsville was different. There was a freedom there and hope, they had made friends, people they cared about. It took a lot of discussion and consideration to decide to move on. It was the hardest on Tanner and Airi. Will and the others were painfully aware of that.
The young couple had talked and begged with Indi, to the point of exhaustion. “Come along with us. Just use that sharp mind of yours, imagine all the possibilities,” said Tanner.
Indi, who now had his striped hair cropped just below his ears, often with a band around his forehead, sat on the porch with them, wore his brilliantly tie dyed shirt and jeans pushed down in his boots. “I can't. I'm needed here. Will gave me a map to where you're going...maybe someday.” He laughed and said, “Hey, maybe we'll all be driving cars around again. Who knows, I'll just come and visit ya'll.”
Airi pleaded, “Oh-h, Indi. Come with us. We can take your mother along.”
He gave her a pained look that he quickly banished from his face, “She could never hold up. Even in the machine, it would be too hard on her. Anyway, this is her home and it's mine, too. The people here need me, I'll stay.”
She turned away, not wanting to cry like a baby. She felt like she was leaving family, a brother. Airi was in love with Tanner, but this unusual young man had dug right into her heart. Slipped into the hole that is often there in an only child.
Tanner knew she was hurting and he talked on to cover for her, “When we say we're doing something, we do it, we'll reach the Texas coast. My friend, when your mother...I mean, when and if you can, you come and find us.”
When the morning came and it was time to leave, Indi drove them south, past the reservoir dam. The three held on to each other for a few minutes, not ashamed of the tears of separation. He jumped up into the Frankenstein vehicle, gave the “ah-oo-ga” honk and disappeared in a fog of dust, exactly like he had the day they met him.
Now the six travelers walked away from the settlement, towards their new destination. Even though the Pecos still flowed strong right now, they did not plan to follow it for long. They needed to head to the east and seek out the Colorado River, it would be their guide until they got closer to the Gulf Coast of Texas. Eventually, a little further east, they would follow the Brazos River to the where it made it's turbulent entrance into the ocean.
A few years before the world changing event, Will gave a lecture in Houston, Texas. On an excursion, his group traveled along the length of Galveston Island to it's farthermost western edge, a place called San Luis Pass. Unlike the big city of Houston or the congested, touristy island of Galveston, San Luis was a scenic waterfront village. A mile long bridge connected the main island to the fishing location, but hurricanes had altered the bay and ended efforts to develop it into a military or commercial port. The archeologist believed that in that place, where the Brazos merged with the ocean was a promise of haven. Between the ground they now walked and that destination, they would discover what was the state of the country over fifteen years following collapse.
Back in the settlement when their plans for leaving were being discussed, Will said, “I agree with Cynthia, the rivers are an excellent guide. They twist and turn and don't follow a direct route, however, they will eventually take us to our goal and we'll be near water sources. Who knows, we might at some point locate some more boats. For now, I suggest that we start out on foot.”
Tom said, “Well, we only have one boat left anyway. The slime ball took the other. Walking is okay with me.”
“I've had a couple of hair raising swims the last few months. Won't bother me to take a long hike,” said Cynthia with a laugh.
Maggie certainly had no argument, land suited her fine. It was agreed and the packs were loaded.
***
As the travelers said their farewells and began their 500 mile journey and the settlement continued it's growing pains, Leroy and the chickens were all nested in. “Ain't it funny, Bessie?”...the chickens about all had names now. “Not a swingin' d—k ever showed his face round here. You'd a thought they'd come crawlin back. Guess they all took off or maybe was all kilt.” Cackle, cackle, cluck. The chickens had heard this all before but didn't care as long as they got their bugs and feed. “We know for sure that mean boss som-b is dead, don't we?” Human cackle.
The raggedy man splashed water into several containers, set his bucket down and stretched. He continued his conversation with the poultry, “I do miss them steaks, but it ain't bad. Don't miss a one of them hateful folks. I think it's right nice and peaceful like here. Hey, I'll jest be one of them veg-arians, like them Hollywood folks was.”
Leroy grabbed the handles of a wheelbarrow that he had filled with water and moved over to the small garden that his chickens so helpfully fertilized for him. He dipped some water up, bent down to see if any beans were ready to pick.
***
The river flowed near the travelers for the next three days. Will had plenty of time to think and plan. Slowly, the weight of sadness was lifting from them all. Each day left them really exhausted by camp time. Months since they walked with the heavy packs for miles, it would take a while to get back in shape. They all shared in the work of making camp, cooking and once again keeping the nightly watches, wasn't long before they fell into the routine of survival. Tom and Cynthia had collaborated on the rabbit stew for supper. Gear was put away in readiness for the next day's trek and Will added some dry wood to the fire.
In his pack he located a small bottle of home brew, a gift from the mayor's stores. He held it up, “Let's toast to being on the road again,” he said. Maggie put a spoonful of honey in their cups and Will splashed in a bit of the strong liquor. He held up his tin cup, “To the journey,” he said and they all raised their cups.
A cough spit out of Airi and there were plenty of other exclamations, from curses to sharp intakes of breath. Laughter broke the silent landscape under the canopy of stars. Maggie squeaked out, “Not bad,” with her eyes watering in the firelight. They all laughed again, the first time in several days.
Will pulled out the worn map. “I think it's time to leave the river here and start to move across country. If we travel southeast we'll be able to pick up the Colorado River, maybe in about two weeks.”
Airi and Tom moved over to take a look. Tom said, “The Colorado is going to take us right to these big lakes and to Austin. Didn't we decide that we'd avoid the big cities? Austin is the capital of Texas, it's got to be plenty big.”
“I know we agreed on that, staying away from the big cities. I've been thinking a lot about it, though. There is certainly risk, danger around the towns that originally had a high population. There is also probably the best chance of any kind of restoration and progress. We're not going to ever know what's really happening in the country now, if we just stay out in the never never.
“The never, never?” said Cynthia.
Maggie sat on her pack, her arms wrapped underneath her bent knees. She rolled her eyes, “I'll explain later.” She still had a warm trail all the way to her stomach from the honeyed brew. It helped her be unconcerned, no question she would be going wherever the Hell her husband and the others went, good or bad. Like her mother used to say, You better put on your big girl panties and don't cry about it.
Day three away from the river and their eastward movement put the early morning sun directly in their face. Maggie's hat was pulled down tight, she walked along beside Airi, Cynthia nearby. With the sadness of leaving the settlement fading, they filled the time as they walked with various conversations of what used to be, what might be ahead. She noticed that the ground had changed from hard and rocky to pale sand that seemed to get deeper with each mile they covered.
Their walk became more of a march, high stepping in shifting soil. Maggie stopped, pushed her hat up, shielded her eyes with her hands and looked out at dunes that rolled away to the north, “What is this? The frickin' Sahara.” Her squinted eyes turned to her hubby, who wore his usual turban and frog looking goggles that he had traded with Indi for. The others had stopped, wheezed to catch their breath.
“It's sand dunes, used to be a State Park,” said Will, “not really a desert, they get a little moisture around here. See the scrubs here and there.” A fat lizard danced across the hot terrain in front of them, leaving little whirls in the sand. “Anyway, we're really just on the southern border of the dunes and they won't extend for long.”
They all took a drink of water and trudged on. Maggie's thought was that her hubby was a loveable ass and I'm probably going to die out here in this “not really a desert” with my big girl panties all in a bunch.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Big City Lights
Will's not really a desert proved to be the biggest challenge the travelers had tackled. It was true that the dunes only lasted a couple of days, but this was a very desolate and dry area of the Lone Star State. An all day walk in this country was far different from being on the river or following the river, always with water available. Even past the sand dunes, the landscape was brutal. Any small towns that had once existed had literally dried up and blown away. If there was any wind, it blew hot and grating, rarely a bit of shade to rest in. There simply was no water, no rivers or creeks or lakes. They had filled their containers with all the water they could carry before they left the river, now by day four away from any water source and even being stingy with it, the water was nearly depleted.
The sunburned and exhausted group kept putting one foot in front of the other, they didn't talk, just slowly trudged on. They hadn't found one ounce of water for three days and Will thought they had to do something different, change their direction before their last few drops were gone. When the sun that seemed like it would never drop below the horizon finally set, he spread out his map. He looked into the faces of his five companions, they hadn't complained, not once. At the rate they were going, in the direction they traveled, he just didn't know if they could reach water soon enough.
“I've looked at the map,” he said. “I think we should take a chance and head north, leave well before dawn. The map shows a small lake to be about twenty five miles in that direction.”
Maggie's voice sounded parched, scratchy, “Twenty five miles?...we'll never make that in one day. I don't think there will be any water after tonight. The lake might not even be there or it might be dry.”
“We probably should move north. Even if it's out of the way, we've got to get back to areas with water,” repeated Will.
Tom said, “Are you sure that we can't get to water in the direction we're headed? Looks like we should reach this river...” he pinned down a spot on the map, “in close to the same distance as that lake.”
“Possible,” said Will. “My worry is, this time of year the river could also be dry or nearly gone.” He was weary and uncertain, his normal confidence shaken by the thought that he might have led his small group in a deadly direction. “We have to all make the decision.”
“I think I vote for staying on our path. If we can reach that river, ther
e appears to be more and more lakes and rivers as you move southeast,” said Tom.
Maggie looked down at the less than ounce of water in the container she held. Even though she had no real vision of where they were headed, she couldn't bear the thought of going out of the way, heading in the opposite direction from where they needed to go. “Let's stay with our trail. Surely, there will be at least some water in the river.”
The other three voted stay on track. It was a night when no one really slept well, in spite of their exhaustion. As Maggie kept the first watch, her mind went to unpleasant thoughts, what's the point of this? We haven't seen one soul since we left the settlement. She hadn't forgotten the hyena attack, though. At her feet, in the moon light a large scorpion skittered across the pale ground. It's tail curled up like a stinging whip and she stomped it with her booted foot, ground and smashed it around more than was necessary. Crap! Nothing but snakes and lizards and god knows what other kinds of biting boogers, could possibly survive out here. She spilled her flashlight across the area in her usual frantic search. The beam rested on Airi, stretched out on the hard surface, her knees bent and one arm across her forehead. She appeared to be asleep, her slim fingers rested on the arm of Tanner, who slept nearby.
The mother didn't want to recall how her precious daughter looked earlier, her cracked and burned lips and face, how thin she had become. She and Will had promised the girl's dying grandfather that they would love her and take care of her. They most certainly loved her, but the promise of taking care of her was one they might soon break. By the time Maggie gently shook Tanner, to wake him for his watch, her thoughts were dark as the night. She felt too dry to even cry as she lay down next to Will and squeezed her eyes shut.
The next day did not bring them to the river. Slowly and miserably, the six continued to stumble southeast, forced their feet to take one more step. Another nightfall, they stopped and went through the motions, thirsty, stomachs too nauseous to eat or get any real rest. Well before daybreak, they all shared the juice that filled a jar of canned tomatoes from Lou's pantry at the settlement. Eating the plump squishy chunks, they sucked all the moisture from the pieces. Once more, with barely enough light to show the way, six pair of boots walked in what Will hoped wouldn't be a death march. About mid day, he spotted some green low mounds ahead, “Look...there... there's water or has been recently. Maybe a creek.”
The Days After (Far View) Page 11