Airi reached the green spots first, she dropped to her knees and pulled her fingers through a gooey silt. As the others rushed up behind her, she turned and wiped away a single tear, leaving a dark smear across her cheek, “It's just mud, nothing but mud.”
Cynthia looked up and down the nearly dried up creek bed, spotted a shimmer, “I see a small pool up there.”
She moved to a puddle not more than two feet in diameter with perhaps an inch of water standing, the others trudged behind her. She knelt down and dipped a handkerchief from her pocket in the moisture, handed it to Airi. “Don't suck on it, just wet your lips and face a bit.”
Maggie said, “We can get something here. You guys go get a fire going, so we can boil the water.” She took out a pan from her bag, scooped up water and mud. Airi and Cynthia repeated her moves. They squeezed and filtered the mud soup through cloths, boiled it and even added a drop of bleach for extra measure. It was the best thing they had tasted in days, just plain old dirty water but it was wet.
The small amount of water made them all feel better, a little hopeful again. They left the camp early and before the day had ended they reached the river that the map had promised. More of a stream than a river, as Will had feared, but there was moving water. About three foot wide and a foot or so deep, in the shallow areas where it ran across the rocks, it looked clear and inviting. For about thirty minutes, the six lay across the trickling flow, splashed and lounged. Laughter floated out across the desolate landscape for the first time in days.
For the next several days, they were never completely without water again. The streams and lakes grew more numerous as they looked towards Austin. Will felt they had survived a close call. He was very thankful that no-one had been lost to the harsh conditions and his confidence began to return, his faith in the strength of his family, his friends and in the rightness of their goal. They had reached the Colorado River, very near it's feed into the first of three large lakes which would ultimately flow through the once proud capital city of Texas.
On the banks of the river, below the dam of the third lake, with some far away lights dotting the horizon, Will made sure that everyone was in agreement to proceed to the big city. “I think we'll reach the city tomorrow...that's if everyone still wants to go there. We could skirt around and not go into the city?”
“Sure, we want to go in,” said Airi. “I want to know what it's like, don't you?” She looked to Tanner and the others.
Tanner and Cynthia agreed and Tom said, “No doubt, there will be some risk. We need to be cautious, stick together, under no circumstances get separated.”
Maggie took note of the shabby shape of them all, “Look at us! We're a pretty rough looking bunch. We're going to need to clean up best we can. You guys need to get those beards as short as you can, tie your hair back.” Weeks of traveling and then the time without water had left them all dirty and raggedy, their hair long, the men with heavy beards.
Will rubbed his hand through a gray wiry beard that squiggled well past his chin, “Guess we look kind of scary, huh?”
Airi laughed, “Scary?...you look plain nasty, all of you.”
Tanner scooped her up, walked to the edge of the river and dumped her in, “Damn right, think you need a bath.”
That evening they all did their best to make themselves presentable, scrubbed, clipped and groomed. Will refused to let himself think of the wisdom of this latest plan. After all they'd been through, with the miles and miles of nothingness, he absolutely had to find out. Was there any tiny scraps of the America he once loved surviving?
***
The city teemed. Not with cars and trucks and the vehicles that years before clogged the streets but Will hadn't seen this many people in one spot in ages. Not since the day the evacuation train pulled out of Washington, DC. Numerous bicycles and a few smoking scooters darted in and out, but mostly just lots and lots of people. They observed for a while from a place not exactly hidden, he hoped unnoticed. In the alley beside a large deserted building with thick vines creeping up and snaking into broken windows, they peered out at the scenes in the street.
There were uniformed and armed men in strong force. However, Will observed that all of the inhabitants seemed to have a weapon of some kind, they were armed. No worries about their own weapons, then. The people couldn't exactly be described as happy and prosperous but they moved with a purpose. A large majority of them stood in clustered groups, a few in conversation, most just waited. They waited for the buses that seemed to be arriving and departing within minutes of each other, allowing people to exit and the waiting groups to enter. The passengers weren't being forced onto a bus or guarded, there was just this constant stream of loading and unloading.
Will turned and said to the others, “Wait here. If for any reason something goes wrong, you get back out of town immediately. Go back to the site of the camp last night and I'll find you.” He looked to Maggie and Airi, “You got that?”
They nodded yes and Tom said, “We'll be there.”
The presentable archeologist stepped out into the crowd and walked towards a uniformed man. “Excuse me, can you tell me where the buses are going? How much to ride?”
The man looked him over and said, “You're new in town?”
“Yes,” and then he caught himself, always good to be respectful. “Yes sir,” he said and smiled behind his scraggly face.
“The buses take the citizens to work. There's the mines, the power plant and other places of employment around town. The buses are only for workers. You can't be in town unless you work, can't work without a city card,” said the man in a not unkind but business like voice.
“A city card?” said Will.
“All new citizens must go to the City Hall Complex and register.” The man gave him a critical once over again, “You must be checked for disease and parasites. Once you are given a clean health report, you can get a city card. You'll have to start in the strip mines, unless you're a doctor or a nurse...” he laughed out loud, as if that was a ludicrous idea. “If you do good, you can work your way up to a good job like mine or working in the grocery and provision complexes.”
Will heard some kind of an argument across the street, the man put his hand on his pistol and started to move away. “Keep walking straight down that street there for about four blocks and you'll find the City Hall.” The noise got louder, the man jogged.
“Wait...sir! I've got my family with me.”
Over his shoulder the man shouted, “Fine, fine...everybody to the City Hall. Go, go along now. Don't let me catch you on the street again without a city card!”
Will weaved his way back to the others, told them what he had found out. They had no plan to stay in the city and work, however they wanted to stay for a while. A little medical attention wouldn't be a bad idea. It was apparent that there was some power, they had spotted lights when they were still a good distance from the city. He was interested to know what other services or conveniences might be functional. Where were the people working? How were the buses running? Were there any schools? He had lots of questions.
Tanner held onto Airi's hand and their faces showed amazement as the remains of a world they had never personally experienced surrounded them. A big yellow “M” above a doorway, a few tables still bolted to the floor, empty hulls of stores that had once been filled with colorful clothes and goods, gutted restaurants and banks. A non functional neon sign in a window, Live Music. A phone store with piles of cell phones scattered across the floor, broken and useless. Spiderwebs and debris covered the decaying remnants of a way of life that was long gone. The young couple had very few memories of this world.
They passed a towering granite faced building that had FIRST STATE BANK chiseled high on the front; now a painted sign read, The Silver and Gold Depository. Two armed men stood at each side of the wide glass entry doors. A person or two actually nodded to the newcomers as they walked the cracked and buckled sidewalk. About a half block further, people streamed
in and out of a building that was identified as City Food and Supply Complex. The citizens carried canvas bags of all kinds and colors, most with various faded logos on them, no one seemed to have more than two.
Once again, armed guards could be seen around the vast store. Tanner peered in one of the front windows, “Oh my god, babe...look at all of the food in there.” He turned to his dad, “What do you think it costs? What do they buy it with?”
Tom said, “Don't know, son. I imagine we'll eventually find out.”
Cynthia caught up to Maggie, slid her hand to the friend's elbow and leaned down, “Think we look a bit out of place?” She pushed back a curly strand of hair that these days grew to her shoulders and had fallen from it's pulled back pony tail. The two women clomped along in boots and threadbare jeans. Maggie in one of her two cherished blouses and Cynthia in a camouflage t-shirt.
“You think?” Maggie smiled at her and the two squeezed between some locals. Like everyone they had seen, from the uniformed police to the smallest child or oldest woman, the residents had their hair cropped bluntly to just below their ears. They were dressed in a variety of worn and faded clothing from no particular era and appeared decently clean and healthy. One woman filled some water jugs and placed them in an old child's wagon. A tall faucet was labeled, Potable Water, another faucet a few feet away said, Non Potable. Below her t-shirt she wore a colorful piece of cloth wrapped around her waist and tied, like a sarong, a pistol in a holster at her waist, old tennis shoes on her feet.
Will's mind raced a mile a minute, he tried to take in all the workings of the city. There were lights, there was available water. The food complex meant there must be city gardens and places to preserve it. That would be more jobs like the citizens he had noticed picking up trash. According to the bank sign, the currency must be silver or even gold. They hadn't seen housing, habitations yet. However, the heavy smoke wafting from somewhere up ahead of them indicated that the residents must live in that area. Would make sense, he thought. Like the settlement on the lake, they must have some form of sewage or you wouldn't be able to inhale here, I haven't noticed any excessive bad smell. They would more or less need a living area within the town and reasonably close to this hub.
The group had arrived at the City Hall. The crowd was even denser here, an armed guard by the door said, “Newcomers move to the right to get your city cards.” Will and the others made their way to join a long line of weary refugees awaiting their chance to reside and work in the city. Over an hour later, Will and Maggie finally stood before a desk with a uniformed young woman behind it. “Name?”
The couple gave the woman their names, she wrote it at the top of a small white card and didn't really look up at them, said, “Take the card, go through the door over there.” They followed the people ahead of them through the door with a sign above it, CLINIC. Maggie looked back at Airi and the others, gave them a smile. Soon, they were all lined up again on long wooden benches to suffer another nearly two hour wait to see one of the numerous nurses. She spoke to Cynthia, “Looks like I survived Will's not really a desert, just to sit here and starve to death in Austin, Texas.”
Cynthia giggled, “Hungry?”
Maggie just gave her one of her withering gazes. They were close as sisters now and it was allowed.
“Maybe we'll get permission to go to that grocery store. Did you see the food there?” said Cynthia.
Again with her cutting sarcasm, “You're a hateful bitch, you know.” Her friend laughed out loud now and Maggie leaned out, peered past Will to see if they were making any progress in line.
The six travelers had been through some rough times the months since they left their havens, but they had no diseases or parasites. The last stop at the “welcome” center late that afternoon was the mandatory haircut station. They finally exited the City Hall Complex, all them sporting disinfected and clean cropped hair that brushed the bottom of their ears. Cards in hand that had a red check mark by registration and clean health, and one more unchecked line, employment.
Cynthia tossed her gray curls, “Actually, feels pretty good.”
Maggie mimicked her motion, “Yeah, it does. You guys though, look like some weird old rock band.”
To their surprise, Tom, usually reserved and plain spoken, began to sing a popular song from the 1980's, actually wiggled his hips a bit. He stopped, dug around in his pack and pulled out a small drawstring bag. He opened the bag full of quarters and said, “Used to collect silver coins. We're off to the market.”
“Good Lord! I'm saved,” said Maggie. “Bet I lost five pounds today, waiting in those damn lines.” Only the jeans that she kept tugging up, hinted at the weight they all had lost the last few weeks.
Their last directives had been; shelter could be found where all the smoke was visible, they would need to report to the work center immediately the next day and yes, they were allowed at the market.
At the market, they found lots of fresh vegetables and some sort of bread. Some chickens hung headless by their legs, they passed on those for now but did buy a dozen eggs. A further exploration of the complex, revealed various booths of items from fabric and clothing that had been well worn over the years to a wild array of utilitarian items. A basket held travel size tubes of toothpaste, motel soaps, shampoo and lotion. The sign read, Two Silver Quarters or Trade. Nothing was shiny and new here in the wares offered, however many useful items could be bought or traded for. Salvaged, hand made and garden grown goods filled the building beneath sparse overhead lights. The working citizens of Austin crowded through the aisles and stopped at the front entrance to let the guard verify that they only had two canvas bags of purchases. Two large signs by the exit read, No more than two bags per customer.
Maggie and Cynthia had taken two canvas bags each from a large bin when they entered. Maggie said, “Think we can remember how to shop?”
“I never was that good at it, to tell you the truth. As hungry as I am, bet I can get the knack again,” said Cynthia as she moved towards a stack of peaches.
Three of the bags filled with food and supplies bought with several of Tom's silver coins, they paused for permission. The guard checked their bags and their city cards and everyone exited the Food Complex. They crossed to the faucets and filled their containers with water and moved towards the clouds of smoke that clearly indicated the location of the living area.
About two blocks behind the City Hall Complex the newcomers approached an aging housing development that sprawled in front of them with an appearance vaguely reminiscent of life before disaster, yet sadly different. The rows of brick tract houses, all set within feet of the house next door were once dressed with lush green lawns, beds of flowers and a minimum of two vehicles parked in every driveway. With the deterioration of decorative shutters and touches of chosen decoration, the houses were mostly devoid of individual personality and lined up like soldiers. The grassy yards were green from good rains this year but waist tall and wild, driveways of inhabited houses now held outdoor cookers or fire pits. The summer heat had obviously made cooking outside the only choice and the smoke they had been seeing rose from nearly every cooker.
Will spotted a man a bit younger than himself pushing an old rotary mower in front of one of the ticky tacky houses. A woman cooked at a grill in the drive. The place looked a bit neater than most in the neighborhood. “Excuse me sir.” He approached the man, “We're new here, we were told that we could find some shelter in the division.”
The man wiped his face with a towel, spoke with a slight Spanish accent, “Hello, I'm Juan. Yes, if you keep going to the end of the street or the next one over, you will find some empty houses. You can pick one.”
“Who do we pay? Do you know the rent?” asked Will.
The man smiled, “Oh, there is no rent, Amigo. If you have your city cards, you'll be allowed to stay. All the houses here have electricity, you just turn on the breaker in the garage. The water inside is not drinkable, but there are a couple of clean water
faucets...” he pointed to a spigot near the community entrance.
Will shook the man's hand and thanked him. The six made their way along the street. For the first couple of blocks, every house was occupied. People, families outside with children playing nearby. He noticed that no children rode bicycles, played ball or ran up and down the street, even though there was a total lack of cars to be concerned about. All the children were within site of their parents, played in drives or small cleaned out areas of their own yard. As the man had said, they began to see empty houses. Choosing one with no broken windows and the grass as tall as their waists, they took possession of their temporary home.
With the breakers turned on, they found one room with a bulb in the fixture, the kitchen. They turned on the light and Maggie twisted the sink faucet. A weak stream of water did flow, it didn't have a particularly pleasant smell. The house was reasonably clean, a broom stood in the corner.
Airi roamed around with her flashlight, came into the kitchen where they all stood, “Can you believe it! There's a bathroom. Going to need some of that bleach you carry, though, Mags.”
They were home again, at least for now. The next morning brought more lines to stand and wait in, at the work center. The men were assigned to work in the strip mine and the three women were to work at the city garden. They left the center and made a stop at the market. Maggie wanted to see if she could find some more bleach or disinfectant and if there were no light bulbs, perhaps some candles.
The Days After (Far View) Page 12