I didn’t move and something must have warned Sarah, because she looked up suddenly and stared out the window. Her eyes found me standing there and with a suddenness that elicited a startled yelp from Jake, she rushed out onto the patio, carrying my son in her arms. I wrapped them both up and held on tight, letting my eyes water their faces as I cried with joy and relief. Sarah was crying as well and Jake wrapped his little arms around my neck in a tight hug, refusing to let go. I kissed them both repeatedly, barely noticing that Tommy had gone to seek out Angela, or that my brother and his family had come out to see us.
Duncan stood apart for a second, then out of nowhere Janna jumped on him and he was as happy as I had ever seen him.
We all moved inside and for the next hour we talked about the trip. Everyone was sobered when we talked about Nate and we spent a good deal of talking about him and the things we remembered most about him.
We all went to bed after a while, but for a few of us, we weren’t going to be sleeping for a while longer.
Chapter 23
In the morning, I called a quick meeting, outlining what we still had to do. Tommy talked about the communities we had been to see and the reps that were coming. Charlie grunted, saying he had seen a lot of movement on the river and all of it heading north. We agreed to get up there as quickly as we could, but we decided that it could wait for a few days.
I met privately with my brother and gave him the letter and box our father had left for him. Mike’s eyes misted over when he read the letter and he asked me about the house in Virginia.
“It’s just a house, dad’s not there,” I said. “I think he may have survived the outbreak and aftermath and headed for safer pastures.”
“What about Mom?” Mike asked.
I looked down. “She’s buried in the backyard with the gardens she loved so much.”
Mike exhaled loudly and said, “She loved those gardens. It’s the perfect spot.”
I nodded and changed the subject. “So Dad decided I needed a 1911 to face the world with. What about you?”
Mike shrugged and opened the long case. It was a Smith and Wesson X-frame in .460 S&W. It had a ten inch barrel with a compensator on the end. A scope was included with the weapon. We looked at it for a long time before either of us spoke.
“I think he meant well…” Mike started.
“Yeah.” Was all I had to say. I guess Mike could reach out and nail something fairly far away now. If he could see it, he could shoot it. If he shot it with that cannon, he would obliterate it.
We left Starved Rock a week later and sailed north to Leport. Tommy stayed behind with Angela and Rebecca, since Angela was too pregnant for a trip on the river. Charlie was a little apprehensive about leaving, but Tommy assured him that all of Thorton’s men had been accounted for.
We were past Joslin when Sarah snuggled up against me in the chair I was using to steer the boat with. “Penny for your thoughts,” she said.
I sighed. “Just thinking about all this. How are we going to ever going to secure the country?”
“You’ll find a way, John.” Sarah replied. “You always do.”
“I don’t know, babe. This one’s pretty big. I never realized how big this country was until I went through half of it. We had gotten so used to instant communication and fast travel that the thought of it taking a month to reach a destination was unheard of. There’s hidden places everywhere and literally millions of zombies,” I said. I tried not to sound defeatist, but when I looked at it from a big picture standpoint, it was fairly daunting.
Sarah gave me a little punch in the ribs. “You’re such a downer. Remember when we used to get into a tight spot and people would be worried about getting overwhelmed by the zombies, what would you say to them?”
I thought it over. “I’d say kill the zombie in front of you and after a while there won’t be any.”
“Exactly. So how does that apply now?” Sarah asked.
I smiled. “You’re right. It does apply.” I wrapped an arm around her and gave her a quick kiss. She gave one back, but had to leave quickly because Jake was attempting to climb the railing and touch the water. That’s my boy.
Passing into Leport was both joyous and sad. It was good to finish the journey we had started, but it was sad since the community had lost such a valued member. The people held a wake that evening for Nate, walking across the bridge with candles that were dropped into the river on the other side. It was as nice a send off as I could have wished for the old cuss.
The following day, after a brief visit with the doctor who wanted to give Jake a checkup and talk with Sarah for some reason, we had another meeting. The town had grown and I recognized a couple of kids that Janna had brought back. They found her and surrounded her in a flurry of hugs and she beamed in the attention. I looked over at Duncan who gave me a sly smile and the look I gave him was an order to take care of business.
Sarah saw me looking and added her stare and Duncan got nervous enough to shift in his seat. Funny way my wife has with men.
As the meeting finally came to order, I outlined what had taken place and what we had seen and done. There were cheers when Charlie brought in the founding documents and the meeting was delayed as everyone wanted to take a closer look. We’d have to figure out some place of storage, since the old writing couldn’t take too much exposure to light.
I got around to the governing part and everyone listened carefully. I explained that because of the Upheaval, we had gotten a second chance, something that rarely happens in human history. We knew what mistakes were made and we knew how to keep them from happening again. Before we could have a functioning society, we had to get some things settled first.
“First and foremost, we need to get the power back on, one way or the other. We know where the power plants are, we need to send people to them to figure out how to get things working again. Second, we need to have our communications up and running. I figure a cell network might be the best way to do that. Third, we need to have reliable transportation. That means clearing the roads, one way or the other. This is not a thing we have to do alone. Every community should be responsible for as much as they can do around their area of safety.
“That’s the job for the communities. Always push out further, always expand. Push your borders however you have to. If a town is dead, eliminate it. Burn it down. Don’t give the bastards any place to hide. This is our country and by God, we’re taking it back.”
The cheers were deafening and the meeting broke into smaller planning groups. The representatives from other communities had been here for a while, with others still coming in. I let them work out the governing details, figuring they knew what they were doing.
I walked with Charlie for a time and we headed out onto the bridge. We didn’t say much for a while, then Charlie filled me in on the assault at Starved Rock. I was stunned at the story of the cougar, not really believing it but taking Charlie’s word for it. I thanked him for keeping my family safe and he said that it was his pleasure.
We watched the river go by for a bit when a small boy ran up to us. He looked like he had a message with him. We waited for him to catch his breath, then he handed me an envelope. I recognized the handwriting as belonging to the doctor here at Leport. I opened the letter and read it quickly, then handed it to Charlie to read, since he was mentioned as well. We exchanged a look and forgot about the boy, lost in our own thoughts of incredulity. It wasn’t until a timid hand touched my arm that I remembered the lad.
“What’s up, son?” I asked.
The boy panted. “They sent me to find you and to tell you that a president has been chosen and everyone says it should be you. Mr. James is your vice president.”
I expected a lot of things, but that certainly hadn’t made the list. I figured the group to go with a leader of some sort, but I had no thought it would be myself or Charlie.
I tried to argue, but Charlie held up a hand. “We’ve heard it all before, John and this time i
ts official. Tag, you’re it.”
I thought about it and figured what the hell, somebody had to do it. We walked back to the town and passed a number of people who congratulated the two of us. Word spread pretty fast around here. We went up to the church where most everyone had gathered and I thanked the them as their new president for their confidence. I said I would try not to let them down, but not to get their hopes up too high.
“What’s the first order of business?” One of the representatives asked.
I thought about that one for a bit, then Charlie answered for me. “We get busy living. Everything else is details.”
Amen to that, brother. Amen.
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