by Lynn Lamb
And finally I got him to speak, “It’s rude to scream.” I turned away to grin.
Billy was hanging with Annie in the kitchen. She had started a big pot of rice and beans.
“Look, sweetheart,” she said to me. “I’m cooking. We have electricity.”
“Awesome,” I said. “I want to plug in this mic, where can I do that, Billy?”
“I’ll do that for ya,” he said.
When everything was in place, I stopped to watch as a group of five men came down the drive into the parking lot. They were carrying long, thin boxes. Annie came out and stood next to me.
“They were here measuring earlier,” she said. “That man there, Jamie Warner, he owns Warner Glass.”
I knew that place. We had used them several years ago for a window that broke in an earthquake. I always thought that they were a little pricy, but now they were walking up to the Town Hall with enough windows to repair every shattered opening on the place.
“Ahm,” I cleared my throat as I spoke into the mic. The feedback rang out through the speaker and I winced as everyone in the crowded parking lot turned and stared at me. “Hi, everyone. I just wanted to say thank you all. This is more than I ever could have imagined. I would like to make sure that you all stay around for some food. My mother, Annie, is making her famous rice and beans, and we have some water, too.”
I looked down at Jared and noticed how dirty he was. His clothes looked as if he hadn’t changed out of them in days. I walked out of Jared’s ear-shot, and I picked up my walkie and called for Lizzie. “Hey, do you have any of Ronnie’s old clothes for a little boy I have here. We are not allowed to enter any of the houses of the ill, just in case. Maybe some toys, too.”
She told me that she would meet me in front of Town Hall in twenty minutes. She called the parking lot here Town Square. I like it, and I will make sure the name sticks, too.
Annie walked out of the kitchen next to a little redheaded girl who looked just like me when I was her age. She must have been seven or eight years old, and her eyes were red and swollen.
“Hi, Laura. This is Bailey, and I thought she would like to join Jared at our house tonight. Bailey, this is my daughter Laura, and our other new friend, Jared,” Annie said.
“It’s nice to meet you, Bailey,” I said. “The more the merrier. You can have my old room from when I was a kid.”
I got back on the walkie and radioed Lizzie. “Hey, how about Kristi’s old things…”
Everyone had been notified about our first group meal, and the Town Square was a frenzy of people setting up tables and chairs in anticipation.
I was helping Annie in the kitchen with a few other people, whose names I did not know yet. I was glad to see both men and women taking part in the cooking tasks.
I looked out the window at Jared and Bailey, both sitting on swings, staring blankly.
“Her parents are both gone,” Annie told me. “The medic who found her, in what sounds like a gruesome scene, said they had to have been dead for about seventy-two hours. They never even got to know that she was going to end up being rescued.” Mom’s eyes filled with tears, and I knew she was putting herself in their place.
“Well, she’s with us now,” I said. And I knew without even talking it over with Mark and Annie that with us she would stay.
~~~
Those sweet people from the glass shop put the windows on my new office first. The office furniture had been set straight by someone; however, there was a mess of papers and office supplies everywhere. I pulled over the dirty and torn curtains. Some natural light made it possible to see my way over to the desk. I laid my head on it and closed my eyes. There was a growing panic in my stomach, about to boil over. I grabbed the trash can and vomited.
What if I fail these people?
~~~
At 3:00, there were over 120 people seated at tables that were arranged in a square so that everyone could see the other diners. It reminded me of how my professors at the University used to seat us to encourage interaction.
Mark walked up to me with a couple at his side. “Laura, this is Reverend John and his wife, Cynthia. The Reverend has offered to say grace,” he said.
“That would be lovely,” I replied. And it would be, especially for those who still had faith. I wondered how many people seated with us still did.
I decided to forego a speech, even though I knew everyone would be expecting it. My stomach was still in a knot from its violent upheaval, earlier.
After the prayer, everyone ate Annie’s rice and beans with lukewarm powdered milk as if it was something out of a five star restaurant. It was quiet while the starving neighbors ate a hot meal together.
And even though I wasn’t hungry or happy, I ate and I smiled.
~~~
After dinner, Jackson and Jill approached me as we were cleaning up.
“Laura, the Colonel and I wanted to know if we could come by and talk to you tonight about some security issues,” said Jill.
“We also need to talk over the second prong of the plan on finding more neighbors,” said Jackson.
“Sure thing, but it will have to be after eight so that we can get the kids situated and to bed,” I said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
They stared at me, mystified, and for the first time, Jackson said nothing.
~~~
I asked Mark to my office to talk about the two children with no place to go. He was overjoyed to have them, as I expected he would be. He had grown up in such a full house, and I have always known that he had missed that.
After things at the Town Hall were done, we walked home with Bailey and Jared and the packed boxes that Lizzie had put together for them.
I really had no idea how I was going to manage with the children, but I decided I would wing it, just like I have done with everything else since day one of this.
When we reached the house, Hershey greeted us happily. He licked Jared on the side of the face, and something I was beginning to think impossible happened; Jared smiled and laughed. He got his Hershey kisses.
The boxes that Lizzie packed were more than generous. They contained not only clothing, but games, toys and books. She had even slipped an old, pink iPod Shuffle in Bailey’s box. I knew that the songs it contained would be age appropriate. When I presented it to her, she too began to smile.
“I will help Bailey with her stuff and Mark will help you, Jared. I was thinking that tonight you two could sleep in one room until we can get the other bedroom together,” I said. I guessed that neither of the kids would really want to be alone tonight.
“Thank you,” said Bailey.
Jared was playing with his new best friend, Hershey, and Bailey was going through her box. She pulled out a pair of adorable pink pj’s and sat down on the bed, awaiting further instructions.
Bailey was so much more mature than her eight and a half years of age. I suspect that the maturity came from all that she had been through. I can’t imagine how she handled those days alone in the house with her dead parents.
Mark took the boy to help him take a sponge bath with the water that Annie had warmed on the indoor kitchen fire place.
I took out one of the books from the boxes and read the title out loud. “Little House on the Prairie, by Laura Ingles Wilder. Do you know these books?” I asked Bailey.
“Yes,” she replied. “My mother reads them to me at night.”
“Annie named me after Laura Ingles Wilder,” I said. “These are some of my favorite books of all times. Do you think that I can read some of this to you before bedtime tonight?”
She nodded her reply, but I was not sure if she really wanted me to or not.
I wondered how many more kids out there in this world were left orphaned by this monstrous event.
After the kids were both cleaned and in their pj’s, we all sat down in front of a roaring fire, and I started to read The Little House in the Big Woods. Mark helped the kids roast marshmallows with the bag
that I had found in the kitchen at the Town Hall.
I tucked both of the children in, and Hershey jumped up on Jared’s bed and curled into a ball at his side. I guess he had made up his mind who he wanted to sleep with tonight.
“Laura,” Jared said. “When can I see my mommy?”
“I am not sure,” I replied.
“Is she going to die like Bailey’s mommy and daddy?”
“I hope not,” I said. And that was all of the truth I could tell him.
~~~
I was not sure that I had the energy to meet with Jill and Jackson after today, but their request sounded important. Mark let them in, and we all settled by the fireplace.
“Marshmallows, heh,” said Jackson. He knew the kids were staying the night, and he had to find some way to reference it, I guess.
“We have some real security concerns I am not sure that you have thought of,” started Jackson. “I have some ideas, and Jill might be able to help with them.
“We are vulnerable right now. If another survivor or group of wanderers goes by, they are going to see that our homes did not get destroyed, and that right there is going to be an issue. If they find out that we have medical and food, they could move in on us. There are most likely people out there who are starving to death, and we will find ourselves fighting to keep the little that we have. We need some security measures in place,” he said.
“I have heard what the Colonel had to say, and he makes a good case. I would like to work on some type of wall around the Village. With all of the wreckage from the homes and buildings in the outlying area, we have more than enough materials. I have a group of seventeen people who all have some type of building background,” said Jill in a tone that told me that Jackson had been very convincing with her.
“Why do you think that the only people left are the type to attack?” I asked. I was willing to give him a chance at explaining himself, but I didn’t like his war mentality.
He breathed out hard. “It’s in our DNA. When a human feels themselves thirsty and starving, they will do anything to survive. We fight for survival, and even though it might not be in their nature under normal circumstances, these are not normal circumstances.”
Although I didn’t want him to, he made sense.
“Have you been able to reach any military on what I imagine to be your large arsenal of radios that you are squirreling away in that house of yours?” I asked.
Shaking his head, he said, “None.”
I believed him.
I turned and addressed Jill. “I would like to see the blueprints before we start, please. Jackson, tomorrow you will start to go through the list and find anyone you might think would work well in security,” I said. “And start to collect all of the guns on the asset list. I want you to keep them at your house under lock and key. Find someone to take your place on phase two, or prong two, whatever you are calling it, of the house to house survivor search. Let Mark take the lead on that.”
And with that, I thanked them and led them to the door. Obviously, I was in no mood for long conversations tonight.
Good night world or what is left of it. Peace to you all.
August 11
Last night didn’t go as planned. I was dead tired, excuse the expression, but as soon as I got into bed fear of not being ready for what is to come rose inside my belly, and began to burn again. I had to run outside to vomit even more. I had gotten used to our internment in my house where there was nothing more to do than think and plan. Now that we were rolling ahead, I needed to have plans in place. After about an hour, I got out of bed again, grabbed a lantern and looked for some antacids. I am not sure if it was the rice and beans or just plain worry, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep for a while. I found a legal pad, the list of assets, and a stack of bios that Lizzie had put together for each person who had made his or herself known to us, and I got underway.
Lizzie had been in Human Resources with the City of Monterey, and she was excellent at what she did. As I read through each person’s information, written in neat printing and clasped together with paper clips, I realized how lucky we are to have such a diverse group of people in our midst.
Suddenly, a scream coming from the kids’ room tore out through the silence and calm. In the mere seconds it took me to get to there, I had already thought of several very bad scenarios that might have taken place. I have developed a good imagination for the bad since the war.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, futilely attempting to turn on the light switch while holding the lantern in my other hand. My heart was beating fast when I figured out my error, and I finally held the light up to see what was the matter.
The first thing I saw was Jared’s wide eyes, and then I saw Bailey. She was rolled into a small ball and rocking fiercely as she cried. Mark, who had been on my heels, followed by Annie, moved into the room. I hurried to Bailey’s side, while Mark moved to Jared.
“Mark, why don’t you bring Jared into the living room while Laura handles this,” Annie said. She was leaving me. But I had no idea what to do.
“Hey, sweetie,” I said as I began to rub her back. “What’s wrong?”
“My mom and dad are dead. They were really sick, and I tried to help them. I brought them water and food. They were really hot, so I put wet towels on their heads. But they died,” she was working herself up until she was hyperventilating.
“Sweetie, you need to sit up and take some deep breaths, okay,” I said. She sat up, and I could see the anguish on her face. I scooped her up and began to rock her. “Just breathe, okay?”
“They are dead. Their eyes were open, and I kept trying to get them to listen to me, but they were dead. Did you know people died with their eyes open?” she asked me.
“Sometimes they do, but you know what I think? I think that they wanted to make sure that you were alright, so they wouldn’t let themselves close their eyes,” I said.
“Now, I don’t have anyone to take care of me,” she said in a sob.
“That’s not true, sweetie. I am here, and so is Annie and Mark. We are going to make sure that there is always someone to take care of you,” I said. And I think she knew that I meant it, too.
~~~
By the time morning came, I had about three hours of sleep, and I was running on fear; fear that I wouldn’t get things in place in time to save these people, fear that I might not be able to keep my promise to Bailey. It was only day three of being outside, and I was already way behind.
At 6:30 in the morning, I radioed Joseph and told him that he was now Communications Director. He started to protest, and I heard Jill say “don’t go there” to him, sharply. I instructed him to get on every channel and notify everyone that we were having an important Town Hall meeting, and that every able-bodied person needed to be in attendance.
By 7:15, I was in my office in the Town Hall. I had papers, maps and plans laid out on the desk, and I was figuring out how to present this somewhat intricate set of strategies to the Villagers so that they would make sense. I had no idea if they would jump onboard this almost sinking boat, but I was not in the mood to take “no” or arguments for an answer. I needed to get started, and so did they.
By 7:45, Mark and Annie had the kids dressed, fed and on the play set in the Town Square. I hoped that they hadn’t seen the somewhat unnerving scene playing out in the medical tents as they passed.
By 8:15, there was what looked to be about 120 people staggering into the parking lot. It was a typical chilly August morning for Monterey, and people did not look too happy to be standing in the nippy wind.
At exactly 8:30 I began.
“Hello, friends and Villagers,” I said into the microphone, offering no apology for the unexpected meeting. I continued, “I am glad to see you all here.
“This morning you are here to receive your jobs. If you have checked in with Lizzie at any point over the last two days, then you will be on a list that will be hanging on the Town Hall walls. The lists
are broken into categories, so you should be able find your particular list easily from your previous job descriptions.”
I looked out over a sea of confused faces. Did they think that they were going to sit in their homes receiving food, water and medical without lending any help whatsoever? Maybe, but this morning they were getting schooled, so to speak.
“If you have not spoken to Lizzie yet, then you will form a line over at that table,” I pointed to Lizzie, who was smiling and waving. “You might be in line for a while, as Lizzie will be instructing her new staff on how to take your information. By two o’clock this afternoon, those of you who do not have jobs yet will have been placed on at least one of these lists.” I pointed to the lists tacked onto the building. Each had a larger piece of paper above them, with the category of work written in florescent orange lettering, to help with any confusion.
I addressed them with clear, no-nonsense urgency. “If you plan to be part of the Monte Vista Village, than you should plan to work. All able-bodied people will have a place in the rebuilding, security and survival of the greater group. If you do not wish to participate and work, then you are welcome to leave the Village or stay and not partake in our joint efforts. That means you will have to find food, water and anything else you need on your own.”
At first, there was just shock on the faces looking at me, and then I heard the first dissenter yell out, “I own my house and pay taxes on it. This is no commune. We aren’t commies and socialists.” Did he even know the definitions of those words?
“Those labels no longer apply here. And neither do Republicans, Democrats, Tea Baggers, Green Partiers, or Independents,” I replied.
I waited for this new realization to sink in. I saw only one smiling face in the crowd, and to my surprise, it didn’t belong to my husband. Jackson’s eyes met mine with approval. My husband, on the other hand, looked worried, and I could see his eyes pleading with me to stop talking.
“If there are no other questions than you may break into groups now. Security is there,” I pointed to each sign as I referenced it. “Rebuilding, Gardening Food, Cooking, Generators and Electricity, Out-Bounding, which means going out and scavenging for needed supplies, Child Care, Medical, Office, Communications, Human Resources, Human Remains Detail, and my official list for the Council. My husband, Mark, is second in charge. More groups will be established later and some, like the Human Remains Detail, will no longer be necessary, eventually. I expect that you will all follow your temporary group leaders until we decide who will be in charge of each. You will find that there is an envelope with each group’s basic description.