Tomorrows Child

by Starr West

  Gasps of disappointment rippled through the crowd.

  “While I have my own theories about what happened, I have no facts that I can pass along. So at this point, all we can really do is help each other survive. I know some of us come from farms and some have vegetable gardens, but the question is, are any of us willin’ to share? The whole town is pretty much bare; I’d say looters did a job on the shops weeks ago.”

  “This has got to be a joke,” whispered Raven, “I came all this way for nothing.” She turned and walked away.

  “What we all need to do is take stock of our own situation. Get word out to anyone who has survived and plan to meet back here on a regular basis. A monthly meeting is not enough for some, while others won’t ever come to town.

  “Those of you who have no food and no means should see me after the meeting. I’ll share a few options with you then. We all need to work together to ensure that at least some measure of sustainability is maintained. The school already has its own gardens and from what I hear, the looters and vandals didn’t venture that far; looks like they weren’t locals. Anyway, if we can work out a system that’s fair to everyone, then we’ll all be better off. Now, we need ideas and suggestions. Anyone?” Lon finished and looked over the crowd of people.

  “We need to know what’s happening!” a man yelled. He held his wife tightly and his children hugged their legs.

  “Is the government going to do anything?” said another voice.

  “We’re starving! We don’t care what the government’s doing! We need to do something!”

  “He’s right. The government didn’t do anything before. What makes you think they will rescue you now? I bet they are in the same position as the rest of us.”

  “Rubbish, they took care of themselves. They’re hidin’ out, safe in bunkers somewhere.”

  The questions were coming fast and no one had the answers. A whistled reverberated through the air and silenced the crowd. It was Lon, “I told you I don’t have the answers you’re seekin’. No one does and it’s stupid to waste time supposin’. The natural thing to do would be to group up and see what ideas you can come up with. Gather the people who live nearby. If you haven’t already sorted somethin’ out with your neighbours, now is the time. But one thing I can promise you, no one will go hungry today.”

  Lon Everly nodded to the distance where a vehicle appeared. It was noisy and blew black smoke as it bounced across the grassy field. The smell of warm blood filled the air, which was as familiar to me now as fresh coffee used to be. A huge dead creature was sprawled out in the back of the Ute, and although we should have felt some sorrow that another creature had been slaughtered to feed us, most just felt relief.

  A man stepped forward, “I have some news.”

  Lon nodded, “Go on then.”

  “I don’t think anyone is coming to help. The cities are a bigger mess than you could imagine. The army was setting up refugee camps but they pulled out just after Christmas. That’s where we were, in a survivors’ camp, west of Sydney. A young soldier threw some bags of food out of a truck and said ‘You’re on our own now.’ That’s the last we saw of any organised effort, but there are people everywhere just like all of us. No one knows what to do. We just aren’t prepared for this kind of thing.” People started to question the man, but he just shook his head.

  I could have told them something, I could have told them that the cities were abandoned, still reeking of death, and that refugee camps were more like death camps. I could have told them the coastal roads have succumbed to the ocean and the only way north is via the inland highway. One day, as we drove north, we could smell the salty ocean from the inland road. We parked and walked to the top of a hill and saw the ocean carve a new coastline. Where before the sand met the ocean and golden beaches formed the coastline, now the ocean ate its way into the mountain and formed craggy cliffs and rocky shorelines. We watched the tide recede, revealing remnants of a little town. We wept that day and I tasted the salty ocean in my tears.

  I could have told them about the people that walked beside the road, heading toward nowhere; or the family we picked up and left near a creek under a shady tree, because the father said it was as good a place to die as any. I could have told them a thousand things, but broken hearts don’t need the salt of reality rubbed into their open wounds, so I said nothing.

  When it became obvious that the man had nothing new to add, some wandered off and formed small groups just as Lon had suggested. Others just looked lost, alone and tired. Our group slowly withdrew from the crowd and regathered. It appeared we were doing as we were told.

  “I think we should go,” said Libby.

  “I want beef!” said Navarre.

  “These people are starving. We don’t need to eat their food, but if we leave now, they’ll know we don’t need this food. It could cause us trouble later.” Phoenix was right, but we didn’t need to take the food from the mouths of the starving.

  “I don’t want to risk being out after dark anyway and this could take all day.” Ruben had other concerns. Tahinah and Jalani were at home with the other women and children. The raiders that had murdered Nell were still fresh on his mind. They were on all our minds.

  “I think the boys are right, Libby. If we leave now, someone will see it as a sign of strength, that we have enough food and are safe. While I’d really like to help here, we must be careful and protect our own. I think we should hang out, see what is going on and leave early,” said Ruben.

  “Well then, perhaps we should mingle.” Libby forced a smile. It had to be hard for her, having just buried her friend.

  “I’ll hang out with Psyche, just in case she gets lost,” Phoenix said and everyone laughed. I could have been offended, but it lightened the mood and I was thankful for that.

  As our group broke up and wandered off, I noticed several people who didn’t look like locals. They weren’t drawn to groups of people or looking for familiar faces.

  I looked beyond those close to me and took in the big picture. It looked like a scene from an old painting – tall trees and grassy fields, old cars with faded paint and people. There were people everywhere. Then I saw more. I noticed their faces. Dark eyes drew my attention. Their faces carried the looks of anguish, hunger, sleepless nights and sorrow that went far beyond misery. Tears smeared with dirt and dried on the children’s cheeks. I knew how bad things were, but until now, I’d only felt sorry for myself. I was self-absorbed and obsessed by my own grief, and now I was feeling sorry for these strangers.

  “I thought we were here to help.”

  “We are, but we can’t take everyone home with us and we can’t give them all our food. We need to find another way to help,” said Phoenix.

  “Like what?”

  “I’m not sure, but that’s why we need to hang around for a while, talk to the people and see what’s really going on,” he was looking into the crowd, “If I leave you here for a minute, will you promise to stay put?” I nodded, but the minute he left, I began to reverse out of the crowd. The smell of unwashed bodies caught me by surprise, gagging me.

  Ruben was talking to Lon, who was pointing to the field. Others were hugging and sobbing with grief, replaced momentarily by the relief at seeing a friend. I stood just beyond the groups of people, outside and alone, but I couldn’t separate myself from the emotions that swelled and overflowed, making the air thick and unbearable. It’s one thing to feel empathy for a single person grieving; but being surrounded by misery was making me sick. My own grief was still too fresh.

  A couple in their early twenties approached me. The girl had long blond hair that fell in tendrils of knots, not dreadlocks, just masses of knotted, unwashed hair. Her boyfriend was bald. The contrast was almost amusing, but in reality, it was anything but. We spoke about nothing in particular. They had travelled over one thousand kilometres, mostly by foot, in an effort to get to the highest place above sea level they could find just in case the oceans rose higher than they alrea
dy had.

  The sign on the outskirts of town boasted the highest village in Queensland, so they planned to make it their new home.

  “We’ve scored a prime spot at the old high school,” the bald guy said. He appeared quite pleased with their luck, but their dark haunted eyes revealed more than their words divulged. As they left, the girl smiled. “Peace, love and sunshine,” she said as she made the peace sign with her dirty fingers, like a chick from the sixties. At least she tried.

  I spoke to several others, some were interested that I was Libby’s granddaughter and asked how things were going. I lied truthfully and they patted me on the back, assuring me things would get better. In the end, I felt more sorry for myself than I had a right to be. Everyone was suffering and yet people still had compassion to offer a stranger.

  A tall dark-haired woman approached me. She was well dressed and clean, “Hello, Psyche.”

  “Hmm, hello.”

  “How is your mother?” she asked.

  I told the stranger about my mother and that I was living with Libby.

  “I’m so sorry to hear that. You must be suffering terribly,” she said, “Please give my regards to your grandmother.”

  “I will, but who…”

  She cut me off. “No doubt I’ll see you again soon,” she said as she walked away.

  “Who was that?” Phoenix asked, arriving just moments after the woman left.

  “I have no idea, she knew me and Mum and said to say hello to Libby,” I shrugged. “It’s strange that she knew who I was.”

  “Maybe she saw you with Libby and guessed. There are a lot of locals here today, heaps that I don’t know and plenty who would have known your mother.”

  “If you don’t know them, how do you know they are locals?” I looked around the crowd.

  “Look around. Look at the people wearing cleaner clothes and the expressions on their faces. They’re not as devastated as the refugees. Compare them with the others, very dirty clothes, backpacks and bags full of stuff they are afraid to let go of. I’m guessing the bags contain everything they own. You can tell they’ve had a really hard time.”

  He was right, I had seen the grief in the faces, but I didn’t realise that the differences were so obvious. Everyone wore a look of sorrow, but some had lost something else, something more dismal.

  “What is that? That look they have?” I knew that the look was familiar, but I couldn’t quite work out what it was.

  “It’s the look when hope is gone and you’re inviting death to take you. I’ve seen that look on you before,” he said. “But not today; you’ve found hope again, I can see it in your eyes.” He brushed away a single tear that fell across my cheek.

  We found a quiet place under a tree, away from the crowds and the misery. I was barely able to hold back the tears. I shouldn’t have come to town. It was too much, too soon. Phoenix took my hand and a tiny smile pulled the sadness from his mouth, while his eyes remained mirrors of the horror that surrounded us. Seeing Phoenix this way was too much and I leaned into his arms and sobbed.

  When the tears stopped, we wandered back toward the various groups. Libby was in the midst of a conversation with Lon Everly when we approached.

  “Remember, Lon, this is a very slippery path you tread. I suggest you use caution and perhaps consider something more practical to do with your time.”

  “You misunderstand; this is the concluding chapter of a very long term project. The demise of society has simply hastened its arrival.”

  “And what of your mistress? Surely she doesn’t agree with this nonsense.” Libby motioned to the dark-haired woman in the distance.

  “For the record, she is no longer my mistress, but it is because of that viper that I have taken this path.” Lon paused and sighed, “No woman can suck the life out of a man like Volante Vega.”

  “Then I fear we do have something in common after all.” Libby turned, caught my arm and walked away.

  “What was that all about?”

  “Just a foolish man with his heart set on causing trouble.” Libby was in a foul mood, something I had never experienced.

  “Ruben, I think it’s time to go. I hope no one had their heart set on staying for dinner.”

  “Nah, I was thinking it’s about time we left. Tahinah will be starting to wonder where we are anyway, I’ll get the boys, find Raven and we can go.”

  Libby, Phoenix and I stood on the crossroads and waited.

  “We’re not staying, and that’s final,” Ruben said to Navarre and Raven.

  Seth and Lachlan arrived. Lachlan appeared to be in a blacker mood than Libby. “Well I’m out of here. If I don’t leave now, I might punch someone and we know how well that usually turns out.” No one was sure what had upset Lachlan so much, but he stomped up the road, trailed closely by Ruben and Seth. The rest of us followed.

  We stopped several times on the trip home to check on friends. Most people lived on acreage blocks tucked into the rainforest. Although they were relatively close to town, they felt quite isolated. The scene at each stop was similar to one we discovered at Nell’s house. We dug graves in the backyards, buried friends, closed the door and left. At one home, we dug five graves. After that, I didn’t even get out of the car.

  By the end of the day, we’d dug nineteen graves. Anger replaced heartache. I had the feeling that things were about to change in our peaceful valley.

  Chapter 5 ~ UTOPIA IS A DREAM LOST

  “I’m sorry Ruben, I just don’t think we need to carry weapons while we pull weeds,” said Libby.

  The conversation began several hours ago and the temperature in the room varied from mildly warm to fiery hot. Now it was somewhere in the middle.

  “I know this isn’t your idea of Utopia, but I won’t have raiders murdering my family while we sleep,” said Ruben.

  “Oh, I agree,” said Libby, “but there has to be another way.”

  “You have taught me many things and one of them was to listen to my heart. My heart is telling me that I have to protect our valley and the people in it. I’m a soldier, Libby, it’s what I know and I’ll trust my instincts on this one.” Ruben just stared at Libby and for a moment, I thought we were heading into dangerous territory, but Libby and Ruben both nodded. Somehow, they had come to an agreement that left the rest of us shaking our heads.

  “We could block off the roads, and let the driveways overgrow. You know it doesn’t take long for the rainforest to reclaim what’s hers. In a couple of months, it will look as if no one ever lived here,” Tahinah said, causing the temperature to drop to a pale shade of blue.

  “That’s not a bad idea; but in the meantime, we need a more proactive approach,” Lachlan nodded.

  “We already have a boundary of magick protecting the valley. We can reinforce that. It seems to have worked so far.”

  “Tahinah, I thought you said that lately the magick was behaving strangely.”

  “Yes, Ruben, but it seems to be doing a good job protecting us so far. We are all safe and there have been no raids here.”

  Every house we visited yesterday had been isolated and solitary. The victims were mostly old people or young families who faced the intruders alone and without the security of belonging to a group like ours. The raiders simply took advantage of their isolation and knowledge of the area.

  “What I’d really like to do is find out who it is and stop them,” said Ruben.

  “I’m in,” Lachlan, Seth and Navarra all said in unison, far too eager for combat.

  “We’re not sending out a hunting party. That’s just asking for trouble. What if one of you gets shot or killed? What would we do then?” said Libby.

  “Of course, it was just a thought,” Ruben frowned at the other men. “But if the raiders come, all this will have been for nothing.”

  “I’m more worried about Lon and his ideas of grandeur,” said Libby. “The raiders will come only once, but Lon’s ideas could affect us forever.”

  “The raiders only n
eed one visit.”

  “Yes, that’s why we need a plan to protect ourselves,” said Ruben. “But we need to discuss Lon’s plans as well. We should expect a visit in the next day or two.”

  “He’s coming here, after all these years?” Tahinah was more than a little surprised and I wondered about the history of these two men.

  “That’s what he said. He’d give us a few days to think about his ideas and then discuss it with us,” said Ruben.

  No one wanted Lon Everly in our lives anymore than they wanted a visit from the raiders. It seemed to me that Lon was only trying to help any refugees and locals without enough resources to survive on their own. That didn’t seem so bad.

  The conversation flowed from the raiders to Lon and back again. Even if we wanted to carry guns, there weren’t enough of us to do the work and still protect the valley.

  Navarre arrived the next morning, running and yelling into the wind.

  “It’s alright, Psyche, there is no need to be afraid,” Libby reassured me. She knew my first thought was the raiders.

  “Dad said to come to the house. Lon just arrived.”

  “Okay, tell him I’ll be right there.” Libby turned to me “Psyche, you come too.”

  When we arrived, Lon and his men were sitting at a table in the yard with the men from our valley. Libby sat beside Ruben with Tahinah on the other side. I sat beside Phoenix and Navarre on the stairs.

  “Where are the rest of the women?” I whispered to Phoenix.

  “You’ll see. Lon only requested the men, but Dad said Libby and Mum need to be here.”

  “So, what we need is a cooperative effort to save these wretched souls,” said Lon. The conversation had begun before we arrived.

  “Good morning, Lon,” said Libby.

  “Libby,” he nodded. “As I was saying, these people are looking for guidance, they want to be saved. Everyday more arrive. It makes sense that we should be the ones to provide this guidance. We can be their saviour.”

  “Like the new messiah?” Even Ruben was surprised by this.

  “Don’t you think that’s striving a little high, maybe a touch above your capabilities,” asked Libby.