The End

by Herman Grobler

  By taking the car, we at least, arrived here much faster, Jason and Conway search through the house they could tell that someone had food here recently, but that could have been Roy that prepared the fire in the back and they could tell it was put out by using water, now why would Roy do that. Jason thinks to himself as Roy seems to be pretty reckless, this is a sign to Jason and Conway that everyone is still fine, as they walk back to the car, Jason sees a small spray painted arrow pointing up the street, this wasn’t here before and this must be what the girls thought of as indication, if Jason had to return late from that trip, it’s smart to have kept it small but noticeable.

  “Hey guys wake up,” Jacky said pretty loudly but far from shouting, just loud enough to wake them.

  “Wake up, its light outside and the rain stopped,” Jacky said.

  “Wow you really are up before me, thought that will never happen,” Maggie said still sleepy, yet surprised.

  “Well, I am hungry and we need to find food,” Jacky said without knowing there is still corned beef left.

  “Ok, ok, we can go now, start packing so long,” Ashley said still sleepy and lazy.

  “One step ahead of you, I already did, I just need to pack the blanket,” Jacky said all impressed with herself.

  “Fine,” Maggie and Ashley said nearly at the same time.

  A few minutes later all three was standing outside taking in the fresh air, ready to continue their journey to the fort, it’s still a very far way to go but Maggie is convinced it will be smooth sailing if they get enough rest and have enough time to secure their living area for the night, before it’s too dark, if they play it safe everything will be ok.

  Chapter 5: Paradise

  Everything is looking good here at Fort Jefferson and even at Key west, both Forts is well supplied not only with food and medicine but some weaponry too, we already have a group of people staying at Key west with only Danny, Emma, Sally, Susan and myself staying here at Jefferson, not to be selfish or anything but I figured I will need to make sure they are good people and thus will have to see how they treat each other when they are alone and on their own, once they have proven they can handle each other with respect only then can they come over to stay here.

  It’s much safer here with much more supplies even though so, at Key West the supplies is slightly limited but they get more weekly with only Markus Gray and Martin Pass allowed with a gun, the rest can get anything else as a weapon if they feel something is needed.

  “Hey William I think it’s time that we let Samuel Mocome over, he has experience in cooking as he was a chef, oh and Debra Hills she is very cocky and yes lazy but she can’t stop bugging the people over there to the point where they will treat her” Emma said in a wondering state.

  “Morning, Emma,” William said, followed with silence.

  “Well, can they?” Emma asked curiously.

  “You can’t let them stay there forever, they will think you are selfish and, in general, a leader that doesn’t care,” Emma said, out of concern.

  “Samuel, can come over, Taylor Duncan, he seem pretty chilled when it comes to people and minds his own business, every time I go for a visit with Danny,” William said smiling.

  “Debra, seems fine but she has nothing to do mostly because she doesn’t want to which is ok, it’s safe to say that those, that really wants to put in the effort in doing something and helping us as a group then they deserve to be here,” William said calmly.

  “I bet you are right, even though I won’t judge them in any way, they all deserve to be safe,” Emma said walking away.

  William thinks of what she said and her perspective might be right, either way if they don’t come over I will be a terrible leader or even if I select the ones that are healthy and well behaved then I will still be a bad leader to the ones that have to wait before they can come over. It’s a losing situation for both options unless I let them come over all at once and let the men do shifts at Key West in small teams of twos that way Key West can still be safe and everyone can be happy.

  There is a lot to think about, one character stands out from the group Bobby Pass, Martin’s brother, I can’t put my finger on it but the way he looks at everyone just make him seem like he has bad intentions maybe not now but further down the road, telling this to Emma would be useless as she will just say “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” she can be very annoying with a lot of things and on many topics.

  “Hey Danny when will you guys take more food to Key West,” Emma asked curiously.

  “Tomorrow or the next day not sure you know William can change his mind at a moment’s notice,” Danny said with confidence, laughing.

  “Jip he sure could, he concerns himself too much over plans and ideas working out,” Emma said smiling in a very friendly mood today.

  “I will ask him tonight, why do you want to know anyways?” Danny asked with half a smile.

  “I know it hasn’t been long, but I think it’s only fair for some of them to come over if not all of them, at least, the ones already showing proper behavior I mean they aren’t children,” Emma said being very concern.

  “Your right but let William sort out that problem after I talk to him,” Danny said knowing his suggestions don’t matter anymore.

  “Well good luck with that, I need to go prepare something to eat for Sally and my mother otherwise both will be grumpy until they do get food,” Emma said smiling.

  “Sure thing you go on ahead, I still have a few things to do myself for starters go and talk to William,” Danny said while he continues dividing painkillers.

  A few minutes passed, Danny deciding that he better go talk to William, now is as good as any other time, finding William sitting on the beach Danny joins him and informs him over the right thing to do, both smiling and laughing in between the conversation with a few other topics.

  “Well I have been thinking about them and all of them can come over,” William said.

  “It’s the right thing to do, it will show them how much you care,” Danny said.

  “Well I am only doing this as they will think badly with either decision I make unless it’s all of them at once,” William said.

  “When will we go over to fetch them?” Danny asked.

  “Later today, we will be back before dark, in order for them to set up their sleeping quarters and prepare food,” William said.

  “Sounds good to me, I need to go and tell Emma, this really has been bothering her,” Danny said smiling.

  “Wait before you go, just write their names down now, I need it so that I can prepare a task for each one, since we are growing as a group and packing work on only one person isn’t a wise idea,” William said.

  “My pen is always ready,” Danny said laughing.

  “Martin Pass, Bobby Pass, Samuel Mo, Markus gray and Taylor Duncan, with the two girls Debra Hills and Samantha green,” William said followed with silence as he waits for Danny to finish writing.

  “Jip that’s all of them, I never was good to remember a stranger's name, too bad we lost so many that day at the church,” Danny said while he gets up, handing over the note with their names on it to William.

  “Thank you, you can go so long and tell Emma to remove enough food for tonight and you can prepare our gear,” William said.

  “What about the supplies there?” Danny asked.

  “We lock it up and leave it there, we might need it to clear the area out again or defend against many,” William said.

  “That makes sense ok I better go now,” Danny said

  Giving Emma the good news, it’s hard for her to believe that William agreed to it, she rushes to get everything prepared, she grabs multiple cans of food, both canned meat and veggies, preparing the pot. Before even starting Danny stops her, explaining that she doesn’t have to do all of that, they will be arriving early to prepare their own beds and make their own food, all she needs to do is get enough food out of the locker with maybe some pillows and extra blankets if they a
re to be needed.

  Emma is very happy that they won’t be treated like animals and that they are finally coming over, thinking to herself that everything’s really starting to work out good for them. There haven’t been any serious attacks at Key West and with nothing here at all, making it the safest place to be right now, they can now finally stop worrying about other people, if they know what a good hold up is then they will know to head to Key West and take refuge in the Fort. Emma figures that the best focus point now will have to be more supplies, not just medicine and food but the general stuff to like blankets, pillows and even a few tents that has good resistance to the weather here.

  There can still be many things added to the list like pots and other wanted goods; all this will make living here much easier.

  “Don’t you think so Danny?” Emma asked.

  “I guess so, it would be nice to have forks and clean knives, however-” Danny answered before Emma interrupts his sentence.

  “What’s wrong? What else can be more important than making people feel more comfortable here?” Emma asks, being very moody about it.

  “Like I was saying all that is really nice, yet we should also think of getting more weapons,” Danny said.

  “Don’t we have enough? Didn’t we see enough violence, I know there is guns here besides the one William has,” Emma said angrily.

  “Yes we do, when we found the church they had weaponry, also not much just a rifle and two pistols, the rifle with the scope belongs to a guy called Martin, the two pistols belonging to Bobby and Markus,” Danny said fast.

  “I think that’s more than enough firepower to take down these things if you haven’t realized they are pretty easy to kill,” Emma said with an angry grin on her face.

  “Look don’t get angry at me for trying to be safe! If you want people to feel comfortable then they want to, feel safe, not with a stupid knife but real weapons,” Daniel said, trying hard to keep calm.

  “He is right you know, they will feel better, Emma, I ensure you not all of them will get one, we just need more for emergencies, if we ever had to get overrun out there while scouting then this pistol is way too slow and even if we aim and shoot, putting them down where they stand then that too will mean death as there won’t be any time to aim and shoot,” William said, after he heard the entire debate.

  “It’s ridiculous, they die easily why need gun? I don’t understand this rubbish,” Emma said.

  “Well now, you don’t have to understand this rubbish, all you need to understand is that all this is on me and for me to decide how I will keep you and your daughter safe with the rest of the group!” William said angrily.

  “But what about-” Emma said as William interrupts her angrily again.

  “It’s simple, there are no buts, if we do find weapons then it’s essential, when the time does come to arm more than needed then that will be a good damn essential to have, don’t get me wrong Emma I like your advice and everything but we need to think and when I think about it, then why risk yourself or any other to get close to those things simply to kill it? One bite and you are pretty much done,” William said angrily.

  “Look I will make sure only the right ones will get a gun that will be my first objective before handing out any weapons that can injure anything seriously,” William said calmly.

  “Fine, fine but please consider your options carefully when selecting potential candidates, keep in mind we don’t know any of them,” Emma said being very serious.

  “Like I said there is nothing to worry about, anyways not now at least, we first need to find that amount of weapons to start with and even before we can do that I first need to make the rules here for the newcomers, I have been over this once with them but I got a few more that needs to be mentioned also the fact that I need to think of some type of job system,” William said kindly.

  “If I can give each one a job to do then everyone will have more time for themselves including more time for more important tasks,” William said.

  “I agree, it will be better that way, especially the extra time,” Danny said.

  “I like that idea, in fact, I think I can do that, get their professions and write it down by giving each a proper job to do around here and once done I will just run the list down by you,” Emma said, still looking very upset.

  “That will save me a lot of time, however, that should wait until tomorrow morning, we have enough to do, for now,” William said.

  “She really looks upset, I almost feel bad for her,” Danny said as Emma walks away.

  “I do feel bad for her, she only wants her family to be safe and still at the same time keep Sally from seeing any violence, besides a kid of that age doesn't deserve to see such brutality,” William said.

  “She will get over it,” Danny said.

  “I hope so, don’t want bad friendships lurking around between me and her or anyone else,” William said concerned.

  “You should go get your things ready, we should leave soon, and we will still need to pack things once we get there,” William said.

  “I will be preparing the boat,” William said.

  “Ok sure, I will see you in a few minutes,” Danny said with a smile.

  Danny thinks to himself, why should he do all the work, clearly doing a lot more than he does, he just sits around and think over things while he hardly helps out, it's bare minimal compared to me and the others, I need to go fetch all the gear and all he is going to do to prepare the boat, that’s as simple as turning a key and see if it starts or not.

  I can’t take this anymore as much as I want him to be happy I need to be happy too, his way of doing things might be good but when it comes to helping it is simply rubbish, I will need to talk to him soon about this or I swear I will snap.

  “Well, you took your sweet time,” William said laughing.

  “It’s a lot to carry, if you helped me, then it would have been faster,” Danny said followed by silence.

  “Fine next time I will help you,” William said sarcastically.

  It’s a pretty far trip, at least, there is fuel at Key West locked up, to make things go faster we can load three more boats and let them all come over, that should save us a lot of time by just using this one, on the bright side if one had to break we would still have three more extra to use including enough to send scouts out.

  “Here we are, we should get started immediately, and you should find three more boats, preferably ones that are big yet fast,” William said.

  “Sure no problem,” Danny said miserably.

  “Just search the beach don’t go too far and look I know you’re not happy, things will change I promise,” William said.

  “I won’t bet on it, it’s been so long and everything is just getting worse between us,” Danny said.

  “Just wait and you will see things will get better,” William said as he walks away.

  Arriving in the square of the Fort everything seems fine, no one has killed anyone yet though things are looking a little dirty, bags, tins and other rubbish laying around.

  “Everyone gather around!” William said shouting.

  “I have been thinking very hard and I and the rest have decided that all of you can come over,” William said, coughing.

  “We will go over rules and regulations once we get there but before we go we need to clean up here for any other survivors that come here,” William said smiling as everyone looks happy.

  “Don’t wait around, get to it we need to go before it is dark,” William said as they start cleaning their mess.

  “I found a few, one is nearly full and starts up fine, the other two are empty,” Danny said, out of breath.

  “Are you ok? Did you run around?” William asked, very concerned.

  “I am fine I am just tired,” Danny said.

  “Very well, feel free to help around, we can’t stay here for long,” William said.

  “Martin, get over here,” William said, shouting out.

  “What do you
need?” Martin asked.

  “I will need you for many things since you clearly know how to handle that rifle of yours,” William said whispering.

  “I am, the best when it comes to using that rifle with the scope,” Martin said, looking very skeptical.

  “Well, I will need you to go straight to Emma once we get back then tell her that,” William said.

  “For now, however, I need you to go get fuel out of the storage and go fuel up two boats, and then bring them closer so that we can start loading them up,” William said smiling.

  “Sure no problem,” Martin said.

  “Danny I must go fuel up the boats, will you show me where they are,” Martin asked kindly.

  “Sure why not,” Danny said.

  Danny walks with Martin, his going to fill up the boats and bring them closer, as they walk Danny hates this guy already, he simply look like a dangerous man, yet Danny won't judge him on that, more will be needed before saying he is bad for the group, after all with his skill the group will be safer if he turns out to be ok.

  “The red one is full and starts fine, the two boats over there is empty they need the fuel,” Danny said.

  “Ok I better get started,” Martin said.

  “See you soon then,” Danny said as he walks away fast.

  “What a little prick,” Martin said to himself.

  The sun is setting, everyone seems to be ready, everything is packed, some food was left in the middle of the Fort Square just in case more survivors show up, and William also left a letter for any that shows up. The letter is simple instructions to the sleeping area that has a mattress with a pillow and a blanket, there are two such areas, if taken there is also sleeping bags, the letter also included instructions to the wash area where there is a bunch of big buckets for cleaning clothes or themselves and then there is the most important part, saying that they need to make them self at home, explaining they come over only once a week.

  William believes fully that Fort West is a good set up and lets any survivors that stumble upon the Fort want to join their group, it is well barricaded and most importantly has warm beds and good food, well the food isn’t exactly good, this he knows but surely it's better than nothing. Its already dark, William can, tell that they are close as he can see some torches burning and the spotlight hooked up to the generator, it took much longer than expected and the night will be long to get everyone set up with sleeping quarters while preparing food.