Safe Zone

by Chesla, Gary

They followed the men carrying the bows down to the wall. After getting them to the top of the wall, Shaun showed them how the braces he had attached to the beam slid down over the top of the wall posts. Shaun slipped a metal peg into one of the holes in the beam that came back from the four inch post.

  “Help me pull the cable back and hook it behind the metal post.” Shaun said. George grabbed the cable and helped Shaun pull the cable back as the twenty foot pole bent backwards.

  Shaun picked up a five foot long, two inch thick pole and slipped it on the bow. “I had one of the guys make a couple of test arrows. After we make sure it works, I’m sure you can have some better arrows made.”

  “Can I try it?” George asked.

  Bill looked at Shaun. “George is our best marksman, but it is your handy work. It’s up to you.”

  Shaun smiled. “It’s all yours George. When you have it aimed, you just slide this metal stake under the cable and slide the wire up over the post that holds the wire. If you put the post in one of the holes further back, it will create more tension and your arrow will go further.”

  George turned the bow on the swivel and aimed at something down on Route 30. He took the metal wedge and slowly began to slide the cable up and over the post.

  A loud twang sounded as the cable snapped forward. They watched the large arrow fly through the air. A few seconds later, red glass shattered and fell onto Route 30 as the arrow drove itself into the hanging traffic signal over the intersection of Routes 30 and 711.

  Shaun whistled. “I think maybe you should have been the one explaining to me how this thing works. Nice shot George.”

  “Nice work.” George smiled.

  “I’m glad you approve. It’s all yours.” Shaun said. “Put the other bow on one of the other walls and you should be able to cover a lot of territory.”

  “I’ll get to work on more arrows for this tomorrow.” George said.

  They were all interrupted by the sounds of the bell ringing at the inner gate.

  “Shaun you earned your keep for the week today. You had some good ideas and did a great job making it all work.” Bill said as he slapped Shaun gently on the back.

  “I’m glad I could help. It’s great to be part of something again. Thanks for taking us in.” Shaun said.

  “You go have dinner with your wife. Have a good night. Tomorrow I look forward to see what other good ideas you have to help us here at the fort. I’m glad you decided to join us.” Bill said.

  “What time do you want me up at the sheds tomorrow?” Shaun asked.

  “Sleep as long as you can. How about somewhere around noon?” Bill smiled.

  “I don’t think I’ll sleep that long. I’ll be up long before noon.” Shaun laughed.

  Shaun turned. He and Doug started walking back to their cabins. “We sure got a lot done today. Did you have a crew that worked for you before, or did you mostly work by yourself?” Doug asked.

  “I usually had one or two helpers. Depended on how much work I had lined up.” Shaun answered. “Why?”

  “You sure had all those guys hopping today. You just looked like you were used to having people work for you.” Doug laughed.

  “Now you sound like Meg.” Shaun laughed. “She is always telling me how pushy I am.”

  Doug laughed.

  “Talking about Meg? I think the girls have dinner set out for us.” Doug said as they looked over at their cabins to see the girls sitting the chairs around the fire pit. “They even have a small fire started.”

  Bill was walking up the fort road towards the inner gates. Ed came walking out to meet him. He turned and walked beside Bill.

  “We’re still three short. We haven’t had many new people come in lately.” Ed said. “We only have two more days.”

  “Hopefully someone will turn up.” Bill replied. “Any suggestions?”

  “That Wilpen girl can fill one spot.” Ed answered. “How about the two new ones?”

  “No. Not yet. They’re still too valuable to us.” Bill said.

  “How about just one of them?” Ed suggested. “They were up getting some material today. They are a lot healthier than the ones that have come in the past few months.”

  “You think we could get by with just one of them this month?”

  “Quality over quantity you mean?” Bill smiled.

  “Yea. What do you think?” Ed asked. “Buy us another month. Maybe more will come by then?”

  “I think I could sell that, but I’m not sure what we are going to do then. I honestly think there aren’t many more live people out there. Sooner or later we are going to have to make a stand.” Bill replied.

  “You remember I said we should never have agreed to this to start with.” Ed added. “We had the fort, we could have made it.”

  “I know.” Bill replied. “But there wasn’t as many of us then. I didn’t want to take the chance. Besides, what does it matter? We use these vagabonds to buy us time and it doesn’t take any of our supplies to do it.”

  “There isn’t any more of us now.” Ed said.

  “But we are better organized. If that new guy comes up with some more ideas like he had today, we won’t have anything to worry about.” Bill said. “Until then we leave him alone.”

  “How about the other one? It could buy us another month to be ready.” Ed said.

  “We still have two days.” Bill said. “I’ll let you know.”

  “Here come our two hard working hubbies!” Megan said as Shaun and Doug walked up to the cabin and dropped down in a chair.

  “Where you two watching us today?” Shaun smiled. “You couldn’t find anything better to do?”

  “Close your eyes. I have a surprise for you.” Megan said.

  “OK, our eyes are closed.” Shaun said.

  “Maybe we could eat first?” Doug suggested.

  “Just keep your eyes closed.” Megan said as she dragged Lisa into the cabin. They came back out a few minutes later.

  “You can open your eyes now.” Megan said.

  Shaun and Doug opened their eyes. Megan and Lisa were standing in front of them. Each was wearing an army green dress.

  “Where did you get the dresses?” Shaun smiled. He hadn’t seen Megan in a dress for the last six months.

  “We made them.” Lisa beamed.

  “They look great.” Shaun said. “And green!” He thought.

  “We made new curtains for the cabin too.” Megan pointed to the green curtains, now hanging over the cabin window.

  “I made you a shirt too!” Megan said proudly as she brought the green shirt around from behind her back.

  “I really needed another shirt.” Shaun smiled.

  “How come you both made a green dress? Are you trying to look like sisters?” Doug smiled.

  “We went up to the inner fort and asked if we could get some material. Green was all they had.” Megan said.

  “I think they look very nice.” Shaun added.

  Megan smiled as she brought over and handed Shaun his dinner container and sat down beside him.

  “What’s for dinner tonight?” Shaun asked.

  “Ham pot pie!” Megan answered.

  “I guess Lilly was right. They eat a lot of ham around here.” Shaun said as he opened his dinner and smelled the container. “Did you talk with Lilly this afternoon?”

  “No. We saw her a few times, but she seemed busy, so we didn’t bother her.” Megan answered.

  They sat around the fire as the days light slowly turned to night. They felt tired, but it was a good kind of tired. They had helped their new group today. They had put in a busy day of work and felt more secure and satisfied with their efforts.

  “The girls had fixed up the cabins, giving it their own personal touch. Megan felt good being able to make Shaun a new shirt. It wasn’t much, but it felt good.

  After dinner, as the fire died down, Shaun carried a bucket of water back to the cabin so they could wash up. After walking Megan to the outhouse without any complaint
s, they came back to their cabin and turned in for the night.

  It had been a good day. Not once had they thought about the dead or the gangs. They didn’t worry about how much food they had left, or about where they would be able to find more supplies. It had only been one full day, but the comfort and safety they felt, made them feel like they had finally left the nightmare that had become their life, in the past. It wasn’t the life they had been used to, but it was something that gave them a chance to have a future.

  It gave them hope. The hope they thought they had lost.

  They pulled the green blanket up to their chin and snuggled together and fell asleep.

  A deep, satisfying restful sleep.

  Chapter 12

  Lilly drifted in and out of sleep. Her mind wouldn’t shut off.

  It kept waking her flooded with doubts. She had fallen asleep a dozen times tonight, just to wake up moments later having panic attacks.

  She didn’t know what it was that was bothering her, but it didn’t stop her from being nervous.

  Ever since she was told that she should get her things together because she might be relocated to her new permanent home, it bothered her.

  The idea of moving to a new real house should have made her happy, but it bothered her.

  Why was it that only the new people that had wondered into the fort were relocated? If this was such a good thing, why didn’t the people that had been here from the beginning move in to these new real homes that had been secured somewhere in Ligonier.

  The group that had been here the longest all lived together in the main inner fort.

  The new people that came in were set up in the little huts that were scattered around the outer walls.

  She had made friends with some of the people that had come to the fort, but they were soon relocated.

  Why hadn’t any of them ever come back to visit her.

  The guys that had come in were usually relocated first. They were never around for more than a few days.

  The girls that had come in by themselves were usually here a little longer, but were soon gone. They were never here more than a month.

  She had been here now for almost a month and now she was told she may soon be relocated.

  But they didn’t tell here where she would be going. They would tell her when they were sure.

  Lilly had wondered around the fort today, trying to count how many people were still in the little cottages.

  She had only counted maybe ten other people and that included the four people that were now living near the flower garden she took care of.

  They seemed like nice people. The girls had talked to her this morning and were real friendly. It would be nice to have a friend. It had been so long since she had really been able to call anyone her friend.

  It had been nice when she first came to the fort. It was peaceful and safe.

  It was so much nicer than it had been where they had lived before. Lived was probably not the right word. They weren’t living, they were just managing to survive.

  When they came here, it was such a big change.

  Life had become almost enjoyable.

  All the things she had told that guy Shaun, that had come to talk to her, wasn’t a lie. It was the truth.

  But right after she had talked to him, she had been informed she was going to be relocated.

  This started her thinking. When she started to think and really take a look around, she started to worry.

  All of a sudden things didn’t add up.

  There were about thirty-five to forty people that lived in the main fort. She wasn’t sure, it was just a guess.

  The new people came and were set up in the cottages. They soon were gone.

  The fort had to defend against attacks from the dead every few days.

  It was the same people that manned the weapons. The people from inside the inner fort. Never the people that had lived in the outer fort.

  Then these people were relocated.

  There was plenty of space at the fort. She thought it would have made more sense to keep more people at the fort to defend it and those that lived inside its walls.

  Why didn’t the group that was supposed to be clearing out the dead from Ligonier ever come back to the fort.

  As she thought about being relocated, it had started making her think and then start to worry.

  Maybe she was just being paranoid after living all that time surrounded by the dead and the gangs in Wilpen. Living there you couldn’t trust anyone.

  It had been nice here. It was amazing feeling safe again.

  Maybe she was just worrying for nothing.

  Maybe when she was relocated, she would meet all the people she had been friendly with before. After all, it was nice living here. She had been fed well and had gained ten pounds since she came here. The food was good. She had never eaten so much ham in her life, in fact she was actually getting tired of eating ham.

  After scratching for anything to eat, she had even eaten bugs to stay alive, she wasn’t going to complain, but surely they had other food they could have given them? They had four farms.

  Maybe the people up at the inner fort had other things to eat, she didn’t know. She never got to see what they ate. The food wagon came out to the gate where the people below picked up their food. The people in the upper fort never came down to eat with the others.

  Maybe she was worried over nothing. They had been nice to her, cared for her and kept her safe. They said she would like her new home.

  Maybe she should just trust them. They had done right by her so far. Maybe the people at the fort were here to protect them all. Maybe it was nice in town. She figured she would soon find out.

  She again began to drift off to sleep. “How many times has it been?” She thought.

  She hoped she would finally be able to sleep.

  Lilly began to stir in her sleep. She was getting awake again. She wasn’t having a panic attack this time, she had heard a noise.

  She laid with her eyes closed in the dark. Her mom was sound asleep. She could hear her breathing the deep slow breathes of sleep.

  Just when she thought she would fall back to sleep someone rushed into her cabin.

  They ran over to her bed and put their hand over her mouth. She tried to scream, but the hand was over her mouth to tightly.

  Next someone pulled her from her bed and held her arms so tight it hurt.

  While she was standing there unable to move or scream, a cloth of some kind was tied tightly across her eyes. It made her eyes hurt. Then another cloth was shoved into her mouth and another tied tightly around her face.

  The cloth in her mouth tasted gross. It almost made her want to throw up.

  “God she hoped she wouldn’t throw up.” Lilly thought. “She would choke to death on her own vomit.”

  He hands were roughly pulled behind her back and her hands tied.

  She felt herself being dragged across the floor. She wanted to call out to her mom. Where was her mom? Did they gag and tie her mom too?

  Lilly felt the damp grass on her feet. Where are they taking her? Why didn’t they let her change her clothes?

  Her feet were wet when the ground changed. She could feel dirt against her feet. She could tell her feet were getting muddy walking in the dirt after being in the wet grass.

  She couldn’t scream, all she could do was make grunting sounds. That didn’t seem to do any good. It just made whoever was taking her somewhere, drag her even harder.

  She could tell she was walking up hill because her legs were getting tired from walking as she strained to move.

  They had to be taking her up to the main fort.

  The low creaking sound of the gate let her know she was right. She was going into the inner fort. But why?

  She had been in the upper fort before when her mother had sent her up to get material. She didn’t remember what her mother was making, but she needed some material.

  Lilly began to count her steps. She
knew it was about thirty steps back to the shed with the material near the back wall. She had counted the steps that day she was here.

  Thirty steps had passed when she heard another gate creak. They lead her for another twenty steps. She had no idea where she was now. She had never been past the material shed. She didn’t know anyone that had been past the material shed.

  She was led a few more steps before she was jerked to a stop.

  As she stood and shivered from the cool night air, she heard what sounded like something metal making a jingling sound. Then she heard a click and a door was opened.

  She was pushed inside. She could tell she was now inside somewhere, the air temperature felt warmer.

  Again she was roughly pushed a few feet, then jerked to a stop.

  Someone started to untie her hands.

  This made her feel scared. What was going to happen to her now?

  Her hands were pulled in front of her and her wrists were once again tied together. This time she felt another rope being tied to the rope around her wrists. She was startled and let out a painful whimper as her arms were jerked violently by the wrists high over her head. The rope was pulled so tight she almost had to stand on her tip toes to make the pain stop.

  She continued to whimper but no one said anything to her.

  She listened to the footsteps going away from her.

  The door was opened as she heard. “She has gained a little weight, but she is still a skinny thing.” Some guy said.

  Another man replied. “We can’t wait any longer. She has to go now.”

  “Go where?” Lilly thought as the pain shot through her arms. “Where am I going tied up like this?”

  She hadn’t recognized either of the voices.

  She now half hung and half stood in silence. She wiggled her hands trying to get loose, but it didn’t do any good.

  She struggled to control the pain as she mumbled into her gag.

  She heard an answering mumble. There was someone else in here with her.

  The mumble sounded again.

  She could tell it was another girl. The sound was too high of a pitch to be her mom. Where was her mom?