by Tim Moon
All Ben could think about, while eating what was supposed to be lasagna, was he should lead the group. First things first, they had to replenish their supplies. Everything they had gained over the previous weeks had been lost. Second, they needed a safe place to live. Somewhere that was safer than where they had been.
Looking around the room, Ben knew he had to say something. Anuhea looked to be on the verge of snapping, while Oliver seemed to be a turtle hiding in his shell. His mom’s eyes glistened with concern.
“I want to go back,” Ben said.
“To the house?” Nancy asked. The look of shock on his mom’s face almost made Ben smile. He didn’t say anything though. Going home hadn’t occurred to him.
“It wouldn’t be safe,” Chadwick said quickly.
“No, I know that,” Ben said, holding up a hand to ward them off. “I meant… I want to go back to the sporting goods store. They have everything we need to start over: weapons, ammunition and even some food.”
“Does this mean we’re leaving town?” Nancy asked.
Ben stared at the floor and then nodded. With the house and those around it burned down and their perimeter breached, it wasn’t worth the risk. Even if they wanted to go back and move to another house, the survivors of Nick’s group might return. Not to mention the general risk of staying in town. No, the attack had changed Ben’s plan and proved that it was time to venture further out.
“Where do we go?” Nancy asked.
“We have a map in the boot,” Chadwick said, standing up.
Anuhea shot him a curious glance.
“I believe you Yanks call it the trunk,” he said it with a bad American accent and grinned slightly.
Ben chuckled a bit. Anuhea busied herself by picking up trash from the meal. Oliver had finished his meal and was playing with an action figure on the couch.
Chadwick was about to leave, to get the map, when Ben motioned for him to stay.
“It’s okay, man. I have a place in mind,” Ben said. “I’ve thought about it for a while and I think you guys will like it.”
“Do tell,” Nancy said.
“It’s on a lake, surrounded by forests and mountains. There’s plenty of space and solitude.” Ben put the trash from his camping food back into the bag and handed it to Anuhea when she reached for it. “Thanks,” he said to her. “It’s the site of a summer camp. I can’t think of the name, but I know how to get there.”
“That sounds brilliant!” Chadwick grinned, trying hard to lighten the mood, but his enthusiasm wasn’t contagious. He sensed it wasn’t working and eased back a little. “What do we need to make this happen then?”
“First, we gear up,” Ben said. “Then we move out.”
31
The remainder of the day was spent double-checking the gear they had available in the car and picking the house clean of any useful items. Afterwards, it was clear they would need to raid a grocery store.
By Nancy’s estimation, they had more than enough food for one or two people for a couple of months. It wouldn’t last long for five people; maybe a few weeks at best. He’d caught the brief look of defeat on Anuhea’s face when they had come to that realization. Given how hard they had worked to gather supplies prior to the attack, he knew exactly how she felt.
“Let’s check some of these houses here,” Ben said. “We still have quite a few hours of daylight.”
He couldn’t stand the idea of not keeping busy. He had to keep his mind from wandering too far, dwelling too much on the pain.
Anuhea nodded.
Chadwick returned from loading the car with supplies from the pantry.
“We’re going house to house,” Anuhea said. “Want to join us?”
Chadwick nodded. “Yeah.”
So, just like they had in the old neighborhood, they began the hunt. This time when they cleared a house, they immediately began the process of collecting supplies. Nancy and Oliver moved the truck to each driveway, so they didn’t have to carry stuff too far.
“I know things are tough right now,” Chadwick said carefully as they hauled supplies to the truck. “Oliver is feeling it to, you know? She was like his mum, in a way, or maybe more like a sister.”
Ben grunted and nodded again.
“I just wanted to bring it up. He could use some attention, I think.”
“Thanks, Chadwick,” Ben said, grateful for the suggestion. “I’ll do that.”
His friend flashed a grin and slowed his pace, favoring his injured leg. Ben bit the inside of his cheek with concern. Chadwick’s injury was another thing they would have to keep a close eye on without Charlotte around.
The next house on the block was blue and white with a small, decorative fence in the front yard. Ben entered quickly and cleared the living room. He kept going with Anuhea right behind him. They swept through with practiced ease, searching for infected.
A faint growl caught Ben’s attention and as turned to face the hallway. The hall was empty. He tilted his head trying to pinpoint its location. Anuhea grunted behind him as a zombie lunged out of a partially opened coat closet and grabbed her.
She staggered back a few steps, managing to get her rifle up to hit it, but couldn’t get a good swing. The infected latched onto the rifle and snarled. All its weight pushed against her as it tried desperately to sink its teeth into her flesh. Anuhea wrestled with it, trying to gain an advantage.
Ben spun around to help. He grabbed the zombie by the hair and flung it sideways. A handful of greasy, matted hair and rotted scalp peeled away in his hand. Squishy, rancid flesh and hair clung to his fingers like spaghetti. He shook his hand in the air to get it off. Little bits flew off, splattering the floor and ceiling.
The infected lunged back at Anuhea, oblivious to its missing scalp. In one swift move, she let go of her rifle with one hand, unsheathed her knife and plunged it into the skull of the infected. She gasped for breath and stared at the corpse slumped on the floor in front of her.
“Close call,” Chadwick said after he rushed inside from the porch.
“Sorry,” Ben said, feeling lame for not doing more.
“It’s fine.” Anuhea made a face as her gaze fell to his hand. “That’s not though.”
Ben’s face contorted in disgust as he stared at his hand. Hurrying into the kitchen, he checked the faucet and was thrilled when water came out. He rinsed off in the sink.
“Don’t waste the water pressure,” Anuhea said.
“Damn that,” he muttered as clumps of hair and pieces of flesh flowed into the drain. He wasn’t about to clean out the strainer. “We can get water bottles.”
Once it was rinsed off, Ben used a dish towel to remove the last stubborn traces. He tossed the defiled towel onto the stove and followed Anuhea to clear the rest of the house. There wasn’t much risk of another infected. After that brief scuffle, it would have made itself known.
After they made sure the house was safe, Ben went to check the garage while Anuhea took the backyard. A huge grin lit up his face at the sight of a matching pair of midnight blue SUVs. He raced out to the backyard, startling Anuhea.
“Dude help me find the car keys,” he said, beaming at her.
“What did you find?”
“Come look.”
She went to the garage and nodded. “That’s an upgrade.”
“Right?”
“Who gets matching cars though?” Anuhea asked.
“A loving couple?” Ben shrugged.
“A couple of weirdos.”
“Help me with the garage door,” Ben said. “Lift on three.”
The door rattled open, but the street was clear.
“Whoever finds the keys first, drives first,” Anuhea said.
“Deal.”
Thus, began the search. Much to Ben’s annoyance, it didn’t last long. As soon as they walked back into the house, Anuhea found the keys in a small basket on the kitchen counter.
“I feel like that was a setup,” Ben complained.
&
nbsp; She tilted her head and then tossed him one set of keys and went back to the garage. Anuhea pulled the first SUV into the street. Ben started up the other SUV just to make sure they keys were right and the engine worked. He left it in the garage, so they could easily load it with stuff from the house.
“The tank’s not full, but we can find gas,” he said.
“They’re perfect. We can split the gear evenly between the two and have extra space for new supplies,” Anuhea said. “We should still take the truck though. That will come in handy later, especially if we’re out in the forest.”
“Agreed.”
Anuhea checked where Chadwick was. He stood by the truck talking to Nancy.
Ben could tell something was up. “Are you okay?”
“You asked about my family before and I didn’t say anything.”
“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it,” Ben said. “I can respect that.”
Anuhea hesitated for a moment, her bottom lip quivering slightly before she adopted her usual tough mask. “My father was an alcoholic.” Her head bowed, staring at her feet, but she glanced up to gauge his reaction.
Ben nodded, encouraging her to go on.
“He had a violent history; mostly when he drank. He’d go on and on about random stuff. ‘Don’t trust no one,’ he’d say. ‘Everyone will let you down.’” Anuhea shook her head. “I guess he didn’t see the irony in that since he hardly ever kept his word. Anyway, he got drunk one night and didn’t come home, like so many other nights. Next morning, I woke up sick. I had an awful headache, fever, and I threw up. So, of course, mom tells me to stay in bed, which was great because it was a school day.”
She flashed a weak smile.
“I was sitting in my room, watching my mom pull out of the driveway to take my brother and sister to school. And… Here comes my dad’s car from the other direction. He’s hauling ass, driving way too fast. And you’ve seen some of the roads around Kona. They’re narrow and winding. So, he’s speeding, loses control and hits my mom’s car head on. Both cars go over the guard rail and tumble downhill.”
Ben’s chin plummeted. His shoulders slumped as he imagined the pain and burden of seeing that happen.
“It should have been a decent enough day. No school, right? Even though I was sick, I could still watch TV or play video games. Everything changed in an instant though, right before my eyes,” Anuhea said, wiping away tears. She held a hand to her lips. “Now, I feel like it’s happening again.”
Anuhea’s story was heart wrenching, but he didn’t grasp the connection. When she looked up, she must have seen that in his eyes.
“I don’t want to be the one racing dangerously out of control after this,” she said softly.
“Ah.” He couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“I felt that when my family died. A sense of being out of control and unable to handle the flood of emotions. What do I do? Where do I go?” Anuhea shook her head. “I’m barely holding it together. I don’t want to feel like that again.”
Ben put a hand on her shoulder. He was quiet for a few moments contemplating what she said. It made sense.
“Okay,” he said, unsure what kind of support she was looking for. “You know I’ve got your back. I’m always here for you if you need anything.”
Anuhea leaned in and put her arms around him.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
32
“Gather around the kitchen table,” Ben said when they returned to the house they had temporarily commandeered.
He got a bottle of water for himself and offered some to the others. Chadwick came down from upstairs, cracked open the water bottle and they took a seat with everyone else around the dinner table.
Ben pulled a map out of his cargo pocket. The thick weather-proofed paper unfolded easily, and he placed it on the table. It showed Southwest Washington, with bold dots marking the location of Vancouver, Portland, and the smaller surrounding towns. Mount St. Helens stood out as did Mount Adams, and the smaller mountains that lined the Gorge.
“That’s a gem, isn’t it?” Chadwick said, peering at the map.
“It is indeed.”
“What are we looking at?” Anuhea asked.
“Right now, we’re sitting here,” Ben said, pointing to Vancouver on the map. “So, like I mentioned before, I want to take us to a lake. That’s right…” He looked for it. “Ah, here. Lake Merwin.”
Nancy nodded in approval as they all leaned in to examine the map.
“How long will it take to get there?” Anuhea asked.
“Depends on the roads and if we run into infected. Under normal circumstances, back in the day, it’d take about forty minutes or so.” He rubbed his jaw and looked at each of them. “That said, I’d like to take the back way which might take a little over an hour. It should be safer though. We can also stop at a store or two along the way to pick up food.”
“You mentioned it was a camp site?” Chadwick asked. “Does that mean tents and outhouses?”
“Not so much. I remember the name now. It’s called Lake Merwin Shoreline Camp. Think of it more as a lakeside community. Friends took me there a few times and they have a great set up. It’s a large property right on the water with multiple cabins, a large central lodge, and several smaller buildings that I never went into,” Ben said.
“That sounds promising,” Chadwick admitted.
“It also has a dock with a swimming area and two large fields for baseball and soccer… er, football,” Ben said with a quick look at Chadwick, who smirked. “We could always convert one or both of the fields into farmland for crops. They might have a greenhouse but I’m not positive. We can fish and swim in the lake, hunt in the surrounding forest, and live in relative safety out there. The buildings and roads can be fortified, and we can work without much fear of drawing infected down upon us.”
Chadwick seemed to be interested. Anuhea looked neutral as she studied the map.
“Lake Merwin is a beautiful area. There will be other people out there, I’m almost certain of it,” Nancy said. “Some folks around those parts are survivalists or preppers. They might not have taken the camp, but they’ll know about it and might come around snooping.”
“That’s true. But I think folks like that tend to stick to their own property. Would they really care if we took over the camp? I would think they would only care about us if they think we’re trying to take over someone’s house. Or threaten their property. Shoreline Camp was a business, not a homestead.”
“We can approach it cautiously,” Anuhea said. “If someone’s there, I’m sure we can find something else. Right?”
Ben nodded. “Sure. Worst case scenario is that we go take over an old ranger station or something like the visitor center on Mount St Helens.”
“We’ve done that before,” Chadwick said with a grin.
Nancy looked confused when the others chuckled.
“Mom, do you have any other suggestions? You probably know the area better than I do,” Ben said.
Nancy shook her head. “No, that’s a fine choice dear.”
“I don’t know this area at all, but I trust you, Ben. I can’t think of any reason why we shouldn’t at least check it out,” Anuhea said.
Nancy nodded in agreement, beaming at Anuhea. She reached forward and patted Ben’s forearm. “I couldn’t have said it better myself. I trust your judgment, son. Living next to Lake Merwin is going to be like a dream come true.”
“What we’ve been through has been barking mad, but I’m hopeful that we can start a new life out there,” Chadwick said with a huge grin.
“It’s settled then,” Ben said. “Tomorrow we go to Lake Merwin.”
33
The sun had barely started to lighten the eastern sky when Ben sat up. Blinking away the sleep, he stood, stretched his back and legs, and then went to wake the others. His heart beat with nervous anticipation, and just a hint of excitement.
Walking down the hall, Be
n banged on each door and said, “Wake up. Time to get ready.”
Raiding SportsMart was first on the agenda. Then they would immediately depart for Lake Merwin Shoreline Camp. A new chapter in their lives was about to start and having that to focus on helped sooth the pain of losing Charlotte.
Ben started up the single burner camp stove to boil water. Coffee was needed stat, to keep him sharp. He wasn’t a morning person and Chadwick liked to start the day with a cup of tea.
Over the next ten minutes or so, people began to shuffle into the kitchen. They ate a quick, simple meal of oatmeal and breakfast bars. They also enjoyed hot drinks that warmed their chilled bodies.
Anuhea went outside for a few quiet moments at Charlotte’s grave. Ben watched from the door but gave her space. Someday, probably in the spring, he’d come back with flowers to visit Charlotte.
Ben, Chadwick and Nancy pack up the last few items while they waited for the stove to cool down. Oliver appeared from the bedroom with his arms full.
“Find something you like?” Ben asked.
“Yes. It’s SpongeBob,” Oliver said as if no explanation was needed. He hugged it tightly and marched towards Nancy who stood beside one of the SUVs.
“He seems awfully protective of that pillow,” Ben said.
“Kids,” Chadwick muttered, shaking his head.
They waited in the driveway for Anuhea to join them. When she arrived, Ben went over the plan one last time. Ben, Anuhea and Nancy would each drive a vehicle, with Ben leading the way in the truck. Oliver would ride with Nancy in the SUV in between Ben and Anuhea, who would bring up the rear. Everyone was eager to move on. Their temporary home had a cloying sadness that dampened everyone’s spirits.
“There is just enough light that we can drive without headlights. If you see serious trouble, flash your bright lights,” Ben said. “If for some crazy reason we get separated and don’t find each other in a few minutes, we meet up north in Amboy. Wait at a tiny shop called Amboy Market for one day. After that, push on to the lake. There are plenty of signs to guide you and we all have a map.”