Considerable Destruction Series (Book 1): Evasion (

by Hernandez, Erica

  “Yeah, there are a couple flavors in here, but lots more in the garage.” I notice she hasn’t found them yet. “Do you want some help? I know where they are.”

  “I can find them just fine on my own. I’m looking through what you have.” Her voice has attitude in it, which I can’t understand.

  “Suit yourself.” I head to the fridge to look for milk, grateful there’s still some cream.

  Once everyone is seated, Jedaiah snuggling on my lap, Rob organizes our meeting. “What are our top concerns this morning?”

  “I think we need to head out to Polyrock. We’re out of milk and almost out of meat,” I report.

  “Okay. Anyone else have any concerns?”

  “We’re getting down to just winter squash and a little kale,” Maddie adds.

  “The new plants are growing well but they’re still just babies,” Eli adds. “We could pick dandelion greens.”

  “We should do that, for sure,” I encourage his willingness, “but we can see what there is at Jessie’s and Jan’s too.”

  “It sounds like a trip to Polyrock is on the agenda for today. Who wants to go? I think we take eight people, two trucks, and I’d like to go,” Rob adds.

  “More wine would be great if we can get it,” Jake laughs.

  “I want to go check out those fuckin’ green houses.” Alex’s in.

  “Jan needs some people to stay and help.” I look around. “Who is willing to go work for a week to help Jan?”

  “I’d like to go since Jessie’s out there,” Jake adds. “And I wouldn’t mind staying for a week.”

  “I could stay,” Alex adds.

  “Do ya know, I’ll go,” Nadir adds. Jedaiah whines. “It won’t be long and you’ll have Aunt Elli.”

  “I’ll go.” Sam’s in.

  Maddie and Justin are added to the ranks.

  When breakfast is over we pack up. Jose helps load up milk bottles. We know she had a lot of jars left by people who aren’t getting milk anymore, so it’s not a concern. I pack up some tea, coffee, medicine, and some of the packaged food which I don’t think she has.

  “I’m making us sandwiches to take along,” Maddie informs me. Sam and Bree are helping.

  As we’re loading up the trucks, Rob asks. “Does everyone have their weapons?” Everyone nods. “How about a first aid kit?”

  “Check,” Jake says.

  “Let’s hit the road. Walkie talkies?” I ask.

  “Roger that!” Jake high fives, taps his walkie talkie as we pile in the trucks, heading up the hill.

  Alex and I are with Rob and Sam. “Let’s use the same route,” Rob says into the walkie talkie.

  “Roger that,” Jake replies. I observe the empty street.

  “Desolate or peaceful, I guess it’s your point of view.”

  “I’d fuckin’ call it the Apocalypse!” Alex busts out.

  “It’s the Psychopalypse!” Rob adds, joking.

  “You guys are psycho!” Sam teases. We bust up laughing.

  “Can you play some music? There’s got to be an old CD in here,” I request. Sam loads a CD in as we drive through a crowd of infected. There must be thirty of them, mostly in the yards, bumbling around haphazardly, appearing confused, slow. We pass through easily.

  “Drive faster!” Jake screams from the second truck. “They’re starting to attack. There’re a few who raced out of the crowd, throwing something at the truck. Didn’t hit. Thank God!”

  My heart pounds. “All the ones I saw looked spaced out or something, but if one starts the attack, the rest will follow.”

  “You notice that too,” Sam adds.

  “What do you make of that?” Rob asks.

  “They remind me of Bipolar people transitioning from mania into depression. If we’re lucky it’ll be a calm winter.”

  “Shoot, we live in fuckin’ fertile Eugene! It’ll be a breeze!” Alex jokes.

  “Good point, man, even when everything dies, there’re always dandelions!” Rob laughs.

  We all join in. “More than that we could eat pine needles and bark, rose hips, and nettles,” Sam adds.

  “True. There are wild onions, garlic, and Queen Anne’s lace too,” I add remembering Eli and Gracie finding the garlic in school yards. “You know those are wild carrots?”

  Alex looks surprised. “Really? And mushrooms,” Alex adds.

  “Don’t forget Burdock,” Sam adds.

  “I guess this will be our study group,” I tease. “We could make a list in case we get stressed out and forget.” Near the creek there’s a late apple tree in December.” I pull a pencil and pad out of my fanny pack, writing them down.

  “Cattail roots, young shoots as well as acorns are edible,” Sam adds.

  “We should also go to Doris Ranch next and collect all the hazelnuts we can find,” I remind them, writing it on the list.

  “Crab apples are another option,” Rob adds. “Cranberries too if we see any. If not, maybe we’ll see elderberries.”

  “We might find duck potatoes or ground nuts near the creek at Polyrock,” I add. We’re heading out of town now, going the windy way. “We could drive out to Florence for clamming if we have enough gas,” I add. “Wow! We’re rolling now. This is great brainstorming!”

  “The inner bark of some trees is also edible,” Sam adds. “Birch, aspen, maple…”

  “Pine and willow,” Rob laughs, adding to her list.

  “We might get skinny, but we won’t die,” I titter. “Hopefully we’ll keep getting protein.”

  “Remember we’ve got Jessie’s rabbits too,” Sam chuckles. “If they keep fucking like bunnies, we should be able to keep eating.”

  “Lots of gardens have kale, parsnips, and Brussel sprouts,” I add.

  We continue winding through the forested countryside. “It is freakin’ peaceful out here,” Alex sighs.

  Quiet descends as we curve around, slowing for deer, admiring the trees.

  “Here!” I point. Soon we’re turning on to Territorial Road, then up Jan’s driveway. “It looks like they’re trying to disguise the entrance,” I say. The sign is down and the gate is disguised by piles of branches.

  “I wouldn’t have seen it if you hadn’t pointed it out,” Rob agrees.

  Inside the gates it looks the same, Jersey cows munch grass on one side, Beefalos on the other, then sheep as we get closer to the house. There’s a small field of pigs with horses in a field behind them. Beyond them are the green houses. We park by the milk room. “Jan, Jessie, Nick?” I holler.

  “Back here,” Jan calls from the milking area. “I think Nick is in the gardens and Jessie’s managing the cheese inside. God, I’m glad you guys are here!” We troop back to her.

  “You want me to take over?” Rob offers.

  Jake takes over the teats. “Take a break, woman. We’ve got your back.”

  “You’ve obviously done this before. Thanks.” Jan stops, stretching. “There’s only one person left at the neighbor’s farm, so we’ve been going over there and helping too. They’d be glad to have some of you guys stay there too.”

  “We’ve got more who can stay this time,” I tell her.

  “Woohoo!!” She fist bumps the air, then leads us to the house. “We’ve got a bunch of harvested fruit and vegetables that need to either be canned or go with you to be eaten.”

  “I’m heading to the gardens,” Alex says.

  “That-a-way.” Jan points

  Justin follows Alex.

  “So, how’s it been?” I ask her.

  “A hundred times better with help. We could use more. How many of you can stay this time?” She opens the heavy front door with the stained-glass upper half. “We’re still working our tails off but there’s progress being made.”

  “At least four of us can stay this time. If Nick wants to stay, Nadir will stay with him. Alex plans to stay and help in the gardens, harvesting the marijuana. Jake will stay with Jessie. Sam, Rob and I and one more need to drive back. We don’t want anyone
driving alone. Plus, if it’s okay with you, we’ve met a couple other communities who would love to come work in trade for food!”

  “Excellent! If you trust them, I’d love to have their help out here and so would the loner next door.” Hours pass in the kitchen, making feta cheese, and two other kinds which will need to sit in the cellar for a while. We can and store fruits and veggies.

  Around lunch time Alex and Nick burst into the kitchen. “Look at this!” Alex is carrying jars of bud, Nick has buckets of fruit and veggies.

  “This is the last of the pears and apples. There won’t be any more here.” Nick laments.

  “Then that’s the end of the fruit. At least we still have vegetables,” Jan explains.

  We sit down and eat cheese sandwiches with lettuce, tomatoes and pickles. “These are fabulous!” Rob exclaims, wolfing his down.

  “Eliana, you got the last of the gluten free bread. We need to make more.” Jan pats me on the back, understanding my gut issues.

  We get right back to work for the rest of the afternoon, canning pear and apple butter, making sauerkraut, and starting more cheese. “I’ve made jerky as well, thanks to Nick and Jessie. There was a bison that had to get slaughtered before it got too old to eat.”

  We finally stop to eat dinner, review our progress, and discuss who stays. Maddie decides to return with us while Justin stays. We pack fresh fruit and veggies, some canned stuff, cheese, meat, marijuana, and all the milk she has. There will be more milk in the morning. Everyone is excited about the beef jerky.

  “Thank God you guys are taking the milk! We’ll have a day off from cheese making!” Jan laughs with relief. We tell her about the two groups up the hill and our positive impressions of them. She agrees she’d be happy to have more helping hands. “Soon there will be more animals to slaughter and I’d rather share it than get buried in work. Bring ‘em next time you come. With more hands maybe, we could build another house out here. But there are also spare bedrooms at the neighbor’s farm.”

  The four of us load up and head back. “There must be twelve gallons of milk back there! Not to mention the cheese and meat!” I’m excited to have the protein.

  “I still want to stop for wine!” Sam laughs. “Thank God I talked to Rob about that since he’s in front.

  “And we have to stop at Jessie’s to check on the animals,” I add. “How are you and Rob doing? Is there any hope?”

  “It’s possible. You know we’ve separated a couple times over the years. Each time we get back together it’s better. The other times he relapsed. Well, you know… But this time it was more addict behavior, selfishness, and he shed that fast with this apocalypse, so… we’re making progress. How about you?”

  “Kind of similar. You know how tired I was of doing all the domestic chores, all the cooking, practically all the cleaning, but with this community, there’s always help in the kitchen so I get more variety. On his end, no one expects him to cook or clean, there’s too much other work to do, between making fences, chopping wood, and working in the garden, I don’t need him working inside. He’s sweet, affectionate, and appreciates me. I’m starting to feel something for him again.”

  We pull into Sweet Cheeks Winery, parking right where we did the last time. We don’t have a lot of space but we have some. “Salsa parteh!!!” I hiss whisper as we all head to the door.

  “Shit, I just wanna get drunk!” Rob laughs.

  “You can dance dude, but drunk ain’t on the menu!” I laugh.

  “I wish I could get drunk first and then dance!” He laughs back.

  “Not if you want to live with me!” Sam isn’t laughing. Rob looks down at his feet.

  We load up wine, then we’re off, traveling the dark curvy roads.

  We pull up Jessie’s drive, nearly reaching her farm before we spot a light along the road, coming in staccato flashes from the neighbor’s farm.

  “That’s S.O.S!” Sam says, startled.

  “Thank God you noticed. Three short, three long, three short. You’re right.”

  Reaching the top of the drive it’s no longer clear where the light was coming from. “Get out of the trucks!” The voice is up high, in a tree. “Show me you’re safe.”

  I take a crumpled, white handkerchief out of my pocket, waving it out the window. I roll it down in time to hear Rob, “How do we know you’re safe?”

  “Well, you can read Morse Code, so you knew I was asking for help. We had a bunch of infected here earlier, some of us were injured. I’m not hurt badly, but we need help. Do you guys have any medical knowledge?”

  “Not a lot, but one of us has some herbal knowledge. Come on down. Let’s meet here in the open first.” Rob and Maddie climb out of the truck.

  Sam and I follow cautiously.

  The tree near us shakes as feet appear below the thinning leaf layer, then a thirty-something woman drops to the ground, turning quickly. “You’re not attacking.” It’s a statement, but the relief is clear. “I’m Savannah. I heard you coming.”

  “I’m Rob. This is my … Sam.” He stumbles, not knowing what to say.

  “I’m Eliana, this is Maddie. Let me grab my first aid kit and we’ll see if we can help. Who’s injured?”

  “Follow me.” Savannah leads us past a garden and fruit trees, to the house. “My husband is injured, so are my older kids. They came at us unexpectedly. It had been so quiet out here. If I hadn’t been outside in the garden, I never could have saved them. Climbing that tree with a skirt full of big rocks saved us and I’ve got good aim. I chucked them at those guys, hit one in the head. They’d caused quite a bit of damage by the time I chased them off.” She’s angry, with red eyes from crying. I hadn’t realized her tears until she wipes her face. Touching her back, she comes toward me. I hug her and she leans in briefly, then pulls away.

  “Hurry!” She leads us through the living room into a back room. Her husband and adult children are laying on the floor. He has a head wound and the kids lay nearby.

  I rush over to her husband, cleaning the wound. “I want to make sure it’s good and clean first. It doesn’t look like it needs stitches. Was it bleeding a lot before?”

  “A lot… I stemmed the flow with pressure. I’m worried about his brain and infection.” Savannah says, kneeling beside me.

  “This is a salve with comfrey, copaiba, and cannabis. It will stop infection, promote healing, and relieve pain.” I slather it on, then bandage him.

  He moans. “Oh, my, that helps…”

  “I’m Eliana.” I introduce myself to the young lady. “Can you talk?”

  “Yeah. I’m Sofia.” She avoids my eyes. “It’s my ankles, my wrists.”

  It looks like she’s been tied up. Her wrists are raw and swollen. I clean them but they’ve been cleaned before. I put the salve on. “This should help the pain and the healing process.” Then I bandage her wrists and ankles. “Do you have any other injuries?” I worry she’s been assaulted.

  “They tried. My mom chased them off before that, thank God.”

  “What about you?” I turn to her son, lying next to his sister.

  “I yanked him off my sister as another grabbed me from behind. I don’t know if I have any visible wounds. He yanked my arms behind me, dislocating my shoulder, threw me on the ground, then slammed his boot in my back.”

  “I’m going to bind your arm so it doesn’t move and put comfrey salve on it for pain.” I bind the arm, rub salve around each shoulder, pulling his shirt aside to gain access. He’s lying face down on the floor. “Now I’m going to lift up your shirt to look at your back.” I lift up his shirt, finding a boot sized bruise across his back. It’s quite swollen. I gently apply salve all over the area. I look up to survey the room, realizing a younger boy is sitting in the corner.

  “What about you, young man, are you okay?” Sam is asking him.

  “He ran inside quickly and didn’t get hurt….physically.” Savannah explains, walking over to sit next to him. He looks about twelve, maybe. “Cyrus
, where’s Cecelia?” He just shakes his head.

  “Sofia, when did you last see her?”

  “She was picking the last of the pears with us.” Sofia’s voice shakes.

  “Cyrus. Did you ever see her come inside?” Savannah asks gently. He shakes his head again.

  “Help me find her, please!” She turns to me with a desperate face.

  “You stay here Eliana, we’ll go.” Sam and Rob say simultaneously. I watch as Maddie goes to sit by Cyrus, quietly holding his hand. The door shuts behind them.

  “So, you know my name. What’s yours?” I ask her husband, wondering how coherent he is.

  “Oliver. Thanks. My head feels a bit more bearable.” He hasn’t opened his eyes.

  “Can you open your eyes?”

  His eyes flicker open for a split second. “No. Too painful.”

  “I think you need something stronger. Are you allergic to anything?”

  “No.”

  “I have some opiates here. I’m going to crush it in the kitchen. I’ll be back.” I get up. “Sofia, which way to the kitchen?”

  “That way.” She points toward the door we didn’t enter.

  I enter a moderate kitchen, facing the back of the house. I open the fridge, pleasantly surprised that it’s running. They must have a generator. I find some jam, then a butter knife and use the handle to crush the pills in a small bowl. Adding jam, I mix it well, and take a spoonful back to the living room.

  “I’m going to put a spoon to your lips. It has jam with the pills crushed and mixed in.” I spoon the jam-medicine into his mouth. “Sofia,… how are you feeling?”

  “It’s tolerable. Spencer, how are you?” She asks her brother.

  He tries to move, groans, and stops. “Not too bad if I don’t move.”

  I stand up. “I’m going to mix up some opiates for you also.” Returning to the kitchen, I repeat the process.

  “Thanks. Thanks for coming, for helping us,” Spencer croaks.

  The front door opens. “Eliana, can you come here a minute?” It’s Sam’s voice.

  “I’ll be right back.” I tell them, heading for the door.

  “Come outside a second.” Sam tugs me out, shutting the door behind her. “Her daughter has been raped, assaulted, and killed,” she pauses. “She has the Crown Killer mark.” She’s holding Savannah, who’s crying, hiccupping and then crying some more. “Come hold her, okay? I’ll go in and stay with the others.” I take over for Sam, while she and Rob go inside. I gently nudge Savannah to a bench, sitting beside her.