365 Days At War

by Nancy Isaak

  “So, not a lot. Which makes it less likely that they’re Crazies—especially if it’s girls wandering about.”

  “They could also be with the group that lives at the Naval Station up at Point Mugu.”

  “Have you had any more contact with them?”

  Larry shook his head. “Dudes keep to themselves. We can’t even get near. They got very itchy trigger fingers, so we figure they want to be left to themselves.”

  * * * *

  Later, as we rode along the highway—heading toward Oxnard—Cherry and I rode side-by-side, discussing the guys at the Point Mugu Naval Station.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “I just think that it might be a good idea to try and talk to them.”

  “Larry says that they shoot at anyone who gets near.”

  “Then, maybe we should show up with a white flag or something,” she suggested. “Maybe then they’ll talk with us.”

  “Why are you so interested in them?”

  “It’s not that I’m interested,” she said. “It’s just that they’re sitting on a butt-load of weapons. I mean, it’s a Naval Station, right…that means they have to have tons of guns everywhere.”

  “Probably.”

  “So, if a treaty can be made, don’t you think it would be smarter for us to make one with them?”

  I sighed. “You mean, before the Crazies decide to branch out in this direction.”

  “Exactly,” Cherry nodded.

  She did have a point.

  * * * *

  We spent our first night in a townhouse, just outside of Oxnard.

  It was a three-bedroom, each with a queen-sized bed—plus a couple of good couches in the living room. As with riding, we separated into pairs; Cherry and Jude in one bedroom, Rhys and Topher in another. Connor and I took the remaining bedroom, while Andrei and Ian slept out on the living room couches.

  Even though the bed was comfortable and Connor didn’t snore, I still found it difficult to fall asleep. I missed having Kaylee beside me and I couldn’t help worrying about how she was handling the Point. While I was confident that she was capable of leading the tribe, I was still concerned about whether or not the guys would actually follow her.

  After an hour of tossing and turning, I finally rose and went out into the backyard to get some fresh air. It was surprisingly dark—the clouds had covered the stars and the moon and I could barely make out the figure at the far corner of the yard.

  “Is that you, Jude?”

  “You better hope so,” she muttered, softly. “Hate to think there’s a Crazy out here, looking up at the stars.”

  I walked up beside her. She was leaning against the fence, drinking from a can of soda.

  “You notice how moist it smells?” she asked, sniffing the air. “I think it’s going to rain.”

  “It is April…April showers, right.”

  Jude looked up at the sky above her; it roiled with dark clouds. “It’s going to be hard to bike if it rains.”

  “Are you thinking we should have brought the horses?”

  She shook her head. “They’d be more trouble than they’re worth.”

  “How come you’re not inside?” I asked. “Can’t sleep?”

  “Thought I saw a light.”

  “Where?!” I turned around, immediately concerned.

  Jude pointed to her left. “Down that way. Just a flicker, really.”

  “Are you sure it was a light?”

  “Not really,” she shrugged. “And I only saw it once, so—who knows?”

  “We should keep guard, then,” I said. “Just in case. Since I can’t sleep, I’ll take the first watch.”

  “Well, wake me in four hours,” she yawned. “I’ll take the second.”

  Then, without another word, Jude walked across the backyard and disappeared into the townhouse. I stayed outside for another half-hour or so, peering into the dark—waiting for a flickering light to appear.

  It never did.

  * * * *

  The next morning, the sun shone down on us for barely an hour before the clouds moved in once again. An hour after that, they burst open—a torrential rain that poured down, drenching our clothes and chilling our bones.

  It became difficult to bike along the roads; they were slippery from the rain and flooded in many places. Then, when we had to leave the roads and travel through the nearby fields to bypass the flooding—we often became bogged down in mud and overgrown vegetation.

  By the end of the morning, we were all wet, fatigued, and frustrated. Taking shelter in a garden center, we sat huddled together among bags of fertilizer, waiting for the storm to blow over.

  “This sucks!” complained Rhys, as he shivered in his soaked clothes.

  I stood up and walked over to a nearby display. “At least I can pick up some of the seeds that Frank wanted. Might as well do something worthwhile while we’re stuck here.” One-by-one I emptied the display, shoving the seed packets into my backpack. “Broccoli, cauliflower, and rhubarb…yum.”

  “Does rhubarb even grow in Southern California?” asked Cherry.

  “Who knows,” I shrugged. “I’ll leave that to Frank to figure out.”

  Returning to the group, I sat down again, tapping a bag of fertilizer beside me. “Too bad we didn’t have room to bring a few of these with us. I’ll bet Frank would love to have some fertilizer.”

  Jude suddenly stood up, staring down at the bags all around us. “I wonder if we could figure it out.”

  “Figure what out?” I asked.

  She grinned at me. “How to make bombs with this stuff.”

  “With fertilizer?!” squeaked Andrei. He jumped up, looking around nervously. “This stuff makes bombs?!”

  “Maybe,” said Jude. “I mean, I know I’ve read that it’s one of the things that goes into bombs. If we can figure it out, we might be able to use it as a weapon against the Crazies.”

  I turned to Connor. “What do you think? You’re our science-guy.”

  He shrugged. “If we had the recipe, I’m sure we could do it. But I don’t know how right now.”

  “Guess that’s one more thing we should put on our list,” Ian laughed. “Books on fertilizer bombs.”

  Beside him, Cherry sighed. She leaned back against her bags of fertilizer and closed her eyes. “God, but I miss just going to the library for a good vampire romance.”

  * * * *

  It continued to rain heavily throughout the afternoon and well into the middle of the next day. When we finally ventured out again, the world was wet, dripping moisture everywhere. In the sky, clouds continued to swirl, promising us more rain showers, most likely when we least needed them.

  “On the upside,” said Jude, lifting her bike upside-down to shake the drops off of it, “Frank is finally getting the rain he needs for his farm.”

  Which was probably the only good thing about the rain.

  For us—it made our travels cold and miserable.

  * * * *

  A few hours later, the clouds opened up again and, even though we had intended on riding straight through the rain, we eventually became so cold that it became difficult to pedal. Giving up, we hunkered down in a small, clapboard house. As the rainy afternoon descended into a stormy night, we built a fire in the fireplace and lined our wet clothes along the couch in front of it. Other than the light from that fire, however, we moved around in the shadows—not wanting to draw any unwanted attention to our location by lighting any candles or lanterns.

  That night was extremely uncomfortable for us guys, and not just because of the rain and the cold—but because of our hormones.

  Jude and Cherry walked around unashamedly in their underwear.

  And, while it didn’t seem to bother them, the rest of us had difficulty controlling our teenage boy bodies whenever they walked by. Unfortunately—no matter who you love—when you’re a guy and a girl in a teeny wet t-shirt and bikini bottoms is right in your face, parts of your body tend to pop up at the most inoppor
tune times.

  Topher had the worst time of all us guys.

  From the time we’d left the Point, it was obvious that he was crushing on Jude. As we were riding, he kept glancing at her and, when we stopped, he would position himself nearby. I suspected that Jude knew this because—that night—she seemed to take a devious pleasure in bending down in front of poor Topher, her half-naked butt inches away from his face.

  * * * *

  The moment Jude’s clothes had dried, I picked them up and carried them over to her. “Put them on,” I ordered, dropping the clothes in her lap. “And give the poor kid a break!”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she smirked, trying to look innocent.

  “Whatever…now, cover up and stop showing off!”

  Just to be irritating, Jude took her time getting dressed. Topher, meanwhile, couldn’t help but watch—his eyes wide—as Jude tugged her jeans over lean, muscled legs. And—when she bent over to adjust her breasts inside of her bra cups—he practically spasmed with delight.

  While I tried hard to stifle my laughter, Rhys took a pillow from the couch and threw it at Topher. “Dude!” Rhys barked, disgusted. “Could your tent be any bigger?!”

  Embarrassed, Topher quickly shoved the pillow over his crotch and turned a bright red. In front of him, meanwhile, Jude casually picked up her t-shirt and pulled it over her head, running her hands over her chest as she did.

  “You’re pure evil,” I told Jude.

  She just grinned. “Never really had a chance to be a girly-girl before.”

  * * * *

  That night, just before we all went to sleep, I pulled Jude and Cherry aside for a private conversation. “Seriously, guys,” I said, quietly. “While I defend your right to wear whatever you want, we’ve got young guys here. So, is there any way for your clothes to stay on around them?”

  “You guys take your clothes off in front of us,” Jude reasoned. “Why is it so wrong that we take ours off in front of you?”

  “Because you don’t have a body part that has a mind of its own.”

  “You mean…your penis?” asked Cherry, grinning.

  I sighed, irritated. “Yes, I mean my penis. Are you happy? You made me say penis.”

  “It makes me very happy,” giggled Cherry. “But what happens when our clothes get wet? Are we supposed to stay in them just so your penises don’t stand up and salute?”

  “No, of course not,” I said, becoming frustrated. “It’s just that—well, maybe you guys could stay in a separate room while your clothes are drying…or wear a towel or something.”

  Cherry and Jude looked at each other; they both shrugged, then turned back to me.

  “Sure, Jacob,” Cherry said, smiling sweetly. “It’s not like it’s a big deal or anything. If it makes life easier for your penises, we’ll keep our naughty bits covered.”

  * * * *

  While it wasn’t exactly a rain storm like the day before, it did continue to rain steadily throughout the next morning. We biked slowly along, none of us wanting to spin out on the swirling rivulets that snaked their way across the roads.

  And it wasn’t just the water we had to be concerned about.

  A year and half of neglect had caused the road’s tarmac to split and rise up in sections. There were grasses and weeds sprouting everywhere, making our route slippery and precarious.

  In some places, you couldn’t see the road at all; it was completely covered with a light coating of soggy dirt and vegetation. The only reason that we even knew there was a road there at all, were the sidewalks running along the sides.

  Meanwhile, the abandoned cars all over the streets were also beginning to mutate; spots of rust had permeated their bodies, altering their color and dulling their sheen. I noticed that a lot of the vehicles had flat tires now—most likely from air escaping over time. And there were plants growing out of many of them, small twists of vine that stretched out across the bodies.

  “Have you noticed how many animals are living in the cars now?” asked Cherry, as she biked along beside me. “I mean, there’s gotta’ be at least six rats in that Porsche over there. And remember that Volkswagen bug we passed yesterday—there was a whole raccoon family peeking out of the windows.”

  “It seems so wrong to just let these cars rust away,” I complained. “But I guess it’s not like we can do anything about it.”

  “Well, at least you’ve got those ‘special cars’ of yours,” Cherry said. “The ones in the car barn back at the Point.”

  I shrugged. “And, ironically, I’d trade any one of them for a working Toyota.”

  Up in front of us, Andrei and Ian’s voices suddenly rose up. They were deep into an argument as they rode along—something about Star Wars. I smiled when I heard Ian give the Wookie-call and Andrei respond with R2D2 beeps.

  “It’s so funny,” I said to Cherry. “Even after all this time without technology, those guys can still talk for hours about Star Wars or Call of Duty or Minecraft.”

  “Hannah and Lily have an ongoing discussion about who is better—My Little Pony or Justin Bieber. Hannah loves the pony, but Lily’s still crushing on the Biebs.”

  “Speaking of crushing…” I nodded my head to where Topher was riding a few feet behind Jude. He was close enough that the water being thrown up by Jude’s back tire was splashing into his face. Still, Topher didn’t pull back—just continued on as Jude’s shadow.

  “He’s cute,” said Cherry. “She could certainly do worse.”

  “He’s also three years younger than her.”

  Cherry shrugged. “In this world—who cares?”

  * * * *

  A few hours later, we reached the library—wet, tired, and two days over-schedule. As the rain continued to come down on our heads, we parked our bikes at the side of the long, squat building—under an overhang where they would be protected from the elements.

  Taking our backpacks, we headed in through the front doors. They were open—a large rock having been placed between them as a doorstop.

  When I saw that rock, I immediately pulled out my gun.

  “Someone’s been here before us,” I warned the others. “Get ready—just in case.”

  I waited until everybody had their weapons out and cocked before I stepped through the doors. One-by-one, the others followed, until we were all standing in an empty foyer.

  “It stinks in here,” whined Andrei. “Like someone pissed and crapped all over the place.”

  Connor pointed to a pile of dried feces in the corner. “I think someone did.”

  * * * *

  Our plan had been simple.

  We would find the books on our lists and separate them into two piles—those we would pick up on the way back home and those we would store for future expeditions to bring back to the Point. Both piles, we had decided, would be hidden in a nearby house, to keep them safe from any non-Locals who might come after us.

  Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to implement our plan.

  “It stinks even worse in this room!” Andrei groaned, using his fingers to plug his nose, as we stood just inside the main part of the library. “Like what a bunch of pigs!”

  I had to agree.

  There were piles of dirty clothes and filthy bedding everywhere. Empty food tins and water bottles littered the floor, and there was drying feces in every corner.

  “Too freaking lazy to go outside and do their business,” growled Jude.

  “Good thing Cammie didn’t come with us,” said Cherry. “This would have broken her heart. Dude, they burned all the books!” She kicked at a circle of ashes, disgusted. There were a number of similar ash-circles all around the room.

  “Do you think they burned the books to keep warm or were they just being douchebags?” asked Topher.

  Conner knelt down beside one of the ash-circles. There was a small pile of books there and he picked up a slim volume, its pages half-torn out. “Catcher in the Rye,” he read. Then, he reached down and pi
cked up a blackened paperback, smiling grimly. “And “Fahrenheit 451”—named for the temperature at which books burst into flame.” Connor sniffed, looking offended. “I’d like to think that whoever did this understood the irony…but I doubt it.”

  With some sadness, he placed the books back on the floor.

  I turned toward Toper. “We’ll need another library.”

  “Sorry,” he said, shaking his head, “but I don’t know if there are any other libraries in Oxnard. I guess we could try and find a phone book somewhere…or pick up a map at a gas station...they might have libraries listed on them. The other thing we could do is switch our plans up a bit.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, we could go to the hospital and the armory like we’d planned. And I know there’s a good library in Ventura, but it’s on the other side of the armory. But if we go to that library, then it would only make sense to do the hospital and the armory first.”

  “How far past the armory is the library?”

  “I don’t know…maybe a couple of miles.”

  “We’ll do that, then,” I decided, kicking at a pile of garbage and sending a tin can careening against a blackened wall. “Frankly, Oxnard is giving me the creeps. The sooner we’re out of this place, the better.”

  “Did you want to see if we can salvage any of these books?” asked Connor, using a pencil to poke at a ragged dictionary.

  I shook my head. “With all this piss and crap everywhere, I wouldn’t want to take the chance on someone getting sick. Who knows what disgusting things are on these poor books now.”

  Behind me, Ian suddenly coughed. I spun around and pointed a finger at him. “Dude, you had better not be coming down with something?!”

  Ian’s cheeks bulged out and his eyes went wide as he struggled to contain a second cough. Not able to help himself, Andrei reached out and jokingly poked a finger in his friend’s belly.

  “Stop it!” Ian sputtered—then leaned over in a massive coughing fit.