Diary of a Survivor 4

by Matt Pike

  Where to start? Well, Ye-jun and I are the remains of the leadership group from the oval. No one has really challenged that in any way, or seems to care about it… so, the leadership we remain. Well, they say they don’t care about it, yet they do.

  Take Nate, for example. He is not backward in coming forward with his view. That’s fantastic in isolation, as you need strong voices around camp, but when you pair him with Jonesy, well, that’s when things get tricky. Jonesy seems to be cut from the same cloth as Nate in how they act and what they think generally. The thing is, for some bizarre reason, they seem to disagree. A lot.

  It’s almost as if when one takes position X on something around camp, the other will automatically take position Y. It is so predictable! You can see it coming from a mile away. Nate will be talking about how we should get our desal water first thing in the morning and you just absolutely know, Jonesy will want it sourced at night. Sigh.

  This will then trigger little insults back and forth between them and generally derail any larger conversations. And, age-wise, they are the mature heads around here. Bigger sigh.

  Ye-jun and I spend a lot of time making sure we keep those two in line as best as possible, which is not very much. Experience has taught us our energies are better spent working in tandem to lever the conversation back onto the tracks.

  Then there’s Steph. She’s somewhat the matriarch of the group. Part of her role (self appointed) is to make sure Nate and Jonesy stay in line. While Ye-jun and I try to steer the conversation, she’ll straight out tell them to “Pull your heads in.” Or whatever barb she can use to get them to focus.

  Believe it or not, she’s playing good cop when monitoring their behaviour. Every now and then Asha, who’s a bit of a loner and is on her limits sitting with the entire crew for these dinner sessions, gets completely sick of their antics and tells them to “Shut the fuck up.” Or similar (always with the F-bomb).

  All of the above is done in a half serious half joking manner, that I’m not sure I’m capturing very well. It’s hard to describe the true essence of this banter - part funny, part constructive, part irritating and part inane. Maybe it’s like, well, family.

  Through all that, Alyce is starting to gain confidence in the group. Her unofficial role seems to be to get those who contribute less to the big decisions to have their say. If she sees someone like Angie, for instance, appearing like they have something to say but can’t get a word in. Alyce will make sure the group give them their moment.

  Then there’s Jessie, who laughs at all the insults, which only encourages Jonesy and Nate more.

  Sometimes it gets so chaotic, especially after a few drinks, that Ye-jun and I will look at each other across the fire and just start laughing as to how crazy it all is, and how inappropriate our pretend leadership titles are.

  There is a bunch of other things at play as well, but somewhere in those interactions, the mood is set, the politics are played out and the decisions are made. Somewhere else in there is family. Semi-functional, beautifully chaotic, family.

  *

  March 12, 2015

  I haven’t updated the diary for a couple of days. Things have been busy, but no real new direction of things worth noting. That all changed this afternoon.

  It was day four of bringing the Goodwood crew in to dig today. Things had taken a little longer than expected to find an access point to get into the frigate. The first hatch we came across had been deformed by some impact, presumably in the tsunami. It had warped its shape enough that it wasn’t going to budge. We eventually had to move our dig point to the other side of the ship.

  We finally reached the second hatch late afternoon today. Thankfully, it opened without issue and we were in. Time was not our friend this afternoon, so we didn’t get much more than a preliminary scout of the ship, but wow! This was everything we could possibly imagine, and more.

  Where to start? OK, bedding wise, there are enough mattresses to house the entire Goodwood team and us. Most of it is small quarters with bunks, but there are also more private quarters for the officers.

  The storage kitchen looks like it’s loaded with food and water - like ridiculously loaded. Also, the entire ship looks like it’s powered by diesel generators. If we can get them up and running (assuming the diesel is still actually usable), well, we have hit the motherlode.

  The timing of hitting the hatch worked out well for us, too. There’s still a debate as to what information we want the Goodwood crew to have. We herded them back to their home after the initial run though the ship, so they’ve only really seen the bridge, rec areas, kitchen and quarters. The food and water discovery came after we’d sent them back.

  The general consensus is that it’s best for us to do a full analysis and stocktake before we allow them back in.

  That aside, things have just been busy building. We now have a decent water supply in the bank. It’s nearly a month’s worth of fresh water at our current usage levels. Of course, that changes massively whenever the Goodwood crew moves in. We’ve really got to factor that into our supply equation now. It’s going to happen sooner or later and it’s going to bring a lot of change when it does.

  We are in no way ready for that ourselves right now. We need to be in a much stronger position before we move another group in close by. I mean, the only true way this is going to work is if it becomes a partnership of groups. That’s entirely what it will be. But we still need to take care of our business before we can be in a position of strength to make that happen. Partnerships take time and trust.

  I think it can happen and happen right. It’s happened before, after all. When the watched, as I called them, joined Shane and I at the oval. There were a lot of similarities between then and now. They outnumbered us back then, but in the end, that didn’t matter as what they could gain from a merger with us was far more than they could ever have achieved if they’d kept along the doomed path they were going down.

  That is Goodwood all over. They are desperate and ready to make deals.

  The big difference between then and now is the position of strength from our side. The oval gave that to us - big time. Here on the coast, we are still sorting our own immediate needs out. We are still getting ready to take this world on for our own needs. It feels like a far weaker position.

  At least Goodwood can offer more back the other way. They still have food, they have generators, water storage containers and as much bedding and other supplies as we’d ever need. We’re just not ready yet.

  That’s going to be something to manage. The team that headed back to Goodwood today were super excited about their world changing. They will be expecting to move in far sooner than later.

  Then there’s the whole situation around openness. We haven’t had to have any of those discussions yet. They think we’re far larger and more powerful than we are. There’s a fair chance that if they knew the true state of our strength, they’d choose to handle dealings with us in a far different way. But, right now, there’s a cat and mouse game going on of who knows what.

  We were really hoping developments at the oval would’ve pushed a way forward with how to handle things, but the situation hasn’t advanced since the last time I posted. There’s been the daily mail exchange with Kent, but no new meeting. It seems they are waiting for developments there before they act.

  So, it’s like all these actions are at the ready to happen, but are waiting for a trigger point to snap everything into motion.

  *

  March 13, 2015

  I couldn’t believe it when the trigger point hit us in the face the morning after I suggested it. The timing could not have been more perfect, or scary. When Steph and I got to the mailroom, Kent and Zoe were waiting for us.

  I’m surprised I didn’t alert everyone at the oval with my scream. Well done Jack, very brave. Maybe it was a sign I was taking this little mail run routine for granted. Equally disappointed with that as I am the scream. Actually, more disappointed with the scream.


  Anyway, they were there to talk business. Serious business.

  Whatever was going on at the oval had them well on edge. They were mentally wrecked - you could see it in every one of their actions. They looked tired and strung out. Every noise had them turning their heads like fretting rabbits. I don’t know if it was the fact they were so much closer to their home turf this time and taking a bigger risk, or something had dramatically changed at the oval or with the Fat Man. Kent was shaking like one of his seedlings would behind Phoenix’s fans, while Zoe held things together enough to at least look like she was keeping it all together. I suspect that was everything she had, just to get through our meeting. Whatever the case, it was enough to have me feeling like a rabbit myself.

  I didn’t really have long to get used to the sensation; their stay was brief.

  Zoe handed us each a copy of a map. Well, when I say map, it was the plans for Government House. Well, when I say plans, it was a basic outline drawn in pen on some old photocopying paper.

  There were a number of points marked on the page, some labels and arrows - enough to get the gist in a not-to-scale kind of way. We studied the design, she spoke.

  “A week from today. Exactly a week. That’s the day he’s going to move. We need you, all your people and all your firepower, here at dawn. We can’t control what time he’s going to make his move across, so we need you here at dawn and ready.

  “I’ve marked the entry points around the building, as well as the lookout points. We’ll keep the details coming as things get closer, but it’s essential you’re here at dawn in seven days.

  “His crew could be moving stuff across all day, but he likes to do things unexpectedly. It could be dawn, it could be after dusk, but that is the day he’ll move.

  “Everyone and everything you have must be here and ready at dawn. Understand?”

  We nodded.

  She returned the favour. “Good. We’re only going to get one shot at this. Once he’s out of the oval gates and halfway across the bridge, it begins.

  “There are still some details we’re working out, so just be ready. We’ve got to keep a low profile after we leave here tonight, but we’ll be in touch. Either me or one of the crew will meet you here on the day and we’ll keep the mail service going until then.”

  She held a long stare with Steph, then me in turn. “We’ll have a better world when this ends. We need you… and you need us. Are we understood?”

  She held out her hand and we both shook it in turn.

  I felt completely under-informed. Like, this seemed like a very loose plan, and I’m being kind. But one thing I could tell was her authenticity. This was real and this was our one shot.

  Funny thing is, after having a million questions run through my mind at the lack of virtually any detail whatsoever, when she asked us next if we had any, I couldn’t think of a thing.

  Thankfully Steph was there. “So, what do you need us to do, exactly? And what are you going to do?”

  “We need you to open fire on his crew after we start things off. Engage them in a fire fight. There’s no way he’ll be a part of it and no way he’ll want to push on to Government House. He’ll slip out the back to return to the oval. That’s when he’ll face all of us.”

  “But, you don’t have any weapons.”

  “We’ll have enough, we’ll also have all the numbers. There’s no way he’ll be getting out alive.”

  I exchanged looks with Steph. In an instant, I knew she was like me, believing in Zoe, in for the plan and totally underwhelmed by what we had to work with.

  She looked back at Zoe. “We’re in. Just win.”

  We all shook hands again.

  “You’ll be back in your rightful home soon enough. Just with a few new neighbours.”

  Smiles were exchanged at that, before they were down the stairs and out of sight.

  *

  Once back at the waystation, we really didn’t know what to do next. We had this new piece of information and an overwhelming need to do something about it, yet, what could we possibly do?

  It’s funny. Someone makes a move in this world and you feel the need to counter it straight away. Even if that move was generally with us in mind.

  We were out there for a good half an hour working out what we could possibly do. After talking about where everything was at right now, one crystal clear thought came through. We realised all the frustrations in this Zoe/Kent plan and how we were getting limited info was almost exactly the same as we were doing to Goodwood.

  Worst still, our plan today was to blank them. Just not get in touch the day after giving them the joy of entering their new home, seeing it through the filters we had at that moment seemed, well, harsh.

  Not only that, we were feeling vulnerable. The counter clock had now officially started. Through all the unknowns, we had a known - a super scary known. That’s more than enough of a dose of reality to get your head clear to think about what’s important.

  Anyway, our move was to make contact with Goodwood and tell them about what we’re doing at the frigate site. The truth is, we’re not even sure the place is safe to inhabit yet. Last night Jonesy had raised the point about airflow along the decks and the role the generators might play in circulating the oxygen supplies. We had genuine reasons to come to them with for not needing them back.

  The decisions flowed pretty quick after it was first suggested. We were soon headed south, with a small stop into the Goodwood hotel to grab some more beer supplies.

  *

  All up the trip took less than an hour of our time. I know its value was much more. We sold the beer and other alcohol gifts as a thanks for their team’s hard work so far and a celebration of a new friendship. Maria and her crew were suitably pleased with the acknowledgement. Once they’d heard what we’d had to say on the diesel generator situation, they were happy to let us get it sorted. They even offered the services of a couple of their community. They had a sparky in their group, as well as an industrial engineer. We thanked them, said we’d think about it and that we’d be in touch during the next couple of days.

  Then we left.

  On the way home, I couldn’t help but think what a stupid game poker is. We nearly put unnecessary strains on a relationship that has been, so far, nothing but win for us. Maybe we were being too clever for our own good, or worse, maybe we were becoming too Norwood for our own good. Either way, when I mentioned it to Steph, she agreed.

  Sure, we need to play the game, but we should at least do it in our way. This investment of an hour of our time, when there aren’t many hours left, was completely worth it. We have no sure thing with all these new connections in this ever-changing world. All we really do have is some collective hope of a new world emerging out of the other end of whatever the week brings.

  It’s a horribly loose and unreliable way to be headed into conflict. The best we can do right now is sure up our connections. First and foremost, that’s the 13 of us. That comes first. We’ll work as best we can with Zoe to make sure we influence their world to keep our people there safe and do what we can to end the Fat Man. Aside from that, the one play we can make is to build as much trust as we can with Goodwood. Not sure what that connection will bring, but it’s better to have it than not and, if we’re going to have it, we need to make it strong.

  *

  Back at camp, the day was pretty much a write-off from a construction point of view. The weather had meant the fires were snuffed out, which killed the desal and brick production, as well as making a no-go of any of the building work. They had spent their time madly scrambling to keep the bricks dry, as well as enough of the firewood stocks to keep us going after the weather moved past. But it had definitely set in for the day.

  It also meant the conditions were too dangerous to send a crew into the frigate. It was still an excavation site, after all. And while we’d been very mindful about what ash we’d moved, how and where, you never know how it’s going to react after it’s structural f
oundations have been messed with. And with a large helping of rain to shift things around, its way too hard to be sure with 100 percent accuracy that it will remain stable. The last thing we need now are accidents.

  *

  That meant we had all eyes on us around the camp (at lunch - this never happens) when we dropped the huge news from the city. Conflict was coming again and we were going to be part of it.

  That’s not easy information to take on. When I was hearing it all for the first time from Zoe, I was focused on picking up as many details as I could. But I was also thinking about how it all might play out from a logistical point of view. What I wasn’t really thinking about in the moment was the human toll. We were still recovering and rebuilding from the last battle. I mean, it was not long ago at all. While we feel a million miles away from it now, rebuilding our world and ourselves brick by brick, we’re still hurting.

  More hurt was coming.

  When I saw the look on Jessie’s face… or Angie’s, well, I got a firsthand view of how much of that hurt is still there and how much we were asking of everyone to be a part of something more. It was a lot. Maybe it was too much.

  Jonesy then remembered the two-way radios. We still had five in our supplies. They were all out of battery charge, but there was a good chance if Norwood had taken over everything from our base, they were using the rest for their communications. And there were many more headsets in the kit.

  Maybe Norwood were using their own communication system, but it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to imagine they had moved over to the system already set-up at their new home. It was definitely worth a test to find out.

  That meant finding somewhere else that either sold the kits or operated them so we could swipe a charger. Then, once we had something operating again, we could get up in their signal zone in the CBD and see if they were using the network.

  If they were, we’d be tapping straight into their communications hub. More intel than we could ever hope to achieve from a month of spying from afar.

  As far as places that sold them, well, we didn’t know any. We’d need to get our hands on a phone book to try to source a location. Other than that, we figured any institution big enough to have a permanent security team was odds-on to have a two-way system.