He finally finished his prayer and looked up. He took in all the cowering girls and his face creased with confusion before his eyes settled on the carcass of the dead lion. He whistled softly and looked at Liam.
“Damn ese, that felino is Swiss cheese! We won’t be able to use its hide for anything!”
The man looked up at the group staring silently at him and sighed.
“Oh well, at least you got her. We’ve been trying to kill these man-eaters for the past two months.” When no one responded, just continued to stare at him, he went on, “I’m sorry about your friends but what’re you guys doing out here so far east? How did you get past our roadblock? We warned you guys about these big cats hunting along this stretch of road!” When no one responded to him he cursed in Spanish and turned back in the direction he’d come and waved over his head before turning back to the group.
Mrs. Moore finally shook herself from the shock and confusion of his words and at the sight of two more men entering the field. They were headed their way and were dragging something behind them. She stepped forwards and addressed the stranger.
“Sir, I believe you have us confused with another group. Who are you?”
The man looked over the group of girls and Liam more closely and pulled a crumpled pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. He lit one up before answering her with a question.
“You’re not from the refugee camp, are you?”
Mrs. Moore’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
“There’s a refugee camp near here?”
The man gave a slow nod. “All of you are clean and healthy. If you didn’t come from the camp, where’ve you been all this time?”
Mrs. Moore gave a soft laugh. “The happiest place on earth! We were sheltering in the tunnels of a park in the city.”
The man’s eyes widened in disbelief before he started to laugh. He stepped forward and stretched out his hand to the teacher.
“My name is Juan. I think you all better come with me.”
The two men that joined them mainly stayed silent as they collected the animal carcass and laid it on the cart they had brought beside another dead lion. Juan insisted that they could bring the two fallen girls with them for a proper burial back at their enclave.
“Too many people never got the chance to be put to rest properly. We’ll bury these girls and mark their graves so that they will always be remembered.”
Mrs. Moore and Mrs. Hardsky wrapped the two bodies in two of their precious blankets and the men placed them gently on top of the cart. Once everyone had collected their packs, they pushed their bikes to keep pace with the men and headed west. Juan explained to them all that had happened in the past six months in the area and the group of survivors listened intently.
“The first month was hell on earth. No one knew what had happened and people acted like animals. There was rioting and fighting everywhere for food and water. Hundreds of thousands of people just started walking out of the cities. It was chaos! People died everywhere and just dropped in place. Our group was very lucky. Our leader was home on leave from the military and she knew exactly what had happened. She organized us right away and led us to where we set up our enclave. It was a gated community around a natural reservoir. So, we moved all of our people in behind the walls and set up defenses. By the third day we had started to break ground for gardens and by the end of the first week we had crops planted. Strict rationing kept us all fed and we scavenged everything we could. We had a lot of hard workers in our group and strong leadership as well as a good location otherwise we’d have died like so many others. We did lose people in attacks and from natural causes without modern medicine but it wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been.”
Mrs. Moore walked beside Juan and nodded at his words.
“You thought we were from a refugee camp. Why is that?” she asked him.
“Well, you guys all look healthy. Anyone from the cities that are still alive are usually pretty ravaged. Filthy and sick-looking, not to mention totally loco! Anyone who walked east mainly died out in the deserts and mountains. If they came this way, they still mainly died, but some of them got far enough into the farmlands of the north. There’s a lot of food grown that way and with none of the machines working, they needed people to harvest it. There’s a collective of camps set up that are full of thousands of people who work the land. I hear they are doing pretty good but you couldn’t pay me to move up there! We’ve had steady contact with them for the past three months and the leaders are always trying to get our people to move north and join them but it won’t happen. We’re self-sufficient here and it’s not so crowded. No, we worked our tails off to set up our home. We aren’t going anywhere!”
Mrs. Moore was frowning in thought. She was happy to hear that there were survivors working together but she had one major fear.
“Are people allowed to leave?”
Juan looked at her in confusion. “Leave? You mean the camps?” At the woman’s nod, he shrugged his shoulders. “Sure, they aren’t prisons if that’s what you mean. I know they have some transportation set up to move crops around but I don’t know all the details. My wife would probably know more. She’s our communication person for the group.”
Mrs. Moore’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You have working radios?”
Juan laughed at her expression. “Oh, yeah! Old ham radios still work. If you guys plan on heading to the camps we can contact them and get them to meet you and guide you in.”
The teacher was about to answer when a foreign sound brought her head around. The clap of hooves on pavement got louder until a young girl on a beautiful chestnut horse came into view. She reined in the horse ten feet from the group and after studying the group zeroed in on Juan. They spoke rapid-fire Spanish for a few minutes before Juan sent a grin at Mrs. Moore.
“Go tell Maya to put the soup on. Tell her I’m bringing some princesses and one Prince Charming for supper!”
The young girl barked out a laugh and wheeled her horse around before galloping away.
Mrs. Moore couldn’t help but laugh at the description of her group. As they got moving again she had to ask, “Where did all the horses come from?”
Juan looked at her in surprise.
“Oh well, just ahead of us is where the Rose Bowl Race Track is. We got some of them out of there before they were eaten. There’s still a few running around here wild but hopefully we’ll catch them eventually.”
A gasp came from the other side of him. He turned his head and glanced at April who squeaked out, “Eaten?”
Juan gave her a sad smile. “For a while there, people would eat anything. Not just animals…anything.”
A cold shiver raced down April’s spine when she understood his meaning and her hand went to the gun she’d tucked into her waistband. Juan followed her movement and shook his head.
“Sorry, chica, but that won’t do you any good out here.” At the girl’s confused frown he told her, “It needs to have bullets in it for it to work!”
April’s face flushed red. All the determination of a few minutes before fled and she once again felt helpless in this new world. The creak of the wagon drew her attention and the two wrapped bodies of her friends brought the rage back. She would learn and she’d fight and nothing would stop her.
Chapter Fourteen
It took the group over two hours walking their bikes to reach the first roadblock set up on the outskirts of Pasadena. Three men with rifles and a shotgun greeted them and looked over the newcomers closely. One of the men leaned over and whispered something in Spanish to the others before they all broke out in laughter. Juan chuckled as well and translated to the group what he’d said.
“Carlos said you guys look like you were all hit with a Disney stick!”
All the girls looked down at their sweaters and t-shirts with embarrassment. Every one of them had some sort of Disney character displayed on their clothes. April didn’t care. She studied the men and looked closely at how they held their
guns. That was way more important to her than what she was wearing.
The town they walked through to get to the survivor’s enclave hadn’t escaped the destruction that they had seen elsewhere. Smashed out windows and burnt up businesses and homes lined the streets they walked. The main difference April and the others saw was the lack of dead bodies. When Mrs. Moore commented on it, Juan explained that after the main rioting and exodus had ended, the people that had stayed worked together to clear the streets of the dead and had burned them away from the town. They had two doctors in the enclave that had stressed the dangers of rotting bodies and the group took sanitation very seriously. He also talked about how careful they were with the only water source they had. The people here had also cleared the roads by pushing all the vehicles to the sides, making it easier to use the streets. April was happy that these people seemed to know what they were doing and she hoped they would help her group get that much closer to home.
When her small group finally made it to the main gates of the enclave they were exhausted and very hungry. They hadn’t taken a break since the lion attack and the walking instead of biking had given many of them blisters and sore feet. The walls that led from the gate were stucco but you could see where they had been modified. Bent rebar angled out from the top and April guessed there was a platform erected on the inside because she could see a few men and women walking back and forth keeping watch over the walls. The decorative cast iron gate had been covered with metal sheeting and there were concrete traffic barriers staggered in front of it making them zigzag to reach it.
When Juan called out a greeting to the guards on the wall, a screech of metal on metal rang out before the gates opened to let them in. As the group passed through, the landscape changed and April was amazed to see none of the damage of the collapse had touched the community. Large pristine homes lined the wide boulevard. All glass was intact and no fire damage could be seen. It would’ve been like stepping back into the past if not for the lawns. Instead of golf-course-manicured lawns, in their place was garden after garden of growing crops. April’s stomach clenched at the sight of so much fresh food growing and she prayed that these people would share a small amount with her and her friends.
The other main difference was the people. They were everywhere, working on gardens, hanging laundry or just chatting on the sidewalks with neighbours. As nice as it all looked, the thing that made April break out in a huge grin was the shrieks and laughter of children who played in a small park with playground equipment. Seeing the kids playing so carefree in the sun filled her with hope. Something that had been missing as they biked through the gutted cities on the way here.
The road they had been following ended at a large building that looked like a clubhouse or recreation center of some sort. As they entered the parking lot, the main doors swung open and two women walked out to greet them. One was older with long silver hair and kind eyes. The other woman was younger and April guessed her to be in her late twenties. Short cropped black hair framed a strong face and cold brown eyes. The older woman stayed back and let the younger woman take the lead. Those cold brown eyes studied April’s group with slight annoyance before exclaiming in exasperation.
“Ay Dios mio! Do you people never give up? We told you we wouldn’t come!” She saw the two bodies wrapped on the cart and fury filled her eyes. She focused on Mrs. Moore and vented her disgust. “What were you thinking bringing these children out here? Did you think this would convince us to move into your camps? Two dead for what? For nothing!!”
The woman cursed in Spanish and was about to rant some more when Juan held up his hands and barked back at her in a harsh tone. April had no idea what he said to her in such rapid-fire Spanish but it only took a few seconds for her eyes to flare wide in shocked surprise and she looked over the group with softer eyes.
“You came from the city? How? How did you survive?” she asked in an awe-filled voice.
Before anyone could answer, the older Hispanic-looking woman interrupted with a soft but firm tone.
“Valentina, their story can wait! Can’t you see how exhausted and grief-filled these niño’s are? They must rest and have a good meal. Your questions can wait!”
The younger woman backed off with a quick nod and moved to the side as April and her group were led into the big building by the older woman. Before she entered, April glanced back at Juan and Valentina. The woman had a gun strapped to her hip and April wondered if she might be willing to teach her how to use it.
The older woman introduced herself as Maya and settled them at long tables in a large common room that was filled with late afternoon sunlight from the floor-to-ceiling windows. Enticing aromas filled the room from the adjoining kitchen and it wasn’t long before trays of homemade tortillas were brought out and served. The spicy meat filling was a welcome change from the bland canned food they had all been living on and the meat and fresh vegetables were devoured in minutes. Maya hovered over them while they ate and refilled plates with soothing words and encouragement. Halfway through the meal Kara broke down and started to sob in grief for her lost best friend. Maya was quick to gather her into her motherly arms and rock her to comfort. Everyone had tears in their eyes as they processed what had happened on the road and the loss of two more of their small group.
Mrs. Moore stood and met Maya’s eyes over the crying girl in her arms. The look they shared was filled with sadness and understanding for all the terror and loss in this new cruel world. With a nod at the teacher, Maya drew Kara away and settled with her on one of the many couches that lined the outer walls of the room. The rest of the meal was eaten in silence.
As they finished their meal, women started to bring out huge platters of steaming food and place them on a buffet table. It wasn’t long before the residents of the enclave started to file in and fill plates with their evening meal. The people studied the new group with curiosity and whispered conversation filled the room with many people pointing at the new group.
April and the others were all starting to feel uncomfortable with all the attention until Valentina swept into the room and with a brief glance at the newcomers jumped up on a small stage at the end of the room and addressed the crowd.
“Attention! Attention, everyone! As you can see, we have some new faces with us tonight. These people have come from the city and have had a very hard time of it. They lost two of their members on the road to a lion attack and are exhausted and grieving. We welcome them into our home and will help them any way we can. I’m sure we’d all like to hear their stories but let’s let them settle in and rest.” She focused on the group of city survivors. “My people welcome you and we’re sorry for your loss but we’d also like to thank you for killing the lion that attacked you. Juan and his men were able to kill its mate as well and we’ll all sleep better knowing that the threat from those beasts will no longer plague us. Please know that you’re safe here and are among friends!”
The crowd in the room started clapping and cheering when she finished her speech and many spoke words of welcome to the group. April and her group smiled back and thanked them for their kindness but most were still stunned by what they had gone through in the past few days. Maya waved away people who wanted to hear their stories and gathered the teens and their two adult chaperones and quickly ushered them out of the hall. Once they had assembled out on the lawn in the cooling early evening air, she addressed them.
“We have made a house ready for you all to rest in. There are beds for all of you and clean water to bathe with. Once you’re settled, Val would like to meet with you to hear about your journey and help make a plan for going forward. Like she said, you’ll all be safe here and can sleep soundly. Our people patrol all night long. Please follow me!”
The group of weary teens shuffled along behind Maya as they made their way to the house they would spend the night in. April fell behind as she craned her neck around to take in the streets and homes they were passing. Liam held back and joined her gently b
umping up against her shoulder with a friendly grin.
“Pretty slick set up they have here, don’t you think?”
April nodded and shot him a tired smile. “Yeah, these people have done a great job. Can you believe the sizes of some of these houses? This must have been a very wealthy neighborhood before the crash. I wonder how many of these people lived here before.”
Liam shrugged. “I can’t get over how much food they have growing here! Every lawn is a garden!”
April sighed. “Do you think they can really help us get farther home? Juan said that the farm camps have communication and transportation. It’d be amazing if we didn’t have to bike the whole way.”
Liam shrugged again. “I guess we’ll find out. I’m just happy we can sleep in a real bed tonight! I think we need to take one day at a time and be grateful for every bit of help we can get.” He reached out and slung an arm over April’s shoulder. “Home is the long goal. Let’s concentrate on the short one, a bed!”
April smiled at his enthusiasm and leaned her head against his shoulder as they followed their group up the front walkway of what could only be called a mansion. Soft lantern light glowed out from the open door that a young girl was holding open for them. As they filed in, April stared in wonder at the sheer size of the front entry that soared up to the second story with vaulted ceilings. Two other girls were waiting inside and started to lead the teens up a majestic staircase to the bedrooms above.
April turned to the girl holding the door for them. She had noticed that the majority of the people she’d met were Hispanic so just assumed that this neighborhood must have been mainly Hispanic before the crash. She smiled in gratitude at the girl and said, “Thank you for sharing your home with us. I hope your parents don’t mind.”
The girl stared at her for a second in confusion before she started to giggle. She waved her free hand around the entryway.
STRANDED: Box Set: Books 1-6 Page 70
