by S A Ison
“How long do you think they will live? Especially if they really can’t figure it out fast?” She asked.
“Maybe a few weeks, I suspect that Leo will need to watch his back. If he and the others can team up, they might have a chance. They will have to guard everything day and night. Connor and Matt will be sneaking in there to steal what they have, I’m sure.”
“Do you think we will ever join them?”
“For now, I’d say no, it is just the two of us and if we stay hidden, we’ll be safe. We can sleep easy at night and not worry that someone will kill us for the food we have. There is plenty of water, especially all the small water falls that pepper this area. But if they can’t get their shit together to either hunt or gather food, they will start dropping like flies in about two or three weeks.”
“I would also guess that the violence will also escalate with the desperation factor. I have a feeling that Carol and Vana won’t last long, they are already thin as hell. They have almost no body fat, and pre-apocalypse that is fine, but now, I would almost say it is a death sentence. I will never bitch about my fat ass again.” She said seriously, causing Aiden to bark out a laugh and she shot him a dirty look. He held up his hands defensively,
“I personally think your ass looks great.” He said and ducked when she took a swing at him and he laughed.
“You’re right about the violence escalating though. That was the biggest reason I wanted to get the hell out of Dodge, everyone will be a target for exploitation. Each day that passes, it will become even more grim. I wouldn’t even go down in four days, but I have a small piece of hope in me that I’m wrong about the EMP and that the porters will be there waiting for us.” He shrugged helplessly.
“I do too, but I’m not holding out hope, that can’t just be a coincidence of everything going down at once. Maybe the phones or tablets running out of juice, but all the camera equipment at once? No, I think you’re right Aiden, and no matter how bad we want it to be otherwise, it isn’t. I’ve always been a realist and I’ve always wanted the truth, good, bad or ugly. I guess this is as ugly as it gets.”
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Connor laid in the small cave, he’d gone looking for Aiden and Sarah this morning and hadn’t found them. He looked around their site for food, but found nothing. The ginger he’d found had been useless, it was too strong to eat. He’d thought it was some kind of tuber. But when he bit into it, he had to spit it out. He’d eaten all the MREs last night and was sick and had thrown it all up. He was so pissed off, not only at himself, but at Aiden, that smug bastard and Marla.
That stupid bitch had picked a god damned remote place. There was no way to leave here without the cage. How in the hell was he going to escape this nightmare? He’d found Carol and Vana asleep, they’d eaten all their MREs as well.
His stomach hurt from the vomiting and he’d gone to the falls and drank water to help ease the cramping. He got up and crawled out of the cave. There was no help for it, he’d have to go back down to the main camp and hope there was still some food left there. He’d not eaten in three days. He’d had a few berries, but they didn’t help at all.
How in the hell had Aiden and Sarah found what they’d found? Neither looked like they were starving. If he could find them, he knew he could get something to eat. For now, though, he’d head down to the main camp and see what he could find. He was walking down when he saw Matt. Matt looked like he was hung over.
“You look like shit man, you eat too much?” Connor laughed, humor replacing anger.
“Yeah, almost made me sick. It was all I could do not to throw it all back up. You got anything left?” Matt asked, looking at him with a little desperation written on his face.
“No, I’m heading down to the main camp to see if there was anything we missed. I already checked on Carol and Vana, they ate all their shit.” He grumbled.
“Hey, now that it is the end of the world, why don’t we just go over and have some fun with the girls? It isn’t like anyone is going to arrest us. Who are they going to tell?” Matt asked hopefully.
Connor stopped and looked at Matt for a long moment, he said nothing, just looked at the younger man, then a slow smile began to spread across his face, his mood had suddenly begun to improve.
“You know what, that is a good fucking idea. It isn’t like we’ll ever get out of this place. We might as well go out with a bang.” Connor said with false bravado and both men turned toward where Connor had seen the girls sleeping.
Within ten minutes they found them, still asleep. Connor walked up to Carol, squatted down and shook her awake. She looked up at him confused and he smiled wolfishly down at her. He watched as she blinked her eyes and he stuck out his hand. She was still confused but put her hand in his. He pulled her to her feet and walked her away from Vana, he winked at Matt as he went. The thought of taking what he wanted was a heady feeling, and the fact that there was no one to stop him was a dream come true.
He walked her farther into the dense woods and turned on her. His hands went to her shirt and he began to unbutton the small pink buttons.
She slapped at his hands, looking up at him, still confused. He grinned, “Since it is the end of the world, I figure me and you can have a little fun.”
“What? No Connor, no. I have a boyfriend back home.”
He knew she was weak because she could barely stand, she was wavering on her feet.
“Yeah, but you’ll never see him, will you? Besides, what else are you good for? You sure as shit can’t find food.” He laughed cruelly. She tried to smack him in the face, but he caught her hand easily. His other hand yanked at her shirt and it opened. She gasped and tried to free herself as he squeezed her breast hard.
“This can go one of two ways Carol. We can have a little fun, no one has to know, and if I find food, I’ll share it with you. Or, I can take what I want, maybe beat the shit out of you and leave you to rot in these woods. No one is coming to help you.” He said viciously, his eyes boring into her fearful ones. He smiled, he liked the power that surged through him, it was intoxicating and it filled that hunger that gnawed at his insides.
Carol’s mouth trembled and her eyes filled with tears. She looked around the empty woods, she could hear Vana crying and Matt laughing. Connor saw her face and knew he’d won. He slipped her breast out of the bra and laughed, then kicked her feet out from under her and she fell to the ground, and he was on top of her.
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Marla and Leo sat in the camp chairs, they’d spent most of the previous evening pooling all their supplies. They’d found two MREs that had gone under her tent, they found the instant coffee, they also had several lighters, medical supplies, bug repellant, Christian’s cigarettes, two plastic bags of fruit chews, a bottle of vitamins, ten rolls of toilet paper, three packs of bathroom wipes, four bottles of shampoo, and other odds and ends but no more food.
They planned to save the MREs for an emergency, but this whole situation was an emergency. Her heart was also breaking, she would never see her parents, nor her brothers and sisters and their children. She didn’t even know what would happen to them, if they were bombed. She would never know.
Marla was hungry and she was so angry at herself. What had possessed her to choose this remote location? She’d been so smug about it all, and now, she was in their shoes, only there was no rescue, no one was coming to get them if Aiden was correct. It was all she could do not to break down and cry. She had always thought of herself as a resourceful woman, but she was totally out of her element. Leo brought her back to the present when he spoke, she had to swallow down her fear.
“We will need to leave the bulk of the people here to guard our possessions. If you want, me, Henry and Diana can go hunting and gathering. It is going to take a lot of food for eleven people, so we maybe gone for quite a few hours. If anyone shows up, you guys will need to defend what we have. You can’t let anyone have anything. Don’t tell them what you have, keep it hidden. Make sure no one goes near the food w
e buried, you won’t know if you’re being watched.”
“You think they will watch us?” Marla asked nervously, her dark eyes darting to every tree and bush beyond the camp, the hairs standing up on her arms.
“If I were them, I would. I’d watch and see if you were lax, see where I could sneak in. Marla, you’re going to have to be ruthless, make sure everyone follows suit or you’ll never make it. If you can’t, then me and the others will leave you and your crew to fend for yourselves. I can’t do everything. Okay?” he asked, and she nodded, swallowing hard.
The hot coffee helped stave off her hunger, she’d not eaten since yesterday lunch. Her eyes began to tear up and she began to breath faster, she was feeling a panic attack coming on and she hated being so weak in front of anyone. She clenched her teeth and her fists, fighting it.
“Breathe Marla, we’ll be okay, just breathe. Look, this place is loaded with food, if you know where to look and how to get it. We do and we’ll teach you. That isn’t our biggest problem. It’s Connor and the others. I don’t think we have much to worry about with Carol and Vana, they are pretty weak, but the rest of them will try to hit us. They’re lazy, I’ve seen them at work, they’ve only been half-assed trying to find food. Now their lives will depend on it. Chances are, they aren’t going to step up to the plate to pull their weight. They’ll try stealing it first. Again, if you and your crew can’t stand up to them with the others in our group, then we will disappear into the bush. We’ve already talked about it. Sorry.” He said, shrugging.
“What do you mean you’ve talked about it?” she barked angrily.
“Look, this is nothing personal, but the four of you are a drain for us. At this very point in time, you four literally have no survival skills, it will be up to us to support and take care of you. It will be a struggle to feed all of us, eleven is a large number. Last night, we talked while you guys slept in your tents. If you can’t or won’t hold up your end, we’ll leave you to it. We can’t carry you, we each have to put in 110%, especially Christian, we watched as he just pissed around last night while we all went through and inventoried what was left. He is a lazy bastard, so you better let him know, his time is short, he doesn’t pitch in all the way, we’ll kick him out. And the penalty is death. Sorry again.”
“You’re right, I know you are. It is just so hard to wrap my head around and I will talk to Christian, I agree, with you. What do you want us to do while you, Diana and Henry are gone?”
“Make weapons, I can’t stress that enough, you’ll need to be able to defend yourselves. I will show you more about that when we get back. Also, get more water, and firewood. You don’t want to get low, stack that firewood in your tents, if it gets wet, it will be useless. And just keep an eye out, if anyone shows up, tell them to get lost, the camp is closed to them, don’t buy any bullshit they send your way.” Leo said firmly. Marla nodded glumly and Leo got up when he saw Diana and Henry coming in from the woods.
He waved farewell and the three left. Marla watched them go, her heart heavy in her chest. She turned when Christian came out and her eyes narrowed dangerously.
“I heard that bullshit. I did work last night, I don’t know what he is talking about.”
“Shut the fuck up Christian, let me make it clear, you don’t pull your weight, you don’t step up and work your ass off, you are out of here. You hear me? I’m so fucking hungry I can’t even stand it, but that is the way things are now. So, don’t you give me any of your snide shit or so help me, I will kill you. Look in my eyes, do you see that I will kill you, cause I want to hear you say that you see it.” Marla snarled at him, leaning out of her chair, her eyes burning.
Christian jerked back as though stuck by a hot poker, his face lost all of its color as he looked into her eyes. She wasn’t kidding, this asshole was fucking with her life and by god, she wasn’t going to have an albatross around her neck. She smiled viciously when she saw fear in his eyes. Good, he believes me. He better, or I will kill you motherfucker I swear to baby Jesus, she thought. “I said say it.” She hissed low and dangerous.
“You’ll kill me if I don’t help and pull my weight.” He said, he could not meet her eyes and his face had lost all its color and then red creeped up his neck and into his cheeks. She looked over and saw Hudson and Tom looking out of the tent. They were grinning at her and giving her the thumbs up. She rolled her eyes and that made everything feel better. She’d taken charge of her own life by threatening a weak link. She’d taken the first step toward survival. All of their lives depended on everyone working together.
It was going to be devastatingly difficult, but she felt hope for the first time since Aiden had spoken those horrible words. That perhaps they might survive, if they worked together and pulled together. She got up from her chair and walked over to Christian who shrunk back, fear still in his face.
“Don’t worry Christian, just work your ass off and you’ll be fine. Leo said we need to gather up as much wood as we can. So, let’s me and you go out and look for wood. You, Tom and Bruce help the others guard this place, I’m sure some of those assholes will be back down to see what they missed. Do not let them anywhere near this camp.” She told Hudson and he nodded, still grinning.
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“Day-amn!” Tom sniggered once Marla and Christian were out of earshot. His eyes bright blue triangles of glee. He despised Christian and his pedantic attitude toward the cameramen, as though they were less than human, because they didn’t hold the spot light. He felt Bruce smack him on the back and he looked over and Bruce’s face was red with laughter. He was bent and wheezing.
“I thought Christian was going to shit himself. Oh my god, oh my god, I can’t stop laughing. And my god, Marla, that was friggen awesome, she stuck her foot right up his ass and broke it off!” Bruce howled in a loud whisper, looking over his shoulder. He wiped at his eyes, tears streaming down them. Hudson just shook his head, a shit eating grin on his face. Tom picked up a piece of wood with nails in it and held it up in salute to where Marla and Christian had disappeared into the woods.
“Let’s go patrol, and give a shout out if you see anyone else around, except us of course.” Tom laughed and walked off. His eyes scanned the surrounding vegetation. He listened but only heard the murmuring of the people in camp. He felt a giggle try to work its way up his chest, but tamped it down. He took a deep breath. He wasn’t sure why he was so giddy; their lives were worth crap now.
Maybe because he’d worked with Christian for a while now, and Christian always seemed to get away with shit. Marla had knocked the wind out of him and Tom had seen the color drain from his face. Good, he thought, the asshole should take this seriously.
Tom walked up the hill slowly, taking his time, his ears listening intently. He didn’t want to run into Connor or Matt. Those bastards got crazy yesterday and it had sent a shiver of misgivings through his body. Tom knew he’d miss his parents, but he’d been away from home for so long and he had rarely kept in touch with them. He did hope that they were okay, but he was more concerned about everyone here. Jesus, shit went sideways fast yesterday, one second Aiden was talking, the next Matt was shoving Marla down to the ground over a god damn shitty dinner.
The look in their faces, even Carol and Vana, it frightened him, something primordial touched him, something he couldn’t even explain to himself. It was scarier than anything he’d seen at the movies. At that moment, he’d have given anything to have been home in Idaho with his old boring life.
The visceral fear that flooded him made him want to piss himself and run like hell. He’d never been that afraid in his life, not even when he was mugged at gunpoint. He’d been afraid, but this was different. He was trapped here with these people. The good, the bad and the fucking crazy. He froze when he heard a twig snap loudly ahead of him. His breath held in his chest until he thought he would pass out, and then he saw a small deer. If I had a gun, I’d shoot it, he thought and then the deer was gone.
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&nbs
p; Grayson stood within the impenetrable foliage and watched the man, Tom. He’d heard all the screaming and had been drawn to the main camp. Was that yesterday, he wasn’t sure? He’d not understood what was happening. He’d watched as Connor and the rest, took supplies from the crew. Grayson had also observed Aiden lead Sarah away, protective. Then he’d heard the word, EMP. He’d heard that word somewhere before, but his mind couldn’t focus on when and where.
He’d watched the horror show below with ambivalence and indifference. Even the very ill, Carol, stupid woman, was stealing food. What was wrong with these people? Could he leave here, find his way home? Would he be trapped with them? Christ. He didn’t think he could stand that. The guilt of Carol was eating at him. He’d seen how sick she’d been, but now, she was strong enough to steal. He watched Tom disappear and he too melted back into the vast forest. Not making a sound, he vanished.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Aiden led the way, they’d washed their clothes the day before and had gathered more nuts and Aiden had even killed a rabbit. At least he thought it was a rabbit, or some kind of rabbit like rodent. Sarah had kept the skin and found a sharp rock to clean the inside of the skin. She said she wanted to experiment with making furs.
“Do you think everyone will be there?” She asked as they passed the waterfall. He looked back at her and smiled, she looked nervous. He’d made her a short spear, so she could use it like a knife, and she also had her long spear. They might be able to fashion a weapon with the tendons or the leather from the rabbit skin and some of the sharp stones they’d been collecting. But for now, all he had was the machete and his own body.
“I honestly don’t know. But I guess we’ll find out.” He said. About twenty minutes later they saw the main camp below them. He could see Leo and the others and smiled. At least they were alive, he was afraid Connor and his group would try some sneaky shit. When they arrived, they saw Marla and Christian, both looking a little worse for wear. He walked up to Leo and shook his hand.
