“Alright, here we are!” Cyrus announced a handful of minutes later, spreading his arms out and turning to their right. The others looked over, and were shocked at the sight before them.
Almost directly behind the sign, there were walls of crushed cars and vehicles stacked up at least 10 feet high. They extended out on either end of a rusty, gated entrance, and spread until naturally formed rocks connected, providing the rest of the front barricade.
“How…How did you get so many cars?” Chris asked, baffled.
“Well, we were all kind of car people, when there were still cars to collect anyway,” Cyrus explained. “We grabbed all we could when things started going down so we could drive, siphon gas, and make defenses and such. Plus, there were a lot of empty cars on the roads, so we’d just nab them and bring them here; some for walls, some for repair. It took us a damn long time to get where we are, but it’s saved us, I can tell you that much for sure.”
“How far in does your place run?” Adam asked. “The whole path?”
“Most of it. We stack up rocks and trees when we can to provide barriers as well, especially further on in. Feel free to take a walk if you’d like, it’s all open campus here,” Cyrus said, warmly welcoming the guys. “Guys, I’m back, and I’ve got some guests! Let us in, please!” he shouted toward the inside, as the gate was slowly pulled open by another man.
They walked in, and instantly were greeted by at least 5 faces, all smiling and welcoming. Luke had to admit, though he was hesitant, this community gave off a much friendlier vibe than Jack’s place. From the defences alone, they clearly knew what they were doing survival-wise. Moreover, these people were adults, most of them older than Cyrus by the looks of it, yet they all appeared to be relatively content if nothing else, and they listened to Cyrus’s orders. It made Luke just a bit more confident in his decision to trust these people, even if it was only temporary.
“Everyone! These are our guests for the time being! They are searching for their own people, whom they were separated from. Three men, one of which with a head injury. I want our search teams going out to find them, following the main road in both directions, as well as the surrounding woods. If anyone knows anything, report to me immediately, please. Spread the word!” Cyrus called out, more people in the distance looking toward him to hear his orders. They all made sounds of understanding and prepared, some already grabbing bags and walking out the gate.
“Holy shit,” Adam gawked, lowering both the spear and his defenses for the first time since he grabbed it. He looked over to Chris again, and they once more shared a glance, though this time of utter bewilderment. Luke had to admit, he too was becoming increasingly impressed as they saw more of this place. It seemed too good to be true. He glanced at Cody, but he seemed to share the same thought. No one really knew what to say.
“Alright, sounds good,” Cyrus said, clasping his hands together, more to himself than anyone else. “We’ve got that info-hut-turned-cabin for you guys if you’d like to settle in there for a while; it’s there for all newcomers and guests when they first arrive. I’ll have someone bring you guys some food soon, too; it’s a little early for our dinner time, but I’m sure we can whip something up now if you’d like.”
The others gazed at each other, still flabbergasted by everything that was going on, and what they were seeing. Cyrus just laughed, and smiled once more.
“I get it; too good to be true right?” he said. “It’s not all sunshine and daisies, don’t worry. We’ve had our fair share of tough times, I swear to you that much. We’ve just also managed to make a pretty long lasting good one. Times like that are in pretty short supply nowadays. Go ahead, relax in there, or… be on edge; whatever works. I’ll stop by to talk later with the food. With any luck, your friends will be here before I get return,” he said hopefully, then beginning to walk away from the group. He stopped suddenly, and turned back to Adam. “You can keep that by the way. I know it’s really cool, and we’ve got a good handful of them, so please, consider it a gift,” Cyrus chuckled, and then turned away again, at last leaving the group to themselves.
They all briefly strolled around the community, and got a good look at what these people had managed to build. Suffice to say, it was more and more impressive with every piece of ingenuity they saw. Man-made cabins, tents entirely devoted to food, or clothes, or cars. Not to mention that almost every face they passed– all cleaner than they had even dreamed of in months– at least gave them a brief smile or nod, which was leagues above the human interaction they were used to. It was almost too much to take in.
Once they had made their way to their temporary residence, nobody really knew what to say. There were couches, a futon, a battery-powered radio with CD’s, small packages of snacks like granola bars, blankets, pillows; all kinds of things.
“Man, this place alone is more together and supplied than the Maine house ever was,” Adam said in wonderment, looking all around. “I mean, a clock? We haven’t seen a fully functioning one of these in forever.”
“It even comes with lights! Look at this!” Cody pointed out, looking around. There were lamps, and a small hanging light from the ceiling. “They must have like, what’s it called… generator power or something!”
“Yeah, and this furniture? It’s way too nice for the guest room,” Luke admired. “Imagine what the residents here have.”
Adam then stood silent, contemplating something. Luke looked at him, and knew what was on his mind.
“It’s a nice place,” Luke whispered, smiling a little. “And… I think it’s safe.” Adam paused.
“Yeah, I think you might be right,” he finally agreed, looking at Luke earnestly. “Maybe we can come back, if things don’t work out…” He suggested, rather sheepishly. Cody and Chris looked a bit confused, but Luke just smiled at him again.
“Yeah, maybe,” he said. “Maybe.”
Maybe an hour later, at least according to the clock, Cyrus came back with a girl, a little closer to the guys’ age, with their food. There was beans, rice, and a small amount of meat on the plates– which were paper, but Luke couldn’t complain. He was praying the others didn’t either; he was just starting to let his guard down.
“Woah! Thanks man!” Chris said, grabbing his plate. “I wouldn’t normally just take in random and probably stale-ass food like this, but you know, considering the circumstances…” Adam got his next, and immediately dug in. Cody and Luke were handed theirs shortly after.
“Oh, thanks for waiting, Adam,” Cody scolded Adam, chuckling a little as he did.
“S’not muh’ faul’ you guyves’ are taking forvr’!” Adam garbled with a mouth full of food. The others just laughed more, and Cyrus sat down on an arm of one of the couches, watching them interact. Had Luke not been paying more attention, he would have completely missed it. He turned to face Cyrus, putting his plate down for a moment.
“So Cyrus, I know it’s early, but do you have anything yet? Any word?” Luke asked, staring Cyrus in the eyes.
“No, unfortunately not yet, sorry,” he said reluctantly, seeming a bit disappointed in himself as he did. Luke appreciated it. “But uh, if you were willing, I thought now would be a good time to do a little Q&A between all of us. I ask you things, you ask me things; we get to know each other!”
“Uh, sure, we can do that,” Luke agreed, looking back to the others, who were still all devouring their food. “Well, I can anyways,” Cyrus chuckled, and Luke joined him in another side of the room.
“Alright, I’ll go first,” Cyrus continued, standing up and moving to lean against a wall. “Where are you coming from? Where were you going?” Luke exhaled deeply, and opened his eyes wide.
“Well, that’s a long story. Short version is Maine, but we come from California, so we’re headed back,” he explained. For the first time, he saw surprise struck on Cyrus’s face.
“What!?” he asked in disbelief. “Maine!? To California!? That’s crazy! You guys are just kids!”
; “Well, no one can really afford to be a kid anymore, you know?” Luke responded. Cyrus grew slightly somber, and nodded his head agreeingly.
“Still… that’s crazy man,” Cyrus said. “How has it all been? The trip so far?” Luke paused, trying to gather the strength to revisit everything so soon.
“Hard,” he said, wincing as he did. He imagined Cyrus took notice, as his face changed to a grimace as he did.
“Yeah…?”
“Yeah…”
“Have you lost anyone?” he asked.
“During the trip? No. This is the first split up we’ve had since it all started, at least physically.”
“I see. Before?” Cyrus asked again.
“Before… yeah. We lost three people,” Luke added somberly.
“Hmm…” Cyrus said. “Good people?”
“Yes,” Luke said. “Very good people.”
“I’m sorry,” he replied. They were silent for a moment, and by then the others had either finished eating or paused to listen. Cyrus had noticed, but he didn’t seem to mind. “I lost my dad, maybe a few months in. He lead this place before me; everyone loved him. He used to look for people, try to bring them here, like I was doing. His whole mantra was that we as people needed to stick together, you know? If we let other people– strangers or not– roam around out there without trying to help them, then how human were we? Then, one day, he went out looking for people, and he uh… he didn’t come back. We heard about mass graves, just a few miles back the way you came from; something those Ships did… Some people said they thought they saw him in there. I never checked.”
“We saw one,” Cody noted. “The graves. It was… horrible… I’m sorry.”
“Please, it’s not your fault, and it’s not mine either. It’s life, she’s nasty sometimes,” Cyrus said, forcing a small smile to break through his frown. “Anyway, everyone was looking for someone to take his place, and no one could, so eventually I just… did. We’ve seen some tough times, like I said, but we always try to look out for the best in people. We are all we have left, you know what I mean?”
“Yeah, well we’ve encountered others who saw things differently,” Adam remarked. “Real shitheads, if I’m being honest.”
“Yeah, we’ve seen those kind of people before, had a few too. It’s…It’s never easy, dealing with it.”
“People that like, lived here?” Chris asked, surprised. “You’re all so nice. What would you do?”
“We’d hold a meeting,” Cyrus explained. “Only a handful of people– the smartest, the most resourceful, the most well-respected– would convene. If the majority felt that person should leave, they’d be asked out, with some supplies to go.”
“And if they refused?” Adam pressed, curious. “What then?”
“Then…?” Cyrus paused. “We always try to be as peaceful to one another as possible, but like I said… it’s never easy…” he trailed off.
“No, it’s not,” Luke agreed, speaking up. “But someone’s gotta do it, you know? Like you said.”
“Right,” Cyrus replied, though that was all he said. That was definitely the shortest-cut sentence Luke had heard him say so far, bar none.
“Well yeah, we’ve seen some rough spots too,” Chris picked up. “Had some hard days, and some really hard days. Then we just recently got split up, which was… probably the hardest hit yet…” Luke gazed over at his friend, knowing just how much it must have hurt him to not be with the others. If the redness flooding his pale face was any indication, he was embarrassed, probably because he blamed himself. Which was foolish, after all, because Luke knew well enough that if it were anyone’s fault, it was his own.
“We uh, got chased by… well, we weren’t really sure what they were,” Cody said. “Some pack of something. They were all plated and sharp and stuff. Like uh, what do you call it… like armored wolves or something.”
“Oh, I know all about that,” Cyrus said, flicking his eyes open wider. “We just call them Packs, plain and simple– we’ve never even seen one alone, so we never made a name for the individuals. You’re lucky you outran them; that’s incredibly rare.” There was some time where no one said anything then, and after a short while Cyrus spoke back up. “So, once we find your friends– because I have a strong suspicion we will– you plan on leaving, I assume?”
“That was the plan,” Luke said. “That won’t be a problem, will it?”
“No, not at all,” Cyrus waved off. “I mean, I’d implore you to stay; the more people we have the better off we are, and you guys seem pretty useful for your age– more so than some of the older people here even– but what kind of man would I be to keep you from going home?”
Luke and the others smiled, pleased that he was being so kind and understanding; they hadn’t met anyone like this in a long time. Adam was the only one not smiling, as he stared down at his plate, clearly deep in thought. Suddenly, he lifted his head, and gazed at Cyrus.
“Well, what if… what if we make a deal, of sorts?” he asked.
“What?” Chris asked, unsure why Adam had decided to speak up.
“Dude what are you talking about?” Cody questioned Adam, confused.
“Go ahead,” Cyrus pressed, curious.
“What if we go there, back home, and if there’s nothing there for us, no people, or at least… not enough… we come back here?” Adam proposed. The guys all looked at him; Cody and Chris unsure where it was coming from, and Luke just concerned as to why he was doing this now. In all reality, he knew why, but it was still a strange time to bring it up, considering he hadn’t conversed with the others at all. They weren’t even all back together yet.
“Well… I’d say that’s a fair deal,” Cyrus said, “so long as you come back, A: with some kind of supplies, and B: not with more people in the hopes of trying some coup or something.”
“Of course,” Adam said, nodding his head. Cyrus smiled again.
“Well, so long as that’s understood, I’d say that’s no pro–” He began, suddenly interrupted by the front door swinging open, and another man, probably a bit younger than Cyrus, but older than the guys, came through it.
“Cyrus! There are people here, three of them. I think it’s their people!” he shouted frantically. “One of them looks like he’s about to pass out; Pat says he’s got a bandage on his head. What do you want to do?” Everyone shot up from their seats, including Cyrus from his once-relaxed position.
“Bring them in, now!” Cyrus shouted back. “And get a medical attendant over to the gate, ASAP.” The man ran off, and they all rushed out the door. “You ready to reunite your family?” Cyrus asked Luke, a large smile on his face. Luke would’ve been smiling too, but all he could do was notice his heart beating loudly, and the tunnel vision and hearing he was suddenly experiencing. He faintly nodded his head, and rushed ahead of Cyrus to the front gate.
It felt like he was running a marathon, and he was just seeing the finish line, but he still couldn’t quite make it there. If those gate doors opened, and it wasn’t them, Luke wasn’t really sure what he would have done. If it was, then finally, for the past day or so, he could stop feeling like as much of a colossal failure for letting them slip out from his protection. At least, he’d feel less like that than usual; a bit of weight of his everbearing shoulders. Still, he could only hold so much.
Once they all got there, the gatekeeper was already opening it up, and just as Luke and the guys rushed toward the outside, the others rushed in. They stopped, right in front of each other, and for a moment didn’t say a word. Everything felt like it had just… paused.
Luke felt it building inside of him, and he decided to just let it loose. The tears. They started streaming down his dirty and tired face, and he saw them stream down the others’ too. He ran over to Jeremy and they hugged, shouting joyfully and loudly, as the others all joined in as well.
Cody hugged Nolan, who awkwardly obliged, but still showed in his face how happy he was to see them. Adam hugged Derrick, an
d took place of keeping him steady, as he weakly tried to hug back. Chris walked over to Jeremy and took Luke’s place, embracing him in as large a bear hug as their tired and worn out bodies would allow. Dirt and grime be damned.
“Are you guys okay?” Jeremy asked, breaking away from the tears and shouting, still smiling wildly. His eyes darted up and down each of their bodies as though he was inspecting for some kind of gruesome injury.
“Are we okay!?” Chris shouted, blown away. “We’re fine! Are you!?”
“Yeah we’re alright, I’m just slowly dying!” Derrick said, still smirking a bit as he did.
“Der, your face!” Adam said. “I… is it alright?”
“It should be okay,” Nolan said. “I sewed it up as much as I could.”
“Nolan, you patched him up?” Luke asked.
“Yeah; I mean, I did my best. We found a little cabin in the woods, it had some stuff,” Nolan explained, smiling as tears still rolled down his face a bit. Then a woman– presumably the medical personnel– came over with another man and began to grab Derrick, making Nolan and Jeremy very defensive.
“Guys, guys! It’s okay!” Luke insisted, holding out his hands defensively. “They’re okay! They’re medics, they’re gonna help him.”
Nolan and Jeremy calmed down a little, and looked back to the Luke and the others. It made him happy to see how protective they were of each other. That was a solid sign of returning to the past. Some of the attitudes of it, anyway.
“So, these people… didn’t take you hostage?” Jeremy clarified.
“What? No!” Chris shouted. “We’re guests!”
“God you’re stupid!” Adam said. “Did you not get that from the note?”
“The note didn’t give shit! It was vague as shit!” Nolan said.
“Sorry about that, I was in a bit of a rush,” Cyrus apologized, raising his hand. “I wanted to help your friends as quickly as possible so they wouldn’t, you know, try to kill me.” Everyone calmed down a bit, and the medical team glanced at Cyrus, and then to the others, not sure if they should leave yet.
The Way Back (Book 1): The Way Back Page 20
