"I don't know," Garrett answered. "All three of us?"
"Maybe a couple more as well?" Sam said. Garrett started getting his defenses up, but Sam kept talking. "There are a couple others in the group who don't seem to have anywhere in particular they need to be right away. They seem pretty reasonable as well. Pretty quiet and not causing any troubles like these other two brawlers. Maybe we could take them as well."
Before Garrett could voice his opinion to object to and squash the idea, Holly spoke up. "I think that's a great idea," she said, taking Sam by the arm. "Introduce me to your other friends."
Garrett had a feeling that he'd taken two steps forward and one step back.
Chapter 12 ~ Sam Who?
"There are some people who aren't going to be too happy with this, you know," Sam said. "I mean, there were a number of people in the group who sort of looked to you as a leader. You were the one who really helped maneuver us through the lifeboat voyage. I'm not sure where we would've ended up if it wasn't for you two taking charge of the situation when things looked so desperate."
Don't put him on too high a pedestal," Holly said. "I'll never get him down off it, or get my opinion heard."
"That's not true. If it was true, then we wouldn't be in this situation at all. I never would've set foot aboard the cruise ship. You know full well that wasn't my idea."
"Yeah, right, and if I hadn't kicked you out of the house way back when then there's no way in hell you would have ever gotten on that cruise ship. That's exactly the point I'm trying to make. Unless there's something completely desperate or unattainable for you as a reward, it's pretty much impossible to get you to do anything I want. You are just too used to being in charge."
Sam looked like he was having second thoughts for a moment. He didn't realize how much tension there was between Holly and Garrett. "Actually, I was sort of referring to the both of you. You too, Holly. You two worked together really well when we were on the lifeboat. Between that storm and that crazy guy with the gun, things could have been a lot worse. If it hadn't been for you two working together to sort things out, we'd likely all still be bobbing along out there." Sam cast an eye out towards the ocean and the imminent storm. "That storm looks even worse than the one we were stuck in; I certainly wouldn't want to be out there now."
"I'm not so sure I want to be here now. The way things are going in this country, we'd likely be better off in the middle of the open ocean on a sinking ship."
"Since when did you become Mr. Pessimistic," Holly interjected. "Come on, Mr. Foreman. You're always the one with the plan and the solutions to everybody's problems. Isn't that what you do for a living?"
Garrett decided this would be an opportune time to change the topic of conversation. "So who are these other people you were talking about?" He directed the question at Sam. "You said there were a few others who you thought might make a good addition to our little raiding party heading north."
Sam nodded to one of the men who had been fighting earlier.
"You've got to be kidding me," Holly said. "I thought you said you had some reasonable people in mind."
"He was the reasonable one. At least in that argument, if I had to pick a side it would have been his." Both Holly and Garrett gave Sam a skeptical stare. "Now look, I've been thinking about this and getting to know a few of the people around here. He's a good choice. Yeah, he's a little impulsive, but I think he'd be a good addition. He's a mechanic with all kinds of certifications, combustion engine, diesel engine and hydraulics. The guy's a whiz around machines. At least that's what he told me the other night when we were sitting around talking."
"In the middle of all this, he decided to give you his career resume?" Garrett said.
"I admit, he's a bit full of himself,"
"And impulsive," Holly quickly added.
"Look, if this really is some kind of EMP attack that's taken down the grid and all the power for most devices, then this is the perfect guy to have with us. If you want to get to New York and rescue Becky, it's gonna take a hell of a long time to walk there. If there's anyone here in this crowd that can get some vehicles moving and get us there a faster, then this is the guy."
"Alright, alright," Garrett said. "Point made. Who else did you have in mind?"
Sam pointed to a tiny girl who didn't look more than maybe twenty-one at the most. She had long black hair, and was seated with her back up against the lifeboat, watching everyone else like a hawk. She looked timid as a mouse and about ready to jump out of her skin.
"She looks a little nervous," Holly said. "I'm not so sure she'd be a good idea. Plus the fact that she's so tiny. Could she even hike a mile with a pack on? If we don't get a car going and we end up having to do a lot of hiking then everybody's gonna have to carry their own weight. She looks like she'd keel over with a small lunch pail on her back."
"Her name's Veronica, and she's a nurse."
"Oh, well then. I guess that sorts it out."
"I figured you'd agree. There's no telling what kind of condition the hospitals are in these days and if we run into problems health-wise or injury-wise," Garrett looked at Sam as Sam pointed towards Garrett's splinted leg, "I bet she'd have a pretty good idea how to fix that splint so you can walk better and get that leg healing faster."
"You really have been a busy guy, haven't you?" Garrett said. "So what exactly is it that you have to offer our raiding party here? I mean, you picked some people here who seem pretty well-qualified to help out, but what exact skill set is it that you have that makes you too valuable to leave behind?"
Holly gave Garrett a scowl. "Hey, come on. There's no need to be like that. Sam here's the one that's been doing all the legwork and figuring out who's who. He's the one that got us talking and picked out what looks like a pretty good group of people. There's no need to be questioning him like that."
"No, no, it's OK. I don't mind, really. Garrett asks a pretty good question there. It's true that everybody in the party's going to have to contribute no matter what happens and we have no idea what we'll be facing along the way. Let me just say that I'm what you call a fixer. Someone who solves problems." Sam gave them both a big smile.
Holly seemed fine with that, but Garrett not so much.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean? Fixer? That's not an occupation."
"Let's just say," Sam smiled, "there'll be a whole lot fewer problems to deal with for both of you and everyone else if I'm around." Garrett wasn't convinced. "Normally this is one of those situations where the funny line to say would be 'I could tell you but I'd have to kill you.' But, given the current situation and events that have transpired, that's not so funny. Let's just say this. I have a deeply vested interest in getting you to where you want to be. If my folks made it to shore, then they’ll likely head to New York City, and I need people around me who can help get me there. The deal I'm offering is: I help you get to Becky, but you need to help me and not ask a lot of questions. Do you have a problem with that?"
Chapter 13 ~ C'mon Veronica
"Come on, Veronica, it's a good idea. There's nothing for you around here and the best thing you can do right now in spite of everything that's going on is to get away from this place. You're exposed out here on this beach, with dwindling supplies and a group of people you don't even know," Sam said, but Veronica didn't seem to want to listen.
It was late in the evening, and the sun had settled. The storm had managed to move further south and miss them which they were all grateful for, but now there were bigger obstacles to overcome. Garrett, Holly, Sam, and Gary were trying to convince Veronica that she should leave with the four of them. She wasn't entirely convinced that this would be a good idea. It seemed like four against one to her and in spite of their best attempts she was reluctant.
"I don't know any of you either. What makes you think I want to go traipsing off to God knows where with a bunch of strangers?"
"Everybody here is a stranger," Sam said. "You've already said you don't know anyone
else here, that you got separated from your friends on the cruise ship when you ended up in a different lifeboat than the rest of them."
"Yes, but if we settle here, maybe their boats will end up here as well. Maybe I should just wait here for them."
"Did you see that last storm out there," Garrett said. "That storm moved south. That means if they were out there or anywhere near that weather system, their boats will have gone further south as well."
"But you said you're going south, I mean north." Veronica was stammering now. Clearly, she was nervous and not enjoying being put under this kind of pressure.
She'd initially gone to school to be an operating room nurse and finished at the top of her class. Then it turned out she couldn't take the pressure. Life and death situations in the surgical ward aren't for the faint of heart. She'd ended up changing in less than a year to work in pediatrics. Not that there weren't any stressful situations there, but at least she got to work around kids, and that was something she really enjoyed. It seemed to offset the pressure of the situation.
This, however, was a totally different thing. There were four strangers intent on convincing her to journey north in the midst of the country falling apart. She was skeptical about the story she'd heard so far, but some of it seemed to make sense. Things on the ship had been strange and here in the city things didn't seem much better. Sure, they weren't in danger of sinking or drowning, but there were a thousand ways to die on land as well. Her short career as a nurse had taught her a number of them.
"Didn't you say your family was from New York City?" Holly asked in a more subdued tone.
Veronica liked her; she didn't seem as overbearing as the guys did. Her husband, the one called Garrett, was clearly used to having people simply follow his orders. She figured he was a CEO or some kind of boss in his real-life job.
Sam seemed not quite as pushy, but a little scary. She wasn't sure what to make of him yet. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she felt there was a lot about him that he wasn't saying. That didn't do a whole lot to make her want to believe them or go with them for that matter.
The fourth one of the group, Gary, just hung back and didn't say anything. She suspected he was a new addition to the group as well and seemed a little unsure of the whole idea. Clearly, though, he'd bought into what they were saying as he was with them.
"Yes, my family is in New York City, but I live in upstate New York, a small town near the Massachusetts border. You've probably never heard of it."
"Well," Holly said. "At least if we're moving north, we are going in the direction of your family and your home. That's got to be a good thing, right?" Veronica looked like she was still going to need a lot of convincing.
"And what about him?" Veronica said. "Isn't he the one who got into a fight with the other guy? Is that really somebody we want to be traveling with? He seems like trouble." Gary didn't say anything, even though Veronica was sure he could hear her. He just sat there, listening and taking everything else in.
"He'll be OK," Sam said. "Everybody's just a little bit on edge right now, but it's totally fine. Understandable. It'd be strange if we weren't. We all are, and I can see that you are too. But staying here is not gonna help. You do want to get back to your family, don't you?" Veronica nodded quietly. "Then this is going to be your best chance to do it. Gary sitting back there is a mechanic he can fix just about any engine around. Right now, with this power grid out and most of the vehicles out of commission, it's going to be very difficult to make headway up north. We're going to need every advantage we can find. If there are any vehicles along the way we can find that can help us, he's the one that's going to get them going."
"Having a tough guy along may not be so bad," Holly interjected, thinking of the troubles they'd run into earlier. "Consider him our bodyguard."
Veronica wasn't sure what to think about that but was more concerned about the comment Sam made. "You mean to tell me that you guys are planning on stealing cars for this little trip?" She squinted at the four of them, looking even more skeptical now. "That's not the kind of thing I do. I'm not that kind of person. I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't go around breaking the law for no good reason."
"You need to give that a little more thought right now," Garrett said. "Things aren't like they used to be when you checked onto the cruise ship. If all the stories are true about the attacks, the power grid, the looters that are already in action, then just sitting here and doing nothing but abiding by the law is asking for trouble. It's asking to die. All the rules have changed. Power, food, water and all the other resources that we're so used to having at our fingertips for survival aren't nearly as readily available as they used to be. In fact, they're going to become incredibly scarce. The only people who are going to survive this are the people to take action and take what they need. Everybody's going to have to fight for their own survival. Right now, we're the best chance you have."
Veronica started to say something, then caught herself. She paced back and forth, weighing all the arguments they'd been making and wondering what to do. This was so far out of her comfort zone, it wasn't even funny. With the stories she'd heard and the things she'd seen over the last few days, nothing sounded real. Unfortunately, she didn't have a lot of time to think through everything.
Things seemed to line up with the crazy, outlandish stories they'd heard. The lack of power on the ship and on land, coupled with the absence of any sort of rescue effort, all added up to equal the stories going around. She didn't like it, but her logic was winning the argument over her gut.
"OK, what you're saying makes sense, sort of. With everything we've seen so far, you're probably right. But I'm definitely not going to be the one stealing cars. That's not what I do. I'm a nurse. I help people who are in trouble." She looked at Garrett's leg. "That I can help you with. That I'm willing to do. A lot of this other stuff, this fighting and the stealing," she looked over to Gary, who stared unblinkingly back at her, "that stuff is all on you guys. I'll carry my weight and do what's necessary, but if you start asking me to do things that aren't right, then I'm gone. Understand?"
"We understand," Holly said. "Nobody's going to ask you to do anything that would make you feel uncomfortable." Sam turned his head so that neither of the girls could see the look on his face. Changing times meant changing morals and ethics. Sam knew that, but he also knew it was a topic for a different discussion on a different day. For right now, they'd assembled their group and it was time to move on. The time on the beach was over; it was time to head out into the real world. Whatever the real world had become.
Chapter 14 ~ Where To Now?
Sneaking out in the middle of the night seemed the right way to go. The group had mixed feelings about leaving this way, but there were some things they shared in common. Leaving the survivors of the lifeboat on the beach in the middle of the night might be construed as cowardly to some, but to others it was the only way to go.
They were leaving behind a mixed bag of people. Most were middle-aged or older, but there were younger ones in the group as well. Many had been separated from their families or friends, but there were a few who still had people they knew and trusted at their side. They would find as time went on that that would be invaluable.
Many would be depressed, sullen and despondent when they realized who the people were that left. Garrett didn't like to admit it, and neither did Holly, but they were seen as the leaders of the group. With them gone, it would create a vacuum of leadership, and someone else would have to rise to the occasion,
Garrett believed that the best thing the old group could do would be to split up and go their own way. True, there might not be a lot of capable individuals amongst the group, but eventually, that's what it would come to. Staying exposed where they were, as such a large group in an area that they couldn't defend, would make things improbable. Improbable to survive and improbable to thrive.
Holly, on the other hand, felt incredibly guilty. It felt like he
r heart was being squeezed in her chest as they left the group in the middle of the night. She kept looking back over her shoulder and questioning whether or not this was still the right thing to do. She knew that there were some from the group who simply would not survive. She knew that even within their own group of five, nothing was guaranteed. They were going out into an unfamiliar world, similar to the Wild West, and anything could happen. She wouldn't admit it, but she was grateful to be making the move with Garrett. At least he was somebody familiar and somebody she understood. In spite of the fact that she didn't always agree with the choices he made, she was happy they were together through this.
There was no doubt in Sam's mind that this was the right decision to make. It's what he'd been looking to do all along, ever since they'd landed on the beach. He hadn't had much to say during the time on the lifeboat at sea. He chose to take the role of observer for most of that journey. Not that he wouldn't have stepped up if he felt there was something he could contribute, but during that trip, he decided it was best to sit back and figure out everyone else.
He knew his skills would come in handy at some point and when it came right down to it, they could potentially be the skills that saved them all. The trick he'd learned long ago was when to play your hand. When things seemed mostly under control on the lifeboat, he took notes mentally and watched people. Watched who got stressed and who rose to the occasion. He watched who panicked and made bad decisions. Those he quickly dismissed.
What he was really looking for was the strong ones. Strength did not always seem obvious, but it was there. Even Veronica, who outwardly seemed so frightened, still had an inner strength that Sam quickly recognized. He only hoped that the choices he made about the group were correct. So far things seem to be working out, but he knew it was a long road ahead of them.
Veronica couldn't remember the last time she'd been so unsure about a decision. She thought back to her time as a newly minted nurse in the first surgical ward she'd worked in. She had definitely been full of doubts then, even though everyone else seemed sure of her abilities. She'd soon come to learn how wrong they were.
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