by V. L. Dreyer
"Hmm…" Michael sat back, and went silent for a couple of minutes while he thought it over. Suddenly, he glanced at me again. "What about propane?"
"What about it?" I asked, confused.
"Well, propane doesn't expire, right?" he answered, his brow furrowed in thought. "And I remember there being a big conservationist movement before the plague, dedicated to converting cars from petrol and diesel to natural gas. Could we do the same thing?"
This time, it was my turn to stop and think about it. I hadn't even considered the possibility. I picked up my radio with my free hand, and thumbed the receiver. "Zain? Come in Zain?"
A few seconds later, I received a reply. "I'm here. What is it?"
I glanced at Michael, then looked back out at the road in front of us. "Is it possible to convert a car to run on natural gas? Propane?"
"It's theoretically possible to convert a car to run on just about any fuel, with the right tools and parts," he replied. "Why do you ask?"
"Because I want you to start looking for the right tools and parts whenever you can," I answered. "Our supply of petrol is running low, and I'm sure I don't need to tell you how hard it's getting to find more."
There was silence for a few seconds, then his voice came back on the line. "I can't guarantee anything, but I'll try. We'll need to search every workshop and auto parts store that we pass. Alternately, we may want to consider going back to basics."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Horses," he replied. "Or even cows, if we can train them to pull a cart. Draft animals."
"Well, what was good enough for our ancestors is good enough for us," I commented, nodding thoughtfully. "All right, let's keep both of these ideas in mind. If anyone else has any suggestions, please bring them to me, even if they're far-fetched."
"We should build a rocket car!" Skylar suggested brightly. I sighed and rolled my eyes heavenwards.
"Not quite that far-fetched," I said dryly. "Put your thinking caps on, guys. We'll talk later."
***
That day passed without incident as we followed the road southwards, and so did the ones after that. For five days, we followed the winding path southwards, through landscape that gradually changed around us with every kilometre. The rolling hills of the Waikato became steeper and less forgiving, but we managed to find a path even when the road was impassable. It wasn't until an hour before sunset on the sixth day that we encountered a real problem. I slammed on the brakes and stared at the road in front of me, uncertain how to react to what I was seeing. Michael glanced up from his book, and uttered a few choice words under his breath.
"How in the world are we going to get through there?" he asked, leaning forward to stare into the dense brush blocking what had once been the road. "Do we need to backtrack?"
"If we backtrack, we'll lose days," I said, shaking my head. "No, let's at least give this a chance. Call the others to a halt and have them start setting up a base camp here. We need to get out and scout the area before it gets dark."
Michael grunted a non-verbal agreement and grabbed the radio to do just that. While he was busy, I put the Hilux in park and pulled up my hood to protect me from the incessant rain.
"What about us?" Melody asked from the back seat, her sharp voice cutting through my thoughts like a hot knife.
I glanced back at her, studying her face in the gloom. "You want to help me scout?"
"Why not?" Melody shrugged, obviously trying to look nonchalant to disguise her tension. "We've been on our own for years without you; I'm pretty sure we can handle ourselves."
"Your age has nothing to do with it." I winked at her, and jerked a thumb towards the window. "I'm just surprised that you'd volunteer to get wet. If you guys want to come along, you're more than welcome."
"Oh." There was a long pause, then she nodded firmly. "Well, we're coming."
"Okay." I glanced at Michael, who had paused in his conversation to look at me. "I'm taking these guys with me; you stay here and help with setting up camp."
"You got it." He leaned over and planted a kiss on my cheek, then resumed his conversation.
I threw open my door and slid out from behind the wheel. The ground beneath me felt moist and squishy; an odd combination of thick mud and spongy leaf-litter layered the old tar seal. I tested it a couple of times with my foot before I committed my full weight to it; it was a bit slippery, but it didn't give out when I stood on it. By the time I was ready, Melody, Solomon, and Priya had bundled themselves up and joined me.
"I don't much care for this weather," I said, pausing to look up at the sky. "It's raining too much. If it doesn't stop soon, then we may have to worry about flooding."
"I think we've still got a bit of leeway," Melody answered, following my gaze up to the clouds. "But, you're right. It smells dangerous."
"Exactly." We both stood silently for a few moments to consider the possibilities, then I sighed and shook my head. "Let's try to find somewhere elevated for them to pitch camp first of all. I'd hate to sleep in this mud."
"That way," Melody said, pointing westwards. "The land slopes up a little. Let's check beyond those bushes."
"Good call." I nodded my approval, then I reached back to grab my shotgun from its resting place and slammed the door behind me. "I'll take the lead. Melody, you watch my left flank. Priya, watch the right. Solomon, you keep an eye on our rear. Got it?"
"Yes, Mama," Priya agreed brightly.
I glanced at her, and saw that she already had her little pistol in hand, and was holding it exactly the way Michael had shown her. After her encounter with the pig, I felt confident that she could handle it. I shifted my gaze to Solomon, who just nodded silently. That was about as much as I was likely to get out of him, so I took it at face value. Shifting my shotgun into the offensive position, I eased myself down into a crouch and led the way into the brush.
Thorns grabbed at my sleeves as I forced my way between the bushes, but the leather kept them from biting my skin. With careful use of my forearm, I pushed my way through, and came out the other side into long, wild grasses. The landscape had begun to change from the Waikato region's lush greenery into the tough, mountainous foliage of the central plateau; I'd seen it a thousand times before, but I could see that the kids were less confident in unfamiliar territory.
"Up here," I said, guiding my charges deeper into the brush. A few pathetic trees clung to the slope, but the grass was tough and demanding, and sucked away what little nutrients they might have been able to find. Past the trees, a small clearing opened up, framed by more bushes and grass but otherwise clear; the ground was firm beneath my feet, and I felt stone under the leaf litter.
"There's a stream over there," Melody said, pointing to our left.
"Good," I replied. "That'll help us keep our water reserves going. Priya, you and Solomon head back to the convoy. Tell Michael to send people up here to cut back the brush, so we can set up camp here."
"Okies!" Priya agreed on behalf of both of them. Without another word, she turned and scampered away, Solomon hot on her heels.
I lowered my shotgun, and looked at Melody. This was the first chance we'd had to be alone together, so it seemed like a good chance to get a feel for exactly how much she knew. "Tell me what you see here."
The girl looked at me, her sea-green eyes unreadable. "What?"
"I need to know how much you know," I explained bluntly. "So, humour me. Look around, and tell me what you see."
Melody went quiet then, but her expression changed from defensive to thoughtful. When she finally spoke again, her voice was soft and even. "I see a steady supply of fresh water, with a good, solid wall of foliage that should block the wind from most directions. It's an elevated position, so it should be easily defensible. I can hear the birds singing in those trees over there, so there aren't any predators around. If there were, they wouldn't be singing."
"Good." I nodded my approval. "What else?"
Melody paused again, then pointed towards
northern edge of the clearing. "Those rocks should also give us some more shelter. They look stable enough to climb on, so if we can get up there we should be able to scout the road ahead."
"Perfect." I smiled at her, and nodded towards the rocks. "Do you want to lead the way?"
She set off without a word, leaving me to follow along behind her. I did so, after taking a moment to return my shotgun to its normal place across my back. The afternoon chorus was loud enough that we'd know long in advance if anything was coming our way.
A few bold fantails danced across the trail as we slipped back into the brush, completely unafraid of our intrusion. The sight of them made me smile; I remembered a time when fantails had been endangered, thanks to humans destroying their habitat. If there was one good thing about the end of mankind, it was the fact that the rest of nature's children had a chance to flourish again.
Melody led me around the outside of the clearing until we reached the rock face. On closer examination, I saw that it was compiled of a single enormous boulder, surrounded by a dozen smaller ones of assorted sizes. She hopped up onto the lowest one, and nimbly climbed from one to the other until she reached the top of biggest. A second later, I joined her. We stood carefully, side by side, and stared towards the south.
"I can barely see the road," Melody admitted. "The bushes have managed to grow on the concrete. We can probably cut them back, I guess…" For the first time, she paused and looked at me uncertainly.
"We can," I said with as much confidence as I could muster. "It's not going to be easy, but we can do it."
"What are you going to do?" Melody asked. The question surprised me, and forced me to stop and think.
"I'm going to put it to the vote tonight," I said at last. "We have two choices. We can either backtrack and head south through Taupo, or we can cut our way through here. It's a decision that's going to affect everyone, so everyone should have their chance to have a say. In the meantime, let's go circle the camp and make sure there's nothing to worry about."
Melody nodded her agreement, and followed me back down to ground level. By the time we'd finished inspecting the surrounding area thoroughly enough to feel safe, Michael and the others had cut a path through the scrub from the road up to our campsite. He already had people standing guard, so Melody and I joined in with the setup instead.
By the time night fell, we had our camp ready. There were a couple of individual tents now, but most of us still slept under the roof of the giant tarpaulin. It wasn't all that comfortable, but it was good enough. I was tired and anxious to get to bed, but too stubborn to take a break when there was work to be done.
Rebecca and Elly were still recovering, so we decided to err on the side of caution. We put them straight to bed in one of the tents, with as many extra blankets as we could spare. With her primary helper out of the running, poor Skye was rushed off her feet trying to get dinner ready. I volunteered my own services to help her, and Melody's as well. She didn't complain. Priya soon joined us, and the extra hands were welcome.
Dinner was simple, but nutritious and filling. Once they'd eaten, we sent the younger kids off to bed, and gathered everyone else around the fire to discuss the matter of the road. I explained what we'd seen, and then put it to the vote. To my surprise, no one wanted to backtrack through Taupo. It turned out that they'd rather put in days of hard labour cutting a path than risk unknown danger.
After that, we sent everyone off about their duties. We were gradually falling into a routine, where every person knew what their task was in the group. Michael, Hemi, and a few of the other Waikato Iwi men organised the watch rotation amongst themselves, while Zain, Ryan, and I went down to check the cars as best we could by torchlight. By the time we got back, everyone was turning in for the night.
As soon as Michael spotted me, he finished his conversation and hurried over to greet me. "Hey there, pretty lady."
"Hey, yourself." I returned the greeting, and gave him a long look. "What are you grinning about?"
"We finally have enough people on the watch roster that we can swap people in and out," he answered, grinning even wider. "That means people can have a full night's sleep when it's their turn to have a night off."
"Oh, yeah?" I raised a brow, amused by his enthusiasm. "That's good, I guess."
"No, it's great!" Suddenly, he laughed and grabbed me by the waist to draw me into a hug. "The other guys insisted that we take the first night off."
This time, both my brows shot up. "Oh? So we get a full night's sleep? Tonight?"
"Damn straight." He planted a kiss on my lips, then pushed me back and grinned at me. "I don't know about you, but it feels like I haven't had a solid night's sleep in forever. Go get ready for bed. Long drop's over there, about five meters past that big rock."
"I feel like I should be concerned that you're so excited about getting me into bed, yet your only interest is sleep," I commented dryly.
Michael laughed and spun me around, pointing me towards the makeshift facilities. "I know! Who would have guessed? Oh well. Go pee, then come and have a cuddle."
"Yes sir, Officer Chan, sir!" I gave a mock salute, and headed off to do just that.
By the time I'd finished doing my business and returned to camp, Michael had already stripped down to his underwear, hung his clothing up to dry overnight, and snuggled down in our communal nest of blankets. I'd gotten used to the lack of privacy, and didn't even think twice about stripping down to my underwear to join him. I hung up my coat and clothes, dried myself off on a towel, and snuggled down beside him.
Michael put his arms around me and drew me in against his warmth. That, combined with Alfred sleeping at our feet like a big, fur-covered space heater, left me quite warm and comfortable despite the weather and the stone beneath the tarp. I closed my eyes, buried my face in the curve of Michael's neck, and was asleep before I had time for any other thoughts.
***
The dawn chorus woke me the next morning, though it was so dark that I could barely even tell that it was daybreak. Michael was sound asleep, and didn't even stir when I carefully extracted myself from his embrace. Alfred lifted his head and whined in greeting, his tail thumping happily against the ground. I held my finger to my lip playfully, as if that would keep the dog quiet. Regardless, he seemed to understand well enough. He put his head back down on Michael's foot, and went right back to sleep.
I indulged myself in a stretch, and looked around the camp. Sleeping bodies surrounded me in the early morning gloom; the only sounds were birdsong, rain, and snores. I smiled to myself as I reached up and plucked my clothing from the lines strung overhead. My pants were still damp around the ankles, but Michael had definitely been right about that coat. It did an admirable job of keeping me mostly dry from the knees up.
I'd just finished pulling on my shirt and trousers when a soft cry split the peace. I jumped and spun around, but there was only silence again. Then, the doctor's tent flicked open, and Stuart looked out. He spotted me, and beckoned me over.
"Lily's awake," he explained quietly once I was close enough to hear him without him having to wake the entire camp. I glanced past him, and saw the twins clinging together inside the tent.
I took a deep breath and nodded. "I'll talk to her."
Doctor Cross absently adjusted his new spectacles, looking relieved. "I'll go find Gavin. I think he'll want to know."
"Good plan," I agreed. I waved him off, and then I slipped into the tent to take his place. There weren't many places to sit, so I just eased myself down to sit cross-legged on the pile of blankets that had probably been Stuart's bed. Both of the girls looked up at me, and I found myself wondering how on earth I was supposed to tell them apart. They were identical in every way, except for their strength of spirit.
Suddenly, I realised that was exactly how I could tell them apart. I could see fear in Lily's eyes, but none in Jasmine's.
"Good morning, Lily," I said softly, keeping my voice as low and unthreatening as possible
. "I know you're scared, so you just take as much time as you need, okay? Gavin's coming, and I'm pretty sure Melody will be here soon, too. All your friends are here, and you're safe."
The girl said nothing. Jasmine leaned down and whispered something in her ear in a language I didn't understand, then hugged her tightly. Lily nodded silently, and buried her face in her sister's shoulder. It wasn't hard to guess that she was feeling just the way I had when I'd woken up with Michael's group for the first time, so I didn't push her. I just sat back and waited.
Sure enough, less than a minute later the tent flap opened and Gavin hurried inside, with Melody hot on his heels. I just sat nearby and watched while the four of them reunited. Tears were shed, more words were whispered, and I was ignored for quite some time. It was fine, though. I completely understood. Eventually, my patience was rewarded.
"Lil, this is Sandy. She saved your life."
My attention snapped back to the present when I realised that someone was trying to introduce me. I lifted my head, smiled, and waved. It was Gavin, of course. No surprise there. He hugged the three girls one more time, and then he shoved himself back and plopped down on the bedding beside me with a long sigh of relief.
"I told you she'd be okay," I said, trying to reassure him.
"I know, I know." He gave me a lopsided smile, and shrugged sheepishly. "You'll understand once you're a parent. You always worry, even when they're all grown up, no matter how smart and capable they are. I know all of my kids can take care of themselves, but how I feel isn't always rational."
"I think I understand," I replied thoughtfully. "It's like my mum used to say: we were always going to be her babies. It's human nature. The bond between parent and child is nearly unbreakable, even if they're not technically your children."
"Yeah, that's exactly it." He nodded his agreement, watching the three girls talking softly amongst themselves. Melody shot him a dark look, but said nothing. I found myself grinning in spite of everything.
