27
Darryl trailed behind the group with his head bowed low and cut a very lonely figure. Every so often he glanced up and looked ahead. At Camden’s back. His friend was busy talking to the object of his affection.
Katie joined him at his shoulder. “Hey, Darryl. How are things going?”
“Not bad thanks. As well as can be expected.”
They walked on in silence as they cut across an open field. The sun was high and the trees clapped as they passed. Birds flitted on the air, dancing in pairs.
“There are worse places to be,” Katie said. “At least we’re not walking through a big city somewhere.”
“I guess.”
He glanced up at his friend Camden again.
“Are you looking forward to seeing your family?” Katie said.
Darryl didn’t respond. Katie was beginning to understand why her brother chose not to speak to him very often. He was sucking the lifeblood out of her too.
“They’re probably dead.”
The sudden brash nature of his words struck Katie. The certainty. Suddenly the reason for his present mood became very clear to her.
He was afraid for his loved ones.
“You don’t know that,” she hedged.
“They’re not like you and your family. They’re like me. They don’t know how to survive in a world without power, without electronics. My mum didn’t even like watching horror movies because they gave her nightmares. What chance does she stand in the world the way it is now? The same I would if I wasn’t here with you guys. None.”
He kicked a stone but it turned out to be the tip of a much larger rock that didn’t yield beneath his toe. He hissed through his teeth and limped, taking a moment for the pain to ease. It would have been funny if it hadn’t been for his earlier admission.
Katie felt bad for thinking badly of him. It couldn’t be easy being out here by yourself, not knowing if your family was okay or not. It was hard to imagine a childhood different from the one she had. Weekends and holidays were spent in tents or at the lodge. If they caught no food, they didn’t eat. If they picked the wrong berries, they got sick – their father didn’t warn them and wouldn’t tell them what was safe to eat. “I bet you won’t eat the same berry again,” he’d say.
Most of the time, Katie went hungry. Getting those painful pangs in the pit of her stomach taught her to cherish every meal she did have.
Still, she hated those trips. So did her mother Nancy, which was why she stopped going on them and stayed at home. But she went often enough at the beginning to learn how to take care of herself. They all did, thanks to him.
But Darryl’s family – like most families – didn’t benefit from their shitty childhood. She doubted even Darryl would have survived this long without her brother looking out for him. And his family… Well, she hoped they were fast learners, otherwise, they wouldn’t last long either.
“On our way to the lodge, we’ll stop by your house to see if they’re home,” Katie said. “If they are, we’ll take them with us. What do you think?”
Darryl’s lips curled into a smile, then faded as quickly as it appeared. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not? They’re smart people. I’m sure we can teach them a thing or two that’ll help with keeping us alive.”
“It’s not that.” Darryl stared at his dirty boots. “I don’t want to see them.”
Katie didn’t understand his meaning until he looked up at her with tears in his eyes. I don’t want to see them dead, was what he wanted to say. She’d known Darryl a long time. He was often the subject of merciless bullying, and though she and her brother took it upon themselves to help protect him, she had never once in all those years seen tears in his eyes.
Katie’s heart went out to that little round boy. She hugged him. When she pulled back, he had a big smile on his face and wiped his eyes dry.
“Here’s what we’ll do,” Katie said. “When we get to your house, I’ll go inside and see if they’re there, all right?”
Darryl nodded. “Thanks.”
He glanced ahead at his friend’s back again but he was still deep in conversation with Hannah.
Katie gritted her teeth. Her brother was being a selfish arsehole.
“Have you tried talking with any of the others?” Katie said. Thinking about it, she’d never seen him even try to speak with any of the others. He was very quiet at mealtimes and largely kept to himself. “They’re very nice.”
“I’m not sure.” Darryl eyed the large fighters and the bulletproof vests and heavy weaponry they carried. “I think they’ll find me a bit annoying.”
“At school, you were always reading books. You must know a lot of interesting things to talk with them about.”
Darryl thought about it and shook his head. “I couldn’t do anything like that.”
“Then don’t do it as you.”
Darryl frowned at that. “Don’t do it as me?”
“You know what the best thing about the world turning to shit is? It’s become a whole new place. That means we can change too.”
“Change? But how do you do that?”
“You think about something that you wish you could do. Then you forget about who you are and you slip into someone else’s shoes. It’s not you doing it. It’s this person you’ve created.”
Darryl scratched his chin. “Huh. I never thought about doing that before.”
“You should try it. Do it this afternoon after everyone has eaten. They’ll be happier to talk then. They’re concentrating and keeping an eye out for danger. You don’t want to bother them now.”
“Gotcha.” He looked sideways at Katie. “You want to change?” Darryl shook his head. “I find that hard to believe.”
“Of course I want to change. No one’s perfect – especially to themselves.”
“Camden thinks Hannah’s perfect. He thinks she’s about the most beautiful girl on the face of the planet.” Darryl’s face turned up. He might have eaten a lemon.
Katie scowled at her brother’s back again. “Love is blind. Tell me, do you think she’s the most beautiful girl on the planet?”
“No.” He looked Katie in the eye. “She’s not the most beautiful girl.”
“That’s because she isn’t. No one is. Well, I suppose someone is somewhere but we’re never likely to meet her and even if we did, we wouldn’t know it.” Katie shook her head. She was making herself confused. “My point is, people only seem perfect from the outside. You can never know what’s going on inside their head.”
“What about Hannah?”
“My brother’s in for a shock when he realizes she’s not as great as he thought she was.”
That brought the biggest smile to Darryl’s face. “Thanks for saying that.”
“No problem. You think about the things you would like to do, and then create the persona who would do it. I’m going to go have a chat with my darling brother.”
Katie put her head down and marched toward him. It was about time he understood the responsibility he had toward his friends.
28
The ground was unruly and difficult to traverse. Camden slipped on every protruding moss-covered rock he came across. It was difficult maintaining a conversation with so many interruptions, forcing Camden to keep asking Hannah to repeat what she was saying. She was getting bored with repeating the same thing over and over again. Soon, she wouldn’t bother to say anything, and then he really would be screwed.
“Sorry to interrupt.” Katie wasn’t sorry at all and eyeballed her brother. “We need to talk.”
“I was having a conversation with Hannah,” Camden said sharply.
“Were you? It sounded a little one-sided to me.” She turned to Darryl. “Darryl. Will you take over from my brother, please? He’s feeling a little tired.”
Camden’s eyes were on fire. “No, I’m not–”
“Sure.” Darryl hopped to it, pleased to do his friend a favour.
Cam
den glowered at his sister. “I’ll be right back.”
“Take your time.” Darryl beamed. “Glad to be of assistance.”
He looked across at Hannah, who looked uncomfortable with him staring at her from behind. Darryl cleared his throat and looked elsewhere, his feet catching the only upturned stone in the entire field.
Aaron shrugged his backpack off. “All right everybody. Let’s take five.”
Katie dragged her brother aside.
“What’s wrong with you?” Camden said. “I was making real headway with Hannah.”
“And I’d hate to get in the way of her giving you any head… way.”
Camden blushed, a red-hot rash rising up his neck and across his cheeks. “What do you want?”
“I think you need to have a word with Darryl.”
Camden folded his arms and snorted. “As if he knows more than I do about women.”
Katie drew up sharp. “I’m not talking about advice on women, arsehole.”
“Then what are you talking about?”
“When the EMP hit, what did you lose?”
“What do you mean?”
“What did you lose?”
“I don’t know. Time? I’m pretty sure I left my wallet somewhere. The LRRF people took it.”
“I’m not talking about those things. I’m talking about friendship, family. How can you have watched so many Disney movies and not learn the importance of family?”
“I was figuring out how much money the movies made and how many marriages were destroyed due to the animators working like dogs. So, family, friends, what?”
“Look where you are.”
“In a field? Thanks for the pep talk. It was great.”
He turned to leave but Katie stepped in his way. “Surrounded by family. You’ve got me, Grandfather, his friends, your girlfriend–”
Camden’s eyes widened. “All right, keep it down!”
“And with any luck, soon we’ll be reunited with Mum.”
“So what’s your point?”
“So, Darryl has nobody. Except you. And you’re too busy mooning over some girl who probably isn’t even interested in you anyway.”
“I’m not mooning over her! She likes me!”
“What about Darryl? He doesn’t know anyone here. Except you. Give him some of your time. Talk to him, see how things are going. You’re the only one he’ll open up to.”
Camden let out a deep sigh. “I know Darryl well and I also know he’s happy being on his own. He was always on his own before.”
“But he was never really on his own. None of us were. No one in my year wasn’t permanently connected to the internet and social media at all times.”
Camden grew impatient. “I’m telling you, he’s fine. There’s nothing wrong with him. He’s–”
A depressed wreck. He sat on a discarded bench overlooking a deep valley. It cut the loneliest image Katie had seen her entire life.
“Go to him,” she said.
Camden approached his BFF and leaned on the bench.
“Oh. Hey. What’s up?” Darryl said.
“Nothing. What are you doing?”
“Catching some panoramic views and rays of sun.” Then he paused and looked around. “Sorry. Did you want this spot for Hannah?”
“What? No. Don’t say it like that. You make it sound like I’m obsessed with her.”
Darryl did him the courtesy of saying nothing.
“How’re things going with Hannah?”
“Hm? Oh, fine, I guess. How are things going with you, more importantly?”
“I’m fine.” He was clearly not fine.
Camden took a seat beside his friend. “Listen, I wanted to apologise.”
“For what?”
“For being a dick and not hanging out with you more. With the whole thing with Hannah, it’s difficult to know what to do or say. I’m not sure I can win her by myself. I need a lothario to help me.”
“A lothario? Where are you going to find one of those?”
“I’m looking at one.”
Darryl shook his head. “Oh no, not me. I’m terrified to even look at a girl. What makes you think I know about what to say to them?”
“You read Shakespeare all the time. For fun. You’re the most romantic guy I know.”
Darryl peered at his feet. “I’ve never had a girlfriend. I don’t know anything about what they like.”
“So help me figure it out. Go on.” He nudged his friend with his shoulder. “You’re my best friend, right?”
Darryl thought about it and then nodded his head, growing more confident. “It’ll sorta be like one of your daredevil stunts.”
“In what way?”
Darryl got to his feet and waved his hands, posed, and painted a vivid picture for his audience. “You’re the daredevil who scaled the highest peaks, but not the one that mattered: the slippery slopes of love!”
Camden was having second thoughts. “Uh…”
“He’ll go where no man has gone before… into the girl’s bathroom!”
“Uh, why would I do that?”
“Work with me here.”
“I’m trying.”
Darryl wrapped a hand about Camden’s shoulders and escorted him from the panoramic view. “He’ll enter the tunnel of love a boy and emerge… a man!”
Camden slouched. Katie could read his thoughts as if the words were tattooed on his face: I should have let the man drown in self-pity.
29
After lunch that day, Katie eased back on a log green with moss. She enjoyed the rabbit stew they cooked and was pleased to see there was plenty more leftover for breakfast. That was the amazing thing about stews. You could toss in new ingredients when you found them and it only made the flavour better.
Across the fire, she spotted Darryl sitting by himself as he was wont to do. He nibbled on a piece of meat and kept glancing over to where Aaron and the twins discussed the best meat to put in a stew.
Tanya leaned back and belched unapologetically. “Just goes to show you. Rabbit is the best meat to put in a stew.”
“Don’t make me laugh.” Ronnie put his empty plate to one side. “It’s beef that’s the best. And look around you. We’re in a land overrun with the beasts. The best part is, they’re much slower than rabbits and dumb too, so they’re easier to catch.”
“They’re also too big.” Aaron munched on a piece of carrot. There weren’t many in the stew, so he was lucky to have it. “That’s why you always want to be on the lookout for a nice juicy chicken. Everyone likes chicken and it’s dead easy to cook.”
Tanya rolled her eyes. “The reason everyone likes chicken is because they have no noticeable flavour. Whereas rabbit…” She blew a kiss with her fingers.
“Actually,” Darryl said, leaning over to join in the conversation, “there was a poll done in Chef Monthly on the subject. They voted by a majority that pork is the best meat to put in a stew. The longer you cook it, the softer it gets, and pigs aren’t too big that you can’t butcher them in a single sitting like cows, and they’re in every farm across the land. And they’re intelligent too, so you could tie them to your wagon or horse or whatever, and take them with you. And they’ll eat anything you give them.”
The others were silent a moment as they considered Darryl’s argument. There was no denying he was right.
“I still prefer rabbit,” Tanya said.
Ronnie wagged a finger under her nose. “Which doesn’t make it right. I’ll go for beef. Or pork if pushed.”
“That’s two votes for pork,” Aaron said. “I remember this one time in Afghanistan. We ran out of food and hadn’t eaten in two days. Then we ran across a merchant headed to market. He gave us a bowl of stew each. That was pork and it was just about the best food I ever ate.”
Tanya gave him a flat stare. “Pork stew? In Afghanistan?”
“They said it was dog, but who knows.”
Tanya hurled her spoon at him. “If you’re going to tell a story, at
least make it probable.”
“It’s the truth!” Aaron said.
Tanya rolled her eyes.
“You read Chef Monthly often?” Ronnie said to Darryl.
“Every issue. My mum had a subscription.”
“They were said to be bringing out a recipe for spotted dick in the latest issue. I never got to read it.” He genuinely looked pained.
“Yes. That was a good one.”
Ronnie’s ears pricked up. “Do you remember it? Was there anything surprising about it?”
“Yes, a few things actually.”
Ronnie got up and joined Darryl by the fire. He took a notepad and pencil out of his pocket and held them at the ready. “Go on.”
Darryl looked across at Katie and grinned.
She raised her bottle of water in salute. Well done.
30
“You sent for me, sir?”
Laurie had to arch his neck to look the mounted captain in the eye.
“How are we doing?” Burgess said. “Have we found them yet?”
“No, sir. But it’s only a matter of time before we do. They’re on foot and can’t travel fast. We found clear tracks. By some of the hobbled footsteps, we think they’re carrying someone on a stretcher. An injured man, maybe.”
Burgess nodded. “Keep up the search. We’ll find them soon enough.”
He looked in the distance at a rise a hundred yards or so to the south. His expression was distant and far away.
“Do you have a family, soldier?” Burgess said.
Laurie was surprised by the sudden change in topic. Burgess never struck him as the sentimental type.
“A girlfriend,” Laurie said. “No children.”
“It’s always good to have your interests grounded in others. Be they wife and children, a girlfriend, parents, it doesn’t matter. To help us remember why we’re here.”
“Do you have a family, sir?”
Burgess nodded. “A fine woman and an adventurous daughter.”
Laurie couldn’t imagine him with a daughter. He doubted he was a kind and gentle father. “Where are they now? Back at HQ?”
Cut Off (Book 2): Cut Throat Page 10
