by Nathan Jones
In the end they didn't quite manage it. Full dark settled in with them still three or so miles of hard walking away, and in spite of everyone's desire to get home the majority of the exhausted volunteers reluctantly agreed that rest and an early start sounded good. Lewis radioed ahead to let the valley refuge know of their changed plans, and Chauncey promised to roll out the welcome mat when they arrived in the morning.
To be honest, as eager as he was to see his family again Lewis didn't completely mind. He knew Jane appreciated one last night to themselves, before they'd be back in the middle of the shelter group's organized chaos again.
Although they'd probably have to start calling themselves something else, since he wasn't sure they'd be going back to the shelter for a long time. Maybe never. With Aspen Hill in ashes the townspeople wouldn't be returning, and Lewis had gained a deep appreciation for the value of a community.
That realization cut deep, but surprisingly it was the thought of missing out on striking out with just Jane, even if it was only for a few months at a time here and there, that really filled him with a sense of loss. He didn't know if he could ever get the group all cared for and prospering, at least enough that he and his wife could finally be free to leave them and go to the hideout like they wanted.
But it was something to work for, if mere survival wasn't enough of a challenge these days.
In spite of their weariness everyone was up early the next morning, and they pushed hard to reach the valley refuge. At his first sight of it Lewis found himself impressed, not just with how quickly the townspeople had managed to build shelters, but with how well they'd gotten everything organized for long term living. It took away a bit of the sting of losing their town.
A crowd of over two hundred people were waiting for them, where the road gave way to a trampled dirt path beaten between it and the valley refuge hundreds of yards away. At the front of them stood Matt, Sam, and the rest of the Larson family. Including a weary-looking Terry, who must've been released by the military to return home. Most of the shelter group was also there, including Lewis and Trev's families, and the friends and families of all the other volunteers.
At the refuge itself hundreds more townspeople were watching with interest, and a few more trickled along the path to join the reunion. It looked as if work had come to a standstill, and things were well on their way to becoming a celebration.
While most of the crowd waited Matt trotted up the slope to meet them coming down the road, with Sam hurrying at his side. Lewis quickened his pace to meet his friends while Jane followed close behind, starting with handshakes. That quickly turned to hugs, as well as exclaiming over the progress of their pregnancy and Sam insisting they both feel the baby kick.
“Where's Mayor Tillman?” Lewis asked once that initial reunion had settled into comfortable silence, as the volunteers caught up to them and they all started down the slope to where the welcoming party waited.
His friend's smile slipped. “Just Mrs. Tillman, now. As soon as she learned the blockheads were leaving she formally resigned. From what I hear she went to bed right after, and has been sleeping ever since.” He shook his head in sympathy. “She's not young, and the weight has been crushing her for a long time now. I think she held on longer than she had strength, out of sheer determination.”
Lewis nodded. “She pulled us through hard times. Once the world rebuilds itself and the thriving community of Aspen Hill starts building statues of their heroes, hers will have to be first.”
“Absolutely.” Matt sighed. “Although the hard times aren't over yet.”
“Yeah. I don't envy the new Mayor the task ahead.” His friend flinched slightly and Lewis paused. “You're the new Mayor, aren't you?”
“Somehow.” Matt gave him a slightly pained look. “There were a dozen better candidates, but nobody seemed to want it.”
Sam made a displeased sound and poked her husband in the side. “There were no better candidates, and everyone wanted you.”
“Well you've got my vote next election.” They reached the crowd at the turnoff, families rushing forward to greet their loved ones returning home from war. Lewis quickly hugged his friends again, then nodded towards his own family. “Excuse us. I see Dad's up on his leg already, even if he's got it well splinted and he's using crutches. I'd better make sure he's not overdoing it.” He smiled crookedly. “And while I'm at it I haven't seen everyone in a long time. Time to keep the reunion going.”
“You bet.” Matt glanced over at the other volunteers. “I want to greet everyone else too, once their own reunions have settled down a bit. But I was wondering if I could run something by you first.” Something about the way he said it suggested he intended more than just asking for advice.
Lewis had a feeling he could guess what his friend wanted. “Sure.”
“Good, more time to catch up!” Sam agreed, briefly hugging Jane and standing up on tiptoes to kiss her cheek before stepping back. “Maybe you can introduce me to the new people.” She started towards where Deb, Grant, and the handful of other escaped prisoners who'd joined them were waiting awkwardly at the edge of the crowd, looking out of place. Jane reluctantly joined her.
As their wives walked away Lewis followed his friend a short distance from the impromptu celebration. “What did you need?”
Matt waited until they were well out of earshot but even then fidgeted, reluctant to start. Lewis let him take his time, until finally his friend blurted. “You did a great job defending the town while I was gone. Better than I could've.”
He knew where this was going. “I take it you don't want to run the town and lead the defenders at the same time, do you?”
The taller man laughed and ran a hand through his blond hair. “Are you crazy? I just got done telling you what the stress of the job did to Catherine.” he sighed. “No, I don't. I'm tired. I don't know if I have it in me to spend another winter running myself ragged trying to convince people to defend themselves, and picking up the slack when they won't. Besides, Sam and the baby need to be my priority now. I plan to ask Chauncey, Lucas, and George to help me with my duties as Mayor so I can still find time for them.”
“And you've got me lined up as a replacement to suffer through that instead?” Lewis gave him a strained smile. “I'm not sure I want the job again either. I never really did. And I'm not sure I did as good as you think. I wasn't the best leader, and I focused too much on raiding the enemy rather than defending anything.” He shrugged. “Besides, I've got my own family to prioritize.”
Matt gave him a helpless look. “Someone has to do it.”
“Someone does,” Lewis agreed. “But I think you're looking at the wrong cousin.”
The two of them glanced over at Trev, who'd just finished returning Sam's hug and was introducing her to the town's new members. Although from the way he fidgeted it was obvious he was looking for an excuse to break away and see his family, and only his sense of responsibility for the escaped prisoners held him back.
“You don't want it, but you'd fob it off on him,” Matt said flatly.
Lewis shrugged again. “Before the blockheads got here and turned everything on its head he was feeling a bit down. All the projects I'd started while he was gone were mine, and he didn't really feel like a part of any of them. He jumped on the apiary as something he could call his own, but that's not really enough for him. Maybe this will be a role he can settle into.”
Matt nodded slowly. “You have a point. And he would do a good job with it.” He nudged Lewis in the ribs. “He's a lot more personable than you.”
He nudged his friend back. “Should we go give him the good news?”
“Nah. Let's give him some time to enjoy his freedom first.” Matt's grin widened slightly as he looked back that way. “Speaking of which, what's the deal with him and that brunette sticking to him like glue? Are they . . . ?”
Lewis felt his smile fade. “No,” he replied. “Not right now. Maybe never, after what she went through.”
Real
ization dawned. “Ah.” His friend looked away. “I heard a bit about what the blockheads do to their prisoners. I wasn't thinking.”
A brief, uncomfortable silence fell, until Lewis clapped his friend on the shoulder. “Come on. Back to the reunion.”
* * * * *
Trev had missed his family, but he hadn't realized just how much until he saw them. It felt like a weight lifted off his chest more and more as he threw his arms around his mom, dad, Linda, and Jim in turn, then crashed Lewis and Jane's reunion to give his aunt, uncle, and Mary crushing hugs as well.
He wasn't ashamed to admit that he shed a few tears, and he was far from the only one.
Jim stayed glued to his side as everyone talked over each other, asking for news and details of the time they'd spent apart. It wasn't a completely unfamiliar sensation after his time with Deb, and he didn't even mind his little brother pestering him for details about the fighting.
After the first few chaotic minutes the reunion started drifting up the new dirt road towards the valley refuge, everyone talking over themselves to point out their houses, most of which families had built with their own hands, or projects they'd taken part in. Jim proudly announced that he'd been taking care of the bees while Trev was gone, and Trev ruffled his brother's hair and gave him a one-armed hug as he complimented his work.
The celebration got even bigger when they reached the growing town and hundreds more Aspen Hill residents joined in. Trev reluctantly stepped away from his family's reunion, just long enough to make sure the town's new members were comfortable and were being introduced to everyone.
Mary, bless her heart, immediately took the three women in that group under her wing, and they gratefully stuck close to her as some sort of anchor in the confusion. Linda followed her cousin, but her interest was mostly on Deb. Trev overheard his sister asking casually probing questions about the brown-haired woman's relationship with him, and in a flush of embarrassment contemplated gagging her with the headscarf she was wearing.
He was heading back to his family to ask Lucas about his leg when Matt collared him. “Give me a second,” his friend said, pulling him aside.
“Sure.” Trev followed him, then suddenly started as he remembered. “Oh, hey.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the sheriff's badge. “Here. Vernon wanted this to go to Aspen Hill's lawman.”
Matt didn't reach for it. “Why don't you keep it?” he said quietly.
Trev snorted. “Look, I know who it came from and I don't blame you for not wanting any gifts from him. But a badge is a badge, right?” He waggled it.
His friend finally took it, but only to pin to Trev's shirt. “No. I mean it belongs to you, if you want the job.”
For a moment Trev stood stunned. Matt had led the defenders almost from the beginning, aside from when he'd led the volunteers. “You're quitting?”
“No,” his friend gave him a tense smile. “I've been promoted. Mayor.”
“Wow.” Trev clapped him on the shoulder. “Congratulations. You'll do a great job.” Matt nodded, eyes still on him, and Trev fidgeted. “Seriously though, me? I could name a dozen people more qualified for the job off the top of my head.”
Matt snorted. “That's what I said, too. And like everyone told me when I did, you're the best person for the job.”
Trev fingered the badge. He wasn't sure he really wanted that sort of responsibility, forget whether or not he was ready for it. But he wasn't about to leave his friend hanging. “Okay. Although I'm thinking maybe we should switch things up. Go with far patrols to give early warning of any potential threat, with everyone in town going about their business but ready to grab their guns and defend the place if they have to.”
“Sounds good.” His friend looked amused.
Trev continued. “I mean, the way we were doing it before required a lot of manpower, way more than unnecessary most of the time, and depending on how things shake out with the blockheads gone we might not need to overexert ourselves. We could bring it up with Lewis.”
“We could. But you're the one in charge now.” Matt clapped him on the back and turned to look at the celebration. “That's an amazing sight, isn't it? I wasn't sure I'd ever see it when we were down with Davis.”
Trev nodded. “We did it.”
“Somehow,” Matt agreed, grinning. “Or more specifically, you managed to burn up a few enemies and buried the ones that stuck around for more in an landslide.” He abruptly stiffened. “Is that Rick and Alice making out? When did that happen?”
It was Trev's turn to look amused. “No idea. She was leaning towards Pete before he took off, but sometime between then and now Rick must've won her over.”
His friend gave him a pained look at the mention of their vanished friend. “I wonder where he went. I keep asking Chauncey to look for news of him over the radio, and the defenders are all watching out in case he shows up. But so far he hasn't.”
Trev nodded sadly. His friend's disappearance hit him hard, but Matt had to blame himself even more after what happened. “Davis and Harmon never found anything either. It's probably bad news.”
“Probably.” Matt sighed. “Part of me hopes he went deeper into the mountains and tried to join some other group of volunteers. Or I guess even if he tried to stage some sort of one man war against the blockheads, and has been causing them a bit of grief all this time, that would be fine. As long as he's still okay. I just don't like the thought that he might've gone off on some wild attack and it didn't go so well for him.”
Trev shook his head. He hadn't done much to help Pete, busy with his own duties, and he sort of wished he had. He wasn't sure what sort of wisdom he could've offered the young man, or even if he could've helped rather than making things worse, but not trying would nag at him for as long as they went without news of their friend. That might be a long, long time depending on what had happened.
Maybe it had been the wrong decision to turn Pete away when Alice asked to let him join. He'd have to be better about taking care of his people if he was going to lead the defenders. Like Davis had warned him.
“You did your best with him,” he said for Matt's benefit. “Pete made his own decisions, and I suppose they were his to make. Hopefully he found a situation that's working better for him, and he's had a chance to get whatever healing he needs from everything he's been through.”
“I hope so.” Matt abruptly turned to nudge him lightly on the shoulder. “You know what, I'm sick of just watching this party. Let's get back to it.”
Trev grinned. “Sounds good to me.”
Lewis met them as they rejoined the others, looking at the badge on Trev's chest. “We have a new Sheriff in town?”
“I guess so. You'll give me a hand though, right?”
“Two, when I've got the time.”
“Hey, don't go volunteering all your time away,” Lucas said with mock sternness from the fence around the goat pen where he was sitting, favoring his leg. “We've still got nuclear winter to survive.”
Lewis gave his dad a lopsided smile. “Piece of cake. As bad as this winter is going to be, down here in the valley it might not be any worse than me and Trev spending last winter up in the mountains. We managed to survive through that well enough, with nothing worse to show for it than a bit of cabin fever, and a deadened sense of smell from a small space rank with B.O.”
Trev did his best to smile back. Things weren't the same at all, not when they had their family and the rest of the shelter group to worry about as well. Not to mention the town in general. He'd done his best to gather up cloth and canvas for winter clothing and extra blankets, but as it stood people would have to share winter gear; not everyone would be set up to head out into the cold all at once if they needed to. And people would be doing plenty of snuggling together for body heat, even if they didn't burn through their entire supply of firewood before the weather turned warm again.
And he'd definitely have to worry more about firewood and warm clothing than most, since he didn't
have anyone to snuggle with.
Without thinking he shot a quick glance at Deb, standing with the women and children from Jane's group. The brown-haired woman was looking back at him, green eyes striking in direct sunlight. She smiled tentatively, and he felt his face flush as he smiled back and hastily looked away. She had lovely eyes, something he'd known for a while without realizing.
Those thoughts must've been around somewhere in the back of his mind, but until now he hadn't even entertained the possibility of anything romantic with her. Assuming that was even what she wanted. It would have to be Deb's decision when she was ready, if she ever was, and if it happened it would be a difficult path to travel together.
They both had their own wounds to heal from, and even with their growing friendship they were still relative strangers. He didn't even know where she'd lived or what she'd done before the Gulf burned, or what her life in Newtown had been like. And in spite of the time they'd spent together neither had really opened up to the other, or shared any thoughts deeper than their current situation.
Still, that might be something to hope for from the future.
“We'll figure it out,” his dad said, coming over to clap a hand on his and Lewis's shoulders. “But let's save worrying about that for tomorrow. The war's over, we've defeated the threats facing the town, and we're in a position to meet whatever challenges we encounter next.” He gently nudged them both towards the assortment of log cabins and stick-and-mud houses the shelter group had built. “Come on, we've got breakfast ready for you.”
Trev followed, feeling surprisingly content. He was more than happy to follow his dad's advice, at least as far as pushing his worries to the back of his mind.
It had almost been a year since the Gulf refineries attack. A lot could change in that time; the world could change. But no matter what happened some things stayed the same. Trev had his family with him, and his friends, and the people of Aspen Hill around them.
All the hardships they'd suffered had only strengthened the ties of their community: the shortage of food and lack of a lot of what they'd been accustomed to, the Gold Bloc invasion, reclaiming their home from the enemies that had tried to take it. It had all fueled their determination to survive and prosper together.
