Surviving the Swamp (Survivalist Reality Show Book 1)

by Grace Hamilton

  He shook his head, eyeing the group as they approached. “They better not cause any problems.”

  “None of us will cause trouble,” she assured him.

  Regan waved her hand to bring the others in closer and quickly made the introductions. Wolf was the only one who seemed guarded. Cameron wasn’t nearly as welcoming to the others as he’d been with her, and she couldn’t help noticing the difference. Still, she brushed it from her mind—she’d known he’d only intended to invite her, and had guessed that this would be uncomfortable. At least he wasn’t turning them away.

  “Well, you may as well come inside,” Cameron said. “Everyone’s in back.”.

  They walked behind him into the stuffy building and across the small lobby section, then down a small set of stairs into the back courtyard. The smell of food was overwhelming. It had been a long time since any of them had smelled roasted pig.

  “Oh my God, I’m so hungry,” Geno groaned.

  Cameron walked through a small crowd of people and led them to a table that had been set up with a variety of open cans of vegetables.

  “Grab a plate, but remember, there’s a lot of mouths to feed,” Cameron said, looking directly at Geno. “This has to be enough to go around.”

  They each filled their plates and then looked for a place to sit. Regan could see the stares directed at them. Tabitha and Fred seemed completely oblivious to the hostility. Geno might have noticed, but the man was too busy stuffing his face to care if he had. Only Wolf seemed to be truly aware of the looks they were garnering. His eyes were constantly moving around the area as if he was searching for a threat.

  “I think this place looks good enough,” Regan said, pointing to a small overgrown grass area.

  They all sat down, perching their food on their laps and propping to the side the plastic cups of water they’d been doled out.

  “They have a garden,” Fred pointed out.

  “Shh,” Regan hissed. “They’re going to think you’re staking the place out. If they feel threatened, things could get ugly.”

  “Oh,” he murmured, only half listening as he stuck a piece of pork into his mouth.

  It wasn’t long before a couple of older members of the cooperative made their way over, sitting on the grass next to where they’d sat down so that they all formed a loose circle.

  “Hi, I’m Sam and this is Tina,” the man introduced themselves after settling down with his plate. “Are you guys locals?” he asked. Regan looked him over, noting that he and Tina both looked to be in good shape, and in their late forties perhaps, judging by the light lines on Tina’s face and the receding hairline above Sam’s.

  Regan looked at Wolf. She did not want to be the one to do the talking, and pretended her mouth was too full to answer.

  “I’m Wolf, and yes, I used to live around here. I’ve been away for a while,” he lied.

  The man, Sam, looked to Regan, making her suddenly feel as if she were being interrogated.

  Wolf quickly took over and made all the introductions, relieving Regan of the pressure.

  “Are you from here?” Regan asked, using her head to motion toward the building.

  They shook their heads. “No, we were out here on business when the EMP hit. We got separated from our colleagues and found ourselves alone and in a great deal of danger. We met a woman who was nice enough to bring us back here.”

  “We were in the swamp,” Fred said around a mouthful of food.

  “The swamp?” Tina asked with shock. “Like, as in the Everglades?”

  Wolf chuckled. “Yes, above them really. It was for a gameshow. These are a few of the contestants from this season’s Skin of Your Teeth Survival.”

  “That’s where I know you from!” Sam exclaimed. “You’re that survivalist guy! Wolf Henderson, isn’t it?”

  Wolf smiled and nodded. “That’s me.”

  “Wow, so you guys were filming when this whole thing started?” Tina asked.

  Regan started to relax a little, feeling more at ease. She could still feel others watching them, but Sam and Tina were acting like regular fans, as if the world hadn’t changed at all.

  Wolf nodded. “Yes. Can you tell us more about what happened? We’ve been walking for more than a week. Most of the people we’ve encountered haven’t been real excited to sit down and tell us what’s gone on. We learned it happened… what? Coming up on three weeks ago? Is that right?”

  Sam nodded. “Yes. I don’t know that anyone can tell you what happened. It’s like one minute everything was humming along, and the next there were squealing tires, airplanes crashing, and nothing but chaos. It was the most horrifying thing I have ever seen, and I served three tours in Iraq.”

  “Wow,” Tabitha breathed out. “I didn’t even think about the airplanes that would have been in the sky. The trains, cars, everything. Do you know how widespread it is?”

  Tina shrugged. “I don’t know. There are new rumors every day. It sounds like at least this half of the country has been impacted.”

  “Has the government attempted to make any announcements? Have they sent aid?” Wolf asked.

  “Well, we did see a few people from the CERT programs over the first few days. They were trying to help the injured. Eventually, those people kind of faded away. I think everyone realized it was all about helping themselves,” Sam explained.

  Another woman sat down and began nodding her head. “It was terrible. So many people died those first few days. We all kept waiting for help to arrive. It never came.”

  Tabitha looked horrified, and Regan noticed tears shimmering in her eyes. In many ways, Regan was very glad they had been insulated from the horrors the rest of the population had faced.

  “We’ve all kind of banded together here. Each of us has lost someone. Some people have lost their entire families,” Tina said in hushed tones. “I have no idea how my own family fared.”

  “Where are you from?” Wolf asked.

  She smiled. “Arizona. Sam and I were at a conference for accountants, to learn more about the upcoming changes to the tax law. I keep wondering, what if I wouldn’t have come here? Is my family okay? Are they in the dark? Did a plane drop on their heads?” Her breath had hitched on the last part. “And to think that I was here for a conference I wasn’t even looking forward to, to learn about taxes of all things.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Tabitha blurted out before moving to sit next to her and wrapping her arm around her shoulder as if they were old friends. “My heart aches for you.”

  “Thank you,” the woman said, seeming to appreciate the contact. “I know my story is nothing compared to some of the other people we’ve encountered. I’ve never seen so much death and destruction. On the other hand, I’ve also seen people helping out complete strangers. Of course, that was in the beginning. It seems like the Good Samaritans realized things weren’t going to change. Every day, there were fewer good people and more bad people.”

  “They’re not bad,” Sam interjected. “They’re desperate. They’re starving and scared out of their minds. No one is acting as they normally would.”

  Wolf was nodding his head. “Unfortunately, that is the case in the aftermath of disaster. You will always have a solid core of people trying to do the right thing to survive, and then on the other side you’ll have the majority of others, who have no problem taking advantage of the situation.”

  “Which is why the cooperative has been such a blessing,” Tina interjected with a smile. “Everyone looks out for one another. We have somewhere safe to sleep at night. I don’t worry about closing my eyes and being attacked.”

  Regan understood that feeling of sleeping with one eye open and still being afraid. Living on the streets had been like that for her in the beginning. There were a lot of unsavory characters who prowled the streets at night, looking for prey. The darkness cloaked their crimes. Victims were often too afraid to speak up or didn’t expect to be taken seriously by the authorities—and now there weren’t even any authorit
ies to run to. Street justice was a thing and she knew it was ruling now. The streets had their own way of policing the people who called the alleys and vacant buildings home, and everyone who survived was learning that more and more as each day passed.

  Cameron came back over to join their group. He sat down next to Regan and listened to the conversation for a few minutes before he looked at her.

  “What?” she snapped.

  “What do you think?” he asked.

  She shrugged uncomfortably. “I don’t know.”

  The conversation happening around them ceased suddenly, and she could feel everyone focusing on her.

  “It’s a good fit,” he pushed. “Your ninja skills will be very valuable. Say you’ll stay,” he said with a boyish grin.

  “Stay?” Wolf echoed in a low baritone.

  Cameron was still smiling. “Yes. I’ve invited Regan to join the cooperative. Her street smarts and self-defense moves would be valuable to us. She can help secure what we all need to live through this thing.”

  Regan was afraid to look up. When she did, four sets of eyes were staring back at her, accusing her without using words.

  “You plan on staying here, with them?” Wolf asked.

  Regan shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “Was that your plan all along?” Tabitha whispered, the accusation plain in her eyes as she stared Regan down.

  Regan couldn’t meet her gaze for more than a moment before she looked away, glancing to the building looming up beside the courtyard. “I don’t think I’m cut out to head on with you guys. I know this sounds cliché, but seriously, it isn’t you or any one of you, it’s me. I like my freedom.”

  Tabitha angrily shook her head. “You were never going to stay with us. You’ve been trying to ditch us since the moment we headed out. You know what, Regan? I’m tired of it. Go. No one is going to beg you to stay. If this is what will make you happy and this is what you need to get through this thing, stay,” she bit out, jumping to her feet on the last word as if she’d run out without any of them.

  Geno caught her wrist with one hand as he used his other to shove his last few bites of food into his mouth and then stood. Regan couldn’t make herself look up and face any of them as Fred and Wolf stood, as well. The four of them shadowed Regan as she sat on the ground with the other members of the cooperative, unspeaking.

  “We’ll go,” Wolf announced. He thanked Sam and Tina for their hospitality and wished them luck.

  Regan didn’t move. One way or another, she hadn’t wanted things to end like this, so she waited for Wolf to say something. For any of them to say something. She knew what she was doing had come as a shock but she’d warned them that she wasn’t cut out to be on a team. The expectations were too high and inevitably she would disappoint someone or all of them. As ugly as it was, better to cut her ties now so they could get to the island and wait this out without her. Was she wrong to have expected a bit of a protest? That they’d ask her to stay? The fact that Tabitha had been the first to stand was what hurt most, but Regan’s pride wouldn’t let her change her mind or acknowledge the sudden pain in her chest at them being so ready to leave her behind.

  “Bye, Regan,” Tabitha said, and with that she walked away.

  Regan felt Wolf staring down at her for several long seconds before he turned and followed the others out of the courtyard. Regan watched them go, feeling a loss she hadn’t expected.

  “That was awkward,” Cameron said as they disappeared from view.

  Regan didn’t bother explaining why the four people who’d abandoned her were also very good assets, and should have at least been invited to stay. This was her thing. Wolf had a family to get home to. He had a home that was far better than this place, and which would likely give all of them better footing for whatever came next in this world. She alone was staying put. The city streets were her home. Now more than ever.

  19

  Regan did her best to act happy through the rest of the backyard cookout, speaking to Cameron more and getting introduced to the other members. It was a struggle, however. She couldn’t believe Wolf and the rest of them had gotten up and walked away without looking back.

  They weren’t her family, she had to remind herself over and over again. They were strangers who had happened to be in the same place at the same time. So, they’d all helped each other. The last few weeks had meant nothing less, and nothing more.

  “You sure you’re okay?” Cameron asked, coming to a stop in front of her.

  Regan nodded. “Yep, hanging back.”

  She had moved to stand and lean against the building. She wanted the solid wall at her back. It was a habit she had developed long ago, and now that she was on her own with no one to watch her back, she wanted the brick wall behind her. It gave her a chance to take stock of her new surroundings.

  “I’m sorry your friends couldn’t stay,” he noted after a moment.

  “They weren’t my friends any more than any of these people are my friends at this point,” she shot back.

  He nodded. “We can be your friends.”

  “Thanks, but I’m only here to survive.”

  That made him chuckle. “You’re a tough nut to crack, Regan. I like that. You’re going to do well here. You’ll warm up to us eventually.”

  “I doubt that,” she mumbled.

  “I can show you your apartment,” Cameron offered.

  Regan looked around the dwindling crowd of people and realized the sun was setting. Everyone was retiring to their apartments. And she was looking forward to a night alone in her own space. She wouldn’t have to hear anyone snoring or listen to incessant whispers in the dark. Maybe she could finally get a good night’s sleep.

  Or not. Wolf wouldn’t be there to keep watch over her. That was one little detail she had come to appreciate, and had to admit she’d miss.

  “That’d be great,” she murmured.

  It felt strange to be without the gear she had become accustomed to carrying on her back, but everything they’d still been carrying had been distributed among Wolf’s backpack and Fred’s as they’d left the hotel. Not that it had been much. And she did still have her knife, the fire-starting tool, and a couple of water purification tablets, all of which had been in her pockets all day. She had put herself in a vulnerable position not keeping a bag to hold new gear she’d gather. First thing tomorrow, she was going out and collecting supplies, as well as a new backpack, in case she needed to ditch the cooperative.

  They walked up two flights of stairs of the old tenement building and down a narrow hall. The air was stifling, only moved around by the open windows lining the large stairwell and one window at the very end of the hall. Regan couldn’t imagine what the place would feel like as the summer wore on and it got hotter. In the dim light, Regan followed Cameron and wondered if anyone had fallen down the stairs in the dark—it had to be pitch black in there at night. Cameron opened up a door to an apartment at the end, and Regan heard voices coming from within even before she looked inside. She was immediately taken aback by the four other people who were already inside the small space. She’d seen them outside, but hadn’t bothered speaking to any of them, and none of them looked at her now.

  “What’s this?” she asked.

  Cameron looked at the group sitting around a small table playing cards. “Sorry,” he mumbled to them, and closed the door.

  “Is that supposed to be my apartment? Why are there other people in there?” she asked, irritation in her voice.

  He shrugged. “That apartment has been taken. I didn’t know more people had arrived and been shuffled around today.”

  He walked a few feet down the hall and opened another door. This door opened to a small room. She was sure it was meant to be a utility closet, it was so small. There was a twin mattress on the floor, which she assumed was the bed she had been promised, but nothing else to grace the room beyond a tiny window set high up near the ceiling. Not much air circulation and even less light. Seeing ho
w the mattress took up nearly the whole space, she felt like an idiot. She had fallen for Cameron’s story hook, line, and sinker, like a complete fool.

  “This is my room?” she asked in shock.

  He nodded. “It’s what’s left for newcomers if that one’s taken. The more work you do and the more you contribute, the better your accommodations. There are some bigger apartments upstairs, and you’ll be given a real bedroom with a window soon, I bet, but you have to prove your worth first.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You could have led with that when you talked about this place. You certainly made it seem a lot different than it truly is.”

  He had the grace to look abashed, but didn’t offer her another option. “Sorry,” he said, “but we all start low here, and I wanted you to at least give this place a shot.”

  “Whatever. I’m going to crash early, if you don’t mind.”

  He cleared his throat and looked very uncomfortable. Suddenly, Regan knew her evening was about to get a lot worse. She was silently kicking herself for ever believing anything the kid had told her.

  “Actually—” he started.

  “Actually, what?” she shot back.

  “I only brought you up to show you your room. Your first job is tonight.”

  “My job?” she echoed, disbelief running down her spine. What had she gotten into?

  “Well, not a job, but you’ll need to help out on one of the missions before all this can be yours,” he explained.

  “You’re serious? So, these lovely accommodations aren’t even for me yet?” she growled. “What do I have to do? And, by the way, we really need to work on your communication skills. You have a real knack for leaving out the important details.”

  He looked embarrassed. “Sorry.”

  “Fine,” she hissed. “What do I have to do?”

  “It’s nothing major. You’re going along with one of our more skilled members to meet with someone. The cooperative has made arrangements to obtain an ax.”

  Her eyes opened wide. “An ax? You have to make arrangements to get an ax? You people really need to work on your skills.”