The hand-painted sign read: Monett, Mo.
When they passed the sign, they thought they had gone back in time—to two very different eras. The first was the time before the event—mowed lawns, houses that had been taken care of, clean concrete streets, and people talking and laughing. And the people were clean, with clean clothes. But the second era was almost as prevalent in the scene. It dated back to the 1800s. There were no cars, no motorcycles, no gas lawnmowers. Light posts had been taken down, as had street lights and power lines. Transportation was by bicycle or by horse.
They entered the town a little after noon, Ben figured, judging by the sky. The first people they encountered were three women talking together in the street. Three children younger than Katie were playing with a ball. The only thing odd about the scene was the fact that each woman had a handgun in a holster attached to her belt.
The women came as a group to greet the travelers. Ben was sure that the presence of Katie put them at ease.
“Welcome to Monett,” said the first. She was probably in her late-thirties, thought Ben. She was pretty, but had the lines in her face of someone who had suffered mightily at some point in the past. Ben wasn’t sure they’d ever meet anyone who didn’t have those lines.
“Thank you,” said Lila. “This,” she said, sweeping her hand around, “is quite a surprise. What a beautiful community.”
“Well, we’ve tried. My name is Sharon, and this is Antoinette and Belinda,” she said, pointing to the other two women. “And the children running around are Connor, Corey, and Janette.”
“I’m Lila, and this is my husband Ben, our daughter Katie, and Ralph the dog.”
Ben could tell that the names Ben and Lila meant something to her. Not in a positive or negative way, but more surprised than anything else.
“You have to meet our mayor,” said Sharon. “He should be in his office. Follow me.”
“When did you start the town?” asked Ben as they were walking.
“Four years ago. There were two groups of us—about seventy altogether—who met about a hundred miles east of here. Both groups had been living in makeshift camps and were tired of it. We combined forces and were determined to find a town to call our own. As you know, most towns were destroyed by one thing or another, but we knew we’d find something. When we walked into Monett, we knew we had arrived. Most of the town was in ruins, but there was one section that had escaped the devastation. It’s only a few blocks wide and long, but it’s plenty big enough for us. Over time, more people drifted in, and of course babies were born, so our population is up to 165.” She stopped in front of what was once a private home. Now it had a sign that read: Monett Town Office. “Follow me.”
She opened the front door and called out, “Brian, we have guests.”
A nice-looking man in his early thirties came out of an office, stopped, and smiled. “You’re still not going to kill me, right?” he asked, looking at Ben.
“Oh my God,” said Ben, and went over and gave the man a hug. He turned to Lila. “Lila, you don’t know Brian, but I met him twice when I was separated from you. The last time I saw him, he saved my life as I was leaving Washington.”
“That’s okay, you more than saved my life by letting me go after you killed my ‘colleagues’,” he said, making quotation marks in the air. Then he turned serious. “Actually, I do know Lila, and I don’t know if it’s too late to apologize.”
“Oh, right,” said Ben. “Of course. You were one of the guards at the camp where Lila was being held.”
“It’s not too late to apologize,” said Lila, stepping forward. “Frankly, I never saw you as one of them. You seemed different. You weren’t cruel in any way. You seemed lost, if anything.”
“I was lost. In many ways, your husband freed me. I’ve worked hard to try to erase that time of my life. We have a real community here, and I’m so happy to be a part of it. Are you here to stay?”
“No,” said Ben. “Just passing through.”
“Doesn’t surprise me. At least stay for a few days. We’ve set up some guest quarters. You can stow your gear, then I can show you around.”
As they walked out of the office, Brian said, “I knew you were living by the lake, but really didn’t know if you were still alive after all this time. Most people think you’re dead.”
That statement was getting old. There was nothing they could say.
“Even after all this time, your names still carry great weight.”
“This is a long way from there,” said Lila. “Hard to believe people have heard of us.”
“Let me guess,” said Brian. “You’ve been by the lake and out of touch until just recently?”
“Forest fire,” replied Ben. “A few weeks ago. Until then we hadn’t seen anyone in a few years.”
“Well, there’s a lot you need to catch up on. In general, people have been migrating west. A lot of that was due to the plague. You’ve heard about it?”
“We have.”
As they walked, Ben and Lila marveled at the town of Monett. They could sense the destruction beyond the new community’s borders, but none of that permeated the comfort that surrounded them. In most cases, existing homes had been taken over by individual families, but numerous new structures had gone up as well. Every house had a large garden, now done for the year, and stacks of wood. They passed several people, all of whom seemed content. An old church had survived and now doubled as a school. Brian pointed it out as they walked by.
“We have about 125 adults and 40 children living here. The school is run like an old two-room schoolhouse. We have two teachers—one for the older kids and one for the younger ones.”
“Any electricity?” asked Ben.
“No. Frankly, I’m not so sure people miss it all that much. They are just so happy to be living a somewhat normal life again. Maybe someday, but in all honesty, I doubt it.”
“You were going to tell us about the plague,” said Lila. “We heard a little bit about it.”
“It was massive. Considering how few people were left in this country, it was the last thing we needed. It affected the whole east coast, from what I hear. We were already here when it hit. We got the full report from refugees.” His face darkened. “We took in a few who seemed plague-free and were willing to be quarantined for a month in houses outside the town. Others, we had to send away. That was hard. We even had to shoot two people who tried to force themselves into the town. It was a tough time for us.”
“It was the whole east coast?” asked Ben.
“As far as we know. The major cities were largely abandoned, but a lot of smaller settlements had sprung up on the outskirts. The plague ravaged them.”
“We heard DC was gone,” said Ben. “I assume that means President Jeffries, too?”
“From what I hear. It’s too bad. I liked the man. He was really trying to put things back together. Don’t know how successful he would have been, but he was trying.”
“I had two friends there. Dan and Gordon. Did you know them?”
“I did. They talked a lot about you two. Dan might still be alive. He left Washington before me. Just didn’t take to the city. I think Gordon’s death bothered him, too. Just needed some new surroundings. I know he was headed west, but I have no idea where. I don’t think he did either.”
“How did Gordon die?”
“Suicide. He was never the same after his wife was killed. Went into an abandoned building and shot himself.”
They were quiet for a minute, then Lila said, “So whoever was left in the east headed west?”
“For the most part. I’d guess that there are very few people between Florida and Massachusetts.”
Ben thought about Rob, Jenny, and Amber. It could be that the community they were heading for no longer existed.
They reached the guest quarters, a small house at the edge of town.
“It’s not much, but it does the job,” said Brian. “There are three bedrooms, but if you could all sleep i
n one, it leaves the other two open in case any others arrive.”
“Do you get many?” asked Lila.
“A few, here and there. When they do come through, it’s usually in groups of five to ten, so they take the whole house. Anyway, I’ll give you time to freshen up. You can take a shower. We’ve put cisterns on top of all the houses. They catch the rainwater—we get plenty of that with all the storms. We’ve set up showers and baths in the houses. Your woodstove isn’t going, so I would suggest a shower for now. Won’t be warm, but it’s something. Later, you can start the stove if you’d like, and warm up water for a bath. When you feel refreshed, come on back to the office and we can talk more.”
“Thank you, Brian, for all the hospitality,” said Ben.
“You’d do the same. In fact, when I originally headed west, I was going to take you up on your invitation and stop by your house on the lake, but the damn crevasses kept me headed in the wrong direction. Finally, I gave up. Oh,” he added. “Feel free to leave your rifles and crossbows here when you do come back. You won’t need them. I do suggest keeping your pistols on you, though.”
Ben raised his eyebrows.
“Long story. One for another time.”
Monett was the first sign of normalcy we had found since the event. People didn’t look scared. They didn’t look exhausted. They seemed happy, comfortable, and, well, normal. But below the surface there must have been something, something that required them to wear their weapons. And I had no doubt we’d find out what that was in due time.
Chapter 12
It was wonderful to relax and rid themselves of their heavy belongings. They all took showers. The water was cold, but bearable. Lila put Katie down for a nap—a habit they had gotten into living by the lake.
“You look tired, too,” said Ben.
“I think I need to rest my eye. I feel like it’s doing double-duty.”
“That’s because it is.”
“You look raring to go,” said Lila. “Why don’t you go meet with Brian while I rest. We can meet up later.”
“Okay. That sounds good.” He went over to her and gave her a hug and a long, slow kiss. “I love you so much,” he said.
“And I love you. We’ve been through so much and have had to endure major changes, but the one thing that has never changed is my love for you.”
They just stood there hugging, until Lila playfully pushed him away. “Get out. Go see the town and report back. I’ll keep Ralph here. He probably needs the rest, too.”
Ben saluted and was out the door.
It felt odd to be without his backpack, rifle, and crossbow. He instinctively touched the pistol at his side.
Whether word had gotten around about Ben and Lila and people were curious, or whether they were just particularly welcoming to newcomers, it seemed to Ben that everyone in town made a point of shaking hands with him and introducing themselves. Either way, it was sincere. He decided to walk around and get the lay of the land before going to see Brian.
They had picked well. The town consisted of an area of about five city blocks built on the edge of a former golf course. How the earthquake had spared that one section was a mystery. And yet, they had come across similar large areas of untouched land. This was the first one this large that he had seen in a town. They had put up a chain-link fence around the edges of the town, not to keep the people in, but to physically separate the new town from its former incarnation.
Near the center of town was what Ben could only call a slaughtering station. A deer hung from hooks, as did a couple of wild turkeys and numerous rabbits.
“It’s where people come to clean their kills,” said a man who had come up quietly behind Ben. He was older, probably in his sixties, wearing a baseball cap with very little under it. He put out his hand. “Walt.”
He shook his hand. “Ben.”
“Welcome to Monett.”
“Thanks. What do they do with the meat?”
“Pass it out. Anyone who is in need of meat for dinner can pick it up here.”
“No charge of any kind?”
“Nope. Everyone here contributes in some way. If you are skilled at carpentry, you offer your services to anyone who needs it. Same is true of just about everything else. We have no money. I guess you could call it bartering, but it’s not like anyone keeps track. If you need something done and there is someone who can do it, they do.”
“So different from our old world.”
“Some people have said it’s true Socialism or Communism, or maybe even Democracy at its best, but it’s not really. There is no label. It’s just appreciation. We’ve all come through a lot. I don’t know your story—although there are rumors floating around—but when all is said and done, I’m sure it’s not all that different from anyone else’s. We’ve all suffered. We’ve all managed to find the strength to keep on going when so many couldn’t. And now we’ve come together. Would it make sense to revert back to our old life? Isn’t that what got us into this mess to begin with? Greed, anger, selfishness? We have no use for it. We decided from the very beginning that we would run this town differently. It’s not to say that we don’t have arguments from time to time, but they’re minor. No, this is working and people seem content with it.”
They were joined by Brian.
“Saw you over here, and figured I’d save you the walk to my office.”
“Walt was just explaining the philosophy here. Impressive.”
“Some of the early residents said it wouldn’t work. When it started to be successful, they just naturally moved on. The people here are the ones who want to be here.” He looked around. “Where’s Lila?”
“Sleeping,” said Ben. “The rest will do her good.”
“What happened to her eye, if that’s not too personal.”
“Bar fight. You should see the other guy.”
Brian and Walt stared at him for a minute, then Brian smiled. “Had me for a minute.”
So Ben told them the story, as well as the details about her ankle.
“We do have a doctor in town, though I doubt he’d be much good to Lila at this point. Have a veterinarian, too. I told you about the two teachers. We don’t have a priest or minister for the church, but it’s kind of worked out for the best. Those who want to can take turns leading the services. We try to keep on spiritual topics. Everyone seems to like it.”
Walt excused himself, explaining that he had to go fix a shower.
“So what are your plans?” asked Brian.
“We heard there was a settlement at Yellowstone. We were thinking of trying it out. Do you know anything about it?”
“I do. We had a few people come through here who had been there. Very different from here.”
“How so?”
“We’re a closer community. Physically closer—like a regular town. From what I’m told, the Yellowstone settlement is a lot larger, but really spread out. They have a town center, but the houses are spread out in the hills.”
“It’s kind of what we are looking for—a strong community, but with the privacy we’ve been used to.”
“Was kinda hoping you’d stay here.”
“Well, I haven’t talked to Lila, so we will definitely keep it under consideration. Tell me about the guns.”
“Yes, the guns.” Brian frowned. “Let’s walk.”
It was a beautiful sunny day, but as was often the case in their new world, a black sky was just on the horizon. In an hour or two it would be pouring.
“The main reason—or, the initial reason, I should say—that we asked everyone to be armed was for protection from animal attacks. Believe it or not, when this group first got together four years ago, there were still people who hadn’t handled a gun, and had no desire to. I had to wonder how they had survived so long. We tried to establish our community with as few rules as possible, but one rule a number of us insisted on was that every able-bodied adult carry a weapon and know how to use it. We spent a lot of time teaching them. And it worked.
Every adult in Monett carries a handgun and is fairly skilled at its use. Some of the older children, too. Katie is young, but my guess is that you’ve already taught her the basics.”
“Not with guns, yet,” answered Ben. “But with the smaller crossbow, she’s a dead shot.”
“Well, it paid off for us. We had a lot of attacks by dog packs, and people were prepared. The dogs pretty well steer clear of us now. Having the fence around much of the town helps, too.”
“You said that was the initial reason,” said Ben. “Does the other reason have something to do with the evil?”
“I’ve heard it called that. We refer to it as ‘Nebraska,’ because that’s where they are from.”
“I think we ran into some of them about two weeks back.”
Brian’s faced sagged. “You saw them east of here? That means they’re back. Tell me about them.”
So Ben gave him a complete rundown of the encounter.
“That was one of their smaller outfits,” explained Brian. “If you know anything about them at all, you’ve probably heard that they are trying to ‘collect’ people. A smaller outfit like that would be good for individuals and small groups that they might run across, like your family. The larger outfits supposedly have double the trucks and men. They are systematically going from settlement to settlement and rounding up the people.”
“And you’re worried that they will be here soon.”
“They already have been. A small group like the one you encountered. They came by earlier this year. I think they were just feeling us out. They acted all friendly-like, but it was clear that they were anything but. They wanted to let us know about their town. They were really pushing the fact that they had power. They didn’t fool anyone though. We had already heard the rumors, so we sent them on their way. I’m worried about one of the bigger groups, though. With 125 adults, we could defend ourselves pretty well, and probably drive them away. But we always need to be armed and ready. If they catch us off-guard, we’re in trouble. You probably didn’t notice,” he said, pointing to the far corner of the settlement, “but we have a tower over there. There is always someone manning it. They look for dog packs, marauders, and most importantly, Nebraska.”
Eden Lost (Eden Rising Trilogy Book 2) Page 8
