The Beginning at the End of the World: A Post-Apocalyptic, Dystopian Series (The Survivor Diaries Book 2)

by Lynn Lamb

  I leaned over Jackson and really looked at him sleeping peacefully. I bent down and kissed his forehead.

  “I love you.” My whisper was barely audible.

  His eyes flew open, and he took me in his arms and kissed me ardently.

  He moved back a little from my lips to say, “I knew it.”

  “Faker.”

  “It was completely worth it. Do you know how long I have wanted, needed, to hear that? I want you, mind, body and soul, Laura Patton. I want to know everything about you.”

  I went to the bedroom and brought out my first two diaries. I tossed them on the table next to him and said, “Knock yourself out.”

  He looked down at the books, stunned. “No, even I am not that big of a snoop.”

  “And that’s saying something,” I said with a chuckle. “I don’t want any secrets between us. Just try to remember— you ended up with the girl.”

  ∞

  I met Fitz as he was leaving Jessica’s tent with a big smile on his face.

  “Hey, Laura,” he said. “I’m glad that I ran into you. The MT would like to have an update meeting with the Village, with your permission, of course.”

  “As long as there is no recruiting, I’ll set it up. Would Tuesday morning at eight work? I am hoping to give us time to come up with a plan to get moving again, and that way we can announce both pieces of big news at once.”

  “You have my word, no recruiting. See you,” he said.

  “Knock, knock,” I said as I made my way through the flap that Fitz held open for me.

  Jessica had a smile on her face that matched Fitz’s. Good for them. “I can come back if it’s not a good time,” I told her.

  “No, come in, come in,” she said.

  “I was wondering if you had time for that haircut,” I said.

  As she got out her scissors and a silver hand mirror that must have been a family heirloom, she asked, “Wouldn’t this be more comfortable in the cabin? I heard it has a pretty spectacular bathroom.”

  “It’s nice, but Jackson is resting. He was hurt yesterday, and he was on his feet all of today,” I told her.

  “So, you two are living together?” she asked me.

  I was a little taken aback by her blunt remark and was fishing for the best thing to say when she said, “Oh, I’m sorry, Laura. I can be such a nosy body. You don’t have to answer that. I just want to say that I am happy for you both.”

  “Thanks, and I am happy that you are spending time with Fitz,” I told her. “He’s a good man.” Actually, I thought that Jessica and Fitz made an odd couple. She wasn’t exactly educated or refined like Fitz was.

  “He is, isn’t he? The Colonel is very thoughtful,” she said.

  Oh, no. Fitz, you didn’t tell her about the promotion? I yelled at him mentally. Was he waiting for the meeting for her to find out? My guess was that wouldn’t sit too well with her, but I wasn’t about to tell her.

  “He is at that,” I said.

  Maybe it was her happy state, but she did an amazing job on my hair. My red curls perked up at their new length into a very cute bob.

  As I was making my way to supper, I saw Violet slipping out of the RV that housed the recuperating Mark. When she saw me, she looked like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Was she really that desperate to pounce on a man who almost died last night?

  I gave her a quick smile and went on my way. Seriously, though, Mark and the former Mayor of Santa Cruz?

  January 22

  I woke up to Jackson reading my diary in the dim bedside light.

  “I’m sorry, darlin’,” he said. “I was too riveted to put it down. Does the dashing Colonel get the gorgeous girl? Do they make it out of the apocalypse alive?”

  I reached my arm over his bare chest and said sleepily, “You know the first part, but you aren’t going to find that last bit in there. That remains to be seen.”

  He put down the book and caressed my hair. “I didn’t know how truly irritating I could be. Between the ‘heh, heh, heh’ and the nasal voice, I don’t know how you put up with me.”

  “Well, it’s a tough gig, but someone’s gotta do it,” I teased.

  “But really, I can’t believe that you documented all of this in such a detailed way. And with everything you have on video, you have a real record of everything that has happened to us. I am impressed, baby.”

  “Thanks, it has been healing to a degree, you know?” I said. “This is just my point of view, though. I just hope that there are others out there doing the same. Maybe one of those other groups of military saved people like me who are recording their experiences for the future, too. Maybe it can be a ‘how to,’ or maybe a ‘how not to.’”

  “I find you more remarkable every day that I know you, Laura. You are an angel sent down to this unworthy man to help him remember what is still right with the world.”

  “I’m no angel,” I said pulling him into a kiss with a giggle.

  “Hallelujah to that,” he said reciprocating with his lips on mine. “Maybe just a goddess.”

  “Thank you for always making me laugh, Jackson.”

  ∞

  My hair was still wet, and I was only wearing a robe and socks when there was a knock on our door.

  “Sorry to bother you so early Laura, but I think we figured it out,” said Adam. He was standing next to Sampson, and they both were wearing smiles and holding numerous maps and atlases.

  “Come in,” I whispered in an attempt not to wake Bailey. “Put your stuff on the table.”

  I went over to put the kettle back on the range to make some tea for my guests, as I had already consumed my MRE coffee ration.

  “Is everything okay?” asked Jackson as he entered the room holding a sleepy Bailey in his arms. His hair was also wet, and he was only wearing his uniform t-shirt and pants.

  Our two visitors looked at each other in surprise but were too polite to ask questions. Jackson went to lay Bailey on the sofa, but she made a protest noise, and he brought her over to the table and set her down to see what was going on.

  I hadn’t told Jackson that I had Adam and Sampson working on an escape route for us since the day after the latest bombings.

  “That’s a lot of maps,” Bailey said, pulling out a chair and taking her place to hear the latest news. Jackson shrugged and helped me with the tea. He was finally getting used to the fact that Bailey was not a typical child. She had a mind of her own, and he was adjusting to the way that my family didn’t discourage it, either.

  “It is a lot of maps,” said Adam. He playfully ruffled her already messy hair. “And these maps are going to get us out of here.”

  Jackson and I just stared at each other. Then, all five of us broke out in giant smiles.

  “Look at this,” said Adam as he ran his finger over the map from the forest to what used to be the main road into the Valley.

  “Yeah, we know that there is a forest and then a bombed out road,” I said, somewhat disappointed.

  “It isn’t going to be easy,” said Sampson. “But if we start cutting a road out here, we can make it to Carmel Valley Road.”

  “I thought that road was gone,” said Jackson.

  “A lot of it is,” said Adam. “But rumor has it that there are portions still intact.”

  “I’m not too inclined to listen to rumor if it came from Wanderers like the ones we have come into contact with,” said Jackson. I nodded in agreement.

  “They aren’t all like that group, and listening to the Wanderers was how we were able to travel when we were out-bounding. But, we haven’t finished with our idea. We believe that this part of the road is pretty blasted away,” said Adam pointing to a portion of the Carmel Valley Road near a golf course. “But we want to get past that and continue down to the river. Then, we hope to hug the river until we make it to the compound. Those buildings are pretty deep in the Valley, but we believe that this is our best bet to make it.”

  “What happens if we can’t get th
e convoy through the forest or over the bombed out road?” asked an obviously skeptical Jackson.

  “We flatten it with whatever the MT brought with them. You told me that you had explosives,” said Adam.

  “And risk an avalanche?” I asked.

  “I will have to consult with our ballistics experts. Our best one is already in the Valley, but Granville should be some help. We are going to have to call out to the Valley and talk to Walker, but there are other questions I have, like how long is this going to take to get us to our final destination?” said Jackson.

  ∞

  We decided to put off telling the Villagers about this new plan until we could verify some of the information with the MT, both here, and in the Valley.

  Adam and Sampson showed the group what they had come up with, much to the chagrin of Colonel Mason. I swear that man would let us all rot out here until his people were the ones to come up with a solution. But the point was, they had nothing. At least this would get us moving again in the right direction.

  “We can’t just go off on some half-baked idea from two guys who just happen to be handy at reading maps,” said Mason.

  “Okay, then why don’t you order some planes over the area to take aerial photos; oh wait, you don’t have planes,” I said. Looking at the faces of the MT, my sarcasm was not appreciated.

  “But we do have some experts in the Valley to consult with,” said the newly minted General Ellis Fitzpatrick. “If they give us the go-ahead, then we need to think about sending out a detail to travel as far as they can west. Maybe they can give us an idea of what we are in for from that direction.”

  I was glad that he was at least considering the viability of the plan. I knew that we made the right call putting Fitz in charge. He wasn’t unduly influenced, like Jackson, or completely against every idea we had, like Mason. He was temperate, yet thorough, in his decision making. I could work with that.

  “I am going to send some of our tree cutters and trucks to get started opening up a wide enough perimeter to turn around your bigger trucks. If they finish that, then I am sending them out to begin to cut a trail. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just wide enough to get us through the trees. I need the information for our final decision before dusk,” I told Fitz.

  Mason began to protest, but Fitz said with a knowing smile, “You will have it before COB.”

  ∞

  “You know that I am simply giving Fitz time to argue it out with Mason. We are going,” I said as Jackson and I made our way back to the cabin.

  “I know. It’s smart, I guess, but I do have some concerns, Laura. I don’t know about trying to transport seventy people over that terrain. It’s not only rocky, but after last night’s weather, it’s going to be like an ice skating rink to drive on.”

  “I need to make sure that our drivers can manage it. Would you be willing to give a crash course on driving in these conditions?” I asked him.

  “Of course, but that is no guarantee. There are so many variables,” he was more serious than usual, meaning he was apprehensive about this one.

  “I would like to ask Audrey and Zac to help the guys on this. They know the area better, and they are out of quarantine now.”

  “Okay,” he said.

  “What is it, Jackson? I’ve seen you way less worried over much bigger things.”

  “I don’t know. Maybe it’s that I have a family now, and protecting you all is the most important thing I will ever do in my life from here on out,” he told me.

  “But aren’t we too vulnerable sitting like we are? We have to make a move, and the sooner the better,” I told him.

  He thought about it. “Okay,” he finally said. “I am behind you 100%.”

  “We will take every precaution, but there are no guarantees in this world now. We all know that,” I said. “Just do me one favor, please. Go and sit on the collective asses of the MT. Make them move on this.”

  “Yes, ma’am. I’m on it.”

  “Good, because I am going to spend this afternoon getting to know our new Villagers.”

  “Be careful, darlin’,” he said, searching me with his earnest and gorgeous blue eyes.

  ∞

  Katie and Bri, who just started her apprenticeship, were waiting for me as I got the serious facemask on. Malcolm wouldn’t let us anywhere near the newcomers unless we were properly outfitted. He added two extra days onto their quarantine due to the highly unsanitary conditions they were living in. The always serious Marine, Granville, was standing guard, wearing the same protective outfitting as we were.

  There were chairs for all nine of the Wanderers and across a snowy area were the three chairs for Katie, Bri and I. We took our places and waited for them to do the same. There were four women, three teens (including Chase) and two men.

  “First, I am sorry that we have to wear this crazy stuff, but it’s precautionary. We have had our share of problems with disease since the Last War,” I said.

  “Hi, I’m Amy Simmons,” said one of the ladies wearing some the filthiest and ripped clothing I have seen to date. My heart ached for her, and I felt a twinge of guilt for the garments and lodging I had inherited from Agenia. “We aren’t dangerous. I just wanted you to know that. I know how we must look, but under all of this, we are just normal people trying to survive, just like you.”

  “In this world, Amy, there are different ways to survive, and from what we can tell, yours has been very different than ours,” I said. She bowed her head in shame.

  “Why are you always videotaping everything?” asked Chase.

  “Because I am making a record of what it is like to survive the Last War,” I said.

  “It sucks,” said a woman who did not introduce herself.

  “Yes, it can,” said Katie. “But we are working towards a future, one that doesn’t suck.”

  “I know that some of you surrendered to our people during the unfortunate battle that took place in the winery. But that does not mean that you understand or agree with our ways.” I told them. I knew that two ladies and one of the men were a part of defending the Wanderers, and I could tell immediately by their faces which they were.

  “We are open to you joining us if that’s what you wish to do, but I will not put any of our people in danger. You know that Katie has been questioning you from outside of your tents for the last few days. She is a psychologist, and she is here to listen to you. And that is Ms. Patton. She is studying in the field of psychology.”

  “Specialist in the Arizona Guard, right?” said an African American man. “I was Colorado Guard a long time ago.”

  “Yes, I was a student of psychology and a Weekend Warrior,” said Bri, in measured words. She was going to make an excellent clinician one day; so says a proud aunt.

  “We would like to get to know you on an individual basis,” I explained. “These two ladies will be doing evaluations, and if you are peaceful, and willing to help us, we are willing to let you stay with us. If not, we will ask you to leave. We will try to help you in any way we can so that there are no hard feelings, but we cannot let any threats into our group.” I knew this could be risky, letting loose potential threats, but there wasn’t much more we could do. I was not going to have them executed. I could only hope that they would all check out.

  Since there wasn’t much more I could do to help them out, I left Katie and Bri to work with the group first, and then start on the individuals. I wasn’t worried about leaving them in the capable hands of those two competent women and one scary-looking Marine.

  Part VIII: A Revelation on the Promise Trail

  Making my way back to the cabin, I ran into Carrie, who was ready to get back to work. I told her about the strategy that Adam and Sampson had proposed.

  “Let’s make sure that we have the transportation figured out by the end of the day,” I said. I suddenly felt light headed. “May I ask you a favor? Would you ask Annie to make me something to eat? I skipped breakfast again.”

  “Absolutely,”
she said, stopping at RV one.

  I rushed my way to the cabin and made a beeline for the bathroom, where I proceeded to vomit up last night’s meal. It went on and on until there was nothing left of my stomach contents.

  “Laura. Are you okay in there?” asked Carrie.

  “I’m good. I just need to shower. Can I call you when I am done?”

  “Sure thing,” she said. “I’ll leave your food on the kitchen counter.”

  When I heard the front door shut, I crawled over to the sink and opened the cabinet beneath it. I had seen the item I was looking for while I looked through the cabinets just after Jackson had the cabin moved here. I took the stick from the box and followed the directions carefully. I couldn’t make any mistakes with this.

  Positive. I am pregnant.

  ∞

  I made some tea as I waited for Doc Riley to come. Jackson was right, that particular tea tasted like pig swill. Well, at least what I think pig swill would taste like.

  “Thanks for making a house call,” I told her as I showed her into the cabin.

  “This place is just as amazing as I heard,” she said, looking around.

  “Come on in,” I told her as I directed her to the sofa.

  “Alexis, I have something fragile to discuss with you. I can’t let this get out,” I told her.

  “Anything,” she said with a concerned look. I handed her the pregnancy test and her eyes grew in size exponentially. “Is this yours?”

  I nodded. “The packaging on the test says that it is the only test that will tell you six days sooner than your missed period. I did the math… four times. It’s Jackson’s,” I told her. When I figured that out, I was very relieved. I would love the baby no matter what, but I wasn’t sure what would happen if the baby was Mark’s.

  “All of the doctors we went to before the war told us that I couldn’t have a baby, so I didn’t see any need for protection,” I told her.