At Night's End

by Benham, Tara

  While the group was turned I took the opportunity to send Darcy running back towards the house. Henry had to have seen the group on the monitor by now. I was hoping that she would meet up with them on their way and inform them what the situation was before they got to me. Now that I knew the fence would do what it was supposed to, I felt a little braver than I had.

  “Hey, not to sound too rude, but as you can see, you won’t be hurting or killing us. The fence that just disintegrated that bullet will do the same to any living thing that doesn’t have a bracelet on. I don’t want you all to get hurt. Please believe me when I say that we are truly trying to find a cure. What my dad did is unforgiveable, and I’m sorry for each of your losses, but I am not my father, and this will not help anything.”

  “Don’t stand there on that side of your fence and preach to us. You don’t know anything about loss. You’re protected, well feed, and away from the chaos the rest of us have to deal with, you know nothing of loss.”

  “I lost my mom ten years ago to cancer, a disease that you all won’t have to worry about because my dad found the cure. I lost my Dad to this madness. Even if we find the cure, he’ll probably end up in jail. Do not tell me I know nothing of loss. I know everything about loss.” I was shaking with anger.

  “McCaid.” Atlas came up behind me. “Hey, I’m Atlas. I was given the vaccine with the dormant virus. I have been sick for almost 3 months. However, we recently found a way to stop the virus and make it dormant again. I took my first dose today, and already I’m feeling better. You must believe her. She is telling you the truth.”

  “He’s right. I’m West Long. I’m sure you have heard of me. I came here in hopes of helping them find the cure. I believe them. I do not trust Victor Dobbins, but his daughters are not him. We don’t not want any violence. Leave here and now, and go spread the word about the cure. Try to deter any other groups from attacking. Even if we don’t want violence, that does not mean we are not prepared to use it if necessary.”

  “My daughter is here with us, if you have the cure let her come inside the property with you. Let her take the medicine too.” A woman with a small child about ten or eleven stepped out from the crowd.

  I was unsure what to do, I really didn’t know how the medicine would react having only been testing it on person. Also, I wasn’t sure about taking a child so young in with us. We had so much we were trying to accomplish that having a young child in the way might not help, but I also knew I couldn’t just let her die, and she would die with the medication.

  “Please. My husband is dead, I’m dying. If you really have the cure you can take her, give her a chance. I’m not even asking you to take me, but I beg you to take her. If you take her we will leave, and never return.”

  I turned to the rest of the group and almost everyone gave a quick nod of agreement. If we wanted them to trust us we really couldn’t tell her no. We were this child’s only hope of surviving. With Mom’s help because of her forethought of saving the cure, we had an even better chance of helping her now. I told them to meet us at the guard post to let her come over inside the gate with us. We gave specific instructions that she would not be allowed to enter if anyone else was in the glass room with us. The group as a whole agreed. Ever and I entered the guard post, while the rest of the group kept an eye on the group outside of the fence. We can see from where we were standing that the mother was persuading the daughter to leave her. She gave several big hugs and kisses to the little girl and then pried her away and pushed her into the room. The little girl was crying and screaming when we opened the doors on our side.

  I went inside the room. “Hi, my name is McCaid. What is your name?”

  “Remington.” She sobbed. “Momma calls me Remi.”

  “Well, do you want us to call you Remi or Remington?”

  “Remi.”

  “Well Remi, let’s go through the doors so we can get you cleaned up, dressed and fed. Also, you will be able to wave to your momma again, and meet the rest of the group okay?”

  She straightened her shoulders, wiped her face and nodded. West and Johnnie decided to stay in the post to discuss with the group how the outside was going, and what the plan was in hopes that they could start to spread the word we had found something that might work, but also to deter any further attempts of attack. I also whispered to Johnnie to make sure they didn’t say we were taking in kids, or we would have a bigger problem than we were prepared for. He nodded as I take her hand in mine and lead her to where the rest of the group is standing just outside of the post and in sight of her mom. She gave a brave wave goodbye to her mom and turned to the rest of the group.

  “I’m Remi”.

  “Hi Remi, I’m Ever, this is Darcy, Denver, Milo, Atlas, Henry, Micah, Baxlie and Sasha. It’s nice to meet you. Shall we go inside now? We were about to have a family meeting of some sorts, and now that you’re a member you can join.”

  The idea of being a part of a family seemed to really hit her and some of the sadness washed away from her face. She was still holding my hand on my way into the house, but not as tightly. She was more alert and observing all the things around us as we walked. She had dirty, matted blond hair and freckles across her nose. She had light green eyes, and a crooked smile. She was thin too, like she hadn’t been getting to eat as much.

  “How old are you Remi?” I was going to make casual talk with her to help ease her into the group.

  “I’ll be eleven in two weeks, or so momma says.” At the mention of her mom, her face fell again.

  “Would you like a cake for your birthday?” Her eyes lit up and she grinned and nodded.

  “Can I have chocolate with sprinkles?”

  “Yes I think that’s very doable. My sister, Darcy, do you remember which one she is?” She said she did and pointed to her. “That’s right, well she has some old clothes that should fit you. And a shower to get you cleaned up. You can share a room with Sasha, she’s thirteen. We will have her brother Henry make you a bed would you like that?”

  “Yes!” She was bouncing now with excitement. “Can I go up and talk to her now?”

  “Until we get to the house, then we have to go straight upstairs to get you cleaned up.”

  I asked Darcy and Baxlie to come back beside me so I could tell them what to do while I got Remi cleaned and dressed. I was going to let her participate in the family meeting, but I didn’t want to share about where we found the cure. I had already instructed Darcy not to let anyone know about the letter. She agreed. Baxlie and she both stated that they knew the plan for while I was upstairs with Remi.

  “Ever, will you help me with Remi’s hair once she’s out of the shower?”

  “Yes ma’am. Remi are you ready? While you’re showering, McCaid and I will pull out a few outfits to let you chose from deal?”

  “Deal!”

  Chapter 25

  Dinner was a success with everyone, but especially to Remi. She wasn’t talking with the rest of us, and every time I look over at her, she has a cheek full of food, looking happy as a lark. It had taken Ever and I almost a half hour to get the mats out of her hair. She wanted it braided like Sasha’s. She had told Sasha my idea about asking Henry to make her a bed. Sasha must have mentioned it to Henry already while we were upstairs, because he told her he would at the beginning of dinner. Which made her happy enough to announce it to all of us once we sat down.

  “When dinner is done, we’ll check our mixture with the one on the paper to determine if we need to make adjustments before we give the first dose to Remi.” Baxlie ruffled her head.

  “Hey, don’t mess up my braid Bax.” They seem to have bonded quickly. Which didn’t really surprise me since everyone seemed to like to him.

  “Sounds like a plan.” Micah said through a full mouth. Ever had told me that Micah had finally kissed her the night after her mom died. She said they had decided that dating would be a little difficult in the current situation, but they both definitely did want to when the time was
appropriate. Very mature and planned, just like Micah. I think Ever just agreed because it was the only option that Micah would agree to, but I think she would have liked to be kissing him any and all the time. Even now with his mouth full she had a sort of wistful look on her face. He caught her staring and winked, causing her to blush.

  “Are you still feeling well Atlas?” West asked. She and Johnnie seemed to have come to some understanding. They were speaking to each other and to all of us, but there was still some tension. No one really wanted to ask, because it really wasn’t any of our business.

  “Yeah, Mom.” Atlas’ color seemed to be returning, and he has ate more today than he has since he came has been here.

  “That’s good, I’ll feel even more excited when we check you again in three days.”

  “We need to get started with the family meeting.” Ever was taking the lead this time, and I was more than happy to let her. “First let’s give a warm welcome to the newest member, Miss Remi.” She stood up and curtsied and giggled. “Now, for the business of the evening. If the numbers check out, and Atlas and Miss Remi show improvement, we plan to distribute the inhibitor as planned. We have a few suggestions for how to distribute the cure. This meeting is to tell you the options that the group has come up with and to discuss, maybe even vote, on the best way. Denver will you present the options. Also West and Johnnie will update us on what the group spoke to them about after we left. ”

  We had decided upstairs away from the group to allow Denver to continue to prove herself. I had told Ever about how she was stepping up and coming up with a lot of ideas in group. She agreed that she had been easier to tolerate lately, and more responsibility might be good for her. She seemed a little shocked that Ever would ask her to take the lead for anything.

  “Um, yeah so, as a group we have decided that our three best options are sneaking in and putting a mixture into the water filtration along with the steroids, but you can probably already think of the obviously reasons why that’s not the best idea, the next is to use the air filtration but again, we keep hitting the same issues as with the water filtration, but less sneaking. Lastly, we thought maybe getting my dad to come in and tell him and show him the truth, and then try to get him to pass out the drugs to individuals. The only problem with that is getting it to everyone in the country and not just the county around us. So here’s where you all come in, we’re open to suggestions or votes.”

  “What about trying to bring the Soldier’s in to pass out the medications.” Baxlie suggested.

  “The problem is decided who would be for the cure and who would try to turn it in?” Micah answered that before anyone from the group could.

  “My suggestion was to use the water filtration system because the government is already pumping the steroids throughout the country. If we could get even just one person into one of the plants, it would work best.” Sasha spoke up. She was a pretty smart little girl, and I had agreed to her idea for the most part, except finding a way into the filtration system.

  Everyone spoke for hours about the pros and cons, and in the end we still didn’t have a decision. The only thing that came from the meeting was that we would reconvene after the three days once we had more definitive proof that the inhibitor was working. Johnnie and West stated what we all kind of figured, and that was that the living situation was getting worse outside of the fence. People were fighting over houses, and items needed for survival. Rogue soldiers and groups were wreaking havoc in the streets and towns, and children were being left orphans. The dire situation just made the need for the cure to be distributed even more necessary. During the meeting, Remi had fallen asleep, so we planned to give her the medicine in the morning. Henry carried her up to Sasha’s room and laid her on the bed. Sasha said she could share with her for the time being.

  Ever was snoring beside me in our room. I can’t sleep so I continue to stare up at the ceiling. I was exhausted, but my brain just wasn’t wanting to shut off. It was jumping from Mom’s letter to the inhibitor and to the water filtration plan. I just knew that it was the best plan, but logically I couldn’t find a way to implement it. Dad had been using the systems in each town by having Soldier’s put the steroids into the water, but after some researching from Baxlie we learned that all the new filtration systems were connected by some advanced technology that allowing the main plant to create a chemical makeup of the water, and to share the information, once decided on that it wasn’t poison would share and adjust. This would make putting the medicine into the main plant successful. Figuring out the correct amount so that it was beneficial to the citizens, and how we could get into the highly guarded plant was the two main concerns. Over and over thoughts continued to run through my head. Morning was here before I knew it, and I hadn’t slept at all.

  “Caid, are you still awake?” Ever mumbled half awake.

  “Yes, I didn’t sleep at all. I’ve been trying to come up with a way to distribute the medicine. I think I’ve figured it out. The main water plant shares its information to the others in the nation. It reads the chemical makeup of the water, and as long as it’s still healthy and viable it’ll send the changes to others and we can distribute the inhibitor that way.”

  “Caid. Sleep, now. I’ll get up and give Remi the medicine, and do both of our chores okay. Honestly Caid, you need rest. You’ve been helping all of us stay together and run, you haven’t had down time. Take a long hot shower, get back in bed and sleep. I’ve got this.” She was using her authoritative voice. I giggled, but agreed. She left me to do as she bid and headed downstairs to take her control to everyone else. I made my way to the bathroom to shower.

  CHAPTER 26

  Stretching, I rolled onto my back. I checked the clock to see I had missed both breakfast and lunch. I slept for about six hours, which felt wonderful. I got up and put on yoga pants, and a sweater. I was at the door when someone knocked. I found Baxlie standing on the other side. He startled a little at the quickness of the door opening, making me snicker.

  “Hey, Bax.”

  “Hey Caid. Ever sent me up to check on you. Glad to see you’re awake.”

  “Yes, I really needed that time out. Now, I’m hungry.” I made a gesture to head downstairs, but he didn’t move.

  Downstairs there were people spread out everywhere. Sasha and Remi were in the living room on the floor playing with some dolls. Henry and Micah were sitting at the chess table engrossed in a game, and Denver and Ever were clearing the table from lunch. Ever saw me on the steps and pointed to the microwave. There in the microwave was a plate with a sandwich and chips. Plopping down at the table, I was putting the sandwich in my mouth, when Remi was suddenly standing beside me.

  “Miss McCaid?”

  “Yes, Remi?”

  “My momma works at the water plant. She has for a long time. She used to take me there with her sometimes.”

  “She does?”

  “Yes, she might be able to help you with the fliptration thing.”

  “Filtration.” I corrected her. “That may be a lot of help. Can you go tell everyone we need to have a quick meeting, while I finish eating my sandwich?” She bopped her head up and down. Chewing as quickly as possible without choking, my heart beat started to jump. What if we could use her mom’s security passes to get into the water filtration plant? We would still need to figure out the right amount of mixture to dump into the water. I had just placed the last chip in my mouth when the group came into the kitchen.

  “What’s up Caidee.” I glared at Baxlie as did Henry, but didn’t make a comment.

  “Well, Miss Remi’s mother apparently works at the water plant.” Remi who was standing beside nodded again. “She has brought this to my attention so that maybe we can go with the filtration plan for distributing the inhibitor. Micah, Baxlie, Denver, did the paper contain the appropriate mixture for the distribution by chance?”

  “Well there’s a formula that we weren’t sure what is was, but I’ve been wondering if that’s what it�
��s for since you gave it to me. On the broadcast announcement, your dad stated that the filtration was the best way to pass out the steroid, which would mean he had always knew that’s what he would and could use when necessary, so if he had made a cure, it’s suffice to say that he would use the same system.” Micah made a valid point.

  “West, do you have a way of getting word out that Remi’s mom need to come back, or even that whole group?” Ever was on the same line as I.

  “Yes, I should be able to reach them. I’ll go try now.”

  “While Mom’s getting a hold of them should we come up with a game plan if we can get their help?” Atlas seemed to know what means his mom had for reaching the groups. I was suspicious that she may have continued to keep touch with them, which mean she had some communication device a cell phone, or walkie-talkie something. Deciding quickly to not address it right now, I rejoin the conversation at hand.

  “I think we should all wait until we know for certain we have the help, and get the correct formula. Micah, why don’t you and Baxlie and Denver head back downstairs to start working on deciphering the formula?” Johnnie hadn’t spoken this much in a few days, it was good to see he could still command us.

  The days and nights were starting to blend in together. We stayed up late and got up early planning out how to get the mixture into the water, who would be in the group to go and who would be in the group staying here. West had been able to get with the group and a few agreed to help, including Remi’s mother whose illness was worsening. It was closing in on midnight when Johnnie mentions that it is almost time for Atlas’ three day checkup.

  “We should get some sleep. Tomorrow is a big day. If the cure is working for both Atlas and Remi we will begin mixing the necessary amount to distribute into the plant. Plus Remi’s mom and others from that group will be here tomorrow. I’m sure they will be grateful for full bellies, and a dose of medicine for those that are sick.” Johnnie stated. “Good night, everyone.” Good night was the resounding answer from the group as we each made our way to our rooms.