by Brad Manuel
Before Jay could finish, Brian, Jaclyn, Jacob, and Meredith pulled a soccer ball out of the RV and headed to the grass for a quick game. When Jay saw them he explained to Peter. “Sorry Mr. Peter, I, I, I gotta go!” He stuttered in excitement, not wanting to be rude to his older friend, but not wanting to be left out of the soccer fun either.
“You can tell me all about it on our way up to New Hampshire tomorrow. How’s that?” Peter asked the boy.
“Okay!” Jay screamed over his shoulder, running towards his brother and friends.
Brian paused as the group kept walking. He turned and yelled to Antonio. “Hey, Tony! Would you like to play? I know we’re little kids, but we’re good at soccer.”
Antonio, or Tony as the group discovered he preferred, looked at the adults, shrugged his shoulders, and walked towards the kids. “Sure, little man, I’ll kick the ball around for a few.” He trotted towards the grassy area that was their soccer field.
Jamie, still sitting in her chair, looked at Solange. “If I had known a slap in the face was all that kid needed to engage, I would have done it five months ago.”
Solange nodded, “I believe the five months with your group had more to do with his new found life than my slap in the face. Your group has been sleep walking, and our arrival has woken you. He understands what life has in store for him.” She paused. “He is a good person, but from what I can tell, he is not a good soccer player.” She laughed as she watched him try to dribble away from the little kids. His size and speed allowed him to score. His skills were horrible.
Melanie walked up to Peter. “No Sal?”
“Oh, he was here.” Peter stood to give Melanie a quick hug. It was the most they had been apart for seven months. “I had the pleasure of meeting the man, but he was not interested in talking to me or Jamie. He wandered off to take a walk in the park. That was three, maybe four hours ago.”
The adults formed a circle around Jamie, who stayed seated. The good feelings from the fun day were gone. Tension settled over the group.
“Did Jamie tell you about the apartment?” Emily began. She was upset, furious that a person would let young children starve while they stayed fat.
“Yes, yes she did.” Peter replied. “I can say, after meeting the man, I’m not all that shocked. He seemed angry from the second he got out of the car with Bernie. He said two words, and stormed off for his walk.”
Ahmed looked around the circle, “I know it would be natural for you to think the New York people are going to circle the wagons for one of our own, but that bastard is not with me. We took on whoever needed shelter, whoever wanted to be part of our group, whoever would help us. He fits none of those categories. Maybe he did in the beginning, maybe he will down the road, but for the last six months he’s been nothing but a drag and scourge to me and the rest of us. If this were a job? I’d have fired him long ago. If he was living with us before the rapture, I would have kicked him out. Unfortunately, I don’t know what to do, but know this, I’m not going to defend him or go against the will of the group just because he was living in the same building as me for six months. I’m done.” He took a sip from his water bottle. “I hope I can be a good member of our group, and please consider me part of whatever you call yourselves. I’m not a member of the New York clan any longer.”
There was a pause before Solange broke the silence. “That is the most you have said in two days. Where did that come from?”
Laughter erupted. Ahmed was reserved and quiet for the last two days, speaking here and there, but not opening up. During the outing today, he stayed with Cameron and the two young girls, making sure they felt comfortable and had fun. He answered questions when asked, but did not offer long opinions like the one he just gave about Sal.
“Well, I just…” Ahmed began.
“I get it.” Todd cut him off. “We get it. You want to make sure we don’t put Sal in a category with the rest of you.”
Emily was fuming, despite the joke by Solange. “It’s time we decide. We know where he is. He’s getting high in his apartment. Tony can show us which one. Do we go there now, talk to him about his options? Do we see if he comes back before we leave, talk to him then? Do we leave if he isn’t here tomorrow?”
She left the questions in the air.
“That would be killing him.” Bernie said quietly. “I’m not sure I can kill him, despite his bad behavior. He’s still a person, a human being.”
“How is it killing him?” Melanie asked her. “He knows our plan, he knows we’re here. If he wants to brave the world on his own, or wait for the next group of survivors to arrive to see if he likes them better, those are his choices.”
“I don’t know, Mel, I don’t know if I can leave him. Have we really come to a place where we make decisions like that? It’s like Ahmed said, if this were work or before the rapture there would be options. Now? I don’t know what our options are.” Emily stood next to her husband. She reached for his hand. “I’m enraged right now, but I don’t want to be a savage just because the world is up for grabs. As my husband has said for months now, this isn’t The Road Warrior. We don’t have to act like it.”
Melanie replied directly to Emily. “What are you going to do when he steals food from your children in six months? What happens when he decides he does not want to take his turn in the fields, and we do not get part of our crops in the ground, or some of our crops die because he refuses to help, yet we have to feed him? If he becomes a drag on the group and is taking food from the mouths of the children, what will your options be then, Emily? He has shown he has no regard for other people. He has shown he does not want to be part of the group. If he wants to stay alone is New York, I do not think we should go knock on his door and bring him with us. He is making his bed.”
“So we let him kill himself when we know that is what he is doing? We offer no help? If he was drowning, even though he went into deep water not knowing how to swim, you’d rescue him, wouldn’t you? How is this different?” Bernie interjected.
Melanie answered easily. “If the water he went into had sharks and alligators and endangered my life? I’d let him drown. There are bad people, Bernie, and it is not my job to help them at the expense of my own well being and the well being of all the other people in my group. A year ago, I would have helped Sal, but his behavior would not have directly affected me or my children. Now, his bad behavior has a direct negative impact on my ability to survive.” Melanie looked around the group. “Leaving him is not a popular or easy decision, I know, but it is the easiest way to fix the problem. If we make an effort to bring him with us, I am convinced we will have to make a much more difficult decision down the road.”
“You mean kill him ourselves.” Todd said. “You are saying we can walk away, never knowing how he ends up, or take him with us and probably have to kill him ourselves in a year. That’s what you think? That we would do some sort of public execution or something? That we would hang him in the village square as a message?”
Solange answered. “We would not use him as an example, or scare our children, but yes, I am sure we will have to kill him. We might try to throw him out of the tribe, make him leave, but a man like Sal? He will not leave without hurting our chances for survival down the road, and/or stealing food and necessary tools. Granted, I have not met him, but I know the type of person they have described. He cannot change who he is, and we cannot change who he is either.”
“You nailed him. Don’t worry about not having met him, you’ve nailed his personality, and you’re probably right.” Ahmed backed Solange’s assessment. “I say we leave him. If he shows up, wants to come, fine, but I’m not groveling over to 71st to beg him to join us. No way. And you know what? If he wants to come? He walks onto the RV with empty pockets and no bags. He leaves his drugs here. No more drugs.”
“I’m with Ahmed and Solange.” Kelly nodded.
Jamie stood up from her chair. “I’m with them too. If he shows up, we bring him along, naked as a jay
bird, but we don’t go after him, and we don’t let him follow us with a car full of drugs. Solange, I wish I was as strong as you, but I can’t leave a man behind if he wants to come. I think that’s where you’re headed, leaving Sal no matter what. Okay, I get it, but I have too much of the old way left in me. He’s a son of a bitch, that’s for sure, but as Bernie said, he’s a person. If he comes, put him in the RV, away from the children. No pills, no booze, just Sal on his own to detox. That’s my opinion. If we bring him and it goes wrong? I’ll take him out back and kill him. I’m old. I won’t have to carry the burden as long as the rest of you would.” She looked at Solange, “will that satisfy you?”
“It is not a matter of me being satisfied,” Solange began before Jamie cut her off.
“I know, dear, I know. You are thinking like we all should. What I’m asking is, do you believe this is a good compromise? If Sal wants to come, we give him parameters, let him make his choice. If it goes bad down the road, I’ll take care of him.”
“No, we have a decision to make now, and then one we’ll address if needed later. You are not going to assume responsibility for Sal.” Emily shook her head. “This conversation is about whether we pick him up or we leave without him. I don’t want to talk about the future. We can’t control the future.”
“I agree.” Melanie said. “But I also agree that we should consider the future. Regardless, we have to make a decision for right now. Do we pick him up, do we wait for him, or do we leave him.”
“I never said anything about waiting for him.” Emily replied. “We either get him or we leave him, we aren’t delaying our trip to Hanover. We leave tomorrow. The third option is, do we leave a note for Sal telling him where we are going? That would put the ball entirely in his court. He would be making his own decision to stay alone or join our group.”
“But won’t that invite a drug addict to follow us with a car full of pills and the same bad attitude?” Ahmed did not like Sal, and wanted him left behind.
“Again, I can’t control the future. Sal will eventually run out of drugs, even if he brings a car full of them. Whether he detox’s here or six months from now, if we can gain strength from him, I say it’s worth the risk.” Emily’s mind was set.
“You know my position.” Solange said firmly, “but I accept the decision of the group. I will state my case in simple terms. I do not see us gaining strength from Sal. I see us becoming weaker because of him. I believe the odds are in favor of him hurting the group down the road. If he shows up, I will not throw him out in the cold. I vote for leaving him with his fate in his own hands and decided by his own actions.”
“Okay.” Todd said after Solange finished. “Let’s decide on the first thing. Does anyone believe we should go get Sal if he doesn’t show up tomorrow?”
Bernie raised her hand. She looked around the group. “My life is about rescuing people, about redemption. I cannot stop because the world died.”
“Are you okay with us not getting Sal? You can leave with us?” Todd asked her.
“I may be in the judgment business, but I am not judging any of you today. This is the right decision for the group. I know that. Sometimes, even though you understand it is the best thing to do, you cannot vote the way you should. I cannot vote to leave Sal behind. I hope you do not judge me as a coward, unwilling to make the hard decision. I am certainly not judging you. You are kind and generous people. These are hard times, unusual times, don’t be ashamed of what we are doing.” She waited for a second. “I do, however, plead with you to leave the man a note.”
“Well.” Todd continued. “That is our second decision. We are pulling out of here tomorrow. If Sal is not here at 11, he’s going to be left behind, that is decided.” Todd looked around the group for any expressions of dissent. There were none.
Kelly nodded. She gave a weak smile towards Bernie. Kelly often thought back on that day, the day she voted to leave Sal behind. She wondered if her personal hatred and opinion that Sal was “creepy” influenced her vote. Kelly was young, in her twenties, and not used to making grand decisions like the one they made that day. What she would later come to realize, no one, except Solange, was comfortable with the decisions they were making.
“The decision in front of us is whether or not to leave Sal a note about meeting us in Hanover.” Todd looked around the circle of people again. “I want to leave a note. A simple note that reads, ‘We went to Hanover, N.H. Highways 95N to 91N to Norwich, VT exit.’ No ultimatums about leaving his drugs behind, no language that asks him to come, just simple words left here, maybe on his car.”
“I agree.” Melanie said quickly.
“I do too.” Emily echoed.
Kelly, Peter, and Bernie agreed. Solange, Ahmed, and Jamie dissented.
Sal was thrown a life line.
Bernie addressed the circle. “Thank you for doing this. I don’t know if my words swayed anyone, but I believe this is the right thing to do.”
Solange nodded, “I voted against the note, but if people believe we should leave one, I agree.” Solange walked over to Todd and Emily, putting her arms around the two of them. Her head was between theirs, and she whispered in their ears, “I hope you do not think I voted against you. I voted my beliefs. I am not against you, ever.” She pulled back and kissed each of them on the cheek. “Let us get ready to leave tomorrow. I do not like this city.”
She turned and walked towards the soccer game. “Antonio!” She said loudly. “Have you never played futbol? I cannot believe your foot skills! Come over here, and give me that ball!” Solange wore tight jeans with a tight sports hoodie that accented her figure. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and it bounced back and forth as she strode towards the soccer game. She was a gorgeous, confident woman, and even Emily watched her as she walked away.
Emily turned and punched her husband in the shoulder. “Don’t get any ideas about that girl. You’re still mine.”
“Me? What are you talking about? You were looking at her more than I was. She kissed you too.” They hugged each other and gave a quick kiss.
“Really? Come on, get a room.” Melanie groaned.
“Wow. I mean, all we did was hug and kiss.” Emily said back.
“Don’t listen to her, honey.” Todd gave Melanie a sneer. “I have to think about food anyway. It’s almost five. We need dinner, and get the camp packed for tomorrow.” He stuck out his tongue at Melanie before walking towards the U-Haul trailer. Todd had a fun idea for dinner, and pulled a kettle grill onto the street. He went over to the kids. “Okay, break in the game for a few minutes. I need firewood for the grill. Everyone grab a few pieces of dry wood from the park. Not huge pieces, just a few each, and bring them back to me. We’re having a cookout tonight!”
A cheer arose from the kids. They scattered to get branches. Solange looked at Todd and asked the obvious question, “Cookout? What do we have to cookout?”
“Grilled ham, baked beans, and macaroni and cheese.” He grinned at her. “And we have graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows, so there will be s’mores for dessert.”
“I look forward to the day when we hunt for meat.” Solange frowned. “Canned ham does not sound like something I want to eat. I did not eat canned meat in Ecuador.”
“Trust me, you’ll like it. It’s good.” Todd walked back to the grill whistling. He had a five pound bag of charcoal he pulled from the trailer and placed in the bottom of the grill. It was a light the bag brand. The coals were presoaked with lighter fluid. He needed the extra firewood to heat the large grill, but the small bag was perfect to get the fire started.
One by one the kids brought armfuls of sticks, twigs, and a few logs, until there was a pile of usable wood stacked next to the grill. Todd selected smaller twigs and medium branches, laying them across the bag of coals. He looked at Cameron, whose nose barely came to the top edge of the metal cauldron. “Would you like to start the fire, Cameron?”
The boy’s eyes lit up and his mouth opened in a
n “oh my” expression.
“Sure.” He said excitedly. “But I’m not tall enough.”
Antonio offered a hand. “I’ll hold you up, little dude. You light the bag.” Antonio flipped his baseball cap around so the bill pointed backwards, picked up the little boy, and hung him over the kettle grill. Todd lit a long twig and handed it to Cameron.
“Put the flame at the edge of the paper bag. Once it’s on fire, you can drop the branch on the pile.” Cameron held the flaming stick with both hands as he hung in the air. The rest of the kids were standing close, watching Cameron light his first campfire. He stuck his tongue out as he concentrated on touching the flame to the red and black bag.
“It’s not going to burn me is it?” He asked, pulling the flame away from the bag.
“No, dude, you’re good. Just light the fire, we’re all hungry.” Antonio encouraged him.
Cameron re-focused on the flame to bag task, and after a few seconds, saw that the bag was on fire. He let out an “I did it! I did it!” and dropped the stick onto the pile. Antonio made an airplane noise and zoomed Cameron around the grill, landing him next to Jay and Brian. “Did you guys see that? I lit the fire!”
“That was awesome.” Jay told him. “Let’s go get some more wood for your fire!” Before Todd could tell them he had enough for the night, the kids ran off to gather more wood.
“I can always put it in the grill for next time we use it.” He said to Antonio.
Antonio’s transformation from cold and angry street kid to warm and helping teenager was nothing short of miraculous. Ten hours earlier he was a punk who was only interested in helping himself. Tonight he spun a four year old around like an airplane. Todd was astounded at the change.
“Tony?” He asked, still a bit intimidated by the tough kid from the Bronx.
“Yeah.”
“So what made you change so fast? What switch clicked? Why were you angry at 7am and now you are playing soccer with the kids?” Todd had to know.
