The Last Tribe

by Brad Manuel

  Rebecca stood a few feet away in the sunlight, reading other sections of the book and learning about moose meat. “Okay, the last thing we need to do is cover the meat in cheese cloth or something like that, I think it’s supposed to be a breathable fabric that will keep dirt and insects away.” She thought about it for a moment. “I bet a sheet would work just as well, as long as it’s cotton. I’ll go back, warm up a little, and meet you at the basement.” She turned and walked before stopping to face the men again. “And just so you know, I don’t think we have the skill, time, or need to keep the hide. I know it seems like we are wasting it, but seriously, it’s pretty detailed what we would have to do. Also, John said a dog is coming. I don’t believe him, but save the heart and liver for the dog tonight.”

  The men paused, looked at each other and at her. Hank replied, “I had not thought about it, but thank you. I’m sure Paul would have tried to save the hide.”

  “Why am I getting picked on?” Paul asked. “What have I done?”

  “You know you’d try to save it. You save everything. When was the last time you threw something away?” Hank ribbed his brother.

  “Walking away from all of my possessions and my house in Cincinnati counts.”

  Rebecca left the bickering brothers. She could hear them arguing until she was out of earshot. She rounded the library corner and walked down Main Street towards the cottage. Rebecca found it difficult to judge the passage of time, particularly during a large project like the moose cleaning. Paul said it was 12:15 when they started. She assumed it was around 2pm, maybe later. She was cold, and her feet were wet from standing in the snow. Rebecca hoped there was a pot of hot water for tea.

  She arrived at the cottage to find Craig and John hauling a mattress in the door and up the stairs. “This is our last one.” They puffed as they struggled up the tight stairwell. “The moose almost done?” John asked her as he moved up the stairs and away.

  “I’m meeting them in the basement of the other house with sheets. The meat is ready for transport. I’m sure we’ll have to hit the hardware store for hanging supplies.” She left them to their work and went into the kitchen. She felt warm air coming from the door as she approached. Greg stood by four large pots of water waiting for them to boil.

  “I assume they will want to take baths or clean up a little when they are done.” He said as she walked into the kitchen. “No one thinks about the cleanup until they need to.”

  “We’re done. We have to transport and hang the meat for aging. Do you happen to have four pulley’s laying round I could attach to the ceiling of your father’s childhood basement?”

  “Let me see.” Greg pretended to look around the kitchen. “No.” He smiled at their exchange. “You know, if it were me, I would figure out a way to use a metal pole, move that old fridge and freezer together, place the pole on the tops, and hang the meat that way. You don’t want to put pulleys and eyelets in the ceiling. This isn’t a long term project. You just need a temporary place to hang the one moose we are going to kill.”

  “Greg Dixon, you are as smart as you are cute.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Can you make me a cup of tea or chicken soup? I am frozen.”

  “I’ll get anything for someone who calls me cute.” Greg responded.

  “I don’t think you’re cute, but I’ll take some tea too.” John walked into the kitchen with a broad smile on his face. His son blushed, and Rebecca made a quick exit.

  She went to the building behind the cottage where they stored their dry goods. She quickly found two sets of t-shirt sheets.

  “Ah, water for baths.” John nodded. “You might just be as smart as you are cute.” John patted Greg’s shoulders, moving next to him to sit down at one of the tables. “Seriously, I’d love some tea if you are making it.” John glanced at the shortwave radio. “It’s 2:15. I bet they arrive at around four, maybe later if they drive as slowly as I did.”

  “Anything left to do?” Greg grabbed three insulated cups and placed decaf teabags in each one. He used oven mitts to move one of the large pots of water to the brick floor surrounding the woodstove, replacing it on the burner with a tea kettle filled with potable water.

  “If they have the moose under control, I think we are good. We have firewood and fires made in every room, mattresses in every room, fish for dinner.” John let out a sigh. “I have earned a few hours on that comfortable couch. I’m too old to be lugging mattresses around.” John sat with his elbows resting on the table and his hands clasped together. He stared out the window, watching Rebecca leave the storage room next door and walk towards Choate Road with an arm full of sheets.

  “I like her. I like her a lot.” John said out loud. He turned to his son. “You are lucky to have found her.”

  “We’re all lucky I found her, but yes, I am especially lucky to have found her.” Greg sat next to his father at the table. “We have a lot of work ahead of us, don’t we, Dad.” Greg changed the subject.

  “Yes we do. Today is more like what we can expect from our new life, finding food, working in fields. I don’t know, maybe there are other survivors, and we can grow, but if not, yeah, life might be kind of hard.”

  “Well.” Greg put his hand on his father’s shoulder. “I’m glad we’re facing it together. We had some tough months, Dad, but we made it.” He smiled at his father. “We made it.”

  They sat quietly until the tea kettle whistle blew. Greg jumped up and pulled the kettle off the stove, pouring water into two of the prepared cups. “I think Rebecca might be a while.” He picked up the cups and sat back down next to his father.

  “Do you miss Mom?” Greg asked. “Well, I know you miss her, that’s a dumb question, but do you think about her? I think maybe it is because I was at school, and then on my own, and I didn’t see any of you, but I keep expecting her to walk through the door.”

  “She’s gone, Greg. Believe me. I think about her every day. I roll over to an empty bed every morning, and I wish she were there. I get in bed, and I sometimes still say ‘I love you.’ But there isn’t anyone to hear it anymore. It has gotten easier. Taking care of your brothers, you, it keeps me focused on the good times, and my job ahead.”

  “I miss her. I think of her at least once a day. I think about her at a meal, or when I wake up a little late, or when I take too long in the bathtub, and I’m like ‘Mom taught me better than this.’ Not that she was a task master or anything, but you know, I don’t want to disappoint her memory.”

  “I don’t think you can, Greg. And you’re definitely not disappointing her now.” He patted his son’s hand on the table. “You’re a good kid, and a hard worker. I think you’ve even lightened up a little bit.”

  Greg laughed. “I kept telling Rebecca, I’m the serious one, wait until you meet my brothers and father.”

  “Your mother would like Rebecca.” John grabbed his tea. “Now, I’m going to take a well deserved nap.” He walked into the other room. “Try to keep things under control while I catch a few winks.” John was exhausted. Between driving half of yesterday, staying up with his brothers, and working all morning, his body was done. He set the tea on the table, put his head on the pillow, and was asleep in seconds.

  Greg went out of the kitchen through the back door and headed down to the other house to see the moose party.

  41

  “John? Are you there?” The radio crackled. “John, it’s Todd. Are you there?”

  The room was dim. John was disoriented as he opened his eyes. “What time is it?” He said out loud. He was on his side, a blanket placed over him while he slept on the couch. He sat up quickly to try and snap out of his haze. He was alone in the cottage.

  “John?” The radio crackled again.

  John grabbed the radio off of the table, looked at the time, 4:10pm, and pressed the talk button. “Todd? Hey, great to hear your voice.”

  “John! Where have you been, buddy? I’ve been calling you for 15 minutes. Did you have something more important to do?
”

  “I, uh, I’ve been busy.” John was embarrassed. He had been asleep for almost two hours. “Where are you? What’s your ETA?”

  “We arrived at the Lebanon exit and pulled off about five minutes ago. I waited to hear from you, but got restless. We are getting close to Hanover. It’s slow going, the snow is deeper in some of the shady spots, but we should be pulling up in about 10 minutes.”

  “Great! Go right to the old house. We have dinner caught, and beds for everyone. Talk to you then.”

  “Sounds good. I hope my bed is ready now. It was a long drive.” Todd sounded exhausted.

  “See you in a few.” John jumped up. He was dizzy as the blood rushed back to his head. He called out. “Greg? Matt? Craig? Anyone?” The house was silent. “Where the heck is everyone?” He walked to the boot bin, pulled on his boots, grabbed his coat off the rack, and went outside. “They must be down at the other house.” He mumbled. He turned and started a light jog down Choate Road.

  There was smoke coming from the chimney of the big house. John opened the door and heard laughter. Light came from the living room on the left.

  “There he is!” Paul announced. “How was the nap?”

  Everyone was holding an insulated cup of steaming beverage. The room was warm from a fire roaring in the large fireplace. Paul, Hank, and Matt were in long, waffle knit underwear. There were two pots full of water sitting next to the fire.

  Craig, Rebecca, and Greg sat on a couch pulled close to the flames.

  “I heard from Todd. He just passed the soccer fields. He will be pulling up in five minutes.”

  There was silence as the room absorbed the news.

  Hank, standing in his underwear next to the fire, spoke. “Well, I guess I have to get dressed to meet the new people.” He nodded to Matt and Paul. “You guys want to head up and put some clothes on?”

  “Why don’t you guys have clothes on?” John asked. “Do I want to know?”

  “Because we were covered in moose blood and needed new clothes, but someone’s children outnumber the two of us, so we were forbidden from waking their father, who was taking an old man nap. All we could scrounge together were these thermals from the storage van.” Paul explained. “Any other questions? You want to hear how I had to clean up in a cold room upstairs because you needed a nap?”

  John laughed. “Thank you for your sacrifice. I do feel better.” As the men left in their underwear, John addressed Greg, Craig, and Rebecca. “Okay, now that the muscle is gone, I can work with the brains of the group. We have a giant grill in the U’Haul. We need to get that going as soon as we can and cook the fish for dinner. We can start the fire in the den to give people two places to warm up and congregate.”

  “I’ll walk up the street and get the fish. Uncle Hank will help me with seasoning and other stuff.” Craig got up from the couch. “We’ll bring the food back.”

  “Hey, can you grab five boxes of the red beans and rice mix? That will go with the trout and be easy to make. It also has a lot of protein and calories.” Greg asked.

  “Red beans, trout, seasoning, got it.” Craig ran out the door.

  “Thank you for letting me sleep. I needed it.” John confessed to his son. “I don’t even remember falling asleep. I just conked out.”

  “We’re pulling down Choate, just waved to Craig. Where is he going?” A voice asked through the radio on John’s waist.

  “I’ll put more wood on this fire and start the one in the den. You two go and see your family.” Rebecca volunteered. She was excited to meet the new people, but also a bit overwhelmed with the idea of fifteen more bodies invading her town.

  Two car horns blared, announcing the arrival of the RV’s. John and Greg rushed outside and waved. They saw Emily crying in the passenger’s seat of the first vehicle. A young woman Greg did not know waved from the second RV. She was blonde and looked to be in her 20’s. Every available window had little faces peaking through. The RV’s came to a stop, and the side doors opened. People flooded out.

  Greg recognized his cousins, but no one else.

  “Greg!” Jay and Brian yelled. They ran to their cousin and engulfed him. “We just came from New York City. You won’t believe how big that place is, it’s HUGE! We saw the Statue of Liberty, and all these buildings.” Jay told Greg all the things they saw. It did not occur to the young boy that he should be surprised or amazed to find Greg alive.

  “Can I give you a hug to make sure you are real?” A woman’s voice said from behind Greg. He turned and saw his aunt, tears rolling down her face. His uncle was next to her. They hugged him tightly. “How did you make it here by yourself? We had given up hope after seeing Baltimore and New York.”

  “I had a lot of help. Hank and Paul arrived a few months ago. They made it a lot easier.” He told them during their tight embrace.

  Todd let go and backed up. “Paul and Hank are here? Where?” He looked around wildly.

  “There is a lot to catch up on. Let’s introduce everyone to Greg. He met a girl on his adventures. She’s inside lighting a fire and stoking another. Her name is Rebecca.” John gave them a hug.

  “I’m sorry I left in such a hurry yesterday. It’s great to see you all again.” John made his way around the group, shaking hands and rubbing kids’ heads. When he met Solange she gave him a large hug and kiss on the cheek.

  “It is good to see you again, John. I’m glad you found Greg safe. Would you introduce me?” She walked towards the boy.

  “It’s great to see you again too. I hope you understand why I left.” He did not know why he was asking her forgiveness.

  “I understood, but next time, I would love to join you on your adventures.” She smiled at him as they walked to Greg. The boy was surrounded by people introducing themselves, patting him on the back, laughing at knowing he was alive.

  “Dad, why do all the people act like they know me?” He asked his father.

  “Because I talked about you a lot, we all talked about you. Greg, this is Solange, she was a sole survivor as well. We met her in Richmond, Virginia.”

  Solange ignored Greg’s outstretched hand and gave him a hug. “It is very nice to meet you, Greg Dixon. You were missed by your father and brothers.” She used his full name, like Rebecca.

  “Nice to meet you, Solange.” Greg did not know what to do other than return the beautiful woman’s hug.

  Greg was overwhelmed by the people. They were all around him, young kids, another girl that seemed to be his age, an older girl Matt’s age, two older people, two women who were trying to corral the young children. The beautiful woman with a Latin accent trying to talk to him. He tried to listen to what his Uncle Todd and Aunt Emily were asking his father.

  Greg looked for Rebecca. He wanted to introduce her to his Aunt, Uncle, and cousins. She was nowhere to be found. He politely excused himself from Solange and walked into the house. He found Rebecca in the study looking out the window.

  “Is it as chaotic as it seems out there?” She asked. “We’ve gone from four to twenty-four in a day.”

  He walked to her and grabbed her hand. It was sweaty. He could tell she was nervous about the new people. “If it was easier with two, it has to be much easier with twenty-two.” He touched her cheek and turned her towards him. “Come on, let me introduce you to my family from North Carolina. You’ll like them.”

  She smiled nervously, but he could tell she trusted him.

  “It is going to be better, isn’t it.” She stated rather than asked.

  “Better is a relative term. Easier I’m positive. Better? We’ll see how it goes, but we’ll see together.” She followed him out of the den and into the cool afternoon air.

  Hank and Paul arrived with Matt. They were hugging Todd and Emily and crying. Jay and Brian were high fiving, and ran towards Craig when they saw him pulling a sled full of food.

  There was confusion after Hank and Paul arrived, as people were introduced and stories of the drive were given. Once people realized t
hey needed the grill to cook dinner, the storage cart was opened and the grill was ignited.

  People continued to talk and make their way into the house and the fires. Greg and Rebecca wanted a tour of the RV’s, which Jay and Brian were happy to give. Hank and Paul showed off their moose in the basement. When the grill was ready, everyone helped wrap trout in aluminum foil to grill for dinner.

  Hank and Avery set up three folding tables in the living room. They instructed the younger kids on how to set the tables with plastic tablecloths, plastic ware, cups, and retrieve folding chairs from racks in the basement.

  At 6:00pm the new tribe was seated at dinner. A hush fell over the room as people realized the magnitude of the moment.

  Todd stood and held his cup of water in the air.

  “Well, we’re here, and we have a great meal in front of us. Thank you all for coming.” There was a chuckle from the adults who understood the joke. “Thank you for joining our tribe or group or colony, whatever we want to call it. I think we have a great future ahead of us. I don’t want to be melodramatic, but let’s give thanks to whatever kept us alive and brought us together.”

  The table let out a cheer.

  “And one more thing, just a request, not a command, let’s enjoy tonight, tell fun stories, focus on being alive and here. We have plenty of time to discuss the future and the work ahead. We’ll have another time to mourn our losses. It’s been a long day and a long trip. Let’s end it with a celebration.”

  Todd sat down. Emily was one seat over, Jay in between them. Todd leaned back and over to give his wife a kiss, something they did before every dinner together. “I love you.” He whispered. Todd sat up and put his arms around his sons on either side of him. Their journey was not over, but he felt like Hanover was a milestone. The plan he set in motion eight months earlier was finally complete.

  Everyone had half a fish and a large portion of rice and beans on their plates. There was wine, fruit punch, goat’s milk, and water. As they ate, Solange told John about the previous night’s dinner. “We had canned ham and beans. Please do not think I am ungrateful for the meal your brother made for us, but fresh trout is a step up, several steps up from last night.”