The Last Tribe

by Brad Manuel

  A stand at the front door of the lobby, printed in large red letters read, ‘No Vacancy.’ The wording of the sign was a trick devised by a hotel manager. She argued that a ‘Closed’ sign would invite looting and squatting, while a ‘No Vacancy’ sign would fool potential squatters into believing the hotel was occupied and full.

  Todd, a potential squatter, fell for the trick and believed every room in the hotel contained a corpse or had dirty linen.

  Regardless, he scoured the front desk for a log book or list that might indicate empty rooms.

  The front desk was clean of papers. There were six check-in stations with six computers. There were no log books or keys hanging from a peg board, similar to the system they found at the car rental agencies at the airport. The information Todd needed was locked away on a dead server, only accessible from the dead computers in the dead hotel lobby.

  Three drawers fell below each of the computer stations. Todd opened each drawer and found blank key cards, but there were no cards with room numbers or the words ‘master key.’

  “Think Todd” he muttered to himself. He looked at a door behind the front desk. He walked over and opened it. The back room did not have windows and was pitch black. He flashed his light on a small desk and saw a clipboard with papers clipped to the top. Todd walked closer and saw room numbers, dates, and check marks to indicate the last cleaning day.

  “Cleaning staff.” He mumbled. Todd opened one of the desk drawers and found several cards on wrist lanyards.

  “Bingo.” He grabbed all of the lanyards and keys and left the backroom for the beach.

  Todd approached the first room on the first floor next to the lobby. The key box had a yellow light on the top that was still illuminated. He slipped one of the cleaning staff’s keys in the card slot on the door. It flashed green, and he heard the sound of a sliding bolt.

  He pushed the door open. He did not look into the room. He lifted his nose for the smell, the horrible putrid rotting smell he met at the Manchester airport, or the houses in Raleigh and Hanover he scavenged for food. Other than a hint of mildew, the room was clean. Todd flashed his light and saw the bed was made. He flipped the deadbolt slider from the inside, assuring the door would stay open, and moved to the next door. Room after room was empty and contained clean linens. Todd unlocked the entire first floor.

  He walked out to the bonfire. Hubba rested in the sand next to Peter and Jamie in lounge chairs. A paper plate filled with pineapple, moose jerky, and gold fish crackers rested between them.

  “How did you do with the rooms?” Jamie asked.

  “See that building?” The resort had several buildings. Todd pointed to one behind him on the left side of the beach. “The entire first floor, twenty or so rooms, are all unlocked, unoccupied, and have clean linen. I can’t speak for bugs, but we are good to go for mattresses and sheets.”

  “You’re kidding.” Jamie said back. “There aren’t any bodies? How can that be?”

  “Jamie? I just flew on a jumbo jet from New Hampshire to Hawaii eight months after a plague killed every living soul on the planet. I have a dog when no other dogs or cats survived. I stopped asking questions like ‘how can that be’ a long time ago.” Todd held his hands out to his side and shook his head.

  “Would you mind if I went ahead and used one of the rooms?” Peter asked, sitting up. “I need to get some sleep.”

  “You can do whatever you want, Peter. Here is a lanyard with a key, but I will probably sleep with my door open or unlocked.” Todd tossed him a pink wrist lanyard with a key card.

  “I will too.” He stood up carefully. “It’s been a long day.” Peter said goodnight to Jamie. Hubba lifted his head and watched the tall old man walk towards the hotel. The sun was not down, but daylight was almost gone. There were millions of stars lighting the sky. A full moon reflected off the ocean.

  The bonfire made enough light for them to eat their fruit and enjoy the warm breeze coming off the water. The adrenaline loss Peter experienced swept through the group. The children were groggy, adults felt tired and sluggish, and the tribe made their way to the bedrooms.

  John and Solange were the only two left on the beach. He placed another piece of wood on the fire. They did not need the warmth, just the light the fire provided.

  Solange pushed two chaise lounge chairs together to snuggle with John. “Finally, weather I can enjoy.” She said to him as he sat down next to her.

  “It does feel nice to not have on long pants and a flannel shirt even when inside.” He put his arm under her back, and she shimmied next to him. They lay together, under the Hawaiian sky next to a fire on the tropical beach.

  “We have a lot of work ahead of us, but not as much as I thought.” John said to her. “There is food hanging from the trees and growing up from the ground. If we can catch fish and find water, we can survive here.”

  Solange had both arms around him, one under his back and the other across his chest. “It is incredible. Just the idea that we are not cold, that we can eat food without setting traps far from camp.” She looked up at him, her chin on his chest. “It is like this in Ecuador, but the snakes and bugs would swarm us off the plane, and the humidity, you would not like the humidity.”

  John did not reply, he held her and enjoyed the moment. There were towels hanging on the back of the chaise. John pulled them down to cover himself and Solange. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

  Solange continued to talk about Ecuador until she saw that he was asleep, his chest lifted and fell in a slow easy rhythm. He had a satisfied smile on his face, a tiny grin that told her he was having nice dreams. Solange put her head back on his chest. She did not fall asleep immediately. She listened to the waves lap the shore of the cove, and watched the fire dance in the night.

  59

  John and Solange were on the beach under half a dozen beach towels and next to a pit of smoldering black logs, when the roosters began to crow. It was in the low 70’s. The rising sun added degrees to the temperature every hour.

  Rooster after rooster crowed at the light.

  “Should we catch and eat one of them?” Solange asked without sarcasm. Her belly rumbled.

  “If you can, we’ll need more than one.” They spooned on the lounge chair. “I bet we have at least a few eggs from our own chickens. Maybe we start our breakfast with those.”

  “I do not want to get up.” She squeezed him. “But I will light the fire.” She stretched her arms out to the side. Solange went to where the bonfire had been, looking for embers she might bring to life. The fire was red in one spot. She used dry coconut husk to kick start the flame.

  John walked towards the parked SUV’s to check for eggs in the chicken cages. He pulled a dozen fresh eggs out of the cages, shooing away the native chickens that gathered around the cars. “I bet a few well placed kicks and I could have chickens for breakfast.”

  John believed a little hunger might motivate the younger people in the group to focus on work, instead of lounging on the beach like they did last night.

  The roosters brought the camp to life. People staggered out of the hotel and made their way to the beach. It was early, only a few minutes after sunrise, and while they had adjourned at 9pm, getting up at 5:45 was still painful.

  “How are we going to make coffee?” Melanie was a bear without her coffee.

  “I bet we can figure something out with the pouches in the rooms. We can use them like tea bags in a pot of water.” Paul needed his coffee too. Necessity was breeding invention.

  The sporadic crowing of roosters filled the air.

  Paul collected the one shot coffee pouches made for single serving coffee pots in the hotel rooms. He looked at the eight quart pot of water resting on the fire, and judged eight pouches would make strong coffee.

  “It’s a start.” He told Melanie.

  The famous fireplace grill set Rebecca and Greg used in their first house straddled the small beach fire, and easily accommodated the water pot and
a giant caste iron skillet. John cracked the eggs into the skillet, and began to scramble.

  “There isn’t a lot, but you can supplement with all the fruit you can find.” John did not inspire the group.

  Weak coffee from stale hotel pouches and half an egg each was a bad start to the day. Todd could not sit idle and watch it happen.

  “I love you, John, but please move aside.” He pulled two zip lock bags full of cooked rice out of the plastic bin. He seized the metal spatula from his brother. “Ahmed, can you tear some of this jerky into small pieces?” Todd used the spatula to finish scrambling the eggs and set them aside on a paper plate.

  Todd had small jars of olive oil and soy sauce in the bin too. He added oil to the skillet, dumped the cooked rice onto the oil, and fried the breakfast. “Throw the moose in as soon as it’s ready. Emily?” He looked at his wife. “Could you get some pineapple? It will add a lot of flavor.”

  “How about mango?” Avery asked as she chewed a ripe fruit. She held another mango in her other hand.

  “Perfect.” Todd accepted the fruit from her, tearing pieces of the mango with his finger and dropping it into the sizzling rice. When the rice and jerky were reheated, Todd dumped the eggs into the concoction, drizzled some soy sauce, and announced breakfast was ready.

  “That’s how we stretch our eggs.” Todd prepared for the first meal two days earlier, cooking the rice, and bagging the jerky, oil, and soy sauce.

  Despite his desire for motivational hunger, John was pleased with the larger meal.

  “It’s a little spicy.” Meredith said as she fanned her mouth. She was not used to flavorful foods. Her family stuck to a bland diet.

  “I mixed some garlic chili paste into the soy sauce to give it a little kick.” Todd was proud of himself, the fried rice was excellent. “I thought the mango would mellow the heat enough for you.”

  “It’s good.” The girl told him. “I’m still getting used to spicy.”

  Hank was the first to mention work. “We need to go to the plane and unload our supplies while it’s morning and not blazing hot. I bet it get’s over 85 by 10am. We don’t have to get it all unloaded this morning, but we need to start.”

  “We have to find a place to live, maybe get some larger vehicles. The livestock, they need food and water. Let’s focus our efforts on finding a farm, some houses, water.”

  Kelly wanted to move her animals to a comfortable, permanent place with food and water. The shock of their new environment along with the trauma of flying was a lot for an animal to take.

  “Okay.” Hank conceded. “I don’t mind shifting our priorities, but we need to motivate. We just used our rice. Our current cooking situation is crappy. Let’s get to the real estate office in town and move along with our plans. We have our entire lives to play in the water.”

  “Tony and I are going to catch some fish for lunch.” Craig announced.

  “We are?” Antonio looked at him.

  “Yeah, let’s go back to the airport, get the fishing stuff, start that Mustang you were talking about, and catch some fish.” Craig was eager to try out the new waters.

  “Okay, hold on.” John cut in. “We have to figure out where to meet. This is not a huge island, but it’s big enough that we could lose each other for a few days. Where are you going fishing, and where are you bringing all the fish you catch?” He was proud of Craig for taking initiative.

  Todd jumped up. “Hold on, you keep talking, I have an idea.” He ran back to the SUV’s.

  “If we are going to fish off the shore, we can throw lines in right here.” Antonio told John. “We just have to get the gear from the plane or try to find an outfitter here in town.”

  John nodded. “Okay, if you stay here, we won’t have to scour the beaches for you. Don’t forget to wear sun block and hats. This sun will burn the skin right off of you.”

  Todd came back to the beach carrying a large plastic container and what looked like a big walnut cracker. “Here’s what I need you to do.” He looked at Antonio and Craig. “I noticed a few lime trees. When you catch the fish, please fillet and chunk the meat into here, which I will have filled with lime juice and spices. It will cook the meat.”

  “Ceviche.” Solange announced.

  “Yeah, under the current conditions, it seems like the best plan.” Todd replied. “So, put the fish in here. At lunch, I’ll toss in avocado, mango, whatever else I can find, and we’ll have a great meal. If you get really lucky with the fishing, don’t put it all in here, save some for dinner, but put enough so we can all eat.”

  “Are you sure? We won’t get sick?” Antonio asked, skeptical of the plan.

  “It’s fresh fish, we aren’t going to get sick, and the acid from the lime cooks the meat. You’ll see. All the fish meat will be white. They do this off the coasts in Florida, Mexico, Central and South America. It’s great food.”

  “Whatever we catch?” Craig asked.

  “Whatever. Shrimp, lobster, fish, it all goes in here.”

  “Let’s do it little bro’.” Antonio scooped the last spoonfuls of fried rice into his mouth and walked towards the parking lot. Craig followed him, talking a mile a minute.

  Todd went to a grove of trees. He plucked limes and juiced them into the plastic container using the fancy lime juicer he acquired at a cooking store in Raleigh.

  “Alright, we have lunch squared away, hopefully. What else do we have to do?”

  “Mel and I will take the kids into town to walk around, find items we might need. Tropical clothing is first on our list.” Emily gave Melanie and Bernie a head nod.

  “Okay, the rest of us will hit the real estate office, and split up to find a farm or place to live. Kelly, are you going to tend to the animals?” Hank looked at the vet as she nodded in response.

  “Well, if no one else has anything to say, let’s rock.” Hank finished his food and put his plate in the plastic bag held by Rebecca.

  Peter walked towards him. “Do you mind if I supervise Tony and Craig. I am still run down.” The man looked exhausted.

  “The rest of us sat around while you flew the plane, take all the time you need.”

  Jamie stood behind him. “Peter, I’m going shopping with the gals, but I’ll bring you back something nice. Maybe a new hat.” She hugged Peter. Jamie made sure he had a few large bottles of water for himself and the fishermen. She told him to watch the sun, and go back to the room if he needed to.

  Paul got into Dan’s SUV. It was still parked right on the beach. Greg and Rebecca jumped into the backseat. “Hold on.” Dan advised them. He pushed the gas down and shot the big truck onto the sand. He turned left and gunned it, tearing down the beach with all of the windows down. Dan and Paul squealed with excitement. There was a small access path at the end of the beach. Dan turned the SUV onto it and soon found a paved road back to town.

  “Having fun?” Greg asked the men in the front seat.

  “You need to lighten up.” Rebecca told him. “You’re too serious.”

  Paul pulled a cd out of his backpack and slid it into the player. He and Dan turned the volume up when the first song played. They sang the entire 15 minute ride into town.

  The other people arrived at the parked SUV’s and had to figure out what to do with the chickens? Kelly suggested putting them in one of the hotel rooms with the door propped open and the cages blocking the entrance.

  Within minutes the chickens enjoyed scattered feed off the floor of a Hawaiian resort beachside bungalow. The wild local fowl strutted and clucked on the free side of a wire cage wall.

  The local real estate office kept detailed paper files on current listing. Folders contained residential descriptions and color photographs. A special ‘green’ section highlighted homes with alternative energy options. Farm files were in manila folders with tabs denoting crops and animals.

  The office had a large map of Kauai on the wall. John took the map down to use as a reference. He wanted to triangulate a living zone based on the farmi
ng areas and coastal fishing access. Walking and biking would soon be their mode of transportation. They could not live all over the island, and had to find a small area that fulfilled all of their needs.

  Rebecca researched Kauai while in Hanover. She drew a square on the map in an area on the northern shore.

  “It receives consistent rainfall, and the temperatures are warm but mild.” She explained. “The forest has wild pigs to hunt. We can fish on the coast, and the farmland is the best on the islands.”

  Rebecca knew finding empty homes from real estate listings was a short term solution. They needed to pick one area and clear the bodies out of the neighborhood. Sometimes, even though she knew the outcome, she let other people figure out the solution.

  Rebecca felt it was important for John to make the settlement decision. She put the square on the map and let him get to a solution on his own. She was reluctant to accept the mantle of tribe leader, though many of the members looked to her for answers and final decisions already.

  “Dad.” Matt said to his father. “We have too many people in here. You can handle this, and no offense, but Rebecca seems to have the solution already.” He looked towards the red headed genius. “The rest of us want to do some exploring, maybe find more lunch, get fishing tackle, towels, whatever.”

  John looked up from his stack of listings. “Just be back at the hotel for lunch.”

  “Dad, it’s not even 7am. How long do you think we could possibly take? It’s a tiny island. We’ll be there by 9am at the latest.” Matt and the other kids chuckled. Everyone was disoriented from the time change and the early morning wake up.

  “Oh, yeah, right, okay.” He waved them off, returning his attention to the farm listings. John spoke to Hank and Dan. “Let’s take a ride up to these farms, see if we can find any equipment that we can use to haul the cows and hogs.” He looked over to Paul, Ahmed, and Rebecca. “You three okay to keep working? We’re going to try and get a trailer for the livestock, get them to a cooler climate today.”