“Come in. Allen and Jason will be here soon.”
She led them to the living area and offered them a drink. Maia had a seat on the high back, espresso tinted, leather sofa to the right of the stone hearth that warmed the heart of the room. Tye followed suit sitting right beside her. Caleb sat down in the recliner closest to them. It was made of a cocoa brown leather and resembled the ones from the 1930s at Manhattan nightclubs. It was toasty inside compared to the chill they dealt with outside.
“Is that his wife?” Caleb asked.
“No, that’s Karen. She’s his baby mama,” she said. “His wife found out she couldn’t have kids a few years ago. They were doing in vitro but then all of this happened so, Karen is giving him babies. She’s one of the women pregnant for him now anyway. The truth is she’s been a kept woman for years.”
Tye shook his head in disbelief. “I have no problem with the way other people choose to live their life as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone, but I’d be lying if I said I thought these people had a lick of sense when it comes to relationships.”
Caleb looked around. “Did we see all of this last time?” he asked.
“No, we only went into the external bedroom. It’s just a hall with a bathroom and a bedroom. You were that out of it?” she grinned.
“I guess so.”
Allen’s place was an outdoorsman’s dream. It was wall to ceiling cypress planks, handcrafted and stained to perfection by his great-grandfather. Deer, turkey, duck, and fish trophies trimmed the wall making the already enormous height of the ceiling appear more significant. Almost every fixture and piece of decor was reused or repurposed from something else.
“Are you feeling better now?” Maia asked.
“Much better. I’m going find me a waterboarding pot as soon as we get settled. I’ve never gotten rid of a headache so fast.”
"It's a neti pot," Maia corrected him.
Karen walked in with their drinks and sat them on the old barn door that now served as a coffee table.
Changing the subject, Tye asked Maia, “How did you manage to make thousands of dollars a month hustling, anyway?”
“Oh my gosh, it was just a few hundred a month. Only once did we earn a over a thousand,” she said. “And it was easy. People get dumb, judgmental, and emotional when they’re drinking. The men believed I couldn’t play, didn’t think a girl should be on the table, and then they’d get mad when I’d make the shot.”
Maia took a sip then continued, “They’d end up betting big to teach us a lesson, and we’d win big and teach them one instead.”
Jason, having just walked in with Allen, chimed in, “What she’s saying is she kills it on the table, knows how to bat her eyes and shake her tail, and she’s really good at pissing men off.” She stared at him. “I’m kidding! I’m kidding, really,” Jason said, taking a seat beside her on the couch. “Chill out, girl.”
Allen sat in the other recliner beside Caleb. A rustic accent table made of reclaimed wood and forged iron separated them. On top of it was a time-worn lamp made to resemble the traditional street lights of Europe. Three pillar candles of different heights were secure inside of it; their light casting shadows in such a way that it showed the age of the man who’d just taken a seat.
Their tribe had only been formed a few short days ago, but already Caleb was taking the reins. He leaned forward. “Why are we here?”
Allen took a deep breath, “First, let’s clear the air. Maia, I know you don’t sleep with Tony or Jason. What you do with either of them is your business. I make a big deal about it like I do because I don’t want anyone else figuring it out. I’m not going to force you to do anything, but I’d like for you to at least appear to be compliant for my sake. I don’t like him having to nudge you so much to make it look real because then it makes it look like we’re forcing you.”
Maia took a deep breath like she was about to say something, so he held his hand up to stop her. He hesitated then he looked over at Tye, “I also know you weren’t with Kat today. And if that was your choice that’s fine. I’m okay with that. But I have a feeling Tony put it in her head to fuss about it because he knows Maia gets away with it. So if that’s the case, she knows my rules for those who live here, and they have to go.”
Maia’s heart dropped. She and Caleb both looked at each other bewildered. They had seen them kissing, and they knew he’d been at her house for an hour or more. Tye started fidgeting. He was obviously uncomfortable.
Jason interrupted, “That’s why I waited for Tony to leave earlier so that we could talk about this privately. And that’s why I told you Allen said it was just me tonight and that he was going to send someone to check on us yadda, yadda. We had to take Tony out of the equation, make him think Allen’s tightened the reigns. We have to get Kat to comply again.”
Tye looked like he was about to get bent out of shape. “Wait a minute. That was me. I chose not to have sex. That wasn’t her. I know she let Tony think different and I have no problem with that, but I’m telling you, she did everything she could to seduce me so don’t take anything out on her.”
“Good, let’s come back to that. We have more pressing things to talk about right now,” he continued, now speaking to Maia, “We need to discuss something.”
Allen pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to Maia. It was a photo of her when she was a teenager. On the back was a notation that read, “I love you! -Maia” then in newer ink it read, “Cameron She’s ours. Full benefits: room, board, wine & women for two years to the man that delivers her. -SOL”
“What’s this?” Maia asked.
“We don’t know. We were hoping you could tell us. Do you know who you gave this to? Who is SOL? Or, who would want you so bad that they’d put a bounty on you?” Allen asked her.
“I don’t know…”
“Did you cheat on your husband or anything we need to know about?” Jason asked.
She gasped, “Did you really just ask me that? No, I didn’t! I never cheated on Lance.”
“Could that be one of your brother’s handwriting?” Allen asked.
She thought about her brothers Rob, Mark, and Travis. They were her world. She was close to all of them, but her older brother Rob was always her hero and best friend. They were Irish twins born just eleven months apart. She hoped she’d see all of her brothers again but since Mark was stationed in Germany and Travis was on base at Camp Pendleton when the world went into chaos, she knew it wasn’t likely. At least there was hope that she'd find Rob.
“I know it’s not Rob because we both have horrible handwriting, but I don’t know about Mark and Travis. You would think I could say for sure, but I don’t know. I don’t remember their handwriting. We texted and talked on the phone. I…” she was suddenly full of regret over not spending time learning more about her brothers. “I do know they would’ve included my married name though. Where’d you get this?”
Caleb and Tye were dumbfounded. They both examined the photo and the note on the back and were trying to keep up with the conversation.
“I found it,” Jason hesitated, “on one of the dog hunters we killed today. There were other photos with it.” He handed them to her.
She looked through them. Some of them were old photos, but most of them were new. On the backs of all of them were names and similar offers. Nothing about hers stood out as opposed to the others. She couldn’t imagine why individual women had been singled out or how they even knew they were still alive.
Re-reading the backs of the photos, she noticed only two others that had “SOL” on them. One of them was an older photo like hers, and the girl seemed vaguely familiar. She grabbed her bag and pulled out her cell phone to take a picture of the fronts and backs of them. The phone couldn’t be used for much else, but as long as she charged it, she could still use it to take photos and most importantly, to look at her old videos and snapshots. As tempted as she was to sneak a peek at them now, she took the photo and powered it down to conserve the
battery.
Jason put his hand on her knee, “I’m saying this in front of everyone here. I meant what I said earlier. I want us back. I want you to stay here…with me. That way I can protect you.”
“Absolutely not. No,” she said.
“He’s right. We can protect you here, but if you go out there, we can’t do much for you. They can’t chase you around everywhere you go,” Allen said.
Caleb interjected, “She has us now. You don’t need to chase her around. We can protect her. Besides, once we get where we’re going, she won’t have to leave again. We’ll take care of everything.”
“Excuse me, but from what I saw today you need someone protecting you,” Jason arrogantly stated.
Maia sat up straight and cracked her knuckles. “Really? Because Tony and the rest of the guys said they were impressed with how well they handled themselves. Hebert said he didn’t think they even needed help.”
Voices echoed over one another, shouting and arguing ensued. Tye and Jason were going back and forth. Caleb and Allen were speaking loud but civil.
Maia felt her blood boiling. “Stop! Thank you for your offer, Allen, but I am more than good where I am, especially now that Tye and Caleb are with us. If that changes, I promise you’ll be the first to know.”
Tye had his hand on the back of the couch and when she was done talking he tapped her shoulder and pulled her closer to him and further away from Jason. He was making a statement, and she obliged. He was getting tired of Jason’s contrived idea that he was the only one who could take care of her. They could do it just as well or better than him since they weren’t asking for anything in return.
Allen countered, “I will respect any decision you make but just to let you know, I wouldn’t expect you to do the same things the other women here do as long as you pretend that you do.”
“I’m just curious. You seem to be awful bent on everyone complying yet you don’t expect her to. Why?” Caleb asked.
He snickered. “I know most of these women. I ran a bar and grill for over twenty years. I know their types even if I don’t know them personally. I give her special treatment because I know she never did nor will she ever sleep around. These other girls do. And these girls agreed to it to stay here. They wanted to. They only stop wanting it once they get pregnant which I understand but with so many of them pregnant now it limits us as to who can entertain the men in the community and guests.”
“Without even jumping on the idea of how wrong that sounds regardless of how many people a person has slept with, why is that necessary? Why do they have to have sex with the men?” Caleb asked.
“I do what I do, how I do it because people have to have something to fight for and a reason to come back to it. Otherwise, they’re constantly looking for something better, and they’ll sell you out to get it. I do this to protect all of us. In case you haven’t noticed there aren’t many women left. The men here have room, board, entertainment, training, clothing, booze, women…” Allen continued, “…they have a reason to fight for it. They have a reason to take pride in the work they put into it.”
Caleb didn’t know what to think of what Allen was saying. There were so many implications he hadn’t considered. He still had the frame of mind that he had a wife. But what if he didn’t? Would that change his perspective? Allen gave him a lot more to consider.
Allen looked over at Tye, “Getting back to what we were talking about earlier. Why did you turn her down? Are you gay because we have men here too—“
“No, no,” he laughed. “Oh man, no. No.. I just…look, I was going to. I wanted to. I thought about it, but I changed my mind. It was personal reasons. That’s all.”
“Well, if you didn’t like her we have several other women.”
“Thank you. I appreciate the offer, but I just lost my wife and I…I just rather not.”
He looked at Caleb. “What about you?”
“Oh, I’m still married.”
“Oh. Where is she?”
“She’s on her way here.”
Allen nodded then said, “You expect me to believe you never cheated on your wife? I’ve seen the way you look at these girls. Sunny, especially. She got some nice ones, huh?”
“Don’t get me wrong, Sunny’s a great girl, but I’m married. And look this is my second marriage, yes, I’ve made mistakes in my past, but I’ve learned what it feels like when the tables turn. I don't like it. And before you say it, I don’t care if there was no possible way she’d ever find out. I made her a promise, and if I broke it, I’d have to live with that.”
He drank the rest of his rum and water and stared in silence. His first marriage was littered with transgressions. Even in his late twenties, he married too young and for the wrong reasons. They divorced less than seven years later. His subsequent marriage to Kerri taught him life lessons he wished he’d never have to learn, but they fought hard to build a marriage that was fulfilling and worth fighting for, even now. He only wanted more than anything for them to be fighting together instead of not knowing where she was.
“Do you know anything about the kids FEMA took?” Tye asked.
“That is a million dollar question, and I’m searching for the answer myself. In fact, I have a heaping reward for anyone who can lead me to them. A lot of our people’s children were kidnapped before they got here. At last count, we were searching for fifty-two of them. I’ll give you all of the information I have, but I’d like for you to keep me informed of any new leads.”
“Deal,” Tye said shaking his hand.
For a brief time, things were quiet. Karen brought more drinks and offered them cigars. They chose between Montecristo, Padron, Macanudo, and Punch cigars. They picked them up one by one and inhaled the fragrance of the cigar to get an idea of the flavor. The cigar they kept was cut and lit with, of course, cedarwood spills. Finally, with a gentle puff, they savored it on their palate.
“I’ll give you quite a stash of these to take with you. I knew where to find a warehouse full of them once the end of the world crept up on us,” Allen said. “Speaking of, there’s something else I’d like for you to take with you.”
He looked over at Karen and motioned to her to bring something to him. She left the room.
“I’ll also send you with a supply of vaccinations, antibiotics, painkillers, about ten birthing kits, cosmetics, batteries, and ammunition,” Allen continued, “and if you need something else that you know I have an abundant supply of then let me know.”
“In exchange for?” Maia asked.
“I need at least two hundred gallons of gas to start. We can make additional agreements once that starts dwindling.”
“What makes you think we can find that much fuel?” she asked him.
“I know how you code your journal. I saw how much fuel you have,” Jason said.
“You read my notes?” she yelled, turning to look at Allen as if he should do something.
“Dude, what's your problem?” Caleb asked him.
“I wanted to see if I could figure out who’d be after you so, yeah, I read it,” he replied.
“I cannot tell you how happy I am to see the mess he made of your face. You are such an ass,” she said.
She knew he was lying to her. He read it because he is a control freak, always has been. For all the times he protected her name and kept her safe he was also one of the main ones who manipulated her. She was upset that he had read her notebook, but now that the deal was in front of them they couldn’t pass it up.
She asked Caleb and Tye to follow her so they could talk. They stepped out onto the huge screened in back porch where the crackling heat from the outdoor fireplace warmed them.
“You have that much fuel?” Tye asked.
“Okay, look. I have a fuel truck, hidden. It has about 9,000 gallons in it according to the logs.”
“Nine-thousand--” Caleb was shocked. “That wasn’t on your list.”
“Because it isn’t in Amitola. I don’t know if it’s still where
we hid it. I only told you the things I was certain of.”
“Where is it?” Caleb asked.
“We drove it to a junkyard and disguised it. It’s less than an hour from Amitola. I don’t want them knowing where it is though. I don’t trust them in that way.”
“I don’t know how you trust them at all,” Tye said, “but we need that stuff.”
“You’re right, man,” Caleb said.
He turned to Maia, “Just so we’re clear. Are you going to let me handle this? I need to let him know he deals with me or he doesn’t deal at all. It won’t work if you undermine me in there so if you want to do this, you need to let me know now.”
She thought for a minute. If she were ever to give up any control, it would be best to start by letting him negotiate with Allen. The mere idea of it made her cringe, but she couldn’t keep leaving Amitola if she wanted to survive. Eventually, someone else had to represent them. “Yeah, you handle it.”
They took a few more minutes to speak about specifics of what they needed and how much. Caleb and Tye got a crash course in post-apocalyptic sex, pregnancy, and birthing. Neither of them ever dreamed they’d have to be so informed about such things, yet here they were.
“All right, let’s do this.”
The trio walked back into the cabin. Caleb returned to his spot in the recliner. Tye and Maia sat on the leather sofa opposite of the one they had been sitting on before. Jason just shook his head and laughed. These two were more like ex-spouses than former partners.
Allen blew out his cigar smoke, “So, what’s it going to be, Maia?”
“First, you deal with me, or there’s no deal at all.” Caleb held his cigar with his teeth while he pulled his pocket notebook and pen from his backpack. Even when he didn’t need to he still carried it with him.
Allen hesitated to respond and glanced over at Maia attempting to give her a chance to speak up. She looked at Allen, shook her head yes, and looked back at Caleb.
Amitola: The Making of a Tribe Page 22
