From where they were standing they could see where the edge of the water was. They had to get to it, but there was no way the girls and Elex could go through the water without being soaked.
“Guys,” Caleb said, “I think we’re going to have to go back and find another way.”
“Wait,” Maia said, asking Tye for his binoculars. She looked to see how far the water spread. It was as far as she could see to the left of them. They could try to cross at a different point along the way, but it was a dense forest, and they’d still have to navigate through the water, crisscrossing through trees and brush. There was no guarantee that route was any better than this one. Besides, she knew that area was dark. They never dared venture into it. On the right, it was nearly impossible to tell where it ended due to the sinkhole.
She chose this particular area where they were crossing because it had fewer obstacles. A path had already been cleared through the houses, fences, debris, boats, and cars that had piled up. It was best to try to head straight through this way.
She searched the land in front of them. Survivors abandoned the area months ago. It was once an old shopping center and fast food place, but now it looked like the city dump. She’d traveled through here many times and knew there was a variety of items that may be of use to them. Finally, she found something she believed could help them.
She handed the binoculars back to Tye. “Look straight ahead then move to about 2:30-ish. There’s a big, white ice chest there. Do you see it?”
“Yeah, I see it.”
“You and Junior can walk across first taking two of our bags with you. Once you get across one of you can get that ice chest, and the other can hide all the backpacks. Then both of you come back with the ice chest. We can put the rest of the bags and other stuff in the ice chest to float them across while the three of you carry us. That okay?” she asked.
“That might work. Junior lets grab the bags and go,” he said. “We have to move fast.”
“Hey—“ she said. “When you get past the Chick-Fil-A, you might not want to look in the direction of the store.”
Confused, he said, “Okay,” and began trudging.
While the two of them were wading through the water to the other side, the rest of the crew took a few steps back into the shallow water to secure themselves. Caleb was watching them cross and noticed there was one more problem to contend with. Just up ahead, there was an area of water about eleven foot wide that had a swift current moving through it. Tye nearly lost his footing when he stepped into it. He and Junior held on to each other to steady themselves, but that might be difficult to do when carrying other people across.
Once they made it to the other side, Tye dropped his backpacks and headed into the shopping center, past the Chick-Fil-A, to get the ice chest. When he got around the corner to the back of the fast food joint, he stopped dead in his tracks.
“Something’s wrong,” Caleb said.
Maia quickly grabbed the binoculars and took a look. She saw Tye bent over with his hand on the wall of the building, vomiting.
“Oh man, I told him not to look,” she sighed. Caleb raised his eyebrows. She continued, “Directly behind the Chick-Fil-A, there’s an old family grocery store. Dead bodies are everywhere. It’s not something you ever want to see.”
Within the first week after the flood, people were all too happy to take advantage of the chaos. Opportunists looted everything. They went after the necessities like food, water, medicine, and baby supplies but they also stole things they couldn’t use like TVs and laptops. They burned buildings, destroyed property, and murdered innocent people. It was a thousand times worse than what they’d witnessed during Hurricane Katrina. But the tragedy in this parking lot was different. This was people without hope doing desperate things to keep themselves and their families alive.
While their makeshift boots sunk into the mud, they inhaled the rotten egg and mold smell of the stagnant water. Every time they took a step to stop falling, they felt the suction pulling the plastic bag from their feet. The worse part was the menacing mosquitos. Somehow they located the areas where they forgot to apply the repellant. How they managed to find that one spot was mind-boggling, but Maia dug the spray out of her bag, and they doused themselves with it. Finally, Tye and Junior made their way back into the water.
“You okay?” she asked Tye.
“I’ve seen a lot of gory stuff in my lifetime, but I’ve never seen anything like that. Human beings don’t do that each other.”
The foul odor accosted them the moment Junior opened the ice chest. “Ohhh!” was echoed in unison as the rotten stink overtook them. He slammed it shut and said, “Now what?”
“I know it smells bad but if we put our stuff in trash bags then stick them in there it should be fine, right?” Caleb asked.
Everyone agreed. Junior held his breath and rinsed the ice chest as best as he could then placed their belongings securely inside. Tye duct taped it shut and tied a rope around the handles then Maia and Junior tied it to their hands. Those with pocket knives placed them within reach just in case the rope had to be cut.
Elex hopped on Junior’s back, Sadie climbed onto Tye’s, and Maia jumped on Caleb’s back. She held the handle on the one end of the ice chest while just behind her Junior held the other.
Just a few minutes later Tye spoke up, warning them that they were about to walk into the current. It was the same one he’d almost lost his footing in earlier. “I think the sinkhole is pulling the water and causing this current right here. That’s what’s washed away most of the soil underneath making it deeper. It’s slick too so be careful.”
They moved slowly through the water and exercised caution when going through the current. Maia’s arms were growing tired from stretching them back to hold the ice chest. Junior wasn’t moving as fast as they were.
With her chin, she tapped Caleb on the shoulder and said, “Hold on a second. Let him move up a bit.”
Just then the ice chest abruptly jerked her hand.
“No!” Junior yelled.
He slipped and fell backward. He was on top of Elex and couldn’t get a grip on anything to pull himself up. The boy was struggling underneath him.
Maia jumped off of Caleb and moved so he could help. He grabbed Junior and helped him to the side. Immediately after, he reached down and pulled his boy out of the murky water. He checked him to make sure he was okay. He shook, but he was breathing. “Hold on to something and wait here,” he told Maia. “I’ll be back.” Caleb grabbed his son and started walking towards the other side.
Maia exhaled, grateful that no one was hurt. With water now up to her waist, she examined her surroundings looking for something to hold on to. The ice chest had pushed itself into a cluster of trees that prevented it from being pulled down the current and Junior was dusting himself off and getting ready to move again. Surprisingly, the boy barely had any water on him. She turned to make sure Tye and Sadie were okay and immediately the ground gave way under her.
She struggled in the freezing water. Caleb turned back and saw what was happening. He gave Tye a look and then Tye dropped Sadie and Caleb bent down to help her jump on his back so he could get them out of there. Junior pushed himself against the ice chest to hold it, and Maia, in place. Sadie screamed, begging her dad to save Maia but she didn’t have to. He had no intention of letting anything happen to her.
The rope pulled hard enough that it felt as though it would pop her wrist. She garnered every bit of strength she could to pull herself up on the rope to hold her head above the water. It wasn’t easy. Twice she let go and felt the rope burn through her jacket, nearly pulling her sleeve off when it jerked as it caught. Then she’d feel the water rush over her once again.
Ty’s heart hammered in his chest at the sight of her struggling. He tried to get close to her, but the fast-moving current threatened to pull him under too. He tugged his belt off, threw it around the nearest tree to the ice chest, then threaded the end through the buckle. H
e wrapped it around his wrist a couple of times then edged his way to her. He yelled at her to let go of the rope and take hold of his hand.
Knowing she only had seconds left before her lungs burned with the icy water, or before the jacket was pulled off and she slid out of it and down the current, she tried again to pull up on the rope but she couldn’t. This couldn’t be it. She couldn’t die in this watery grave. She opened her eyes one last time and saw Tye standing over her. He was yelling at her and holding out his hand. She told herself, “Just one more time.” She struggled against the current to pull her hand out of the water and as soon as she did Tye grabbed onto her.
He fought to hold on, but eventually, he managed to yank her up out of the water. She gasped for air, but each time she strained to take a deep breath it felt like knives piercing her lungs. She slowed between breaths and coughed. Then she started shaking uncontrollably. When she finally caught her breath, she could hear Tye saying, “Oh my God, thank you. Thank you,” as he held her tight.
He loosened his grip on her then grabbed her face, “Are you all right? Look at me. Are you okay?”
It took a moment for her to realize what was happening. She shook her head yes. Junior cut the rope from her arm and grabbed the ice chest. Tye picked her up and carried her across where Caleb and the younger kids were waiting.
When they reached the other side, the three of them dropped to the ground. Caleb had already started cutting the faux boots off of Elex and Sadie. He only stopped long enough to check on Maia.
“We need to get them out of these wet clothes,” he said. “We shouldn’t have tried to cross there. We could’ve lost somebody.”
Tye surveyed the area looking for somewhere safe for them to change.
“It was our best option,” Tye said. “It could’ve been much worse crossing further down.” He pointed in the direction of the snowball stand and said, “We need to get inside there and do this.”
“Why?” Caleb asked him as he shook the water from Elex’s coat.
“You see how dark it is in there, even in daylight? I shined the flashlight out there near the tree line, and I saw several pairs of eyes. I don’t know what it is, but I can tell you they’re big.”
“And you didn’t say anything?” Caleb asked.
“Then everybody would’ve been freaking out like y’all are now.”
“It’s not deer?” Caleb asked.
“No, the eyes are too close to the ground and too far apart. Alligators and bears should be hibernating because of the cold. It could be feral hogs, a big ol' coyote, animals from the zoo. I don’t know, but I don’t think we should sit here and wait to find out.”
Caleb had nearly all of Elex’s clothes off, but he threw everything into a pile and wrapped it up in the jacket. Then he wrapped his boy in a mylar blanket, picked him up and walked over to the snowball stand. The door was open, so he peeked in to make sure it was unoccupied.
The rest of the crew made their way over. Caleb was already inside with Elex. Tye tossed their stuff on the floor inside and sent the girls inside. There was a freezer in the back, so he jumped on top of it and lifted Junior onto the roof to keep guard while they changed.
Caleb finished undressing Elex and put his dry clothes on him. Tye helped Sadie do the same. Maia caught Caleb’s attention. His eyes met hers, and it caused her to focus. She realized her sinuses burned at the bridge each time she took a breath.
Caleb noticed she was pale, her lips, nose, and fingers turned blue, and she shook so uncontrollably that she couldn’t hold the knife still, let alone cut through the tape.
“Maia…” he said.
Her mouth hung open. She tried to mouth the words, “I can’t,” but her muscles weren’t cooperating. Caleb rushed to her, took the knife, and started slicing through the tape to remove the bag. Tye finished with Sadie and instructed her and Elex to do jumping jacks to warm up.
Once Caleb got her down to her underwear, he dried her off with a towel as best as he could. Tye pulled a couple of hand warmers and blankets out of his bag. He put hand warmers under her feet, in her hands, and behind her neck then wrapped the blankets around her. He squeezed the water out of her hair and put it in a ponytail the way he used to do for Sadie and Lanie when they were little, and then he tucked it under a dry beanie. Caleb wrapped the thermal blanket around her over the other blankets, and they began moving her limbs to produce heat.
Once her breathing picked up, and she was able to move her legs and arms on her own, Tye stepped outside to check on Junior. “You all right up there?”
“Yeah, I saw what looked like a pack of red wolves come out of those woods over there. They were huge. You think that’s what you saw earlier?”
“Could be. Let us know if they come this way. Are you warm enough? Can you keep watch a bit longer?”
“I’m good,” Junior said. The wind blew fiercely at that elevated spot, but he’d wrapped himself in a mylar blanket with a heat pack and was able to keep warm.
Caleb searched the cramped building for his bag and Maia’s. He found a massive colony of ants that feasted on the fruit flavored sugar concoctions left behind. Maia felt warm enough to get dressed. She too looked around for her bag, and the thought hit her, “Caleb, our bags are in the ice chest.”
No one wanted to open that ice chest. Junior opened it twice already, so he refused to do it again. Besides, he was standing watch. “One of you two will have to do it,” she said pulling the ace bandages off of her. “Please hurry. I don’t want to get cold again.”
Tye and Caleb were adults about it. They played rock, paper, scissors to see who would get the privilege. Tye had the best two out of three. Caleb lost. He dragged the ice chest a few yards away. They couldn’t help but laugh when he gagged. The tension in Tye’s body finally released at the sound of Maia’s laughter. He walked over to her and dropped to his knees. He buried his head in her chest and hugged her tight. She latched onto him and didn’t want to let go.
Caleb pulled the bags out of the plastic and brought them inside. Thankfully, the garbage bags had kept the stench off of their backpacks. The guys turned away and made sure the kids did the same, allowing Maia to rewrap her breasts and put her dry clothes on. As she tied her shoes, she was thankful that they were dry. The water had only seeped to past the knee on her jeans thanks to the plastic bag boots.
Maia and the kids stayed huddled up in the small building while Tye stepped outside to put on dry clothes.
Tye stripped down. “Fin…” Tye said. “Come see.”
Caleb moved closer to Tye. “You need help, darlin?” he joked.
Tye peeked in the window and made sure Maia and the kids weren’t paying attention to them. “What do you think all of that was about earlier? With Jason?”
“I don’t know, but whatever it was must have been severe enough to kill a man over.”
“She was kind of vague last night.” He paused. “You think she was raped?” Tye asked.
Caleb blew his cheeks out then slowly released the air. “I think it’s very likely. I doubt there are many women still alive who haven’t been.” Even as he said it, he realized that included Kerri. “I’m sure she experienced lots of other stuff too. I’ve been wracking my brain for the last couple hours thinking about how we can help her get past it.”
Tye said, “It’s like, either she was raped, and she separated herself from it and won’t accept it. Or, she believes all that stuff she said last night so getting raped isn’t that far off from getting beaten to her. I don’t know.”
Caleb replied, “I believe all that stuff she said last night.” Tye looked at him, then leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. Caleb touched his friend on the shoulder then looked him in the eye. “It doesn’t change who she is, man. You know that.”
“No, but it sure as hell explains a lot.” He hung his head for a moment then he thrust his hands up and clenched his fists. “I should’ve trained her harder or got in touch with her when she quit going
to class. If we’d have left sooner then maybe we would’ve found her before—”
“No, you can’t do that. Don’t do that,” Caleb said. “This ain't your fault. You couldn’t have prevented this. Shit happens, man, especially now. She’s strong. She can get past this. You can help her.”
Tye moved his palm back and forth across his chest and exhaled deeply. He stepped into his dry pants. “We don’t pry, not directly anyway. We support her. We listen to her. We remind her that none of it is her fault. Mostly, we don’t expect her to get past it. That’s what we were taught anyway.” He put on a clean shirt and sat down to put his boots back on. “A lot of the women who came through my classes had already been victimized. Some of them wouldn’t even let me get close enough to train them properly. I’m just glad she isn’t like that. I don’t know if I could deal with it if she were.”
Caleb got closer to him and said, “Dude, when are you going to admit you got a thing for her?” He smirked and took a step back.
A grin broke through his serious demeanor. “Why would you think that?”
“Heh,” Caleb huffed. “It’s almost sad really. The women who are left would give anything to find someone who’ll protect and provide and the men just want someone who’ll be loyal, someone willing to make it work. They don’t care about feelings, chemistry, love, trust, or even attraction, apparently. The two of you have all of that, and you’re pussyfooting around it because you feel like it’s betraying your wife and friend and her because she thinks she’s unfit and broken now, like she’s unworthy of you.”
Tye lowered himself to the ground thinking about what he just heard. Caleb sat beside him. “Dude, if your wife had to pick someone for you what kind of woman do you think it would be? And if her husband had to pick someone for her don’t you think he’d have you on that short list? I know what I’d think if it were me. It’s not betrayal. Don’t let her get too far from you. She’s the kind that won’t come back. Look at her with that Jason douchebag. If you wait too long, it’ll be like you proved her point, that she's unworthy.” He slapped him on the knee and sorted through his backpack looking for lip ointment.
Amitola: The Making of a Tribe Page 29
