The Survivors (Book 2): Autumn

by Dreyer, V. L.

  I looked at the man who carried my unconscious sister, and tilted my head towards the truck. Understanding my gesture, he carried her over and placed her gently in the passenger seat, and then stood back, looking at me with uncertainty. All of them were looking at me, I realised suddenly: the two strangers, their teenage son, Michael, Doc, and even the dog. They were waiting for me to say something, to make some monumental decision that would somehow make everything okay.

  I drew a deep breath and fumbled with my thoughts for a moment, then looked at the strangers and carefully set an expression on my face that was both firm and kind at the same time. At least, I hoped it was; this whole leadership thing was kind of new to me.

  “I don’t think I need to tell you what you’ve done to us here,” I gestured behind me, to the building wreathed in flame. Frantic figures ran back and forth, silhouetted against the fire: Hemi and his team, hard at work trying to extinguish the damage these strangers had done. The man and the teenager looked down, guilt clearly written across their faces. The woman glared at them, then looked back at me.

  “They weren’t meant to do that,” she explained, obviously trying hard to keep her anger under control. “I only sent them to trade for food.”

  “I know. We heard everything.” I shook my head and gave her the faintest of smiles. “Accidents happen, unfortunately. This was an accident. As such, I’m willing to offer you a choice. You can either leave now and take your chances on the road, or we can work out an alternative.”

  “What kind of alternative?” The woman’s expression flickered; the firelight playing across her features made it hard to work out exactly what she was thinking. I took another deep breath and plunged ahead anyway.

  “We need friends, miss. I think we both do. Friendship and trust are the only way we can prevent things like this from happening again.” I pointed to the car full of children, their little faces ghostly pale as they stared at us through the windows. “It’s the only way that we can protect them from the terrible things in the darkness. My alternative is this: stay with us and help us put this right, and then we can look towards the future together – for our children.”

  The strangers stared at me, looking shocked beyond words by the generosity of my offer. At first, they had no response, so I smiled and sweetened the deal a little. “We have food here, and a real doctor. This man beside me was a police officer, and still lives by the ethos to protect and serve. We are good people, and we’re happy to share what we have with other good people, so long as those people are willing to help us in return.”

  “Help you to do what?” the woman asked softly, her expression flickering between hope and concern.

  “To rebuild. To recreate what we lost.” I reached out towards her and placed a gentle hand upon her shoulder. “For the sake of the next generation, we have to look to the future and stop living in the ruins of yesterday’s world. We have to plan for tomorrow, and work towards a common goal. We have to find something to hope for.

  “We’ve all spent the last ten years scavenging, but if we want to survive another decade, then we have to invest in our future together.” I squeezed her shoulder and smiled at her. looking her straight in the eye. “My name is Sandrine McDermott, and I say that merely surviving is no longer enough.”

  ***

  To be continued, in The Survivors Book III: Winter.

  The Cast

  THE NARRATOR

  Sandrine "Sandy" McDermott

  THE OHAUPO GROUP

  Michael Chan

  Doctor Stewart Cross

  Madeline "Maddy" Cross

  Ryan Knowles

  Skylar "Skye" McDermott

  THE PARATA TRIBE OF LAKE RUATUNA

  Anahera Parata

  Hemi Parata

  Ropata Parata

  Iorangi Parata

  Tane Parata

  Richard Parata

  THE ARAPUNI GROUP:

  Jim Merrit

  Rebecca Merrit

  MISCELLANEOUS:

  Lee Hawera

  Priyanka

  Alfred the Stray

  DECEASED:

  Sophie Chan, niece of Michael.

  Dog, member of the Ohaupo group.

  Kylie McDermott, mother of Skye & Sandy

  Roger McDermott, father of Skye & Sandy

  Everyone else in the whole world.

  May they rest in peace.

  Kiwiana Language Guide

  Aotearoa

  The Maori name for New Zealand, literally “The Land Of The Long White Cloud”.

  Bush

  Specifically, “native bush”. This term refers to an area of native forest, which is characterised by a particularly thick shrub layer dominated by indigenous ferns and bushes – hence the colloquialism. Native bush is often very thick and dark, and can be very difficult to travel through as a result.

  Cark It

  To die. Example: “We were half-way to Tauranga when the car carked it.”

  G'day

  Colloquial version of “Good day”.

  Hangi

  Maori culture, an underground oven used to cook food.

  Hongi

  Maori culture, the pressing together of the nose and forehead in a greeting. Used in a similar fashion to the handshake in Western culture. Symbolises the mixing of the breath of life integral to Maori folklore.

  Kai

  Maori, “Food”.

  Kia Ora

  Maori, “Hello”.

  Kumara

  A sweet potato.

  Maori

  Relating to the original peoples of New Zealand. May be used to refer to their cultural traits (e.g. “she tried to live by the traditional Maori ways.”), language (e.g. “he spoke Maori.”) or ethnicity (e.g. “my grandmother was Maori”). The Maori culture evolved from Polynesian migrants that arrived in New Zealand around 1,000 years ago.

  Mate

  A contextually sensitive word that is usually used in place of the word “friend”. Can be used sarcastically or in threat just as readily as being used in a friendly fashion, e.g. “You’re going to regret that, mate.”

  Pā

  Maori, can refer to a village or settlement, but usually describes a hill fort.

  Rēwena

  Maori, literally “ferment/rise”. In terms of bread, it refers to a traditional Maori potato bread.

  Credits

  Concept & Story: Victoria L. Dreyer

  Editing: Holly Simmons

  Cover Art: Alais Legrand

  Graphic Design: Alyssa Talboys

  ***

  FINANCIAL SUPPORT

  Prior to the release of this novel, the author ran an online fundraising campaign to help with the costs. Without the generosity of these lovely people, The Survivors Book II may not have been possible.

  Donna Gray

  Hazel Godwin (Craves The Angst)

  Rachael Babbington

  Rebecca Rakes

  Rebekah Andrews

  Sarah Hayward

  And of course, the anonymous donators who requested not to be named. Thank you.

  About The Author

  Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Victoria Dreyer began her career in the most peculiar of ways – as the writer and illustrator of graphic novels. Although her ultimate dream was always to become a novelist, she spent many years exploring other mediums before finally returning to the one she felt most comfortable with – the written word.

  Ms Dreyer is a voracious reader, and in addition to the post-apocalyptic genre she also enjoys reading and writing science fiction, modern fantasy, and the paranormal romance genres. Her primary works include the Immortelle series under the moniker Abigail Hawk, and numerous short stories.

  She currently resides in West Auckland with several flatmates, a large collection of books, and two very spoilt cats.

  http://www.vldreyer.com

  https://www.facebook.com/VictoriaLDreyer

  https://twitter.com/VL_Dreyer

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  Dreyer, V. L., The Survivors (Book 2): Autumn