The Human Spring

by Hollingsworth, David

  “How am I gonna watch her if she’s over there?” Deon asked. “Ain’t any good places to watch her from where I’ll be. I’d have to cross the street multiple times just to get there, I’d blow my cover.”

  “That is why you will not like the answer. Julie shall go unwatched until she gets to the second row of houses.”

  Everyone recoiled at Cecilia’s answer.

  “No way,” Deon objected as he slapped the table. “We can’t risk her safety like that! She never even dealt with a normal zombie before.” Ryan nodded in agreement.

  “I had no intention of going through with it if she did not agree with it,” Cecilia told him. “But she already has.”

  “What if she feels pressured though?” Deon asked. “Not that anyone here would pressure her like that, but I know she don’t feel good about never facing zombies. What if she goes with it out of guilt?”

  “Well, either way, the decision is hers,” Cecilia replied.

  “I agree with Cecilia,” Sarah chimed in. “I personally don’t like the idea, but I think we should let her decide.”

  Deon grimaced. “I guess. I just wanna make sure she don’t feel pressured.”

  Ehsan and Fatima exchanged glances. Ehsan could tell she liked the idea as little as he did.

  “So, where exactly should the search party go scout?” Mateo asked.

  Cecilia took a few seconds to collect her thoughts. “I believe we should only scout along the path from the clinic to the school. I want to avoid anything happening to our search party, after all.” She cleared her throat. “If anyone has any further ideas about the plan, feel free to tell me later. There is more we need to discuss now, however. With a discovery like this, we must fortify our defenses even further.”

  “What were you thinking?” Mateo asked.

  “We should start with building trenches in front of the school. We must also step up patrols to the rest of the school.”

  “Agreed,” Fatima said. Everyone else nodded.

  “One last question, though,” Ryan said. Everyone turned to him. “What about tonight’s welcome party?”

  Ehsan had completely forgotten about the party. He exchanged glances with Fatima, who also seemed to have forgotten. He bowed his head. The welcome would have to wait. He looked to Cecilia, ready to assure her and everyone else that he wouldn’t mind the party being pushed back.

  “We can still have it.” Everyone looked at her, completely taken aback. Ehsan tilted his head, unsure if he heard her right. She noticed everyone’s response and repeated herself. “Yes, we can still have it. We just need to be careful.”

  Are you sure?” Fatima asked, the most thrown of everyone.

  “Yes. To be frank, there is no guarantee tomorrow’s plan will work. We should have fun tonight, because we might not get the chance for a while.” A rare smile crept across her face. “Besides, I could use the fun, too.”

  The group decided to start with building trenches in front of the school. Cecilia put Fatima on lookout duty while Ehsan, Mateo, Josue, Ryan, Deon, Marcus, and Manuel dug the trenches in the lawn in front of the school. Marcus reminded Mateo and Ryan not to work too hard, as they were still recovering, while Ehsan and Deon also took it easy after the ordeal they had been through earlier. Sarah alternated between assisting in the digging and patrolling the area near the chicken coop. Ehsan worried for her, but Cecilia had reassured the group a sprinter was unlikely to show up. She reasoned that if the person in the window made the sprinter, they needed time to make more, and if it were some sort of mutation, it’d be highly unlikely to reoccur so soon after only encountering the first a year into the apocalypse.

  Cecilia and Julie brought the kids to watch the trench digging. “I thought about it, and I decided this would be a good way to show them how real the threat is without terrifying them,” Cecilia explained. “We want them to feel safe, but also know they must be on alert.”

  Cecilia came out to help dig while Julie watched the kids. Sebastian, the oldest of the kids, asked if he could come out and help. Cecilia didn’t like the idea, but everyone except for Fatima and Deon thought it would be good for him. Ehsan and Mateo promised that they would personally look out for his safety. Sebastian’s digging spot was the closest to the gate.

  “You’re doing great,” Mateo told Sebastian with a pat on the back after a while.

  Sebastian smiled. “Thank you. I want to be able to help, too.”

  “Well you’re doing a good job,” Ehsan commented, dropping a particularly large scoop of dirt onto the pile next to him. He wiped the sweat from his brow. “Don’t get too into it, though. I don’t want you to get stronger than me.”

  Mateo, Sarah, Josue, and Sebastian laughed. They continued working, with Manuel and Josue putting in the most work. The group dug three rows the entire width of the lawn, each about two feet deep and two feet across. Enough to trip up any incoming zombies without being too much of a hassle for the group if they ever needed to rush back to the school. The rows were about a yard away from each other.

  On the way back in, Cecilia beckoned Ehsan and Fatima over. Cecilia told them that she and Mateo would go on guard duty instead of Ehsan and Fatima because of their encounter with the sprinting zombie earlier. She wanted them to rest.

  “You think this plan will work?” Ehsan asked his sister as they settled into their room. He took off the clothes he had been wearing in favor of a tank top and basketball shorts.

  “I hope so,” Fatima responded as she laid down on the couch, having already changed. “If not, we are back to square one.”

  “Yeah.” Ehsan sighed and laid down on the bedding on the ground. “Man, I still can’t believe we saw a sprinting zombie.”

  “Neither can I. I cannot even imagine how they got a zombie to run like that. Who knows what else they can do?”

  Ehsan felt some of the dread he had experienced earlier well up in his stomach. “Should we even have the party tonight?”

  “I was wondering the same thing. Personally, I do not feel comfortable,” Fatima replied. “Cecilia seems certain we can do it, though, and unnecessary risks are not her thing. I suppose we will be alright, as long as we avoid getting too wild.”

  “I dunno, pretty sure Ana and Estefanía are looking to get crazy.”

  Fatima chuckled, then frowned jokingly. “I thought the silver lining of today would be less jokes from you.”

  Ehsan sat up and pretended to be upset. “I thought they’re what kept you going?”

  “Kept me rolling my eyes, maybe,” she shot back. She looked Ehsan directly in the eyes and her look suddenly became one of a warm, curious empathy. She smiled a soothing smile that reminded him of mom. “Jokes aside, though, it was scary. Ehsan, if you do ever want to talk more about how everything is affecting you, I’m always here. I hope you know that.”

  Ehsan grinned reflexively. “My sister the counselor. Can I really afford your services, though? Don’t most counselors charge?”

  Fatima shook her head. Her smile dropped, but her eyes remained the same. “I’m serious, Ehsan. I would like it if you could talk about these things more. I mean, we talk about what we think is going on, or what we think we should do next, but we never really talk about how everything is affecting us.”

  “I’m feeling hunger more than anything right now,” Ehsan joked clumsily.

  Fatima gave a half-hearted smile, but continued. “Well, if you are ever in the mood, I would like to talk about how you feel, okay?”

  Ehsan reflexively grinned, but stopped himself before making a joke. “Okay, I will. Thanks, Sis.” The uncomfortable grin remained on his face.

  “Of course,” she said with another smile. “Anyway, I know both of us are worried, but we should get some rest. Cecilia said we should be ready just in case someone tried to crash our party.”

  “Yeah, makes sense.” He laid back down. “So, do what do you think this mad scientist experimenting on these zombies will be like? Think he’ll have crazy hair and
a steam punk looking lab coat?”

  “No idea,” Fatima replied, not going along with Ehsan’s joke. He looked over to see her on the verge of nodding off.

  “Well, whoever’s out there, I’m sure we can take them,” Ehsan added. He turned over and found a comfortable position for himself on his side. His tired body happily sank into the cushions on the floor.

  Ehsan woke up as dusk started to set in. He stretched and sat up, unsure of when he fell asleep. He felt sore, but not exhausted the way he had earlier. He looked to Fatima, who was in the process of using her hands to try to make her hair look more presentable.

  “Trying to look like less of a mess?” he teased. “It’ll take more than fixing your hair.”

  She scoffed and pushed him playfully. “Don’t you need to sleep longer?”

  Fatima looked for the nicest clothes she could find in the stack that’d been left for them. She combed through the pile multiple times, seemingly satisfied with one piece for a moment, then putting it back seconds later, often with a shake of her head. She ultimately decided to go with dark wash jeans, a pink sleeveless shirt, and a light gray and white scarf. Meanwhile, Ehsan picked the first pair of clean clothes he could find.

  The two of them went to the lunch tables after getting dressed. A colorful assortment of streamers, garland, paper lanterns, and balloons engulfed the tables. Hanging off of the mesh cover over the lunch tables was a large banner that said WELCOME! on it, decorated with drawings and signatures from both kids and adults. At the lunch tables themselves sat Julie, Sarah, Marcus, and Deon while the kids stood in front of them. The group waved as Ehsan and Fatima walked up.

  Ana, Estefanía, and Andrew ran up to greet Ehsan and Fatima. “It’s party time!” Andrew exclaimed with a small dance. Estefanía nodded in excited agreement and shook her hips while Ana pumped her fist in the air and cheered.

  “This is wonderful,” Fatima declared, a warm smile spreading across her face. “You all did such a great job!” Estefanía yelped with joy and did a small hop. Ana cheered once more while Andrew shook his head knowingly, as if he predicted Fatima would react exactly that way.

  “Yeah, you guys really put in an amazing amount of work,” Ehsan added, nodding in approval as he looked around. The kids ran to the other side of the lunch tables to finish up the last of the decorating, and Ehsan turned to Sarah and Julie. “So, what’s the plan?”

  “We’re gonna start cooking soon, plus get some candy for the kids,” Sarah explained. “We’ll hangout outside, play some games, let the kids have fun.” A grin swept across her face. “When night hits, though, they’ll go to bed, and it’ll be time for the adult beverages.”

  “Let me try some!” Andrew exclaimed from across the lunch area. “I’m practically old enough to drink beer already!”

  Deon grinned. “I don’t think so, Andrew. One day, though.”

  Ehsan chuckled. He didn’t drink, but he wondered how some of the other adults would act with alcohol in their systems. He grinned, imaging them dancing around wildly. He just hoped no one was an angry drunk.

  “So, who will be on lookout when the party starts?” Fatima asked.

  “No one,” Sarah answered. “Or technically all of us, I guess. Cecilia said that as long as we stay at the tables and don’t do anything stupid, we’ll basically all be on lookout duty. All of our weapons are already inside the front room, just in case we need them.”

  “No wonder she felt alright about this party,” Fatima replied. “In a way, tonight will be even safer than a normal night.”

  “Wow, Cecilia really knows what she’s doing,” Julie commented. “Anyway, I should start cooking.”

  “I’ll help,” Deon offered. “I ain’t about to let you do all the cooking.”

  “It’s okay, I’ve got it,” Julie replied. “Cecilia is going to help after she finishes guard duty.”

  “That’s still a lot of cooking for just two people.”

  “It’s okay. I’ve got it, really.” Julie gestured toward the WELCOME! banner hanging above them. “This is your party, after all. I’d hate to have you cook.”

  Before Deon could reply, Sarah spoke up. “Yeah, Deon, let her do this for you guys.” She grinned. “If you really wanna cook that bad, though, you can take care of dinner tomorrow.”

  Deon grinned in return. “That’s fair. Let’s have a cookout in a couple days, then. It’ll be my thanks to y’all for letting us join.”

  “I’ll help too,” Fatima chimed in.

  Julie smiled. “Thanks so much, you two. I’ll look forward to it.”

  Julie left to prepare everything she’d be cooking with Cecilia. Seconds later the kids came back from the other side of the tables, with Andrew leading the way. Right behind him were Ana and Estefanía, each holding a bouquet of paper flowers. Natalia, Gustavo, and Sebastian came up behind them, with Natalia and Gustavo each holding a card.

  “We made these for you!” Andrew blurted out. “Mister Deon and Mister Marcus already got theirs.”

  Estefanía gave her bouquet to Ehsan while Ana gave hers to Fatima. Ehsan examined his closer. The flowers were pieces of construction paper folded over each other and connected to green pipe cleaners used as stems. His had two red flowers, three blue flowers, two purple flowers, and three yellow flowers.

  “Thank you so much,” Fatima said with a smile and pat on Ana’s shoulder. A huge smile spread across Ana’s face.

  “Yeah, you two must’ve worked really hard on these,” Ehsan added. He looked at Estefanía. “This is really cool. You’re awesome, Estefanía.” Estefanía did a hop of joy at Ehsan‘s words, followed by a cartwheel.

  “We have dis for you, too!” Gustavo exclaimed, holding a card in his hand. He rushed up to give it to Ehsan, while Natalia walked over to give the one in her hand to Fatima.

  “Wow, thanks Gustavo,” Ehsan said as he opened the card. It read TO EHSAN on the front and had signatures inside from all of the kids, including the three clinic kids. Some of the kids only put their names, but four of them left notes: YOU’RE REALY FUNNY AND COOL –ESTEFANÍA; THANKS FOR HELPING MR MATEO AND EVERYONE ELSE, WELCOME TO LINDA VISTA! –ANA; YOU’RE INVITED TO THE VIP SECTION OF THE TREEHOUSE, THANKS FOR EVERYTHING –LUCERO; and I’M HAPPY YOU JOINED OUR GROUP. THANK YOU FOR ALL THE HELP AND JOKES –SEBASTIAN. As Ehsan read through, he started to feel his throat tighten and his eyes well up. He looked over to see Fatima hug Natalia after reading her card. He looked over to Gustavo, who seemed to be expecting the same thing but was too proud to ask for it, so Ehsan opened his arms to offer a hug. Gustavo accepted, and Estefanía joined in as well. Ana and Andrew joined the hug between Fatima and Natalia.

  “You’re the best,” Ehsan told the kids. Their faces all lit up. “I’m glad we came here.”

  Fatima nodded her head in agreement and asked the kids what they wanted to do. After some bickering, the kids decided on an outside game of dodgeball. Gustavo and Andrew ran to get the foam balls and plastic cones. As they left, Josue and Ryan approached. Ehsan noticed each of them had a six pack of beer in their hands. Josue had a six pack of Corona while Ryan had Budweiser. Josue had already opened his.

  “I thought we were waiting to drink?” Fatima asked Ryan as they walked up.

  “We can drink while the kids are here, it’s no big deal,” Josue answered for Ryan with a casual wave of his hand. “Want one?”

  “Sure,” Fatima replied hesitantly. Josue handed her a Corona and grinned as she accepted it.

  “That’s the spirit!” Josue cheered on. “Maybe you’re not as uptight as I thought you were.”

  Before Fatima could say anything, Sarah jumped in. “Anyone with a basic sense of responsibility is too uptight for you, Josue.”

  Josue laughed. “What can I say? Responsibility is for pussies.” Deon, Sarah, and Fatima’s eyes narrowed. Ehsan cringed internally.

  “No wonder you’re single,” Sarah teased, her tone sharper than before.

  “Not a lot of options,” Josu
e countered. “Unlike you ladies. You’ve got a ton of great guys right here in front of you. Especially me.”

  “Keep telling yourself that, buddy,” Ehsan replied with a grin and playful pat on the back before Sarah or Fatima could come back with something sharper. He felt a small sense of dread just thinking about the arguments that might happen after a few bottles. Maybe it wouldn’t take a sprinting zombie horde to ruin the evening.

  “Oh, I will,” Josue laughed, returning the playful pat.

  “All joking aside, though,” Sarah began, “are you going to be okay drinking? What if something happens after the party, when you two are on guard duty?”

  “Pssh. A marine can take out an enemy squad piss-ass drunk, no problem. And a bunch of brainless, shambling zombies is way less scary than angry people with guns. We’ll be fine.”

  “That’s a good point,” Sarah admitted.

  “I’m full of them,” Josue bragged.

  Soon after, Mateo and Cecilia finished their guard shift. Mateo decided to help Cecilia and Julie with the cooking. As they prepared the food, Manuel joined everyone outside, smiling nervously. Ehsan realized it’d be a difficult party for Manuel, especially now, with Mateo and Cecilia cooking. He looked to Josue, curious if he could also speak Spanish. He then turned to Manuel.

  “Want to play dodgeball with us?” Ehsan asked Manuel.

  “Play what?” Manuel asked.

  Ehsan pretended to duck and throw a ball. “Dodgeball?”

  Manuel smiled, understanding what Ehsan meant. “Ahh, yes! I will play. I not good like soccer, pero, I will play.”

  When Gustavo and Andrew returned with the equipment they immediately went about setting up a line of cones on part of the blacktop. They then put the eight foam dodgeballs along the center. Meanwhile, Deon and Sarah created teams to play. When everything was ready each team lined up about fifteen feet away from the center.