by R. A. Neely
"This is a visitor center of sorts," Hal announced as he held the door open for them. "Lunch will be up in a few minutes so we can sit in the dining room."
Hal waited for everyone to get inside and then led the way. The dining room had a long table big enough for all of them sit comfortably. There was a picture window that looked out onto a field where people could be seen working the ground.
"It'll be a small harvest this year," Hal said as he joined Greg at the window. "It's July so we've already missed most of the growing season."
Greg nodded. "Looks like you'll be set for next year though."
Hal nodded. "We are doing pretty well." Hal turned as several women entered the room and began setting food out on the table. Everyone took their seats and Greg smiled as he saw beef and mashed potatoes on his plate.
Hal chuckled. "Probably been a few days since you guys have had a good meal, huh?"
"You have no idea," Carol replied.
"It's canned beef and instant potatoes but we've got a good store of spices so it should still be pretty good."
"It looks amazing," Carol said.
"Well, let's dig in," Hal said. "We can do business after we eat."
The group applied themselves and made quick work of the food. They'd been given large portions so everyone was satisfied when they were done. After that, Hal led them to a building a few blocks away. It looked to be an old hardware store. "This is where we keep most of our stock," Hal explained as he led the way inside. "It's guarded round the clock but we haven't had any trouble. Hal led them over to a middle aged man that was making notations on a clipboard.
"This is Ryan Barton. He's in charge of our stores. He'll take good care of you. Have someone send for me when you're done and we can set you up with a place for the night. No reason to head back out on the roads at night."
"Thanks," Greg replied, "I appreciate that."
"Not a problem. You seem like good people so we've got to stick together. There's plenty of bad people running around. Alright, I'll see you guys in a bit."
The group spent the next fifteen minutes trying to negotiate with Ryan but were disappointed to find that he had little interest in what they had.
"I'm sorry," Ryan said, “you don't have that much worth trading except for that ammo. I doubt you wanna part with that, you're gonna need that on the road."
Greg sighed. "Well we need the supplies, so we'll have to make do."
"That won't be necessary," a voice said from behind them. The group turned and they saw a middle aged woman dressed in jeans and a button down shirt. She approached for a handshake and Greg held out his hand.
"Dawn Stamper," she said as they shook hands. "I'm what remains of the administration here in Laramie. That pretty much makes me the mayor I guess."
"Nice to meet you," Greg replied, "Greg Lyons."
"I think I might have a way that we can both get something we want out of this deal," Dawn said.
"What do you have in mind?" Greg asked.
"Walk with me if you would. I can have one of my assistants find lodgings for your friends."
Greg glanced at the group and saw that they looked excited at the thought of resting for the remainder of the day. They had gone through a rough few days, the rest would probably do them good. "Alright, lead the way."
Dawn smiled and led the way out of the hardware store. They kept walking until they reached a fence of sorts. Looking closely, Greg saw that it was a combinations of cars, wood, and sheet metal. Every thirty feet or so there was a platform of sorts that let the man guarding have clear view over anything approaching the fence.
Dawn chuckled. "Not much to look at but it's kept the infected out so far."
Greg shrugged. "Doesn't matter how it looks as long as it's getting the job done."
"You're practical," Dawn said, "I like that. I like to think I'm pretty practical myself. Do you have any idea why I brought you out here, Greg?"
Greg frowned for a moment in thought. They weren't completely alone Greg thought. From the men on the platforms to the men that appeared to be going about their business, there were plenty of people close enough to protect Dawn if he tried anything. Further, he figured she wouldn't have put herself this close to him if she didn't have some idea of his temperament. That meant she probably listened closely to Hal's recommendations. What could she want though? According to Ryan, they simply didn't have much that the town was interested in. Greg thought some more, they were alone, at least for all intents and purposes. Maybe she needed a favor of some kind. Maybe something she couldn't trust to her men.
"You need me to do something for you," Greg replied. "Something you can't trust your men with for some reason."
Dawn smiled. "Hal was right about you. You're quick. I do need something. You see, we're doing pretty well here. My men are doing a great job of keeping the infected at bay and the only group that came through looking for trouble was quickly dealt with. The main problem we have right now is that there's another group on the other side of town. The short version is that we're competing for what resources remain when it would be so much more efficient if we were to join forces."
"Why do you need me?" Greg asked. "Why not work out some sort of deal?"
"Look around you, Greg. We're trying to rebuild something here. We've established security so that all of the remaining residents can safely sleep in their beds at night. We're in the process of planting so we'll have a reliable source of food. That's gonna take time though. To get there, we need all the resources remaining in the town."
"The other group doesn't want to work something out?"
"Exactly," Dawn replied. "They'd rather go their own way instead of joining forces and dealing with this crisis together. I don't even know if they're rationing what they have. Properly managed, there should be enough food remaining to see us until harvest next year."
"What do you want me to do?" Greg asked.
"Go and talk to them. Maybe they'll listen to reason if it's coming from someone new. I'm afraid communication has broken down to the point that they open fire as soon as one of my people approaches them."
"That bad?" Greg asked.
Dawn nodded. "I have nothing but the best in mind. I want to make sure all the food is evenly distributed so we can all survive this."
"Alright," Greg said, "what if they don't want to listen."
"Well, you'll be in a position to convince them that joining us is in their best interest. Maybe destroy some of their food supplies."
"I thought you wanted to keep all the supplies so you could make it to harvest."
"Well, you wouldn't destroy everything of course. Just enough for them to realize their best chance for survival is in joining with us."
"Alright. And if I fail? If they don't want to join up?"
"I'm not trying to force you do anything you're not comfortable with. I look at you and I see a man that has survived for days out there. I'm sure you've had to do some things you never would have done before all this happened. I'm sure that you'd do anything to keep you friends safe, I'm just trying to do the same for my people here. But hey, if you can't go through with it, we'll put you up for that night and you can be on your way in the morning. Without any supplies mind you, we can't give anything away for free."
Greg nodded. "And if I do this for you?"
"I'll give your group a week's worth of food. That should be enough to see you through until you find another place you can scavenge for supplies."
That would be great. A week's worth of food? He didn't really like how easily she talked about destroying food supplies but did he have a choice? They were down to what, three days of food now? How long before they reached a place that was safe enough to scavenge for supplies?
"Alright," Greg said, "I'll go talk to them."
"Great," Dawn said with a smile. "I'd wait 'til morning," she said as she glanced at the sun. "It'll be dark soon and the infected will be out in droves beyond the fence."
Greg nod
ded and she led the way back to the hardware store and dropped him off with an aide that took him to where the rest of the group was staying. They'd given them a whole house for their use. If Greg hadn't just talked with Dawn, he'd think it was rather generous. As it was, it was probably part of her plan to get him to do her dirty work.
Greg entered the living room and saw everyone lounging on the couches. The kids were in the corner playing games on their handhelds.
"What happened?" Carol asked when she saw him.
Greg sighed as he took a seat next to Carol. "She wants us to do a favor."
"What does she want?" Jackson asked.
"There's another group in town," Greg said, "apparently there's some competition for the resources left in town. She wants us to convince the other group to join her."
"What do we get for doing that?" James asked.
"A week's worth of food."
"That would be a big help," Laura said.
Carol nodded. "Definitely."
"What's the catch?" Shirley asked. "If that's all she wanted, why'd she have to take you off alone?"
"If they won't listen, she wants us to persuade them. Destroy some of their supplies and such."
"Ah," Jackson said, "she wants us to do her dirty work?"
"Why not just do it herself?" Shirley asked.
"She said communication has broken down. Claims her people get shot at whenever they get close."
James nodded. "So she thinks a fresh face has a chance to talk to them. And if that fails, well you're already there so you can cause some trouble."
"And, why put her own people at risk if we'll do it for her?" Jackson added.
"What happens if we don't do this?" Laura asked.
"Nothing," Greg replied. "She said they'll let us stay the night and then we'll have to be on our way in the morning. Without any additional supplies of course."
"There might be another option," Jackson said.
"What's that?" Greg asked.
"How many people were with you when you had your talk?"
"Just us. There were guards nearby I guess, but just the two of us as far the conversation went."
"Okay," Jackson said, "maybe her people don't know about what she's planning."
"What do you mean?" Carol asked.
"Well, we're not dealing with a hardened group of people here. These are just some people that banded together to survive. They know each other, they care what each other thinks. They survived the initial outbreak pretty well so they've never gotten desperate enough to do whatever they need to do to survive. So maybe we can work out a deal with the other group."
James nodded. "Tell them what she's planning. Maybe they'll be generous and give us enough food to last a few days."
"Don't they already have an idea?" Laura asked. "If they're shooting whenever her people show up...”
Jackson shrugged. "She may not have been entirely truthful. Maybe she said what she did to get Greg to see things her way."
Greg nodded. "Maybe it isn't an issue of the other group refusing to join. Maybe Dawn wants to control them.'
James nodded. "It's worth checking out. Go in with an open mind."
"Alright," Greg said, "that's what we'll do. I want us all to go though, I don't think I trust her."
"That's a good idea," James said, "we can get out of here if something goes wrong."
The group ended on that note and spent the rest of the night resting. They didn't know what was going to happen tomorrow so they figured they needed to be well rested. Morning came and one of Dawn’s people delivered them a box of oatmeal for breakfast and a map of the city. The area they needed to go to was circled in red. After breakfast, the group headed to their vehicles and drove over.
They saw a fenced in area as they approached. Greg stopped a good distance away and they proceeded on foot. "Laramie Mobile Homes," Greg read aloud as they got closer. The mobile home park was completely fenced in. Greg could see that mobile homes were just on the other side of the fence. He quickly figured out they were using these to man the fence as he saw people with rifles spaced every twenty feet or so.
"They're organized," James announced. "The whole perimeter is guarded. And look around," he said indicating the street around them. "No wreckage anywhere, nothing to hide behind. They'll see anyone coming from a long ways off."
"Why would they even want to join up?" Jackson asked. "They've got a nice defensible set up here, completely fenced in. They probably don't have as many people to support either."
"Let's approach slowly," Greg said. "We don't want to make them nervous."
"Make them nervous?" Carol asked. "What do they have to be nervous about? They're pretty much sitting on a fortress."
Greg chuckled. "Okay, so maybe I'm a little nervous." He led the way forward and stopped when they were addressed.
There was an older man standing on the other side of the gate. He looked to be around fifty or so. He was dressed in a pair of camouflage pants and a matching shirt. "You folks picked a bad day to come through Laramie."
"I'm sorry?" Greg said.
"I said you picked a bad day to come through. You just landed yourselves in the middle of our little civil war. We'll talk more inside. Have some of your people grab your vehicles."
Greg found himself confused. This wasn't at all how he thought this meeting would play out. He hadn't expected them to be outright hostile, but he wasn't expecting them to be welcoming either.
"I can see that your confused," the man continued, "let's get you inside and I'll explain."
Greg nodded. "Jackson, Shirley, go get the cars, please." They nodded and headed back towards the vehicles. The man retrieved a set of keys form his pocket and unlocked a large padlock. Two more men stepped forward and pushed the gates open so the vehicles would have enough space to get through.
Once everyone was inside, the gate was closed and the man directed the group to follow him. He led them to an area that had several wooden picnic tables, Greg thought it might be where they had their meals.
"I'm Richard Fritz," the man said, "you can say I'm the leader of this little band."
"Greg Lyons," Greg replied as they shook hands. "This is James, Laura, and their kids Maddy and Junior. That's Carol over there and Jackson and Shirley are the ones driving the cars."
"Nice to meet you all," Richard said. "Why don't we have a seat?" Once everyone was seated he continued, "We've got a few sandwiches left over from breakfast if you guys want any." When they nodded, Richard gestured towards someone nearby and explained what he needed. The group made small talk while they ate and James told the story of how Greg stayed behind when they had to escape the house in Ashton.
"That's impressive," Richard said in appreciation, "not many would do that."
Greg shrugged the compliment off and the group continued to make small talk until Greg decided it was time to ask some questions. "So what did you mean about a bad time to come through?"
"Well you can say we've got a civil war of sorts going on. Dawn wants to have all the town's resources under her control even though there's plenty for both of our groups to have what they need."
"She did mention something about the resources," Greg said. He decided to take a leap. He didn't trust Dawn at all but Richard seemed pretty honest. "She wanted us to convince you to join her group."
Richard shook his head, "I'm afraid you've been duped."
"What do you mean?" Greg asked with a frown.
"Dawn knows full well you wouldn't have been able to convince us to join her. What'd she offer?"
"A week's worth of supplies. She wanted us to destroy some of your stock if we couldn't convince you but we had no intention of doing that."
"Glad to hear it," Richard replied, "not that you would've succeeded mind you. But the thing is, Dawn doesn't really care what you do here. You're a scapegoat."
"What do you mean?"
"Dawn's a smart woman. She knows you would've failed. Her offering you that food tell
s me you guys are probably desperate for supplies so she used that to manipulate you. I'm thinking that she's planning on attacking soon and she can blame whatever happens on you."
"What?" Greg asked. "Why would she do that?"
Richard shook his head. "Dawn's surrounded by a good group of people. I'm talking about average folks. They're not gonna stand for outright attacking people for no good reason. I actually know some of those people over there, we used to frequent the same bar before all this started."
"So she can't do an outright attack because she wouldn't have any support."
"Exactly. Now, if someone were to come along, say someone that was only gonna be around for a few days. Well, maybe she can blame things on them and get away with it."
"She would really do that?"
Richard nodded, "I'd expect her attack to be any day now. She has to do it while you're still here or she'll lose her chance."
Greg took a moment to look around the table and made a decision. "How can we help?"
"Help? This isn't your fight. If it wasn't you, she would've convinced someone else to come out here."
"But it is us and I don't like being used," Greg said angrily.
"I won't say no to extra help but I want you to know I'm perfectly willing to give you some supplies and send you on your way."
"The rest of you feel the same way?" Richard asked as he looked around the table.
"I'm with Greg," James announced. "I don't like the way she used us."
"I wouldn't feel right knowing she attacked you guys because of us," Laura said.
Carol, Jackson, and Shirley all nodded their agreement. "See?" Greg asked. "We're helping."
"Alright then, I'm glad to have you.
"Why don't we take a walk around and I can figure out where to put you?"
Greg nodded. "Sounds good."
Richard took them on a tour of the trailer park. There wasn't a great deal to see. It was basically a large square enclosed by a wire fence. At regular intervals, there was a trailer home set against the fence which gave the guard on duty a clear line of fire over the fence. Greg had seen this on their way in. The interesting part came when Richard led them to an area that was blocked off by several trailer homes.
