by SD Tanner
Max rubbed her eyes, sighed and asked plaintively, ‘How do you three get anything done, when all you do is bitch at one another?’
Frowning at Max, Pax replied, ‘We ain’t bitchin’, we’re talkin’.’ Turning to him, he added, ‘But, Gears, you’re bein’ a little bitch. Jus’ get up there and talk to ya people. Ya know, like the sermon from the mount.’
He very much doubted Pax even knew what that meant and he replied reasonably, ‘I can talk to soldiers, but these people are civvies. TL’s betta with ‘em than I am.’
‘No, Gears,’ TL said plainly. ‘This mission was your vision. You’re leading it and, like Kat says, you’re doing a pretty good job. Two hundred people, Gears. Your vision is coming to life already. Probably faster than you were ready for it, but Kat’s right, it’s time to step into the limelight.’
With no intention of ever giving any speeches to anyone, he grunted, ‘I’ll think about it.’
Rolling his eyes, Pax said rudely, ‘Ya know, I thought this mission was bullcrap, right?’
Giving Pax a dirty look, he said bluntly, ‘Ya never keep your opinions to yourself, Pax.’
Unfazed by his tone or expression, Pax continued, ‘Well, maybe it is and maybe it ain’t, but I do know what you’re doin’ means somethin’ to ‘em, Gears. People are puttin’ their lives at risk for your vision. I got people dyin’ for your vision. Tell ‘em why they’re riskin’ their lives, Gears. Tell ‘em what they’re dyin’ for. You owe ‘em that.’
He hadn’t thought about it that way, but he supposed Pax was right. People were willing to die for his unspoken vision to take back the world. Juan had tried to protect them even after he’d been infected. He should acknowledge the people who were willing to die for his vision. For as much as he hated to admit it, Pax was right and he was being a little bitch.
Turning to Pax, he said honestly, ‘When you’re right, you’re right, Pax. I’ll talk to ‘em when we get back tomorrow.’
Pax roared with laughter and, nudging Kat, said happily, ‘It’s taken 30 years, but I finally got Gears to admit I’m right about somethin.’ Wiping his eyes, he added gleefully, ‘That was almost better than sex.’
‘Your sex life must be crap,’ TL commented dryly.
Snorting in disgust, Pax declared, ‘It’s betta that yours. When was the last time you even had sex?’
‘We’re not doin’ this, Pax,’ he interrupted. ‘This always ends in a pissin’ contest. Literally. We’re too old for that shit.’
As they continued to bicker, Kat turned to Max and said, ‘I guess this meeting is over.’
They called everyone to a meeting the next afternoon and there were several hundred people standing or sitting around the car park at the Base. He still didn’t know what he was going to say, but he knew he would say what he believed. Climbing onto Kat’s wooden reception table, he cleared his throat and spoke.
“Thank you for comin.’ We have some plans we need to tell ya about, but I think I need to tell ya what we’re doin’ and why. I remember the first four weeks after the world ended. So many people died in a day. I couldn’t comprehend the scale of the loss. I didn’t know how to process it. To absorb it. To make it my new reality. So, I didn’t. I used my skills to stay alive and every day was the same day. Scavenge for what I needed. Kill anythin’ that tried to kill me.
When I looked ahead into my future I saw nothin’, but more of the same. A world where all I did was survive the same day over and over until one day somethin’ would kill me before I killed it. It was like Groundhog Day in hell and it wasn’t enough to make me wanna to keep goin.’
That’s an empty life with an empty end. An animal is satisfied with survival alone. Humans need more. We need a world we can thrive in.
We need to see a future where we’re safe, where we can take care of our families, where we have time to mourn and the freedom to feel joy. We need a world where we believe there is future worth havin.’
We did have that world. Everyone who came before us made that world possible, but we’ve lost that world. Now we are at the bottom of the food chain. If we want our world back. If we want a future worth havin’ then we have to fight for it. Just as everyone who came before us fought for the world we had and lost, we have to fight for it again.
It’s a good fight. If we fight well some of us will lose, but together we will win.
We need the combined ability of all people givin’ it everythin’ they’ve got every day to win a war against a superior and deadly enemy.
We are gonna find more people to join us.
We are gonna train our people to fight well.
We are gonna find the things we need to live.
We are gonna join forces with anyone who is willin’ to fight with us.
We are gonna keep our families safe.
We are gonna win the war, so we have a future worth livin’ for.
We will make ourselves great again. We will make our country great again. We will stand proud again.
From today, I need all of us to stop worryin’ about our survival. I need us to pull together and fight for a better future.
It is our mission.”
People began to applaud and cheer. Feeling surprised, he looked at TL and Pax. His brothers were applauding too and he put his hand up to quiet the noise and said, ‘Alright folks. I hear ya, but right now I need ya to listen to the team.’
TL and Pax stepped onto the wooden table and Pax said, ‘As ya know, we got ourselves a cruise ship. The ship is safe from hunters. We’re movin’ the children and their carers to the ship. The scavengers and combat teams will mostly stay at the Base until we can get the ship movin’. I’ll schedule all scavenger and combat teams on rotation to the ship to both help on board and enjoy some of the luxuries it offers. For those of ya who don’t know, the ship has hot water, showers, real toilets and comfortable beds. And from now on, ‘cos I’ll be split between here and the ship, Mackenzie will be workin’ with me, so if ya can’t find me then talk to him.’
Nodding at Pax, TL added, ‘We can’t get the ship moving without some ships engineers. The ship has comms, and we need them working so we can talk to the Base and any other groups of survivors out there. I’ll be stepping up survivor runs, and I’m hoping to find the skills we need. Kat will be our administrator for both locations.’
With the Base briefing over, he boomed, ‘Any questions?’
A voice from the crowd shouted, ‘What about people who have kids? Are you gonna split the families up?’
Raising her hand, Kat replied, ‘We’d rather not, but we can’t move everyone to the ship yet, so you need to decide how important it is to you that your kids are safe from hunters. Christine will be setting up a school for the children on the ship. It’ll be a better environment for them and you’ll be regularly rotated onto the ship.’
Another voice shouted, ‘Why can’t we all move to the ship?’
It was a fair question and he replied, ‘While we dunno how to move the ship, I wanna land force able to defend it, plus without ships engineers, the ship will deteriorate. Also, if we need to abandon the ship, we can’t do it safely if there’s too many people to evacuate.’
Another voice asked, ‘What are people gonna do all day on the ship?’
‘Our laundry for one thing!’ Pax exclaimed. People laughed and Pax continued, ‘The ship is for kids, and anyone who can’t protect ‘emselves. Also the ship is an asset, and we’re gonna need to defend it. Other than that, the people on there will keep the place runnin’, so us stuck on land got somewhere nice to go.’
He nodded and added, ‘We’re hopin’ we can get the ship movin’, in which case everyone will move to the ship and we’ll head up the coast. We’re gonna look for islands we can clear, so people can live there workin’ the land and supplyin’ fresh food to the scavengers and combat teams.’
Another voice asked, ‘Who decides who gets to go to the ship?’
‘I will,’ Kat replied. ‘I have the B
ase records, so after this meeting I need you to come speak with me.’
People were starting to talk excitedly amongst themselves and another voice asked, ‘When will people be leaving for the ship?’
Kat replied, ‘I think we could start moving people tomorrow with the convoy.’
Picking up on Kat’s point, Pax said, ‘Scavenger teams will sort out supplies to be moved to the ship. Combat teams will escort the convoy of supplies and survivors to the ship. It’d be good if we could get the first convoy on road tomorrow.’
While people continued to ask their questions, a short balding man wearing horn rimmed spectacles walked up to the wooden table they were standing on and looked up at them. Ip smiled at the man and looked up at him expectantly. Surprised by Ip’s reaction to the man, he crouched down on the table and looked enquiringly at the short man.
Without making eye contact with him, the short man said quietly and haltingly, ‘Umm…I don’t know if this is what you mean by umm…communications skills but my name is umm…Gerry and umm…before all this happened I was a umm… clerk in the umm… municipal council and umm… I was a big ham radio enthusiast umm...but umm…without the satellites umm…ham radios are umm…pretty much all anyone umm…is going to have out there so umm…if you want to make umm…contact you umm…need to use…umm…the umm…right…frequencies.’
With the stammering, all he really understood was Gerry was a ham radio specialist and he said bluntly, ‘Gerry, ya should go pack all your personal belongings. I need ya to come to the ship with me tonight. Jordy has power to the ships comms, so ya can go nuts.’
Gerry stammered nervously, ‘Oh, uh, oh, um, well, oh, right, err.’
He wasn’t sure Gerry had agreed and said abruptly, ‘Is there a problem?’
Crouching next him, Pax listened to Gerry stammer nervously and said, ‘Yeah, there’s a problem, Gears. You’re one big, scary assed lookin’ gorilla.’
‘Shaddup Pax,’ he replied, glaring at his brother.
Pax laughed and said, ‘Oh yeah, that look is gonna make Gerry feel a lot betta about gettin’ trapped on a ship with ya.’
Gerry looked at both of them anxiously and turning to Ip, he asked, ‘Umm…are they umm… serious?’
Both he and Pax stood back up on the table and looked at TL beseechingly. TL shook his head at them, stepped down from the table and said steadily, ‘Nice to meet you, Gerry. I’m TL. Don’t worry about my brothers. They’re uncivilized, but they’re good guys.’
‘Oh, I know that!’ Gerry exclaimed. ‘I just don’t umm… want to be umm…a nuisance.’
Bending down to Gerry, he said firmly, ‘Ya not a nuisance Gerry. We need ya.’
Blushing, Gerry said, ‘Umm…I’ll go get my umm…stuff.’
Giving Gerry what he hoped, but doubted was a friendly smile, he said, ‘Good. Be at the bird at 5pm.’
While they were speaking with Gerry, the group started to form a line in front of the reception table. Kat was now sitting behind them on the wooden bench with Lucie. She looked up at them, slapped his leg and said sharply, ‘Get off my table! I have work to do!’
In unison, he and Pax replied, ‘Yes, ma’am.’
As he walked through the crowd, people smiled at him and shook his hand. He didn’t really remember what he’d said in his speech, but he knew he’d said what he believed to be true. Never having been overly sensitive about what people thought of him, he wasn’t now either. He’d always thought of himself as a guy who travelled under the radar, and that suited him. To be the center of attention like this was initially uncomfortable, but he figured people would either follow their mission or they wouldn’t. It wasn’t his decision to make.
Anna was with a small group of people and, remembering he needed to sort her out, he walked over and asked to speak privately. Walking away from the group, Anna led him to a quiet area and said sarcastically, ‘Nice speech. You’re going to make a great President.’
He found Anna’s constant bitchiness annoying, but pushing down his irritation, he said patiently, ‘Cut it out, Anna. I need to talk to ya about what happened at the Ranch.’
Giving him a filthy look, Anna said bitterly, ‘Oh, you mean when you screwed me and dumped me.’
Taking a deep breath and cursing himself for getting involved with Anna, he said evenly, ‘No, I wanna talk to ya about how Ip got shot.’
Anna pursed her lips and said angrily, ‘Are you accusing me of shooting that freakshow you’re dating?’
He didn’t care what Anna thought of anything, much less what she thought of Ip. Ignoring her jibe, he said bluntly, ‘Mom and Pop were usin’ shotguns that night. Dave and Jay are good shots. Max is combat trained, and Jordy didn’t shoot at all. None of them shot outside the lit perimeter into the dark. Ip took a through and through, so whoever shot her either meant to, or they shot wild outside the lit perimeter and into the dark.’
Giving him another filthy look, Anna curled her upper lip and said, ‘So, I’m either a bad shot, or I tried to kill her.’
‘I’m not sayin’ that, Anna,’ he replied calmly. ‘I’m askin’ if ya accidentally shot her.’
Anna looked away, then looked back at him almost haughtily and said, ‘No, I didn’t.’ Narrowing her eyes, she added, ‘And even if I did, you couldn’t prove it.’
She’d answered his question, but not the way she intended. She was right and he couldn’t prove it, but he believed Anna shot Ip and, had she been a better shot, Ip would be dead.
Now, genuinely angry, he said coldly, ‘You’re a stupid woman, Anna. If ya hadda killed Ip that night, we would all be dead. Ya tried to kill her and she saved your life for it.’
Anna shrugged and said equally as coldly, ‘Think what you like, Gears. If you think I tried to kill her, then kick me out. Apparently you’re the boss here and you can do whatever you want to, and you do.’
He wanted to kick her out, but he couldn’t prove anything. If he threw her out without cause, the survivors would lose confidence in their leadership and he didn’t want that to happen. He’d just have to keep her away from Ip.
Stepping away from her, he said bluntly, ‘We had sex, Anna. Ya said ya wanna’d fun, and I made it clear it was nothin’ more than that. Ya need to sane up and let it go.’
Anna gave him a filthy look and as she walked away, she said, ‘Fuck you too, Bob.’
Shaking his head in disgust, he went back to the table where Kat was still processing people. Catching her eye, he flicked his head to indicate he needed to talk to her. She got up from the table, and walking a short distance from the group, she asked, ‘What’s up?’
Deciding he might as well tell Kat the whole story, he said, ‘Anna and I had sex one night at the Ranch, and she took it the wrong way. I can’t prove it, but I believe she deliberately shot Ip the other night when the hunters attacked.’
Kat shook her head and said, ‘Anna is bad news. She’s told everyone you hassled her for sex, and she felt she had no choice. Nobody believes her, but you shouldn’t have got involved with Anna.’
He didn’t care what Anna was telling everyone and said simply, ‘I just need Ip to be safe. She already has enough goin’ on without her own people tryin’ to kill her.’
‘I agree,’ Kat replied firmly. ‘I’d already decided I wasn’t going to let Anna on the ship. I want her where I can keep an eye on her.’
Frowning, he asked, ‘You’re not plannin’ to stay on the ship?’
‘Mostly not,’ Kat replied pragmatically. ‘I know she’s young, but I’ve asked Lucie to manage the ship with me, and Pop has offered to help her. He said he‘d keep an eye on things. I’ll come by regularly, but my place is here until you can move us all.’
Smiling at her, he said sincerely, ‘You’re a good woman, Kat. We’re lucky to have ya.’
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: Lean on me when you’re not strong (Gears)
Super hunter: Your humans have moved you from our reach. You must come to us or you will know defeat.
<
br /> Ip speaks: Go away I have no time. Why waste it on you and your pointless kind?
Super hunter: You choose a side and you are wrong. More of us come and we grow strong.
Ip speaks: You talk a lot as if you know. But it is from the bald that you grow. Not good seed I will have you know.
Super hunter: You will join us yet little one. Your seed is the same. As for your mind. Us it will become.
Ip speaks: I close my mind and my will. You bore me now. I have had my fill.
***
It was four weeks since he made his speech at the Base. In that time, the Base had grown from around 200 to about 320 people and more were continuing to arrive daily. It seemed by word of mouth alone, people from as far as 200 miles away were heading to the Base. They turned up as lone travelers, often having lost their fellow survivors during the trip to the Base, or in groups of usually less than eight people. Lydia’s group of thirty-seven people remained the record for the largest single group that joined the Base.
As promised, Kat stayed on the Base and continued to welcome and process new people. She kept an eye out for anyone with ships engineering, aircraft maintenance, flight and communications skills. They found a few engineers and a lot of people with good computer skills, but no one who could claim enough experience to drive the ship or fully maintain a bird. He and TL were confident it was a matter of time before people with the needed skills showed up.
Finding the ship when they did was a stroke of rare good luck. They hadn’t predicted the Base would become legendary and people would put their lives at risk to join it. Without the ship, and with the constraints of the Base, they would have quickly run out of space and facilities for their rapidly growing population. Kat largely managed to convince people to send their children under the age of 12 to the ship. The ship was a safe haven for the sick, injured and vulnerable. The scavenger and combat teams were rotated from the Base to the ship on a regular cycle, and roughly 60% of their people were on the ship at any given point in time. Most people thought the system was fair and pretty much everyone spent all or half their time there. The comforts on board alleviated a lot of tension and everyone was happier.
