by David Rogers
“How do you know they were coming and going from the FEMA site?”
Hill shrugged. “Some of them started stopping Saturday night when they saw my lights were on. I’ve got a generator. I talked to them, mostly just to keep them from trying to invite themselves in. I know it might not be terribly Christian, but I’m responsible for my wife and kids, and strangers sleeping in my house with everything that’s going on didn’t seem too prudent.”
“It’s fine.” Turner murmured.
“I understand.” Peter told him. “You’re not alone in being cautious. But about what they said?”
“Oh, right. Uh, the first time I heard it, I didn’t think too much of it. I mean, I was okay where I was. Then a couple others had the same story, and it got me thinking. Then I had to take my shotgun to zomb– uh, sick people, a few times in the yard, and that’s when I decided to pack up and come to church.
“They said there were State Patrol in Cumming, meeting everyone near where the news was saying to go. The cops were telling people the camp was closed, and sending them to temporary sites in the city. Said it was a take it or leave it kind of thing.”
“Did any of them go to the other locations?” Peter asked, thinking hard. He could see how the main site might fill up to capacity pretty quickly, especially with how hard Atlanta and the immediate suburbs had been hit by the zombie outbreak. There was a limit to any location’s ability to house and handle incoming people.”
“Sure did. The ones I talked to said the other places weren’t anything other than schools that had people camping in them. No supplies or help except what they could come up with on their own.”
“There weren’t any FEMA people or other officials coordinating the other sites?”
Hill shook his head. “Not that they saw. And a couple of the places were seeing a lot of wandering . . . sick around them. And some of the schools were pretty chaotic with arguments and such about how to get along with each other. The ones I talked to were looking for someplace else because they didn’t like what they saw.”
Peter frowned. Even if the main camp was at its limit, he couldn’t envision no arrangements being made for the overflow. Particularly with regards to supplies and supervision. Even if they were short on trained bodies, they would have done something to try and keep order. He’d participated in similar situations as a sort of cadre, providing structure for volunteers as a relief operation spread to deal with the volume of incoming refugees.
“Anything else?” he asked after a few moments.
“That’s about the size of it. Like I said, things were starting to get a little more exciting than I was comfortable with, and my wife wasn’t too happy with it, so we loaded up the truck and came to join Pastor Turner.”
“I think you made the right decision.” Peter assured him. “It looks like you’re all working with a purpose, and that counts for quite a lot when things get like this.”
“Pastor Turner’s holding us together.”
“God is holding us together.” Turner corrected gently.
“Yes sir. Anyway, that’s why we’re here.”
“Mr. Hill, I appreciate you talking to me. We’re headed there to check on things, so it’s very helpful to know what’s going on.” Peter smiled.
“Tread carefully, uh, Gunny.” Hill said, stumbling over the title. “It wasn’t anything like as bad as Atlanta was getting from what we were seeing on the TV, but it wasn’t near as quiet as things are around here neither.”
Hill nodded and looked at Turner for a moment, then headed back to the work at the front of the church. “You’re going to see about improving conditions in Cumming?” Turner asked Peter.
“That’s the plan. Though I’ll admit I wasn’t expecting anything like what it sounds like might be going on.” Peter said. He really didn’t like what he’d heard. Not at all.
“Well better those trained and ready than the unwary.”
“Speaking of trained, I hope I’m not asking out of turn, and I’ll understand if you say no, but as I said we’ve got some civilians with us. I don’t know how many of them might be interested, and I don’t know if you are either, but I don’t suppose you’d have room for any who might want to join your church?”
“Our Lord commands us to love each other as He loved us.” Turner smiled. “We have room still, and any who are willing to work are welcome to join our little community.”
Peter nodded, relieved. “I was hoping your answer might be something like that. I’ll go see if anyone’s looking for salvation.”
* * * * *
Chapter Eight – Good with the bad
Jessica
The knock on the door startled her. Jessica looked up from her pad of paper, then at Candice who had put down her book. “Who is it?” Jessica called.
“Austin.”
“Austin!” Candice said, scrambling up off the couch cushions she’d laid out on the floor before the suite’s balcony doors.
“Think you can get the door open for him?” Jessica asked. She wasn’t sure if Candice would be able to; the security bar was at eye level for an adult, but Candice nodded eagerly. Jessica watched as the girl grabbed the cushions she’d been laying on and carried them over in front of the door, then stacked them atop one another and stood on them. Their extra height, even when they compressed beneath the girl’s weight, gave Candice just enough reach to swing the bar back on its hinge.
“Clever.” Jessica laughed as Candice got down and heaved the cushions out of the way, then got the other locks disengaged before opening the door.
“Ladies, how are you two holding up?” Austin asked from the doorway. He had a small cooler in his hand.
“Bored.” Candice said, though Jessica could hear the smile in her daughter’s voice. “The power’s out.”
“So I noticed.” Austin confirmed. “May I come in.”
“Sure.” Candice said, backing away from the door. Austin stepped out of the dim hallway and glanced around. The suite was lit by a single table lamp and what remained of the daylight coming in through the glass that faced out against the balcony.
“I see you two are holding up without power.”
“Nothing much but to make do.” Jessica told him. She, personally, had been hoping it would have held longer, but there was nothing for it. They were on the generator now. “Missed you at dinner too, though I saw you and the teams walking the fence a little while ago.”
“Still solid, no problems.” he nodded. “But I think tomorrow we’re going to round up gas cans and start getting them filled.”
“What does Tyler say?”
“Mr. Morris wasn’t sure when I talked to him a few minutes ago, but I’m afraid if we wait it could be a lot harder to lay in a sizable stockpile.”
“What are you worried about, all the gas stations being emptied out?”
“No, availability of containers.” Austin shrugged. “I’m not overly worried about finding enough food, but even if it becomes an issue at some point my money’s on us being able to trade some gas for eats.”
Jessica paged through her pad. She’d lost the computer, but that just meant it took longer to do all the tabulation by hand. Which was really fine; it gave her something to do. She had the printouts, and she could do the calculations without a computer. “Hopefully the guys will be able to bulk up the supplies soon.”
“I heard Isaac says we need to figure out some long-term cooking arrangements.”
“What?” Jessica asked, looking at him in surprise. “But the kitchen—”
“The gas won’t hold up any more than the power has.” he said “We all forgot until his wife asked him about it.”
“Oh.” she sighed. “I guess barbecue grills or something?”
“Or something.” he agreed. “Can I sit down?”
“Sure. Sorry.”
He dragged a chair over closer to the lighted area, then let himself collapse into it with a relieved sound “Finally.”
“Long day?�
�
“Very.” he agreed. “It’s like herding cats trying to keep those guys on task.”
“They got a lot done.”
“And took a lot out of me while they were doing it.” he said, opening the cooler. “I’m officially off-duty except for an emergency. If you don’t mind, I’d like to hide out in here with you two. And as a bribe, I picked a couple of things while I was out earlier.”
Jessica laughed. “Now there’s an expression I didn’t think I’d hear again anytime soon.”
“I was at a store, I picked things up. Not my fault no one was manning the registers.” he grinned. “So, for the girlie-girl here, I’ve got fizzy drinks and chocolate.”
“Candy?” Candice asked eagerly.
“A little.” Austin admitted, pulling out a plastic grocery bag that was lumpy with candy bars, along with a pair of fruit flavored sodas.
“Two pieces.” Jessica said in the best mild Mom voice she could muster as Candice grabbed for the bag.
“Awww.” Candice said, looking up as she opened the bag. “Two?”
“Two.” Jessica confirmed. “Or you’ll make yourself sick. And you’ll want some for tomorrow won’t you?”
“Okay.” Candice said as she started pawing through the brightly colored packages in the bag. Truth be told, Jessica was willing to let Candice eat everything in the bag if it would help keep the girl from noticing all the bad things that kept happening, but so far Jessica was starting to notice Candice was responding to the normal routine of mom being mom.
“For you Mom, I’ve got beer or a couple of wine coolers.”
Jessica found herself smiling before she realized it. “A little eager there aren’t you solider?”
“Hey, it’s been a long day. And I’m trying to bribe you, remember? The beer is mostly for me, but I’m happy to share.”
“I’ll have that strawberry cooler.”
“Just the one?”
“One’s enough.” she told him as she reached for the bottle he held out. She had no intention of getting drunk, but one would take the edge off safely enough. To her surprise it was very cold. The cooler wasn’t rattling with ice, but obviously he’d figured something out. “How many are you having?”
“Two or three.” he said as he set the cooler down and popped the tab on a can. “Just trying to relax, not tie one on.”
Jessica nodded slightly, relieved but not entirely surprised to hear him say it. She wouldn’t expect someone with his obvious sense of drive to be the type to get falling down drunk. Especially in the middle of the kind of situation they were all stuck in.
“Thank you.” Candice said as she tore open the wrapper on a Kit-Kat.
“You’re welcome. So, how bored are you two?”
“Really bored.” Candice answered with her mouth full of the first bite.
“Hmmm, well, I got something else too.” Austin said before he took a long drink from the can.
Jessica twisted the cap off her wine cooler as he reached into one of his multitude of pockets, then grinned when he pulled out a deck of cards.
“Cards?” Candice asked, her mouth still full of chocolate.
“Manners.” Jessica said mildly.
“Cards are the greatest anti-boredom invention in the history of the world.” Austin told Candice. “They fit in your pocket, are light, and you can do a lot with them.”
“I’m not playing poker against you.” Jessica said. “Even if we don’t play for money.”
“That’s okay, I’ve got a better game.”
“Oh?”
Austin grinned. “Know how to play Nah-Ah?”
Jessica blinked at him, while Candice shook her head. “What’s Nah-Ah?”
“It’s fun.”
“I’ve never heard of that.” Candice said doubtfully, looking at her mother.
“Don’t ask me, it’s Austin’s game.” Jessica shrugged. She took a sip of the wine cooler.
“It’s pretty easy.” Austin said, putting his beer on the floor next to his chair and reaching to pull the little end table the lamp was on into a more central position that was in front of the two chairs he and Jessica sat in.
“Okay, how?” Candice asked as she took another bite of the Kit-Kat.
“We deal the cards out until they’re gone.” Austin said, tearing the clear plastic off the deck and opening the flap. “The goal is to get rid of all your cards. We take turns, announcing and laying down cards from our hands; starting with aces, then kings, and so on down to the twos before we start over with aces again. First one to get rid of all their cards wins.”
“I think I’ve heard of this one.” Jessica chuckled. “Though I don’t recall it as Nah-Ah.”
“Yeah, well, I figured since we’re in polite company, that was a better name than the other one.” he grinned at her as he started shuffling the cards. He was good, the cards were flying through his fingers.
“Good call.”
“I don’t get it.” Candice inquired. “That doesn’t sound that . . . hard.”
“Ah, but you didn’t hear the good part yet.” he told her as he continued shuffling. “When you lay something down, the rest of us can call Nah-Ah if we want.”
“What happens then?”
“Whoever calls looks at the cards. If they’re what was said, then you have to pick up all the cards out of the middle and put them in your hand. If they’re not, then the person who laid them down has to pick everything up.”
Candice stopped chewing as she considered that. Jessica smiled and took another sip from her bottle while the girl thought. Finally Candice’s forehead smoothed out and she fixed Austin with a curious look. “You’re supposed to lie?”
“I wouldn’t say you’re supposed to.” Austin replied. “But since you have to lay something down on your turn, and you’re trying to get rid of your cards faster than everyone else, you’ll probably have to lie sooner or later.”
“The idea is to lie without getting caught.” Jessica told the girl.
“Mom’s got it. So, who wants to play?”
“Sure.”
Austin glanced at Jessica. She nodded and he started dealing three piles of cards out on the table. Jessica examined Candice’s fingers and shook her head mentally. “Candice, go get a wet washcloth from the bathroom so you can clean off your fingers.”
“I’m not messy.” the girl protested.
“No, but chocolate is.” Jessica chuckled. “Scoot, or you’ll get the cards sticky too.”
“Alright.” Candice said, wrapping her Kit-Kat back up in the wrapper and setting it carefully on the edge of the table before rising and heading into the bedroom.
“This is your idea of hiding out?” Jessica asked Austin mischievously. “Playing Bullshit with a pair of girls?”
“I told you, I had a long day.” he laughed. “I need to get away from those guys and their incessant questions or I’m afraid I’ll start yelling. Then they’ll hate me, and where would we be?”
“You’re an odd man, as anyone ever told you that?”
“It’s come up a few times.” he admitted, and she giggled at him before she could stop herself. “Besides, I like the company.”
Jessica eyed him as she took another sip of her drink. He seemed focused on dealing the cards out, but she could tell he felt her eyes on him. She was saved from having to come up with something to say as Candice returned, wiping her hands with the washcloth.
“Okay, I’ll start.” Austin said as Candice sat back down and dropped the washcloth on the carpet next to her. He grabbed his hand and fanned it out for a moment, then pulled a card free and laid it on the table. “One ace.”
Jessica purposefully took her time organizing her own hand, then laid down a card of her own. “One king.”
“What am I supposed to play?” Candice asked, still sorting through her cards.
“We start with aces and go down to twos.” Jessica reminded her. “I played kings, so that’s queens to you.”
“
Can I play more than one?”
“As many as you want.” Austin confirmed.
“Okay.” Candice said slowly. She shifted her cards around some more, then put down two. “Two queens.”
“Hmmmm, alright.” Austin said theatrically as he waggled his eyebrows with mock suspicion at the girl. Candice looked at him curiously, and he grinned at her. “Two jacks.”
“Only two?” Jessica asked, eyeing the pair of jacks in her own hand as he put his cards down.
“Two’s all I’ve got.” he shrugged. “You girls must have the others.”
“I see. Well, three tens.”
“Nah-Ah!” Candice blurted as she stared at her hand.
“Remember, you have to pick up all the cards if you’re wrong.” Jessica told her.
“And you do if you lied.”
“Did I?” Jessica asked with a merry twinkle in her eyes.
“You must have, because I’ve got two tens.”
“Let’s find out.” Austin said, reaching and turning over the top three cards on the stack. Two jacks and a ten went face up, and Candice squealed.
“I got you mom!” she exclaimed, then wrinkled her forehead up. “Wait . . .” she reached for the cards below the ones already face up and flipped the next two over as well, revealing them as a jack and a king. “You lied too!” she accused Austin.
“Too late girlie-girl.” he grinned. “Mom gets the discard pile. No one called Nah-Ah on me.”
Jessica scooped the cards off the table and started adding them to her hand while Austin took a drink of beer and Candice eyed him. “You’re sneaky.” the girl finally decided.
“That’s why it’s called Nah-Ah.” Jessica told her daughter. “The point is to be sneaky.”
“Oh.”
“Your turn.” Jessica reminded her. “Nines.”
“Uh . . . one nine.”
“Nah-Ah.” Austin said before Candice had barely even gotten the card out of her hand.
“What?” she asked in surprise.
“Nah-Ah.” he repeated. “Show it.”
Candice turned the card around to show it was a three, looking at him. “How’d you know?”
