by J. Walker
“Where are you and your group going to set up camp? I was thinking either in the orchard or in the fields. What do you think? Maybe we’ll come up with a better solution tomorrow. It’s getting late so we should figure this out now.”
“I think you’ve got a hell of a set up here. You’re one of the lucky ones, you really are.”
“Well we owe it all to you. After what happened at the river front back when the outbreak hit here, we’d all be dead right now. Or worse.”
“Where are the wounded?” He asked, trying to avoid the comment.
“They’re in the barn.”
He looked at me with skepticism but I smiled reassuringly.
“Don’t worry. It’s clean and warm. There are three tack rooms not in use. They can stay in those. We’ll set something up for your medic so she can be nearby if she’s needed.”
Derek gripped my hand firmly and replied. “Damn, Emily, we can’t thank you enough. Especially after our little encounter with those mercs.”
“Mercs?” I asked curiously.
“Well, that’s just a term I have for survivors that seem to have formed their own little dystopian colonies. Short for mercenaries.”
“Okay, then, makes sense.”
My uncertainty over this group of mercenary individuals continued to grow. I forced the situation to the back of my mind and focused on what I needed to know from Derek. I was unsure of where to begin asking the questions all of us had. Although impatient to learn more, I decided to give Derek and his group the night to rest and recover from their tiring journey. We would find out everything we needed to know the following day.
“Maybe we’ll set up camp in the unused fields? We’ve got tents but we haven’t really been able to use them. No safe place to camp out with the zombies always afoot. Can we set up some fire pits too?”
“Whatever you need to do to make yourselves comfortable. Rest tonight, we’ll round up some food for everyone. Maybe tomorrow you and I can discuss what’s happening out there. The others are going to want to know everything that’s been going on.”
That evening we gathered around a large bonfire. We devoured a large meal of various canned foods garnered from the spoils of a Wal-Mart truck. Thirty cans of beef stew, potatoes and corn bubbled in two enormous cast iron pots set on a tripod over a roaring fire pit. As the night wore on everyone made their way quietly back to the comforts of home.
Large green canvas tents sprang up in the field and campfires burned in hastily dug out fire pits. The aroma of the fires and the hastily prepared meals filled the air. The comforting sounds of laughter and conversation drifted through the quiet chill of the clear night. The barn was illuminated from within, where Amy and Gemma, the field medic, tirelessly cared for the wounds of the three soldiers.
After returning to the house with the twins and getting them settled into bed, I watched everything unfold from the comfort of my bedroom window. Derek walked through each tack room to speak a few words of encouragement to the soldiers wounded in the gunfight with the mercenaries. He hadn’t mentioned anything about his family at the base in Japan. For his sake, I hoped they were safe and back in the U.S. at the very least.
I closed the blinds just as he looked up at the window, immediately feeling guilty for watching him. I turned to the giant four poster bed where Liam and Laken slumbered peacefully, like two cherub angels. I smiled sadly and sat on a small stool in front of the warm fireplace, thinking about Marcus.
I tried not to think about him very often anymore. He was gone forever, lost to me and our children. No justice was served to myself or to my children, to dwell on the life we had before all of this. Reaching up to the mantle of the fireplace, I grabbed the last photograph taken of us as a family. It had been one of the last items I’d taken as we fled the city. The image began to blur as I quietly wept. The short moment of nostalgia was interrupted by a quiet rap on the door. I stood up, replaced the picture on the mantle and opened it slightly.
Jenna smiled through the opening and whispered. “You okay?”
I wiped my face quickly. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. What’s up?”
She smirked devilishly and held up a joint. “Join me on the porch?”
I looked back at the sleeping twins and said. “Sure.”
The floor boards creaked as we walked down the hallway to the stairs. I paused to peak into Ashley’s room and make sure she was alone. She was sound asleep and very much alone. I smiled to myself, knowing I had little reason to worry. Ashley was an intelligent young woman and would make the right decisions.
Jenna peered over my shoulder and whispered. “She’s a hell of a kid you know, just like her momma. She’s good shit. She’s got what it takes to survive this hell.”
Jenna was right. I was very proud of how well Ashley adapted to this harsh and unforgiving world. She had grown stronger and more capable, her fear taken over by her resilience. Most importantly, she was becoming more confident in her ability to survive this new reality. She no longer shied away from the weapons or her obligations to keep the compound and its inhabitants safe at all costs.
Ashley was mastering the skills of the crossbow, thanks to Charlie. The four teenagers worked together very closely and made wise choices when faced with dangerous situations. They were quite a team, regardless of the task. Every one of them took their roles in the compound seriously.
Regardless of the undertaking, whether it was corpse duty, guarding the wall, teaching or playing with the younger ones. These kids were in it for the long haul. For all society believed the accoutrements of the former high-tech world would create a generation of youth that were spoiled, lazy and entitled, they were wrong and here was the proof.
“I know.” I whispered and smiled.
Closing the door quietly, I looked at Jenna with ill-concealed pride. “I know.”
Chapter Sixteen
Jenna and I slipped out the back door leading to an enclosed area that reminded me of the sun porch at home. The windows were closed tightly and covered in plastic to conserve heat. The room was well insulated and I kept a small kerosene space heater for nights such as this. The cold November air permeated every corner and I quickly turned on the heater to chase away the chill.
“Ahhhhhh……”
A low whisper groaning in the darkness cause me to jump and a strangled cry escaped my lips.
I turned around to see Amy, Bree and Amber sitting on a wicker sofa wrapped up in knitted blankets.
“Oh my God.” I groaned. “You guys!”
“We got ya!” Bree laughed. “You always get us. Pay backs are a bitch lady!”
“Ah, very funny. Is this ladies night?”
Amber smiled. “You bet! The guys are at the gate.”
I squeezed myself onto the sofa between Amber and Bree, while Jenna slid between Bree and Amy. We wrapped ourselves up in the warm blankets and struggled to escape the cold. The small heater worked tirelessly to slowly chase away the chill and we passed a few joints between us in a comfortable silence.
“Do you think we should let them sleep in the barn? How many are there?” Amy asked, breaking the peaceful stillness.
I pondered a moment because I hadn’t taken a head count.
“There’s got to be at least two dozen of them.” I said thoughtfully.
“Yeah but Amy’s right. Maybe we should let them sleep in the barn. It’s pretty cold out.” Amber added.
“Well it’s kind of late now. They’re all set up and if there was a problem, I think Derek would bring it up. We’ll wait for tomorrow. If they want, they can sleep in the barn and there’s the loft too. It’s full of bales of hay and straw but it’s warmer than out there.” I answered.
Bree piped in. “I’m sure they’ve been through far worse.”
We nodded and murmured our agreement. This was probably true but we decided to offer them better sleeping arrangements the following day. It was already late in the day when we returned and the group had quickly set up a tempora
ry camp. I was sure they were just happy to have a safe place to get some rest for the night.
I turned to Bree. “How are you feeling?”
“Better now.” She replied, holding up the joint.
“Nausea?” Amy asked.
“Yeah. Really bad too.”
“Ohhh, no.” I said. “You better not be pregnant!”
Everyone fell into an uneasy quiet again at this comment. It would have been welcome news any other time. An event such as this, in a world where there were no doctors and hospitals, the situation didn’t call for celebration. It called for worry.
“I don’t think so.” Bree replied but her tone was unconvincing and betrayed an edge of concern.
“Are you late?” Jenna asked.
“Only a few days and let’s change the subject!” Bree exclaimed, desperate for a distraction.
“Yes, let’s change the subject.” Jenna agreed and grinned. “Just look. Just take a nice long look at what’s out there right now. I just wish it was summer and the guys out there would be taking their shirts off.”
Amber, Amy and Bree laughed boisterously at her comment. Regardless of their current relationship status, they agreed unanimously that they weren’t dead yet and they definitely weren’t blind. I had to agree with them as well, there was definitely some eye candy out there.
Bree whistled and added. “That Derek. Holy shit. Wow.”
“Yes you guys.” I said. “And he’s married.”
Amy giggled. “Well where is she?”
“Yeah.” Jenna chimed in. “I don’t see her!”
I reached over and snatched the joint from Jenna’s hand.
“It’s not funny you guys. She might be dead, she could be a zombie. They had three kids. It’s not funny to joke about. Let it go.” I said to them in a serious tone.
An awkward silence ensued and I immediately felt guilty for ruining their fun. I only knew how I felt about Marcus, the not knowing, the worrying, was he dead or had he turned? Derek’s wife was most likely dead or turned and their children as well. He probably didn’t even know what happened to them. I was lucky enough to at least have my children with me, safe and sound.
Amber cleared her throat loudly. In an effort to bring back our light hearted mood, she changed the direction of the conversation.
“Okay then, let’s play, ‘who does he look like'. Because he does look like a movie star or something. I bet he’s got a nice ass too.”
I laughed because I noticed back on the highway that yes, he did have a nice ass.
I blushed furiously and replied. “Wellllll now, not that I was looking but……”
“Oooohhhh.” Jenna teased. “You were looking! I was beginning to think you were asexual.”
“Fuck off, you are such a shit disturber!” I replied, punching her shoulder before I made my suggestion. “That guy who was in the movie Hurt Locker? Jeremy something or other, I can never remember his last name. Hawkeye in The Avengers.”
Jenna jumped up excitedly. “NO! Channing Tatum!”
“No way!” Bree argued. “Derek’s better looking than him!”
Amy took a big drag off the joint and replied. “Marky Mark! What’s that guy’s name? Or uh, Captain America!”
“No way.” I said. “Derek is definitely taller than Mark Wahlberg. And better looking than both of them. Besides, those guys are probably all dead or turned or worse. Just the thought of it is depressing!”
We pondered our choices quietly. Suddenly we were thrust into a nostalgic mood of days gone by, girls’ nights out, kids play dates and movie nights. It was sad to think those times were lost to us, perhaps for the remainder of our days.
We watched the campfires in the field as they began to burn low. People were slowly retreating to their large canvas tents. I watched Derek as he closed the barn doors, heading to the field to join the men and women of his informal unit.
“Yep.” I said decisively. “Definitely a nice ass.”
We lost ourselves in a fit of laughter. Comfortable conversation and intermittent moments of peaceful stillness ensued. The porch was warming up nicely and we were all experiencing a relaxed, easy buzz.
It was very late in the night when we returned to our own homes and our own sleeping quarters. The following morning would be one of regret for having stayed up so late but the companionship of good friends was always worth it.
I woke early the next day, eager to hear about Derek’s journey. From some unknown location in a remote region of China to an abandoned highway in southwestern Ontario. We were all anxious to find out if both governments functioning and if the military was still active. It was encouraging to come into contact with this group but they seemed to be a random mash up of various military units. This part didn’t make much sense at all and it left us all feeling somewhat defeated.
We gathered the young ones in Amy’s house where Ashley and Sarah could watch over them. Charlie and Ben brought the two older boys to the wall to monitor the gate and do a quick patrol around the inner perimeter. If they ran into any problems, help was just a radio call away. With the weather growing colder each day, we weren’t too concerned about the four of them having any issues.
Derek offered to have a few of his own people go with them. The four boys eagerly accepted the offer and they excitedly ran off with two soldiers. The soldiers good naturedly answered all of the questions the younger ones threw at them and showed some interest in the crossbows that the teenagers had. Convinced that the group would be safe, I watched them pass through the chain link gate.
I turned to Derek. “Is everyone comfortable? Are you all warm enough? It was so cold last night, I was worried.”
“No Emily, don’t worry.” He sighed, running his hand through his sandy blonde hair. “Really, this is the best we’ve had in quite some time. We’re grateful.”
“I’ll try to round up some eggs. We’ve got chickens here and some goats for milk. I’ll see what I can do for everyone.”
“You don’t understand. When I say this is the best we’ve had in a long time, I meant it. The world outside those walls isn’t what it used to be.”
We went into the barn so he could check on his wounded soldiers. There were two men and one woman. Their injuries were not life threatening but they would need some time to recover. While the medic on hand had been able to stop the bleeding, at least two of the injured had bullets that had needed to be removed. Luckily, no internal organs had been hit but they still required bed rest. One of the men would most likely be up and about in a day or two.
Amy continued to learn quite a bit from Gemma, the young female medic. At the start of the outbreak she had been in the Canadian Armed Forces. Amy decided to dedicate her day to shadowing Gemma in an effort to learn more about dealing with battlefield wounds.
My feelings were mixed but I understood the value of the experience. I simply didn’t want to think we would ever be faced with a situation that required the use of this knowledge. Then again each new day we faced revealed a new challenge and a new reality.
I was correct in my assumption that this really was a mixed group of soldiers. Each individual in Derek’s group came from various branches of both the Canadian and U.S. Armed Forces. Their journeys had all begun in random locations during different stages of the initial chaotic outbreak.
Derek had managed to motivate them to stay together as a group. They had suffered many losses as they travelled and the numbers of their group changed almost daily. Some lives were lost to the zombies, others to sickness and still more to encounters with civilian mercenaries.
I waited patiently until Derek finished his rounds. Most of the people in his group were helping unload the two trucks. To thank them for their help, we shared the spoils of our first scavenging mission. I left the daunting task of dividing the supplies up to Sam and Mike.
Josh cleaned out the stalls for the horses and Jenna headed out to care for the rest of the animals. Amy was busy with Gemma and Amber was working i
n the greenhouses. Bree was still not feeling well so she was overseeing the monitors that captured the feeds from the cameras on the outer walls. It was a day like any other in the life of the compound.
“Let’s talk.” Derek said as he approached.
“First thing, with the cold, have your group settle in the barn, it’s heated. The other outbuildings are full of our supplies so there isn’t room in those. Only the horses are in the barn and we keep it very clean. We keep the other animals in smaller shelters to conserve heat. There’s also the loft up top.”
“We’ll take you up on that offer.” He smiled that wide, toothy grin again and I felt a familiar but long neglected warmth spread across my body.
I flushed slightly and looked away. “Well, let’s check out the loft and make sure it’ll be a decent option. You can fill me in on the details of your awesome road trip.”
He chuckled and followed me up the wooden ladder to the loft above.
“It’s warmer up here too!” I exclaimed as I reached the top.
“It sure is.”
“So, Derek, your wife, your kids. Do you know if they’re safe?” I asked bluntly.
“The last I heard from them, they were safe with her family in Alaska. That was just as I landed in D.C. and just before all hell broke loose.”
“I’m glad they’re safe, Derek. You must be relieved.”
He sighed. “I am relieved or I was but it’s been months.”
“Did the outbreak hit there too?”
“Not like it did everywhere else. The west coast didn’t seem to get hit as bad. The more populated areas were hit pretty bad but nowhere near a total loss. In the less populated areas they seemed to get it controlled rather quickly and there were only small outbreaks.”
“Does that include the Canadian coast, too?”
“Yes, it does. That’s where we’re headed, the Rockies. Both governments have set up command there. Most refugees are either sticking it out where they can or heading west. If they can gain territory lost out there, it’ll be a slow march east to clear infected zones. It could take years. These men and women, they’re tough, they’re experienced and they’ll make a difference. That’s why we’re trying to get back to a central command so we can help take care of this clusterfuck.”
