by Wood, J N
‘Does she like drink?’ Gee asked me.
‘What?’
‘Beth, does she drink beer?’ he asked.
‘Not really, she’s drunk and falling asleep after one glass of wine. Why?’
‘Just thinking,’ he said, tapping the side of his head.
Nine o’clock came and went, so we gave up on the food tents and continued with our concentric circles. The inner fence and parts of the harbour had solar lights, so it was reasonably well illuminated around those areas. Closer to the centre of the camp, where people seemed to congregate and just walk around for no reason, it was much harder to see what I was stepping on. Old steel barrels had been positioned on street corners and set alight. The market stalls had candles laid out, and some people even walked around with flaming torches. Even with all that, it was still difficult to see.
If they’re not careful this place is definitely gonna burn down.
Gee was leading as we walked around the west side of the camp, close to the harbour again. He stopped and pointed towards a building. Above the door hung a white banner. Pea’s Place had been stencilled onto it. ‘Pub?’ he asked.
‘Love to Gee, but how are we gonna pay for drinks?’ I asked.
He smiled down at me. ‘Do not worry about that.’ He turned and strode confidently across the traffic free road, towards the pub.
‘What the fuck does that mean?’ I asked him.
He just carried on walking, so Ali and I followed him.
I turned to Ali as we walked. ‘Seriously, what does that mean?’
‘I don’t care. If he can get me a drink, I’ll take it. We aren’t going to find Beth in the dark.’
We caught up with Gee just as he opened the door. Two very surly looking guys stood on the other side, both of them bigger than Gee. They stepped closer together, blocking our path.
Well, that’s the end of that idea then.
Chapter 13: Vegas
The expressions on the two huge bouncers’ faces changed. The difference was instantaneous. They were suddenly all smiles. Gee shook both their hands in turn. There was a lot of shoulder grabbing and back slapping, all the while they spoke in what I’m assuming was Lithuanian. I heard the two big guys say Gintaras a lot, and at one point Gee turned to Ali and me, still speaking in Lithuanian. Both of our names were mentioned a couple of times. Ali and I both smiled. The two bouncers held out their hands to us and we shook them.
‘This is Andrius and Matis,’ Gee said, a huge smile on his face. ‘They are from Lithuania, like me.’
‘Yeah we guessed that Gee,’ Ali said, a big smile spreading across her face as well. ‘Hi guys.’
‘Hey, any friend of Gintaras is a friend of ours,’ Andruis said. He leaned around Gee and almost scooped Ali and me up with his right arm, guiding us into the pub. ‘Welcome to Pea’s Place. You can call me Andy. It’s easier for non-Lithuanian speakers to say.’
Andruis’s, or Andy’s English was a lot better than Gee’s. There was also a bit more American in his accent.
As Andruis opened an inner door, Matis quietly said, ‘Have a good night guys.’
The inner door opened up onto a very nice looking, but bizarrely quiet pub. Each table had three of four people sat around it, but all carrying on with the low volume rule of the camp. They all seemed to be in full conversation but speaking very softly.
I’m definitely gonna forget this rule after a few drinks.
The slate fronted, wooden topped bar stretched along the entire length of one wall. Two barmaids busied themselves serving people who were sat at the bar. Two waiters stood at the right hand side of the bar, waiting for their drinks orders. Behind the two barmaids, the wall was entirely mirrored. Bottles filled the many shelves that sat in front of the massive mirrors. All of the bar stools were occupied. I had a quick glance around and there weren’t any free seats in the house.
‘Come with me,’ Andruis said to us.
It was weird to be in a pub this full of people and be able to hear someone so easily.
We followed Andruis.
I’m sticking with his real name, it’s really not that hard to pronounce.
He took us towards the far left of the bar, where one man was sat on a bar stool. He was slightly separated from the others at the bar, resting his back against the wall behind him. He looked like he was all arms and legs.
Andruis guided us into the space between the leggy man and the next person along. ‘One minute,’ he said.
Ali and I exchanged bemused looks. I raised my right hand in front of my face, rubbing my thumb and forefinger together. I mouthed the word ‘Money,’ and shrugged my shoulders. Ali just smiled and returned my shrug.
Fuck’s sake, this is gonna be awkward after all this fuss has been made.
Gee seemed like he was in his element, just looking around at his surroundings, the smile on his face getting bigger.
Only seconds later, Andruis appeared as if from nowhere, carrying two tall bar stools. He placed them onto the wooden floor behind us. ‘Just need one more,’ he said.
‘Andruis,’ a voice said, making the Lithuanian bouncer spin around. It was the leggy man calling him over.
I saw the man’s mouth moving, but couldn’t quite discern what he was saying. Andruis listened and nodded his head. The man picked up his wine glass, slid off his stool and walked past us to lean against the bar. I think he may have been even taller than Andruis, and he wasn’t just all arms and legs, he also carried a bit of extra weight around his middle. Andruis then moved our two stools closer to the one the leggy man had just vacated.
Andruis turned to us smiling. ‘Here you go.’
I looked to the man who had given up his stool. ‘Are you sure?’
He just smiled, giving us a quick and exaggerated wave of his hand. Up close it was hard to tell his age. He had a big face, with large full lips, and he looked very young. Below his eyebrows, there wasn’t a single hair on his face.
‘Thanks very much, that’s very kind of you,’ I said, climbing up onto the stool closest to him. The little axe tucked into my belt was digging into my hip, so I quickly slid it around so it was more comfortable.
‘I’ve been sat down long enough,’ he replied, briefly glancing down to my axe. He sounded like he was English.
Ali sat between Gee and me, so I leaned around her and whispered, ‘Gee, how are we going to pay for the drinks?’
Gee continued to smile that annoyingly smug grin. ‘Do not worry,’ he told me.
‘What the fuck?’ I whispered.
‘Excuse me,’ Andruis said to a barmaid. He was leaning across the bar between me and the leggy man. She hadn’t heard him so he clicked his fingers. She noticed and rushed over to him. He muttered something into her ear, before turning back to us. ‘Okay. Drinks are on me tonight guys. Enjoy.’
‘Eh?’ I replied, before realising what he’d just said. ‘Okay, thank you,’ I said to his back, as walked towards the exit.
‘What can I get you?’ the woman behind the bar asked.
‘Erm…any IPA’s? I asked.
She smiled back at me.
Probably forced, but nice all the same.
‘Just the one darling. It’s Goose Island.’
‘Yeah perfect,’ I said.
‘Make that two,’ Ali said.
‘Three,’ Gee added.
The smiley barmaid returned with three opened bottles. ‘You okay with no glasses? Running a bit short.’
‘That’s absolutely fine,’ I replied. ‘Thanks very much.’
Her smile looked more sincere this time.
‘What just happened Gee?’ Ali asked him, once the barmaid had left to serve another customer.
‘I meet them earlier today. They from same part of Lithuania as me. I think one of them fuck my cousin.’
‘Nice,’ I said, shaking my head. ‘What about this Pea fella? Is he happy his bouncers are giving away free drinks all night?’
Gee shrugged. ‘I do not know. You
ask him. He stand behind you.’
I stared straight at Gee, and asked, ‘Really?’
He nodded, bringing his bottle up to his mouth.
I looked to Ali and whispered, ‘Do you think he heard all that?’
‘Probably,’ she replied, and leaned closer to me. ‘But you didn’t say anything bad.’ She took a swig of her drink, and then raised the bottle up to me. ‘Nice.’
I took a mouthful from my bottle, and swivelled around to face the bar. I glanced to my right and the man was angled towards me. I swivelled a little bit further and reached my hand out to him. ‘Hi, are you Mr Pea? I’m Chris.’
‘Pleased to meet you Chris,’ he said, shaking my hand. ‘Call me Charles.’ He was definitely English, from somewhere down south.
‘This is Ali and Gintaras,’ I said, leaning back on my stool.
Charles reached around me, took Ali’s hand and kissed the back of it. ‘Pleased to meet you also Ali.’
Ali just smiled. After she retrieved her hand she surreptitiously wiped it on her jeans. I didn’t think Charles had spotted the move.
Gee just leaned forward and raised his bottle, saying, ‘Thank you for drinks.’
‘You’re very welcome Gintaras,’ Charles replied.
‘What are you doing over here then?’ I asked him.
‘In America? Or in the camp?’
‘Both,’ I said.
‘I’ve been in the States for a few years. Most recently I was a yacht broker in Santa Barbara. Here in the camp, I run this bar.’
‘How do you end up running a bar in an apocalyptic refugee camp?’ Ali asked.
‘Short story? This place was available when we got here.’
‘What is the slightly longer story?’ I asked him.
‘Well, back in Santa Barbara, I borrowed one of my client’s yachts. He didn’t need it anymore on account of being dead. I then sailed Andruis, Matis, and their families up here from California. We were trying to get to Canada but their navy wouldn’t let us pass. Do you know the geography around here?’
I shook my head. ‘Nope.’
‘Not really,’ Ali said.
Gee stared at the bottle in his hand.
‘Well,’ Charles continued. ‘We were trying to get to Vancouver Island, and dock somewhere around there, but their coastal vessels appeared from nowhere. We entered the Salish Sea hoping they would leave us alone, but they just followed us until we came upon another one of their vessels, and then another one, and another. You get the picture. Then we ran out of American water and had to dock here, in Blaine’s harbour. Like I said, this place, the pub, was just available,’ he said, using both of his overly long arms to dramatically gesture to our surroundings. ‘Not many takers you see, and I had Andruis and Matis to help me get started. I figured we were going to be here a while, so we just did it. Twelve days later and here we are. Things can move quickly, but also incredibly slowly in the apocalypse.’
‘How old are you Charles?’ Ali asked, her Goose Island almost empty.
I took a long swig of mine, trying to catch up.
Charles smiled back at her. ‘I’m thirty four, Alison.’
‘How did you know the big Lithuanians?’ I asked.
The smiling barmaid appeared with three new bottles. I had to snatch my old bottle out of her reach. ‘Not finished yet,’ I said. ‘Thank you.’
‘Come on slow coach,’ Ali said.
Charles waited for us to finish talking before answering. ‘I only met Andruis and Matis for the first time when trying to get out of Santa Barbara. I figured we could help each other out, and so we did.’ He raised his glass of white wine and took a sip.
‘How do you make any money from this place?’ I asked.
‘I don’t. Nobody makes any money here. But this affords me a relatively easy and comfortable life. I don’t want to go scavenging and fishing, or venture into the wastelands killing zombies. Far too dangerous.’
‘Where does all the booze come from?’ Ali asked.
I looked up at the shelves and noticed a lot of the bottles were actually empty, probably just there for show.
‘I have my own scavengers,’ Charles replied. ‘They’re separate from the so-called official scavengers. May I ask how long you three have been here?’
‘We got here yesterday,’ Ali answered. ‘This is our first day in the camp.’
‘I imagine in the brief time you have been guests here, you will have noticed that this place is not run like a well-oiled machine? Corruption and laziness is rife.’
‘Yep, we’ve noticed,’ I said.
‘Well there you go then, you should be able to surmise from what you’ve witnessed, that it is quite easy to smuggle certain items into the camp. Getting items, or people, into Canada is another thing altogether.’
‘Are you from Suffolk?’ I asked. ‘I’m getting a slight farmer accent from you.’ I realised too late that the farmer comment was probably quiet offensive. The beers were going straight to my head.
Luckily Charles just let out a high pitched giggle. ‘Yes, I’m from Stowmarket. An Ipswich fan for my sins.’
‘I’ve got a friend in the camp from Norwich,’ I said. ‘I’ll bring him in here sometime. He’ll probably hate you.’
‘Chris,’ Ali said. ‘Try not to insult our host too much.’
Charles laughed again. ‘It’s okay Ali. Just a joke, it’s an English football rivalry.’
I glanced up and three new bottles had appeared. ‘Fucking hell,’ I exclaimed. ‘Gee, are you ordering these?’
Gee turned to me and smiled.
I finished off my first bottle and quickly downed half of the second.
‘I have discovered over the last few weeks, that Lithuanians drink like fish,’ Charles said.
‘Hey Pea my old buddy.’ A hand slapped down on Charles’s shoulder.
Charles turned to face the new arrival and smiled. ‘Evening Elliot, how has your day been?’
I twisted around to see Elliot’s smiling face. I recognised him as one of the container guys.
‘Awful, like every day before it. And I’ve been moved off night shifts.’ He glanced at me, and then at Ali and Gee. ‘Hey new guys.’ He looked back to Charles. ‘Me and Martin shepherded this lot in early yesterday morning.’
‘Hello again,’ I said.
Andruis the bouncer stepped between Ali and me, and spoke to the same smiley barmaid. ‘Elliot is okay for tonight,’ he said.
I’ve got no fucking idea how all this works.
‘Usual please Amy,’ Elliot said to the smiley barmaid. ‘How has your first day been?’ he asked, diverting his attention back to us.
‘It’s been an eye opener,’ Ali said.
I remembered my drink and finished off the second bottle.
‘New rumours today, direct from across the border,’ Elliot said.
Charles laughed. ‘From your very reliable, but secret source once again Elliot?’
Elliot frowned. ‘Yes Pea, the same.’
‘Okay, go ahead,’ Charles said. ‘Please divulge to us this accurate and truthful information, gleamed from God knows where.’
Elliot stared at Charles, shaking his head, before continuing. ‘It was definitely the Russians and the Chinese, working in cahoots.’
‘Cahoots,’ Charles said. ‘Is that the term the international press are using?’
Elliot ignored him. ‘Apparently they’re both denying it, but of course they would. The rest of the world is readying their defences. The United Nations is imposing all kinds of sanctions on the Russians and the Chinese. It’s definitely a cold war out there. The biggest news is that Canada is sending half its naval force over to Europe real soon.’ Elliot’s beer arrived and he took a sip, leaving foam on his moustache. He wiped it away with the back of his hand.
‘Apart from the Canadians setting sail,’ Charles said. ‘None of that is new, and it was only a matter of time before Canada’s navy was mobilised.’
‘Just letting you
know the latest,’ Elliot said.
I turned to Ali. ‘So you were right, maybe.’
‘Yeah,’ she said glumly.
‘Hey,’ Charles said. ‘It’s just rumours. The virus might have been caused by parents refusing to vaccinate their kids for all we know.’
‘Everything I said is true,’ Elliot retorted.
‘Any idea how to get out of the camp?’ I asked Elliot.
‘What are you thinking?’ Ali asked me.
I shrugged. ‘How to get across the border in less than eighteen months.’
‘Across the border? Not easy,’ Elliot replied. ‘Out of the camp? Now that is easy. The same way you came in.’
‘Oh yeah,’ I remembered. ‘Why didn’t you tell us there was another option of going in by boat?’
Elliot looked confused. ‘Because you were in our container, and the tunnel was just there.’
I shook my head. ‘Okay, doesn’t matter. What about getting into Canada?’
‘You do know the wall isn’t finished?’ Charles said.
‘Nope,’ I replied. ‘Well, Elliot briefly mentioned something about it yesterday.’
Ali shifted in her seat slightly to move closer to the conversation.
‘This is a big country, and the border stretches across the whole entire lot of it,’ Elliot said. ‘They can’t have had time to finish the wall. We think they concentrated on the heavily populated areas first. They’re bound to have weak spots, where it’s just a fence, or only guarded by soldiers.’
‘Fifty miles,’ Charles said. ‘One hundred perhaps. If you go far enough you’ll definitely find one of Elliot’s weak spots.’
‘Why don’t people try it then?’ Ali asked.
‘I’m sure they do,’ Elliot said. ‘People leave here all the time. They probably die trying, or they make it. And there are the other camps. They might just go to one of them if they can’t get across.’
‘Why are you thinking of leaving us so soon?’ Charles asked me. ‘You’ve only just arrived, so you must know how bad it is out there?’
‘Because I can’t stay here for eighteen months. I need to get home.’
‘Back to England?’ Charles asked, looking surprised.
‘Yes, back home. By the sounds of it there won’t be an England if I wait much longer.’
