by Poe, S. B.
“No one’s in charge. Kate and Bridger have gotten everyone this far because they’re smart and they listen. But no one makes anyone do anything. Hell, ask Ed.” Tilly hoisted the chairs under her arm and walked away.
Ed and Vernon turned and walked into the fellowship hall and grabbed some chairs. They followed the direction Tilly headed.
“Cotton didn’t listen.” Vernon said. “Hell, I don’t think I said more than a half dozen words to him since this all began and I saw him everyday. Everyone else just kind of waited for orders. Wasn’t much to do once the barricade went up that Cody and I couldn’t handle. We set up the guards at the gate but most everyone else just kept to themselves. Cotton would ring that bell when something needed doing but mostly it was me and Cody he was calling.”
“I never had no use for Cotton Smalls, don’t miss him a bit. Glad I wasn’t stuck in here with him.” Ed said. “Only time any of them made me do anything was when Bridger made me show him Russell’s place. He could have just knocked me in the head and been done with me at that point too. But it never seemed to even cross his mind. By the time we got back he had given me his gun to hold while he worked on some deaduns. I ain’t regretted hooking up with these folks for one second.”
Kate carried an armful of wood over and dropped it on the ground. Raj, Charlie and Jennifer had cleared a spot for the fire. Violet and Peter helped the others arrange the chairs. Everyone sat in a wide circle around the stack of wood that was slowly starting to catch fire.
“Solar panels? Are you serious?” Kate wiped her hands.
“That’s what they said.” Josh said.
“It was the new guy’s idea.” Lori said.
“Cameron?” Kate asked.
“Yeah, he said he knew all about that stuff.” Josh said.
“And of course Bridger was on board.” Kate said.
“I told y’all, he can’t help it.” Ed said as he and Vernon joined the circle. “He just gotta see what’s out there.”
Kate looked at Tilly and smiled. Tilly shrugged her shoulders.
“Y’all got room for a few more?” Devin yelled as he crossed the road. “I brought the booze.”
Everyone paused and turned as Devin hoisted two bottles in the air. Some looked at the bottles but most looked at the two people with him. Emma Grace walked just a few feet behind him holding her brother’s hand. Raj trotted over to them as they crossed.
“You feeling okay?” Raj said. “I told you that you didn’t need to come.”
“I’m good.” Cody said. “I needed to stretch my legs.”
“Just watch the stitches. Try not to bump anything to hard. If it starts throbbing let me know.” Raj said.
“Sure.” He said as Raj walked away. He turned to Emma Grace. “Let’s get this over with.”
“Try not to be rude. I know how hard that’ll be but I will sock you in that arm, just so you know.” She said.
“Love you too, sis.” They joined the others around the growing fire.
The sun hung just over the tops of the trees that sheltered the houses. The shadows grew longer and a clutch of mosquito hatchlings rose from the grass nearby. The wind came in slight gusts against the fading sun and fell to nothing as the darkness grew. Kate listened to the conversations around the fire. She smiled when everyone smiled and laughed when everyone laughed. She felt a little better when the SUV pulled up to the curb and Bridger, Evelyn and Cameron showed everyone their new prize. But everyone felt better when Jahda and Ham crossed the road. They found two empty chairs and sat down. Ham lowered her chin but her eyes glanced around.
“Good evening Jahda, you too Miss Ham.” Cameron said as he sat down beside her. “You see that thing over there?” He pointed to the solar panel trailer. “We’re going to make electricity with that.”
Ham lifted her chin and looked at the trailer, then back at Cameron.
“For what?” She asked.
“Well, we’re going to start with charging the walkie talkies. Do you have any suggestions what we should use it for?” Cameron asked.
“Can it run a refrigerator?”
“Yes.”
“A freezer.”
“Yes, do you think we should use it for that?”
“Yes.” Ham said.
“To keep our food in?”
“Sort of.”
“Sort of?”
“Well if ice cream counts.” Ham said.
The entire group had watched her from afar as she and Jahda came and went from the house to the cemetery for the last few days. No one had really had a chance to see for themselves how she was holding up. Everyone was eavesdropping on Cameron’s conversation and the group grew quiet as Ham spoke. They erupted in laughter. Ham glanced around and smiled. For the rest of the night, each one made their way to Ham’s side at some point to give her a hug. Devin had told everyone she was the toughest kid he knew. He was right.
As the fire grew lower, Kate leaned forward in her chair and turned to Bridger.
“So, solar panels huh?” She asked.
“Why not?” Bridger took a sip from the bottle and passed it to Evelyn.
“No complaints. So, what else did you find out there?” Kate asked.
“I found out that a spear works really good against the deaduns. I found out that Cameron seems to be okay, but I already knew that.”
“How?”
“You brought him. If you thought he was okay, that’s good enough for me.” Bridger said.
“And these other folks?” Kate nodded across the glowing coals at Emma Kate and Cody.
“I think they’re okay. At least the boy might know how to grow the seed we brought back.” Bridger said.
“Let me ask you something?” Kate turned sideways in her seat and drew a little closer.
“What?” Bridger turned.
“Do you think this place is safe? I mean, I know it’s never really going to be entirely safe, not as long as the dead are outside.”
“Against the dead, yes. I think the barricades, the way they arranged them and how they’re constructed, are good. You could pile a lot of dead against it and it’s not going to move. They did a good job.”
“Do you think there could be somewhere else, within reach, that would be safer? Some military base or something?” Kate asked.
“Maybe. Columbus AFB is close. Hundred miles or less, I would think. Why? Are you wanting to leave?”
“Just the opposite. If this is as safe as anything else we could find, I think we should stay.” Kate said.
“I’m sorry, did I miss some conversation while we were gone? Who said we weren’t staying?” Bridger asked.
“Sorry. I’m terrible at making my point. Maybe because I’m not sure it’s worth making. Also maybe because I haven't drank anything in quite a while. But look at us, look at this group. We’ve been lucky sure but look at what we have. We’ve got a doctor, we’ve got a soldier, and we’ve got a lot of good people with a lot of skills. We’ve managed to make it through this hell so far because we’re a good team.”
“Maybe you’ve had a little too much to drink.” Bridger smiled.
“My point is…”
“Finally.”
“Shut up. My point is that even as good as we’ve been, we could be better and don’t even know it. Cameron may have solved a problem we were bound to need solved at some point. I mean gas doesn’t last forever does it? And Cody and Vernon and Emma Grace, they have skills that we don’t. Maybe that’s a good thing.” Kate said.
“Seriously, you’ve lost me completely. I thought we were talking about this place being safe or something.” Bridger chuckled.
“I’m talking about what comes next. I’m talking about making something permanent. Making a future. Figuring out what that looks like.” Kate said. “Maybe we need to find more people. Maybe we need to build something for more than just us.”
“Okay now I know you’re drunk.” Bridger said.
“I’m not. We can make this work.” K
ate said. “You like going out there, don’t lie and say you don’t. Go out there and find people. People like us.”
“Okay Kate. I’m going to let you enjoy the rest of your evening. I may be going out there again, especially if Cameron can make his little solar thingy work. There are probably a lot of things like that contraption out there along that interstate. We could light up the whole place over time. But I won’t be bringing back people. At least I won’t be trying too.” Bridger said.
“Why not?”
He leaned over and whispered in her ear. “Because no matter how safe this place is from the dead outside the walls, we’ve still got the Martin problem.” She looked quizzically at him.
“It can get inside, just like it did when Martin turned. The chances of that increases every time someone new comes on board. I’m not looking to add to the amazingly long list of shit I worry about on a daily basis. Goodnight Kate.” Bridger stood and turned to Evelyn, reaching out his hand.
Kate watched them disappear into the darkness as they left the glow of the dying fire. She glanced over at Ham and watched Peter sit down beside her. Jahda stood just off to the side with Devin, Emma Grace and Cody. She looked around at the rest of the group. She knew she was right. She knew Bridger was right too but there had to be a way. They couldn’t just close themselves off. The rest of the world was still out there. Somewhere.
Ham stared at the embers as they rose and winked out. Her eyes sagged as a yawn escaped her mouth. She barely noticed when Peter sat down. He leaned over and whispered.
“It’s okay. I’m alone too.” Peter said.
“I’m not alone, neither are you. We’ve got a whole family around us.” Ham gazed across the flickering flames and smiled.
A New Day
Bridger stood on the patio as Kate walked through the door carrying a small knapsack. It had been three days since he had brought back the solar rig. Cameron got the thing working right away and charging the walkies had made it seem worthwhile. When Cameron plugged a coffee maker into an extension cord he had run into Kate’s house the decision was made pretty quickly that expanding the solar capabilities of their new home would be worthwhile too.
“I found these.” She handed it to Bridger. “Just some more screwdrivers and pliers.”
“We’ve got plenty.” Bridger said. “But thanks. You never know.”
“Do you think you’ll find some?”
“Cameron is pretty convinced that rigs like it should be up and down the interstate.” Bridger said.
“Which way will you go?”
“Cameron and Charlie think we should go back towards South Springs.”
“You don’t?”
“Nah, it’s not that. It makes as much sense as going the other way. Sorta seems like heading back the way we came.” Bridger said.
“It’s not the same way.”
“I know, just general direction, but it doesn't really matter. We’ll find what we’re looking for or we won’t. If we don’t we can go the other way then.”
“Well, unless we get going, we’re not going anywhere today.” Evelyn said as she climbed the steps behind him. He turned and handed her the bag.
“Everything ready?”
“I guess.” Evelyn said as she started back down the steps. Bridger turned to follow her and Kate reached out to grab his arm.
“Hey, I don’t want you to get used to dragging my son along with you every time you go out.” Kate said.
“Josh volunteered. Just like he has every other time. He likes going out.”
“I know, that’s what worries me.” Kate said. “Keep him safe. Keep all of them safe.”
“I will”
The SUV rolled to the top of the on ramp and stopped. The truck pulled up beside it and Lori rolled down the window. Bridger looked down the empty road and could see a few vehicles in the distance.
“Batteries.” He nodded towards the cars.
“What about the other stuff?” Josh yelled through the window.
“There should be smaller panels along the roadway. Keep an eye out. Remember, they will be mounted on poles several feet off the ground.” Cameron said.
“That’s why we brought the ladders.” Josh said.
“We’ll just keep a lookout while we go. Let’s get started.” Bridger said as he put the SUV in gear and started towards the abandoned cars.
The road was partially blocked in places with more abandoned cars than they had initially seen from their vantage point. They parked the SUV and truck and set out on foot. The sound of windows breaking and hoods popping echoed up and down the interstate for the next half hour. Josh and Lori took turns standing on the roofs, watching. They quickly removed the batteries from the first batch of cars and Charlie had managed to siphon several gallons of gasoline into the cans they had brought. They loaded up and moved on to the next group of vehicles. Bridger could imagine the nights of panic as people fled the hordes of dead coming from all directions. Coming upon wrecks and blockages and going around them quickly only to be caught up in another one a little further on. Eventually the road ended for all of them. He looked at all the empty vehicles and wondered, where did you all go?
“Up there!” Lori yelled. Bridger wheeled around.
“Is that what we’re looking for?” She asked.
Cameron came around the front of the vehicle he had the hood up on and shielded his eyes.
“Yes, indeed it is.”
“I’ll get the ladder.” Josh said as he walked to the back of the truck.
They all walked just off the roadway and down the short slope. Positioned about fifteen feet off the ground, attached to a metal pole, was a small solar panel with a wire that led down to a box about five feet below it.
“I’ll get it.” Josh said as he sat the ladder against the pole.
“Very well, but use precautions. Take this.” Cameron handed him a small blanket. “Drape it over the panel. It is still producing enough electricity to shock you. It’s a small panel so it won’t hurt you but it could spook you enough to make you lose your balance. First disconnect the lead going down to the box, then removed the panel.”
“What about the control box?” Josh asked as he started up the ladder.
“Get the panel first. Then we’ll worry about the box.” Bridger said.
“Okay, here goes.” Josh climbed the ladder and found a comfortable enough perch to work from.
It took a couple of minutes for Josh to get the bolts loose. He tied the rope to the panel and lowered it down. Cameron and Evelyn grabbed one end and Charlie grabbed the other. They carried it to the back of the truck and Bridger helped them lay it down in the bed. Lori turned to watch them from atop the roof of the car. She turned back just as the deadun stepped out of the woods. It grabbed Josh off the ladder as he came down.
“JOSH!!!” She screamed as she jumped down.
Bridger snapped his head around and took off running. Josh managed to grab the pole as the deadun grabbed at his legs. He kicked at the deadun. The ladder twisted and slid off the pole. He fell hard on his back but he held onto the ladder. The deadun fell on top of him with the ladder between them. The things mouth slammed against the rungs as it furiously chomped at him. Josh kept pushing the ladder upward, raising the deadun up with it. He managed to keep the things mouth away but he couldn’t let go to grab a weapon. He pushed hard and rolled the ladder to the side. He rolled over with it and trapped the deadun beneath the rungs. He grabbed his knife just as Bridger arrived. Bridger slammed the tip of the spear into the things eye just as Josh drove his knife into the other. Pop.
Josh leaned back on his knees and caught his breath. Lori skidded down the little slope and wrapped her arms around him, almost knocking him down again. Bridger reached down and grabbed his shoulder.
“Are you okay?” Lori asked as she cupped his face in her hands. “Please tell me you’re okay.”
“Yeah, I think so.” Josh said as he brushed the dirt off his sleeve.
&nb
sp; “Stand up. Let me check you over.” Bridger said. Josh stood and wiped the dirt off the back of his pants. Bridger took his hands and looked them over for bites.
“Damn son, your mother would have killed me.” Bridger said.
“You seem more scared of her than the dead.” Josh smiled.
“I am. A lot more.” Bridger said.
Cameron and Charlie hustled down the hill with Evelyn right beside them. Charlie slid to a stop next to the deadun.
“I see you took the opportunity to create an appropriate weapon.” Cameron smiled at the spear in Bridger’s hand.
