Part 17 (1/2)
”Wait!” The group turned to Deacon as he quickly stood. He looked at Jonathan, then to Elliot. ”What about Hawaii?”
Chapter 24.
Sophia had been pacing back and forth for several hours now. Their mission was simple. Make it to the gas station, fill up gas cans, and return home. She was filled with emotions as she stomped around in the front yard, her arms crossed. Sadness swirled with anger in a torrential downpour of fear.
Andy walked up to her and reached out to grab her hand, which she found comforting. ”Deacon will be back soon. I know he will, because he's the strongest man alive.”
Sophia laughed through her worried tears. ”He is. I have no doubt about it.” She knew, however, that his strength may not always be enough. The fiends in large numbers could devastate a small group of survivors in moments. Kneeling down, Sophia put her arms around Andy and hugged him tight. She couldn't risk having children of her own right now, so she was prepared to guard the twins with her life.
”Why don't you run back inside and make sure your sister is ok,” she said.
”Ok. I found a worm anyway, Amie will be so grossed out.” Andy held up the slimy pink worm, turned, and ran up to the house. Sophia found this amazing. Despite all the bad things that happened in the world, children could find joy in life.
The soft rumble could be heard from down the road. Sophia climbed the ladder and peeked over the wall. A truck turned the corner onto the street in front of the house. As it moved closer she could tell it was the Tundra, but Sophia was told to wait for the signal before opening the gate in case there was trouble.
Three flashes of the headlights told her that everything was alright, and she did her own inspection of the street for fiends. Feeling satisfied, she climbed down to the soft gra.s.s and pressed the b.u.t.ton on the wall to open the gate for them.
As the big truck rolled through the gate she reached up to the b.u.t.ton, as she pressed it the white Prius pulled in. Unsure of whom this was, Sophia grabbed the shotgun from off her back and readied herself to fire. They must be alright if Deacon brought them here, yet she knew better than to not be prepared for the worst.
”Theyare with us.” Deacon waved to Sophia as he walked around the front of the Tundra.
Sophia ran to him and wrapped her arms around his chest. ”Who are they?” Sophia felt excited to be meeting new people, yet she remained cautious.
”This is Tyler and Layla.” Deacon introduced them as they climbed out of the front, ”And Elliot and Nora.”
”Nice to meet you all,” Sophia smiled. Although she found comfort in Deacon's trust of these new people, she kept her lowered shotgun in her hand. Her index fingered rested lightly on the side of the trigger. She felt that the man named Elliot looked as if he could be dangerous, and she was certainly correct.
”I thought this place would be a little bigger,” Layla said with disgust as she looked around at the single story white house.
”You could have left her where you found her,” Sophia whispered to Deacon who m.u.f.fled a laugh.
”Make yourselves comfortable. There is food and drinks in the fridge. Running water from a well my father installed. I have never consumed the water from the faucet, but it seems great for bathing. Someone can show everyone around later.” Jonathan noticed the look on the other's faces as he said this.
”You have electricity?” Layla asked. The disappointment began to fade as she rushed into the house. ”I could use a nice hot bath.” She didn't waste any time letting herself in. Quickly finding the bathroom, she grabbed a towel from the rack. She let out an excited scream as the water rushed out into the tub.
Jonathan explained to the rest how the house was running off of solar energy and the propane generator. This was a setup that his father and brother Michael had worked hard on. ”For the most part, the solar panels will run everything. Once in a while, however, the generator will kick on. There is plenty of propane there.”
”This is awesome. You have been living it up here,” Elliot said as he looked around.
”Yeah, I guess I have had it pretty good.” Jonathan knew this, but hearing it from Elliot stung a little.
”Hey, I didn't mean anything by it.” Elliot noticed that his comment had bothered the young man.
”Do not worry about it. It is just that everyone else has had it pretty tough out there while I have been warm and snug here. You all have these horrific stories of survival and all I can do is complain about being lonely while I eat fresh vegetables and canned meat.”
”Hey,” Elliot placed his hand on Jonathan's shoulder. ”Even you have suffered loss. Besides, it's because of you that these people have a safe place to call home. Think about it, without you, how long do you think any of us would live out there? I know we were struggling pretty bad.”
”I guess you are right. I just feel awful about what you all have been through, and to make it worse, it was my father who helped start this.”
”Don't blame him, man. I didn't know your father, only met him briefly, but I could tell he was a genuine, honest man. He wanted nothing more than to help people. The other guy, Greg, he only wanted recognition and glory - and to bring a dead child back to life so he wouldn't go to prison for murder.”
This made Jonathan smile. He also began to think about isolating the chemical that controls the fiends. Jonathan excused himself and went to his room where he began writing. If I can contain the chemical then perhaps I can find a way to stop it. There has to be a way to neutralize it. There has to be a way to kill the dead in one large chemical attack.
The group had settled inside and everyone had a hot shower. Clothes were cleaned, and dinner was made. The new members of their group had not had a good meal in months. Most of their meals were canned food warmed up over a fire.
Brian's canning of meats had proved wonderful for the group. He had canned beef, fish, chicken, turkey, and pork while preparing his family. Jonathan had been a bit hesitant of the canned meat at first. While alone, most of the meals he made for himself using the meat were just sandwiches. After the others showed up, however, Sophia had prepared many different meals while still rationing supplies.
Jonathan had stood in the supply room while Sophia cooked. His father stocked everything down here with the intention of feeding his family for years, but that wouldn't have happened. He could see his father's estimates had been way off. If they kept eating like this, they would starve to death in a year or two. He could see that taking some of the group and leaving would be the best thing for the few who remained, but he would still talk to Sophia about rationing a little tighter.
Tonight, Sophia had prepared lasagna with homemade garlic bread. They even broke out a bottle of wine for the adults. The chatter at the dinner table was lively. Everyone wanted to tell their story and ask questions about everyone else's stories. It was almost like a reunion of old friends.
Elliot broke what had become a long silence after the excitement died down and bellies filled. ”So Jonathan, you seem pretty sure that your family is still alive out there. I hate to bring you down, I really do, but there are worse places out there then Clay Hills. Many small cities have been completely destroyed.”
”My brother is alive, I know that. The only real questions are whether or not my mom is alright, and where they are. I think I know about where my brother is.”
”How can you be so sure?”
”I have been having dreams-of the things he has been working on. I know what he is doing.”
”What do you mean? You think you're a psychic?” Elliot asked skeptically.
”Not at all. There have been many studies showing that twins have the ability to read each other's minds or share the same feelings. In some cases they can feel each other's pain.”
”You're twins?” Deacon cut in.
”Yeah,” Jonathan replied matter-of-factly, ”I guess I never thought to mention it. I mean, has no one looked at any of the pictures around the house?”
No one knew what to say. None of them have really paid much attention to the few pictures that hung on the walls. There were not many, but they showed the brothers always standing by each other as if one was a mirror image of the other.
”That sounds a bit like BS to me,” Elliot said.
”Look at Andy and Amie,” Jonathan said. He pointed to the twins who were eating their supper at the coffee table in the family room. ”I bet they know exactly what I am talking about. They may not realize it, yet, but they can probably sense each other's thoughts or share their dreams. Honestly it has become stronger over the past few years. Michael and I shared a room until about three years ago.
”All that time spent together, I guess it was not as necessary. When we started spending a little more time apart, however, we both noticed that we could feel each other's thoughts and emotions. I am willing to guess that he has felt, or even dreamt, many of the things we have done here. Hopefully he knows we are coming for him.”
”Ok,” Deacon said, ”so what is your brother thinking right now?”
”I cannot read his mind, but I do know that he has been working on outfitting a semi. He has travelled with a group all around the Midwest picking up supplies. Bullet proof panels and gla.s.s, military weapons, that sort of thing. He seems to be preparing for a fight. An airplane quite often appears in my dreams as well.”
”Man! A beefed up semi would put my Tundra to shame. I'm going to miss it because you guys want me to stay here,” Deacon said. It was obvious he was still angry about being left behind.
”I need to be preparing to head out within the next couple of days. Guillermo, do you still plan on going with me?” Jonathan asked.
”Absolutely. I will be by your side atil the end.”