Chapter 4

Sammy let out a long, low whistle.

Amber grinned. "Yeah, it's a mess alright."

The hotel was no longer. A hole in the ground was where it once stood.

"The whole building went down in the explosion by the looks of it," Amber mused aloud.

Sammy stared at the pile of rubble. "How come there aren't any plants growing here like there is everywhere else?" he asked.

Amber kicked at a brick that lay near her feet. "I guess the virus hasn't totally gone. It probably still hovers over this area. We should get out of here and put up warning signs on all the streets that approach the hotel."

It took all afternoon to barricade off the area around the hotel, and by then they were a long way behind schedule.

They briefly looked in a couple of old tribe headquarters, a cinema and a bar, and then they made camp in an old warehouse. It didn't feel safe to be out after dark when they didn't know who else might have returned to the city.

Bray moved his torch over the sign. It was the fourth approach he'd tried to take to reach the hotel, and it seemed all entrances were blocked.
"DANGER! Do not cross. Deadly virus may still live!" read this sign. The others had said the same or similar.

An old rusted car had been pushed to block the road and the freshly painted sign was hung on it. Bray hadn't reached this part of the city on previous nights and so he had no idea how recently the barricades had been moved there, but he was fairly sure it hadn't been too long ago.

He'd been in the city for a week now and had found that he was getting steadily more jumpy. On the roads he'd travelled these past few years there had always been someone; someone to befriend, to protect, or to stay well away from. Whether companion of enemy he'd always had to watch out for some reason. Since the first virus he'd learned to watch his back.

But here in this empty city he was totally alone. The pressing silence and constant loneliness was beginning to drive him mad.

He'd taken to sleeping during the day and exploring during the night. He felt safer if he kept moving when it was dark, as though no one could sneak up on him if he didn't stand still.

These barricades were the first indication of human life outside of the mall that Bray had come across in his night time ventures. But it wasn't much, and whoever had put them in place was long gone.

As he set off to continue his night time wanderings Bray wasn't sure why he heeded the signs. Maybe it was a sense of obligation to the only other people in the city, or a genuine fear of this horrible disease. Yet somehow he knew that there was no one behind that barrier and he would have to search somewhere else.

"There was no sign of people at all. We should go unchallenged in the city," Amber concluded with a smile.

Jack grinned widely. "That's the best news I think I've ever heard. Well…maybe not the best ever, but it's certainly good news."

Ellie was practically jumping up and down on her seat. "How soon can we leave?"

"We can basically leave tomorrow," Lex mused.

"For once I have to agree with him," drawled Ebony. "Pack up the chickens and the kids, it's not like it would take a long time."

Trudy placed her hands moodily on her hips. "I object to you comparing my daughter to livestock."

Waving Trudy's outrage aside May interrupted. "It'll take us at least a week to get all of us plus the livestock and our belongings across on the boat. And once we reach the city we have no real way of transporting it. The cars and trucks have had seven years to rust over there; I doubt any of them will be working."

Jack agreed. "I think we'll basically need everything. Once others on this island get wind of the fact that we've abandoned the farmhouse they'll take anything of use, and probably the farm too. Everything needs to go in as few trips as possible, but we've got more stuff than we can carry between us."

Everyone paused for a moment in thought, before Ram interrupted. "We leave a small group here. Two people, that's all it will take. And then we take everything across to the city. We don't dock outside the city but at the docks, and we find a building to store it in. If there's nobody else in the city yet nothing will get stolen.

When everything is moved to that warehouse the final two come across on the boat. Then we move things from the warehouse, one load at a time, across the city to the mall. It shouldn't be too hard. It will probably take three weeks maximum before we're moved into the mall."

"Then what are we waiting for!" screeched Gal. "Let's go pack already!"

Everyone started chattering excitedly, and Gal stood up to leave the room.

Amber banged her fist down on the table for silence.

"What's the matter Amber?" asked Ellie curiously.

Staring at the group around her in shock Amber uttered, "Have you all gone mad? We don't know how safe the mall is. We can't go yet!"

Everyone stared at her. "But Amber," said May, "you've been the one pushing for us to return as soon as possible. We all want to get back to the way things were. Let's just go, and patch things up when we get there!"

Slade nodded. "It doesn't make sense to just sit around here any longer. Keeping this farm house running wastes our resources and our energy. We're not all the young anymore."

"Slade's right," agreed Ruby, ignoring Ebony's glare. "We should just go as soon as we can. Just like you always said Amber."

Outnumbered, Amber looked to Jack for support. "Sorry Amber, I think they're right," he answered.

"Jay?" asked Amber hopefully.

Diplomatically, Jay didn't directly respond, but stood up. "We'll put it to the vote!" he intoned. "All in favour of sending a further scouting party raise your hand."

Only Trudy and Amber's hands were raised. It was obvious that the mothers had their children in mind.

"All in favour of leaving immediately raise their hands."

Every other hand in the room was raised. That is every hand but Jay's. As always he was trying very hard not to take a side. "Then that's settled then," Jay answered. "We leave as soon as we can."

Amber threw the clothes into her bag. "We need a revote. We can't all go back now! We don't know if the mall's safe! What are they thinking?"

"They overthrew you, Amber. You're the leader of this tribe because you stand up for democracy. This democracy voted." Her partner watched her worriedly. She was acting erratically.

"They voted wrong!" she almost shouted.

"Well what do you propose to do about it?"

She paused for a moment in her packing to look at him like he was an idiot. "Take someone who agrees with me and go back there tonight. I can be back here by the night after tomorrow, and by that time we'll know if it's safe." She started packing again in frenzy.

Jay forcefully tore the bag from her hands. "Stop it Amber!" he shouted. "You are not going back there. You took the last patrol and the one before that."

Narrowing her eyes dangerously Amber snatched the bag back. "Don't you dare tell me what to do, Jay! I will go where I please," she growled.

"I'm not telling you what to do! I'm trying to make you see sense. The Tribe voted no. We're going together."

"Oh yes, because that's sense," she screeched.

"Amber, that is truly ridiculous! You can't go alone. If you really disagree with this decision call another meeting. They care about you; they'll see your side. And if they vote in your favour send Jack and Slade."

"Have you forgotten how Ebony behaved last time Slade was gone without her. She's unmanageable Jay, and I won't be responsible for her."

"For goodness sake Amber, she was flirting with me, I wasn't paying attention. I'm not going to run off with her just because Slade's gone for a few days. In case you haven't noticed there's a wealth of single women on this farm and thus far I've controlled myself."

"Oh you're singing that tune again," she hissed.

"Well you brought up a long resolved argument."

"I was voted leader of this tribe. It is my job to make sure the best scout is sent. And that best scout is…"

"It isn't you, Amber," he interrupted. Gently yet firmly Jay took hold of her arm. "Amber you're acting like a jealous child. You're a leader, not a scout. The city isn't going anywhere."

"I'm not jealous of anyone!"

Jay sighed in defeat. "Just think on it Amber. And think of your family. You wouldn't have reason to think I was cheating if you were here more often. Plus Bray needs you."

"Bray needs a real home," Amber stated firmly. "A safe home. I'm not willing to march my son into a building that I haven't marked as safe."

"He does need a home," Jay agreed. "But he needs you too, and he needs to reach this city before his faith in you is totally lost. Please try to remember that, Amber."

Bray and Brady knelt on either side of Salene as she lit a candle on the table in the corner of the room simply called the "Quiet Room". On the table, aside from a few candles, was a collection of rocks. When he was smaller Bray had thought there were hundreds of them, but now he was older he knew there were probably only about 20 or so.

Each rock was a small smooth pebble, about the size of a grown man's fist, taken from the sea shore. On every one there was a name engraved, the name of every Mall Rat, or close friends to the Mall Rats, who had been lost during the years that the tribe had been together.

"Ten years," Brady would often whisper to Bray. "The tribe's been together since the day I was born."

To the older members of the tribe the names meant something deep and personal. They were long lost friends, sometimes lost lovers, wives, husbands or siblings. But to Bray and Brady the names were linked only to characters in the stories they'd heard, almost like the heroes of fairy tales.

"Salene," Brady whispered in hushed tones, "will you tell us a story please?"

It was almost a miracle for the two youngsters to be so calm and quiet. Yet in this room they always felt a need to be still. They knew that it was important.

"Of course, sweetheart. Who would you like to hear about?"

Brady looked at the stones, examining their roughly hewn names in the flickering candlelight. Only Bray didn't need to look at the stones to know who he wanted to hear about. "Tell us about my Daddy," he said.

Bray knew every story he'd ever been told about his father. He treasured them in his heart, and thought about the late at night when he was alone. Mostly he dwelt on them when Amber was with Jay and he felt distinctly lonely. He held fast to the fact that he had once been so loved and so wanted by both his mother and his father. He clung to the fact that his father had died trying to ensure he was brought safely into the world.

"Everybody loved Bray," Salene concluded her story. "And he loved you both, very much so."

"I love him too," thought Bray, but he didn't say it.

"I wish I could have met him," Brady said wistfully. "It's so sad he died. He was our tribe's hero."

"Amber's our hero too," Salene insisted. "She'll get us home safe and sound just like Bray would have wanted, don't you fret."

"He wouldn't have forgotten me in the process," thought Bray. "My Daddy would have never stopped thinking about me."

They lay back to back in the small bed, an awkward silence hovering between them.

It had been hours since the fight now, but instead of giving her space to cool off Jay was keeping tabs on Amber so close she felt like any moment she'd explode. She knew she'd provoked him into it. He didn't want her to run off alone and get hurt. But still she felt controlled and angry.

As she lay there in the darkness she heard the soft pitter-patter of feet from next door. Bray had gotten up to get a glass of water or something by the sounds of it.

A vision of Bray floated into her head, but not of him as a boy like he was now, but of him as a toddler, just learning to walk. She'd barely let Jay have a part in raising the boy. Jay had been too busy. Often she'd been too busy, leading the tribe through failed crops and silly spats. Trudy and Salene had been the ones to raise him in truth.

Amber couldn't remember the last time she'd really emotionally connected with her son.

She rolled over and cuddled close to her lover. She wasn't surprised to find that Jay wasn't asleep, and he wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm sorry Jay, you're right. I've become so obsessed with this city and with everything being perfect that I've lost sight of what's important. I need to spend more time with my son, and with you."

"Glad you've given yourself a chance to think it over," he mumbled. "Now we'll talk about this in the morning. For now, let's sleep."

Bray lay on the bed in the mall; his only companion the mice in the walls.

"Be safe Amber," he spoke into the darkness. "Be safe Trudy, Brady and my baby, wherever you are."

Author's Notes:

Next chapter will be a little more exciting I promise.
Maybe I should have combined some of these chapters, made them a little longer but had a little more happen in each one!
I hope anyone who is still reading enjoyed this.
Hopefully the scene is set for a little drama next time.