Chapter 17:
Ahead they could hear the whirring before they realised where the noise was coming from. It didn't make sense. She was certain there were no more planes or even helicopters in the air.
"You ain't tripping' hoe. I see it too." Classi urged them forward as her zombie pets became restless. They'd stopped to rest under some trees when she saw the helicopter fly past.
"I didn't think anyone still used them?" She like everyone else had heard rumours of another refugee centre. She was sure it was just another pipe dream considering the one she was heading too with her old group was overrun.
"Come on!" Classi yanked the chains and the pets trailed along behind them.
She didn't allow herself to hope. She still believed that this was a dream and she'd wake up somewhere else. She had to stop to allow for coughing fits. The flu hit her hard and she'd been sick for almost a week. Classi was patient and for some reason she refused to leave her behind.
They felt it before they realised what had happened. The ground shook, trees collapsed and a flock of birds squawked as the fled the falling tree. Smoke billowed towards the sky. The helicopter had crash landed and in doing so crushed her hope of finding other people and even proper shelter.
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She was in a good mood. Everyone was. Since people were going out to hunt she decided to have a feast for the other survivors. They weren't just surviving together. The others had only added to her family. The cops and everyone who'd betrayed her during the Mitch Conner campaign had redeemed themselves. That didn't mean they were allowed to slip up. She kept a watchful eye on them.
She decided not to mention her pregnancy to anyone other than her blood relatives. She wanted to avoid gossip for as long as possible. She opted not to drink despite the party. She had put together a new city council and the cabin was to become the new South Park city hall. They had everything they needed to begin construction on the wall and used the perimeter system in the meantime.
"Holy crap dude!" Kyle Broflovski exclaimed as he noticed the hunting party returning to the cabin.
"What is it?" People had gathered by the window and others had gone outside to see.
"I did it!" Katherine came back riding a black and white stallion she caught. She'd been tracking him for months and it looked like the horse was healthy.
"She's got a point mom." Alexander explained what it was for and she knew they were right. The fuel supply wouldn't last long and it definitely wouldn't outlast the apocalypse that surrounded them.
"He doesn't even need to eat much and we have plenty of hey in the barn." Katherine was overwhelmed with excitement. They already had horses on the property. She bought Katherine a pony when she turned ten and she got a thoroughbred mare for herself to ride.
"We can use the horses for our defence mayor." Jimbo Kern suggested. "Hopefully we don't need to, but it could be useful in case we have to keep people out not just the dead fucks."
"Horses go in the stables." She would have to consult Barbrady, Alexander and Blake on setting up a small army for defence purposes especially during any construction projects around the property. "Come on inside. I've already started cooking."
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He knew the cabin wasn't much further up the mountain. Snow started to fall and the roads going uphill were slippery.
"Someone help me!" Sharon shrieked as she lost her footing, fell over and slid down the hill. The weather didn't help them get there any quicker and he was the only one who knew where they were going.
"I got you!" Roger Donovan and Maggie Yates helped Sharon up the hill. They all stopped to rest when they were sure no one was going to fall over again.
"Oh come on!" He snapped with frustration. If he weren't lugging dead weight along with him they'd be there already. "It's almost dark."
The days were shorter and the nights were much darker. There was less visibility with the snowfall and he was determined to get to Mary's cabin just for some shelter. He could always worry about revenge later unless he had to confront the idiot.
"I'm not going anywhere until you tell us where we're going Randy!" Sharon snapped angrily. "There's nothing out here. There's no shelter and we'll freeze to death before the dead people get us."
They were cold, tired and hungry. They didn't listen to him about rationing food and now they had none left. That wasn't exactly his fault. He was starting to wonder why he even bothered helping them at all. "There is so a cabin out here. It's not that far. You people need to stop your bitching."
"It's probably like this other refugee centre I keep hearing about." Roger Donovan interjected. He handed his jacket to Clyde who'd started shivering just as the wind picked up and more snow fell. "It's nothing but another pipe dream."
"I'm beginning to think you're full of shit Randy." Stephen Stotch had turned on him as well. "I haven't been able to trust you since you sent my gardener to the detention centre and blew up my yard because I wanted to grow my own weed!"
"You guys want to stay here and freeze that's fine by me." He stormed up the hill without them. He knew they'd follow him eventually since no one wanted to get caught in another snow storm. "I'm going to this cabin. It has warm beds and heating. And did I mention hot water?"
He was right. Because he could hear them talking shit about him under their breath as they trailed along behind.
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She couldn't focus on the helicopter crash. Still recovering from the flu and feeling nauseated she threw up in a nearby bush. Classi asked her to stay with the zombie pets as she tied their chains to a tree. She slumped and tried not to cough. The zombies were drawn by sound and she didn't want to make too much noise. The zombie pets offered some protection but it would not be enough if to conceal them if she brought a herd down upon them.
Classi left briefly to check out the crash site. She was looking for any supplies from the helicopter and any survivors. They had to have come from a sheltered space somewhere. Maybe anyone well enough to walk could take them there. She just wanted a place that was safe.
She hid behind the tree and tried to suppress the urge to cough as three cars approached the crash site. Classi had noticed them too because she quickly returned to their hiding spot and used a samurai sword to take out her zombie pets so they didn't draw attention to them. They didn't know anything about the new comers so it was best to observe them to see if they could even trust them enough to reveal themselves. Classi shushed her as six men spread out across the crash site and plunged knives into the skulls of the dead men that littered the forest clearing along with carnage from the helicopter.
"Come on Mackey get your hands dirty for once." She recognised the school councillor but not the other soldiers inspecting the scene.
"M'Kay." She couldn't tell what Mackey was looking for. She just noticed he looked nervous despite being with other people.
She didn't even recognise the large man with grey hair and an eye patch. She regarded him with intense fascination until she felt the barrel of a gun pressed into her back.
"Turn around ladies and drop your weapons." She recognised the voice and hoped it wasn't real. This had to be a bad dream. She was so confused she didn't know what was going on.
"Oh hell no!" Classi clamoured with obvious disgust. "I was hoping I'd never see your ugly ass again!"
"H-holy shit!" He smirked at them as he waved a shotgun in their faces while ordering them to face this. "Mrs. Cartman? Long time no see."
She wanted to puke. She felt weak at the knees. She fainted in shock at the sight of him.
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Back at camp she didn't think she'd experience another party again. At the cabin they could have a life despite the disaster that surrounded them. The purpose of the party was to celebrate the construction projects around the cabin including the wall. She wanted to welcome the newcomers so they felt at home and she also wanted to celebrate the new South Park.
She busied herself in the kitchen with the other women preparing food. They had more than enough to go around and they wouldn't be going without even after the party was over. She had a record playing in the background and the kids ran through the house chasing each other with water cannons. Every now and again she would make her rounds and take trays of food out to guests who relaxed in the living and dining rooms. The cops were playing poker even though no one used money anymore and Alexander played an acoustic guitar.
"You want to help me in the kitchen kid?" She noticed Katherine hovering around the kitchen and following people who had food trays.
"Okay." Katherine volunteered to keep an eye on the venison stew she was making. She was also preparing lasagne, roasted chicken and vegetables she picked from the garden that morning, a glazed ham, pot roasted beef, macaroni and cheese and pies for dessert were baking in the oven.
"It smells like Christmas!" Katherine exclaimed with excitement.
"I made cookies." She set aside a plate for Katherine and handed the rest out to the other survivors and her little children who'd been hanging around for them.