August 9, 2010
~*~ CP ~*~
Carol hands Daryl the drawstring bag of peaches to add to the lake crew's lunch offering. Everything else is meal bars and other travel food, but she figures while they have the immense number of peaches coming in from the Eldridge farm, they might as well get some fresh fruit too.
"You remember the rules, right, Sophia?"
Her daughter gives her a cheeky "yes, mama". She's still fascinated with the building process, but equally so with Daryl's hunting and fishing expertise, so she's switched teams for a few days. Carol gives her a kiss on the forehead and then crooks a finger at Daryl, who shakes his head initially, but then tips down enough she can kiss his forehead too.
"Gonna drive me crazy," he mutters, but he's sort of smiling. Better yet, the reason she's teasing Daryl is smiling. Abby's at her side, not interested in going on the trip after the long months on the road. "You gonna be good for Auntie Carol, Sunshine?"
Abby nods. She doesn't talk much outside of Daryl and occasionally Jazz or Honey, something that has everyone still a little on edge since the marshals reported it started after the death of her mother and stepfather. The entire trip here, she reserved almost all of her limited speech for the two youngsters instead of the adults. If yesterday starts a pattern, Abby will be her silent little shadow, helping when she can, but speaking very little. She joined Jazz yesterday for a couple of chores, simply because Carol wanted to see if she'd speak around her cousin. She did, so Carol will have her shadow Jazz once he switches off the building crew after lunch to farm chores.
They watch the trio of trucks pull out, all with trailers. They'll use the boats already at the marina they're targeting for fuel today to go out fishing, but Daryl's going to have the team clear the property of anything useful too. All three truck beds have the big fuel transport tanks installed, too. The marinas are turning out to be a treasure trove for both gasoline and diesel, and Daryl's years as a ranger in the area mean he remembers where they all are without a map.
"Let's go check on the Grady folks, Miss Abby," she tells the girl, who nods and takes her hand when offered, with Carol keeping her other on the handle of the big wagon she's towing with supplies.
She's heading for the small cluster of RVs housing the Grady folks when Merle's long strides catch up. She's still getting used to the open affection he bestows freely, but it gives her a thrill when his arm goes across her shoulders so he can steal a brief kiss. The big catahoula male is at his heels, but switches off to Abby's side almost immediately.
"You ladies gonna ride herd on the newbies today?"
"That's the plan. They'll start their rounds through the physicals today, since Hershel thought the women would respond better if they saw our people doing it first. Felipe's offered to teach a first aid and CPR course this morning for everyone interested, and I'm going to hand out their work rosters for starting tomorrow." The council decided on letting the newcomers have a few days of adjustment first, but now it was time to start integrating them.
"If you need me for anything, we're starting on the drywall in the cafeteria today. Finished the electrical tests yesterday, and the crew should be back by supper that Scout led to Buford after the appliances."
"So, two or three more days?"
"Probably three, but yeah. Soon as we finish the walls and floors, gonna send a smaller team to clear out those folding cafeteria tables from the elementary school."
Carol nods in understanding. With the cafeteria likely doubling as a community center of sorts, the ability to just fold up the tables and roll them out of the way would be handy. "Everybody running meal shifts will be your biggest fan when we aren't having to feed people outdoors anymore."
With about 150 people on the homestead now, meals were held under the big event tents a team cleared out of a local wedding event venue. The weather held so far, but all it would take is a big series of summer thunderstorms and feeding people outside would be impossible til the storms passed. The cafeteria technically wouldn't seat everyone at once if the community grew too much bigger, but she's grateful now that Merle and Amy planned ahead when they laid out the design. The big building is already 3,000 square feet as it is. Instead of cooking meals in a trio of kitchens, they'll have a big work area styled after a school system cafeteria.
"You still gonna cut back on your meal shifts?"
"I want to. Patricia thinks it shouldn't be a problem, since she doesn't want anyone pulling seven days a week anyway. I'll be the relief shift for breakfast."
"A'right. Just make sure you're choosing as much what you want to do as what you think people need you to do, Mouse. You have that luxury now." He steals a kiss before letting her go to make his way to the construction crew still enjoying steaming coffee from thermoses that Glynnis took over.
It's almost eerie how alert most of the Grady folks are when anyone approaches, but Carol can't blame them. She lived with that kind of hyper awareness for years around Ed, and after months under the evil the dead officers committed, true trust will come hard. Even the officers themselves are wary, and Carol takes note that they do take casual, but protective stances of their charges.
"Good morning, everyone," she greets cheerfully. Breakfast was brought to the group earlier when everyone else ate, but Abby and Carol have a treat in the form of fresh peach coffee cake to sweeten the deal of putting everyone to work. One of the officers takes the Tupperware containers from the wagon and another switches out the earlier coffee urns for the cold drink urns she's brought along. The ladies asked for and received a table to set up for washing dishes outside the cramped RV quarters, so at least Carol won't have to tow those back to the house for dish duty.
She lets everyone take their selection from the containers before she pulls out her notebook with a reassuring smile. "I know Merle and Scout probably filled all of you in on the process to get settled in, but as you probably noticed by now, they're beyond busy. I'll be your primary person for finishing settling in." She volunteered after Merle mentioned he suspected the abused women wanted to be okay around him, but it was a struggle for them, and Scout is honest enough to admit she's not the best choice either. It was a woman who allowed the abuses after all. Carol's lack of military or law enforcement background is a plus in this situation.
"They'll start physicals today, correct?" That's Dr. Edwards, who Carol's met several times as he passes through to take shifts looking after Michael Fisher, the tetanus patient. He'll actually be on duty in the little garage infirmary so Hershel can do the men's physicals.
"Yes. Ladies will go to the big med unit truck and men to RV number five." Rick volunteered his RV for the men's physicals, since he was going out on the appliance run.
One of the women shifts nervously. "It'll be the Dixon woman doing ours, right? I saw she worked yesterday for your people."
Carol smiles warmly. "You're our people too now. But yes, Cricket's in charge of the women's physicals. She was a med student at Emory before. But if you prefer a nurse instead, we can borrow Lilly for a bit, but she's really more needed for the infirmary." The nurse's years of experience with oncology patients is actually proving greatly useful in treating the elder Fisher male. "You can go on the buddy system if you want to and don't mind a friend present for exams, but it's essential after Mr. Fisher's tetanus that we get a measure of everyone's current health."
The objection fades with the reassurance of how it'll be handled, so Carol passes over a list of patients to the woman who asked. "It's planned to take two days, half an hour each, but if need be, we'll roll to a third day for the women. Men's physicals won't take as long, and there are fewer men, so they should be done today." The roster from the hospital is still a little disturbing. None of the male civilians from Grady are under sixty or over twenty. Scout's inquiry with the officer contingent confirmed they weren't allowed to rescue adult males at all. The eight officers are first on each list, since Merle wants them on the work crews as soon as possible.
"For those of you who do complete your physical today, as long as there's nothing precluding you working, you'll start in on a crew like everyone else. Morning work is non-optional for everyone, unless their non-optional shift ends up being cafeteria duty once the building's complete. In those cases, that'll cover any need for the morning work. Afternoon work shifts are voluntary, aside from supply run teams, as those can take all day or even multiple days, but you'll be credited for the extra time as voluntary shifts. Everyone works here."
"Including the children?" One of the women looks wary. The boy at her side is a burn survivor, one noted for being rescued after the napalming of Atlanta. She's not related, but she's obviously adopted the boy as her own. Carol remembers her name as Rebecca from Merle's details.
"Until the community center is complete, children under thirteen shadow a parent or someone the parent designates. If you're doing work that you feel isn't safe for a child to be part of, you can drop children off at the main house and there will be someone on childcare duty. They be able to read, watch television, do artwork... just like a daycare before. Once the community center is finished, we'll have all the kids under thirteen in lessons in the morning, which is actually a discussion I'll need to have with the school teacher in your midst."
The woman mentioned, Gail, acknowledges the request with a smile, looking grateful for what probably feels like a return to normalcy for her. Carol has her listed as a first-grade teacher, but she shouldn't have any problem with their small elementary age population, especially with Alaina assisting. The former librarian leapt at the idea to have something constructive to do when Merle convinced her that taking all the watch shifts waiting on word of her sons was unhealthy. Gail's probably equally happy that it puts her eight-year-old daughter along with her. They decided against formal schooling for the teenagers, letting the kids go through self-study and informal apprenticeships. At this point, lessons in analyzing literature weren't exactly a priority, and math and science they'd pick up through hands-on experience.
"I saw the little girl going out with one of the supply teams," Rebecca brings up.
"Sophia? Yes. She's thirteen, and that is an option if parents and the team leader agree for teenagers only. They're going to the lake to retrieve fuel and go fishing, like they did yesterday, and you see she returned safely. Her uncle was a conservation ranger with the state before. He's qualified to keep her safe, and you met her on the way in, so you know she's been trained for the reality of the world outside as well. Kids under thirteen can help on the farm with parental permission, since walkers gaining access there is difficult and it's monitored."
"Do all the kids have to learn to shoot?"
"Over thirteen, yes. Firearms training with the air rifles is required, as well as self-defense classes." She passes over the second notebook from the wagon, which details out everything, and Rebecca steps forward to take it. "That'll detail everything I'm telling you now, the community rules and expectations as they stand now. I understand there are four children with no permanent guardian?"
It's the officer who's taken charge of the remaining officers who answers. "Alvin, Jerry, Troy, and Carmen. Al's thirteen, Jerry's five, Troy's seventeen, and Carmen's fourteen."
"Is there anyone they prefer to have as a guardian?" she asks. "We have people available, if that's not possible."
Gail moves forward. "Jerry can stay with me and my daughter. That'll work out best since he'll be in the classroom most of the day anyway."
The only girl mentioned shrugs. "Maria's been taking care of me all this time. I'll stay with her and Yolanda." The woman mentioned agrees with a soft smile.
"Do I really need a guardian? I'll be eighteen in January," Troy asks. He's a clean-cut kid, thin and wiry like Glenn.
"I can put you down as one of the young adults on a trial run," she offers. "You can stay on with the folks here until we get better housing built, same as the other adults." He agrees, looking both happy and a bit surprised at the agreement. She's operating on the logic that Honey gave back at the quarry. Sometimes in this new world, splitting hairs over exactly when a birthday passes is overkill, especially with older orphans who might resist the idea of being supervised by someone other than their lost parents.
The younger teenage boy just looks tired. "Been looking after myself in Grady the same as foster care before."
Carol straightens, feeling sad for the youngster. "Well, we have someone here who has another boy who was a foster child before and she's got a foster daughter now as well. We'll start you out with Patricia and see if that works for you. If it doesn't, we'll keep trying til you find it." Of their own orphans, Patricia was in charge of Jimmy and Isabelle, with little Andy being absorbed into the Morales family.
"Does that mean I gotta leave over here?"
She can't tell if the boy's wary or hopeful with that. "That's up to you. Patricia's up in the main house. She's our quartermaster - in charge of the supplies and most of the work shift organization. Jimmy's been staying with some of the other young men in the basement, where the house has a bunk room meant for a storm shelter. You'd be rooming with three other teenagers and the two male Marines."
"And they won't have a problem with me being mixed?"
Carol decides then and there if it's any of the Grady people still living that added to the boy's worry over being biracial, she's going to make sure they draw every last disliked duty possible from here until the boy's thirty. "No, sweetie. I'm guessing they didn't really introduce how anyone is related in all the rush to get folks settled here, did they?"
She gets a lot of shaken heads, and Amanda Shepherd speaks. "We know Dixon's in charge and there's a council of some sort and that anything security goes through the female Marine and her husband."
She'll leave the idea of Shane and Scout's relationship alone for now, but she can explain the rest and set the boy at ease at the same time. "Scout? The female Marine? She's Merle's oldest daughter."
The boy makes the connection and manages a cautious smile. "She's what, part Latina?"
"Her mother was from Guam, which probably makes her closer to part Indonesian, as I understand it. One of the boys you'd be rooming with is the youngest Dixon boy. He's biracial too. You might have seen him working on the solar panel system on the community center roof yesterday." He nods. "Cricket, the med student, she's another Dixon daughter, and she was part of the team in Atlanta, so you may have met Honey as well. She alternates between the building crew and the supply crew, but she's on property today if you wanted to meet her and her brother today before you decide."
"Is that all the Dixons? The girl who went on the fishing trip called Mr. Dixon her father the other day," Amanda Shepherd asks.
"That's Sophia, and she'd be the youngest for Merle's children. But Jamie, the older of the two male Marines, he's Dixon family too." She smiles and places a gentle hand on Abby's blonde curls. "And this little miss is a Dixon as well. Her dad's the one leading the fishing team, Merle's brother, Daryl."
"Don't forget Grandma Glynnis and Shane and Tara and you," Abby prompts. It gets some amused smiles from the Grady folks, and Carol's glad to see she's speaking up to make sure all the extended family get noted.
"Oh, most certainly we can't forget. You all met Glynnis a few times already. She'll be the boss lady of all things at the community center. Shane's the security co-leader you've already met, and Tara is Cricket's partner."
"So, it's safe here, for women like them?"
Carol tries to memorize the speaker, a thin woman in her early twenties, just to make sure she's okay later. She looks fearful, but hopeful. "I assure you any problems with orientation won't be tolerated at all here. Are you on the list for physicals today?"
The woman steps up and scans the list where another woman is holding it and nods. "Yeah. I'm Nicole, fifth on the list."
"That'll give you the opportunity to talk to Cricket in person if you want to. Do you remember where Tara is today, Miss Abby?"
She knows exactly where Tara is, but she's hoping it'll encourage Abby to speak up if she's talking about her extended family. The girl nods, but doesn't smile. "She's on Scout's team today cos she's a cop like Daddy and Shane."
"Exactly right. That leads us to work rosters. All the former officers have been out and understand supply runs, so you'll likely find yourself assigned to various runs in pairs with another partnered team. We usually send out groups of eight to twelve, depending on how big the run's supposed to be, although a team can be as small as four if they're just scouting a location. We're on a plan to clear out all the surrounding small towns systematically, and then work into the larger towns as they can be done safely. Canned goods won't last forever, but leaving them out there to potentially be lost to weather and exposure isn't going to happen."
"And what about the rest of us?" Nicole asks.
"While you are required to learn firearm safety and self-defense, you aren't required to go on supply runs. If that's something you want to do, you'll need to submit your name and you'll get a bit more training. That actually applies to the officers too. If any of you would rather retire back to the building crew or farm crew, we'll take that into account. I'm hopeful that all of you that have CDL training will be willing to at least be drivers on supply runs, or if not, to train a number of folks who are interested."
One of the older men steps forward. "I don't think I'm up to doing the runs at my age, but I'm happy to teach."
"Oliver, right?"
"Yeah. Was forty years as a long-haul driver before."
"Driving lessons might require you to leave the property, but the town nearby has stayed clear since the unfortunate locals were laid to rest, so if you're willing, I'll put you down for an instructor." He nods and she gifts him a grateful smile. The other three drivers, all women, put their names down as willing to join the supply runs, and two officers acknowledge they can at least drive a bus like Shane can. A third wants to learn, but grew up on a farm, so is used to hauling trailers.
"See? We're already making a good progress. Tomorrow morning I'll have your actual assignments, so take today to take turns reading through the guidelines and settle in as best you can. If anyone's just tired of resting up, they're welcome to volunteer for the building crew if they think they're up for it. Doesn't matter if you don't know which end of the hammer to swing. They'll train you."
She bids them farewell, but pauses. "Al? You want to go with me and meet Patricia before you decide?"
The boy glances to Gail, who nods. She's glad to see he does have at least someone on his side in the Grady people, although that may be the woman's school teacher side at play. He joins her and Abby, offering to pull the wagon, so she turns the handle over to him. He's more talkative the further they get away, so she thinks he'll be okay in the end. He just needs a safe place, like they all do.
~*~ GR ~*~
"Holy shit, this gonna make Merle's week," Glenn exclaims. The others with him - Maggie, Tara, and Danny - agree. Their four-person team split off from the other two teams who were loading up everything they thought they could use and could fit on the semi-truck brought for the trip. The area had a lot of new development and when Tara spotted what looked like a lot of cargo containers, Scout sent them to explore since Merle wanted containers to reinforce the boundaries.
But instead of beat up old shipping containers used for shipping between semis and trains, they found a business that apparently created mobile shelters using converted shipping containers. The frantic construction would be much less frantic if they just needed foundations and to haul these babies into place. Glenn didn't know enough about construction to really assess, but he suspected these might be even easier than that modular maze they created for the nursing home.
He radios it in first to Scout, then to Homestead, and they explore while they wait on the watch folks to summon Merle.
"Is it just me are these like Legos, sorta?" Maggie asks. She's studying a catalog in the sales office they've broken into. "I mean, they're like amped up versions of the RVs, with more elbow room and privacy, depending on the model, but from the looks of this, they can be stacked?"
Glenn looks over her shoulder. "Yeah, they can, I think. I think I know what the next supply run will be, don't you?"
"Next?" Tara snorts as she sticks a large, glossy brochure into a carry bag to take back to Merle. "I'm betting the second Merle hears, we're going to be hauling a few of these babies back this trip. Think about it. We've got the semi that'll need a driver, plus shotgun. Then four people gotta take the flatbed truck and Subaru back, plus whatever they're pulling. But these can't be that complicated to pull, if we go slow. If Honey can make off with a fully loaded Freightliner and not crash it, these look like they're barely longer than the buses or RVs and we've all driven those except Glenn, so far. And there's that Chevy dealership down the road, so we just nab the keys to a few of those heavier duty trucks and load these babies up. That's three buildings, just this trip."
Maggie goes to the office door and studies the big lot. "It looks like they were putting together a big order for someone. Brochures talk about disaster relief and migrant worker housing, so guess they got an order in from somewhere. If they can be anchored down so they don't blow around in a storm, they'll be a lot better than the RVs and faster than the building crew can put them up."
"And privacy for those who want it?" Danny asks, winking at Glenn, who rolls his eyes at the younger man but then grins.
They follow Maggie out to make notes on what's actually available versus what's in the catalog. He can't help but be drawn to the sway of her hips even in the less-than-flattering cargo pants.
Yeah, privacy would be really nice.
~*~ MD ~*~
Merle sends the message through the cheap walkies worn by each of the folks informally designated as the council to alert them for a planning meeting before supper tonight.
The news called in by Glenn's team is more than welcome, as he was estimating a close shave with winter on building housing unless he resorted to large bunkhouses. Depending on what the final count was from the container conversion company, they might get everyone housed and only have to do foundations and hookups. Right now, one of his bigger fears was a tornado, or worse, a hurricane blowing in off the coast. They weren't so far inland not to have problems if one did hit. Before the Grady group, he could get everyone in the shelters on site, since both the original house and his own have basements and there's an independent shelter out by the farthest barn if anyone got caught on the further side of the property unexpectedly.
But with more than a hundred people, they'd be worse than sardines right now. The RVs would be worse than matchsticks, plus the men in the barn office aren't the safest either. Prebuilt containers properly anchored and secured would at least mean a fighting chance if a tornado arrived without good warning, and time to put in another shelter or two. They don't have emergency services to come save them anymore.
Some of the stress taking residence in the back of his brain lessens its grip and he feels he can breathe just a bit easier. Taking in the Grady folks was an undertaking they weren't truly prepared for, and now karma's blessed them. He smiles and goes to give the good news to the rest of his building crew.
~*~ LG ~*~
"Abby?" Lori twists in the office chair, where she's been using Merle's laptop to update their inventory again. She's still not entirely sure how she got the job of computerizing it all, but she's not going to complain. All those years of chairing PTA meetings and fundraisers ought to pay off somehow.
The little girl peeks around the corner from where Lori thinks she's been watching her work from just out of sight. She can hear voices down in the main part of the house, and assumes that Carol's somewhere since it's just past lunch and Abby's normally with either Carol or Jazz if Daryl's gone. But caught in her peeking, she comes into the office, coming to stand beside Lori hesitantly.
"Is Carl right? Are you having a baby?" The timid question worries Lori, but everyone's been worried in their own way about Abby's quiet behavior. It's apparently at odds with her normal personality. The Dixons may have been cut off from the girl for a few years, but Glynnis visited regularly. The girl is taking her mother and stepfather's deaths hard.
"Yes. I just found out." She gathered up Carl and went to Rick after she left Scout and Shane, figuring she might as well while she still had the borrowed laptop in case Carl wanted to see more than the print outs. Her son is overjoyed about a sibling, although she thinks the news of her relationship with Shane may take time to fully process. He really did miss out that they were together at the quarry camp. It probably helps that she and Rick already talked him through their ending of the marriage, and he has always loved Shane. A new sibling isn't upsetting his world much at this point.
Rick, though. Her ex-husband is hiding it well, but he's taking it hard, and she recognizes the haunted look he gets when he's blaming himself for something. She knows if she thought about his refusal for fertility testing, he probably has too. He asked her for space to process and even dropped off the supply run crew to work with the builders for a few days, uncomfortable around Shane. Shane bore the request stoically, so she hopes Rick wraps his mind around it before anything festers to hurt the two men's friendship again.
"Is the baby okay?"
It's kind of an odd question for a ten-year-old, but Abby's world's been upside down for a while. "Very okay. Cricket checked everything out yesterday and even did an ultrasound."
"And you heard the heart beat." Abby tilts her head and tries to imitate the rapid pattern of a fetal heartbeat. Lori nods and the girl's fingers flex. Lori thinks she wants to touch her belly, but she's not sure. She's starting to have a horrible feeling about the distinctive knowledge the girl has for an only child.
"Abby, sweetie? Have you been around a pregnant lady before?" Please, please let it be a schoolmate's parent.
"Mama." She makes a hiccupping sound like she's about to cry, so Lori takes the chance and pulls the girl into her lap. "Mama's baby was sick. That's why she got sick when we were travelling. There was blood and she was crying the night before she died and hurt Ethan."
"Oh, sweetie, I'm so sorry." What do you say to that? The marshals didn't mention a miscarriage or even a pregnancy, so apparently it wasn't common knowledge.
Abigail begins to cry in earnest now, big, body-shaking sobs that nearly rock even Lori's form as she holds her. She fumbles across the desk for the intercom, calling for Carol. But even with the older woman arrives, the little girl won't turn loose of Lori, so the two women just bracket the girl as she grieves until she falls asleep in exhaustion.
"Will you help me move her over to the futon?" she asks Carol when it seems Abby's deep asleep. Between them, they get the girl stretched out, but any move Lori makes away from her rouses her to distressed cries, so Lori lays down beside her.
"I'll go get Glynnis if you're okay to stay," Carol says.
Like Lori could leave right now even if the girl did let her go. Her pregnancy might be the catalyst that opened the floodgates on the little girl's grief, and nothing else about Lori herself, but what she knows is that there's a motherless child desperately wanting her comfort.
She's not going anywhere at all.