The community the group had landed in wasn't as strict as Calloway's, with most people getting out of their tents around nine o'clock. Dom was pleased that he wouldn't be up to the sound of a siren at six like he had been the day before, but if he was honest the strict regiment was something that could have helped him stay in character. He crawled out of his tent and met the sun with squinted eyes, not prepared for how bright it was in the clearing. About half of the tent city was already open for business with people trading things like safety pins for fruit or toilet paper for weapons. Curiously the council of the faction didn't find it necessary to strip people of their weapons, something that both reassured and worried him. It looked like the council wasn't interested in dictatorship but it allowed someone who was upset enough to use deadly force. The good with the bad he thought.
Tori and the rest of the girls were already awake and were towards the center area where a couple vendors were giving out certain foods for free and trading for others. Tori had a piece of a cardboard box with some watermelon slices on it, which Dom noticed was in the small trades area. He smiled at her when he approached and she pointed to a few stray band aids on the table as her trade for the fruit. She offered him a piece but he nodded slightly in refusal.
"I'm okay, you eat it."
"You have to eat Dom" said Tori. "If we're going to be at our best we need to stay healthy."
"I suppose you're right but you traded fair and square, I'll get something off the free part."
Tori rolled her eyes but couldn't help but crack a smile at his chivalry. He wandered over to the other side of the setup where a sign said 'Free within reason' and checked out what was available. It looked like it had already been hit pretty hard and all that was left were a few pieces of stale bread and a lemon. The woman behind the stand took a look at his face and considered him for a moment, then reached behind the sign and handed him two fresh pieces of cinnamon raisin bread.
"You look like you could use this."
"That's very generous of you" said Dom, gesturing to the free pile. "I'm okay with this though, if you want to save that for someone with a trade."
She held her arm out firm with the bread in her head. "Eat."
"Yes ma'am."
He tore into the food and forgot where he was for a second, with the rush of sugar and flavor going straight to his head. Half way through the second piece he tore some of it off and handed it to Tori, who accepted it immediately. He knew she had a 'sweet spot' for sweets and it felt good to be able to make the others happy.
"So first you refuse my fruit and then you give me sweets" said Tori. "You always were too nice for your own good."
"I always get kickbacks somehow" said Dom. "I'm not dead yet and I have some of the best friends a guy could ask for, so I'd say I'm pretty lucky."
"Do you know what you're doing today?" asked Diana as she approached the two of them with a cup of water.
"Not sure" said Dom. "I was told yesterday they would want me to rest for a day before I go anywhere but I need to get moving ASAP."
Tori checked around them before she continued. "Do you already have a plan?"
"I have orders yeah, and I need to get on the fishing crew to carry them out. Do you know anything about that?"
"I didn't even know they had a fishing crew" said Tori. "Did they tell you that?"
"Calloway's scouts have seen these people fishing in the river between here and the north edge of the city. I passed it on my walk here."
"Well when you talk to someone about whether or not you're okay to work ask them what jobs are available and if they mention it go from there, if not ask them if there's any water around because you're a good fisherman, having gone with your dad and brother a lot."
"Sounds good" said Dom. You guys get out of here, go do what you're supposed to be doing and we'll meet up later."
The girls waved and set off toward the medical tent for whatever jobs they were given, and Dom realized he wasn't really sure what to do. He spotted Gill's tent again so he decided to ask him what was going on since he would probably be one of the first to know. Gill was outside working on the garden still when he approached. There were two buckets at each end, one with soil and one with water for two rows. Gill alerted to his presence and shoved the hoe he was holding into the ground, standing up slowly as he did before.
"Can I help you, son?"
"Actually yeah. I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to be doing. I heard the doctor say I should rest for a day before I do anything strenuous but I don't really like to sit around and do nothing, so I was wondering if you had any jobs for me."
Gill seemed to like the fact that Dom had a work ethic and it showed in his enthusiasm. "Sure thing. We're running a little low on wood for the fire so you can take to the woods and pick up some steady fuel."
"Got it" said Dom. "Anywhere around here is fine to take from I'm guessing?"
"Yep, and it stocks in the shanty to the left of the pit."
Dom backed out of the garden with a courtesy wave and pointed towards the treeline. As he walked through the beginning of the line into the thicker trees he though of how simple of a job that was compared to the work that was still to be done on the whole. It wasn't like what they experienced was a big riot or something, where it burned white hot for a day and then damage control was dispatched to settle everything down. They had experienced losses on a massive scale, everything from bodies to supplies and everything in between. Getting the country running again would take years, if they could find enough common ground together to make it happen. Power didn't really exist anymore and that meant the internet was down. Radio was spotty at best and factories had closed down which meant no one was creating any new products. The whole country was in disarray so he could only imagine all of the imports had stop coming in pretty quickly. There was going to be a major cleanup effort to move and bury bodies and get rid of derelict cars. A whole lot to do and not a whole lot of people to do it.
On the other hand, he couldn't keep himself from thinking that where they were was their own fault, and it was probably for their own good. Over industrialization and the transition of high technology into the home had made people lazy and completely transformed their ways of life. No one appreciated hard work or the written word anymore, but now they had no choice. If you wanted the news you had to find someone who had been to where you wanted to know about and get it from them directly, which meant interacting with people face to face again. If you wanted to tell a friend something you had to tell them in person or write it down on paper, much like passing notes in school. It was either work for your keep or you didn't get anything. Luckily he and the others weren't afraid of getting down and dirty; it meant they would usually always have a spot in any group that was adamant on making their survival work.
The woods were pretty bare in the first tenth of a mile or so but as he continued on he found more suitable areas. He was looking for branches that would burn for a while and maybe even a log or two. Coming back with a good haul was meant to show the council that he was a hard worker and he didn't slack when it came to the comfort of everyone, not just himself. Showing the leaders of a group that you can forget about yourself was the quickest way to get in their good graces, and that's exactly what he needed to do. He tried not to think of what would happen if they somehow found out that he was working both sides, even though he was actually working in their favor. Selling that story would be hard for anyone, especially someone that wasn't really practiced enough to be comfortable in that situation. No matter what, though, he was going to have to break away from the group at some point to go back to Calloway to keep the facade up, and he still wasn't sure how he was going to manage that either.
An hour had gone by and Dom had quite an armful of decent sized branches so he turned back to drop off the first load. Back at camp a wheelbarrow had manifested in the spot next to the shanty where the wood was stored and when he dropped it off he looked around to see who might have left it there. Gill was coming out of the medical tent and when he laid eyes on Dom he put his thumbs up to signal that he was okay to use it, so Dom grabbed the handles after a quick wave and headed back out into the sticks. The morning went by quickly and by the time people were crowding around for lunch he had already stocked the wood pile enough for a few days' use. Gill gave him the OK signal while he talked with another man Dom hadn't seen yet, and when he their conversation was over the new man headed in Dom's direction.
"I see you're healing" said the man.
"Yes sir." He stuck out his right hand and wiped sweat off his forehead with his left arm. "Dom."
"Cletus."
Dom almost laughed and was tempted to look around to see if anyone saw.
"Kidding, I'm Gerry."
"Nice to meet you Gerry" said Dom. "Are you one of the council members?"
"Sure am. I own a good chunk of this land we're on now." He looked around and shrugged. "Well, I suppose I did own it when things worked that way."
"It's nice land, really lush and giving." Dom gestured to the wood pile and then crossed his arms over his chest.
"Yeah but it's not the scenery that interests people" said Gerry. "It always comes down to control."
"Sir?"
"Eh, its nothing. You've done a good job here son, get yourself some water and find something to eat."
"Yes sir. Before you leave though, I was wondering what other jobs there are to do around here, since I'm done with the wood and all."
Gerry gave him the same look Gill did when he first asked about work. "You a mechanic?"
"Not really but I might be able to squeak by on a few small things."
"What about hunting and gathering?"
Dom felt the second piece of the puzzle about to click into place. "I'm a pretty experienced fisherman and I know a bunch of knots."
"Alright then we'll get you in touch with Jenna after lunch."
"Thank you sir" said Dom.
Gerry waved and headed off towards the medical tent and Dom decided to see what was up for lunch. The same tables were set up that were around for breakfast, including the same people, but a couple different options. Fresh veggie sandwiches were available for trade and the free table had a large container full of excess veggies that you could eat loose-leaf. He grabbed a couples slices of cucumber and celery stalk before nodding his thanks to the providers and heading off to his tent. It was always a good idea to get out of the sun for a little bit while eating to help the body regulate temperature and he needed to be on top of his game if he was going to scout out the area correctly and form a plan.
A few minutes into his rest tent-side he heard Marie's voice going on about cute French soldiers. Marie talking about boys was nothing new but she had a renewed interest in it since Cora came along, finally having someone that could relate to her in that department. Tori always humored her and would join in on the conversation but Dom could tell that even under the best friend niceties there was a little bit of a repetition strain that kept her from being too involved. It happened, though, even between him and Matthew. Even best friends have big differences.
With the refreshments gone and beginning their digestion cycle he stared out the side of his tent, watching shadows move and morph into different shapes as the afternoon sun crested and continued moving across the sky. He watched a shadow grow closer and larger until it stopped right next to him, and Tori's smooth clear voice chirped "Knock knock!"
"Who's there?" asked Dom.
"Your best friend ever" said Tori.
"Come on in."
She unzipped the tent door and crawled inside, turning to zip it back up again to keep the bugs out. Even for a one person tent it was pretty roomy so she had plenty of space to stretch out next to Dom. They laid on their backs and watched the shapes continue to move outside of the tent, scurrying about to complete some task or another like the whole Conflict hadn't even happened.
"What do you think we would be doing right now if this hadn't happened?" asked Dom.
"Well it's what, Thursday? I'd be at the record store with Matthew, Marie would be at the coffee shop, and you would be in your office. I don't know where Diana would be, or Cora for that matter."
"How do you know it's Thursday?" Tori didn't answer so Dom lifted himself up on his elbows and looked over, seeing her on the edge of tears. "Tor? You OK?"
"Yeah" said Tori, taking a deep breath before clearing her throat. "Ralph had a calendar at the produce stand and we had this little joke that we would be the new timekeepers of Wanagi." She looked sad, like she had lost an old friend. "I know he didn't have a lot of time left but it really sucks that he has to spend it like this, after everything he's gone through in his life. I probably won't ever see him again."
Dom reached over and helped her up so he could pull her into a hug. She squeezed tight and he felt a few teardrops soak into his shirt. They stayed still for a few moments until Diana came up to the tent looking for Tori.
"I hope everyone's decent, I'm coming in" said Diana.
Tori hiccuped loudly and laughed into Dom's shoulder and Dom suppressed a giggle of his own. Diana opened the flap and got half way in before she realized that Tori had been crying and she suddenly felt guilty for interrupting.
"I can come back-"
"No" said Tori, reaching out to grab her arm. "Stay. I want you here."
Diana smiled hugely and sat down so the three of them were in a loose triangle shape. Tori blotted her eyes with the bottom of her shirt and then took Diana's hand in hers and linked their fingers together. Dom liked seeing Tori happy, especially since she had put off finding happiness for so long to concentrate on everyone else's pursuit. Tori caught his eye and mouthed a silent thank you to which Dom replied with a single wink, a move from Dom that Tori knew to be genuine and full of compassion.
"Oh I forgot" said Dom, "I got on the fishing detail."
"Good" said Tori. "Do you need any help from us to do what you need to do?"
"I don't think so. I want my actions to be far away from you guys in case I get implicated in something. I don't want any of this falling you."
Tori knew Dom well enough that she couldn't argue with him. "OK, but if you change your mind we're here."
"I know, and I appreciate it. Also, I wanted to ask. Who runs this place, like who's really in charge?"
"I heard someone talk about a guy named Gary" said Diana, "saying he was going to talk tonight and we should all be around for it or something."
"Interesting" said Dom. "We'll have to be there for that."
Diana yawned and quickly covered her mouth with the back of her hand. Dom and Tori both smirked and got up, stretching their arms behind their backs to get ready to head back out. When they bundled around the tents Marie and Cora had come back from wherever they were hanging out but Sarah was missing.
"Where's Sarah?" asked Tori.
"Oh, she's helping Paula sort out clothing into sex and age piles to make it easier for people to get what they need" said Cora.
"OK guys I'm out of here for a bit, I'll be back tonight" said Dom. He saw the look on Tori's face before he walked off so he gave her another hug and held her at arm's length. "I'll be careful, I promise."
A few guys had gathered near the trail to the outhouse to group up and head out. One of them had an actual fishing pole while the other two makeshift poles made out of sticks and what looked like shoelaces. The youngest guy had a tackle box that was full of live worms, no doubt dug up near the riverbed, and two buckets by his feet. The assumed leader of the group noticed Dom approaching and guessed who he was based on the still healing wounds on his face, so he waved him forward and grabbed his things.
"Dom, I'm Chet."
"Nice to meet you sir" said Dom.
"Likewise. Let's get a move on, we need to maximize daylight."
Dom grabbed the buckets and together they set off. They hiked through the woods the opposite way Dom had come in until they reached the smaller clearing where crossing the river was possible. He searched around the area to try and make out the tree that Giana had mentioned but he didn't see anything resembling it at first glance, so he dug into the task at hand and got started. Inside the tackle box was fishing net that had metal handles on two sides where the bottom could be curled under to form a sort of parachute. The area of the river they were in was just south of some rapids so the fish should abundant enough to catch in groups. He set about 100 yards down river from where the other guys were fishing to use a directional tactic for the net and by the time he stopped he caught a glance of a tree that looked like it could be the one he was looking for. Problem was, it was on the other side of the river, and there was no way to cross where he was without swimming.
An hour into the trip had landed him four good sized river Trout that flailed wildly in the bucket while they waited to be gutted and cleaned. Dom kept an eye on the other guys and how they operated during the trip so he would know what to expect next time when he actually had intel to pass on. It was important that he gave Giana something useful so they didn't think he had flipped but he didn't want to give them something so solid that people could potentially die. He didn't want that on his conscience. He had read a book once on the art of Spying and while he understood the nature of give and take when it came to state secrets and actionable intelligence, he never really felt the hugeness of it on a real scale, and he was afraid to admit that it freaked him out. Naturally being in that position would freak anybody out that wasn't properly trained, but there was no room for failure so he had to check his fears at the door and continue on with his mission.
After watching the fish for a little while he noticed that depending on how far the fisherman cast their lines into the river the fish would either be closer or further away from him, until eventually they seemed to catch on that if they switched lanes they would hit the net. It was fascinating to him how fish, while being seen as dumber than most animals by a lot of people, seemed to adjust to the flow of what was happening around them. It reminded him of how people adapted to the situations around them and that was what they were currently doing that very moment; adapting. Something massive had happened and instead of laying down and dying they changed their tactics and persevered. Survival of the fittest so they say, put to work on the largest, realest scale possible.
Once his bucket had close to two dozen fish in it, about three hours into their trip, the sun was beginning to go down steadily. They had a four mile hike back to the camp with heavy buckets so he figured they would want to get going soon and pulled in his net. He went through different plans in his head as he walked back, wondering what the best way to get him across the river would be without causing suspicion. He thought of the way the fish moved and decided he would put that info up and see about trying to find a way to anchor the net in the center of the river and have him fish on one side while someone else fished on the other. The others were packing up when he rejoined them and Chet seemed pleased at his bucket.
"Nice job, looks like we'll be eating well tonight" said Chet.
"Yeah it was pretty solid out there" said Dom. "I was thinking though, when I watched the fish they move in a pretty specific pattern. So maybe what we could try to do is anchor the net in the middle of the river and have one of us fish on each side, that way we maximize our gains."
Chet considered the proposal for a minute and shook his head with curiosity. "Sure, we can give that a shot. You make it work and we'll see how it goes."
Dom felt the third piece of the puzzle lock in and with his catch in tow he trekked back to the campsite with a good feeling in his chest.
Back at the camp Tori had been working with Paula on organizing the clothing and setting aside what needed to be washed. They had struck it pretty rich in laundry detergent at one of the stores in the city during the beginning of the Conflict so they were set for a while in that department, one of the things that helped keep their group so upbeat. Clean clothes were a thing that a lot of people took for granted in their everyday lives but now that it was more of a luxury than a necessity they realized just how nice it was. At Paula's there was a second tent set up on the edge of the tent block where the clothes and stuff for washing and transporting were kept and that's where Tori was doing most of her work. She took boxes in that Paula moved from the supply trucks to the outside of the tent and set them up on tables, then began going through the garments on by one and separated them to where they needed to be. It was busy work, sure, but it made their lives easier when someone came along that needed a little help. The faster you turn someone around the faster they can start contributing to the group.
The girls were separated mostly for their jobs as Diana helped the woman that ran the food tables at meals, who they eventually found out was named Marla, by organizing and storing the food that was distributed to the camp. Everything was packed the best it could be in salvaged Tupperware containers or in aluminum foil and stored in a tent that sat at the edge of the treeline in the shade. They didn't have any power so cooling was an issue, meaning they couldn't keep meat for more than a day and treats like ice cream were no more. Some of the grocery stores in the city still had a lot of things in them according to the supply runners, but it was mostly frozen stuff that had thawed and wasn't good anymore. That said, they still had plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables from the gardens being maintained by Gill and his helpers, Marie and Cora, and Marla used an old technique to make fresh bread in a stone oven built by the food storage tent. They were lucky that so many of the people in the camp had knowledge of how to do things without the use of modern technology, since if it was just the younger people they would be out a lot of the things they had.
The camp was a pretty well oiled machine that ran on all cylinders all day long, until the sun started to go down and lack of light forced people to stop working. A lot of people that would normally say they hated work and would do whatever they could to minimize their effort had done complete turnarounds and were some of the hardest workers in the camp. Everyone had their own reasons for doing what they did but Tori seemed to think it was because they were working for themselves now, not just turning a profit for their bosses. Pride in honest work was best enjoyed by people who were doing things for themselves, and a lot of the younger people were starting to learn that. They weren't confined to a kitchen, serving up food for corporate lawyers or CEOs on their lunch breaks. The Conflict and the eventual forming of the camp gave people a real purpose, a way to work for something that really meant a lot to everyone that co-depended on each other. Having a real purpose and seeing the gains from hard work was enough for most people to get some sleep and wake up prepared to do it again the next day.
While the people of the camp had all of the finer things covered Tori wondered what the council did for most of the day. Sure, it must have been a full time job making sure everyone stayed safe and fed, but they almost never saw any members of the council around the camp during the day, and at night they would only show up to do a walk around the campfire and say hi to a few people, then disappear back into their command tent. The command tent, the largest of all of them, was fitted with a huge American flag draped over the top that covered the roof and half of all of the sides. The material was thick so you couldn't see inside and the flap was always closed, so whatever they were working on in there wasn't supposed to be seen by anyone that could potentially wander by. Occasionally a guard would stop by the food area and request Diana to put a few things together for him to take to the command tent and she did as asked, but some of the others that saw the good stuff going into the tent couldn't help but feel a little irked that council got to indulge while skipping out on the hard labor. No one wanted to say anything though, since they weren't sure if challenging the council would get them kicked out or not, and being a part of a big group was better than being outside of it.
Tori finished unpacking the last of the boxes she had received for the day and carried them back out to the supply drop off. It was starting to get dark and the end of the day cycle was starting to gain speed. When the sun went down completely one of the guards would make a round and light stationary torches throughout the clearing grounds, large sticks that were implanted in the ground with old t-shirt tips that were dipped in a homemade napalm solution made with gasoline and styrofoam. They burned bright and lasted for a long time, which meant they were perfect beacons to help people navigate the trail to the outhouse and the lines in between plots in the tent city. She was heading back to her tent to grab a wet wipe from her pack and clean up from the day's work when she ran into Marie and Cora, who were standing idly as they watched the guard finish lighting the last of the torches.
"Hey guys" said Tori. "How'd you do today?"
"Not bad" said Marie. "The job is pretty hard work but it's not boring. You know me, I hate boring shit so if it sucked I wouldn't be doing it."
Tori couldn't help but smile.
"I used to help tend a small herb garden at the community center in Wanagi" said Cora. "I kind of had the basics down but Gill is teaching us what's what."
"Sounds good" said Tori. She was watching people crowd around the fire when she caught a glimpse of Faye. Diana wasn't around from work yet so she decided to make the trip over and get to know her girlfriend's friend a little better. "I'll be right back guys."
She walked from the tent city through the bit of clearing that led to the bonfire with her eyes set on Faye. Faye was engaged in a conversation with the guy she was at the mall with and another girl with long blonde hair but the sides of her head shaved. She was in mid-sentence when Tori reached them and when they made eye contact she held up a finger while she finished her thought. Tori stopped a couple feet away from her and Faye turned to give her her full attention.
"So, you're Diana's new friend, huh?" asked Faye.
"Girlfriend" said Tori. "Yeah. We met in Chicago."
"Girlfriend? I didn't think she actually swung that way."
"What do you mean?" asked Tori. She thought she saw Faye blush for a fraction of a second but it was gone as soon as it came.
"Well you know, we were best friends growing up so we went through the whole puberty thing together, and you know, we kind of used to practice kissing each other. For dates with boys and stuff."
She got the feeling of grief in her stomach, like she was mourning the loss of someone, or something, so instead of being jealous Tori had the image of a young Diana in her head kissing her friend because she was nervous that she would screw up with a boy when the time came. It was enough to make her smile. "Cute. Unfortunately I didn't have that kind of opportunity and my first girl kiss ended up really badly."
"That sucks" said Faye with an acute lack of subtlety. "So where's Di now?"
"Not sure" said Tori, "she hasn't come back from work yet."
"Well if you see her tell her that I'd like to catch up but the supply runners are being run ragged right now. This is the first time we've been back to camp since we dropped you guys off."
"When I find her I'll tell her to stop by your tent. Does she know which one is yours?"
"It's the second one in from the left, second row." The guy she was with tapped her on the shoulder and pointed in the opposite direction and then started walking away. "Alright, nice talking to you. I gotta take care of something."
"Sure thing" said Tori.
She watched Faye walk away with the still unknown man and then headed back to the other girls. Cora and Sarah were playing a mini game of tag while Marie sat cross-legged in the grass. Her face was illuminated by something and it caught Tori off guard since they hadn't seen a lot of electricity in the past few days. When she got close enough she realized it was an iPod and then the pieces fit together that she was going through Matthew's music. She decided to let her have a moment to herself and slipped into her tent as quietly as she could, but almost jumped out of her skin as soon as she poked her head in. Diana was already back, lying quietly on her side with her right leg propped up and crossed over her left. She sat up when Tori came in and looked through the tent flap to see if anyone was around, and when she was satisfied they were alone she took something from under her pillow.
"I've had some time to talk to Marla while we were working you know, and we filled each other in on pretty much everything in our lives." She handed Tori a box with a red ribbon on it. "She's a fascinating woman, and when she found out that me and you are together she was thrilled. Something about young love in the face of a crumbling future being poetic."
Tori examined the box for a second and then looked back to Diana. "What is it?"
"Open it."
She pulled the bow strings and let the ribbon fall to the floor before pulling the top off the box. Inside were nine individual gourmet chocolates, like someone would buy for their sweetheart on Valentine's day.
"Marla told me to take those and give them to you. I told her how much you like chocolate when she handed me the box and she was really excited for it."
"I don't even know what to say" said Tori. "This is...really great." She could feel butterflies of nervousness and a ball of heat swimming around in her stomach. "It's pretty amazing to me that with all this going on you still found a way to do something nice for me."
"I wanted to show you that we really appreciate you, all of us. When Dom split you assumed the leader role in such a natural way that I didn't even think about questioning it, which is weird for me." She laughed a little and pulled a caramel filled chocolate from the box. "I know it's a lot of pressure and you're really amazing for stepping up to the plate."
The chocolate pressed against Tori's lips really softly until she took a bite, and the caramel stretched until it broke off and landed against her chin. She scooped it off with her thumb and held it out to Diana, who took it between her lips and raked it off softly with her teeth. They both smiled quietly at the rarely tender moment shared between them and kissed lightly on the lips, then laid down on their sleeping bags. The work was hard, the days were long and the rewards were slim, but if they had each other at the end of the day, they both wordlessly agreed it was worth it.