II - A Smaller Family
-Four Weeks Later-
The road lacked any stains that indicated the event that reminded the civilians about the reality they are living in.
Hana's modern RV felt easier on the eyes of most of the civilians compared to David's old RV, though they wished they had seen the latter as well while it moved down the hill. The other vehicles followed the RV while Sergei opened the gates.
Lori stepped out of the RV and pressed on the root of her nose.
"Want some tea?" asked Carol.
"NO! Sorry, just, no, I don't want any tea, thank you."
Lori sighed. Carol walked away while Bobby approached his girlfriend.
"That was a bit harsh, wasn't it?"
"Oh, Bobby, the past few days were so exhausting. I really don't feel like hearing a lesson."
"Let's go home, then. Let's get you some sleep in bed."
"I gotta go somewhere first. Go back home, tell your sister and Clyde that I'm home! Love you!"
Lori quickly made her way towards the military-zone. Bobby kept his hands in his pockets and stared at Lori sorrowfully.
"Love you too…"
Lori arrived at the laboratory. Lisa and Dr. White were mixing chemicals together. Lisa placed a boiling flask on a metal wire above three flat candles. She then poured chemicals from a test tube into the flask, creating small puffs of smoke. Dr. White looked into the microscope, examining the blood cells from a roamer.
"How's the cure coming along?" asked Lori.
"Progress is unsatisfactory," said Lisa. "I could read an entire library of books and medical examinations and I still wouldn't be able to assemble the necessary knowledge to concoct a viable treatment for the necrosis influenza of the rabid kind. Street name– infection of the dead. I'm stumped."
"Don't give up yet, Lisa," said Lori. "There's no rush or anything like that."
"Of course there's a rush!" shouted Lisa. "First thing you do when you return from your futile attempts of searching for David is to check on our progress! It's exhausting!"
"You two are our only hopes in taking our old world back," said Lori. "Sorry if I made you feel like you were being rushed."
"Sorry, for my outburst," said Lisa. "Progress is very slow. I hate being reminded of that."
"Another failure," said Dr. White. "The sodium chloride dissipated."
"Salt?" asked Lori.
"It was worth a try," said Lisa. "How'd you know that?"
"I remember chemistry class in my junior year," said Lori as she walked away. "You can do it, Lisa."
Lori careened to the infirmary, feeling the burden of responsibility as the eyes of the civilians set on her.
She walked inside, greeted Haley, and went upstairs. She entered a large room and saw Leni next to a young woman and two older ladies.
Leni had her hair tied up in a messy bun on the back of her neck with strands of hair reaching the shoulders of her light-green tunic. Her pink leggings gave her a more fashionable look along with her light-green flats.
"Hey, Leni," greeted Lori. "How are you doing with sewing?"
"Oh, it's wonderful! I'm teaching Kathy here how to use those cup-thingies that you put on your finger."
"A thimble?"
"Yeah, it's that what they're called! Anyways, I finished making the hips on these jeans bigger for you!"
"Oh my god, did you have to say that out loud?" whispered Lori.
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about it," said one of the older ladies. "You're turning into a fine, young woman!"
"I'm sure Bobby wouldn't mind a few extra inches on the measuring tape, if you know what I'm saying," said the other older woman.
The three women laughed while Lori forced a nervous laugh. Leni smiled.
"Can you explain that, Mrs. Anderson?" she asked. "I don't get it."
"Oh, don't worry about it, dear. Go back to Kathy."
"I think Lori has something to say," said the other older woman.
"Thanks, Mrs. Coleman," said Lori. "Leni, how are the other outfits?"
"They're nice. They're not done yet, and I don't mean to brag, but I think they're the best work anyone's ever done!"
"Which one are you almost finished with?"
The three women laughed while Lori forced a nervous laugh. Leni smiled.
"Can you explain that, Mrs. Anderson?" she asked. "I don't get it."
"Oh, don't worry about it, dear. Go back to Kathy."
"I think Lori has something to say," said the other older woman.
"Thanks, Mrs. Coleman," said Lori. "Leni, how are the other outfits?"
"They're nice. They're not done yet, and I don't mean to brag, but I think they're the best work anyone's ever done!"
"Which one are you almost finished with?"
Leni walked to the unfinished clothes hung in a rack. She inspected each one and rubbed her head.
"I don't know which one!" giggled Leni.
"C-couldn't you have worked one by– never mind," said Lori before looking at each product. "Oh, I like this one."
Leni grabbed the purple scarf.
"This is supposed to be a ski mask AND a scarf! It's for Luna!"
"What about this one?" asked Lori, rubbing an inside-out jacket.
"It's a leather jacket with an iced-coffee color! But I want it to be comfortable for Luan. So, I'm sewing polyester on the inside!"
"I'm glad you're finding this fun," said Lori."It keeps my mind busy," said Leni.
Lori walked out of the infirmary. She decided to walk back to the military-zone before returning home.
She arrived at what used to be Unit A. She climbed up the guard tower where Luna defended the town at.
Luna kept her hair short, especially throughout the summer. Her purple flannel shirt replaced her old rock shirt while she switched from her old skirt to jeans. She also wore purple high-top sneakers.
"Hey, Luna. Anything new?" asked Lori.
"Nah, nothing new. You know, I'm teaching Sam a thing or two about using this baby."
"Speaking of Sam, how far are you along… with the bases. Hit… home run… or th-third base?"
"Oh, nah, dude. We don't have the time for that. Look this feels weird, can't we talk about something else?"
"I was just about to head back home. Just wanted to see how my sister was doing."
"You should spend more time with us," said Luna. "You go off looking for David and the Wasteland a tad too much. Bobby's missing you like crazy."
Lori nodded. She grabbed Luna's shoulder and hugged her. Luna felt the pain of the woman who was responsible for leading the entire town.
Jason walked into the prison carrying a plate of food, and had two compound bows hanging over his shoulder. He stop at a cell and saw Teri sitting on the bed hugging herself and her face in her knees.
"Hey, I bought you some food, it's venison, but if you want something else, just let me know," said Jason.
"Just leave me alone," muttered Teri.
Jason shook his head and placed the food on the cell floor.
"Look, your not going to be locked up in here forever at least in my opinion, I understand why you did what you did, but I'm not going to justify the things you and you're group did and neither should you it was wrong."
Teri lifted her up and looked at Jason angrily with tears in her eyes.
"What would you have done? Having no food for weeks to eat, barely any water to drink and being so close to freezing to death!"
"I wouldn't have killed people and take their stuff and you think that you had it bad being cold, thirsty, and hungry Lori spent the last few months in a prison cell with some of her family. The people that took her gave her and the other prisoners food once an awhile, and they didn't have anything warm clothes to wear during the winter and despite all that she didn't turn against the other prisoners and tried to fight back and last her parents in the process."
Teri started wide eye at him couldn't believe that her friend was tougher than her to go through months like that when she wouldn't even be able to last weeks.
"Listen, if you make up for attacking our community, and show me and Lori that your willing to change. I'll see if Lori is willing to let you join and live here in the community."
"Really? You do that."
"If your willing to except the consequence of actions then yes, but you got to prove to Lori and me that your not a treat. Anyway I got to go, eat your food before it gets cold."
As Jason walked out the prison Teri static contemplate all the bad things she has done since the global infection event, she picked up her plate of food and started eating.
After Jason left the prison he walked through the community and saw Lucy on a park bench.
"Hey Lucy, I want to talk to you," said Jason.
"What is it Jason?" asked Lucy.
Lucy hair was cut short and in a ponytail and she parted her bangs which allowed you to see her left eye, and she switched out her normal black dress to a white long sleeve shirt with three black stripes around it and black jeans along with white running shoes.
"I wanted to give you this," said Jason.
He handed Lucy the black compound bow she looked at it for a moment and then got up from the bench.
"Thanks, but I don't know how to use it," said Lucy.
"Don't worry, I'm going to teach you how to and I'm going to teach you more about hunting and to use a gun," said Jason.
"Okay, so when do we start?"
"Right now if you like, I was about to go hunting,"
Lucy nodded and they started walking off.
Luan and Benny were outside of Houlton with their swords. Luan followed Benny east of Houlton into a small Canadian parish in New Brunswick.
Luan allowed Dana to cut her hair, giving her hair a more smooth-like appearance. However, the narrow scar in her right temple remained, not allowing hair to grow on it.
Benny on the other hand, didn't have a difference in his appearance than a year ago, except he had facial hair scattered around his jaw.
Luan wore a yellow hoodie with her necklace on top of it and a light-pink skirt. She hiked through the crunchy, colorful maple leaves in brown boots, carrying a bucket of maple syrup.
Most notably, Luan's teeth were inside her mouth, though covered with her retainers. She often wondered how life would've been if everyone wore retainers. Perhaps, this post-apocalyptic world wouldn't have been so bad.
"Look, there!" said Benny.
Luan placed her bucket down and reached for her katana. Benny removed his backpack and tossed it on the ground before unsheathing his sword.
"It's just one roamer," said Luan. "I got this."
She then realized she didn't have her katana. Benny chuckled and leaned in close to her.
"I saw it first, cutie-pie," he whispered.
Luan smiled and looked at him. Benny raised his eyebrows and winked. Luan couldn't help but giggle at her pet name.
"You're so adorable. Go get him, hunk!"
Benny grinned and held his katana high up in the air. He swung it sideways and sent the roamer's head flying off to the bark of a maple tree. He then heard a groan behind Luan.
"There's another one," he said. "You can have that one."
Benny handed his sword to his girlfriend. Luan grabbed the ninjato and swung it down. She sliced the head in half and cut all the way down to its chest. The roamer fell.
"Not gonna lie," said Luan. "That was gross."
"Not gonna lie," sighed Benny. "I missed your jokes."
"I don't think it was the right moment."
"You would wonder if he had a brain to sneak up to me like that! That joke knocked it dead! Or– I'm sorry… I'm being too insensitive, right?"
"It's alright, Benny. I'm just not in the mood for jokes."
Benny picked up his bag. Luan formed a soft smile as she handed Benny's sword back.
"You know what I'm in the mood for, though?" asked Luan.
She looked around and scanned the bushes, trees, and houses. No sign of roamers.
She grabbed Benny's shirt and smacked her lips against his. She unbuttoned his shirt and rubbed her hands all over his body.
Benny in return placed Luan against a tree and was in the process of removing her hoodie when they heard a growl.
They both groaned. Benny buttoned his shirt back and found the roamer a few yards away.
"This wasn't a good time to do it anyways," said Benny.
Luan nodded as she tried to shake away her blush.Benny grabbed his sword when suddenly, Hana popped out of the bushes and sliced the roamer's head off from the back of its neck.
"What the–?" gasped Benny.
Hana whistled to her puppy, Kimi, who sprung out of the bushes. Kimi avoided the corpse in the ground.
"Oh, it's you!" exclaimed Luan. "What are you doing here, Hana? We-were you watching us?"
"Watched you," said Hana. "Followed you. Protected you."
"Yeah, definitely not a good time," commented Benny.
"Hana, you can't stalk us like that!" exclaimed Luan.
"I will come back. First, I let you have the sex."
Luan groaned and tried to hide her blush with her hands.
"No– don't call it– what are you doing here?" sighed Luan.
"Your sword. Very interested."
"Right, 'cause that means you get to follow us," groaned Benny.
"Yes," said Hana. "Way you two fought shinda. Do not do that in real fight."
"Well, we just use them to kill roamers," said Luan. "Unless you're talking about using them to kill the enemy. In which case, we do know how to kill an enemy."
"Doubtful," said Hana. "Enemy was weak. Enemy now… not weak."
"You're talking about General Black?" asked Luan. "We'll just use a gun next time we see him."
"No, no gun," said Hana. "Ever heard of kenjutsu? Perhaps, kendo?"
Luan and Benny stared at Hana with a blank expression before Kimi jumped up at Luan's left leg. She licked it before running back to Hana's arms.
Meanwhile, south of Houlton, below the road that led to the front gates of the community, Vonda trained Lynn in archery.
Plastic jugs of empty milk and water hung from a rope tied to a straight branch that extended to another tree. The rocky field was bumpy, causing the targets to be higher than the archer in some areas while lower in others.
A few arrows were stuck on both trees and other arrows lied on the ground where the heavy wind blew them to. All the jugs were intact.
Lynn kept her bow drawn back with an arrow pointing at the steady yet slow jug. Her ponytail rode the wind while her Canadian sweater flapped softly. Her arms remained as still as her hiking boots on the rocky soil, and her eyes were determined to make this shot hit a target.
Lynn's arms jerked back.
"Woah, easy there," said Vonda.
Lynn loosed the arrow. Its sloppy rise caused the wind to knock it out of its flight and down to the rocky soil.
"Fuck!" yelled Lynn. "Fuck, fuck, FUCK! Damn, why can't I fucking do anything right? I'm so shit at this!"
"C'mon, Lynn. You're just not used to shooting at windy weather! That's what we're training for!"
"To hell with the training! I just wanna go back home to Royal Woods. I wanna eat a meatball sub and win a roller derby game! But I can't because of… THE… FUCKING… ROAMERS!"
Lynn fell to her knees. The rocky soil scraped against her knees, but she didn't care. Vonda rubbed her back and crouched next to her, looking ahead at the milk jugs.
"You need to clear your mind. It's obvious that something's bothering you. And you don't have to tell me what it is, I think I got the idea. Clear your mind. Then shoot. Like this."
Vonda grabbed an arrow from Lynn's quiver and drew it back with her bow. The wind blew her wavy hair and rubbed against her cold eyes. However, she stood still like her mother's vest. She then loosed the arrow.
"Wow," said Lynn. "You missed."
Suddenly, another arrow flew and hit the jug closest to the left tree.
"Had to check wind speeds," said Vonda. "Let's take a break."
The leaves flew past the quiet houses near the front gates. Lincoln and Clyde lied on the couch with Lola, Lana, and Lily where Clyde polished Lynn's baseball bat with a wet towel. Lincoln wore an orange hoodie and was slightly taller than before the GIE. Other than his clothes and size, Lincoln looked exactly the same.
Lincoln stared into what used to be his parents' room. He couldn't brush off the thought that those doors would never be opened again.
"Hey, Lincoln, you there? You look zoned out."
"Sorry, Clyde. I was just thinking about stuff. What were you saying?"
Clyde's curly hair was trimmed in the sides, though still puffy on the top. He wore a green fleece sweater with khaki pants and a black leather belt with sneakers. His pants covered his metallic prosthetic leg that Lisa adjusted as Clyde grew.
"I was just talking about my bionic leg. Can you believe it was one year since I first laid my eyes on this bad boy?"
"Yeah," said Lana. "You know who helped build it, right? This girl!"
"This girl!" mimicked Lily.
Lana, Lola, and Lily giggled together. Lana continued to sport her red hat, covering up her pigtails that reached to her belly, and her overalls which weren't as baggy as before. Her front teeth were in place, though there were other missing teeth.
Lola kept her long blonde the same way she likes, that was covered up with a pink bandana. She wore a pink sweatshirt with a white shorts and pink running shoes. Her front teeth were in place just like her sister's.
Lily showed off her cream blonde hair that touched the back of her neck. She wore a white t-shirt with a lavender skirt and pink slippers.
"Has it been a year?" asked Lincoln. "I thought you got your bionic leg on October the 14th."
"Yeah, I did," said Clyde. "But Lisa and Lana finished the leg on the 13th. Then, I got the leg the next day."
"Are you guys actually tracking the dates?" asked Lana.
"We don't have to," said Lincoln. "Lisa keeps track, remember?"
"Well that's good," said Lola. "Keeping track of the data was getting hard."
"You said it Lola," replied Lana.
A knock on the door sprung Lincoln to his feet, ready to answer the door. He opened the door and greeted Ronnie Anne, Liam, Zach, and Rusty with a wave. He then greeted Tabby with a warm hug. Ronnie Anne walked past them, rolling her eyes. Liam looked in the opposite direction.
"Are you going to have a meeting?" asked Lana. "Can we stay?"
"I wanna stay!" exclaimed Lily.
"Me too!" said Lola.
"Sure thing," replied Lincoln, grabbing Tabby's hands.
"So, what's the haps?" asked Tabby.
"Nothing much," said Clyde. "Lincoln wanted to tell us something. I don't know what it is since he wanted to wait until we were all here."
"Where's Lucy, Lynn, and Vonda?" asked Rusty. "We're waiting for them?"
"No," said Lincoln. "They don't need to be here."
"Why, what happened?" asked Ronnie Anne.
"Nothing, nothing! It's just that I wanted to ask you guys… um… would you like to join Tabby and I on supply runs?"
"What that?" asked Lily. "'Nother word for poo-poo?"
"No, this doesn't apply to Lola, Lana, or you. You guys are just listening to us."
"Supply runs? Sure thing," said Rusty. "Although, I don't think my dad will let me go outside the gates."
"My brother never felt comfortable about me going outside," said Ronnie Anne.
"I'm okay with that, been cooped up in here for to long," said Liam.
"I don't know," said Clyde. "I've grown a little scared of going outside, just a little, ever since that… day."
"Same, I'm a little worried about going outside," said Zach.
"We gotta contribute somehow," said Lincoln. "Plus, I want to be around you guys more. Both Tabby and I."
"That's fine with me. It's been a while since we did anything together," said Liam. "And I wanted to be around you guys more too."
"Okay, I'll try to ask my dad," said Rusty.
"And maybe Lori could convince Bobby to let me go," said Ronnie Anne.
"Knowing you guys will have my back then sure," said Zach.
"Alright, but I'm using a long melee weapon– like this bat! Maybe I could put some nails in it, perhaps wrap it in barbed wire–"
"Great! That's all I wanted to tell you guys," said Lincoln.
"Cool!" exclaimed Rusty. "So… what do we do now?"
"Let's go find Bobby!" said Lincoln. "Lana, Lola, and Lily, do you wanna go outside and walk for a little?"
"You know," said Lana, "you don't have to talk to me like I'm a little–"
"Yeah! Yeah! Go outside! Walk!" exclaimed Lily.
"Why not, I got nothing better to do," said Lola.
"Fine, let's go."
Lincoln and Tabby looked at each other and smiled, much to Ronnie Anne's dismay. They all exited the house.
In the infirmary, below Leni and the others, a medical checkup was just completed. Dana and Wavehead chatted with each other while Becky tried to make Carol feel less anxious than she already was.
"All done," said Haley. "You are slightly high in iron and low in vitamins. Other than that, you are surprisingly healthy!"
"That's a relief," sighed Carol. "So, the baby's all good now?"
"To be honest, without an ultrasound machine, I can't be a hundred percent sure. But… your health should be a good indication of its health. I think your baby is fine."
"B-B-But you're not one-hundred percent sure?" stuttered Carol. "It's possible that my baby could be–"
"Carol, don't worry so much," said Becky. "She said you're fine. Keep worrying like that, baby's gonna be born with wrinkles on its face."
Haley and Carol looked at Becky with puzzled expressions.
"You know what I mean," said Becky. "Anyways, it might not seem like some people care, but we're here for you."
"Thank you, guys," said Carol.
"No problem," said Dana.
"Any idea of what you're gonna name it?" asked Wavehead.
Becky and Dana grabbed Carol's hands. Haley handed her a bottle of multivitamins.
"Nope," whispered Carol. "No idea."
Lori walked back to her home. Before she went inside, she made her way to the front gates.
"Hey, Lori," called out George. "So, I know we're not having the best of luck finding David, so, I wanted to ask you if we should keep going."
"Yeah, well there's no reason to stop the search, right?" asked Lori.
"We are putting ourselves in danger," said Sergei. "What if those rogues show up again?"
"We'll be ready for it," said Lori.
"Weeks ago, stopping those Oaks guys didn't mean anything," said George. "Sure, we got the firepower, but do we got the manpower?"
"Your point?"
"We gotta start training these people more. More than half of these people can't fire a goddamn pistol."
"Noted," said Lori. "But we're still going to look for David. We can't stop. His knowledge, training, discipline. The town needs it more than ever. Besides, I'm not a good firearms instructor."
Lori headed back home. Sergei nudged George.
"I don't know. I thought you were the best instructor after David. FBI training, no?"
"You're right, Sergei. But it's not about the gun training. I'm worried for Lori. She seems… distant."
"It's like how you Americans say it. Understatement of the year."