"Can you see anything?" asked Jet as he pressed his flashlight up against the rain barrel.
"Not really." Clem moved in closer, hoping to see through the plastic just enough to know if there was any water inside or not. "I don't see anything, the plastic is too dark."
"Well, maybe if look in through the vent I can tell," reasoned Jet as he stood on the edge of the bench supporting the water barrels.
"Why did Sin use black barrels anyway?" asked Clem.
"He said he wanted to keep algae from growing inside, and blocking out the sun was the best way to do that," said Jet as he looked down one of the vent pipes. "But he said if he builds another collector on the other side of the field, then he'd include a couple of white barrels in the middle so we'd know how much water is in there."
As Jet tried to find out if there was water or not in the upper barrels of the collector, Clem stepped aside and approached the barn door. Heading inside, she looked up at the blue tarps Devlin and Sin had painstakingly rigged up to replace the missing roof. Sin had originally planned to create a water collector by stringing up tarps before they had found Ceres Acres, so using those to repair the barn wasn't too difficult. Still, Clem couldn't stop herself from noticing the bent and torn metal near the top of the walls and wonder what an even worse storm would do to their tiny farm.
"Okay, there's water in there," said Jet as Clem hurried back outside.
"You can see it?" asked Clem as she watched Jet hop off the bench.
"No, but I put my ear up to the barrel and slapped it, and I can hear water sloshing around. The top barrels definitely have water in them."
"Great, that means the new roof worked," concluded Clem. "And it rained all night, so we should have plenty of water."
"Yeah, now let's just hope there will be enough pressure for the whole field this time." Jet turned a large valve on the center of a pipe running in front of the collector, then hurried over to the small pipe running across the short side of the field, Clem following right behind him. They split up and started turning a series of smaller valves running under this pipe. Turning the last valve, Clem moved through the wooden fence and started following one of the soaker hoses across the field. Leaning down, Clem could already see where water was seeping through the hose and moistening the dirt the corn was planted in; it was working.
Moving down the row, checking to make sure the hose was still working, Clem was surprised by how tall the corn had gotten. Already it was coming up to about her stomach, and she suspected it wouldn't be too much longer before it was taller than her. She couldn't see any developing ears of corn yet, but she did notice the long vines twisting their way up the bean poles planted between the stalks. Clem concluded it wouldn't be long before they needed to wrap them around the corn stalks like Sarah originally planned.
Continuing to check the dirt as she moved, Clem's optimism dimmed as she noticed the soil grew steadily less damp until it was eventually just dry. Kneeling down for a better look, Clem could see there was still a tiny trickle of water seeping out of the hose a bit further back only to stop entirely just beyond that. Standing up, Clem could see Jet on the opposite end of the field, likely noticing the same thing. Carefully maneuvering past corn stalks and around cucumber cages, Clem met Jet in the center of the field, looking as disappointed as she felt.
"It stopped halfway, didn't it?" Clem nodded at Jet. "Dammit. I was hoping the first time it only went halfway because the tornado tore off the roof before the barrels could be filled, and so there wasn't enough pressure. But they're definitely almost full this time and—"
"It's not enough for the whole field."
Jet sighed. "Granddad said that probably was the problem. He also said if we parked the semitrailers on the other side of the field, he and Devlin could probably use tarps to rig up some kind of roof over there and build another rainwater collector if he gets some stuff from Tulsa at the beginning of May. If we had that then—"
"We wouldn't have to water half the field today," the pessimism in Clem's voice brought a weary frown to Jet's lips. Going to fill their watering cans, Clem could hear the backhoe off in the distance. Just looking over from the pond, she could see a long ditch leading off towards the lake. Clem wasn't sure how long it would take for Sin to finish the ditch, but it hardly seemed to matter since finishing it wouldn't stop them from having to hand water the rest of the field. It would assure they'd always have water for the crops, but right now that sounded more like a form of punishment in itself.
Lugging a couple of full watering cans across half the field, painstakingly watering each and every plant, stopping to pull up any loose weeds growing between them, then waking up and doing it again tomorrow was maddening. It also got a little worse every day as they inched towards summer. It was only mid-April so far and even with a hat keeping the sun off her face, Clem found herself working up a sweat shortly after starting this daily chore.
Checking the lettuce plants, Clem found a small slug resting in the shade of a leaf full of small holes. Sarah and Anthony had been routinely checking the crops for pests in the early morning, but apparently they had missed one. Clem grimaced, then squished the pest beneath her shoe. Pulling her foot back and looking at the mess of goo that used to be a slug, Clem felt a tinge of guilt. The slug just wanted something to eat, but then, so did Clem and the others, and there probably wasn't enough to share.
Worse than slugs had been birds. Looking at the trees surrounding the farm, Clem couldn't see them, but she knew they were out there. There was usually at least a few crows waiting for them every morning that needed to be chased off and it wasn't uncommon for them to show up in the middle of the day while everyone was away from the field during lunch. Sarah had assembled a crude scarecrow from a beanpole, an old shirt, and upside down bucket with a scary face drawn on it; the crows weren't afraid of it.
Hands throbbing, lungs aching for air, sweat pouring down her face, Clem finally reached the end of the last row full of wheat that she thought looked like tall grass. With the last plant watered, Clem dropped the watering can and collapsed onto the dirt while taking several deep breaths, something that was quickly becoming a tradition for her after watering the field.
Looking over, Clem could see Jet leaning against one of the fence posts, likely exhausted himself. She slowly stood up, planning to go over and talk to them, only for him to start moving back across the field. Following him, Clem watched as Jet returned to the pond and filled his watering can.
"You're not done yet?"
"Huh?" said Jet as he turned around. "No, well yeah, but I still gotta water the apple trees."
"Oh yeah, how are they doing?"
"Umm… okay."
"Only okay?"
"After the storm, one of them was… bent."
"I'm sorry." Noticing Jet looked worried, Clem decided to go with him to check the saplings. Heading down the driveway, the pair quickly returned to the trio of tiny trees planted far off to the side. Examining the saplings as Jet watered them, Clem noticed all three of them had fewer leaves on them then when they planted them, and the few leaves left on the far right tree were brown and shriveled. Looking closer, she also saw this tree had a large split running along its thin truck and a piece of rope tying it to a beanpole.
"It's dead," concluded Jet.
"Maybe—"
"It is. Its leaves have just kept shriveling since the tornado," explained Jet as he set the watering can down. "Sarah told me if I tied the trunk back together, it might be okay, but I guess it was too little too late."
"I'm sorry." Clem looked at the suffering little tree, then went to pick up the watering can.
"What are you doing? It's—"
"Are you sure it's dead?" asked Clem as she picked up the can.
"It looks like it's dying."
"But are you sure?"
"Well… no. But—"
"Then we should keep taking care of it until we are sure," said Clem as she watered the tree. "I mean, we're already out here."
"That makes sense. I'll make sure to put up beanpoles before a storm next time… if I had done that last time this tree would be okay right now."
"Did Sarah tell you that? That sounds like something she would say."
"No, it's just simple physics; reinforcing them would have protected them against the wind." Jet sighed, then looked over at Clem. "How is Sarah? I haven't seen her much lately."
"I haven't either," admitted Clem.
"Really?"
"Usually just in the morning, at lunch, and when we go to bed. Patty gave her this bottle of sleeping pills, different from the xanax, and Sarah said they help her at night, but she still spends all day working on stuff."
"Just like all of us…" concluded Jet as he looked out on the road as the Brave and Anthony's truck approached from the edge of the forest.
"I thought Patty and Anthony got back a while ago," said Clem. "Weren't they just going to get diesel and look for stuff to fix the roof?"
"Something must have gone wrong. Come on, let's get the gate." Jet sprinted for the fence and Clem followed. They each grabbed half the gate and pulled it open so the vehicles could drive inside. Shutting the gate behind them, Clem went with Jet as he raced up to the Brave's door.
"Patty," said Jet as the woman came stomping out, an irritated look on her face. "Are you okay? What happened?"
"Power poles," she griped as she crossed her arms.
"Power poles?" repeated Clem.
"And your occasional tree, don't forget those," added Anthony as he hopped out of his truck. "All over the fucking road."
"That storm knocked over and blew around all kinds of stuff. I mean, you know how we found our barn's roof halfway between here and the lake?" Clem nodded at Patty. "Yeah, well, imagine crap like that all over the place."
"And since there's no post-apocalyptic road crews, me and her were stuck clearing the roads from here to the nearest gas station," griped Anthony.
"With a chainsaw and whatever tools we had on hand," added Patty. "And we could barely get that chainsaw to work, so it was mostly whatever non-gas powered tools we had."
"Our trash got to spend an extra couple hours stinking up my camper in the hot sun," moaned Anthony. "That's something they never cover in these end of the world stories: what the people who survive do with their garbage. Apparently, they get chumps like me to haul it off once every two weeks."
"I'm sorry," said Clem. "I didn't even think about how the roads could be blocked from the storm."
"Just item number six-hundred and twelve on the list of shit we've had to fix because of that damn tornado," grumbled Patty. "Oh, and speaking of which, I think I did manage to scrounge up enough stuff to fix the holes in the roof, and I could use a hand bringing them in."
"And kid, why don't you grab a couple of these," Anthony told Jet as he removed a pair of diesel cans from his camper. "Your old man has been burning through this stuff pretty fast trying to get that damn ditch finished."
"He's not my old man," argued Jet as he grabbed a couple of cans.
Clem helped Patty offload the supplies she found for the roof, which took longer than she anticipated because they had to dig through whatever was stuffed in the Brave's exterior bins just to reach them. Even after unpacking the food and other goods they had stored inside, the bins were still full of auto components and other items they hadn't needed yet. Pushing a battery aside, Clem noticed a big container of bright red liquid.
"This isn't fruit juice, is it?" Pulling the container closer, Clem unscrewed the cap and noticed it had a sweet, almost cherry like smell.
"Whoa, don't touch that!" Patty inserted herself between Clem and the container and hastily screwed the cap back on. "That's anti-freeze," she said as she turned the bottle around to reveal the label. "You drink that and it would kill you."
"Really?" asked Clem. "Why does it smell so good then?"
"Anti-freeze just smells good for some stupid reason, supposedly tastes good too," explained Patty as she pushed the container back into the bin. "We used to have a dog when I was a kid that got into a bottle anti-freeze, started puking and shitting everywhere and… by the time we thought to take him to a vet the next day, it was too late."
"It died?"
"Yeah." Patty grabbed a few tubes of caulk, then closed the compartment. "So, best just keep away from anti-freeze, okay?"
"Okay." Clem grabbed a couple of bags full of roof tiles while Patty toted caulk, a bucket full of nails, and a container of something called roofing cement. Moving into the yard, they met up with Devlin, who had recently finished building a short wall behind the storm shelter's hatch to keep the wind from blowing it shut like last time. Clem also met up with Omid, who had been 'helping' build the wall, according to Devlin.
Since it was close to noon already and the others would be back soon, the group set out everything they needed for lunch. Their grills had been broken in the storm and Clem didn't feel like fussing with the wood stove in the kitchen, so she and Patty put together a meal with things that didn't need to be heated. With all but one person arriving, Clem found herself once again going to fetch Sarah.
Heading around the side of the main house, Clem passed into the recently rebuilt greenhouse. Sin had patched the material the tent was made out of as best as he could while Devlin had cut and welded fence posts in a few places to replace broken legs and other parts of the frame. The whole thing looked rickety but was still standing. The potted plants Sarah had to replace herself, and she was still tending to them when Clem went to fetch her.
Returning to the group, they all ate their lunch quietly, except Omid who rarely did anything quietly. The last couple of weeks had been more taxing than usual and meals were usually more a source of quiet solidarity than conversation lately. But as the group finished eating and started cleaning up, Devlin and Patty exchanged glances then turned to the others.
"All right," started Patty. "Before we all get back to work, Devlin and I wanted to discuss a few things with everyone."
"What things?" asked Clem.
"Just some precautions we should have ready for the future," said Devlin.
"Like getting some of those little magnet boxes for car keys and put them all under the doors of our vehicles so we can make a fast getaway," said Jet. "We still need to get those."
"And some fire extinguishers," added Sin.
"We moved Patty's shotgun and a pistol into the downstairs closet," said Clem. "That way we can protect the house if something happens."
"Don't forget about the grenade," added an apprehensive Sarah. "I didn't like having them on the Brave, now I'm worried one will blow up the house too."
"I wouldn't," advised Sin. "Munitions aren't my field of expertise, but I know grenades are functionally the same as bullets in basic design, just with different trigger mechanisms. The odds of one exploding before pulling the pin are likely equivalent to that of a bullet going off without a gun."
"What are the odds of us getting blown away while living in tornado central?" asked an unsettled Anthony.
"This isn't tornado central," insisted Patty.
"How would you know?"
"Because if it was, we would have had to clean up the roads long before today," stated Patty. "Clearly there hasn't been a storm like that in the region since shit got bad or there would have been plenty of power poles and trees and shit lying in our way when we got here."
"Maybe whoever lived here last cleaned them up before they skipped town," suggested Anthony.
"Then we would have seen power poles and other stuff on the side of the road because that's where you and I left them," insisted Patty. "Clearly there hasn't been tornadoes tearing through here the whole time or we would have found some pretty big clues when we got here."
"Yeah, it'll be okay Anthony," urged a concerned Sarah. "We know to keep a lookout now if a storm happens."
"Don't remind me," mumbled Anthony. "I was up half last night watching the trees through the window of my camper, worried the wind would get bad the second I went to bed. I'm really not feeling too good about this place anymore."
"We talked about this," said Sin. "If we left now we'd lose all the work we've put into the farm and have nothing to show for it."
"And we've taken precautions in case another tornado happens," added Patty. "Devlin made sure we won't have to open a hatch against the wind again and we put some basic necessities in the shelter."
"That isn't what we wanted to discuss anyway," said Devlin. "Patty and I wanted to talk about what to do if something happened and we got separated from each other."
"Like what?" asked Jet, sounding worried. "What could happen?"
"And why wouldn't we just come back here?" asked a disturbed Sarah.
"Yeah, did you two see something?" asked Clem, frightened there was a new threat she hadn't anticipated.
"Wah-wah," ordered Omid from his high chair.
"Let's not get into the why right now," suggested a weary Patty as Clem got Omid some water. "We haven't seen anything you guys haven't, but after the tornado we realized we don't have a plan in place in case something ever happened to the farm and we had to leave."
"So we figured we should work one out," said Devlin. "While we're all still together."
Clem handled Omid his sippy cup and watched him take a drink before turning back to the group. "So what do we do?" asked Clem, nervous to the answer. "If something happens and we have to leave, where should we go?"
"Shouldn't we return to Tulsa?" reasoned Sin. "We left a lot of food there, probably enough to live a year off of."
"Actually we thought we should have a meeting place close by, in case we ever have to flee the farm, like if a herd came in and we got split up," said Devlin. "There's an old motel on the edge of Pawhuska. Going from here to town on the main road, it's the first thing you find after crossing a bridge to get into town. It has a big sign out front that says Economy Inn, you couldn't miss it. We figured if there's some kind of emergency, we could all meet there or at least leave a message for each other on where to go next."
"Which would probably just be Tulsa if Pawhuska is no good," said Patty. "Still plenty of food there after all."
"But, as I found out the hard way, a lot can change while you're away," said Devlin before taking a deep breath. "We need to have a plan now in case something happens to what's left of Tulsa while we're out here."
"So we need a plan in case our backup plan fails?" asked Anthony. "This is giving me a headache just thinking about this. Can we do this some other time, like when I'm not really tired?"
"This won't take long and it's not complicated," said Devlin. "None of us have any real leads or ideas left where to go, so if we can't stay here or in Tulsa we're gonna have to just pick a direction and hope for the best right?"
No one said anything but Clem noticed a look of resigned acceptance amongst the group; they truly were without any hopes beyond this one.
"Yeah, I didn't think anyone had any new ideas," said Patty with a sigh. "We haven't had any luck on the gulf or the parts of the east coast we've seen, so me and Devlin figured our best bet at this point is just to head west, and looking at a map, Interstate Eighty is the best way to get there."
"Interstate Eighty?" said Clem.
"It runs across the entire country, starting in New Jersey and ending in San Fransisco," explained Devlin. "From here, it's just a drive north across Kansas and into Nebraska to reach the interstate, then we can go west."
"But why would we want to go to this interstate at all?" asked Jet.
"The Eighty runs through eleven states and a lot of cities, big and small," said Patty. "At this point, finding anything worth finding is a numbers game, and the eighty will probably give us the most chances of success."
"And if we ever became separated, we might have a chance of finding each other again if we all stick to one road," added Devlin with a hint of concern. "Especially with the marking system me and Patty worked out."
"Marking system?" asked Jet.
"Well really it's more your idea," Patty told Jet. "I remembered when you told me you wrote your last name on the pavement and circled the N's to let your parents know you were going north."
"Wait, what?" Sin turned to Jet. "You left signs for people to follow us?"
"At a gas station in Louisiana… and a couple of times after that," stated a sheepish Jet. "I figured we had to do something in case mom and dad ever made it back here and came looking for us, but I didn't know which road we would take out of Texarkana before we left, so I stopped doing it, and I could only tell them we're going north or south with my last name."
"Well with us all knowing to stay on the eighty, that would take care of that first problem," said Patty. "And for the second one, Devlin was figuring if we did get separated, we could write 'Owens' on road signs along the eighty and mark letters to tell the others which direction we were going in.
"Like, if we're going to get off the interstate and go northwest, you could write Owens on the sign nearest a turnoff and make a little mark over the 'n' and 'w'. That way, if one of us ever gets split up and only catch up later, they at least got an idea of which way the rest of us went."
"I don't know about this," said Sin. "This isn't exactly a complicated code system; someone could easily figure it out and follow us if we did this."
"It's just an idea," said Patty. "If you can come up with something better just let us know, but Devlin and I wanted to bring it up now before anything else unexpected happened."
"This way we'd at least have a chance of finding each other again," added Devlin in a melancholy tone. "I can't speak for all of you, but personally I've lost enough people myself, and would hate to lose any of you."
A small hush briefly fell over the table before Patty opened her mouth to speak. "Any of you got any questions, or suggestions even?"
Everyone looked around at each other to see if anyone had anything to add, and Clem suddenly realized she had a question.
"I get that it has all the letters for all the different directions," said Clem. "But why are we using that name, Owens?"
"We figured we should use one of our names," said Patty. "Other's would look at it and not know what to think, but the rest of us would know what it means."
"I don't know what it means," said Sarah.
"Yeah, me either," added Jet.
"Who's Owens?" asked Clem.
"I am," answered a surprised Patty. "That's my last name."
"I never knew that," said Clem.
"Really? I swear I've mentioned it before." Most of the group gave Patty a look that made it clear they hadn't heard her last name before. "Well… now you all know."
"Wait, does that mean your full name is Patricia Owens?" Patty groaned and rolled her eyes in response to Sin's question. "Like—"
"Yes like the actor I never heard of but everyone over fifty always has. Ugh, this is why I never mentioned it, it was a subconscious attempt to avoid answering that question," rambled Patty. "Is there anything else?"
"Oh, this isn't about our plan." Clem turned to Sarah. "You wanted me to tell you if I ever found any pests; I found a slug on the lettuce today."
"There's just going to be more of them as it gets hotter, especially when it rains," groaned Sarah as turned to the rest of the group. "I need some beer."
"What?" exclaimed Clem as Patty raised an eyebrow.
"Sarah, I don't think slugs are bad enough to develop drinking problem over."
"I'm not, I just need to make traps for slugs before they get out of control and eat everything," explained Sarah.
"And… you need beer to do that?" asked a confused Clem.
"Yes, I read slugs like beer, so if you pour some in the bottom of a cup and put the cup on the ground, they'll try to drink it but fall in and drown."
"Huh," said Anthony. "Who knew slugs were such hopeless alcoholics?"
"I'll dig you out some beer," assured Devlin. "I'll probably need one myself before I start working on the roof."
"I should get back to work on the irrigation ditch," said Sin as he picked up his yellow earmuffs from the table. "Now that we have more diesel, I can hopefully get the bulk of it dug out over the next few days, put in the floodgates the day after, then we can get started on another rainwater collector."
"You still want me and Anthony to put the pipe in the sections you've dug out, right?" asked Jet.
"You remember what I told you about placing them when Devlin got them out of the trailer yesterday evening?" Jet nodded at Sin. "Good, be sure to bring a couple of shovels in case you need to even out the trench to make them fit. With a little over half the ditch dug, you should have plenty of work to keep you busy today."
"That's a relief," mumbled Anthony. "And here I was worrying that we'd eventually run out of work someday."
"Speaking of which, I should get started on those traps," said Sarah as she stood up. "I should get some out before tonight to see if they work, and I've got a lot of stuff I need to get done in the greenhouse."
"Bree-bree," said Omid.
"Read," Clem told him. "You want me to read you something?"
"Ree-ree," said Omid.
"I guess that leaves me and you to fix the roof," Devlin told Patty.
"Ugh, just, give me a minute to catch my breath," pleaded Patty. "I'm still reeling from having to improvise solutions to all those damn power poles."
"That's fine, I gotta fetch that beer for Sarah anyway," said Devlin as he headed into the house.
Glancing over at Patty, Clem could tell she was tired, even more tired than usual around lunch time. Moving to pick up Omid, Clem paused, then turned back to Patty.
"I could help out with the roof," suggested Clem.
"Oh, would you?" asked a visibly relieved Patty. "That would—"
"If you do the watering tomorrow morning so I get to watch Omid."
"That sounds fair; you gotta deal." Patty groaned as she stood up and went to pick up Omid. "Come on little man, I'll give you all the story time you want."
"Ree-ree," said Omid as Patty toted him inside.
Clem waited for Devlin to return and informed him she would be his helper for fixing the roof. Like a lot of chores, repairing the roof of the house wasn't hard, just tedious. Even locating the leaks was a slow, dull process. Despite being incredibly familiar with every one of them last night as she had to put out buckets to catch the rain dripping in, Clem had trouble pinpointing those same locations while on top of the same roof.
Eventually, after some trial and error using a watering can while Clem watched from inside the house, the pair had located all the leaks, or at least all the ones Clem was aware of. Devlin handled the bulk of the repair work; scrapping up shingles, caulking gaps, hammering nails, spreading roofing cement. Clem did her best to be an ideal carpenter's assistant, giving Devlin everything he needed as he asked for, getting rid of broken shingles, and heading back down the ladder to fetch anything they needed.
With plenty of time to talk anytime Devlin wasn't using a hammer, Clem asked how he knew to do stuff like this and Devlin said he actually learned it all in Tulsa. There was always something that needed building or repairing and never enough hands to do it, so Devlin volunteered and after some bumbling, started to learn the basics of being a handyman. Clem told Devlin that was like cooking for her, she had gotten a lesson once and had to figure out the rest on her own. Devlin told Clem she was a great chef, and Clem told Devlin he was a great handyman.
The pair finished the roof of the main house in the late afternoon and moved onto Devlin's guest house next, hoping to fix the leaks in his roof before nightfall. While waiting for Devlin's next command, Clem noticed Sarah leaving the greenhouse and heading out past the fence. She assumed she was going to check something in the field, but went past the barn and kept going right into the forest beyond.
"Yo, Clem." Clem looked over at Devlin. "Caulk gun?"
"Oh, right," said Clem as she grabbed the caulk gun. "Sorry."
"It's a'ight," said Devlin as he took the tool. "You okay? You look like there's something on your mind."
"I was wondering where Sarah was going just now," said Clem.
"Why don't you go find out?" suggested Devlin.
"What about the roof?"
"I'm almost done and can handle the rest on my own," assured Devlin. "Why don't you go ahead and clock out early?"
Devlin smiled at Clem and she smiled back at him. "Thanks."
"No problem." Clem climbed down off the roof and headed across the field. She found Jet and Sin near the edge of the pond working on something attached to a thick black pipe, possibly its future floodgate. She asked if they had seen Sarah and they said they saw her heading towards the lake. Clem followed a path of destroyed trees through the forest, eventually passing the backhoe that destroyed them and emerging on the lake's shore.
She didn't see Sarah herself, but Clem quickly located her clothes neatly laid out on a towel resting by the water. Before she could investigate further, there was a loud splash and Clem looked over in time to see Sarah pop out of the lake like a fish leaping out of the water. She was wearing a bright blue and green swimsuit and had goggles covering her eyes instead of her glasses. She shook her head back and forth a few times, sending water flying from her hair, then looked over at the shore.
"Oh, hi Clem," she greeted with a friendly smile.
"Hey," said a slightly confused Clem. "What are you doing in the lake?"
"Swimming."
"Do you think that's safe?" asked a concerned Clem. "I mean, there could be a walker at the bottom of the lake. Devlin told us about how there were walkers in the river at Tulsa that people couldn't see before we lured a bunch more in there."
"I think it's okay," assured Sarah, not sounding worried. "Anthony told me there's always fish in the traps around here, and he said when he was in Gulf Port, the fish never went to spots where a walker was underwater."
"Really?"
"Yeah, he said he knew someone whose traps stopped catching fish for a week, and then one time while pulling up the cages, they felt something pull back and found out a walker was down there. Once they killed it and it got rid of its body, the fish came back."
"Really?" Clem looked down at the water. "And Anthony brought back fish yesterday."
"Yeah, so it's safe," said Sarah. "You should come swimming with me."
"I don't have a swimsuit."
"You don't?"
"No," said Clem. "Where did you get one?"
"Tulsa."
"You packed that when we were staying in Tulsa?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"In case I ever wanted to go swimming," explained Sarah with a shrug. "You never got a swimsuit in all those times you went clothes shopping?"
"No…"
"Well, I guess you can't come swimming then."
Watching Sarah turn around and dive back into the water, Clem found herself suddenly spellbound by her friend's every movement. The way she swam was graceful yet playful and Clem found herself envious of Sarah's strong legs so easily propelling her forward through the water. Stopping to catch her breath, Sarah was briefly surrounded by a heavenly orange glow as the sun reflected off of her slick skin and hair. Seeing this, Clem felt an inexplicable and overwhelming urge to join Sarah in the lake, right now.
"What are you doing?" asked Sarah as she noticing Clem kicking off her shoes.
"Going swimming." Clem yanked off her socks as fast as she could.
"You can't go swimming in your clothes," said Sarah as Clem tossed off her hat and pulled the tie out of her hair. "You'll wreck them and it's no fun swimming in—Clem!"
Clem dropped her pants, tossed off her shirt, and rushed right towards the lake. A gust of wind felt refreshing against her tender sunburnt skin and the cool water of the lake felt even better as it chased away the unforgiving heat. With mud between her toes and water rushing past her thighs, Clem closed her eyes and fell forward, letting the lake envelop her. A sense of tranquility briefly overcame Clem as she drifted weightlessly in the wet void for a few seconds, then she stood up and rejoined the world above the water.
"Clem!" spoke Sarah in an urgent whisper. "You're in your underwear."
"So?" retorted Clem with a devilish smirk.
"So, aren't you embarrassed?"
"It's just you here," shrugged Clem. "And you see me in my underwear all the time when we go to bed. This… this isn't bothering you, is it?"
"No, it's just if it was me, I'd be really embarrassed right now."
"It's too hot to be embarrassed today." Clem leaned back into the water, letting herself rest on the surface of the lake as it bobbed up and down below her; she briefly wondered if this is what it felt like to sleep on a waterbed.
"I know what you mean," said Sarah as she leaned back into the water herself. "It gets really hot in the greenhouse, and it's still only April."
"How is the greenhouse?"
"Okay, I think. Devlin did a good job putting it back up and fixing it, and now I know to bring everything inside if it storms, but…"
"You're worried about another storm anyway."
"And a million other things," admitted Sarah with a sigh. "I was boiling water earlier and was thinking about what'll happen when we run out of propane and can't use that handy burner thing anymore."
"We'll probably have to use that wood stove in the kitchen," said Clem. "We haven't had a chance to refill the Brave's propane tank, so I've been trying to use it to cook meals since the storm, but it's a lot different from the grills that got wrecked. It took forever to cook fish on it the other day. I was hoping Patty would bring back a new grill today but they were too busy just clearing out the roads."
"We're lucky the burner was inside when the storm hit. Still, once we're out of propane it'll be useless, and so will the Brave's stove and hot water heater."
"We can find more propane," said Clem as she stood up, struggling to find her footing on the slippery lakebed. "There was plenty of propane we didn't take back in Tulsa."
"Yeah, but eventually that'll run out too and there won't be any left," said Sarah as she stood up to look at Clem. "The same is true for salt and sugar. We got tons from Tulsa, but it'll run out one day and we can't make more."
"How did people make any of this stuff before?"
"Salt comes from mines or ocean water, neither of which are close by. Sugar is something people got from plants they grew."
"So, we can grow our own sugar at least?" asked Clem.
"Maybe…"
"Maybe?"
"Well, sugar cane is where most sugar came from, but all the books I read said it only grows in tropical areas and you need lots of water."
"How much water?"
"Tons, like enough to flood the land it grows on." Clem found her arms stinging just thinking about trying to carry that much water. "The other thing people grew were sugar beets."
"Beets?"
"There's a special beet that you can make sugar out of. I planted a few in the greenhouse so I can make fresh seeds for later, but I don't even know how you make beets into sugar." Sarah sighed.
"Let's not talk about this right now," insisted Clem. "We spend enough time worrying as it is. Let's do something fun, like play a game."
"Oh, how about Marco Polo?" suggested an eager Sarah.
"That sounds good," said Clem. "I get to be Marco first."
"Okay, close your eyes and count to ten."
Clem closed her eyes and started counting, leaving short pauses between the numbers so she could listen for Sarah moving across the water. Around ten, Clem could tell Sarah was somewhere behind her now and was ready to pounce.
"Marco!"
"Po-hey!" Clem didn't even wait for Sarah to finish saying polo before she spun around and leapt forward. She only managed to grab a handful of water, but she could hear Sarah scrambling away just in front of her and Clem rushed after her as fast as she could across the slick lakebed.
"Marco!"
"Polo!"
"Marco!"
"Polo!"
"Marco!"
"Not so fast—ah!" Clem felt her hands colliding with something soft and fleshy and wasted no time grabbing it as hard as she could. Opening her eyes, Clem found herself clinging to Sarah with both hands.
"I win," boasted Clem as she squeezed Sarah a little harder.
"Okay, my turn." Sarah closed her eyes and Clem started scrambling away as she started counting. By ten, Clem had put a safe distance between them and was eagerly awaiting Sarah's first move. She had a big grin on her face as she slowly turned in place, eyes closed but ears open for movement.
"Marco!"
"Poh—"
Clem watched as Sarah dove in her direction and swam towards her like a shark that had just smelled blood. Clem struggled to wade through the water as Sarah emerged dramatically from below, erupting onto the surface with a huge splash.
"Marco!" she gasped before taking a deep breath.
"Po-whoa!" Sarah's hands came swinging right towards Clem with all the precision of a hungry walker trying to grab someone. Clementine managed to back away just in time to feel the swishing of Sarah's arms generate a small draft that nipped at her wet skin.
Sarah was giggling uncontrollably, prompting Clem to giggle herself. As they both became silent, Clem watched as Sarah stood up straight while her arms remained out in front of her, hands shaped like claws ready to snag the first thing they touched. Clem should have been moving further away, but thinking about those strong arms suddenly grabbing her compelled Clem to inch closer to Sarah instead.
"Marco!"
"Polo." Sarah leapt forward and grappled Clem with ease. Clem started laughing as she felt Sarah's arms ensnaring her; one running up and around her back while the other firmly wrapped itself around her waist. As Sarah pulled Clem in close, pressing the fabric of her swimsuit up against Clem's skin, Clem hands moved without thinking and repaid the embrace with a firm hug as she closed her eyes. Standing there in each other's arms, Clem felt she would be content to simply remain like this forever.
"Hey, Sarah!" Anthony's voice cut through Clem like a knife. Opening her eyes and turning her head, she spotted the young man standing on the shore. "How's the water?"
"Hey Anthony," called Sarah. "The water is fine. Did—"
"Go away!" yelled Clem as she clung to Sarah, trying to pivot herself in a way where Sarah would block Anthony's view of her.
"Clem, don't—"
"Tell him to go away," insisted Clem.
"Is that Clem?" she heard Anthony ask.
"But—"
"Sarah!"
"Okay." Sarah shifted slightly while Clem clung to her for privacy. "Yeah, and she's kind of embarrassed right now. Would you mind—"
"I get it. I'll catch up with you later then." Clem stood there, shivering slightly as she clung to Sarah both for privacy and warmth. She could briefly hear footsteps moving away from her in the distance, then nothing.
"He's gone." Clem breathed a sigh of relief, then rushed back to the shore. She barely spent any time drying herself before putting her clothes back on, thinking she couldn't be dressed fast enough. Sarah however moved with less urgency, taking her time to towel off, during which Clem kept her eyes open for Anthony or anyone else approaching the lake. No one came, but while Clem kept watch, Sarah had started marching back to the farm without her.
"Hey, wait up," called Clem as she ran after Sarah. "Why are—"
"I really wish you hadn't yelled at him like that."
"What?" Clem was surprised by Sarah's hostile tone. "Sarah, I was in my underwear!"
"You told me you didn't care if people saw you in your underwear."
"I don't care if you do, but you're not Anthony." That declaration stopped Sarah in her tracks. Turning around, Clem could see Sarah wasn't angry now. "There's a lot of things I wouldn't do with anyone other than you."
"I'm… I'm sorry," said Sarah before she started walking again. "It's my fault, I should have warned you Anthony was coming to swim with me."
"Wait, you knew he was coming?" asked Clem as she followed Sarah.
"Yeah, it was his idea," said Sarah. "He said I had been working too hard and swimming would help me relax. He even said he'd finish my work in the greenhouse so I could go first, then he'd come join me."
"You two were going to go swimming together?" asked Clem. "Why didn't you invite me?"
"I did, just a minute ago."
"Only because I came looking for."
"And I wanted you to come swimming with me."
"But if I hadn't come by you would have just gone without me."
"Clem, I just grabbed my swimsuit and came right here the second Anthony said he'd finish up with the greenhouse. It was so hot in there I didn't even think about anything else but getting in the lake," explained Sarah, sounding tired. "Next time I'll be sure to invite you, okay?"
"It just bothers me you didn't tell me."
"He said you'd be like this…" Sarah mumbled under her breath, as if she didn't want Clem to hear it, but Clem had.
"What? What did he say?"
"Nothing," insisted Sarah.
"No, I want to know what Anthony said about me," asserted Clem as she ran in front of Sarah to block her path. "What'd he say?"
"He just said you'd probably get jealous if I spent time with someone other than you," explained an irritated Sarah.
"I'm not jealous," refuted Clem. "I'm just… worried about you spending time with Anthony."
"Why?"
"Because…"
"Because you don't like him," concluded Sarah.
"He makes it pretty easy," said Clem as she crossed her arms. "Nobody here likes him."
"I like him," refuted Sarah defiantly.
"Why?" challenged Clem.
"He's a big help."
"So is everyone else here, but none of them said things that made Patty feel like shit."
"I know, but—"
"Or call Devlin… that word," added Clem. "You remember what I told you about it right?"
"Yes, I remember. But—"
"It's one of the words Consuelo liked to say."
"Anthony's not Consuelo!"
"You don't know that. Maybe he's just like her and pretends not to be."
"That's not true and you know it!"
"Why do you always stick up for him?"
"Because he saved your life!" Clem found herself taken aback by that statement. Standing there in silence, she watched as the anger on Sarah's face morphed into a familiar look of worry. "I… I just kept thinking about what would have happened if Anthony hadn't been there, and those men decided to shoot you and Patty."
Clem wanted to say something to comfort Sarah, but nothing came to mind.
"I know it bothered you, him shooting that man; it bothered me too. But it bothered me more to think about… about you getting shot in the head," said Sarah in-between short, pained breaths. "If Anthony hadn't been there, I… I don't know if I could… I could do that… again, I…"
"It's okay," assured Clem as she hugged Sarah. "It's all right, I'm sorry, okay?"
"Yeah, me too," said Sarah as she hugged Clem back. "Look, I know Anthony's a jerk sometimes, but I think that's just because so many people have been bad to him before he just thinks that's how everyone is."
"Really?" asked a dubious Clem.
"Yes, really. I asked him why he got so afraid in the shelter, and he told me he hates being locked in dark rooms because once, the police arrested him and then locked him in a closet all night."
"Why'd they do that?"
"He said it was because he was homeless, and that when they let him out the next morning, they told him if he didn't leave town they wouldn't let him out next time."
"That's… terrible," realized Clem.
"Yeah. That doesn't make what he said right, but I really think he was just upset and said something terrible because he wasn't thinking right, kind of like that night we were trapped on the overhang and I… I…"
Hearing Sarah bite her lip to stop herself from crying felt like a stab to Clem's heart, and thinking back to some of the things she said to Sarah that night only made it worse. "I love you," professed Clementine.
"I love you too," said Sarah. "And I've haven't forgotten about the stuff Anthony has done, and he annoys me sometimes too, but you told me even when people do bad things, they don't have to be bad people, and I don't think Anthony wants to be a bad person."
Clem found a familiar anxiety gripping her chest as her own words started swirling around in her head. "Let's just go home already." Clem let go of Sarah and the pair started walking again, eventually coming out of the forest and returning to their farm. As they reached the edge of the field's fence, Clem noticed something small moving amongst the tomato plants.
"Is that—"
"Go away!" yelled Sarah as she jumped over the fence. "Shoo! Get out of here!" A small flock of crows went loudly flapping into the air as Sarah ran across the field. "Stupid birds."
"Why can't they just leave us alone?" asked Clem as she glared at the pests flying off towards the trees, no doubt to camp out there until they left. "Did the books say anything about getting rid of crows?"
"Use a scarecrow," recited an irritated Sarah as she examined one of the tomato plants. "Everything else, like covering our plants or putting up a mesh screen would take too much time for a whole farm."
"I'm still mad at those birds who kept eating all our stuff in Spokeston," said Clem. "Now it's happening again, like they followed us here."
"We're probably the only farm anywhere around here, or at least the only one growing anything," realized Sarah. "Which means we're the only food around here… this place is going to be a magnet for animals and pests as our crops start to come in."
"Hey!" Clem looked over to see the others approaching, Omid included as Patty carried him across the field. "We heard yelling, what's up?"
"It's fine, it's just the stupid birds again," assured Sarah.
"Kem-men, Sah-rah," spoke Omid, clearly desperate for attention.
"Come here Omid," said Clem as Patty set Omid on the dirt.
"Little bastards," griped Anthony as Omid came rushing into Clem's arms. "You people should just let me shoot 'em."
"We used up enough bullets getting into Tulsa," dismissed Sarah. "We don't need to waste what's left on birds, especially when there are probably hundreds of them."
"Mah-buh," Omid told Clem.
"You hungry?" asked Clem as she pointed at her own mouth. "Hun-gree?"
"Hum-bee," repeated Omid.
"I'll get you something in just a minute."
"Plus, we don't need to be shooting off our guns and letting anyone who might be passing by where we are," added Devlin.
"Hum-bee," Clem watched as Omid walked towards one of the tomato plants.
"We gotta do something, they're just gonna keep coming back," said Anthony.
"Granddad, did your family ever do anything to keep out birds?" asked Jet as Omid approached the tomato cage.
"My mother occasionally chased them off with a broom," said Sin. "My family was more worried about droughts than birds though."
"Mah-bah." Clem watched Omid reach into the cage to grab something. Inching in closer, she could see his hand trying to grab one of two equally tiny but red tomatoes hanging from a vine.
"Sarah," called Clem. "Look at this. Omid found some ripe tomatoes."
"He did?" asked Sarah in astonishment as she hurried over on her knees. "Oh wow, they are ripe."
"For reals?" asked Patty.
"Let me see," said Anthony as he knelt down, along with everyone else eager to see the literal fruits of their labor. Clem pulled back a few leaves while Omid kept struggling to reach the tomatoes.
"Mah-bah!" cried a hungry Omid.
"No Omid, we shouldn't eat these yet—"
"Oh come Sarah, surely we can eat those?" insisted Anthony.
"Yeah, just like as a sample or something," added Patty, sounding hungry herself. "I think we've earned that."
"And… it be useful to know if they taste right," reasoned Sin, trying to sound objective. "Make sure there's nothing wrong with our crop."
"It'd be nice just to taste anything at this point," admitted Devlin. "We've been at this farm thing for over a month now."
"Two if you count the couple of weeks in Tulsa getting ready," added Jet.
Sarah looked at Clem, and Clem didn't have to say anything to answer her; she wanted to taste fresh tomatoes too.
"Just give me a second to pick them," said Sarah as she reached into the cage. "Does anyone have a knife?"
Before Clem could reach for hers, Anthony held out an unsheathed knife towards Sarah. Sarah very carefully picked both tomatoes from the vine, washed them off with a dab of water from her canteen, then used Anthony's knife to slice one tomato in half, then the halves into quarter slices she handed out to Anthony, Jet, Sin and Devlin. As the four of them all savored the first fresh piece of produce any of them had seen in a long time, Clem watched impatiently as Sarah carefully cut the other tomato into pieces.
"Hum-bee!" complained Omid as Clem held him in place.
"Just a second OJ," said Clem. "This… this is gonna be worth it."
Sarah handed a couple of quarter-slices to Clem, and Clem had to close her hand around them before Omid grabbed them both.
"Mah-bah!" cried Omid.
"I'm gonna give you one," assured Clem as she picked a piece out with her free hand. "You're not the only one who wants to try it." Clem fed Omid the tomato slice and had to pull back her fingers to avoid getting bitten in the process. As Omid's crying morphed into a happy chewing, Clem carefully placed the other piece into her mouth.
The thick grassy smell of the tomato plants in the air and the juices of that slice of fruit hitting her tongue brought back a flood of memories of Clem and Sarah's first time sampling their own garden back in Spokeston. They couldn't wait then either and ate the first couple of tomatoes that turned red. Even thinking back on it, Clem couldn't believe they ever tasted so good; juicy, cool, and tart with a strong hint of sweetness.
It could have tasted like battery acid and Clem probably wouldn't have minded since just the sensation of eating anything with such strong flavor again was almost enough to make her cry. They had gotten to eat fresh meat and fish recently, but the only fresh fruit had been the oranges from Valkaria around half a year ago. Before that, Clem would have to think back to the summer of last year and whatever little fresh fruit and vegetables they managed to salvage from the various pests trying to consume them.
She had to remember all over again what fruit not sealed in a can for over a year tasted like. That it could be more than just vaguely sweet or salty mush. Thinking about how much she had learned from then, Clem wondered what she could cook with fresh tomatoes. Could she make a meal with tomatoes and fish? She'd certainly try if she had enough of both those things. Finally swallowing the savory morsel, Clem breathed out and found herself sitting in a field of still growing crops.
She instinctively looked for more red tomatoes, but couldn't see a single one no matter where she searched. Looking up at the others, Clem saw a familiar sense of bittersweet disappointment hanging off all their faces. Each and every one of them had experienced something wonderful. For Omid, it was something completely new, and for the others, something they thought had been lost to them with so much else that disappeared after the outbreak.
"Okay, fuck it," said Patty, breaking the silence. "I see those damn crows on our field again, and I'm shooting them."
"Like I said, that's a bad idea," said Sarah. "But… we'll figure something out, even if I have to camp out here to keep them away."
"I'd camp out here just to watch for the next tomato," offered Anthony.
"Me too," said Jet.
"Wind chimes," blurted out Sin. "I just remembered, birds don't like wind chimes, or anything that makes sudden noises."
"I could probably build something like a wind chime," offered Devlin. "I mean, it just has to make noise right?"
"Kem-men, hum-bee!" announced Omid as he tugged on Clem's shirt.
"It's okay Omid, I'll get you something else to eat," she assured as she picked up the toddler. "And don't worry, we're gonna have a lot more stuff like that soon," said Clem as she looked down at the tomato plants. "You're gonna get to eat good food like that for every meal, just like I promised."