“Mike, who the hell sleeps anymore?”
She slapped his arm and went to join everyone at breakfast.
“Hi, Mr. Grant,” Mary said.
Mike hadn’t noticed her until she spoke. Behind Mary were her two younger sisters starting to wake, both of them dressed in some of Freddy’s and Kalen’s old clothes that were left at the cabin a few years back.
The three girls had been in the town, Carrollton, a mile west of the cabin with their parents on vacation when everything stopped working. Then, a few days ago, a biker gang came through and wiped almost everyone out. Mary’s father was part of the body count. Her mother fared much worse.
Ulysses found them hiding in the tall grass fields on the edge of town. The girls hid there for almost two days without any food or water.
“You girls head for the kitchen. Breakfast will be ready soon,” Mike said.
The last door on the hallway was Freddy’s room. Inside were Jung, his wife Jenna, and their two children, Claire and Jung Jr. Mike brought the To family with him on his way from Pittsburgh to the cabin. He found them in an airport, and when Jung found out about the cabin and where Mike was going, he begged to bring his family along.
Mike knew the dangers of bringing the family with him. He wasn’t sure if they’d even make the journey. On their way here, Jenna was shot in the shoulder. It wasn’t a fatal hit, and Mike was able to get the bullet out. But she lost a lot of blood and without professional medical attention, there was always the risk of complications.
Jung hadn’t stopped shaking since his wife was hit. Before Mike knocked on the door he could hear whispering on the other side.
“Jung?” Mike asked.
The whispering continued. Mike pushed the door open. Jung was kneeling on the side of the bed, Jenna lying motionless on top of the sheets. His head was bowed, and his hands clutched a string of beads wrapped around his knuckles.
The youngest, Claire, was cuddled up to Jenna on the bed, while Jung Jr. sat in the corner reading an old picture book that belonged to Freddy when he was a kid.
Jenna looked bad. Her face dripped with sweat. Her skin was pale.
“Jung?” Mike repeated.
The whispering stopped. Jung looked back at Mike. His eyes were red and strained from either crying or a sleepless night.
“Whenever you’re done, everyone’s in the kitchen,” Mike said.
Jung inclined his head and went back to his whispers. Mike shut the door gently behind him. He knew what Jung was going through right now. It’s what Mike went through during his four-day journey trying to get back to his own family.
When Mike’s family escaped the neighborhood after everyone turned on him he wasn’t sure if he’d ever see them again. He knew that he’d give everything he had to find them, but in the back of his mind stood the looming presence of reality. It was a reality he faced with every step of the eighty miles he walked to get here.
Ray, Tom, and Clarence were up after all the commotion and traffic from people passing the living room where they were sleeping.
The cabin was loud with chatter about what was for breakfast. Stomachs growled and Anne started handing out a few cans of pears. People passed them around as Tom came in to help Anne fire up the skillet.
Mike waited until after breakfast to speak with everyone. He thought it best to tell people difficult news on a full stomach rather than an empty one.
“Hey, everyone, listen up,” Mike said.
The kitchen and living room fell silent. Every eye in the cabin was staring at him. It was an odd feeling for Mike, the air of authority he now possessed; it was an unspoken agreement from everyone he’d helped stay alive. They wouldn’t be here without him.
“With the amount of people we have here now, the cabin is beyond its intended capacity. I built this place with the idea that there’d only be five occupants. Now, there’s more than triple that. I stashed enough food rations and water to last five people six months. With the rate we’ve been going through food and the number of mouths we now have to feed, our food rations will be gone much sooner.”
“So what’s the call?” Clarence asked.
“The husband of the woman who let us borrow the cart to bring Jenna up here is a hunter. He knows the area well. I’m going back there today to see if we can work out an arrangement. See if there is anything we can trade,” Mike said.
“The family of the boy who shot my wife?” Jung asked.
Mike hadn’t noticed Jung join them. The beads were still wrapped tight around Jung’s hands, swinging back and forth.
“Jung, it was an accident,” Mike said.
“I don’t know, Mike. The family wasn’t exactly thrilled to see us when we went there the first time,” Tom said.
“We’re going to need food. It’s better if we’re able to work something out now before things get too scarce. I don’t know how long we’ll be here, but if we end up staying through the winter, we’re going to need to know the game in the area,” Mike replied.
“Winter?” Fay asked. “You don’t think everything will get figured out by then?”
“We can’t count on the power coming back on. While I hope things will get better, we have to prepare for the worst. We have to think long term,” Mike answered.
“Mike’s right,” Nelson said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s better to be overprepared than underprepared.”
“I want everybody moving in pairs when you’re outside the cabin. Anne and Ulysses will give everyone a breakdown of chores. Everyone pulls their own weight. No exceptions,” Mike said.
He wasn’t sure how the group was going to handle being here. Seventeen people living under the roof of one four-bedroom house for an extended period of time was going to be rough. Throwing in the fact that half of them had only known each other for a few days wasn’t going to help.
Mike pushed it out of his mind. One thing at a time. Right now he just needed to focus on setting up a sustainable food channel.
“Fay, you’re with me,” Mike said.
Anne raised her eyebrow and pulled Mike aside once Fay had turned her back.
“Why don’t you take your dad?” Anne asked.
“I want him here. Ulysses already knows where everything is and you’ll need his help to pick up the slack from Ray and Jenna being down.”
Anne grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him close for a kiss.
“Just make sure blondie doesn’t get any porridge.”
Mike smiled.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Once breakfast was over, Mike and Fay headed out for the Murth’s farm. The trip there would only take a few hours, but Mike packed a day’s worth of rations for him and Fay that he threw in the cart.
“I’m not to sure of the welcome we’re going to get, so if things go bad don’t hesitate. Either shoot, or run,” Mike said.
“You really think they’re going to just give us food?”
“No, the family didn’t strike me as the type to give handouts, but we might be able to work out a bartering deal. I’m willing to bet I’ve got some things they don’t.”
Mike kept to the east on his way down to the highway. He wanted to avoid getting close to the town. After hearing the stories from Mary and Ulysses about the biker gang, he didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks.
Once they made it to the highway, the farm was only a few miles down the road. Mike could see it in the distance.
The farm was modest, roughly twenty acres or so from what he could tell, although he wasn’t sure how much land the family owned beyond the fences. They could have come through the back way, but Mike didn’t want to risk spooking them. The last time he saw them he did have their son at gunpoint.
“You have your safety off?” Mike asked.
“Always.”