The Last Tribe (51 page)

“You never went there?”  Todd
asked.

“The roads just cleared, literally,
just cleared this week.  Not only did I not think about it, we had no way to
get there.  Let’s try today.  If there is anything to salvage, we need to salvage
it before the thaw let’s more critters into the supplies.”  Paul sat on a
barstool sipping what John guessed was his fifth cup of coffee.

“Paul?  Have you moved from that
spot in the last two hours?”  John asked him.

“I got up to get coffee when no one
would get it for me.  Does that count?”

“No.”  John told him.  “Where did
you not go?  What is Todd talking about?”

“The flour company with its
headquarters, factory, and factory store across the river in Norwich or White
River.  We might be able to find flour that will last us a long time.”  Paul
took another sip.  “We have to get the Suburban anyway.  We’ll make a side trip
to find it.  Can you imagine how much they might have there?”  Paul looked over
at Todd.  “Scones, there might be boxes and boxes of scones mix.”

“I don’t like scones, too dry. 
They are like drop biscuits, not a fan.”  Todd told him.  “Did you know I have
a pizza oven in the trailer?” 

“You have a pizza oven?  When were
you going to tell me?”  Paul set his coffee down.

“I did just arrive yesterday
afternoon, so I…”  Todd was cut off before he could finish.

“Are there other secrets you’ve
been keeping?  What supplies do you have?”

“Well, I took some art from the
Metropolitan, you would probably like the Van Gogh I have, and we picked up the
Constitution and Declaration of Independence when we were in DC.  Oh, and
Peter, he’s the older gentleman, he has a letter that the President wrote for
survivors.  It was on the desk in the Oval office.”  Todd stopped.  “Does that
sound about right, John?”

“Yeah, I think that’s it for the
big stuff.  We have food and clothes and things like that, but the big things
are the art, historical documents, and the pizza oven.”

“Hank and I rode bikes across the
country to get here.  I’m sorry we didn’t take more time to stop and sightsee
like you did.”  Paul held up his hand in mock anger.  “I’m going to get ready
for the day.  I’ll talk to both of you later.”  He stomped out of the kitchen
towards the bedroom to get dressed.  He was sleeping at the old house, but his clothes
were still at the cottage.

“Wow, he was so mad he left his
barstool.”  Todd picked at the strata made from eggs, last night’s bread, and
some kind of sausage.  “Where did we get sausage?”  He asked John.

“Hank used the grinder on the leftover
squirrel and rabbit.  He’s turned into quite a sausage maker.  He was talking
about making a bunch of moose sausage.”  John took another sip.  “He’s off
fishing with a group that includes Antonio, if you can believe it.  What did I
miss that turned him around?”

“Solange.”  Emily said through a
mouth full of breakfast casserole.  She sat at the kitchen table enjoying the
brother’s conversation.  “Tony, that’s what he likes to be called, mouthed off
to Todd in Spanish.  She walked up to him and slapped him right across the
face, went off on him in front of everyone.  She told him to grow up or get the
hell out.  She spoke to him in Spanish, whispered into his ear, and he’s been
the new Tony ever since.”  She took another bite of food.  “She’s the big sister
he never had, the big sister that would have kept him in line and not let him
join a gang.”  Emily spoke with her mouth full of food.  She was hungry.  “Tony
grew up on the water, his father was a ferry boat captain for New Jersey
Transit.  He’s probably fished his whole life.”  She took a sip of coffee.

“Wow.”  John said with a smile. 
“That woman surprises me every day.  Good for her and for him.”

“I bet she does.”  Emily replied
with an even larger smile.

“And what is that supposed to
mean?”  He asked her.

“Nothing, nothing, never mind.” 
Emily put her head down, smiling from ear to ear, continuing with her
breakfast.

 “Where is Solange this morning?”  Todd
asked to break the silence.

“She went with Greg and Matt to
check traps.  Bernie, Peter, and Jamie are talking about finding a better place
for the kids to play.  With all of the snow, there’s no open area.  I told them
to move some chairs and tables and use a room in the library.  It will be cold,
but it will be dry and snow free.” 

“Back to our earlier conversation,
it appears we are settling into Hanover.”  Todd finished his last bite of
strata. 

“It’s a great place, there’s no
doubt about it.  It’s beautiful and secure.  We have access to water and food,
and the climate is fantastic for about five months of the year, but the other 7
months are tough.  Twenty-two mouths to feed for seven months on food stores
alone?”  John stood.  “It’s just like we said, let’s take a break up here,
learn to live and work as a tribe.  We can decide upon and make a move to our
final location later.  If we spend a month up here, I think we’ll be okay.”  He
put his hand on Todd’s shoulder.  “I busted my ass to get here.  I left a solar
powered house on a bay brimming with fish.  I’ve been tortured by the separation
from my son, I deserve a few weeks of rest and relaxation.” 

John looked at Emily.  “Would you
like to come to the flour factory with us?  I don’t think we’ll be doing that
much heavy lifting even if we find a warehouse.”

“I’d love to come.”  She pushed her
chair back.  “Do you have any idea where my two sons are?  My dog has found a
spot in the kitchen.”  Hubba was on a small blanket next to the woodstove. 
“But I think I need to find my kids before I commit.” 

“They were outside with my twins
that last time I saw them, waiting in line to use the bathroom.  It looks like
they are playing in the library.  I saw them run out when the RV pulled up. 
Maybe Bernie was successful in her playground expedition.  They’re fine.  I’ll
make sure they stay out of trouble.”  Melanie yelled from the other room.  “You
go have an adventure.  Bring me back some cake mix or something sweet.”

“Thanks, Mel!”  Emily called back. 
She lowered her voice to reply to John.  “Yes, I would love to go with you.”

“Great, let’s get Paul, and find a
vehicle.”  John walked into the living room.  Melanie was still playing cards
with the girls.  Paul sat on the couch next to her, looking at her cards, and
pulling on his socks.

“I saw you speak once.”  Paul said
to Melanie.  “You were great.  It was a lecture on new techniques for less
invasive neurosurgery.  You know your stuff.”  He paused.  “That was you,
right?”

“Oh my god, you attended one of
those lectures?  Which one?”

“Cincinnati, I was dean of
admissions.  I’m not a medical doctor, I’m a ‘phony doctor’ as the MD’s used to
call me.”  Paul grabbed his boot and laced it onto his foot.

“The things I had to do to keep on
staff at Hopkins.  Lectures and papers, that was the name of the game.”  She
looked at Paul.  “You really liked it?  If you aren’t a doctor, why would you
care?”

“The surgery aspect was over my
head, but I enjoyed seeing faculty from other schools, kept me up to date on
the competition.  Some places I could say ‘have you ever seen Dr. Smith
lecture, check it out on the web.’  You know, if the surgeon was boring and
flat, it might sway a recruit my way.  You were tops.  I didn’t direct people
towards your videos.  Did you know Rebecca was accepted to John’s Hopkins? ”

“The girl that was here with John’s
son?  She’s thirteen.  How was she coming to Hopkins?”  Melanie did not know
the young phenom yet.  She was too occupied with her own brood to meet new
people past handshakes and quick introductions.

“She wasn’t necessarily going to
Hopkins.  I just said she was accepted.”  Paul had his boots on and stood.  “I
can’t believe I know two of the people who survived the rapture.  I admitted
one to medical school, and saw another speak.  I’m going to play the lottery
today.” 

Paul, John, and Emily went out the
front door in search of a vehicle and baking supplies.

Todd sat in the kitchen by himself,
enjoying a few moments of quiet.   He finished his breakfast and entered the
living room to sit next to Melanie.  He put his hands on the cushion.  “This
doesn’t feel all that comfortable.”

“That’s the couch, not this one.” 
Melanie motioned to the other sofa occupied by the three little girls.  “I was
listening to you and your brothers discuss Hanover.  Aren’t you the one who
brought us up here?  Why are you in such a hurry to leave?”

Bridget and Wendy were making bead
necklaces on the other couch.  They were not paying attention to the
conversation. 

“Sixes?”  Casey asked Melanie.  She
focused on her cards. 

“Go fish.”  Melanie told her. 
Casey frowned and started rooting around the pile of cards on the table. 

“I’m just trying to get a handle on
our situation.  If we are leaving, I want to know when, who wants to come with
us, and where do we all want to go?”

“Jacks?”  Melanie asked Casey. 
Casey frowned again, pulling a Jack from her hand and giving it to Melanie. 
“Yes.”  Melanie said, accepting the pair and laying it next to her.  “Sevens?”

“Go fish.”  Casey replied.

“Nuts, I thought she had a seven.” 
Melanie reached into the card pile on the table in front of her.

“Competitive much?”  Todd asked
her.  “Anyway, there was this big push to figure out our future, and now it has
slowed down, or stopped.  That’s fine, I just want to know what is what.”

“Nines?” Casey asked.

“Go Fish.”  Melanie turned to
Todd.  “Your brother found his son.  He wants to take a break.  I think we all
deserve one.  I can see how you don’t need one, you’ve had your wife and children,
heck you even had a dog this entire time.  The rest of us want to take a
breather, get to know each other, find out if we like each other, if we want to
form this tribe your beautiful wife keeps talking about.  Sixes?”  Melanie had
a smile on her face.  Casey looked at her angrily.  “I just pulled it.” 
Melanie flipped the six of diamonds around to show the little girl.

“If you want to do something
productive, try to figure out a better water situation for us.  Maybe the town
water tower has a valve at the bottom and we could fill up things from it. 
There has to be a better way than filling rain barrels or melting snow.  Two’s?”

“Go fish.”  Casey said happily.

Todd walked into the kitchen. 
There was one more piece of strata, but he was full.  He looked around for
something to cover the food.  He found plastic wrap.  He poured half a cup of
coffee and sat down at the table to think. 

“Water.”  He said to himself.  He
grew up in Hanover.  He visited his parents for years.  As he thought, he
realized he had never noticed a water tower.  “I guess the best place to start
is the town hall.”  He was spoke to Hubba, curled up on his blanket next to the
warm stove.  “You up for a walk buddy?”  The dog did not move.

“That dog is not going to talk back
to you, and he’s definitely not going on a walk with you.”  Melanie called from
the living room. 

Todd knew she was right, and was
impressed with Melanie’s hearing. 

“Well, I guess I’m on my own.” 
Todd said to Hubba.  He drank his last bit of coffee, grabbed a bottle of water
from the counter, and went in the other room to have an adventure.  Melanie was
playing a new game with Casey.  Bridget and Wendy were still making bead
jewelry.  Meredith and Avery were sitting in chairs reading books.  “Anyone
want to walk downtown with me?  I’m going to see if we have a water tower
anywhere near us, or if there are other options for drinking water.” 

Avery lowered her book.  “Sure,
I’ll go.  Can we look at other stuff too?”  She elbowed Meredith.  “You want to
come?”

Meredith shook her head, not
lowering her book.  “I’m at a good part, and the fire is warm.  I’ll catch you
later.” 

“Looks like it’s you and me.” 
Avery said to Todd.  She got out of her chair and moved towards the coat rack. 
“I should be good in this, right?”  She held up a ski parka.

“That’s all I’m wearing, plus a hat
and gloves.”  Todd grabbed his boots out of the boot bin and pulled them on.  “We
can check out some of the stores in town if you like.  I just need to look at
the Town Hall map to see if we have a water tower anywhere near us.”

Avery was dressed and at the door. 
She wore a cute pink knit winter cap with a pom pom top.  “Every town has a
water tower.  It has to be somewhere.”

“I hope.”  He replied.  “We’ll be
back.”  He told Melanie. 

“I’ll probably be here.”  She did
not look up from her cards, but put a hand in the air to wave.

Avery was a tall girl, almost a
woman.  She was thin from months of starvation in New York. The two days of
full meals brought color back into her sunken cheeks.   She had long sandy
brown hair that she let fall out of the pink cap.  She had beautiful brown
eyes, and a wonderful smile.

Todd did not know much about Avery
other than her striking physical appearance, and that she looked out for
Meredith. 

As they turned right towards town,
Todd asked her basic questions.  “So, Avery, what’s your story?”

“Do you mean what is my tragic
rapture story or what is my life’s story?”  She was more or less the same
height as Todd, close to seeing eye to eye with him.

“Whichever you want to tell me.   I
can give you my story, or we can just walk into town and talk about whatever.”

“I grew up in New York City.  My
parents were normal people.  I was the oldest of three kids, and we lived in a
three bedroom apartment, rent controlled on the upper west side of Manhattan,
pretty far from the park, but a nice neighborhood.  My dad was an IT guy for a
big law firm, and my Mom worked as a teacher at a tawny private school, which
is where I got to go.  I am, or I guess I was, a tennis player.  I was pretty
good, not playing on the tour good, yet, but ranked in the top five in New York
state good.”