The Last Tribe (7 page)

He followed her into the other room,
and helped her move the piece of furniture.

When the sofa was in place, Rebecca
ran upstairs and came back down with a blanket.  “You can take a bath
tomorrow.  We still have water pressure.  I heat water on the fire and fill
half from the tub faucet.  It’s where I wash clothes too.  Anyway, you smell
really bad.”  She paused.  “Let’s get some sleep.”

 “Okay.”  He said with a smile.  Rebecca
was getting smarter by the minute. 

Greg grabbed the blanket from the
back of his couch and laid down facing the fire.  He was the most comfortable
he had ever been in his life.  Exhausted physically and mentally, his eyes
fluttered momentarily as he drifted to sleep.  The last words he heard were
additional instructions from his new friend.

“Good night Greg Dixon from Hightower.
“  Rebecca said as she threw a log on the fire.  “If you wake up in the night,
please put wood on the fire.  You can use the bathroom.  As I said, we have
water pressure.  Please flush, we’re not savages.”

“Good night Rebecca.  I’ll see you
in the morning.”  Greg mumbled. 

Rebecca sat on her couch watching him
sleep.  Tears streamed down her cheeks as she enjoyed her good fortune.  She
smiled at her sudden companion.  Tomorrow she would begin to act like herself,
not the young girl she pretended to be. 

And she would show him everything. 

“Craig’s gone again.”  Matt stood
over his father. 

John opened his eyes, rubbing the
corners to clear the sleep.  “How long?”

“I don’t know.  He’s getting better
at sneaking out, could be hours.”  Matt sat down on the side of the bed and tied
his shoes.

“I swear I am going to strap that
kid down tonight.  Like I don’t have enough to deal with.”  John’s anger was
short lived.  In a matter of weeks Craig lost everything in his world, school,
soccer, friends, his mother.  If John could run away right now, he would too.

“You think he’s at the soccer
fields again?”  Matt was done tying his shoes.  He stood and looked vacantly
out of the bedroom window.

“Part of me wants to put out a
saucer of milk and wait for him to come home on his own.  I know he’s running
away so we’ll have to find him, well, at least part of his running away is so
we’ll come find him.”  John swung his feet off the side of the bed, taking the
spot left by his son.  John was fully dressed except for socks and shoes. 
Searching for Craig was an almost every morning event.  He was prepared.

“Is that what you want to do?  It’s
not like it’s cold or raining outside.  We could let him run around on his own
for a day.  I doubt he’s swimming in the river or skateboarding off roofs.” 
Matt was as exasperated as his father. 

John paused.  “We can’t.  If he
gets hurt, well, we’ve lost enough.  He wants to get rescued.  It’s the least
we can do.  It’s the least I can do.”

Craig ran away for different
reasons each time.  If he slipped out daily, John really would tie him down or
dead bolt his windows and door, but Craig might go a week without leaving, or
just a day. 

Matt and John were caught off guard
this morning.  They spent the previous day hunting him down.  That usually
meant a few days reprieve. 

“He never goes to the same place
right away.  I have an idea.”  John slipped on his second shoe and stood next
to his son.

In the few months since Sharon’s
death the line between father and oldest son had blurred. 

“Let’s take a car and head over to Highway
17.  I have a feeling yesterday was a smoke screen.  He’s off to find Greg
again, and wanted us to spend the day looking in town spinning our wheels.” 
John walked out of the room.  Matt followed, shaking his head.

“I wish I could figure him out,
help him out.”  Matt replied.

“In a way, I appreciate the
diversion.  If I’m thinking about him, looking for him, I’m not thinking about
the shit storm our lives have become.”  John grabbed a granola bar and bottle
of water from the counter as he walked out the door to their garage.

“I hope he’s on the road.  I’m
tired of walking into homes with dead people.”  Matt’s body gave a shiver. 

They drove in silence, eating their
breakfasts.  Their taste in music was so drastic, each preferred silence to the
other’s CD choices. 

“We need a purpose.”  John finally
said.  “A ten year old has to be kept busy, be given a reason not to ride his
bike off into the night.”

Matt did not respond.  He chewed
his breakfast.

“We need a new house, and we need
to get him fishing.  He needs to be able to walk down to a pier and throw a
line into the water, or maybe have one of us take him out into the bay.”  John already
contemplated a move to the bay as the days shortened.  “We can pick any house
we want.  Let’s find one that doesn’t hold all of our memories.  Let’s find a
new neighborhood that won’t remind us of your mother or our friends.”  John
drove slowly through the empty streets of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.

“So it’s done.  This is it.” Matt
replied flatly.  “We’re all that’s left.  You think the city is dead.” 

John let the truck slow to a stop
before turning to look at his son.  “Let’s find your little brother and start a
new life.  I’m not saying it’s the life either of us wants, but it’s the one we
get until we leave for New Hampshire.  This is it, Matt.  The world lost.  I’m
sorry to have to tell you, but yes, it’s over.”

He took his foot off the brake and
the car ambled north on Highway 17.  John and Matt searched for a young boy
riding a bike. 

Greg woke when he heard a log
tossed on the fire.  The sun was not up, but he could tell it was morning. 

She was real.  He met a girl the
night before, and ate hot food, and was on a couch in front of a fire, and he
could talk to someone.  Well, if he could get a word in edgewise he could talk
to someone.  Greg lay motionless to make sure Rebecca was still friendly and
okay with the idea of him being there.

He looked around the room.  His
excitement and exhaustion the previous night prevented him from noticing how neat
and organized the living room was.  Rebecca had a brown leather couch of her
own that faced the fire.  On each end of her sofa were tables with lanterns.  A
small table and chairs rested against the wall next to the fire.  A placemat
led him to believe she ate her meals at the table.  A silverware caddy filled
with plastic forks, spoons, knives, and paper napkins sat in the middle of the
table along with salt and pepper.  A stack of paper bowls and plates were on a
built in cabinet next to the fire.  “This is orderly and precise for a young
girl.”  Greg thought.  “I would swear there is an adult living with her.”  He
lifted his head and looked for signs of a second person, but there was only the
one placemat on the table. 

“Good morning.”  He said, as he
stretched and sat up.  “It wasn’t a dream.  I’m really in a house with another
person.”  Greg was positive Rebecca was happy he was there, but he still felt
out the situation to make sure.  “That couch was a little more comfortable than
sleeping under my dorm bed at Hightower, or bunking on the floor of a general
store.  Thank you for everything, the soup, the couch.”

“You’re not leaving, are you?” 
Rebecca asked.  “You are thanking me as if you are going to leave in a minute. 
Can you stay for a little while?  I have a few more surprises, a few secrets I
didn’t tell you last night.  You fell asleep quickly.  I was so excited for
another person I didn’t sleep at all.  Plus, all I do is sleep.  It’s boring being
alone.  I do my chores, get firewood, keep things clean, then sleep away as
much time as I can.”

Greg smiled.  He liked Rebecca.  She
was like the girls at Hightower, excited about life, excited about talking, and
excited to tell you everything about themselves.  She was a little bit
different too.  He could not put his finger on it yet, but she was special. 

He missed people, and he
particularly missed people like Rebecca, girls who liked to talk.  Greg was
shy.  He kept his feelings and motives to himself.  Finding a Yin to his Yang
was perfect.  If he had stumbled upon a person similar to himself, neither one
of them would have spoken.

“I want to get up to Hanover, but
I’m not leaving now.  Besides,” he pointed to the window out the front door,
“it’s raining.  I’m not going to start off in the rain on a two week hike.”

“Oh, yeah, no, I guess not.  Well,
let me show you one of the lucky things I have.”  She pointed to the flannel
robe she gave Greg the night before.  “And maybe we can get you a bath later,
cause, well, you know, you still smell.”

Greg did know.  He was excited to
get the grime off of his body, and do it using hot water.

He stood up, slipped on the scuffs
Rebecca set out for him, and followed her through an archway to a kitchen. 
They went out a backdoor into a yard where a large chicken coop sat with live
chickens strutting about.  Rebecca opened the back of the coop and pulled out 7
eggs. 

Greg did not count, but guessed she
had at least a dozen chickens.

“Urban farmers, can you believe
it?  One of our neighbors had this coop and three chickens.  Once I knew I was
going to live here, I moved it.  It took me two days to dismantle and put back
together, but so much easier than walking all the way over to the neighbors every
morning for eggs.  Then I found another house with chickens.  Let’s just say, I
eat a lot of eggs.  Did you know they lay one every day?”

Greg realized he had to use the
bathroom.  “Just a second, let me use the restroom…”  Eggs!  He thought to
himself.  That’s not out of a can or a wrapper.  He used the bathroom, flushed
a toilet for the first time in a week, and walked back into the cold kitchen.

“The rest of the house gets really
cold, colder every morning.  I don’t know what I can do.  The living room is
getting more difficult to keep warm.  It is losing too much heat, and it’s too
large to warm from the single fireplace.  I’m thinking of hanging up plastic strips,
like you see in a meat locker, or maybe just two blankets in each entry.  We
could walk through the slit in the middle.  We would keep most of the warmth
where we need it.  I know a barn a little ways from here.  We could get some
heavy wool horse blankets.”

Rebecca cracked the eggs into a
non-stick pan.  “I hope scrambled is okay.  I crack right into the pan, saves
me a bowl to clean.  I use a plastic fork to scramble them.”  She threw some
salt and pepper in the eggs and whisked as she walked into the other room.  She
set the pan down and moved a wire cooking rack over the fire.  It was cast-iron
and allowed her to put the egg pan right over the flame.  “Another one of my
Dad’s fireplace cooking toys,” she said with a smile.

“I would eat them raw.  I’ve been
living on franks and beans, power bars, and green beans for two months.  Actual
food is going to taste fantastic.”

“You said you were eating cat
food.”  Rebecca frowned.

“I said I almost ate cat food. 
That’s different.  I never ate the cat food.  It’s in my backpack.” 

“Can you get two paper plates and
forks from over there?  These cook quickly.  I can’t leave them even for a
second.  I usually just eat out of the pan, saves room in the trash cans, but
that’s gross with two of us.”

Greg retrieved the plates.  Rebecca
spooned the eggs out equally.  They sat at her small table and ate breakfast.  Greg
noticed she put a second placemat out for him while he was in the bathroom.  Rebecca
smiled and stared at Greg.

She finally spoke.  “Did you get as
lonely as I did?  I was starting to go a little insane.”

“I talked to myself, not in a crazy
way, like it was a conversation, but just to hear a voice.  That helped, but in
the end, yes, I was lonely.”  Greg ate his eggs in less than a minute.  “Do you
mind if I cook something else?  I’m still hungry.  I’m sure I can find a house
with food in this subdivision.”

She smiled.  “I don’t think you
realize how much food I have.”

Greg was intrigued by her comment
and sly expression, but he was hungrier than interested. 

“How about this,” she told him.  “I’ll
make you some soup, and you take a bath so I can focus on the conversation
instead of your smell.  I will warn you, the bathroom is cold, so while the
water will be warm, you are basically taking a bath in cold air.”  She went to
her cupboard.   

“Fair enough, I’ll get clean.”  Greg
could tell Rebecca enjoyed a plan.  She kept her house spotless so rats and
bugs did not come in.  She kept her clothes and sheets clean to keep her
humanity.  He had a feeling she would go to Hanover, if he could show her it
was the correct strategy.  He had to convince her that leaving a food supply
and a safe warm house made sense.

Greg ate the soup while four pots
of water warmed over the fire.  He filled half the tub with the cold water from
the tap, and enjoyed his first hot cleaning in two months.  If he closed his
eyes, it was almost as if the rapture had not happened.  He had a full belly, a
warm bath, a friend… 

He opened his eyes, looked at the
disgusting gray water around him, and pulled the plug.  He wrapped in a towel
and bathrobe before putting on clean clothes placed neatly outside the door. 

Greg was ready for the day.

“You’re even cuter when you’re
clean!”  Rebecca told him, blushing as she said it.

“Okay, what do we need to do for
the day.  Do we need firewood?  Do we need to feed the chickens?  What chores
do you normally do alone that I can help out with?  Do you want to walk to that
barn and get those blankets?”  Helping her was the best way to steer the
conversation away from being called cute.

“It stopped raining.  I have two
bikes, let’s go over to the barn and get the blankets.  I can show you some
other stuff too.  I have a few winter coats, one should fit you.  They have
hoods and will keep any rain off if it starts up again.  I washed your clothes,
including your jacket.  I was bored after you went to sleep.  They are hanging
up to dry.  I have a bike helmet, if you want it.”

Greg found a black jacket in the
coat closet that cost $500 before the rapture.  The tags were still attached to
the sleeve.  He slipped it on and followed her back into the kitchen and
through a door that led to the garage.  There were eight bikes in the garage,
four mountain and four road bikes.  High end bikes in different sizes.  “I
collected things in case people showed up,” Rebecca explained.  “It cut through
the boredom, gave me something to do, and gave me hope.”

It was a two car garage.  In the
far bay was an SUV hybrid which looked new.  In the closer bay, next to the
bikes, was just about everything Greg could imagine;  snow shovels, clothes,
jackets, gloves, tents, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, propane tanks, kettle
grills, coolers, and camping gear upon camping gear.  There were rain barrels
and seed racks taken right from the stores.  She had stacks of food; soups,
noodles, flour, sugar, bottled water, energy drinks, enough to keep herself
alive for years.

Greg grabbed an expensive mountain
bike and helmet.  He followed Rebecca to the side door of the garage.  The rain
stopped, but it was cold and damp outside.  They saw their breath as they road
down the street.  Greg stayed next to Rebecca.

“Where did you get all that
stuff?”  He asked her.

“The Concord Mall is about 10 miles
away.  I used to drive my dad’s delivery truck sometimes, just a few blocks,
back when there was a world.  I know how to drive.  I took the delivery van and
‘shopped’ for things.  The government was not focused on a single truck driving
around Concord, N.H.  I went through people’s houses, mainly their basements
and garages.”  She turned and gave him the look that meant she stayed away from
bedrooms with dead bodies.

“I have a lot of stuff in the
house, mostly in the garage and on the second floor.  I keep additional canned
goods in the basement.  I don’t like clutter.  I space supplies out to make them
accessible but also so I won’t be climbing over things.”  She rode at a
leisurely pace, making it easy to talk during their ride.  “I know what you’re
thinking.  I don’t act like I’m 13 years old.” 

That was exactly what Greg was
thinking.

“It was just me and my parents.  They
owned the grocery store.  They used me for a lot of errands, stocking shelves,
running the register, cleaning.  I did just about everything to help them out. 
 I like to work and learn.  It’s hard for me to stay still.  They made me do
volleyball at school so I would interact with kids, rather than come straight
home and work at the store.  When the world ended, well, I focused on getting
stuff I might need, as well as what people who found me might need too.”

She turned left onto a country
road.  “Here’s the barn up ahead. “

Greg listened, “I didn’t think you
were too young to do all this stuff.  We’ve both probably grown up a lot in the
last few months.  I lost my mother, some of my cousins, my aunts, my
grandparents.  You don’t go through that kind of loss without getting
stronger.  I’m 14, a sophomore in high school, I should be going to football
games and dances.  Instead I’m in Concord, N.H. riding a bike in the rain
getting horse blankets to keep one room in a model home warm enough to stay
alive.”  He shook his head.  “We’ve both grown up.  I think you figured it out
a lot faster than I did, which is why I asked.  I would still be in my dorm
room eating beans, playing spy, sleeping under my bunk, if I didn’t have a
purpose.  If I didn’t want to find other people and my family.”

They were in front of the barn.  
Greg began to cry again.  He did not realize how lonely and sad he was, how
much he missed his mother, how much the idea of never seeing any of his friends
weighed on him.  He did not realize how much he missed his old life.  He was
living in the moment every second since the phone call with his father, since
the world became sick.  He was too busy staying alive to grieve.

“Why did this happen?”  Greg said
through his tears. “Why did I live?  Why am I alone so far from my family?”  He
sobbed like a child, sucking in his breath, sniffing his nose.  His shoulders
bounced as he wept.

Rebecca stood over her bike,
watching him cry.  She laid it down on the ground, went over to him, and gave
him a hug.  He hugged her back.  The night before, when she hugged him, he put
his arms around her, but he had not been hugging her, it was a polite
response.  Now he hugged her, held her tightly, like a lifeline or life jacket
that was keeping him afloat.

“I miss my Mom so much.”  He said
to her.  “I miss my whole family.”

“I miss my parents too.”  She
replied, gripping him tightly, “but no matter what, it looks like we have each
other now.  Two has to be easier than one, Greg Dixon from Hightower.“  She
paused, “Our new name is officially Greg and Rebecca.  We are going to get
through this together.”  She pulled back from their hug and smiled, giving a
little bit of a giggle.

“I’m not saying this isn’t going to
be hard, but it has to be easier together.  It has to.”  She took tissues from
her pocket and gave him a few.

“Seriously,” he said, still
sobbing, “why do you have all this stuff?  Tissues?  The world ends and you keep
tissues in your pocket?”  He laughed.  Rebecca was a girl with a plan.