The Survivors Book III: Winter (35 page)

A few hours into the journey, I caught Michael watching me and shot him a curious look.
 "What?"

"
You're scowling again," he pointed out.  "What's on your mind now?"

"
Oh."  I indulged myself in a long, deep sigh, then I shrugged helplessly.  "I'm worried about gas, to be frank.  I estimate we've only got eight, maybe nine days of fuel left.  We've been incredibly lucky so far in terms of fuel, but I don't think it's going to last.  Hell, even with Zain working on the trucks every night, we can't guarantee that they'll last forever, either."

"
So if that happens, we get out and walk," he suggested with a shrug.

"
Even the little kids?  The wounded?  Doc?" I replied, staring thoughtfully at the road in front of me as I guided the Hilux forward.  "No… we need to start thinking about ways to conserve fuel.  Or better yet, alternatives to petrol.  It's not so bad up here, but petrol was starting to get scarce last time I was down south."

"
Hmm…" Michael sat back, and went silent for a couple of minutes while he thought it over.  Suddenly, he glanced at me again.  "What about propane?"

"
What about it?" I asked, confused.

"
Well, propane doesn't expire, right?" he answered, his brow furrowed in thought.  "And I remember there being a big conservationist movement before the plague, dedicated to converting cars from petrol and diesel to natural gas.  Could we do the same thing?"

This time, it was my turn to stop and think about it.
 I hadn't even considered the possibility.  I picked up my radio with my free hand, and thumbed the receiver.  "Zain?  Come in Zain?"

A few seconds later, I received a reply.
 "I'm here.  What is it?"

I glanced at Michael, then looked back out at the road in front of us.
 "Is it possible to convert a car to run on natural gas?  Propane?"

"
It's theoretically possible to convert a car to run on just about any fuel, with the right tools and parts," he replied.  "Why do you ask?"

"
Because I want you to start looking for the right tools and parts whenever you can," I answered.  "Our supply of petrol is running low, and I'm sure I don't need to tell you how hard it's getting to find more."

There was silence for a few seconds, then his voice came back on the line.
 "I can't guarantee anything, but I'll try.  We'll need to search every workshop and auto parts store that we pass.  Alternately, we may want to consider going back to basics."

"
What do you mean?" I asked.

"
Horses," he replied.  "Or even cows, if we can train them to pull a cart.  Draft animals."

"
Well, what was good enough for our ancestors is good enough for us," I commented, nodding thoughtfully.  "All right, let's keep both of these ideas in mind.  If anyone else has any suggestions, please bring them to me, even if they're far-fetched."

"
We should build a rocket car!" Skylar suggested brightly.  I sighed and rolled my eyes heavenwards.

"
Not quite that far-fetched," I said dryly.  "Put your thinking caps on, guys.  We'll talk later."

***

That day passed without incident as we followed the road southwards, and so did the ones after that.  For five days, we followed the winding path southwards, through landscape that gradually changed around us with every kilometre.  The rolling hills of the Waikato became steeper and less forgiving, but we managed to find a path even when the road was impassable.   It wasn't until an hour before sunset on the sixth day that we encountered a real problem.  I slammed on the brakes and stared at the road in front of me, uncertain how to react to what I was seeing.  Michael glanced up from his book, and uttered a few choice words under his breath.

"
How in the world are we going to get through there?" he asked, leaning forward to stare into the dense brush blocking what had once been the road.  "Do we need to backtrack?"

"
If we backtrack, we'll lose days," I said, shaking my head.  "No, let's at least give this a chance.  Call the others to a halt and have them start setting up a base camp here.  We need to get out and scout the area before it gets dark."

Michael grunted a non-verbal agreement and grabbed the radio to do just that.
 While he was busy, I put the Hilux in park and pulled up my hood to protect me from the incessant rain.

"
What about us?" Melody asked from the back seat, her sharp voice cutting through my thoughts like a hot knife.

I glanced back at her, studying her face in the gloom.
 "You want to help me scout?"

"
Why not?"  Melody shrugged, obviously trying to look nonchalant to disguise her tension.  "We've been on our own for years without you; I'm pretty sure we can handle ourselves."

"
Your age has nothing to do with it."  I winked at her, and jerked a thumb towards the window.  "I'm just surprised that you'd volunteer to get wet.  If you guys want to come along, you're more than welcome."

"
Oh."  There was a long pause, then she nodded firmly.  "Well, we're coming."

"
Okay."  I glanced at Michael, who had paused in his conversation to look at me.  "I'm taking these guys with me; you stay here and help with setting up camp."

"
You got it."  He leaned over and planted a kiss on my cheek, then resumed his conversation.

I threw open my door and slid out from behind the wheel.
 The ground beneath me felt moist and squishy; an odd combination of thick mud and spongy leaf-litter layered the old tar seal.  I tested it a couple of times with my foot before I committed my full weight to it; it was a bit slippery, but it didn't give out when I stood on it.  By the time I was ready, Melody, Solomon, and Priya had bundled themselves up and joined me.

"
I don't much care for this weather," I said, pausing to look up at the sky.  "It's raining too much.  If it doesn't stop soon, then we may have to worry about flooding."

"
I think we've still got a bit of leeway," Melody answered, following my gaze up to the clouds.  "But, you're right.  It smells dangerous."

"
Exactly."  We both stood silently for a few moments to consider the possibilities, then I sighed and shook my head.  "Let's try to find somewhere elevated for them to pitch camp first of all.  I'd hate to sleep in this mud."

"
That way," Melody said, pointing westwards.  "The land slopes up a little.  Let's check beyond those bushes."

"
Good call."  I nodded my approval, then I reached back to grab my shotgun from its resting place and slammed the door behind me.  "I'll take the lead.  Melody, you watch my left flank.  Priya, watch the right.  Solomon, you keep an eye on our rear.  Got it?"

"
Yes, Mama," Priya agreed brightly.

I glanced at her, and saw that she already had her little pistol in hand, and was holding it exactly the way Michael had shown her.
 After her encounter with the pig, I felt confident that she could handle it.  I shifted my gaze to Solomon, who just nodded silently.  That was about as much as I was likely to get out of him, so I took it at face value.  Shifting my shotgun into the offensive position, I eased myself down into a crouch and led the way into the brush.

Thorns grabbed at my sleeves as I forced my way between the bushes, but the leather kept them from biting my skin.
 With careful use of my forearm, I pushed my way through, and came out the other side into long, wild grasses.  The landscape had begun to change from the Waikato region's lush greenery into the tough, mountainous foliage of the central plateau; I'd seen it a thousand times before, but I could see that the kids were less confident in unfamiliar territory.

"
Up here," I said, guiding my charges deeper into the brush.  A few pathetic trees clung to the slope, but the grass was tough and demanding, and sucked away what little nutrients they might have been able to find.  Past the trees, a small clearing opened up, framed by more bushes and grass but otherwise clear; the ground was firm beneath my feet, and I felt stone under the leaf litter.

"
There's a stream over there," Melody said, pointing to our left.

"
Good," I replied.  "That'll help us keep our water reserves going.  Priya, you and Solomon head back to the convoy.  Tell Michael to send people up here to cut back the brush, so we can set up camp here."

"
Okies!" Priya agreed on behalf of both of them.  Without another word, she turned and scampered away, Solomon hot on her heels.

I lowered my shotgun, and looked at Melody.
 This was the first chance we'd had to be alone together, so it seemed like a good chance to get a feel for exactly how much she knew.  "Tell me what you see here."

The girl looked at me, her sea-green eyes unreadable.
 "What?"

"
I need to know how much you know," I explained bluntly.  "So, humour me.  Look around, and tell me what you see."

Melody went quiet then, but her expression changed from defensive to thoughtful.
 When she finally spoke again, her voice was soft and even.  "I see a steady supply of fresh water, with a good, solid wall of foliage that should block the wind from most directions.  It's an elevated position, so it should be easily defensible.  I can hear the birds singing in those trees over there, so there aren't any predators around.  If there were, they wouldn't be singing."

"
Good."  I nodded my approval.  "What else?"

Melody paused again, then pointed towards northern edge of the clearing.
 "Those rocks should also give us some more shelter.  They look stable enough to climb on, so if we can get up there we should be able to scout the road ahead."

"
Perfect."  I smiled at her, and nodded towards the rocks.  "Do you want to lead the way?"

She set off without a word, leaving me to follow along behind her.
 I did so, after taking a moment to return my shotgun to its normal place across my back.  The afternoon chorus was loud enough that we'd know long in advance if anything was coming our way.

A few bold fantails danced across the trail as we slipped back into the brush, completely unafraid of our intrusion.
 The sight of them made me smile; I remembered a time when fantails had been endangered, thanks to humans destroying their habitat.  If there was one good thing about the end of mankind, it was the fact that the rest of nature's children had a chance to flourish again.

Melody led me around the outside of the clearing until we reached the rock face.
 On closer examination, I saw that it was compiled of a single enormous boulder, surrounded by a dozen smaller ones of assorted sizes.  She hopped up onto the lowest one, and nimbly climbed from one to the other until she reached the top of biggest.  A second later, I joined her.  We stood carefully, side by side, and stared towards the south.

"
I can barely see the road," Melody admitted.  "The bushes have managed to grow on the concrete.  We can probably cut them back, I guess…"  For the first time, she paused and looked at me uncertainly.

"
We can," I said with as much confidence as I could muster.  "It's not going to be easy, but we can do it."

"
What are you going to do?" Melody asked.  The question surprised me, and forced me to stop and think.

"
I'm going to put it to the vote tonight," I said at last.  "We have two choices.  We can either backtrack and head south through Taupo, or we can cut our way through here.  It's a decision that's going to affect everyone, so everyone should have their chance to have a say.  In the meantime, let's go circle the camp and make sure there's nothing to worry about."

Melody nodded her agreement, and followed me back down to ground level.
 By the time we'd finished inspecting the surrounding area thoroughly enough to feel safe, Michael and the others had cut a path through the scrub from the road up to our campsite.  He already had people standing guard, so Melody and I joined in with the setup instead.

By the time night fell, we had our camp ready.
 There were a couple of individual tents now, but most of us still slept under the roof of the giant tarpaulin.  It wasn't all that comfortable, but it was good enough.  I was tired and anxious to get to bed, but too stubborn to take a break when there was work to be done.

Rebecca and Elly were still recovering, so we decided to err on the side of caution.
 We put them straight to bed in one of the tents, with as many extra blankets as we could spare.  With her primary helper out of the running, poor Skye was rushed off her feet trying to get dinner ready.  I volunteered my own services to help her, and Melody's as well.  She didn't complain.  Priya soon joined us, and the extra hands were welcome.

Dinner was simple, but nutritious and filling.
 Once they'd eaten, we sent the younger kids off to bed, and gathered everyone else around the fire to discuss the matter of the road.  I explained what we'd seen, and then put it to the vote.  To my surprise, no one wanted to backtrack through Taupo.  It turned out that they'd rather put in days of hard labour cutting a path than risk unknown danger.