The Road Home by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 41

The sun began its usual flight the next morning as the group woke from their slumber. After dressing, they met in the kitchen, eager to prepare breakfast. It wasn’t much, as perishables had gone the way of all things left to rot. Yet, they managed – toast, black coffee, and dry cereal. With stomachs half-full, they retreated to the living room for what would become a daily meeting, discussing such things as which areas of the town to explore, what to look for as well as monitoring the health of the group. With a hospital nearby, acquiring any needed medical supplies would be easy, so long as death had been flushed out. But the suspicion of walking into an indoor graveyard was ever-present, be it the local hospital or a nearby house. There was simply no way to ascertain which building death might be taking refuge in. From here on out, caution would offer a constant reminder of its presence. It was also decided that instead of exploring in pairs, the group would stay together, not only with the idea that there was safety in numbers, but that four pairs of arms could carry far more than two.

During their gathering, Maya and Aurora sat next to each other, trying to fight off the tense suspicion that Eli or Jackson may have heard something during the night they were not meant to hear. Their bond was complete and their love for one another had become obvious but only to each other. They avoided any expressions of affection so as to avert suspicions. It wasn’t that they didn’t trust Eli and Jackson with the knowledge that they were now a couple, but saw a need to maintain their privacy. Fortunately, all suspicions were warded off by the cold, forcing the women to pull a blanket over them. Eli and Jackson were none the wiser. But on a personal dare, Aurora slipped a hand between Maya’s legs and began firmly rubbing. Although the blanket gave adequate cover, Maya sat until she began to feel the rising rumble of arousal, forcing her to move Aurora’s adventurous hand to a safe distance.

Prompted by her heightened emotional state, Maya decided a distraction was called for and while everyone sat with sleep still in their eyes, she began the conversation of how they would move forward. There were very few suggestions, leading her to make both suggestions and decisions about how things should proceed. “Guys,” she said. “We’ve got to come up with a plan. I know we’ve been talking about it, but we have to come up with something.”

More silence.

“Jesus Christ,” she continued. “Okay, first we need more water, and we’re always going to need it. We need more food, and after we tap out the store, we should find the town’s grocery store. But if we can put together a list, we’ll be able to do this more efficiently.”

Her speech seemed to rouse Eli and Jackson’s drowsing minds as they rose into consciousness. “Hey, you two,” Maya said. “Did you hear anything I said?”

Coming back to life, the boys inhaled deeply as they stretched the sleep from their bodies. “What?” Eli asked.

Their lack of participation infuriated Maya, who stood up and, picking up the coffee table, threw it across the room. Striking the wall, it splintered into several pieces as the crashing sound woke the slumbering boys into full awareness. “What the fuck!” Eli yelled. “Did you really have to do that?”

Still angry, Maya walked over to Eli and, leaning into his face, answered his question. “Yes, would you like me to do it again?!” Jackson was far more amenable, rising to his feet, he walked around the living room shaking the last remnants of sleep from his mind. “I’m sorry, you’re right,” he began. “We need to do something. Maya, from now on, you’ll have my full cooperation. And I’ll deal with Eli. You don’t need the headache.”

Her anger began to subside enough that she could offer him a sincere ‘thank you’ and returning to the couch, Maya sat next to Aurora, making her best effort to collect herself.

“Now, if everyone’s paying attention,” she began. “Can we please try to come up with something?” Jackson volunteered to find paper and at least one pen, and it wasn’t long until he found both. “Well,” he said. “The coffee table’s trashed, so we’ll have to find something else to write on.” Maya began to feel the embarrassment of having allowed herself to lose control of her emotions and, taking a few moments, addressed the group. “Listen, guys,” she began. “I’m sorry about the table. I guess I lost it for a few minutes. I’m usually not like this, but I’m as scared as the rest of you. So, I’m sorry.”

Aurora took the opportunity to comfort her and, getting to her feet, put her arms around Maya’s waist.

“Maya,” she said. “It’s okay; you’re entitled to lose it once in a while. We all have moments like that. It’s called being human.”

In Maya’s rational mind, it made perfect sense, but the emotional part of her was quickly losing ground. This forced the idea of a complete collapse into her consciousness. She believed that, as the group’s self-appointed leader, that if she fell apart, the group would be consigned to exist in chaos. Their chances of survival would then be greatly reduced.

The last of her anger quickly deflated as her eyes teared up. She was normally a strong person, but the world had changed dramatically and Maya, like the others, was more terrified than prepared. Aurora continued to hold her as tears turned to weeping. She believed that the worst thing that could happen was that she would lose her strength and therefore the ability to think clearly. Breaking away from Aurora’s arms, Maya started toward the door, her hands covering her mouth. “Maya,” Aurora began. “Where are you going?” Everyone was concerned to see her in such a state, but Aurora seemed especially worried. She knew everyone experienced moments of weakness. Yet this was not typical of her. She was always the strong one, and if Maya fell apart, where would that leave everyone else?

“I’ll be right back,” Maya said. “I just need some air.”

The room filled with tension as everyone waited for her to return, but was soon broken by quiet conversation.

“I don’t know about any of you,” Eli said. “But I think if Maya can’t handle this, the rest of us are screwed.”

Aurora spoke up in defense of the woman who was now her lover.

“Give her a break,” she said. “This has been hard for all of us. She just needs some space.”

“I agree,” Jackson added. “Maya’s taken the responsibility of being in charge, so, of course, she feels a bit more stressed. Just give her some time. Oh, and here’s an idea, let’s start working together. If we’re going to make it through this, we’ve got to get off our asses and start getting shit done.”

A lull swept over the room as Maya walked in. Her face was flushed with emotion as her hands wiped away the last tears clinging to her eyelids. Sitting down, she took a deep breath and collected her thoughts.

“I’m sorry, guys,” she said. “I guess I just needed to get that out of my system.”

Gently grasping her hand, Aurora interrupted with a forgiving tone.

“Maya,” she began. “You don’t have to apologize. We’re all human. It’s okay.”

Eli and Jackson responded in agreement and directed the conversation to more pressing matters.

“So,” Jackson said. “How are we going to do this? What’s the plan?”

Looking at the list, Aurora wrote down a few more things she thought they would need, giving Maya a break from even the most mundane of responsibilities. Reading it aloud, she asked if anyone had any suggestions for additional supplies. There was no response. Either she had written down everything they could need, or the flow of ideas had simply stalled. No one thought life would come down to a simple list of resources geared towards survival – that anything so critical would happen as to leave human civilization on the edge of extinction. What they didn’t know was how bad things really were and what horrors lay just around the corner.