In the Midst of Tribulation (4 page)

Doris looked at the sky. "We could go a little farther."
"No, Susan's right. We're all pretty tired and we haven't seen anybody today. I think it would be safe." Martha hoped over the bridge and lean her gun and backpack against a convenient sapling. "Ready to heave?" she asked the group around the cart.
"On three," Cody said. "One, two…three."
Working in tandem, they maneuvered the two-wheeled cart over the broken bridge and into the shadows at the side of the building. Susan left her group relaxing in the shade and headed up to see if there was anyone or anything up the road to welcome them.
She stepped over the rusty chain that was stretched across the bottom of the weed choked gravel road. She walked forward around the bend and stopped in dismay. Blocking the road was a ten-foot section of concrete pipe. It was taller she was and she had to scramble around the open end that hung off the edge of the cliff.
Not very fond of heights at the best of times, she didn't look down as she made the traverse. She was breathing hard as she wiped her hands on her shorts and continued up the road. The path wound its way under the Douglas firs and redwoods. Her footsteps muffled by the rich red dirt, Susan shook her head at a rusty, bullet hole riddled sign with its warning against trespassing.
Coming to a three-way fork, she was overwhelmed with memories of long ago visits. Shaking her head clear, she chose the middle direction. Following it around the first turn, she was surprised to suddenly be on pavement. Striding up its wandering course up the mountain, she arrived at a two broken down columns blocking the entrance. She climbed over the bricks and went forward to the house she could see ahead of her.
Before she reached it, three large dogs suddenly surrounded her. Disconcertingly, they didn't bark. They just circled around her in malevolent silence. She held out her hands but they didn't come close enough to sniff.
"May I help you?"
Susan started at the voice. She looked up to see a woman of medium build with short black hair that was starting to gray staring at her. The woman was holding a crossbow pointed in her general direction.
Despite the threat, she couldn't help the smile that drifted across her face. "Have I changed so much, Jay?"
The woman took several steps closer. "Should I know you?" She studied the smaller woman for several minutes before her eyes widened in recognition. "Susan?"
"Yeah."
"Wow."
"Same here."
"I'm glad to see you survived."
"You too."
"My god but you're a sight for sore eyes."
The two of them smiled for several minutes, drinking in the sight of one another. "After coming all this way, do you suppose I could I get a hug?" Susan finally asked, hesitantly.
Jay ordered the dogs to relax and they all plopped down on the ground with their tongues lolling out. The two women embraced. Under the dabbled shade from the overhanging trees, they took simple comfort from each other's arms.
"Where's tall, dark, and dangerous?" Jay asked as she released her.
"I left her with the others at the bottom of the hill."
"Others?"
"Yeah." Susan didn't know where to start. "Um, well."
"Sounds like there's a story there." Jay stated dryly. At Susan's hesitant nod, she said, "All right. Come into the house. It sounds like we've got a few things to talk about." Jay put her arm around Susan's shoulder and pulled her forward. She made a motion with her other hand and said "Watch," to the dogs. With doggie smiles, they left their supine positions on the ground to range around the yard.
Jay led her old friend into the two storey stone house. The coolness was a welcome contrast to the heat of the day. A massive fireplace dominated the open living and dining area. The sofa, armchairs, and dining room table with room eight chairs seemed to take up very little of the available space.
As they walked through to the kitchen, Susan felt almost angry. "This place doesn't seem to have changed much." Susan was surprised by the bitterness in her voice.
"It's true. We didn't see much action up here." Jay responded mildly.
"I don't know what I expected but it wasn't this." Spreading her arms, Susan indicated the calm, quiet interior.
"Wasn't I always trying to convince you to expect the unexpected?"
"I know but this is exactly like I remember it. If you didn't know it, you'd never realize what's happened to rest of the world."
Jay pulled on her earlobe. "Things must have been really bad for you to leave."
"It wasn't a picnic." Susan put her hand over her mouth. She knew if she said another word, she would start crying.
"You look good." Sensitively, Jay changed the subject. "Would you like a glass of water?" she asked as she opened one of the cabinet doors and removed two heavy glasses. She poured them both a glass of water from the spigot next to the sink. The ice cold, metallic tasting well water was drunk in silence while the two women appraised one another.
"It's good to see you." Jay simply stated. "I had thought of y'all often." She stared into the bottom of her glass. "I wondered if you all had come through the bombings and aftermath."
"It was the end of the world as we knew it." She refilled her glass and drank deeply. Taking a deep breath, Susan said in a rush, "We came to see if we could stay."
"Okay."
"We couldn't live down there anymore. I know it's sudden and all…"
Jay interrupted. "It's all right."
"That's it?"
"Yeah. That's it. You guys are as near to family as I've got."
"But we're more than you could have bargained for."
"I would never turn you away. I'm just glad you finally made the move. From all I've heard it isn't safe out there anymore."
"We haven't felt safe in a long time."
"As you can see, my isolation has protected me."
"This place looks untouched. It's like stepping back in time. I can hardly believe my eyes, I think I'm dreaming."
"Shall I pinch you?"
Susan swatted at her hand. "Goof."
"Goober."
"I really missed you."
Reaching out, Jay pulled her into another hug. "I am so glad that you're alive."
"You might not be so happy once you find out how many people I've brought."
"Oh? What are we looking at? A cast of thousands or your entire neighborhood?"
Susan laughed. "No, nothing like that. There are seven of us."
"What are you so worried about? That's only two more than the five of your family."
"No." Susan set her glass on the counter. "Cheryl was killed."
"Oh, honey. I'm so sorry."
"I should have made us leave before and now, it's too late for her." She wiped furiously at the tears in her eyes. "It's my fault."
"No, it's not. It's the fault of whoever killed her."
"Whatever."
"Can you tell me what happened?"
"I can't just yet. It hurts too much."
"And it will for a while." Jay turned away from her and looked out the kitchen window. "I'm sorry for your loss."
"Thank you." She cleared her throat. "Well?"
"Well, what? I said you're welcome here. That doesn't change because you picked up three strays. Heck, with your track record, I'm amazed you didn't bring more."
"I need to go back down to tell the others." Susan was nearly dizzy with relief.
"You do trust them, right?"
"I think so."
"You want to try for a more ringing endorsement?"
"Sorry. It's just that I never met Doris and her daughter before the missile strikes. She's Martha's younger sister and, frankly, a tight ass. She disapproves of our lifestyle."
"You wouldn't think that bigotry would be problem when you're struggling to survive."
"You'd be wrong. It's not usually too bad, just uncomfortable sometimes. She and Eva moved in with us at the beginning of the year. We've been taking care of them every since."
"And the other one?"
"Martha's best friend. She's been a rock."
"If you say they're okay, then that's fine enough for me."
Susan rocked on her heels. "They've never given me a reason to think that they'd a danger to my family and Piper has more than pulled her weight on this trip."
"Good," Jay scratched her chin. "You suppose that they're hungry and thirsty?"
"Definitely."
"Okay. Let's fix a picnic and I'll come down with you and see what you've brought me."
Jay opened up the cabinet above the wood stove and pulled down a loaf of bread. She cut several tomatoes and a cucumber. Popping a piece of tomato in her mouth she rolled an onion across the counter to Susan. "Chop that for me."
"A knife?"
"In the block on the other side of the sink." She collected the cut vegetables and tossed them in a bowl. Reaching into a crock by the door she scooped out a handful of olives and shook the brine free from her fingers. From the refrigerator she grabbed a hunk of cheese and crumbled some into the bowl.
Susan stepped around her and opened the door of the refrigerator. She watched the light come on and then closed the door to watch it go out. In disbelief, she put her hand on several items inside, marveling at the coolness under her touch. "You have electricity?"
"Yep."
"I don't believe this. I haven't see anything like this in years. How?" she demanded.
"Now, now. You knew I was trying to get off the grid well before everything went down."
"I thought off the grid meant no power."
"No, it doesn't. It means that I didn't want to have to rely on the utilities to provide my power. I have solar panels on the roof that provide enough to operate what I need and batteries to store excess for those rainy days."
"What other surprises do you have?"
Jay winked. "You'll have to wait and see. I'll give a thorough tour once I bring the rest of you up." Jay ground some pepper into the bowl. She pointed to a row of bottles near the stove. "There is olive oil in the green bottle and vinegar in the blue. Pour a couple of turns around the bowl." After that was done, she secured a lid on the bowl and slid it into a backpack. "Shall we?"
Slightly, dazed Susan followed her back out of the house. "Sure."
"So, tell me more about this best friend and sister."
"Piper's one of Martha's buddies from the police academy. They served together in San Francisco."
"Cops are useful."
"She's kept us in meat."
"That's a valuable skill. Anything else about the sister?"
"I'm afraid I don't have much positive to say about the sister. Her daughter is great, though."
"How are Cody and Carol doing?"
"Cody is quite the man. He's growing tall and his voice is breaking." Susan climbed over the bricks blocking the driveway. "I'm worried about Carol, though. She never was one to make a fuss and now, I don't know what she's thinking or feeling."
"The peril of being the middle child is that nobody understands you."
"She's withdrawn from everyone. Not even Martha has been able to get her to smile."
"In time, she'll find things to smile about again."
"I hope she'll have it." Susan whispered to herself.
Jay led the way past the mouth of the pipe. "Did you see many people on the road?" she asked over her shoulder as she swung one handed to solid ground.
"Two days ago, before we turned off the highway. A gang of five had killed a man." Her voice almost breaking, she said. "They were just kids, Jay."
"Kids can be vicious. You're lucky that they didn't take you on."
"There were more of us than them."
"Kids don't usually think about the consequences." She helped Susan around the mouth of the pipe. "Anybody since?"
"We haven't seen anyone in the last couple of days."
"That's good to hear. We don't much care for trouble." Her steps slowed as she neared the old rest stop building. When she suddenly halted, Susan nearly ran over her.
"What? Why'd you stop?"
"Is that one of your friends?"
"Where?" Susan peered around Jay's back to see Piper standing off to the side with her shotgun leveled at them. "Yes," she said softly. In a louder voice, she called. "Piper, it's okay."
Martha stepped around the other side of the building. Her rifle was also pointed at them. "Step away from her, Susan."
"What the hell is going on?" Susan asked as she looked back and forth.
"There are the remains of at least ten people around this building." Martha asked, "I'd like an explanation before we go any farther."
"Damn right," Doris called from around the safety of a large tree. "How do we know she isn't some sort of whack job waiting to kill us too?"
"Jay?" asked Susan, timidly. "What's this all about?"
The other woman was standing easily, although her right finger tightened on the trigger of the crossbow. "I won't talk at the barrel of a gun."
"Then we've got a bit of a problem."
"Not my problem. You drew on me."
Susan stepped between the three armed women. She held her palms up. "Everyone calm down. We can talk about this. I'm sure Jay can explain."
"What's to talk about?" Doris asked. "I knew this was a bad idea." She kept popping out from around the trunk before ducking back again.
"If you thought it was such a bad idea, why are you here?" Jay asked.
"My sister believed the stories her lover told her about a perfect sanctuary."
"Not perfect but it is safe."
"For whom? Certainly, not for the poor saps just left to rot."
Jay took a deep breath. "I'm willing to tell you what I know but I'm not going to stand here and be accused without defending myself." Looking around, she pointed at the picnic table. "Why don't we sit down?" She waited for a moment and then she slowly began walking to the table. Once there, she unslung her crossbow and put it on the ground before sitting down.
The four women held a quick conference behind her back. As she waited, Jay saw a movement out the corner of eye. She turned and saw Carol standing in the protection of the shelter. She couldn't help the smile that blossomed on her face. "Hey, kid. You miss me?"
Suddenly shy, Carol blushed and dropped her head to study the ground. Cody stepped out towards the seated woman. "Hey, Jay." He pointed at a tall and skinny girl who had moved closer to his sister. "This is our friend, Eva."
"Glad to meet you, dear." She waved them all closer and opened the bag of supplies. "Why don't you come over and have some lunch."
"We want some answers first." Doris demanded from behind her.
Jay tensed but didn't turn around. "Ask the questions then."
"Who are these people and what happened to them?" asked Martha, stepping around the table.
Jay gazed at her. "I don't really know." She shrugged her shoulders. "That's the truth. We heard the battle. There was a lot of gunfire and we barricaded ourselves in the house. Once things quieted down, Harmony and I came down to investigate. We saw lots of bodies but no answers."
"You expect us to believe that you had nothing to do with this?" Doris was nearly jumping up and down in irritation.