Will to Survive (7 page)

I looked around the room. Nobody was eating and everybody seemed to be looking and listening—in fact there was now more to listen to. The separation, with Ernie between them, hadn't settled them down, but instead they were yelling louder and the tone was angrier. This was the worst possible place for something to happen.

“Todd, I think we should—”

“Already ahead of you.”

He had put his tray down on the counter and both Lori and I did the same.

“I'm going to go see if I can find somebody to help,” Lori said, and she took off at a run out of the gym.

Todd and I moved quickly toward the fighters. We got there just as one of them shoved Ernie and he tumbled over to the side. I jumped in between and one of them swung and caught me by surprise, hitting me on the side of the head, sending me flying off my feet and sprawling against a table, then smashing onto the floor.

I spun around in time to see Todd and another man tackle the two fighters and knock both of them to the ground. Kevin tried to get free but Todd had him wrapped in a bear hug, locking his arms in place. A third and a fourth person got involved until there was no way either man could fight back. I looked up, staring at them, and realized that my right hand was on my gun and—

“Both of you settle down now!” It was Howie, rushing in the doorway, followed by an out-of-breath Lori.

Both men seemed to ease off, almost relax, although each was still held in place by two sets of arms. Howie hustled over and then stood there scowling. He was now the captain of the guards, but I could see the former policeman in him glowering at them. It didn't hurt that he was such a large, imposing figure. Todd was big but Howie was huge.

“Let them go,” Howie ordered.

There was a hesitation but the two men were released. They didn't fight. In fact they appeared to be embarrassed. They both looked down at the floor. The entire gym was silent, all eyes staring at them.

Slowly, so nobody would notice, I took my hand from my gun. What was I planning on doing, drawing my gun and shooting them? I got to my feet, my jaw aching a bit, and I felt embarrassed to be knocked down in front of everybody.

“What was this all about?… No, wait, I don't want to hear it. Not here.” Howie pointed at the door. “Come with me … And who are my witnesses?”

“I saw it all,” Ernie said. “Me and Todd and Adam.”

“Yeah, we saw it all,” Todd said. He turned to me. “You okay?”

“Fine, good, no problem.”

“Ernie, why don't you and Lori stay here and take care of things? Todd and Adam, come along with us.” Howie looked around the room at everybody who was now looking at him. “All right, folks, the show is over!” he called.

Some of the people turned away or started to eat again. For others, the attraction was still too strong and they continued to stare.

Howie gestured for us to follow and then started walking. Todd fell in right beside him, and Kevin and Paul followed—two men who had just been in a fistfight, two men who were both undoubtedly carrying weapons. And Howie's back was turned away from them. Once again I put my hand back on my gun as I trailed behind them. This time I didn't care who saw it or what they thought of me.

Paul suddenly turned around to face me. “Sorry, Adam, I didn't know it was you. I didn't mean to hit you.”

“It's okay,” I said. “No harm, no foul.”

“I'm still sorry. You're the last person I ever wanted to take a swing at.”

Was he saying that because of what I'd done to Tim and Owen or—

“If it wasn't for you, me and my family wouldn't have been invited into the neighborhood to begin with.”

I thought back to that day, months before, and a chance meeting on Erin Mills, when I'd found out he was a mechanic—one of the skilled people we were looking for—and had invited him in for a meal. We'd eaten together, right here in this gym.

“Of all people, you didn't deserve that,” he said. “I hope you can accept my apology.”

“No need for another word,” I said. “Just glad you're here with us.”

We left the gym, but there was no more privacy. There was a crowd of people milling around outside, waiting for their turn to eat. Howie continued into the school yard and we walked between the rows of the cornfield, which had replaced the soccer field. Finally, with some distance and cover provided by the stalks, we stopped in the middle of the field.

“So spill it, what was this about?” Howie demanded.

“Nothing,” Kevin mumbled.

“Nothing? You got into a fistfight over nothing?” Howie questioned.

“It was nothing that wasn't stupid,” Paul said. “Just a disagreement about a stupid card game that got out of hand.”

“Stupid or not, I need you both to give me your weapons.”

They looked like they wanted to argue but neither did. One removed a pistol, and the other a long knife. Both handed their weapons to Howie. I felt better knowing they weren't armed anymore.

“What happens to us now?” Paul asked.

“You're relieved of duty until you go before Judge Roberts,” Howie explained.

The judge—who was also on the committee—was in charge of a weekly proceeding that dealt with all internal disputes and arguments. It was just natural that sixteen hundred people living in close quarters, under terrible threats and worries, including people who had suffered great losses, would have disagreements. It always got worse when something important—like the away team going out tomorrow—was about to happen. It was crucial not to let things brew or get out of hand. With so many weapons in so many hands, it would be easy enough for an argument to become a fistfight to become an armed battle. Could those two have drawn weapons? Could I have drawn mine?

“But what happens for us tomorrow?” Paul said. “We're both part of the away team.”

“We were even hoping to be in the same vehicle,” Kevin said.

“Yeah, I could see how the two of you would really be able to back each other up,” Howie said.

“I'd give up my life for this guy,” Paul said.

“And I'd do the same for him,” Kevin added.

Somehow that didn't surprise me.

“That's what I like to hear,” Howie said. “Still, you're not going anywhere until there's a hearing, and that won't be happening tonight.”

“Maybe it could,” I said.

They all looked at me.

“How about if I talk to Herb and my mother and ask them to arrange things with the judge for a special hearing?”

“Could you do that?” Paul asked.

“I'll go and talk to them,” I said.

“Of course, they might just decide that neither of you is fit enough to go out tomorrow,” Howie added.

“We'll convince them,” Kevin said.

“We have to,” Paul added. “Our team needs us to be there.”

“I know you'll try. Maybe the best place to start is with a handshake.”

The two men shook hands and then gave each other a big hug.

As we got ready to look for my mom, I asked Todd to go and say goodnight to Lori for me. As he walked off I remembered something and called his name.

He stopped and turned around. “What?”

“You can have my potatoes tonight,” I said.

 

7

The convoy set out at first light. There were fifteen vehicles loaded with armed personnel, including both Kevin and Paul. The judge had cleared them to participate and they were both grateful and thankful to be going out. They'd even been assigned to the same vehicle, along with my father. He was going to keep an eye on them just in case. His being there was a precaution, but Herb had infected us all with a need for precaution and backup plans.

Herb was leading the team, while Howie and my mother were remaining in charge of security at the neighborhood. Every person who wasn't helping with the harvest was either on the wall or out with the away team. While Herb didn't think there would be an attack on us, he didn't want to take any chances.

I'd given them an hour's head start before I went after them in the Cessna. I'd watch their advance and do a final pass over the compound to make sure it was still deserted. I had two people in the plane with me—Todd in the backseat with binoculars, and Lori riding shotgun beside me. In this case perhaps “shotgun” wasn't the right term. On Lori's lap was a high-powered hunting rifle. She was by far a better shot than either Todd or me, and it was good to have her along in more ways than one.

We moved so much faster than the cars on the ground, of course, that I couldn't just stay above them but instead made sweeping passes. It was a delicate balance to watch over our assault team without drawing attention to them. Anybody anywhere below could see us in the sky much more easily than we could see them on the ground. Watching the plane would give anybody who was interested in knowing some indication of the progress of the convoy.

I couldn't help but think about those men they were chasing away. They were cruel, merciless killers, but they weren't fools. They were trained, some of them ex-military, and they knew about recon, ambush tactics, and hand-to-hand fighting, so they'd know how to set a trap. I wondered if Brett was alive. If he was with them, was he helping them understand us, advising them about our strengths and weaknesses?

“I don't see anything dangerous,” Todd said over his headset.

He'd been taking his job seriously, eyes glued to the binoculars, scanning the ground below.

“It's good to have you both along,” I said.

“It's good to be
anywhere
with you these days,” Lori said.

Todd spoke as he continued to scan the roads ahead of us. “I think what she's saying is that she hasn't seen enough of you lately.”

“Thanks for the translation,” I said to Todd.

“Hey, no problem. You know that I understand the female mind in a way that is almost scary.”

“I guess that explains your phenomenally long relationships.”

“Perhaps it does. I was aware enough of what they were thinking that I knew it was time for us to break up,” he joked. “You should listen to me.”

“The day I take advice from you is the day—”

“Maybe you
should
listen. Todd was right about the first thing he said.” Lori turned around in her seat. “Well, tell him more.”

I wasn't sure I liked where this was going. No, I was positive I didn't like it.

Todd waded in. “Lori is probably thinking that you're thinking about breaking up with her.”

“I've never had that thought!” I protested.

“He didn't say you were thinking it. He said that I was thinking that's what you were thinking,” she said.

“Really?” I asked.

She shrugged.

“I just figure if two people were dating, they'd occasionally see each other, that's all,” she said.

“We almost had dinner together last night,” I said.

“You two, and me, and ten thousand other people including two guys who got into a fistfight,” Todd said. “That hardly constitutes you two having time together.”

“The boy is right again,” Lori said.

“It's just that I'm busy.”

“We're
all
busy,” Todd chimed in from the backseat. “Maybe she thinks you need to see her, spend a little time, help her not be so worried about you.”

“She's worried about me?” I turned to Lori. “You're worried about me?”

She nodded.

“We're all worried about you,” Todd said. “Even when you're there, you're not really
there
.”

“What does that mean?” I demanded.

“You're lost in thought,” Lori said.

“We know how bad it was,” Todd said, looking my way.

“No, you have no freaking idea!” I snapped, and instantly felt awful. “Sorry … you're right. There are too many thoughts in my head.”

“Well, that's your problem right there,” Todd said. “Me, I try to keep my head completely empty almost all the time. I have almost
no
thoughts.”

There was welcome and necessary laughter.

“And I must say you seem very successful at that,” I said.

“That's better. That actually sounded a lot like you. And thank you for the compliment and recognizing my success. Buddhist monks and Hindu yogis spent their whole life trying to meditate to reach a state of nothingness, and I can do that anytime I want.”

“Very impressive, but I've never thought of you as either Buddhist or monk-like, although you do remind me a bit of Yogi Bear.”

“A high compliment. That bear always did get the picnic basket.
Namaste
,” Todd said as he brought his hands together and did a slight bow from the waist.

I laughed even louder. Todd was good for my soul.

“Now back to what we were saying—or more precisely, what Lori is thinking,” Todd said. “Tonight you need to go home, get cleaned up, and spend some quality time with that poor, neglected girl.”

“She is definitely feeling neglected,” Lori said.

“I wonder if she would like that?” I wondered aloud.

“Of all the hardships this blackout has caused, this may be the worst: a girlfriend has to be asked if she'd like to spend time with her boyfriend?”

I nodded. “Okay, you're right … I will.”

“Good boy—and try to be happy, say nice things, compliment her, tell her she's smart and pretty, and that you love being around her,” Todd added. “And have some fun.”

“I could do fun.”

“You can try, although serious has always been more your strength than fun has. Tell you what—how about if we make it a double date?”

“Who would you bring?” I asked.

“I'll figure that out when we get back on the ground. There are many lovely ladies who would practically kill for a chance to spend some time with the Toddster.”