Sometimes we just stood and stared at it: the Pacific Ocean— the largest, deepest body of water on earth, almost half-a-world of water. Yet, as it was, we couldn’t drink any of it.
Harry stripped down to his underwear and waded out until the cool water reached his chest. He can’t swim, of course. None of us can swim. We’ve never before seen water enough to swim in. Zahra and I watched Harry with a lot of concern. Neither of us felt free to follow him. I’m supposed to be a man and Zahra attracts enough of the wrong kind of attention with all her clothes on. We decided to wait until after sundown and go in fully clothed, just to wash away some of the grime and stink. Then we could change clothes. We both had soap and we were eager to make use of it.
There were other people on the beach. In fact, the narrow strip of sand was crowded with people, though they managed to stay out of each others’
way. They had spread themselves out and seemed far more tolerant of one another than they had during our night in the hills. I didn’t hear any shooting or fighting. There were no dogs, no obvious thefts, no rape. Perhaps the sea and the cool breeze lulled them. Harry wasn’t the only one to strip down and go into the water. Quite a few women had gone out, wearing almost nothing. Maybe this was a safer place than any we’d seen so far.
Some people had tents, and several had built fires.
We settled in against the remnants of a small building. We were always, it seemed, looking for walls to shield us. Was it better to have them and perhaps get trapped against them or to camp in the open and be vulnerable on every side? We didn’t know. It just felt better to have at least one wall.
I salvaged a flat piece of wood from the building, went a few yards closer to the ocean, and began to dig into the sand. I dug until I found dampness. Then I waited.
“What’s supposed to happen?” Zahra asked. Until now she had watched me without saying anything.
“Drinkable water,” I told her. “According to a couple of books I read, water is supposed to seep up through the sand with most of the salt filtered out of it.”
She looked into the damp hole. “When?” she asked.
I dug a little more. “Give it time,” I said. “If the trick works, we ought to know about it. It might save our lives someday.”
“Or poison us or give us a disease,” she said. She looked up to see Harry coming toward us, dripping wet. Even his hair was wet.
“He don’t look bad naked,” she said.
He was still wearing his underwear, of course, but I could see what she meant. He had a nice, strong-looking body, and I don’t think he minded our looking at it. And he looked clean and he didn’t stink.
“So do you mind?” I asked again.
They looked at each other.
“I don’t mind,” Zahra said. “Long as we keep an eye on them.”
“Why do you want them?” Harry asked, watching me.
“They need us more than we need them,” I said.
“That’s not a reason.”
“They’re potential allies.”
“We don’t need allies.”
“Not now. But we’d be damned fools to wait and try to get them when we do need them. By then, they might not be around.”
He shrugged and sighed. “All right. Like Zahra says, as long as we watch them.”
I got up and went over to the couple. I could see them straighten and go tense as I approached. I was careful not to go too close or move too fast.
“Hello,” I said. “If you two would like to take turns bathing, you can come over and join us. That might be safer for the baby.”
“Join you?” the man said. “You’re asking us to join you?”
“Inviting you.”
“Why?”
“Why not. We’re natural allies— the mixed couple and the mixed group.”
“Allies?” the man said, and he laughed.
I looked at him, wondering why he laughed.
“What the hell do you really want?” he demanded.
I sighed. “Come join us if you want to. You’re welcome, and in a pinch, five is better than two.” I turned and left them. Let them talk it over and decide.
“They coming?” Zahra asked when I got back.
“I think so,” I said. “Although maybe not tonight.”
FRIDAY, AUGUST 6, 2027
We built a fire and had a hot meal last night, but the mixed family did not join us. I didn’t blame them.
People stay alive out here by being suspicious. But they didn’t go away either. And it was no accident that they had chosen to stay near us. It was a good thing for them that they were near us. The peaceful beach scene changed late last night. Dogs came onto the sand.
They came during my watch. I saw movement far down the beach and I focused on it. Then there was shouting, screams. I thought it was a fight or a robbery. I didn’t see the dogs until they broke away from a group of
