I smiled. “That’s my girl.”
In the morning, I called a meeting with the council, a group of people elected by the populace to voice their concerns and to keep people informed as to the goings on. I tried to have a meeting once every two weeks, but sometimes things needed to be discussed earlier.
Nate was there, as was Charlie and Tommy, and various others representing parts of the community. Trevor was there and so were Rebecca, Dot, and Sarah. I headed the council and gave the general direction of the agenda, but I had passed over my full leadership role for a more democratic one. Except in times of emergency, then I was the sole authority. That was something Nate put in there, since he realized that a council cold not effectively make timely decisions when needed. Besides, Nate told me, nobody else was stupid enough to take the job.
We met in the town’s old community center, the newer one having been burnt down by yours truly. It was a nice old brick building that once had been a high school. We gathered in the conference room and I got things under way.
“I know we weren’t supposed to meet for a couple of days, but I am going to be heading out and I wanted to make sure everyone knew the where’s and why’s.”
Charlie looked at me with a knowing eye and Tommy just rolled his. Nate shifted his chair and I was sure he was curious.
“Things have been going pretty well here. We’ve established communication and trade with the towns on the rail line, except for Joslin, and we have taken a number of steps to ensure our long-term survival. What I am going to do is both for the community and for myself.” I paused, keeping the attention of everyone in the room.
I took a deep breath and let loose the bomb. “I’m going to the city.”
Everyone tried to speak at once and I managed to hear tidbits here and there. Words like ‘suicide’ and ‘dumbass’ assailed my ears, as well as ‘crazy’ and ‘stupid’. I had thought this out and didn’t really believe it was going to be too bad. Of course, that’s what I thought about Coal City and nearly got chewed in that one.
When the commotion died down, I raised my hand for silence. Nate was glaring at me and Charlie was sitting with his arms crossed. Tommy was shaking his head and Trevor was eyeing me funny.
“Look, I know it sounds crazy, considering there are likely millions of zombies in the city. But I’m not asking anyone else to go, not asking anyone to risk themselves in what may be a wild goose chase. But lately I have been getting the feeling my brother is still alive and I need to try to do something about that. I am not abandoning the community, nor am I asking anyone to understand why I need to do this. But I need to be able to look myself in the eye and believe I tried my best to see what happened to him and his family.” There were understanding nods. “Besides, it’s been over a year since the Upheaval and things may not be as bad as we believe regarding the city. We just don’t know.”
Things calmed down a bit after that and we hammered out the details. Sarah insisted and got a concession regarding timelines. I was to be gone three days, no longer, regardless of what I found or didn’t find. I was not going alone, as Charlie and Tommy were coming with me.
I wanted things done as well. I assigned Trevor and five of his crew to go out to State Center Alpha and see if there was anything left. They were to seek out and report, find out if there was anyone else out there, maybe find some more answers about the state of the country, if possible. They were going to be going cross country, but since it was in the middle of farm country, they should actually have little problems. Trevor had come a long way and his men worked as well together as Charlie, Tommy and I did. I could have sent more of them, but in all honesty, if the expedition went south, I wanted to minimize the losses.
Charlie, Tommy and I would head out first thing in the morning, and we would take the pontoon boat. I had looked over the map and saw that the canal was the way to go. We would head north until the canal forked, then we would head north farther until we could see what we could see. The eastern portion of the canal made more of a direct route to the lake, which might have been useful later, but not now. The northern route actually led near where my brother used to live in the city, so if he made it out, he made it one of two ways: he took the canal or he took the railway. I wasn’t sure about the railway, since it went underground and in a zombie infested city, the last place I would go is underground. My brother and I tended to think alike in a lot of things, so I was hopeful he made the right choice. I was going to find out.
I spent the rest of the day getting ready, making sure I had enough ammo and supplies. I spent a brief time with Trevor, talking to him about what I found at State Center Bravo. Trevor was all ears, taking in each detail and committing it to memory. I drew him a route that should take him to the center without too much interference. I warned him about what we had found on one of the farms and what we had done to the renegade group. Trevor’s eyes had widened, it was something that Tommy and I hadn’t talked about. I also warned him about the glowing eyes of the zombies and he was sufficiently seasoned enough to appreciate what kind of effect that could have on his men.
When I had finished, Trevor and I shook hands and he gave me what amounted to high praise. “You sure are one high-octane son-of-a-bitch.”
I waved off the comment. “I just do what needs to be done, nothing more. You’d have done the same.”
“Not sure about that, boss. Walking at night with sixteen women through dark country-whew! No thanks.”
“Get moving,” I said with a smile.
While I was getting things together, Sarah, Jake, and I had a visitor. Dot came by to talk. We caught up for a while, then Sarah went off to feed Jake his lunch, leaving Dot and I on the porch.
“Been busy, hey?” Dot asked.
“Yeah, it’s been a trip. Several, as a matter of fact,” I said, shaking my head at the rush of memories.
“You’re doing fine,” Dot said. “As a matter of fact, I’d say you’re doing ten times better than anyone could have hoped for.”
“Thanks.”
“Tell me one thing, though, John.”
“Sure, anything.”
“Why haven’t you told Sarah the other reason why you are taking this trip?” Dot asked, seeing through me better than anyone had ever done before. It was downright creepy.
“It wouldn’t be fair to her and might cause feelings to get hurt. Besides, I need this closure. I thought I had it at my house, but over the last few months, it’s been like a cobweb in my head, tickling me from time to time, never letting me forget it’s there.” I looked down. “I hope you won’t tell Sarah,” I said.
Dot smiled at me. “I won’t on one condition.”
“What’s that?” I asked, giving her the same look I give a zombie right before I plant a chunk of metal in its frontal lobe.
“That you marry that girl before you get much older,” Dot said, standing up and patting me on the arm. “No telling how much time you have, especially these days.”
My mind was paralyzed for a moment, then I managed to speak. “Deal,” I said, before I fully understood what I was saying.
“Good. Tell Sarah I’ll be by to help her with Jake while you’re gone.” Dot walked off, whistling an old Irish tune, her rifle slung over her shoulder like she was heading off to war.
I had the feeling I had just been bamboozled, but in all honesty, couldn’t find a downside. I finished packing up and joined Sarah and Jake, trying to squeeze in as much quality time as possible before I headed out. I was sure Charlie and Tommy were doing the same.
22
In the morning, we packed up the pontoon boat and shoved off. The enclosed space had been taken off and the deck was surrounded by a small wall of wood secured to the railing. The wood only went waist high, but it was sufficient cover if we needed it. It wouldn’t stop bullets, but it would allow you a small measure of security in case things got ugly. We each had our packs, rations, and weapons. I was back to the M1A and Charlie and Tommy were carrying their AR’s. Charlie had done some modification to his AR, swapping out the carbine upper for one with a flat top and lengthened bull barrel. He topped it with an ACOG site he had recovered from State Center Bravo, so he
