Like they know we’re here... Fear crept up Romy’s spine.
Romy got to her hands and knees, significantly less confident. She got back to the basement hatch, ignoring Michelle’s quizzical looks. She didn’t say a word until the hatch was closed.
Chapter Forty-seven
The Ren
The sun shone through the seams of the storm shutters, creating a multitude of rays of light against the walls. The diffused light was warm enough to give people a slight sense of comfort.
Breakfast that morning was prepared by some of the male members of the group. Joe, Craig, Ern and Jack had combined their efforts and provided a hearty breakfast, consisting of scrambled eggs, bacon, and hash browns. There was also some bread left for toast, although that was kept apart from the rest of the meal. Nobody wanted to repeat the ordeal with Jack.
As they ate, people were informed of the radio communication with Garcia last night. Most people took it in stride, continuing their meal with a shake of the head or a silent prayer.
After cleanup, Craig requested that the group stay in the cafeteria for a team meeting. After a bit of reshuffling, everybody was seated and facing the stage. The smell of breakfast still hung in the air. Several people savoured it, knowing that fresh food was running out.
Emily and Rachel sat conspicuously on opposite sides of the room. Rachel shot the English woman angry looks every now and then.
Bill had taken the bandaging off his face. The skin around the stitches was still an angry shade of purple. He had taken a seat next to Emily.
Craig stepped up and stood in front of the stage.
“Morning folks. We have a few things to talk about. I hope you don’t mind, but I noted down a list of things to discuss.” Some people nodded. It felt good to have somebody organized around.
“Hey dad, I have a question before you start.” Jack piped up.
Craig looked at his son with upraised eyebrows. “What is it, Jack?”
“Well, I’m sure this is on most peoples’ minds this morning...” He turned to Emily. “Emily, what’s a bippitybopper?” A couple of people laughed. They had all heard the term flying around.
Emily laughed along and smiled at Jack. “Oy! It’s ‘dittybopper’. Get your army lingo straight, mate.” That got a fresh round of chuckles. “A dittybopper is slang for a radio operator. It used to stand for a Morse code operator. Now they call anybody attached to a radio a dittybopper.”
Jack nodded appreciatively.
“Alright. Thanks Emily. We’re all a little smarter!” Craig said with a smile, before pulling out his list. “Ok. My first item is the rotation of duties. I don’t think it will be good for our group if we have the same people doing all the work, so I suggest we rotate duties.”
“What kind of stuff are you talking about?” Joe asked. His suspicion and disapproval already showing clearly.
“Well, we need people to cook three meals a day. Then we need people to do the dishes and general cleaning. We also still need a few people that can help with security or lookout duty. Then there is the clinic. We need to make sure somebody is always available in case somebody gets hurt. And finally, there are those solar panels...”
Ern stood up. “I got something else. You need somebody that can handle maintenance and upkeep. I volunteer myself for that position.” The old man sat down again.
“Yeah, good one Ern. Thanks.”
Rose spoke up next. “I would like it if the hand to hand combat lessons were to continue.”
“And the weapons classes too!” Somebody else added.
“Whoa! Hold on!” Craig said with a smile, his hands raised in surrender. “That’s all good stuff. Right Joe?” He looked over at Joe, who looked sullen. “Anyway, I created these sign-up sheets. I’ll put them on the wall over there” –he indicated to his left– “and people can sign up.”
Craig put the sheets down on the stage behind him and turned back to the crowd. His expression had become serious. “We also need to talk about the folks in Willemtown and decide what we are going to do. Now, I know this isn’t easy for any of us. But let’s at least discuss this openly and respectfully...” He trailed off as an all too familiar person raised his hand.
“We heard what Garcia said last night! I say that we take his advice and hunker down!” Joe said in an overly loud voice.
“But these people need our help! Willemtown is less than fifty miles away. Why don’t we take that armoured vehicle, or that army truck and at least try!” John responded. His attempt to intimidate others had not worked on the ex army man at all.
“We can’t just let these people die!” Shelley added her two cents.
“Right. Hold on.” Emily got the group’s attention. “I tried to hail them this morning on the radio but was unable to make contact. Now, I know we’re supposed to contact them tonight, so they may not have been listening, but it’s also possible that they have already been rescued. Or ...” Emily’s voice trailed off.
“So, we’re not sure if they are even there anymore, and we don’t even know what is out there. Who is to say that we can even make it over there?” Ern was firmly in the camp of lying low at the school. Nancy stood with her husband; her arm locked in his.
“How do we know for sure that those people aren’t infected in the first place? This could put us all at risk!” Rachel stated. “Maybe they’re already dead.” She added coldly
Emily stirred at that. Craig could tell she was about to lay into Rachel, so he interjected.
“OK. HOLD IT!” He yelled. “Slow down, people. We can’t be at each other’s throats about this. Let’s just put this to a vote.” He was met with nods from the crowd.
“Ok. Hands up if you are in favor of organizing a rescue mission.”
