She locked eyes with him and reached a slender hand up slowly, untying the flannel shirt and pulling it open. “Everything.”
18
Hatcher took in the small cabins nestled under the trees and the people milling about. A few stopped what they were doing and stared at the pair as they climbed out of the lifted pickup.
Willie approached and motioned with his arms. “Welcome to New America.” He grinned broadly. “We set up here because there’s an abundance of water and it’s outside any city limits.” He gave the pair a knowing look. “Fewer ghouls to deal with out here.”
“How many are you?” Missy asked as her trepidation slowly faded.
“About fifty people. More if you count kids.” Willie chuckled as he lowered his voice. “They don’t stand still long enough to get a valid head count so…”
“How are you for food?” Hatcher asked.
“We’re good.” Willie pointed down through the trees. “One of the guys here is a truck driver. We used his rig and raided a few grocery stores shortly after everything went to hell in a handbasket. Since then we’ve made a few more runs for the basics. Flour, sugar, coffee…canned stuff as we need it.”
Hatcher watched as the people who were staring slowly went back to their duties. “Have you made contact with any other groups like yours?”
Willie shook his head, his face solemn. “We’ve tried CB radios and a couple of two-ways that we ran across, but so far, nothing.”
“Did you get the radio broadcast that the government put out?” Hatcher asked absently.
Willie gave him a confused look. “There’s still a government?”
Hatcher nodded. “What’s left of them are in a flotilla offshore. Pacific, I think.”
“I’ll be damned.” Willie broke into a toothy grin. “I reckon we can expect the taxman to come knocking any day then.”
Missy groaned. “Death and taxes.”
“We’re doing our best to avoid both here.” Willie motioned them down into the campgrounds. “But until then, we’re doing pretty well.”
Hatcher watched as some people cooked outdoors over an open pit fire. Other people were hanging clothes to dry. He saw a few smaller children chasing each other in what appeared to be a game of tag. “How are you for infrastructure?”
Willie gave him a confused look. “Come again?”
“Doctors, engineers, that sort of thing.”
Willie nodded and pointed to an older woman hanging wash. “Deloris was a nurse for a hunnerd years. We have a kid who was in medical school that works with her.” He turned to Hatcher and gave him a worried look. “We had a bad run of strep a few weeks back that really had some of us worried. The antibiotics we had collected didn’t seem to work.”
Hatcher nodded. “The government radio traffic claimed that the cure they released mimicked strep.” He gave Willie a raised brow. “They also said not to try to treat it.”
“Oops,” he chuckled. “Could be that’s why our attempts failed.”
Missy walked slowly onto the grounds and smiled as kids raced around her, each trying to tag the other and using her as a human shield. She turned back to Hatcher and broke into a laughing smile. “Music to my ears.”
“What’s she mean?” Willie asked.
Hatcher lowered his voice. “She’s spent nearly the last year alone. I found her back at Yellowstone.”
Willie gave him a wide eyed stare. “The TV said that whatever was causing all of this came from there.” He lowered his voice as he stared at the young woman. “And she survived there this whole time?”
Hatcher nodded. “Prevailing winds saved her ass.” He took a deep, pine tree laden breath and let it out slowly. “She was stuck in this tiny little outpost all by herself.”
“And you went back for her?”
Hatcher shook his head. “Actually, a friend of mine was one of the first infected. After they released the cure…” He trailed off, his eyes averted. “Well, I had to go back. Just to see if she made it.”
Willie patted his back. “Mighty damned honorable of you.”
Hatcher shook his head. “Not really. I just needed to know.”
“And did you find your friend?”
He shook his head. “But I found this one, so I guess the trip wasn’t a total loss.”
Willie rubbed at his whisker covered chin. “So, you didn’t really know her before all of this?”
“No.” He continued to take in the tiny community and the busy work that each went about with.
Willie nodded slowly. “Well, you’re both welcome to stay here if you like.” He stepped towards the grounds and opened his arms wide. “Obviously we have plenty of room.”
Hatcher returned his smile and fell into step behind him. “Thanks for the offer, but I have family to get back to. I will take you up on the home-cooked meal though.”
“I hope you like fish,” Larry said as he marched past him. “That seems to be our primary source of protein these days.”
Glenda walked past him carrying a duffel bag. “And eggs. We saved a handful of chickens and two ducks.” She paused and gave him a confused look. “Not that I can tell a duck egg from a chicken’s.”
Hatcher chuckled as he fell into step and followed them onto the grounds. He stood near the fire pits and took in the scene. Small cabins littered the area and each one had somebody milling around. He smiled to himself as he watched the people.
“I always knew there had to be more survivors.” He felt his chest tighten a bit as he watched the children play. “Maybe there’s hope for us after all.”
Andre looked up as the lights flickered. A moment later and the steady hum of power could be felt in the air and the lights stayed on. Irene stuck her head in his office and beamed. “We have POWER!”
He chuckled as she practically skipped away. “Time to get to work then.”
He pushed up from the chair and strode down the hallway. He watched as
