#us35

“Yeah,” Leah muttered. “I didn’t hear anything after he said hot spring.”

“Do you think he thought to get some razors?” Abigail asked.

“No,” Leah started with a smile, “but I did.” She winked at Najia. “Let’s get these legs looking female again!”

“That’s gross,” Alex mumbled.

“Welcome to the end of the world,” Sebastian said, crossing his arms.

*****

After the group split and explored the valley, they gathered together in the community center. The large, main room was prepped with cots, pillows, and blankets for the night. An old couch and a lazy boy chair sat against the far corner of the room around a carpet and small coffee table. Lanterns hung from the ceiling, burning brightly, and a fire roared in the fire place on the far wall. Penny read from a tattered nursery book in front of the fire as Jas and Vincent listened happily. She showed them the faded pictures and they giggled.

Najia, Leah, and Abigail crammed themselves together on the couch. Maru and Harvey chatted casually beside the fire. Shane, Alex, Sam, and Sebastian watched the children interact with Penny. Dusty curled up beside them, making sure to get as close as he could to the fire. He lifted his head only for a moment to see the visitor that had come through the door, then settled in once more. The survivors looked up as John entered cheerfully.

“It does my heart good to see this place full of people,” he said, making his way to the center of the room. “Now, if this is gonna work, surviving here in the valley and all, we need to work together and help each other out. We’re a community, now, whether we like it or not. And I figured some of you must like each other enough to have stuck around with this crazy caravan of yours. So.” He put his hands on his hips and smiled at his granddaughter. “This is the plan. I don’t expect you to all live crammed in here. Ya’ll need your own space. Tomorrow, I can make a trip out to the closest city and grab some more supplies. Maybe a few nice tents or something, if anyone would like to camp out.” He shrugged. “It’s better than nothing until you can all get something more suitable. And that’s what we’ll work on; building you all proper places to live. This is our home, now, so we might as well make it feel like home. If anyone’s willing to bunk together, that will mean less building for us to do. So figure that out amongst yourselves tonight and tomorrow.”

John turned to Shane, Alex, Sam, and Sebastian, standing together in the corner. “You boys seem young and able, so I expect you to be helping out us old farts. Linus, Lewis, and I can’t do it all ourselves. We need lots of wood. Wood for building, wood for cooking, wood for everything. The forest to the south of us is vast, and there are more than enough resources for us in the mountains. I see some good muscles on those arms; use ‘em.”

He turned to the children sitting at the fire place and smiled. “Jas has been a big help with the crops and the animals,” he said. “It’s nice to see she has a friend, now.” His gaze moved to Penny. “You certainly have a way with kids.”

“I was teacher,” she said.

“Excellent,” John said. “I can’t justify child labor, but I won’t allow them to sit around and do nothing. They deserve a right proper education.” John looked around and shrugged. “I know we don’t have a school here, but we can get you some supplies, some books, whatever you need. Would you be able to do that?”

Penny smiled, eager to be back in a familiar element. “Of course,” she said quickly. “I’d love to.”

John turned to Harvey. “I know we’ve got a doctor in town, too. Some dumb luck for us, but I’ll take advantage of everything I can. We’ll set you up something nice for fixing our boo-boos and ouchies, hm? You may have to come with us on a supply run, though. I don’t know what a doctor would need. But there’s a nice, stocked hospital in the city we can bring you to.”

Harvey’s eyes lit up. “That would be incredible.” He hesitated. “But I can work around here, too. Whatever you need.”

“Of course,” John said. “Anyone able to lift an axe had better be lifting an axe by tomorrow. That goes for every male here.” His eyes moved across the room, nodding at Kent, Morris, Marlon, Gil, Gunther, and Clint. They each nodded in response.

“Everyone else,” John continued. “We’ll need to keep this place sustainable. That means food and water. We need all the help we can get with those crops; tilling, planting, and harvesting. And Marnie could use some help in the barn, too.” He turned to Najia and smiled at her.

“So,” Leah started, “you’re saying the women should be in the kitchen? Because that’s what we do best?”

John hesitated, his eyes darting around the room as if looking for support. “No,” he stuttered. “Of course not. I just thought-”

“Listen here, old man,” Leah said, getting to her feet and pointing a finger at him. “We’re just as capable and just as able to cut down some trees and do your man work, yanno.”

“I am well aware of that,” John said with a nod. “You think Marnie’s farm sprung up over night? Hell, she built the whole barn herself. I don’t mean to place any assumptions, young lady. Just trying to run an organized community here so that everyone has a job and you all know what needs to be done ‘round here. By all means, if you would rather chop down some wood, all the power to ya.”

Leah crossed her arms and smiled. “I don’t know,” she said slowly. “I wouldn’t want to embarrass the guys.” Pleased, she sat back on the couch. “I’ll think about it.”

“Good,” John said, relieved. “Tomorrow morning, I’m driving out to the city.” He turned to Harvey. “I presume you’re coming to check out the hospital?”

Harvey nodded.

“We’ll come, too,” Gil said, patting the butt of this rifle and nodding to Marlon. “We want to check out the area. And you’ll need some help if you run into any trouble.”