Book 24 - An Imperfect Utopia, page 23
“What ghosts?” Jay asked.
“Look at Heppy struggling with the bikes on her own,” Minnie said. “Call me old-fashioned, but shouldn’t a strong man like yourself be helping her?”
Like a puppy overhearing the word ‘walk,’ Jay’s demeanour changed at the sound of Heppy’s name. All other thoughts were forgotten as he ran outside to help the new centre of his universe.
“Are they actually dating now?” Kim asked when she was sure he was beyond earshot.
“Oh, definitely,” Minnie said. “I just don’t think they’ve realised it yet. He’s right though, it’s good, but not perfect. The carpets will have to come up, and two windows need to be replaced. There’s no furniture at all, so you’ll have to bring in some beds.”
“We can sleep on the floor for now,” Kim said. “We’ll find some houses nearby to use as barracks for the fisherfolk. And the farmers. And the soldiers.” She sighed. “And the hub-and-spoke idea was a such a good plan.”
“It was, but Bill can’t be expected to think of everything,” Minnie said brightly. “Don’t worry. That’s what we’re here for. Oh, before I forget. You should take this.” She took a paperback out of her bag.
“Massacre at Melgrove Place? Is it good?”
“Not really. It’s billed as cosy horror, whatever that’s supposed to be, but it’s the bookclub read. That’s my copy, but Heppy has one, too. We can use a book code, if we need it.”
“Brilliant idea,” Kim said, slipping the book into her bag. “I didn’t know there was a bookclub.”
“Heppy started it on the road just to pass the time.”
“Oh. Well, I’ll give it a read. Right, let’s get you on your way.”
Outside, Heppy and Jay were wheeling their bikes to the road, where Etienne, John, and Tom were already waiting. Minnie picked up her bike and wheeled it over to join them. Sholto languidly pushed his up the path.
“You’ll miss me,” he said.
“Will I?” Kim said, though with a smile. “Keep safe. Try not to do anything as reckless as you usually do, and be careful with your shoulder.”
He raised a hand in a casual salute. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Come on, I need to speak to everyone, because there’s one last update.” She walked ahead of him down the path and out onto the road. “Hi, everyone. There’s one more change to the plans. If the Rising Dragon leaves in about an hour, then it’ll be back in San Juan tonight. Bran can raise a militia, be on his way south at dawn, and be here tomorrow night. I imagine he’ll want to inspect Bangor Base and maybe Bremerton, but we’ll also need to know what you’ve found, so we’ll need someone to come back here either tomorrow night or before ten the next morning.”
“We’ll need at least four days to get to the Columbia and back,” Tom said.
“The Columbia might have to wait,” Kim said. “Tippy has satellite comms. Until we can set up some radio repeater stations, we’re communicating by boat, and that’s never going to be fast.” She paused, looking at Jay and Heppy. Should she have them stay here? Should she send them back? Except Jay had more experience fighting Tippy, and of surviving the wilderness, than nearly anyone. “We’re going to be extra cautious from now on, because I don’t want anyone to die. In fifty hours from now, I want you back.”
“We’ll reach Olympia tonight,” Sholto said. “We can head back tomorrow, at least some of us, then head out again.”
“Good,” Minnie said, “because two days without a proper wash is my new limit.”
“Then we’ll see you tomorrow night,” Kim said. “Stay safe.”
She stood on the road, watching them cycle off into the forested hillside, just as the first true morning light brushed the top of the trees. It was done. They’d gone. Whether it had been the right decision or not, it was made.
Half an hour after that, she looked down at the letter she’d been writing, checking she’d not missed any details. Should she mention the bookclub? She’d wanted to set one up but had never found the time. She’d said as much to Bill, most recently in Cooking Lake. It was like the radio station, and so much else that she’d wanted to do. The end of the world seemed to allow everyone else to embrace their dreams, albeit in a small way, everyone but her. No. Keep it professional. She folded the letter, and added it to the envelope already containing a letter from Sholto and another from Tom.
“That’s the last from the Rising Dragon,” Gethin said, wheeling in a handcart on which was a fifty-gallon barrel of drinking water.
“Did empty houses always feel haunted?” Kim asked.
“Come again?”
“Oh, nothing, it’s just the houses we find are always full of furniture. Before the outbreak, I went from my parents’ house to uni accommodation to a shared house to a mostly furnished flat. Horrible stuff it was filled with, too. Leaning bookcases, ratty chairs, and tables with four legs each shorter than the other.”
“That sounds just like my first place, too. It’s nice to know that some traditions were carried from one generation to the next.”
Kim picked up Minnie’s paperback. “I was just reminded of the experiences I’ve missed out on.” She put the book in her bag. “I’ve never walked into a completely empty place and thought, yep, this is mine to stamp my vision on.”
“Ah. I never went to a football match, can you believe that? My grandad took my brother to matches as soon as my ma would let him. For his tenth birthday, my dad took them both to Cardiff. Not me, though, because I was barely born. My grandfather passed soon after. My dad worked a lot. Ma, too. There were some tough times back then. When my tenth birthday rolled around, we were able to loosen our belts a little. We went to Malaga. I loved it. The plane. The hotel. The staff all singing happy birthday to me when they brought me my very own little cake. It was as close to a perfect memory as you can have. As the years went on, though, my father and brother would talk about the tradition of going to the football. It didn’t bother me until about fifteen years ago when I asked my own lad if he wanted to go for his birthday. A joint gift for us both, see? He wanted to go paint-balling with his friends.” He shook his head, lost in memories of those gone before their time.
She walked over and laid a hand on his arm. “Did he enjoy paintball?”
“Oh, he did. I had a go, too. Ended up looking like a harlequin and had the bruises for a week. It was a good day.” He smiled. “Never went to a single football match, can you believe that? I had it on my bucket list for after retirement. Don’t suppose there’s much chance of that now.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” she said as brightly as she could manage. “The Canadians kept the Stanley Cup going while they were in Australia. Why not start a football league? Just don’t you dare let anyone call it soccer.”
He laughed, and though it was a little forced, it banished the dark cloud of loss and regret that memories of the dead now always brought.
Chapter 28 - The Future of Music
Union
They stood on the short jetty watching the Rising Dragon until it had disappeared around the curve of the Hood Canal. Aboard were Eve, Ioin, the letters, and not much else. They’d sailed heavy from Colwood, bringing extra diesel and water, fishing gear, and tools for the farmers they assumed would come next. Now it would be soldiers arriving on the next boat, but she hoped they would become farmers soon.
“Time for breakfast,” she announced. “And then we’ll get to work.”
While Lee and Cerys organised a meal, Kim returned to the kitchen island, laying out the maps of the region. Water, shelter, food. Those were always the priority. The question was where to look. She sniffed. Her thoughts were interrupted by an increasingly rare scent. She looked up to see Lee bringing a mug to her.
“Is that coffee?” she asked.
“From the MREs we found at Bangor Base,” Lee said. “You’ve got to love the military. They got their priorities straight.”
“To which Bill would remind you that British tanks came with their own combat kettle,” Kim said. “But this is perfect. Thank you.”
“Ranesh was just explaining Bill’s hub-and-spoke plan,” Lee said, leaning over the map. “It’s a shame the Floridians have screwed it up.”
“Well, broadly speaking, I think the plan remains the same as before,” Kim said, resisting the urge to scream that it was her plan. “Hang on. Let’s get everyone here. Ranesh, can you call Cerys, thanks.”
She took a moment to savour the coffee. They really needed to send a boat down to Colombia. Maybe two boats. She took another sip. Maybe a fleet.
“You’ve got our marching orders?” Gethin asked, the last to arrive.
“Yep, though it’s cycling not marching, but I think it’s safest if we stick together.”
“You don’t want us to take the boat out to explore the bays?” Gethin asked.
“No,” Kim said. “Before we found Tippy’s people at Bangor Base, it made sense to explore the Olympic Peninsula. We could have followed the road while you followed the coast, and made a race of it. If we’re going to station a team in Bangor Base, we need to switch focus to the Kitsap Peninsula, at least for the next few days. And the priority, before Bran gets here, is to get to the Naval Base in Bremerton.”
“Looks like about thirty miles to Bremerton,” Lee said. “Shame we didn’t bring that van down from Bangor Base. We could be there in an hour.”
“And in two by bike,” Cerys said.
“Ha, not with the speed I peddle at,” Gethin said. “There’s a reason I chose a life at sea over the land.”
“The neck of the Kitsap Peninsula is pretty narrow,” Cerys said, running a finger along the map between Belfair and Gorst. “Ten miles, maybe. If we control that, we can control who comes further north.”
“That’s what I was thinking,” Kim said. “This is not the best map, but it seems like there’s only one road that goes north up the peninsula, and it begins in Gorst, goes through Bremerton and then Silverdale, and Bangor Base. I’m sure there must be some more, smaller roads, so I want to identify them. That’ll help Bran when he sets up a patrol. So it’s Belfair first, then we’ll follow the road to Gorst, and then we’ll head up to Bremerton.”
“Where we’re looking for Tippy’s people,” Cerys said.
“What exactly should we look out for?” Lee asked.
“Signs anyone has been there during the last year,” Kim said. “A recently dismantled barricade or cleared roads, middens or general junk piles. Six months ago, I’d say look out for recently killed zombies, but I don’t think that should be a problem. We’re not going into the base, though. We’re going to identify a route Bran can take, but leave any fighting to him. We’ll keep an eye out for some vehicles he can use, too, and aim to be back here in about twelve hours for dinner and an early night. Pack extra water and some of those rations just in case we get delayed.”
She finished her coffee and folded up the map. Water, shelter, food. It was so obvious to her, but the hub-and-spoke plan had received a lot of pushback. Not from Sholto, with whom she’d first discussed it the evening after Robo had died. Janet had wanted to keep everyone close to the islands and to the hospital. That had been Bill’s plan, more or less. A few central towns, with outlying farms. Joseph and Wendy had favoured creating dispersed farms along the roads that linked the airport and harbour to the dams. That was fine for Vancouver Island but would be a nightmare elsewhere. Rahinder had wanted to send out entire villages as caravans equipped with all the supplies they’d need to thrive. Three hundred people at a time was his magic number, though if there were enough returning evacuees, he wanted to up it to three thousand.
Magdalena, and latterly Siobhan, had been very much in favour of her idea, seeing it as a way of getting people working as soon as they arrived and so less likely to cause trouble. Nilda had been supportive, too, as long as there was a school in the hub and a bus service to bring the kids to it.
She’d won the others around with her maps and charts, and reminders of how things were on Anglesey and in Nova Scotia. By the time Bill reached Cooking Lake, it was very much a fait accompli. Except now everyone seemed to think it was his plan. Not that she wanted recognition or medals, but she’d always sworn she’d never be relegated to the position of wife. Destiny seemed to think otherwise.
They had to walk their bikes past the first ten houses; the road was too full of rusting automobiles and tyre-puncturing debris to cycle. Slowly, the wrecks began to thin, and they were finally able to ride. She sent Ranesh and Cerys ahead and brought up the rear while Gethin and Lee competed over who could slip from the saddle the most.
“Who said you never forget how to ride a bike?” Gethin asked after the third time he kissed the kerb.
“It’s supposed to be a learned motor skill, like walking,” Kim said.
“There’s been a few Friday nights when I forgot how to do that,” Lee said.
Ahead, she could see Ranesh and Cerys waiting for them. She waved. “Let’s take a breather and check out this house. Maybe there’s some bedding we can pick up later.”
“Maybe we’ll find some stabilisers,” Gethin said.
While they searched the house, she took out her map, trying to see it as a general might. Then again, Tippy was a meteorologist. How would she interpret a map? In frustration, she folded it up and put it away. Two months, and Leon would have control of Louisiana. Two months, and it would be over. Maybe that was the answer, continue as normal, and just ignore the Floridians. She checked her watch, in which case it was time they moved on. She was about to shout when Lee came outside with a tote bag in his hand and a grim expression on his face.
“Bodies?” Kim asked.
“A family home,” Lee said. “They retreated to a kid’s bedroom. The door didn’t hold.”
“Those are always bad,” Kim said. “But you found something. Is it food?”
“Better,” he said, shaking off his mood. “Some CDs and a few vinyl LPs.”
“Oh, cool. Which ones?”
He took out a record.
“Black Sabbath? You didn’t strike me as a metal-head,” Kim said.
“I’m not. Give me some folksy acoustic any day. Maybe a little blues when I’m feeling adventurous. It’s for my son.”
“Oh, that’s right, he went with you to Australia.”
“Yeah, Kenny,” Lee said. “My daughters were with their mom in Scottsdale. She moved there after the divorce. They’re still in high school. Were, damn. I still do that.” He shook his head. “Yeah, but Kenny came with me to Australia. He’s twenty-one now.”
“That must have been a nice trip for him.”
“Oh, he hated it. But I said if he was going to live with me, he had to live by my rules, and one of those was going on an all-expenses trip with me to one of the world’s top tourist destinations. Seriously, I had to twist his arm to get him to go.”
“He didn’t want to miss college?” Kim asked.
“Oh, he didn’t go to college. Didn’t join the military, either, though I can’t fault him on that, seeing what happened to me. No, after high school, he got a job in a pet store. That was in Scottsdale. Leia, his mom, she was beside herself. So she sent him to live with me. And what did he do? Got a job in a local branch of the same damned pet store. He was supposed to have six months to figure out which college to go to. Get his act together, or I’d kick him out. That’s what Leia wanted me to do. I wasn’t going to do that. I mean, the divorce was a nightmare, and I was finally getting to spend time with him. Only a few nights a week, when he wasn’t playing with his band, but still…” He trailed off.
“So you took him to Australia?”
“I thought that if he saw how hard work paid off, that you got to travel the world, he’d knuckle down. Conform, in his words. He’s not wrong. What I didn’t get was that he was working hard, just on his music. The outbreak hit. We were in a hotel, we’d barricaded the doors, and were taking part in daily patrols, collecting rainwater, getting occasional deliveries of food. Very occasional, and never enough. There was a piano in the bar. He started playing and didn’t stop. As the days went by, he put a band together. We got work in a hospital. I say hospital, it was for patients whose meds had run out, and whose time was getting close. Every afternoon, he’d play for the patients. And one day, there was a news crew there to record it. A complete propaganda piece, of course. Have you heard of Dan Blaze?”
“Oh, absolutely. He’s Daisy’s favourite. Annette’s, too, though she won’t admit it.”
“Dan had stumbled across someone high up in the government right at the beginning of the outbreak, and they had him doing this never-ending morale boosting tour to distract people and cheer up the kids. He’d seen the news clip and hired Kenny as a backing player. He likes listening to metal, but his love, his passion is music. And in this crazy world, he got his break.”
“That’s amazing.”
“Yep. He’s the keyboardist for the most famous and popular musician in the world. What dad wouldn’t be proud of that?” He laughed. “But he’s a still a fan of metal, and it’s not just clothes they’re short of in Australia.”
“No, I suppose I hadn’t thought of physical media. I guess vinyl will be making a comeback. Perhaps we could get him to tour up here.”
“I’d like that. It’s probably the only chance I’ll get to see him again. He’s on his own path now.”
“Maybe next year,” Kim said. “When things aren’t quite so frantic. You’ve a sister, too, and nieces?”
“I do. They won’t be coming here, either. They’re on the list, of course, and Luanne says she wants to return, but her girls are seven and nine. They’re happy in school. They’ve friends there. Kenny got Luanne a job at the government media office. It’s their propaganda wing, really, but it’s indoor work with good hours. Typing and filing. Very 1960s, except her boss is a woman. Kenny got them a house. Well, it’s his house, but he’s always on tour. Nice place. Nice neighbourhood. Very safe. Give the girls another Christmas, and they won’t ever want to leave. If I were them, I wouldn’t, either.”
