“Are we leaving? I don’t like this place,” Drew said.

  “I want you to go to every house, to find pots and pans and build a fire. We’ve got to get these people some clean water. The doctor can’t do it all. Grab every piece of clean linen you can find. I need to clean these people up or it’s only going to keep spreading,” she ordered, going into Airman mode.

  “Is that safe?” Gretchen asked. “Shouldn’t we just keep going?”

  “As long as we practice good sanitation, we’ll be okay, and we have some time to spare. These people need us desperately. Gretchen, do you have any magical remedies that can help with this situation? The doctor has gone through all of his antibiotics. Some of these people are in bad shape and won’t make it if they don’t get medicine.”

  Gretchen appeared thoughtful. “The only thing that comes to mind is garlic, possibly raw honey, but I wouldn’t know where to look for either.”

  Amanda sighed with disappointment. “Then water it is. Use pots with handles. Don’t put your hands in the water in case it is contaminated.”

  Gretchen grimaced. “We’ll have to be careful. From this point on, don’t eat anything without washing your hands thoroughly first. We have that soap that we took. Everyone make sure to use it. Boil everything.”

  “What about the people around here? Are they going to shoot us?” Jordan asked.

  Amanda chewed her lower lip. “I don’t think so. There aren’t many left alive. The ones who are alive seem to be right here with the doctor. So, just be smart, be careful, and hurry, please.”

  Everyone nodded and scattered to do her bidding. She knew it was risky to expose herself to the bacteria being harbored inside the house, but the need to help was strong. They could boil enough water for the doctor to use for his own personal hygiene and to try and get fluids into those stricken down. It was all they could do. The rest was out of her hands, but they could spare the time, and there was no way she could just leave these people to die when a few hours of time might make a real difference for them.

  23

  Austin looked at the other members of his group, watching their faces as they realized it was their own stuff being hawked back to them. Ennis shook his head in what looked to be a mix of disgust and embarrassment, and then Austin’s gaze went back to the woman standing over the goods and waiting for them to tell her what they wanted.

  “Do you see something you like?” she asked with a wide smile.

  Austin looked her in the eyes, nodding at her with a tight smile. “I sure do. I see quite a few things I like. In fact—”

  “In fact, we’re going to need a few minutes to discuss what we need the most,” Ennis said, cutting him off.

  Austin glared at him. “Yeah. Right,” he grumbled, getting his brother’s subtle message not to reveal they’d recognized the goods.

  “Don’t take too long, boys; these things are going fast,” she warned.

  Austin opened his mouth to say something in return, but Ennis stopped him again by shoving him hard in the shoulder. Then his brother led the way out of the tent, bypassing the line of customers ready to trade for the things that had been stolen from them. It was hard to be mad at the refugees, of course. They were hungry and doing what they had to for their families. He understood that, but couldn’t accept the big picture of what he saw happening.

  Ennis walked about thirty feet away, moving behind a row of small tents. The others joined him. Austin had his back to the large tent that was being used as a trading post. “What? What’s your plan?” Austin asked his brother.

  Ennis used his chin to gesture towards a woman and two kids walking between the rows of tents. They were dirty and looked like they hadn’t eaten in days. “What kind of refugee camp demands the refugees give up the little they have to get basic needs met?” Ennis asked.

  The others looked around, watching the people mill about, none of them looking all that healthy.

  “A for-profit camp,” Sarah said.

  “Their fearless leader looks well-fed and has clean clothes. Her huge tent could house several families,” Harlen growled.

  “She’s taking advantage of their desperation. They’re being forced to give up things they probably fought hard to gain. I wouldn’t be surprised if she or some of the men who robbed us robbed each and every one of these people, forcing them to come into her safe haven,” Austin said.

  “There are some bad people in this world, but anyone who would take food out of the mouths of little kids is a special kind of evil,” Harlen said.

  Wendell shrugged, holding up his hands. “What are we supposed to do? I think we should just go. We’ll find more stuff.”

  “Will we?” Austin snapped.

  “We always do,” Wendell shot back.

  Austin glared at him. “And what about all these people who will die if they don’t start getting some real nourishment? Should we leave them?”

  Wendell looked undisturbed. “You yourself said we can’t save them all. So, what else are we supposed to do?”

  “We can save these people,” Austin argued.

  Ennis looked at their small group, then back at the tent city. “We don’t have to save them. They can save themselves. We’ll talk to them, tell them what she’s doing, and offer to help them rise up. There are more of them.”

  “That’s risky,” Austin said with a grimace.

  “I don’t think it is. Let’s split up, talk to as many as we can, and find out what’s going on here,” Ennis suggested.

  Austin thought for a moment, and then relented. “Okay. We don’t have long, though. I don’t want to sit around here biding our time. I don’t trust that woman.”

  “I agree,” Harlen chimed in.

  “Everyone’s been friendly—maybe a little reserved, but I think we can talk to them,” Ennis said.

  “Fine, let’s do this,” Austin said, turning to move back towards the main roadway dividing the two rows of tents on either side of it.

  They spread out, knocking on tent flaps and talking with people. Austin walked down the road, farther away from the trading tent. He got the idea there was a class difference here, the farther he walked. The tents were in disrepair, with some of the inhabitants using duct tape to hold the doors closed. Others had tarps taped over obvious holes. Almost as soon as he began knocking at tent flaps, speaking to the residents, he saw that many people there had been waiting for someone to speak up and say how unfair things were—nobody had wanted to get the ball rolling, it was true, but all of them knew this wasn’t right on some level. As he went tent by tent, he saw more and more people coming out into the lane after speaking to him and the others in his group. And they were speaking to each other, too.

  Moving on, Austin got to some of the more run-down tents, where he doubted they did a great deal to keep the heat and the elements out. A dirty little boy, maybe three, was sitting in front of one of them, staring into the distance with sunken eyes.

  Austin dropped to a squat in front of him. “Hey buddy,” he greeted him gently.

  The boy looked at him with a blank stare.

  “I bet you’re hungry,” he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out one of the remaining protein bars he had.

  The boy looked at the offered bar for only a moment before snatching it from Austin’s hands. He took a big bite, his little teeth tearing off a big chunk.

  “Slow down,” Austin said with a laugh.

  “What are you doing?” A young, thin woman with brown, stringy hair had emerged from the tent.

  “I gave him a protein bar,” Austin said easily.

  Her eyes dropped to the bar her son was greedily chomping on. Austin could see her own hunger and how hard it was to watch her child eat while she starved.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “How long have you been here?” he asked.

  She shrugged. “A few weeks, maybe longer. We saw the signs and hoped to find food and shelter. I guess I’m glad we got a tent.”

  “Can you tell me how it works here?”

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “I mean, is there no food?”

  “There’s food, but I don’t have anything to trade. I don’t have any skills, nothing. I’m going to have to move soon. Lilly has been kind and let me stay longer than she normally allows, but I have to go,” she said, her voice trembling with what Austin guessed to be fear.

  “I thought this was a refugee camp,” he said.

  “It is, but we all have to pay our own way,” she said matter-of-factly. “Lilly is a fair but firm leader.”

  He nodded in understanding. “You pay through work or other goods?”

  “Yes. Some of the other people go out on scavenging trips to get things to use for trade, but I don’t have anyone to watch Henry. I don’t trust the people here—not enough to watch my baby, anyway. Besides, the scavenging is dangerous. Sometimes they don’t come back at all, and other times they get robbed and go through all that work for nothing,” she explained. “I guess it didn’t used to be this way, but Lilly realized there were too many people coming into the city. She took over to create a better way of doing things. No freeloaders,” she murmured.

  Austin had to clench his teeth to keep from cursing. He knew Lilly and her goons were behind the robberies and probably killed anyone who fought back. He couldn’t sit back and let the young woman and her baby get kicked out; this was clearly all they had.

  “What’s your name?” he asked.

  “Cara.”

  “Cara, my name is Austin. My friends and I are talking with some of the other residents. We want to help you take this tent city back, along with all the supplies that are being hoarded. Lilly is stealing from people and selling it back. She’s not kind or generous. There are enough of you here that you can fight back,” he said. “Take back the city. You’re stronger together.”

  She shook her head, her eyes wide. “I don’t know how to fight. I came here to get away from the fighting. I just want to live in peace,” she whispered.

  “I understand that, but sometimes you have to make a stand. If you don’t stand up for yourself now, it’s only going to get worse. Think of your son. He needs you to be strong for him. He needs to have a safe place to sleep and food to eat. You’re his mama. That’s up to you. If there is anything you have to do, this is it. You have safety here, I get it, and that means you can’t leave. You can’t allow her to make you leave if you have nowhere to go. Does she own this tent?” he asked.

  Cara shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t think so.”

  “Does she own the land?”

  “No.”

  “Then she has no control over who stays and who goes. Don’t give her that control. Rise up. Join the others and fight back. There’s food in that tent. I bet there’s food and blankets and lots of other things you need in Lilly’s tent and the tents of her men,” he said, trying to make the woman understand there were options.

  He looked down the road towards the main tents and saw others standing in the road. He smiled as he watched Ennis clap a hand on a man’s shoulder. It was working. Ennis had been right. They were pulling together a small army. Even if Austin and his group couldn’t change the world, he could at least take satisfaction in knowing they had made one small, positive change in the lives of others.

  “I don’t know how to fight,” Cara whispered.

  “You don’t have to fight,” he said, turning back to her. “You have to stand with the rest of the people. Look, they’re coming together. Are you going to stand with them or are you going to keep letting this woman use you and take food out of the mouth of your son?”

  And, with that last comment, he saw determination coming into Cara’s eyes. She watched her son licking at the wrapper of the protein bar, and then reached down and grabbed her little boy’s hand. With nothing more spoken, they began the march down the lane, joining in with the others coming out of their tents as they marched together.

  “Good job,” Austin said to Ennis.

  “They’re rising up. This is going to be good, and I don’t think we’re going to have to do much of anything,” Ennis said with a proud grin.

  “Lilly Gamblin!” a tall man in the front of the group shouted.

  Austin moved to the edge of the group, ready to witness the revolt and provide additional muscle if needed. He hadn’t just convinced Cara to rise up only to have her get kicked down again.

  Lilly emerged from her big tent, her mouth working at something. She scanned the crowd, putting both hands on her hips and calling out for her goons. “What’s going on, Gabriel?” she asked with a forced smile.

  “We want you to leave. You came in here and took over, and we’re tired of it. You didn’t start this place and we don’t need you trying to run it. Go. Take your buddies and get out of here!” Gabriel shouted.

  Lilly grinned, her gleaming white smile appearing venomous. “I’m the mayor of this little city, Gabriel, and I’m not going anywhere.”

  “You are not the mayor. You’re officially ousted. Leave now!” his voice boomed.

  There was a rumble through the crowd, and without anyone giving an order, they began to move forward as a unit. Austin walked with them. He had his eyes on the man who’d been the one to rob them. He was looking forward to a little revenge.

  There were at least sixty people marching on Lilly and her five men now. Even if they made it to their guns, they wouldn’t be able to shoot them all. He loved the look of fear he was witnessing in Lilly’s eyes. She had sucked off this group long enough.

  The first rock was hurled through the air, narrowly missing Lilly’s head.

  Soon, there were more rocks being lobbed at the tyrants that had kept these people down. The angry shouts and accusations were being flung just as violently as the rocks and anything else the group could find.

  Austin stepped forward. “I’d suggest you all leave,” he called, standing less than ten feet from Lilly.

  “You did this!” she snarled, putting her hand up to ward off an empty box being thrown at her.

  He shrugged. “I can’t take all the credit. Leave now or these people will kill you, all of you,” he said, looking at the others.

  “What’s to say we won’t come back here and kill them all?” Lilly spat.

  “Nothing, except I think it might be a little harder than that. You’ve angered a lot of people. They don’t like you. You’ve left them to starve. You’ve robbed from them and then turned around and sold it back to them. I think that, if you’re smart, you’ll get as far from here as you can!” he shouted out, working to be heard over the advancing crowd.

  Lilly glared back at him before turning to one of the men. “Grab all you can and we’ll come back for the rest.”

  Gabriel pushed forward, standing directly in front of Lilly. “No. Everything is ours. You leave with the clothes on your back and nothing more.”

  The look of shock on her face made Austin smile. She must have realized her tenuous position, though, because a moment later she turned to walk away, her men crowding around her as they followed. Gabriel and about ten other men pressed in behind them, pushing them to the outer edge of the camp and then forming a human fence across the road.

  Ennis walked over to Austin, grinning from ear to ear. “I think we can grab our stuff and get out of here. We’ve done our good deed for the day.”

  “You did do good, really good,” Austin said with a laugh.

  “See, you should listen to me now and again. I do have some good ideas.”

  “You have a lot of good ideas,” Wendell said, coming to stand beside them both.

  “This is all sweet and cozy, but we have a mission. We’re not here to save the world,” Sarah said in her usual all-business voice.

  Austin looked around at the people congratulating each other and nodding their way in thanks. They’d done all they could for these folks, and more than most would have done. “She’s right,” Austin agreed. “We need to get our supplies and go.”

  24

  Wendell was so tired of being tired. His feet hurt, and he could feel a blister on his pinky-toe. He’d told the others about it that morning, but they didn’t care. None of them cared. They were so dead-set on the idea that they were going to save the world, it made him sick. They were fools. All of them were fools. He was the only one who had the good sense to know when to quit. He wasn’t quitting on life, either—he was just quitting their game. They were playing for the losing team, and he was sick of being on the losing team.

  He rolled to his side. Even the darkness barely gave them any privacy. That was something else he was sick of. He was sick of seeing them all night and all day. Sick of listening to Harlen snore every night. Wendell wasn’t meant for this kind of life. He was meant to sleep in a comfortable bed, in a house or a luxury apartment where he’d have his own space.

  Things had to change. He’d been in this weird state of limbo for too long. Sometimes, drastic measures were needed, and that’s what he was about to do; he was taking drastic measures. He waited a little longer, knowing Ennis was on watch. Wendell planned on getting up and taking over for him soon. He’d already planned what he would say. He was going to tell him he couldn’t sleep and would take over watch early. That should earn him some brownie points, too.

  He rubbed his eyes, then mussed his hair before getting up and walking through the dark towards the tree where Ennis was keeping watch.

  “Hey,” he whispered.

  “Oh crap! You scared me!” Ennis muttered.

  “Sorry. I couldn’t sleep. I’ll take over watch,” he said, trying to sound generous.

  “Are you sure? I still have another hour or so; plus, Austin has next watch,” Ennis said.

  “I know, but I’m up and we might as well let him sleep while he can. I’ll wake him in a couple hours,” Wendell offered.

 

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