Isolation (Book 3): Starting Anew, page 10
part #3 of Isolation Series
He climbed behind the wheel, missing his daughter in her nest of blankets buckled up in her car seat. As he started the car Val wiped her eyes one last time, sniffed, then gave him a sheepish look. “Thanks for letting me tag along.”
“Sure,” he said, peering through the mirrors as he backed up. “You're welcome to come along when I visit her.”
She hesitated, glancing out the window at where Ellie still stood talking to Aimee, Brant, and Tallie. “I'd like that, although I felt a bit like I was intruding today.”
Nick waved that off. “Tallie will be happy to see you.”
“Thanks,” she said again, looking in better spirits.
They returned to camp and gathered the other scavengers, then piled into the trucks and started for Wensbrook. There was no tanker truck this time around, with the abandoned town's gas station drained dry and Darby announcing they were good for gas for the moment.
Nick continued to miss having Tallie sitting beside him, filling the air with her cheerful chatter or sleeping peacefully in her nest of blankets. But the small silver lining was that he could turn his full attention to the work.
Practice that morning was fairly routine. The three new scavengers all had rifles they'd scavenged in houses, Tony and Denna both using AR-15s so they could share ammo, and Chase with a shotgun and a .45. Nick wouldn't say his team of scavengers were sharpshooters by any means, but at least they could consistently hit a stationary target.
Given how routine the morning had been, he was sort of expecting that the entire day would be pretty much the same as any other. That notion went out the window around noon.
He'd just called a midmorning break and was seated on the overgrown grass of a yard under the shade of a fruit tree, eating some canned peaches straight from the can. Chase had claimed he needed to use the bathroom in the house they were searching, although Nick had a sneaking suspicion the man had actually gone back to the master bedroom to grab some pricey jewelry they'd found on the vanity there.
Which left him with the dilemma of either calling his new scavenger out on it, getting him all defensive and surly if Nick was wrong and having to actually take some action if he was right, or ignoring it and hoping Chase didn't give any sign he'd secretly pocketed some jewelry.
What a pain; why couldn't managing a team just involve the work itself, without all these other headaches?
Nick was still trying to figure out what to do, polishing off the last of the peaches and trying to decide on jerky or a can of mixed nuts to complete his snack, when he heard the rumble of an engine coming from the south.
He looked up at the noise, frowning; was one of the other teams moving their truck? They should know better than to do that without radioing in to tell him, or at least shouting their intentions down the street since he still insisted on them all staying in view of each other. But even if he could see all the trucks, he wanted to know when teams moved to a new house so he knew where his people were at all times.
But no, none of the trucks were running. More importantly, the noise was coming from the opposite direction of where the other trucks were parked, back in the city square that they'd long since cleared out.
Other scavengers? A scouting party from the military? Relief workers?
Robbers, like the ones who'd attacked Ellie?
Nick tossed the peach can aside and stood, moving cautiously down the street to where he could see the approaching vehicle, hand resting on the grip of his pistol. For the last few feet he edged around the side of a house, peering towards the city buildings around the corner.
For a moment he assumed it was relief workers, judging by the large bus painted with official markings. Then he saw the dozens of people huddling together as they emerged from the vehicle, women and children but mostly men, all dressed in a variety of normal clothes with no sign of hazmat suits or any attempts at distancing.
Almost all of them moved with the wavering, halting steps of those who barely had the strength to stand. Most either clutched a few meager possessions or had small, half-full bags or packs on their backs, hunched under even that slight weight.
While most were occupied with getting off the bus and making sure everyone was there and had everything, organized by a gaunt man in his early 30s with a shaved head, a few were looking around the abandoned town.
They seemed to have noticed the signs of forced entry and scavenging in the nearby buildings, careful as Nick and his team had been to do as little damage as possible. The sight obviously distressed them, and they were pointing and calling to their friends, getting everyone's attention. Soon almost everyone was staring at the surrounding buildings, stunned or alarmed.
Taking in everything Nick had seen already from this group of people, it was pretty easy to guess who they were: Wensbrook residents who'd survived the Zolos outbreak in their town, gone through a quarantine camp, and were now home.
He ducked back behind the house, feeling a bit like a burglar caught carrying a TV as the owners open the door and flick on the light; this was more than a little awkward.
The question was, what to do about it?
Did he go meet the returning people, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head as he admitted he'd looted their houses? Encourage them to head to Stanberry, where they'd have to stay in another quarantine camp for three weeks until they could be welcomed in?
He doubted they'd greet the news well. They might even turn violent, and while he'd done his best to encourage his scavengers to learn to shoot, and tried to drill them on precautions to take if they ran into trouble, they weren't fighters by any stretch of the imagination.
Not that he wanted to fight a bunch of sickly people with a justified grievance anyway.
Also what was the point of putting up all those notices Darby had given them if they were just going to go tell the people outright what was going on? Diplomacy wasn't the scavengers' job, and it would probably be better to leave it to Stanberry's leaders.
Those were a lot of fancy justifications, but the reality was that Nick was too ashamed to face the town's returning citizens. He didn't have the courage to watch any more of their devastation, their loss and fury, as they saw that their homes had been invaded, their precious possessions stolen.
Which left getting out of there, quick.
Without wasting another moment he hurried back to where the trucks were parked, lifting his radio. “Heads up, people, we've got new arrivals.”
As he approached Lila and Val rushed to intercept him, the others close behind. Even Chase, who was awkwardly holding one overstuffed pocket as he bolted out the door.
“What's going on, boss?” Lila asked, the others calling out their own questions.
“Some of Wensbrook's residents just pulled up in a bus,” Nick told them. “They must be back from the St. Joseph camp. And it looks as if they've already noticed the scavenging we've done.”
Gasps of dismay and muted curses rose from the group. “So what do we do?” Tony demanded. “Go talk to them?”
Nick did his best not to shudder at the thought. “What we'll do is pack up and head back to Stanberry, inform Mayor Darby of this development.”
“The development of being caught with our hand in the cookie jar as these people come back to find us stealing their stuff, so we run and hide under the covers and hope we aren't in trouble?” Denna said sarcastically.
“Sure, we'll go with that.” Nick motioned curtly, urging everyone to head back to the vehicles. “Let's move, people!” He paused, glaring at Chase. “But first, go dump the jewelry you just took back inside. Even if you just put it on the entry room table.”
The man stiffened indignantly, opening his mouth to protest, then glanced towards the center of town where the bus's idling engine continued to rumble. Joined by the growing rumble of an understandably upset crowd.
Muttering to himself, Chase bolted back towards the house and tossed handfuls of valuables back inside, then left the door open behind him and bolted for the truck.
Nick was already in the driver's seat, getting the vehicle started. He also heard the rumble of other engines starting; hopefully they wouldn't draw too much attention from the newly arrived Wensbrook citizens; the idea of dozens of weakened Zolos survivors stumbling after them, cursing and shaking their fists, made his cheeks heat.
Well, once Darby had been informed of this development it would be his problem. He could figure it out.
Chapter Five
Reimbursement
“Aren't they back a little early?” Hal asked, pointing towards the south roadblock with a frown.
Matching his frown, Ellie looked up from the list she'd been making of people in the Stanberry quarantine camp willing to lead exercise sessions, support groups, and the other activities she'd spearheaded at the Colorado Springs camp. “Hmm? You mean Nick?”
Sure enough, four familiar moving trucks had pulled up to the roadblock, even though it was still at least two hours before they were due. Probably closer to three. Not only that, but the moment the trucks stopped the driver's side door on the lead vehicle flew open, and even from this distance she recognized the figure of her ex-husband, looking sturdily built rather than flabby these days.
He rushed to a safe distance to the roadblock, ignoring their shouts of alarm, and shouted back at them, motioning urgently behind him. Which made Ellie's frown deepen; her ex-husband was the opposite of excitable, so something must be going on.
“Should we go check it out?” Hal asked.
Nodding, she ducked into the tent they were using as their headquarters and put the sheaf of papers she'd been holding on the table they'd made out of empty crates. Then she grabbed the radio Darby had given her off its solar charger by the door and clipped it to her belt; carrying it had become a habit since she'd taken charge of the quarantine camp.
Most of the time it was just a source of chatter, usually from Darrel's patrols, but it had come in handy enough to be worth the hassle. And during a real emergency it would be invaluable.
Hopefully this wasn't one of those.
Ellie and Hal arrived at the roadblock at about the same time as Darby and Darrel drove up in the Mayor's car, climbing out to join the patrol at the barricade. That left the scavengers, the Stanberry group, and Ellie and Hal all making an odd sort of triangle of cautious distance between each other.
“What's going on?” Darby asked.
Nick motioned vaguely southwest. “A bus with federal relief markings full of people showed up in Wensbrook. Probably Zolos survivors from the town, back from the St. Joseph quarantine camp.”
“So?” Darrel demanded, tugging on the bill of his baseball cap. “You saying you came scurrying back here with half a load because of that?”
The scavengers flushed. “Did you want us to keep busting into houses right in front of people who for all we know might be the owners?” One of Nick's new scavengers, Denna Dryden, asked defensively.
The Mayor quickly raised his hands for quiet before his cousin could respond. “Probably best to return and regroup until we decide what to do next,” he said in a reasonable voice. “Who knows, maybe now's a good time to move on to a new place to scavenge anyway.”
“What about the Wensbrook survivors?” Nick asked. “They'll probably be coming around soon about the fact that we ransacked their houses.”
An uncomfortable silence fell at that. Judging by Darby and Darrel's expressions, Ellie wondered if they actually hadn't accounted for the possibility that anyone in Wensbrook might survive and return. Considering that even a 9 in 10 death rate for Zolos would've left over a hundred survivors in that town, they had to have planned for it.
Hadn't they?
“What did they say when you talked to them?” she called to Nick.
He gave her a chagrined look, and the other scavengers shuffled their feet. “We came straight back when we saw them,” he said.
She stared at him in genuine consternation. How did he not go talk to the returning Wensbrook survivors? If she'd been there she would've made it a point to practically be the welcome home party. Offer them any help they needed, make sure their transition from the quarantine camp was smooth.
Then again, she wasn't a scavenger. Nick had mentioned offhand his reservations about searching through private residences, and Gen had talked to her a bit while chatting about how it continued to bother him. Ellie supposed she could understand why he'd be hesitant to speak to the people whose houses he'd scavenged from.
For that matter, maybe it was smart to not talk to people who might be furious at them, possibly even violently so.
But in spite of all that . . . “We should send someone to speak to them,” she said to Darby and Darrel.
The two exchanged nervous looks. “You want us to leave Stanberry and go to a place that was evacuated due to a Zolos outbreak?” Darrel demanded incredulously. “We left notices, they can come visit us if they've got a problem.”
Ellie felt a surge of impatience. “It's not just about our scavenging. They're our neighbors, people who suffered terrible loss and are trying to rebuild their lives. We should reach out to them, even invite them to come join us if they want.”
The surly man snorted. “Forty minutes away isn't neighbors by any stretch of the imagination. Back before cars that would've been a few days' walk just to say hello.”
Trust to him to have a perspective like that.
Darby turned to his cousin. “Just to be safe, how about you call in a few more patrol shifts. And let's get more people manning this roadblock. I'll go gather the City Council and the other leaders and we'll talk this over.”
Darrel gave him a narrow look. “Isn't that overreacting a bit? Statton described one bus of Zolos survivors. What trouble are they going to be?”
“Better safe than sorry,” the Mayor said, clapping him on the shoulder. “Come on.”
The two drove off, leaving Ellie and Hal with the scavengers and the patrol guarding the roadblock. “Well, we should probably get these trucks unloaded, then figure out what we're doing next,” Nick said, looking troubled.
“You okay?” Ellie asked.
He looked away. “I bet after all your hard work, when you meet the people your work affects it's a gratifying experience.”
She winced. “Your work is helping everyone in the town and the camp.”
“Hard to remember that when I just watched over thirty people who could barely stand climb down from a bus and realize their entire town has been picked over,” her ex-husband said.
The scavengers shifted uncomfortably. “Way to boost our morale, boss,” Ben grumbled.
Nick looked a bit guilty about that. “You're doing this for the town and your loved ones, and you're doing a great job,” he told his team. “Deciding where we scavenge is on me, as team leader.” Straightening his shoulders with obvious effort, he motioned to the trucks. “Come on, let's go.”
“You're doing this for the town and your loved ones and doing a great job too!” Ellie called after him. He didn't respond, climbing into his truck. As the vehicle got started she sighed and turned to Hal. “Well, let's get back to it too.”
They started back towards their modest headquarters at the northwest end of camp, between it and the edge of town. But halfway there her boyfriend paused, turning to look along the road going south with a frown.
“Hear that?” he asked.
Ellie also frowned as she listened, becoming aware of a low but growing rumble: the sound of a bunch of vehicle engines. Something that would've been barely noticeable on a normal day before Zolos, but at the moment the only vehicles really driving around were doing so on behalf of the town.
As they watched the road a dozen vehicles, a mix of cars, trucks, and even a minivan, all pulled into view of the roadblock and stopped. A gaunt, bald man in the lead truck climbed wearily out, staring at the obstruction, and then curtly motioned to everyone in the other vehicles to join him in getting out.
They could only be the Wensbrook survivors Nick had seen. Ellie honestly hadn't expected them to come this soon, and definitely not all of them.
The radio on her hip squawked with a man's nervous voice. “South roadblock to town. We've got a bunch of people here, leaving behind a dozen vehicles and approaching on foot.” He hesitated. “They, uh, look pretty pissed.”
✽✽✽
Ellie was back at the roadblock, watching the group of Wensbrook survivors. At the bald man's behest they'd stopped a hundred or so feet away and were waiting impatiently, demanding to see the town's leaders.
Nick and his scavengers had reappeared, walking on foot around the outside edge of town to return to their previous position in a huddle. It was a bit surprising to see them there, considering their feelings about the situation, but maybe they felt like they needed to be here for whatever this was.
Or at least her ex-husband did; he wasn't one to try to duck responsibility for his actions, although he was often too hard on himself.
Finally, the rumble of engines from town turned everyone's attention to the approach of two SUVs, a van, and Darby's car, which together disgorged a dozen or so of the town's leaders and another dozen or so of Darrel's patrol volunteers, mostly from the van. Behind the vehicles Ellie spotted a small crowd of townspeople, more than she usually saw braving the outside world even in the safety of their town, approaching on foot.
Darby led the delegation forward, stopping by the roadblock and warily looking over the new arrivals. “Have they done anything?”
“Just sat there waiting for you,” the man in charge there said.
That quickly changed as the bald man stepped forward, raising his voice to be heard above the commotion. “Nice of you to see us on such short notice!”
Darby sighed, then motioned to the delegation and started forward, stopping about twenty feet in front of the roadblock. “Welcome to Stanberry, sir! Might I inquire as to your name and your purpose here?”
