The little girl was waiting at the top of the stairs, dancing in place and motioning me to hurry up. She gave me an excited smile and then turned her attention to the commotion downstairs. I came to her side and looked down into the main space below.
It was packed with moving bodies; there had to be at least thirty people bustling about. Some of them were heavily armed, but for the most part they looked like normal people I would’ve seen in the city.
I spotted the red haired woman in the middle of the crowd; she remained stationary amidst the flowing river of people. She looked up at us and motioned us to come downstairs. I grabbed the little girl’s hand and led the way. The stairs moaned loudly as we went down; I heard them squeal above the loud raging of the river below. I thought they would give way at any moment, plummeting us into the people raging by. We came to the foot of the stairs and were face to face with the raging rapids of the river. I clutched the girl’s hand tightly and jumped in. We wiggled through the people and met the red haired woman right in the middle of everything.
She greeted us with a smile and said, “It looks like everyone’s here. We even found some survivors that came back with us. Right now we’re in a hurry to set up everything for dinner. Are you guys hungry?” The little girl happily shouted, “Yup! I’m starving!” The red haired woman let out a laugh that caused a few heads to turn. She said, “Okay then! Follow me!”
She led us through the current of people headed in our direction and took us to the room that was filled with supplies. However, when we stepped into the room, it was completely empty.
The room had transformed itself from a storage facility to a living room with a warm atmosphere. There were a few large fluffy chairs that welcomed those entering. There were also a series of folding chairs spread along its walls. There were a few tall, low-glow lamps creating a warmth that made me feel calm. In the middle of the room sat a large wooden table that housed many decorations. I saw a few people in front of us sitting down in conversation, taking refuge in the open arms of the chairs.
The woman took a right hand turn in the room and led us through a swinging door. On the other side of the door was a large kitchen of elegant taste. There were a few tables set up in the middle of the room that were covered in different foods. The little girl and I stood there for a second, completely stunned by the array of food before us. My eyes darted from table to table and saw many of my favorite foods. My mouth began to water as I took in the enormous banquet before me.
The red haired woman walked to the nearest table, picked up a peach, and tossed it over to me. I took a bite of the succulent, juicy peach. The juice ran down my chin, dripping onto the floor in front of me. I smiled with delight. I looked back over to the red haired woman; she was handing the little girl a piece of bread. The little girl had a large smile on her face, grinning from ear to ear. She attempted to fit the whole piece of bread in her mouth. Then she turned to face me; her cheeks were swollen balloons. She tried to say something to me, but all I remember hearing was, “Bif if reedly goop!” I laughed aloud as I finished the peach in my hand. The red haired woman grabbed herself a peach and began to eat it. As she ate, she said, “We’re about to start serving dinner. We moved all of the supplies from the other room downstairs to the basement. Now we have enough room for everybody to eat.
You’re probably wondering why we have all this food. After finding this place, we started scavenging and storing food that we stole from local areas. We also looked for survivors as we searched each area. We’ve found enough food to last us a while, and also take on a few survivors. I’ll tell you more about it later; I can hear everyone gathering in the other room. You guys make your way into the other room and we’ll begin dinner shortly.” I nodded as I wiped the peach juice off my chin. The little girl walked over to me and we exited the room, leaving the red haired woman alone in the kitchen.
Dinner was a feast in and of itself. I don’t really remember what we ate, but I definitely recall the aches in my stomach as I sat in bed that night. After getting a chance to explore some of the other rooms in the house after dinner was over, the little girl and I decided to make the room with the large flower our room.
After saying goodnight to the others we met during the meal, we went to our room. The little girl got ready to sleep and jumped onto the dusty bed. I pulled the aged blankets up to her chin and sat down on the bed next to her. Before falling asleep, she pulled her teddy bear out of her jacket and placed it on the bed next to her.
Then she pulled a pack of gummy bears from within her jacket. She pulled them out slowly and looked at them sadly. She placed the package on the floor and then turned her attention to the bear. She pulled the raggedy bear close, smothering it with her love. Then she looked over at me, said goodnight, and fell asleep cradling the bear in her arms above the blankets.
I sat for a moment longer to look out into the sky outside. I gazed at the stars and their twinkling smiles, wondering how something so beautiful could exist so close and yet so far away from me. I was lost in thought when I heard a light knock at the door.
I walked over and opened the door quietly; I came face to face with the red haired woman. “Follow me” she said as she walked away. I nodded, looked back at the little girl to make sure she was asleep, and tip-toed outside, slowly closing the door behind me.
I met the red haired woman at the base of the staircase. As soon as my feet found the landing, she nodded and led me into the dining room filled with papers and maps. There was a large table surrounded by chairs in the middle of the room. The table was surrounded with a group of ten people, four women including the red haired woman, and six men. She motioned me over to an empty chair and told me to sit.
As soon as I’d taken a seat, a man across the table addressed me. He said, “You’re probably wondering why we’ve called you here this evening. My daughter, the woman with the red hair, told me that you could be of some use to us. You survived the infected from the city, which can make you a valuable asset to our team. You’re here because we can use you to help us allocate supplies and keep our base running. I’m gonna be frank with you. You only have two options: you help us, or you leave. It’s your choice. What do you say?”
Now that this man had gotten my attention, I gave him a long, hard look. He was a taller old man. His hair was snow white, save a few strands of black hair. He had white stubble all over his face. He wore a serious expression which made his rugged face seem more harsh. He was thin, but very muscular. He wore a faded red shirt with some sort of beer logo on it. I looked into his blue green eyes and could sense the finality of the decision I had to make. I really didn’t have much of a choice. After taking a second, I told him, “I’m here to help with whatever you need.”
As soon as I’d assured him of my assistance, his expression changed. He took on a warmer glow that put me a little more at ease.
He said, “Good! Now let’s get to business!”
He turned his attention away from me and began to address everyone at the large table. He spent a long time laying out the plans of operation to find supplies and keep the base running. He continuously pointed to the papers and maps, revealing his wisdom and knack for survival. He pointed out that I’d help head up operations with his daughter in order to find and retrieve supplies. He spoke about the operations in the surrounding areas that I’d help with.
I didn’t feel capable at all as I heard that man and the others around the table talk about the operations that would soon take place. All of them seemed to have skills that allowed them to thrive in the wild. Every sentence that came out of their mouths was packed with experience and skill. They’d all been born to survive in these hard times; I’d just been lucky.
After the meeting, the red haired woman’s father told everyone to get some rest. I said goodnight to those who attended the meeting; no names were given. The red haired woman escorted me back to my room. Before opening the door to my room, she told me, “Don’t mind my dad. He’s really a nic
e guy. He just needed to make sure you’d help us and stay here. Thank you for volunteering to help. I hope we can become friends and work well together.” I replied, “Sure. Of course we can.”
The woman gave me a sweet smile and waved goodbye as she walked back down the hall. I entered the room quietly and sat down on the bed. I thought about my newfound responsibilities and the red haired woman’s father until sleep overtook me.
Tape #9