This is week 6 in volume 3 of the Saturday Survival Serial. To learn more about what the Saturday Survival Serial is, click here. To start at week 1, click here.
Jimmy woke with a start at the sound of a branch breaking in the forest. He had dozed off while on watch. He quieted his breathing, ears straining for any hint of what broke the branch. A quick glance at the sky told him it would be light in about an hour or so. His eyes tried to pierce the shadows without success. He waited a little longer, gun in hand, but there was no other noises.
Getting up, he stretched and tossed some more wood onto the fire. Once it caught, he turned his attention to the last of the bear meat smoking in their bush-style smokehouse. The alder had given a great flavor to the fish and he hoped it would be as good on the bear meat.
As he was pouring some water into the bowl portion of his mess kit, Ryan began coughing and moaned in pain again. He had been through a rough night, unable to get very comfortable on the hard ground. Jimmy watched as he sat up and looked around.
“Mornin’, Mr. Jimmy. Would you mind helping me to that tree again?”
Jimmy smiled and nodded, setting the water and bowl down. He had to steady Ryan a couple times on the short walk. It was hard to really tell but Jimmy thought his color was a bit off. Once he was sure Ryan wouldn’t fall, he stepped back to give some privacy.
Helping him back to the little camp, he asked Ryan how he was feeling.
“Shaky, a little woozy. Kind of dizzy but it comes and goes. I’m sure looking forward to my cot and four walls though.” Jimmy was glad to hear the upbeat attitude but when Ryan mostly fell instead of sat down, he knew something was wrong.
Jimmy checked the wound again and there was a lot more drainage this time, not all of it clear. He leaned in and smelled, thankful to not detect any real infection. Using the supplies out of Ryan’s pack this time, he cleaned and bandaged the wound. Ryan drank some water and drifted off again.
Terry woke up when the sun peeked over the treetops an hour or so later. They broke their fast on smoked bear meat before breaking the smoker down and packing the rest of the meat away. Ryan woke up coughing again due to the wind shifting and smoke blowing his direction from the fire. Jimmy went to him and saw he was right: the young man’s color wasn’t good at all and there was a dull look in his eyes. He put the back of his hand on Ryan’s forehead and sighed.
Turning to Terry he said, “We need to make a travois and get him to camp right now.” Terry nodded, grabbed the hatchet and went off to cut down a couple larger poles. Jimmy pulled out his bivvy sack for Ryan to travel in, along with whatever other layers they could pile on him.
Ryan watched listlessly and coughed again, making Jimmy cringe. I should have just done this from the start instead of having him outside another night. What the hell is wrong with me?! He began grabbing packs and pulling stuff out until he found whatever rope or nylon cord they had with them, tossing it over by Ryan. He was so lost in what he was doing and berating himself, he didn’t hear the whistle in the trees. When Terry answered, “Over here!” Jimmy stood up and pulled his weapon, temporarily caught off guard.
“Whoa there, Tex. We come in peace!” Jimmy blinked, hearing Holly’s voice. “help has arrived!”
She came through the trees along with Kory and two others. She was smiling until she saw Ryan. Pursing her lips, she moved more quickly toward him while unslinging her pack. She checked his forehead and pulse quickly before giving Jimmy a pointed look.
She said to Ryan, “Hey, there. I hear you decided to prove your manhood and wrestle a bear or something.” She smiled at him but the worry in her eyes came through as he turned and looked at her. “Can you tell me your name?” She began to unwind the bandages from his shoulder.
“I’m Ryan and you’re Holly and my arm hurts like hell. I’m dizzy and keep getting hot and cold.” Jimmy and Holly both sighed relief at the coherence in Ryan’s voice.
“That’s good, just had to make sure.” she smiled at him again as she was getting the last of the gauze unwrapped. “Still, you didn’t answer my question about your barbaric rituals and–” her mouth formed an “O” as she pulled the absorbent pad away and saw a very red and angry wound. It immediately began seeping. Jimmy sucked in a breath.
There was a moment of silence as Ryan looked down and saw the jagged wound in the light of day. He looked at Holly and said, “Will I die from this?”
Holly shook her head. “Not if I have anything to say about it though you’re going to have one ugly scar from it. The problem is, I need to get it cleaned and properly sutured. Blood clot wasn’t meant for such a deep wound and certainly not for being in there this long.”
“We’ve already got poles cut for a travois to be made for him. It’s what we were working on as you came up.,” said Jimmy. Holly shook her head.
“I’m afraid we need to take care of this right now, before we go anywhere. It is right on the edge of going septic and with it being as deep as I was told, that could prove fatal. Since we will deal with it right now, it will be fine.”
She turned to Ryan. “I’m also afraid that this is going to be painful. Unpleasant, at the least. I will need to open it back up, clean it all out and then stitch it up. I have some topical numbing wipes which will help but I’m afraid it won’t take all of it away. Not even half. Still, some is better than none. You may pass out.”
Ryan smiled at that. “Seems I’ve been doing a lot of that lately. As for the scar, girls like them. Plus my manhood ritual and all, they’ll be lining up, right?”
Jimmy laughed loudly with the others at the unexpected humor in the situation. He found himself respecting this person he had always regarded as a youngster. Though Ryan was young in years, he had indeed taken some really big steps to being a man on this trip. The humor when things were the most bleak was the sign of a strong person.
Holly called for water to be boiled as she started pulling things out of her pack. Kory was walking around the camp and talking with Terry about the meat they smoked. The others helped get more wood and happily munched on bear jerky. When everything was ready, Holly pulled out a small flask. She opened it and passed it to Ryan.
“Drink two good gulps. It’s been watered a little so it won’t burn as bad but trust me, you’ll need it.”
**************
Roger licked his lips and waited for the consequence of his decision. He glanced at RR before returning his gaze in front of him, standing straight.
RR took in a breath to speak when Amie said, “I can respect that. He has a point, too. What good is a soldier who won’t see his duty fulfilled to the best of his abilities.” She nodded and sat back down. Holly looked at her, then the others, and sat down as well.
RR let the breath out in a rush, relieved that he didn’t have to make a potentially bad choice. He had never intended to be a leader but here he was. He nodded, excused himself and left with Roger and Sticks following out the door. They walked away from the buildings a ways before RR turned and looked around to make sure they were alone.
“Alright then, out with it. What is so important for all of this?”
Roger looked around again before replying. “There is a lot more to the U.N. settlements than what I said before. Word from high up is that these places are where the next phase of the big plan will start.”
RR raised an eyebrow and motioned for the man to continue.
“Other than forced labor growing crops, raising livestock, and feeding the troops, the indoctrination will start. All references or talk about race, cultural background, and traditions are illegal and punishable offences. That goes for all religious views, practices, or talking. No race. No religion. “One Humanity” is the slogan.”
RR raised both eyebrows and rocked back on his heels. He was quiet for a minute, considering the implications. “you know, that makes perfect sense. Not that I agree with it but by removing the things that we used to divide us, they are taking away potential causes for uprisings or infighting. Brilliant, actually. Kind of strips away some of our individualism though.”
Roger nodded and looked at Sticks who grunted and said, “Go ahead. Tell him the rest.”
“More? As if that isn’t enough?”
Roger looked around for a stump and sat down. “Yeah, there’s more. There is also rumors of an order to take all children ages four to twelve and relocate them to an ‘education facility.’ Pregnant women will be taken to a settlement or deployment camp to have their child. The U.N. takes the babies and checks to make sure they are healthy. Those who are will be given back to their mothers until they turn four. We don’t really know what happens to those who aren’t declared healthy or even what the criteria is. It’s pretty safe to say that given their overall mission, well… I think you know what I mean. The mothers who don’t get their babies given back are sent off somewhere or kept there as a wet nurse.”
RR stood, frozen in place. Suddenly, everything was very surreal, like this wasn’t really happening. He felt like he was outside his body, watching a scene in a movie. He just stood and stared at Roger, mouth hanging open. He tried to coax his brain into logical thought but images of horrors people were enduring kept flashing in his mind’s eye.
“RR? Do you need to sit down?” Roger’s voice broke the spell and he shook his head.
“No. No, I’m fine. it’s just a lot to process at once. We um…we need to tell the people here but I’m not going to just blurt it out in front of everyone. I don’t want to cause a panic. Just Amie and Jessica for now.”
Roger nodded and followed RR back to The Hall. He stayed outside while RR went to get the camp leaders. They came out quickly and headed to what looked to be the communication building. Stepping inside, he saw the HAM radio system and a nice desk, neatly arranged. There was a large map on the wall behind the desk with areas marked off in large circles and dots all over it. He was curious but figured there would be time enough to ask.
Jessica asked everyone to sit down. Once they were settled in, Roger was caught off guard when RR asked him to relay the information he had been told.
“But, Sir, I-”
“You did your duty and told me directly. I am now asking you to tell them as you are the one with more details and knowledge. I am still processing it all.”
Roger nodded, knowing that though it was splitting hairs, it was still the truth of things. There had been no order given nor implied that once he told RR, he couldn’t tell anyone else if told to. He turned to the women and said, “This is going to be a serious shock to you. There is more to the settlement camps than what you’ve already been told.”
Their faces went pale and there was more than one gasp as he repeated what he’d told RR. Tyler was also with them and audibly growled when he learned about the plans for the children and pregnant women. A silence overcame the group. Several minutes had passed before someone spoke.
“I think it would be best to wait on telling the whole camp about this information. Jimmy will need to weigh in on it and then the other camp leaders..” Amie trailed off, still in shock.
Sticks cleared his throat and said, “Welcome to the new world.”
RR slapped his hand down on the table, making everyone jump. “No. This is bullshit and our mission to free the human race is even more important than before. Their plans to strip away what makes us unique is exactly what is going to unite us against being controlled.
*************
Two days later, the skies opened and unleashed a spring storm, causing the water to rise again and send people scrambling to fill more bags, along with any container they could find, full of sand and rock to strengthen the levee. Streams, creeks, and rivers swelled with water as the warming temperatures and wind melted more of the snow still packed in higher elevations.
Branches and trees gave way under the gusts of wind. Debris flew around everywhere, ruining the perfect hometown look of the streets and houses in Plymouth, Indiana. They were all stuck inside, bored and waiting for the first settlers to arrive. They were due the day after tomorrow but because of the storm, were at least a day behind schedule.
In Center Camp, people were taking turns in teams of two, braving the weather to walk the levee line and make sure it was holding. The water rose quickly and just when it seemed that a breach was imminent, suddenly the water gave way on the far bank and went rushing into the area they had cleared out. Many people cheered RR and Tyler for their plan. It was working and the water level was dropping steadily.
Main Camp handled the storm in stride. With the largest population of the overall group, it didn’t take long for them to make sure roads wouldn’t be washed out. They had a well to get their water from that was part of Captain’s original property. A few unlucky people were up in the lookout spots here and there, watching for any flash flooding.
North Camp was hit the hardest with the winds. Their location allowed for some strong winds to build along the rocky face of hills and along the roadways, it seemed to picked up speed. Water came rushing down the hills and along the path of least resistance. In less than half a day, the water had come within ten feet of Al’s cabin. By nightfall, though the storm had calmed, the water was pouring in over his threshold.
*************
The bus’s engine roared to life and everyone inside jerked backwards as it went into gear. Loudly. Shannon looked around startled, being woken up from a catnap. They had been stuck inside the bus for the last twenty hours. They were allowed to go outside only to use the bathroom in the woods or get food and even then, it was just long enough to do those two things.
Finally, she thought to herself. Glancing at Joli who was put on the same bus with her, she saw the woman staring outside the window still. From the moment they sat down, she had been staring outside. She looked around at other people and gave a little smile before looking forward again. The guard sitting in the front, watching over them, was one of those that relished anyone who might be getting out of line. Sure enough, when she let her eyes dart back and forth as quickly as possible, she saw him watching her intently.
The ride continued on for hours before they slowed down and went through some deeper water where the road had gone through a sort of wide gully. The truck in front of them was just climbing up the other side of when its back end suddenly floated, turning with the steadily moving water. The bus came to a stop in the middle and Shannon’s heart began to pump faster, pouring adrenaline into her bloodstream. She crushed Joli into the window as she leaned over and saw the water start to press against the side, the level getting higher. Others did the same and gasps could be heard which caused the over zealous guard to stand up, rifle in hand.
“Sit down and shut up!”
Shannon looked up the way and saw a floating tree coming lazily their way. Her heart began to pound now as she thought, If that so much as taps us, we are going down with the current.The truck in front was now not starting and had been swung around so its front was facing the oncoming current. The only thing holding it in place was a single tire on the ground. She looked out the window again and saw that the tree was larger than she originally thought and it was coming fast now. She stood up and screamed.
“Get this thing moving NOW!”
The guard’s eyes filled with glee as if he had just been given the gift he’d been waiting for. When Shannon didn’t so much as flinch at his approach, his face started to get red. Shannon yelled again.
“I don’t give a shit what you do to me Mr. Guard. If he doesn’t move his ass, we will all drown in this bus!” She pointed out the window at the tree that was now a mere 75 feet from them. Just then, the engine began to sputter.
The guard looked where she pointed and then turned, running for the front.
“DRIVE, DRIVE!!”
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