Saturday Survival Serial – Volume 3, Week 7

This is week 7 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.

Sweat poured down Jimmy’s face as he concentrated on taking the next step. It was his turn to carry the litter they had made for Ryan. After Holly had opened the wound back up, it was obvious that an infection had started from the seeping fluids. The pain from it being opened had made Ryan pass out, which both Holly and Jimmy were thankful for. He served as her nurse, handing her the things she asked for as she went about cleaning it out again and then stitching the wound closed.

The litter was finished by the time they had bandaged Ryan up and the meat they had smoked, already redistributed mostly between Terry and the other two people that had come with Kory and Holly. Jimmy and Kory had volunteered to carry the litter between them for the 5 mile trek back to Center Camp. They were well over halfway now and though the sun was setting, the moon was full and gave just enough light to risk continuing until they made it back.

When Ryan started having a coughing fit and then moaning, Holly called for them to stop. She checked his wound and peeled his eyes back. Putting her fingers at the pulse in his throat, she sighed and said, “He is in a bad way. He has a fever and that cough is deep, plus the wound. Without being able to run any tests, I would say he was fighting something off before he got injured and the loss of blood sent his immune system into maintenance mode. Now, with the infected wound, he is going to need antibiotics. A full 10 day cycle would be best but we may be able to get away with 6 days instead. As long as we can get a double dose in him to start.” She looked at Jimmy as she finished.

Jimmy grunted in reply and looked down at the young man he had grown very fond of. He knew what her look meant: they only had enough antibiotics left for maybe three of that kind of prescription. Cutting it back to 6 days with a double dose would still use seven pills but that was better than ten.

“Do whatever you have to. We’ll run out eventually and there isn’t much we can do about it. They’re no good if someone dies when taking them could have saved them.”

Holly nodded. She took off her scarf and fashioned a sling to help keep Ryan from jostling his shoulder as much. Jimmy looped the straps back onto his shoulders, falling in step with the rest of the group.

It was late when they got back to camp, the only light coming from a single candle in the one window recently installed in The Hall. It was a welcome sight to the weary and sore patrol. Jimmy left Holly and Kory to get Ryan into the medical tent that also served as Holly’s home. Though it had walls from rough cut timbers, she had left the original canvas tent in place to serve as a windbreak and insulating layer.

Jimmy headed toward his own cabin, rolling his aching back and shoulders while dreading his undoubtedly ticked off wife. He saw a faint glow through the window when he stepped onto the porch. Stepping as quietly as possible through the door, he saw Amie sitting at the table, nursing one of the twins. She looked up at him and then closed her eyes, sighing in relief.

“I was really worried about you,” she said. “Is Ryan OK?”

Jimmy was wary at her calm tone as he replied, “It’s pretty touchy right now.” He filled her in on what happened as he took his pack, boots, and jacket off. She listened and put Gracie in the crib.

“Sounds like quite an adventure.” She walked over to him with a little grin on her face. “You ah, have any of that bear jerky on ya?” Amie reached up and tickled the thick stubble on his cheek.

Jimmy laughed and said, “What’s it worth to ya?”

“Well, it will keep me from ripping your head off for being late and making me worry. I might also tell you all about the visitors we had and new information about the U.N. making settlement camps instead of rounding survivors up.” Her face broke into a cheeky grin as he stared at her in surprise. She laughed and Jimmy grinned back just as cheeky.

“I may have some but if I give it to you, you need to understand it’s because I want to know the news. The head-ripping is something I’ve lived through before.”

She pretended to be offended and smacked his arm as he passed by her to get into his pack. Bringing out a plastic container, he opened the lid and waved it under her nose. The smell of smoke and alder made her mouth water and she made as if to grab for it, making Jimmy jerk away.

“Ah, ah, ahh! Some jerky for some info!” She laughed along with him and they both sat down together on the small loveseat. Trading jerky for news, Jimmy was quiet for a while after she finished telling him about Roger and Sticks’ arrival and U.N. activity.

“It’s genius, really. I hate to give them credit but it makes a lot of sense. Their mission is to make sure the human race survives…in their image. They see this as a way to right many wrongs and unite the species but the control is what bothers me the most. It’s the underhanded, almost sinister way they go about things. The children situation alone gives enough evidence to that. It’s brainwashing and training so that the rules and way things work are normal to them. To anyone else other than a small child, that way of living is a foreign concept and goes against the entire American idealism of life.”

Amie shuddered and gripped his hand tight. “I hate to even consider any of us being there, living like that. Having my kids taken away at four years old!” She glanced at the twins sleeping peacefully and tears stung her eyes as they filled and spilled over.

Jimmy put his arm around her and held her close. “We will do whatever we can. You know that.”

She nodded and buried her face in his chest, crying her fears out. When she was done, they got up and went to bed. Tomorrow was going to be a rough day.

*************

The driver slammed his foot down on the gas pedal, causing the bus to sputter loudly before jerking forward, knocking Shannon to her knees in the aisle. She scrambled to get back up and look out the window at the oncoming tree, only to be knocked down again as it impacted the side in the current. The bus’ back end began to turn with the current but thankfully, the front tires held firm until the back ones got traction.

Shannon was able to get up and sit down as the bus shook from the tires meeting the incline up the other side. They had been washed down a few feet and were no longer on the roadway. Water had filled the steps at the front and was starting to stream down toward the back as the driver punched it to drive through bushes and sapling trees that had sprouted up in the last year. Everyone held on the best they could while being tossed around from the uneven terrain and the panicked driving. Shannon looked behind her and saw other U.N. vehicles that were stopped on the other side, people standing on the bank, watching as the truck that had been in front of them was slowly washing down the gully.

“STOP!! We have to help them!” She screamed over the noise.

The bus slowed quickly, making everyone lurch forward and hold on. The guard who had been watching over them turned on her and marched down the aisle. Shannon squared her shoulders and stared him down. She was not going to go down like some meek and helpless woman. Not for the engineers she had to work with, and certainly not for Sergeant Stupid, here. She knew she was in the right.

“You better shut your mouth before I shut it for you, missy.” He walked right up to her and put his face in hers menacingly. She looked him right back in the eyes for a moment before replying.

“Sure, I could do that. Or, I could help you get those people washing down the little flood there and you can be a hero. Then again, I could just sit here like a good little brainless moron until they ask me what happened. I would be forced to tell them that you didn’t do anything to help because, I should never lie to the people who feed me.”

She hid the smugness she felt, watching the emotions play across his face.

“Time’s ticking and they are getting further…” The bus was completely silent. Shouts from outside seemed far away as she waited for this barely trained monkey to come to the end of its thought process.”

He looked at her again with disdain and then grabbed her arm, dragging her to the front. “Fine, you will help me save them but if you give me any more lip, I will have you put in your place so fast, you’ll wonder if you ever had a life before the U.N. saved your ass.”

Shannon gritted her teeth, wanting badly to put him in his place but went along. There were more important things. Then got off the bus and ran down the bank until they caught up with the other truck. It was lazily floating in the water but was also completely unable to be controlled.

Shannon screamed out to the people still inside. “We’re going to help! The plan is to get the cable on your front winch around something to stabilize it enough for you to get out. Keep a window cracked a little to hear me but roll the rest up and gather anything you absolutely need that won’t drag you down. Prepare to swim!”

She turned to Sergeant Stupid and said, “I need any rope you have in your pack so I have something to hold onto in case I get in trouble on the way to the truck.”
His eyes got huge. “I can’t let a civilian do something like that! I would be killed!”

She stepped back up to him and said, “Look, I don’t have time for your dimwitted thought processing here and neither do they. Give me the rope.”

He swallowed once and glanced at the truck and people inside before slinging the pack off and getting the rope. He gave her a pointed look and said, “I will get the cable from the truck back here. No arguing.”

He dropped his pack and gear, then tied the rope around a tree down a bit from the truck. Tying it around his waist, he plunged into the water before Shannon could tell him to wait. If the rope was caught on something between the tree and him, the current could pull him under and hold him there, drowning him. She watched, holding her breath as he popped up and started swimming with strong strokes to the truck. She let her breath out as he made it and got the hook undone from the cable.

Hooking it onto the rope around his waist, he started back toward the bank. She moved down to where she thought he would make land, looking down for a moment to watch her footing. Her head snapped up as she heard cries coming from the truck. They were pointing to the water in front of them and all Shannon could see was leaves on what looked to be a medium sized tree. What she didn’t see was Solider Stupid. The white rope went from the tree and into the water with no sign on him anywhere.

Springing into action, she grabbed the rope and began pulling furiously, hollering at the people watching from the bus to come help her. Two more made it to her and increased the speed until the line went tight. They heaved and the leaves on the tree moved toward them.

“Slack up!” She yelled. Taking her tattered hoodie off and shoes off, she gave the others instructions to hold the line but not to yank on it as it could make it worse. Another soldier came running up and was about to ask what the hell she thought she was doing when Shannon pointed at him.

“You! I need a knife to cut the rope with if he’s stuck. Don’t argue with me. That man is drowning right now so just hand it over and deal with me afterward!” She put her hand out and he found himself handing the small blade over. She took it, nodding her thanks and jumped into the water with the rope in one hand and the knife in the other.

Following along the rope, she realized the leaves she was seeing went to a much larger tree than she thought. The rope had wrapped around some large branches. She took in a deep breath and went under, kicking as hard as she could with the current and following the rope’s path. The water was murky and debris hurt her eyes, making her have to rely on feel only. The water was chilly and she could hear the sounds of trees and other flotsam that was being knocked around.

Her heart jumped as a hand reached up and grabbed her leg, pulling her down further. She twisted around and tapped the handle of the knife on the hand that immediately took it from her and letting her go. Kicking hard, she swam up and took in a deep breath when she broke the surface. Gulping in air, she looked around frantically for the man to come up. Still holding the rope and treading water, she counted to 10 before diving back down.

This time, she found him closer to the surface but still wrapped around a branch. Working as quickly as possible, she worked the rope down the branch until she could bend it and free the drowned man.

Coming up again she cried out, “Pull! Pull hard!”

There were now many more people on the bank and several began pulling on the rope. She grasped it and let them bring her in, too. Once her feet touched bottom she realized how exhausted she was. Turning around, she saw Solider Stupid’s limp body come up behind her and felt a rush of energy. Grabbing his arm, she dragged him closer to the bank before flipping him over and starting CPR.

As she pumped on his chest, she almost laughed when she saw the cable still hooked on the rope around his waist. She leaned down and breathed into his mouth before pumping again and said, “Get the cable around a tree as fast as you can and then help the people in the truck. When the cable goes tight, the water will push against it and fill it up fast. They will need to go out through the windows.” She reached down and unclasped the hook, tossing it aside.

Bending down, she breathed into his mouth again before pumping hard on his chest. No one said anything or moved and the hook started to drag across the ground as the truck continued to float down the current.

“MOVE!” She barked. People flinched but did as they were told. Keeping her eyes trained on the man she was trying to save, she cut everything else out of her mind. I am not going to let this man die, even if he is an asshat.

Breathing a third time, she pressed hard on his chest and said, “You’re not going to die on my watch, Sergeant Stupid, now BREATHE!” She smacked his face, hard, before pushing fast and hard on his chest, not caring about the cracking feeling under her palms.

As she was coming down for the fourth breath, the man spit water up and into her face, making her jerk back in disgust before pushing him over on his side. He coughed and sputtered and sucked in great gulps of oxygen, while rubbing his chest where she had been pushing. Shannon laid back onto the ground, breathing hard herself.

Through choking and coughing, the man said, “Thank… (cough) thank you.” She didn’t reply, just waved a hand in the air.

“Did…(cough) did you call me Sergeant Stupid?”

Shannon’s laughter rang loudly through the trees.

*************

Three days later, Jimmy was helping move chicken manure to the compost pile. Ryan was getting antibiotics and the wound was healing well but the cough he had was deep and his fever kept coming back. What’s worse, a couple more people had also come down with a cough. Holly hadn’t had this many cots filled in the medical tent since the battle at the U.N. Deployment Camp. What they thought were U.N. troops turned out to be the criminal gang from Idlewild who had attacked the camp first and took it over just before Center Camp came to attack. In an odd twist of fate, the leader from that group, Walter “Mister” Stanfield had survived and ended up coming to Center Camp as a spy for the U.N.” Needless to say, his story hadn’t ended very well but he had given some good information just before Jimmy put a bullet through his head.

Jimmy gritted his teeth at the memory. Walter had played them all so well and he wasn’t sure what made him more angry: the fact that the man was sent here specifically to find Jimmy, or that they had been so easily duped and infiltrated. He said Eugene Rupert, Jimmy’s old neighbor from before IT happened, had actually worked for the NSA. His orders were to watch Jimmy for possible domestic terrorism.

He dumped the wheelbarrow load onto the pile and went back for more when he felt raindrops on his face. Ugh, more rain? Just what we don’t need. He sighed and felt guilty. The rainwater helped to keep the water catch systems filled but it also raised the water level of the stream, creeks, and rivers. As he neared the coop, the skies opened and unleashed a torrent of rain so hard and so fast, the area was instantly turned into a mudpit. People were slipping and falling in the muck, trying to get to The Hall or their homes. Jimmy was soaked through in about thirty seconds but managed to keep upright as he helped others up.

Rushing into the cabin, he slammed the door behind him, making Amie jump and the twins start fussing at the sudden noise. He stood there, staring at her, dripping water all over the entry.

She started laughing at him with his hair matted to his head and clothes hanging off him from the weight of water. He grinned at her and said, “You look like you need a big ol’ hug. C’mere and let me give you a big ol’ bear hug.”

She laughed harder and moved away from him quickly as he moved toward her, arms stretched wide. Going around the loveseat a couple times, he stepped onto it, boots and all and tackled her. She squealed at the cold and wet as it seeped into her clothes and squirmed away at his attempts to kiss her when there was a knock at the door before it opened.

They both turned to see Jessica standing there, adding her own drops to the puddles Jimmy had left behind. Their smiles turned to concern when they saw her face.

“Ms. Emmie is sick and so are two of the children. Also, RR and Tyler want to meet with you about sending volunteers to the camp in Plymouth after they get more information on how it’s progressing and how they take new people in.”

The playful mood was shattered as the reality of their fragile existence was thrust into their faces once again. They got up and Jimmy went to get into dry clothes. Amie handed Jessica a dish towel that was drying by the fireplace and put another log in. When Jimmy came out he sighed and asked, “How is Ms. Emmie? Does she have the cough?”

Jessica nodded, looking sad. “I think she has actually had it a longer time than we knew. I’m thinking Ryan may have caught it from her when he was helping her last week. Holly guesses there is a five to seven day incubation period which means more may get sick before we get a handle on it.”

Jimmy clenched his jaw and nodded, taking in more bad news. It seemed to come as often as the rain did lately. The sound of it hitting the roof was steady and pretty loud. He looked out the window and saw the water puddles getting large enough to start connecting and knew that even if it stopped right now, the waters were going to rise again.

“You’re going to have to tell RR and Tyler they’ll need to wait on that meeting. We have bigger problems with this rain. If it keeps up for any length of time, we may get flooded.”

Amie’s eyes widened. “But the levels were only a couple feet higher than normal this morning. Shouldn’t we have some kind of leeway?”

Jimmy reached for a dry fleece jacket and then his rain jacket as he replied, “You saw how fast it came up before, right? Well think of all that snowpack from the winter. It’s already had the initial thaw and all the ice and snow is rotting out. This rain will easily make it break apart and fill the rivers with slushy muck. Once it breaks free, it’ll be worse that fully liquid water.” He shrugged into his jacket, kissed Amie, and left with Jessica on his heels. Amie heard him barking out orders through the rain pounding on the roof.

*************

At North Camp, Al was sloshing through water that was ankle deep and rising. In the last ten minutes, it had gone up two inches. He carried packs and bags of food and medical supplies in whatever water resistant or waterproof materials they had. People were packing things up and moving to higher ground where they had started putting some supplies in an indentation of a rocky hillside. It couldn’t really be called a cave, it wasn’t more than a dozen feet into the rock face but it did provide some shelter and was wide enough to fit everyone, if a bit closely quartered.

He made it through the water to the hill where people waited to get whatever needed to be carried. As soon as they got what they could handle, they turned and made for the emergency gathering area. After passing out what he had, he turned around and headed toward his cabin. When he opened the door, he saw his wife, Sarah, packing warm clothing into a larger backpack they had stored here before IT happened. It all seemed so long ago.

A door closed behind him and he saw his oldest child, Austin, putting bundles of dried herbs into a very well used plastic bag. The zip didn’t work anymore but if you folded it over, the moisture was kept out all the same.

“How much more do you have to pack up? What can I grab right now? It’s rising fast, Sarah.”

She made a frustrated sound and slung the pack on her back before walking over to where their second child, Leo, was playing on a blanket. “You and Austin will carry the food packs up and I have the clothes and Leo. I am ready to go once you have the packs on.” She reached down to Leo and strapped him into the front pack that was normally used for newborns only but the weight of the backpack helped balance her out.

“Good! Let’s get going.” He slung the pack on and grabbed an extra bag so all Austin had to carry was the smaller pack.

They went down the few steps and when Al stepped into the water, it came halfway up his shin. He looked worriedly at his family. Austin’s size could be swept away if a strong current at this depth came along and Sarah being heavily weighed down, too, was a potential disaster. He reached out and grabbed their hands, looking at them both.

“We don’t let go until we are all on dry land, OK?”

Austin laughed. “That may be a while then, Dad. Since it’s been raining so much and all.”

Al looked at his son for a moment before laughing and replied, “True. How about we don’t let go until we reach the other side. No matter what, OK?” Sarah and Austin nodded their agreement. They all held on tight through the water that came up to Austin’s knees. Al held on so hard, he was likely hurting the boy but better a little pain than the alternative here.

They were only fifty feet away from the hillside when Sarah slipped on something and tipped backwards, pulling on Al and Austin. Instinctively, Al leaned forward to counter her momentum but the current had increased and he ended up yanking Austin off his feet which jerked him the other way. Arms and legs straining to maintain balance and failing, he chose to dunk his son rather than get all three of them dragged down. The motion helped balance Sarah and Al pulled Austin up, who was sputtering and wiping water out of his face.

“Dad!”

“No time for that now. Move toward shore with all the energy you have left!” The three of them pushed forward as the rain intensified, almost as if it was angry that they had managed to stay upright and get to the shore. Sarah stopped a foot out of the water and gasped for air, Austin was still in the water but on the edge. Al had gone a good six feet away.

He turned around and said, “Don’t stop right there! What have I told you about flash flood-” a large crashing sound came from the direction of camp and a wave of water was coming, low and fast.

“Get out of the water fast! Up the hill, let’s move! Drop the bags if you have to!” Al moved down the hill as Austin and Sarah started moving up, eyes wide. Al would remember later, and be incredibly grateful, that they didn’t pause to look, they just moved.

Al grabbed Austin’s hand and yanked the kid up the hill further, pushing him to keep moving. He then turned to his wife and told her to give him the pack of clothes, moving behind her to pull the pack off and help push her up the hill. He slung the pack on the front of his body which left his hand free to push Austin on one side and Sarah on the other.

The sound of trees, rocks, and water going by behind them seemed so close, it was as if Al was suddenly flying instead of running. He didn’t feel his feet touch the ground as they went up sixty feet in mere minutes before Al stopped and turned around. His heart fell in his chest.

Debris was everywhere, crashing into buildings, through walls, tearing down some of the newer built homes like they were made out of popsicle sticks. The cabins built with whole or halved logs, though few, were holding up overall but the windows were breaking out from stuff being sloshed around. They watched as the water kept coming and coming, rising higher. Then, the screams of panic reached their ears. A wave of water roughly six feet tall rode on top of the water already there, gaining momentum and anything that was floating, turning it into a ramming machine.

Sarah began to cry for those they couldn’t help. To go down there would be almost certain death and there was no telling how high it would get.

Al put his arm around her and said, “We need to get to the shelter area. I need to get people watching how high it goes and see what kind of resources we have for rescues.” He looked at the destruction below, in shock at how easily a year’s worth of work was wiped away.

I have no idea what to do now. Who’s to say it doesn’t flood like this every year without those pumps and drainage system. I have my wife, children, and all these people. Go to Jimmy’s and integrate there or Main Camp? Find a new place of our own? Rebuild here with flood preps in mind?

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