5 months in, Kelly's little belly protruded over her denim cutoffs. She had her tee tied at her waist, which rode up above the baby bump. Once she passed the first trimester, her morning sickness and tiredness resolved. As her body changed, the bump developing, the hips widening, the weight gain that amounted to all of 12 pounds, Kelly's overall mood was light and happy.
She stood by the spice garden with her gang of kids surrounding her. She had them each clipping different spices, each with a separate bowl to gather their harvest. As they pruned, the kids named the spice and spelled it and smelled its odor. They tasted the mint and appreciated the aroma of the basil, thyme, and oregano. The children took their bowls inside to Luz where they'd spread out the spices on trays, then placed them in the van to dry out in the afternoon sun. Kelly led the kids to their buckets next. She lifted her spear from the coop wall and led the group of children to the field. Julia took a bucket and spear as well and brought up the rear of the line. Row by row they plucked vegetables from their plants. Once filled, they took the harvest to Luz, then returned to the rows. Julia stayed with Tatia, instructing her which veggies to pick and which veggies weren't ready to pluck. Day after day this happened and Tatia had started to realize on her own what was ripe and what was not ripe. She spoke in scattered sentences and made observations about the shapes and colors of the veggies she saw. She counted each vegetable that went into the bucket and when she ran out of numbers that she knew she started at one again.
Every afternoon she spent armed in the field with Kelly and the kids. Julia asked about her pregnancy, how she felt. She set aside her little pangs of jealousy, remembering her miscarriage. When she and Tavin first told the group their news, Julia was happy for them and congratulated them and thought about all the stuff they'd need for a baby. Later, alone with Jay, she let her sadness out, her feelings flow. It was something she'd need to get over, and she did. She remembered when she was sick, she'd seen Jayla. Jayla was ok where she was and she didn't have to be in this world and didn't have to worry.
Sometimes if the baby was particularly active, Kelly would place her hand over her belly and let her feel the little kicks. Julia never got to feel the kicks. It had been too early for her. "You're so lucky, Kell. So lucky." Julia told her as she felt the palm of her hand move on Kelly's abdomen. Every time that baby kicked, Julia wondered who was delivering this baby? Tavin had a lot of learning to do.
"The kids and I were talking and we'd like a pool." Kelly said suddenly.
"Sure, we'll put it in between the tennis court and the basketball court." Julia replied.
"Not a huge pool. Make like a baby pool, one of those plastic ones like for little kids."
"Where from, Kell?"
"There's a million places out there with kids stuff." Kelly answered. "When the guys go on their next run-"
"If we find one, sure. You can have it."
"And a basketball net. We can hang it on the barn. The boys would love that."
"Ok, no problem. If you write it all down-"
"I have. It's on my list. And I would like some more paper and stuff. It's all on my list. And I'd like a few books from the library. About pregnancy and infants and-"
"Kelly, are you getting nervous?"
"No, I would like to be informed is all."
"We've all taken care of infants, Kell. We all took care of Tatia."
"Well, how to breast feed, then. You didn't breast feed Tatia."
"True. I'll take your list. And I'll do whatever you need." Julia told her. "Hey, it's all of us. We are all here for you and the baby, got it?"
"It's months away, I know, but I'd like to be ready. What if it snows and we can't get out of here like we were snowed in last winter. Julia, I know it sounds silly to think of this stuff in the middle of summer."
"You're right. There's a million things we need to plan for. Fall and winter are coming. You're right." Julia nodded.
Evening meeting around the table commenced. Security checks and perimeter checks were all complete and safe. No breaks, no breaches.
Tom had made a few minor house repairs and made a few repairs to the water catchment system, he'd cleaned it well and had no immediate needs. The shower system that they'd had in place continued to function and their idea to save their dirty water was working out. He was in the process of developping a way to heat the water for showers for the cold season, also to enclose it so the elements were not affecting their shower. Currently it was a couple stalls like in a camp ground. Camp grounds had running water, however and they were dependent on mother nature herself. Tom had created additions to the water catchment for the run off. There were water tubs collecting the rain as well for showers that were covered with screens to keep out the critters and leaves.
"I'd like more bleach. I will also need to start work on a filter to clean the water as well."
Evening meeting was interrupted by Bob who'd been outside on the porch. He'd crept to the window at their table so quietly, he scared them to death.
"Bob, you almost got yourself shot." Tavin warned him.
"There's deer out here." He whispered. "At the fence eating off the bushes."
Jay got up quietly and got the rifle from above the fireplace. He went out the back and walked the grass around to the front yard to avoid the creaking of the porch floor boards. The gun shot startled them. Then the next startled them even more. He'd taken down two.
Julia looked at Chess and Tavin. "Bump up the perimeter checks. Those shots are gonna bring them out." She wrote in her notebook. "Also, you guys are going to be busy tonight."
"You need to learn how-"
"No thanks." Julia held her hand up, stopping Tavin's suggestion. "I can't. No. Cass?"
"Sure. Whatever." She agreed.
"Luz can make us some jerky again." Chess said, excited.
"Tom do we have a fridge running?" Julia asked.
"We will. It'll happen by tonight."
"Thanks."
Jay appeared at the window beside Bob. "I got them." He said excited. "Males. Need help bringing them in."
Meeting recommenced when the deer were in the barn. They continued to discuss teams. Chess and Tom would go out for together and take their list of needs. Jay and Tavin would head out together for a variety of things. They needed to make a fuel run.
"I think we should take a ride to the Strands, too. See if they need anything. Take them some of Luz's jerky, refill our milk. See if there's anything they need."
"Not tomorrow. We have our other runs."
"Me and Hayley can go." Julia suggested.
"We're gonna go through the gas, Jules." Tavin argued.
"Then get us some horses, Tav." Julia closed her book. "Meeting is over."
Julia went to Hayley and Kevin's room. "Guys, wanna do perimeter checks with me? They're in the barn with the deer."
Kevin stood up, agreeing right away. "She don't feel good. I'll go out with ya." He said.
"Doesn't feel good? Like sick doesn't feel good or-"
"Nah, she's not infected. No." He said. But it was obvious she wasn't tagging along.
"Should Tavin check her out?" Julia asked when they went outside.
"No. She's late. She thinks she's pregnant."
"How late?"
"She don't keep track. It's been awhile." He took a spear from the coop wall, handed it to Julia, then took one himself. "She gets sick at night tho. She's fine during the day."
"Ok, well. We'll wait and see. Like Kelly, right?"
"We will."
Another baby. Lovely. Julia automatically started thinking of all the needs for Kelly and then double it. Six months give or take between births. They couldn't fit a baby in that room with them. They'd need to rearrange the sleeping quarters. Was there something in the water, two pregnancies. Tavin had a lot of learning to do. Julia wanted in on the birthing. Tavin would need a hand.
Despite Tavin's protests, Julia took Hayley to the Strand Family Farm. It gave her and Hayley some time to talk and some time to plan. She wanted to feel Hayley out emotionally, see where she stood with the idea of motherhood. Turns out Hayley wasn't thrilled. But the lack of birth control in their new world order left her few options.
"You love Kevin though, right?"
"I do. He's been great with me. I don't ever want to separate from him. It would kill me. I'd be totally done for if that ever happened."
"I'm glad you're happy with him."
"He's so perfectly bad ass, but this really cool person at the same time. He like creates this poetry for me. It started out like this street thug rapping, which I wasn't totally into, but once he stopped rapping and started talking it was different."
"Street thug." Julia laughed.
"I had to get over that black thing. He came off so hard and so street, especially in the beginning. Once those layers came off, like my layers came off, there was this beautiful person under there." Julia made the turn into the farm, then stopped half way through the drive. She saw the dead in the grounds surrounding the house. They needed help, but not from two knife wielding females.
"We need to leave, Julia. Like now."
"Yeah, but we'll have to come back."
Julia drove home nervously. They needed to return to the farm and with back up.
The wait till they returned from their runs was excruciatingly long. They carried on their usual routine with the children, picking the veggies and colors and shapes and lots of counting. It was tedious and boring, especially when Julia's mind was distracted by walkers on the Strand's farm. She thought of Holly and Claire, were they alright? And where was Paul? There were Holly's sisters, Maria and Michelle. Were they holed up inside safely? She felt strongly about helping the family. They had ties to these nice people. She felt the need to assist them like she would help her own. Julia liked the idea of community and their small community bond was at risk.
The teams returned within a half hour of each other, their vehicles loaded with stuff that while they had an emergency meeting, the others emptied out in front of the barn. Julia and Hayley informed them of what they'd seen and the table voted unanimously to assist them. All wanted them to be alive, but if they weren't there were supplies and animals that they would be able to work with. They set up a modest plan and left after they ate. Any able bodied person went to the Strand farm in the army vehicle with their weapons.
They left Jay on top of the army vehicle and he took shots as they drove around the outside of the house, clearing the way to the door. As they circled the house, it looked free of breaks. It looked as if the inside hadn't been touched, but there was no sign of life either, which was a huge disappointment. They drove the car around back and the team entered with Tavin, Julia and Chess. The rest of the teams cleared the standing buildings on the outside, the barn the workshop, the shed, etc... Room by room they proceeded cautiously till there was an all clear and no threat was located.
"Hello? Claire! Paul! It's Julia, are you in here?" She called. Holly and her sister, Michelle, were located first. In the pantry there was a trap door that had stairs leading to a safe room. Paul's idea when the shit hit the fan. "Come out, girls. The house is safe."
Tavin and Chess left Julia with the girls and proceeded to the outside with the rest of their people. When Julia asked the girls what had happened, they replied they didn't know. They saw them outside and they hid together. How long? They didn't know. They'd eaten food from the pantry and there were water bottles in their hole with them. They hid. That's all they could say.
Julia watched out the window and listened to the gunfire as she stayed with the girls, shielding them from the view of dead bodies dropping to the ground. Blood and brain and skulls mashed into the soil. When all was said and done, Claire had been located in the barn, had crawled to the loft with Marie for safety. Paul was in the trunk of the family car. The three were assessed by Tavin who said they were dehydrated.
"What happened?"
"They came through a break in the fence. I was repairing it when they came through up at the house. I thought I had them all, but the shot gun brought them out. I was fixing the fence and it was like a wave of them walked over my land. I ran back toward the house and shot as many as I could. I made it as far as the garage and I hid in the trunk when they followed me in there." Paul explained as he drank water and ate a meal.
"I put the girls in the pantry and I went to get Marie. She was collecting the eggs from the coop. When she ran into the barn, I ran after her. I had to. We climbed up and waited till they left, but they never left. We should have climbed down and ran for the house, but we couldn't get out of the barn there were so many. We only made it down for milk from the cow, but I risked my life doing that."
Tom took supplies and fixed the breach in the fence, then he and Chess drove around the perimeter looking for other breaches. When they found one, Tom fixed it. While they worked on the fence, the rest of the team gathered the bodies and moved them into an open area of the field where they set three separate piles of human biohazard on fire.
"You cannot stay here tonight. You are weak, you cannot protect yourselves. I'd like for you all to come with us." Julia said. Paul was initially against it, not wanting to take a hand out. "You need a couple days to recover where you will be safe and where your children will be safe. The gun shots will draw more in. And you're in no shape to fend off another horde. Tomorrow they will come finish the perimeter and sure up the rest of the fencing."
The Strand family relented and returned to their home with them as dusk settled. Julia welcomed them into the house. The girls were bathed and given clean clothes to wear with Kelly helping them out. The girls hadn't had a shower since the shit hit the fan and were excited by the shower stalls. They were used to tub baths.
Julia showed the entire family to Chess and Jess's room. They set up the girls on spare mattresses from the box truck in the barn and Jess changed the linens and handed over her bed to Paul and Claire. The Strands sat down at the table and ate with them. Having been traumatized, the conversation was kept light until Paul asked how they kept the walkers away from their field.
"Our field is small compared to yours." Tavin answered, getting out of his seat to let Kelly sit and eat first. "You saw the spikes. We do regular perimeter checks. They're done around the clock every day. No excuses. That's where Jay and Chess are right now."
"I am at the point I think I can't do this alone." He admitted.
"I don't know how you can, Paul. We're a group and there's not enough time in a day." Tom said.
"How did you do it before?"
"It was a business. I had employees. I had tractors. I now do it with horses like my grandfather. How did you do all that?"
"You said plant double then triple the corn. It's what we did. By hand. Our fingers were raw and cramping and our bodies were wrecked, but it got done. It took days." Julia answered. "Where we're getting next year's seeds, I don't know."
"I thought you were reading the books." Paul said.
"You told me not to."
"You already have the seeds, Julia." Claire announced. "They're inside what you've grown. Save them."
"Oh my God. No."
"Yes." Claire said. "Your food gives you back your seeds."
Julia ran for her book, she had to write that down and then had to organize. She felt so stupid. Paul was fascinated by Julia's books and her documentation of every single thing they'd ever done or said. Not quite every single thing, but close enough. Paul sat in evening meeting once the table cleared out and they hatched up a plan for returning to the farm. Paul enjoyed listening to them banter around their ideas and solve their problems.
"Lastly, I would like to bring up the idea I had a few months ago about the Mexicans."
"Julia, for the love of God." Jay whined.
"Listen, we put housing on that land. Cut it in half, give them something to have as their own. Paul gets his farm hands and it all works out."
Paul liked the ideas Julia had about the Mexicans. But didn't understand the reservations that the rest of her table had against the idea. His land was large, he was unable to defend it himself and he didn't use a huge portion of it anymore because he planted for survival not for revenue.
"A sense of community. People starting over, setting differences aside."
"We have babies we need to think about." Tavin argued. "I don't feel comfortable starting shit with a bunch of Mexicans."
"Tavin, we had babies before. Just cause one's yours now-"
"No. I won't be part of this and shrink our group by one or more. I won't do this." He said. He got up from the table and walked away. "Tell him the whole truth, Julia."
When evening meeting closed Julia went to Tavin and Kell's room. Jess and Chess were rooming in while the Strand family occupied their room. Chess rolled a joint from his crop, Tavin complained about him leaving to smoke. "I will. I will. I'm just rolling."
Julia stood in the doorway watching Tavin and Kelly. He sat on the end of the bed, rubbing Kelly's feet and legs with lotion. She could smell the vanilla scent from the door. Tavin was pissed off with her and she knew it.
"Tavin, can we talk."
"No, I told you how I feel."
"Tavin, come on. It's a good idea."
"This is not the table, Julia. Don't bring the table up here."
"We take risks every day. We took a huge one helping the Strands."
"Not the same thing."
"What idea?" Kelly asked as she laid comfortably on her bed, enjoying the massage.
"That's not for you to worry about." He said softly. He set her legs down, then stood up. "I'll be back for bed, ok. I love you." He told her, tucking his gun and knife into the holsters on his jeans. He leaned and gave her a kiss on her forehead. When he leaned over her, his hand settled on her belly. "Keep your feet up, mama." He looked to Julia, "Perimeter check. Come with me."
Chess and Jay stood out back smoking the joint. "Save me some, please. We're gonna do checks." Julia said, taking a spear for each of them.
"We were gonna go." Jay said.
"Don't worry about it. We got it." Tavin said. As they walked toward the front post, number one, where they started each check, Tavin told her, "You have about 45 minutes to tell me why you think this is a good fucking idea."
They walked post to post, Julia shining the flashlight ahead of them, lighting their path. "No walkers, I guess they were all at the Strand farm." She thought. She and Tavin checked the fence along the way. Every once in awhile he'd tug at a spot that looked suspicious to him. The rear of the farm, behind the rows of corn, he stopped.
"You have nothing to say." He said.
"You have your mind made up already, Tavin." She answered him. He didn't move on, rather he took a seat between the fence and the row of corn.
"Me and you. Just us. No table."
"They're not going to make it. You know that."
"So what. We'll take what they have."
"They're our friends. They've been good to us. They're like extended family."
"So what. We've lost family. We'll get over it."
"You're heartless and scared."
"All the time. So are you."
"So are they, Tavin. Thay're extended family, our small community. They have kids and they need a chance like we have a chance. He's one man." She said, taking a seat next to him. She turned off the flash light, leaving them in darkness so thick that they couldn't see even after their eyes adjusted. "This is what the girls saw in the crawl space under the pantry."
"And."
"It could be our kids-your kid-one day." Julia said. "You had light in your closet."
"Don't root around in that closet, please."
"It's an analogy."
"I get it." She and Tavin sat in the dark. The sounds of the woods echoing around them. "We should do what leaders do."
"What's that?" Julia whispered.
"Lead. Make things right."
"It's the right thing to do, Tavin." Julia added.
"And if shit goes bad?"
"We take those with us that would like to go and then we kill the rest."
"And you called me heartless?" He laughed.
"Heartless is as heartless does. We need to make the difficult decisions."
"Could you live with that?" He asked, taking the flashlight from her hand.
"I can live with anything right about now. I've done things that are revolting. But necessary."
"You mad cause they follow me more than you? When I put a stop to your idea months ago, they followed me on this."
"No. I'm not mad."
"It's not you that goes to battle. You're a girl. You hang back."
"Not on this one and I have been killing from the beginning. One of the first ones out all the time. The fact I am a girl has nothing to do with it."
"We lose our conscience out here? It's a new world. We make adjustments when necessary." He suggested. "It's what leaders do."
"Did you ever think that one day this group could be blown apart and send us running in all different directions?"
"Yes."
"We could lose everything tonight or six months from now." She observed, taking her flashlight back from him.
"We running together?"
"If it comes to that? If we lose everything and it's just us standing here with a flashlight and a spear?"
"I don't like thinking like that, Julia. There's so much to lose."
"And nothing to win." Julia said. "It's a possibility that we'll lose everyone we love. We could even be left standing all alone. Jay doesn't like listening to me talk about things like this. This is what I think about all the time. That it could all end. All our hard work and all our people."
"Is it our burden to think about things like this?"
"It's the right thing to do. That's all I gotta say on the matter." Julia told him finally.
"If this goes bad-"
"I'll take the blame."
"Can you hold the weight of my life or anyone else's on your shoulders and still live with it?" He asked. "Cause that's what blame means on this, Red."
"That's what leaders do." She replied after a moment of inner reflection. "We'll create the plan while they stay with us and have them out there hopefully by the time to harvest."
"What are we getting out of this, Red?"
"I want a cow or two cows. I also want him to help us get some horses as well as a wagon off one of these farms. That's the deal."
"I knew you had an end game, Red."
"We saved their asses today. We're giving them help. I gotta get my own milk and my own wagon out of the deal. You said yourself we were going to run out of gas."
They sat awhile longer in the dark, listening to the sounds around them. They each were lost in their thoughts, avoiding the get up and go. They still had the perimeter check to finish.
"Red," Tavin said, bringing her out of her train of thought.
"Yeah." She whispered. She felt his hand on hers. "What are you doing, Tav?" She asked surprised by the touch, but not withdrawing from it.
"I was going to say we should get up and finish checks." He answered. "I'm looking for the flashlight."
"Oh, Ok, I thought you-" She mumbled, handing the flashlight over. He flicked the flashlight on and shined it on her. Julia felt herself flush with embarrassment, realizing the flashlight had been in her hand.
"I brought you out here to talk." He told her, getting up.
She got off the ground, brushing the dirt off her. "Understood." She started walking toward the next post as he followed behind her quietly, continuing to look at the structure for any gaps.
"Red, it's alright. I don't care." He assured her. "I didn't know you were thinking that way."
"Geeze, I wasn't. I thought you were."
"Why would you think that?"
"Cause you always are." She replied. "Stop. I'm sorry."
"You wanna fuck in the corn field?"
"No, God, Tav."
"No, I'm asking you. Do you wanna fuck in the corn field?"
"Funny." Julia mumbled. "Ha, Ha."
Tavin embraced her from behind. "I'm serious." He rubbed himself against her. She let him move his hands to her shorts, undoing the button and sliding the zipper down.
"Is this what leaders do?" She asked.
"Make the hard decisions." He whispered in her ear, carrying her back into the corn field behind them.
They finished the perimeter check fairly quick. Julia looked for walkers and Tavin checked for gaps. Back at post one, Julia took the spear from Tavin.
"Looks like we'll make it through a few more hours." She said.
"We will." He said, following her. She hung the spears and went to join Jay and Chess as they sat by the fire they'd built out back. Tavin stood in the kitchen door, watching Julia get high with Jay and Chess. He thought a minute about joining them, taking a couple hits. It was only pot, but then he thought better of it and went up to Kelly.
*****
"Does anyone speak Spanish?" Chess asked. "What if they aren't there anymore?"
"Ok, Chess is stoned." Tavin said. "Why's he even here high?"
"It's weed, not meth. Shut up." He said calmly. "I spent 8th grade till the end of the world high, every single day. It's how I plan on spending the rest of my life, high. Would you like some?"
"Chess, please stop, hon." Julia said. "Shhhh."
"Julia, he's a stoned distraction."
"This is not about weed. He's functional."
"Could you not be high when we go there?"
"Maybe they'd like some of my grown in American soil marijuana?" Chess suggested. "It's such good shit. I am so stoned."
"Ok, Chess. Maybe Tavin's got a point. You sit and listen ok."
Chess was laid out on the bedroom floor, staring at the ceiling, reaching for what no one else saw.
"He's tripping for crying out loud." Tavin pointed at him. "What's in that weed?"
"It's really strong." Jay said, sitting against the closed bedroom door. "Tavin, you should try it, man. Best weed anyone has ever grown."
Julia snuggled up with Jesslyn. "One more night and he'll be in his own room."
"We go in armed, but peacefully." Tavin changed the subject. "If there's a problem, we'll deal with it."
"They'll have to do the work like we did once we get them there, that's if they want to go along."
"That's if they're still there." Chess said. "And if they speak English."
"I speak Spanish." Tavin said annoyed with his presence.
"Paul had a great idea. Rather than building their quarters, there's a campground we could tow campers from with his pick up. They could line them up and set up camp, which would shelter them till they build something strong and secure. Paul has some good ideas on how to run his camp there. We just have to get them there."
"Julia, leave her alone for now please." He said, watching her hand move around Jess's body beneath the sheet.
"You're in a mood tonight." Julia said accusingly as she purposefully moved her hand between Jess's legs. Jess giggled a bit, watching Tavin's reaction.
"We'll have people outside and ready to back you up if things go wrong."
"I know that." Julia said as she kissed Jess's shoulder.
"Jules, come on." Jay said quietly, just as high as Chess. "She's pregnant."
"Jess isn't."
"I really don't mind, guys." Kelly announced, focused on her belly. Julia had noticed she couldn't stop rubbing her belly.
"See, Kelly doesn't care." Jess hummed. "Come over here."
"I do care about that." Kelly said.
"Just kidding, Kelly. Just kidding." Julia said.
"What if they don't want to go? All of them. What if they say shove your plan up your ass?" Chess asked. "I get what you want to do. I think that those people are none of our business. It's too soon to rebuild something that's not worth being rebuilt."
"Yeah, you're going on the assumption that all people are basically good." Jay added.
"Leave well enough alone."
"If we left well enough alone, we'd still be in Maverick."
"We would be fine there. Wherever we wind up, we would make our way."
"It would benefit us to do this. It would benefit everyone."
"They could be gone is all I'm saying. Making these plans is all well and good, but that was a few months ago you ran up on them in there."
Julia and Tavin pulled the van onto the street in front of the school, but sat a distance away from the building itself. They waited and watched for signs of life. Poofs of smoke could be seen above the school, but emanated from behind the building. Julia stepped out of the van first, Tavin followed her as they walked toward the school.
"Stop." He said, placing his hand on her shoulder. He pointed to the roof. "They know we're here, Red."
"Well, what do we do?" She asked, waiting on his decision.
"We wait out front. Come on." He said, taking her by her hand. They walked to the parking lot in front of the school and they stood by the flag pole. A faded and torn American flag waved in the hot breeze that blew. "Think they'll send someone out?"
"I would." He answered. "But don't pull your weapon. They're on the roof."
"Ok."
"I should have come with Jayson. You should have stayed home."
Julia didn't respond to that. She felt strongly about going. She was glad they were still there. They waited what seemed like forever in the hot August heat and humidity. The sun was frying them and Julia felt her skin sizzling.
"Tav, I'm burning up out here." She whispered, complaining to him as she showed him her arms.
"Shut up, Julia and wait." He said annoyed with her and her brilliant ideas.
"Should we walk around?"
"No. Let them come to us, please. We go in there, it's a sign of aggression."
"But-"
"I know you're scared. Try not to act it."
Another forty minutes passed before there was movement observed in the lobby of the school. They'd been on the roof, checking them out and finally someone made a decision on the inside to step out. A brown skinned man emerged from the frame of the door. He was bare chested, in cut offs and sneakers. His hair was as long as Jay's, pulled back in a tail. He had a pistol on his hip. He moved to the sidewalk in front of the school across from them.
He drew the pistol from his waist and aimed at them. "We can't take you in." He said.
"We don't need to be taken in." Tavin replied.
"What do you want?"
"To talk." Julia said. "That's all."
"I don't talk to you." He answered flatly, his voice with a heavy accent.
"We came to-" Julia ignored him.
"The man says he doesn't talk to you." Tavin told her.
Julia nodded, acting as demure as possible. She didn't recognize him at all. There were so many brown faces that day a few months ago she didn't stop to study them.
"You'll talk with me." Tavin told the man. He stepped forward separating himself from Julia. The man didn't shoot, but his aim remained trained on Tavin's chest.
"What you want, man?" He asked Tavin.
"Take me to your leader." Tavin stated, raising his hands up. He looked at Julia, "Don't kill anyone." He stepped toward the man and let him take his gun off him. He took Tavin inside through the frame of the door, leaving Julia in the afternoon sun. Julia waited outside alone, though moved beneath the tree that was about fifty feet or so away. The sun had turned her a crispy light red and she couldn't take it anymore. She sat on the ground and watched the man on the roof as he watched her.
The man named Pucho led Tavin through the lobby and down the hall to the right where the hall was that led to the cafeteria. There were more Mexicans than Julia and Jay had known about and they were armed unlike their predecessors that day on the supply run. The cafeteria was lined with bedding and furniture and conditions were fairly poor, but their set up was working for them. He passed a few families and children running around. It was hot and dark inside, but there was just enough light illuminating through the cafeteria's windows that he could see that it was livable but dirty. The odor of living people could be as bad as the odor off the dead. Just different. This guy wasn't the brightest on the planet, Tavin thought, because he should have never led him into their home. He should never have led a stranger through the middle of their livelihood. It was a risk he shouldn't have taken. He led Tavin out of the cafeteria through a side entrance and into the playground where they had themselves an outside kitchen. They had tents covering their entire encampment and they'd figured out like the rest of the people on the planet that were left alive and surviving day to day how to do just that, survive. The odor of the food cooking made his stomach grumble. It smelled like a taco joint and he hadn't had tacos in ages. The spices as they cooked with their food, the flavor hung in the air and teased his nostrils.
They collected water, had chicken coops and chickens running loose, goats were singing and they were just fine on their own.
A man as old as the hills sat in an easy chair, sipping a can of coke and playing with the young children. A guitar was playing somewhere and the sound of the music played in his ears. This was a Mexican village inside the Pennsylvania farmland. He was in awe, fascinated how different their group's life was from his own. The inner encampment was vibrant with food and color and music.
Tavin was guided to the elderly man whom Pucho addressed as 'abuelo'. Abuelo did not speak a lick of English, he smiled lacking proper teeth and his craggily, sun soaked skin took on the appearance of leather. Abuelo told Pucho to fetch Tavin a Coke. When he returned with the Coke, abuelo told him to leave them alone.
Tavin spent his youth in and out of foster homes, he had that on his side. He lived on and off in the street and he realized as Pucho handed him the can of cold Coke why he had lived the life he led prior. It made him tough. It made him a survivor of more than just walkers. His entire life had intertwined with a multitude of cultures and set him up for this very moment. The Spanish he'd learned screwing any willing mamasita paid off as Abuelo and he embarked on conversation.
Tavin emerged from the school with Pucho. No gun aimed at him. Julia watched as Tavin shook hands with him and they parted. Alive and well. He joined her at the tree.
"Thank God for Karen Keller." Tavin said to Julia as they head back to the minivan. Julia was silent, put off that she had not been invited into the school with him. "It all became so clear, Red. Karen. All the answers to every question I ever had about her were answered inside that building. It all led up to that."
"So what's the word?"
"It's a no go. Chess was right on that, Jules."
"But did you explain-"
"Yeah. They're a proud people. It's amazing what they have in there. There's so much you didn't see."
"What's that got to do with Karen?" She asked as Tavin started the van for the drive home.
"Nothing and everything. I gotta talk to Jayson." He answered.
"But we killed their two people. They-"
"We didn't even talk about that." He said.
"But what did they say?"
"They have a community. They are happy right where they are. They have everything they need."
"But-"
"He said no." Tavin said sternly. "Red, he said no."
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