![]() | ![]() |
“We do the research and come back with no answers. The virus mutates randomly and cannot be anticipated. Next year we could return to a Hoofed Flu or a Pig Flu and the recovering livestock could be wiped out.”
History of a Changed World, Angus T. Moss
––––––––
TED TRUDGED TO THE infirmary an arm each around Pam and Marla guiding their faltering steps. They sagged onto him, but managed to keep putting one foot in front of the other. A pattering of small feet told him that the children were on their way. They burst from a side corridor, skidding to a halt in a tumbled bunch when they saw him with the women. Lily skipped into the middle of the hall, Sootie and Willboy in her wake.
Marla wheezed. Or spoke. Ted couldn’t be sure, but she stopped moving which upset the equilibrium, and he almost knocked Pam over. He steadied them both. “Easy.” Did the children frighten her? He started to ask Lily to take them away when he saw Sootie’s face. Her mouth gaped open in a silent howl. His heart lurched. “What’s wrong?” He couldn’t let go of his charges, and yet he wanted to run to Sootie.
Sootie sucked in a ragged breath and screamed. “Mama!” She plowed into Marla nearly knocking them all over.
Ted stood his ground, bracing them all. People rushed to aid them. Arms were offered, hands reaching to help. The sense of community overwhelmed him. Marla and Sootie were locked in an inseparable embrace. Two women took over herding mother and child down the hall. Another woman took Pam off his hands, murmuring assurances. For a brief moment he stood alone, empty of purpose and oddly bereft.
“Did Wisp find Sootie’s mom?” Lily asked.
Ted startled, not realizing she’d circled behind him. “Um. Yes, I suppose he did.”
“He found my mom, too. He’s a Finder.” She nodded at him solemnly
Ted forced a smile for her, unsure what to do now.
“Time to eat lunch,” Lily announced. She skipped down the hall toward the cafeteria. Ted followed grateful for a simple answer.
A couple of tables were put together for those who had just returned. Everyone but Wisp was there, with Angus at the head. Ted hesitated to join them until Nick waved him over. Someone directed him to a seat and another person put a full plate in front of him. He listened to the recounting of the mission by Darrell and Everett. His only addition was to mention the dead spot that Wisp had been worried about. At his insistence, they had avoided that road on the way back.
Then it was Nick’s turn. His story gave Ted the chills. Captured, tied, caged. It frightened him to think of how it could have been him. The description of the president and the people lost in their paperwork and reports made him very sad. The General seemed to worry Martin the most.
“Why would Washburn put up with those paper-pushing fools?” Martin asked.
“I’ve been wondering about that, too,” Nick admitted. “I think it must have something to do with supply lines. The government food was fresh. They must have a couple farms. They knew about the stranded cattle and were going to slaughter them all. Parsons said because there wasn’t anyone to take care of them, but I think it was to keep it out of the hands of whatever faction is claiming that territory. So Washburn must need to control the entire area that includes those farms. That’s where he’s deploying all his men.”
“We need to figure out his boundaries,” Martin said.
“Later,” Nick muttered.
Angus listened without asking questions. Ted thought he seemed distracted. The food was all eaten and dishes removed by helpful hands by the time the meeting broke up. Angus, Nick and Martin left in a mumbling cluster. Ted had that feeling of loss again. People moved away from the table, heading out with purpose in their stride. He had nowhere to go.
Willboy sidled up shyly. Ted smiled to see one of his kids looking so good, hair combed, clothes clean and a warm glint in his eye. “Are things here going well?”
Willboy bobbed his head vigorously, but a hesitancy hung about him clouding his boyancy.
Ted put an arm around him. “What do you want to tell me?”
“Found my ma!” Willboy squealed, unable to keep the grin from his face.
“Wonderful!”
“Is it okay?” he asked, suddenly apprehensive.
“It is beyond okay, young man. It is the perfect thing. This makes me very happy,” Ted assured him.
Squaring his shoulders, Willboy’s face shone with joy. “I’m Willy now.”
“Willy it is.” Ted pulled him into a hug, then sent him off to his mother. He made a mental note to look into the alternate names that children used when they were forced out on their own. Willboy was now Willy and Sootie had returned to Susan since they had been reunited with their mothers.
Across the room, Martin’s radio squawked pulling Ted out of his musing. Martin responded and raised it above his head. “Jean’s here!”
Ted followed the crowd as they flooded out into the hallway and out onto the steps. A big old farm truck rattled down the driveway toward them. It was larger than a pickup truck with a railed bed full of sacks and crates. Ted stayed at the top of the stairs. It gave him a good view over the crowd and from this angle he could see into the truck bed. Sacks of grain were piled high. A snort and squeal suggested a few pigs in the crates. When Jean opened the door two puppies tumbled out. Another noise told Ted there might be a few chickens in there also. He leaned against the balustrade feeling an odd relief. He didn’t know if this gift of food would help them survive the winter, but it felt like there were now more options in the world than there used to be.