The Desolate

I managed to shut down my own thoughts as I prepared the meat, my eyes still alert to our surroundings, but my mind was focused on the girl in front of me. She gave up on the fire after a while and said, “Can you give it a try and see if you can get it going?”

“Sure!” I said with a reassuring smile. As she moved to check the condensation traps for water, I looked up and caught sight of red dust rising in the distance to the northeast bringing me to attention immediately. I stood up and watched for a long moment before saying in a low voice, “We have movement about three kilometres from us along the highway.”

She stopped what she was doing immediately, looking around for what I had spotted. I gestured in the direction of the dust, and I saw panic in her eyes.

“Get your gun,” I said calmly, “it looks like we might have company!”

Her eyes moved to the dust cloud I was staring at, asking, “Is it Zombies?” As she moved quickly to my side, she had kept my pistol holstered to her hip while working, with her rifle still inside. And I made a mental note to remind her to keep her weapons close in future. “How far away?”

I watched for a moment longer and said, “Looks like they are coming down the old highway from the mountains, moving too fast for zombies.”

“Fuck, I hope it’s not those fucking idiots again.”

“You and me both!” I answered with a sigh, “Get inside and set up in one of the rooms upstairs. Give yourself a good view of the front yard and the road. Don’t shoot unless they do, and don’t give away your position too quickly. If anything happens to me, and I fall, you run.”

She just shook her head then turned back to me, kissing me on the cheek quickly, whispering, “Until the end, remember?” Before I could reply, she left me with a warm fuzzy feeling in my stomach as she ran to grab her rifle and head upstairs. My thoughts lingered for just a moment on her touch, before shaking my head and focusing on the task at hand. I moved out into the overgrown farmland taking cover in the tall grass on the far side of the road, laying down in the thick, overgrown pasture. Ashe had settled down in the north-east bedroom window giving herself a clear view of the yard and the north-east—holding her rifle up to the now open window. It was an obvious sign of her location since it was the only open window, but it was too late to move from my position and tell her. The rising dust cloud was approaching, and it would be upon us any minute. We waited and watched a hell of a lot longer than we would have if they were in vehicles, and I couldn’t hear any sign of an engine.

Nevertheless, they were still kicking up dust as they approached at a reasonable speed. A few minutes later, four horses came into view, but with the sun starting to get low on the horizon, it was difficult to determine much about the riders through the glare. They stopped about a hundred metres from the house, catching sight of the hanging meat as two of them dismounted and dispersed into the nearby fields. These were no amateurs, or at least they seemed well organised, moving quietly and with purpose as the other two continued their approach cautiously on horseback. They were clearly much more intelligent than the slavers that had been tracking us.

The two riders moved forward slowly, stopping just a few metres from the front yard. One was an older man, slim with short grey hair jutting out beneath his wide brim hat, while his companion hung back slightly, their features difficult to determine beneath the wide brim hat and long grey hair. The man at the head of the group announced himself, his voice was calm but firm, “You can come out, we mean you no harm, but I assure you if your intentions are not the same my boys will hunt you down.”

I hesitated for a long moment, weighing up the possibility of taking out the two boys quietly, but I doubted I would have time before he noticed something was amiss. And this man did not look like a fool. I signalled to Ashe to stay put and stood up slowly with my rifle pointing at the ground in front of the man. “Sorry if I scared you. I’m just travelling through and don’t want any trouble.”

“Just you?” the man asked sceptically, looking around the yard.

I didn’t want to let a group of men know I had female company, even if Ashe’s position was rather obvious. I wasn’t sure how they would react to her presence. And the idea of getting into a shootout with four men who were clearly well-drilled and well-armed was a very bad idea. Did I say men? I meant three men and a woman. The second rider stepped forward slightly giving me a better view. She was an older woman of similar age to the man in front of me, and the moment our eyes met I allowed myself to relax slightly, taking in a breath. Raiders and slavers were very unlikely to have female companions riding armed and as equals. Still, I chose not to answer and moved cautiously out of the grass and onto the road, so we were facing each other just a few metres apart. The woman held her rifle aimed at the ground in front of me, while the man lowered his gun slightly. I held my rifle angled towards the ground in front of the man, waiting for him to speak.

“Old World or New?” the man asked, trying to guess my age. However, I suspected the question had much deeper implications regarding my intentions.

I straightened myself, lowering my rifle further and answered honestly, though perhaps not wisely. “New!” I said hesitantly, then added for clarification, “Just. I am one of the rare people born during the dark years!”

“I see!” The man grunted in response, not sure what to make of my answer. He then said more forcefully, “Listen, I know you’re not alone. Tell your friend to come down from that room upstairs. As I said, we don’t want trouble and I don’t like guns being pointed at me or my family.”

Having seen the woman with them, I at least had confidence that the presence of Ashe wasn’t going to cause any significant problems as I thought it might, so I looked up at her and signalled for her to come on out and join us. She hesitated, but then I saw her rifle pull away from the open window and she came down a moment later, her rifle still held firmly, pointing at the ground in front of the man and his companion. When she emerged from the shadows, the man visibly relaxed before letting out a warm smile, “Guessing you’re no slave owner, then?” He said with a small nod of the head, using similar logic to my own.

The man seemed genuine enough, though as I have stated many times, trust is not my strong point. Still, I lowered my rifle, slinging it over my shoulder, but kept my hand close to my knife. And I noted with pride that Ashe had done the same, resting her hand on the pistol. “Is there something we can help you with?” I asked, trying to get a better idea of the man’s intentions.

He nodded, noting our caution, then stepped forward, lowering his rifle as well. He held his hand out in the old-world greeting. Hesitating for just a moment as I glanced at Ashe, who gave me a small nod before I took a step forward and took the man’s hand and shook it firmly. A small smile touched the edge of his lips before he spoke, his voice almost monotone, “We heard a gunshot, and then we noticed activity over this way, so we thought we’d come to check out who our new neighbours were. We don’t get many visitors, certainly not in the plains.”

It sounded like a scouting mission, but if they wanted to kill us, they would have done it already. Still, there was a need for caution. “Did you want to call your two boys in as well? We’re not looking for trouble either, but I will end it if it comes.”

The man nodded. “Since you so kindly did the same.” He then turned and whistled, “Come on out, boys, we’re good here!”

He then turned back to me, gesturing to the hanging meat, and said, “Nice hunt, I was thinking of heading out tomorrow to grab one of those bucks, he must have been a big one.”

I nodded back and said, “He was, easily big enough for all of us, but I didn’t have the hands to bring it all back, unfortunately. Sadly, I didn’t have the storage to grab all of him, but I figure the crows and dingoes will have a feast long before the zombies find it around here.” I had a sudden idea to defuse the situation entirely and decided to extend a gesture of goodwill to the man since there was easily more than enough food to accommodate the four of them as well. “We probably have too much meat anyway, considering we will be moving on in a couple of days, so if you want to join us for dinner you and your family are welcome.”

The rest of the man’s group seemed to relax, their hunger seemingly getting the better of them as the two boys moved forward. They couldn’t have been more than fourteen or fifteen, but they were composed until their stomachs growled. The man nodded realising that the vote was done in his group. “Sounds great, son. I think my family and I would be delighted to join you and your wife here for dinner. What’s your name?”

“I’m Jack, and this is Ashe—and no, we’re not married. As I said, we were just travelling through and came across this place. Figured we would take a few days to rest and recover some energy from a long trip.”

“I’m guessing you came from up north?”

“We did, though I can’t say I’m from the north,” I explained, hoping he would understand the implied meaning of my words, given his relief at the idea that we were not slavers.

His expression was stoic and difficult to read, but the sight of Ashe seemed to bring a smile to the man. She approached my side, and her hand found mine, weaving her fingers with mine, and asking with a warm smile, “Would any of you have some flint so I can get this fire going? Jack here was kind enough to bring me food to cook, but nothing to cook it with!” She teased trying to lighten the mood further, before leaning up to kiss me on the cheek.

The man let out a small laugh, and said, “Sweetheart, I’ll do you one better!” He pulled out a small box of matches from his breast pocket and handed it to her. “Keep it, we make them for trade, and if you want more, let me know. I’m sure we can work out a deal!”

Ashe excitedly took the box and said: “Thank you so much, Mister…” She paused, waiting for him to fill in the gap realising he had not provided the relevant information yet.

He smiled and gave her a small nod, his demeanour completely changed, softened by Ashe’s presence. And I found myself impressed by her ability to read the situation, “It’s McRae, but you can call me Henry, sweetheart. This is my wife, Charlotte and my sons, Tommy, and Dan.”

In just a few seconds and with a warm smile and good humour, Ashe had diffused all tension between the two groups. The woman and the two boys went with her to start the fire leaving Henry and me alone on the side of the road. “Have you guys done much scavenging in these houses?” I asked.

“No, we tend to stick to the hills as much as we can. Scavenging just isn’t something we do too much of these days.”

I nodded, understanding the implication of his statement. Most well-established settlements didn’t spend a lot of time scavenging, it was a waste of time and resources with no guarantee of return. It was often better to make something to trade with other groups and survivors who had already done the hard work, especially with so many houses having been picked clean in the twenty-six years since the collapse of civilization. “We must have struck gold here then!” I explained. “When we leave, you and your family are welcome to whatever we can’t take. It’s a good haul.”

He nodded and I gestured for him to follow me into the house, heading over to the alcohol cabinet, pulling out another bottle of single malt whisky and pouring us both a glass. “Son, I have not had good whisky in a very, very long time,” Henry confessed. He then accepted the glass gratefully and took in a long deep breath, drawing in the scent of the whisky, “No sir, that’s not the shit I make back home. That is a genuine single malt!” He held the glass out and pressed it to mine before taking a sip.

Ashe laughed as she followed us inside, “Not too much tonight, please!” she teased, having followed us into the house.

I walked over to her and kissed her on the cheek, her expression softening. “Just a peace offering.”

She leaned up and kissed me back, then made her way back into the kitchen before heading back outside with a bottle of wine. She winked teasingly, then said with a smirk, “Fine. You have your whisky, and I’ll have my wine.”

“Shiraz? Nice choice.” Henry said warmly, adding, “My Charlotte will love that!”

She reached into the cabinet and collected two wine glasses before heading back outside.

Hank was smiling. “Ah, to be young again!” He said under his breath, adding, “My Charlotte and your Ashe are gonna be great friends, I think.”

“Somehow I think you’re right!” I laughed, finishing the glass, and pouring another. Before returning to my original purpose for bringing the man into the house. “If you could supply a few boxes of matches for us for the road, then this house is all yours. There is a ton of preserved food in the cupboards and of course, there is no way we’ll carry all the alcohol.”

Henry nodded once more and said, “It’s a nice spot here, have you considered just setting up locally?”

I shook my head and said, “No, I…” I just shook my head, not wanting to get into my previous plans. The ones that were now very much in the air with Ashe. “I guess I hadn’t, but it’s worth thinking about.”

Henry took the bottle of whisky, pouring another glass for me and himself then gestured for me to follow him back outside. “We’ll talk some more out there; I like to include my whole family in big decisions. Maybe you should do the same with Ashe.”

He had a point, and I gave him a small nod, “You’re right!”

We joined the others on the front porch. The two boys were seated by the fire which was now building into a small inferno, while Ashe and Charlotte seemed to have found themselves sitting opposite a small table on the front porch sharing stories over a glass of wine. I offered a drink to the two boys as well, but Henry insisted the boys were ‘too young’—he really was Old-world in the best possible way. However, I was not about to tell him that I was younger than both boys when I had my first whisky.

I sat down beside Ashe for the evening as we settled in, and it turned out to be quite a pleasant evening. In the end, they decided to stay in the house with us for the night, Henry was too drunk after another glass of whisky to risk riding at night, at least according to Charlotte, who insisted they could head home in the morning if we didn’t mind them using one of the empty rooms upstairs. The place was easily big enough, so I really didn’t mind too much. We just moved our bags into one of the rooms that Ashe and I were going to share and figured even if they did steal from the house, we’d offered it to them anyway.

We stayed up late, enjoying a plentiful supply of food, water, and alcohol. And, In the end, everyone went to bed with full stomachs and far too much to drink. Ashe and I insisted Henry and Charlotte take the master bedroom, while the boys took a single room each. They were apparently younger than I had thought, at thirteen and fourteen years old and they had no intention of sharing.

There were two more spare rooms, but Ashe insisted she did not want to sleep alone, so we shared the corner room she had sat in earlier when keeping watch. I certainly did not complain, after several weeks together I’d come to crave her closeness. And in the early hours of the morning, I drunkenly crawled into the bed, while she stripped out of her clothes, changing into a clean, loose-fitting dress she’d found in one of the closets, and a towel before crawling in beside me.

It was the first time I had seen her completely naked, and the sight of her bones jutting out from her wiry frame reminded me once more of what she had been through. Where she might have been had things not gone the way they had. But I was also hopeful, I could also see that she had started to put on a little muscle in our time together. She was still very slight, but her small frame was developing a solidity and strength with a healthier and more regular diet. It didn’t take her long to fall asleep next to me, her arm resting across my chest as I wrapped my arms gently around her. I checked the Glock was in position under the pillow once more, and my knife was still attached to my hip before relaxing and enjoying her warmth.

I still held onto my trust issues despite the McRae family seeming completely genuine, but it was just my nature. Henry, too, looked a little unsettled sharing a house with a pair of strangers. But they did seem like good people, and I figured that they must be well set up somewhere nearby, which meant there might be an excellent opportunity for trading in the coming days.

It didn’t take long for my mind to surrender to the alcohol, and tiredness though. I tried desperately to stay awake and alert a little longer, but my eyes eventually gave in. Ashe’s comforting warmth and slow breathing soothed my anxieties as I took in her sweet scent.

That was the first night I truly let my guard down for as long as I could remember. Not because of some underlying trust for the McRae family, but because I knew Ashe had my back as much as I did hers. It was also the night that seemed to seal out fate together. Sometime in the early hours of the morning, her hands moved to my chest as she crawled on top of me, kissing her with passion as I felt her need and want. Moving our hips together until I felt her sink down onto me as her hair glistened in the moonlight. Riding me as my eyes looked up into hers, kissing her before she whispered softly, “I love you, Jack!”