Chapter 15: New Friends, and Foes

Leaving Harrisonburg at first light, they drove into Charlottesville as early as possible, but of course it wasn’t as simple as that. Downed trees and abandoned vehicles made entering the city difficult at times. That delayed their arrival, but they needn’t have worried. Their hearts sunk as they surveyed the condition of the college town. Not only were there no signs of life, the place was a wasteland with numerous grocery stores ransacked and homes and businesses burned.

This made the city look particularly depressing. Beside the abandoned cars and damaged streets littered with animal carcasses, the blackened glass strewn shopping centers broadcast that even when it was a functioning city it had become an inhospitable environment. Apparently the government had shut down early, since there had been no systematic effort to clean up the bodies during the early stages of the Great Death, and there were bodies and carcasses all over: some diseased, some shot, others battered and smashed and more burned where they’d stood. David and the others weren’t encouraged about what they’d find as a result.

“Jesus, this place looks like a war zone,” Melissa marveled with a heavy sigh as she exited the semi she and Greg rode in once they arrived in front of the Physics Building at the University of Virginia. “While Harrisonburg was empty, and the roads leading here showed little sign of anyone, this city is a shambles!”

“You’re right,” Mattie replied as she circled David’s SUV to stand beside him, her gun at the ready as she surveyed their surroundings. “Most of the city looks like it was burned and the contents of all the stores just thrown into the streets.”

“Do you think that maybe the fighting between the Pentagon in D.C. and Richmond extended all the way up here?” Monique asked, also at a loss why this small city had suffered such widespread destruction.

“I’m afraid not,” David sadly replied. “Most of the damage seems to be concentrated around the various stores, not the homes, businesses or government offices. It looks like when the electricity first went out everyone swarmed the local stores, hoping to stock up in preparation for a prolonged absence, and then panicked when the stores couldn’t open without electricity to run the registers. I imagine that, frustrated, they simply smashed their way in, stealing everything in sight.”

“Yeah, unfortunately it likely resulted in the same situation we encountered when we tried to reach you,” Greg reflected. “With everyone stripping the stores and stockpiling everything, and then dying soon afterwards, it means all those supplies that people need to survive are squirreled away, hidden and unreachable, so now everyone is left without the resources they need to survive.”

“I’m afraid so,” David reflected, staring at the sky as if asking the heavens why people could become so destructive. “I’m also guessing that, once the rioting broke out, the police backed off, realizing they were understaffed. And without their protection, the other social services collapsed. That’s why there are so many uncollected bodies still piled up.”

“Actually, I’m guessing it may have been more than just that,” Alice suggested. “Given the amount of wounded bodies and debris, I’m guessing the police tried to suppress the rioting, causing the violence to escalate. I imagine we’ll also find most of the police stations smashed and burned as well.”

“Damn, it’s horrible to witness,” Monique said, relieved by the largely undamaged college campus they now found themselves on. It looked like the college had been abandoned early, likely before the rioting had broken out, so it hadn’t been affected. “I knew things were horrible by my hospital, but at least there no one was fighting each other. People brought the injured and sick to us to help, but they didn’t try to take whatever they wanted, and they didn’t loot everything and kill anyone standing in their way. Shit, sometimes having fewer people is a godsend.”

“I’m not sure how many people we’ll find here as a result,” Greg offered. “It looks pretty devastated.”

“Well, we’re not here entirely to meet people this time,” David reminded him. “As long as Tom can do his research, we’ll consider this a win. But don’t count people out. We don’t know quite how bad it really is yet.”

“I don’t know,” Melissa said doubtfully, “the city looks pretty bleak. I mean, forget the abandoned cars and the damaged streets littered with animal carcasses. Just look at all the burnt out shopping centers and the glass strewn streets. If I had a choice, I’d get the hell out of this place.”

“So, Tom?” David asked, hoping to get everyone focused on something other than the depressing cityscape. “Did you manage to get any of those ham radios hooked up to run off the car batteries yet?” While David and Mattie had been visiting Jeff and Jessica’s zoo, Tom had checked the bulletin board at James Madison University, and used the notice of a meeting of the ham radio club to find a stash of ham radios on campus. He’d been trying to work out a way to get them to work on the SUV’s DC power supply.

“Not bloody likely,” Tom complained bitterly.

“Don’t mind him,” Greg said. “He’s been upset because his little convertible fell apart so quickly, when we all knew it wasn’t built to handle the current road conditions. But after he fiddled with the ham radios, trying to approach it from a technical basis, I simply spliced a few wires on my smartphone recharger, and got it working.”

“I would have gotten it,” Tom insisted, not sounding very pleased. “Eventually...”

“So we can communicate with those at home then?” David asked, just to be sure.

“We should be able to, but we haven’t had a chance to test it. We didn’t want to try while we’re on these roads for fear we might damage either the radio or the jury-rigged charger,” Melissa explained. “We’ll try it later tonight when we have more time.”

“Good, Jeff and Jessica can use some of the spares to communicate with each other and us,” David responded. “It’ll be easier to establish trade with them if they can tell us when they need something.”

“It was handy that you knew where to turn,” Debbie told Tom. “That saved us from continuing into the main city itself. If the outskirts were that heavily damaged, can you imagine what the city itself is like?”

“Yeah, how’d you know where the Physics building was located,” David asked, once more hoping to get everyone off the depressing and distracting topic of the city’s devastation.

“Oh, I did my undergrad work here,” he said taking a look around. “If you look over there, that’s the Aerospace Research lab and the other is Engineering Research. That one over there is the High Energy Physics lab.”

“Oh, I guess we should head over there then?” Greg said, glancing back at the semi.

Tom chuckled. “Nope. The physics department is there, but they don’t have the specific equipment I need. The building right in front of us is the Jesse Beam Laboratories, which is where the electron microscope is stored.”

“Well, there’s no time like the present,” David reminded them, marshaling them forward. “I doubt we’ll need it, but could you set up a perimeter watch like before, Alice?”

“Sure thing, Dad. That’ll leave all the heavy lifting to the rest of you, while I sit back and enjoy the solitude. Maybe I can catch a nap,” she teased.

Tom led them directly to the service entrance they could use to get their generator into the building, but beyond that they were stuck carting it up the staircase, since the elevators no longer worked. It took a while, but they finally got there, and then they had to examine the machinery connected to the electron microscope. Again, it took a while to disconnect, rewire, and rehook the electrical connections, but they eventually got everything they needed connected to the generator. Starting it up, they reminded an already distracted Tom about the risk of Carbon Monoxide poisoning in a closed environment and left him to do his research, reminding him to try to report in, as they each had their own tasks assigned and couldn’t afford to babysit him.

They managed to find a collection of different libraries in a group of centrally located buildings, so they split up and tried to find any useful information they could. Monique examined the medical library for useful medical references, both for her own use and for educating future generations in the basics of medical care. Melissa and Greg attacked the college book store, stocking up on textbooks on a variety of subjects. As before, David and Mattie managed to find and disassemble the university’s central computer servers, hoping to extract the online coursework so they could load it up on individual devices.

They also made a concerted effort to save as much of the libraries as they could, trying to repair the many shattered windows, but the buildings had been exposed to the elements for a long time, and there was little doubt that the books and manuscripts would soon begin to grow mold and begin rotting. They managed to grab a lot for themselves, but they all marveled at what would ultimately be lost since there was no one to save it.

After he finished, David noticed a listing for the college’s Art Museum. Figuring they should try to preserve art rather than leaving them for whoever showed up to do whatever they wanted with them, David tried to grab select significant works, but they could only carry so many items, and they still had no plans for how they’d protect the works from the elements. He knew enough to remove them from their frames, rolling up the canvases to protect them from exposure to the corrosive environment, humidity and mold the same way artists had done for centuries. But it also meant they needed to find an isolated controlled environment they could store such things in sometime in the future.

There were many other things they wanted to track down because the offerings here were much richer than they were at James Madison. David finally left the others so he and Mattie could explore the city, looking for other survivors. They only had a short amount of time before their scheduled meeting time.

“Do you think anyone will even show up?” Mattie asked as they climbed into his beat up Suburban.

“I’d imagine so,” David surmised, trying to remain positive. “While a lot of people may have fled the city, I’m guessing anyone from farther east who heard our broadcast would have come here instead of Harrisonburg. It’s also entirely possible that no one besides Jeff and Jessica ever heard them, though, so I really don’t know what to expect.”

The damage to the city was even worse than they’d suspected. Not only were stores looted, but so were homes and other businesses, with many of the homes burned. They had no idea what had happened, but they were glad they hadn’t been there to experience it.

“Why are you stopping?” Mattie asked as David stopped in the middle of a string of houses.

“I thought I saw something,” David told her, holstering his pistol and climbing out. “Keep your eyes open. It’s probably nothing, but there’s no sense taking chances.”

Slowly walking to the middle of the street, David stopped and simply stood there, allowing anyone watching to see he wasn’t taking any threatening actions. Mattie, meanwhile, stood by the SUV with her gun handy, scrunched down to remain hidden, scanning the surroundings for any potential threats. Finally David had enough.

“OK, we’re not a threat. You can see me and you can take defensive action if I try anything, but how about you come out so we can talk?”

It took a few moments but soon a thin, hesitant figure slipped from behind the shrubs beside a relatively intact house. The woman looked Hispanic, with long dark hair and tan skin, and like so many now, wearing practical clothing consisting of jeans and a college sweatshirt. She approached David wearily, pausing a considerable distance away.

“Are you healthy?” she asked, standing at an angle to hide whatever she might be carrying.

“I am,” David said speaking confidently, trying to sound as gentle and sympathetic as he could, even though he had to speak loudly enough to be heard. “I’ve survived each of the plagues. Technically I’m a carrier, but you can only get infected if you touch me. Other than that I’m safe.”

“And I’m supposed to believe that?” she asked skeptically, taking a step back, looking like she was ready to bolt if he came any closer.

“Believe what you want, I can’t convince you if you think I’m lying,” David reasoned. “However, I’m here to see if anyone needs assistance, and to offer to either help or trade.”

“Things are pretty scarce here,” the woman admitted, not stating her own status. “I could use basics; food, electricity, a better place to stay, transportation. The list is almost too long to detail.”

“Well, food I can settle pretty easily. I’ve got canned and packaged goods, which should tide you over for now, but you should be aware that things are going to get much worse as winter settles in and you need to be prepared.”

David motioned to Mattie, whom the woman hadn’t noticed. As she brought a small box of food and set it in the street, the woman grew even more cautious, realizing she wasn’t being nearly as cautious as she needed to be if she didn’t even realize how many people were surrounding her. Mattie then backed away, so the box stood apart from each of them.

“I’ve included a smartphone with music and a couple videos on it. It will only play for a few hours and the battery won’t last long, but there are recordings of warnings I’ve been broadcasting that you should know. If you can find a generator, or gas for a car, you can recharge it; otherwise you can simply save it if you find an electrical source in the future.”

“You have electricity?” the woman asked, stepping forward and crouching over the box. She rummaged through its contents as she attempted to simultaneous watch both David and Mattie while seeing what was inside.

She was intrigued enough to approach it, so David took it as a sign that she was receptive to negotiation. “We do, though we keep the things charged up using a car charger, which is included in the box. We also are trying to establish smaller farms that will feed more localized smaller groups.”

The woman let a wistful look cross her features. “I’d love some fresh food, maybe some greens. A salad would be wonderful.”

“We have those, though we probably won’t have them for too much longer as the cooler temperatures will probably shorten their growing season. We also have eggs.”

“Right,” she replied with a skeptical tone. “Freeze-dried instant or pickled boiled eggs?”

“Fresh eggs, though they’re smaller. We managed to rescue some exotic chickens, so you’ll probably not see the typical jumbo eggs you used to see in grocery stores anymore. We can’t eat the chickens, as we’re more interested in reestablishing them, but the eggs are a nice addition.”

“Could I get some?” she asked suddenly, still sounding like she didn’t quite believe him.

“Alas, it’s hard to carry eggs for long distances over such rough roads. You’d have to visit us before we could get you any.”

“Where are do you live?” she asked, taking the bait.

“We’re located farther west in West Virginia. If you can access a radio, we broadcast every day, but if you’re interested, we’re trying to establish a community. Otherwise, we’re interested in trading partners. If you can develop something worth trading, we can hopefully connect you to others so you could survive on your own here.”

The woman stood, placed her hands on her hips, and looked about at the wreckage surrounding the trio. “Frankly, I’m sick of this place,” she said disgustedly. “I could never get many opportunities here, and now that my family has died there’s nothing else keeping me here. I would have left long ago, but I hadn’t known anywhere else I could go.”

David shared a glance with Mattie, who merely shrugged. “If you’re interested, grab the box and jump in the back seat,” he offered. “We’re hoping to meet others from the region. We broadcast that we’d be here, so hopefully we’ll meet someone else. You can ask anything you want there.”

“You don’t mind if I keep a weapon handy, do you?” she asked, picking up the box and holding it protectively, as though she thought it may be taken from her at any moment.

“I’d expect no less,” David replied with a smile. “In fact, if you don’t have one, I’ll even supply you with a gun, as it makes sense to have one to protect yourself in these uncertain times.”

“I may take you up on that. I’ve got some things that I’d like to keep, but if you can bring me back we can get them later,” she said, heading to the car. David smiled as he followed, thinking they’d finally found a new member of their growing community.

“Sorry we’re late. We picked up a guest and helped her load some stuff.” David strode into the building they announced they’d meet at. It turned out it wasn’t an optimal location as it wasn’t the main library and was crowded amongst several other buildings. But it was large and had plenty of space, so it was at least adequate and everyone was already there.

Alice turned, biting her lip. “You didn’t have any trouble, did you?”

David shrugged, unconcerned. “Yeah, someone shot at us. Apparently we got too close, but that was the extent of it.” When Alice glared at Mattie, she too shrugged, as if it was an embarrassment to even complain about it.

Alice nodded. She’d encountered the occasional shot. It was always alarming, but no one had been hit. They fired into the air to warn anyone they didn’t want to be found. She still eyed her father cautiously, but postponed grilling her father, unsure how to change their approach to avoid such encounters.

“There are probably more survivors than we’re aware of,” Monique suggested. “Most don’t want to be found, and the ones we’ve encountered could easily double our current survival estimates. If we add in those we haven’t met, it might change our calculations.”

Melissa nodded. “She’s got a point. All the animals you’ve been counting to determine survival rates are likely buried in an underground den, gnawing on roots because they’ve observed what happened to the other animals not as cautious. Things may not be quite as bleak as we currently believe.”

“We picked up a few people too.” Greg stood with a group of people milling around, shifting their feet as they watched the discussion. “These are Heather and Peter, who arrived together, and Franklin and Ayana, they wandered in individually.”

David held his arm out for the woman he’d walked in with, who was holding back. “And this is Regina Perez. She’s from here, but wants to return with us as she doesn’t have any ties remaining. It’s a pleasure to meet all of you. I’d shake your hands, but I think that custom is long gone. So, no last names?”

“No,” Peter, a young man with dark hair and a couple days’ beard, answered. “We decided it makes no sense using proper names. Since our families and friends are gone, there’s no use tying ourselves to them. Besides, I doubt there are enough people to even need last names anymore.”

“That seems to be a common thought,” David replied with a grim smile. “We’ve got a couple others who feel similarly. So do you agree with that sentiment?” he asked the others.

“Yeah, it makes sense,” Ayana, an older black woman with reddish hair that looked like a wig replied. “I like the idea of starting the whole world over from scratch. We’re no longer defined by our past, and the sooner we abandon our ties to it the better we’ll be. Remembering the old world will only hold us back.”

“OK, I can understand that, but I’ve already announced to the whole world who I am, so it’s a little late to recall my name,” David told them with a smile.

“Yeah, we’ve been listening to your broadcasts for some time,” Heather replied. Although she was younger and had long brown hair tied into a ponytail, she and Peter looked quite a bit like each other. “When we heard you were going to be here, we decided it was finally time to do something. Time to start rebuilding the world,” she exclaimed with excitement in her eyes.

“You’re from around here?” David asked, curious.

“Actually we’re from Richmond, but it’s similar to Charlottesville,” Peter said. “There was massive rioting, and people fled the city when the army invaded after the Pentagon went nuts. When the local National Guard units started going up against the tanks in the streets, we just hunkered down in our basements.” He paused for a moment to glance at Heather, and then put his arm around her, which shocked those watching, as several people visibly recoiled at the sight. However, Peter appeared not to notice. “When the Deaths came, we both got sick, but managed to recover after nearly dying. We ventured out looking for food and supplies and found each other. Since we both had the same thing, we figured we were immune, so we kind of hooked up.”

At that final revelation, the others relaxed, realizing that they were like David and Betty—safe to touch each other, but no one else.

“I’m from Auburn Hills, which is about 20 minutes from here,” Franklin said. He was a good looking man with short wavy hair and a brilliant smile. “Well, it would be if you could drive it at normal speeds. Since I’d been sick for so long I hadn’t used my car, and since I lived in a protected community, my neighbors still had gas in most of their cars, so I would start the car each day just to listen to you, even though I was too afraid to venture out. Your telling me how to protect myself gave me the confidence to get out. I cleaned up the homes near me, burying the bodies and collecting their stuff. When you announced you’d be here today, I decided it was worth coming to meet you, hoping I could discover something better.”

“What about you?” David asked Ayana.

“I’m from Richmond too. I left when we got into that bitch-fight with Washington, but without a car, it was a long hike. I managed to find a radio on the way and listened to you. I was holed up in an abandoned house when I got sick. When I came to, I had no clue what day it was, and when I tuned you in again, you were off the air, so I kind of lost it and started hiding from everyone, thinking your advice about staying safe was wrong.

“When you came back on the air, it gave me my confidence back, and I set out again. I’ve been moving steadily west. When you announced you were heading this way, I practically ran the whole way here. Luckily I’d recovered a bicycle, so I was already making better time by then.”

“So I’m guessing you people aren’t anxious to stick around here. Are you open to coming back with us? If so, we’ve got a lot of resources we can share: electricity, food, company. In fact, if anyone has any interest in farming or ranching, we’ve got a couple of nearby locations that could really use taking over.”

They looked at each other, contemplating the idea.

“You know, I think it makes sense,” Peter replied, even as Heather nodded excitedly in agreement. “We need to reestablish the country. We’ve spent too long shipping our jobs overseas and never doing anything ourselves. We need to get back to what made this country great, and starting a farm is getting back to just that. This country was built on farms.”

“In fact, from now on, we’ll adopt that name, since it’s more meaningful than our old names,” Heather added. “From now on we’re Peter and Heather Farmer.”

“I don’t know about Ayana, but I wouldn’t mind trying to raise animals,” Franklin remarked. “I figure there won’t be many to begin with, so we can start slowly and get used to it.”

“Well, right now the biggest task would be the sheep and llamas,” Alice interjected. “We have a few, and taking care of them takes us away from our other necessary tasks. It would also involve shearing and spinning the wool during the winter, as well as taking care of the animals.”

“Actually, I could do that,” Regina said, stepping forward. “Aside from taking care of my family’s dogs and cats for years, I’ve spent my whole life making clothes for my whole family. Having been raised in a poorer area, I’m familiar with making rugs, carpets, clothes and other things. It’ll be second nature for me.”

“Uh, what about... ?” Franklin asked nervously, not wanting to state the obvious but indicating the scars on his neck with his hand.

“Actually, it looks like you both suffered from the same plague,” David explained, “so the two of you should be okay together. The odds that you’d both be interested in the same thing and both survived the same disease, suggests you two might have been destined for each other.” He tried to be discrete with his grin as Franklin and Regina looked each other up and down, considering the idea. There were a lot of items to consider, the disparity in their backgrounds not the least of them, but the identical faint blushes they shared told David the direction they were leaning towards.

“We’ve also picked up some new solar panels and radios we can use to make your lives more comfortable,” David continued as he pretended to ignore their attraction. “You can communicate with each other, and with us, which could literally be a life saver. It’s always better when you have people nearby who can help out.” That final detail seemed to resolve the issue, as they both grinned as one and nodded that they’d be glad to give it a try together. At that, David continued, speaking of something that had been bugging him until this trip.

“You know, I was afraid that no one had actually survived the plagues, since most of those we’ve met had simply avoided getting sick. I’m glad that we aren’t the only survivors. I feel more secure that you’ve weathered getting sick. It means you’re more likely to survive indefinitely, and hopefully you can pass your immunity to your kids.”

“What about me?” Ayana asked. “Do you have any jobs for me? I’m anxious to get out of here and having access to a car, electricity and a regular meal would be a big boost for me.”

“Don’t worry, we’ve got plenty of jobs we can assign you,” David assured her. “Actually, if you’re any good at negotiations, we could use you to run between communities, trading things that one group handles for the items the other groups make.”

“I could do that,” she said with a smile. “I had to get along with my husband’s family, who are all white, so I spent all my time sweet-talking them while they made racist comments as if I wasn’t there. It shouldn’t be too hard for me to put on a brave face when facing people like Heather and Peter, and Regina and Franklin, who each have their own disease remnants.”

“I hate to break it to you, but Alice, Mattie and I do as well,” David reminded her.

“Yeah, I know, but you get what I mean. There’s a certain amount of stress dealing with new people when you know you could catch something from them.”

“Believe me, we’re all incredibly familiar with the concept,” Greg commented wryly.

“So does that mean I get a company car?” Ayana teased. “And an expense account? Health insurance, dental, a retirement plan, three weeks paid vacation... ?” The group laughed as she grinned and ticked off the employment perks that everyone knew no longer existed.

“You bet it does,” David answered. “Speaking of which, take a look around. Find a car you like and we’ll get it running and you can drive it back. Just make sure it’s secure and can drive over rough roads. As for the rest, I’m sure we can stop by any bank and pick up a pile of cash for you, and I’m sure any insurance company will have lots of policies left over that we can hand you,” he added with a sly grin.

As the newcomers fell into a more comfortable ease with his extended family, David glanced around the library. “But it looks like we’re going to be here for a while,” he added as he changed the subject. “So let’s see if we can all work together and get this place cleaned up a bit. Alice, Mattie and I can carry any bodies out while the rest of you can pick up the animal carcasses. We should at least clean the place up a little. While we’re at it, you should also think about picking up whatever you might be able to use from the University.”

They headed back home early in the morning two days later, having gotten everyone settled and using the extra cars to stockpile supplies. It had taken Tom longer to do his research than he’d hoped, so they ended up staying an extra day. Due to their time constraints, Tom had chosen not to do any analysis, simply recording as much data as he could while they had the equipment, thus he couldn’t tell David whether his research was successful or not yet. That would take some time to analyze once they got home.

David managed to send messages back home. Betty and the kids were overjoyed to hear from them, and both groups spent over an hour catching up on each other’s adventures. Betty managed to flirt with David for a few minutes, her euphemisms actually bringing out a faint blush in the normally recalcitrant man, her meaning being abundantly clear to everyone listening, before he managed to steer the conversation back to more important issues.