We, who Survived

As soon as the door was opened, a warm breeze ruffled our clothing and chatter and laughter filled our ears. Children ran around, chasing each other while older kids sunbathed in the dying light, heads on thighs or shoulders as some sang a soft tune. The four gardeners tended to drooping plants, Carly sitting amongst them with a bright smile as an older boy spoke to her.

“Maria found a nice place for us to have meetings in private. Charlie found one inside too when needed.” He bumped his shoulder into mine, walking along the side of the building until we came into a protected area where the other leaders were.

Like everything else, vines hung from tree branches while moss and fungi decorated their trunks. Their root systems weaved in and out of the ground in twisting waves. At the base of one of the larger trees, everyone, including Max and Dean, used the roots as perches and a rusted-beyond-recognition garden table as a footrest.

“Check who finally woke up,” Charlie called, smirking. Dean sat next to him, carving up an apple in silence and handing pieces to him after he ate one. “How are you feeling?”

“Sore and numb but better than two days ago.” I smiled, crossing my arms over my chest.

“That’s good, you had us worried,” Maria stated, smile faltering when she failed to catch my eye. “Carly was at your side the entire time you were asleep, even tried to sleep there in the other bed.”

“I’ll thank her when I see her. Anything you guys can fill me in on?” Going to sit next to Max, I watched as his eyes slightly closed as he grinned and clamped a hand on my knee. Spark went to sit next to Jae who elbowed him in the ribs, whispering and giving me a warning glance.

“We found a cache of seeds and dehydrated foods way beyond their expiration dates. As for all the pillows and covers, those were in another storage room, vacuumed packed,” Maria answered. Nodding, I leaned slightly back on my palms. She was studying me fiercely until Joon bumped her shoulder with his and shaking his head. It made her turn her gaze angrily to the ground where it would have withered from her intensity.

“The only thing we need now is sustainable crops and some form of protein. As Maria said, the dehydrated meals are expired and won’t give us the correct balance in our diets.” Joon crossed his arms as he explained, leaning his foot on the garden table. “The other thing we need to do is sort out everyone so we can do our intended jobs. The thing is, no one really wants to right now besides the gardeners who, as you can see, are actually doing something productive.”

“Carly was the one to rally all four of them up when she got tired of waiting, said that was what Nate would want when he finally woke up,” Max said, proudly smiling as he spoke of his sister’s actions.

“You guys let a ten-year-old show you up by commanding her fellow gardeners to start working while you sat around twiddling your thumbs? Well done.” I laughed a little as their faces either became flush or laughed nervously with me.

“You’re right, we were too caught up worrying about you to actually do our jobs,” Charlie admitted, glancing around the group. “Dean and I worked with our two buds in the kitchen so don’t come at us. Everyone else though, as Joon said, are not keen on really doing anything since we just got here.”

“Then we get them to start getting their hands dirty. The inside of the building needs some fixing, engineers can do that. The defence can work together with one of Spark’s guys on fortifying the permitter. The medical people and navigators can fit themselves in wherever needed.” Running my eyes over the group, some of their expressions showed some surprise and pride at my jump to help lead. “Also, how is there hot water?”

“Oh, there’s a wheel that turns in the river nearby. It provides the building with small amounts of hydroelectricity that I managed to redirect mainly to the geysers. However, the components holding it together need to be replaced,” Spark explained, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Earth holiday’s over,” Dean mumbled, placing a slice of apple in his mouth.

Due to my waking at the beginning of the evening, I was wide awake compared to everyone else and willing to adventure the place we were to now call home. Max and Spark followed me around and took me to places they thought I would like. The first, of course, being the library.

All the books on the shelves were well preserved and some were in tablet form needing to be charged in order to be read. The genres ranged from non-fiction to full-blown science fiction to memoirs and old dusty diaries. Each tablet-based book had a neat label on top giving the name and author. When we walked to the back of the library, we saw old photos in frames pinned desperately to the plaster. In one of them, I recognized my grandfather and grandmother, her stomach swollen with pregnancy.

The next stop was the kitchen where Charlie and his team worked at supper. The walls were tiled white and floor grey. The surfaces they worked on were clean and made of polished granite. Steel cupboard doors were open to reveal packets of vacuumed packed foods with dehydrated meats and vegetables.

Lastly, as the sun began its descent, Max took us up to where his favourite spot was, a terrace facing the forest with a stream and hole-strewn roads. It was a pretty sight with the sky turning into reds, oranges and pinks before the greys came in. When the sun had gone down, the hallways and rooms gave off dim lighting as we walked to the main dining area. The food was great, the laughter as soft as the talk and the leaders came to the agreement that tomorrow would be the day, we made real damage.

After supper, we were back in our rooms with Spark rubbing the ointment into my back, massaging it in slowly.

“Today did not go too bad, you walked around a lot,” Spark said as he pulled down my shirt and flopped down onto his bed. He looked at me for a long time until I felt heat on my cheeks and he glanced away.

“Goodnight Bookworm.” He turned on his side and soon was lightly snoring. Smiling, I got under the covers and rested my head on the two fluffed up pillows.

“Goodnight Spark.”