| General Fiction posted March 6, 2014 | Chapters: |
...8 9 -10- 11... 
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Attending to the matters at hand.
A chapter in the book Yosemite
Drug Free & Needing Them
by michaelcahill
| Background A catastrophe of unknown origin has stranded numerous campers in Yosemite. As existence becomes more difficult people must work together to survive. |
In the last installment we learned something of the nature and scope of the disaster that has struck tha nation. Another group thwarted a rescue attempt with over-eargerness. One of the group left the madness of that group and ended up wandering into camp to a rude welcoming. His story shed light and increased paranoia among the group. The board and care clients were running out of meds and their condition was deteriorating. We pick up the story as the narrator is describing some of their behavior.
Tonnie's sexual escapades had ceased to be clandestine for some time now. Whatever embarrassment some of the men felt had given way to a bare essence of discretion. For her part she had pretty much lost any grip she had on sanity and was no doubt infinitely happier than we. I expect the two or three willing to accommodate her weren’t all there either.
Nathan had become a decidedly ghoulish zombie-like individual. He would stand motionless for long periods of time with a blank look on his face. He would respond vaguely to questions with short yes or no answers or a simple "I'm okay". Yet, he managed to become animated enough for a liaison with Tonnie. If we couldn’t see her having sex directly, no one was spared the sound of her insane screaming and ranting.
I knew there where at least three of our party that needed to be eliminated. First amongst them was Tonnie. But, as with most things in this existence, there wasn’t any great sense of urgency yet. David and Nathan were pretty much gone for the most part as was Tonnie.
Rhonda, though now off her meds, seemed to be unchanged. In her case, it was with the intellect of an eight year old, and a chatty one at that. It’s funny how her incessant chattering no longer irritated me like it did in the real world. Of course, here I discovered that it didn’t bother her to be ignored or even abandoned mid-sentence. Would that I had known that before all of this took place. I could have saved hours of polite listening to her and being tolerant.
Russell was hearing voices, but they seemed as innocuous as he was. His seizures though were becoming longer and more frequent without meds. He remained willing as always to help in any way asked. But, he wasn’t up to the task as readily as before.
The new Joe gained our confidence in short order and proved to be an intelligent guy. He was traumatized by his ordeal, which truthfully had been worse than ours, but he was game and had become accepted as a part of the group. He was an outdoors type and knowledgeable about basic survival. Only Linda and to a much lesser degree Carlos had any knowledge of those matters.
Gourmet Joe, as we came to call him, added to the diet right away with knowledge of plant life and simple things like where one could find salt. I never realized how much I missed salt until I tasted it on a can of peas. I had forgotten how delicious peas could be. Add a little wild basil and some white root that he had dug up and it became one of the best meals I had eaten in a long time.
Carlos, our former boss, was an asset, though more of a follower now. Lacci was of value in much the same way. Too bad Lacci wasn’t the wild sexual object that Tonnie was. I might have considered that. On the other hand, I am not one to be enticed by easy or even conventional. Apparently Carlos was.
Annie and Sprinkles weren't outcasts by any means, but they never quite fit in as true accepted members of the group. Annie was smart, but she was distant and there was no real connection to any of us other than a fellow victim of whatever had befallen us.
Sprinkles was cute. There was nothing wrong with cute. We liked cute, so perhaps that was a good thing. Carlos was waving me over.
"Take a look at these, Johnny."
Carlos had been busy. There was a decent arsenal in one of the storage sheds. Bows and arrows, spears, knives and a few devices that I couldn't name as well. I knew that the need for them was there. I am sure that, like myself, the others had some kind of weapon concealed on their person.
I had a box-cutter that I had found in the back of a nearby-parked truck. I also knew exactly where the crowbar was that used to be there as well. Organization in this area was a good idea whose time had come.
"Damn. That is impressive. I think you are going to have to instruct some of us. I also think that we better secure the hell out of this. There are a couple people here I can't see arming. But, you are on the money. Both strangers that wandered into camp came with stories that didn't sound promising as to what to expect out there. We need to be prepared to defend ourselves. Thank God, you're here. I couldn't begin to sharpen the end of a stick myself."
It doesn't hurt to throw a few kudos around. Good morale doesn't hurt. I wasn't telling a fib either, I wasn't handy. I don't know why a man that could play an intricate piano piece couldn't nail two pieces of wood together, but that was my story.
We called those of us we considered reliable and trustable over to see the stash of weapons to a positive response. Christine and Linda were experienced with the bow and arrow and took the lead in instructing the rest of us. I must say they looked awesome when the shot those arrows with deadly accuracy. I guess what people would call girly didn't appeal to me. I liked the Queen of the Jungle aspect.
Jennifer picked it up right away. In fact, within a couple days, all of us had at least adequate skill to be a threat to any intruders. The girls were more than a threat. They were deadly and even surpassed Carlos and his military training in their skillsets. Linda was the first to respond.
"We need to do something about these fools here. They are getting worse. I'm not a cruel person. I didn't sign up to care for people because I'm not a good person. But, this isn't civilization anymore."
She picked up a bow and checked the string tension. She continued.
"I see the food supply just like the rest of you do. They are eating our food. I hate to say it, but we are the ones that matter now. They're liabilities. I'd march them out into the forest if I wasn't afraid to go out there. what do we do?"
"What are you saying, Linda? Should we go over there right now and kill them? Is that your suggestion? I'm not saying that you aren't right. But, I'm no killer. I know that Christine, Jen and I joke around a lot, but that is for fun."
I sensed some surprise that I would be a voice against drastic action, but I was a caregiver for a reason.
"I've been taking care of these people every day of their lives for years now. Killing them isn't in my nature and it isn't in theirs either from what I know of them. Carlos has a military background, maybe he can do it. I don't know. It's your idea, Linda, are you volunteering?"
Christine could be serious, and when she was all eyes focused on her. When she wasn't smiling an aura of purpose surrounded her like armour.
"Johnny, I see what you are saying and I agree to a point. You and Jen know them and probably care more about them than we do. That's just honesty. But, Linda is right. They have to go one way or the other. There is no way they are going to survive and they can only cause us harm. There is a good chance that they will either kill us or get us killed."
She reached over and put her hand on mine and spoke directly to me. It was as though no one else was there.
"I'm one of your best friends Johnny, I would never ask you to do it."
She turned her attention back to the group, but left her hand on mine. It meant the world to me for some reason. Well, not some reason, I knew the reason. She continued,
"But I think one, or all of the rest of us should. I think we should take it upon ourselves to do it when no one is looking. That way no one knows for sure. We just find a dead body and don't say a word. They suddenly die one at a time."
I agreed with Christine. I think everyone else did too. That was the last word anyone spoke on the subject. Time would tell what the silent decision was.
Tonnie's sexual escapades had ceased to be clandestine for some time now. Whatever embarrassment some of the men felt had given way to a bare essence of discretion. For her part she had pretty much lost any grip she had on sanity and was no doubt infinitely happier than we. I expect the two or three willing to accommodate her weren’t all there either.
Nathan had become a decidedly ghoulish zombie-like individual. He would stand motionless for long periods of time with a blank look on his face. He would respond vaguely to questions with short yes or no answers or a simple "I'm okay". Yet, he managed to become animated enough for a liaison with Tonnie. If we couldn’t see her having sex directly, no one was spared the sound of her insane screaming and ranting.
I knew there where at least three of our party that needed to be eliminated. First amongst them was Tonnie. But, as with most things in this existence, there wasn’t any great sense of urgency yet. David and Nathan were pretty much gone for the most part as was Tonnie.
Rhonda, though now off her meds, seemed to be unchanged. In her case, it was with the intellect of an eight year old, and a chatty one at that. It’s funny how her incessant chattering no longer irritated me like it did in the real world. Of course, here I discovered that it didn’t bother her to be ignored or even abandoned mid-sentence. Would that I had known that before all of this took place. I could have saved hours of polite listening to her and being tolerant.
Russell was hearing voices, but they seemed as innocuous as he was. His seizures though were becoming longer and more frequent without meds. He remained willing as always to help in any way asked. But, he wasn’t up to the task as readily as before.
The new Joe gained our confidence in short order and proved to be an intelligent guy. He was traumatized by his ordeal, which truthfully had been worse than ours, but he was game and had become accepted as a part of the group. He was an outdoors type and knowledgeable about basic survival. Only Linda and to a much lesser degree Carlos had any knowledge of those matters.
Gourmet Joe, as we came to call him, added to the diet right away with knowledge of plant life and simple things like where one could find salt. I never realized how much I missed salt until I tasted it on a can of peas. I had forgotten how delicious peas could be. Add a little wild basil and some white root that he had dug up and it became one of the best meals I had eaten in a long time.
Carlos, our former boss, was an asset, though more of a follower now. Lacci was of value in much the same way. Too bad Lacci wasn’t the wild sexual object that Tonnie was. I might have considered that. On the other hand, I am not one to be enticed by easy or even conventional. Apparently Carlos was.
Annie and Sprinkles weren't outcasts by any means, but they never quite fit in as true accepted members of the group. Annie was smart, but she was distant and there was no real connection to any of us other than a fellow victim of whatever had befallen us.
Sprinkles was cute. There was nothing wrong with cute. We liked cute, so perhaps that was a good thing. Carlos was waving me over.
"Take a look at these, Johnny."
Carlos had been busy. There was a decent arsenal in one of the storage sheds. Bows and arrows, spears, knives and a few devices that I couldn't name as well. I knew that the need for them was there. I am sure that, like myself, the others had some kind of weapon concealed on their person.
I had a box-cutter that I had found in the back of a nearby-parked truck. I also knew exactly where the crowbar was that used to be there as well. Organization in this area was a good idea whose time had come.
"Damn. That is impressive. I think you are going to have to instruct some of us. I also think that we better secure the hell out of this. There are a couple people here I can't see arming. But, you are on the money. Both strangers that wandered into camp came with stories that didn't sound promising as to what to expect out there. We need to be prepared to defend ourselves. Thank God, you're here. I couldn't begin to sharpen the end of a stick myself."
It doesn't hurt to throw a few kudos around. Good morale doesn't hurt. I wasn't telling a fib either, I wasn't handy. I don't know why a man that could play an intricate piano piece couldn't nail two pieces of wood together, but that was my story.
We called those of us we considered reliable and trustable over to see the stash of weapons to a positive response. Christine and Linda were experienced with the bow and arrow and took the lead in instructing the rest of us. I must say they looked awesome when the shot those arrows with deadly accuracy. I guess what people would call girly didn't appeal to me. I liked the Queen of the Jungle aspect.
Jennifer picked it up right away. In fact, within a couple days, all of us had at least adequate skill to be a threat to any intruders. The girls were more than a threat. They were deadly and even surpassed Carlos and his military training in their skillsets. Linda was the first to respond.
"We need to do something about these fools here. They are getting worse. I'm not a cruel person. I didn't sign up to care for people because I'm not a good person. But, this isn't civilization anymore."
She picked up a bow and checked the string tension. She continued.
"I see the food supply just like the rest of you do. They are eating our food. I hate to say it, but we are the ones that matter now. They're liabilities. I'd march them out into the forest if I wasn't afraid to go out there. what do we do?"
"What are you saying, Linda? Should we go over there right now and kill them? Is that your suggestion? I'm not saying that you aren't right. But, I'm no killer. I know that Christine, Jen and I joke around a lot, but that is for fun."
I sensed some surprise that I would be a voice against drastic action, but I was a caregiver for a reason.
"I've been taking care of these people every day of their lives for years now. Killing them isn't in my nature and it isn't in theirs either from what I know of them. Carlos has a military background, maybe he can do it. I don't know. It's your idea, Linda, are you volunteering?"
Christine could be serious, and when she was all eyes focused on her. When she wasn't smiling an aura of purpose surrounded her like armour.
"Johnny, I see what you are saying and I agree to a point. You and Jen know them and probably care more about them than we do. That's just honesty. But, Linda is right. They have to go one way or the other. There is no way they are going to survive and they can only cause us harm. There is a good chance that they will either kill us or get us killed."
She reached over and put her hand on mine and spoke directly to me. It was as though no one else was there.
"I'm one of your best friends Johnny, I would never ask you to do it."
She turned her attention back to the group, but left her hand on mine. It meant the world to me for some reason. Well, not some reason, I knew the reason. She continued,
"But I think one, or all of the rest of us should. I think we should take it upon ourselves to do it when no one is looking. That way no one knows for sure. We just find a dead body and don't say a word. They suddenly die one at a time."
I agreed with Christine. I think everyone else did too. That was the last word anyone spoke on the subject. Time would tell what the silent decision was.
 Recognized |
Things are slowly becoming more desperate and the need to act approaches. The input continues to be most helpful as are the suggestions and critiques. Please keep them coming. If you think of something being over looked, let me know. A couple of things have been pointed out that just didn't cross my mind and they have made a big difference to the story!
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