And This Too: A Modern Fable (14 page)

             
"We're clean," Lucy panted, still sobbing. "I've been harboring healthy refugees here. But what the fuck's going on?"

             
"We've been fighting against the undead masses and have been making surprising headway. We have been able to set up several safe zones all over the country. And it looks like this here Pump'n'Gulp is going to become one of them."

             
Lucy wiped at her face and exhaled, "So there really is some hope?"

             
"All things come to pass, miss...what's your name?"

             
"Lucy."

*****

Somewhere in North Dakota

             
"So, Mr. Ying, we're going to run tests on your family and your patrons to ensure that everybody in the vicinity is clean, and then declare that the Foo Chow Buffet is a safe zone. We're going to set up medical check points so that the infected can't contaminate the virus-free zones."

             
"Thank you, it means so much to my family to know that we helped this nation."

             
Li Xiu sighed and rolled her eyes as her uncle laid it on thick for the military commander who had introduced himself, but Li Xiu hadn't taken the time to commit his name to memory. The Yings had gone through this before; the reaction in China was much different from the American one. She was tired of dealing with these terrifying outbreaks.

             
"We're hoping that very soon here our nation will be virus-free."

             
It had all been said before, "Don't worry, everything's fine, won't happen again," but the Yings knew that everything happened in cycles, and someday things would disintegrate again.

             
A toothy grin alighted on Mr. Ying's face as he replied, "We will always be here to help."

*****

              "So is there any information about New Haven that we should pass on to the people who want to come here?"

             
Harley bit her lip and looked up at Christian who nodded encouragingly. "Be a pack leader, just this once," he whispered.

             
"Well," Harley stated shyly, "we are a 'use what you have' community, so it is important that any future tenants understand that there will be absolutely no desecration of the earth. We will not condone people cutting down trees so that they have a place to pitch their tents. They can build tree houses, but they can't make space. And we are very low on supplies, so we encourage tenants to bring as many supplies as possible. ..And we expect every tenant to know how to contribute by hunting or scavenging or cooking, tidying or building the fire or bringing up water. New Haven doesn't work properly when not everyone is contributing."

             
The military officer wrote down Harley's comments on a small notepad and nodded. "Alright," he said, "thank you guys for being so cooperative. I know that the process you guys have been through recently has not been easy."

             
"We're just glad that all our tenants were conclusively virus-free," Christian replied, kissing the top of Harley's head at the end of the sentence.

             
The officer smiled at the display.

             
"Good luck with your mission Sergeant Johnson."

             
"It's been a nightmare out there," the Sergeant grunted. "I've seen things that I'll never be able to erase from my mind. But cases like these, where everybody's okay and better off than a good majority of the nation, these are the cases that make my job worthwhile. I'm barely getting paid, sort of getting fed and have to deal with miserable situations, thank you for making my job worth it."

             
"Thank you for helping to clean up this awful mess."

*****

             
"Good afternoon survivors, I'm Jeremy Fitzgerald, as you all know by now, and I am the only current source of news during this life-changing ordeal. I have been informed of all the verified safe zones in the nation for now. We've got Pump'n'Gulp just outside of Austin, Texas. Their note is that it is a violence free living space and it is incredibly kid friendly. There's the Foo Chow Buffet in Williston, North Dakota. They focus on meditation and self-defense to comfort us in this stressful time. Then there is the Thorned Crown, a large church common in Cascade, Wyoming. You don't have to walk with God in order to reside there, however God is a big part of the community. Finally, we have New Haven, a woodland community outside of Ivana's Port, Oregon. This community focuses on working together, wants people to understand that they are a 'use what you have' sanctuary and urges people to bring extra supplies. I know that there are more safe zones that are in the process of being screened, and I will have those results as soon as they are available. Just know that everybody is doing what they can to get this nation virus-free. Have hope, and eliminate the brain... Now, water filtration made easy..."

*****

Washington, D.C.

             
Linda and Bill had decided that things were under control enough to trust their troops with the rest of the clean-up sans supervision. Linda was admiring the ring on her finger as Bill tried to eat his chocolate lava cake.

             
"Should we set a date?" Linda twittered excitedly.

             
"I promise I'll marry you in the spring. It's still a little too scary out there for something like a wedding, but I wanted to make things serious right now. We've been playing games since high school."

             
"I got so tired of playing games," Linda sighed. She looked up from her ring and smiled, "I love you Bill."

             
"I love you Linda."

             
"I can't wait to become an Abernathy."

             
"I promise it'll only be a few months. Only a few more months and things will be nearly normal again."

*****

              Christian and Harley were lying in the tent. The winter had been slightly warm with frigid nights, but most new tenants had brought every blanket they owned, so the nights weren't as unbearable as they could have been.  Most of New Haven's food supplies were now fairly depleted. The birds were singing again. It had been a long time since they had heard the birds. Christian was admiring Harley's stomach and caressing her smooth skin.

             
"I can't believe what we've been through," he whispered.

             
"Allegedly, the military's going to be bringing supplies to all the virus-free zones soon. I never thought that I would actually be living this way."

             
"I was impressed with how you insulated the tent before it started to snow."

             
Harley shrugged and replied, "Mud and leaves seemed only logical right before the snow. That's how animals survive."

             
"You're going to make a great mother."

             
Harley looked up at Christian with surprise, "You think so?"

             
"If Kurt can parent a child that he didn't even help create then I think that when we decide we can have children, you'll be the greatest mom ever."

             
"I can't believe that Kurt and Dillan got together...I guess he found something to live for in New Haven. Or, something found him."

             
"Did you ever watch that show on TV…What was it...
Fatal Futurists
?"

             
"That one show about the crazies who were preparing for the end of the world?"

             
"Yeah, that one."

             
"I watched it a little; mostly I was too busy actually preparing to watch anything more than important news...Why?'

             
"I wonder how many of those people are still alive today."

             
"I dunno," Harley said as Christian traced hearts on her abdomen, "most of those people were ridiculously wealthy with a lot of expensive toys. I think the true survivors are the ones who focused on what happens when your rations run out."

             
Christian kissed the side of Harley's head. "When I found out that the world was falling apart, I didn't think that I'd make it this long. I didn't think that I would be this comfortable in my post-modern life. But now, I'm scared to think of going back to that upside-down idea of a society."

             
"Hopefully we won't have to...we can live in New Haven for the rest of our lives, turn it into a commune and just be a bunch of post-modern hippies living in the trees," Harley giggled.

             
They had run out of ground space, for the most part, within a few weeks of being declared a virus-free zone, and most of the new tenants had actually built tree houses in order to adhere to Harley's rules. New Haven was one of the most successful virus-free zones in the nation. The plague had given people the chance to slow down and learn how to take care of themselves with what they had.

             
"So are Trevor and Tsgumi ever going to get married? Do you think they can here?"

             
Harley giggled a little harder, "I don't know, and I don't really care at this point. Just being with someone should be enough." She paused and thought for a second. "I can commit myself to you for the rest of my life without a ring or a big showy ceremony."

             
Christian smiled and pulled Harley closer to him. "We still need to go find that waterfall."

             
"Do you think it's finally safe enough?"

             
"We can take a little protection,” Christian assured her, “but yeah, I'd say it’s safe enough to go for a walk.”

             
"This spring can be the beginning of the rest of our lives."

             
"The day I met you was the beginning of the rest of my life, angel."

             
Harley shivered. "I'm glad that I get to begin everyday with you. That horrible plague seemed never-ending when it first hit. Everything spiraled out of control so fast that I'm surprised Abernathy had a plan to fix it. I thought it was unfixable."

             
"Well, you know angel, everything comes to pass." Christian smiled, as he drew a small ring around Harley’s concave bellybutton, “And this too shall pass.”

The Story Behind the Story

When I began writing And This Too, I was a 16 year old Junior in high school going through a nasty relationship. The last thing I wrote before I got the urge to finish this tale was the vignette at the beginning of chapter 7. After that I took a break, fell in love and changed my life before I continued working on this prose.I realized that the super gory battle scenes were overwhelmingly hard to write and I couldn't figure out how to go on with what was originally intended to be a tragedy. The epiphany that vanquished my writer's block was that I wasn't fighting for my life on a regular basis anymore and that I should utilize my new found happiness to create a tale that spread the message to just survive no matter what happens.

The interesting thing about this work is that it might as well have been written by two people, that's why it is broken up into two parts.

So before I end my ramble, I want to remind my readership that there is always a light after the darkness,

And this too shall pass.

Love and light.

About the Author

Hi there, I'm Emily Owenn McIntyre, a native to Bozeman, Montana. When I'm not writing, I'm disguised as a humble convinience store clerk. Any other time you will find me glued to the hip of my soulmate and, our large cat is always somewhere nearby.I consider myself to be a writer and a multi-faceted artist. I am a firm believer in independent productions of every kind (music, movies, books, etc.) and you will probably never see me backed by a gigantic publishing company for that reason.

Love and light.