The Complex: (The Reanimates) (15 page)

             
Setting up the solar panels was a high priority item. We had located a ladder but the process of getting 40 solar panels on the roof seemed a daunting task. Each panel was 45 inches by 40 inches so moving them, knowing that if they are dropped then we would be out. We came up with a harness made out of sheets and strapped them on to our backs, taking them up one by one. The process was very slow going, taking four hours to get all 40 on one roof. Trent started to put all the mounting brackets on the roof and for the second time, I was grateful they grabbed the stationary panels. Once everything was mounted the wires were hooked together and run through the charge controller then to the combiner. From the combiner the power cords went through the wall to where inverter was set up so we could use the 110v devices. The set up was designed to provide most of the power a house would need and the directions said that both combiners and inverters were supposed to be used for one residence, but we rejustified the half power as more than enough. Good thing too seeing how frustrating it was to get the panels up there in the first place. If we had to double our efforts we'd probably given up on it all, not to mention how much the required roof space of 710 square feet actually took up. It took a total of six hours to hook up the entire thing, not counting a lunch break, and we had a late start so we vowed to pick up where we left off the next day. On a plus side there should be enough of a charge by sundown to see if there was any success in our hook up.

After dark, we probably had never seen such a beautiful light as we did that night. I had a new respect for all things electrical. Trent, Daniel, and I invited everyone over to our apartments so everyone could take part in the joy of that days work. The power didn't last for long since it didn't get the proper charge, but it was awesome while it lasted.

Continuing On

             
Following day brought more work. The solar panels went up more smoothly having already had the experience once already. While we worked on the solar set up Tanya rallied some of the apprentices of other units and the kids to help her get some of the seeds in the ground. Tanya had spent the night before looking in various reference guides and raking through her memory of what plants do the best in southern California in the middle of summer. She remembered that the gourds like pumpkin and squash grew well and found in her searches that carrots did well. She planted potatoes as well as broccoli hoping that they would grow well this time as it had in the past for her. She planted onion and garlic in a ring around the garden to help detour hungry rabbits.

             
In the cemetery, Tanya took gentle care in weeding the ground, aerating the dirt, and planting the seeds. She made sure the wooden crosses with the names carved into them were clean. She created a path with rocks that had been turned up from the garden and planted an orange tree on either side of the entrance. She plotted out the area to make sure that there was room for others just in case, though no one wanted to think of that for any length of time. To finish it off she placed some sticks left over from the stake project every two feet. Some rope that was found too frayed to do anything that required any load was used to wind around the sticks roping off the area like a fence. She made a sign that read “The Eric and Steven Memorial Gardens” and placed it where the sidewalk ended and the food garden began. Tanya poured her heart into the cemetery. Tyreese had wandered by to check on his wife to find me looking at the gardens in awe. I acknowledged him with a slight nod, not sure by the look on his face that he really wanted to talk. He seemed to be lost in his thoughts as he watched her fish a stray rock out of the soon to be flower bed. He had drawn a deep breath and started to speak.

             
“I think that the thing that hurts her the most about the zombie apocalypse is knowing that she would not be likely to visit her mother's grave again. The only thing that she seems to have comfort in,” he told me, “is that she knows that her mom had died months before the outbreak and that she wasn't around to see the dead walking around killing others. I think doing this cemetery is her way of continuing to work through the loss she feels to not being able to visit her mom anymore.

             
“As for me?” Tyreese continued, “I have no clue what came of my folks. I know they couldn't fight off the zombies. They were doing well enough, old and breaking down as what happens the older you get, but still able to take care of themselves. They moved a lot slower the last time I saw them. They never would have been able to run if they had to. Dad's eyesight was failing so if they even had a gun he wouldn't have been able to see well enough to aim it at them. I don't know if they became a zombie or not. Sometimes I envy Tanya. She knows her mama isn't one of those things. Oh. That probably came off poorly. I apologize.” I waved the apology off. There was no need for it. “I have a horrible confession though when it comes to them. Do you mind if I unload it?” I nodded at him. “I hope that when they saw it coming down to the wire that they took an extra large dose of their blood pressure pills. I really do. I don't know what kind of person that makes me, to be praying that they committed suicide. I'm scared to death about how God is going to judge me for even thinking that I hope my parents took their own life. Really what kind of person does that make me?”

             
“I think it makes you human.” I had nothing to add beyond that. My own folks died when I was three. I was taken in by an aunt who was not interested in becoming a mom. She kicked me out when I was 18, and I never looked back. I saw her obituary in the paper one day and I didn't have one tear to shed over the loss. Trent's mom was the closest thing I had to a mom but I still saw her as Trent's mom, even after 13 years of being a part of the family. It wasn't that I wasn't welcomed, I was, it just wasn't the same. Trent and Drew were my family. I couldn't fathom how I'd be without them. I wondered if that was how other people felt about their family of origin. I certainly couldn't fault him for that hope that he had. He just wanted them to be spared the fear that we were living in all the time. I couldn't see anyone thinking less of him and I would certainly hope that God would take into account the extenuating circumstances.

             
Tyreese choked back a round of tears that threatened to spill out by saying they had to get back to work. What was it with this man code thing that said that there was something wrong with feeling emotional pain like this?

             
By nightfall, everyone had their own little chunk of power, which was an amazing experience. We had forgotten how delightful it was to sit with our families and watch a DVD for the hundredth time because it's your kid's favorite. In that moment things felt a lot like they had in the past, when life made sense, when the dead stayed dead and the living went on their comfortable routines. For just a couple hours the apocalypse wasn't going on. It gave us hope that someday we might feel that way for a bit longer in a stretch.

Learning More

             
We had taken to eating breakfast as a group. We passed around the cinnamon rolls that morning and listened to DaWayne talk about his experiences on watch the night before. He had been watching out over the neighborhood when a cat had jumped on a car a couple streets over, which triggered the car's alarm. As the alarm wailed zombies came out from the woodwork to crowd around it to see if there was anybody there to eat.

             
“That's when it hit me. It's sound guys, not smell. They are drawn by the sounds. Every time they hit us was after the trucks had been out. The cars make all sorts of sound especially now. They move sorta slow so it takes them a minute to catch the sounds but when they do they followed the noises to here. It explains why the last run brought them in from both sides.” DaWayne's eyes flashed with pride as he explained the theory. It did make a whole lot more sense. We all murmured our agreement with the theory.

             
To test that idea we kept the noises down except for rare occasions. As a result we didn't see very many zombies after that. When we did we took care of them using the significantly more quiet cross bows. Things felt like they had stabilized for a bit.

             
We fell into our routine in the complex and things felt good for a while. Probably the longest while we had since this all began.

             
One nice afternoon Trent was on watch so to surprise him and Drew and I brought him lunch. While we were eating Trent suddenly jumped up and ran for the binoculars. Fearing an attack I jumped over to the alarm bell and waited for Trent to say the words that we were on alert. He didn't. What he did say though was an absolute surprise.

             
“Its a family!” He called out.

             
“A family? I didn't know zombies would stay together like that.” I replied.

             
“No, it's an alive family. There's a lady carrying a toddler and a boy about Drew's age is running right next to her. Cali, they're headed this way. How are we going to signal them?”

             
I looked over the roof top and realized the blanket we were sitting on was a deep blue, very easy to see. I told Drew to stand up. Once he got off of it I grabbed it and I started to wave it around, sending the water bottles that had been left on it rolling about the roof. Trent kept watching the family though the binoculars, not wanting to take his eyes off of them for even a moment.

             
“The kid sees you Cali! Keep waving so his mom can see what the kid is pointing at!” Trent's excitement over the family was contagious. I waved the blanket with even more fervor than before. The idea that there were other people out there and that they were alive and moving was such a novelty. I had begun to worry that there indeed had been no more people left in our town. I kept my eyes on the figures that were now running like mad. I hoped that they were running towards us and not away from a hoard of hungry zombies. As their path approached a bend in the road we lost sight of them for a moment. I didn't realize until they came out of the blind spot that I had been holding my breath in worry.

             
“Daniel! Be ready at the gate! Lady and couple kids coming towards us. They're alive!” I could barely contain my excitement over this development at this point. We were going to be able to rescue another survivor. I felt a surge of pride over our little oasis that we had going. Someone was coming to us and they were going to make it! We were going to be a place of hope!

             
The figures kept getting bigger and bigger until I saw them more clearly. I swore it looked like Drew's friend Kyle and his mom. I didn't want to say anything to Drew just in case it wasn't them. I heard the gate run open a little bit then close again. I climbed down the ladder quickly to check them out. They needed to be medically cleared of bites or scratches and if there was something wrong with them physically I wanted to get them treated immediately.

             
Indeed, it was Kyle and his mom. I ushered them back to the medical unit to look them over. They were hungry, dehydrated and the blisters on the mom's feet were the size of silver dollars but most importantly, they were bite and scratch free. I grabbed a couple waters out of the refrigerator and handed them out. I asked them to wait for just a minute then I called Drew over.

             
“Hey kiddo. Why don't you come on in and say hi.” Drew looked up at me with great skepticism. He was never fond of meeting people. He was embarrassed by his shyness. He knew I knew that he was shy so he wondered what could have been worth his mom putting him in an awkward social situation. The whole zombie thing had taught him to buck up and do what needed to be done so he bit the bullet and came over. When he walked into the unit and saw his best friend Drew cried tears of joy. All that worry he had over Kyle melted away. Kyle was crying as well.

             
“See, mom? I told you that this was the best way to go. I told you that Drew's apartments would be a good place to start.” Kyle proudly stated. His mom nodded.

             
“Yes you did baby. I'm so proud of you for helping me on this idea.” Kyle's mom beamed with pride at him. She looked up at me and said “I'd be lost without him.”

             
It had been a while since I'd seen Kyle's mom, and I felt bad that her name had totally escaped my brain. I introduced myself to her, half figuring and half hoping that she'd forgotten mine as well. Her name was Anna, her daughter was Annali. Anna had been on her own for days when her husband had gone out for food. No one knew what happened. She had tried to stick it out in her house, just like the emergency alert system told her to, as did her neighbors. Supplies ran down to the point that there was no way she was going to be able to sustain the kids. She had been eating very little herself so the kids could have more. She had done everything she could to wait for her husband to return to her. As it turned out, the very little food was the least of her concerns.

             
“Cali,” Anna whispered, “There are some really bad people out there.” She gave a darting look at Kyle and Annali, then back at me. She wanted to say something but she didn't want to scare her kids in the process. I suggested that Drew take Kyle and his sister outside to meet the other kids and to show them around. Kyle looked at me with a little reservation, not really wanting to leave his mom alone for long. I suggested that if they stopped by food and asked Ms. Mercedes, they probably could talk her into some cookies, if they asked nicely. That was enough to send them through the door.