The Last Tribe (42 page)

“He’s cool.”  Antonio nodded.  “I
had a little brother.  He was six.  He didn’t make it. It’s why I like the
little kids.  They remind me of him.”  He gestured at the plate.  “Thanks,
we’re all good in here.  I’ll be ready to help with the boat in an hour.”

“Thank you.”  Todd put his hand on
Antonio’s shoulder.  “Welcome to the group.”  Todd did not want to make a big
deal out of it.  He turned and left the RV with the remaining food to pass out
to the adults.

 “I’ll take cleanup duty.”  Jamie
stepped forward.  “Show me where I can clean the pots and pans, and if you have
a trash bag.”  Peter and Kelly assisted. 

Todd and Emily went to the other RV
to get ready for their day.  The door opened and Melanie came through with
Solange.  “What’s the deal with Bernie?  Is she seriously considering staying
here?  Why would she do that?”  Melanie questioned. 

“There is not logic to her
thinking.”  Solange commented.  “She has gone crazy.  I am surprised more of us
did not lose our minds with all of the death.” 

“Well, she seems nice enough, and
we can always use another pair of hands.  I agree, she’s popped a gasket.  I hope
she snaps out of it.”  Emily paused.   “Has anyone figured out the deal with
this Sal character?  Are we leaving him?  Is he dangerous?  Is he even going to
show?”

They looked at each other.  Melanie
shrugged her shoulders.  “Hey, I just met all these people.  Now there’s
someone else?”

“You just take another nap, we will
wake you up if anything happens.”  Solange teased.

“You’re funny, Ms. Tough Girl.  You
going to slap me in the face too?”

“If you need to be put in your
place.”  Solange gave Melanie a steely eyed stare.

“Okay, that’s enough from you two
comedians.”  Todd stood between them.  “You know what?  I’m going to enjoy the
day.  Tomorrow is tomorrow, let’s round up the group and see some landmarks.”

He stepped out of the RV into the
sunlight.  It was shaping up to be a beautiful day.  The air was warming to the
mid-fifties.  Avery had the kids outside playing games, kicking the soccer ball
or playing hopscotch on grids she drew with sidewalk chalk.  “I volunteered at
the elementary school as my junior volunteer credit.  I know how to entertain
this age group.”  She explained to Todd.  “Brian said you are going to see the
city, may I join you?  I’d love to see New York one last time.  I haven’t been
to the Statue in like five years, and I don’t remember Ellis Island.  I went
there once on a field trip in fourth grade.”

“I went last year.  It’s pretty
fun.  I can show people around.”  Meredith volunteered.  “If I get to go too.”

Kelly listened, “you girls can make
your own decisions, especially you, Avery.  This is your life.  If you want to
stay in New York with Bernie, speak up, if you want to go to New Hampshire and
join the new group, it’s up to you.”

“I just wanted to go to Ellis
Island today.”  Meredith responded, “I didn’t know it was part of a bigger
choice.”

“It’s not, honey, I’m just saying,
you two are old enough to start making some of your own decisions, or decide as
a team.  I’m going today and I’m leaving tomorrow.  I’m taking Bridget, Wendy,
and Cameron with me, today and tomorrow.”  Kelly turned to Todd, who watched
the conversation with interest.  “We might need to take some breaks, my kids
are not as strong as yours.  They haven’t been eating as regularly.”

“Absolutely.  I’m bringing plenty
of snacks, as well as bread, peanut butter, and jelly.  I might even bring
along a jar of fluff for fluffer nutters.”

“What’s a fluffer nutter?” 
Meredith asked.

“Peanut butter and marshmallow
fluff mixed together in sugary brown goodness.”  Todd offered.  “If you grew up
in New England, it was a regular in your lunch.”

“Sounds kind of sugary and
caloric.”  Avery told her friend, “I’d stick with the pb&j’s.” 

“I’ll be honest with you, Avery. 
Our new life?  Don’t worry about calories too much.  You want to take in
calories, as many as possible.  Video games, television, sedentary activities? 
Those are a thing of the past.  If you don’t like fluffer nutters, well, that’s
another story, but don’t worry about what you eat.  We are going to run out of
processed food and be eating fish, fruits, and vegetables for the rest of our
lives.”  Todd smiled.  “So if you see a jar of fluff?  Take two fingers and
swipe a big mouthful!”

Meredith laughed.  “Okay, I’ll try
it.” 

“Let’s have some fun today, okay? 
It’s probably been a while since anyone in your group had a fun day, a good old
day of not worrying about food or work.  Just kick back, enjoy this beautiful
spring day in New York, and see it one more time.”  Todd clapped his hands. 
“Okay kids!”  He called to the younger ones.  “We are going to get together for
a day out, how does that sound?”

Todd turned to Kelly, “We are short
of convenient vehicles, any chance we can use the van?”

“Let’s put the little ones on our
laps and head out.  Antonio?” She turned to the teen who was out of the RV.  
“What’s our best shot at finding a boat that is big enough for all of us and in
working condition?”

“If we start at Chelsea we can work
our way down until we find a good boat, but there is probably one at the piers. 
We have to find keys to the boats, maybe hope the dock master’s office keeps a
set.”  He walked towards the van.  “If we get to a good boat, I can get it
started, probably without the keys.”  He smiled at her as he said the last
line.

“Peter?  Jamie?  Bernie?  Would you
like to join us?”  Emily stood at the van, moving the line of kids in by
touching their shoulders. 

“Peter has challenged me to a day
of cards and walking around the park.  I’ve seen Lady Liberty enough, and said
my goodbyes to the City.  One day I’ll tell you my story, but I haven’t lived
in New York for over thirty years, left when I was in my twenties.  I was on a
trip and got stuck.  I’ll be glad to depart tomorrow morning.  Enjoy
yourselves.”  Jamie sat in a folding chair Peter set outside of the RV.  He
plunked down in a second chair next to her.  He gave Emily a ‘thumbs up.’

“We’ll hold down the fort, Emily,
you show the kids a good time.”

Todd was packing a second backpack,
“Ahmed, you can stay here or get dropped off at your home.  We can handle
this.  Enjoy a day of rest.  If you stay here, have dinner ready when we get
back.”  Todd smiled at the investment banker turned fry cook.

“Are you kidding me?  I’ve never
been to Ellis Island.  I worked 80 hours a week, minimum.  I never got to see
the sites.  If I wasn’t at work, I was playing big shot at Yankee Stadium or
the Meadowlands.  This will be a real treat.”  He waited for Todd to zip up the
backpack before grabbing the handle to sling on his back.  “I had a three year
old son.  I talked about taking days like this, showing him New York.  Now I’ll
do that for these kids, and dream I’m with him.”  He gave Todd a pat on the
back.  “I didn’t live the way I should have, always working so that someday I
could take my family places.  Someday was stolen from me.  I’m going to enjoy
today.” 

“I’m sorry about your family.” 
Todd replied solemnly.

“I’ve cried for seven months.  I am
ready to start living again.  I think it’s what held a lot of us back, the
memories of our families here in New York.  I will never forget, but I have to
move forward.  I have to learn from my mistakes.”  Ahmed paused, “This day is
about fun.  Let’s have some fun.  I want my last memories of New York to be
happy.”

Bernie sat in the passenger’s
seat.  Todd and Ahmed were the last to get into the van.  The rows were packed
with people and kids.  Kelly put the van into gear and headed down 5
^th
Ave towards Chelsea.  There was still snow on the ground, but the tire tracks
from the multiple trips melted exposed black pavement.

The van was abuzz with
conversation.  What were people’s favorite cartoon characters, the last great
sandwich they ate, the last vacation they took.  Everyone wanted to get to know
each other.  They made a quick stop by the Empire State Building and St.
Patrick’s.  Todd lit a candle for Peter’s wife and for the world.

Bernie engaged a little, talking
about St. Patrick’s as she went inside to say a prayer, but she was withdrawn
from the group as she sat quietly in the front seat.

Kelly turned down 21
^st
and towards the piers.  They were still talking and laughing when the van
pulled up to the seminary.  Bernie asked Kelly to drop her off.  “I want to
collect some things, get prepared for tomorrow.”

Antonio pointed to the chimney. 
“There’s a fire going.  Sal’s back.  I bet he’s freaked out right now.”

 “I’ll talk to Sal.  We’ll get up
to your camp on our own.  Enjoy your day.  Peace be with you all.”  Bernie
opened the door and got out.

“Shotgun!”  Antonio called from the
back row.  “I got shotgun, gimme that seat!”  He struggled past Avery and Jacob
to move up in the van.  Once he sat down he turned to Kelly, “Let’s go, before
that dude comes out and ruins the day.”

“To the piers!”  Kelly yelled.

“To the piers!”  The van shouted
back.  Even Antonio was excited and involved.  He wanted to get on a boat, and be
reminded of his father. 

Bernie waved as they pulled away
from the curb.

The smile fell from Bernie’s face as
she watched the van pull away towards the Hudson River.  She was deeply
troubled and conflicted.  She did not want to leave her seminary.  It was her
sanctuary, her place of solitude, the center of her spiritual universe.  She
prayed for understanding in the chapel too many times to walk away.  Her
daughter was baptized in the chapel.  Her husband held her child’s head as
Bernie administered the rite.  She had fond memories that she did not want to
lose.

Bernie had bad memories too.  She
delivered her daughter’s last rites in the chapel followed by her husband’s
five days later.  She gave last rites to hundreds of people, maybe thousands of
people who stood in line outside the chapel to receive their dying peace.  She
worked tirelessly to give solace to the sick as she remained healthy.  She
believed that her purpose was to carry on the word of God, to be His lone
soldier left on earth.  Like many times in the Bible, she was being tested. 
Her family was taken from her so she could focus on the Word. 

But where was the rainbow?  Where
was the dove?  If the rapture was the great flood, washing away humanity, where
was her sign that it was time to start anew?  Was she supposed to go with these
new people?  Was she supposed to find a new place to spread the Word?  Had her
chapel been painted in so much innocent blood, the blood of her own daughter
and husband, as a sign to walk away and find a new sanctuary? 

Bernie did not know, and her prayers
went unanswered.  She had one night to decide. 

It was cold on 21
^st
street.  The sun had not climbed over the buildings, and the night air hung
over the shaded street.  Bernie shivered and walked through the courtyard into
the seminary lobby.  She saw a large figure hunched by the fireplace sitting on
the hearth.  She opened the door to the cloak room, hung up her coat and
removed her boots.  Before she could finish unlacing her second boot the door to
the main room opened.  After five months of people telling him not to hold the
door open to let the warm air out, Sal still did what he wanted.

“Hey Bernie, where is everyone?” 
Sal wore dirty khaki pants and a large flannel shirt.  His clothes no longer fit,
draping off his large frame.  His drug addiction ravaged his once hulking
frame.  He was still an intimidating man, but he was withering away.

“Sal, where have you been?”  Bernie
tried to push passed him into the warmer room.  “I’m cold.  May I warm up by
the fire?”

Sal moved from the door as Bernie
walked through.  He followed her, answering her question and repeating his. 
“You know, I was out looking for food for the group.”  He seldom if ever
returned from his sojourns with food.  “Where is everyone?  Did we move?”

Bernie sat on the large brick
hearth.  She did not like being in the small cloak room with Sal.  She needed
space to handle him.  He smelled, and could be erratic in his moods.  She
looked at him, his pupils were dilated, and his hands were calm and not
shaking.  Sal was medicated. 

“There is a lot of news to share.” 
Bernie waited for Sal to sit down.  “Did you find any food?”

He shook his head. 

Bernie smelled peanut butter on his
breath.  She looked at the fire.  Sal used almost the entire pile of wood.  No
matter how many times they asked him to keep the fire small, to conserve their
fuel when he was home, Sal made a large fire with all of their wood, and left
without replacing the pile.  Bernie grew more annoyed, but swallowed her
feelings.

“A group of people pulled into town
yesterday, survivors from up and down the east coast.  They have food and
supplies.”

“Are you serious?  That’s
fantastic.”  Sal recognized an opportunity to freeload.

“Yes, they are wonderful people,
with children and adults and teens.  It is a perfect match for our group.” 
Bernie paused, “but they are leaving tomorrow morning after my services.  There
is a second group up north, there is a plan to meet and form one big tribe.”

“North?  They want to leave the
City?”  Sal calculated his options.  He might find a few drugstores scattered
outside of New York, but unless they were in a larger city, his supplies would
run out quickly.  “Are we voting on this?  I don’t know if I like that plan,
Bernie.  I think we need to talk about it.”

“It’s done, Sal.  Everyone has
decided to go.  I am the only one who is not sure what to do.  I don’t know if
I can leave the seminary.  I have to pray and hope for guidance.”  She bowed her
head, not to pray, but to think.  “You can go.  These are good people.  They
know a hard life awaits, but starting a colony outside of New York is the best
option for all of us.  I know you aren’t afraid of hard work, and they can use
a strong man like you, Sal.”

Sal hated hard work.  His whole
life had been work, building things for other people and getting paid barely
enough to cover his bills, not even enough to pay his bills.  The rapture took
his wife and children, but it set him free.  He could sleep until noon, he
could nap every day, he could take food from other people.  He could enjoy the
buzz and calm his pills brought to him.  New York provided an endless supply of
pills.  ‘North’ would not provide pills and it would bring work back into Sal’s
life.

Sal became agitated as the gears of
his mind turned.  “We should have voted on this, I didn’t get to vote or say
nuthin’.  This ain’t fair.  I know what’s fair, this ain’t fair.”

“We didn’t vote, Sal.  Everyone
just decided to go.  The new people have young kids, they have food.  How could
we vote and stop people from going?  This isn’t a prison.  If Kelly wants to
leave, Kelly is going to leave.”

“This ain’t right.” Sal stood up. 
His world was changing, just when he had found a huge supply of pills, and was
getting ready for summer and warmer temperatures, and sending all the people
out to find him food, it was all ending.  In the current group, Sal was the
biggest, the strongest, no one had the courage to stand up to him.  He could
dominate and take what he needed.  That’s the way it should always have been. 
He was always strong, but the old life did not work that way.  In the old life
he was on the bottom.  Now he was on top, and he was not going to be taken down
because of new people.

“Sal, calm down.  Can’t you see the
shape we’re all in?  We’re starving.  We’ve been given a chance to live and be
with other people.  This is a good thing.”  Bernie listened to her own advice,
and she realized it was a good thing the new people arrived.  She was starving. 
She was dying.  Now she had a chance to live.

“We’re all going.”  Bernie put her
hand on Sal’s arm.  “We have to go.”

He looked down at her, towering
over the diminutive chaplain like she was a child.  Sal was a lot of things,
drug addict, con artist, thief, but he was not stupid.  If the winds of change
had already blown through his group, he needed to conform and create the best
situation for himself. 

He was still stoned, and he let the
calm spread over his body.  “Tomorrow?”  He asked, feigning a bit of anger. 

“After I enjoy one last service.”

“You wanna stick around here, or
you wanna head to their camp for the day?”  Sal ate a jar of peanut butter with
crackers for breakfast, but if there was more food, particularly if someone
else had already found it for him, Sal would eat.

“Well, almost everyone has gone to
Ellis Island for the day, but we could go up and meet Jamie and her new friend
Peter.”

Sal was confused.  Ellis Island? 
Why would they go to Ellis Island?  Was this a tourist stop for these people? 
If he was dealing with a group of southerners who decided to sightsee on their
way to the frozen northeast, Sal’s position in the group was looking better. 

“What do they have up there?” Sal
wanted to look around their camp while they were gone.

“They have two RV’s, a U-Haul
trailer full of tables, fire pits, that kind of thing.  They are stocked with
food, staples like flour and sugar.  I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary,
just food, clothes, things like that.”  Bernie was thinking about what she
would pack.  She was not paying attention to Sal’s questions, and answered them
absently.

“Sure, let’s go and meet Jamie and
her new friend, but I betta’ pack some things first, ya know, get ready to
leave tomorrow.” 

“Okay, Sal, that works.  Let’s meet
back here in a half hour or so?  We can use one of the little cars.  The snow
is melting on the streets where the sun hits, and there are thawed tire tracks
on 5
^th
Ave.”

“Where are they anyway?”  He still
did not know where ‘there’ was.

“They’re at 59
^th
and 5
^th
Ave.  At the bottom of the park.”

“The Plaza?  Are you kiddin’ me?” 
Sal was now certain he could dominate the new group.  He walked down the hall
and went to the second floor.  Sal had taken the last room down the hall from
the stairs to keep his privacy.  The room had the last radiator before the warm
water went back down the side of the chimney to re-heat, and Sal received the
least amount of heat, but he preferred the solitude to warmth.  He also believed
it made him look magnanimous to the group. 

Sal did not keep much in the
seminary.  He had an apartment on the upper west side, a pre-war building with
fireplaces in each room.  It was a tiny studio where the fireplace heated the
entire space.  Sal had food, water, and drugs stashed in his real home.  He
would go there for days.  It was much more comfortable than living in squalor
at the seminary.  Every few days he would get lonely and wander back down to
Chelsea.  If he cared, he would have told them about the building.  It was easier
to heat, and closer to places where he could find food, but he did not care
about these people. 

Sal’s problem was that all of his
drugs were at the other apartment.  He had cases of pills there and only a
small bottle in his pocket.  He had to get up to the other apartment before
they left. 

Sal’s bigger problem, and one he
did not know about, Antonio was aware of Sal’s other place, and was at that
very moment telling the adults about Sal’s lies, and how he hoarded food and
stole from the group.

Sal sat down on his cot, ran his
hands through his dirty thick hair.  “Think, Sal, think.  You either gotta
sneak out tonight, or run up there first thing in the mornin’, when Bernie’s
doin’ the church thing.  That’ll work, first thing, just say you gotta go
somewhere’s, say goodbye to Shea Stadium or something like that.  No one will
care, they’ll be busy packing.”  He would sneak out, take a car, a duffel, pack
up his stuff, and meet them back at the Plaza.

Sal stuffed a few of the useless
things he kept in the room into a small backpack.  He slung the pack and went
downstairs by the fire.  Bernie was waiting.  Sal had been in his room for an
hour.  His drug induced haze made it almost impossible for him to judge time.

“I put some pictures, some clothes
in this pack.  I’ll leave it here for tomorrow.”  Sal made a big deal.  “I want
to take a car up to my old neighborhood in the morning, say goodbye, ya know,
the right way.  Just like you are doin’ your last service.  I gotta say
goodbye.”

Bernie nodded.  “I know it’s tough,
Sal, but we have to say goodbye to our old lives.  We have to move on.”  She
put her hand on his shoulder affectionately, empathizing with his grief.

“She bought it.”  Sal thought to
himself.  “She bought it hook, line, and sinka’.” 

They continued small talk as they
left the seminary.  Bernie’s thoughts were elsewhere as she sat in the
passenger’s seat of the car Sal kept for his runs around the city.  There was a
hint of cigarette smell, a residue from the only bad habit Sal was forced to
quit after the rapture.  He detested stale cigarettes, and went cold turkey
rather than use stale packs.  He relied on his pills to get him through the nicotine
detox. 

“So, these people, they seem
nice?”  Sal drove too fast across 22
^nd
street.

“Yes.”  Bernie was furious with
herself for not driving.  Sal was probably a bad driver when he was sober, but
she had never seen him sober, so she could not be sure.  Bernie was sure that
he was a horrible driver while stoned.  She grasped the handle by the window
tightly, digging her left hand into the seat leather.

“They seem like they wanna take
care of the three little ones?”  Sal believed asking about the kids was his
best way to win Bernie.  He could never remember the children’s names, and she
knew it.  His question had the opposite effect.

“Wendy, Bridget, and Cameron?  Yes,
they have young children the same age, it’s a perfect fit.”

Sal took a hard left turn up 5
^th
Ave faster than needed.  They were not in a hurry.  Bernie heard the tires
squeal and the car fishtailed out of control. 

“Yeah, the kids, I know their
names, the kids.”  He pushed down on the accelerator.  Sal loved driving fast
in the city.  He loved being able to do what he wanted to do.  He did not have
to listen to anyone anymore.  Sal was in charge of Sal.  He never had freedom. 
His father was a tough bastard who made Sal follow rules, slapping him around
to keep him in line.  When Sal moved out after high school, believing it was
his time to shine, he ended up working construction to pay his bills.  Do this,
nail that, work this Saturday, stay until 10pm, don’t talk back or I’ll fire
you.  He started his own business, but then it was the customers that bossed
him around, or the banks that held liens on his house, car, and business. 

Sal’s business failed two years
before the rapture.  He owed money to everyone under the sun.  His oldest
daughter’s braces had not been adjusted in five months because he was six
months late on the bill.  He could not get the damn orthodontist to take them
off of her.  His car, a ten year old piece of crap, was repossessed.  His son,
a little too much like him, was suspended from public school.  Sal was paying
to have him in private school so he would not miss a grade, except Sal could
not pay the tuition bill.  His son sat at home playing video games all day. 
Sal was facing his third driving under the influence and possession charge,
which meant lawyer fees, fines and court costs.  Sal’s wife was an alcoholic
who enjoyed shopping and opening store credit cards.  Sal, a drug addict
himself, did not know how to stop her.