The news made Trev feel tired and sick. Price’s population had been more than half again that before the Gulf refineries attack. Assuming the tens of thousands of refugees who’d come there had all died and those that remained were only original residents of Price, which was unlikely, it meant almost 3,500 of them had died. A poor reward for the generosity of accepting every hungry mouth that came to their city.
Of course Aspen Hill hadn’t fared much better, thanks to Ferris.
As if sensing they’d heard enough bad news, Chauncey changed the topic to the solar panel and battery setup. Trev wasn’t too familiar with electronics, so he left the other two to talk while he stewed in his thoughts. Mostly worry about his family. He was relieved when they reached the town and he was distracted by the chance to see how it had changed over the winter.
It hadn’t, but then again it had. The buildings seemed dirtier, less well maintained, the streets either snowed over or paths crudely shoveled through the little snow that still remained after the warmth of the last week.
The people seemed dirtier too, even though the spring provided plenty of clean water, as if they couldn’t be bothered to wash, and far too many looked skeletal, limping along on unsteady feet. Heads turned to look at them as they passed, taking in their relative health and cleanliness, and Trev thought he saw resentment and even darker emotions on some of those hopeless faces.
As if that wasn’t enough to show him what the town had gone through they passed a small park near the town’s center with a single swing set where Trev remembered playing as a child. Only now the snowy ground was humped with row after row of graves filling the space, most marked with no more than a crude wooden cross thrust into the ground with the deceased’s name carved on it. Chauncey’s eyes grew sad as they passed the new graveyard, and he quieted and slowed down as if in reverence until they were passed.
Trev was almost frightened to ask if the older man’s family were all okay, and he felt a surge of relief when he was assured that the retired teacher’s wife and sons were still healthy, all things considered.
“We had our goats and their milk, along with a bit of a garden and some fruit trees,” he said quietly. “None of what we had was the sort of thing FETF was interested in taking. The goats would’ve been work for them, and the fruit and vegetables we ate as they ripened. They picked a bit of it in passing, but just for a snack after one of their inspections. Thanks to that we fared better than just about anyone.”
Thinking back on the winter they’d spent up in the mountains, Trev realized that as hard as it had seemed they’d really had it good after all. Even the boredom seemed a petty thing to complain about.
Soon after that they reached Tillman’s, which apparently served as Terry’s clinic as well as the storehouse now. Once inside Lewis plugged in the laptop and pushed the power button, and they all held their breath as they waited for it to boot up.
It did, without a hitch. “Now for the real test,” Lewis said as he set the portable hard drives on the counter beside the computer.
Trev anxiously watched while his cousin worked. The working laptop was a good sign, but it wouldn’t mean much if the terabytes of data on the portable hard drives had been corrupted. When Lewis plugged in a drive and the drive icon showed up on the screen his cousin leaned back, tension easing from his shoulders that Trev hadn’t even noticed until it was gone. “It works.” He clicked a few times. “It’s all here.”
Then in an uncharacteristic display of emotion Lewis gave Trev a high five. And after months of days and nights full of repetitive conversations and learning to play half remembered songs on cheap instruments Trev was just as enthusiastic returning the gesture. “Looks like the movie night is on.”
Standing behind them Chauncey clapped his hands. “I’ll go grab the projector from town hall.”
Chapter Fifteen
A Glimmer of Hope
As they were setting up for the movie the Larson family arrived, having left the shelter locked from the outside, and Matt and Sam came over to chat as they worked out the kinks in the thrown together projection and sound systems they’d put up around the clinic.
According to their friend the Mayor organized these kinds of town get-togethers often, searching for anything that didn’t take too much needless effort from the townspeople or resources from the town to lift spirits however she could. Since movies only took solar power and the radios and lights for the storehouse and town hall didn’t take quite as much as was produced, there was nothing preventing them from making use of Lewis’s massive collection of entertainment.
In fact, Catherine had suggested this become a tradition every evening after sundown, since means of producing light were difficult for the people of Aspen Hill to come by and it was a rare person who could sleep through all the dark hours of night. This would give them something to do before bedtime.
It was small surprise that the storehouse was packed that night, people crowding the floor on blankets in front and on chairs brought from the auditorium in back. And although the room had a heater it wasn’t needed, and in fact halfway through the movie the doors at the front of the store, the back of the impromptu theater, were thrown open to let in some fresh air.
Trev and Lewis sat with the Larsons, awkwardly reveling in their hero status as the bringer of movies both before the movie began and after it ended. “They probably could’ve done this without us,” Lewis whispered after another family from the town came by to welcome them back during the end credits. “The library has plenty of old movies and TV shows to lend.”
“Maybe they didn’t think of it until you suggested it as an option,” Trev whispered back. “People struggling to survive aren’t going to be wondering about the possibility of seeing a movie, especially when they don’t personally have the resources or knowhow to pull it off.”
There was a bit of socializing in the storehouse after the movie ended, as Chauncey turned on the lights and shut off the projector. After being alone aside from the company of his cousin Trev felt a bit overwhelmed at being the center of attention, and he knew Lewis had to be feeling it even worse. Luckily the Larsons rescued them from the crowd by suggesting they had a long walk back to the shelter and the boys were already asleep.
On the way up the street towards home Matt, carrying Aaron in his arms, sped up to catch up to Trev and Lewis walking at the front of the group. “So,” he whispered, mindful of his sleeping nephew, “you guys ready to get back to work?”
Trev gave his friend a confused look, while Lewis sighed. “You’re speaking as the leader of the town’s defenses, right?”
Matt shrugged a bit sheepishly with his free shoulder. “I’ve got to be honest, we’re short on manpower. Most people are too busy trying to stay alive to worry about external threats. And to be fair, since Razor’s attack we’ve only had a few incidents that really required the use of force. I wouldn’t say people have gotten complacent, but patrolling the town has definitely dropped pretty low on the list of priorities.”
“With the weather warming up everyone should start worrying about it more,” Lewis said. “People will be on the move again, searching for someplace where they won’t starve to death. Or at least searching for people who have enough for them to steal to survive another day. And any groups of marauders who holed up for the winter will be out and about now.”