The Beginning at the End of the World: A Post-Apocalyptic, Dystopian Series (The Survivor Diaries Book 2) (39 page)

Making my way back to the cabin, I ran into Carrie, who was ready to get back to work. I told her about the strategy that Adam and Sampson had proposed.

“Let’s make sure that we have the transportation figured out by the end of the day,” I said. I suddenly felt light headed. “May I ask you a favor? Would you ask Annie to make me something to eat? I skipped breakfast again.”

“Absolutely,” she said, stopping at RV one.

I rushed my way to the cabin and made a beeline for the bathroom, where I proceeded to vomit up last night’s meal. It went on and on until there was nothing left of my stomach contents.

“Laura. Are you okay in there?” asked Carrie.

“I’m good. I just need to shower. Can I call you when I am done?”

“Sure thing,” she said. “I’ll leave your food on the kitchen counter.”

When I heard the front door shut, I crawled over to the sink and opened the cabinet beneath it. I had seen the item I was looking for while I looked through the cabinets just after Jackson had the cabin moved here. I took the stick from the box and followed the directions carefully. I couldn’t make any mistakes with this.

Positive. I am pregnant.

∞

I made some tea as I waited for Doc Riley to come. Jackson was right, that particular tea tasted like pig swill. Well, at least what I think pig swill would taste like.

“Thanks for making a house call,” I told her as I showed her into the cabin.

“This place is just as amazing as I heard,” she said, looking around.

“Come on in,” I told her as I directed her to the sofa.

“Alexis, I have something fragile to discuss with you. I can’t let this get out,” I told her.

“Anything,” she said with a concerned look. I handed her the pregnancy test and her eyes grew in size exponentially. “Is this yours?”

I nodded. “The packaging on the test says that it is the only test that will tell you six days sooner than your missed period. I did the math… four times. It’s Jackson’s,” I told her. When I figured that out, I was very relieved. I would love the baby no matter what, but I wasn’t sure what would happen if the baby was Mark’s.

“All of the doctors we went to before the war told us that I couldn’t have a baby, so I didn’t see any need for protection,” I told her.

“Well, the doctors were wrong it seems. I will do a blood test, but these home tests are pretty accurate, even this early.” She took out a needle from her bag and prepared to take my blood.

“I gave blood for Ramirez the other night,” I confessed. She looked a little unhappy, but put the needle in my arm and drew a small amount of blood. “And I had a glass of wine and a cup of that disgusting punch at the dance, but I threw that up. Do you think that was morning sickness?”

“I tasted the punch, that could go either way,” she said with a chuckle. “I am more concerned with your current weight and eating habits. You need to bulk up, and soon.”

She looked worried. It must have showed on my face that I was, too.

“I am sorry, Laura,” she said in a calmer voice. “I don’t mean to scare you, but you need to know the risks. We are going to have to watch this pregnancy very carefully, for your health and the baby’s. Have you ever had a miscarriage?”

I looked down and nodded. “Okay, let me go and confirm this, and then we will start looking into your diet and activities. There won’t be any more recon missions for you, that’s for sure. And I promise I won’t tell anyone. You and Jackson might want to wait on telling anyone, too. Lots of couples wait until the second trimester, but that’s your call.”

“Alexis, I have been exposed to radiation, just like everyone else. Is it even possible to have a healthy outcome?”

“You need to stop thinking that way. We are going to do everything we can for you to have a healthy pregnancy. But if you don’t want to have this baby, I can help you. Give it some thought,” she said before she left.

I sat on the overstuffed chair, unable to focus on anything.

∞

I decided to wait to tell Jackson about the pregnancy until after the MT made their decision about our plan to escape the forest. If he knew that I was pregnant, he might not want to go, and I was sure that we needed to, now more than ever.

I called Carrie back to work, and she was looking at me oddly. “Are you alright? You look a little out of it,” she told me.

“I have a headache,” I said. It wasn’t a lie, my head was pounding. “Let’s crank out this vehicle list, and then we can knock off for the day.”

“Well, the van will take the new people so that we can keep them in quarantine,” she said. “So, that’s nine down.”

We spent the rest of the afternoon working it out, but we finally finished, and Carrie was on her way. I was not even close to hungry, but I went over to Annie’s RV to ask for some more stew, which we now call Random Meat Delight.

“Thanks, Annie,” I told her.

“I am glad that your appetite is picking back up,” she said. “You’ve been so painfully thin since the Sneaker Wave.”

I sat down at the table and watched as they prepared tonight’s stew, and I began to feel that now familiar bile welling up in the back of my throat. “Mom, I have some work to do in the cabin, so I am going to take this to go.”

“Are you feeling alright, Laura? You like a bit piqued,” she told me. She came over and took my face in her hands and began to examine it.

“I’m good,” I said with a smile as I took my leave from the scents of the kitchen.

At the cabin, I placed my bowl on the table and went to the bedroom when Alexis called to confirm what I already knew. I am pregnant.

“Hey,” came Jackson’s voice right before I heard the door slam. “Are you in here? The MT decided…”

He stopped mid-sentence as he walked into our room. “Are you feeling alright? You don’t look so good.”

“Yay, another person to tell me that. What am I, a leper? What did the MT decide?” I asked him.

“They decided to go with the plan. The cutters are already working, so thank you for getting that going. Tomorrow we should be ready to announce that we are back on the road again. Laura, sweetie, you look really pale.”

“Sit down,” I said, patting the sofa next to me. “Doc Riley checked me out today.”

His face grew even paler than mine. “What is it? Please don’t say another plague. We should never have let those bastard Wand…”

“Shh, don’t finish that sentence,” I said putting my index finger on his lips. He kissed it. I inhaled deeply, and on my exhale I said, “I am pregnant.”

He just sat there shaking his head. He didn’t want it. I burst into tears despite how hard I tried not to. “I should have used birth control, a condom, something. I didn’t think I could get pregnant. I am so sorry,” I told him.

He lifted his head to look me in the eye. “What, are you crazy? This is the best news I think I’ve ever heard. We are going to have a baby, Laura, you and me.” A huge smile appeared on his face.

“You haven’t even asked who the father is,” I told him.

“That’s because I don’t care,” he said.

“It’s yours, Jackson,” I told him.

We sat there for a long time, holding each other and trying to adapt to this latest development.

Besides the morning sickness, everything seemed better in the dawn’s orange light. Jackson was sincerely happy, but he was concerned about my health. I think that his constant inquires about how I am feeling are going to get old, but I am so grateful that he is standing behind me on this that right now I am actually enjoying his attention.

He went to get breakfast for the three of us, and I got Bailey up and bathed. She is really enjoying baths again. She must be part fish, like me.

It was nice to eat breakfast like a real family. Today was my first attempt without coffee. I had herbal tea and a giant caffeine withdrawal headache, but I was determined not to act like a bear. Jackson promised that he would look for some decaf for me before I even had my eyes completely open. He was rightfully afraid of me when I didn’t have my morning cup. I was doubtful he would succeed on his quest, but I tried to smile.

Jackson took Bailey to the school RV and came back to talk for a little bit. I tried to keep him from getting too far ahead of himself. “Alexis told me that with my history we should keep quiet about my present state. Don’t you think it’s a bit soon to start talking about baby cribs?”

“I just like thinking about it,” he told me. “And there are a few people we should tell, like Fitz and Annie.”

“Not Annie,” I jumped on him. He obviously needed an orientation course on my family’s eccentricities. “You don’t know what a worry wart she is. She would have me in some kind of state of suspended animation if she knew. But I think that we should tell Fitz, Bri and Ammie. Ammie has been making special teas and diets for Tiffany and Madison. But if we tell them, we might as well tell Jake, because my family is really bad at keeping secrets. It will be tough enough keeping this from Annie.”

“Deal,” he said. “But I need to find some way of getting Annie to like me. She gives me dirty looks sometimes, like she is going to skin me alive or something.”

I didn’t want to mention that she had called him a “stud.” His ego was big enough.

“Yeah, she only skinned a couple of my boyfriends alive. Jackson, you might have noticed that my family is a little protective,” I told him. “Start with Jake. If you really win him over, he’ll go to bat for you with Annie.”

“How do I win him over, though?”

“It might be hard to find, but books are good, anything Civil War related,” I suggested. “Um, and chocolate. Oh no, chocolate is the way to win me over.”

“Hint, hint,” he teased back.

∞

My announcement to the Villagers about finally moving on went over well. I was proud of how well they had made it work out here in the middle of nowhere, though.

After the Village meeting, Jackson was out doing whatever it was that Jackson did when he wasn’t with me or in meetings, so I called for Bri, Jake and Ammie.

“I need to talk to you guys,” I told them.

“Are you sick?” asked Ammie.

“Why does everyone just assume that I am sick? I’m not sick,” I told them.

“It’s just your weight,” said Bri in her typical stoic manner.

“I know, and I plan on working on it. It will be going up though, that I know. I’m pregnant. It’s really early and… what?” I said to the three stunned faces.

“I am going to kill him,” said Jake, his fists in tight balls.

“I assume you are talking about Jackson. He was only one half of the equation, so you might as well kill me while you are at it.”

Ammie moved over to me on the sofa and gently hugged me. Bri did the same, and Jake gave in and joined the hug.

“We’ll do anything you need,” said Ammie.

When we were finished hashing out some of the details, everyone went back to work preparing for getting on the road. I had Jake bring my computer to the nightstand in the bedroom so that I could work from bed when I was feeling sick. My laptop would stay in the dining area. We determined that Bri would sleep in the cabin during driving hours to be ready for her security night shift, and Ammie would stay with us, too. She wanted to work with Charlotte on dehydration of various fruits and vegetables, and she thought that I would make a good test subject, seeing that I needed to bulk up more. Cassie and Charlotte would need to be with us, but I had no plans to tell them my news unless it was completely necessary. Jackson would be driving the tanker, teaching Owens so that he would have someone to trade off with during this leg of the trip.

Charlotte had worked with Audrey and Zac to bring many of their herbs, plants and seeds to the trucks. We now had a wide variety of organic produce to bring with us to the Valley.

I was videotaping the process of packing up and moving out to study it and find a way we could streamline our technique. It was still taking us too long, according to the MT. We had lost so much time that I agreed that anything that we could do to speed up this trip would be helpful.

Katie and Granville had briefed our new people on what was expected of them while we were on the road. Katie hadn’t singled anyone out as a threat, so we had a whole new group of people joining us now. I hoped that they would fit in with the Villagers, but I am still holding out a healthy amount of skepticism.

We were ready to move out at noon, and our previous schedules of broadcasts were set to resume as soon as we as we were moving. The cutters made progress yesterday, making it easier to turn the vehicles into position.

I would definitely not miss the area that we have called home for the past three weeks. As we began to move away from it, I was glad that the old trail, snow caves and winery mausoleum were now a part of our history rather than our everyday reality.

Before leaving, Jackson brought a much appreciated gift to the ladies in our cabin. He found a box of brownie mix from the MT supplies and commandeered an egg from the chicken coop. Normally, all of the eggs went to the bread that Annie makes, but he decided that one would not be missed. In an effort to win over Annie, he brought her a pound of sugar from their stocks, as well. It worked, and she gave him a small amount of lard (I didn’t ask what animal laid down its life for it) and some goat’s milk.

“I’m busting this out,” I informed the ladies in the cabin.

“Oh my God, brownies!” exclaimed Bri.

“I’ll make them. I miss baking,” said Ammie as she pulled the box of mix from my hands. I rolled my eyes, but that didn’t stop her. “Go back to work, Laurie. I am sure you must have something to do.”

Actually, now that we were on the road, I didn’t. I could always start some editing, but I was enjoying the company of the other women too much. Charlotte had begun some experiments with her new herbs and Cassie was working on some paperwork I had given her in hopes that we would be prepared to start working as soon as we made it to our final destination, the now mythical Carmel Valley.

Matching people to the best jobs for their skills would be tricky, so I asked her for some of the Villager profiles so that I could get my mind off of the burning sensation that was working its way up my throat.

“You’re kidding me,” said Carrie, lifting a piece of paper she was reading. “Before the Last War, Steven Rolette was a dishwasher?”

“Yeah, maybe he was overcompensating or something. Not that a dishwasher couldn’t be a leader, but to convince everyone to join a crazy religious cult would be a pretty lofty goal for anyone.”

“That smells like heaven,” said Bri, who had just changed into something more comfortable from the Agenia collection. She went over and opened the small oven door. Ammie shoed her away, so she went over to look at the selection of DVDs at her disposal.

“No friggin’ way, the Kardashians,” she said pulling the box out and looking at the cover.

“No,” came a chorus from all of the ladies. She just laughed and pulled out another one. “Okay, this is ironic;
The Road to the End,
from Nostradamus, to the Mayans, to Red Dawn, how will it end? Dun, da, Dun…”

The Digital Video Disc referenced here is included in the educational kit for the Beginning Days Series.

“Yeah, let’s watch it,” said Ammie. “I would like to see how off the predictions were.”

“Actually, I would like to see that one, too,” said Charlotte to my surprise.

“The Apocalypse movie it is,” said Bri as she pushed the DVD into the machine.

“Seven months ago, could any of us have imagined that we would be sitting in a solar-powered, sort-of-stolen cabin, watching a movie about the apocalypse after the actual apocalypse had already taken place?” asked Carrie.

“I could have,” said Bri, the smartass. But she did get a big laugh. We all settled into what we were doing, half listening to the movie. Some of the predictions were eerily accurate, while others were down right idiotic, in our twenty/twenty hindsight.

The cabin was pulled along at a slow pace, with lots of jerking and bumping. I was feeling sick, but thankfully nothing came up. After about an hour, I was doing better and was even able to eat a brownie and wash it down with some cold milk. I knew Ammie was watching me to make sure that I had eaten every last bite, so I did. I don’t remember boxed brownies ever being that good. They settled my stomach, and I closed my eyes, enjoying the sounds of my female companions working and laughing.

That little rest for my eyes turned into an hour-long, much-needed, nap. I didn’t wake until the cabin jerked to a halt.

“We need to stop for a break,” said Adam over the radio that Billy rigged for the cabin. “We need all cutters up to the first truck. The occupants of the van need to wait for Colonel Jackson. He and his team will lead you to a safe place to relieve yourselves. Everyone else may use one of the RV restrooms.”

“When was all of that decided?” I asked Carrie who shrugged a response. I grabbed our private walkie and said, “Jackson, I would like to see you at the cabin when you are done.”

“Heh, I was waiting for that order,” said Jackson.

I waited on the back porch of the cabin. It reminded me of a train’s caboose. It would be nice to sit on it on a sunny day, but no one is sure if and when there will ever be an end to this nuclear winter that has haunts us day in and day out.

Jackson climbed up to the deck already defending himself. “We can’t run every little thing past you. Besides, they are still in quarantine, so how else would you do it?”

He had a point. “I just would like to be kept apprised of any decisions made,” I whispered. “Just because of my present state, don’t start getting the idea that I am not still the leader here.”

“You can’t micromanage everything, Laura,” he said.

“Fine,” I told him. “But from now on, just let me know. Now, give me a kiss.”

As soon as our lips parted, I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye. Mark was standing there, and I just wanted to curl up and hide. I guess he was well enough to move around now. I would be far more careful in the future, but I felt badly still.

“That wasn’t good,” I told Jackson.

“He better just get used to it,” he said. “Because I am going to be kissing you… a lot.”

“It’s still too early,” I said.

“Fine, have you eaten yet?”

“Yes, and thank you. Brownies were just what the doctor ordered,” I told him.

“Oh, that reminds me,” he said as he pulled a pill bottle out of his pocket. “This is actually just what the doctor ordered. They’re prenatals. She said to try to take them in the morning if you can handle it, but if not, you can take them before bed. Oh, and Fitz said congratulations.”

“And you made him promise not to tell anyone, especially Jessica?”

“I made him swear on a stack of imaginary bibles and his new rank,” he said as he gave me a kiss on the cheek and jumped off of the deck.

I went to see what was happening on the tree-cutting front while the children streamed out of their RV to get some exercise.

“How’s the first day back on the road?” I asked Holly.

“Good; the kids would rather play all day like they basically have been, but we are back on track with the school work,” she said before she scurried off to catch up with the happy kids.

Happy kids,
I thought.
I guess that it is still possible.

∞

We had to stop two more times for cutting before we called it a night. I picked up Bailey from school and she chatted with me about her day just like she had in the Village.

“And Reese is my new best friend,” she said. “Can she have a sleepover with me someday?”

“Let’s let her family settle in with us, and then we will have her over.”

“Is Jackson going to live with us in the Valley?” she asked.

“I think he will, if that’s alright with you,” I said. She had no idea about the baby, so I wanted to get a read on her thoughts.

“Yeah, he’s funny, but not when he tries to tell a joke. Those are just silly,” she informed me.

“Good, then I will let you ask him to live with us.”

“Cool,” she said. “Can we help Grandma Annie with supper like we used to?”

“Absolutely,” I said.

We were trying to switch over from the MREs back to real food, but it wasn’t easy. Luckily, for the next few days we have some of the fruits and vegetables harvested from Audrey’s greenhouse.