Trigger Warning:
Mentions of child death, graphic depictions of violence, semi-graphic description of self unliving.
Cody straightened the wide brim hat on his head. It's amazing that he still has his favorite hat given the current world condition. A knock came at the door then it opened with a slight creak.
"They've been spotted," one of the other survivors, David, said as he stepped inside Cody's room. David had been helpful since arriving, helping build and refurbish much needed buildings for the community.
A sudden cold sweat broke over Cody's forehead. His throat tightened, and his heart pounded in his chest. "How many were spotted?"
"Eight." Cody sighed from relief. "They'll be here in a couple of minutes." Cody nodded as David turned away.
He ran his hands down to the length of his arms. "Thank goodness."
Cody hurried off, joining the others to welcome back the group of scavengers. The doors were pulled open, and the eight people stepped through the doors. Cody didn't care for the other seven people. His eyes fell directly on the man in the front, Marshall, the unofficial leader of their community.
He was about the same height, though slightly taller. His hair, a faint strawberry blonde, was cut short by Hailey, a hairstylist before the world decided to end. He kept his beard short with the straight razor that they both shared. The acid wash denim jacket that he wore Cody had managed to grab while scavenging a JCPenney around five weeks after the world ended. Marshall's broad chest and shoulders filled the jacket nicely.
Cody smiled, crossing his arms and shifting his weight to one foot. "What'd you bring me this time?"
"Join us in the bank, and you shall see," Marshall said with a smile.
Cody's smile grew wider as he followed after Marshall. The seven other scavengers handed off their bags to their unofficial guild leaders.
Marshall held open the bank door for Cody and the others: Gretchen Poole, a school teacher in her past life, Jack Stockholm, an engineer who helped with defense and necessary buildings, Erin Lee, a doctor, Louis Martindale, a farmer, and Richard Liu, a gunsmith in charge of the armory.
The bank was one of the first places they renovated, only behind the nearby motel and the grocery store that they managed to convert into a greenhouse. They had moved around the couches and seats in the bank, giving them enough seats for them to hold meetings and make future plans. The bank vault itself was turned into an armory.
Cody sat down next to Gretchen on one of the couches.
"Everything on the table," Marshall said. With that, everyone placed the bags on the table that split the room in half, opening them and setting the contents on the table. Marshall went to the filing cabinet, pulling out a file and a pen. "Havenwood, day five, forty. Evening headcount. Gretchen, how many children?"
"Thirty-four," Gretchen said. "Same as yesterday."
"Excellent," Marshall murmured as he continued to write on the form. "Evening inventory has already been counted. How's the food growing, Mr. Martindale?"
"Fine," Louis said. "The onions and beets are growing nicely."
"Perfect," Marshall said, continuing to scribble on the page. He glanced at the table. "We found this." He shifted, opening his own bag and gently pulling out a plastic bag. He opened the bag, revealing an overgrown plant with the long roots still attached. "We found this. We thought it to be an herb."
"It is," Louis said with a nod. "It's basil, and the roots are still attached, so they'll grow easily in the greenhouse."
"Excellent," Marshall said. "Mr. Liu, we found three guns. They will go with you."
"How much ammunition did you use?" Richard asked.
"We used fifty-one bullets," Marshal said. "There was a horde of, I believe, twenty infected. Plus, more individually, and a few people."
Cody inhaled slightly as Dr. Lee shifted in her seat.
"You didn't kill anyone, right?" Cody asked.
"No," Marshall said. "We had to use five bullets to scare them off though. One bullet might've hit one of them, but we didn't kill any of them." Cody chewed on the inside of his cheek as Marshall turned back to his paper. "Survivors brought back, zero. Infected killed, twenty-nine. Supplies collected. Three guns." He turned to the table. "A bottle of Advil. Three cans of tuna. Car belt. Basil. Two copies of
Perry Mason
. They will go with you, Gretchen, to the library. This--." He placed his hand on the bottle of Advil. "Will go with Dr. Lee."
Cody looked over the rest of the supplies on the table before his gaze fell on the bolt of faded red fleece fabric and the grey sherpa blanket next to it. "That could easily make a few more blankets."
"How many do you think it would make?" Dr. Lee asked.
"I'd have to measure it to be sure," Cody said. "But even just looking at it, it probably could make four or five. Plus, whatever fabric we have left."
"How many do we have?" Jack asked.
"We have forty-three in inventory," Marshall explained. "Plus, whatever Cody can make."
"We should start handing out extra supplies," Richard said. "It's getting colder, and we need to make sure people don't get sick."
"We are running low on medicine," Dr. Lee added. "We need to check the pharmacy that Tommy told us about. We barely have enough medicine as it is. What happens if one of the kids gets sick?"
"The pharmacy is a four hour walk from here," Jack retorted with a shake of his head. "It would be too dangerous for a group on an eight hour round trip. It would be dark out by the time they start heading back."
"But Shane's been working on those cars since he got here," Cody said. "He nearly has one working."
"Really?" Jack asked. "What does he need?"
Cody shrugged. "I don't know, but whatever it is, he doesn't have it."
"SAE 0W-20 Dexos full synthetic oil," Marshall said, closing the file. "How long will it take to make a blanket?"
"Tie blankets are easy to make," Cody answered. "An hour each. But more elaborate blankets, the ones made from scrap fabric, would take more time."
"So in one day, you'd be able to make five or six?" Cody nodded. "Tomorrow, you'd be that." Marshall turned to the others. "We have enough blankets to give each household another one. At morning headcount, I make the motion of giving each household one additional blanket for the upcoming winter."
"I second that motion," Richard said quickly.
"All in favor say 'I," Marshall said.
"I," they all said.
"Then it's done," Marshall said. "With that, I believe this meeting should be called to an end."
Marshall set the file back into the filing cabinet as the others stood. Richard and Louis carried the guns to the bank vault before putting them away. Dr. Lee took the bottle of Advil as Gretchen took the books.
Cody fiddled with his fingers as everyone filtered out of the bank until it was just him and Marshall.
"It's nice to see you like this," Cody said.
Marshall turned towards him. "Like what?"
"You know, confident and commanding. It's nice to see that in you." Cody pulled a thread off of Marshall's jacket. "You never acted like this a couple of years ago when we worked together. Mr. Somerset seemed to run you over every day."
"Yeah. It's strange how the world ends, and then I get confidence."
Cody nodded faintly before a smile appeared across Cody's face. He returned his hand to Marshall's shoulder. "Would it be too much to ask if we got that sherpa blanket tomorrow?"
Marshall rubbed his chin for a moment, pretending to think. "You know, I might be able to pull some strings for that to happen." Cody chuckled as Marshall placed his hands in his jacket pockets. "I have something that I want to give to you." Marshall grabbed Cody's hand. "Come with me. I can't give it to you here because someone might see."
