Apocalypsis 03 - Exodus

aren’t racist,” said Paci. “We just don’t like outsiders.”
    “That white girl in your boat says different to me,” said Jamal, challenging him. He stood there on the bank, his hands fisted by his sides, looking proud and tough. Ronald on the other hand looked like a deflated balloon. His arms hung down and his head dipped low, making him seem utterly defeated. He turned slowly away, saying nothing.
    It broke my heart. “Wait a minute, Ronald,” I said.
    “What are you doing?” said Paci in a quiet voice. “You can’t just let them in here.”
    “They’re not allowed in,” said Trip.
    “You can’t just leave them out there to get eaten,” I insisted. “We have more than enough for two more people. And we could use the muscle. Right, Rob?”
    Rob shrugged. “Couldn’t hurt. But I’ve got no say in this; I’m not the chief.”
    “And I am. And I said no .” Trip pushed on the pole again. “Leave now,” he said loudly to Ronald and Jamal. “You’re not welcome here.”
    I glared at Trip. “Listen, Trip. This isn’t a dictatorship here. You either agree to take a vote, or I’m outta here.”
    Trip scoffed at me. “Yeah, right.” He pushed on the pole again, sending us farther away.
    I started to stand, but Paci grabbed my arm. “Bryn? What are you doing?”
    I sat back down. “I told him, if he doesn’t agree to do this fair, I’m outta here. I’m not kidding.”
    Paci pleaded with Trip. “Come on, man. You know that’s the right thing to do. You don’t have authority to make this kind of decision alone anymore, anyway.”
    “Shut your mouth, Paci. We’re going back,” growled Trip.
    “Screw this,” I said, before shaking Paci off, getting up on my feet, and diving into the water.
    ***
    As soon as my head surfaced, I heard the guys yelling back in the canoe. Then another splash. A second later, I felt someone come up beside me, and I turned to confirm it was who I thought it was. Paci was smiling like a maniac at me.
    “One thing I can say about you, Bryn … is life is never boring with you in it.”
    I smiled back, spitting out the swamp water that made its way between my teeth. “Thanks. Or screw you. I’m not sure which is the right answer right now.”
    He grabbed my arm and started pulling me towards the shore. “It’s a compliment. Come on. Your leg doesn’t need to be in this water right now. Let me get you outta here.”
    The guys in the boat were all yelling at us. I glanced back and saw it rocking back and forth. Trip was too busy trying not to fall in to push the canoe away anymore, and it was getting all turned around.
    We reached the spot where Jamal and Ronald were standing. Ronald rushed over to help us out, but Jamal remained in place just staring at us.
    “Thanks,” I said, taking Ronald’s offered hand. “Oh, man, that stings,” I said, looking down at my leg. The cloths that were wrapped over it were in bad shape, so I bent over to untie them and take them off.
    “What happened to your leg?” he asked.
    “I fell into a pit filled with … never mind.” I glanced up at Paci and he gave me a look that said keep our secrets to yourself.
    “Damn, girl. That’s ugly,” said Ronald.
    “Thanks,” I said, not even looking at him. “It’s not as bad as it looks.”
    “Yeah. I’ve seen worse. Especially these days.”
    I finished getting the bandages off and stood, facing the brothers. “So. What’s this about Sissy and Jimmy?”
    “Like I said … they told us to come here and ask for you. We need a place to live. We’re from Tampa. It’s bad there. Real bad. We just kept going south until we got to that Cracker Barrel. And when Sissy told us about you guys, we decided we might as well give it a shot. Like Jamal said, we’ve got nothing else to do and nowhere else to go, so … here we are.”
    “What makes you think we, or anyone else, would just let you in?” asked Paci. “I mean, you said yourself how bad it is in Tampa. It’s every man for himself these days.”
    Jamal shrugged and answered when Ronald seemed too bummed to speak again. “We heard we had a chance with Bryn and Bodo. We were told they’re good people. I guess we were told wrong.”
    “Don’t talk like that about her,” said Paci, getting bristly.
    “He doesn’t mean it,” said Ronald. “We’re just frustrated and tired and scared … and tired of being scared. It’s been a long couple-a months.”
    I nodded. I remembered all too well what it was