Apocalypsis 04 - Haven

What’s dat?” asked Bodo.
    “All terrain vehicles. Rob and Trip went to get them. Kowi was going to go too, but then Coli disappeared, and he didn’t want to leave her behind.”
    “Oh man,” I said. “She’s seriously freaking out about him. She said they broke up.”
    Mandy shook her head, wiping her eyes and nose with her sleeve. “Who knows with her. She doesn’t live in the same reality that we do.”
    “She tried to kill me,” I said. “I know she’s your friend, but I can’t trust her. I have to get out of here before she finds me again.”
    Mandy nodded. “I’m not surprised. She never did connect with you very well, did she?”
    “Uh, no. Not at all.” It felt like the understatement of the year, but there was no reason to beat a dead horse. “So are you coming with us to the ranch? I’d appreciate you guiding us there.”
    “I guess since you got rid of those loom destroyers, I can go.” She gave me a watery smile. “You want to leave now or in the morning?”
    “Now,” said Bodo before I could. “Canners are going to go to Haven. We haff to be ready.”
    I knew he was right, but hearing it out loud like that was worse than just thinking it. My anxiety level ratcheted up significantly.
    “Let’s go, then,” said Mandy. “It’s going to take us thirty minutes to get there.”
    We followed her out of the hut and walked silently through the trees. My ears were tuned in for the sounds of a girl off her meds and my heart was aching for the friends I had lost and those who were in danger right now.
    Please don’t let anything happen to Peter or any of the others while I’m gone. If I returned to Haven and death greeted me at the doorstep I’d never forgive myself for leaving. I knew exactly how Kowi felt and that just made me even more sad.

    ***
    The trip to the ranch was way more treacherous than I had expected it to be. Mandy said it was the fastest route, but I might have preferred the longer one had she explained what we’d be walking through.
    I saw no less than fifteen gators, and I lost count of the snakes at twenty. We even walked around a few of the monster pythons I’d read about in the news before the world had fallen apart - pets people had released into the wild when they no longer wanted them. These serpents had thrived in the Everglades, eating pretty much non-stop. Now they were big enough to eat a pig or maybe even a Bryn-sized girl. I ran past any I saw, praying that being big also meant slow .
    The landscape was a mix of waterways and dry land, some of it just roots of trees linked together and some that appeared more solid, like it had sand or solid ground beneath it. The closer we got to the ranch, the less water we saw and the more it started to look like the area around Haven.
    It was fully dark by the time we got within fifty yards of the gate. Mandy let out a birdcall that was quickly answered by someone inside the barbed-wire fence that circled the perimeter. When we got closer I was struck by how much it looked like a prison. They even had a watchtower.
    “Who goes?” asked a familiar voice.
    “Mandy and friends,” she said, sounding just a little happier than she had earlier.
    “Rob, it’s me and Bodo,” I said.
    “Oh, hell yeah! You made it!”
    “Yeah, we did.” I wasn’t as excited about it as he was probably expecting me to be, but it wasn’t possible to be too happy with the memories of Kowi and Jason at the front of my mind.
    “Awesome news, awesome.” He pulled me into a hug when I got close enough, holding out a hand towards Bodo. “Welcome to the ranch, guys. Welcome. So glad you’re both here.”
    Bodo shook his hand and nodded his head. “We are glad to be here. Out in da middle of da snakes and gators.”
    “Nice security system, eh?” asked Rob, letting me go and walking backwards through the gate.
    “So, what’s the status?” I asked, waiting for him to secure the lock on the gate and then following him down a road into a treed area.
    “We did some negotiating. We’ve got a small herd now, a couple looms and some other things. The trick is going to be getting everything down to Haven.”
    “How many kids are coming with us?” I asked.
    “About half,” said Rob.
    “Wow,” said Mandy, sounding surprised. “Really? I thought it would be more, actually.”
    “Yeah, well, more wanted to come but we convinced them to stay for now. We need to be sure we have the manpower at the ranch to keep the canners off.