The Havenwood Survivors

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."

Cody stared at him. His gaze lowered then was raised just as quickly. "What is it?"

"I'll show you." Marshall led Cody by his hand through the community to the water tower before they both climbed to the top. "Here." Marshall pulled a Hershey milk chocolate candy bar from his pocket.

Cody felt his breath catch in his throat. "You really shouldn't. What if someone finds out?"

"No one will find out. I've hidden it well, and if you eat it here, I can burn the wrapper in one of the fire barrels." Cody frowned slightly as he stared down at the candy bar in Marshall's hand. "I got it for you."

Cody hesitated but ultimately took the candy and opened it. Marshall crumpled up the wrapper, placing it back into his pocket. The candy had been warped from the melting and solidifying over the months. Cody broke the candy in half, offering one half to Marshall.

"Oh, no," Marshall said, shaking his head. "It's yours."

"Which means I can do what I want with it, and I want to give half to you."

Marshall frowned, taking the half offered to him. "Thanks."

They both took a bite of their chocolate before they frowned at the taste.

"This is not good," Cody murmured. Marshall nodded in agreement. "Thanks, Marshall." Cody leaned against Marshall, nibbling on the chocolate.

The sun was mostly set in the distance, painting the sky a flurry of oranges and purples as it caved below the horizon.

Cody opened his mouth to say something, but he immediately closed it.

"What?" Marshall asked, staring down at him.

Cody's face grew hot. "Nothing."

"No. You wanted to say something. What is it?"

Cody stared up into Marshall's warm brown eyes. His heart leaped up into his throat. Cody lowered his gaze, staring at Marshall's soft lips before looking back up.

I want to tell you. Cody glanced away. But you probably don't like men.

"Well?" Marshall asked, arching a brow.

Cody frowned. "Can I come with you? Tomorrow, when you guys go scavenging?"

"Oh." Marshall glanced away from him.

"I haven't been outside the walls in a couple of months."

"Yeah." Marshall shrugged. "We might need to start sending a few extra groups each day to make sure we have enough supplies to make it through the winter."

"We have a pretty decent supply of food growing." Marshall nodded. "We could probably be on the lookout for some farm animals."

"Yeah. The more we have, the better. We can never have too much milk." Marshall stuffed the rest of the chocolate into his mouth before he stood. Cody followed him a quarter of the way around the water tower. Marshall pointed towards the park that remained mostly untouched. "That would be something worth considering."

"A nice walk in a park." Cody smiled at the thought.

"Plus it has a basketball and tennis court. A playground for the kids. If need be, we can convert the open space to places where people could live."

Cody nodded faintly. "Yeah." He glanced down at the chocolate in his hand. "You want some more chocolate?"

"Nah. I'm good."

"Hey, guys!" Hailey shouted from underneath them. They both looked over the railing. Cody hid the chocolate behind one of his arm. "The movie's about to start if you wanna come to see it."

"In a minute!" Marshall shouted back.

"Okay! I'll be sitting with my mom if you wanna join us." Hailey shouted before she turned and walked back towards the wall.

With the electricity they were managing, Marshall and the others had decided to use the metal walls that protected them from the outside to play a movie once a week to boost the morale of their community. It was difficult having a large collection of movies and television shows as those things weren't what people were considering grabbing while trying to survive.

"I hope we can find some more movies," Cody said absentmindedly.

"Yeah. This is, like, the eightieth time we've played Tarzan. Don't get me wrong. I love the movie, but—." He blew out his cheeks.

"Well, it beats seeing Titanic again."

Marshall threw back his head, groaning loudly. "Ugh. I hope I never see that movie ever again for the rest of my life."

Cody felt his pain, having seen the movie a total of twenty times since weekly movie night had been voted on. "We need more than twelve movies."

"Yeah. I'll put it down on the list of things to get."

Cody chuckled before he finished his chocolate.

"C'mon," Marshall said. "I hate being up here in the dark."

"Same." Cody followed him down the water tower before they wandered to their room in the motel, something they had agreed upon to save from using an entire room for just one person.

Cody set aside his hat before settling down on his bed. "Do you think a trader will come by?"

Marshall shrugged. "Not sure. Haven't had a trader come by in a few weeks." He started to take off his shoes.

A knock came at the door. The person didn't wait for an answer before they opened it. Josh, a soldier in his past life and now the head guard, filled the doorway.

"Sorry to disturb you," Josh said. "We have a situation at the gate."

The three of them rushed to the gate and up the stairs to the top.

Cody gasped as they all stared down at a man they knew from another community. They didn't communicate too often with the other nearby communities given the short distance radius of their radios, but the man was the one that came by to trade whenever his community needed supplies. What was important was the truck he drove, towing a trailer with a tan 2015 Chevy Impala.

"Hey, Micah," Marshall called out. Micah simply waved up at them. "You looking to trade that?" Marshall gestured to the sedan.

"Yeah," Micah said, almost dishearteningly. "Whatcha got to trade?"

"Whatcha want?" Marshall asked.

Micah frowned. "Food. We're running low."

Marshall frowned himself. "Yeah. We'll have Shane look at it and then we'll discuss this." He turned away. They joined the other guild leaders on the ground. Marshall, Shane, and Josh stepped outside and watched as Shane inspected the sedan.

"It works just fine," Micah said as Shane settled into the driver's seat. "The key's in the glovebox." Shane leaned over, taking the keys out of the glovebox before stuffing the key into the ignition.

The engine roared, and the lights turned on. Shane stared at the dashboard.

"Is anything coming on?" Marshall asked.

"No warning lights," Shane said. "But I'll take a quick look under the hood."

Marshall and Micah watched as Shane opened the hood and checked each part underneath. After a few minutes, Shane closed the hood, nodding faintly at Marshall.

"Alrighty then," Marshall said, turning to Micah. "We'll see what we can bring out."

"What does he want?" Louis asked as Marshall and Shane came back.

"Food," Marshall said, rubbing his chin. "He says that they're running out."

"But if they're low on food now," Cody said, "what's gonna happen when winter comes? They'll starve. They can't keep trading stuff."

"What the hell do you want us to do about that?" Richard asked.

"I think we should invite them here," Cody answered quickly. "There can't be that many of them, and we could use more people. We've been talking about sending more groups out to scavenge more. With more people, we can do that."

"But we need to be careful with our supplies," Dr. Lee said.

"It's not like food is a problem here," Cody retorted. "I mean, some of the time, our food goes to waste because there are not enough people to eat it."

"Food isn't the only supply we have to worry about," Jack said. "What about water? What about clothes, bedding, the sleep situation?"

"Medicine," Dr. Lee added.

"If we have more people, we could send more people out to find those things," Cody said. "We always say that we could use more people and how we should bring anyone we find back with us. I mean, they're so desperate that they're trading a working car."

"True," Josh murmured. Everyone looked at him. "Look, as much as I am concerned about our supplies, we need people to send out to get more supplies. Two groups of four going out twice a day isn't going to be enough soon."

"Well, if some of us were even allowed to go out," Dr. Lee said, crossing her arms as she shot a look at Marshall.

"You're our only doctor," Marshall reminded. "It would be devastating if we lost you. It would be devastating if we lost Gretchen or Rhonda. It would be devastating if we lost Richard. Even with you teaching others, none of us are able to take over for any of you. We need more people." Dr. Lee glanced away. Marshall glanced at Jack. "Do we have enough space for their community?"

"Depends on how many there are of them," Jack said, shrugging. "We only have four rooms in the motel left. Four people comfortably in each, but we can squeeze some more people in if we need to. We can always build more places."

"But do we need to?" Cody asked. Jack and Marshall looked at him. "I mean, we've been eyeing that apartment complex a couple of blocks away. We never had a reason to expand, but with them, we can expand a little further out."

"Do we have enough supplies to expand the wall?" Josh asked.

"Yes, but that apartment complex isn't near the park," Louis said. "We've been wanting to get to the park before winter sets in."

"True," Richard murmured.

"If we don't bring them here today, what can we spare to trade for the car?" Marshall asked.

"Well, we still haven't butchered that one deer," Louis said. "A bag of onions, half a bag of beets. Some kale." He shrugged. "We are pretty good on just about everything we have, so we can spare a little bit of everything."

"I'll speak to him about it," Marshall said, turning and going back up the gate.

"I don't think this is a good idea," Dr. Lee said, shaking her head.

"If they have a doctor," Richard said.

"It would be helpful," Cody added. "Take some things off your plate."

"If they have a doctor," Richard repeated.

"Yes, if," Dr. Lee said quietly. She tightened her cardigan around her chest. "That would be the only way I'd change my mind." They all waited until Marshall returned. "How many people?"

"Forty-one," Marshall said. "Seven are children."

"How many doctors do they have?" Dr. Lee asked impatiently.

"Three doctors and two nurses," Marshall said. Dr. Lee sighed from relief. "They also have a few mechanics, a couple of teachers, and a carpenter."

"We can also build another building before they get here," Jack said.

"Well, they would have to accept our offer before we do anything," Richard said. Cody shrugged slightly. "They would also be bringing their supplies over if they do accept."

"But we don't know how much supplies they have," Gretchen murmured.

"What if—?" Cody started, but he paused. Marshall looked at him. "What if we trade for the car now, but give him the offer to join today to which he'd talk to his community and come back tomorrow and give us their answer?" Richard shrugged slightly as he thought. "We could also give them a week to pack their stuff if they agree. That would give us some time to build more houses."

"It would," Jack said.

"I would stand behind that idea," Marshall said. "All in favor, raise your hand."

Cody, Marshall, and Dr. Lee raised their hands immediately. Gretchen hesitated before she raised her hand.

"We can never have too many teachers," Gretchen said.

Richard frowned, but ultimately raised his hand. Louis and Jack took a moment, glancing at each other and thinking, before raising their hands.

"It's done," Marshall said. "I'll go tell him. Louis, go and grab the food."

Cody smiled to himself as he watched Marshall go back up to the top of the gate. It's nice seeing you in a different light.

He rubbed his face, running his hand over his light stubble, as he thought about how far they both have come in the past two years. They both changed, one more so than the other, but change is good. Needed, in the world they currently live in now.