The Reunion Read online

  “Fine. Great. I can’t sit still worrying about y’all. How are Marcus and the girl?” asked Wynd.

  “The girl’s name is Savannah and she’s a little beat up but she is going to be okay.” She turned and spoke to Savannah, “Say ‘hi’ to Wynd. If I have my story correct, Marcus picked Wynd up at that aquarium we just passed a few minutes ago.”

  Savannah started waving and said, “Hi, Wynd. You can call me Savvy if you want.”

  “Hello, Savvy. It’s nice to meet you. How are you feeling?” asked Wynd.

  “My head hurts a little but I’m fine. I’m really hungry though,” she said.

  “As soon as y’all get here, we will pig out. Everybody wants to have a party to celebrate,” said Wynd. Savvy smiled and started rubbing her hands together.

  Then Wynd asked, “What about Marcus?”

  “He’s okay. He’s got some nasty bruises where they shot him in the stomach and chest. He is also scratched up and bruised from the motorcycle wreck. He’s worn out from going so long without sleep but other than that he’s fine… and apparently he’s missing you,” said Kim.

  With the last comment, Wynd’s smile was too much to hide and Kim thought she could see a slight blush come to her face.

  “… and I take it that you’ve been missing him?” Kim said with a big smile. She could see Wynd’s face turn even redder. Kim couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

  “Well… I… uhh… okay you got me. I am missing him. Jocelyn has let me watch all the events that were happening and I’ve been in hysterics over the past few days. You sure he’s okay?” she asked again.

  “Like I said, he’s fine. We should be there in about twenty-five minutes and you can check him out yourself,” said Kim.

  “Twenty-five minutes! I wasn’t paying attention to the time. I’ve got to go get ready!” said Wynd. She jumped up and shot out of the camera’s range.

  “Wynd? Wynd? You still there?” asked Kim.

  Jocelyn spoke and said, “Wynd is already in the shower. Is there anything else?”

  “No. That’s fine,” said Kim.

  Chapter Eighteen

  As soon as she finished speaking the screen went back to showing the road ahead. They had left the highway and were crossing over a small creek. The mountain loomed ahead. She looked across the valley at several herds of dinosaurs that were resting there. They were a magnificent sight.

  As they began to ascend the mountain, Kim did everything she could to take it all in. She knew that in her heart she was coming home and wanted to know everything about it. Marcus had told her a lot but he hadn’t told her how he had set up his little compound. It must have been quite a coup to acquire the size canopy he had set up.

  The mountains were beautiful. There were oranges, reds, browns, and yellows that painted the side of the mountain. Leaves where starting to fall and, as the MAV cleared the top of the mountain and began the last leg home, the leaves were falling like huge colorful raindrops as they floated to the ground. Kim continued taking in everything else as the MAV turned and entered the denser forest.

  They crossed the barrier of the canopy and Kim noticed that Jocelyn switched the MAV’s exterior shield off. They crossed the little stream that emptied into the lake and just ahead she could see the cabin and other buildings coming into view. She began smiling as she saw her group standing on the front porch waiting.

  The MAV pulled into the clearing in front of the huge cabin. Her little group ran down the steps and opened the door for her. She was mobbed by them and they wouldn’t let her move until she had hugged them all. After they were finished, she moved to the rear door and opened it up for Savannah and she began introducing them all to her.

  In the meantime, Wynd, Rom, and Twig had gone to the driver’s side of the MAV. Wynd gently opened the driver’s side door and they all looked at Marcus. He was a mess. He had dried blood on the side of his face and scratches up and down his arms. His curly hair was a mess and his camouflage pants had several rips and tears. He looked like he had been in a fight with a bear and the bear had won.

  Twig climbed up on the runners on the side of the MAV and looked at him intently.

  “Is he dead?” she asked.

  “No, honey he’s not dead. He is just asleep,” replied Wynd.

  She turned and looked at Wynd and said, “Well, I want him to be awake so he can pway with me.” With that said, she leaned over and took her index finger and pulled his eyelid open. “Mawcuss, are you going to wake up. I want to pway.”

  With Twig’s prodding Marcus finally started to stir. He blinked several times and struggled to sit up. Wynd could see that it was a struggle. The pain was evident by the look on his face but that was completely erased when he recognized Twig standing on the MAV’s runner looking at him.

  “Ok, who let a monkey into the MAV? There’s no monkeys allowed in the MAV. Looks like I’ll have to put it back into its cage…,” said Marcus. He grabbed Twig and started tickling her. She was giggling and trying to stop him.

  “Mawcuss, I’m not a monkey. I’m a gull.”

  Marcus finished tickling her, set her down on the ground, and stepped out of the MAV. He looked over to Rom and said, “What’s happening, big guy?” Marcus stuck out his fist and Rom brought his fist down on Marcus’.

  “I finished the last level of World of War Battlecraft. Do you think we could take a trip to Chattanooga and see if we can find the gaming light sword that goes with Battlecraft 2? Jocelyn already has it loaded but I need the light sword,” he said.

  “Sure thing, partner. Give me a couple of days and we will both go,” said Marcus grinning.

  “Aw right!” yelled Rom as he tore out and ran into the house. Twig following his lead took off after him.

  Wynd was just a few feet away standing there looking at him.

  Marcus hesitated for a second and then said, “Are you okay?” Wynd stood there without saying a word for several more seconds.

  Then in a sudden movement, she ran forward and jumped into his arms wrapping her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. She then squeezed even tighter and was not letting go. Marcus noticed she was shaking. Then he realized that she was crying.

  “Wynd, it’s okay. Everyone is safe,” he said.

  She finally relaxed her grip but didn’t let go. She leaned back and looked into his face.

  “I saw you go down when that guy shot you. I forgot that you had the vest on. It was horrible. I went into hysterics. When Kim finally got over to you and I realized you were okay I wanted to shoot you myself,” she said smiling.

  He smiled back at her for a minute and she moved her hands to the back of his head and pulled his face down to hers. Her face changed to a serious expression and she said, “don’t you EVER and I mean EVER take chances like that again. I could have lost you.” With that she brought his face even closer and brought her lips to his and kissed him deeply. Then their lips parted and she hugged him tight again. Speechless, he squeezed her tight to himself and held the embrace until he heard someone clearing their voice.

  “You two going to stand there like that all day or are we going to get something to eat,” said Kim laughingly. Marcus didn’t realize that everyone was watching them and the whole group started laughing and headed into the cabin.

  Chapter Nineteen

  In the span of several weeks, Marcus went from living alone and being accustomed to solitude to a house full of people. What made it even more disconcerting was that it was mostly women. He knew it was going to take some work to get accustomed to it. Habits he had developed on his own were going to have to go. He had to remember what manners were and that privacy was hard to find. It took him a couple of weeks to figure out that the locks on the bathroom door were there for a reason and he made a point of asking everyone to learn to use them. In those couple of weeks, he figured he had been embarrassed more times than he had been in his whole lifetime.

  All these people took getting used to but at the same time he reali
zed the advantages of not being alone anymore. Before, if something needed doing, he had no choice but do it himself. Even though she was younger than the other women, Wynd had basically taken charge of the household. Marcus guessed it was a seniority thing and it didn’t hurt that the owner was extremely fond of her.

  He was sure that Wynd and Kim would eventually butt heads but for the time being they were getting along great. Although Marcus made all the major decisions about the compound as a whole, Wynd and Kim set everything else in order. The chores that Marcus had been used to doing himself were divided up and shared among the group. The cabin had never been as clean as it was now.

  The women all divided up the housework. Johnnie and Ronnie took over making sure the livestock were cared for and fed. Amazingly, Virginia had actually been a chef at a fancy restaurant in Atlanta that specialized in southern comfort food. She loved cooking and although she was only in her early fifties and the senior member of the group, she quickly developed that mother hen mentality and became the mother of the little group.

  The group was going through the food that Marcus had stored quickly and began to rely more heavily on Virg’s cooking, Marcus and Kim’s hunting, and the greenhouse. After trying her food, Marcus found that he really didn’t like the foods from the containers as much as he thought he did.

  Danielle was working on finishing her nursing degree when the virus hit so she became the resident doctor. One of Lauren’s favorite hobbies had been gardening so she began caring for the greenhouse. Savannah and Rom quickly became fast friends and Rom started training her on all things computer related. They took turns working with Jocelyn to broadcast and see if they could find any evidence that David was alive. Marcus and Kim brought home any provisions that were needed and made sure the little compound was secure.

  A few weeks went by and Virginia came to Marcus and asked him if he realized that Thanksgiving was coming up the next week. He told her that he really hadn’t thought about it. Virginia explained to him that she thought it would be a good idea to have a special day with a special meal and maybe some kind of festivities. Marcus thought it was a grand idea.

  “I can get you a turkey. I’ve got the perfect tom picked out already. A group of turkeys have been hanging out by the barn picking at some of the animal’s feed. That big tom wouldn’t be picking any more after next week. What else can I get for you?” he asked.

  “We are low on flour and sugar. Any way you can get some of that?” she asked.

  “Of course, I didn’t know we were low. There’s an old food warehouse on the northeast side of Chattanooga that is loaded with flour and sugar in preservation chambers. That’s where I got it the last time. It shouldn’t be a problem,” he said.

  “Well, it is Thanksgiving and we have just about everything else except for one thing…,” she smiled.

  “And what is that?” he asked.

  “Pumpkins. We don’t have any pumpkins or pumpkin pie filling,” she said.

  “Hmmm… I think I can rustle that up on one condition…,” he said smiling.

  “What’s that?” she asked.

  “Well, there’s a reason we don’t have anything pumpkin related. I don’t like pumpkin pie,” he said. She sighed and hung her head. “I don’t like pumpkin pie but I love pecan pie. Anyway you could make one of those too?” he asked. He knew that having the pecans for it wouldn’t be a problem because there were two huge pecan trees on the backside of the property.

  Accentuating her already southern accent, Virginia said, “Peeee Cannn pie. Honey, I can make a pee can pie that will make you want to slap yer mama.”

  Smiling from ear to ear, Marcus spit in his hand and stuck it out to her. “It’s a deal. Put her there sweetheart.”

  Still in her sharp southern twang she said, “Honey, I ain’t touchin’ that and you betta warsh it before you come to dinner.” They both started laughing then Virginia turned and went back into the kitchen to work on the next meal.

  Chapter Twenty

  The next day Marcus and Kim made the trip to Chattanooga and loaded up on flour and sugar. They saw several dinosaurs on the way but none that would be a problem. The recent dinosaur migration had greatly increased the population in the area. It looked like they were staying in this area at least for the winter.

  Kim and Marcus had to raid several grocery stores in the area before they found the pumpkin filling. A lot of the stores were either ransacked by some humans or dinosaurs had torn the place apart. They finally found what they were looking for by searching the excess stock of a store that had already been ransacked. Apparently no one had looked in the back. The trip back was uneventful except for one t-rex for which they had to stop as he slaughtered one of the smaller dinosaurs. Its prey was too hard to recognize because by the time they come upon the t-rex, it had already ripped the dinosaur to shreds. They had to back slowly away and go around in a different direction.

  The day before Thanksgiving Marcus brought everyone together to tell them his plan for tomorrow. He really wanted a traditional Thanksgiving like he had when he was a kid. They were thrilled with what he had planned so the next day they proceeded with the plan.

  Marcus had gotten with Jocelyn and had pulled up footage from the old Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and a few cartoons. Virginia worked on the meal and the rest of the women and girls sat around watching the parade and helping Virginia when she needed it.

  Marcus took the twins and Rom with him. Marcus’ dad had always taken him hunting on Thanksgiving morning. He had been working with the boys on learning how to shoot and he wanted to give them a chance to use what they had learned. Johnnie and Ronnie shot at about anything that moved but never made any contact.

  Rom, on the other hand, was a natural. He bagged two rabbits by the time they were ready to go home. Marcus took the boys out to the barn and showed the boys how to properly clean a rabbit. As boys normally are, all three were fascinated with the internal workings of the rabbits. Marcus cleaned the first one and let the boys take turns working on the other. Finally finished they went in the house, cleaned up, and got ready for the meal.

  The table wasn’t large enough for all of them so the children sat at the kitchen counter and the adults sat at the table. As was with the tradition at the Rainwater’s house, everyone stood shoulder to shoulder around the table, held hands, and bowed their heads. Marcus bowed his head and offered thanks for the food and asked for God’s blessing upon them. When he was finished everyone sat down to the scrumptious meal Virg had cooked. In the middle of the table was a huge turkey sitting in a pan of cornbread dressing. There were mashed potatoes, yeast rolls, green beans, corn, coleslaw, and gravy. It smelled delicious.

  For dessert, Virginia had outdone herself making pumpkin pie, pecan pie, chocolate cake, and even peanut butter cookies. Everyone ate until they were so stuffed that almost everyone was moaning. Then everyone helped clean up and afterwards they all sat around the living room. Jocelyn started a movie and in about thirty minutes half of them were asleep taking a nap.

  Later after everyone was awake again, Marcus had Jocelyn start a random football game that had been played on Thanksgiving. Everyone picked sides and cheered on the team they had picked. They all had a ball. Marcus noticed that everyone was starting to get sleepy so he told them the rest of his plan.

  Most folks thought that mall shopping would die out and eventually all stores would go away. Although a majority of shopping was done online, most retailers realized that people still wanted to congregate and that they enjoyed shopping so malls and stores never really went away. Through the years it remained the same and was that way before the virus hit.

  “Back before the virus, tomorrow typically, would be the busiest shopping day of the year called Black Friday. I’m sure most of you older ones will remember that. Everyone would go out to buy Christmas gifts for their family and friends. Well, tomorrow is going to be our Black Friday too. Kim has agreed to babysit the children here and the rest of us are goin
g to Chattanooga to pick up gifts or whatever we need and can get in the MAV and the trailer. Is anyone with me?” he asked.

  Wynd, Virginia, Danielle, and Lauren all jumped at the chance.

  “We will leave first thing in the morning after breakfast,” he said.

  As everyone was going off to bed, Rom came over to Marcus and said “You promised me I could go and get a light sword and we still haven’t went.”

  “Rom, you are absolutely correct and I apologize. Let me give you two options. Number one…you can go and we will find you that light sword but we won’t be able to get you any other Christmas presents. Or number two... I’ll try to find it plus we will be able to get you some Christmas presents,” Marcus said with a wink.

  Rom thought for a minute and finally said, “I’ll take number two but I would like to go someday with you.”

  “I promise to take you as soon as I get the time. Deal?” asked Marcus as he stuck out his hand.

  Rom grabbed and shook his hand and said, “Deal!”

  Wynd lingered around after everyone had gone to bed. Marcus was sitting on the couch and she came over and sat down by him. There was a moment of awkward silence between them and then Wynd finally said, “You can put your arm around me if you want.”

  Awkwardly Marcus put his arm around her shoulders. Then there was another moment of silence. Finally, Marcus got up the nerve and spoke.

  “Sorry for being quiet but I’m not used to this. I really like you and I don’t want to make any mistakes but I’m not sure what to do or say. I feel like I’m thirteen again,” he said embarrassedly.

  She looked up at him and smiled, “You worry too much. I like you too so you don’t have to feel awkward. Let’s just talk and get to know one another. Tell me who you are Marcus. I want to know everything about you.”

  Their conversation lasted for three hours. They completely lost track of time becoming completely engrossed with each other as they talked and laughed. Finally, Wynd started to get sleepy and yawned.