Desolation

May — Approximately 300 Days AE

We settled into a comfortable life on Herb’s ranch, almost as if we had lived here much of our lives, when it has only been since last December. It was such a long and tragic journey to get to here.

We lost Doc Reynolds to a bear attack, of all things: I guess the bears were hungry too. I didn’t think it would hit us that hard, after losing my brother, I felt like I was numb to loss. But, Doc was the father I needed, a surrogate since I would never see mine again, so facing his death was like admitting that my father and mother were probably dead too.

It wasn’t just me though; he was missed deeply by all, especially Olivia, who not only looked up to him as a father, but also as a mentor. Doc had taught us much during our long passage, when all we had were our thoughts and our conversations. He said it was important to pass along your knowledge to others. Good books were hard to come by, not that any of us had the time to read. So he said teaching your vocation to another was the only way to ensure what you knew wouldn’t die with you. Every day, while we walked, he spent hours tutoring Olivia about medicine. Doc said a couple of days before that bear got him that Olivia knew more about nursing than any of the university-trained nurses he used to work with when he was younger. I think O felt a lot of pride at this.

We came close to losing Joselin, who almost died from an infection due to several cuts on her leg; gangrene started to take hold, and Doc had to amputate. We had to stop for a while to let her recover; although she came through it physically, emotionally she felt like she was not a whole person. When she was barely healthy enough for us to travel, she still had to be carried on a modified cart by Steve one day and then Wilber the next. Doc and O looked after her health daily; I tried to nurse her faltering spirits.

I believe it was her blood that led the bear to us and to the doc. When the attack happened, Doc was dutifully tending to his patient’s dressing. Just as it was about to maul Joselin, Doc threw himself in front of the bear. He sacrificed himself so that Joselin could live. Doc told us often, no matter what life throws at you, even the bad; you must consider that there was purpose in it. From this tragedy, we gained fresh meat and Joselin gained a new vigor for life. She figured if this man would give his life for her, she was responsible for making it the best she could, even with just one leg.

Before this, we were losing hope that she would make it, but she grew stronger and finally Steve, my husband—I guess that’s another story to tell—created two crutches out of thick aspen limbs and twine. Our pace was a little slower after that, but it was worth it to have her walking on her own.

When we finally arrived at Herb’s gate, we were out of food, water, bullets, and energy. I didn’t know what to expect, I mean what the hell did we have to offer? We were half-dead, skinny from lack of food, and had no supplies left. But Wilber’s brother, Herbert Wright was more than receptive: He was very excited to have his brother and sister-in-law back, and he treated us all like… well, family. We’re all healing well, even flourishing, while helping the Wrights with the many chores around the ranch and the household, which had doubled in size.

When we arrived, there were six people living at their ranch home: Herb (his wife tragically died one month before the Event), his grown son, Jas, teen-age daughter, Pen, a ranch hand, and two neighbor friends who joined them after the Event. I guess they had to defend themselves a few times in the first couple of months, as I’m guessing every community around the world, that had made it that long, did the same. Now, including us, there are eleven.

Many shared the bunkhouse, whereas Steve and I were given our own room in the main house, next to Wilber and O’s room. This summer, Herb promised to help us erect a dwelling of our own on the property.

It’s funny to me how we have all accepted that this is the way it will be for the rest of our lives. We will live in this community, all of us brought together by random events—Wilber says it was God. Herb’s neighbor Phil, who’s a follower of some offshoot of Hinduism, says it’s the gods getting even with us, sending us the snake beasts in the sky to exact their anger for what we’ve done to their planet. Whatever! I’m just amazed at our easy acceptance of our lot in this life, and how much our lives have changed in… almost one year? In my previous life, I would be finishing up with my degree in IT—wow, what a waste that was. I’m sure there are no more functioning computers left on the planet, and probably won’t be until after I’m long dead and gone.

Mmm, I wonder, when someone does bring back the computer, will the code be really different? Will it look different? I do miss my iPhone though…

Sorry, I’m rambling again. O says I can excuse it to my pregnancy—I like that.