After they’d walked back to the playground, used their remaining ammo to finish off the birds that were trapped, and loaded the bodies onto the cart, Elz and Trey sat on the picnic bench in the playground waiting for the Creaux’s people to pick up the birds.
“That was a good shot.”
Trey smiled. “I saved your butt agaaain,” she taunted Elsbeth. Elz just laughed.
“That you did, short-stuff.”
Trey hopped up. “So, what do we do now?”
“We can leave, but I don’t wanna leave stuff burning, so we’re waiting ‘til they get here.”
“Okay.” Trey dropped her backpack on the bench and then ran off to play on the Jungle Gym.
“Safety on.” Trey waved a hand over her head but pulled on the shoulder strap of the gun until it was in front of her, and flicked the safety button.
Twenty minutes later, a group of people appeared walking down the path from the parking lot. Dressed in dirty and worn clothing, they didn't look like a team of anything, but they pulled large tanks on wheels and wore face masks. One of them walked towards Elz as the others walked on, headed to the Cottage where a plume of smoke was still rising from the front yard.
The man who approached was wearing ripped jeans and a ragged t-shirt, but Elz didn't believe the disguise. He held out a case to her. “For the Watcher.”
Elz nodded, took the case, and got up to leave. The job was over except for rescuing the TreatyKeeper, which had not been a part of the original plan. She regretted the fire that was spreading from the body of the fallen Alpha because she was certain that the Creaux wanted to preserve the Wildlife Centre, but there had been no other options for them. Bad information had resulted in them being unprepared with an inadequate number of rounds.
“Let’s go get the Keeper.”
It took only a few minutes for them to retrieve the Treaty-Keeper from the locker in the Activity Center and apply the patch from the new case to his exoskeleton. While they waited for the patch to set, they raided the Cafe pantry for any remaining canned goods. Once the patch had dried, Trey lifted the Watcher into the hood of her poncho and they turned their motorized scooters, sans cart, back down the road towards Cilgerran.
The journey back was peaceful, they raced for a few minutes but kept it steady for the Treaty-Keeper riding in Trey’s hood, then Elz quizzed Trey a little.
“What did you notice about the people who came to collect the birds?”
Trey thought about it for a moment. She wondered, not for the first time, if she should tell her mother everything she’d observed or if she should just provide the answers Elsbeth expected.
“Their clothes looked dirty, but they were really stiff. Like, new-stiff.”
“Nice. Anything else?” Elsbeth inquired.
“All of them had super clean hair.”
“Explain?” Elsbeth had missed that, but she wondered how Trey could tell.
“Strands were moving as they walked. There was no breeze. So, no grease or dirt in the strands.”
“Nice catch. I missed that.”
“Mommy, would you think I’m weird if I told you a secret?”
“We are weird, babe. And you can tell me anything.”
“They all smelled like chemicals. And the one who gave you the case smelled like strawberries too.”
“Really? That’s a real good catch, kiddo. You’re getting more observant.”
Elsbeth didn't ask any more questions and for a while, they just rode in silence. The strawberry scent had been very noticeable on the man once he was closer to her, but it had not actually been that strong. She hadn’t even thought about it at the time, but now that Trey mentioned it, she realized it had to have been a shampoo or body wash scent. It truly was a good observation, but…
…Trey had been at least fifteen feet away.
*****
They rode the carts all the way back to the airship. There, they restocked their ammo, without the more dangerous grenades, left the injured Watcher, and headed back into Cilgerran to scavenge.
The village was still as silent and desolate as it had been when they searched earlier. This time though, they were more thorough, looking for anything they could find. They moved quickly and carefully around abandoned garages and forsaken storefronts, perusing every item for potential usefulness. Like Trey had pointed out with the chlorine, you never knew what you would eventually need, and having this opportunity to scavenge for themselves was priceless.
Trey ducked and squeezed under the rolling gate as soon as Elz lifted it high enough for her to fit. She crawled into the Feed Store, as Elz turned away to look into the adjacent yard. Standing, Trey found herself in what seemed to have been a garage space, with a smaller door a few feet away that appeared to open into the store proper. Looking around, she saw a shelf with hand tools and pallets of pet food bags. On a nearby rack, there were stacks of brightly colored buckets and tubs. Everything was covered with a thick layer of dust or mossy algae. Walking over to one of the racks she removed the first and last of the buckets from the stack to get a few of the cleaner ones from inside the stack. Into the buckets, she tossed a few of the hand tools, thinking of the Old Man's rooftop garden and how much she loved working in it. She’d heard her mom talking about buying or claiming “The Cottage” and she thought that asking the Old Man to help her start a garden there would be a great idea and a nice surprise for her mom. It would also give her something else to do—a good way to spend some time before they headed back to New York. If they were able to claim the cottage, then that would be awesome, and if not, then it would still be time well spent. She grabbed a few more of the buckets and bins. With some work, they would make good starter pots and were lightweight enough for her to carry multiple.
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After grabbing the tools and the bins, Trey checked out the rest of the store. There wasn't much left that was usable as the bags of pet food had either gone bad or been eaten by other creatures. She did grab a couple of leather and chain leashes, because… You never know! On her way back out, Trey stashed one of the chain leashes and a three-pronged garden tool under the pallet closest to the entrance. It was one of their top two rules for scavenging:
1. Never empty a location of useful things. In a pinch, if ever in need, you'll know exactly where to find those same things again.
2. Always stash a weapon or tool. Same reason as above.
Having found everything worth finding, Trey ducked back under the gate to exit the shop and walked right into a hand truck that Elz was pushing.
“Give me some help here.” Elz motioned her head in the direction of the yard as she continued on, another hand truck trailing behind her. Trey nodded and quickly dropped her loot into the basket of her scooter, then followed her mom into the yard. The gate, having gone unopened for many years, creaked loudly in the silence of the empty village as Elz pushed it open to maneuver the dollies inside. In the yard, there were rows upon rows of canisters in varying sizes. Stopping in front of a row of orange ones, Elz beckoned for Trey to hold a hand cart still while she grabbed one of the tallest cans and walked it to the cart by rolling it along its bottom rim. She then rocked the can back and forth until it was settled nicely against the body of the cart, and turned to retrieve a second can. Waiting for her to move the second canister, Trey securely strapped the can to the hand truck.
“It’s propane,” Elz volunteered when she returned. “A gas used for cooking, heating or running equipment. It wouldn’t hurt to have a few cans stashed away.”
Trey nodded in understanding as she strapped the canister to the second hand truck. Extra fuel was always a good idea. The laws prohibited some forms of energy from being generated, but there were a few products, like these canisters, that were “grandfathered in”. Having already been produced and packaged for consumption, they could still be used. There were limits and regulations on those as well, however, since the Joneses were traveling around, those limitations would vary from region to region. In the UK, where the majority of the population had moved to cities, the smaller towns and villages had a higher Restoration Quotient* so the limitations would be more relaxed than in a location like London or New York.
“How do you know all this stuff?” Trey had never before questioned the things her mother taught her because she understood that Elz wanted her armed with knowledge as well as ammo. Still, Elz had been born after the Treaties were enacted. Logically, it was strange for her to have such a vast knowledge of Pre-Cure technology and equipment, yet she did. She was an expert on how to survive within and without the systems that had been put in place to regulate the destruction of the environment.
“We can talk about it at the cottage.” They attached the two dollies to the backs of the mobile scooters and did a quick test drive to ensure that their makeshift caravan would roll with no issues, then they continued their search of the village.
Sneaking under the roll-up gate on the loading docks of the MicroPharm plant yielded a treasure trove in comparison to the meager finds in the village. The boxes, stacked haphazardly against the wall and forgotten contained cases of antivenom, anti-toxins, and some basic antibiotics. The labels revealed expiration dates more than five years prior, but regardless, Elz was going to take them. Taking them and having no results was a better gamble than taking nothing at all. Elz wasn't a gambler. What she was, was pragmatic.
“The only way this day can get better is if we find a factory full of MREs.”
Trey grinned. “Or, if we went to the nursing home and got the batteries from all the other chairs.”
Elz grinned back, pulled Trey into a one-armed hug, and kissed her exaggeratingly on the head. “You my child, are worth every penny.”
An hour later, the airship landed in the parking lot of the pharmaceutical plant and they loaded their haul on board. The Old Man came out to help, not batting an eye when Trey drove a motorized chair through the doors of the Airship and parked it under the stairs in the main room. She soon followed with the second chair before finally helping unload the rest of the scavenged goods.
The next morning, they landed in a field just a mile or so north of the wildlife center, on the eastern outskirts of Cardigan. The maps provided by the Creaux pointed them to all the locations that possibly still held essential supplies, and they sought those out. Then, keeping to their rule of not disturbing any of the closed-up private homes, they scavenged in the abandoned medical center and all the area shops for whatever else they could find. Man Xiong explored multiple stores with garden centers and, in addition to finding seed packets, was able to collect runners from strawberry plants that had grown wild on the shelves. Searches of the fitness center, the nearby Health Center and the Police Station resulted in a large haul of supplies and ammunition. Elz also made it a point to locate bedding from a few of the area inns and hotels. At the end of the day, they returned to the airship with a large collection of goods.
“Welcome back” the pilot greeted them. “We’ve received the coordinates of your requested destination. So when you are ready, we can proceed.”
Moments after they were loaded and the doors closed, Elzbeth notified the pilot via the intercom in the main cabin, and the airship set off on the short trip to Ireland.