Chapter Three
Hannah and her family were the first to arrive at the community site in Idaho. They deliberately went early to make sure everything was to the specifications necessary. As they got out of their travel trailer and walked around the area, Hannah knew this was the right place. The walls were perfect, and the underground storages were as large as they needed to be. They could start buying everything soon.
They spent hours that first day riding around in the truck across the site. She couldn’t wait for the construction workers to arrive. Everything that could be done by outsiders had already been done. It was time for them all to get to work on growing and building their own society.
They travelled to the area that would be left as a wilderness and Hannah was thrilled to see all the wildlife there. They would have to work hard to make sure they didn’t overhunt or overfish it.
One of the streams cutting through the property had caused some problems with the wall, she noticed. They’d built over it, but a strong swimmer would be able to swim under the wall to get into the community. They could always dam it, but that wouldn’t be the best solution. It would make more sense to have a twenty-four hour watch there during the “tumultuous years” as she’d begun to think of the twenty years following the death of all the adults.
Emily kept looking around her and sighing. “I can’t believe you made us all move to the middle of nowhere,” she accused Hannah. Emily had been against the move from day one and had been extremely vocal about it.
Hannah sighed. “I know you hate it here right now, but someday you’ll love it. I promise.”
“What am I supposed to do here? I mean, you’re directing everything. Mom and Dad are the doctors. What am I gonna do?”
“When the others arrive tomorrow, everything will start. The general is going to kick our butts in training. He wants to turn us all into soldiers. We’ll have to go to school. Some of us will train to learn how to can vegetables. Others will train to be doctors. You need to look around you and decide what you want to do with your life. How you think you can best be of use to our community.”
Emily sighed. “You really make me sick sometimes, Hannah.” She kicked a clump of dirt at her sister. “I know you already know what I’m going to be doing, so why don’t you just tell me and save us all some time?”
Hannah grinned. She did know what her sister would do. She was going to follow in their father’s footsteps and be the community doctor. She needed to decide that for herself, though. Hannah was doing her best to make sure decisions weren’t made simply because they were what she’d seen. People needed to feel as if they had free choice. “Now what fun would that be?” she teased.
“I hate you!”
“Okay. I’m still not going to tell you, though.” She took her sister’s hand, pulling her toward the center of what would be their town. “The community center will go here.” She jumped up and down. “I’m standing in the middle of the library.”
“Like I care!” Emily protested. She pulled her hand away.
Their golden retriever, Daisy, ran around at their feet barking happily. She’d lived in the city her whole life, and was excited to be out in the country this way. “Why can’t you be happy like Daisy?”
Emily folded her arms across her chest. “Maybe because I’m not a stupid dog?”
Hannah threw her hands up in disgust and walked back to where her parents were setting up camp. “It’s just like I envisioned.”
Leah smiled. “Well, that’s good at least. Maybe.” They’d been pushing so hard all summer to get to this point. Now they were here, Leah wanted to collapse in a heap on the ground and cry her eyes out. She’d seen her little girl grow up so much with this experience. She wanted to hug her and tell her everything would be fine and she could stop worrying about the future. She couldn’t do that, though. Her baby had to be strong for an entire community of people.
They were starting with two hundred people, including the adults. Hannah had personally convinced every family to come, and they would all look to her for guidance. She wasn’t even a teenager yet, and already she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. Soon she wouldn’t even have a mother there to guide her.
Quickly Leah brushed a tear from her eye, hoping no one saw it. “Let’s get the fire built up and we’ll have ‘smores tonight. What’s the point of camping out if we can’t have a campfire every night?”
No one mentioned the fact they weren’t camping for fun. They simply went along with it. In the days and years to follow, there’d be so much work there may not be time for family evenings around a campfire. They’d all take the time together while it was still available.