The mid-February weather was getting warmer, reaching in to the fifties, or so it felt like. Things were different than they had been three years ago when the cities bustled with life and nature was being pushed farther and farther back. Three years ago was also a time of hell on earth. Everyone turned on each other; mothers and fathers deserted their families, children were left to fend for themselves. It was mass panic and not just in the United States--everywhere in the world was in panic. A few months in the CDC announced that it was unable to contain the mutated bacteria and shortly after no one was sure if the CDC had done anything to prevent the disease from getting out. Eventually the news and other television stations went out, leaving the world in the dark. Radios worked periodically with broken messages marred by static, those to die down into history.

This new world crafted of fear was one that could have existed several hundred years ago; for the modern world to be like this it seemed almost unthinkable. A cult soon appeared and gathered many members who had lost faith in their God. As things quieted down with the disease, dubbed the Plague by newspapers and other media, the cults and other organizations bent on ruling people with fear sprung up. In New York City the buildings were crumbled and broken, former shells of the mighty skyscrapers that they once had been.

The city was quiet now, only animals and the occasional scuffle with scouts and scavengers echoed off the broken walls being reclaimed by Mother Nature. The survivors had formed small tribes, tiny gatherings of mostly unrelated people from many different ethnic backgrounds. They lived in crudely made huts as not every carpenter or construction worker survived. Their clothes, which had been worn threadbare, were replaced by modest wrappings of scraps or the poorly tanned hides of animals that had been hunted. Dogs and cats were no longer just pets. They were a food source which left many with the urge to vomit. Who could eat an innocent Chihuahua? Raccoons were a common meal as well, and many bore the black and gray hides of the masked animals.

The landscape was different too. Some of the city lay partially submerged under marine muds brought up by natural disasters, which had aided in the destruction of the city. The sea was brought closer inland. One particular small tribe had found safety on what used to be the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. It had been a cluster of small islands that had been reduced, but there was still a small enough chunk of land to live on. The area of the Floyd Bennet Field was where they called home-- a small, flat island with a small forest on the northern end that had provided wood for fires and their awkwardly constructed homes. The airstrip provided a place to build upon that did not require much work.
Over the past three years it had been difficult to learn how to fish and hunt for food. It had been New York City for crying out loud; surely no survivalist would be there!

The inhabitants who called the island home were a small but diverse group from around the city and globe. Many had been New York natives others had been transplants from other cities or countries. Here there was no hate for religion or the color of one's skin. They needed to work together to survive in this alien environment. The leader of the small tribe was a middle aged man, a former Elementary schoolteacher. He had ensured that everyone was being looked after, giving extra food rations to the surviving children or elderly. They were rare, those two groups. Only a few had been born after the disease wiped almost everything out.

Their tribe had no official name, they rarely came into contact with other tribes and often they raided what used to be Brooklyn. They relied on fish as their primary source of food, once in a while canned goods would be brought back. They were a treat favored among everyone.

As the small fifty member tribe stirred to life for the morning the buzz of activity filled the air. It had been by chance that they had all found each other, starving and frightened two years ago. They all wandered broken streets with dead eyes and hallowed cheeks.

In two years’ time they had come together as a patchwork family.

It was heaven. For those that once had everything and now had nothing they'd take this odd mix of humans as a precious gift.

Clark James, a stocky blond haired man was to lead the scouts today. The former mechanic had tried many times to bring vehicles for them to use but each time he had failed at the craft that once put bread on his table. In the center of the small village made up of a few small crude huts that housed anywhere from two to five people, the morning meeting was started. Clark stood with his head high, his eyes scanning the crowd for those that would be called to venture with him further into the ruins of the city. Beside the man stood the leader, Augustus. His salt and pepper black hair was pulled into a low ponytail and his stained clothes, scraps stitched and knitted together with the unskilled hands of the others, put him apart from the rest by the use of colors red and green.

"Today will mark the day that we will finally go further inland!" The man bellowed, raising his hands. "Perhaps there is more food and supplies hidden where we have not gone before."

Everyone nodded, agreeing. The man was charismatic and kind hearted, making them feel at ease with the choices he made. "Clark will be joined by Matt, Wyatt, Katie, Vanessa, Harriet and Jack." Augustus smiled, they all worked the best together and had, as a group, brought good results in the forms of canned foods and other things.

Clark scanned the small crowd for the six that would join him. He shared a hut with Vanessa, Harriet and her husband Mark, as well as a few others. As Vanessa joined his side she gave a small smile, "Good morning, CJ."
Clark returned the greetings before turning to face Augustus.

"Be safe," He placed his hands on Clark's shoulders, "Do not try to bring back everything. Sacrifices must be made."

Vanessa combed her fingers through her wavy chestnut colored hair as they were told good luck by the others before they would set out. It was a common thing to do, as the weekly raids had cost them a few members. In the beginning they had been a strong number of sixty people; a few died of natural causes, some of drowning but by far the biggest killer they knew of was going on their scavenging missions. Loose rubble could fall and kill them, dogs could attack or even other tribes if there were any in the area.
Harriet, Matt and Jack joined them as well.

Both Clark and Vanessa knew a lot about Harriet, Matt was on the quiet side and didn’t tell them much about his life before the outbreak. Jack was the same but he always danced around the questions. Harriet had been homeless; the forty year old woman rarely had a stable home after her husband lost his job ten years earlier.

“Ready hon?” Harriet asked Clark.

The blond man nodded with a faint smile, he always enjoyed these small adventures. They waited for the other two just outside of the small village, about a hundred yards away where they could discuss what they were going to do as everyone else got to work with either fishing or foraging for food such as tiny clams.
Jack and Matt were quietly talking amongst themselves as Vanessa stood by awkwardly with her arms crossed over her chest, knife in hand. Objects such as guns were rare as so many had been taken already or the bullets had been used as the city fell into panic.

The disease wasn’t the only killer. People rioted in the streets and plundered stores; they robbed and killed each other for anything they could get their hands on. Knives were much more common and useful, as many over looked them during the raids of stores. Who was going to listen to a guy with a knife? A gun spoke much more powerfully than a knife in a time of panic.

Clark held his club at his side. It had been made from one of the fallen trees and it was wider and weightier than a bat.

Harriet’s weapon that she had been given was a bat as well, Jack had a knife and Matt had an old piece of rusting pipe that he’d have to get rid of soon. It was a dramatic decline from the weapons of three years ago.

“Ready?” Clark asked once the plan was made and everyone arrived.

The sunlight streamed down upon the unnamed tribe as the day had begun and already most were active, going about their daily lives. Fifty people made up this tribe, all from different corners of life with different backgrounds but that didn't matter. Two years ago they were all in the same position as anyone else and through sheer luck they found each other along the way. Now, all of them were a family and they would stick together through thick and thin because it was the only way to continue on through this harsh world. Everything was different now, the world before with its tall buildings and everything so full of life was now nothing more then a distant dream to remember. What was left of the buildings now crumbling away, just another added danger to their lives and the nature around them spreading into the concrete that was once a great city. Scouts often lost their lives to the cities if not to natural causes or plague. They had been a tribe of sixty when they first started out but that soon dwindled down to what was left now.

Augustus had become their leader, the very person they looked to when times were troubling and trusted him to lead them no matter what was faced, good or bad. He was all around a nice man and decided everything very carefully, taking everyone into account as well as their opinion. Today he would gather them, picking a group of six people plus a leader to scout out further inland to explore new territory. At the moment, standing next to their salt and pepper haired leader was Clark James who would be leading the selected scouts that day.
Katie Gallagher sat next to one of her house mate, Wyatt Hall as they waited for the list of names to be called which they could probably guess. The auburn haired woman smiled gently as her name was called, pulling her bow over shoulder as well as the make shift holder of arrows before waiting for the other to stand. "Ready to go?"
Wyatt grinned before pushing himself up with his bat,"You bet I am."
They said their goodbye's and thank you as everyone wished each person a good luck. It wasn't long before the two joined up with the group that had already gathered outside the small village.
"Ready." Wyatt answered with a nod before looking to the others in the group to see if they were.
"Lead the way." Katie spoke up to Clark when they all were giving the okay to head out.

Their plan was simple: find anything of value. Food, clothes, or even toys and books for the children. Clark was a good leader, he was more self-sacrificing than many would believe with his heavily tattooed appearance and “I don’t take no shit” attitude. He was also incredibly stubborn about “leaving people behind”. Clark didn’t see why one injured man was thought of as a burden to others. Yes there was no way medicines from three years ago could help as many had been stolen from shops and stores. Some burned them, others overdosed or quickly grew a habit of pill-popping. Brushing blond strands from his eyes he surveyed the area as they walked down a narrowly constructed bridge to keep them from the water that separated their tiny island home from what remained of Brooklyn. The water wasn’t deep but with this unusually cold weather they couldn’t take any chances.

One by one they stepped across the bridge, Clark went first to aid Harriet when it was her time to cross. Vanessa followed soon after as she was followed by Jack. Matt stayed behind to make sure that the others would make it across safely, and no one would argue that the man was able to spot danger before they could. There once was a major road that linked their home to the rest of the city, in fact there had been several, but they were either underwater now or had been destroyed. They had crossed over what used to be the bay of the island before it had come closer inland and narrowed. Once on the other side they were able to follow the rest of the road that had been built on the island. The road was cracked in many places as nature had reclaimed the open pockets within the cracks.

As they walked Clark conversed with Harriet about the weather, “It’s getting warmer,” he commented quietly to the woman. She nodded silently as they continued on, stopping so she could take a break and so they could go over their plan once more. It would take them a few hours to walk to the boarder of their tiny and safe home but they had plenty of the day to waist away. Vanessa hummed lightly as Jack and Matt talked about football—a sport that they both loved. “What are you humming about?” Matt asked as he glanced at the girl.

“Just thinking about the weather is all, it’s getting better.” Vanessa said before falling back to talk with Katie and Wyatt. “How are you two today?” she asked curiously.

Clark smiled as Harriet began telling him of the dream that she had last night. The way that she talked about it was enough to make anyone smile. Glancing over his shoulder at the rest of the group the man found himself enjoying all of them. They were grouped together the most, Clark and the others. They all seemed to get along rather well too, and it was often on these little adventures that they all grew closer.

About a half an hour later they arrived at the very edge of their home. It was marked by a small stack of rocks that had been found along the shorelines. It was here that another bridge had been built. Most of it was really just pieces of wood tied together as it floated onto of the water. They would get wet and it would be horrible as they would have to keep moving with heavy clothes on but they would stop to dry when they would get the chance. Clark went first, he was careful about picking his way across the wood and other items like car tires and even small sheets of metal. His up to his knees was wet but he shrugged off his worries as he watched Harriet pick her way through the maze of objects of the crude bridge. This time Matt went before Vanessa since his eyes were more of a use here than anywhere else. Vanessa quietly clutched her knife as she picked her way through everything. On their side of the tiny bridge the ropes had been secured into the ground with metal scraps or it had been simply tied around rocks that they had buried into the ground at shallow angles. In a way she guessed that the bridge would make it hard for them to be attacked. It almost seemed like an art to get across without sinking entirely…or falling off and into the water.

Once everyone else was across, Clark sighed. “Alright. Augustus wants us to go in farther than we had before. This gives us the possibility of more danger. Matt you be our scout, Harriet you stay with Van and Katie, Jack and Wyatt I want you two to guard them. I’ll take the back.” Clark said.

They never kept the same positions in the group, it was a constant changing among them to best use all of their skills. Clark by no means was a weak man. His well-muscled body had been accustomed to lifting heavy objects and well he prided himself at one time on his strength. Back in the village they never had a day of doing nothing. Fishing and picking up rocks to use for building had kept him toned but not like before the outbreak. There were times that he had been the scout, although he was not as fast as he wished himself to be. Other times he had scavenged but today he would be the sentry. His job was simple: Guard everyone from the dangers presented by other humans and animals.

Jack and Wyatt would guard the scavengers from other dangers where Clark could not.

Vanessa glanced over at Clark, noticing that his knuckles were white as he clutched the heavy club that he carried. Everyone was nervous about moving further than they had before. Twenty minutes later they were closer to what used to hold civilization. The buildings were crumbling. Windows were a rarity now and few buildings had them. One in particular was to be their rest stop. It had been an old warehouse or something, no one was for sure. It was large and square in structure. They sat outside, warming themselves in the sun but once Harriet began to shiver they moved into the building. Part of the roof had collapsed, making the space inside much smaller than it appeared to be but this was the safest place they could find. Clark had a few things for a fire—a tiny bundle of matches that were sealed inside of an old camera roll canister. They had found the small black tube on their last journey into the ruins of the large city. The matches had been a blessing and admittedly they had a celebration in honor of finding them. Something once regarded as insignificant now held so much importance to them.

Vanessa and Jack found scraps that they could use to create a fire for the woman as Matt hugged her close. She was the oldest in their scavenging group and there was always a fear that she would die on such a trip because of her age. The fire was small, if it could be held then it would fit into one of the men’s hands. Harriet was the first to be warmed by its red and orange flames. Her shivering hadn’t stopped but it was getting better. Matt and Clark went outside to look around for anything of use as the others warmed themselves up. Vanessa followed soon after.

“Cj,” she called to the blond man. Rarely did anyone aside from Augustus and Harriet call the man by his first name. “I’m worried about Harriet.” She stated, “Maybe one of us should stay here with her—“

Clark sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder, “Van…you know that can’t happen. We need all of the help we can get.”

“But she’s still shivering. I just worry, you know…that one of us won’t make it back. I’ll stay with her. We can look around in the buildings that we haven’t here and I’m sure we can find something.”

Clark nodded, “I’ll think about it. I can’t promise that it’ll happen.”

Matt was quietly listening to them talk. Clark was right, they needed everyone but Vanessa rose a valid point. Harriet was too cold to go . “Matt come back inside.” Clark asked. Vanessa and Matt followed him back inside where he approached the fire and warmed his hands. Although the sun was out there was a slight breeze that brought coldness. His fingers had begun to grow stiff.

“It has been brought to my attention that Harriet is in no condition to continue and Vanessa wishes to stay with her. Was their anyone else who wanted to stay or do any of you have a different idea?” Clark asked.

Harriet smiled at Vanessa and gently gripped one of her hands. “Thank you,” she mouthed as she looked around the group, waiting to hear their thoughts.