The house was a buzz of activity, Jillian, Helen, Susan and Rebecca preparing breakfast causing Trevor and Scotty to move to the huge dining room table.

  “Show Trevor the mud slide pictures.” Scotty asked me. I pulled my old iPhone from my shirt pocket and placed it on the table and scrolled through the thumbnails. “WHAT THE!?” Trevor exclaimed and grabbed the iPhone and played the short video of Jen swinging the pick axe. Trevor turned his head slowly in my direction as his face contorted into an ugly mass of hate. Total betrayal poured from him as he looked at me.

  “She is here, in California.” I said. Everyone went silent. “Do you have any idea who this is?” Trevor asked calmly, rage building inside him.

  “Yes, I know everything about her.” I said plainly as I looked into Trevor’s eyes. Trevor closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

  “Where are her guardians?” Trevor asked as his gaze shifted from me to everyone standing around.

  “She is burying them; the old man, Charles and Lloyd.” I said as I hit the play button.

  “Lloyd?” Trevor asked. “That’s her cousins REAL name; you know him as Eric.” I said.

  “What about the others? She always has at least five.” Trevor asked scrolling through the pictures and short videos.

  “They probably were the men that tried to ambush us at the outpost during the communication with you, James, Mark and Jason.” Scotty said.

  “Why did she come to California? Why is she here?” Trevor asked placing the iPhone back on the table.

  “Jen was looking for a new base of operations, all the others, gone. Six in total. Most importantly, she was looking for a… mate. Someone that would get her pregnant in order to continue the bloodline, the legacy. I was her primary target but all of us men are potential targets. All the women were to be enslaved or, dispatched. All attempts for insemination proved unsuccessful. There were eight male survivors in total that showed up at the locations like Oklahoma. Again, all unsuccessful.

  One by one when the pregnancy tests failed, Jen and the old man had them subject to the additional ‘testing’ to aid in the development of a cure, the ‘treatments’ that eventually killed them. Process of elimination of sorts. Lloyd was sterile, and not an option because he was family, as was Charles because of the virus. That was one of the key effects of the virus. Targeting specific… groups from procreating, but the virus was not as biased as hoped.

  The old man hid the fact from Jen that she was not able to have children. I can’t remember the name or diagnosis. It has about five syllables, anyway the old man and Lloyd were sworn to protect Jen even if it meant to sacrifice their lives. Charles was a low-level chemist assistant or something. No one was left. The treatments bought them some time, but were not effective long term. Jen, apparently, like us is immune to the virus, but still could not conceive. Again, the old man knew this but he was able to prevent Jen from access to his thoughts and told her what she wanted to hear. He had some serious skills, highly developed, but not enough, I guess.” I concluded my speech and somehow felt relieved by relying this information to everyone.

  “We are a Democracy.” Paul said after a long pause standing up. “Based on the fact that she cannot be trusted and she is a threat, we need to ask if Greg’s information is suitable for us to decide what to do with her. Fact: She can manipulate others thoughts, correct?” Paul asked looking toward me.

  “Yes.” I said.

  “Do you believe Jillian, your unborn child, your home is at risk because of her?” Paul asked.

  “YES.” Jillian responded immediately.

  “Who believes they are at risk as long as this woman… is… alive?” Paul stammered as he was not sure on the proper phrasing of his question that had an alternate or soft euphemistic structure. Everyone’s hand went up but mine and Helen’s as she stood in the background.

  “I’ll do it.” Reese said coldly.

  “I want her to see my face.” Trevor said just as cold.

  “Let me get this straight, we have decided to murder this woman because she could ‘possibly’ be a threat? And not because of her past action like the death of millions and trying to kill us at the outpost? You would think that would stand on its own merit.” I said to Reese and Trevor.

  “All the more reason, she has to go.” Reese said.

  “She has no redeeming qualities.” Even you said that!” Rebecca added looking in my direction.

  “Why are you protecting her?” Susan asked me.

  “I’m not. She is not a threat to me. And because I have similar but different skills, even though I still have my training wheels on it’s just a matter of time when I’m considered a threat. Reese’s t-shirt demonstration for example. How do you know I’m not manipulating this conversation and all of your thoughts?” I asked.

  “Because you are not.” Helen said.

  “Is this world a better place with or without her? Is this world a better place with or without any of us? This is a decision that should be left to us? I really don’t have these answers.” I said.

  “Do you know where she is?” Reese asked me.

  “Yes, one of the houses in the neighborhood near where I left her. She is not doing well. Mentally or physically.” I said pulling out a map of the location and circling the house. Trevor and Reese reached for it at the same time.

  “She has not been in contact with anyone, she has tried to communicate with me a couple of times but I can…filter her. She is weak, bad water sketchy food and vitamin deficiency is taking their toll on her, and, she has a gun.” I said.

  “What kind? Does she know how to use it?” and about three other questions all came at me at once.

  “I don’t know, but firearms and desperation usually do not end well for someone. Another day or so is not going to change anything. If you decide to… engage her; DO NOT, I cannot emphasize this enough, do not let her physically touch you. Avoid direct eye contact, do not speak to her. To prevent her from reading your thoughts, concentrate on singing a song in your head that you know all the words to, if possible, make it a song by Elvis. She hates Elvis.”

  “SHE HATES ELVIS?!” Scotty asked.

  Paul, Reese, Sammy and I walked with the dogs through the neighborhood, assisting me with my preventive maintenance and discussing what essentials Trevor would require for his new residence. “Breakfast in five minutes.” Jillian’s voice over the two-way radio.

  We packed up paper and canned goods and other items we felt necessary into the Escalade. We made Trevor maps of our locations, the marina, hardware and home improvement stores in case he needed to go shopping.

  Everyone drove a separate vehicle to pick up goods and to remove whatever Trevor did not want at Henry’s house. New dishes, cooking pots and pans, cutlery, bed, couch and a beautiful Armoire I selected. Shotgun, pistol, rifle and ammunition. Motion sensors, trail cameras, couple of laptops, desktops, flat screens and gaming systems. Jillian assembled a massive First-Aid kit and a small library of books for reference on everything related to chickens.

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  We arrived at Trevor’s house and the yard was filled with items that needed to be taken away. After the third load, everything, for the most part was organized. All of us were exhausted and hungry as we crowded in the small dining area to eat and drink together. “Sorry Sammy. Baseball is going to have to wait till tomorrow.” Paul said to Sammy as he was disappointed but understood. The wolf pack were gone for most of the day, no doubt exploring the new hunting grounds.

  “Reese and I are going to stay here tonight.” Rebecca said as we were making ready to depart. Susan and Paul exchanged looks as did Helen and Scotty. “We’ll come back tomorrow, let us know if you need anything.” Jillian said hugging Trevor, Rebecca and Reese. Everyone knew they were making plans for a visit with Jen.

  “Trevor? Do you want my, assistance?” I asked Trevor quietly so only he could hear.

  “No. Thank you. I have a couple of scores to settle.” Trevor said.

  “Remember what I said. Do not deviate.” I said as we headed back to Malibu.

  Scotty called Trevor first thing the following morning and did not get a response. He repeated every fifteen minutes. We had just finished breakfast when we received a response from Rebecca.

  “You are not going to believe what happened!” She said in a happy comical tone. “We’ll be there in thirty minutes.” Trevor said trying to sound official as we heard Reese holding back his laughter.

  “This ought to be good.” Paul said bouncing Elaine on his knee.

  “Greg?” Helen inquired.

  “I’m not going to waste energy when we all are going to find out in thirty minutes.” I said as I was cleaning the pool filter of dog hair and smiling.

  Sammy was playing a shell game with all the dogs in attendance. He would secretly place a dog cookie under a bowl and see if they could find it. They had four choices. Sammy would call their name and they sat in front of him and he would say; ‘Find the cookie’, and they did.

  “Mom., Dad. They get it right every time! 100% accuracy!” He said.

  “Dogs, sorry canines, have a much better nose than we do.” Helen said sitting in the grass next to Sammy. The dogs all showed affection to Helen.

  “Watch their noses, they constantly sniff the air.” Helen said petting Jeff's big head.

  “They can tell if you are a boy or a girl, how old you are, where you have been, what you eat…” Helen said as Sammy interrupted “NO WAY! That’s awesome.” In amazement. He started smelling Becky as she just licked his face.

  “I don’t smell anything other than…how, she…always smells…kind of funky.” Sammy said. “Kind of funky is putting it lightly.” Scotty said laying in the grass as all the dogs approached him for affection.

  “Canines are pack animals, they hunt, sleep, eat together. Strength in numbers. Just like all of us. It ensures survival.” Helen said as Rosie sat next to her. “They trust us with their babies. They will fight to the death to protect us and each other.” Scotty said rubbing Roy’s stomach.

  “So, why is everyone ascared of that lady who is by herself?” Sammy asked, looking toward Scotty. His eyes rolled toward Susan and Paul with the hopes they would provide the best answer.

  Paul walked over with Susan and placed Elaine in the grass. All the dogs approached and sniffed Elaine and kissed her head and arms that resulted in toothless giggles as she pulled a clump of fur from Becky’s side with her tiny fist and tried to put it in her mouth, Paul intervened.

  “She is not like us Sammy. Yesterday, all of us helped Trevor. How many boxes did you carry in the house?” Susan asked Sammy.

  “About a million!” Sammy said proudly.

  “What if no one helped Trevor? He probably would have managed, but it would have taken a long time and would have been difficult for him, yes?” Susan asked Sammy.

  “I guess so…” Sammy stopped his sentence.

  “What Sammy?” Paul asked.

  “That’s not very, nice. It’s mean.” Sammy said with his head hung low.

  “Were aposta look out for each other, and help each other. Like Rosie and Pete and Ginger and Becky…” Sammy continued to name each of the dogs as they approached him for pets. Sammy turned his head toward Susan.

  “How come she doesn’t wanna help?” Did anybody ask her?” Sammy asked looking toward all of us then stopped at me.

  “She is not interested in ‘helping’ anyone, other than herself.” I said.

  “Does Sammy understand exactly what happened?” I asked Susan and Paul.

  “We have explained the best we could a couple of times.” Paul said.

  “Can I try?” I asked Susan and Paul.

  “Please.” Susan and Paul both responded.

  “Sammy, what do you think happened to all those people at all of those baseball games you watch?” I asked sitting next to Sammy.

  “There all gone.” Sammy said in a sad tone.

  “How do you think that happened?” I asked him as everyone sat down in the grass around Sammy, the dogs and I.

  “They got sick and died.” Sammy said quietly.

  “Would you like to know who made them sick?” I asked. Sammy paused.

  “The lady?” Sammy asked quietly again.

  “Yes. She did it on purpose.” I said as Sammy looked and pleaded; “BUT WHY?”

  “She didn’t believe that certain people should exist. People with different color hair or skin or language or beliefs. She wanted certain groups of people to never be able to have children. So, she secretly poisoned the air, and the poison she used… changed. It’s called a ‘mutation’ I think, anyway, the result is it killed almost every living thing on the planet.” I said.

  “Why are we okay? Sammy asked me. “I do not know that answer.” I said honestly. “Based on our best guess there is probably only about one thousand people alive here in North America.” Paul added.

  “This woman, her parents, grandparents, her family’s history have changed the course of human evolution for thousands of years. She, right now, at this moment in history made a decision. This decision altered Earth’s evolution as well.” I said.

  “What is your favorite food, Sammy?” Jillian asked.

  “Chocolate! Wait, no, Auntie Helen’s Lobster biscuit!” Sammy said with a big smile. We all chuckled at his response.

  “What if that was the only thing you could ever eat again. No more chocolate, no more eggs, turkey, peaches, sprouts…” “I don’t like sprouts.” Sammy interrupted.

  “Okay, no sprouts.” Jillian said.

  “Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks…Lobster biscuit.” I said as Sammy thought about it.

  “No more chocolate?” Sammy asked me.

  “Nope.” I said shaking my head, sad at the prospect of no chocolate.

  “I would probably get tired of it. Sorry Auntie Helen.” Sammy said looking at Helen.

  “It’s okay sweetie.” Helen responded.

  “It’s nice to have a variety of things to choose from. Each of us brings something a little different every time we get together to eat. How fun would it be if your team won every baseball game? This woman wanted to control human evolution to fit her particular needs. Look around at all of us Sammy, and tell me what, you see.” I said as Sammy looked at each of us and the dogs.

  “Happy People!” He said smiling as Susan and Paul teared up immediately followed by everyone else.

  “But wait a minute, Sammy! My hair is red and my skin is a different color than yours!” Helen said.

  “Greg is almost fifty years old and his hair has gray in it!” Scotty said winking at me.

  “And you listen to Elvis and wear the same hat every day!” I responded to Scotty.

  “And Dad snores and has too many drum kits!” Susan said getting into the spirit.

  “You listen to Jimmy Buffet!” Paul said to Susan.

  “And Uncle Reese has tattoos and Aunt Becky swears a lot!” Sammy added laughing as we all heard the road alarms and the dogs got up to investigate.

  “Our differences make us all unique and special.” I said as all of us got up to hear the news from Rebecca, Reese and Trevor.

  Rebecca handed Scotty a nearly empty bottle of Champagne as she, Reese and Trevor were red faced from laughing and a little drunk.

  “We've got to see this on the big screen!” Rebecca said to Jillian after a hug and handing her the SD card from her camera with a huge telephoto lens. We all went inside as Jillian loaded the card.

  “Shhh!” Trevor said loudly laughing as Jillian turned up the volume. The camera was focusing in and out and we could hear Trevor’s breathing as Rebecca surveyed the neighborhood through the lens.

  “Got movement! Third house. With the two garbage cans near the curb.” Reese said over a two-way radio.

  “There she is! There she fucking is!” Rebecca’s voice.

  Jen came into the frame walking, pulling a wagon full of stuff and what looked like a golf club in her other hand. She looked awful, and lost about twenty pounds, thin, dirty, emaciated and looking very tired. Jen stopped in the middle of the frame as the camera zoomed in. Jen turned and looked directly into the camera lens. We all watched her mouth say ‘Trevor’ as a mountain lion or cougar attacked her.

  “Holy SHIT!” Immediately followed by laughter, was heard as the camera bounced up and down and in and out of focus. All of us watched and exclaimed something different. By the time the camera was steady and focused we saw Jen’s legs being dragged into the bushes missing one shoe followed by three mountain lion cubs.

  “Aww! How cute!” Helen said as Jillian paused the clip and Paul stood in front of the big screen.

  “Justice has been served?” Paul asked everyone to a round of applause.

  “What happened?” Sammy asked as Scotty popped open a bottle of Champagne took a gulp and passed it around.

  “Did the lion eat the lady?” Sammy asked.

  “She, is providing for her family.” Paul said lifting the bottle of Champagne and drinking.

  We all watched the video clip over and over and each of us adding dialog or in Paul’s case a golf announcer whisper: “Hole fifty-eight, par thirteen is going to be a tough one for the novice. Her un-orthodox ‘wagon and five-iron’ combination is proving challenging thus far.”

  No matter who’s turn it was for the dialog, everyone yelled ‘Trevor’ at the appropriate time.