Chapter 59: Chapter 59 - Volunteers
The next morning passed in its usual rhythm. Iyisha stood at the front of the classroom, her voice steady as she guided the students through their lessons. The low hum of the lights filled the room, so ordinary it had become part of the silence.
Then, without warning, the current snapped off. The hum vanished, the bulbs blinked dark, and the room fell into a heavy quiet.
The students shifted in their seats, some glancing toward the windows, others drumming their pencils against the desks. Iyisha raised a hand for calm.
"It will come back," she said softly. "It always does."
And usually it did. Sometimes in a few minutes. Sometimes in ten.
But an hour passed. She tried to continue, voice carrying in the dim room, the students straining to see their pages. Their words felt thinner without the light.
Then the announcement came, sharp and crackling through the old speaker in the corner of the room.
"All residents, report to the hall immediately."
The students stirred, their eyes turning to Iyisha. Her own heart gave a quick, uneasy kick. She gathered her notes into a stack, then nodded toward the door.
"Come on," she said. "Let’s go."
The hall buzzed with uneasy whispers. Iyisha sat with Mary and Ester, both women tense at her sides.
Elmer, the settlement leader, raised his voice. "The current is failing. Starting tonight, all power will be diverted to the greenhouse. If the greenhouse goes down, our food supply will not last."
The murmur swelled. Mary gripped her hands together. "God help us. Without the greenhouse, we have nothing."
Elmer continued, steady but grim. "To get through this, we need to adjust. Use fire outside for heat, cover yourselves as much as possible, and conserve what little we have."
From the back, a man called out, "What about the turbine? Maybe something is wrong there. Someone should check it."
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
Iyisha leaned closer to Ester. "Where is the turbine?"
Ester shook her head. "Not here. It is in Morgan County. The government kept it running after things fell apart, but we are the ones maintaining it now. It takes about two hours by vehicle, but with the roads damaged, the men can only walk."
All eyes turned to Elmer. He slowly shook his head. "Walking to Morgan County in the middle of a winter storm would kill anyone. We need to wait until the storm passes."
Murmurs spread through the hall, low and fearful, as the weight of his words settled over them.
Elmer raised his hand, steadying the noise in the hall. "We need volunteers to go with Andrei to check the lines."
Andrei, a stocky man with curly hair, stepped forward. "The last time we went out, there was a herd near the turbines."
The room stirred uneasily. Murmurs rippled from row to row, voices sharp with fear.
Iyisha scanned the faces around her. No one looked eager to answer the call. Most avoided Andrei’s eyes, their silence heavier than the storm outside.
Andrei pressed on. "We will be on foot, but remember this—the current is our lifeline. Without it, the greenhouse fails. And without the greenhouse, there is no food."
The hall grew restless again, voices overlapping in a swell of fear and protest.
"When the storm passes, five men will go with Andrei," Elmer said firmly. "If no one volunteers, we will choose at random."
Silence filled the hall.
"I will go," one man said, raising his hand.
"Me too," another added quickly.
"I will join them," a third spoke, his voice steady.
The crowd stirred, then a small, uncertain voice spoke up. "I can go." A boy, no older than thirteen, lifted his hand.
Gasps rose from the room. Elmer’s eyes hardened. "Not you. Sit down." The boy dropped his gaze and lowered his hand, shame burning across his face.
The room went quiet again.
"What about the newcomers?" one of the men asked, his tone carrying through the uneasy crowd.
Iyisha’s breath caught. Her eyes darted toward the corner. Malcolm leaned against the wall, watching without a word.
"I will go," Malcolm said at last, his hand rising slowly.
Elmer’s lips curved into a satisfied smile. "Good. That makes five. Be ready. As soon as the storm passes, you will go on foot."
Murmurs of approval rippled through the hall, relief breaking the tension.
Iyisha’s chest tightened. She could not tear her eyes from Malcolm. The danger was clear, yet he only gave her a brief nod before looking away as the residents began to file out.
Ester held Iyisha’s arm. "Is it dangerous?" she asked, her voice low as her eyes followed the residents filing out of the hall.
Mary turned to her, her face pale. "If they cut through the city, then it is. No one has really cleared that place and the hordes gather around the windmills because of the sound. The last time they went there, only 2 came back."
Iyisha bit her lip, her chest tightening.
"The woods are no better," Ester added softly. "The line runs straight through them, and it has to be cleared as they go. The undead gather there too."
Iyisha’s gaze drifted back to Malcolm, his figure already swallowed by the crowd. Fear pressed down on her, heavy and cold, and she wondered if he truly understood what he had just agreed to.
Ester touched Iyisha’s arm. "The cold helps. Most of the zombies are frozen solid."
Mary’s voice was steady, though her eyes betrayed her worry. "But the snow works against us too. It will slow them, yes, but it will slow our men even more."
What if something happened to him out there? The storm, the woods, the undead. Any of them could take him. She pressed her hand against her chest, as if she could hold the fear inside.
But they had no choice.
When the residents called for the newcomers, it was partly a question of their worth in the community.
Malcolm had answered for himself.
He had chosen what he needed to do.
