Chapter 26: Jonathon
Over the entrance to the motel is a large banner that says, “Sanctuary.” The large motel is centrally located and has a brick wall that partially surrounds the main building. It looks like they’ve added in a few flipped cars and some barbed wire to make it more secure. I turn to the twins and can tell that they feel unsure. From the outside, this place looks like a jail. Although keeping people out is pretty similar to keeping them in.
I pull the SUV into a parking space beside the car that led us in. I see a few dozen boys come out of various rooms and approach us. Obviously new people cause a bit of excitement around here. The older boy who I talked to walks over to the office. The rest of the boys don’t seem to know what to make of us. As we get out of the car, our original host returns with someone. It does not take much effort to tell that this was the man in charge. He looks to be just about my age. His brown hair is long and parted to the sides of his forehead. His attire matches the navy blue and red of the others. He has a smile of confidence that I would hate to be on the wrong side of at any time. He extends his hand to me.
“Jon.” I say with my outstretched hand.
“Jon?” the boy checks. “Call me Saul. Glad to meet you. Welcome, Welcome. I'm glad my boys found ya'll out there. You are going to come to find this is quite an establishment my boys and I have made here.” His eyes go up and down each of us. I can tell he was taking us all in. Saul motions with his right hand and the group of us begin to walk around the perimeter. The fence around the building is very extensive. Floodlights are mounted all over the complex and wooden watch towers have been constructed on every corner. Safety will not be an issue here.
“Thanks for you and your boys’ kindness, sir. The road is dangerous and this is definitely better than spending a night out there alone.”
“Why are there no girls here?” Caitlyn jumps into the conversation. Saul lets out a slight laugh and looks down at her.
“Well, ya see, young lady, all the boys you see around here, we all used to go to the same all-boys school. When the plague struck, the school started to take in students as parents began to die. Our numbers grew and grew and soon, we students were the only ones left. One night the school caught fire and we had to relocate. Surprisingly this motel was deserted so we made a home of it. I'm sure you know how dangerous it is out there, so we reinforced it and armed ourselves. A bus full of people took advantage of us once and we were not going to let that happen again.” Saul taps the side of the holster on his hip and winks at me. “We have prospered here. We have a garden in the back, and there is a secluded farm a mile in the woods where we keep some livestock. We also have patrols that scrounge for supplies. The Sanctuary gives its residents the best quality of life in America – or so I have heard.”
“So why has no one joined you?” Carter responds. He looks suspicious of Saul. Saul just grins back at him.
“Many have come and stayed but they want to go on. Some continued the search for their families and others for the border. Recently people have had hopes about that UN center you all mentioned to my boys earlier. So recently we decided to call this place the Sanctuary because people seem to seek us out for temporary security on a journey. It is a safe place and I hope others will think about staying and not just passing though – as long as they can help out of course!” he grins at me. The five of us will definitely be able to earn our keep here. I smile and nod back.
He takes us on a complete tour. There is a shed filled with generators and they have nearly the whole place wired with lights for the night. Containers of gasoline are safely stored in several drums just outside. Saul says they have enough gas to last almost six months, but they still go out daily to get more. He says a few of his intelligent boys are even working on finding and installing solar panels for the roof.
The swimming pool is now a receptacle to collect and store freshwater. In the back they have a boy who spends the whole day sterilizing water for them to drink. Along with that they still managed to find a way to keep the bathrooms working. All of our faces light up when we hear that. In the office, he shows us their food supply. They have boxes and boxes of canned goods. Saul advises me that those are for emergencies. They prefer to use food from the gardens and farms if at all possible.
He tells me many meals involve eggs and potatoes – but his chefs are finding ways to always make them taste different. Saul assures me that this Thanksgiving they will be having three turkeys. He tells us that we missed dinner, but he will gather the odds and ends that were left of the meal to hold us over until breakfast. His cooks will apparently have an especially large breakfast for us in the morning.
I’m truly astonished by his Sanctuary. The food, the generators, and safety. It’s an amazing accomplishment. I don't know why people would leave. That UN center seems like a good idea, but this seems to be a better one. It’s the only certain thing.
After the complete tour they show us to our room.
“Let me know if you need anything Johnny-boy.” Saul says as he walks away. I don't care for the name, but I won’t bring it up. He’s just shown me that there are havens of humanity despite the crumbling of civilization.
The room is on the second floor, right above where the car is parked.
“I had this room prepared specially for you during your tour. I hope you enjoy the accommodations!” Saul says.
One of the boys helps with our luggage. They go to grab Carter's bag and Carter quickly pulls it from his hand. He can be a jerk.
Saul opens the door for us and gives me the key. He turns to me and Jo, but he seemed much more focused on her. “Lights out is at eight-thirty tonight. We don't like to use more of the generators than we have to. We advise you to stay in your rooms. It can be pretty dangerous around here in the dark. Last week I fell and had a lump on my head the size of a baseball.” He laughed to himself and rubbed the back of his head.
“Thanks.” I respond.
“Thanks!” the twins nearly yell at him in unison. They look incredibly happy as they run and jump on one of the one queen beds. Much nicer than our typical arrangements on the wooden bunks. It looks like Saul has arranged four beds into the one room. We were lucky that we found him today. The sun is beginning to set as I shut the door to the outside.
Tomorrow Carter and I can go check out the UN place while the girls stay here, safely. On the slim chance that the UN place doesn't work out, we may be able to make a life here. The cabin worked, but to be in a community again feels amazing. To interact with new people and new ideas… it makes me feel different. Human.
Everyone changes and lies down on the beds. The day has been long in the crammed car. My fingers interlock behind my head on the bed and I stare at the dark ceiling. I laugh for a second. It seems that someone had decorated the ceiling with little glow in the dark space stickers. I get everyone else to look at the ceiling and we all laugh. Carter begins to tell the twins the background of a few of the constellations on the ceiling.
“You see, ladies, people believed that when heroes died, the gods would immortalize them in the stars.”
“Is Superman up there?” Sara asks. She gets a laugh out of Carter.
“Well no, Superman wasn't Greek.” Carter responds.
“How do you know Carter?” Jo asks him with a sly look.
I make eye contact with Jo and I smile back in the dark. “Jo-Jo, I'm pretty sure Superman is an alien.”
“Well then obviously he is already up there!” Caitlyn exclaims. We all laugh. Even Carter and I share a grin. He begins to tell the twins about the gods and goddesses of the past. He has their complete attention. I wouldn't admit it, but he has my attention, too.
And for once, even more so than last Christmas, all of us are happy. We have nothing to worry about, not even in the back of our minds, in the walls of the Sanctuary.