Cayo Elina 9

“We should have killed him.” Ramon said, acting the part of a tough leader now that the danger was passed.

Elina ignored the comment and spoke to Gus, “What was that all about, do you think?”

“Hmm? I’m still processing it.”

“Did you get the references?” Elina pressed.

“Not now Elina.”

“Of course not now. Ramon is here. We can’t speak in front of Ramon, can we?” Ramon said with a tinge of sarcasm.

“Yeah, that too.” Gus said, “I’m more worried about a listener on the shore.”

Zombies, like humans gained different abilities from their experience with death. Listeners could hear things from great distances, a rare few had the ability to hear beyond any distance, but the most common form of the power was increased range and clarity of hearing. Gus was puttering the boat out toward the open sea, but they were still within a stone’s throw of the shore.

“This is why you are losing the people to me. You refuse to listen. You two are not royalty, to be ordering us around.” Ramon bent over and retrieved the bucket he had been using to bail. So far the wooden plug had held, but he eyed the damaged section of boat warily.

“Ramon, do you think going back to a simpler way of life is really the right way? Your way of thinking will lead us back to women being second class citizens. That’s what you want for your daughters? Or your mother or sisters?” Elina wasn’t sure if Ramon had any family, but she was curious to hear what he had to say.

“Are there two councils on the island? Or one? One leader, that is what we need, one person to represent each family unit.”

“And if you don’t have a penis you can’t be that leader. I got it. But why?”

“You wouldn’t understand. You don’t have the sense of right and wrong that I do. This sort of thing is ingrained in men.” Ramon nodded towards Gus, “Even him, he may say something different, because you are his love, but in his heart he knows what I say is true. If you listen to your heart you will see that you want to be guided too. It is easier and it is the way God made us.”

Elina was silent for a moment. “Nope. I just listened and I didn’t hear my heart telling me that I need to listen to a man and do as he says. Easier? I’ll give you that, it is far easier to do as someone else says than to think and take action for yourself.”

“Well then you should support me! Easy is good! It creates less strife for the village and creates more harmony.”

“Until two men decide they disagree and fight. Then where does that leave us poor women?”

“It is the way of things Elina, we’ve forgotten that with our iPads and phones and video games. Society was dead before the dead destroyed society. How many of your neighbors did you know before this happened?”

“I was working…”

“As I knew it would be. Working, playing, not actually living. There is nothing wrong with work, but working so hard you don’t know the people who live around you? Is it any wonder people have their children molested and the things they work so hard for stolen when they are not there to protect them?”

“Let me get this straight. You’re blaming child molestation on the rise of equal rights for women?”

Ramon scoffed, “Pick and choose, you throw my words back at me like darts. But if you want my feeling yes. I blame that atrocity on feminism.”

“I don’t think you can even explain that.”

“It is easy to explain. You work, you don’t know who is around you. A man, a normal man moves in and sees your children alone and not attended properly because you are not doing your real job. This man sees an opportunity for human contact, remember you won’t talk to him, you don’t know your neighbors. So he seeks comfort in the innocence of a child, it beings proper at first, but then Satan twists that into something unholy and your children and you suffer for it.”

“So it is my fault.”

“It is everyone’s fault. Yours, the mans, the father of your children. Only the child is blameless and suffers the worst for it.”

“I just…I don’t know what to say to that.” Elina stammered, dumfounded. Over Ramon’s shoulder she saw Gus tilt his head slightly, as if to suggest dumping Ramon out into the ocean. She smiled and shook her head.

“You can shake your head, but what I say has value. Had you known this man and treated him properly he would never have created that opening to allow such thoughts in. Had you been home, he would never have had an opportunity. Had your husband been friends the man would have had companionship and channeled his energy elsewhere. Isolation breeds depravity. It is not healthy and think, just think of what we did to our children, every day they were left alone for hours at a time. Is it any wonder we had school shootings? Or teen pregnancy?”

“So, what if you were my neighbor Ramon? Would you have been that man who molested my daughter?”

“No. I would have known you. I knew my neighbors. And I would have known you.” Ramon paused and looked out to see for a moment. To Elina it almost looked like he was having one of Gus’s fits. She knew about Ramon, his gifts from the dead were common knowledge and common among those still living, he had great strength and good reflexes. It was rumored that he had an uncanny ability for climbing.

‘If he starts seeing the future I would be in trouble.’Elina thought.

“I know you disagree with me, Elina. And Gus too. But you have to understand I am not the only one who feels this way and I speak for them.”

“What about those who oppose you?”

“Any society had to have order. Free speech is fine as long as it is not slander and lies, but at the end of the day everyone must comply with God’s natural order.”

“And if they don’t?” asked Elina, thinking of Mary.

“Then they cannot be part of that society.”

“Well, Ramon, I think we will have to just disagree about that. Thankfully I have people I speak for as well and they would not want me to stop representing them on the council.”

Ramon sighed, “Progress is always blocked by small minds. We have a chance to seize control and build a culture that is what God wanted. But every month that passes we lose more of a chance of making things right. I hope you come around soon, Elina.”

“I don’t think I can, Ramon, You want me to give my voice to my father or husband instead of using it myself.”

“Many a strong man has had a stronger woman behind him. Using her voice to give advice and direct her husband.”

“I don’t like the idea of going through a middleman.” Elina said with emphases on ‘man’, “I can speak for myself.”

“For now.” Ramon conceded.

Anger flooded through Elina, but she turned to gaze out to sea, “We should talk more Ramon. I learn such interesting things from you.”

Gus had the boat far enough from shore that he turned it north east again, making for Miami. The three of them rode in silence for several hours, before Ramon finally asked, “What are you going to do with me?”

Elina deferred to Gus, who raised an eyebrow questioningly, “Do? Like what?”

“What are your plans?”

“We get to Miami and send you back with the boat.”

“I can’t do that. If I return without Elina…it would not look right.”

“I’m not going back, not until Gus does. You did this, Ramon. I thought you would be thrilled to have me out of the way as well as Gus.” Elina said.

“I think this would set me back on the council, there would be a suspicion that I did something to you.”

“Oh, you mean like you planned to. Tell me, what were you going to tell them happed when you came back alone the first time?”

“That the Cubans found us and you died in the fighting.”

“And we went and ruined that by living. I can see why you wouldn’t want to spread that around now, I mean, we might show up at an awkward moment with the truth.”

Ramon nodded agreeably, “True.”

Gus spoke up again, “Well you might get your wish yet. Unless that isn’t a sail I see ahead?” He cast one arm out pointing out to sea.

Elina looked that direction, surprised she hadn’t noticed it before Gus. With her eyesight she could see a schooner type ship and concentrating she saw evidence that what Gus said was true.

“It’s Cuban.” She said. “Can we outrun it?”

“It depends on how good of crew it has.” Gus answered.

They had seen one of these ships before, sailing by the key at a distance. Some of the village fishermen had gotten a closer look and the old sailors had declared it a sloppy boat with a green crew. The Cubans were hedging their bets by going back to sailing ships, fuel was difficult to find and the wind never died.

“Get us closer to shore Gus.” Elina said, but he had already veered that direction.

They had travelled passed where the highway was cut off long before and made it to the edge of the mainland.

‘At least if we have to, we can walk to Miami and not swim.’Elina thought, out loud she said, “Now the race begins.”