Valli : Personal Journal of Valli Pillay, a Living Dead Pandemic Survivor

Entry 34

We got to the family in the nick of time. Their supplies were non-existent. On the first night, we made a big pasta dinner with a corned mutton stew. We were all hungry, but Marion, Camille, and Lucy had three helpings each. We usually tried to stretch what we had cooked for at least two meals. Stephan was about to say something, but Maya signalled him to keep quiet. We gave each of them some tinned fruit which they wolfed down.

We found out they had come out to the lodge a week or two after things had gotten out of control. Marion's husband had been with them but went back to their house in Curepipe to get Lucy's inhaler. They were still waiting for him. They had brought some supplies with them, but it wasn't enough. They had run low quickly. They also couldn't leave as Marion's husband had taken their SUV. They had electricity from a generator and a rainwater harvesting unit, but a few weeks prior to our arrival the generator had stopped working and they had resorted to cooking on a BBQ grill.

They had been supplementing their diet with freshwater shrimp from the river, the occasional catfish and some fruit trees in the backyard. Marion had tried to shoot one of the deer but missed. She tried to trap them. That didn't work. We told them about what was going on in the world outside the reserve. They had no idea. They had seen a few living dead, but not a lot. Marion was convinced the whole thing was temporary.

We told her about the Malaysian General and the Tang Presentation and how the overall situation was bad. She had a tough time accepting what we were telling her. Camille and Lucy were more open. It turned out Camille was thirteen and Lucy eleven. I told Lucy I had a sister who was around her age. She didn't ask where Vani was. She knew.

Whilst Dad and Mrs. Kalichurn were recovering, the rest of us went around the property. It was all fenced in and took us at least two hours to walk around. The walking was rough going as it was up and down through thick bush. The fences surrounding the property were intact and there were no living dead around. Camille came with us. At first her mom did not want her to go, but eventually she relented. We found a lot of good viewpoints; it was a beautiful and peaceful place. We were quickly reminded of what was going on in the outside world when we spotted a car racing along the coastal road. It was coming South from Riviere des Creoles. It started swerving from side to side, and then it hit a tree. At first there was no movement. After a while a figure came out and collapsed on the ground not moving. Heading towards him or her, were a lot of living dead. I couldn't tell how many as the binoculars were with Satish who passed them to Dave.

"C'mon kids," Dave said. "There's nothing we can do."

We kept going. We knew what was going to happen.

I remember that one incident because it was such a beautiful day and the whole area was so beautiful. The incident reminded all of us of the world in which we now lived.

Once Dad started to feel better, he got together with Dave and they went to work on the generator. Dad was still out of sorts but thanks to the medicine from the truck he was recuperating. So were Lucy and Mrs. Kalichurn. Dave and Dad managed to get the generator working, but we had to limit its use because there was only so much fuel left to power it. Thankfully it didn't make too much noise. The house had three solar-powered water heating systems, which meant we had hot water. Dad promised us as soon as he got better, he'd try and hook up the solar panels to get some electricity, which meant we could save the generator for emergency purposes. This was how I got a crash course in solar power.

We had supplies, but we needed to ration them to make sure we didn't overuse them. Mrs. Kalichurn had found a couple of edible plants and in one of the sheds she found several seeds which she said could help us get some fresh vegetables. She said it wasn't enough, that Murali, Camille, Lucy and I needed protein if we were to remain healthy, and the deer was the best source. Marion told us wild boars were plentiful on the property. They came in and out from the forest that covered the mountain. However, getting a boar was not going to be that easy and the deer seemed to be the best choice. Marion said she was a lousy shot, Dad was still recovering, and Satish was not up to it. I was the one who would have to shoot one of the deer. I wasn't too keen on doing it, but we needed the fresh meat. I was pretty sure I could hit one, but I didn't know how to butcher it. Marion told me if I could kill a deer she would butcher it. She had watched the butchers work since she was young whenever there were hunting parties.