I stumbled into the kitchen and found Derek already up. He was gathering things to cook for breakfast. I joined him. We both were starved and prepared about twice what I normally would eat because I thought I'd eat it. We made extra bacon because it was already getting some green spots of mold. The milk had a tinge of tang that it was going sour, too. We didn't have to worry about the refrigerator and freezer failing because it was all running off our solar panels. Mom wouldn't be running to the grocery store to replenish our supplies. As we cooked our food and started eating it we began to make plans.

   "You, know," I said. "We're going to have to go to a supermarket and get food if we can. These perishables won't last and we won't be able to make weekly runs to the store anymore. I'm so glad that our moms got their gardens in and growing. We'll have fresh food in excess this summer. From the window I can see that we have to cut lettuce and some other crops are already producing."

   "I've been thinking the same thing, Dre. There's so much we've got to do. We need to prioritize, and maybe, split up. I'll take the bacon out of the wrappers and wrap it in daily amounts, and then, put them in the freezer. What we can't freeze, like my mom's leftovers, we'll have to bring here and eat right away. Something tells me, it's going to be hard to get food."

   "You've got that right, Der. But there's other priorities first. We've got to text all of our friends and relatives. And then, start calling them, one by one. See who we can reach. I have a feeling services like our phones won't work after a while and we'll have to contact people right away if we're going to reach them. That's huge."

   "Some of them may be in trouble. Did you hear that popping last night?"

   "Yeah, just before I went to sleep. But I had only wild dreams about everything not working that I can't really remember right now after that."

   "I think it was gunfire. Sirens off to the distance, too."

   "Yeah, you know better than I. Lot of poor folks in the LA area. Eating day-to-day. Must be rough for them right now. I expect they are breaking into buildings to get what they want and need."

   "But we will have to break into places to get what we need, too. Won't we?"

   "We will. But remember, we are the Brothers D. We are builders, not takers or destroyers."

   "I get it, Dre. We'll take only what we need to build."

   "Right. Who's going to do what, Der?"

   "I ate too much already. I can't finish this." Derek waved his fork over his remaining platter of fried eggs. "I'm wasted from yesterday. Why don't you go check on the neighbors and get the perishables from our house. I'll stay here and start the emails. Maybe get some veggies for lunch."

   "That's a deal. I'm afraid I'm going to have to leave what I've got here, too. Maybe heat some of it up for lunch. Fresh veggies sound good. I'll get going after I shower and brush my teeth."

   Ten minutes later, still stiff, but stretching my legs with each step, I started up the street after seeing a coyote cross the street far below, more vultures in the air and smoke rising in pillars from several distant places. Smelled it in the air. Fires burning uncontrolled, I thought.

   I stopped at the Rosenberg's gate when I heard the whir of an electric lawnmower. I peeked through a small crack in the heavy wooden gate and saw Jake out mowing the small patch of grass that he kept in the front of the house for a putting green. Most everyone had gone desert landscapes to save water.

   I yelled, "Hey Jake! Are you okay?"

   Jake turned around, and started walking towards the gate.

   I yelled again. "This is Drake Hutchins from next door. Don't come any closer! Let's talk at a distance."

   "That's good to hear, boy. How's your folks doing?" He yelled back.

   "They're all dead. Just Derek and I recovered from our two families."

   "That's really, too bad." I could see his face drop even at that distance and his voice was no longer loud. "Really, too bad. Did you bury them?"

   "Yesterday, here. That's all we could do." That deep sorrowful feeling crept over me once again and my eyes began to tear. I wiped them from my cheeks with my hand.

   "That's awful. No rabbi to speak over them. But it's that way all over. In the first days there was lots of news. We watched it online continuously. So many rushing to the hospitals. Long lines of cars and people trying to get in. Ambulances couldn't make it. So many dying right there in the street. People with HAZMAT suits running around, unable to do anything. We saw looting like we never saw before in all the riots. Everybody just taking stuff. It was terrible…"

   I regained my composure. "But are you all right. Do you need anything?"

   "Aleta, that young woman we hired to help us hasn't come for five days now. She always brought us groceries, cleaned and helped with the meals. Sure could use her now."

   "I was sick for seven days, so I don't want to come close to you now. But Derek and I will do what we can to help you out. I've got to go and check on the other neighbors. But will be back later."

   "Okay, thanks for your offer of help. You guys were always good to us."

   I hurried on to Derek's house, gathered up all the perishables out of the refrigerator, put them in a garbage bag and carried them back to the house to give to Derek.

   As I approached the kitchen I called out, "Der, the Rosenbergs are alive! I just talked to Jake. That girl that helps them, Aleta, hasn't come for five days. We will have to look out for them."

   "I sent a bulk text to everyone on my contact list. Haven't received anything back. Made a few calls and got no answer and had to answer voicemail on most. This isn't going to be easy." I could see the concern on his face. I couldn't encourage him.

   "You've got that right. And I'm afraid it's going to get a lot tougher."

   "I'd better get going to the neighbors. I'll see you around noon."

   I left the house again, picking up a 6-foot ladder that I tied a rope to in case I had to climb over walls.                        Beyond Derek's, there was a turnaround and a large estate at the end of the drive. It was the home of a major 20th century mogul that he willed to his daughter, Barbara Wilkes-Hodges. She was about 70 and quite a socialite, living off the family trust. Our families didn't socialize with her, so her place was unknown territory for me.

    When I got there, I rang the doorbell that had a view screen intercom and waited. I pressed the intercom button and called out a hello. Rang again… And waited… Nothing, the screen remained blank. I climbed over the fence with the help of the ladder. At the bottom of the ladder, I was startled when a large afghan came running up to me. I was glad he wasn't a pit bull guard dog because he licked me in the face. On his collar he had a nametag with his name, Regis. Regis followed me to the house.

   I climbed the stairway to the front entrance of the palace-like building to the decorative glass double door and found it ajar. Once again, I called out and no one answered. I climbed a magnificent curved staircase to the second floor and found the master bedroom. She was lying in bed like she was sleeping, but she wasn't. Her eyes were open, so I closed them and glanced briefly at her well-preserved body and a thin negligee at her age. What a waste.

   Her Regis was with me and I couldn't keep him from sniffing her face and then whining. Instinctively knowing that she was dead. I quickly searched the rest of the beautifully decorated rooms and found nothing. Regis and I then went downstairs and searched some more but found nothing even at the basement level where there was a nearly ballroom size entertainment room and a private gym that would rival a commercial one, complete with an Olympic size pool viewed through huge windows outdoors.

   Alongside the house and near the pool I found guest quarters. Inside, I found her caretaker and his housekeeper/maid wife. Both of them also dead. When I came back out of the guesthouse, I saw Regis drinking from the pool. In a nearby utility room, I found some dry dog food and poured some out for him. The way he gulped it down indicated to me that he hadn't eaten in several days. And then, threw up a little bit after, looking up at me and panting vigorously.

   My head was spinning. If this is what I find in the first house, what am I going to find in the others? I really wasn't sure I wanted to know. It just looked like a lot of work ahead that I wasn't sure that Derek and I could handle. What else am I going to find? I wasn't sure.

   I hoisted the heavy bag of dog food over my shoulder and Regis followed. When I got to the gate, thankfully, there was a button there that I could push to open it. I grabbed my ladder and took it outside and propped it up against the outside wall. Left the gate open a bit. Regis and I headed back to my house so that I could introduce him to Derek.

   We burst into the kitchen and surprised Derek making calls. "Hey, Der, Look what I found!"

   Regis didn't hesitate and ran right up to Derek and gave him a greeting kiss. "Unfortunately, his mistress, her housekeeper and groundskeeper are dead. You should see that place! It's a real palace! And Regis, that's his name, isn't the only thing there. I believe I saw a large birdcage with some macaws or parrots. Will have to go back and decide what to do with them. I'm beginning to think that it's going to take a lot of work just to deal with our neighborhood."

   "Yeah, I know what you mean. These calls are killing me. I only got about five texts back so far and they are desperate. I made about 15 calls since you're gone and only talked to two people. One was a cousin that you don't know in Watts and the other was Daphne from school. She was crying so much during the conversation that I didn't get all that she said. We will have to help her if we can. But she's about 10 miles from here in the Hollywood Hills. I don't know what the streets and roads are like to get there."

   "Maybe we should tend to the living first, and take care of the dead later."

   "I'm thinking that, too. Let's go there this afternoon and see if we can help her. In the meantime, before lunch why don't you check a couple more houses while I make some more calls? I'm beginning to think this is going to be very hard, what to do first… Or even next."

   "You've got that right, Der. I'll leave Regis here and check out a couple of houses like you said. Sure not sure what we'll find on the way to Daphne."

   I went back to where the ladder was and went to the gate of the house directly across from Derek's. I peered through the gate and saw nothing moving. And when I tried the intercom, got no response. I didn't know the people in the house because they were a young couple that recently moved in with two small children after the house had been gutted and renovated buy a home flipper. But it was not our family business. We were now doing much larger projects. At least we were… Nothing happening now, or ever again, from what I could gather.

   I used my ladder again to climb over the wall and watched more carefully for possible dogs as I climbed down onto the property inside. Once again, I knocked on the front door while peering through the window and seeing nothing but a large open space with sparse furniture and what looked like a kitchen off to the right. The door was open. I called out again and heard nothing.

   There were toys and clothes strewn around the living/family room and in the kitchen was a mess. I sensed that someone was alive in the house but wasn't answering me. I approached the master bedroom with much trepidation. I found what I expected. The young couple in bed and dead. And then, I went around to the four other bedrooms one at a time, frightened by what I thought I might find. The first two bedrooms were empty. In the third bedroom, also empty, I found it decorated for a boy but there was no boy in the room.

   Arriving at the last bedroom in that hallway next to the bathroom, I found it decorated for a girl. That room was in shambles like the kitchen. I heard whimpering coming from the walk-in closet that led to the bathroom. I opened the door a bit further and found a young girl in pajamas, her hair all matted and unkempt. She was hiding in the corner, afraid to even look at me. I could see she was both hungry and hurting. I panicked for a moment, not sure of what to do. She still could be contagious…

   I called out gently, "Little girl, what's your name? I'm here to help."

   She turned shyly, and glanced at me. "Melissa." She started crying. "Mommy… Daddy… Tommy!" She cried out through her tears.

   "I know. I know. I want you to come with me. You need to leave here with me, Melissa. I had to think fast. What should I do with her?… I know, the Rosenbergs!"

   "How old are you Melissa?"

   "I'm seven and my brother Tommy is three." She stopped crying.

   "Where's your brother? I didn't see him in his room."

   She put her left index finger to her mouth and pointed past me. "There."

   I held out my hand and she took it, I followed as she left her room and down the hall into her parents’ bedroom where I had just been. She pointed to the bed and said again, "There."

   I went around the end of the king size bed and found the toddler on the floor on the other side. He was dead, too. I couldn't tell whether it was from the virus or from lack of water and food. My eyes glazed over and I tried not to show Melissa, but I was in the presence of an orphan. Instinctively, I knew there would be a lot more. I took Melissa's hand again and back into her room where I gathered up from the closet as much clothes as I could carry in a large clothes bag that I found and asked her if there was any toys that she would like to bring with her.

   Melissa pointed to this thing and that thing, and then another, and then another until there was so much I couldn't take it all in one trip. I took her hand and we left the house. I knew I had to come back for more of her things, but not now. She had to know her heritage. It was in that house and I had to find it for her. But not now.

   As we crossed the street to the Rosenbergs', I asked Melissa, "Do you like dogs?"

   "Daddy and mommy told me they were going to get us a dog when we got settled in. I like doggies. We had one back in Ohio."

   "We have a real nice one that you will like. But for now, I'm going to have you meet your new grandpa and grandma until I can find out if your real ones are still alive in Ohio. Okay."

   "Okay, where's that doggy?"

   "You'll see him soon. And maybe, some colorful birds."

   We arrived at the Rosenbergs' gate. I pressed on the old-fashioned intercom and heard Martha on the other end.

   "Who's there?"

   "It's Drake. Drake Hutchins from next door. I talked to Hiram earlier about how you were doing."

   "What do you want?"

   "I have a huge favor to ask of you. Can you take care of a seven-year-old neighbor girl who has lost her family to the pandemic? I don't think she's contagious. Derek and I are trying to locate our friends and family and we can't really take care of her right now. We will try to find any relatives she may have that are still alive. But that will take some time. Melissa's in need of being cleaned up and eating right. I got some of her things so she will have something to wear and to play with."

   Martha softened quite a bit on the intercom. "Okay, we will come out and see this little girl you're talking about. I think I've got a room she could take. But you have to promise me that you'll find someone she can go to because we are old and unable to take care of young children anymore. Never had any."

   The gate began to open and we met Hiram and Martha about halfway to the house. Martha knelt down and hugged the girl when she saw her pitiful condition. Smeared with dirt, strawberry jam and peanut butter.

   "Don't you worry, Melissa? Grandma Martha will take care of you. I want you to come in the house and we'll get you settled in, give you a bath and some milk and cookies if you like later. Okay?"

   Melissa's eyes lit up at the sound of cookies. "Okay, I like cookies."

   It was with great relief that I crossed the street again to the next house, knowing that I had done the right thing by giving the Rosenbergs a chance to help us out while we helped them out.

   The next house was well known to us. Rodney Owens and his family owned it. He had a large used car lot and was often seen on television doing the local advertising. Once again, I went up to his view screen intercom and pushed the button. The screen lit up and it was Rodney, with a stern look on his face.

   "What do you want, Drake? I heard you rummaging around next door and saw you on my surveillance cameras. What are you doing, scavenging? What are you gonna do with that little girl? I saw you take her across the street?"    

   "No, I'm just going around the neighborhood trying to find out if anyone's alive. Next door I just found a seven-year-old girl whose parents had died and I took her to the Rosenbergs across the street where they took her in until I find if any relatives of hers are still alive."

   "Well, that was really nice of you, but I'm not having any of it. Where have you been? The world is coming apart. We are prepared here, but we can't take in anybody else. My wife and son are dead already. But me and my daughter are going to hold out as long as we can. Just go away and don't come back. I'll shoot any trespassers, even you!"

   "Okey-dokey, we'll do that. I lost my parents and Drake did, too, our sisters. But if you ever inclined, get in touch with us because we want to help bring some order, at least in the neighborhood, again."

   "No more talky talk. Just go away!" The intercom went dead.

   I just shook my head and crossed the street again to lunch with Derek and a story he wouldn't believe.

Copyright Ronald W. Hull

3/1/23