After The Virus (Book 2): Homesteading

by Archer, Simon

“Sure,” I told him. “You seem like a good kid.”

  “Mama raised me right,” he agreed. “Though I don’t know that I’m really all that good.”

  “Who is?” I said with a snort. “I’ve seen all sorts of people, Virgil. Did you know I was in the Army?”

  “I didn’t,” he replied with a shake of his head.

  “Yeah,” I continued. “Posted to Afghanistan. Fortunately, I wasn’t infantry or motorized, but I was a mechanic. It didn’t keep me from seeing action or earning a Purple Heart, though.” I paused. Where was I going with this?

  “Anyway, I’ve met men who looked like they’d kill you, and they did have quite a few confirmed kills under their belts, but they’d give you the shirt off their back if you needed it.” I chuckled. “I heard a story of this Airborne team that was under fire from insurgents. They risked an IED and casualties to secure a stray dog that wandered into the field of fire. There were some Afghanis, too, that were the nicest people, even though they looked like what the television always showed as terrorists.”

  I shook my head.

  “What I mean to say, Virgil,” I said, “all rambling aside, is that you seem like a good kid.”

  “I’ve envied,” he blurted out.

  I glanced over at him.

  “Who hasn’t?” I asked. “Is this your turn?”

  “Um, yeah.” the teenager just blinked at me. “Really?”

  “Yep,” I replied, braking a bit more as I turned the wheel and angled the Nissan onto the crumbling dirt road. It was still hard-packed enough, but a few more months would see the dirt loosen up enough that it would become harder to navigate without four-wheel drive.

  Fortunately, all the trucks we’d collected, along with Jackie’s jeep, did have that particular feature.

  “But I acted on it,” Virgil paused. “I mean, they weren’t around to use it…” he trailed off.

  “The four-wheeler?” I asked. It wasn’t like I didn’t already know that he’d collected it from the Boutwells.

  “Yessir,” he replied sadly. “I mean, I wanted it before God took most everybody home.”

  “Tommy,” I said. “Go have a look around while Virgil and I check the smokehouse. Don’t stray too much, though, okay?”

  “Yes, sir,” the ten-year-old replied.

  We all disembarked, and Tommy took one of the Maglites and started off. Virgil gave me a questioning look.

  “He’s careful,” I said. “You and I have to talk, though.”

  “About my confession?” he asked.

  “Kind of,” I answered. “You also need an explanation of what you’re getting yourself into.”

  We took flashlights of our own, and I followed the young man towards a small, brick building that squatted behind the largest of the five trailers. I swept my glance over the area, taking in the somewhat dilapidated-looking mobile homes, and, just at the edge of my light, what looked like a small field of crosses and turned earth.

  “I buried everyone,” Virgil said softly.

  “I figured,” I told him. “You’re a strong kid. At least you thought to do it.”

  “I guess,” he sighed and unbolted the door of the smokehouse. I could smell the strong hickory scent and the wonderful odor of slow-cooking meat. A bit of smoke and heat washed out over us as we peered in. It wasn’t as full as I’d expected, but a butchered deer carcass, or rather the components of one, hung from the ceiling racks along with what looked like most of a couple of pigs and some select cuts of beef.

  “Not bad,” I said.

  “Some of it was from the freezer,” he said. “I didn’t want it to go bad, so I figured I’d smoke it.”

  “Good thought.”

  “So,” he asked as he started gathering wood from the pile beside the door. “What am I getting myself into?”

  “Jackie and Angie are my wives,” I said simply. Considering all the polygamy in the Bible, he ought to be able to wrap his head around that.

  “Oh,” Virgil said in a small voice. “I guess that’s fine.” He looked up and back at me.

  I smiled.

  “Don’t worry about it,” I said with a shake of my head. “So, what’s got you feeling bad about the four-wheeler?”

  “Just that I wanted it before everyone died. I was almost happy to be able to take it,” he admitted. “Then I felt guilty.” Then he paused. “Almost like I wanted something bad to happen so I could take the four-wheeler.”

  “Did you?” I asked.

  “No!” he said emphatically, glaring at me.

  “Don’t worry, then,” I said, gazing back blandly. “So what if you wanted it? So what if you took it after they died?” Sure, I was being cold, but I thought he needed to hear it. “You didn’t make this happen, Virgil. You didn’t kill anyone. All you did was take something that no one was using and put it to use.” I shrugged at him. “Mechanical things do better for being used, you know.”

  “They do?” he asked. “I thought they wore out.”

  “Engines need to run to keep operational,” I replied, then pointed off at my truck. “If that sat for a while, all the oil in the engine would drain down into the pan. The parts would have a moment or two of being dry when I got around to cranking it up again. That kind of damage wears things out even faster than regular use.”

  “Sure, I could take precautions to store it over the long term,” I continued, “But I couldn’t just let it sit. The way I figure it, you saved the life of that four-wheeler. Otherwise, it’d just rust away in the Boutwell’s shed.”

  “Oh,” he said, then stared off into the darkness. “So, I did a good thing?”

  “I think so,” I answered. “I mean, I wouldn’t go stealing from someone who was still alive, but the dead don’t really have any use for material things, right?”

  “Right,” he said with a firm nod. “You can’t take it with you.”

  “There you go,” I said, smiling. “Besides, pretty much everything is different now.”

  “You can say that again.”

  The young man finished up with the smokehouse fairly quickly, then turned to me.

  “Should I gather up my stuff?” he asked.

  “You still want to join us?” I answered his question with one of my own.

  “Yeah,” he replied. “I think I do. I really don’t like being alone, and I think that I can help you as much as you can help me.”

  “You certainly reminded us that there’s still hope,” I said. “And for that, I thank you.”

  He ducked his head and shrugged his shoulders.

  “I always look for a silver lining,” Virgil muttered. “I’ll go get some of my things and meet you at the truck.”

  “Cool,” I said. “I’ll collect Tommy and be right there.”

  We parted. He headed into the doublewide while I wandered off in the direction of a waving beam of light.

  I found Tommy squatted down with his flashlight on his shoulder while he watched a possum ambling around, sniffing through the weeds.

  “Is everything okay?” the boy asked when I walked up.

  “Oh, yeah,” I answered. “I just had to help Virgil through something. He’s got some notions that might cause him problems in the future if he can’t adapt.”

  “Oh,” Tommy said and looked back at the possum. “Do you think they know?”

  “Who?”

  “The animals,” he replied, pointing at the possum. “There’s more of them now than there are of us.”

  “True,” I mused. It was almost a disconcerting thought. Predator and prey populations would bloom in the months and years to come and eventually come to a balance that the much-diminished human population would have little impact on. It would still take hundreds of years for the Earth to reclaim our bastions, but that hinged on us not doing anything but fade into the dark.

  I certainly had no plans to just fade away.

  “Maybe,” Tommy said. “We all just need to figure out how to get along.”

  “That would
mean that Jackie’s right, you know,” I said.

  He giggled.

  “Yeah. We can’t let it go to her head.”

  “Nope,” I agreed with a grin. “She’s already riding high about Goldeneye.”

  Tommy kept chattering at me while we sauntered back to the truck. The little trailer park was pretty nice, and it looked like Virgil had tried to keep it tidied up and maintained over the past few months. Kind of funny how he’d been so close and yet so far, but hell, I hadn’t even known this place was here, and I’d lived in the area for a few years.

  When you got down to it, most of us never went that far from home. I wouldn’t have gotten the idea to go to Montgomery if it hadn’t been for talking with Jackie about solar power, and I definitely wouldn’t have gone to Atlanta if it hadn’t been for Estelle.

  I scratched my head as we waited for Virgil. Eventually, he shuffled out of the darkness, practically dragging a large, canvas, surplus duffel bag.

  “This is pretty much everything,” he said. “I’ll need to come back to check on the smokehouse until the meat is done, though.”

  I nodded and helped him heave the heavy bag into the truck bed.

  “Once you clean it out,” I said. “Don’t start another round. I want to take a look at how it’s put together so we can maybe build one up at the homestead.”

  “That works,” he said, then looked thoughtfully back over his shoulder, sighed, and turned to open the door to the truck. Tommy hugged him suddenly.

  “What’s that for, kiddo?” Virgil asked.

  “You seemed to need it,” the boy replied.

  I nodded my approval as the younger boy climbed on in and got himself situated, followed by the teen. Once they were in, I settled myself behind the wheel, started the little truck, and swung it back up the dirt road to the actual road.

  “How good are you around a farm?” I asked, glancing over at Virgil.

  “I can take care of animals,” he replied. “But I’m not real good with plants. That would’ve been Roy and Denise.”

  “Who were they?”

  “Back at the park,” he replied. “They had a little plot in the woods where they grew pot. Mama didn’t have a problem with that since the Bible didn’t say there was anything wrong with it. Besides, it helped Denise feel better after chemo.”

  I nodded slowly.

  “Is that plot still there?”

  “Yeah,” Virgil replied. “I mean, it’s not got anything but weeds growing in it right now, but it’s still there. Do you want to grow some? I didn’t look around their trailer much when I went to-” the teenager paused and sniffled. “When I went to check on them.”

  I reached behind Tommy and gripped Virgil’s shoulder.

  “You did good, son,” I told him. “I’m proud of you, and I’m glad to know you.”

  “I’m glad to know you, too, Henry,” Virgil looked at me with a ghost of a smile on his gaunt face. “And Tommy, Jackie, Angie, Estelle, and Irene. I know you aren’t really religious types, either, but thank you for humoring me.”

  This kid was wise and perceptive beyond his years, definitely. He’d be a good addition to the family.

  “So long as we can leave all the judgments at the door,” I said. “We’re all making our way in a world where a lot of the old ways are just gone.”

  “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” Virgil said, nodding his head. “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”

  “Nice sentiments,” I said with a smile. “I think we can respect that.”

  He nodded and gave me an almost relieved look.

  “Anyway,” I continued. “I’m thinking that we should all sit down once I get back from Atlanta with some new folks, maybe, and plan out what sort of little community we want to put together.”

  “You want me to help?” Virgil asked, disbelief obvious in his tone.

  “Sure,” I replied. “You seem like you’ve got your shit together a lot better than some people I’ve known. Plus, you know how to hunt and prepare food. Did you butcher the deer?”

  He nodded.

  “Think you could handle anything bigger?” I asked.

  “Maybe,” he replied. “With the right tools. I worked part time at the butcher shop in the back.”

  “Well damn,” I said. “It’s our lucky day.”

  17

  0800 the next morning saw the heavily laden and fueled up Silverado pulling out of the homestead driveway and onto the road that would eventually lead us to I-85. I had some music on, my usual heavy metal fare, but turned down. Estelle sat half-reclined in her seat.

  “You know,” she said at last. “The kids are a joy, but I rather think I want some privacy back.”

  “Doesn’t Tommy give you space?” I asked. The cottage had two bedrooms, but the bath was shared, which could be a problem I supposed.

  “Usually,” she replied. “He’s a bit insecure, really. Though having a playmate, if Virgil turns out okay, will probably help him.”

  “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to spare him that much attention,” I said, glancing over at her, then back at the road. The sun was creeping over the trees to the east. We’d be driving right into it.

  “He doesn’t talk much about it when you’re around, but he misses his folks,” Estelle continued. “Especially his dad. I suspect you could fill that void.”

  “I can try,” I observed thoughtfully. My head dropped back until it rested on the headrest of my bucket seat. “I’m worried I’ll be a crap father.”

  The doctor snorted.

  “That means you’ll probably be a fine one,” she said with a smile. “Take the kid out fishing or something. Go walking with him, and show him the woods. Teach him to shoot.”

  “I mean to.”

  “What’s holding you back?” the doctor demanded.

  “Getting everything in order at the homestead,” I answered. “Hooking up solar and making sure we have all the supplies we need.”

  “How about leaving something for the rest of us to do,” she said flatly.

  I paused. Estelle was something like the third person to tell me I was overdoing it in as many days. I wasn’t sure that I was, but when I relaxed, I felt a bone-deep fatigue waiting behind my eyes. Each night I’d hit the bed and be asleep almost instantly. The girls didn’t have a problem waking me up, but they hadn’t done it that much lately.

  “I see the hamster running on his wheel,” Estelle said with a chuckle. “You see it too, don’t you?”

  I reddened a bit.

  “Yeah,” I admitted. “Early on…” I trailed off.

  “Early on, you and Jackie were like rabbits,” Estelle filled in. “Then Angie came in, and you all were busy every night. Until a couple of months ago. You started slowing down. They even asked me about it. Did you know that?”

  I shook my head.

  “Exhaustion, I told them. Let him rest a bit,” she said. “He’ll be fine after he rests.” I could feel her eyes boring into me for a moment before she continued. “But you never did, did you? Burning the candle at both ends, wearing yourself out every day?”

  “Yeah,” I protested. “I needed to get things done.”

  “You wanted to be ahead of the game when Price got here,” Estelle said. “Tell me that’s not true.”

  “It…” I trailed off. She was right. “Yeah. That’s right.”

  “We thought so,” she said, nodding and smiling smugly. “That’s part of why I insisted on coming on this trip. Bruce and the others don’t expect you ‘til tomorrow, and I mean to take care of you and make sure you get at least one good night’s rest.”

  “The side trip you wanted to make?” I wasn’t about to fight it.

  “Yes,” she replied. “My old home. I shut everything off before I went to Montgomery and buttoned up. So long as nothing crazy happened, it’ll be a nice, quiet place to spend today and tonight.”

  “Do you still want to…?”

  “Hell, yeah, darlin’,” she drawled
, reminding me she was a Southerner, too, much like the rest of us. “I just mean to show you what I can bring into the mix. You’ve got youth and fitness already.”

  A smirk crept over her full lips, and her dark eyes shone as she added, “I’m going to show you what training and experience can bring.”

  “Training?” I asked, looking sharply over at her.

  “Pfft, no,” she shook her head and laughed. “Not that kind, Henry. I’m a doctor, and I took a certification in therapeutic massage once upon a time. I know how to take things apart and put them back together, as well as find a cure for what ails you.”

  Two things ran through me at that moment, aside from the sudden onset of exhaustion. First, relief that the lovely, dark-skinned Doctor White hadn’t been what my soldier’s mind immediately thought, and excitement that she wanted to be with me, and if the last few months were any indication, in more than the biblical way.

  “I’m all yours, Doctor White,” I said, smirking faintly.

  “Tease,” she accused, then laughed for a moment before growing serious. “What’s going on in your head about the Reverend?”

  “I don’t know,” I admitted. “After Blake, I was certain we’d see goons or troublemakers from his camp come visit, but then, months of nothing. I don’t want to slow down or let down my guard.”

  “You almost got killed,” Estelle told me. “And so did Jackie. The thing is, she’s younger, so she bounced back like one of those red balls we used to have at recess. You, though… I’ll bet it reminded you of your time in Afghanistan, didn’t it?”

  “Yeah,” I admitted. “Kind of.” I chewed on the inside of my cheek and fidgeted a bit. “I didn’t see as much action as some of the soldiers posted there, but I won’t forget what I did see.”

  She reached over and patted my hand.

  “No need to relive it for me,” Estelle said quietly. “Let’s just move on to the now and then look on ahead. I’m looking forward to joining your little harem. From what I’ve heard, you do a good job taking care of certain womanly needs.”

  I blushed pretty hard at that.

  “What have you heard?” I asked.

  “I’m not going to try to mimic the moans and happy cries I heard almost every night for a while,” she replied dryly. “I was kind of bitter at first that Jackie landed you first. Then when Angie joined in, I realized that I might have a chance, too.”