Allison's Secret (Book 2): The Accord

by Stalter, D

  Will stepped forward and picked up the pistol the boy had dropped. He removed the bullets and dropped them in his pocket, then put the pistol in his waistband.

  “Get up,” he said. “Go home. Get your mom and head back to Princeton. If you take the highway, you’ll see that FEMA has set up a headquarters there. You can stop there and they’ll transport you to a camp down south. You might not have a choice. They may take you south whether you want to or not.”

  He reached behind the boy and unwrapped the cord from his wrists. “Your other choice is to take the back way to town. Don’t go through the covered bridge, that’ll take you too close to the FEMA headquarters. Cross the bridge at backbone road and come in to town that way. But be careful, there’s been some dangerous activity out that way.”

  He patted the boy on the shoulder. “Go on. If you leave now, you’ve got plenty of time to get to Princeton before dark.”

  The boy took off at a run, glancing back several times.

  “What about him?” Riley indicated the body on the ground.

  “The ground’s frozen so there’s no way we can bury him without a pickaxe. I didn’t bring mine today. I think he’s far enough away from the farm. The coyotes will take care of him.”

  They emerged from the field and walked towards the farm. The security detail spotted them as they crossed the highway. Will held up his hand, holding the detail until they could catch up.

  “Hey,” Will said approaching the team. He recognized two of the original members of the group, Matt and Sam.

  “Did either of you see anything over there?” He pointed across the highway to the corn field they’d just left.

  “No. Just heard a shot a few minutes ago. Was that you?”

  “Yeah. We came up on a couple guys scoping out the farm.”

  “We called the shot in. There’s a team working around to come up from behind.”

  “Call them off. There’s nothing there except a dead guy.”

  “You just let him lay?” Matt raised his eyebrows.

  “The ground’s frozen. Coyotes will clean him up. We’ll be bringing everyone up to speed at supper. We’ll catch up with the teams on guard now after you come in.”

  “Got ya. See ya after this shift is over.”

  Chapter 16 Riley

  The bunkhouse smelled of apple smoked bacon.

  “We must have missed BLT’s for lunch,” Riley told Will.

  “I saved you some.” Allison stepped out of the store room. “The bread is on the counter. Toss a couple slices on top of the stove. The bacon is in that covered pan. I’ll bring in the sliced tomatoes and lettuce from the box outside.”

  Will followed Riley out to the stable and the tack room where they washed up before returning to the common room.

  “When are you planning on doing your fire-starting life skills class?” called Karen from the back of the room where she had the children gathered around the white board.

  “We could do it today. Soon as we grab something to eat,” Riley called back. He withdrew four slices of bread from the metal box on the counter and laid them on top of the hot wood burning stove.

  Allison stepped in the door carrying a plate with tomatoes and lettuce as well as a jar of mayonnaise. “I wasn’t sure if you used mayo, so I brought it just in case,” she told Will.

  “I do like my mayo,” Will said. “Hey, where did you put those cotton balls?”

  Riley kept his back to them, not wanting to see the confrontation in Allison’s eyes. He couldn’t imagine what he’d ever done or said to her that made her dislike him so much, but from the first time she’d laid eyes on him, she’d hated him.

  He used a fork to pull the toasted bread off the stove. Picking up a knife, he scooped a bit of mayo onto the toast and smeared it evenly across before handing the knife to Will. They ate in silence. The quiet crunching of toast and lettuce was the only sound.

  Allison returned with the cotton balls and set them in front of Will before asking, “Do you need anything else?”

  “No, I’ve been saving toilet paper cardboard rolls in my room. I’ll get them.”

  Riley cleaned the table and counter while Will crossed the common room to the room they shared on the bottom level of the mezzanine.

  “Okay, kids,” he said carrying the supplies to the back of the room where the kids waited. “Are we ready to learn to make firestarters?”

  “Yeah!” the chorus greeted him.

  He set the bag of cotton balls, the empty cardboard tubes, and a jar of Vaseline on the table at the back of the class.

  “There are many, many ways to make fire starters. Does anyone know any ways?”

  Paul, the boy who’d come in with his family after the attack from the fake FEMA guys, raised his hand.

  “Go ahead,” Will said.

  “We used to use the wax from candles. We took cardboard and dipped them in the melted wax from a candle. Dad used to have me make a bunch at a time. I’ve used old candles for the wax and old crayons.”

  “That’s a great method,” said Will. “You can do the same thing by dipping cotton balls in wax. A lot of things will work. It can be wax or Vaseline. In fact, in my opinion, once the wax dries, that method is a whole lot cleaner. But today we’ll pretend that we don’t have any candles laying around. All we have is this jar of Vaseline.”

  The new boy continued, “Dad also said that you could take old newspaper and twist it into a tight tube and dip that in wax. Or you could use old egg cartons.”

  “That’s true. Those are all great ways. And there are many more.” He held up the Vaseline. “One reason I like using cotton balls and Vaseline is because it will create a hot flame that lasts about four minutes. This should be plenty of time for you to get your kindling started.

  “Okay, here is what we are going to do today.” He dipped a cotton ball into the Vaseline and held it up. “I want each of you to dip a cotton ball into the Vaseline. Then we will go out to the arena and get some kindling that we will use to get a fire going. After we’ve seen how easy it is to get a fire going using a fire starter, we are going to practice a couple ways to make a spark – just in case you need a fire and don’t have a lighter or matches. This will be something that you’ll need to practice occasionally in Life Skills class.”

  He looked at the group of children. “Does anyone here have any practice in starting a fire without matches?”

  Paul raised his hand.

  “And, what do you use?” Will asked.

  Paul reached up to his neck and pulled a cord out. Dangling from the cord was a shiny metal pendant.

  “Nice!” Will said. “Is that a Wazoo?”

  “Yes. I actually use it a lot. I used to have a cheap one when I was just a kid, but Dad got me this at Christmas a couple years ago. It puts out big sparks and I always get a fire lit with it. We all carry one.”

  Will smiled and pulled an identical one from under his shirt. “I love mine too. After we make some firestarters, we’re going to move to the arena and practice. Would you be willing to take a group to show them how it’s done?”

  Paul nodded, his face turning red.

  Chapter 17 Allison

  Allison leaned over the pot on the stove. The thick liquid inside bubbled and she sniffed the garlicy aroma. One more quick stir and she stepped back, turning so she could set the spoon on the counter, but she was stopped when she ran into a hard object. The spoon in her hand flew up, hitting her just above her breast. The thick yellow soup left a glob that ran slowly down her shirt.

  Riley stepped back. “I’m so sorry!” he said.

  “Whatever gave you the idea that you could be in my personal space?” Allison demanded. Her face turned red.

  “Hey! I said I was sorry. I came to ask you something. That smelled so good I wanted to get a little better smell. What is it?”

  “Chicken garlic soup.” Allison stood firm, the shaking in her hand barely noticeable.

  “That’s an awful lot of garlic.�
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  “This is the cold and flu season. It was Jaden’s idea and she came up with this recipe. Now what was it you wanted to ask me?”

  “Oh, yeah.” He shook his head. “Will and I had a situation today that I’d like to talk to the group about at supper. We’ll get with the dayshift guards when they come in to eat, but I want to make sure everyone is aware.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “When we came back from finding that Fonda’s uncle, we came upon a couple guys spying on the farm.”

  “I heard the radio talk.”

  “There are just a few things we want to make sure everyone is aware of, if that’s okay with you.”

  “Yes, that’s probably a good idea. I’ll call you up when the meal is about over. Now, get the hell out of my kitchen.” She waved her hand, looked down at the glob of soup on her breast, but waited until he’d turned and walked away before wiping it off.

  When she looked up, James was standing in the doorway watching her.

  “What?” she demanded.

  “Nothing,” James said and stepped back outside closing the door behind him.

  The door to the store room opened and Mary stepped out carrying an armload of sheets. “Is it okay to use the first family room for Bell and Chuck? They are ready to move out of the infirmary and I thought that room would be easiest for them to use. They want to eat with the group tonight. I told them it was fine. It was time they got to know everyone. Most of the group stopped in today to introduce themselves. And the kids have been involved in activities, but it’s time to integrate them into the group and see how it works.”

  “Sounds good,” Allison said. “But the family rooms aren’t big enough for two adults and three kids. How do you plan on working that out?”

  Mary nodded. “I had thought of that. The room next to that family room is a double. No one is using it. We could see if they wanted to all stay together in the family room or if they wanted the two girls to share the double room next to it.” She hugged the sheets to her chest. “Should I go ask them which way they want to do it?”

  Allison waved the spoon. “You know better than me what’s going on in here. Both options are fine with me. See what they want to do.”

  She looked at the buttermilk bread recipe that Jean had left. If she made a double batch, she hoped there would be plenty. Some things just needed to be tried to determine what worked. She pulled the bin of flour from under the counter and decided to make a triple batch if she had enough buttermilk.

  Twenty minutes later, she slid the bread into the oven, adjusted the damper, and looked at the wind-up clock.

  The common room was buzzing with activity as people came in from whatever chore they’d been working on and started to clean up for supper.

  “Allison,” a voice called. She looked up to see Steve covered in mud. “Do I have time for a quick shower before supper?”

  “I’ll get the water warming,” she said. “We’ve got forty-five minutes before we eat.”

  “It sure smells garlicy,” someone else called.

  “It is definitely garlicy,” another voice said.

  “Hope we got another choice,” said another.

  Allison laughed. “Your other choice is bread.”

  She looked around the room. “I’m going to need someone to haul this hot water to Steve in a few minutes.”

  “I’ll get it.” Bill Jones had just stepped into the common room from the double room he shared with his wife, Nelda. He was buttoning a green flannel shirt. “What smells like heaven?” He tilted his head towards the ceiling and took a deep sniff.

  The room erupted in laughter.

  “What?” He held his arms out to the side and shrugged. “I like garlic.” He sauntered down the stairs, head held high, nose sniffing.

  The door from the stable slammed. Jaden, who had just stepped in, cringed. “Sorry,” she said. “It blew out of my hand.”

  She looked at Allison. “Steve wants to know how much longer til he’s got water for his shower.”

  “It should be warm enough now.” Allison looked towards Bill who stepped forward and lifted the heavy pot off the stove.

  “Make sure he has soap,” Allison called.

  “Yep,” Bill grunted lunging the pot through the door that Jaden held open.

  Jaden hurried to the kitchen area of the common room. “What do we still have to do before supper?” she asked Allison.

  “Wipe the tables and set them. We’ve got five extra tonight. Bell and Chuck plan on joining us.”

  “Yay! That means they are feeling better. I kept telling people today to go in and introduce themselves.”

  Allison smiled. She pointed at the stove. “I’ve got bread baking from a recipe that Jean brought over this morning when she showed us how to make butter, and we’ve got fresh butter to go with the bread.”

  She stopped and gazed at Jaden. “I expected you to be here this morning for the butter making. Where were you?”

  Jaden turned red. She looked at the floor. “Uhm. I had something I wanted to do.”

  Allison stepped over and put her arm around Jaden. “That’s okay, honey. You do too much around here anyway. I was just surprised that you weren’t there.”

  She gave Jaden a squeeze. “Is there anything you want to talk about?”

  “No,” Jaden muttered and slipped away.

  “Hey, are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. Everything is fine. I just don’t want to talk about things right now, okay?”

  “Perfectly okay. But, you will let me know if something is bothering you, won’t you? I’m always here for you.”

  “Thanks. Everything is good.”

  Most of the tables were occupied; people talked and laughed quietly when Allison pulled the bread from the oven.

  “Jaden,” she said. “Will you divide the butter evenly and set a plate of butter at each table?”

  “Happy to.” Jaden smiled and hurried to get the task done.

  Allison poured the soup into large serving bowls and set them aside to be distributed to each table. She set the bread loaves on the counter and sliced each one in half. As she was filling the pitchers to be distributed to the tables, Kim’s door on the second floor opened.

  Allison surveyed the woman and was surprised that she seemed to have toned down her appearance. A relieved sigh escaped.

  Kim came down the steps and smiled. “I’ll help serve, if you like,” she said.

  “Awesome! I need you to put plates of bread on each table, along with the bowls of soup and a pitcher of water. I really appreciate this.” Allison felt her spirits lift. Perhaps she could stop worrying about what to do about Kim. If she could just get her to help out in the kitchen, the group would accept her… maybe.

  “No problem.” Kim picked up two plates with bread and walked to the first two tables. Polite smiles greeted her and several “thank you’s” could be heard.

  Allison was wiping her hands as Kim picked up the next two plates to deliver. Suddenly, the sound of silverware clattering to the wooden table silenced the room.

  “Oh my God!” It was Lisa Grant. Kim was setting the plate on the table, but she was bent over and her full breasts rested on Lisa’s husband’s shoulder.

  Lisa stood. Her lips tightened, causing her mouth to look like a slash across her face. Her fists were clenched in front of her. “Get away from here,” she shouted. “If I catch you near any of my family again, I swear I’ll kick your ass.”

  Kim raised her hands and stepped back. “Sorry,” she said. “I was just trying to help Allison.”

  “Bullshit,” Lisa shouted. “The only person you’re interested in helping is you. Get away from me.”

  Kim turned her back and walked to the kitchen counter. She poured a bowl of soup and ripped a piece of bread from one of the loaves sitting on the counter.

  “I think I’ll eat in my room,” she told Allison as she walked past and started up the steps.

  Allison shook her he
ad. What the hell just happened? she thought. She looked at Lisa who was glaring at her husband, Mike. She searched the room and found Kim’s daughter Kelly sitting with the Funderburg family, her head down, face red.

  The new family was sitting at the back of the room, eyes wide as they looked from Allison to Lisa, to Mary.

  Mary cleared her throat. “Well, that’s our entertainment for tonight. Let’s eat.”

  Allison sat with James at the table with Greta, Sam and David. She struggled to finish her soup. The knot in her stomach didn’t leave a lot of room for food. Long before her bowl was empty, most of the group had finished theirs.

  She stood up. Instead of going to the front of the room, she simply said, “Riley has something he wants to share.” She then sat back down and gazed at her soup.

  Riley made his way to the front of the room. “Today Will and I were coming back from near Kasbeer. We were on the west side of the highway, coming through the corn field. It was pure luck that we discovered a couple guys laying in the weeds trying to discover a hole in our security.”

  He looked around the room before he continued. “Now, we’re pretty proud of our security team. We don’t guard in the same way after dark that we do in the daytime. They could have studied our daytime methods for weeks and would have gotten a big surprise if they tried coming through at night. And that was their plan.”

  He folded his hands in front of him. “We have quite a few things in our favor. First, it’s getting cold. I’d be surprised if we don’t see snow in the next few days. The cold weather will limit how long people are willing to sit and wait. But it will also drive them to take risks because they are in a hurry. Second, it’s been two months since the flare. There simply aren’t that many people left out there. Those that didn’t flee south or go with FEMA or die are the only ones left. Most of those people are good people just trying to survive. But, some are willing to do whatever it takes to survive. Even if it means hurting someone else. Those are the ones we have to be aware of.”

  He looked around the room. “Who is on the 6pm to midnight guard tonight?”