The men had bolted a metal water trough and metal food trough into the van. “If we’re going to keep collecting and transporting animals, we may as well make it easier for ourselves and for them,” said Koby.
“It’s wonderful having meat, milk, and eggs in winter. I think we should collect a few animals for ourselves at least. We only need one cow for milk, but do you think it would be lonely? If we had a few sheep as well?” asked Ruby.
“Let’s worry about that if there are still any cows at that farther-away farm after summer. We can get a few sheep and chickens from the usual farm,” said Pagan.
Before they climbed into the vehicles to begin driving, Koby gave Ruby a long lecture about what to do if there was trouble. Pagan just shook his head and grinned. Ruby was likely smarter than both him and Koby put together. She didn’t need the lecture. But Koby worried about them all, and especially he worried about Ruby, so he needed to say everything for his own sake, if not for hers.
“If those motorcyclists attack us, crush their bikes. Any of our vehicles will only get a few dents and scratches, but if their bikes don’t work they can’t follow us. Aim for their wheels. That’ll stop them,” Koby finished.
That’s actually pretty good advice. Pagan climbed into the truck. He was going to be the lead vehicle, with Ruby driving the RV and traveling in the middle. They’d decided the truck needed to go first so someone could keep an eye on the trailer. They didn’t want attackers climbing on it and using it as a base to launch an attack against them.
The first morning was easy driving. He knew the way and where to leave the highway because it was too potholed or overgrown for easy traveling. They came that way every three months or so on their scavenging expeditions. The industrial park would be their first stop to collect a high-sided utility trailer. As long as no one else was there or no one else had taken them all, of course.
He deliberately approached the industrial estate from the side, instead of through the main entrance. But there was no one there, and no signs anyone had ever been there, apart from themselves. The roller door he and Koby had jimmied was wedged in place, as they’d left it, and the two of them soon had it open again, the three vehicles inside in safety, and the door shut.
The three of them hurried through the almost empty warehouse to where they’d seen the trailers. Sure enough, all four were still there. They decided to take the biggest one to hold the most wood, but its tires were half perished, so they took the best tires off two of the other trailers, including getting themselves two spare tires, and replaced the best ones on the trailer they’d chosen. Then he and Koby hauled it back to the truck and attached it to the trailer hitch.
“Hey, it fits,” Pagan said with a grin.
“No kidding, smart-ass.”
Then they headed back to the highway and out to the countryside and on toward the valley. It had taken Arthur’s people several days to make the trip, but they’d been traveling very slowly with people just learning how to drive. Whereas he, Koby, and Ruby had been driving since they were young teenagers, and driving all sorts of vehicles, so Pagan thought they might even arrive late tomorrow. Certainly on the third day.
The question would be where they stayed at night. Finding somewhere safe to put the three vehicles might be quite difficult. They certainly couldn’t just hide under a big tree like they often did with the delivery van.
Hopefully anyone who did see them would assume that with the three vehicles they were a much larger group, and would stay away from them. Likely that was just wishful thinking, but it’s what he was aiming for.
It was late afternoon, but not yet growing dark, when he saw a farmhouse several miles off the road. The track to it was very overgrown, and although it was hard to tell from so far away, he thought the house was in disrepair, too. So he pulled off the road and onto the track. It was hardly a track at all, even the former wheel-ruts had been grown over with grass, and the potholes half filled with dirt and rocks washed in by the rain over the years. But that was good news for them, indicating the place would not be home to anyone else. He drove very slowly, the trailer bumping behind him, to the house.
Up close it looked even more tumbledown. Around back there was a large barn. It had no doors, but the three sides would offer them enough protection, he hoped. It was behind the house, and the open side faced the house, which meant people couldn’t see in unless they were already there. Carefully he backed in, reversing until the trailer was almost touching the rear wall of the barn.
Ruby followed him in, neatly reversing the RV, and Koby was immediately after her.
“Stay there until Pagan and I’ve checked the house,” said Koby.
Ruby nodded, and they moved quickly and quietly over to the building. Although, of course, anyone could have seen and heard them approaching.
Going into places like this always made Pagan tense. They made Koby even more tense. He was always worrying about something. Koby, as the larger man, always went first, with Pagan behind him and slightly to the side, so one person couldn’t knock them both down.
Pagan flicked his gaze to the right and the left, but there were no sounds or movement. The back door opened directly into the kitchen, and there were plates and packets and mess scattered around, but it was all covered with a layer of grime and dust. Either the family had left in a hurry or else people had used the place, but a long time ago.
Moving almost silently, they checked a spacious living area, a small office, then climbed the stairs and looked in the bedrooms and bathrooms.
Once again, there was no sign anyone had been there in a long time, but the house was messy with things scattered on tables, chairs and the floors.
“I don’t think anyone has been here in years. This family was just untidy. Very untidy,” said Koby.
“Exactly what I was thinking,” Pagan agreed.
“Ruby would tell us to collect the children’s clothing to take to the village. See if you can find a crate or something to put it in, while I sort out the good items,” said Koby, turning back into the children’s bedroom.
“Okay.” The parents’ bedroom had overflowing closets, so Pagan looked there. On the top shelf was a large suitcase on wheels. Perfect. There were also a lot of shoes in the closet. Pagan opened the suitcase and tipped in all the ones that were both functional and in good condition. Good boots and shoes were hard to find. With luck, someone in the village would have feet in these sizes.
As soon as they returned to the barn, Ruby said, “I want to see the kitchen. The pantry at least.”
Pagan sighed. That was inevitable, he supposed. “All right. I’ll start cooking our supper while Koby goes with you.”
He found a smooth place toward the rear of the barn, not too close to the vehicles or walls, but a long way back from the opening, and quickly built a small fire. As soon as it was burning steadily, he went to the RV and collected the meal they’d set aside for the night, meat and vegetables threaded onto metal skewers. The skewers had been Ruby’s idea. She’d found them somewhere and thought while away from home, they’d be much easier to use than always having to find and peel straight green sticks. Especially when they knew the village was short of fuel. Most of the things they’d stocked the RV with would stay in it at the village. They would leave the RV there for the people to use, on the understanding that when they came back next summer they’d use it themselves then. But all the bedding and crockery and so on would stay in it as communal property. Kind of like a holiday home, Pagan guessed. Not that he knew anyone who’d had a holiday home, but he’d heard people talking about how their grandparents or family friends had owned such a thing at the beach or in the mountains. In the old days before the world went to hell and the poisoned winds began.
Pagan didn’t doubt the stories of the past. He’d seen all sorts of equipment he couldn’t even imagine what purpose it had once served, so stories of airplanes flying like giant birds across the sky and enormous trains running on rails were likely to
be true, he thought.
There’ll come a time when we have to try to find the people still manufacturing goods though. Canned food two years old is mostly okay, but it won’t last forever. And gas and tires for the trucks will run out. We’ll have to leave while we can still access an awful lot of gas to make sure we can get wherever we’re going.
Although Ruby and Koby were walking quietly, Pagan still sensed them returning and was standing facing the open side of the barn, in case it wasn’t them, when they arrived. Koby had a bulging hessian bag slung over one shoulder and a box tucked under his arm. Ruby’s arms were full of books.
Pagan raised an eyebrow at them.
“They had a complete set of Berengaria Brown’s novels, so I’ve taken them all. I’ve read a few once before, but now I have them all. Koby’s carrying food, mostly.”
“Whatever keeps you happy, sweet. I don’t suppose you found the ingredients for pizza?”
Koby laughed, but Ruby replied seriously. “I think I can make it over a campfire. I’ve got flour and oil with me. We’ve brought some grain for our own use, too, but I’m hoping I won’t have to grind it into flour until we’re back home and I can use the electricity. And the bread maker.”
* * * *
Ruby had looked forward to fucking in the bed in the RV, but both men were concerned that two much pounding and rocking could break something. Koby was a large man, and there would be three of them in a bed likely designed really for two people.
“I think we should only fuck on the floor and save the bed for sleeping in,” said Koby.
“I agree.”
“Pack of spoilsports,” said Ruby.
Nevertheless she had to agree the RV did rock with the force of the men’s actions as, later, Koby pounded into Pagan’s ass, and Pagan fucked her cunt with gusto. She’d insisted the men put the mattress on the floor, and they’d piled the blankets on top of it, so she had a nice soft bed to lie on. She was pretty sure the men preferred to have their knees on the softer surface, too, not on the hard floor of the RV.
Pagan’s hands were on her breasts, stretching and rolling her nipples as only he ever did it. Flashes of lust ran directly from each nipple to her core, where an orgasm was building and growing fast, sending flickers of passion out along every nerve ending.
Pagan was making cute, little noises as he slid in and out of her cunt, moving in time with Koby in his ass. Ruby loved the way they did that. It united the three of them in a highly erotic way, and she could share in their fucking as well as her own.
Her arms were raised high, one hand threaded through Pagan’s brown hair, holding it tight, the other gripping Koby’s blond locks down near the nape of his neck, where she could feel his neck and shoulder muscles tensing and releasing as he fucked Pagan.
She braced her feet flat on the mattress, lifting her hips up into every stroke Pagan made, his long cock hitting her in all the most erotic places. Damn these men were good. They both had made pleasuring her into an art form.
Her orgasm was close, and she knew both men were, too. Where she held their heads were little pools of sweat, and Pagan’s body slid over hers quite slickly. It was a pity the little bathroom was so incredibly tiny. There’d be no chance of shower sex, assuming they even found a water source to fill up the big bucket they’d brought to wash in.
And then her brain died as both men sped up, Koby powering into Pagan and Pagan matching his speed and strokes as he slammed into her. Ruby’s orgasm raced through her, shaking her entire body until her toes curled back to her soles and the cords of her neck strung tight with the effort not to scream her release to the world.
Her body was still shaking as Pagan’s hot seed filled the condom in her pussy, and Koby was making the soft, pleased grunts he always made as he came. Relaxed, fulfilled, she sank flat on the mattress. The men could make the bed around her and worry about the danger. She was too happy to care anymore.
Chapter Five
The farm had a huge woodpile under a lean-to near the back door. Before they left in the morning, Pagan drove up so the rear of the trailer was beside the woodpile, and they all loaded the wood straight into the trailer. Pagan stood inside the trailer, stacking it neatly. Ruby was amazed that the entire woodpile disappeared into the trailer. It’d seemed huge. The trailer held an astonishing amount of wood.
Pagan seemed to have no difficulty deciding where to turn off the highway to go into the valley. Ruby could barely see the track, but a few times as they drove very slowly along it, she could see where plants had been broken off and grown again. Oh yes, that’s right, none of the villagers knew how to drive. They learned by actually doing it as they came to the city.
The trio of vehicles was moving quite slowly, barely faster than walking pace, and having to leave the track and drive around trees from time to time. After a while, the signs people had used the track before them disappeared, and at first Ruby was worried. But then she remembered the people had found the vehicles in a cave. So they must be almost at the village.
She saw the river first, a fine, wide, deep stream. She hoped they’d been able to restock the fish in it, or build a fishpond, or something. She hoped they weren’t still bordering on starvation after the harsh winter. She hoped arriving like this didn’t frighten the people too much. Had Arthur even mentioned meeting them?
Ahead of her, Pagan pulled to the side and stopped. She drew the RV up beside him and stopped, too. Koby parked behind her. Pagan jumped out of the truck, and she went to follow him, but Koby held up his hand, telling her “No,” as he jogged past her to stand beside Pagan.
Zuri ran across the grass toward them. “Pagan! Koby. Come on, Ruby, get out and meet everyone. We were hoping you’d come but thought it might be midsummer before you arrived.”
Ruby jumped out of the RV and ran to Zuri, who hugged her. Then people came from every direction, all of them talking at once.
Luke hobbled over to them, leaning heavily on his cane. “I hoped I’d live long enough to meet you again. I have so many questions I want to ask you. You know so much more than we do about the past.”
Ruby hugged him, too. “We may not know the answers, of course. There are many things we would like to know, too,” she said.
A woman with a smiling, gurgling baby raced up to Ruby and kissed her. “Look at her. See how big she’s grown! And she almost never cries. That’s because of all the milk powder you sent for the children!”
“This is Jenna and her daughter, Cara, Ruby,” explained Zuri.
Ruby smiled and nodded. The people were still a bit too thin, but definitely not as thin as before, and it was just after winter. There’d be fresh food available soon, with berries and the first of the fruit and vegetable crops being able to be harvested in a month or two. Just as well we brought them food though. They obviously don’t have much to spare.
Lots of people surrounded them, and the noise level was still rising when an older man cleared his throat. It wasn’t a loud sound in among the turmoil, but silence descended really quickly.
Arthur appeared out of the crowd and spoke. “Andy, these are the people we told you about, who helped us find the grain warehouse and other places. Koby, Pagan, and Ruby. Guests, this is our leader, Andy.”
They all shook hands, and then Andy cleared his throat again, even though there were only a few whispers in the background. “You’re most welcome. We owe you a huge debt of gratitude for helping our team who went to the city. All of them returned unharmed, and they brought us many good things. Zuri said you’d visit, but she thought it may not be until midsummer. She said you missed not being part of a community, even though you never actually said that. We’d be honored to be considered your community, despite the fact we live in different places. You will always be most welcome here.”
“Thank you. We’re grateful for your welcome. We have indeed missed not being part of a community such as this one. We enjoyed talking with your people. We brought some things with us, as we didn’t want
to be a burden on you, and had access to things that are harder to find here in your safe valley. We have more access to food, but you have more security,” said Koby.
Ruby thought he’d expressed himself very diplomatically. The people were looking at the truck, the delivery van, and the RV. The trailer load of wood was self-explanatory, but she was willing to bet few, if any of them, would have seen a mobile home, and possibly not a delivery van either, although it was easy enough to work out what it was.
Andy gestured to the fire, where women were already beginning to cook the evening meal. “Come, sit, and tell us all your news.”
Andy seemed to Ruby to be a good leader. Possibly a little inclined to just do everything the way it had always been done in the past, but fair in his judgments and wise in his decisions. He also seemed ready to listen to others, so maybe he was learning to embrace change. Ruby had a niggling feeling there could be more change ahead, too. If factories were not canning and preserving foods, people would have to live on what they could grow themselves, and this community had already demonstrated that wasn’t possible. They may have been able to do it at first—although even that was debatable according to the dates on the cans the people found and the fact they got the truck to work comparatively easily—but they definitely couldn’t do it now.
If she, Pagan, and Koby collected all the remaining grain in the grain warehouse and all the groceries they could find, how long would they last? Likely not even five years, she guessed, and their diet would be sadly lacking in all kinds of important nutrients long before then. There were only two possibilities, grow things themselves or travel until they found the people who were manufacturing and preserving foods. And travel meant vehicles and gas and oil and other things like tires.
Zuri came and sat beside her. “You’re very quiet. Have we overwhelmed you?”
“No, of course not. I’ve been looking forward to this visit all winter.”
Brown, Berengaria - Future Revealed [Embrace the Future 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 6
