by Eric Vall
“How’s you learn to do all of this?” I asked the handyman as we worked.
“Oh, I've done many things with my time on this earth,” he said.
“Such as?” I asked as I tossed another small twig off into the forest.
“A bit of everything really,” the old man replied with a shrug. “Never could settle on just one thing to do.”
“You seem to have found something good at the school,” I pointed out.
“Oh I did, plus I liked that job because it came with a whole mess of duties,” Rolly explained. He grunted and pushed over another thin tree. “It combined a lot of things I already knew how to do into a single title.”
“What’d you do before you came here?” I asked.
“Lots of things,” he chuckled. “I was a bit of a rambler.”
I stopped working, turned to the old man, and raised an eyebrow.
“Aww, don’t look at me like that,” Rolly said with a laugh. “Everyone has a past.”
“I know, but I feel you’ve been holding out on me,” I said. “I mean come on, you’ve gotta have some great stories.”
“I might have a few stories,” he said with a shrug. “Not sure how interesting they are.”
“Well, we have the time,” I said as I went back to work. Once the fallen three was clean I picked it up and laid it over the wide stream. Then I went to the second downed tree and started to clean it up as well.
“I guess we do,” he said. “Well I started out in the midwest. Grew up in a small town, but didn’t stick around long after high school. Got myself a pickup truck and started making my way through the country. At one point the plan was to visit every state that I could drive to.”
“What changed?” I asked.
“Oh you know how it is,” Rolly smiled. “Truck broke down sooner than I'd hoped. Picked up a job as a local mechanic doing simple stuff like oil changes and tire rotations, but one night I ran off with some local girls and never made it back to my pickup truck.”
“My my, Mr. Elderbroch, it sounds like you were quite the wild one,” I teased.
“No denying that,” he chuckled. “Hitchhiked around the country for a while from that point on. I would spend my days working hard for anyone who would pay me, and spend my nights spending what I made in food, drink, and entertainment.”
“Ever get into any trouble?” I asked
Rolly looked at me and grinned so wide that the leathery wrinkles of his face all but hid his eyes. “Oh yeah.” For a moment the old man just stood there and stared off into the forest with that big grin plastered across his face. Then he nodded slowly and went back to chopping at the tree. “You see, I had a weakness for the ladies. If a pretty girl so much as looked at me as they walked by I assumed they were interested and made a move. There were a few times in some small town in the middle of nowhere I hit on the wrong girl. One little blonde was a sheriff's daughter, and he didn’t appreciate a guy like me making passes at his little girl.”
I had stopped working entirely as I sat there and just listened to the old man’s tales. It was hard to believe that the gentle old handyman I knew now was once anything else. “What’d he do?”
“Spread some lies about me and ran me outta town,” Rolly said. “It’s probably a good thing though. Found out later that sheriff's daughter was a little unhinged.”
“Sounds like you dodged a bullet on that one,” I agreed with a nod.
“Ah hell, back then I wouldn’t have cared,” he admitted with a laugh. “That wasn’t the last town I ever got ran out of though. I never even did anything wrong, but lots of those small communities don’t care much for strangers who can steal away their women.”
“Ah, so you weren’t all talk then, huh?” I asked.
“Oh no, I had game once,” he said with a cocky smile.
“It sounds like you had a wild life for a while, so how the hell did you wind up here?” I asked.
“I met a girl,” Rolly said with a quiet tone. His smile faltered, and his gaze drifted to the ground.
“She must have been special,” I said.
“She was,” Rolly agreed with a nod.
“You’ll have to tell me about her sometime,” I said. As I looked at my aging companion, I could tell by his wistful expression that I had stumbled across something close to him. “Right now though, let’s get across this stream.”
Rolly looked up at me, nodded slightly, and managed a thin smile.
It took us about thirty minutes to find, fell, and clean enough thin trees to create a bridge. I lashed them together with the rope in my pack and tested it with my weight. The wood creaked under me but barely bowed under my muscular form.
“That looks pretty good,” Rolly said.
“Indeed it does,” I said with a nod before I stepped over to him and gave him a high give. “Nice work partner.”
“I suppose should probably try to drive over it now,” Rolly said as he crossed his arms and looked to the ATVs.
“I’ll go first,” I volunteered. Then I ran over, hopped on my machine, and drove it towards the bridge. I looked at my companion, gave him a thumbs up then let out a small sigh and gunned it forward.
The structure bowed and creaked under the weight of the four wheeler, but a moment later I was safely on the other side no worse for wear. I turned back around to look at Rolly, watched the bridge spring back into shape, and cheered.
“Look at that, it held up,” the handyman said with a grin. Then he jumped on his own ride, crossed the water, and continued on.
We rode for another couple of hours before we found a small clearing and decided to stop for lunch. We left the ATVs just inside the woods and took a seat on some of the larger rocks that were strewn about the area. We basked in the warmth of the midday sun as we enjoyed some of the food we had brought along.
“I’m glad you came along,” I told Rolly.
“Yeah, me too,” he said after he finished a mouthful of beans. Then he set down his empty can, let out a contented sigh, and rubbed his belly. “I didn’t know how much I needed time away until you got me out here.”
“You seem to be pretty attached to the campus,” I said.
“I am,” he said with a slow nod. “Goes back to that girl again.”
“What was her name?” I asked
“Nadine,” he said with a smile. “She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. She had curly red hair, fair skin, a face full of freckles. She was strong willed, kind, and fought fiercely for everything she believed in. Even when I was in my prime she was out of my league, but somehow I got her to love me.”
“She sounds lovely,” I said quietly. “Can I ask what happened to her?”
Rolly nodded and hid his face from me before he spoke again. “Yeah, she passed away about twenty years ago. Cancer got her in the end.”
“I’m sorry, shit like that really sucks,” I said.
“Yeah it does,” he agreed.
I had never been the best at knowing what to say when someone was upset. I was even worse at finding the right words to say in moments of deep sadness or loss. I let out a small sigh and dug the beers out of my backpack. I opened one and handed it over to my older friend.
He took it from me without saying anything, nodded his thanks, and took a sip. The beer wasn’t cold, and there was a slightly skunky taste at the end, but at the moment I was glad to have it.
For a few minutes we sat there in silence and drank our beer. Rolly played with the simple gold band around his ring finger. I had always wondered what the story was behind it, but had never found the right time to ask until now. When we did speak again, it was Rolly who spoke first.
“She was a teacher at the school,” he said “That’s how I ended up there. Nadine made me want to be a better person and when she asked me to settle down here with her, it was an easy choice.” He paused, took another drink of his beer, and hung his head. “We never had kids so after she passed I didn’t really know what to do so I just sorta s
tuck around.”
“I’m glad you did,” I said after I leaned over and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Yeah, me too,” Rolly said as he looked over at me and smiled. “I think Nadine would be proud of all we have done.”
“She sounds like a good woman so I am sure she would,” I agreed.
“Here’s to Nadine,” Rolly said as he lifted his beer up high into the air. “Best damn woman that I ever met.”
“To Nadine,” I echoed as I toasted with him.
We finished our drinks, cleaned up after ourselves, and returned to our four wheelers.
“Thanks for listening to me ramble,” Rolly said as we climbed back onto the vehicles.
“You didn’t say much,” I replied with a shrug.
“No, but I said what I needed to say, and I appreciate that you listened and didn’t try to fix it,” he said.
“Of course,” I said with a smile and a nod. “You ready to get to this farm?”
“Yeah, let’s do it,” he said after he returned my smile.
Less than an hour later we turned off the noisy ATVs and made the last stretch of our trip on foot. We kept our guns ready and our lips sealed as we approached the first of the sites now marked on my map. The trees thinned out the closer we got to the farm.
We stopped just inside the treeline and took in our surroundings. A small single story powder blue farmhouse sat in front of a neatly tilled field, and off in the distance I could make out an aging yet solid red barn.
“This doesn’t look very abandoned,” Rolly whispered.
“No, it really doesn’t,” I agreed.
Half a dozen cattle grazed in a pasture out behind the field, and we could see a green diesel tractor parked behind the house.
“Let’s sit tight and watch this place for a while,” I instructed. “Keep a close eye on the windows of that house for movement.”
“Got it, I’ll let you know if I notice anything,” Rolly replied.
“I’m gonna move along the treeline to see if I can get a different point of view,” I whispered. “I won’t go far in case you need me.”
After Rolly nodded and gave me a thumbs up, I slipped away. The treeline curved around the property, and I moved to get a clear view of the front of the house. There was a cute red windmill our front, a set of windchimes hung from the front porch, and the front door was open revealing a screen door behind it.
The whole scene was a bit surreal. It was like we had somehow stumbled onto the set of a lifetime movie. I got comfortable and set up for a lengthy bit of reconnaissance.
An hour or so passed, but nothing had changed. The most exciting thing I had witnessed was the wind blowing the front door open and closed a few times. Other than that though the area was quiet and still. On any other day I would have waited here till dark just to be sure, but I couldn’t do that knowing there was so much left to be done back on campus.
I made my way back to where I left Rolly and found him looking as bored as I felt.
“Anything interesting happen?” the handyman asked.
“Negative,” I replied with a shake of my head.
“So what now?” he whispered.
“I think we should take a look inside that house,” I said. “Maybe we will get an idea of where the people who lived here went.”
“Makes sense,” Rolly replied.
“Alright, stick close to me, and keep you weapon handy,” I ordered. “I would rather not be caught unprepared.”
“Right, your turn to lead the way,” he said.
I nodded, readied my rifle, and crept out of the trees.
We sprinted from the treeline to the side of the house and then slid along the side until we could peek around the corner and check the front porch. The door still flapped in the wind, but nothing had changed.
“Looks clear,” I whispered before I swung around the corner and stepped onto the porch. The wooden deck boards creaked and groaned under my feet despite my slow and careful movements. I winced a little at each new noise. I stepped up to the front door as I heard the sound of Rolly following behind, pushed open the screen, and stepped inside.
As the wind slammed the door closed behind me again, I heard the distinct sound of someone working the pump on a shotgun.
“You fuckers came to the wrong farm.”
Chapter 8
I turned my head to see an older woman with long curly grey hair, a set of dirty overalls, and a large sun hat standing just inside the door with a rifle pointed at my face. Her wrinkled face was twisted into an angry sneer, and wayward grey curls partially obscured her deep brown eyes.
“Listen, this is all just a mis--”
I shut up as the gun was shoved closer to my face, and the woman tightened her grip on the trigger.
“You shut your mouth,” she whispered. “And drop your gun too. Slowly though.”
I nodded, unclipped it from the sling, and bent over to set it gently on the ground. I would have explained that I didn’t want to mess up my new pretty gun, but I didn’t think she would appreciate me opening my mouth again.
A second woman, this one much younger, maybe mid-twenties, popped up from where she hid behind the couch. She had long auburn hair, a slender frame, and a sharp hooked nose. She was wearing jeans and a red button up rolled up to her elbows, and she had a pump-action shotgun clutched tightly in her hands.
I had to commend these people on being so prepared. They must have heard our ATV engines at the tree line and gotten into positions where they knew we couldn’t see them from the outside. Part of me wondered how long they would have waited if we had decided to pass this place on by. These people had shown a great deal of patience so far. I just hoped they would be patient enough to let us explain ourselves.
“What are we gonna do, grandma?” the young woman asked.
“See if your brother has the other one under control,” grandma said.
“You sure you’ll be alright alone with this one?” her grandchild asked.
The old woman shifted her eyes to glare at the younger woman. “Jenny, just go do as I said.”
“Sorry, grandma,” Jenny replied quickly.
“I’m good out here,” I heard a man shout from the porch. “He’s got some old man with him. Nothing I can’t handle.”
“Alright, Jenny, you stick with me then,” the old woman said.
The younger girl nodded and moved over to her grandma and raised her shotgun to point at my face as well.
I stood there, arms raised in a non-threatening manner, and really hoped these people were as reasonable as they appeared. They were the first normal looking people I had seen since coming out of the woods, and I hoped they weren’t actually just more degenerates. Though I guessed if they were I would probably have been killed already.
“So what is your business here?” The old lady asked as she took a step towards me and pressed the barrel of her rifle against my temple. “And don’t lie to me because I am not in the mood.”
“My friend and I were just scouting the area,” I said slowly.
The screen door smacked me in the back as it was shoved open, and Rolly shuffled into the house to stand behind me. He was unarmed as well and had his hands up.
The old woman raised an eyebrow as she looked over my older companion, and she ever relaxed her trigger finger just a little.
“Come on grandma, let’s get rid of these guys before they cause us any trouble,” the man I hadn’t seen said.
“We really didn’t mean to trespass,” Rolly said.
“You shut up,” Jenny said as she shoved her gun in my friend’s direction. The woman looked twitchy, and I worried if something spooked her she would blow a hole through the handyman.
“Can we just put down the guns here?” I asked.
I felt the cold metal of a barrel being shoved into the back of my neck.
“You would like that wouldn’t you,” the man behind me growled. “You fucking degenerate.”
“Settle d
own Dan,” the old woman said as she narrowed her eyes at the one I couldn’t see.
“Yeah but remember what happened last time wi--”
“I said settle down!” the grandma interrupted in a practiced angry tone that left no room for a response. She turned her attention back to me and Rolly. “Now finish telling me what you two are doing here.”
“We were looking for stuff to scavenge,” I said.
“Why did you come here?” The older lady asked.
“That would be my doing,” Rolly said. “I used to buy eggs here occasionally before the blackout and thought maybe we could find some of the stuff we need to finish up some projects.”
“My grandma hasn’t sold eggs for years,” Jenny said.
“Well I’ve been around a while,” Rolly said with a faint smile. “My names Ronald Elderbroch, and I’ve been a caretaker up at Piper College for a couple decades.”
“You came from the college then?” the grandmother asked.
“Yes Ma’am,” Rolly said with a nod. “If we would’ve known that you were here we wouldn’t have bothered you.”
“Well, we at least wouldn’t have tried to sneak into your house,” I said. “We would have come in an open and non-threatening manner.”
“They’re lying,” the unknown man hissed as he pushed his gun harder against my neck.
“Whoa now,” Rolly said as he looked back at the man. “Let’s not do anything hasty. We really don’t want trouble.”
“Dan, come on,” Betty said as she rolled her eyes. “I’ve asked you several times to settle down a little.”
“Am I the only one that remembers what happened when those biker guys showed up?” Dan asked. “We almost died, Jenny.”
“We’ve had a few run-ins with those bikers ourselves,” I said as turned my head just enough to sneak a peek at the man behind me.
He was a young guy, maybe early twenties, with short jet black hair and a scruffy beard. He wore a blue button-up shirt and seemed to be holding some sort of rifle. His green eyes were narrowed, and his mouth was twisted into an angry grimace. It was clear he didn’t believe a word I said, but, unlike Jenny, Dan seemed to be less jumpy.
