by Eric Vall
Betty’s garden was a nice size and overflowed with lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, and green onions. It was a beautifully crafted splash of color in the sea of green that was the surrounding area. It was clear as we were shown around the farm grounds that Betty was very capable. Rolly said as much but she assured us that she couldn't do it without her grandkids.
We returned to the house as the sun started to make its descent. The faintest streaks of orange started to stain the cloudless blue sky.
As the others went into the house I lingered outside a moment to stare out towards Lanceton. I wanted to make sure there was no sign of fire on the distant mountain slope. Every moment we spent here I grew more nervous, and I wondered if this trip had been the wrong call. Then again, cultivating a working relationship with these people could be equally important for our long term survival, so I pushed my nerves aside for the moment.
“Why didn’t you guys head to the National Guard camp like most of the people in the area did?” I asked as we stepped inside again.
“I told Dan and Jenny they could go if they wanted, but I didn’t want to leave my farm,” Betty said as she moved over to the table and picked up a half-full cup of now cold coffee.
“It’s a good thing we didn’t go,” the black haired man said. “Ran into a guy about a week ago who said he had come from that place.”
“Oh yeah?” I raised an eyebrow and looked at him.
“I guess the place is a shitshow right now,” Dan said. “The place is under martial law, and the soldiers abuse the people and won’t let anybody leave.”
“Seems the guy you came across got lucky then,” Rolly said.
“Guess so, but it turns out that it was a good thing we stayed here with our grandma,” Jenny chimed in.
I nodded and took a seat at the table once more. This pretty much confirmed the suspicion I had about the place. I had been around enough poorly planned government camps to know that they could quickly go bad. It might be worth looking into in the future to see if they were a threat to us, or if we could do anything to help the civilians inside. Plus, a bunch of power hungry soldiers could be far worse than the disorganized bikers we were dealing with now.
“This guy you ran into didn’t have any news about what happened out there did he?” I asked.
“What do you mean?” Betty asked.
“Like, do we know what caused the EMP?” I asked.
“That I don’t know,” Dan said.
“Yeah, we have pretty limited interaction with the outside world since this all happened,” Jenny explained.
“That’s a shame,” I said, “I would really like to know what happened out there.”
“I think we all would,” Rolly said.
“I don’t know, I kinda like not knowing,” Jenny said with a shrug.
Betty leaned over and gave her grandchild a gentle squeeze in an attempt to comfort her.
“Well thanks for sharing with me what you do know,” I said.
“So what do you think, Betty,” Rolly said as he sat down next to her. “Is there any chance we can set up some trade?”
“Yeah, I think that could be good for the both of us,” the older grey woman said with a smile.
“Great, what sort of stuff can we help you get?” I asked.
“You said you were pretty good at hunting, right?” Dan asked.
“Yeah, I’m pretty good,” I said.
“It would be nice to eat something other than chicken and beef every once in a while,” Dan said.
“It would also help us keep our livestock around longer,” Betty added.
“I can easily provide you with some meat,” I said, “We get a fair amount of rabbits and fish from some traps, and our forest is full of deer.”
“That seems like a good start,” Dan replied.
“We can also provide you with some guns,” I said, “We already have a fair amount of firepower, and our stockpile will only grow after we take care of the bikers.”
“And if you ever need help with projects around the house, I could give you a hand with that,” Rolly offered.
“I might have a few things you can do around here,” Betty said.
“We can’t offer you much today,” I said. “We didn’t exactly think we were going to run into anyone.”
“Well we appreciate you being civil people,” Jenny said.
“And it’s always nice to see someone my age,” Betty said.
Rolly and Betty smiled at each other, and I tried to keep a grin off my own face as I looked at the two older folks.
“When would you be able to provide some of these things?” Dan asked with a tone that abruptly changed the entire mood of the room.
“Honestly, I don’t know,” I said. “We are pretty sure the bikers are going to attack us in force, and we have to prepare for it, and I don’t think we are going to be making any more trips away from the campus until that issue is taken care of.”
“So you expect us to just trust you to come back?” Dan asked.
“We aren’t asking for anything today,” I said. “I am simply trying to set both of our parties up for a better future.”
“Dan, I know you are just trying to keep us safe, but I think you need to settle down again,” Betty said before she looked my way. “We have more than we need here at the moment so I won’t see you leaving empty handed. It’s not every day that we get to make new friends.”
“Well that’s mighty kind of you,” Rolly remarked.
“Being kind to others is what’s going to separate us from the barbarians now running about,” the grey haired woman said with a smile. “Jenny, fill a basket with some vegetables from the cellar, and see if we have some extra eggs.”
“Will do,” Jenny said with a nod as she left the table.
Dan huffed and stared at me and Rolly. I couldn’t blame him for how he felt, especially after they already had to deal with the bikers. Hopefully he would come to realize we weren’t his enemy given enough time.
“You really don’t have to give us anything today,” I said. “We aren’t here looking for handouts.”
“Oh no, I insist,” Betty said.
“We will return your kindness once our current danger is over,” Rolly assured her.
“I’m not worried about it,” Betty said. “In fact, if you can find a way to take it with you I might have something to help you with your water system. You said you needed some sort of water tank right?”
“That’s right,” I said with a nod.
“Well, we have a big one that we don’t use anymore,” she replied, “Not sure what you parked out there in the woods or how you got it running, but if you can take it, then it’s yours.”
“Again, your generosity is appreciated,” I said. “We just came this way on a couple of ATVs, but we have a running truck that we can bring up this way assuming you have a road leading to the farm.”
“We do, but I have it booby trapped,” Dan said.
“Smart move,” I said. “Can never be too careful these days.”
“If you’re telling the truth about this biker situation, I might be persuaded to guide you through,” Dan said.
“So what then, you want me to bring proof of the fight once it happens?” I asked.
“That would help me trust you,” Dan said.
“You better not be suggesting he bring you heads or anything,” Betty said with a scowl.
“Even if you are, I won’t do it,” I said.
“That’s not what I meant,” Dan sighed. “Then we would just be more like them, and I don’t want that.”
“Good,” I said. “For a moment I thought we might have a problem.”
Jenny walked through the kitchen with a small picnic basket hanging from one arm, and a smile on her face.
“I got what you asked for, grandma,” the girl said as she set the basket down in front of Rolly.
“This looks delicious,” The handyman said after he peeked inside and smiled.
“It’s not much, bu
t it should at least add a little variety to a couple meals,” Jenny said.
I looked out the window and saw that the last rays of the sun quickly faded from the sky. There wasn’t much light left in the day, and Rolly and I still had a trip ahead of us.
“It’s been nice you meet you folks, but I think it’s about time we head out,” I said.
“You sure you can’t stay for supper?” Betty asked. “We have more than enough for you two.”
“Thanks, but we should get back to our own,” I said.
“I suppose he’s right,” Rolly reluctantly agreed.
I stood up, scooped up the basket, and headed for the front door.
Rolly gave one last long look at Betty and followed after me.
“Don’t forget to grab your guns on the way out,” Betty said. “Sounds like you might need them before too long.”
Dan watched me closely as I stopped and picked up my rifle. His whole body appeared to tense as I clipped the sling back onto the stock.
“Well, it was a bit of a rocky there at the start, but I hope today marks the beginning of a good thing for us all,” I said as I stood by the door and waited for Rolly to retrieve his gun. Then I gave a salute, and held the door open for the greying handyman, and followed him out into the yard.
“I’m kind of sad to be going,” Rolly said as he trekked towards the treeline.
“I know, but we’ll be back,” I assured him. “We just need to take care of the bikers first.”
I turned back before we disappeared into the trees and saw the three watching us from around the edge of the house. Betty and Jenny waved at us, but Dan just stood there with his arms crossed over his chest. I smiled and looked at Rolly. “Maybe next time we can get Dan to like us.”
Rolly let out a laugh, and we started through the woods and towards home.
Chapter 9
By the time Rolly and I waved goodbye to Betty and her grandkids, the sky had turned to a dark blue, and a half moon shone brightly in a cloudless sky alongside a handful of twinkling stars. We headed home with the small package of extra goods that had been given to us, and every time I looked over at Rolly as we rode, he had a smile plastered on his face.
We crossed back over our handmade bridge and rode through the dark until we arrived once more at our campus. It was very dark by the time we broke through the trees, but a roaring fire across the courtyard welcomed us home.
Rolly and I parked, grabbed the stuff given to us by Betty, and started towards the fire.
“Hold up,” Anna shouted at us from somewhere in the darkness. “Identify yourselves.”
“It’s us,” I said.
I winced as I was bathed in the bright light of a flashlight.
“Welcome back,” Anna said after she clicked off the light.
I blinked rapidly as I tried to adjust once more to the darkness.
“Did you guys have a good day?” the redhead asked.
“Yeah,” I said, “We found other survivors.”
“And they didn’t try to kill you?” Anna asked as my eyes adjusted enough to make her shape out in the darkness.
“Not exactly,” Rolly chuckled. “They were worried we were there to kill them though.”
“Yeah, things were pretty tense there for a while,” I said with a nod.
“Well I am glad you guys were able to talk your way out of it,” Anna replied.
“It was mostly Rolly’s doing,” I said. “The old timer knows how to charm a lady.”
“Oh this I gotta hear about,” the redhead said.
“Can we do it tomorrow?” Rolly asked. “It’s been a long day, especially for me.”
“Of course,” I said as I clapped the man on the back. “You go get some sleep. We’ll fill the others in on events tomorrow.”
Rolly nodded at me and headed towards the dorms. “Goodnight Anna.” He waved at the redhead as he passed her.
The athlete waved at the man and then walked over to me. “Sounds like it was a pretty exciting day.”
“We had fun,” I agreed with a nod. “It was nice to have a little guy time.”
“Glad to hear it all went well,” Anna said.
“What about you guys, how did things go here?” I asked
“It was a good day,” she said. “We got all of the standard stuff done and spent a good chunk of the afternoon training. I think Tara might be better with a knife than the rest of us.” She took my arm and started to lead me towards the fire pit.
“Oh really?” I said as I raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah, she is weirdly fearless when fighting in close combat,” Anna said. “She’s not afraid to take the hits as long as she can get in an even better one.”
“That’s a good trait to have,” I said.
“I think maybe her run-in with the wolves helped a bit,” Anna added. “Seems like she is trying to prove herself now more than she was before.”
“She doesn’t have to do that,” I said. “She really didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I know, and that’s what we tell her, but I think this is just something she has to do,” she replied.
“Fair enough,” I said as we walked into the light of the fire. “Get anything else done today?”
“Yeah, we have plenty of lumber, and we got two fresh rabbits today,” Anna said. “We moved the deer and the wolves to the salt shack and started to smoke the rabbits.”
“We’re starting to build up quite the stockpile of food,” I said as I nodded down to the basket of vegetables and eggs in my arms.
“No kidding,” Anna said with a smile. “We should probably throw that stuff in the kitchen and get to bed, huh?”
“Yeah, I suppose so,” I agreed.
We put out the fire, stowed our new food items in the kitchen, and headed upstairs where the rest of the girls were already asleep. I stripped down to my boxers while Anna changed into an oversized shirt. Then we joined the pile of people on the floor. After the long tense day I had just had, it didn’t take me long to drift off to sleep.
I got up early again the next morning, got dressed, and slipped outside for another morning of exercise. I started with another jog around the property for cardio before I went into another round of pushups, sit-ups, and burpees. It was a simple routine, and I wanted to find some weights to add in, but it was my favorite way to start the morning.
After working up a sweat I cleaned up, grabbed the eggs we got the day before, a fresh tank of propane for our stove, a large pan, some salt, and headed for the library. While I waited for the others I cooked us all a breakfast of scrambled eggs and heated some water for tea.
“Welcome back, Tav,” Paige said as she pounced down the stairs in a pair of jeans and another of her seemingly endless supply of college shirts. “We missed you yesterday.”
“Heard you guys had a good day,” I said.
“We did, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t miss ya,” she said and pulled up a chair.
“The others close behind ya?” I asked as I served up a plate of eggs.
As if on cue the door opened again and Tara, Bailey, and Anna joined us.
“I’d say so,” Paige chuckled as she pulled the plate towards her. “Where’d you get eggs?”
“Whoa, what, we have eggs?” Tara asked as she sat down. She smiled wide as she spied the plate of fluffy yellow food that sat in front of Paige.
“Rolly and I had a good day yesterday,” I said.
“Well come on, don’t leave us waiting,” Anna said. “We want some too.”
“I haven't actually had any eggs since I was like in my early teens,” Bailey said. “I remember them being good though.”
As I served the rest of the girls Rolly walked in. He looked a bit brighter than he usually did, and he still had a smile on his face.
“Whoa, someone is in a good mood,” Tara said before she took a large bite of breakfast.
“Yesterday was a really good day,” Rolly said as he sat down. He poured himself a cup of hot wa
ter and took a plate of eggs.
“He met a girl,” I said with a smirk.
“Are you serious?” Bailey asked.
“He is,” Rolly said with a nod. “We met a lovely lady by the name of Betty. Her grandkids were not quite as nice as she was, but they’re good people.”
“Aww, that’s so sweet,” Paige said.
“Why didn’t you guys bring them back here?” Anna asked.
“They have a place of their own,” I explained. “They were smart enough to stick to their farm when people started to evacuate. They have water, food, and a good house.”
“Man, I had almost started to think that we were the only sane people left in this world,” Bailey said.
“Well we have some allies now,” I said. “We are going to help provide them with things they might need, and in return they will provide us with some fresh vegetables, and the occasional dozen eggs.”
“They didn’t send any fresh veggies back with you did they?” Bailey asked.
“There’s some in the kitchen now,” I said. “Tomatoes, lettuce, and I think some green onions.”
“Yum,” Anna said. “I want to go in there and snack on one of those tomatoes like an apple.”
“Ugh, gross,” Tara said as she wrinkled her nose. “I’ll eat tomatoes cooked, but I don’t like them raw.”
“So what exactly happened to you guys yesterday?” Paige asked. “I mean obviously it worked out, but you were gone quite a while.”
“We hit a couple small snags,” I said. “First, we had to build a bridge to get across a pretty powerful stream, and then once we got there we were caught off guard by the very patient and very well prepared family that lived there.”
“That would be Betty and her grandkids?” Anna asked.
“Yeah, Dan and Jenny,” I said.
“I talked Betty down though,” Rolly said with a smug grin as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Way to go, Rolly,” Paige said as she leaned over and slugged the handyman in the shoulder playfully.
“Not only will they help provide us with vegetables, but they also have an old water tank that they don’t use anymore,” I said. “Once we have the chance, we will take the truck up there and pick it up.”
“That’s awesome,” Bailey said.
