Kyle hopped off the ladder and again patted Storm on the head. “C’mon, girl. Christi will be up by now preparing breakfast. Let’s go see if we can get a few scraps before she’s done.” Storm let out an approving bark and the two headed to the kitchen house.
The kitchen house was lit up when Kyle arrived, telling him Christi was already there. It was the house with the solar panels, so they could have a place to cook and refrigerate perishables in a central location. Christi, David’s wife, had taken over the kitchen immediately upon their securing it, and every morning since, she’d get to the house about 30-minutes before sun up and start prepping their morning meal. As soon as the sun hit the panels on the roof, she fired up the two stoves and prepared a breakfast for everyone in the camp. Some days it was just eggs and grits. Lately, though, Kyle knew there had to be plenty of meat after they had gotten three hogs the prior week near the river, and that meant bacon.
“Ah, my morning ray of sunshine,” Kyle greeted as he and Storm came through the door. “How ya doing, Christi?”
“Morning, you two. Come here, Storm, I saved you some fat I trimmed off the bacon.” Christi bent down to greet the furry visitor.
Storm happily accepted the scraps before heading over to her bed in the corner of the kitchen. Storm had staked out the spot the moment the house was secured as her favorite place away from home.
“I see you have the propane stove we found last week already fired up.” Kyle reached over to sneak a freshly cooked piece of bacon. “So what’s the menu for today?”
“Eggs, grits, and”—Christy smacked Kyle’s hand with a spatula—“bacon.”
“Alright, I’ll wait.” Kyle inspected his hand for damage. “What’s the inventory look like? You need anything?” He took a seat at the table.
“We’re pretty good right now. If we keep at the current pace, we should have at least a two-month supply of almost everything. But if you have the opportunity, we could use more salt and coffee. I’ve been diluting the coffee and reusing old grounds just to stretch it out, but it wouldn’t hurt if you found some more. Oh, and if you happen to see a good set of pots and pans, I could use some more of those, too. Most of mine are all scratched up and they’re starting to burn more than cook.”
“Gotcha,” answered Kyle. “David and I are going out on a test run with his new toy today, and we’ve got a hot tip on some supplies.”
“You two be careful. And don’t let anything happen to my man, or you better not come back.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Kyle said as he got up and headed towards the door. “Well, I’m gonna finish my rounds and be back for some breakfast. C’mon, Storm.”
Storm just looked at him and laid her head back down as if telling him she was fine where she was. Kyle got the message and decided to go on his own.
The next stop was the east wall, currently manned by Leon, one of the first survivors they’d found on a supply run, who had decided to come back with them and stay. He was a resident of Tallahassee they had found in a strip mall that they had checked for supplies. After they’d almost gotten shot by the man, they had convinced him to move into Camp H and to bring his arsenal of weapons with him. He had been a huge help ever since, and the only man with more outdoor survival skills than Kyle.
The eastern wall overlooked the edge of the swampy area that led to the river that provided them with their game. Kyle looked up and saw Leon as he peered through the sight of his rifle off into the distance. Leon raised his hand slightly toward Kyle with a motion to keep silent. He then returned his hand to the rifle and slowly squeezed the trigger. A loud bang echoed out into the darkness, and Kyle quickly bolted up the ladder to where Leon was standing.
“What was it? A slab?”
Leon handed the rifle to Kyle. “Take a look. Over by the tree line at the water’s edge.”
Kyle peered through the scope and saw the body of a large boar lying on its side as it took its lasts few breaths. “Awesome! More pork.”
“Yeah, I’ve been hearing him out there for the last hour. He finally made the mistake of stepping into the light.” Leon laid the gun over to the side. “I’m going to wait ’til the sun comes up and see if Brian will go out with me and retrieve it.”
“Sounds good. We keep this up, and we’ll have enough meat to fill one of the freezers full for the winter.” Kyle started back down the ladder. “Go get you some breakfast when your relief gets here, and I bet you’ll find Brian there, too. He never misses a meal. In fact, I think he’s the only person who has put on any weight since this all began.” “No doubt.” Leon laughed along with Kyle as he took off back towards camp.Stopping at one of the gardens on the way, Kyle surveyed the site and saw fresh tracks going under the fence. The damage done to the lettuce and broccoli were telltale signs that some little furry bandits had come back. I’ll get to y’all later.
It had been an intense challenge to build the wall and create the camp. Lately, though, he had begun to feel like they had an honest chance at surviving the nightmare they had been living in for the past fourteen months. The losses had been huge, but the fact they had made it as long as they had was a reassuring sign. The slabs had become scarcer lately, as it appeared they were mostly staying in the cities.
The garden was producing enough food that they were actually starting to can and save rather than eat it as it matured. The meat freezers were filling up with wild game; and the recent find of an overturned grocery truck filled with canned goods, definitely helped. Kyle took one last look as the sun was just clearing the horizon, and saw a fully functional community coming to life. People came out of the kitchen with plates in hand and headed to relieve those on watch as others made their way into the kitchen house. He let a small smile slowly creep across his face as he headed towards the chow line. Hell, we just might make it.
CHAPTER 12
Hope
Hope took a deep breath and quietly blew the strand of curly-blond hair out of her eyes. She then steadied herself, took another breath, let it out slowly, and gently squeezed the trigger on her rifle. The report echoed across the field and her target dropped. She jumped up from her position behind a fallen tree and ran to her fallen prey.
“Gotcha!” she exclaimed as she reached down and picked up the rabbit by its ear. “No more eating our food you little thief.” She put the rabbit into a bag.
Hope walked around the garden and bent down to fix the hole in the bottom of the fence that the rabbit had entered. She then made one more pass around the camp’s biggest garden while she checked for any other gaps in the fencing. Once satisfied everything was in order, she locked the gate and headed for home to show off her catch.
Hope entered the house and called out to see who was home. Her dad responded, “In the back. Be out in a minute.”
She threw the sack with her kill inside into the sink and popped her head in to make sure Patch was up and getting ready to go to see Christi for what in the camp amounted to school.
Since the apocalypse had ended any hope of getting a formal education, Christi and Josey had recently started teaching the smaller children in the camp, converting one of the rooms in the kitchen house into a classroom and doing their best to teach the kids the basics.
Hope looked at the boy. “Patch, you ready for me to take you to Aunt Christi’s?” The bouncing seven-year-old leapt off the bed and grabbed his backpack.
“Yeah, stinky head, let’s go,” he happily answered.
“Let’s wait for Dad to come out, then we’ll go.” Hope leaned down to swap the shoes he’d put on the wrong feet.
“Well, did you get him?” Kyle asked as he emerged from his room.
“Go look in the sink and see for yourself,” Hope replied.
Kyle peered inside the sack. “Wow, he’s a big one. Make sure you take him over to the kitchen so he can be cleaned and put away.”
“I’m fixing to take Patch over there for class, and then I’m going back to the garden to harvest whatever is ready.”
“Sounds like a plan. Listen, I’m going out on a supply run with David and his new toy today.” Kyle started loading up his gear. “Barring any unforeseen circumstances, we should be back well before supper. So keep an eye on your brother and sister ’til then.”
“Where is Renee, anyway?”
“She went to get some breakfast, since she slept in late, so you will probably find her there.”
“Alright. Please be safe.” Hope gave her dad a hug before heading back to the living room to get Patch ready for school.
Kyle bent down to lace up his boots and then turned to watch as Hope untied the ribbon in her hair. She leaned over to fluff it all out while she draped it over Patch’s face, cutting off his vision, and then she tickled him while he was distracted. Kyle grinned as he watched Hope /[. It had only been the last couple of weeks that she had finally started to recover from the whole world going to hell. From the beginning, she had barely helped out with the daily chores and had spent most of her time by herself, only coming out of seclusion to care for her little brother. Out of all her siblings, she’d taken the loss of her mother the hardest.
Kyle finished tying his laces and then slung his gear over his shoulder. “Patch, you be good today and listen to Aunt Christi and Aunt Josey. And when I get home, you better be able to read me a bedtime story tonight.”
“I’m not eight yet, Dad. Hope said I won’t be able to read until I am eight.” Patch ran down the hallway and gave his dad’s leg a big hug.
“Alright, big boy. I’ll wait ’til you’re eight then.” Kyle gave his boy a squeeze then headed out the door.
As Hope watched their dad leave, she and Patch gathered up their bags and left through the back door, which was the quickest way to the kitchen house, although they had to jump a small ditch on the way. Patch was determined to make it over the ditch in one jump, so Hope took him that way everyday to give him the chance.
Patch arrived at the edge of the ditch and sized it up before he stepped back and got a running start. He leapt from the edge in full stride and came up just a foot short from making it—as usual. He climbed out of the ditch disappointed and turned to Hope. “Okay, your turn. Show me how you do it again.”
Hope stood back and took a couple of big steps before she, too, jumped at the edge. However, as she planted her foot down to launch off of it, the dirt gave way, and she stumbled into the shallow ditch. Patch immediately burst into a fit of laughter as he fell to the ground, pointing at Hope who was in the bottom of the three-foot-wide by two-foot-deep ditch.
Hope got up, brushed herself off, and looked up at the hysterical seven-year-old. “You think this was funny? Just wait ’til I come up there and get you.” She laughed as she hopped up out of the ditch. As she leaned down to tickle her little brother, she heard another voice off to her side.
“Very smooth. I would give you a perfect 10, but you failed the landing.”
Hope turned to find Rico as he walked up to where she stood. Rico was a recent addition to the camp, having only arrived about a month earlier. He and his mom had showed up at the south wall one day as slabs were pursuing them. Billy and Tim were able to save them and brought them into the camp. As it turned out, they were refugees from Chicago. They had escaped just days before the US Government, or whoever, had nuked the city in an attempt to stop the spread of the infection. They spent the next year sneaking south as they avoided slabs and bandits alike until they ran into the camp. When asked if they were trying to make it to the south Florida Wall, they acted as if they had never heard of it. Even though they had both showed up very malnourished and disheveled, they’d both jumped right into helping out and working, and did as much as they could to earn their keep around the camp.
Hope immediately flushed a bright red from the embarrassment as she became aware that Rico had just seen her fall. “I meant to do that … for Patch.”
“Yeah, I figured as much,” Rico responded. “Here, let me help you.” He reached out and tried to brush the dirt off her back.
Hope twisted out of the way. “I’m good. Thank you.”
“Alright. It’s all good—just trying to help. You heading to the kitchen?”
“Yeah. I have to drop off this rabbit and Patch for class.”
“Well, I think Patch will benefit from it, but I don’t think the rabbit will get much education from class today.”
Hope just stared at Rico until she let out a little laughter, which set Rico off, too.
“Come on, I’ll walk with you,” Rico said between laughs. “Besides, I think Renee is waiting for me.”
“What do you need to see Renee for?”
“I promised I’d take her out to the wall and teach her some shooting techniques.” Rico started leading the way to the house.
Hope fought the urge to say what was on her mind. Instead, she simply mumbled, “Okay.” At the moment she was glad she was already red from the embarrassment because she was quickly becoming angry at the thought of Renee spending all day with Rico, and she hoped he wasn’t going to pick up on it.
The trio made their way across the short distance to the kitchen house and were greeted by Storm when they opened the door. The frisky German Shepherd had just awoken from her morning nap and was eager to go outside to make her morning rounds, and to check for any dropped food at the outdoor picnic tables in front of the kitchen house.
Patch quickly ran inside and found Jacob and Vince, and the three young boys took off to play before class started.
“Well, I gotta go,” Hope said abruptly, as she started to storm off.
“Where are you going to be later?” Rico asked as he headed into the kitchen to look for leftovers.
“I’ll be in the garden today.”
“Maybe I’ll stop by later then.” Rico smiled.
“Whatever you want to do,” said Hope. And she quickly shut the door before she let her anger show too much.
CHAPTER 13
EIGHT MONTHS PRIOR TO CAMP H INVASION
Petrus and Petronella
The huge stone room was lit by several small torches lining the walls while a a large roaring fire burned in the center fireplace which added the only other source of illumination in the dank room. The fireplace was large enough for a grown man to walk into it and stretch his arms out without touching either side. Shadows danced back and forth on the walls as the light from the torches flickered while the large fire crackled and popped, giving the room a very eerie atmosphere.
Petrus’s slender shadow danced among the other shadows blinking in and out with each flicker of flame. He sat quietly at the large dining table while he listened to the servants in the adjacent room prepare for the arrival of his guests. The table had already been set with an assortment of wines, cheeses, and fine baked breads and pastries. With the current state of the world, the variety of food present would be considered a feast by any standard, but Petrus looked at the meager offerings and felt almost sickened at what he was serving his guests.
A servant came out with one last tray of bread and gently placed it on the table among all the others. She then turned to Petrus. “Is there anything else I can get for you, sir?”
“No, Stella, that will be all for now. Just make sure we are not disturbed when we begin,” he replied in a very deep Eastern European accent as he waved her off. He sat and listened to the kitchen quiet down and watched the lights under the door dim down. He began to gather his thoughts on what exactly would play out during the night. While lost in meditation, he didn’t notice the figure approaching from behind. Without warning it reached up and wrapped its arms around his chest and started to squeeze. He let out a gasp as it startled him out of his reverie and as he lunged forward to free himself, the arms let go just as quickly. As he spun around he heard a familiar laugh. “Sister, will you ever grow up?”
“I will forever be who I am, dear brother,” the lovely voice of his twin sister Petronella responded back.
Petrus turned and and the two embrace
d for several long seconds before they broke away and held one another at arm’s length.
Petrus broke the silence first. “After all this time I am so glad to have you here in front of me. I was so afraid I had lost you in the initial outbreak. And after you sent word of your safety, I almost made flight to find you myself. Alas, I was unable to do so as we had had our own problems here.”
“It was alright, brother. After we were able to escape Paris during the outbreak, we held up in Ireland for a time at one of the old castles up north. When the failed London rescue attempt was over, we slipped back home to the family estate, and with the fortifications in place, we had no trouble repelling anything that came at us. With all the livestock and farmland, the servants had been well cared for, and once the UN reserves arrived, our defenses were sufficient.” She gathered up her flowing red gown and slid into the chair beside her brother. “Now tell me just how worried you were for me and spare no details.” She grabbed a piece of bread from one of the trays.
“You know how worried I was, darling sister and I will not indulge your need for attention by speaking anymore of it. What I do wish to ask is what you may know of the rest of the Council? I have thus far, only been able to contact or confirm the safety of 11 members.” Petrus took a seat next to Petronella.
“I had arrived at the same number. Perhaps Master will be able to shed more light upon the safety of our other members and the correct numbers when he arrives. Speaking of Master, was he not supposed to be here by now?”
Humanity's Hope (Book 1): Camp H Page 5
