by TJ Weeks
Milissa and Bobbi were already laying it all out onto the tables.
“Hey Bobbi, why don’t you help me carry this out and talk to me for a minute.” I suggested.
She agreed and followed me with an arm full of meat.
I pushed the door open with my butt and held it open so she could walk out. “Do you like working in the cafeteria?”
“It’s alright.” She responded. “How would you like to take over our inventory?” I asked.
She stopped. “What about Karen?”
I stopped with her. “I’m about to have Karen full time with my team or at least I plan on talking to her about it.”
We continued walking to see Gizmo, Bo, Howard and Robin standing out by the pits.
“Can we help?” Robin asked.
I was surprised to see Robin in such high spirits. “Yeah, if y’all could go grab some tables and start setting them up. Bring the rest of the meat out and start manning these pits.” I suggested.
“Shit, you know I love to smoke on pits.” Gizmo stated.
They walked off to grab
everything. Karen, Kris and Lisa walked up from the storage building.
“Hey Karen, what would you think about joining our team on more of a permeant basis?” I questioned.
She placed her hands up on her hips. “I’d love it, but who’s going to keep up with everything?” She responded.
I pointed over to Bobbi. “Bobbi will, if she decides to take the
position.”
Bobbi stopped placing the meat onto the pit. “I’d be happy to as long as I’m not stepping on any toes.”
“HEY FUCKER! What about me?” Lisa inquired.
I started laughing. “Yes, you too.”
We got the rest of the bigger meats on that had to cook longer and waited for the tables to be setup along with the rest of the meats to be brought out.
“Hey Lisa, why don’t you go break out all that beer that we got and get those ice machines going so we can have some ice cold beer.” I suggested.
She started laughing. “Is it not cold enough for you outside?”
“It actually feels pretty damn good next to these pits, but there’s nothing like an ice cold beer.” I responded squatting down to load some more wood into a smoker box.
She nodded to a gree. “I’m going to need some help, we have at least a truck load.”
I sent the rest of the women with her to help her grab them all. It was ironic though, because as soon as they walked off, snow flurries began to fall.
I leaned back and let my head hang back. It was cold, but I could feel the warmth from my thoughts of summer sitting on the porch and smoking a brisket while drinking a beer and waiting for my friends to show up with their sides. Getting to watch the kids play in our pool.
Gizmo broke my thought process. “Does it matter which grill we man?”
I opened my eyes and lifted my head back up. “No.” I stood up and started helping get the rest of the meat on the different grills. “Hey bro, I was just thinking about when we used to barbeque and the kids used to play in my pool.”
“So.” He stated.
“So, I was thinking. Maybe we can find one of those big ass twelve by twenty-four foot pools with the metal frame and set it up in the gym. We could let the stands down and build a deck around it all the way to the stands. We could leave it open for about ten feet from the door and just build some stairs up to the deck and stands.” I suggested.
He paused for a moment. “I’m sure the kids would enjoy it.” He started placing more meat on the grills. “I was thinking about digging a pond, we could stock it with fish and be able to relax a little more.”
I jerked my hand back after raking it across the grate and burning my finger. “Yeah, that would be great as well.”
“Well, I like the sound of all the above.” Bo stated with a smile from over hearing us.
“Well hell yeah, I was concerned you would say no when we asked your permission.” I stated
sarcastically. “Okay, all the meat is on. Let’s go grab the spatulas and tongs, figure out which pit to man and may the best man win.”
I stole one of the thirty packs of beer while Lisa and the rest were icing them down. I grabbed my spatula and tongs and hauled ass out.
We sat in front of which pit we wanted and started passing out beers.
After about half of a thirty pack, the women joined us. Lisa reached into the box and pulled out a beer. “Hey dick, everyone told me I miss counted when I told them we were missing one. Your wife said you probably snatched it and looky where I find it.”
We all started laughing.
“I’m busted…You got me.” I stated.
We all sat there and started
bullshitting while drinking one after another and tossing another log into the pits about every hour or so. It was amazing to laugh, drink beer, and cook like we did before the world became shit. This is what life should be about.
CHAPTER NINE
I STARTED pulling the foil back on all my meats that were still
wrapped up so it could start getting the smoke flavor. Snow had a thin blanket around our base except around the pits from the heat of the flames roaring.
Kris walked up with our forth thirty pack of the evening. More people started joining in our conversations from the tables and from out of the cafeteria.
We started getting to know Tiffany and Robin more and more, the more they drank.
“You know; you guys are badass in my book.” I stated to them.
Tiffany finished her beer. “I’m pretty badass in my own book as well.”
I laughed and got so caught up in conversation, I almost let the fire go out. I quickly threw another log on and had to blow on the coals to get it back going. Once it was going good again, I went ahead and added another log for that just in case purpose.
“Everyone start lining up with your plates!” I called out when I saw the alligator steaks were done. I sliced them down into your typical rib eye size from the store and started laying them out onto plates. Most took them inside the school to eat and to get out of the cold, the others sat at the tables and devoured.
“Y’all don’t get too full on that nonsense, the best is coming out of this pit.” Gizmo called out before walking over and grabbing a slice for himself. “Damn, those are good!”
“It’s called skills, I’m sure you’ve heard of it.” I responded with a laugh.
I grabbed a few extra plates and threw some bigger slabs on them for Kris, Lisa, Karen and Tina which was sitting in her room.
“Oh my god! This melts in your mouth.” Lisa stated after taking her first bite.
I started laughing and closed my pit up so the pork butt could finish cooking and grabbed another beer.
“You’re not going to eat?” Karen asked.
“TJ doesn’t eat when he’s drinking unless he’s getting ready to call it a night.” Kris answered.
I held up my beer as if I was cheersing the air and took a drink. “I would die if I drank as much as you can and not eat.” Karen added.
“It’s an art.” I laughed. “I’m pretty sure it has something to do with being half Irish and half Cherokee.”
Jason ran up. “TJ, there’s some rotters at the back wall!”
I reluctantly stood up. “How
many?”
“I’m not sure, but enough to take down a fence, I’m sure.” He
answered.
“Kris, y’all watch the meat. Gizmo,
Bo, Howard and Robin, grab all that you can, give them ammo and meet us in the back.” I called out. I grabbed Jason’s sleeve of his shirt and led him with me to the storage where we grabbed ammo and some AR15’s.
I hollered at Donald and he slid down the rope of the tower with his rifle on his back.
“Follow me!” I called out as I cracked the gate open and started running down the side.
I could see many in the woods that hadn’t made it out into the
open yet.
I dropped down and started taking aim. The casings started flying out of the side as I pulled the trigger. We started mowing them down, but there was more than I had thought and was starting to get surrounded. We hopped up on the cars that lined our fence and continued to fire. Every magazine I ran through, I tossed over the fence until all that came was clicks.
I turned to hop the fence and could see that we had gained a small crowd. “Throw me some magazines!” I called out to them.
I started hearing gun shots in the back, so I knew that the rest of the guys stayed inside the fence and just shot out the back.
A few people ran up with
magazines and more weapons. They started handing the magazines
through the fence and they spread out shooting through the fence. I loaded a magazine and continued firing.
A loud thundering sound let out and I could see Gizmo in the backhoe running around the side and started running them over and smashing them with the bucket. He pinned a few against the trees, cutting them in half. Guts and intestines started filling the bucket from falling out of their torsos as he rammed them. I jumped down and ran as fast as I could to the backhoe, jumped into the bucket and climbed up its arms and onto the top. I locked my ankles around the sides as I shifted side to side so I wouldn’t fall down and started taking single shots taking them out one at a time trying to conserve ammo.
The fence looked like a firing line by the time I could look back after seeing many dropping at a time.
“Fuck yeah!” I called out.
We made our way around to the back and the firing halted as we started in on all the rotters. Some had made it as far as getting up on the cars.
I ran out of ammo again so I jumped into the bucket and leaped out pulling my knife from its holster and burying it into a rotter’s head. I jumped back up and looked around to see about twenty five to thirty left roaming. Bo threw his rifle over the fence and I ran over to it and started shooting until I was out of ammo once again, but I wasn’t too concerned seeing as how only three were still standing. Gizmo plowed them into the ground with the bucket of the backhoe and I slowly started walking around our base to get back to the front while covered in blood and brain matter. I stopped to shake some intestine off my foot and continued walking. Donald patted my back as I walked by. Jason was jumping around trying to get his adrenalin back down.
Everyone inside the fence was cheering.
I cracked the fence back open and walked through it. Kris was taking the meat off the pit and Tiffany was helping her slice it up and displaying it on a tray.
“TIME TO EAT!” Tiffany called out to everyone.
I walked to the school and washed off and changed clothes before coming back out.
I dropped down in my chair and grabbed a beer.
Tiffany walked over with a plate that had a little bit of everything in it. “One of those days, huh.” She held out the plate to me.
I took it and started eating. They made a plate for all of us guys that had been cooking all day and handed them out one by one as everyone made it back.
CHAPTER TEN
WAKING UP the next morning, I was moving a little slower from soreness.
My wife was surprisingly still in bed. “I take it that you’re stiff?”
I raised up slowly. “Yeah, I’m not as young as I used to be. Probably not the best idea for me to be jumping off backhoes and doing Achilles moves.” She cracked a smile. “Achilles?”
“Yeah, you know like the movie Troy when he stabs the one guys and starts screaming, is there no one else.” I responded.
She started rubbing my back. “You’re more of the movie buff than I am.”
I started laughing. “I just know what’s good.”
She rubbed the knots out of my back and slowly I got up.
Daltin was sitting at the edge of his cot staring at me.
I walked by and rubbed the top of his head. “Go grab your football and meet me outside.”
He smiled real big and ran over to the few toy like items that he had and started digging.
I had barely walked outside when he came running out.
“Heads up!” He called out.
I turned just in time to catch the ball. I twirled it around a few times to see the ink from a golden marker signed “Joe Montana”. I could only imagine how much that ball would have been worth before all the chaos took over the world.
He ran out about twenty yards and I threw it back to him.
I didn’t see Kris walk out, but she intercepted the ball when he tried to throw it back to me.
She laughed and threw it back. “Gotta be quicker than that.”
Within a thirty-minute stretch, we had about a dozen people outside playing catch.
Gizmo was one of them. “Hell, let’s start a game.” He threw the ball to me.
I caught it, but covering it up quickly as I seen Lisa making her way behind me. “I’m down, but we need more people than this.”
“Na, we can do six on six.” He clarified.
Kris caught the ball and walked it to the middle. “How about my team verses your team?”
I started laughing. “And just who all is your team?”
She started pointing. “Myself, Bobbi, Lisa, Karen and Shianne. We’ll play against you, Gizmo, Howard, Bo and Daltin.”
Howard threw his arms up. “I’m way too old for all that running.”
I thought about it for a minute. “How about we take Robin and Howard can play ref?”
Tiffany walked up. “I want to play.”
I took the football from Kris and tossed it to her. “There ya go, Tiffany can be full time quarterback.”
Kris started digging in her pockets. “I don’t have anything to flip to see who gets the ball first.”
I put my hand on Daltin’s shoulder. “Well we can either flip Daltin or just say ladies first.” I laughed.
Kris gave me a go to hell look and Tiffany threw me the ball.
“So how does this work, do I play for their team for kickoff?” She asked. I tossed the ball back. “Nope, you get to hold the ball for us to kick it.”
I turned to my team and we
dropped back. “Who wants to kick it?”
Gizmo pointed at me. “You’re our fearless leader.”
I shrugged my shoulders and lined up with the ball and was about to kick it.
Kris yelled out. “Tag TJ! No tackling!”
I smirked and ran up to the ball and booted it to the end zone and blasted forward. Robin and Bo ran past me with their long legs and tapped them down at the five-yard line.
Tiffany lined up with the ball and Lisa and Karen split off as receivers. “Ready…Set……. Hut!”
Tiffany tossed the ball to Kris and I tapped her down for a loss of two yards.
“You jumped early!” Kris called out.
I called back. “Oh bullshit. You’re a sorry loser on everything!”
She threw her hands up and smiled because she knew I was telling the truth.
Their team moved back to the three-yard line and Tiffany took the ball again. “Ready…Set……Hut, hut!” She broke back and tossed a bomb that I was even impressed by.
Bo leaped over Karen and snatched in in midair and ran it back for a touchdown. “Seven to ZERO!” He spiked the ball down.
Karen put her arms up. “What the fuck, how the hell am I supposed to get the jump on a tower?”
I was laughing. “Guess y’all better start making up some better plays.”
Tiffany brought the ball out to the twenty-yard line and waited for me to kick it again.
I held my right arm up letting them know that I was about to kick and ran at it and kicked it to the twenty-fiveyard line, but I slipped on a bit of snow and fell to the ground.
Lisa caught it and started running. She started dodging everyone. Gizmo got one hand on her and I was trying me best to get up to tag her the second time, but she blew passed me.
She spiked
the ball down. “Seven to Seven, Biotch!”
They walked the field and we stood there waiting on them to figure out who was going to kick the ball.
Finally, Bobbi lined up with the ball and booted it to our thirty-yard line. Bo caught it and started running. Once the women got closer he tossed the ball back to Daltin and he started running down the boundary line and into the end zone.
He spun the ball on the ground. “Fourteen to seven!”
We walked the field. I started running fast towards the ball and their team started backing up and I kicked the top of the ball to do an onside kick.
We recovered it before they could move back forward.
Lisa ran over and tagged me down. “You call that a kick?”
Howard ran over and walked it out. “It went over the twenty yards.” “Well of course you’re going to side with them!” Bobbi let him know. We lined up. “Ready…Set….Hut!”
Tiffany tossed the ball behind her to me and I started running across the side. Once everyone started coming for me, I threw a bomb to Robin in the end zone.
I jumped up. “Twenty-one to seven!”
We started walking the field and could see Bo staying behind and talking to Lisa.
“Bo, no fraternizing with the other team.” I called out.
The snow started coming in thick. Daltin started shivering.
I walked up to him while waiting for Bo. “You okay?”
He shivered again. “It’s getting cold, dad.”
I looked over to everyone else. “Y’all want to pause this game and come back to it later?”
“Oh, someone’s getting scared of this ass whooping that’s about to happen.” Bobbi stated.
I started laughing. “No, Daltin is shivering and I don’t want him to get sick.”
They all started walking up. “Yeah, it’s getting pretty cold.”
Tiffany looked up. “I bet it’s going to be hard to get out by tomorrow.”
I looked up and looked around to see how much more snow lied on the ground. “Yeah, I’m sure we’ll wake up to a pretty good blanket. I don’t suggest it’ll get too bad though, it never does in Texas.”
We all walked over to the cafeteria to see if we could get some soup and crackers from Milissa. I could see Bobbi standing out by the storage building.
