by Eric Vall
“I’m not arguing against your point, but I can understand why people did not see this stuff as necessary to know or teach,” I said before I grabbed the chunk of deer and began making my way outside. “I think we will have to throw a lantern and a table in there. It will give us a place to carve up our meals.”
“Well there are plenty around,” Bailey said as she joined me under the bright orange sky.
“Yeah, but we can deal with it later,” I said. “Let’s go meet Rolly and make some food.”
As we approached the fire pit Rolly, the elderly handyman, was already waiting. He had on an old pair of grease stained jeans, a denim work shirt, and a grey wool newsboy cap. The flickering light of the fire cast deep shadows on his wrinkled fast, but reflected off the bald patch nestled between his remaining grey hair. He chewed on an already misshapen toothpick and looked up as we got close.
“How you doing old timer?” I asked as I took a seat beside him.
“Oh you know, just enjoying life,” he replied. “Haven't seen much of you today.”
“I was busy,” I explained.
“So I heard,” he said. “The shack you were building was coming along nicely when I looked earlier. Many hands make light work though, and I bet it’s done now.”
“It is,” Paige said as she sat down. “We even got the meat all salted.”
“Things are looking better every day,” the old man said.
“They really are,” Anna agreed. “Who’s turn is it to cook?”
“I’ll do it,” I said before I set the large cast-iron skillet over the fire. “I want to make sure this deer is cooked up nice so you can all enjoy it.”
“Good call,” Bailey said. She had only recently started to eat meat with the rest of us. So far though she hadn’t found any of it that she didn’t enjoy.
“Anyone care for a drink?” Rolly asked as he pulled out a bottle of Bulliet bourbon whiskey. It was his favorite drink, and the girls had been nice enough to pick him up a bottle a few days before.
“I’ll take a sip,” I said with a nod. I guessed that his willingness to share it with us said a lot about how he felt. I tossed the meat into the skillet along with a handful of morel mushrooms that looked like they had been picked fresh today. Then I accepted the bottle of whiskey and took a sip. The alcohol warmth was a nice way to end the day. I passed it back to the old man. “We should grab a bottle of soda. We worked hard today and can use the calories.”
“Plus, I noticed that some of it started to go flat,” Bailey said. “I don’t know about you guys but I would rather drink it while it still has the bubbles.”
“At least it still makes a decent mixer when it’s flat,” Tara said with a shrug.
“I’ll go grab some kitchenware and soda,” Anna volunteered with a chuckle. “Just don’t eat all of that meat without me. It is starting to smell really good.”
The meat sizzled in the pan as one side of it started to sear, and the smell of fresh cooked meat mixed with the wild mushrooms started to fill the air.
“Don’t worry, Tav has enough meat for all of us,” Tara teased.
“He most certainly does,” Paige agreed as she stared at me with a hungry look in her eyes.
“I just want some of that venison,” Rolly said as he shook his head. “You guys have to wait until I go to bed to eat anything else.”
“Of course, we aren't animals,” Bailey said.
“Speak for yourself,” Paige growled as she shot her friend a wicked grin.
“Oh, fiery, I like that,” Tara said. “And here I thought I was the sex crazed one.”
“Ladies, please, you can all be sex crazed,” I said as I flipped the meat. “But all of your comments might make Rolly here nauseous. At least be courteous of those around you.”
“I guess I can hold off on making any more comments about your meat until after dinner,” Tara said as she rolled her eyes in sarcastic annoyance.
“I can’t promise I'll do the same, but I’ll try,” Paige said.
“That's all I ask,” Rolly said.
Anna returned with our drinks, plates, and cutlery, and soon enough I was cutting off hot slabs of cooked deer served with mushrooms.
We ate, drank, and laughed as the sky turned blue, then black around us. Then, when the fire burned low, we all gathered our things and headed in for the night.
Chapter 3
The first rays of morning sunlight slipped through the cracks of my boarded-up window to illuminate the small dorm room that I called my own. A couple things remained of whoever the room’s former occupant was, such as the floral bedspread and bedazzled mirror.
I was a little surprised to find myself waking up alone. Tara and Paige had been taking turns sharing my bed pretty much every night for the past week. Anna and Bailey had not yet decided to join me in a night of rowdy pleasure, but there was no hurry. It was not like I was going anywhere, and Tara and Paige kept me plenty busy as it was.
I got up and pulled on a pair of brown work pants with a large cargo pocket on one side, a loose red flannel, heavy black hiking boots, and tactical vest. Then I holstered my 9mm Springfield XD, sheathed my knife where it belonged on my vest, and slipped through the door and into the hallway.
I walked past the common area where the girls all slept. It had been a comfort thing that they started before I arrived, but now I suspected they kept doing it more out of habit. They all started to stir as I stepped around them and made my way down the stairs.
It only took a couple of minutes to walk across campus to the large library building where we generally started every morning. It had a nice large conference table and, more importantly, a white board where I could lay out our immediate and future plans, all of which were built around one of our four pillars of survival: Food, Water, Defense, and Comfort. Many of our immediate concerns had been addressed shortly after my arrival, but we had a long way to go before we were truly set up for long term survival.
I turned on the propane stove, started to heat up some water for coffee, and then wrote out a list of long-term plans on the whiteboard. The water line was obviously the most important goal, but I also added a sun warmed shower, vegetable garden, and smoker expansion to the list.
Rolly entered a few minutes later dressed in almost the same outfit as the day before except he had changed to clean work pants. He had a plate full of foraged nuts and some cans of fruit with him.
“Mornin’,” I greeted.
“Morning,” he replied as he took a seat. “Looks like a full day ahead of us.” He pointed to the board as he spoke and then grabbed a can of fruit for breakfast.
“Isn’t it always?” I asked with a grin.
Rolly chuckled and nodded, and I moved to the table and pulled the lid from the tub of pre-ground. I added several scoops to a metal filter and dropped it into the now hot water.
“I was kinda hoping the coffee would be ready when I arrived,” Rolly said.
“Maybe you should have slept in a couple minutes then,” I joked. “It’ll be done soon though.”
That’s when the doors opened, and all four of the girls walked in. Anna was dressed in her typical athletic wear and hiking boots. Tara had on a low cut tank top, skin-tight running shorts, and boots. Paige wore a dull blue t-shirt, jeans, and her same pair of brown hiking boots. At this point most of the girls had realized they were simply the best choice of footwear given the tasks we undertook daily. Though Bailey still wore her chuck taylors with her skinny jeans and an orange tank top.
“Coffee ready yet?” Bailey asked as she sat down. “I’m dragging today.”
“It’s almost ready,” I said with a nod to the pot. “Though until then grab some food, and I’ll go over what I added to the board.”
The plate of food started to make its way around the table as I turned back to the whiteboard.
“Our immediate needs have been met for the time being so I have written up a list of more long-term plans,” I said as I pointed to where I had
written the list on the whiteboard. “
“The big project for today will be getting our water pump running,” I said. “Rolly and I are going to go into the town and gather up hoses that we can string together to reach the stream.”
“Is it really going to be that easy?” Anna asked.
“As long as the hoses we grab aren't full of holes then yeah, it should be,” I said.
“Man, I should stop assuming these things are going to be hard,” the athletic redhead replied as she shook her head.
“Probably,” Tara said. “But I still worry every time we need to do something new.”
“Well, this morning none of you need to worry about learning anything new,” I said. “Paige and Bailey will hopefully be doing our final water run and grabbing a bath. Tara, you and Anna are on trap and trotline detail. Take some of the bigger traps Paige put together and set them up too. Maybe we can bag a fox or something.” I poured a cup of coffee for everyone and started to hand them out.
“Should we worry about the mountain lion while we are out there?” Bailey asked.
“Just stay alert,” I said. “It has no reason to pick on you as long as you don’t mess with it.”
“What if we come across it while trying to check the traps?” Anna asked.
“If you see the cat messing with your traps, leave,” I said with a shrug. “You back away slowly and make no attempt to fight it. If you grab a rabbit and notice it sniffing you out, then you leave the creature and get back to campus.”
“I’m pretty sure the big cat has been around since before the EMP,” Rolly said after he downed a large gulp of coffee. “I reckon I saw it a couple times on my hikes. It never bothered anyone back then so I don’t see why it would bother anyone now.”
“Alright,” Bailey said with a shrug.
“This afternoon we will gather up and string the hoses from here to the stream,” I said.
“What about those other projects?” Tara asked.
“Those are things for another day,” I explained. “Though don’t worry, we will get to all of them.”
“Can the shower one be next?” the platinum blonde asked as she winked.
“I think it can,” I said with a nod. “Then we will only need to visit the stream to check our trotlines.”
“I would be okay with that,” Bailey said.
“I dunno,” Anna started. “I liked the exercise.”
“Ugh, of course you did,” Tara said as she rolled her eyes.
“No one is saying you can’t hike it for fun,” I said. “Though you would still need to find someone to do it with you.”
“That’s all you Tav,” Paige said.
“Sounds good, I want to get back in shape anyway,” I said.
“Whoa now, this is you not in shape?” Anna asked.
“I am usually a little more filled out, yeah,” I replied with a nod.
“Careful there, hot stuff,” Tara said. “It’s already hard enough to stay away from you. Get any more handsome, and we might never leave your room.”
“You can have fun outside of the bedroom--” Paige said with a grin.
“Alright,” I interrupted. “We really should finish up breakfast and get to work. The sooner we can get the hose ran for the water pump the better.”
“Aw, I was just starting to really get into that convo,” Tara grinned.
I chuckled as I shook my head and rolled my eyes. “Worry about it later.”
“I’m ready to go now if you are,” Rolly said as she stood up, stretched, and grabbed his coffee. “Figure I’ll have plenty of time to finish my brew on our trip down the hill.”
“Good call,” I said as I grabbed my own cup of coffee. “Good luck and stay sharp out there.”
“Try not to have too much fun without us, boys,” Anna called out as we started to leave the building.
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I replied, and then Rolly and I exited the building into the fresh morning air.
“It’s beautiful,” Rolly said as he looked up at the sky. “Reminds me why I came here in the first place.”
“It’s so peaceful,” I agreed with a nod. “Almost makes you forget what shit shape the world is in right now.”
“It might be a little rough,” Rolly said. “But at least where we are things are still good.” He took a large drink of coffee and stood there a moment taking in the sight of the sun as it rose just over the treeline and shed its light onto our home. “Damn fine day.”
“I’m gonna go pull the Jeep around,” I said before I clapped the old man on the back and smiled.
Rolly nodded, sipped his coffee, and kept his eyes to the sky.
I headed over to the parking lot where our small collection of working vehicles sat. We had two, a beat up black and chrome Triumph Motorcycle, and an old, olive green military jeep.
The vehicles had proven to be invaluable, but the Jeep was, by far, our luckiest find. It allowed us to not only travel greater distances as a group, but the trailer attached to the back meant we always had enough space to bring back whatever we found.
I hopped in and turned the key. The engine rumbled to life with little issue despite its age, and I headed back towards Rolly. “Ready to go?”
“Yup,” The greying handyman said as he jumped into the passenger seat.
I turned the vehicle around and headed back through the parking lot and down the hill into the town beyond.
“You think we’ll have any trouble finding enough hose?” I asked as we sped forward.
“Every house down here probably has at least one hose,” Rolly said with a chuckle. “I don’t think it will be an issue at all. I just hope we don’t run into any surprises.”
“Haven't seen anything down here since we took care of those dogs,” I said.
“Let's hope nothing else decided to move in then,” Rolly said.
“I think we’ll be okay,” I said before I pulled to a stop in front of the now-empty convenience store and turned off the Jeep. “Though things have been a little more exciting lately than I would like them to be.” I got out and headed for the nearest house. We had picked through most of the building interiors but, until now, we had not really had a reason to raid them for things like garden hoses.
“You’re talking about the bikers, right?” Rolly asked as he followed along behind.
“Yeah, every time we leave the campus we seem to find more of the bastards,” I replied.
“At least you always get the chance to take them out,” he said with a shrug.
“What happens when we run into these guys, and I'm not around?” I asked as I knelt and started to uncouple the first, of many, garden hoses. “The world is growing more dangerous and the girls are not ready for it. Not yet.” I coiled the hose once it was free and handed it off to Rolly.
“Well what are you gonna do about it?” The old man asked.
“I'm going to train them,” I said before I checked around the yard and, after finding no more hoses, headed for the next house. “They are doing well with the spears and the blades but that will only do so much against a group of guys with guns.”
“Well, you know I am more than willing to help you teach them to shoot,” Rolly said.
“I know, and I appreciate it,” I said as I gave the old man a smile. “We have the guns and ammo now, but we don’t have a great place to shoot.”
“We could build a small range up on campus,” Rolly said with a shrug. “Not like we are exactly short on space.”
“True,” I said as I handed him another hose. “Would you be willing to help me with that tomorrow?”
“Of course,” he replied with a nod. “I will do whatever I have to do so that those girls stay safe.”
“I know,” I said as I placed a hand on his shoulder. “You are a good man.”
“Don’t get sappy on me now, boy,” Rolly said with a grin.
“Yes, Sir,” I said after I laughed. Then I shook my head and continued on to another house.
We collected a few more hoses before we made our first trip back to the Jeep. We tossed the various styles and colors of hose into the trailer and headed back out for more. It would probably take all of the hose this town had to offer to reach the stream.
“I think I want to go over a defense plan in case we get unexpected visitors,” I said as I worked to unhook another hose.
“Good idea,” Rolly stated. “Stuff like that keeps us all on the same page.”
“Yeah,” I said with a nod. “Plus we have some great advantages like a dark and maze like basement that is perfect to hide in.”
“Never took you for much of a hider,” Rolly said as he took the green hose I just finished releasing.
“Fighting is not always the best option,” I explained as we moved to another house. “Especially when most of your team is not trained for combat. If we can avoid a fight, it means we use fewer resources and minimize risk.”
“See, this is why you’re the one in charge,” the handyman said with a chuckle. “You are much better at the whole big picture thing. I would have assumed that just standing and fighting was always the best option.”
“I’ve had a lot of training that helps me out in situations like this,” I said. “Though I never would have guessed it would serve me quite this well outside of the military.”
“Life’s funny that way,” he commented.
The morning went by without any issues. Almost every house had a hose, and the extra ones we found in sheds or garden boxes made up for the ones that didn’t. We even managed to find a dozen hose couplings that would come in handy if we ran into any hose without both a male and female end. It was a little before noon when Rolly and I dumped the last load of hoses into the trailer.
“Need to look for anything while we’re here?” I asked.
“Not really,” the old man said. “I have clothes, food, and booze. What more can a man need?”
“Good point,” I said as I leaned against the trailer and looked out at the empty town. It was still strange to me how peacefully abandoned the whole place was. “I think we’re done here. Let’s get back up the hill and see how things went for the girls.”
