by Eric Vall
“Hell yeah!” Tara exclaimed.
“Sounds like fun,” Paige agreed.
“Once we learn do we get a gun of our own?” Tara asked excitedly.
“Of course,” I said with a chuckle and a nod. “But only once I am sure you won't accidentally hurt yourselves with them.”
“Then we will be a real bunch of badasses,” Anna said.
“I thought we already were,” Bailey replied.
“What do you think, Rolly?” I asked the old handyman. “These girls badass?”
“I’d say so,” he said with a nod. “They’ve done better than I think most people would have. That makes them pretty badass in my book.”
“Well there you go,” I said.
“Huh, so we don’t even need the guns to be badasses,” Anna said.
“No, but I would feel better having one anyway,” Paige said.
“Soon enough,” I said.
We all fell silent for a few minutes as our soup cooled enough to eat, and then, once the last of us set down our bowl, Tara stood and stretched. She pulled the towel off her head, and her platinum locks fell back into place perfectly around her face. Then she made her way over to the piano and took a seat. She looked over the keys for a moment, pressed a couple, and listened. After the notes died down she nodded, smiled, and started to play.
The rest of us settled in and enjoyed our reward for a day of work well done.
The roomed filled with lovely music as Tara began to play. She started simple, but quickly went into complicated and beautiful melodies and songs. Her slender fingers danced around the keys
“Wow, she is really fucking good,” Anna whispered to us while we watched the blond play.
“You sound surprised,” I said.
“Well, yeah. I mean I know she said she could play, but I didn’t expect this.”
Tara finished her current song and stopped a moment to stand up and stretch her fingers.
“That was awesome,” Paige cheered.
“Yeah, encore,” Rolly added.
“You guys really like it?” Tara asked as she turned a bright red and looked away. “I know I am kinda rusty.”
“Wait, that’s you when you’re rusty?” Bailey scoffed. “Man, I can’t wait to hear how good you are once you’ve practiced a bit.”
“Where did you learn to play like that?” Paige asked. “You sound classically trained.”
“My parents made me take lessons when I was younger,” the platinum blond musician explained. “They hired some juilliard pianist to give me private lessons. I really hated it when I was younger, but I guess it is sorta paying off now.”
“She says as if she did not just pull off some kick ass piano music after not practicing for who knows how long,” Anna said.
“It’s been a few years,” Tara admitted. “Maybe five. I dunno, I used to be better though.”
“I wish I could go five years without practicing something and still be that good,” Paige groaned. “I’m also a little jealous of who trained you, and I am not even really a musician.”
“Yeah, don’t sell yourself short,” I said. “That’s some skilled playing.”
“Should I play some more then?” Tara asked.
“If you are feeling up to it, I would like to hear some more,” Rolly said with a large warm smile.
“Yeah, I had been kind of missing music lately,” Paige said.
“Same here, out of all the things I lost with the EMP my Ipod full of music is the one I miss the most,” Bailey said.
Tara nodded, and sat back down in front of the piano, but as she went to play Paige stood up and joined her.
The brunette cleared her throat and, as the music started to fill the room, she began to sing.
Tara adapted her playing around the vocal range of her musical partner, and together they filled the dorm with beautiful music.
The sounds of the storm outside faded away as we all got lost in the melodious sounds that we had not even realized we needed to hear.
They continued to play and sing until the lights burned low, and the room grew too dark for Tara to see.
“Paige, I thought you said you weren’t really musical,” Bailey said.
“I have always liked singing,” Paige said. “I was just never good enough to make a career out of it.”
“I don’t believe that,” Rolly said. “That was some damn fine singing. Anyone who ever told you otherwise clearly couldn’t hear right.”
“Thanks,” Paige said. “My parents were always a bit overly critical of my pursuits.”
“Screw parents,” Anna said. “They don’t know anything anyway.”
“Whoa, did we stumble onto some unresolved issues,?” Bailey asked
“No, sorry,” Anna sighed. “It’s really not important.”
“Are you sure?” Bailey asked. “I think this is a pretty safe place if you want to talk about anything.”
“Yeah, we sorta have to help each other out with this stuff,” Paige said.
“I promise I won’t even make a snarky comment,” Tara added.
“Let’s not pressure her,” I said. “I agree that we have to help each other out with this stuff, but none of you should feel forced to discuss your issues.”
“I would rather talk about the awesome show Tara and Paige just put on,” Anna muttered.
“You two work really well together,” Bailey said as she turned her attention from Anna to Tara.
I stared at Anna for a moment. It was clear that there was still something bothering her, but, as I said, forcing the issue seemed like a bad idea. If she felt like talking about it, she would seek out one of us when the time was right. So I sat back, got comfortable, and smiled as the girls, having forgotten the wet and cold of the storm, discussed music.
“This was wonderful,” Rolly said. Then he groaned and pushed himself to his feet. “I think I am gonna head to bed though. Thank you again for the music. See you all in the morning.”
“Night old timer,” I said with a grin.
“See ya, Rolly,” Anna said.
“Sleep well,” Bailey said.
The other two gave him a wave, and he headed down the hall and into his room.
“I think he had the right idea,” Anna said with a yawn.
“Aw, did sitting there and watching us entertain you make you tired?” Tara teased.
“Yeah, because there is no other reason I might be tired right now,” Anna joked as she rolled her eyes.
“I can’t think of anything,” Bailey said with a laugh.
“Well I am more than happy to help wear down anyone not ready for bed,” I said with a wink.
“What did you have in mind?” Paige asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Well I was thinking we could head to my room, count our ammo and organize the guns,” I said with mock enthusiasm.
All the girls, but Bailey, groaned and rolled their eyes.
“Tempting,” Tara said. “But I think that I am going to stay here for tonight.”
“Are you sure?” I asked. “You don’t know what you’re missing.”
“Weirdly, that kinda sounds like fun,” Bailey said.
“Well you can help me with it sometimes,” I said. “But not tonight. I don’t want to ruin my good feeling with such a tedious chore right before bed.”
Chapter 4
I woke up early the next morning and peeked through my boarded window. The sky was skill grey with clouds, but it wasn’t raining, so I got dressed quickly, grabbed my gun, and headed outside.
Rolly had taken the pump and bolted it to a wooden base with concrete blocks on it to keep the thing steady and on the ground, and as I gave it a pump, the construct barely shifted.
I had intended to have the girls help me get the water up from the stream, but it wouldn’t hurt if I got it done before they woke up. So I knelt down and started to pump as the grey sky above me grew progressively lighter.
When Rolly came out of the dorms, I was still working
to draw the water from the stream. Both my arms burned from the work, and I had really started to doubt my decision to do this alone.
“You know any of us would have helped if you asked us to right?” Rolly asked as he walked up and tucked his hands into his pocket.
“I thought I would be nice,” I grunted. “Remind me not to do that next time.”
“I’ll try,” The old timer said before he chuckled. Rolly then crouched down next to me and rolled up his sleeves. “Want me to take a turn?”
“I think you better,” I said with a nod. “My arms are really starting to get tired of this.”
“Can’t imagine why,” Rolly said as he took over. “You’ve only been at this for a good half an hour.”
“Is that all?” I snickered. “Strange how time stretches when you are doing such tedious tasks.”
“You know what would make it better?” Rolly asked as he looked up at me and grinned.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Coffee,” he said.
“Alright, alright. I’ll go make sure it’s ready when you come in,” I said with a chuckle.
“It’s the least you can do really,” he joked.
“I guess I better get busy then,” I said as I shook my head. Then I gave the old man a wave goodbye and disappeared into the library.
By the time everyone started to trickle in for the day the coffee was ready, my arms had all but recovered from my morning activity, and an updated project list was written on the board. It now included the shooting range and the need for some sort of reservoir or cistern to store what we pumped and purified.
“Glad to see you were able to finish at least one task this morning,” Rolly joked as he sat down and pulled one of the steaming cups of coffee over to him.
“I take it you finished what I stated?” I asked.
“Yep,” he said with a nod. “Pressure seems good and everything,”
“I don’t know why you didn’t either wake us up or wait for us to get up before doing that,” Anna said as she took a seat. “We were all willing to help.”
“Yeah,” Bailey said as she joined us.
“Maybe he thought we couldn’t handle it,” Tara said with a smirk as she sauntered over to the table.
“Or maybe he just wanted to impress us,” Paige added as she took the last seat.
“Yeah, because he hasn’t done that several times already,” Anna joked as she shook her head.
“I honestly just thought I might be able to get it done real quick before anyone woke up,” I said with a shrug,
“Oh, well that’s a little less exciting than anything any of us said,” Paige said.
“Yeah, next time just let us girls dream,” Bailey added with a laugh.
“Well, can we see it?” Paige asked.
“I don’t see why not,” I said with a shrug before I led them all outside to the pump.
“It doesn’t look like much does it?” Anna said.
“No, but it will be infinitely useful,” I assured her. “Go on, try it out.”
Anna knelt down and worked the pump until water came rushing out.
“Okay, that’s pretty cool,” Tara said.
“Right?” Bailey added. “Alright, let me try.” She worked the pump next and let out a little triumphant shout when the water once again came rushing out.
“You know, it’s sorta funny how excited I am for something that was normal just a few months back,” Paige said.
“I was kind of thinking the same thing,” Tara said.
“We still have to boil it before we drink it,” I pointed out.
“Yeah, but this is a good start,” Paige said as she tried out the pump.
“Agreed,” Rolly said. “At least we don’t need to worry about how much water we use for stuff like cleaning anymore.”
“Well I think congratulations are officially in order then,” Anna said with a smile. “We kicked ass, nice job everyone.”
“Hell yeah,” Tara said before she gave Anna a high five. “My turn now.” She gently pushed Paige out of the way and manned the pump herself for a moment.
“I can tell we haven’t had electricity for a while because that dumb pump is way too entertaining,” Paige said with a smile. “It’s cool though.”
“Yeah, it makes all that time we spent in the mud worth it,” Bailey said.
“What, you mean you didn’t have fun yesterday?” Anna said with mock surprise. “
“Not everyone enjoys being as dirty as Tara,” Paige joked.
“No, but you enjoy getting a little dirt on your knees,” I said with a smirk.
“Not the point,” Paige said with a smile before she went red, and shook her head.
“Don’t be ashamed of that,” Tara said before she laughed, stood up, and gave Paige a playful smack on the ass. “Nothing wrong with having a little fun.”
“Not everyone is as shameless as you are,” Bailey said.
“Well they should try it once in a while,” Tara replied. “It’s actually, like, quite a freeing experience.”
“We had better get back to the library and get this morning day started,” I said as I shook my head. “Today isn’t going to be much lighter than yesterday. We may have a running water pump but there is still a lot to do.”
“Will there ever come a point where that is not just, like a given?” Tara asked.
“If we put in the time now, then yes,” I said. “Already we are setup so that if we need a day to rest, we can do so without worrying about our water or food supplies.”
“Um, I don’t mean to be rude, but what the heck is a ‘hide plan?’” Anna asked with a raised eyebrow. Her attention was fixed on the whiteboard behind me to where I had written, underlined, and circled that phrase.
“Must be important,” Paige said with a shrug.
“How can we be sure?” Bailey joked. “I mean there aren't any exclamation points.”
“Well it seems I made it stand out enough without them,” I said. “That is what I think should be one of our primary defensive tactics.”
“You want us to hide?” Anna asked. “That seems weird. Why teach us to fight if we are just going to hide when there is trouble.”
“You’re not fully trained yet, and even if you were fighting is not always the best option,” I explained. “The best option will almost always be whichever one is least dangerous.”
“I suppose that makes sense,” Paige said. “What’s the plan then?”
“The main building has a large, dark, and confusing basement,” I said. “It is full of tangled pipes to hide behind and there are no windows, so it will never be anything but totally dark. It’s the perfect place to hold out if someone shows up and starts looking around.”
“What about all our stuff?” Bailey asked.
“You let them do what they want with it,” I said. “Not only will a fight put you in danger but it will also ensure that whoever you started it with knows this place is occupied.”
“So, then is that it?” Tara asked. “Is the plan really, like, that simple?”
“It really is,” I assured her with a nod. “I just wanted to let you know that it should be priority one if at all possible. Until we are more properly setup, we want to keep ourselves a secret from the outside world.”
“Well that’s not what I was expecting after seeing how urgently you wrote the words hide plan,” Anna said.
“I just didn’t want myself to forget,” I said with a shrug. “Though now that we have it out of the way, we should go over the daily workload. Rolly and I are going to find a spot and start building a shooting range while Paige and Bailey check the traps. That means Anna and Tara get a bath. Though, afterwards, I want you two to practice your knife fighting until lunch.
“We get to practice with the foam knives right?” Tara asked.
“Yeah, I don’t want any accidents so just stick with the foam while I’m not around to fight against,” I replied.
“We’ll let you know i
f there are any more mountain lion related issues while we are out,” Paige said.
“Thank you,” I said. “I would appreciate it. This afternoon, assuming Rolly and I finish up a simple shooting range, we are all going to meet up again so that we can teach you how to shoot. We have plenty of guns after our run to Lanceton, and it’s about time that you all learned how to use them.”
“Hell yeah,” Tara said. “I’ve been looking forward to blowing something up since you grabbed those extra guns from the bikers you took out at the bridge.”
“You know that guns don’t actually blow stuff up right?” Paige asked.
“I mean, I know they aren't bombs,” The platinum blond said with a shrug. “Though they can still tear stuff apart, can’t they?”
“Sort of,” Anna replied. “Though probably not in the way you are thinking.”
“I guess I shouldn’t have watched so many movies,” Tara muttered.
“Don’t worry,” Rolly said. “You’ll see firsthand what they can do soon enough.”
“Well I look forward to it,” Bailey said.
“Really?” I asked. “What happened to ‘make love, not war?’”
“That would be ideal,” the hippie girl replied with a shrug, “but given the circumstances we don’t have much choice but war, so I’m down with both.”
“The more time we spend preparin’ for war, the more time you can have for love,” the handyman added.
“We better get to work then,” I said as I looked at the handyman. “Wouldn’t want to keep them waiting.” I gave the group a smile and headed for the door. I trusted they all knew what they needed to do and wanted to get to work.
Rolly joined me in the courtyard, and the girls all spilled out of the library building and headed to grab what they needed before they made their way into the woods.
“So did you have an idea of where we should build this shooting range?” Rolly asked.
“Not yet,” I said as I walked. “Figured we would walk the grounds and see if any place looked like what we want.”
“Lead the way,” Rolly said.
The campus grounds were not massive, but the space was well used, and we found several places that would be large enough to build into a fifty yard range. Though in the end we decided on a nice empty patch of grass on the left side of campus that led into the trees. It wasn’t near any of our other buildings, and there was nothing important in the forest behind it.
