by Lane Mason
Googling small farm tractors, Erica found a plethora of options. One article in particular caught her eye. “Biodiesel equipment for the self-sufficient farm” sounds exactly like what I was thinking. Erica grabbed a notepad and began making her lists. She started reading up on self-sufficient farms. The ideas she found ranged from crazy hippy nonsense to high tech advanced technologies coming soon, but in that range she found lots of examples of small self-sufficient farms that used their crop waste to make their own fuel. Erica started making a list of the equipment they would need to get. Later she would consult with Dante and Jeffery, but the idea for a self-sufficient sanctuary was starting to become a reality.
...
“How’s the pizza, Moira?” Erica asked.
Moira smiled, nodded, and stuffed another piece into her mouth.
“She’s a little shy,” said Carrie. “I’m afraid she’s not talking right now, but I know that smile. Moira loves the pizza and is very happy to be here,”
Poor thing, thought Erica. The trauma of losing her family was the likely cause of Moira’s silence. As shy as Moira was, she seemed to hit it off with Dante. All afternoon they had been out working on the new swing. Dante had found a good plank for a seat and, with Moira’s supervision, improved the design. When Carrie and Moira came to the dinner table, Moira immediately sat herself down beside Dante, and made Carrie sit on the other side of her.
Erica smiled softly, enjoying the way Dante interacted with Moira. It seemed she wasn’t the only one that Dante made feel safe.
“Erica, I want to thank you again for having us,” said Carrie. “Please let me know what I can do to be helpful.”
“You’re welcome, Carrie. We’re glad to help. What did you do before?” Erica carefully chose her words. She knew Carrie would catch her meaning, without having to get into details that might trigger memories for Moira.
“A little of this and that. I have done housekeeping and worked in several kitchens. I could do that here too.”
Erica turned to Jeffery. “You’ll have more time for our outside projects if you have help in the house.”
Jeffery looked at Carrie with a big smile, “I would be glad for the help.”
So that is the key to getting a smile out of Jeffery, thought Erica, give him more time outdoors. That was two big smiles in one day, a rarity since she had met him. “Perfect,” Erica said. “Now we just need to find a job for Moira.”
Moira’s eyes got big at the mention of her needing a job.
“She is pretty smart. I could use her on security detail,” said Dante. “How about it, Moira? Would you like to be my sidekick?”
With the same vigor that she had shown towards the pizza, Moira nodded her head in confirmation.
Erica felt her heart twinge. Dante, her gorgeous and strong protector, was so good with Moira. She could see how Dante would make an amazing father. How ironic that her perfect man was an immortal gargoyle?
After dinner was finished and Carrie took Moira to bed, Erica sat with Dante and Jeffery to discuss the planning for Sanctuary. Jeffery pulled a piece of paper on the table for them to look at. It was a sketch of the property. The sketch showed the mansion, the original farm house, the current garden, and the rest of the property. “Since this property was originally a hobby farm, it won’t take much effort to get the land back into production. A good plowing, some fertilizer, and things will grow. By next summer, we can have a solid sized garden and grain crops.”
Erica peeked over at Dante. I could use a good plowing, she mused to herself, distracted by memories of Dante’s naked body. She imagined how he would be as a lover.
“Erica?” asked Jeffery. “What do you think?”
Erica shook off her naughty thoughts, “Sorry, I was thinking about something else. What were you asking?”
Jeffery pointed to the map. “I was saying that we could plant an orchard right here. Buying mature fruit plants would be more work and also more expensive, but would produce a crop much faster.”
Erica nodded her mind fully back on the task at hand. “Don’t worry about the costs. I am going to spend enough money on tractors and equipment that a few grand for fruit trees will seem like a bargain. Dexter might regret giving me that corporate credit card before we’re done.”
26
“What are preppers?” asked Dante. He had divided his time the last few days between walking the property, playing with Moira, and learning more about the modern world. Preppers had come up on several of the websites he, under Moira’s tutelage, had been looking at.
The question surprised Erica. “Survivalists, they believe in always being prepared in case of a natural disaster or an event that causes social disruption. They store months’ worth of food, water, and survival gear. Why do you ask?”
“I’ve been spending more time on the Internet. Moira likes to help me learn new things. Someone in her family was a prepper, or something akin to one. She showed me a website about survivalists. I was thinking the same principle might apply to what you are intending to do here.”
“She sure has taken to you,” Erica said. “It’s cute how she follows you around, and I’m glad she feels safe around you. She isn’t the only one.”
“Thank you, I haven’t been around children in ... well a very long time, but she’s a special child. I enjoy her company.”
Erica thought about survivalists. Her father, a military man, had been somewhat of a survivalist. He always kept months of rations in their house, and large barrels of water. As a child she had asked him about his strange compulsion to have provisions that no one else’s parents stored in their basements and garages, at least not to any degree like her father stored them. He had simply said, “Better to have extra for when the shit storm hits.” She hadn’t known what a shit storm was at the time, but it made sense. Dante was right. Sanctuary should be self-sufficient and well stocked, just like a prepper would do. Her plans would have to change.
“Dante, you are brilliant, I could kiss you!” Erica said excitedly. The ideas were starting to pop into her brain now, things like solar power, water treatment, dry food storages, were all things they could do to be prepared, in case of an emergency. Some of her plans were already leading that way. She had already planned to grow their own food and depending on how many shifters came to them, they would need large number of supplies on hand.
Dante smiled. Erica’s enthusiasm about the idea was rewarding. It was nice to be able to contribute. Sometimes he felt lost surrounded by modern technology. His grasp of technology was rapidly improving, and funny enough, Moira was the one who made it simple for him. The young girl still wouldn’t talk around others, but had broken out of her shell trying to explain how to navigate webpages to Dante. Now she gladly explained things to Dante, and she had a knack for doing it in a way that he could understand. Learning from a child was helping Dante immensely.
Erica jumped on the computer. Finding solar panels would be easy, but some of the other ideas Dante had inspired would be harder to find. And she would need to research survivalists and preppers more. She didn’t want to think about worse case scenarios, but with all the crazy things happening on the news lately, war in the Middle East, China, and Russia ratcheting up propaganda against each other, she decided to err on the side of caution. Her father no longer seemed like one of those crazies, as she heard them called, the religious preppers for end times called zealots and paranoid fools. Dad, your daughter is now one of the crazies, the thought came with a sympathetic smile for her father.
...
Erica and Dante fell into a routine as the days passed. Each morning when Erica woke, Dante would come down from his stone perch and join her in the kitchen for coffee. They would discuss the itinerary for the day, while waiting for the others to awaken. Erica, an early riser, was usually an hour ahead of the rest of the household. She cherished that time in the mornings when she had Dante all to herself. When Moira woke, she would come down to the kitchen and sit with Dante and h
ave her breakfast, two slices of whole wheat toast smothered in peanut butter and jam.
Dante would tease Moira every morning offering to make her a different breakfast, but each morning she would shake her head, no matter how interesting the breakfast he offered, until he asked if she would like toast. Then she would smile and nod. Jeffery made sure to stock up on the now essential peanut butter and jam. The type of fruit didn’t seem to matter, just as long as she had toast with peanut butter and jam.
After breakfast, Erica would meet with Jeffery and Carrie and discuss their agenda for the day. Carrie and Jeffery were working on renovating the old farm house while Jeffery waited for the new farm equipment to show up. The farm house only needed small repairs, a fresh coat of paint and new furniture to bring it up to date, but Erica had added new features such as security systems and intercoms that connected with the main mansion along with upgrades such as solar panels and a new water system.
Since Erica had started researching self-sufficient farms and Dante had brought up the idea of disaster preparation, she had realized that having their own redundant power supply was a must. Finding a solar installer in the city was not difficult. The state had recently increased the tax rebate for solar producers and created a small influx of solar distributers. The company had already been out and installed the batteries and roof mounts for both the mansion and the farm house. Tomorrow they would return and install the solar panels, top of the line panels with a twenty-year guarantee. Erica felt confident that between the panels and the new biodiesel backup generators that they would be okay no matter what happened. If the vampires tried a longer assault against them, they would have enough food, water, and power to withstand the attacks.
The two new tractors that were arriving that week were contained biodiesel engines. Erica didn’t think they would ever need to make their own fuel as a necessity, but being able to use the waste products from crop production for fuel seemed like a great idea.
When Erica was done meeting with everyone, she would head back to the library and start checking the Internet. First, she would read more prepper websites, trying to find ideas that she had missed before and then she would check the world news. The vampires were her primary concern and she scoured the news for strange attacks and murders, but getting those stories was becoming harder and harder. The news was focused on war. Not that war was anything new, but it seemed that wars were breaking out everywhere on a scale not seen since World War II. Simple murder and abductions were forgotten, no longer worthy of news. Even America seemed to be getting pulled into the wars, with Russian jets frequently violating American airspace and nuclear subs being chased into international waters. Russia accused America of starting the tensions, saying that America was helping China, who was also in a pissing contest with Russia. The global situation was very scary, something no doubt the vampires were using to their advantage, while they hunted down shifters with loyalty to humans.
Before bed each night, Erica and Dante would sit on her balcony and discuss everything she had learned that day. They had purchased several more laptops since Moira and Carrie had arrived and Dante was still getting lessons from Moira, even though her lessons mostly involved nods and shakes of her fist when he teased her, she was still able to help Dante when he got confused by technology. It was amazing how fast kids absorbed technology. Dante liked to learn about modern history and was rapidly learning the history behind many of the world crises. He now knew more about the Cuba missile crisis and the breakup of the Soviet Union than he ever wanted to know.
27
Serena sat at her London desk looking out the window. The view was spectacular, not that she’d noticed at all. She was trapped by her work. She’d been working for the Ruton corporation for a few years, but she’d never full understood what that meant until it was too late. Now she was wrapped up in Vladimir’s crazy schemes and the only way to stay alive was keep playing along.
The door to her office opened and her next appointment strode in like he owned the place. Fucking hunters, Serena thought as Alexi Crisian sat down and put his feet up on her desk.
“I hear you have a problem in America that needs solving.”
“Yes. We need a human woman killed.”
Alexi raised an eyebrow. “You’re joking? You want to send me to America to kill a single woman?”
“No, I want you to take your whole team to America to kill a single woman.”
“Vladimir approved this?”
“Vladimir is the one who insisted on sending the best, although I suspect his judgement on who is the best may be questionable. But if you like I can tell him you refused the assignment.”
Alexi gave a predatory grin. “You’d like that wouldn’t you? No. I will take the assignment. Can you at least tell me why she’s worthy of an elite kill team?”
“Her late husband was Jack Rooney, business partner to Dexter Duvane.”
Alexi snarled. “The fucking MBI.”
Serena nodded. The MBI or Magical Bureau of Investigation was America’s agency for dealing with the paranormal world, and the corporation had butted heads with them several times over the years. Dexter Duvane was a thorn in their side, perhaps as dangerous as her own boyfriend, Jared, but that was a different story. She didn’t want to think about what would happen to Jared if Vladimir’s plans worked. She needed to keep doing her job but at the same time she hoped it all failed. Taking over the world was a vampire pipe dream. Humans were too resistant, they would adapt, and there were too many supernaturals like Jared and Dexter Duvane who treated humans like equals. The problem was Vladimir had been planning this for centuries, had the resources and ability to succeed. But there was things she could do, like send his best kill squad to America to hunt a woman protected by Dexter Duvane. Perhaps that would help shift the battle to the human side. “Yes. But don’t get sidetracked by going after him. Vladimir wants the woman dead before the rest of his plans progress.”
“Understood, but if he gets in my way I’m taking him out,” Alexi said.
Serena shrugged. “I’m not telling you how to do your job.” Please try to take him out, she thought as Alexi stood. She didn’t know if Dexter Duvane could stop Alexi or not, but if he couldn’t then maybe the world really was doomed to live under Vladimir Ruton’s control.
A world ruled by vampires. Serena shuddered at the thought.
28
Finally, Dexter, Terra and her pack returned to the Estate. They looked tired and dejected when they returned. They seemed happy to be back at Sanctuary but were exhausted by the journey, and they were not alone.
“Welcome back,” Erica said to Dexter as he exited the SUV.
Dexter gave a weary smile. “Thank you, it is good to be back.”
“Rough trip?” Erica asked.
“Yes, I’ll tell you all about it later,” Dexter said. He looked around the yard, “I see you’ve been busy.”
Erica knew Dexter was referring to the new solar panels on the roof of the mansion, but those were only the tip of the iceberg when it came to the changes to the estate that had occurred in the last few weeks. While Dexter and Terra had been rescuing more shifters, she had been very busy. They all had been very busy, and she was proud of how much they had accomplished in such a short time. “Wait until you see the rest,” Erica said.
Jeffery came out the door and Erica watched as he went straight to Terra, giving her a big hug, a bear hug. The bad pun made Erica snort and chortle. She watched as Terra returned the big hug with a passionate kiss. Any lingering doubts about the relationship status between Jeffery and Terra could be put to rest. They were definitely a couple.
“I missed you,” Jeffery said when Terra finally stopped kissing him.
“I thought I might never see you again,” said Terra. “I’m so glad to be back. Now, come help me unpack.”
They are going to do more than just unpack, thought Erica. She smiled. It was fun watching the romance build between Terra and Jeffery.
&nbs
p; Dexter interrupted Erica’s thoughts as she watched Jeffery and Terra holding hands, walking into the mansion. “Erica, I have some new friends for you to meet.” Dexter turned to the two young women lined up beside him. “This is Daniella and Pamela.”
Erica looked the two young ladies over; both were very pretty and obviously were sisters. Daniella was slightly taller and possibly a few years older, and wore her hair longer, while Pam’s hair was more punk, shaved on one side and medium long on the other. Other than those small details, the girls looked incredibly similar, sharing the same facial features and body shapes. They also shared the same forlorn look of someone who had recently survived a tragedy. It was a look Erica knew well and had seen many times in the mirror since her late husband had been murdered.
“Hello, Daniella. Hello, Pamela. Welcome to Safe Haven,” Erica said.
“Thank you for having us,” Daniella said, speaking for both of the girls. “We had nowhere to go, and if Dexter and Terra’s pack had not come along when they did, we would be dead.”
“Well, you are safe now. Carrie will show you to your rooms and help you get setup. We’ll talk more at dinner.”
Carrie, who had been waiting behind Erica, walked up and hugged the two girls. “Welcome. I too was rescued by Dexter, and I can tell you, this is a great place to be. Now come along, let’s get you ladies sorted.” She helped the girls take their few bags into the house.
