by AJ Newman
MMax stayed by his human’s side to protect him.
***
MMax alerted as I walked toward Mom. I didn’t see any danger, but a gaunt-looking woman stood behind my mom. She seemed familiar, but I couldn’t place her.
I hugged Mom and saw Mom hug Kat when Mom suddenly pulled me close to whisper in my ear. Before she could speak, I heard, “Jason, you’re alive! Knowing that I might see you again kept me going for the past several months!”
Mom whispered, “Be careful.”
Sydney threw her arms around me and tried to kiss me on the lips. MMax growled when I pushed her away and said, “MMax, stay.” I then said, “Slow down, Syd. I’m glad you’re safe, but control yourself. What the hell are you doing here? We don’t have champagne or caviar.”
She batted her eyes, “Jason, you know I’m just a simple girl from Walter Hill.”
I pulled Kat close and said, “I want you to meet my future wife, Kat. Kat, this is Sydney Posey. We were friends back in high school.”
Sydney tried to hug me again. “We were much closer than friends.”
I pulled away from her. “Syd, Kat and I have to go visit with my mom. Perhaps I’ll see you later before you go on up the hill to your home. Goodbye,” I said tersely.
Yes, Kat glared holes through Sydney, and her claws were deep into my arm when we walked to the kitchen. I tapped her hand, and she sneered at me.
“Who the hell is S…y…d?”
Damn, she dragged the name out like it tasted like crap. “Hon, Syd was a girlfriend back in my senior year of high school. She didn’t mean anything to me, and I dropped her to join the Army.”
Mom was walking over to help rescue me when Kat said, “Mom, he doesn’t need rescuing. I just wanted to hear it from him. The poor girl is trying to get my man because she’d die without someone to feed and protect her. Tough sh… Well, anyway, she can’t have my guy even if he can be a ding-a-ling at times.”
I was greatly relieved when Kat said, “Jason, you keep your ass away from her, and I won’t have to break her legs. Mom, should I have a woman-to bitch-conversation with her?”
Usually, Mom would have chastised Kat for cussing. “The bitch is up to something. I’ll have a heart-to-heart conversation and explain life around here to her. If that doesn’t work, you can deal with her. I always hated her family and her. Jason knows I didn’t like her when they were dating. She thought her crap didn’t stink, and her people were better than we were. I never could figure out what Jason saw in her.”
I tried to change the subject several times, but they were on a rip Syd apart tantrum, so I just sat back and kept my mouth shut. Actually, Syd and I had gotten along well until she’d tried to buy me with paying for college and a job in her dad’s firm. That had pissed me off because I’d wanted to join the Army since I was a kid. Yeah, Syd and I spent many hours in the back seat of her dad’s Cadillac convertible on the dirt roads around Walter Hill. Obviously, Kat didn’t need to hear about that. Oh, hell, I hoped she didn’t anyway.
We three had a private meal that allowed us to enjoy each other’s company. Even Kat noticed that Mom hinted several times that we needed to move our wedding date up. We planned to get married on my birthday in a month. I joked that was the only way I would remember our anniversary. I wasn’t kidding.
While Kat washed the dishes, Mom made up an excuse to take me out to the barn. “Son, this bitch is trouble. She snuck up on Father James and me while we were up near their home. She has a young boy with her but doesn’t have a husband. Her parents died after the shit hit the fan. I don’t trust her one bit.”
My jaw hung down. “Mom, you cussed.”
“That’s damned right, and you might hear more until we get rid of this …”
‘Mom, calm down. What harm can a skinny half-starved woman cause?”
“Son, you need to pull your head out of your ass. She practically threw herself at you in front of Kat. Stay away from her before Kat kills her. We need to run her off, and you need to stay away from her.”
“Mom. Mom, I will. I promise.”
“Son, if she sticks around, you’ll have to come clean about your real relationship with her,” she said as I pretended not to know what she meant.
Mom said, “Wipe that stupid look off your face. I know what a boy and girl do in the back seat of a convertible in the woods. Dad and I were just happy you didn’t knock her up. We were thrilled when she left the country.”
I think I mentioned once before that the apocalypse back in the early days wasn’t all killing the bad guys and having fun. It also included some soap opera worthy happenings. I should have taken Mom more seriously, but I never said I was brilliant. I’m the best at surviving and killing asshats, but figuring out women has never been my strong suit.
I saw a side of my mom I’d never seen before. She later told me she didn’t cuss in front of the kids, but now, I was an adult. She also told me not to cuss in front of her. I know, it was a double standard, but you have to cut your own mom some slack.
☆
Chapter 4
The Walker farm – Walter Hill, Tennessee
Mom sent Ross, Rick, Kat, and me out to find some old cars and trucks we could get running. If they were beyond repair, our mission was to strip off any parts we could use. We also searched the new cars and trucks for batteries that hadn’t exploded when the EMP surge struck the vehicles. A side task was to find windmills and some large water tanks that could be brought back to the farm.
MMax came along with me as usual, but I could tell his mind was back in the barn with his pups. I knew he missed his mate, Tina, because he always laid in her dog bed instead of his own. I pulled his head close to mine and said, “Good boy,” and MMax licked my face. I patted him on the back and hoped he could keep his mind on our mission.
Mom told us to look at any Rural King stores because they usually had some large windmills that were meant to aerate lakes. We could repurpose them to generate electricity. She also told Kat to find some more TP and feminine hygiene products. We had a standing order to watch for ammunition and medical supplies.
Our old farm truck had a winch up by the cab that enabled us to pull a car or truck up a ramp onto the bed of the truck. This made moving cars and trucks much easier. It usually pulled a large car-moving trailer behind it, too, so we could double the size of our cargo.
We stayed busy searching the area southwest of the farm, so we could avoid the General’s people up north and west. We also brought home a couple more large travel trailers, and eight truckloads of various diameter plastic pipe, and five-hundred-gallon plastic water tanks. Mom would be happy because we could proceed with her water storage project. I was delighted because a flushing toilet would be fantastic.
There was a new Rural King in Smyrna that had all of the windmill product lines they carried. Home generation of power had become popular in the late twenties when the Syrian Terror Front (STF) bombed many of the oil wells and pipelines in moderate Mid-Eastern countries. The bastards also bombed many of Europe and Canada’s arctic oil platforms. The USA was oil independent, but the other countries bid up the cost of oil to unheard of prices. Home solar and wind products saturated the market for a couple of years until the STF forces were driven away from the oil fields and drilling platforms.
The short story was we had a cornucopia of various windmills to choose from in the front of the building. (Yeah, big word, but Mom doesn’t like it when I say shit potful.) There were two of the thirty footers, six of the twenty footers, and a bunch of the ten footers that were used to power lights around your home or barnyard. The best news was the Rural King had a dozen overseas shipping containers they’d used for storage. The electric generators were all in one of the closed containers. The containers made great Faraday cages and were EMP-proof, so the generators hadn’t been fried. They would produce electricity.
I was helping dismantle one of the large ones when MMax alerted. I called out to the others to prepare for
a fight. “Kat, take Ross over to the water tanks and watch our six. Rick, follow MMax and me.”
MMax growled his deep growl that said, “Danger, Jason. Danger, Jason,” to me.
He alerted and pointed to some cars in the parking lot over to the far side. I couldn’t see anything but trusted MMax’s nose. Before we could get in place with good cover, a couple with two small children walked into view. MMax growled until I said, “Watch ‘em.”
I stayed behind a tractor and called out. “Who are you, and what do you want?”
The man raised his hands and said, “We’re the Green family, and just scavenging for food and supplies. We’ll move on if you want. I only need some rope and garden equipment from the store. Can we get some and leave?”
Kat and I approached the people, and I asked Kat to feel the woman out for a fit for our community. I took the man to the side. “What are you growing? We might want to trade with you?”
The man appeared to be nervous. “Mister, I don’t know you or your people. Please, just let us get what we came for and go home.”
I said, “We want to know who our neighbors are and what they’re up to. One can’t be too cautious these days.”
The man had a Glock 17 in his waistband and a hunting knife in a scabbard. He didn’t look like a soldier. He said, “I guess you’re right. We feel the same way.”
I said, “I wanted to see if you’re a fit for our group, but clearly, you’re not interested.”
He smiled, “It’s not that I’m not interested. It’s I don’t trust anyone I just met these days.”
I laughed. “I understand. I’m Jason Walker, and that’s Kat Gold. We belong to a small group trying to eke out a living. We’re always looking for possible additions to our group, and enemies to run out of the area.”
He replied, “I’m Alex, and that’s Peggy, Paul, and Paula.”
I shook his hand and said, “Glad to meet you.”
“Are you sure it’s a small group? You’re taking every windmill on the lot and have a big farm truck.”
I said, “A small group with big aspirations.”
Kat’s discussion went along the same lines. Peggy was guarded during the conversation. She didn’t offer their home’s location or any useful intelligence. Kat later told me she seemed scared of us.
I told Alex to fetch the supplies they’d came for and then said, “Alex, why don’t you meet us back here in a week at nine in the morning for another meeting. You’d be much safer joining us.”
We lucked out on the third day and found an old oilfield winch truck with the roller on the end of the bed. It could be used as a wrecker to bring more vehicles back to the farm. We soon had row after row of good older trucks and cars that just needed some work. Many were someone’s project or hobby and started right up. There were several hotrods in perfect running shape and only needed a quieter muffler. There’s nothing like a big block Ford bellowing down the road to draw unwanted attention.
Father James had been a mechanic in the Navy before he’d become a priest. He trained and led a group of our women in how to get the best cars and trucks running and another group in stripping parts for other projects. He also told us to watch out for mechanics tools and oxyacetylene welding gear.
Father James used one of the torches to cut the front axle spindle off an old car. He then welded some large metal blades to the car wheel and spun the huge fan around on the spindle. We used the winch truck to lift the spindle and fan to the top of a huge tripod he’d welded together. Then he welded the spindle to the tripod. We now had a huge windmill that was three times larger than the store-bought ones. Now, we just needed a huge generator we didn’t have yet. This didn’t stop Father James. He made a bracket that held six large twelve-volt truck generators and welded the bracket to the tripod, so a single fan belt could turn all six when the wind blew. He later had to work up a gear reduction so the fan wouldn’t turn the generators too fast.
The winch truck came in handy, hauling the huge plastic water tanks to the farm. We placed them by the barn, and then Father James supervised the construction of three elevated platforms for the water tanks. The winch truck was also invaluable in lifting the tanks up and onto the platforms, which were over twelve feet tall. Now, we had to devise a way to fill the tanks.
Father James had already drawn out a way to fill the tanks with water from the spillway of the lake up on the hillside. The drawing reminded me of those Roman aqueducts from ancient times. This one was a bit crude compared to the architecture the Romans had used. He fabricated a filter from a fifty-five-gallon drum with different mesh screens to filter out leaves, bugs, and other impurities. The water entered the drum below the waterline, so floating objects didn’t get a chance to clog the filters. This also meant that a light layer of ice wouldn’t stop the flow of water in the winter. Of course, we still needed a way to keep the pipes from freezing during a hard winter.
Father James’ crew had started joining sections of pipe from the lake down to the farm several days ago. When they reached the bottom of the hill, they began installing tripods to keep the water pipe at the right height to keep the water flowing downhill. Then, they stepped down to sixteen-foot long posts until the pipe split to fill the three water tanks.
One of the tanks was for drinking water, the second for bathwater, and the third for flushing the toilets. We didn’t have great water pressure, but we now had flowing water. Father James increased the water pressure later by installing a windmill with a pump that had been used to power water fountains in ponds and lakes.
Ross was put in charge of the drinking water tank and added unscented bleach as needed to kill off all the germs and stuff. This meant the water had to be turned off from time to time so he could get the mixture correct.
Yeah, we would eventually run out of bleach and have to boil our water. That would be several years down the road. With all the bleach and swimming pool shock in stores and warehouses, we were good for at least that long.
☆
Chapter 5
The Walker farm - Walter Hill, Tennessee
Ok, back to the soap opera. While Kat and I were busy staying away from Sydney, she pestered Mom. Mom took her off to the side on the second day and attempted to set her straight concerning Kat and me.
Sydney had asked Jan several times where Jason was. Jan politely told her Jason was busy. Jan took her aside on the second day and said, “You and the boy have recovered. It’s time for you to move on.”
Sydney said, “I like it here. Can’t I stay with you and Jason? We’ll die if you send us away.”
Jan knew the woman was playing games with her. “What the hell do you want to achieve here? Jason is happy with Kat and doesn’t want to see your face. If you stick around and cause trouble, Kat will skin you alive. If she doesn’t, I’ll shoot you myself. You were always big trouble for Jason. Look, bitch, I’ll put it in words you can understand. Get the hell out of here, or we’ll hog tie you and ship your ass up to Nashville where the gangs can have you.”
Sydney looked over her shoulder and saw her son playing with one of the puppies. “Jay, come over here and say hi to your grandmother.”
The boy didn’t look up at his mom. “Jason Michael, get your ass down here. Now, Mom, what were you saying? Surely you wouldn’t throw your grandson to the gangs in Nashville.”
Jan was speechless for a minute and then said, “Anyone can claim a kid belongs to a man. Prove it because you were always a conniving bitch out to cause trouble for Jason.”
Jan stopped when the kid walked up to her and said, “Are you really my grandma? My other grandma is dead. She shot herself.”
Jan looked the boy in the eyes and then ran back to the house with tears in her eyes.
Jan found Michelle and Billie and filled them in on the situation. Billie covered her eyes, “Oh, crap, the baby momma has come back with a kid Jason doesn’t know about, and now the baby momma wants to claim Jason. I saw this on a daytime soap opera about a yea
r ago. I think it was on General Hospital or The Young and Stupid. Jan, the simple solution is we can keep the boy and make baby momma disappear.”
Michelle only said, “Jason knocked that bitch up?”
Jan was a bit shocked, “Do you mean to kill her?”
Billie replied, “That’s always an option, but I mean, take her a hundred miles away and tell her what will happen if she comes back.”
Michelle said, “Whoa, ladies. We’re the good guys. I know I didn’t become a nun, but some of the religious stuff stuck to me. That stuff about ‘thou shall not kill’ and ‘coveting your neighbor's son’ comes to mind.”
Jan said, “Perhaps we need to tell Jason the situation first, and then bring Kat into the brainstorming.”
***
“What? Don’t shit me, Mom. I was careful. No way I have a kid with her. Oh, hell, no! Kat will kill her. Shit, Kat will cut my balls off.”
Mom said, “Son, he looks just like you. When you look at him, take this picture of you when you were a boy his age.”
My sister said, “Jason, he has your eyes, nose, and ears. If he’s not yours, he’s the son of your twin brother. Now, Mom, how do we tell Kat?”
I said, “We don’t tell her. I’ll tell her. If Jay is mine, I want him in my life. I don’t want that bitch in my life or bothering Kat. Does anyone have a plan that lets us keep Jay and get rid of Syd?”
Billie said, “I have some plans, but your Mom didn’t like them.”
I said, “I'm game for anything to keep Kat from cutting her throat.”
Mom said, “I draw the line at killing anyone who isn’t a danger to us.”
***
After supper, Kat and I walked out to the barn to visit with the puppies. I was surprised when I saw my nephew Jerry, Jay, and MMax with the puppies. MMax lay beside the puppies, and two of them played on his back. One chewed on MMax’s ear. Jay and Jerry each had a pup in their arms, and Gus, Kat’s puppy, was the one nibbling on MMax’s ear. Gus finally looked up and saw Kat. He jumped off MMax and ran across the floor to Kat. He jumped up and down until she picked him up. She rubbed her nose on his. He was fascinated by her face and licked her cheek.
