by Eric Vall
“Rolly isn’t here,” I told her.
“Yeah,” Anna said. “But he will be soon. I’m willing to wait.”
“So you all would rather wait for Rolly to make the coffee than have a hot cup in your hands in just a few minutes?” I asked, honestly somewhat shocked. I knew they didn’t like my coffee, but this was another level.
“Yes,” Tara said, very seriously.
“Me too,” Anna agreed with a nod.
“Bailey?” I asked, and I looked to my sweet hippie girl, hopeful she hadn’t turned against me as well.
“Um…” Bailey said, and she looked down at Winchester.
“You girls have torn out my heart,” I joked.
“You can have it back after Rolly makes the coffee,” Tara teased.
The girls always looked great, but they were in a particularly cheerful mood, it seemed, and I was happy to have the positivity, especially since we were missing our mascot.
Maybe it was the smiles and good mood, but they all looked especially gorgeous that day as well.
Tara had her hair and makeup done perfectly, as always, and she wore a black tank top that was far too small for her ample bosom, a red flannel, and a pair of ripped up designer jeans that hugged her hips just right.
Anna had her long red hair in its signature braid, but a few stray hairs swept across her face and landed on her soft, pink lips. She wore athletic pants and a tight fitting jogging sweater that showed off her hourglass figure.
I noticed that Bailey’s hair had grown some, she had it down, and it hung to her collar bone and laid gently on her shoulder. She wore a pair of jeans I knew I had seen her in before, but it seemed that the diet she was on now had helped her fill them out a bit, and I couldn’t help but admire her ass when she walked to the meat shed to get Winchester some breakfast.
“Hello,” Tara said, and she waved a hand in front of my face. “Earth to Tav.”
“Huh?” I asked, and I snapped back from my thoughts. “Were you talking to me?”
“Yeah,” Tara laughed, and the other girls snickered as well. “But you’re too busy checking out Bailey’s butt to listen.”
“Sorry,” I chuckled.
“Don’t be,” Anna said. “She’s filling out those jeans nicely.”
“What’s going on?” Bailey asked as she returned from the meat shed with a piece of bear in hand.
“We’re talking about your butt,” Tara said.
“What about it?” the blonde laughed.
“It looks good in those jeans,” Anna said.
“These are old,” Bailey said, and she looked down at her pants. “I’ve been wearing them since the power went out, basically.”
“Yeah, but I think eating meat has given you some tone,” Anna commented.
“Ohh yeahhhh.” Tara gave her friend a wicked grin. “And your butt is hot.”
“Thanks?” Bailey said, unsure of how to take that comment.
“I think it was meant as a compliment,” I laughed.
“Oh yeah,” Tara said, and she grinned even wider.
“Let’s talk about something other than my butt,” the blonde chuckled.
“We could go back to talking about how bad Tav’s coffee is,” Anna said, and she looked at me.
“I’d rather not,” I said wryly, but then I heard a truck coming up the drive.
“It’s Rolly and Betty,” Paige called down from the roof.
“Thanks,” I called up. “Next time let us know as soon as you see something.”
“Okay!” Paige hollered.
Betty and Rolly pulled up in the drive, along with Dan and Jenny and a few of the civilians that had been staying at their place to help with the harvest and canning.
“Hey,” I called out to the group, and they greeted me back.
“Oh Rolly, it was awful,” Tara feigned distress as Rolly took a seat on the bench next to me.
“What was awful?” the old man chuckled.
“Tav started to make the coffee,” Tara whispered, as if it had been an act of the utmost disgrace.
“I can’t even imagine the suffering you all went through,” Betty played along.
“Betty!” I exclaimed. “Not you too.”
“Sorry, Tav,” the curly haired woman said with a shrug. “Rolly makes the best coffee.”
“You haven’t even had my coffee,” I chuckled.
“No.” She shook her head. “But I know it couldn’t compare.”
“Is Paige on guard duty?” Dan asked.
“Yeah,” I said with a nod.
“I think I’ll go relieve her,” he chuckled, and he gestured to Betty and Rolly. “I’ve had enough of their romance for one day.”
“Sounds good,” I laughed. “We’ll bring you up some coffee.”
“Any chance of breakfast?” Jenny asked. “We brought some eggs.”
“That would be lovely,” I said. “In fact, I’m sure nobody’s eggs can compare to Betty’s, so she just has to be the one to cook.”
“I see what you’re doing here.” The old woman narrowed her eyes at me, then she broke into a large grin. “Good one, I’ll cook.”
“I was hoping you would,” I said.
“I’ll help,” Tara giggled, and she moved to sit by Betty. “What do we need?”
Paige came down while Betty and Tara cooked, and I smiled at the brunette. She had on her typical loose Piper College sweatshirt, and a pair of old skinny jeans with rips in the knees, but her cheeks were flushed from the morning air, and she sat cross legged on the bench, and I imagined how great the view would be without those jeans in the way.
“Do you think you could make us some turkey bacon?” Paige asked Betty.
“Oh, yeah,” Tara said. “We have some leftover turkey from yesterday.”
“I don’t see why not,” Betty said.
“Cars on the road!” Dan called down from the roof. “Looks like the rest of our group.”
“Thanks!” I hollered up to the young man.
“See, Paige,” Anna nudged the brunette playfully. “That’s how it’s done.”
“What the fuck?” Paige scoffed, but then she chuckled and elbowed the redhead back.
The other civilians and farmers pulled up, and Winchester ran over to get pets and greet them.
“Hey guys,” Rolly called out. “We got coffee ready, and breakfast is on the way.”
“Oh good,” Marla said, and she took a seat on the bench. “I only gave the boys a little something before we left.”
“Well, there’ll be plenty to eat,” Betty said. “We brought a couple dozen eggs.”
“I’ll take some coffee,” Justin said, and Rolly poured him a cup.
Marla’s boys grabbed a stick to throw for Winchester, and they played in the courtyard while Betty and Tara finished up breakfast, and everyone else happily sipped some coffee.
“Hey Rolly,” I said. “What do you think is best for cutting through the science building wall and getting insulation?”
“I’m betting a large knife would do the trick,” he said.
“Do you have any razor knives?” Jim asked.
“I should have a few in the shed.” The old man nodded.
“Those would be our best bet,” Jim said.
“You do a lot of building before all this?” I asked the civilian.
“Yeah,” Jim said, and he rubbed his bald head. “I used to be in home construction. I was a general contractor.”
“Really,” I said with a nod. “That’s a very useful skill.”
“Might come in handy,” Jim said. “But I’m betting it isn’t as handy now as it was before the world went crazy.”
“On the contrary,” I said. “Being able to build something is a very valuable skill to have. Sure, we have a home now, but there are plenty of other things that will need to be built, eventually.”
“Well, I’ll be happy to help,” the bald man said, and he smiled wide.
“We brought shovels,” Justin announced.
“Us too,” Jenny added.
“Great,” I said as I sipped my coffee. “We’ll tally up the shovels after breakfast.”
“Speaking of,” Betty said. “Breakfast is ready.”
“Looks good,” I said as I inspected the grub. “Are those biscuits?”
“Yup,” Tara said. “Betty showed me how to make them last time.”
“They look delicious,” I said, then I turned to Marla. “Why don’t you make the boys’ plates first?”
“Thanks,” Marla said.
It didn’t take long for everyone to get a plate and start eating, and the only sounds were those of happy sighs as everyone devoured their food.
“Alright,” I clapped once everyone had finished eating. “Thanks for breakfast, ladies, now let’s get to work.”
“Let’s go,” Jeff said.
We tallied up the shovels, and everyone dispersed to start digging, except for Dan who had offered to stay on guard duty, and Jim, Jeff, and I, we headed to the science building to cut out the insulation.
“I wonder if they have any telescopes in here,” Jeff said as we broke into the wall.
“I’m not sure,” I said. “I haven’t spent a lot of time in this building. I’m sure Paige would know.”
“What do you want a telescope for?” Jim asked, and he sounded genuinely interested.
“Oh, I just always liked to look at the stars,” Jeff said.
“I wouldn’t have expected that,” I chuckled.
“Yeah,” Jeff said. “It’s the beard, throws people off. But you know how that is.”
“I do,” I laughed and I pulled off a piece of sheetrock to expose the insulation beneath. “How did you get into astronomy?”
“Oh, I’ve always loved it,” the red bearded man responded. “Ever since I was a kid, my mom used to read me stories about the constellations.”
“She probably wanted you to be an astronaut,” Jim laughed.
“Probably,” Jeff chuckled. “What did your mom want you to be?”
“Well, my dad was a carpenter,” Jim said. “I think they expected me to take over the family business, they were just lucky I liked it so much.”
“What about you, Tav?” Jeff asked. “What did your parents want you to be?”
“My dad died young,” I said. “Mom didn’t push me to be anything, so I followed Dad’s footsteps and joined the army.”
The boys and I chatted while we worked, and before long we had finished an entire room.
“Good job,” I said, and I smiled at the men.
“How much insulation do you think we’ll need?” Jeff asked.
“This is a good start,” I said. “Let’s go help dig, and we can send somebody else to do this if we need more.”
“Sounds good.” Jim nodded, and we all headed outside.
The first people we ran into were Paige and Bailey.
“How’s it going, girls?” I asked.
“Pretty good,” Bailey said.
“We’ve made decent progress.” Paige nodded, and I looked down at the hole. They had dug about twenty feet so far, and a good four feet deep.
“Where are the others?” I asked.
“They’re down the line,” Paige answered. “We figured it would be better to split up a bit.”
“Good call,” I said.
We worked hard all day, only breaking for a lunch of leftover turkey and canned goods, and once the sun began to dip below the horizon, I called it time to quit.
Everyone gathered around the fire, and Anna offered us drinks, and Marla offered to cook.
“Great job today, everyone,” I told them, and I smiled at the group. “We might be able to get it done tomorrow.”
“I figured it would take three days,” Jeff said. “But a lot of it did get done today.”
“Everyone worked hard,” I said with a nod. “Let’s enjoy some drinks, and Marla said she would cook.”
“I make a mean bear stew,” the older gal chuckled.
“Good thing,” I said. “That’s one thing that I’ve found most difficult to cook well.”
“It’s all in the fat.” She winked at me.
The boys played with Winchester in the courtyard once more, Jim had taken over guard duty earlier, and I looked around at the faces in the group. I could see that everyone was tired, even Marla. I had asked her to just keep an eye on everyone for distress, but I had seen her out there digging as well.
“Why doesn’t everyone stay here for the night,” I suggested.
“Yeah,” Anna agreed. “It’ll be good for you to get used to sleeping here anyway.”
“Well,” Jenny said. “We did feed the cows and chickens this morning, so I’m sure we could go early and feed them again tomorrow.”
“They’ll be fine for the night,” Betty said. “I am quite exhausted.”
“I’m sure everyone is,” Paige said. “I know my arms are dead from digging.”
“You all put in a long day’s work,” I said to the group. “I’m proud of what we accomplished today.”
“I was curious,” Bailey said. “Jim said this morning that he was a general contractor, but I don’t know much about what everyone used to do.”
“Donna’s a psychiatrist,” Tara said, and the girls snickered.
“That’s right,” Donna said, and it seemed that she was in on the joke.
“Bailey’s right,” Anna said. “We don’t know much about what everyone used to do.”
“Jeff,” Paige said. “You were in construction right?”
“Yup,” the red bearded man said with a nod.
“What about you, Cathy?” I asked the sandy blonde haired woman.
“I was a seamstress,” Cathy said.
“A seamstress?” Paige asked. “Really?”
“Yes,” Cathy chuckled. “I don’t think anyone has ever really been impressed by that though.”
“Well it’s a very valuable skill,” I said. “Especially now.”
“Maybe so,” Cathy said. “But most modern sewing machines require electricity.”
“I think I have an old foot powered sewing machine somewhere in the attic,” Marla said.
“Well, that would be great,” Cathy said excitedly.
“What about you, Mike?” I asked the dark haired man.
“I was an electrician,” he said. “So I’m afraid my skills aren’t all that useful anymore.”
“Maybe not right now,” Anna commented. “But one day we might be able to figure something out to get electricity back.”
We went around the group, and all the civilians explained what they were before the EMP hit, by the time we were done we had a college science professor, a pharmacy technician, and a health inspector. Others had worked in offices or grocery stores, or even banks, and while some of those careers hadn’t prepared them for the work we were doing here, they had already proven themselves capable of learning new trades. Overall, I was impressed with the group we had gathered.
“Why didn’t you tell us you were a health inspector?” Paige asked Merideth, the redheaded civilian woman.
“I didn’t think it was important,” Merideth said with a shrug. “Besides, most people didn’t appreciate my job.”
“The knowledge you have is so valuable,” Paige said very seriously. “If we cooked something improperly, it could make everyone sick.”
“Nobody is cooking improperly,” Betty chuckled, then she looked to Merideth. “You’d tell us if we were, right?”
“Yes,” the redheaded woman said.
“Well dinner is about ready,” Marla announced, then she turned to Justin. “Will you call the boys over, they should wash up for dinner.”
“I think we all should wash up,” I chuckled. “Let’s head over to the pump.”
“I am pretty filthy,” Tara remarked, and she winked at me.
“Good Lord,” Anna chuckled. “You never quit, do you?”
“Can’t stop, won’t stop,” Tara said, and she made eye
contact with me as she did.
“We’ll see about that.” I winked back at the platinum blonde.
We washed up for dinner, and Bailey got some food for Winchester, but Marla’s boys were so excited about it that she let them feed him. The black headed dog took the meat gently from the boys and came to sit by my feet, so I reached down to pet him before I started to eat.
The stew Marla had made was delicious, the bear meat was moist and soft, and the stew itself had a hearty, earthy flavor that lasted after each bite.
“This is good,” Betty said with a grin at Marla. “When did you learn to cook bear?”
“Remember when that black bear was causing trouble around the farms ten years ago or so?” Marla asked.
“I remember.” Betty nodded.
“Well, Justin was part of the group that went out looking for it,” Marla said with a shrug. “We weren’t going to just let the meat go to waste, so I figured out how to cook it.”
“It is so good,” Tara breathed, and she took another large spoonful.
“I’m glad you like it,” Marla chuckled.
“This is bear?” one of Marla’s boys asked.
“Yes,” Justin told his son.
“Cool!” the boy said and took another bite of stew.
The group laughed, but I saw a shadow out of the corner of my eye, and I flipped my head to the side and stared at the tree line, then I heard Winchester growling at my feet, and I looked down to see him staring in the same direction.
“Come on boy,” I said. I stood up and walked toward the trees, and Winchester walked slowly beside me.
“Tav?” Anna asked. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m not sure,” I said, and I held up a hand to quiet the group.
Everyone fell silent, and all I could hear was Winchester’s low snarl beside me, the tree line was dark, and I hadn’t stopped to grab a flashlight, so I pulled out my zippo and lit it.
The forest appeared to be empty, so I paused for a moment to listen, but I didn’t hear anything except the low crackle of the fire behind me.
Winchester began to sniff the ground and whine, so I took my eyes off the trees and crouched down to his level.
“What is it, boy?” I asked and then I followed his nose along the forest floor.
There, on the ground, I saw a shoe print, it was a size twelve hiking boot, most likely a man’s, and the imprint itself was fresh. I looked around and found several more leading both toward the campus, and away from it. I walked further into the woods for a moment, Winchester still by my side, then I flicked my zippo closed and waited.