Without Law 7

by Eric Vall

  “I’m sorry,” the brunette said, and she looked down.

  “Hey,” I said, and I reached over and lifted her chin up so she would meet my gaze. “I said I didn’t need it, not that I didn’t appreciate it.”

  “Thanks.” Paige smiled softly at me.

  “I know everyone is upset about this,” I told them.

  “Damn right,” Anna said through clenched teeth.

  “There’s nothing we can do now except keep an eye out for them,” I said, but I wasn’t happy about that plan.

  “You’re right,” Bailey sighed. “We can’t waste gas searching for them.”

  “Yes,” I said with a nod. “We still need to conserve, no matter how pissed we are.”

  “I wanted to make it right,” the blonde said, but it was barely audible.

  “Hey,” Anna said. “You’ve already made it right by caring.”

  “Right.” I smiled at the redhead. “You learned a valuable lesson today. Never underestimate an opponent.”

  “Yeah,” Bailey sighed. “I just thought I already knew that lesson.”

  “Bailey,” Tara said. “Nobody’s mad at you, and honestly I completely understand your way of thinking.”

  “You do?” Bailey asked, and she looked at the platinum blonde with surprise.

  “Well, sure,” Tara said with a shrug. “I think we all do.”

  “She’s right.” Paige nodded. “As women we’re taught to stick together for safety.”

  “Why do you think we go to the bathroom in pairs?” Anna asked dryly.

  “So we can talk about cute boys in the club and trade lipsticks,” Tara answered seriously.

  “No,” Paige laughed, and the other girls joined in.

  “That’s why I do it,” Tara snickered.

  “That’s a perk,” Paige chuckled. “But it’s not the main reason.”

  “It’s for safety,” Anna said, and she looked at Bailey with a soft expression. “We try to help each other out and protect each other. Because it’s a cruel world.”

  “And it’s only gotten crueler,” I added gently. “But that doesn’t mean you have to.”

  “Right!” Paige exclaimed, then she turned excitedly to Bailey. “You did the right thing for the situation, we had no reason to attack those women then.”

  “Yeah,” Bailey said. “I just wish I would’ve done it differently.”

  “We all wish that about things,” I said. “But it’ll be alright, we won’t let anyone else take advantage of Briar, or any other member of our tribe.”

  “Right?” Anna asked with a grin at the blonde hippie.

  “Right.” Bailey smiled back at her. “But if I see those assholes again, I’m sniping their asses.”

  “I would expect nothing less,” I chuckled, then I turned around and headed back toward home.

  I was glad Bailey was feeling better, she really didn’t have any reason to blame herself, but I could understand why she might. I was still livid about the situation, but Briar was going to live and I’d make sure nothing else happened to the old man. He wasn’t always the easiest man to get along with, but I admired him and his resolve for what he cared about. He was a member of our tribe, grumpiness and all, and he would be protected.

  We arrived back at campus, and I saw Rolly standing on the roof waving to us, and Winchester barked happily when he saw us get out of the truck.

  “Hey, old timer,” I called up. “How did things go while we were gone?”

  “Not too bad,” he hollered. “Saw a group of people walk by earlier.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “We ran into them.”

  “Must’ve gone well if they walked by here,” the old man chuckled.

  “Not exactly,” Anna said.

  “Uh-oh,” Rolly said. “I’m guessing there’s a story coming.”

  “Give us a minute, and we’ll be up,” I called out.

  The girls and I offloaded the truck quickly, piling the boxes of canned goods into the gym with our other supplies, then I gathered some saltine crackers, smoked fish, and hot sauce, and we all headed up to the roof.

  “When did we get hot sauce?” Tara asked.

  “We’ve had it for a while,” Paige answered.

  “How do you know?” the platinum blonde asked.

  “I keep track of our supplies,” the brunette said with a shrug.

  “Nobody told me about the damn hot sauce,” Tara muttered, and I chuckled at her outrage.

  “It was one of my comfort items,” I said as we reached the roof door.

  “I didn’t know you liked spicy food,” the platinum blonde said with surprise.

  “Oh yes,” I said and I opened the door to the roof. “But not everybody does.”

  “They should,” the platinum blonde said, and she flashed me a toothy smile as she walked past me onto the roof.

  “Hey, buddy,” Bailey said, and she reached down to pet Winchester who had ran over to greet her. “Good boy.”

  “Is that lunch?” Rolly asked.

  “Yeah,” I said. “Hungry?”

  “Definitely,” the old man said with a nod. “I should’ve brought a snack up here with me.”

  “We can put a box up here for people on duty,” Paige suggested.

  “Good idea.” I smiled at the brunette, then I laid out the fish, crackers, and hot sauce.

  “Just like how I used to eat oysters,” Rolly said when he saw the spread.

  “I’ve never had this,” Paige said, “but it looks good.”

  We all ate a few fish and crackers drizzled with hot sauce, then Rolly broke our silence.

  “So what happened today?” the old man asked.

  “That group you saw was a bunch of women, and they attacked Briar,” Anna said, and Rolly’s jaw dropped.

  “What for?” he asked with concern. “Is he okay?”

  “He’ll be fine,” Paige said with a nod. “Took a good beating though.”

  “They stole a decent bit of his supplies,” I told him.

  “World has gone to hell,” the old man said, and he shook his head.

  “Yeah,” I agreed, and I took another bite of lunch.

  “Did you get them?” he asked. “I saw you speed by earlier, at least I thought that was you.”

  “It was.” I nodded, and I swallowed my food. “But we didn’t find them.”

  “That’s alright,” Rolly said with a nod.

  “What do you mean?” Tara asked. “It’s, like, super fucked up.”

  “Yeah.” The old man grinned. “But karma is one hell of a vengeful bitch, and if she doesn’t get her chance, someone else will.”

  “Probably true,” Anna said. “They went after Briar because he was old, I’m sure, but eventually they’ll make an enemy that won’t be so easily taken out.”

  “They already have,” I said.

  “Fuck yeah, they have,” Tara said.

  “The good news is that Briar decided to come up here for the winter,” Paige said.

  “A blessing in disguise, then.” Rolly grinned.

  “That’s a good disguise,” Bailey said, and we all laughed.

  “It is,” the old man said. “But after all this shit happened, and we got held by those bikers, that’s when Tav showed up.”

  “That’s true,” Bailey said. “If none of that bad stuff happened we wouldn’t have Tav.”

  “That’s right,” Rolly said with a nod. “You gotta take the bad with the good.”

  “And we wouldn’t have Winchester if those Guard guys hadn’t come around,” the blonde said, and she petted the black headed dog at her feet.

  “Things have a way of working themselves out,” Rolly said. “But you gotta work for them too.”

  “Yeah,” the blonde said. “I’ll work my butt off if it means we get to keep our family safe.”

  “That’s all I ask.” I smiled at the blonde hippie, and I watched her gently stroke Winchester’s coat. The girls and I had done our best to cheer her up earlier, but it seemed what
we really needed was our team mascot. I looked over to Rolly and saw him smiling at the blonde girl as well, I knew he didn’t have children, but I thought that if he had, he would have wanted one like Bailey.

  As rough as days like this were, they brought my tribe closer together and reminded me of what I was fighting for.

  I looked around at the faces stuffed with crackers and fish. This, this is what I was protecting.

  Chapter 5

  The next morning I woke in a sweat, but I couldn’t recall the dream that had brought it on. I looked around me at the sleeping faces of the girls and focused on them while I calmed my breathing.

  Anna and Paige slept forehead to forehead, and Tara’s arm was slung across my lap. I gently lifted the platinum blonde’s hand and laid it next to her, then I stood up quietly, got dressed, and headed up to the roof where Bailey was on watch.

  “Hey.” I smiled at the blonde as I made my way onto the roof, then I looked to her feet and noticed Winchester. “Has he been up here with you the whole time?”

  “Yeah,” Bailey said. “He didn’t want to stay in the room when Anna woke me up to take over, so we’ve just been hanging out.”

  “You’re his favorite,” I said, and then I whispered, “don’t tell the others.”

  “I’m sure they already know,” the blonde chuckled.

  I stretched and looked out to the barely lit horizon, the morning air was crisp but tolerable in temperature, or maybe I was still warm from my dream earlier.

  “Do you want to sit?” Bailey asked.

  “Yeah.” I smiled, and the blonde stood up so I could have her seat, then I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her onto my lap.

  “It’s nice up here,” the blonde sighed, and she leaned back against me.

  “You know,” I mused. “All of you girls that I’ve come sat with in the morning have said that.”

  “Well, in a house full of girls a bit of quiet time is nice,” the blonde laughed.

  “I suppose you’re right,” I chuckled. “I can leave if you’d like some space.”

  “No.” Bailey smiled and shook her head. “I want you to stay.”

  “Good,” I said. “Because I didn’t want to go.”

  “Winchester and I are happy to have you,” she said with a grin back at me, and I leaned down to put my mouth on hers.

  Bailey kissed me deeply and sighed into my mouth while she wrapped her hands around my neck.

  “How about we go turkey hunting today?” I asked.

  “That sounds great,” my blonde girl said.

  “How was watch last night?” I asked. “Did you see anything in the woods?”

  “No.” Bailey shook her head. “But Winchester growled at one point, only for a second, and I thought I heard something, but I figured it was probably a bird or a different animal.”

  “Hmm,” I said with a nod. “It could’ve been, but I’m glad that you told me. No detail is small enough to be left out.”

  Just then Winchester barked, and Bailey and I both shot up and followed him to the edge of the building. I was ready to see anything, and I pulled my pistol from my hip, but it turned out to just be Rolly.

  “Don’t shoot,” the old man joked, and he held up his hands in mock surrender.

  “Sorry, Rolly,” Bailey chuckled, and she set her rifle against the side of the roof. “Winchester barked, and we got spooked.”

  “I’m gonna make some coffee,” Rolly called up. “I’ll bring it up once it’s done.”

  “Thank you!” Bailey said down at the old man.

  “Are the girls awake?” I asked.

  “Not yet,” Rolly said. “But they were stirring when I walked by.”

  “Okay,” I chuckled.

  “Want me to wake them?” he asked.

  “No,” I said. “Let’s let them sleep a while longer. You need help with the coffee?”

  “I got it,” he laughed. “I’m not supposed to let you make it, remember?”

  “Oh yeah.” I rolled my eyes. “Tara has you under her thumb now, eh?”

  “If it keeps me in stews and biscuits, absolutely,” the old man laughed.

  I waved to Rolly and took my position back on the chair with Bailey on my lap, she was warm against me, and her hair smelled earthy in the best way, almost tangy like an acidic top soil.

  “Are you smelling my hair?” the blonde asked with a raised brow.

  “You smell good,” I said with a shrug.

  Just then I heard talking coming from behind the door to the roof, and I turned to Bailey.

  “Looks like our alone time is over,” she sighed.

  “Don’t worry,” I chuckled. “We’ll get more.”

  “I hope so,” the blonde said, and she bit her lip.

  “Hey,” Tara said as she came through the doorway.

  “Good morning,” I said. “What has you in such a good mood?”

  “A full night’s sleep,” the platinum blonde said, and she bounced over to me and plopped down on my other leg.

  “We’ve been left in the dust,” Anna said to Paige.

  “I don’t mind,” the brunette chuckled.

  “I’d love to say there’s always room on my lap,” I laughed. “But it is a bit full at the moment.”

  “Where’s Rolly?” Anna asked, and she looked around. “I saw him get up, and I figured he’d come up here.”

  “He’s making coffee,” Bailey said, and she gestured to the side of the roof.

  “Oh, thank God,” Tara moaned, and she leaned back against my shoulder. “I could use a cup.”

  “I thought you got a full night’s sleep,” I said with a wry smile.

  “Yeah,” the platinum blonde said. “But I always want coffee.”

  “It should be ready soon,” I said.

  “It’s ready now,” Rolly said, and he came through the door with cups under one arm and a pot of coffee in the other hand.

  “Let me help,” Paige said, and she rushed toward the old man.

  “It’s alright,” he said, and the girls and I stood up to offer him our seat.

  “We should put some more chairs up here,” Paige commented.

  “Yeah,” Tara said. “We all come up here every morning anyways.”

  “True,” I said. “But I don’t want anyone to get lazy on duty.”

  “That’s fair,” Anna said, and she pursed her lips. “What about folding chairs, and we’ll keep them by the door?”

  “That could work.” I nodded.

  “You don’t really expect us to get lazy on you, do you?” Paige smirked.

  “No,” I laughed. “But we aren’t the only ones who stand guard anymore.”

  “True,” the brunette said. “But the others might like some company from time to time as well.”

  “Alright,” I said. “We’ll put some folding chairs up here so everybody doesn’t have to sit on the floor.”

  “Great,” Tara said. “I’ll go get some.”

  “I’ll help,” Anna said. “We should make some breakfast too.”

  “Good idea,” the platinum blonde said, and she took a sip of her coffee.

  The girls headed downstairs so only Rolly, Paige, Bailey, and I were left. And Winchester, of course.

  “So what’s on our agenda for today?” Paige asked, and she held her coffee in both hands to warm them.

  “Well,” I said, and I thought for a moment. “We have some work to do around here this morning, then in the afternoon we need to help Betty and the others herd the animals.”

  “Okay,” the brunette said with a nod. “As long as I don’t have to ride a horse.”

  “I’m sure Bailey and Tara will volunteer for that position,” I chuckled.

  “You can keep Winchester by you.” Bailey smiled at the brunette. “I’m sure he’ll be helpful.”

  “Yeah.” Paige smiled, and she reached over to pet the black headed dog’s ears. “He’s a good boy.”

  “What’re we working on here today?” Rolly asked.


  “Well, I asked Bailey if she would like to do some turkey hunting,” I said.

  “Oh neat,” Paige said. “Can I come too?”

  “Of course,” I said. “Anybody who wants to go is welcome, but we will need someone to stay and stand guard.”

  “I’ll do it,” Rolly said. “I’ve done enough turkey hunting in my day, let the girls have some fun.”

  “You used to turkey hunt?” I asked the old man.

  “Oh, sure,” he said with a wave of his hand. “The boys and I would go out every year and try to get a few, though it was mostly just for the company and the booze.”

  “Sounds like a good hunting trip,” I chuckled.

  “Oh, they were.” He smiled, and he looked off in the distance like he was remembering days gone by.

  “We also need to move our meat freezer to the basement,” I said.

  “Why?” Paige asked. “Won’t it work better once it snows?”

  “Yeah,” Bailey added. “It’s like a giant ice box.”

  “Possibly,” I said. “But it also increases our risk of freezer burn on the meat and other animals raiding it. We actually should have built it in the basement at the start.”

  “Once it snows we can always grab some and throw it in there,” Rolly said.

  “Okay,” the brunette said. “That doesn’t seem like a big job.”

  “It won’t be,” I assured her.

  “A little help here,” Anna called out, and she banged on the door.

  I rushed over to open the door for her, but she pushed past me before I could help her with the chairs.

  “Voila,” she said, and she gestured to the fold out chairs she had dropped on the floor.

  “Um, thank you?” Paige chuckled.

  “Damn right,” Anna laughed. “That was a hell of a climb up the stairs.”

  “Where’s Tara?” I asked. “She was supposed to help you.”

  “She’s making breakfast,” the redhead said with a shrug, and she unfolded a chair and sat down.

  “We’re going turkey hunting today.” Bailey smiled after we all took a seat. “Would you like to come?”

  “Sounds fun,” Anna said. “Are we helping herd cows this afternoon?”

  “Yeah,” I said. “We’ll do Betty’s family today, and the Miller’s tomorrow.”