by S G Read
‘If you have enough?’
‘I would hardly offer if we didn’t. Ask your friend if he wants some.’
Jericho walked back out and he and Jason talked for a few seconds before they both came back inside.
‘Sit you down and I’ll be mum.’
They watched him make the tea with a kettle which sat hissing on the range then he sat with them.
‘We have food for now.’ The man continued, when he was sitting.
‘So have we.’ Jericho answered. ‘We also aim to have it in the future, when the resources left before the attack have been used up.’
‘It was an attack then?’ The man replied. ‘It did seem a bit odd that everyone nearby got sick and died and then no one came to see if we were all right.’
‘Are you troubled with wild dogs?’ Jason asked, seeing the boy standing inside the back door.
‘They are a pain. I kill all I can but there does seem to be a lot of them.’
‘We are fencing in a large area for the animals so that we will have freedom to walk without worrying about dogs while we are inside. We have killed a lot of them but there still seems a lot about.’ Jason replied.
‘Since his mother left us we have been fighting to keep things together, hoping that she will come back. Just lately I have been thinking that she was taken by dogs but we never saw sign of her or the shotgun she carried.’
‘Dogs don’t usually have a need for a shotgun,’ Jericho pointed out, ‘but there is a group who do take women for their own pleasure and they would have taken the gun.’
The man jumped up and picked up his shotgun. ‘Where can I find these men?’
‘If you come with us, you will get to shoot a few of them while your son is safe at the settlement.’ Jason replied.
‘What do you reckon?’ The man asked, without turning round and not looking at anybody.
‘Sounds like we ought to get to know these fellers.’ Another man’s voice answered.
He walked down the stairs. ‘I am Jake Salter, this is my brother Jeremy. There are ten of us altogether, used to be eleven while his wife was about.’
‘Ten!’ Jericho echoed. ‘Do you have transport?’
‘No. We did have but when the fuel ran out we took the horses from the stud farm. We could get a horsebox from there to travel in.’
‘We have a people carrier which you might squeeze into.’ Jason replied, pointing out the door.
‘We’d need a couple of boxes for our horses.’ Jake replied.
‘I’ll go and get a horse box but one of you will have to come to if you need two.’ Jericho retorted.
‘I’ll go.’ Jeremy replied. ‘Wait here Dan with Uncle Jake.’
He walked out followed by Jericho. Seconds later they rode away on Jericho’s bike. He rode to the stud farm. They both took a horse box and drove back to the other farm. When they arrived back there the people Jericho had not seen were all present, including four children.
‘Can you wait while we get the horses loaded?’ Jake asked.
‘I’ll get Jason to take me over to the stud farm and then I’ll go and find you a vehicle.’ Jericho answered.
‘Robin, you go with Jericho and Jason. It would make it easier if he went with you Jericho and brought the car back here, save you leaving the bike at the mercy of anyone who is into Harleys!’ Jake replied.
‘Robin Cole.’ The man said and held out his hand.
‘Jericho.’ Jericho answered. ‘Come on we need wheels for you lot!’
Jason was soon back but it took Jericho another half hour before he returned.
‘Did you have to make it?’ Jason asked when they finally came back.
‘Needed something big enough.’ Jericho answered and pointed to the mini bus Robin drove into the yard.
They drove back to the other farm where the others were still trying to catch the rooster; it had nearly been shot several times!
‘Help them out Jim.’ Jake said as they watched the others trying to catch the rooster.
The men chasing it heard and stopped to see how Jim fared. It was all over in seconds and the rooster was hanging by its back feet. To Jason’s dismay the seats were lowered in the back of the people carrier and they started to load it with hay.
‘James will have a fit!’ He cried.
‘Worse is to come.’ Ray replied.
‘Not the rooster!’ Jason complained.
‘Nowhere else for it.’ Ray answered.
They loaded the vehicles and they started off in a procession.
James was on watch by the video screens when the screens went blank. He walked out of the room to find it dark.
‘The power has gone.’ He called.
‘Do tell.’ Clem replied as she walked out of the television room with a torch.
Ralph went out to check the generator. They all waited for the power to come back on but it did not. Ralph walked back in.
‘Whose job was it to check the diesel?’ He asked.
They all turned to look at James.
‘That would be me then.’ James answered.
‘Well, as Ray and his lot aren’t back yet but they have let us know they are on the way, it will be up to you to wait out by the wooden gates in case they come before we have moved some diesel from the boiler tank to the generator tank!’
James head dropped. ‘Okay. Can I take your car Clem as they have mine?’
‘Sure.’ Clem answered. ‘Do you want any company?’
‘Okay.’ James replied.
James took a torch himself and they walked out to the car. They used a small generator to power the gates so they could open and close them, the two drove through and watched them close before they drove up to the wooden gates. They both had screw drivers so that they could undo the screws holding the wire and refit them quickly. James parked facing the gates to wait for the others to return. Being together with nothing to do, one thing led to another and they started to kiss. At first tentatively, then passionately until Clem lowered the passenger seat as far as it would go. James slid over on top of Clem who did not resist. For James it was his first time and it was all new to him but he felt pleasure at every step. They were engrossed until lights from a car coming down the road outside the gate forced James into a speedy withdrawal. They straightened their clothing as the car approached. They had their guns in their hands ready but hoped it was Ray and his group returning. They watched from inside the car with the headlights on until Ray climbed out and gave the signal. James flashed the lights then hurried out and climbed up the ladder. Clem started on the lower screws. The wire was finally hauled back by them and the car went by followed by mini bus, three horse boxes and an animal transport lorry. At the back was Jericho on the Harley. He waved as he drove by.
James and Clem watched in disbelief as the procession went by, looked at each other then started to seal up the fence again.
The procession stopped short of the gate to park the horse box with the bull in it. It had not been troubled by dogs where it was so it would hardly be bothered by any which were still inside the wire. They parked it, opened the rear gate and drove into the now open gates at the front of the house.
Clem and James worked together by the light of the cars headlights and the torches they had with them, Clem at the bottom and James up the ladder. When James had nearly finished Clem joined him up the ladder.
‘I’ve nearly done you can wait down the bottom for me.’ James said as he lined up the last screw.
‘No: I can’t.’ Clem answered causing James to look at her.
She pointed down below where there was a ferocious looking bull standing at the bottom of the ladder.
‘It’s only a bull.’ James declared and continued with the last screw.
‘Only a bull!’ Clem echoed but with slightly more aggression. ‘You can go down first then!’
‘No problem.’ James replied, finished the last screw then slowly descended to the floor where the bull stood. ‘Hello big feller,
where did they find you? I probably have an apple in the car; I bet you could eat an apple.’ He walked passed the bull after petting it and headed for the car. The bull followed. James searched and found an apple to give to the bull. ‘Come on you scared-e-cat!’ James called up to Clem who had not moved. ‘Come and say hello.’
‘Aren’t they supposed to charge you and gore you to death?’ Clem asked.
‘Not when they are this close!’ James answered. ‘This close the worst you can expect is a hoof on your foot and that hurts.’
Clem ventured down the ladder and walked gingerly over to where James and the bull stood. James rummaged in the car for another apple.
‘Give him this, he looks hungry. He’ll be you friend for life.’ James exclaimed and gave her the apple avoiding the bulls’ attempts to get it as he passed it to her.
As soon as she had the apple, she became the bulls’ best friend.
‘Do I make it sit?’ Clem asked.
‘No Clem that is a dog, this is a bull! Just give him the apple.’
She gave him the apple and petted him as he ate it. ‘He is like a big dog though isn’t he?’
‘Say that tomorrow when he sees that it is you and comes running over for another apple!’ James replied. ‘Come on let’s go and meet the newcomers.’
‘They must be farmers.’ Clem answered sagely.
He sat in the car with the bull next to it and started it as gently as he could. No revving the engine, he just started it and let it tick over. Then he reversed away from the bull which looked after them as they reversed away. When James was far enough away he turned it round and drove back towards the house. As he approached the gates the lights in the house came on. The gates opened after he signalled and they drove inside. The gates closed and another day ended.
The television room now only contained children with the new children in there as well. The smaller children were already in bed. James and Clem walked down to the other room which is where the rest might be, the large dining room, which up to now had been too large. Everyone was in there, eating. Donna had cooked by candlelight! The gas hob and the range had paid dividends. There was a place set out for them and they sat down.
‘This is Jake Salter and his brother Jeremy. The young lady who is finding hard to get near the table is Felicity Wilding, she is a teacher.’ Ray said introducing the three. ‘There are seven more children in the house now and soon to be eight more. Two are Jakes, three are Jeremy’s and two are orphans of the plague! When is the little one due Felicity?’
‘One month.’ Felicity answered. Accepting the potatoes when she could not reached them. ‘His father died in the plague. I know it is odd to call it a him or a her, but my husband so wanted a little boy, I hope it is a boy!’
‘Felicity has kindly consented to start up a school here for all the children and that includes you two. You will still have work to do and I will not stop you coming when we go after the clan but in between times, I expect you to do your school work. An education helps. When you choose what you want to do in life, I hope we have someone here who can teach you.’
‘We don’t have to learn with the little children, do we?’ Clem asked.
‘No, you will have your time with the teacher, and then you must learn to do what you have to and get an education with her guidance.’
‘What about the baby?’ James asked.
‘That will be the first holiday and every year after you will have a holiday on the same day from school until you graduate.’ Ray answered.
‘We have to graduate?’ Clem retorted.
‘Oh yes. You are not going to go through the motions and then go out and loaf about. This country will need bright new workers who can do things, not just petrol pump attendants!’ Ray declared. ‘First we need to talk about room. We have ten new guests one of whom needs a lot of room and preferably an ensuite bathroom. You both have your own rooms so are either of you willing to move to a smaller room?’
The two youngsters looked at each other.
‘We don’t even mind sharing a smaller room!’ Clem declared. ‘Not if is for the good of the group!’
‘How do you feel about that James?’ Ray continued.
‘It depends what room it is and for how long.’ James answered.
‘The study is the room I am thinking about and you will stay in it until we have swept the ground for dogs so that it is safe to use the other two houses.’
‘Oh; okay. We’ll suffer it for now.’ He answered.
A casual glance between them did not disclose anything about their reason for being all for it really.
With morning came a new urgency. James was up early to open the fence again and Jericho left soon after in the people carrier. Barry went with him, in case there was any trouble and to help load the missiles. Jake and Jeremy went out at the same time in the minibus to find a farm. They planned to get ploughing as soon as they could to get the ground ready for a late crop. Ray and Tosh went off to find a new oil tank for the second house, more oil for the generator tank and some means of moving oil from one tank to another. The rest fanned out across the fenced area and swept the area for dogs to make sure it was safe. Despite not seeing any dogs while they were working, they found and killed eleven dogs inside the fenced area. The fence was checked for signs of entry but there were none so the area was declared safe. The next job was to bury the man and woman who were still in bed in the first house. The bed was burnt, as no one wanted to sleep in it after they had lain there and decayed. With the house ready for its new inhabitants Jacob and his crew went off in the van to secure more furniture and more beds. In fact, if they saw anything useful, they took it from anywhere which they considered would definitely be outside the area they were fencing, when it was fully fenced. Otherwise they would have to go round and find things to put back in those houses when they were needed.
Ralphy had talks with the Welsh settlement and he could now talk with the A303 settlement although it was called the moving settlement over the radio just in case they broke their code. Clem collected eggs and with a new rooster roaming about the chicken coup she let the latest eggs be used. The first fresh food they had for a long time.
Jake and Jeremy came back with the tractor and by that time Jethro had one of the wooden gates open. He was fitting a metal worm gear to it so that it could be opened electrically. The motor was fitted to a thick wooden beam with a hole in it. The metal worm ran through the hole but was made in a semicircular shape to open the door as it moved. To do it they had anchored the tower with ropes to take the weight although the three days would soon be up. As he said ‘there was no reason to hurry it’.
The two farm men brought back electric fence wire and the boxes which made them work so that the sheep and the horses could be taken out of the compound. The cow had to stay in with it’s calf until the bull had a well fenced field to keep it away from the cow. until such times as the cow was ready for it!
The furniture arrived and they cleaned the house from top to bottom, ready for the new tenants. The second house needed the new oil tank and some oil before it could be used. Will spent the day digging yet another trench, this time across to the other two house so that they could shared the power from their generator.
Ray came back with a lorry with an oil tank on it. This was used to store oil from customer’s tank while a leaky tank was changed. They had already dropped another oil tank at the second house by the time they reached the compound gates but it still needed oil. They were keeping the oil they had pumped out of another oil tank for the generator.
Jericho was very late back with Barry after collecting his missiles. Now they could fight back against most things.
That night the new house remained empty and James was still sharing with Clem but neither minded. James was learning a new meaning for re-entry.
The farmers were up early in the morning, it was a force of habit but the children had a welcome lay in. James was down early and Ray chose his exit from the
room he was sharing with Clem, as a good time for a chat with her. He tapped on the door.
‘Who is it?’ Clem asked.
‘Ray.’
‘Come in Ray.’
He stepped inside and closed the door to see Clem dressing.
‘It’s nothing you haven’t seen before.’ Clem said when he averted his gaze.
‘I need a talk with you Clem.’
‘Talk away, I’m listening.’
‘It is possible that while you are sharing with James that you might be tempted to indulge in friendly acts which give you pleasure.’ He said carefully.
‘And?’ Clem asked, no longer dressing but standing there in her underclothes, facing him.
‘Well if you do this type of act, one outcome might be that you becoming pregnant, ie having a baby.’
‘I do know what pregnant means.’ Clem retorted.
‘I thought I would just say that it is your body and if you want to have children by James, or even you don’t really mind if it happens, then that is your choice. On the other hand, if you were to fall pregnant before we go up and sort out the clan; as much as I think you are a good fighter and worth your place, I would have to leave you behind.’
Clem said nothing and did not move for a while.
‘How likely is it that I could become pregnant?’ She asked, looking into the mirror at her shapely body.
‘Once without protection can do it. My wife Miriam took some time to fall pregnant and then this lot came along and I lost her and the baby.’ He pulled out a packet. ‘These are condoms; they fit on your partner’s private part and make sure there is no swapping of bodily fluids.’
‘So when I did it with the digger man, even though I was only fourteen I could have had a baby?’ She asked, horrified.
‘Yes.’
‘My dad would have killed me!’
‘The youngest girl to give birth to a healthy baby was five.’
‘Five: Surely it would have killed her as it came out.’
‘It probably would, so they performed a caesarean section. Which means they cut her open and lifted it out!’