Their conversations did not progress and Ron’s position hardened. He began to stay overnight at the office more frequently. Anne missed him and tried to make Ron’s time at home as pleasant as possible, working hard to reinforce what had attracted them to their experiment in country living, but it became increasingly clear that Ron was not happy. He grew distant. A coldness settled into their marriage, which Anne and the girls could not thaw.
The dying of their relationship was a process, not an event. Ron became more distant and removed, even from the girls. The end was finally marked when he called her from work and said he was accepting a promotion that required him to relocate to the company’s Indianapolis office. With that announcement came the statement that he was in love with another woman and was planning to seek a divorce. There was no discussion or consultation with the family. Over the phone he agreed to send a monthly check to support them. Anne worked in the local school system, but her salary was not enough to sustain the family. Ron acted as though his offer was a gallant gesture. Anne, in her shock, could not respond.
She had clung to the slim hope that Ron would come to his senses. That the woman would not prove to be of good character and he would realize how rich he was with his family, but nothing had happened before the EMP attack. After that it was too late.
When the power went out, she had not thought much about it. That happened often in the country. Only this time it did not come back. Days went by and there was no way of getting any information. The car didn’t work, so she could not go to town. After a week, she and the girls visited their neighbors to the south, but they were also in the dark. The school bus stopped coming through the valley when the power went out, and with the car not working, there was no way to get the girls to the regional school located near Clifton Furnace, the nearest small town. Anne and the girls hiked into the town, a picturesque place now catering to drive-through tourists, looking for country-store experiences. In town she heard that the power seemed to be out all over the state, but people didn’t know what had actually happened. The school was closed and no vehicles worked except some older ones. Anne purchased what food she could with the cash she had, no credit cards were being accepted, and walked back to the farm with the girls.
The weeks passed. Their neighbors to the south of them packed up and headed into Clifton Furnace; from there they were going to try to get to Hillsboro, nearly a day’s drive away. Anne talked about the move with them, but her instinct was to stay. Caution overrode any desire to relocate. Since the power stayed out, Anne guessed it might not be better anywhere else. The departing family gave Anne the excess food they couldn’t pack; mostly dried and canned goods. She and the girls then hunkered down to ride out the situation at home, hoping the power would come back soon.
Now, nearly a year later easy access to food had run out. Anne and the girls had hiked north to the other farms in the valley. They were struggling like her, but they were all determined to remain rather than relocate to a town. Anne was able to collect some additional food from another neighbor who decided to leave the valley, which helped, but by now they had run out of most of their resources. Anne had almost reached the point of giving up and going to town to beg for help when this stranger showed up and brought them food to eat. But what did he want?
“I could be helpful; I’m a good hunter and I can fix things.” Jason broke into her reverie.
Anne’s attention shifted back to the moment. His tone sounded a little desperate. So, he wants to stay here…with us. Her mind froze at the thought. She needed help, but it seemed reckless, dangerous to accept help from a stranger. There had been no violence in the valley, but how could she invite a complete stranger into her household? She understood that she and the girls were not doing well and she saw no relief on the horizon. Help was needed; but from a stranger?
Anne’s options were limited. Reject this offer and the family would have to make the trek to Clifton Forge or even Hillsboro to find help. She suppressed a shudder at the thought of bringing her daughters into such an uncertain situation. Or she could accept this offer and open her family to some possible danger from this stranger. He seemed polite and well mannered, but still, she knew nothing about him.
Anne made Jason recite his story again, looking for clues to evaluate him. Was his story consistent? If it wasn’t, then she could assume it was a fabrication. If it was consistent, what did it tell her about this man’s character? She needed time to consider her position and alternatives. This morning she had resigned herself to becoming a refugee. Now there was the possibility of remaining here in the valley until the power came back on. But with that option came the acceptance of a stranger into the lives of her and her daughters. As Jason recounted his tale, Anne listened and pondered her choice. It was in her nature to be direct. She did not like subtle gamesmanship, so after Jason finished, she went right to the heart of her concern.
“I’m sure you can help…” she paused, looking straight at him with piercing eyes, “but what do you want?” Her question hung in the air between them and now that she voiced the question, she was suddenly afraid of the answer she might get.
Chapter 5
Jason stared straight back at her, stopped still by her question. His mind raced. What do I want? Why is it so important to connect with this woman and her children? Why don’t I just move on? The memory of the warmth he felt with Sam and Judy came rushing back to him. This family needed someone to help them. Is that what he wanted? To be that someone?
The woman waited as Jason pondered his response. He wasn’t sure what he should say and the very thing that came to him sounded so odd, he was not sure he should say it.
“Well?”
The answer welled up in Jason, a powerful emotion, a need he had long suppressed. He blurted out, “a family…to not live alone.” A great choking sound came up from his throat as he suppressed a sob. “I’m sorry, that must sound weird.”
“It’s okay.” She studied him for some time as Jason struggled to get his emotions under control.
He looked at her, wondering how his answer had been received. Her face gave no indication. Did I go too far?
“My name is Anne,” she said finally.
“Hi, I’m Jason. I’m a good hunter—”
“You already told me that, and I think you have proven your claim.”
“Well, I can fix things.” Plowing on gamely, he continued, “I can fix the broken window on the house. And your porch needs its support replaced. I can fix that as well. I notice that you get water from this pump in the yard. If there’s an indoor pump, perhaps I can get that to work. It would be nice not to have to go outside in bad weather.” He went on, expanding his sales pitch, “I also have a complete field guide to edible plants found in the mountains. I’ve been eating them for months and I’m still alive, so the guide must be pretty reliable.” She smiled.
“On a serious note,” he was taking a risk, but this could be the closing argument, “there are some very bad people out there. I’ve run into them already. I can protect you and your girls if they ever come into this valley. I hope they never do, but if it happens, I will defend you and your family with all my ability.”
Her smile faded and she looked serious again—not mad, but serious. “These are hard times…difficult and strange. I don’t think I could have ever imagined such a situation as I find myself and my girls in. I wonder at times if life will ever go back to normal. I wish it, but it hasn’t happened yet. Being isolated up here in this valley we don’t know what has become of the rest of the state, let alone the rest of the country.”
Anne’s eyes wandered as she spoke, as if lost in her own words. Jason sat very still…was she talking herself into a ‘yes’?
Anne continued, “I have been expecting the power to come on for almost a year, but…nothing. Now you come along offering to help and telling me how it may never come back. And on top of that you seem to think society is breaking down.” She shuddered visibly. “You’ve acte
d respectful, even if a bit odd…” She paused. Jason sensed she was making a decision. Would she take the risk and accept the help he offered?
“You can stay.” Her voice was firm, her decision made. “Here are the rules. You stay in the barn at night. The house will be locked. You can eat with us, but you sleep in the barn. I am not part of the deal and when my husband comes back, you will have to leave. And you must leave my girls alone. If you make a pass at one of them, I will shoot you without a word of warning.”
Jason let out an almost audible sigh, “Thank you,” he said with relief in his voice. “Thank you. I’ll be a good helper. We’ll make a good team and I won’t cross the boundaries you set.”
“See that you don’t and I do not think we need to talk about a team.” She paused. “I won’t guarantee how long you can stay. Time will tell how this arrangement works out.” Another pause, “I guess you should meet the girls.” She turned and called out to the house, telling them to come out.
The girls stepped out and walked up to their mother, who stood up. “This is Catherine, my oldest daughter,” she said touching the taller of the two. “And this is Sarah.”
Jason remained sitting and nodded to each girl, saying how glad he was to make their acquaintance, trying to be polite but not ridiculous. Catherine was about 16 or 17 Jason guessed and already taller than her mother. She looked a lot like her mother, but darker in hair and complexion and with the advantage of natural youthful beauty. She had dark, penetrating eyes that bored into you with a direct look. Sarah was shorter. She had a lighter complexion than her mother or Catherine with hair more blond than brown. Her face was more rounded than Catherine’s. There was a sparkle and lightness about her that was distinct from her older sister’s more serious countenance. Jason could see that she was going to be a beauty.
Catherine gave Jason a long, studied look, much like her mother; measuring him in a critical way. She’s a cool one and won’t be won over easily by anyone.
Sarah also studied Jason but more the way a woman might if she were interested in him. It was a bit unnerving in light of her young age and Anne’s threat. On the whole, Sarah seemed more open and friendly than Catherine.
Got to be on my best behavior. His heart flooded with joy at the prospect of becoming, even temporarily, a part of this family.
Chapter 6
The four men hiking up the valley to the east had stopped when they heard Jason’s shots at the pond. The gunfire sounded far off and the bush was getting thicker. They didn’t hear any more shooting, but after some discussion they decided that it was not worth hacking their way through the dense cover only to find a hunter shooting at them. Instead, they retraced their path south. A few days later they came back to an old two track heading west onto the ridge. They decided to follow it. There was not much reason to go further south. That area was picked over and infested with dangerous gangs. They were looking for houses and farms to loot. Their problem was the pickings were slim. Pushed further out by the larger gangs, they were losing momentum in their bid for survival and getting more desperate and more dangerous. They struck out west towards the ridge. A few days later, they reached the pass.
Jason was a flurry of activity. There was so much he wanted to do it was hard to focus on where to start. He first set out to teach Anne and the girls what foods they could gather in the woods and fields. They used the edible plant guide and, after some study, they all went out on gathering trips. After a few outings, the girls continued foraging on their own with Jason’s admonishment to not eat anything until he had inspected it. The edges of the fields provided a rich assortment of plants. The black and raspberry bushes were abundant, promising much fruit as the summer deepened. There were some marshy areas in the lower creek and fields that yielded ramps and wild onions. Wood sorrel grew in abundance as did chickweed, so there was no shortage of salad greens.
As he had promised, Jason replaced the broken window with one from the barn and shored up the front porch roof with a post. Each night he retired to the barn, whose door he had repaired. The foraging lessons and the work on the repair projects eased Jason’s assimilation into the family structure. All of them working together, with Anne and the girls learning new things, energized them and they began to bond. It didn’t hurt Jason’s approval rating that they were eating better. Anne became less guarded as the days passed.
Jason asked Anne about the other residents of the valley. She told him about the four other inhabited farms, noting that, except for one family, there were no other children her girls’ ages. “I guess living here hasn’t been so good for them in some ways…since the power went out.” She paused, lost in her thoughts.
“The girls seem fine to me. They’re bright and learn quickly. But what do I know?”
Anne smiled. “Well you’re doing pretty well dealing with them…for a novice that is.”
“I grew up with an older brother…no girls in our family, so sometimes I’m at a loss about how to respond to Sarah or Catherine. It certainly is different.”
With Jason’s explanation of what had happened the girls began to understand their dad would not be coming home. They had held out hope that he would return someday. Now his departure seemed final. As mad as they were about his abandoning them, the finality of never seeing him again was sobering.
Catherine remained cool and distant, though polite. She was attentive, wanting to learn all Jason had to teach her. He could see that she respected what he knew and how he wanted to not only survive, but thrive in this new reality, but she kept her distance emotionally. Sarah, on the other hand, quickly warmed up to him. She still missed her dad, but delighted in having Jason around as a substitute father figure. As she grew more comfortable with him, she would flirt and tease him endlessly. Jason, not having spent much time around thirteen year old girls, was not sure how to react and retreated to maintaining a friendly distance from her attention. Often he would look to Anne for help when he didn’t quite know how to handle Sarah. His discomfort, obvious at times, seemed to delight Sarah all the more.
One evening after getting the kitchen pump working, Anne and Jason were sitting on the porch as the sun began its descent over the western ridge. The early evening sunlight lit up the trees on the eastern side of the valley in a flood of light. They watched the sun’s lighting shining on the mountain slope, sitting in silence, taking in the beauty of the evening.
Finally Anne asked, “What about your family?”
“My mother is retired and living in Florida. I don’t know what has become of her and can’t really find out. My brother is in California. He works in the computer industry. You could say we are a well spread out family. Now we’re totally out of touch with one another,” he paused for a moment. “Before we could all be connected…with phone and the internet. Now it seems like complete separation, living in different worlds—worlds I can’t reach. And with Maggie gone I’m pretty much alone. I can only hope that my mother and brother are fine…there’s really no way of knowing.” His voice trailed off, as he got lost in thoughts of them.
After some moments, Anne broke the silence, “So now you have an adopted family, it seems.”
Jason turned and smiled at her. “Yes…I guess I do.” Their eyes locked together for a moment; then Anne turned away, breaking the connection. Jason changed the subject. “Have you ever talked to the others about joining together, to pool resources or set up joint defense?”
“There was some talk, but we’re so isolated. We didn’t see any evidence of violence and didn’t expect any, certainly not from Clifton Furnace. So everyone decided that it would be an unnecessary, a waste of resources. We have a few weapons, mostly shotguns and hunting rifles.” She shifted in her chair to look directly at Jason, “These are independent people in this valley. We look after ourselves. Except for the three families who left to go to Clifton Furnace, the rest of us just want to stay here and wait things out.”
“It probably would have been a good idea to get more organ
ized.”
“Do you think that’s so important? It’s not people’s style in the valley.”
“It could be.” He went on, “I’m concerned about safety, about our defenses.”
“But is there a real danger to worry about?”
“This is a secluded valley, but I found it. And there are some evil people out there who have joined up into gangs. I’d hate to think of them coming here with us unprepared…I guess I worry a lot about that.”
“I know…Sam and Judy,” she said quietly. “Do you think that could happen to us?” She paused, then added, “How would we defend against such an attack?”
“There are a lot of burlap and plastic bags in the barn—”
“Old seed bags. They go back to the previous owners and Ron kept them as well. I’m not sure if he ever planned to do anything with them, but he didn’t want to throw them out.”
Jason paused for a moment to let Anne’s thoughts clear then continued, “Well, they’ll be very handy now. We need to set up some shooting positions in the house and protect them with sandbags. I’d like to fill them with sand from the creek bed and place them upstairs, not necessarily at the windows, which is where everyone would shoot, but at shooting holes I’ll make in the walls.”
“You want to cut holes in the walls?”
“I know. It’s not the typical handy man fix-up project.” He faked a deep voice, “Ma’am, I’m here to cut holes in your walls, it’s the latest in home remodeling.”
Anne gave a short laugh and smiled, “you’ll have a hard time selling me on that one. And please include how we’ll fare during the winter with holes in our walls, Mr. Handyman.”
“Seriously, Anne, we need to be able to shoot from the house at anyone trying to get to us. I can cover the holes from the inside when the cold weather comes. I’ll make sure you’re warm in the house.”
Jason worried he might be moving too fast; they were still figuring each other out. Or, as he thought, Anne was trying to figure him out. Jason already knew he was attracted to her but kept himself in check, giving her time to sort out their relationship.
After the Fall (Book 1): Jason's Tale Page 10