by Payne, T. L.
“Dustin, do those guys with Clark Nelson’s bunch all have matching tattoos?” Larry yelled.
“Yeah. Old man Nelson insists they get them—kinda like human branding. Does that one have the intertwined NLC with three lines under it?” Dustin asked as he stood.
“He does—same as the fellow by the road. Check those other two guys.”
Chapter 7
Phelps County Trade Fair
Rolla, Missouri
July 13th
Stephens was up before dawn itching to get on the road to the trade fair. Not that Maddie slept much when away from the farm, but she didn’t appreciate being awakened so early.
Stephens and her two companions rode in front of the wagon as they entered the Rolla city limits. The guards at the checkpoint didn’t question the outsiders, which concerned Maddie. Rolla of all places should have tighter security. But with so many people coming to trade at the market and no real way of checking their identities, Maddie supposed that was the best they could do. The streets of the once-busy college town were filled with horses, wagons, and bicycles—the only modes of transportation most had these days.
If you owned a horse, you were considered wealthy. Not many horses made it through the winter. And with food being scarce, all meat was used to survive. There was quite the line waiting to enter the old municipal airport where the Phelps County Trade Fair was located. The guard at the gate gave Maddie a sideways glance but let them through. After parking the wagon at the back of the parking lot and helping Larry set up their booth, Jacob and Maddie set off to do a little shopping while Harding, Aims, Stephens, and her men looked for any evidence of the men who had hijacked her gold shipment.
“You should get it,” Jacob whispered in Maddie’s ear. He was good like that. He knew she wouldn’t waste their trade goods on something so frivolous. Maddie smiled and placed the bottle of scented lotion back on the table. The toothless woman on the other side frowned. Maddie felt a pang of guilt. The woman likely hadn’t sold much of her wares. This one trade could be the difference between eating and going hungry for her. Not many had use for perfumes and lotions these days.
Maddie’s group kept a shopping list on the cork board by the back door. It was more of a wish list as most of the things on it were pretty scarce these days. Zach made sure items for the cabins were always at the top of the list. Personal hygiene items were in high demand. Maddie recalled Rank's request for razors. Despite now being married, she still felt a twinge of jealousy thinking of Rank with the women at Nelson’s bar.
Maddie glanced back at the old woman as she slid her hand into Jacob’s, and the two walked away from her booth. “I’m sorry,” Maddie whispered under her breath. She’d love to help the woman out, but Rank could buy his own razors.
The trade fair was more crowded than usual, but there seemed to be fewer vendors and much of the same goods offered. A lot of it useless stuff. Ammunition was the most sought after, but they hadn’t seen any in weeks.
“Have you seen any honey or jelly? I promised Mom I’d try to get some,” Maddie asked. “Fred’s been using up all the honey we’ve found making liquor.”
“I don’t know if they’re here today, but Amish John still had some jelly a week or so back,” Jacob replied.
Maddie turned in a circle in the aisle between the booths. As usual, there was a long line in front of Larry’s booth. Fred’s moonshine was almost as popular as ammunition. Dustin stood off to the side, his rifle at the low-ready. He scanned the crowd. Dustin eyed each customer. He had an uncanny way of being able to detect a concealed weapon. He had said it was just the way a person carried themselves when they were armed that he always noticed.
“How about fabric?” Jacob said, pulling her back to the task at hand. “If you can get a good deal. I know Mom would appreciate extra bathroom clothes.”
In the beginning, Maddie had hated the idea of the family cloth as a replacement for toilet paper, but like everything else in the apocalypse, she’d grown to appreciate it. It beat using leaves.
Jacob released Maddie’s hand and headed in the direction of the fabric vendor. Who knew scraps of old T-shirts would be so valuable one day?
“I’m going to look for saddles and horse tack,” Maddie said. “If we’re able to catch the Eminence herd, we’ll need extra bridles and things.”
Jacob hesitated a moment as if debating leaving her to her own devices. She shot him a look, and he turned and walked on. Jacob waved over his shoulder. “All right then. I’ll meet you back at our booth.”
Maddie was rummaging through a bin of horseshoes and bridles when raised voices caused the hair on the back of her neck to stand on end.
“Listen up, little man. You’re going to give me those boots.”
“Leave him alone,” a young female voice said.
Maddie slowly turned. She closed her eyes as she did. Her hands balled into fists. She vowed to herself not to get involved. Bullies pretty much ran the world now, and you had to pick your battles. It was just so damn hard for Maddie to do these days. She leaned against the makeshift wood table and crossed her arms—like that would somehow keep her from drawing her pistol and purging the world of one more worthless piece of shit mouth-breather.
“I’m going to have to have food, ammo, or medicine for those. I don’t need a non-stick frypan,” the weathered, frail-looking man said.
Maddie studied him. It was hard to judge age now. Most people looked weathered and frail after the lean winter. A thick, tattooed arm reached out and wrapped around the old man’s neck. Maddie stiffened. Her hand instinctively dropped to her hip.
The grizzled man in an ivory-colored Stetson cowboy hat stepped out from a display rack of horse tack. “Don’t, little lady,” the man said. “Not a good idea.”
Maddie nodded and moved her hand to her belt buckle instead. She could still access it quickly, should she choose to.
“Mister, you better let my papa go,” the short teenage girl warned. In her hands, she held a double-barreled shotgun.
Maddie took a step forward. Stetson stepped in front of her. “Okay, it’s too damn hot to be digging graves today. If you don’t have what the man is asking in trade, just move on.” Stetson said to the man.
With that, the bully let go of the little man and spun around to face Stetson. He pulled a large tactical knife from its sheath as he did. Maddie drew her pistol and aimed for his chest. Stetson placed his hand on hers and pushed barrel of the gun toward the ground.
“There’s no call for that.” Stetson raised both hands, palms out. “How about we go over to my wagon. We can have a drink and talk.”
The bully lowered the knife. “What do you got?”
“I’ll have a pint of Tugboat Fred’s if this little lady would make up her mind,” Stetson said, pointing to Maddie.
Maddie didn’t budge. The bully showed no concern about the pistol aimed at him. He’d misjudge her at his own peril.
“You got shine?” the bully asked, directing the question to Maddie.
She lifted her chin and narrowed her eyes. “Not for you.”
The little man and his granddaughter were hurriedly gathering up their goods and moving away. Perhaps they’d previously seen her in action at a trade fair, or maybe word had gotten around.
“Is there a problem here?” Dustin asked, stepping up beside her.
The only problem she saw was him sticking his nose where it didn’t belong.
“No problem,” the bully said, backing away.
That pissed Maddie off. He hadn’t batted an eye at her holding a gun on him, but Dustin walks up with his rifle slung over his back, and the man nearly pisses his pants.
“Do you have any spurs?” Dustin asked, turning to Stetson.
“I think I have a pair or two left. How many do you need?”
Maddie huffed and walked over to help the elderly man and his granddaughter with their goods.
“I’m sorry about that,” Maddie said, placing a pair of worn
-out running shoes on the wooden door they’d turned into a table.
The young girl reminded her of Krista. Krista had spunk. She was one tough twelve-year-old.
“Thanks for having our backs,” the girl said, pushing honey-colored strands of hair away from her face. Maddie was sure the girl was pretty under all the grime. It was a dangerous world for young girls, especially girls that pretty. From the fearless way she defended her grandfather, she might have already discovered that for herself. Maddie wasn’t sure there were any weak women left in the world. The odds were so stacked against them.
“If we’re ever going to rebuild society, it is going to take people standing up to the lawlessness. If not, bullies like that will take everything we have,” Maddie said, bending down and picking a child’s shoe from the ground and handing it to the girl.
“I agree, but there seems to be so many of them and so few good people left,” the elderly man said.
Maddie smiled.
“I have to meet someone. You take care. Okay?”
Maddie paid Stetson for a saddle and bridle and rushed back to meet Jacob before word got around that she’d been involved in another altercation.
Jacob carried the horse tack, fabric, and something wrapped in newspaper as he and Maddie made their way back to the wagon. The sun was setting, and the crowd was thinning out. Vendors were packing up their wares for the day. Larry was hitching the horses to the wagon when they approached. Maddie looked into the back of the wagon. The crates that had been filled with moonshine and eggs were now filled with tools, gloves, and other necessary items.
“Any ammo this week?” Jacob asked.
“No. But I got a lead on some rebar and bags of concrete. That’s been on the list for the cabin build,” Larry said. “An old boy here in Rolla has some from one of the construction sites here in town. Maybe enough to complete the cabins.”
With the size of his family and the cramped living conditions at the farm, Maddie understood why Larry was so intent on completing the log cabins this fall.
“You think they’ll deliver them?” Maddie said jokingly. “I’m not sure how much concrete and rebar weigh, but that sounds like a lot of trips back and forth.”
“They’re heavy, that’s for sure. That’s why I thought maybe we could use the big tractor hitched up to the car hauler. We might be able to make it in one trip.”
Maddie tried to calculate in her head how much fuel it would take. They didn’t have any to spare. They weren’t even sure they had enough for fall harvest. She didn’t understand the whole log home construction process or why so much rebar was used to secure the logs together, but the project was definitely a high priority.
“We’ll have to discuss that with Mom, Jacob, and the others. Maybe there is some way Gene can squeeze a few more gallons of biodiesel out of his supply,” Maddie said.
“Yeah. Maybe. We really can’t pass this up. This is all we’re missing to complete the cabins. We’ll have all the logs we need in another week or so. We could all be in our new spacious cabins by fall.”
It warmed Maddie’s heart to see that twinkle in Larry’s eyes when he spoke of the cabins. He was almost as happy about getting back near the river as her brother was. She wasn’t sure how she felt about returning. There were so many memories. So much had happened there.
Larry turned and started to walk off. “I’m going to take a ride over and take a look at what he’s got. I’ll catch up with you,” Larry said over his shoulder.
Jacob removed the tablecloth from their makeshift counter and handed it to Maddie to fold.
“Have you seen Harding and Aims?” Maddie asked.
“Not since we got here. You think they found out anything?” Jacob asked.
“If there’s anything to find out,” Maddie said.
Maddie hopped into the wagon and pulled her legs up to her chest.
“You don’t believe Stephens’s story?” Jacob asked.
Maddie stretched then yawned as she thought about it. In a lot of ways, she’d like to believe Stephens, but the skeptic in her made her leery.
“I don’t know. It seems farfetched to me. Like where did they get a whole shipment of gold from? It’s not like a local bank kept that in their vault, right?”
“That’s classified.” Jacob smiled. “What about the dead man we found in the ditch? Lugnut said he wasn’t just some ordinary soldier.”
“Oh, I believe them—that they’re looking for someone. I just find it hard to believe they would be traveling the backroads of Missouri with a load of gold,” Maddie said.
“I don’t give a shit what you believe.”
Maddie twisted around to see Stephens standing beside Aims and Harding. Stephens spun on her heels and headed toward her horse. Maddie rolled her eyes.
“Did you find out anything?” Maddie whispered.
“We have an idea which direction they went,” Aims replied as he and Harding climbed into the wagon.
Maddie paced behind the wagon as they waited for Dustin to return. When he did, he wasn’t alone. Maddie fumed as he walked up with his arm around the bully from earlier. They were laughing and singing loudly.
“Are you drunk?” Maddie asked as they approached.
“I only had one beer, officer.” Dustin laughed and slapped his hand on his knees.
“Let’s leave him here,” Maddie spat.
“Eff this, man. I don’t think I’m wanted around here,” the bully slurred.
“No. No. It’s fine. Maddie was just kidding.” Dustin said, reaching out and grabbing the man’s arm. “We joke around like that. Everyone would really like to hear that story you were telling me. You know, the one about the pirate’s gold.”
After listening to the bully from the trade fair describe how he’d drank with a guy who’d paid the bar owner in gold, the group was ready to set out for the farm as quickly as possible to see what Lugnut and his team had learned. Maddie was relieved they didn’t have to wait long for Larry.
“Did you find what you needed?” Jacob asked.
Larry pumped his fist in the air. “I hit the motherlode.”
Maddie wished the wagon had headlights so they could drive all night. Instead, they pitched camp about ten miles from Licking. Maddie had tossed and turned, too anxious to sleep. Finally, she’d given up and went to relieve Dustin on guard duty. Maddie spotted Stephens staring at the stars down by the creek. She couldn’t sleep either.
Chapter 8
July 14th
Spring Valley Creek
Summerville, Missouri
After spending a night on Bender Creek, south of Licking, and another along the banks of Big Creek just south of Yukon, Zach was already regretting coming on the trip. Sleeping on the ground, in the heat, with all the bugs had never been high on his list of fun things to do. Riding in the back of a wagon in the blinding sun was just the worst. As Harmony brushed her hair and pulled on her headscarf, she filled Zach in on her plans to decorate their cabin—if Bo and his team ever completed it. Zach touched his finger to his nose, giving her their signal that she’d been talking too much again. She smiled and apologized.
Zach was as anxious as she was to be married and in their own cabin. That was where he should have been right then—at the build site. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Bo’s building crew. He did. He just preferred to be there getting things done.
“We should stop at the metal shop just outside of Summerville and see if there’s any roofing panels left. They’d be worth making another trip back here,” Zach said.
The metal shop looked relatively untouched. After prying the door open, they found several pallets of mix-matched roofing panels still in the shop.
Harmony didn’t look impressed.
Zach smiled.
“We can use the leftover odd-colored ones on a barn.”
“I know it’s hard to find building materials. I just want it completed before winter,” Harmony said as Zach lifted her into the wagon. “And I want them t
o look pretty.”
“Don’t worry. The cabins will be gorgeous—just like you,” Zach said. “You’re going to be so cute in your little apron, running in and out, hanging clothes on the line and stuff.”
“With little Zacharys and Harmonys running up and down the stairs!” Harmony said, smiling broadly.
“There you go—keep your thoughts right there. Think on good things,” Zach said.
After a short ride from there to the east of Summerville, they set up camp in a field just south of Spring Valley Creek. Harmony spread a blanket on the ground and took a seat. Zach sat next to her. He leaned against his pack and watched the flames dance in the campfire. “I miss living near the river.”
Harmony glanced up. “Me too. I would bathe in it every day if we lived closer.”
“Hopefully, we will be back there before winter,” Zach said.
“I thought Bo said he could have one up in about a week,” Harmony said.
“A week if he had all the materials. We still lack the rebar, and peeling the bark from the trees takes time. He’ll be back when we have everything ready for him,” Zach said.
Bo Johnson was a log home builder before the lights went out. He traveled all over the United States helping landowners build homes from logs harvested from their land. He was quite protective of his method.
Aaron poked a long stick into the fire, and flames shot toward the night sky.
“It’s a lot of work,” Aaron said.
“I know,” Zach said.
Zach knew they couldn’t spare very many people to help with all the gardening chores and other work, but they’d be glad they built the cabins. They really didn’t have much of a choice with so many people trying to live at the old Henson farm. They’d find the rebar and bags of concrete they needed. If they found enough, they’d even be able to build a few at Ron’s place. But they were concentrating on building four above the old mill spring on the bluff overlooking the Big Piney first.