Now, as they approached the store again, they saw it was even worse on this trip. Had there been a delivery of food in the past week that they missed? It was probably best that they missed it. The scene was of more bodies and more smoke billowing out of the store. It was either that the store had gotten some food and people charged the few items causing an all out battle or people became upset of the ever-empty store and decided to destroy it and each other.
Will and Alejandro came to their senses, breaking themselves out of the shock they were experiencing, and decided to rush home quickly. They could feel the watching eyes, most likely curious of their gas filled vehicle and the places far away that tank of gas could take them from this war zone. They saw one woman drop whatever she was carrying and turn in an all-out sprint away from them. They had looked at each other in confusion. They didn’t stop to find out. They rushed home and told the others. They collectively decided to stay in between the two properties and forget any trips to town for the time being. They reduced the use of any vehicles to emergency only. They had no way to get any more fuel. Will had been frustrated by the wasted drive and the wasted fuel.
They continued to watch the news nightly, as long as the power would allow it. They anticipated stories on what happened in Oakhurst, or perhaps to see similar scenes in larger cities. They were puzzled day after day when the news showed nothing of what they expected. They felt like they were in an isolated pit. They wondered how Oakhurst, a small town, turned into a war zone while everywhere else seemed to recover from the initial violence after the restructuring of the country took place. Needless to say, they made sure to always be armed. They imagined the only ones remaining in Oakhurst were those that would fight and kill and steal for what they wanted rather than work for it.
They gradually approached the drive to Lewis’s property, pushing on in the uphill climb. They enjoyed early morning air, dew clinging to the spring blooms. Still along the road that bordered his property was a thick hide of trees. All the properties on the road were like this. Maybe it was originally planned that way for privacy reasons. Looking up the long drive, one would think it lead nowhere; that if you decided to take this route, you’d be turning around once you got to the first bend past the thick patch of trees. Lewis had no fence surrounding his property. He had wanted a tall deer fence to keep them and other animals from grazing on his crops but never did put one up.
They paused partway up the drive for a rest. They each silently dreaded the work to come that day. They were already winded, needing a break. The work hadn’t even begun yet. They would be bending low, on hands and knees, pulling weeds and pruning. They would check for any problems with the plants, such as disease so that Lewis could quickly address the problem before it could spread too far. It was sure to take them a few days to finish this project. As if on cue, they all regathered their things and continued on.
As they passed the different blocked sections of strawberries, raspberries, potatoes, spinach, corn, and other plants they couldn’t identify by sight they slowed, considering what needed to be done in each plot. They were surprised to see Alejandro and Lewis not working in the gardens, but skinning a deer. It was tied up to a low-hanging branch of a large oak near Lewis’s house.
“Dad!” Lea blurted out in surprise of what she saw.
Alejandro and Lewis turned, they seemed to not realize the others had approached.
“Good morning everyone,” Alejandro said with a large smile. “We got lucky this morning,” he said holding an arm out to present the deer.
“Alejo, is this why you wanted to come out here so early? To hunt?” Juana said sarcastically, with a half smile on her face.
He laughed, “No, I really came to help Lewis with the plants. He had the rifle watching for the deer. Once we spotted this one coming in to feed on the plants he let me get it.” His smile grew, “To be honest, I’ve been hoping this would happen.”
Will chimed in, “You’ve been hoping to down a deer? Nice shot by the way. Well-placed.”
“That’s what I said,” Lewis added.
“Yeah, I’ve been out early every morning,” Alejandro said. “I see the deer around here and at our place. Since I’m normally working in the garden, I don’t have the rifle handy, just a sidearm.”
“You’ve been wanting to kill a deer?” Lea asked sounding somewhat sad in the question.
“Lea, there’s a lot of good meat on this,” Alejandro said. “We’ve got to have food. There’s none in the store anymore. This is how it’s done.”
“I know I know,” she said. “I just don’t like seeing it like this.”
“We should take you hunting then,” Will said grinning. “It’s a good skill to learn.”
“Oh, Will no. I don’t know,” she said almost sounding as if she was considering it.
“Juana, do you think we can get some of your jerky made from this?” Alejandro asked.
She stepped forward and further examined the deer.
“I don’t think we’ve ever made jerky from deer before but I figure it’ll be similar,” Juana said. “Lots of good meat on here it looks like.”
“Oh, of course,” Lewis said. “I’ve done jerky with deer many times. It makes for good jerky.”
“Ohhh,” Juana sounded out excitedly. “We’ll have to do both recipes and have a taste testing.”
“I see,” Lewis said smiling. “You are quite the competitor, it would seem. You’re on.”
They all laughed at the exchange.
“A cook-off seems like a long lost thing of a distant past,” Beth said. “Too weird. I’m looking forward to some jerky. We can make a good stew out this other meat too. Maybe do it for lunch tomorrow?”
“I’ll help,” Juana said. “We should probably start mid-morning tomorrow.”
With plans in mind and mouths watering for the stew they could hardly wait another day for, they began the grueling labor for the day. They each took their own plot next to each other and started working it back and forth, row by row. Alejandro and Lewis continued working on butchering the deer. The others were on their hands and knees, pulling weeds and pruning the plants as Lewis had instructed in the days before. If they noticed any insects or evidence of their recent dwelling on a plant, such as mostly eaten leaves, they were to show Lewis for his further analysis. He had a few different natural products to help rid his vegetables of the insects. He didn’t want to banish all bugs since some were beneficial to the life of the garden, only the ones that would destroy the plants to the point they were a worthless food source for him. He had a few different mixtures he would make up with a variety of products such as garlic, vegetable oil, coffee grounds, and even habanero peppers.
They were at least lucky in the sense that is was still spring and the indiscriminate pounding heat of the sun was not yet on their backs and being radiated off the earth into their faces. The nights and mornings were still cool and the afternoons were a comfortable warm. However, their toiling combined with the afternoon warmth was sure to exhaust them and drench them in sweat. While they took a break for lunch, they looked to the sky in hope of seeing cloud cover for the afternoon’s labors. Chances were good for this as most afternoons throughout the spring brought rain. They had set up rain collection at both Beth and Lewis’s properties. Lewis said he was wanting to hold off on using it until the summer time when the rain was more scarce. They were gifted with only a short rain shower in the mid-afternoon, but they were still thankful for the reprieve. The sun had reappeared from behind the clouds only a short hour later.
At dinnertime, they wrapped up their work for the day. They collected and accounted for all the tools they had brought and decided to store them at Lewis’s since they’d be back the next day. They gathered together on Lewis’s porch to review which plot of plants had been covered that day. Lewis had a notepad with a rough sketch of his property with the layout of the garden. He checked off the areas as each person listed the sections they had worked. He placed the pencil a
bove his ear and examined the drawing.
“Looks like we covered just under half,” Lewis said. “That is with Alejandro and me working on the deer for most of the morning. I think we are slightly ahead of what I expected. Beth and Juana will start that deer stew tomorrow mid-morning.” He looked around the gardens and thought for a moment. “I had anticipated three full days of this work. I think we’ll have it done before noon on the third day if we continue at this pace. We could rest half a day and then have your gardens done the next. After that, we just keep an eye on it for a couple of weeks before we do this again. Make sure it all gets plenty of water. Keep looking for pests. I know I’ve told you this all before. I’m just repeating myself now.”
“We certainly appreciate the education,” Beth said.
“Yes, thank you,” Juana said. “I didn’t realize there was so much to know about farming.”
“Yes, yes. Just like any other specialty,” Lewis said. “I’m sure you know I could go on for hours and hours about farming.” He smiled at the thought of it. “We should all get some dinner. I’m sure we are all hungry after working like we did today.”
*****
After dinner, they began the two-mile walk back home, leaving Lewis alone as he had become accustomed to after many years. They could foresee themselves in their own beds. They imagined a deep sleep. Their aching and sore muscles and tender knees reminded them every step of their cozy, comfortable beds waiting for them. Waiting to draw them in and pull them closer. The sun was on its final descent below the trees and out of sight. It cast a unique and mesmerizing light; the type of light that made all objects have a new vibrancy and created new colors painted on the scattered clouds above. No doubt the continual smokey haze in the air contributed to the new combination of color and light. It was so brief that every occasion one could experience the sight it would cause wonder and awe. They stopped for a moment and stared up at the clouds, their faces still aglow with radiating heat from the day’s work. They continued on once the captivating masterpiece that God revealed for them faded away. And that is how they thought of it. They thought of it as if God did present them with this gift, at this particular moment, only for them.
It was now low light and getting dark quickly. They approached the last quarter mile rounding a bend in the road. They came abeam the trees where they could now see the entrance to the driveway and the gate they had built. Alejandro saw them first. He shushed everyone and started herding everyone towards the trees. There was a truck facing their gate with its lights shining on it. A man was at the gate testing the lock and chains. The truck was a faded black that appeared to have some patchwork spray paint in spots along the step-side bed. A few patches of rust outlined the wheel wells. The truck obviously lifted higher than stock with larger wheels and tires.
“I know that truck,” Alejandro whispered.
“That’s someone you know?” Will asked. “Why are we hiding then?”
“No, I don’t who it is,” Alejandro answered. “I recognize the truck from the grocery store. It was with that group. The guy who attacked Juana.” He looked over to his wife
Juana’s face filled with worry and fear. Alejandro could tell she was reliving her attack in her head and creating new scenarios of what could come next. It must have been obvious to the others as well because Beth quickly put an arm around Juana and began rubbing her shoulder.
“I’m gonna go through these trees to get closer and see if I can hear anything better,” Will said pointing to the trees along their property.
“No,” Lea said almost too loudly.
“Why would you want to do that?” Beth asked.
“I want to know what they are planning,” Will answered. “Maybe we can stop them. If they are from that group that was raiding cars at the store then I’m sure they’ve been the ones that were a part of destroying Oakhurst.”
“What do you think we could do to them?” Lea asked.
“Take them out one at a time,” Will said. “Now would be the time. There is only two of them.”
“What do you mean take them out?” Lea asked with a rising panic in her voice. “Kill them?”
Will looked around at everyone before answering. “Yes,” he said matter of factly. “Look, there are no police. No military it seems. Our town is destroyed. Somebody has to stop them eventually. It looks like they have probably run out of places and things to steal in town and now they have moved out here.” He pointed towards their house.
Everyone remained silent for a moment, considering what Will had said. Alejandro was the first to answer.
“I agree. Where will we go if they take the house? They won’t just raid it and leave. They burned down the town. What if they do that here? I don’t want to have to rely on those camps.”
“Will is right,” Beth said. “We need to do something.” She sighed deeply. She was clearly thinking about the possible consequences of fighting these people.
The look of worry grew on Juana’s face while Lea appeared to be coming to terms with their plans.
“Alright,” Will said, “I’ll get over there and stay in the trees. Don’t worry, I won’t do anything yet. I just want to hear if they are talking about plans. I’ll only shoot if I need to right now.”
Lea grabbed Will and hugged him tightly. “Be careful,” she said into his ear.
Will wanted to tell her. He wanted to say that he loved her. He had wanted to tell her for the last couple of months. However, he didn’t want it to seem like it was words of desperation. A situation like this, a powder keg of potential chaos and violence, was not the scene he pictured in his mind when he told her those words. For some reason, he still imagined it happening in the life before. Normal date nights. A meticulously planned romantic adventure. He didn’t know why he still held on to this. He didn’t foresee the world returning to the old normal anytime soon. He thought he could see in Lea’s eyes that same desire. He wasn’t sure if he was ready. Certainly not at this exact moment.
He stepped further into the trees and crept towards the two men at the truck. He could see they were both standing outside the truck now. He thought that one might have been talking into a handheld radio. He couldn’t make out what they were saying this far away. He went slowly, bending down low and dropping to one knee every few steps. He constantly checked to make sure neither of them was looking his way when he moved at all. It was now dark enough that he was sure they wouldn’t be able to see into the trees. He continued along steadily now. He could start to make out the words.
“...tell him we think we should use some gas to burn down this gate,” one of them said into a handheld radio.
The radio beeped and the man held it up to his ear awaiting a response. The men waited only a few seconds before speaking again.
“This might be the jackpot,” he said. “This place is secured really well. I bet there is a lot up the hill. We can’t see it from the road.”
A muffled response finally came. Will couldn’t hear exactly what was said but he thought they said something along the line of waiting for more people. He hoped they meant the next day to at least give themselves more time. They could be desperate now. It could be why they were out at night. He wanted to get to the house to get some supplies so they could rush back to Lewis’s. Hopefully, they wouldn’t find that place too.
Will was so focused on trying to listen that he almost didn’t notice the other truck approaching. Its lights were pointed in his general direction, however, he had his head tilted to the side as he tried to listen to as much as he could. He caught a flash of light in the corner of his eye as the arriving truck turned towards the gate and parked next to the other truck. Will abruptly turned his head and his heart skipped a beat. Were they already going to attempt to get inside right now? The added sound of the second truck made it nearly impossible for Will to hear any of the conversation going on now. Will decided to try to get a little bit closer. His mind was racing. Should he get up to the house and get his go-bag? He
had prepared a list of items he wanted with him if they ever had to leave quickly and packed them in a bag. Of course, at the time he wanted it with him the most he was separated from it.
He was now lying down, crawling forward a couple of feet at a time. He was trying to stay in the grassy areas as best as he could to stay as quiet as possible. He wondered what the others were thinking now. They surely saw the second truck. He hoped if he tried for the house that they would conclude to head to Lewis’s and not wait by the side of the road. He was only about twenty feet away now behind a few wild bushes that grew along the fence line. If he was going to get to the house he would have to back out and get further into the trees. If he jumped the fence this close to them they would most surely see him. He could make out the conversation again.
“Gerard decided to bring everyone up here,” one of the men from the recently arrived truck said. “You better be right about this place.”
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