“What happened?”
“Just keep him away from her. If I find them alone together again, you are all out of here. Am I clear?”
“I’m not sure I—”
Abram’s voice cut through Nick’s. “I said, am I clear?”
Nick nodded, trying to keep himself calm. “Clear as glass.”
“Good,” Abram said, then strode toward the house, where Shelly and Maggie had gone.
Nick took a deep breath, still struggling to understand what was going on. Corey and Emma had been best friends since they were little. They had been going places alone together their whole lives, without much complaint from Abram.
So, what had changed?
Obviously, Abram’s opinions of Emma and Corey’s friendship had changed the moment the lights went out. Perhaps he figured that when kids got bored, they got into trouble. Of course, there wouldn’t be much time to get bored now…they’d all be working from dawn to dusk every day, fighting for their survival.
Regardless of what Abram’s reasons were, he’d have to ensure his boy complied.
Nick steeled himself and stepped toward the house, keeping an eye out for Corey. He’d have to talk to him as soon as possible. The last thing he needed was to be kicked out—they’d only just arrived.
15
Abram was walking toward the house when he heard Gary’s voice coming from near the barn.
“Abram?”
“Yeah?” Abram called back. “What’s up?”
“Walk the fence with me. I think we need to talk.”
They walked the drive to the gate and veered right, walking the brush- and tree-free zone on the inside of the fence. It had taken them weeks to clear the path, and they were keeping it clear, at least on the inside, so they could keep an eye on its condition.
“We really need to finish the backside of the fence,” Gary said. “Anyone with persistence will follow the fence all the way to the back of the property, and then they’ll be able to walk this easy path we’ve made for them right back to the house. I think we’ve got maybe two or three weeks before people start to get desperate. And that man we turned away—Joshua, was it?—he could be in town bringing us to people’s attention right now.”
“That’s true, but you argued against letting him stay. We can get started on the fence in the morning, if you’d like. We could put Nick and Corey to work putting in fence posts.”
“Truthfully, I think it’s more important to get in more supplies. We’ve got three more people to feed.”
“We have two years’ worth of food. Even with the additional mouths to feed. I think we can leave it for now. We should focus on plowing up a garden plot and a field for corn and hay. I’m not sure there’s enough hay in the barn to get us through a year of feeding livestock.”
“Yes, we should plant crops, but so much can go wrong in farming. We can’t count on it sustaining us through two winters. I say we get in more food.”
“And how are we going to do that?” Abram asked. “Where could we go that would sell us large amounts of food now?”
“People aren’t buying anymore. They are looting.”
Abram slowed his pace. “You aren’t suggesting we do that, are you?”
“No, but—”
“Listen, Gary, we’ll be able to plant more with the extra labor we have. Yes, there are more mouths to feed, but they’ll work off what they eat. We’ll make the garden larger. We’ll plant more corn. We’ll breed the cow again. No reason to take any unnecessary risks.”
“Okay, but sooner than later, we’ll have to start taking risks in order to survive the long haul.” Gary stopped picking his way along the path and turned to Abram.
“What are you talking about?” Abram asked. “We’re prepared. We have two years’ worth of provisions. Two years, Gary. If the power isn’t on in two years—and I realize it could be longer than that—but in two years, we’ll be in a groove. We’ll know what it takes to survive, and we’ll be able to grow or barter for what we need. It’s by working with our neighbors that we’ll pull through.”
“Right,” Gary said, nodding. “Working together…”
Abram could hear the lack of enthusiasm in the man’s voice. Something else was on his mind, apparently. He followed Gary along the fence to the end, and then along the path they’d already made for the remaining fence sections that must be erected. Gary occasionally stopped to whack back a bush that was encroaching on the track, taming the overgrowth.
On their way back toward the house, Abram couldn’t shake the thought that Gary was intent on taking more risks than necessary to achieve their goals. Abram made a mental note to keep an eye out on Gary, to keep him in check before he jeopardized them all.
After dinner, Emma found Corey sitting on his bed in his room. She could see he was unhappy and went to sit next to him.
“You shouldn’t be in here,” Corey said. “Your dad told me he doesn’t want us alone together.”
“He’s just really stressed right now. He’ll relax in a few days, and we’ll be back to normal.”
“Until then, you really shouldn’t come in here. We could never get back to our home if he kicks us out. We can’t risk it.”
“He’s up at the gate right now.” Emma pursed her lips.
“Your dad doesn’t seem like he’s fooling around.”
“I told you, he’ll relax. He’d never make you go away, because he knows how sad it would make me.” She tried her confident smile on him, but it seemed lame, even to her.
Corey looked at her as if she had lost her mind, and she belatedly wondered what her father had said to him in the barn. Had her father threatened him?
The door banged open, and both Corey and Emma jumped, and Emma backed away from the bed, but it was only Rae Ann.
“Your dad is coming down the hill,” Rae Ann said, plopping down on her dad’s bed.
“That’s okay, as long as you stay in here with us, Rae,” Emma said.
“He’s with Gary.”
Emma shrugged. “I’m glad that guy’s not staying in the house with us.”
“He’s not?” Corey asked.
“No, he converted one of the outbuildings into a little cabin. Mom said he won’t even eat all his meals with us, so we shouldn’t see him too much. Thank goodness.”
“Do you want to play Go Fish with me?” Rae Ann asked, interrupting. “I’ve got a deck of cards.” She reached into her back pocket and produced the cards.
“Sure, I’ll play with you,” Corey said. “What about you, Em?”
“No, I don’t want to play. We’re not at sleepaway camp.”
A wrinkle creased Rae Ann’s brow. “You can’t play Fish with just two people. It doesn’t work right.”
“Sorry,” Emma said. “I don’t want to play.”
“We can play War, Rae,” Corey chimed in. “That works with two people. Come sit over here with me.”
They heard the door open at the front of the house, and Emma noticed that Corey tensed. Okay, so he was afraid of her dad, she realized. She was going to have to get around that somehow, but she’d better not push it, or he’d completely shut down.
The door opened again, only this time it was Corey’s dad. “Here you all are. I’m just looking for a sweatshirt; it’s a little chilly, now the sun’s going down.” He smiled at Emma, and then rifled through his bag and pulled out a sweater. “Oh, and Corey, can I have a word with you?” he said, and he and Corey left the room.
Emma smiled at Rae Ann, shuffling the cards. “Once he gets back, we’ll start.”
Rae Ann smirked, obviously excited for the game to begin.
Corey followed his father out into the hallway, shutting the door behind him. His father had his sweater draped over his arm and his hand on his hip.
“What’s going on, Dad? Emma, Rae, and I were about to play War.”
“Listen, son. Tell me what happened.”
“With what?”
“Mr. Patterson just got done
talking to me. Said he doesn’t want you and Emma alone.”
“I know. He told me the same thing.”
“What happened up there in the barn?”
“Nothing. We’re just friends, Dad. Mr. Patterson didn’t mind us being alone last week at the library.”
“I know. It’s not you, Corey. Just don’t be alone with her until he calms down. Give it time, son.”
Corey nodded, though he could feel his fists tighten at his sides. “Okay. Now can I go back and play War? Rae’s there with us, so we’re not alone.”
His father appeared hesitant, and Corey waited for him to reply.
“Dad,” Corey continued, “we wouldn’t be alone, so it’s not a big deal, right?”
“Right. Have fun, son. Just remember what we talked about, okay?”
“Yeah,” Corey said, then opened the door to his room, leaving his father alone in the hallway.
16
After breakfast the next morning, Abram led Nick and Corey to the back of the property, where a stack of metal fence posts and several rolls of chain link lay on the ground. There were two post hole diggers, two pairs of work gloves and a pair of shovels leaning against the stack of fence poles.
“Gary tells me these fence posts need to be eight feet apart, and the holes thirty-six inches deep,” Abram said. He reached into his pocket and pulled something out. “Here’s a tape measure. I suggest that you measure eight feet and then sixteen feet so you can both work on a hole at the same time. I don’t expect people to be desperate enough to walk all the way back here and find their way to the house, at least not yet. But soon enough, people will come looting, and we don’t want a gaping hole in our security.”
Nick nodded, somewhat dismayed by the amount of physical work he and Corey were expected to take on.
“I’ll be up near the gate securing razor wire to the top of the fence up there if you need anything,” Abram said, giving a short nod and turning to walk back the way they’d come.
“Dad,” Corey said, “I’ve never dug a fencepost hole. What if I do it wrong?”
“We’ll have to do the best we can, Corey. If they don’t like our work, then they’ll have to teach us. I think we’re being tested. They want to know we can withstand hard work without complaining.”
“I’m sorry, Dad. I don’t think we should have come here.”
“Is it about what we talked about yesterday?”
“Yeah. I thought about it, and it doesn’t make sense. I think Mr. Patterson is just looking for a reason to kick us out. He won’t let Emma and I be alone together, like he’s afraid something’s going to happen. But he doesn’t mind her being alone with that creep, Gary. I don’t like him, Dad.”
Nick had taken the tape measure and was measuring the first eight-foot stretch. “Gary? No, I don’t trust him, either. But he has Abram’s ear, so we should try to stay on his good side. Or at least out of his way.”
“I wish I could. He’s everywhere.”
“He’s not down here, thank goodness, but you’re right—he pops up unexpectedly, so you’d better help me measure out these lengths.”
Corey helped his dad measure the eight- and sixteen-foot lengths, and Nick started the first hole. He showed Corey how the post hole diggers worked. Corey took his to the sixteen-foot mark and got started, while Nick dug his own hole a few inches at a time. The ground was rocky, and every so often he had to lie down on the ground to wiggle out a rock that was in the way. He didn’t know what he’d do if there was a rock in the very bottom of the hole.
He measured the depth of his first hole with the measuring tape, then realized there was a better way. He measured the post hole digger from the tip of the blade to thirty-six inches up and used the shovel to carve a narrow notch in the handle at that point. Then he did the same for Corey’s.
“That will make it easier to know when you’ve reached the correct depth,” Nick said and continued to work on his hole. He finished his hole first and went to help Corey complete his. The boy was strong, but he wasn’t used to this kind of labor—he’d tire quickly. When they’d finished both holes, Nick looked at the stack of poles. Should they seat the posts?
“Corey, can you find Abram and ask him if we should go ahead and put up the poles as we go, or should we wait?”
“Okay, Dad, I’ll go.”
Nick could hear the reluctance in his voice.
“You’re faster, is all,” Nick said, “but if you want me to come with you, I will.”
“It’s okay. I can manage.” Corey took off at a trot.
Nick ambled toward the existing fence to see how the poles had been anchored. Interestingly, they’d been cemented, and there was a concrete trench running under the wire. Abram obviously didn’t want anyone, or anything, burrowing under his perimeter. Out of curiosity, Nick walked a couple of hundred yards along the fence to see if it was the same all the way around. He was just about to turn around and go back to the work site, when he heard a hissing sound from the other side of the fence.
He looked up and saw nothing, his brow furrowing. What had he heard? But then the hiss changed to “Nick,” and he spotted a figure standing just on the other side of the fence, half hidden by a tree.
“Joshua, what are you doing here?” Nick asked.
“Nick, you have to convince them to let me in,” Joshua said, standing on the other side of the fence. “Please.”
“Joshua, I’d like to help you,” Nick said, “but I don’t have any pull with these people. The man who owns the land, Abram, is my neighbor, but I don’t think he considers me his friend. He’s angry that we came, and I don’t think he would have let us stay, except his daughter was upset and threatened to never speak to him again.”
“Come on, Nick. Can you at least ask again?”
“I thought you were on your way to Canada.”
“I’m low on gas, and none of the gas stations are open now. I won’t make it far on what I’ve got. I had to sleep in my car last night in town.”
“Maybe I can get them to give you some gas if they don't let you stay, but I can’t guarantee anything.”
“It’s that other dude, isn’t it? The one with the gun. He’s calling the shots.”
“He seems to be. It’s Abram’s place, but Gary is his friend, and he relies on his advice. He has a lot of skills when it comes to farming, apparently.”
“Tell him I’m a skilled rifleman, and I grew up on a farm. That might convince him I’m worth having around.” Joshua’s eyes darted toward the front of the property.
Nick twisted around to look. He spotted a figure, but couldn’t tell who it was. “Someone’s coming,” he whispered to Joshua. “You need to go.”
“You’ll regret this,” Joshua muttered. “I’ll be back, I promise you.”
Nick watched as Joshua faded back into the woods.
A moment later, Corey came trotting along the fence.
“They are going to cement the poles in, and run a line of concrete under the fence, like here,” Corey pointed to the fence. “They want us to dig all the post holes, then we’ll dig a trench as a form for the cement. Then, when that’s all done, they’ll come down and help with pouring the concrete. So, we’d better get to work. They want to put the poles in this afternoon.”
Nick knew it was unlikely that they’d get all the way across the bottom of the property in a day. But he didn’t say that to Corey. They’d just have to do their best. He was happy Joshua hadn’t made it all the way to the end of the fence. It wouldn’t do for him to know that he could just walk right in. Not that he’d want to be caught hiding out on Abram’s property—Nick figured what Joshua really wanted was to be part of the community. He wanted to be safe.
Nick worked with Corey, digging holes and thinking about the best way to create a trench until Emma came to find them for lunch. They walked back to the house, and Nick couldn’t help but think it would be more efficient to carry their lunch with them in the morning.
They washed
and went to sit at the large dining room table with Abram and Gary. The women carried the food in from the kitchen before they joined the men. It made Nick uncomfortable. There was something about the division of labor that bothered him. Corey looked miserable, and Nick thought he was embarrassed about it too.
“Abram,” Maggie said when they’d all filled their plates, “why don’t I come out with the rest of you and help with the farm work? Shelly, Emma, and Rae have meal prep and housework down pat, and I’m strong. You should put me to work.”
“We decided on a clear division of labor,” Gary said, “to keep things clean.”
Maggie shot Gary a look. “It’s unclean to let a woman pull her weight? That’s ridiculous. Let me help Nick and Corey with the fenceposts, at least. They’ll be days getting them all dug. What if it rains and washes them out?”
“Are we expecting rain?” Abram asked.
“How could we know?” Maggie said. “It’s not like there’s a weather service anymore. It’s spring in Vermont; I’d be surprised if we got through a week with no rain.”
“Perhaps it would be a good idea for you to help,” Abram said.
Gary pushed his chair back from the table, grunting. “I thought we were in charge here,” he said, before walking out.
“Why do you put up with that man?” Shelly asked.
“Because he is very knowledgeable,” Abram said. “He’s made a lot of improvements here. And he understands the need for security.”
“Well he doesn’t know a thing about the division of labor,” Maggie said. “And I’m going to help. You can only make the beds so many times a day.”
“It will be different when the harvests come in. You’ll be busy with canning and preserving food for the winter.”
“And I’ll expect everyone who’s not out there milking cows to be helping with the harvest and the canning. When you’ve got a big job, you throw as many people at it as you can. The fence is a big job.”
“Do I have any say in the matter? This is my land, after all. Mine and Shelly’s.”
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