They both wore heavy rubber soled boots, but the heat could still be felt through the soles of the thick boots. The fires were still nothing more than coal beds. An occasional fresh log kept the coals replenished.
About six hours on the concrete and the corn was dry enough to go into storage. They kept one wagon in constant use taking corn to storage and bringing more corn to dry. A large chest sat nearby filled with cold water from the creek.
Farther down the valley, a herd of horses grazed near the stream. The large teams they used for work were stabled in one of the barns, and had their own fenced area to graze. The rest of the herds were turned loose to graze during the daylight hours. They made their way back to the barn at evening. Instead of individual stalls, one end of the barn was a large open area. The dirt floor was kept clean and fresh hay was put down daily. The horses bedded down in that area each night once the evening came on and the doors were then closed for the night. They had plans to build stalls before fall settled in hard, and cull out some horses for riding. It would have to wait until the harvests were finished and the chores were lessened so there was free time to do it.
Down the valley farther still, the cows grazed along with the Bison. They grazed the end of the valley and around into the El that began the second valley. There were a half dozen Moose mixed in that seemed to think they were cows. Two huge moose bulls had found their way into the meat supply after they had refused to leave the cows alone. Running them all day, which had hurt their milk production. Between the two huge bulls they had smoked more than two thousand pounds of meat, and they had eaten Moose burgers, Moose steaks and Moose stew until everyone was sick of it.
The deer made their home down past the El in the second valley. A small forest of mixed hardwoods grew right up to the steep rock walls of the valley. The deer seemed to prefer the shelter of those trees, and the succulent leaves and grasses that grew there. Even so they would make their way back down through the valley and return to their own barn each night.
Katie placed the last three ears of corn into the chute that fed the machine and watched as they fell into line. Lilly reached for another ear to core by hand and realized they were finished.
“I would have fallen asleep if I had stayed out there,” Lilly said to no one in particular.
“Me too,” Katie said.
“Yeah, but now we all smell like corn. My hands are sticky with corn juice. I have corn silk all over me,” Amy said.
“Bitch, bitch, bitch,” Katie said laughing.
Amy grinned. “It's a trip to the locker room,” she said.
“Yeah,” Lilly agreed.
“Ditto,” Katie added.
The locker room was what they called the area where the women took their showers or bathed. There was a very small waterfall, only about nine feet high before it crashed into the water. The air was always misty because of it. It made a perfect shower, and the mist had reminded Arlene of the steam in the showers when she had been in high school. She had coined it the locker room and the name had stuck.
Katie reached over and flipped the switch on the machine, another one of Dustin's creations that seemed to work well. As she shut the machine off, James popped his head through the door. Annie with him.
“It's off, we're done,” Katie told them.
“I am so jealous,” Annie said. She turned sideways to showcase the small bump that seemed much larger than it really was on her small frame, running her hand across her stomach. Katie turned sideways and Lilly and Amy followed suit. “God,” Annie said. The four of them laughed as James looked on puzzled. He cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable.
“Let me kill the Gennie too,” he said as he moved off into the barn.
“You are so big,” Annie said. She ran her hand over the smooth hardness of Katie's stomach and the baby kicked. Annie's eyes misted instantly. “I can't wait,” she said.
“Oh, honey, you can,” Katie told her. “Just wait until it kicks you in the kidneys once or twice.”
“Yeah,” Lilly sighed, “Or the bladder and makes you pee yourself.”
James came from the gloom of the huge barn at exactly the same time. His face instantly colored. All four women broke out in laughter. Amy managed to get herself under control first.
“You need us for anything else, James?” she asked.
James grinned, relieved. “Nope,” he said. “I believe all the other ladies are heading in that direction as well,” he said, guessing where they might be going. “Janna has the kids, so go relax. And thanks for the help too,” he told them.
Conner
On The Road
They stopped in the early afternoon as they reached the end of the reforestation project and rolled out into the first long valley. They unloaded the sheep to let them graze, and everyone piled out to stretch their legs.
“It's about thirty miles from here,” Conner said in answer to the question. “We'll stop here for the night, rest up and we'll be at our valley mid morning tomorrow,” he finished.
“What's it like,” Beth Jeffries asked. She brushed her white-blond hair away from her eyes and smiled as she did.
“Probably like nothing you have ever seen, Beth. We have a big cave, it goes deep into the mountain. So deep we haven't found the ends of some passages yet, unless they've done more exploring since we've been gone.”
“We closed it off at the front with stone from the mountain. A wall to close the huge main room off from the elements. There is also a huge overhang and we built a wall to close that area off too. We built huge sheets of acrylic into the front, so we still have the light. It's nice. Really, there is enough room in the cave for all of us... Well, that depends how many more people have come. The new people always stay there the first little while... Or pitch tents somewhere in the valley, but with winter coming, the cave will be the place for anyone who hasn't built a place.”
“We have places built in the valley too. Stone houses, it's the easiest building material to find; wood, even steel buildings for the barns that we trucked in, in pieces, but we all lived in the cave for the first few months, and some still do.”
“Besides the houses and the barns, we have crops planted... We have cows, horses, bison, deer, chickens... I'm forgetting some I'm sure... Pigs... Beefalos, a cross between the bison and the cows... We even have some moose that followed us in and stayed,” he laughed. “They believe they are cows... They really do. James was thinking of trying to make cheese from deer milk... Probably has by now. We have meat, butter, cheese... There really isn't anything that we have to leave the valley for except the stuff we can't make ourselves... Vehicles... Wiring... Generators, computers... The list could go on and on.”
“Do you ride the horses,” she asked.
“Some,” Conner said. “There are different types of horses.... We collected them in... Tennessee, Kentucky. Some are thoroughbreds, James says pretty much worthless for what we want, but those horses should make good riding horses. It's one of those things that someone will take over and get done... Right now we have maybe a half dozen we use as draft horses. Huge. Strong. Oxen too. I know about ten things about horses then I'm just guessing.” He laughed. “There are some gentle enough to ride.”
That seemed to satisfy the young girl. She thanked Conner and wandered over by the sheep: A dreamy smile on her face.
Steve Choi came over with a cup of coffee and dropped to the ground next to Conner. He was a likable, easy going young man with thick, black hair and steel rimmed glasses that might or might not be real gold. He looked like a doctor, Conner thought.
“Steve... How's he doing,” Conner asked.
He was Joe Stevens. It had been his sister Lisa that they had found by the burned SUV, and he had taken it hard. They had still had her body wrapped in blankets in the back of one of the pickups. They had buried her in the campground. Joe had dug a deep hole in the early hours of the morning after they had got back. She had been buried with no words before the sun had even come up.
Joe had taken the whole thing very hard.
“Still feels responsible, if he'd only gone with her... Talked her out of it... You know, I'm sure,” Steve said.
Conner nodded. “It's easy to blame yourself after the fact. Do you think, well, do you think he'll be alright?” Conner asked. He knew he had asked as a direct result of what had happened with Molly and Nell. He found himself thinking longer about decisions he made when it came to individual people. Or maybe it was no longer assuming that he knew someone. Better to take more time. Ask more questions.
“I believe so, Conner... Believe me,” he lowered his voice. “I heard about your situation... I am watching him carefully. I don't want to lose him.” Steve blushed a little. He wasn't used to being so open about himself. Here it seemed perfectly normal. In the old world it could end a young doctors career.
“I checked on Jessie,” he said after a brief pause. “Her leg is looking really good... So... You think we'll be there tomorrow morning,” he asked.
Conner nodded. “Yeah. Early to mid-morning... What's on your mind, Steve?” Conner asked.
“I guess I'm trying to figure out what it will be like... To be me... With Joe... I've never done much with my hands,” he said.
“Ah... Listen, Steve. The way I am? We're all like that. You won't even get a second glance from anyone. And as for your skills?” Conner laughed. “We are lucky enough to have a very skilled nurse and a veterinary assistant, but, what you know? It's golden. If you stayed you would end up with more work that you could handle, most likely. You'll be a doctor. You'll have to work to get free time, I would imagine. Even if Jess stays, we're coming back with fifteen new people. There are twenty-three of us here and somewhere south of a hundred there,” he thought a moment. “At least, maybe closer to a hundred and fifty. We sent back some others a few weeks back... Adam's woman, Cammy... Some more of his people.”
“And the babies are going to start coming... A doctor would be very helpful. My Katie, Aaron’s woman, Amy... There are at least a dozen I can think of right off hand that will deliver this fall or winter. Believe me, Steve, you won't be sitting around looking for things to do, or expected to know how to milk a cow.” Conner laughed at the expression that crossed Steve's face.
“I have no idea how to do that... I mean,” he laughed himself. “I guess I was a little concerned... What's the nurse like?”
“Sandy... She's a good woman. Her woman is Susan. Sandy has been teaching her. They work together. They've been studying herbs, and medicinal plants. The two of them work with Shar, Sharon... She's a veterinarian assistant, or was, but she spends most of her time helping them. Runs herself ragged trying to do both things. She's also teaching a young woman about animal husbandry. So she has her hands full. Having you there would free her up I expect.”
“Sandy and Susan?” Steve raised his eyebrows.
Conner nodded. “Yep. Like I said, you don't have to worry about that. No one will even raise an eyebrow... Religion? ... Sex? ... All the stuff that everyone always seemed so willing to stick their noses into? Gone. Done. No one cares. Your life is your business and that's that.”
The Nation
Katie was drying her hair when she saw Arlene come around the corner of the ledge carrying a radio in her hand. Her heart leaped in her chest and seemed to skip a beat. The babies protested with a couple of quick kicks. 'Don't be silly,' she told herself. 'It's too soon.'
Nevertheless, Arlene stopped in front of her. A small smile on her face, but hint of sadness resting in her eyes. In fact, Katie noticed, it looked as though she had been crying. Her heart staggered again.
“It's Conner,” Arlene told her.
“You okay, Arlene?” Katie asked.
“I'll let Conner tell you, Honey.” She put one hand to her mouth as she handed the radio to Katie.
THIRTEEN
On The Road
Adam dropped to the ground across from Conner, reached over and handed him a hot cup of coffee. He leaned back against a tree trunk behind him and rolled a cigarette.
“On our way?” Adam asked, after he had lit his smoke and taken a deep pull. He let the blue-gray smoke drift from his nose as he held Conner's eyes with his own.
“Jessie's up to it. First thing in the morning.” Conner eyed Adam speculatively.
Adam nodded.
“What is it, Adam?” Conner asked. “What's on your mind?” It was the first time he had ever seen Adam looking uncertain.
Adam shrugged. “A few things I guess. Like, what do you do to keep safe now? I mean, who does that? Are there patrols of some kind?” His eyes held Conner's own. “The thing is, I can not imagine life without drama.”
Conner nodded. “You'll miss it, or you hope to never see it again?” He paused for a second. “We have a patrol. Small, but effective, I think.”
“Hmm. Good question, isn't it? I don't know. I think for a short time I'll be glad not to have it, and then I think I'll start feeling tied down. I don't know if I want to be tied down again... ever.” He cleared his throat and then continued. “Have you considered a farther reaching patrol, like a patrol that comes out here, running for the stuff the Nation needs? You know, like making it a fulltime thing. Wouldn't that make sense? I'm talking about something close to a military outfit. We could fight the dead - that might have to happen - keep them away. There are Army bases just sitting around out here full of weapons. We could get them. We could keep roads open, a lot of things, Conner. I guess I sound kind of crazy, but I think some day the Nation will need it. It will need it, because there will be those who will bring it to us if we don't bring it to them.”
Conner nodded. There was nothing he could say. Whatever Adam had meant, whatever he was alluding to in the first part of his statement about being tied down, was for himself alone. Conner did not understand it. The second part he did understand. It had been on his mind recently. “You volunteering? I mean, if there was such a thing.”
“Yeah. I've thought about it. It feels like a place I could fit,” Adam agreed.
Conner nodded. “We're going to call soon. We should be able to reach them, let them know we're coming, if you wanted to talk to Cammy.”
Adam nodded. “I do, but I think I mislead you with that relationship. I meant to straighten that out, I just haven't found the time to do it. Cammy and I are not together. True, we've traveled together awhile, and we even thought about giving together a try. Didn't happen.” Adam took another deep pull from his cigarette.
Conner nodded. “I guess I just assumed.”
“Yeah. We're both bad with that. We, neither one, want to say it out. My fault, not yours. But, well, I thought it should be said. I'll need a place to stay... on my own. Cammy will... I don't know what Cammy will do, but I'm sure she will not be with me. And the other... the other thing is, well, she wouldn't be waiting for me or something... if that worried you, as far as sending me out.”
Conner nodded. “Alone then. I see,” he said.
Adam seemed to think. “Maybe not alone, alone.”
Conner raised his eyebrows. “She may change her mind?”
Adam laughed. “No. We talked it over. I meant, well, maybe Beth will be there.”
“Beth?”
Adam nodded, seemed embarrassed. He took a deep pull from the cigarette, crushed it out against the sole of his boot and then looked up at Conner.
Conner grinned.
“What?” Adam asked.
“Nothing, except, I can see it. I can see the two of you together. It fits.” He laughed for a second and then his eyes turned serious. “You mean she would be okay with you doing it? I don't mean a person has a right to tell another what to do. I mean, well, couples... you let each other know what the deal is.”
Adam looked even more embarrassed for a moment and then laughed too. “She'd probably want to come. Maybe not right away, but, well, we're a lot alike. I'd like to talk to Beth, Cammy too, when you call. I've been worried.”
Conner stood, offered h
is hand and pulled Adam from the ground with a grunt.
“You need more lead in your ass,” Adam joked.
“Or cast iron,” Conner joked back. They both laughed. “Come on,” Conner said after a moment. “Let's go find Dustin.”
The Nation
They talked for over an hour and Katie wept freely. It sounded to her as though Conner came very close to crying himself. Probably he had already dealt with what he had to, but it was too fresh for her to handle.
Amy sat not ten feet away talking quietly to Aaron. Her face was a careful mask. Sadness written there, but she did not cry.
Somewhere else, other conversations were taking place. Adam and Cammy, Dustin and Annie, others. James stood nearby. He had talked to Conner first and then he had talked to Janna. They would talk to the people once Katie and Amy were done talking.
“I love you, Baby... Promise,” Katie said now. “Okay... Okay... I'll see you there, Baby. Yes... Yes... I'll be fine. Aim will take care of me.” She looked over at Amy whose eyes had raised to her own. “We'll take care of each other,” she amended as she saw the first gleam of tears in Amy's eyes. “She'll take care of me... She always does. We'll both be fine... I love you... I do... Okay... See you then... Bye... Bye... See you then.” She clicked off the radio and lowered it to the floor still clutched in her hand. She took a deep breath and looked over at Amy.
Amy talked for a few moments longer. “I love you... I do... I miss you... See you then... Bye, Honey.” She clicked off the radio; looked over at Katie and burst into tears. Katie got up and went to her. She held her, stroked her hair; told her she loved her and that it was all going to be alright. The same things, she told herself, that Aim always says to me.
“Usually I'm the baby,” she told Amy. “Usually I fall apart.”
Amy burrowed her face into Katie’s breast and cried. She was shocked at how much the news of Molly and Nellie's death had affected her, but she suspected it also had to do with hearing Aaron's voice. With knowing it could have been Aaron who had been shot. It could have been anyone, but it could have been Aaron. And that made her feel guilty that she didn't care enough about Molly and Nellie. That she only cared about her man. And that wasn't true, but it did her no good to tell herself it wasn't true. But what if it had been Aaron? And Molly had been carrying Aaron's baby. How did that make him feel? How did she feel about that? It was too much. She couldn't stop the tears.
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