by Newman, AJ
Missy watched Gerry and placed herself where Gerry would stumble across her during his work day. She saw Gerry walking with his crew back from a hard day’s work on the water system and moved, so he had to walk past her. Gerry saw her out of the corner of his eye. She was still gorgeous and had clean clothes on today. “Hey, Missy, how are you today. I haven’t seen you around lately.”
“I’ve been looking for anyone who knew my Dad. Would any of your people know Slim Perkins? He was the Sheriff of Stony Creek.”
“I’m sure my Dad or one of his deputies would know Mr. Perkins. Come on home with me, and I’ll get dad to talk with you. Mom will make sure you get a great home cooked meal.”
Missy was very coy and maneuvered Gerry to get what she wanted. “I hate to take your food. Food is very scarce around the country but not here.”
Gerry’s face beamed with pride. “We began searching for food immediately after the collapse, and my Dad seized all of the stores and warehouses full of food so it would benefit the entire town. I have to say that we lost over two-thirds of the town’s people to the meteor strikes. That reduced the number of mouths to feed. Now, back to dinner tonight, I would love to have such a beautiful lady join us for dinner.”
“I’d love to join you and your family for dinner. I’ll have to go as I am. I don’t have any nice clothes with me.”
“Come on home with me now. Your clothes won’t matter.”
Joan, the maid, greeted Missy and Gerry. “Sir, I’ll see your guest up to one of the guest rooms and see if I can find her some evening clothes. I’ll fix you a drink and run out to the store while my husband tends to dinner.”
Missy looked around the room and was surprised to find running water and working lights. She took a hot bath and drank her martini. She thought for a second that perhaps she should get the boy to fall in love with her and stay with these people. It would be easy enough the way the boy’s eyes were glued to her, she thought. These thoughts made her angry with herself. She knew she had one mission and that was to even the score for her father. She knew this Meg Long was guilty of murder and now she just needed to know who helped her kill her dad.
Dinner was agonizing, as she had to play nice with Gerry’s parents. Carlos and Gretchen were great hosts and tried to make her feel at home; however, every time she brought up her dad or Meg Long, Carlos changed the subject. Carlos acted as though he’d heard of Slim and the fight down in Stony Creek but didn’t give any more detail than Meg and her lover Tom killed Slim while Slim was trying to stop them from taking over the city.
Missy’s police intuition told her there was a lot more to the story, so she bided her time and waited for everyone except Carlos to go to bed. She snuck down the stairs and saw him in his study reading a stack of papers. She got behind him and tossed a paperclip across the room to get his attention. He looked up but didn’t move. She threw another and struck the window. This time Carlos lunged upward with a pistol in his hand. She moved with cat-like reflexes behind him, knocked the gun away, and placed him in a chokehold. He resisted then slumped down to the floor. She was about to release him when she saw Gretchen running to her with a big knife in her hand.
Missy waited until the last second, grabbed the hand with the knife, and hit Gretchen with an open palm to her nose. She twisted Gretchen’s hand in toward her body and plunged the knife deep into the woman’s gut. Gretchen lay in a pool of her blood slowly dying while Missy searched through Carlos’s desk. She looked at the couple on the floor and said, “I don’t know if Carlos helped kill my Dad, but killing you will hurt him more than me killing him. Keep pressure on your wound, and you might live long enough for him to wake up and see you die, bitch.”
Missy retrieved her backpack from the hall closet and slipped away in the night as Gretchen passed out. Missy was miles away when Gretchen woke up weak and in a fog. She could see her husband on the floor and thought he was dead. She crawled to his side but couldn’t wake him. There was something hard pushing against her side. It was Carlos’s pistol. She struggled to get her hand to free the gun from under her. Finally, she had the gun in her hand and pulled the trigger. The bullet crashed through the front door, and the loud report of the pistol woke Gerry and the servants.
Gerry was the first to run down the stairs. The only light was the moon shining through the window, which highlighted two bodies on the floor. He heard a weak voice. “Gerry, help.”
Gerry ran across the office floor but slipped and fell in his mother’s blood. He crawled to her. “Mom. Mom, what happened?”
Gretchen’s last words were. “Kill Missy. She killed your dad and me.” Her head slumped to the floor as she took her last breath. Gerry checked her pulse and found nothing. He crawled to his dad and was surprised that he found a weak but steady pulse. “Dad, Dad, wake up.”
Carlos slowly came to his senses. “Why are you yelling son. What happened?”
Before Gerry could speak, his dad died in his arms. Missy didn’t realize that she had broken his neck. Gerry cried for a few minutes until rage filled his gut and washed over him. All he could think about was revenge and killing Missy very slowly.
☆
Chapter 9
The geese and goats performed their job well and woke Lisa and Roy up several minutes before the wagon arrived. They both were dressed and had guns in hand when Walt rode up on his horse closely followed by Tom driving the wagon. Roy recognized the sound of his wagon and mules but kept behind cover until he heard Walt call his name.
“Roy, don’t shoot. We came a bit early today.”
“What de hell ya doing here so darn early? I didn’t get me beauty rest or enough sleep ta iron out me wrinkles. Lisa, please put some darn coffee on fer our guests. My my what a bunch of purty women folk. Lets me hep ya down from de wagon and get ya in de warm cabin.”
Tom filled him in on the events leading up to their arrival. Roy’s first question surprised everyone but Tom. Roy asked, “What did ya do wit de lion. That’s some good fur and the meat ain’t half bad iffen you're hungry.”
Tom pointed at the wagon. “The dirty beast is tied to the side of the wagon. I thought you might have a use for the fur.”
“Hell yes. Dat fur make a good blanket on a cold day. Yep, it will. Thank yee. Darn, it’s almost 4:00 am. Let’s fix some grub and get to work on building yer lean to.”
Tom said, “Hut sounds better.”
Roy acted insulted, “It’s a focken lean to.”
As it turned out, the old miner had plenty of old used lumber and tarps to make a twelve-foot wide by twenty-four foot long hut. They built the framework against the wall of the largest shed with the backside against the hillside. After they stretched the canvas over the frame, it blocked the wind and made a nice dry room. Tom ordered the crew to unload the wagon and place their supplies against the rocky wall.
Walt pointed to the small shed across the way. “He’s finished skinning that cat and is hanging the pelt on the shed’s wall. I don’t buy into his voice or phony English. I don’t think he’s dangerous to us, but he is hiding something.”
Roy came toward them and asked, “I need some hep putting dat damn wind turbine up in de air. Can you two hep me?”
Tom replied, “We’ll be glad to help. I guess we all need to get jobs assigned to us now that we are part of your community.”
“Done give de women jobs. I got Mattie and Cristy gathering rocks and piling dem up in walls alongside of de hillside ta make some more gardens. Sally and Meg are digging and moving dirt to de new gardens. Lisa is hauling crap. I say manure round de girls. Anyways Lisa is taking de crap to the gardens. Ann is using a shovel ta mix it all up. We gonna have some sore women tomorrow. You guys are a gonna hep me build a dam on up de crick, and we is a gonna build a water wheel powered generator.”
Tom shook the old man’s hand and was surprised at the firm grip. “Sounds like a plan. Hey, that’s a firm grip for an old man. How old are you? If you don’t mind.”
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�Old enough ta know better and young enough to know when ta mind me own biznez. Now is we a talking or is we a working ta…day?”
Walt chimed into the conversation. “I’m a working. You two can flap your gums.”
Roy took them over to the wind turbine that lay prone on the ground and said, “We need ta raise dis up to da sky and let de pole slide in ta de hole I dug. Pick yer end up and let’s walk it ta de hole.”
Tom made the time out sign with his hands. “Roy, The telephone pole is about twenty-five feet long and weighs over 100 pounds. That turbine weighs at least another 100 pounds. All we’ll accomplish is to wreck it and get someone hurt if we try that. I have an idea on how to get it up safely without straining too much.”
Roy glared at Tom but then said, “Have at it. What do me and the Injun need ta do?”
Tom quickly explained how he intended to use a pulley mounted on a tall tripod to help lift the pole in place after they raised the pole head high. Roy had his doubts. “I don’t think it work so good but give it a try.”
Tom found a stack of 20 to 30-foot ridgepole pines lying behind the barn and sorted through them to find the largest and strongest ones. They were only about six inches thick at the base and tapered down to finger size. Tom cut off the weak upper lengths and yielded three – twenty footers. Tom then used the wagon as a base to raise the poles and tie them together at the top to make a three-legged teepee. Two of the legs rested against the side of the wagon facing the hole, and the third was against the other side. Tom had the women haul rocks to fill the wagon while the men tied the legs to the cart.
When they were finished, Tom hung a pulley from the top of the contraption and ran a rope from the pulley to the wind turbine pole. The ladies helped the men get the pole off the ground by pulling on the line until it was almost out of reach by the men. Roy ran over to help the women pull while Tom and Walt guided the pole into the four-foot deep hole. The pole slid into the hole and waved around for a minute before settling down. The men stood the pole upright while Meg and Mattie shoveled dirt in the hole and Ann tamped the earth down to make a solid base.
Tom looked at their work. “Roy I think we need some guy wires to keep it in place during high winds.”
“I got just da thing fer dat. I stole … err … borrowed some cable from dat mining company. Hep me cut some pieces long enough. Over by de toolshed is some long assed eyebolts we can drive in ta de ground to steady it up some.”
A few hours later, Roy looked at their work. “It took too darn long, but we uns still have all our fingers and toes. Ya dun good. Let’s have some Apple Jack.”
“Roy, it’s only 1:00. Isn’t that a bit early to start drinking?” Meg asked.
“Hell nope. It be 5:00 somewhere in dis apoc – o – lypse. Here girlie take a pull from me jug. Don’t worry about no stinking bugs. De alcohol done kilt de germs.”
Meg cautiously took the jug, placed it to her lips, and took a small swig. She gulped and then took a drink. “This stuff is good. Not what I expected at all.”
Ann took the bottle and took a big swallow. “It tastes like hard apple cider. Kinda like we made over in the sandbox.”
Roy laughed and slapped Ann on the back. “You got that right. I learnt ta make it over in Beserkastan. Be careful it got a mean kick.”
Ann saw Tom go into the barn and followed him with a bottle of the Apple Jack. “Tom, have a drink.”
“Sorry, but I have more work to do, and I need to keep my senses about me.”
Ann closed in on Tom and wrapped her arms around him from behind. “Tom, this is me making a pass at you. I know you like me. Let’s go up in the hayloft and …”
Tom jerked his arms upward and broke her hold. “Ann, I’m with Meg, and this isn’t right. You need to find a man of your own. I’m flattered by the attention, but it would be better placed on a man your own age that doesn’t have a girlfriend. I have to go help, Walt.”
Tom scurried out of the barn as Ann watched. “I know you care for me Tom Horn,” she said as she saw him walk across the barnyard.”
Tom and Walt left the rather boisterous drinkers to start work on the hut. They had selected several of the smaller ridgepoles to make the roof and wall supports for the tent cloth and tarps. Tom pointed at a large crack in the rock wall that would be the back of their new home. “Look at that crack. If we trim the ends of the roof poles down a bit, we can wedge the ends into the crack. Then we can drive wooden wedges in to secure them.”
Walt looked over at Roy and the women and saw Sally had moved away from them. She had always been a bit shy. Walt caught Tom’s eye. “Tom, I’m going to call Sally over to help us, and I’m going to …what are the correct words to try to see her?”
“You’re both adults and can see anyone you like? You two should get together.”
Walt shrugged. “I don’t know anymore. People are dying all over the world, and I think it’s only wise to pair up with a mate for survival. It’s worth a try.”
This pleased Tom. “I think you and Sally will be good for each other.”
Walt had avoided saying anything but decided to speak up. “Hey, old buddy, do you and Ann have a thing going on? I just saw her follow you into the barn.”
“Shit. No, but she got drunk and tried to have sex with me on our trip. I pushed her away, and she passed out. Then she threw up all over herself, and I had to clean her up and change her clothes. When she woke up in different clothes, I suspect she thinks we had sex that night even though I told her we didn’t. She asked me to ditch Meg and be her boyfriend in the barn. I love Meg.”
Walt was amazed at the revelation. “Oh, boy. That’s a predicament that I would have loved to be in a year ago. A hot Latin chick after my body. I’m glad you finally admitted to loving Meg. She loves you and is much better suited to deal with your bull crap. You better avoid Ann.”
Walt motioned for Sally to join them. She came over to them with a smile on her face. “Can I help you build our new house?”
Walt patted her on the back. “Sally, I hoped you’d say that. We need a bit of help, and the others look like they need a few drinks. Thanks so much for volunteering.”
Sally helped hold the poles while Tom and Walt cut the large ends down to fit in the cracks and then helped shove them in the cracks. She held the upright posts in place while Tom and Walt nailed the ridgepoles to them. They put up a square about 12 foot deep and 12 foot wide before adding three ridgepoles in the center with the ends away from the rock wall supported by cross beams. After making sure, the structure was secure and steady they build another on the left side. They now had a 12 by 24-foot skeleton of a house.
They pulled the tent and tarp materials over the rafters and tied them securely to the poles. Tom made sure that all of the tarps overlapped about a foot, so they drained from the top tarp down to the one below. The structure had a proper slope from the rocky hillside down to the front so water would drain quickly and not pool. The two doors were overlapping tarps that blocked the wind.
Once the structure began looking like a building the ladies swarmed over it examining their new home and calling dibs on their sleeping spots. They were chattering away when Tom raised his voice to get their attention. “Ladies, tonight it's sleeping on the ground. Tomorrow we will start making some kind of cots or beds.”
Roy motioned to them. “De barn has a shit pot full of baled hay fur me mules. Take two bales and make a bed until you can build beds. We uns just need de hay this winter.”
Lisa pulled Tom off to the side. “Roy expects the women to stay with him in the cabin while you guys make the lean to homier. I’ll get Ann to stay with me in the cabin so the rest of you can stay together out here.”
“Do you think Roy wants you to be … err?”
Lisa cut him short. “His woman. Oh, hell no. Hell yes, I want to meet a good man, but not Roy. Eeewwww. He smells and is a cranky old fart. Ann can help guard me. I’d come out with the rest of you, but we don’t want to piss Roy off.�
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Tom nodded. “I agree. Sorry, you have to stay around him so much. You do have to admit you ladies were enjoying his company and his liquor.”
She laughed and punched Tom gently on the shoulder. “Mainly his booze. I got a good buzz on and had to back away. Ann is pissed drunk and cussing behind the barn. Meg and Mattie don’t appear to have an off switch either when it comes to drinking. Tonight may be your lucky night.”
Tom didn’t catch her drift for a second and then his face blushed. “Not in a makeshift tent with a bunch of other people sleeping next to us.”
“Where there’s a will there’s a way big boy,” Lisa said as she walked away.
Tom turned to the ladies in the hut and said, “Walt and I will start bringing some hay bales over in the wagon. You need to arrange them like you want them. I’d place them close to the back and use the front for a kitchen and living room.”
By the time they had the hay bales arranged to make beds, it was time to make supper. Lisa showed Mattie and Meg to Roy’s kitchen and then left to direct the others in doing the evening chores. Feeding the animals, watering the plants in Roy’s crude hothouse, and checking the battery bank for the wind turbine took about an hour. They washed up for supper at the spring-fed trough Roy had made years ago, which was beside the barn.
Tom was amazed as he chased the garden hose from the trough back to the barn and the animal’s water trough. The tube had a cut off valve actuated by a prominent float in the water. The float was set to keep about a foot of water in the trough. He then followed the hose behind the barn and down to the fast flowing creek. He smiled when he saw the hose was attached to a pump that was turned by a small water wheel. He thought Roy was a genius. He examined the contraption and was deep in thought about building a much larger one to turn a dynamo to generate electricity when he heard someone behind him.