by Bruno Miller
“Wow, lookin’ good in here, guys,” Vince said.
“Wait until you see what’s for dinner. Be right back.” Sarah’s eyes widened and she disappeared through the large swinging door leading to the kitchen. Ryan and Sasha remained behind, laying out silverware rolled in paper towels at each setting. Then they took seats at the smaller folding table when they had finished.
“What’s for dinner?” Vince asked the kids.
The two of them looked at each other until Sasha finally spoke up.
“Meat soup.” She covered her mouth and giggled.
Vince wasn’t sure what that meant exactly, but if it tasted half as good as it smelled, he didn’t care. The others slowly trickled into the room and everyone took their place around the tables. Within a minute or two of everyone settling in, Sarah and Beverly emerged from the kitchen with an oversized steaming pot and a tray of buttered bread.
The ladies made their way around the table with the pot and served everyone a healthy portion of soup before having a seat themselves. Vince used his spoon to stir his bowl and was surprised to see something that resembled a normal meal. There were potatoes, corn, beans, and zucchini, along with large chunks of ham.
Of course, the missing pig. Now he had even more questions about the attack and what happened to the animal, but he didn’t want to bring it up right now, not in front of Mary. She looked like she was having enough trouble dealing with the bowl in front of her. She smiled and joined in the conversation, but Vince knew her well enough to know that this bothered her.
The animals Mary had on her little farm were all rescues, taken in from people who either didn’t want them anymore or couldn’t keep them for one reason or another. They weren’t livestock to Mary; they were pets. Not a pet in the way that she thought of Nugget, but close. They all had names, and Vince was sure that made this all the more difficult for her. He watched her as she picked out the vegetables and ate them along with the bread. When she had finished, she put her bowl down on the floor and let Nugget eat the chunks of meat she had left.
They all wolfed the food down, and as soon as Beverly was done, she announced that she would go and relieve Tom so that he could come in and enjoy the meal like the rest of them had. Everyone else chipped in and helped clean up—except for Mary, who excused herself and said she was taking Nugget outside for a bit. When Vince carried the large pot into the kitchen, he knew why she hadn’t wanted to help out with the clean-up.
There on the large stainless-steel island in the middle of the kitchen was the remainder of the pig.
“I did the best I could. Butchered plenty of deer but never a pig.” Bill had quartered the animal and done a decent job of it in Vince’s opinion.
“Reese estimated it had only been dead for a couple hours or so and that the meat was still good. We couldn’t let it go to waste,” Bill added.
Vince looked the meat over. “I see you’ve got it salted up pretty well.”
“Yeah, Mary had a bunch of salt in her basement for canning and pickling, so I figured we could cure the meat and keep it from spoiling. I even grabbed some empty feed bags to wrap it up in. We can keep it in the walk-in for tonight. It’s not cold, but it’s probably cool enough to keep it till morning with the salt on it.”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea, but we’ll still need to figure out where to keep it long term,” Vince said. Having this meat was a big deal, and it would feed them for a while. He hated that it was hard on Mary, but this was too good of an opportunity to waste. It benefitted the greater good, and that was how they had to think of things now, even though that wasn’t always the easiest thing to do. Vince and Bill further discussed how to best preserve the pork quarters while they helped clean up. Eventually, they decided that the best thing to do was to dig an old-fashioned root cellar. For the time being, burying one of the empty fifty-five-gallon plastic drums Vince had sitting in his garage might be enough, but eventually they would build something more permanent.
Behind the motel, there was a massive mound of dirt left over from when they had cleared the property many years ago to build the place. It had long since been forgotten and was grown over with grass and a few small trees. They could easily dig into the side of the hill with the loader and create a root cellar. There was certainly enough scrap material lying around to line the cellar with wood and build a well-insulated door to close the whole thing up tight.
Not only could they keep the meat longer, but they could also store any vegetables they harvested or anything else they wanted to keep cool and preserve. It was one more job to add to the ever-growing list of things to do, but it would be worth the effort. This wouldn’t be the only meat they had to preserve. At some point in the future, they were going to have to hunt game to survive. The eggs would go a long way toward providing them with a source of protein, but they needed variety, and any meat they could hunt or catch would help their canned goods last longer.
Vince and the others had been busy worrying about what they needed right now, but they needed to consider more than just their immediate needs. It was time to start thinking about long-term sustainability and how they could prepare for the hardships that were sure to come. There was no telling when or if help would ever come. And even if help did come, it would most likely be too late to matter if they didn’t take action now.
It was hot now, but cooler weather would come in a few months. Then winter would set in. Vince thought about the freezing-cold days he’d spent in his deer stand last hunting season and how good it felt to come home to a nice warm house with the woodstove going. Life wasn’t going to be that easy anymore. The stakes were higher now, and the days of hunting for recreation were over.
Now, if they didn’t get a deer or a turkey or whatever they were hunting, they might not eat. There would be a whole new set of challenges to deal with in the days and months ahead, and they would surely test their endurance as a group.
* * *
Find out about Bruno Miller’s next book by signing up for his newsletter here.
No spam, no junk, just news (sales, freebies, and releases.) Scouts honor.
Enjoy the book? Help the series grow by telling a friend about it and taking the time to leave a review.
About the Author
Bruno Miller is the author of the Dark Road series. He’s a military vet who likes to spend his downtime hanging out with his wife and kids, or getting in some range time. He believes in being prepared for any situation.
Website • Facebook
The Dark Road series:
Breakdown
Escape
Resistance
Fallout
Extraction
Cloverdale series:
Impact
Survival
Endurance