BEYOND THE GRID BOX SET: The Complete Beyond The Grid series (book 1-4)

by Connor Mccoy

  Arnie bent the branch down so Brandon could check the leaves. Years of farm life had taught Brandon what to look for. Sure enough, the dots of small holes across the foliage indicated a likely pest. “It looks like a flea beetle did this.” Brandon knelt down so he could look at the branches closest to the ground. “Maybe we even can catch some in the act. I bet Dad would be happy if we could take some of them prisoner.”

  “Prisoner?” asked a female voice.

  Brandon was so startled that he raised his head suddenly and smacked it underneath a branch. “Ow! Jubes, is that you?”

  He rolled out from under the plant, clutching his head. The slender form of his older sister became visible. She was standing close to a row of soybean plants with a wry smile. “So, what happened? You found some buggies?”

  Brandon placed his hands on his hips. “I prefer to call them pint-sized invaders from the microworld.”

  “Aliens?” Arnie asked.

  “Yep. Tiny little blood sucking aliens!” Brandon pinched his fingers close together to indicate a small insect.

  Arnie started backing away from the stalk. Jubilee shook her head, waving her brown hair back and forth. “Brandon, stop it. You’re scaring Arnie. Anyway, I was hoping I could borrow him. We’ve got some issues with the new well and Arnie’s arms really could be a big help.”

  “Go ahead. I need to tell Dad about this plant anyway.” Brandon was about to turn back to the plant, but then he asked, “Uh, is Courtney still canning? I mean, maybe she can help me out while Arnie’s gone, if she’s free?”

  Jubilee laughed. “She’s not tall enough to reach the high stalks. And no, I don’t think she’s done.”

  Brandon wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or disappointed. He actually had been avoiding Courtney a little beyond showing niceties and manners. His mom explained it was natural to be nervous around a girl and that he shouldn’t worry.

  “It’s okay.” Brandon looked in the direction of the house. “Yeah, I ought to talk to Dad anyway.”

  He started off toward the house.

  Jacob Avery sat back on the grass, his legs dangling over the hole in the yard, while glaring at the shovel at his side. “Well, this thing’s proving to be a pain in the butt.” He pushed it aside.

  Domino, standing over him, looked into the hole. “Another trip to the grinder, huh?”

  Jacob looked at his pants. Below the knees, they were caked with dirt and clay. “Clean off the edge, grind it sharp, sure, that should do it. But I feel like we need more tilling supplies, and one or two more grinding wheels wouldn’t hurt either.”

  Domino handed Jacob a fresh water bottle. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about the filter issue. Maybe the next time we go to Skylar, we can ask if they have any tubing. Oh, and you are going to use the boiling system, aren’t you? We might need some more metal containers and grills.”

  Jacob took off the bottle cap. “I wish I had thought of all of this when I was in Middleburg.” After taking a swig, Jacob added, “Of course, I didn’t exactly have time to go on a shopping spree.”

  Domino cast a glance onto Jacob’s shoulder. “Oh, how’s it doing?”

  “What?” Jacob asked.

  “Your shoulder.” Domino pointed to Jacob’s right shoulder.

  “Oh, that. It’s fine.” Jacob realized he hadn’t given his right shoulder a single thought in more than a week.

  Sykes had shot him there in the final moments before Sheryl did Sykes in for good. Fortunately, his wound was not life threatening and didn’t leave any lingering problems beyond a month of aches and pains. Jacob joked that he wished he could blow the remaining tattoos off his body, since they served as constant reminders of the urban life he once lived before moving out here. But, by and large, he didn’t think of the body art. He was happy with where he was in life.

  The sounds of boots tromping through grass drew their attention. Jubilee, Brandon, and Arnie approached from the fields. “I got the giant like you wanted,” Jubilee said with a smile.

  “Thank God.” Jacob drank again before continuing. “Brandon, I hate to grab your partner, but I’d really like to break through to the water table before the sun goes down.”

  “Aliens are here,” Arnie said.

  Jacob drank again but coughed on the liquid. “Aliens?”

  Brandon handed Jacob a single leaf. “Very small aliens. Could be flea beetles.”

  “Oh, I see.” Jacob eyed the leaf. “You’re probably right. How many stalks did you find these on?”

  “Just one on Row C,” Brandon said. “We didn’t get a chance to check Row B before Jubes showed up.”

  Domino knelt down to look at the leaf. “We’re going to have to ask about sprays, too.”

  “We’ve got plenty. I stocked up a big load before everything shut down,” Jacob said. “Everyone probably has hoarded insect sprays by now. I doubt we’ll find anything in Skylar.”

  “You’re going to Skylar?” Jubilee asked.

  “We were planning on making a run next week, but it might be a good idea to move it up to this week, maybe even tomorrow,” Jacob said.

  “Oh, could I come with you?” Jubilee folded her left hand into her right fist. “Please?”

  Jacob almost said yes, but fresh doubts held him back. Not long after they had taken back their home from Sykes and his men, Jacob had gone with Domino to Skylar and found the town was, to their great relief, still in one piece, with few fatalities. The pair quickly made some trades and learned some information about the whereabouts of some of their friends, including Mike Valance, who used to come by to train Jubilee in mixed martial arts, at least before the EMP.

  Over the next three months, Domino and Jacob would take Brandon or Jubilee out to the homes of their friends, but not yet to Skylar. The farming work had occupied their time over the past few weeks. Another run to Skylar had not come to mind.

  “I’ll tell you what. We’ll go ahead with that trade run next week with you and Brandon. But tomorrow we’ll want to make it speedy. Get the supplies and get back home,” Jacob finally said after a long pause.

  The answer seemed to satisfy both of the kids. “Perfect!” Jubilee said.

  Delighted with their reception, Jacob raised the bottle to his lips, but a loud scream stopped him.

  Brandon turned to the house. “Courtney!” he shouted.

  Chapter Two

  Brandon sprinted ahead of Jacob, Domino, Jubilee and Arnie, making it first to the back porch where Courtney had been canning food. The girl was seated on a bench by the table, clutching her right hand, with Sheryl just now sitting beside her.

  “Ow! Ow!” Courtney cried out a few curse words as well to help express her pain.

  “What happened?” Jacob and Brandon asked at the same time.

  “I don’t know!” Courtney sucked in a deep breath. “Something stung me under the freakin’ table!”

  Sheryl looked up. “It was probably a bee or a wasp. I’m going to get something to spray Courtney’s hand.” She left Jubilee and headed through the open door to the kitchen.

  Domino checked Courtney’s hand. A spot on the back of her hand was red. “You might have bumped into a nest,” Domino said. “You’ll be okay.”

  Courtney whimpered. “I’ve never had anything hurt this bad, not even a stupid shot at the doctor’s!”

  Jacob crouched down to look under the bench. “Yeah, I think I see a wasp nest.” He pointed to an area by the edge of the table.

  Between her labored breaths, Courtney said, “But I see wasps around all the time and they never bother me!”

  “Yeah, but if you get close to their nest, it’s a different story. They can turn real nasty.” Jacob stood up. “I’ll get some wasp and hornet spray. I’ll take out the wasps and then clear the nest off the table.”

  But before Jacob even could step aside, Arnie was rushing in. He reached out and grabbed the nest from underneath the table, ripping the mud concoction free.

  Jacob stood back. �
��Arnie, what are you doing?”

  Arnie did not respond. He slammed the nest down onto the concrete and stomped it with his boots. “Bad! Bad bugs! Bad bugs hurt Courtney!”

  A pair of wasps buzzed from underneath the table. Courtney bolted through the open door into the house, joined by Jubilee and Brandon. “Don’t let them get inside the house!” Courtney cried in a near panic.

  Jacob instructed Domino, “Shut the door. I’ll deal with these pests. Arnie, watch it! They’re going to be pissed!”

  Domino quickly closed the door. Arnie, meanwhile, saw the two wasps and realized trouble might be coming. He ran from the porch with the wasps in pursuit. He shouted, “Help! Help!”

  “Just keep running, Arnie!” Jacob wished some bug spray was easily available, but the porch was occupied only by the canning table and anything meant to assist in the canning process. “Those little buggers will tire soon.”

  Courtney’s breathing finally slowed. “Here you go.” Sheryl applied the bandage to Courtney’s skin, pressing down on the liquid she had sprayed onto Courtney’s wound. “I know, bug stings are not fun.” Courtney winced while Sheryl finished pressing down the bandage. “But you’re going to be fine.”

  Jubilee and Brandon checked through the glass window of the kitchen door. The commotion outside finally had died down, although Courtney still was apprehensive about opening the door again to see what Jacob, Domino and Arnie were doing.

  Courtney sat back in the chair. “I hate this. I don’t want to work outside again!”

  Sheryl sat down next to Courtney. “I know, it’s not fun. The pain’s going to be talking for a while, but in a few hours, you’re going to feel a lot better. Sometimes these things happen. You get a little nasty surprise, but then you realize it wasn’t a big deal.”

  Before Courtney could respond, the kitchen door opened. Jacob stepped through. He did not immediately close the door.

  Courtney erupted in a panic. “Shut the door! Shut the door!”

  Jacob gave the door a leisurely shove that closed it. “Don’t worry. There aren’t any wasps close by. I found one earlier and gave him a good smack with my hat. Without the nest, they won’t have any incentive to come by the porch.”

  “Wasps do like flowers. They might buzz by the roses. You know, the ones at the end of the porch,” Brandon said.

  Courtney spread her arms. “That does it. I’m not canning anything again unless it’s inside.”

  Jubilee glared at Brandon. “Way to go.”

  Brandon looked at her with slight shock. “What?”

  Sheryl stood up from her seat. “She’s had a nasty shock today,” she said quietly into Jacob’s ear. “You may want to have her do something else for a little while. She’ll be fine. She just needs all the bad feelings to wear off.”

  Jacob nodded in reply. “Anyway, the good news is we should have more than enough cans for our trading run into Skylar.” He turned to Courtney and smiled. “You got a lot done for us. Maybe if we find something nice in town, something you have your eye on, we can trade for it.”

  Courtney frowned. “I…that’d be nice, but all I can think of is stuff like phone accessories.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I suck at this whole farming thing. I still want to turn on the TV or check my phone and I have to keep telling myself they’re all gone. Now I get attacked by a stupid wasp.” She huddled her arms against her chest. “Next week I’ll probably fall into the well and drown or get eaten by a bear.”

  Jacob felt the cool air flow through the window screen. “Every day’s an adventure.” He turned to Domino, who was walking out of the bathroom dressed in her night clothes.

  “Did you see Courtney, or did you hear about her from Sheryl?” Having been occupied with tasks such as checking the pen locks and the door locks on the house, Jacob had not seen their teenage ward in the past two hours.

  “She’s still a little down in the dumps, but she’s doing better.” Domino walked toward the dresser. The candles provided illumination for her to see in the mirror. “Remember the time I got my first bee sting?”

  “Yeah, I do.” Jacob chuckled. “I had no idea you knew those curse words.”

  “Well, it my own stupid fault for getting too close to that hive. Hey, I was still new to the outdoor life. Doms had some learning to do.” Domino started combing her hair. “Very painful learning at times.”

  “Speaking of painful, how’s Sheryl coming along?” Jacob asked.

  Domino laughed so abruptly she jerked her comb in her hair. “Ow! Oh, it’s not that painful. She’s still having problems telling time and I think that’s making her slip a little when she’s trying to grade the kids’ lessons. I told her she could try to make hourglasses with Brandon. If she has ways to keep time, it’s probably going to help her. She won’t be so disoriented.”

  “Brandon will love that.” Jacob had something else on his mind. “You know, with us going tomorrow and then next week, that makes only about a week in-between that we’ll be home. We’ve never taken frequent trips like that in the past three months. I would have felt nervous about that, but I guess I’m starting to feel comfortable. You know what I mean?”

  Domino took the comb out of her hair. “I’m sorry, you lost me.”

  “Well, the world doesn’t seem as bad. It’s been quiet ever since we got home from Doc Sam’s. Skylar came through the disaster okay. Maybe the worst is finally behind us. It’s like things are becoming normal.”

  Domino leaned her head back. “Normal. That feels such like a strange word. But yeah, I can see what you’re getting at. There’s no more fighting, no more running for our lives, shooting…” She put her comb down. “It’s just us.” With a nervous laugh, she added, “I just hope we’re not tempting fate by saying that. You never know when the other shoe’s going to drop.”

  Jacob leaned in behind her. “I know what you mean.” As he stared at his wife in the mirror, a wonderful thought came over him. “Well, I don’t know about shoes dropping, but I do admit I like the idea of that gown dropping.”

  He already was undoing Domino’s gown when she laughed. “Jay!” she cried as he scooped her up off the chair and planted her in bed.

  Jacob, walking through the living room, approached the front door. His and Domino’s backpacks already lay by the door. Jubilee and Brandon waited there for hugs and goodbyes. Sheryl, there too, received a hug from Jacob first so the kids could get their attention last.

  “I still feel a little pit in my stomach when you and Domino leave,” she said, “But it’s a little less. Maybe I’m getting used to it.”

  “We’ll try not to be gone long,” Jacob said.

  Jacob and Domino exchanged their goodbyes with their kids. Sheryl’s reaction was a reminder that stepping out of the house was still a bit of an ordeal. It was not like taking a drive to the supermarket or hardware store. There was possible peril involved. Also, the departure of Jacob and Domino did leave the homestead vulnerable, in spite of Sheryl’s increased prowess with firearms, thanks to Jacob’s tutelage.

  Don’t worry, a voice inside Jacob said. Things are going fine. They will continue to be fine.

  Despite the heavy load on his back, Jacob felt pretty good as he walked up State Road 22. Domino, by his side, looked at the nearby trees with a smile. The last time the two of them had trekked to Skylar, she had not appreciated the beauty of the forest. She instead had been fully on guard for any malicious parties that might be lurking in the trees.

  It was understandable. After the raid by Jimmy Sykes and his men, Domino wasn’t about to relax as they made their way down the deserted state road toward Skylar that first time. She wondered if one of Sykes’s men, perhaps camping out in the woods, might emerge to attack them. Jacob assured her that such a scenario was unlikely. Too many days had passed. Unless the survivors of Sykes’s raid understood how to live in the forest, they would be more concerned with finding food and water than sticking around to seek revenge. From what Courtney had told them, S
ykes’s men were more desperate than hardened. They probably wouldn’t care what happened to the Averys from here on.

  And, so, Jacob and Domino made it to Skylar unscathed. No one in the town had seen or heard of Sykes’s men after the attack on the Averys’ farm, though they were quite afraid of Sykes following his raids on abandoned gas stations nearby. The fact that Sykes was dead brought great relief. They almost showered the Averys with gifts as tokens of appreciation.

  Jacob laughed.

  “What?” Domino said, laughing with him.

  “I wonder if we’re going to get another hero’s welcome like we did last time,” he said. “Hell, maybe they’ll have forgotten about us already. ‘Oh, Jacob Avery. Never heard of you.’”

  “I’m sure our friends there still will keep the legend of the Avery farm siege alive.” Domino suddenly slowed down. She leaned the right side of her head toward the road. “Do you hear something?”

  Jacob reduced his pace to stay alongside her. “Yeah, I think so. It’s like a little rumbling. Or maybe it’s something rolling. Wheels, maybe?”

  The pair came to a stop. “I think it’s coming from up ahead.”

  Jacob didn’t like this. There was a big tree close to the road, and with its trunk bent to the left, it blocked much of the view of the road ahead. A walk to the other side of the road would afford a better view, but Jacob did not like exposing himself if a hostile party was approaching.

  “Into the forest.” Jacob walked off the side of the road. Domino followed him. “With this cover, we’ll have a chance to see who our mystery friend is before he can surprise us.”

  The couple waited by the side of a fat tree trunk. They didn’t have to wait for long, for a woman riding a bicycle rounded the bend up ahead. Her bicycle’s wheels rolled close to the lane stripes that marked the middle of the road.