Homecoming: Enduring in a Cruel and Darkened World - Book Two by Jack Hance

Author:Jack Hance [Hance, Jack]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kindle Direct Publishing
Published: 2023-07-13T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty Two

Near Floral City

Friday, April 5, 7:15PM

Paula was sitting on the floor near the stove, with Indigo’s head and front legs draped over her lap. She rubbed the big cat’s ears and Indigo nuzzled Paula contentedly.

“How come Indy never purrs?” Paula asked. Dakota and Debbie were in the kitchen, finishing cleanup after dinner. Dirk, Sydney, Jeremy and Ethan were sitting at the kitchen table, and Ron and Tish were in a loveseat nearby.

“She can’t,” Dakota said, smiling. “A cat can either purr or roar, none can do both.”

“That’s pretty cool,” Dirk said. “Which ones can roar?”

“Lions, Tigers, Leopards and Jaguars,” Dakota said. “The four we call big cats.”

“Pretty hard to lump Indy in with those,” Paula said. “She’s a sweetheart.”

Dakota walked over, knelt and took one of Indigo’s front paws.

“Check this out,” she said, placing the paw against her palm and spreading the pads. “Her front paws are three inches across, and her claws are an inch and a half long. Indy is a big cat.”

“I keep thinking about that asshole who tried to climb the gate,” Sydney said.

“Yeah, maybe I upped the amperage too much,” Dirk said. “The guy caught on fire.”

“Hey, what if Indy hit the fence or that gate?” Paula asked. “Wouldn’t she get hurt?”

“I’ve never had an animal touch the fence,” Ron said. “Not even rabbits, though a few have burrowed under. I think they can sense the current.”

“Maybe they smell it,” Dirk said. “The ozone, I mean. They have way better noses than ours.”

“Ron, I was thinking,” Jeremy said. “You know those deer blind things you have in the trees by the gate, the ones Paula and Sydney used?” Ron nodded.

“What about them?”

“Well, me and Ethan could build one of them up, with a real platform,” Jeremy said. “We could camouflage it with a tarp. That way a sentry could stay up there and guard the front gates.”

“Not a bad idea,” Ron said.

“What if we ran a wire to the house?” Dirk said, getting excited. “I could make a simple telegraph system, and we could send signals.”

“I like it,” Ron said. “Jeremy, Ethan, let’s talk more about this platform.”

Dakota returned to the sink next to Debbie, then nudged her.

“I want you to teach me to shoot,” Dakota said softly, looking to see if anyone was listening. The others were busy talking about Jeremy’s guard platform.

“Why?” Debbie said. “You have that shotgun.”

“Not good enough,” Dakota said. “We got all those new guns off those dead guys. I want to be able to shoot one of those rifles, and a pistol, too.”

“Any particular reason?”

“Next time Emma goes out,” Dakota said. “I wanna go with, to help her.”

“Because of what those guys did to you?” Debbie asked.

“Yeah,” Dakota said. “I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s why I try to stay busy.”

“Gee, I had no idea,” Debbie said. Dakota nodded.

“I felt so helpless,” she said. “And not just getting raped, that was bad, but they killed my friends and shot some of the animals, too. Those four guys are dead, but there’s plenty more of them.

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