Scorched Earth (Book 1): Good Fences by Craven III Boyd

Author:Craven III, Boyd [Craven III, Boyd]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Post-Apocalyptic | Dystopian
Published: 2015-09-27T04:00:00+00:00

13

I made my way slowly to the fence in the darkness, picking my path carefully so I didn’t trip. I made it without incident, but was startled by a pig who was out late in the adjoining pen. I almost pissed myself and made sure to find out which one it was to be made into bacon strips and Thanksgiving dinner.

“Hey,” Lucy said, standing on her side of the fence, a sleeping Spencer in her arms.

“Hey,” I replied, full of rich conversation tonight, “you OK?”

“Yeah, I’m just worried, Brenda will be right back, and she’s grabbing the last bag.”

I looked around at a couple of suitcases sitting by the fence, along with what looked like a diaper bag. I knew Spencer was mostly potty trained, but figured it was just another vessel to transport things.

“Those suitcases have rollers,” Brenda said, huffing as she dragged out a duffel bag.

“It’ll leave a trail from the fence to the farmhouse,” I said.

“Everyone out there is getting so stupid drunk right now, I doubt anybody will notice,” Brenda told me, true disgust in her voice.

I listened and could hear voices, laughter and the quieter murmur of people talking in the distance. I couldn’t hear that from my house and part of it was comforting, part of it was disturbing. It was after 1am, and those folks were probably doing the exact opposite of what they should have been doing: gathering resources, taking stock of their situation. I understood the want for a party, to make things feel normal, but I’d heard the same broadcasts they had. All I did was have a couple of beers and some leftovers I could eat without heating up.

“Is it getting ugly?” I asked, Lucy handing me the little man through the top hot wires, being careful to avoid the barbed wire.

“Not yet, but it will soon enough,” Brenda predicted grimly.

Once I had Spencer, Lucy ducked under the fence herself. Brenda passed bags through the gap and, despite the weight, I took the two heaviest suitcases and carried them, not using the wheels. I didn’t want to advertise that half my fence had been rendered worthless. I had half a roll of barbed wire in the barn, and it was probably enough to run one strand down the middle of the Western fence line, but that was about it.

The walk back, I wasn’t as graceful as the walk in. The suitcases I held to about shoulder level, and they kept banging into the AR slung across my back, hitting me in the kidneys. Getting to a worn path, I set them down, drenched in sweat.

“Don’t overdo it. We still have to build a solar shower,” Brenda told me grinning.

“Why? I have hot water?”

The girls looked at each other, then back at me with wide eyes.

“I might kiss you.” Lucy threatened, “I feel so gross.”

“How did you manage that?” Brenda asked, “I thought you needed Randy to hook something up?”

“I’ll show you in the morning,” I promised.

I rolled my shoulders, cracked my neck and then grabbed the handles of the suitcases and started walking again.

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