The Badlands Trilogy (Novella): Redemption In the Badlands by Jarrett Brian J

Author:Jarrett, Brian J. [Jarrett, Brian J.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Post-Apocalyptic, Horror
Publisher: Elegy Publishing, LLC
Published: 2017-04-11T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Four

With most of the coolers filled, the second day of gathering water went much more quickly than the first. Dan built a smaller fire this time, and they found themselves boiling the last of the collected water by noon.

Dan topped off the last of the coolers with the boiling water before loosely placing the lid on top to allow the heat to dissipate. He’d probably drank his fair share of PCBs over the last year or so from all that heated plastic, but slow death from chemical poisoning held a strong second place behind a quick and violent death by carrier.

“Now we can knock off early for lunch,” Dan said before picking up the cooler and heading inside.

Wordlessly, Lilly followed behind, pistol trained on his back.

Once inside, Dan locked the door behind them. He headed up the steps and toward the teachers’ lounge on the second floor, cooler in hand. After placing the cooler on the floor of the room, he helped himself to a cup of the cooled water they’d collected the previous day.

He finished the cup, wiping his mouth on his shirt. “That hit the spot. Say, Miss Lilly, how about a home-cooked meal for a change? The fire’s still got enough oomph left to warm up a little of that beef stew.”

Lilly regarded him suspiciously.

“Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t want a hot meal. You can even keep the gun on me if you want.”

Lilly considered the offer. “I suppose. But no bullshit.”

“As you wish,” Dan said, grinning.

Maybe he was finally getting through to Lilly after all.

* * *

After checking the overgrown and weedy school grounds for carriers or other threats, Dan headed outside with two saucepans in hand, each filled with a healthy helping of beef stew cooked and canned well before the world came to an end. Dan thought that beef stew might be the perfect food for the post-apocalypse. It kept nicely, even all these years later, and it had the right amount of protein and fats to sustain a person for a good long while.

Dan placed the saucepans on the metal grating and had a seat while he waited for the stew to boil. It took less time than he’d expected. Using two towels that he’d brought with him, Dan gripped the metal handles of the saucepans before heading back to the front door.

Lilly opened the door for him, allowing him inside, the gun still in hand. This time she locked the doors instead of Dan, placing the pistol in her back pocket. She gave him a stern warning once more about not trying to kill her before turning to engage the padlock.

Dan watched her, a steaming pot of hot food in each hand, marveling at the slightness and shape of her body. He might be a man of God, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t a man. Maybe folks in the old world would have judged him, but God had moved the world on to something new now, leaving those people behind to the annals of history.

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