The Hartford Homestead: Small Town EMP Survival in a Powerless World by Marie Wilkens

Author:Marie Wilkens [Wilkens, Marie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-11-20T16:00:00+00:00

25

“So, tell me about yourself, Pam. What do you like to do?” Tasha asked as they walked.

“Oh, you know, I do the laundry and the cooking, though I’m not very good at either without electricity. I read your book, you know. Elijah gave me a copy when I first moved in here. He’s so proud of you.”

Tasha smiled. “Yeah, he’s pretty wonderful. So, did you like it?”

“Yes, very much so. I didn’t understand some of it, but it was really helpful when things went dark. I’ve been doing my laundry at the well, and Harris put up a clothesline.”

“Really? I didn’t see one when we came through. You’ll have to show me when we walk back.”

“Well, actually, it came down when it stormed last week, but that’s okay. He’s gonna put it back up before long. It’s just been a rough…well, a rough few days.”

“I understand,” Tasha said.

Silence filled the air. She had to find a way to get through to the woman. It was obvious she was desperate for someone to talk to, someone to listen, but Harris was keeping her locked away in their apartment. Everything about the man made her skin crawl. Tasha couldn’t fathom why Pam would willingly let him get away with treating her so poorly.

“So, what do you do in your free time? I mean, since the power went out?”

She shrugged. “Not much. When I can slip away, after Harris is asleep, that is, I like to come down here to the pond and watch the fish. There is a herd of deer that drink from it just about every day now. I try to slip out at least once to see them. Sometimes, I think about getting Harris’s gun and trying to get one on my own but after his last hunting trip…well, let’s just say it’s a good thing you took the guns.”

Tasha chuckled. “Really? What happened last time?”

“Oh, I told him about a buck I’d seen when I was mushroom hunting a few days back. He was determined to kill it and put some fresh meat on the grill. So, I took him out to where I’d seen the deer, and old Harris took aim, but he’s always been a lousy shot. Anyway, he missed and got angry. After that, well, I just figured I’d let the deer pass by without noticing.”

The way Pam’s hand moved instinctively to her cheek made Tasha’s blood boil. She knew the reaction well, having seen it dozens of times when she had volunteered at the woman’s shelter in New York. Harris liked to hit his wife, to smack her around to teach her a lesson or two. Tasha balled her hands into fists, fighting the urge to race back to the garage and beat Harris within an inch of his life. Real men didn’t hit women.

Hell, violence against any creature was just stupid and unnecessary in most cases. It didn’t have to be a human, a man, a woman, or all the dots and dashes in between, intentionally inflicting pain on anything was pointless.

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