A Brave New World by Christine D. Shuck

Author:Christine D. Shuck [Shuck, Christine D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: collapse, Dystopian, civil war, survival, near future
Publisher: Christine D. Shuck
Published: 2018-08-08T04:00:00+00:00

To Each a Trade

“The idea of apprenticeship was a term that seemed to hark from the Middle Ages. But here was this opportunity, for Tina, for us, and we accepted it. I think it was one of the best decisions we made as a family, but it was hard, real hard. Watching her leave was hard for me and hardest by far for David. But we were facing a bleak, cold winter. A late start to the spring planting, along with a freak frost in mid-May had wiped out all of the fruit tree harvest and a freak cold snap in late August had wiped out most of our remaining crops. We were in bad shape and we knew it. So we said our goodbyes, watched her walk away with her hand firmly in Penelope’s, and hoped we would all survive our first winter apart.” – Jess’s Journal

Jess didn’t like the smell of the lamb’s ear. She had cut the dried, dead flower spikes off of the plants and began trying to extract the seeds. Jess had done this with all of the plants currently in the garden. So far she had managed to harvest hundreds of sage seeds. The sage hadn’t bothered Jess a bit, but David had run out of the house protesting the strong scent and howling that his eyes were burning.

It was early September, yet the days were still quite warm. The sun beat down and there was a light breeze, keeping it from being unbearably hot. Everyone was busy with something, making use of the slightly cooler weather to get a long list of needed tasks done. At the moment, it was almost impossible to imagine the impending winter. The tomatoes were still producing and the apples that had escaped the late frost were just about ready to harvest. David had announced he would be clearing an area on the other side of the block where they hoped to start a new orchard and plant the ten small apple trees he had helped Mr. Banks graft last year. There were also a large number of peach and cherry trees that Jacob and Tina had planted as seeds which were now in their second year of growth and ready to be transplanted as well. They had all headed over to the area that morning and were clearing areas of weed cover and prepping the soil. That left Erin and Jess and Quincy behind.

Erin sat quietly next to Jess, her red hair shining in the sun. It was curly, just as Erin’s had been. Sometimes Jess found herself wanting to believe that she was Erin, or even Erin’s daughter, a piece of her best friend come back to her, a piece she could keep close.

She had seen her friend die. But it didn’t matter; she still caught herself hoping for a different reality. The little girl was so quiet, still mute, unlike her namesake in so many ways, yet Jess loved having her near. The child had a gentle, kind spirit, which spoke louder than words ever could.

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