The Recruit: A post-apocalyptic tale by Rachel Ford

Author:Rachel Ford [Ford, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-09-18T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

I expected things would be different once we got back to base. I expected General West would see things my way. I’d never given him cause to think I had a warehouse of food. Hell, I’d said the opposite.

Surely, he’d remember what I’d said.

But when he saw the truck, and its limited provisions, General West only frowned. Then, Matthews ushered us out of the shed, and locked the door – and the truck, with my belongings – behind us. “Can I speak to you in private, General?”

West agreed, and for a while, Elim and I were left on our own. The dogs barked at us again as we passed. There were fewer of them now, I saw. I supposed the guards must have rotated them out or something.

One of the cows was missing too. Dinner, probably. Hell, it’d been a long time since I’d had beef, and at the prospect, Matthews featured less in my thoughts.

I was sharing my dinner with Elim when I saw West again. It was meat, but not very good meat. That old cow, I supposed, must have gotten awfully tough and gamey looking out for herself. Well, meat is meat.

The general sat across from me and fixed me with a sober look that wasn’t in the least impacted by my eager greeting. “I thought we discussed this already?”

“Sir?”

“You, feeding that dog our food.”

“I…well, uh, what else am I supposed to feed him, sir?” I didn’t mention that they had taken all of my own food – what I’d normally be feeding Elim. I wasn’t looking for trouble. I just wanted to make sense of things.

West shifted. “Look, kid, I’m going to be straight up with you. No one keeps personal pets in NAPA. It’s a luxury, and we can’t afford that. So that dog…well, he’s going to have to go.”

“Go?” I blinked.

“That’s right.”

“I can’t…I can’t just leave him. Elim’s…” I didn’t want to say my best friend. He’d think that was ridiculous. Only friend would have been worse. So I said, “my sister’s dog.”

“I understand. Believe me, I do. And I’m not trying to be an asshole. I get the sentimental value of the critter.

“But it doesn’t change the fact that he’s a big dog, and he’ll be eating food meant for our mouths.”

“I can take care of him. I told you, he’s a good hunter. We’ll catch our own food.”

“No. No, you’re thinking of your old life. You’re not on your own anymore, Caleb. Your work is our work, our work is yours. We’re your family now. Not that dog. So if you hunt, it’s for your family. And if your family hunts, it’s for you.”

“But what about Elim? What’ll happen to him?”

He shrugged. “We’ll find a use for him.”

“A use?”

“That’s right. We’ll evaluate him for guard duty.”

I thought about that for a moment. It was better than asking me to leave him behind. But I’d seen how their guard dogs lived, out in the cold, fenced in. Elim was used to roaming free and sleeping in the house.

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