pumps.
“I’m sorry, sir,” Nicole answered quietly. “What was her name?”
Tyler nodded; she was trying to appeal to his emotional side. “Her name was Emily,” the voice in the door responded.
“That’s a very pretty name. What’s your name?”
“Ted,” he replied. “What do you want?”
“We’d like to talk to you, Ted,” Tyler replied.
“Is that why you brought your army?” Ted asked bitterly.
“We didn’t bring an army,” Nicole stated. “We brought a few people to help protect us. The world is a dangerous place nowadays.”
“It sure is. I’ve heard some stories from people passing through. That’s why I chose to hole up in here.”
“There was a group of people that came to us in April, led by John Pavlik and his wife. They met you and told us that you would be a good addition to our community.”
“The Pavliks made it?” Ted asked, obviously relieved.
“Yes, sir,” Nicole affirmed. “John said that you had a brilliant mind and could help us in San Angelo.”
“They said that, huh?”
“Yeah, they said that you know your way around machinery.”
Tyler nudged her and mouthed, What are you doing?
Nicole held up a finger and smiled when Ted replied, “Yes, ma’am. I’m a trained mechanical engineer, worked on the pumps in the oil fields for more than fifteen years.”
“Ted, can we speak face to face instead of through the door?”
The man behind the door paused and Tyler began to feel uncomfortable. How much had he even interacted with the Pavliks? For all they knew, he could have turned them away like he was trying to do to the two of them. Nicole had taken a major leap to say that John Pavlik had recommended him to them.
The silence was almost palpable until finally, they heard a crank turning behind the door. The metal grate stayed in place while the door into the building opened inward, revealing a thin, wiry man who Tyler guessed to be in his mid-thirties. It was difficult to tell though because the skin on his face and arms had seen years’ worth of damage under the harsh west Texas sun. His head was bald with a few spots indicative of skin cancer, and he wore a faded rock band t-shirt and jeans over standard work boots.
He opened their face-to-face conversation abruptly with, “My finger is on a button right now that will dump a hundred gallons of crude oil on your head and light it. It’s highly flammable. The good news is that it will kill you in only a few seconds, so you won’t suffer much.”
“Thanks for the warning, Ted,” Nicole replied. “I’m Nicole and this is my friend, Tyler.”
“Nice to meet you,” he replied. Tyler mumbled a likewise response that he didn’t feel since he was potentially moments away from a horrible death.
“So, like we were saying, we want to offer you the safety of living in San Angelo.”
Ted snorted once again, “Safety! You folks don’t have any idea about safety. I can already tell your type. You think rolling around with overwhelming firepower is the way to go. Strongholds, that’s what will see us through now.”
“We agree,” Nicole replied adamantly. “We have basic walls around the habitable parts of our city, but we need an expert to help us make them better.” She pointed at the metal grates covering the doorway. “You’re obviously the expert that we need, Ted. You did all of this by yourself and without any power tools.”
He beamed under the pretty young woman’s compliments. “Yeah, I guess you could say that I’ve had a lot of time on my hands.” His laughter at his own joke seemed a little off to Tyler. Maybe the months of living alone in his fortress had slightly unhinged the man.
“There’s something else, Mr.… I’m sorry, what’s your last name?” Tyler asked.
“Winston. Ted Winston,” he replied.
“You may have been safe before, Mr. Winston, but the cities are running out of food. Depending on how many people are left, they may already be starving. I guess you
“I’m sorry, sir,” Nicole answered quietly. “What was her name?”
Tyler nodded; she was trying to appeal to his emotional side. “Her name was Emily,” the voice in the door responded.
“That’s a very pretty name. What’s your name?”
“Ted,” he replied. “What do you want?”
“We’d like to talk to you, Ted,” Tyler replied.
“Is that why you brought your army?” Ted asked bitterly.
“We didn’t bring an army,” Nicole stated. “We brought a few people to help protect us. The world is a dangerous place nowadays.”
“It sure is. I’ve heard some stories from people passing through. That’s why I chose to hole up in here.”
“There was a group of people that came to us in April, led by John Pavlik and his wife. They met you and told us that you would be a good addition to our community.”
“The Pavliks made it?” Ted asked, obviously relieved.
“Yes, sir,” Nicole affirmed. “John said that you had a brilliant mind and could help us in San Angelo.”
“They said that, huh?”
“Yeah, they said that you know your way around machinery.”
Tyler nudged her and mouthed, What are you doing?
Nicole held up a finger and smiled when Ted replied, “Yes, ma’am. I’m a trained mechanical engineer, worked on the pumps in the oil fields for more than fifteen years.”
“Ted, can we speak face to face instead of through the door?”
The man behind the door paused and Tyler began to feel uncomfortable. How much had he even interacted with the Pavliks? For all they knew, he could have turned them away like he was trying to do to the two of them. Nicole had taken a major leap to say that John Pavlik had recommended him to them.
The silence was almost palpable until finally, they heard a crank turning behind the door. The metal grate stayed in place while the door into the building opened inward, revealing a thin, wiry man who Tyler guessed to be in his mid-thirties. It was difficult to tell though because the skin on his face and arms had seen years’ worth of damage under the harsh west Texas sun. His head was bald with a few spots indicative of skin cancer, and he wore a faded rock band t-shirt and jeans over standard work boots.
He opened their face-to-face conversation abruptly with, “My finger is on a button right now that will dump a hundred gallons of crude oil on your head and light it. It’s highly flammable. The good news is that it will kill you in only a few seconds, so you won’t suffer much.”
“Thanks for the warning, Ted,” Nicole replied. “I’m Nicole and this is my friend, Tyler.”
“Nice to meet you,” he replied. Tyler mumbled a likewise response that he didn’t feel since he was potentially moments away from a horrible death.
“So, like we were saying, we want to offer you the safety of living in San Angelo.”
Ted snorted once again, “Safety! You folks don’t have any idea about safety. I can already tell your type. You think rolling around with overwhelming firepower is the way to go. Strongholds, that’s what will see us through now.”
“We agree,” Nicole replied adamantly. “We have basic walls around the habitable parts of our city, but we need an expert to help us make them better.” She pointed at the metal grates covering the doorway. “You’re obviously the expert that we need, Ted. You did all of this by yourself and without any power tools.”
He beamed under the pretty young woman’s compliments. “Yeah, I guess you could say that I’ve had a lot of time on my hands.” His laughter at his own joke seemed a little off to Tyler. Maybe the months of living alone in his fortress had slightly unhinged the man.
“There’s something else, Mr.… I’m sorry, what’s your last name?” Tyler asked.
“Winston. Ted Winston,” he replied.
“You may have been safe before, Mr. Winston, but the cities are running out of food. Depending on how many people are left, they may already be starving. I guess you
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