surprise.
“Where’d you get fresh vegetables?” she wondered aloud.
“Oh, those. Well it just so happens that you’re inheriting the station of the first person that came here to hide out when everything went to hell. Old Brian was smart enough to steal all the seed packets from the hardware store when everyone else was thinkin’ they were smart for taking the canned foods,” she chuckled robustly. “I miss that ol’ coot. Anyway, we’ve got a real nice garden. Everyone takes a turn workin’ it since it’s probably the best thing we’ve got goin’. We don’t want to forget how to propagate the seeds so we make sure everyone knows how. We weren’t so smart about the leatherworking. No one was itchin’ to learn from Brian. Not because they didn’t like him, mind. It’s just they thought it was tedious.”
Selena listened attentively, but with no intelligent reply to offer, Blaire got set to leave.
“Well, I’ll quit talkin’ your ear off for now. No promises tomorrow,” she told her with a wink. “Enjoy your dinner. And if you wind up feeling social, we like to get together ‘round a fire for storytellin’ when anyone gets back from a trip. Not that Dan’s much of a storyteller, but the boys enjoy the reports. They’re settin’ up for it now so feel free to pop on over. No hard feelin’s if you don’t want to, mind.”
With a wave, the older woman went out the door.
“Oh and the doors have got locks,” she said popping her head back in. “Feel free to use ‘em.”
Four
Selena took her time eating. There was a fork, but she opted for the knife and her hands. The food seemed to taste better that way, and her family had never bothered with forks. She hadn’t tasted beef in ages. Her small family hadn’t needed to kill anything big for just the three of them, so it was rare they would hunt anything larger than a rabbit. The real delight for Selena was the fresh produce. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d tasted a tomato.
Thoroughly satisfied by the end of the meal, Selena felt revitalized and ready to face the night. Resolving to carefully examine these new leatherworking tools as soon as it was bright enough the following morning, she blew out the lamp and stepped out the front door into the darkness. Emerging quietly from the doorway, she watched for signs of any people lurking about. There seemed to be no one nearby, but she heard several clear voices in the distance. Heading down the stairs, Selena stealthily set off in that direction. It was strange hearing people make so much noise with no fear of discovery.
When she saw the golden flames of their bonfire, Selena continued her approach as silently as she could. It wasn’t hard with the din of the gathering drowning out everything else.
There were other cabins around and paths cutting through the grass everywhere. A huge tree towered nearby and a few of its colossal branches sprawled high above the fire pit. Selena listened to the many voices as she mounted the trunk. Finding handholds was difficult, so she chose one of the lower branches and slowly pulled herself along towards the fire. She made sure not to set the leaves shaking unless there was a breeze to disguise it. When she felt near enough, she was lucky to find a twist in the branch that she could lean against comfortably. Selena wasn’t too worried about being seen. She probably wouldn’t be, but if she was, so what? She only wanted to observe them.
An inspection of the scene fifteen feet below revealed that they had built a very respectable fire. There was a big log close by for sitting, as well as wooden and plastic chairs scattered around.
There had to be at least ten
“Where’d you get fresh vegetables?” she wondered aloud.
“Oh, those. Well it just so happens that you’re inheriting the station of the first person that came here to hide out when everything went to hell. Old Brian was smart enough to steal all the seed packets from the hardware store when everyone else was thinkin’ they were smart for taking the canned foods,” she chuckled robustly. “I miss that ol’ coot. Anyway, we’ve got a real nice garden. Everyone takes a turn workin’ it since it’s probably the best thing we’ve got goin’. We don’t want to forget how to propagate the seeds so we make sure everyone knows how. We weren’t so smart about the leatherworking. No one was itchin’ to learn from Brian. Not because they didn’t like him, mind. It’s just they thought it was tedious.”
Selena listened attentively, but with no intelligent reply to offer, Blaire got set to leave.
“Well, I’ll quit talkin’ your ear off for now. No promises tomorrow,” she told her with a wink. “Enjoy your dinner. And if you wind up feeling social, we like to get together ‘round a fire for storytellin’ when anyone gets back from a trip. Not that Dan’s much of a storyteller, but the boys enjoy the reports. They’re settin’ up for it now so feel free to pop on over. No hard feelin’s if you don’t want to, mind.”
With a wave, the older woman went out the door.
“Oh and the doors have got locks,” she said popping her head back in. “Feel free to use ‘em.”
Four
Selena took her time eating. There was a fork, but she opted for the knife and her hands. The food seemed to taste better that way, and her family had never bothered with forks. She hadn’t tasted beef in ages. Her small family hadn’t needed to kill anything big for just the three of them, so it was rare they would hunt anything larger than a rabbit. The real delight for Selena was the fresh produce. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d tasted a tomato.
Thoroughly satisfied by the end of the meal, Selena felt revitalized and ready to face the night. Resolving to carefully examine these new leatherworking tools as soon as it was bright enough the following morning, she blew out the lamp and stepped out the front door into the darkness. Emerging quietly from the doorway, she watched for signs of any people lurking about. There seemed to be no one nearby, but she heard several clear voices in the distance. Heading down the stairs, Selena stealthily set off in that direction. It was strange hearing people make so much noise with no fear of discovery.
When she saw the golden flames of their bonfire, Selena continued her approach as silently as she could. It wasn’t hard with the din of the gathering drowning out everything else.
There were other cabins around and paths cutting through the grass everywhere. A huge tree towered nearby and a few of its colossal branches sprawled high above the fire pit. Selena listened to the many voices as she mounted the trunk. Finding handholds was difficult, so she chose one of the lower branches and slowly pulled herself along towards the fire. She made sure not to set the leaves shaking unless there was a breeze to disguise it. When she felt near enough, she was lucky to find a twist in the branch that she could lean against comfortably. Selena wasn’t too worried about being seen. She probably wouldn’t be, but if she was, so what? She only wanted to observe them.
An inspection of the scene fifteen feet below revealed that they had built a very respectable fire. There was a big log close by for sitting, as well as wooden and plastic chairs scattered around.
There had to be at least ten
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