When a brightly painted fence came into view, shimmering in the moonlight, I’d prayed this was our stop, and sure enough a few minutes later a massive two story farm house appeared on top of a hill and a rider made his way toward us.
Wait, why the hell does he have a gun pointed at us? And this one is a whole lot bigger than the one Tommy carries. Why does the barrel need to be so long?
“Luke, shit, I almost shot you man.” The rider lowers the barrel and gracefully dismounts his horse.
With a chuckle, Luke makes his way over before they each reach to clasp each other’s wrists. With a quick apology and introductions, we are quickly escorted up to the house by John. Inside, it’s almost as if no time has passed since the pandemic. This house has been taken care of in the last couple decades, with glossy hardwood floors, a fresh coat of paint on the walls, and rooms full of well-polished furniture.
As we pass through the kitchen and into the dining room, I can’t help but stop and stare at the family portrait in the hallway leading between the two. Luke’s friend is young in this picture, with his arm around a blonde haired beauty. They are out front in the field we just passed through, with the house behind them, and the woman has a toddler on her hip, an adorable blonde haired girl. They look so happy in this picture. I wonder if we’ll get to meet his wife and daughter.
As I gaze at the happy family wishing I had a portrait of my own, I feel someone come up behind me.
“That was a happy time.”
I look over to see John staring lovingly at his wife and daughter. I smile at the middle aged man. He’s very attractive in the family portrait, and other than the streaks of grey I can see sticking out of his bright green hat that reads John Deere, not much has changed. Also, can I get a hat with my name on it?
Deciding to keep that to myself, instead I ask, “Will we get to meet your wife and daughter?”
There’s a twitch in the corner of his eye, the loving smile quickly fading away, and I immediately regret asking. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked that.”
“It’s okay, hun. My wife and daughter both got the virus.” He pauses, clearing his throat of emotion. “I lost ‘em both.”
I take a deep breath, reaching to squeeze his arm for comfort. “I’m sorry. I can’t imagine what that must have been like, but you have a beautiful family, and no doubt equally beautiful memories.”
He nods his agreement, motioning for me to follow where I can hear the rest of our group in the dining room. “Those memories are what gets me through the day.”
In the dining room, everyone is seated around a large dark wood dining room table. Tommy has been telling completely inappropriate jokes for the last ten minutes while we wait on John to prepare a quick dinner for us. Every one of us offered to help, but he declined, saying being alone out here isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and there isn’t anything that would make him happier than feeding a bunch of youngin’s. His word, not mine.
Not much later, John returns with a big pot of chicken and vegetable soup, along with a light green salad with tomatoes on top and buttered rolls. Every one of us acts as if we haven’t eaten in years, filling our bowls and digging in. There isn’t much conversation at first, with everyone busy filling their stomachs, but soon Luke finds a way to bring up our trip to the Diablo HQ after explaining our escape from the church.
“It’s been a rough few days, John. We lost Talon, and I was really hoping you might loan us some horses or give us a ride to headquarters.” He lets out a sigh, reaching for his glass of tea before taking a drink.
John shakes his head, and I think he’ll say no. “I’m sure sorry to hear about Talon. He was a hot head,” he says on a chuckle, and Luke, Easton, and Tommy join him. “Well, it just so happens I needed to make some trades in town this week anyway. I’ll drop you kids off while I’m there.”
The rest of dinner is filled with stories of Talon’s life, but rather than it being a somber event, it served to bring bright smiles to everyone’s face. Afterward, John showed us each to our own rooms upstairs, with the exception of Tommy who took the couch.
***
DAVID
When I’d woke up this morning to a knock on my door and a summons to appear before the council, I had no clue what to expect. It could have been any number of things, from getting promoted to elder, being passed over for elder, a wife assignment, or, and this was the one I was most worried about, the elders finding out about Ash being held in my guest room rather than one of the cells down in the bunker.
Luckily, when I went before them, it was to tell me they have finally selected a wife for me, and when they told me it was Tara, I couldn’t have been more pleased. Vater Henry had explained under this unique set of circumstances, with Tara’s placement ceremony having been disrupted with the attack, they didn’t think it wise to force her to wait until the next one. Instead, they’ve scheduled it for tomorrow night. I’ll need to be there, waiting in the back hall to escort her to her room when the ceremony is complete.
I spent the day organizing my security team, assigning new patrol shifts to cover the gaping hole on the north wall. I met with the head of the construction department, Elder Smith, to discuss some possible upgrades for the
