Liz nodded grimly. It had all been so simple in her previous life. Starvation was such a remote possibility that she hadn’t even considered it. Certainly, she had worried that Luke would lose his job, or that some other calamity would lead to food insecurity, but there were friends, neighbors, and family who would have stepped up to help. Even their community church had a food pantry. But there were no food pantries on the cold side of the mountain, and her friends and family were in equally dire circumstances with nothing to spare. Those who were alive, anyway.
“We’ll figure it out.” Liz tried to fill her tone with a confidence she didn’t feel. “We have to.”
Luke grabbed the Winchester’s smooth black stock and lifted it off the rack near the front door of the cabin he shared with his wife and children. It was his turn to patrol the perimeter.
At first, he’d taken defense-related duties upon himself, but after discussing it with his wife, they had agreed to switch off. It didn’t make sense to have one person do the same mind-numbing task day in and day out.
In addition to staving off boredom, they each had a unique perception. They could get different sets of eyes on the terrain if they rotated scouting duties. If more people watched for trouble, they could find it before it found them.
After the first bombs had dropped, Luke had faced all kinds of trouble. He’d hacked and shot his way through flesh and blood on his way to being reunited with his family. He had no regrets. As far as he was concerned, anyone who got in his way had signed their own death warrant.
It was stressful enough trying to take care of himself, but it was nothing compared to his anxiety about Liz, Kyle, and Sierra. While his wife was a tough, capable woman, she couldn’t rely on a variety of survival tactics like Luke could. Kyle was eager to help but likely to get himself killed in the process. And as for Sierra …
Luke gritted his teeth and gripped his rifle. It was better not to think about Sierra’s irresponsible behavior. He didn’t want to get his blood pressure up.
He consoled himself with the fact that the mountainside was beautiful in the early afternoon light. Overhead, a hawk circled. Its keen eyes sought out prey. A rat squeaked, warning its fellow rodents that a human was on the prowl.
Rats. He grimaced. If they tasted better, he would go out of his way to shoot the thieving little bastards, but that would be a waste of valuable ammunition.
Maintaining their stores was already a challenge. It would grow more difficult in the coming weeks as winter took hold. Fishing and foraging were barely enough to keep his family alive right now. How would he provide for them once snow fell? He didn’t want to dip into his food preps until absolutely necessary. Until then, he’d hunt for whatever he could find.
As he circled the perimeter, the cabin vanished behind a copse of trees. He hiked out a good distance before beginning his route around the territory he’d marked for his family. His legs had become accustomed to the rough terrain. He didn’t slip or stumble even when he traversed the steepest slopes.
Luke trudged up a ridge and reached the crest, then stared out over a forest of oaks. He spotted a coyote as it bounded into the brush. It vanished before he could even consider taking a shot. Too bad. It would have been enough meat for an entire week. Maybe even enough to share with the Wrights.
Grimly, he realized he would have to let the elderly couple starve if it meant his family would stay alive. After the bombs, morality was painted in shades of gray rather than black and white. His family would always come first, but he’d help his allies if he had extra to share with them.
A movement below him caught Luke’s eye. He dropped down to his belly and dragged the rifle off his shoulder to stare into the scope. Luke made out three armed men who walked with purpose to the north, deeper into the woods. Even with the scope, they were too far off to pick out much detail, but they didn’t seem friendly.
Luke considered returning to the cabin for backup in case things got ugly, but he quickly dismissed the idea. By the time he walked back, the strangers’ trail would have grown cold. He picked his way carefully down the slope and angled for the same direction the men had taken.
Now that he was in the forest, he moved with a great deal of caution. His eyes and ears strained for the slightest hint of hostiles, whether they walked on four legs or two. Luke carefully stepped on patches of bare dirt or live growth so he wouldn’t make a sound. The slightest snap of a twig could carry a long way in the woods, and he couldn’t risk giving up his location.
Luke came upon the path the men had taken. Obviously, none of them were skilled in covering their tracks because they left sloppy signs of their passing. Bent and torn branches, muddy footprints, and a discarded candy bar wrapper left an easy-to-follow trail. Luke was definitely on the right path.
Gradually he became aware of a voice ahead of him. He dropped into a low crouch and moved at a snail’s pace for maximum stealth. Luke blinked away beads of sweat and stared through the foliage. A dozen men gathered in a small glade in front of a rustic log cabin. He was close enough to make out their words.
“—an obvious sign of the righteous judgment of our holy divinity. Come forth so you may be counted worthy of the Kingdom of
