“Were they on the bus back to the Hive?”
“I don’t know, I told you, I sit up front. I also fell asleep.”
“When they return, contact us.” The voice announced curtly.
“Okay. I’m going to dinner now. If I see them there, I’ll let you know when I get back.” Tilly said tiredly.
She didn’t hear any response back and flipped a middle finger to the small speaker. She didn’t want to eat, she wasn’t hungry, but she knew if she didn’t, she’d regret it tomorrow. She’d already lost a lot of weight. She’d always been overweight, here though, she thought that she was perhaps too thin. She ate as much as she could and as much as the Hive would give her, but it seemed never enough. Especially, for the twelve hours of hard physical labor.
She went out of the cell and walked down the long open hall to the elevator. There were many people milling around. Some of the people stank and she wondered if they ever applied soap to their bodies. Getting onto the elevator, she rode down until she reached the ground floor. There was a line as usual, waiting to eat. They were given only ten minutes to eat their meals. The gardens up above helped supplement the food they ate. Whatever they ate, was mixed with rice or pasta. It didn’t matter. She needed the carbs anyway. There was meat, somewhere in the mixture, though, she honestly didn’t know what kind of meat it was.
There were also veggies, and she thought they were the dehydrated kind. She was given a bowl and a large scoop of the mixture. Water was the only drink offered and she took her meal to the stainless-steel table and sat on the bench. All was bolted to the floor, so she had to straddle the bench to get in. There wasn’t much chatting in the vast room, most were too hungry to talk, and they only had ten minutes to eat. The only utensil needed was a spoon, and she shoveled food into her mouth. Her mind was focused on Megan and Ian’s escape and she wondered how they were. She’d done her part in reporting it, it would be up to the Hive to figure out what they would do. She thought when she got back to the room, she’d go through their things, and take anything of sentimental value.
She didn’t notice the tears sliding down her face. Between the grief and the exhaustion of working a long day, Tilly was in a cocoon of numbness. Finishing, she got up and went to drop her bowl, cup and spoon into the large bin of soapy water. She felt the moist heat from the kitchen and was glad she didn’t work in there. Working outside was a hell of a lot better.
When she got back up to her room, her door was open. Looking in, she saw three guards, dressed in black with their yellow belts. She took a deep breath and went in to face the music.
TEN
Kansas City, MO
Hogan and Trish were in the front of the house. It was late afternoon. They’d been out in the garden pulling weeds and checking the growth of the vegetables. So far, Hogan was pleased to see that everything was growing well. They’d had good sun to rain ratio. Caleb was down for a nap, and both were enjoying the quiet of the day. That morning, they’d had a baby goat born. Mother and kid were doing well and were segregated, for now. The other goats were in the pasture. The rabbits had also managed to produce and in a few more weeks, those animals would be processed and the meat canned. There was no other way to preserve them, other than to smoke the meat.
Hogan thought that perhaps, he might try that method, if only to see how the meat tasted. They had also spent part of the day dragging deadfall back to the property. Trish had made a kind of frontal sling, carrying the baby with them. It had been peaceful in the woods and cooler, out of the sun. The leaves on the trees were now filling out. He saw deer tracks, but he would not be hunting until the fall.
They’d also had a bumper crop of new chicks. Thirteen of them. One of the other hens was also sitting on a pile, so they hoped for even more chicks. Once the chicks got big enough, they would process the meat and can that as well.
“I’m hoping that we’ll get more chicks this fall, sometimes I get another batch. It just depends on if the hens go broody again.” Trish had said.
“Maybe this fall, I can bag a couple of turkeys. That would be nice.” He’d said.
“That really would be nice.” She’d grinned and kissed him. A smile now creased his face at the thought.
“What on earth are you smiling about?” She laughed, looking at him.
“Ah, just thinking about turkeys.”
“Gorp. You know, not that I’m a fisherman, but about a mile and a half from here, there is a pond. Maybe one of these days, we can go fishing down there. What do you think?” She laughed, wrapping her arms around his middle.
“Yes, that does sound good. Do you have a fishing pole? Or tackle?”
“No, but with the amount of junk in the barn, I’m sure there’s something there. It just takes digging out.”
“You know, you got suckered when you bought this place. The previous owners should have taken everything.” Hogan laughed down at her.
“I know, I know, but I was just so happy to get the place, it didn’t occur to me that they wouldn’t take their junk. Honestly, it was more trouble than it was worth, to try to get rid of it. It took
