“I’m sorry.”
Waving her hand, Paadi wiped at her eyes and shook her head.
“We’ve all lost a lot of loved ones, and for me, I’ve lost friends and family and co-workers. None of my police family survived. I’d have hooked up with them and headed out. Same with family. Do you know if any of your family have survived in Lancaster?”
“I don’t think so, my mom called to say my father had fallen ill. Then, a couple days later, I couldn’t contact either. I didn’t try calling my ex-husband, but I think he is gone as well. Honestly, you’re the first person I’ve seen in weeks. I’ve seen cars and such, but no people. I also heard an increase in gunshots, so I figured it was best to get out. I figure someone was taking over territory in Boston.”
“Yah huh, you said it sister. The bad’uns will start popping up, like zits on a teenager. That’s why I figured I’d get out. Just didn’t know where I’d go. Figured anywhere was better than the middle of the city. Besides, I figured that the virus wasn’t the only thing I should worry about.”
“Sure, I thought the same. Typhoid and cholera are a real threat now. With all those rotting bodies. I did see smoke, maybe someone was burning them?” Emma said, her eyes scanning the road ahead. She spotted deer about fifty feet from the road. She didn’t want to hit them, so she slowed down a bit.
“I’ll be honest, I’m glad you stopped and picked me up. Couple hours ago, some chowderhead stopped, smelled beer oh him and didn’t like the looks of’em. Had to pull my weapon to encourage him to be on his way.” Her mouth turned down and her Boston accent became heavier.
“I had the same notion. Got my Sig Sauer handy and Buddy of course. I guess together, we should be able to watch each other’s backs.” Emma grinned.
“I’d say you’re right about that.” Paadi laughed.
Over the next hour, both women were quiet, each in their own thoughts. Emma kept a constant speed, wanting to get to Lancaster by early afternoon. She wasn’t looking forward to going into her parent’s home. She knew then, it would all be real. She heard Paadi’s soft snores and smiled, looking over at her. She was so happy she’d come across her. She liked the woman. She seemed down to earth and capable. It was good to have someone with her who knew how to shoot a gun. She also had an upbeat personality. That was essential in a post-apocalyptic world. Having a cool head was also important.
Coming over a hill she slowed down. Ahead, roughly a half mile away, Emma saw a vehicle spanning both lanes. That was not good.
“Paadi, I think you need to see this.”
Ӝ
Brian pulled up to the hardware store. It was only fifteen miles from the state park, and he figured it was just as good a place to source as Lowes and closer at hand. Looking over, Coop was sound asleep. He didn’t have the heart to wake the boy. He pulled the truck and trailer close to the structure, the sun casted a long shadow over the front of the building. The truck would be in the shade. It wasn’t a large hardware store, so he could see the truck from the inside. Keeping the windows halfway down, Brian got out. He locked the doors.
Walking around the truck, he opened the doors to the hardware store. It had not been locked up. When he opened the doors, a small bell sounded and he looked around inside.
“Hello?” He called, but heard nothing. He walked farther in, but looked over his shoulder at the truck. He could just see the top of Cooper’s bright blond head. Thinking, he shoved the door to the hardware store open, blocking it with a sack of grass seed. He’d be able to hear if Cooper woke and called him.
He walked along the aisles, looking at the shelves and began to pick out items. He picked up several metal buckets, figuring he could heat water for a bath. He also picked up quite a few five-gallon buckets with lids as well as metal trashcans. Those would make great storage for food; mice couldn’t chew through that. He found fifty-pound bags of chicken feed along with scratch grain. He’d driven by several farms and figured that perhaps there might be chickens walking around. He was sure the bigger farm animals would be dead, but chickens could scratch around for their food. He’d build a coop and they’d have chickens and eggs to eat.
He went back out to the truck, peeking in on Coop, who was still sound asleep, a string of drool hung from his lower lip to his striped blue shirt. Brian opened up the trailer and began loading it with what he’d found. He went back into the store and got bales of chicken wire and stakes and lumber to build the coop. He found a few small wooden crates and he thought they could be turned into nesting boxes. He saw some nesting material as well and picked up a few bundles of those as well.
He didn’t know much about chickens, but the videos he’d watched had been pretty straight forward. He also found several large dog kennels and picked them up as well. The chickens would be easier to transport to the park. He walked by another aisle that had camping gear. Not much, but he did find several hurricane lanterns and lamp oil. He also got an ash bucket and fireplace implements along with several pairs of leather work gloves.
He took these out to the truck as well. He went back in and got a couple hoes,
