Some of the men had shot a gazelle, he’d not been happy, but he’d welcomed the fresh meat. It had tasted a bit gamey. It had been a little rare for his tastes. Perhaps that was it? Did the women wash their hands? He knew they didn’t bath, but did they wash their hands? Did they butcher the meat properly? Then his heart skipped a beat, was this some kind of disease? Like Cholera? Or E.coli?
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Paadi and BJ were making a run. Since finding the three men in the woods, Brian had suggested that one man stay at the camp at all times. If he were to go hunting, he’d take Paadi or Emma. If they were to go out and scavenge, BJ or one of the women would go with the man. It had spooked them all, knowing that the men were roughly five miles from their camp. Walking, it would only take a couple hours, driving, a matter of minutes.
They’d all agreed that if any of the men showed up, they were to be shot on sight. They had children and supplies to protect. Paadi was pretty sure that the men wouldn’t blink twice hurting the children and stealing everything they’d worked so hard for. They were making less and less runs now, having gotten everything they could. They’d gotten books, notebooks, paper, pens, pencils, crayons and so on for the children. In the fall, they’d start an abbreviated school for Hailey and Amanda. Coop and Dillan were a bit young, but they could at least be exposed to learning.
Today, they were on the lookout for movies and books. Because of the solar panels, they’d decided to get a couple of flat screen TVs, several DVD players and movies. Come winter, there would be a lot of time on their hands. Reading and movies would keep them happy, along with boardgames. BJ had some DVDs in his RV; they had been for his own boys. Paadi figured that the adults might like their own movies as well. She was an avid reader and also wanted books. Also, child appropriate books as well. They were heading to a strip mall that had a book store along with JoAnns. Emma had asked for bolts of material, threads, needles and anything Paadi could get her hands on. Even a sewing machine. Push comes to shove; they could make clothing and repair clothing.
Paadi looked over at BJ, his eyes were on the road, scanning constantly. She was glad. When she’d first met him, she’d thought he was something like milk toast, weak. But she’d been wrong. He was a good man and a good father. They all knew that Dillan couldn’t replace his own boys, but BJ seemed to come out of the shell he’d been hiding in. He laughed more and joked more. She was glad. She too was laughing more, as was Brian and Emma. They were healing from their losses. Never to be forgotten, but life went on, as did the struggle to survive.
She and Emma had spent nearly the entire day yesterday, canning green beans. They’d gotten a bumper crop of the things. They’d replanted a few weeks after planting the first crop and in a couple weeks, they’d have more beans to can. They’d put up thirty quarts of beans. That was a hell of a lot. She was glad that BJ and Brian were building the second storage shed. She was also glad that it would be well insulated. She’d not want to lose all they’d canned because the jars froze. The building was taking longer because they were essentially building a building inside the other. The walls were ten inches thick, along with the floor and ceiling.
The men had also picked up spray insulation to cover the plywood on the interior walls and ceiling. It would look like hell, but it would keep the interior cool in the summer and warm enough in the winter, as not to freeze anything. BJ had also made a thick door to go along with it. It had required special hinges which they’d had to fabricate. It wasn’t pretty, but it worked.
Emma had set up one of the utility rooms in the house as the medical storage. BJ had made her shelves that lined each wall. He’d even made a hidden compartment in one of the high shelves for drugs. To keep the children out, but also anyone who broke into the place. Paadi didn’t anticipate that, because if anyone got that close to the storage closet, then they had bigger problems than prescription drugs. Little by little, things were getting sorted out. The large ten by ten storage shed helped get much of the bulky goods out of the house. The children’s seasonal clothing, along with their future clothing was stored there, stacked neatly in the back along the walls. It was now easier to move around in the house.
BJ was now working on a kitchen, there had been a utility closet with a sink, so he tore down part of the wall and was in the process of making them counters. They’d picked up counter tops from the showroom. Brian and BJ had taken the sink and countertop off the floor model. They’d also taken a few of the cabinets. He’d hung the cabinets, which now held their dishes. It was all a work in progress.
She looked up when she saw that BJ was pulling into the strip mall. She had quieted a few empty boxes with her as well as cloth shopping bags. She wasn’t leaving here without entertainment. BJ carried the AR15 and his Glock, she had a shotgun, along with her service
