“I’ll see you at dinner,” she promised.

  He started to walk away, then turned to look back at her. “Austin is planning a trip into town tomorrow, and I’m going to go with him. I want to see for myself what things are like.”

  She nodded, still focused on her own work. “I think that’s a good idea. We’ll pray for your safety as well as that of the others tonight.”

  “What’s tonight?” he asked.

  “A few of us are getting together for a Bible lesson. You’re welcome to join,” she offered.

  “We’ll see. I love you, Mom,” he told her, and when she echoed the sentiment, he headed towards the house to begin the grueling work of carrying the split logs the hundred-some feet to the lean-to they were going to be building to shelter the wood.

  He felt a little lighter as he headed downhill through the trees, but raised voices drew his attention. He followed the sound, recognizing one of the voices as Ennis, and the other sounded like Ezra, but he couldn’t be sure.

  “It has to be closer to the house,” Ennis nearly shouted.

  “What’s going on?” Malachi asked, finding Ennis, Wendell, Ezra, and Jordan in a face-off.

  “The wood pile has to be closer to the house. These two are building it over there.” Wendell pointed to the place where a lean-to built with branches was already taking form.

  “I thought that was the agreed upon location,” Malachi said, not sure what he’d missed.

  Ennis shook his head. “I didn’t agree to that.”

  “These two aren’t the ones doing all the work,” Ezra snapped, looking to Malachi.

  Malachi fought down a grimace, understanding where Ezra was coming from. Wendell and Ennis seemed to have jobs that kept them inside out of the heat, and neither of them did any manual labor. That had fallen on Malachi and the other men.

  “Why isn’t the spot going to work?” Malachi asked Ennis.

  “Because it doesn’t!” Wendell snapped.

  Malachi ignored him, his gaze on Ennis.

  “In the winter, the snow is going to be deep. That location works for a back-up pile, but it would be better if we didn’t have to walk so far from the house to get wood for the fire. The farther away it is, the more shoveling we’ll have to do. That takes time, energy, and could be dangerous,” Ennis explained.

  Malachi looked around the area, realizing everything he’d said was true. This whole area would be buried in snow. “Where do you want the wood?” he asked, resigned to the idea that it was going to have to be closer.

  Ennis pointed to an area next to the side of the house. There was little shelter, which meant they were going to have to build another lean-to.

  “You gonna help build the cover?” Ezra asked sarcastically, looking at Wendell.

  “Well, I, uh, I, there’s inventory to be done, and organizing,” Wendell stammered.

  “I think it would be helpful if we had more people working out here on these chores that can’t be done at night and have to be done soon,” Malachi said, crossing his arms over his chest and looking at Ennis, then Wendell.

  Ennis nodded immediately. “You’re right. We’ll need to switch around some jobs. We’ll get the new shelter built right away.”

  It was the best they were going to get.

  Malachi used his eyes to tell Ezra and Jordan to follow him. They were quiet as they walked away, leaving Wendell and Ennis in a heated discussion.

  “Why are we the ones out here doing all the heavy lifting?” Jordan snapped.

  “I don’t know. We have to appreciate them letting us stay here and eat their food, though. A little hard work never killed anyone,” Malachi said, repeating the same advice his father had told him so many times.

  “It seems like they want us to stay so they can treat us like we’re their slaves,” Ezra grumbled.

  “The new shelter isn’t that far, and like Ennis said, it will be necessary for winter. Do you want to be the guy shoveling several feet of snow to get to the wood pile?” Malachi asked.

  Ezra shook his head. “No, but there needs to be a better division of labor. How long does it take to count the supplies? How much is there? You notice they never let any of us in that pantry?” he growled.

  “We’re guests,” Malachi reminded him.

  The tension in the house was mounting. Malachi hated feeling it and knew they were going to have to find a way to diffuse the mounting frustration. Everyone was feeling it. Pushing it all to the side, the three of them got busy, hauling the split wood up the hill to the first shelter as a back-up. Within two trips, they decided to break from carrying logs and build a sled they could use for hauling them. Maybe even a cart if they could find wheels for one that would be sturdy enough to support the weight of the wood. He was going to sleep very well that night, he decided on his fifth trip.

  12

  Austin’s skin felt electrified, as if there were a million needles pricking him as they moved through the forest on their way to the wealthy suburb perched high above the city. It was a place filled with huge houses with panoramic views of the mountains and Denver. He looked to his left, seeing that Nash and Malachi were walking purposely, their eyes wide and scanning the area, each of them carrying one of the ARs from Ennis’s stash. Malachi looked bigger, older than Austin remembered. It was the times, he realized, and the life they were being forced to live. He’d noticed the same growth in Savannah.

  These teens were being forced to grow up practically overnight, as he guessed was happening to children all over the country.

  A crack of a branch from his right had his eyes darting towards Amanda. She grimaced and mouthed the word sorry. He nodded, assuring her it was okay. Drew was on her other side, looking completely out of place and terrified. He had insisted on coming along. Austin had a feeling he was doing his own scouting. Several members of the revivalist group had spoken up at dinner last night, expressing their desire to venture out and offer aid to any survivors. The idea had been shut down quickly, by Austin and several others. And although Malachi had supported the idea verbally, Austin guessed from the expression he’d had while doing it that the boy also had more sense—he was simply being torn between roles, and Austin didn’t envy him the position.

  So, among them, Drew was on his humanitarian mission. Malachi was trying to prove his worth as man of the house or leader of the revivalists. And poor Nash, he was seeking a break from going stir-crazy from staring at the laptop all day and night. Only Austin and Amanda were simply on the mission to scavenge and scout.

  They walked along in silence, each of them armed—even the good pastor, although he was carrying a Glock and Austin seriously doubted the man would actually use it. Austin had chosen to carry one of the automatics they had lifted off the NWO soldiers. These guns would do a lot of damage in a little time, giving him and the others plenty of time to escape if they needed it.

  The trees started to thin out the more they went uphill. His pulse raced when the back of one sprawling house came into view.

  “Wait,” he whispered to the others.

  He crept forward, staying in the trees and scanning the backyard for any signs of life. It looked deserted. The backyard pool water was green and covered with algae. Some patio furniture lay overturned, and one of the large picture windows overlooking the backyard had been shattered.

  “Empty?” Amanda asked.

  He shrugged. “I guess we’re going to find out.”

  They spread out, walking down the rocky hill that opened into the neighborhood of expensive homes and what had probably been perfectly landscaped yards. Amanda led the charge as they entered the first house through the sliding glass doors at its back.

  “What’s that smell?” Malachi groaned.

  “Sewage,” Amanda replied, pulling her shirt up to cover her nose.

  The boy grimaced. “What?”

  “Someone was living here. I’m guessing the toilets are backed up,” Amanda answered.

  “Why?” Malachi shot back.

  “The main city sanitation pumps require electricity. People probably flushed as usual in the days following the shutdown, but with nowhere for the crap to go, literally, and no pumps to push it and sanitation systems, it would have nowhere to go but back up,” she explained.

  Austin stared back at her, also horrified. “You mean it’s going to be like this in all the houses? Is that safe? I mean, should we bother scavenging? Isn’t that like walking in disease?” he asked.

  She shrugged. “Don’t step in any liquid you see on the floor. If it is raw sewage, we don’t want to be carrying that back to the house. Otherwise, we should be okay.”

  They all nodded back at her, their initial excitement at the idea of shopping for goods deflating a little with the strong smell of human waste.

  “I’m going to check the master bedroom for clothes. Drew, you check for a junk drawer in the kitchen. Grab any batteries, string, duct tape, shoestrings, paperclips—anything that we can use at the house,” Amanda ordered.

  “I’ll check the garage—look for hunting or fishing supplies,” Malachi said. “Could be a junk drawer in there, too.”

  Austin waved for everyone’s attention, meeting everyone’s eyes in turn. “And pay attention, too. There could be people roaming about,” Austin told them. “If not inside, outside to see us through the windows.”

  Malachi nodded. “Got it.”

  “I’m going to search down here,” Austin said.

  The five of them split up, scavenging what they could from the house that had already been gone over. They met back in the huge kitchen area, spreading their loot on the counter.

  “We need these clothes, but they’re going to be heavy,” Amanda said, looking at the armload of men’s and women’s clothes she’d found.

  “Wait, I have an idea,” Malachi said, rushing out of the kitchen and back towards the garage.

  He returned a few minutes later with a large steel garden cart, with large wheels that would make it fairly easy to pull through rough terrain.

  “That works,” Austin said with a grin.

  “And, this is going to make my life much easier moving the split wood up to the lean-to where it’s being stacked,” Malachi said, clearly very pleased with himself. “We built that little sled, yeah, but compared to this, it’s nothing.”

  “It’ll come in handy when the snow comes,” Austin said—not wanting him to think the sled would go to waste, and knowing that this cart wouldn’t be worth much in the snow.

  “Right,” Malachi answered, nodding with what looked like relief.

  “How are we going to get that through the trees?” Drew asked.

  “We’ll carry it if we have to,” Austin replied easily. “In fact, we’ll check the other houses, too; if we find another one, we take it. It looks sturdy, too; I think it’ll be fine if it gets bumped around some.”

  “What about a mountain bike?” Nash asked.

  “Is there one in the garage?” Austin asked with surprise.

  Nash nodded. “Yep. It was behind a bunch of boxes and stuff.”

  Austin looked at Amanda, who shrugged. “I haven’t ridden a bike in about a million years.”

  “I’ll ride it back,” Nash said quickly. “I’ve done mountain biking on some pretty crazy trails. We could really use a bike,” he said, clearly eager.

  “Why do we need a bike?” Amanda asked.

  “There are the roads to the house still. The bike will make it quick and easy for us to get around. We can use it to go hunting and foraging. It’ll keep up with the horses, too, if three people want to go out at more than walking speed.”

  Austin couldn’t see a real need for the bike, but having wheels couldn’t hurt. “If you’re up for trying to get it back, I’m game. Who knows? It might come in handy one day.”

  “We have the horses,” Amanda replied.

  “And now we have a bike,” Nash added.

  “Okay, let’s leave this stuff here and check out some of the other houses. If there’s medicine, first aid supplies, matches, whatever you find, grab it. If we can’t get everything on this trip, we’ll come back tomorrow,” Austin said.

  “We need to look for building supplies,” Drew said almost offhandedly.

  Austin stopped walking and looked at him, smiling. “Good thinking. I didn’t even think about that. Nails, screws, hammer, all of that. Ennis has a good toolbox, but the more we have, the better. We’ll need to consider weight, but grab as much as you can.”

  “There’s a shed in the back of that house,” Nash said as they exited the first place.

  “Malachi, go with him. And watch for wasps, guys,” Austin warned.

  “Is anyone allergic?” Amanda asked.

  Everyone shook their head before Nash and Malachi headed towards the shed, the rest of them moving across the yard to go to the next house.

  “Is it strange this area is completely deserted?” Drew asked.

  “I think the NWO has probably been doing sweeps through the neighborhoods. They’ve cleared it out,” Austin replied. “Probably taken a lot of supplies themselves, too.”

  “Stay vigilant,” Amanda warned.

  Austin reached out then, jerking her backwards just as she was about to open the back door of the luxury home they’d approached. He pointed to a large wasp nest under the eaves of the home, and they slowly backed away.

  “Dang, there are wasps everywhere,” Drew complained.

  “With no one spraying them, they’re getting free rein. We’ll find another way in. We’ll make another trip here in a couple days and get to any houses we don’t get into today. I think we need to try and get down the hill and into the city, too,” Austin said.

  “That’s going to be dangerous,” Nash warned, joining them and shaking his head when Austin gestured to the shed to ask if they’d found anything.

  “We haven’t seen anyone. Shouldn’t we be seeing people even if they did sweep this area?” Drew asked.

  “I think they’re hiding, scared,” Austin answered as they made their way in a broken window.

  “Maybe the NWO has prisons or camps set up,” Amanda suggested.

  “That’s horrible!” Drew gasped.

  They all fell silent as they thought about the possibility, stopping briefly now that they were inside the dim luxury home which had long been abandoned, and smelled just as bad as the first they’d entered.

  “It makes sense,” Austin finally said.

  Nash nodded in agreement. “That tower. They could be holding prisoners or recruiting the people who stayed in the city to be their own little foot soldiers. They could easily house hundreds, maybe more, in that building.”

  “I think we need to scavenge in places people wouldn’t normally think to look for supplies,” Amanda said.

  “Like?” Austin asked.

  “Like business offices. Not medical clinics, but lawyers’ offices, company headquarters and things like that. Every business is required to have a first aid kit, and plus, you know people stash stuff in their desks. Snacks, painkillers…”

  “What about storage units?” Austin suggested.

  Amanda grinned. “Exactly. We’ll find tools, camping gear, fishing and hunting equipment, and I bet a lot of clothes and shoes!”

  “Manufacturing places, warehouses, and even the marinas might have valuable materials,” Nash suggested.

  “Don’t you think the soldiers would have already scoured the city for every available resource?” Malachi asked quietly.

  They all turned to look at him. It was definitely a possibility they needed to consider.

  “We have to try,” Austin said.

  “I agree. We need to come at night when we can use the darkness to our advantage,” Amanda said.

  “Walking through the forest at night would be dangerous,” Drew pointed out.

  “We’ll walk in during the day and hang out until it’s dark,” Nash proposed.

  Austin nodded. “That’s a great idea. Let’s hurry up and go through at least this house and one more, and then get out of here before we press our luck.”

  As they had in the first house, they spread out again, searching first the house they’d found entry to and then two more, gathering what they could. By the time they’d gotten that far, their packs and hands were full, and it was getting late enough in the day that Austin figured it was time to call it quits.

  They walked back to the first house, paying close attention to their surroundings as they moved. It was remarkably quiet. He kept expecting to hear people talking or ordering them to stop. It never happened.

  After piling the garden cart with as much as it could hold, and using a blanket tucked over the sides to hold it all in, they set out for home. Nash walked the bike until they were deep into the woods, just in case they were ambushed and he needed quick access to the gun.

  But, as they traveled, the group remained even quieter than before, and Austin guessed they were processing the same emotions as him.

  Austin couldn’t shake the feeling of loss he had felt while they’d pilfered through the belongings of other people. It seemed so pointless. The pictures of happy families on the walls of the homes had reminded him of all that had truly been lost. He wondered if there would ever be those trips to Disneyland or ski resorts again. He also realized just how lucky he was to have Savannah still by his side. He would never take that for granted.

  13

  Savannah felt so mad she could scream. The men in her life were making her crazy. Malachi was avoiding her like the plague, sticking to his conviction that the apocalypse was no time for teenage romance. As if! And as for her father—well, the lack of power seemed to have transported his attitude back into the dark ages. If he could, he’d lock her in a tower and keep her from talking to anyone, but most especially Malachi. He was treating her like a little girl, and she wasn’t.

  She had proven she was capable of defending herself and surviving against some pretty tough odds. But it wasn’t enough for him. He was acting as if she should be treated like a porcelain doll, with no one allowed to look at her, let alone touch—or kiss.

 

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