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  Sarge wagged a finger at him, “No, no, no, I’m not the boss, Morgan is the high Sheriff. He’s the boss now.”

  Thad smiled, “Yeah, like you’re really going to listen to him.”

  Sarge started to walk off, “I will.” Then he stopped and looked back over his shoulder, “to a point,” he added with a smile before continuing on.

  A big smile spread over Thad’s face, “Yeah, that’s what I thought, good night Linus.”

  Sarge waved over his shoulder, “Night Thad.”

  Chapter 2

  The next few days seemed to drift by as our routine really came together. Pulling duty at the barricade, hunting and gathering and tending the garden filled everyone’s time. Though everyone stayed busy, no one was ever rushed. There was plenty of time for all of us to do what we wanted as well. For me, that usually meant thinking of ways to improve our situation. When I had real down time I would monitor the radio, listening to the increasing traffic drifting through the ether. I never talked to anyone; just listened. I wanted to know what the rest of the country was like, how others were making it; and more importantly, what they were doing to make it.

  Thad and I were on the barricade; it was early morning and the air was damp. Leaning over the barricade, I said, “I been thinking about chickens.”

  Thad quickly replied, “KFC or Popeye’s?”

  It gave me a chuckle, “Don’t even start that! Man, I loved Popeye’s.”

  “I like, liked, KFC; that was good chicken,” Thad replied.

  “Ok, before this gets out of hand and drives me crazy, I’m talking about our chickens.”

  “What about ‘em?”

  “We let them out every day to fend for themselves; but I’ve been thinking of a way to supplement their feed.”

  “It sure wouldn’t hurt ‘em none; what you got in mind?”

  “I don’t know what it’s really called; but for lack of a better name, I’ll call it a maggot bucket,” I said.

  Thad snarled his lip, “Mmm, sounds delicious.”

  “The chickens will think so. Take a five-gallon bucket and drill some holes in the bottom; then throw some carcasses or parts of some critter in and hang it up.”

  Thad thought about it for a minute, “Just let the flies land in it and lay eggs huh?”

  “Yeah; the maggots will fall out the bottom, free feed.”

  “I wouldn’t put it too close to the house.”

  “You think Mel would complain?” I asked.

  Thad laughed, “I think Mel and Miss Bobbie would slap the taste out of your mouth.”

  Now I was laughing just thinking about it, “Yeah, they’d take turns.”

  “One on either side!” Thad said, as he laughed harder.

  Getting over the humor of the moment, I said, “I think today when our shift is over I’ll make it and put it up.”

  “I’ll help, so long as you hang it far away from the house.”

  I nodded, “Sounds like a plan.”

  We spent the next couple of hours talking and enjoying the early morning; it was so quiet. With no man-made noise, the world seemed so calm and peaceful. Nature is not very noisy, at least not around here. I was listening intently to the world around me when I heard Thad. “Morg.” When I peered over, he was looking down the road, to the north. I followed his gaze to see a small group of figures walking towards us.

  “Looks like they got kids,” I said.

  Thad stepped out towards the road, “Looks like it; I see at least two adults.”

  I stepped out as I put the binoculars to my eyes. “Let’s see,” I said as I glassed the approaching group. There were definitely two adults, and what looked like a teenager and two smaller kids. Even with the ten-power glass, I couldn’t make out much about them.

  “See any guns?” Thad asked.

  “I can’t really tell yet; maybe in a couple of minutes. Here, take a look,” I said as I handed him the binoculars.

  Thad put them to his face and watched the group for several seconds. “I don’t see any long guns; they sure look rough though.”

  “I noticed that as well. Couldn’t see much, but they seemed kind of raggedy. Let’s step back behind the barricade and see what they look like when they get here.”

  While we waited, Tyler showed up with Jase and Edy Thad leaned back on the logs, “Hey Tyler, out for a walk?”

  Tyler tussled his son’s hair, “Yeah, just wanted to get the kids out of the house ya know.”

  Thad knelt down to be on the kids’ level, “You two taking your dad for a walk?”

  “Yeah, we’re hunting!” Jase shouted.

  Clearing my throat to get Thad’s attention, I nodded towards the road; we could see the group now. Thad’s impression was right; they were a sorry looking bunch. They all wore dirty clothes; and the two kids of seven or so both had dirty faces. It was disturbing to see the rings of dirt around their mouths. You couldn’t help but wonder what they were eating to cause such a buildup of filth. The man, distinguishable from the woman only as a result of his nappy beard, was as grimy as the two little kids. His hair was long, past his shoulders; and his clothes were so dirty that they appeared to have a sheen of grime, particularly on the front of his pants. A tattered cloth dangled from one hand; and periodically he would raise it to his face, to wipe at his mouth.

  The woman looked no better, wearing clothes that hung from her, obviously too big for her small frame. They were closer now, and the most striking thing about her was the hollow look in her eyes, barely visible through the tattered strands of hair hanging in her face. She didn’t so much walk as she shambled, her arms seemingly disconnected from her body as they wobbled back and forth at her side.

  “Damn they look sad,” Thad said.

  “No shit, they look rough.”

  “Man, am I glad I’m here,” Tyler said dismissively.

  As they came abreast of our road, the man began to make his way towards us; and the rest of the band followed without question or notice. Thad and I both gripped our weapons a little tighter as they approached. The man stopped several feet away, “Got any food?”

  “Sorry, we don’t,” I replied.

  He didn’t react to the answer. He coughed and wiped at his mouth; and with a ragged voice, he asked, “Got any water?”

  We were still in the habit of keeping the five-gallon water jug at the barricade full, “We can help you there,” I replied.

  He stretched an arm out behind him and waved his hand in a gimme gesture. One of the two that appeared to be teens, though their sex was indiscernible, produced a couple of old plastic bottles from a pack and handed them over. He shambled towards the water jug and began coughing, again wiping his mouth with the tatter of cloth. He held the greasy-looking bottles up. I pointed at the jug and said, “Help yourself.”

  The two younger ones of the group noticed Jase and Edy, and came over, as kids will always do. And soon the four were running around in an impromptu game of tag. The little boy from the group wasn’t very fast, and the smaller Jase was able to catch him with ease. The child would cough and hack, wiping at his mouth.

  Nudging Tyler, I whispered, “Call the kids back.”

  Tyler looked at me, “They’re just kids; let ‘em play.”

  “They’re sick; look at ‘em, coughing all over the place like that. Call them back.”

  Tyler called the kids; it took a minute to get them to come back as they were wrestling on the ground. The kids returned to their dad, Tyler collecting them around him. He looked down at his children then back to me, “You think they’re going to be OK?”

  “Oh yeah, I’m sure. We just don’t need to take any chances.” I reached down and tickled little Edy, she squealed and squirmed, “especially with these little guys.”

 
“Alright guys, let’s go find Mommy,” Tyler said as he shepherded the kids towards home.

  “Wash their hands when you get home,” Thad said.

  “Good,” I added.

  Tyler nodded and waved as he made his way back towards home.

  The bearded stranger started to fill his bottles from the jug, occasionally coughing, and not bothering to turn his head. The cough was ragged and sounded angry. Beads of sweat built up on his forehead, which he mopped away with the same cloth. After filling his bottles, he turned and walked back out to the road. His group fell in with him as one of the bottles was passed around for all to have a drink. They walked away without saying another word, just continuing their trek to the south. I was watching them walk away when I heard a splash. Looking over, I saw Thad standing over the water keg which was lying on its side on the road.

  He looked at me, “I don’t think anyone needs to drink from this before we clean it.”

  I looked at the jug, “You’re probably right; that cough didn’t sound so good.”

  “He had a fever too, I think the others were sick as well, I saw at least one of the others coughing.”

  “And they didn’t even say thank you; ungrateful shits.”

  Thad grunted, “I think manners are waning these days.”

  Doc and Jeff showed up to relieve us. I was glad to see them, as I was getting hungry. “I appreciate you boys taking time out of your busy schedules to come give us a break,” I said.

  “Make sure my relief is on time; I’ve got a tee time this afternoon,” Doc fired back.

  Jeff pointed to the water keg, “What happened to that thing?”

  Thad looked back at it, “Oh, we had some folks come by; they needed water. They was sick; so I dumped it. No one can drink from it till I can clean it.”

  “What kind of sick?” Doc asked as he hung his pack on the end of the barricade.

  “Coughing, hacking; and the man looked like he had a fever. I know a couple of the others with him were coughing too.”

  “Yeah, he kept hacking and wiping his mouth with a nasty ass little rag; wiped the sweat from his head with it too. Whatever he’s got, he’s spreading it all over,” I added.

  “Where’d they come from?” Doc asked.

  “We didn’t really talk to them. He just asked if we had food and water. After filling their little bottles, they walked off without so much as a thank you,” I answered.

  “Which way were they going?”

  I pointed to the south, “Towards town.”

  Doc looked up the road, and then back at the keg, “You guys didn’t get near them did you?”

  “Oh hell no. He would have had to spit that stuff at us; we was plenty far from him,” Thad answered.

  “Good, make sure you guys wash that thing really well; your hands too.”

  “We will. I’ll mix up some bleach for it,” I said.

  Doc nodded his head and Thad and I headed for the ATV. He drove with me, riding bitch and holding the keg. As we drove home, the Hummer was headed the opposite direction. Ian was driving with Jamie riding shotgun, and Perez up in the turret. Thad rolled to a stop as they came up.

  “Where you guys headed?” I asked as Ian pulled up.

  “Into town to get a couple of things from the armory,” Ian replied.

  I nodded, “Let Sheffield know there may be some sick folks headed his way, they didn’t look good.”

  “You’ll probably pass ‘em on your way in,” Thad added.

  “Will do; we’re going to go so we can get back before dark,” Ian replied.

  I waved, “Be careful.” Thad goosed the ATV; and we went back to Danny’s place where we hopped off and set the keg out by the well.

  “Get me that bleach powder and I’ll clean this thing up,” Thad said as he stepped off.

  “Sure thing; be right back.”

  I went over to the house and found some of the calcium hypochlorite in the shop, and grabbed a bag. Coming in the backdoor, I found the house empty; and I headed back to Danny’s. My girls were out front when I got there, and I smiled when they saw me. “Hey girls, what are you guys doing?”

  Little Bit was holding her .22; and Taylor had her H&K slung across her back. And Lee Ann had her H&K slung over her shoulder. “We’re going hunting!” Little Bit shouted.

  “Good deal, I need some guts!”

  “Eww, for what?” Lee Ann asked.

  “Need it for a chicken feeder I’m going to make.”

  “I don’t even want to know,” Taylor replied.

  I waved them off, “You guys just go shoot some rats.”

  “I will!” Little Bit shouted as she ran off with her sisters in tow.

  Danny came out of the house with Tyler, “What up?” He called out from the porch.

  “Hey man; the women folk inside?” I asked.

  “Yeah, they’re in there; what are you guys up to?” He asked.

  “I’m gonna make a chicken feeder; you got an empty bucket lying around?”

  Danny smiled, “How many you want?”

  “Give me that powder,” Thad said. I tossed him the little bag of chlorine. “I’ll clean this thing while you make yer gut bucket.”

  Danny looked at me, “Thought you wanted a chicken feeder.”

  I smiled, “I do. Come on; I’ll show you.”

  Danny and I went over to his sheds; yes, sheds, plural. He has several. He’s one of those guys that doesn’t throw anything away and brings home all manner of stuff he thinks is useful. I used to tease him about his hoarder starter kit; now I’m very thankful for it. Danny retrieved a bucket from one of the buildings and set it down on the splitting stump.

  “Here’s your bucket; what now?”

  “We just need to drill some holes in it,” I said. Then I explained the concept to him. When I was done, he was nodding his head.

  “That’s a hell of an idea; where’d you come up with that one?”

  “I don’t remember; read it or heard it somewhere. It was stuck in my head till last night; just popped out,” I replied.

  Danny laughed, “I think we need to shake your head and see what else comes out.”

  “Like a snow globe?” I asked.

  “I was thinking more like a cup of Yatzee dice.”

  I laughed at the comment.

  Thad cleaned the water keg while Danny and I worked on the feeder, what little work there was. It didn’t take long to drill the holes, small ones, a quarter of an inch, in the bottom. That’s all there was to it, just a bunch of holes drilled in the bottom. Tyler milled around the shed; there wasn’t enough work for one, let alone three.

  “Now what?” Danny asked.

  “Now we need something to put in it,” I replied.

  Aric, Jess and Fred walked up as we stared at the perforated bucket, “I don’t think that’s going to hold much,” Aric said.

  “I hope not; the maggots need a way to get out,” I replied with a smile.

  “The maggots?” Jess asked, “I don’t even want to know.”

  “Arm feeling better, Aric; no sling?” Danny asked.

  Aric held the injured arm up, “Yeah, it’s getting better. Doc said I need to start exercising it some; so I’m starting out slow.”

  “That’s good; is the wound closed now?” I asked.

  “Pretty much, I mean it’s not like healed completely, but I don’t have to bandage it now.”

  Fred patted Aric’s shoulder, “It’s a lot better now. Doc said it’s healing really well. I’m glad we don’t have to bandage it anymore.”

  “You dodged the infection bullet; lucky,” Danny added.

  Aric nodded his head, “Way lucky. I’m lucky to be alive; an infection would have killed me.”


  I laughed, “You’re lucky the old man didn’t kill you out of spite for shooting him.”

  “No shit, I’m really glad he’s better too; not even using that cane anymore,” Aric replied.

  “He still uses it from time to time; but I think it’s because he wants to, not because he needs to. And I wouldn’t call it a cane either,” I said with a chuckle.

  Aric smiled, “Oh yeah, walking stick; it’s a walking stick.”

  Off in the distance the sharp crack of a .22 barked. I looked off in the direction of the sound, “Looks like the girls are getting me something for my feeder.”

  Jess looked at the bucket again, “I still don’t want to know.” She was shaking her head as she walked away; I couldn’t help but laugh.

  A sudden clanging caught everyone’s attention. I looked over at the house and saw Bobbie on the porch working a short piece of rebar inside a triangle made from the same. “Lunch is ready!” she shouted.

  “Where’d that come from?” I asked.

  “I made it,” Danny said. “Had some half inch rebar lying around, and used a propane torch to heat it and bend it.”

  Thad had finished his cleaning and joined us. “That’s pretty neat; like old times,” he said with a smile.

  Everyone slowly filtered into Danny’s, taking seats at the tables on the back porch. Lunch was a stew of sorts, as were most meals these days, along with some Kudzu chips. Danny hurried through his lunch, as he and Sarge were scheduled to relieve the guys at the barricade after lunch. Everyone had some sort of chore for the day, and talk focused around those tasks. Sarge was sitting with Miss Kay at the end of one of the tables; they were spending more and more time together.

  “I’ll give you guys a ride up to the barricade if you want after dinner; I’m going up into Altoona,” I said.

  “What are you going down there for?” Tyler asked.

  “Just going to check in on Gena and Dylan, then go to the Kangaroo and see what’s going on up there.”