A Lawless Land

Bad Omen

The damage was done. None of the produce from the garden could be salvaged. They still had jars of food left in their food storage, but if they didn't find anymore, it would be all gone in a matter of days. Leo rubbed his face and ran his hands through his hair with worry. All over the community, traces of the storm the night before were still there. Everyone had gone straight to work, making repairs, checking on their neighbors, trying to gather whatever food they had between them so they could ration it.

He had only heard a few grumbles from people that day, but overall, everyone was willing to help and take care of each other in whatever way they could. He only wished there was more he could do, and the only other option was to venture outside the walls and find food elsewhere. The idea made him anxious, it had been a while since he had left the community and he wasn't sure he wanted to find out how much worse things had gotten since the last time. He knew Queen knew, but so far, she had kept silent about her journeys.

All throughout the day, as he worked, he actually considered going out there more, especially after he had seen how little food they had left altogether. He exchanged a look with Brent as they carefully sorted and counted all they had.

"We have enough for a week, two if we are really strict on rations, but I don't see it lasting much beyond that," he muttered helplessly, then worked up the nerve to make his suggestion, "we could go out and look for more, send scouts into different directions and cover as much ground as possible."

Brent visibly swallowed from the shock of such a suggestion, "none of them are prepared for what's out there, yes, I've trained some people, but we don't have that many guns, even less ammunition. How would we protect ourselves?"

"Alright, then I'll go. Even without a weapon, I've had more than enough training to get by just fine out there. If our friend Queen came back, I'd ask her to come with me and help. She probably knows the area pretty well by now, but that's a big if," Leo scratched his jaw thoughtfully, the stubble on his face scraped at his callused fingers, he considered trying to shave it, but realized there was no point.

Brent sighed, "I could go with you."

"But then who would I leave in charge while I'm gone? You're the only one who knows the ins and outs of running things and to keep the council on the same page, besides me of course."

Brent blushed slightly at that, not expecting to be praised for his competence, "we could set out some traps in the woods, try to catch some rabbits or something. I'll get people to check the fishing traps in the lake, we'll figure it out, Leo. Don't stress too much about it."

With a light tap of his fist to Leo's shoulder, Brent left the meeting hall. Leo shook his head to himself, hoping and praying things would work themselves out, or they would have to get desperate. He turned and looked at the calendar that had been nailed to the wall, keeping track of how many months they had been living there, then felt a renewed sense of hope. Even though they had no idea what to do when they first built the community, they eventually had figured it out together and done well considering the circumstances. He just had to hold onto that as he went forward.

>>>>>>><<<<

Darren had gotten Joni and her kids down into the cellar and locked the doors. Queen had been gone for far too long already, and he was starting to panic. He hadn't heard anyone else around the house, but he kept looking over at Duke to see if his demeanor had changed. Duke just sat as still as statue, ears alert, waiting for any unusual sounds. Every once in a while he would sniff the air. Darren wondered if it was Queen he was sniffing for.

Joni started wheezing again, and they all froze, trying to discern any sudden or unusual sounds. He was sure they had all been holding in their breath. Joni's oldest daughter, who Darren had learned was named Cara, gave her mother more medicine to suppress her cough, but he didn't think it was helping her anymore.

He could see the frustration and despair in her soft brown eyes, and he wished he knew how to help her and Joni. He caught himself staring at her a lot, though he knew he shouldn't, but she was kind and patient with her siblings, and diligent in looking after her mother, he couldn't help thinking he wanted to know more about her.

As she sat on the cot across from him, tucking an old wool blanket around two of her youngest siblings, his curiosity got the better of him, "how old are you, Cara?"

Her eyes snapped with surprise in his direction, her voice was soft when she answered, "17, almost 18."

"I'm not sure how you do all this, but you should be proud of yourself, you're kind of rocking the whole dire apocalyptic situation, you know that?"

"I'm not really though. My mom is the one who got us this far, and back at the lab-" she cut herself, her eyes looking fearful.

"Lab? Is that where Queen helped you?" Darren felt a roller coaster of emotions in that moment, and millions of questions running through his mind. "Is that how your mother got sick?"

"I've already said too much, I shouldn't say anymore without Mom's permission," with that, Cara quickly stood up and walked away.

He shook his head in disbelief, he had to figure out how to learn more, he would've asked Joni if she hadn't been so listless and unresponsive under the effects of the medicine, but his gut told him it was a bad omen.