Against the Grain (2 page)

“I tagged along with some friends of friends that were headed this way. We followed the freeway, hitched a ride when we could and otherwise walked all the way here. Eight of us started out, but a few lived closer and the rest dropped off to catch other roads going back to their homes until it was just me, Chris and Todd. They were headed further East, but said they’d come here with me to my Mom’s. We were low on food again and they said they didn’t want me out traveling alone… liars,” she recounted, letting a little bit of anger show through by the end.

I figured I should probably address that part too, although I wasn’t quite sure what the best words would be.

“Yeah um listen, I’m sorry about that. I mean if they were your friends or something, but…”

“What?” She interrupted angrily, “Friends? No, I mean they were until they tried to freaking rape me. I had just met them as part of the group that was headed this way.”

“Well I hope they didn’t hurt you… and you know, I’m sorry that had to happen.”  

Actually at this point I had no qualms at all about putting down two pieces of shit that would do that, or any number of other things, but I was sorry that she had had to experience it.
 

We talked for a few more minutes until I noticed her yawning and slightly glazed over eyes. “I’m guessing it’s been a long day and you could probably use some sleep huh?”
 

“Where… here?” She looked around quickly, finally unsure if she was really willing to trust another man in another a cold, dark place.

“For a few hours anyway. Look, I want to be out of town before sunrise, so you’ve got a couple options.”
Time for the pitch...
“You can stay here tonight, and in the morning you can head over to the shelter at the elementary school. They might have some info on your mother and they can probably get you on the next bus south, but I honestly don’t know when, or even if, that is still happening.”

She bit her lower lip slightly as she listened, but refrained from saying anything until I had dropped the other shoe.

“Your other option is to see what’s left of your Mom’s place, if you think you can make it livable there again. I know you grew up gardening with her, and there are still some good people in town that can help you out.”

“What about you? Where are you going?” She asked with a look that said neither of those options sounded all that appealing to her.
 

“That’s your third option,” I replied. “There’s a group of families about eight miles from here, back the direction you came from more or less. It’s the Harris’s that we went to school with. There are five families total living in three houses within about a mile of each other. The main house is the mom and dad of Breanne and her brothers. Bre and her husband Nick stay there with their two kids, her younger brother Andrew and his girlfriend…wife… whatever… they live with their two friends in the grand parent’s old ranch house across the road. The oldest brother Paul and his wife are in the last place a little further down.”
 

She nodded still listening, so I continued on.

“They have a good set up going. They’ve got gardens and have some chickens and goats. Some neighbors nearby have sheep and horses so they all kind of trade with each other. It’s really a good group of people and everybody helps out where they can, but most of them don’t have the background of being farmers and ranchers. But they are trying and they’re making a go of it so far.”

I wasn’t the best sales man in the world, but it was a fairly accurate rundown.
 

“And where would I fit in?” She asked intelligently.
 

“Well to start, you’ve got a medical background…”
 

“Lab work,” she reminded me.

“…but you also know how to work in a garden and have a good head,” I continued on. “I think you’d probably fit in really well.”

Actually, I knew she would. Megan and Breanne both had fairly similar styles and interests from what I remembered. They were both cute and strong and feminine all at the same time. They each were fun, yet responsible; carefree, yet caring. They were down to earth with just enough style to be dang attractive… to the right person.

Besides Megan being able to fit in and get along, we plain needed more people out there because I was getting worn out. I filled in where I could and helped with hunting and security stuff, but they were just now starting to get past asking for my opinion or input on every little thing that went on. I might have had the broadest knowledge base and resources (or access to them) for primitive type living, but if they could just get a little more proactive, their confidence would rise dramatically. Besides that, I still had my own matters to attend to.

“Of course it’s not like I’ve talked to them about it yet,” I reminded her. “But there are a few extra rooms and there is always work to be done. You feel like that’s something you could do?” I asked Megan outright.

“And what happens if they don’t want me there or if I want to leave at some point?”

Smart girl, thinking ahead.

“Burn that bridge when you come to it. I’ll do what I can on my end to get you there, but you’ll have to do your part. If it doesn’t work out, you’ve still got Option One and Two to fall back on.”

I wouldn’t say so, but all I had to do was ask and I’m sure the family would take Megan in on my word alone. I didn’t want either her, or the families at their Ranch, to be put in that position though, so they’d have to work it out between themselves.
 

“Alright, I can see you’re tired and I can guess your mind is racing now with all this. Do you think you can shut down for a bit and get some sleep?” I asked her.

“It’d probably do me some good,” Megan answered.

“Blankets are in that bin over there,” I pointed. “I’m going to hang out by the window we came in for a bit so I won’t be far. I’ll give you a couple good hours and then we’ll need to head out,” I said as I grabbed my old ball cap, stained and still damp jacket, and my AK, then made my way back down the hallway, not really giving her a chance to say any more.

I was trying hard not to show it, but I was tired as hell myself. It was past midnight now and I didn’t want her to know just how little sleep she’d really be getting.  

Chapter 2

After nodding my head asleep on “watch” two or three times, I went back in and quietly repacked my gear and got ready to go. Megan woke up tired, although I could tell she felt better with the little bit of sleep that she did get. After eating some food and drinking a few sips of water from my stores, she was packed up and we were ready to go.
 

Before leading her out to the entrance I went over the basic directions. “Okay, same as before, no talking, no noise. Move when I do, stop when I do. We won’t have to be so hard core once we get out of town and into the woods. We’re only going a few miles but let’s take it slow, we should probably be there by early afternoon with a couple breaks along the way.”

“Alright,” came her timid reply. She knew it was coming, and after all she’d been through on the road to this point, I could guess that more traveling was not something she was looking forward to.

At the entrance before climbing through the window, I handed her my AK. It wasn’t necessary, but it allowed me to use both hands to get up and out of the basement, plus it was also a little test on my part.

“What do you want me to do with this?” She asked nervously, using as few fingers as possible to hold it, extending the gun away from her as if it would suddenly come alive and bite her.    

“Hold it for now, hand it back to me when I ask for it
. First time holding a gun?”

She nodded her head
, indicating that it was.

I had thought as much. Living on the other side of the state, a veritable
Mecca for liberal ideals, she had just not had much of a chance to be around firearms… and this thing was probably the embodiment of every fear tactic ever formed around the evil “Assault Rifles.”  

I had built this gun myself, and it was in fact completely legal, or at least what legal was, back when such things were worried about. I didn’t actually know if Federal Firearms Laws even existed anymore.
 

I had spent plenty of time with American made M16’s and AR15 pattern guns, but I found I enjoyed the ruggedness and simplicity of Russian weapon designs, and this particular AK74 was a great example of that. For a design seen as crude by the gun snobs, mine was a very well made piece, which was necessary for utilizing a suppressor as I did. AK’s in general, and the ’74 in particular, did not suppress well, but I had chosen a specific suppressor that I could put onto multiple guns, and while it wasn’t ideal, it was in fact, better than nothing.
 

Suppressors or “silencers” didn’t make guns “Hollywood” quiet, but they made shooting without wearing ear protection tolerable, so I liked them. Heck in
Europe it was considered rude to your neighbors to shoot without one. In this little section of the world though, I liked keeping a low profile and didn’t want to unintentionally scare off any wild animals in the area either, so they made sense to me.  

Besides the suppressor, I had a holographic sight mounted on the receiver. The stupid thing was near indestructible and had a battery life of over three years, making it very useful for my needs. There was no way I would have been able to make the shots on those two guys last night without it. Unfortunately, my pistol was not as well equipped anymore as the glowing tritium sights on my Glock were just about dead. I would have replaced them a year ago, if the stores had have still been open to buy new ones at. The electronic sight on my AK kept me capable at night, and it was fast as hell on multiple targets during the day too. With the flat bullet trajectory of the 5.45 round that the AK74 shot, it was a very good combination for me.
 

With all that in mind, this silenced black gun of death with the long evil magazine sticking out of the bottom was just an unknown to Megan, except for what she had seen the bad guys do with them in movies. The sooner she got to know the basics of weapon handling the better.

The houses of the families that we were going to sat on both sides of, and were visible from a road that was well used in its day. Groups of people still used it occasionally for trips to town, so an armed watch and armed response was kept up as much as possible.  

Early on, with people abandoning their homes both in and out of town, the security was necessary. Nowadays, anyone left father down the road was generally known to us. We had blocked off the end of the road closest to town from vehicle travel and put a few signs up, but it was really just a deterrent.
 

“Hold it here,” I said, placing Megan’s hand on the pistol grip of the AK. “Keep it pointed out there and don’t mess with the controls. This is the safety, when the lever is up it won’t fire, but really it will not fire unless you willingly pull the trigger. Okay?” I instructed.

“Alright,” she replied hesitantly.

If she ended up staying with the Harris family who I was taking her to, she would have the opportunity to learn full safety and handling of firearms, as well as actually learning to shoot them. Once up to speed, one of the things I got to do was make sure everyone there was, and stayed, proficient with the long guns at least. Pistols were another concern altogether that I hadn’t delved into with any of them as of yet. I told myself it was unnecessary, or it simplified supplying the people, but in reality it was more about the learning curve for the group of novices.
 

Doing a quick last check to make sure everything was where I wanted it in the “cave,” I slid my pack out the open window and made my way up. Once I was satisfied that we were still alone in the backyard, I had Megan hand up my gun and her pack, then I helped her up and out into the early morning air. It had stopped raining and the temperature was brisk, but not too cold, so the fresh air felt good on our tired faces. After replacing the stuff to hide the basement window opening, we were off.
 

We made good time getting out of town. I was taking a specific path that would bring us to the top of a ridge where we would be able to watch the sunrise and take a bit of a break for breakfast. The light was growing as we crested the top of the little cliff, and although neither of us needed it, we were happy for the break.
 

After pulling off our packs, I retrieved the little canteen cup and stove I kept tucked away and I got some water heated. It was the perfect time to use a packet of my treasured instant coffee. I had squirreled away plenty of the little packets, but that was a long time ago and I was now very careful with how much I used. Some day in the distant future when it finally ran out, I would not be a pleasant person to be around.

“So after high school you joined the Army?” Megan asked as she found a dry place to sit down.

“Why do you say that?” I asked her without looking up from the stove of now nearly boiling water.

“Well the guns, the gear, the… everything,” she responded, trying to be polite.

I thought about that for a second then stood up and walked over next to her. I passed over the steaming cup and replied simply, “Something like that.”

Not really eager to talk more on that subject, I asked her my own question.

“How did you end up getting into the medical field? I mean you were always smart with science and stuff, but it never really seemed like a passion.”

“Like you said, I was good at it,” she shrugged. “I enjoyed the work and I liked that I was helping people, but I guess I was always kind of waiting for something else to come along.”  

Yeah, story of my life.
 

“Who would have guessed that the next thing to come along would be the end of the world,” I deadpanned.
 

That caught her for a second, then she surprised me again when she remarked, “You seem to being doing okay in all of this.”

“Some people thought this type of thing was inevitable, history repeating itself and all that. I guess I just paid attention just enough to make it through with what’s left of my sanity.”

“…and humanity,” she finished for me.
 

“Yeah I guess you know I got a little impulsive and undisciplined for a few years back then,” I said, referring to the time after we had stopped dating but were still exposed to each other on a daily basis at the small high school we attended together.
 

I actually was
really
impulsive and
really
undisciplined for quite a while in my youth. Even after a few brushes with the law, I still didn’t settle down until I started getting into a couple of decent hobbies like backpacking and shooting. It allowed me to focus my energy and mind to something useful, and the people I found myself around were good examples of being able to let loose and have fun, while still being controlled and responsible.  

“Well I’m glad to see you’re now a grown up version of the boy I once fell for,” she handed me the now empty cup. “You ready to head out?”

“Yep,” was all I could say while trying to decide how to take that. In the end all I could determine was that I hadn’t been around people in too long of a time if it was taking me this long to figure out if I was being flirted with or not.