Outage (Powerless Nation #1) (9 page)

“You have fried chicken? Oh man, I can't take that. I mean, bread is good but that would be taking advantage of you.”

“Are you kidding?” said Dee incredulously. “I haven't had bread for weeks. I'm the one getting a deal here.” She held the fresh bread up to her face and breathed in the comforting aroma of yeast and security.

They finally split up their picnic evenly, and Hyrum faked a swoon when he saw the can of Coke. “You must be some kind of angel, you know that?” he said, taking a swallow. “We have food stocked up at home, but no pop. Next time the apocalypse hits remind me to buy chips and gum.”

Dee thought of the gum in her pocket and contemplated kissing Hyrum. He was undeniably attractive, with his blonde hair cut neatly and his tall, solid build. He even had a dimple when he smiled, but he didn't seem like the kind of guy you just kissed for fun.

Hyrum hadn't noticed her studying him, he was too intent on the fried chicken. “That was better than KFC.” He glanced at her and switched to a Scottish brogue, “I hate the Colonel and his wee beady eyes. That smug look on his face.”

Dee was confused. Was she supposed to know what he was talking about?

He went on in the terrible accent. “Do y'know why I hate him? Because he puts an addictive chemical in his chicken that makes y'crave it fortnightly!” Then he shouted “Coo-coo!” and started to laugh. Dee had no idea what was going on, but it felt good to laugh with a friend. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed that.

“Want to see something scary?” he asked when they'd finished eating.

“I don't know,” said Dee. “Like dead bodies scary? Demon house scary?”

“Not that bad. More like wild animal scary.” He bent his fingers into a claw hand and raked the air.

“If it's not too far. I've got to get back soon.”

“I'll get you home before curfew, don't worry,” he teased.

While they walked she told him about Grandpa's trouble with his pacemaker and he told her about his older brother that was stuck in California when the EMP hit.

“So you think it was an EMP?” she asked him.

“For sure,” he held a branch so it wouldn't snap back at her. “Some military guys came into the store the second or third day and told me about it. At first I thought they were exaggerating or showing off. They were practically like, 'That's it, game over man, game over,' but now I think they were right. Mom and I have been talking about it and we think things are going to get really bad before they get better.”

“Do you think it’s true? That someone set a nuke off over the U.S?”

Hyrum shrugged, “I dunno, maybe. What do you think?”

“If they did, we could be at war right now and not even know it. Do you ever wonder what’s going on out there?”

“All the time, Dee.” He put out a hand to stop her. “Look over there, see that cave?”

Dee looked and saw a hole in a rocky outcrop. Balanced precariously above the hole was a fallen tree that looked like it would come down with just a breath of wind.

“My dad used to bring us out here and tell us stories about that cave. He said when he was a boy there was a family of bears that lived in the area and hibernated in the cave.”

“Are there bears around here?” Dee asked, looking around nervously.
 

“One night on a scout trip I thought I heard a bear outside my tent. I had all my candy in the tent even though the scoutmaster told us we were supposed to lock it all up for the night. You know bears can smell treats, right? Even if they're wrapped up.”

Dee wondered if a bear could smell the gum in her pocket. “What happened? Did it try to get in?”

Hyrum grinned, “I ate candy until I got sick and then tossed the rest across the tent where my friend was sleeping. We both survived the night, but I didn't have any candy for the rest of the trip.” He squinted at the sun, “We'd better get going. I'll walk you back to the road.”

Dee followed, but she gave the bear cave a long last look over her shoulder. She didn't think she'd be making any more solo fishing trips.

The next morning as Dee hauled endless buckets of water in the trailer for the garden, she saw two people walking down the lane from the road. She left the trailer in the field and ran back to the house.

“Someone's coming!” she burst in to warn Grandpa, but Jasper had beaten her to it. Grandpa already watched out the front window. He had a shotgun.

“Lock the door, Maddie,” was all he said.

As the couple drew closer, Dee realized it was Hyrum. With him was a middle-aged woman, and as Dee looked more closely she saw that it wasn't two people, but three. A little girl walked between them, holding their hands, and Hyrum and the woman swung her into the air every few steps.

Grandpa put down the shotgun and said, “Looks like you're about to meet the neighbors.”

Everyone sat out on the porch, and Grandpa offered cups of the water Dee had boiled that morning.

“It's kind of you to offer us anything. Thank you,” said the woman. “We've brought something for you too.” She handed Grandpa a covered dish, and when he opened it Dee's mouth watered as she saw no-bake chocolate cookies.

She glanced sharply over at Hyrum, remembering his comment in the store about his mom craving chocolate when she was stressed. Hyrum’s eyes were merry as he silently put a finger to his lips.

The woman introduced herself to Dee as Angela . “This is my son Hyrum, who you've met, and my daughter Katy. I've got two more boys back at home and another who was in California, last we heard.”

Angela and Hyrum both shook her hand firmly, but Katy gave her a high-five and then giggled. She couldn't have been older than five, and Dee watched as she worked up the courage to pet Jasper, who had his mouth open in a panting dog smile as he watched the child approach.

“We haven't seen your truck around lately, Mr. Kerns. You having trouble with it?”

“Bad business with the truck,” Grandpa said. “A man took it from Maddie at gunpoint last week. He had an ailing wife, but that weren't no reason. He could've asked for a ride instead of stealing it.”

Hyrum nodded, “You should see how it is down in Lookout Falls.”

“Pretty bad?” asked Grandpa.

“And getting worse,” said Hyrum. “The stores were cleaned out of food and water in less than a week. Turns out your granddaughter did her shopping just in time. By Tuesday afternoon we had people walking the aisles with big trash bags, filling them with anything they could get their hands on and walking out with it.”

“Why didn't you lock the doors and keep it for yourselves?” Dee asked curiously.

“We've got some food put away,” said Hyrum.

“But there might not be more food shipments for months,” Dee insisted. “Aren't you worried you'll run out?” She was imagining having access to a whole store of food and letting people loot it while her family went hungry.

“They're Mormons,” said Grandpa, as if that explained everything.

It meant nothing to Dee though. She didn't think Mormons ate less than normal people. All she knew about them were their habits of knocking on her door at the worst possible times, and biking in the most inappropriate clothes. “So you're going to go door-to-door for food?” she joked.

Hyrum laughed. “No, we just like to be prepared.”

Dee decided she liked the way his eyes crinkled at the corners when he laughed, as if he did it a lot.

In the silence that followed, Angela looked at Grandpa and said, “We've known each other for what, ten years?”

Grandpa nodded. “You're good folks. I couldn't ask for better neighbors. It was a real shame about your husband.”

“Thank you,” said Angela. “You've been a good neighbor to us too.”

She glanced at her little girl who was having her face washed thoroughly by Jasper, and then looked back at Grandpa.

“Hyrum and I have been talking about what it's going to take to survive the next year. We don't think the government is going to have the power back on for everyone for at least that long. Probably longer for country folks. We think people will have a better chance if they work together, and we want to see if you'd like to work out some kind of agreement with us.”

Grandpa rubbed the crystal ball on his cane thoughtfully, as if trying to predict the future. “What do you propose?”

Hyrum spoke up, “My brothers and I are hard workers. You've got all this farmland but not enough people or equipment to work it. We'll help you with your land and animals for the summer.”

“In exchange for fresh milk every day and some young chickens to start our own flock,” said Angela. “And one tank of gas to refill our car.”

Grandpa nodded slowly, thinking it over. “It sounds like you've given this some thought.”

“We think it would be a good arrangement for both our families,” said Angela.

“I agree,” said Grandpa, “and I'd like to propose a few other things. In addition to helping us with farm chores, we could really use help putting up wood for the winter. Do you trust any of your boys with an axe?”

“Absolutely,” said Angela. “Hyrum and Jeremiah both have plenty of experience chopping wood, but we don't need a separate agreement for that. My boys will help you with any jobs you have here.”

“Won't you need them at home?” asked Dee.

“I will, so let's say they'll be here every morning from just after breakfast until dinner time.”
 

Dee was finally accustomed to dinnertime being the afternoon meal, and she nodded sagely at the reference.

Grandpa spoke up, “As much as I could use the help, I'm not sure that's a fair deal for you. Milk and chickens don't seem like much in exchange for a full summer's work.”

“One of these days I imagine you'll have people lining up to work for you in exchange for less. Fresh food is already a luxury,” answered Angela.

“We haven't talked about harvest yet,” Grandpa pointed out. “Once the fields start to come on I could use your boys' help all day.”

“We thought of that too,” she said, with a glance at Hyrum. “In exchange for unlimited help during the harvest, we would like ownership of one of this year's calves. A female, and we'd like to keep her here on the farm until she's ready to wean.”

“And eventually breed her to your bull,” added Hyrum.

“Now that's a tall order,” said Grandpa, steepling his fingers, “but I think we might be willing to do that, if you're willing to throw in canning and cooking lessons for Maddie here.”

Dee's cheeks flushed, “I don't need cooking lessons,” she protested.

“You've got a deal,” said Angela, rising to shake Grandpa's hand. “Though I feel like we're taking advantage of you.”

“Oh believe me,” Grandpa said, carefully not looking at Dee, “we're getting the better end of this deal.”

CHAPTER TEN

H
AVING
THE
S
EARLE
BOYS
around to help with the chores was a huge improvement. Dee started each morning early with a cup of hot milk (the coffee was long gone and it was one of the few staples the Searles didn't have) and a few minutes of discussion with Grandpa about the priorities for the day. When Hyrum, Jeremiah and the youngest brother, Joseph arrived, they handled the more labor-intensive chores like hauling water and mucking out the stable. With slightly more time on her hands, Dee was able to spend more time in the garden, which she enjoyed.

A couple of days into the new arrangement she saw Hyrum heading for the barn. He waved at her. “It’s four-thirty. Time for milking.” He spoke with a strange accent, German maybe. And it wasn’t four-thirty. It was more like eight or nine in the morning. Dee shook her head. He had a weird habit of quoting old eighties movies. She'd learned that when he said something really strange it was probably a reference to a movie she hadn’t seen, and, came the unbidden thought, she might never see.

When he came out a while later he walked over to where she weeded tomato plants. It was close to noon, and his shadow pooled darkly around his feet. “My mom sent you a treat,” he said, handing her a brown paper lunch-bag.

She looked inside and caught a whiff of cinnamon and spices. “No way,” she said, shading her eyes to look at him. “Is that what I think it is?

“Yes way, Ted,” said Hyrum with a grin.

“I can't take that. It could be the last banana bread in the county. Maybe even the state.”

Even as she spoke she unwrapped the morsel. She bit into the moist, cake-like treat and closed her eyes. After weeks of a virtually no carb diet the bread was pure bliss.

“Wait 'til you taste her zucchini bread,” Hyrum said mysteriously.

“Ew! Seriously? Zucchini flavored bread?” Dee wrinkled her nose. “I'll pass. I can wait for them to start shipping bananas again.”

“Trust me. You'll change your mind when you try it.” He gave a pointed look at the piece of bread in her hand.

“Nu-uh,” said Dee, inspecting the bread for signs of unwanted vegetables. A few slivers of green caught her eye and she decided maybe she was better off not knowing. She took another bite and asked, “Why is she baking, anyway? Doesn't it use a lot of gas?”

“Have you ever heard of a solar oven?” Dee shook her head, and he continued, “It's basically a box lined with tinfoil. You put it outside on a sunny day and the sun heats the inside of the box. You can even hard-boil eggs with no water.”

The conversation was veering too close to cooking lessons for Dee's comfort. As far as she was concerned she and Grandpa could keep eating scrambled eggs.
 

She changed the subject, “I've been thinking if one of you wouldn't mind staying with Grandpa, I'd go into town and see if the truck is still at the clinic.”

“Kind of a slim chance, don't you think?”

Dee didn't want to hear that. She shrugged. “I still want to check.”

Hyrum nodded. “Jeremiah will stay with your grandpa. I'll send him over after dinner.”

Dinner was a spinach salad topped with a boiled egg and the last can of tuna.
Not bad for apocalypse food
, thought Dee. The pantry shelves were starting to look empty though. There hadn't been much there in the beginning, and without the garden and the chickens she knew they'd probably be out of food by now.