Second Chances (39 page)

\------{}------/

Miles looked for the kids and Ciara after dark. He didn't have to go far. He found them on Ciara's PT cruiser and in the bed of his truck with Ciara and Pedro and the other kids, all looking up at stars. The kids were awed by the sight of the heavens on the clear night. Ciara pointed out nebulas and other things.

They huddled under blankets drinking warm drinks. Miles shook his head. He listened, leaning against the trailer. They weren't feigning it; they were all interested and enthusiastic. Miles, however, was tired and impatient to go to bed. “Come on over here,” Ciara said, cajoling him. She got him to sit with them and look up to the night sky. The kids pointed out moons and possible planets, then excitedly babbled about various things they named themselves.

Miles chuckled and nodded. “We never just look at beauty now, so busy,” Ciara told him.

Miles nodded. He stared up to the majestic heavens. “I used to do this with Nicole. She loved it that we were out in the boonies in the trailer. She said she got to see the heavens all the time.”

“Mommy's up there?” Sydney asked.

“Yes dear,” Ciara said, stroking the girl's hair. She passed a bottle of homemade whiskey to Miles; he took a swig of it, then wiped at his mouth as he coughed. “It helps keep the chill away,” Ciara said.

“Please tell me that's not what the kids are drinking,” Miles said.

“Wuss,” Ciara giggled. He snorted.

After the kids went to bed, Miles looked out to see Ciara still there, hands behind her head studying the stars. He went out and they talked and drank. She snuggled up to him to get warm. “I used to like doing this after the engine ran, just drive up into the hills or on the mountain and look at the stars with the heat of the engine warming my behind.”

Miles chuckled softly.

“You know, you're different now. I mean with Nicole...” Ciara paused uncomfortably.

“She was my anchor. They say the love of a good woman will change a man. It's true. Without her...I'm lost,” he admitted. “I'm...going through the motions I guess you could say,” he rumbled softly. “I live to protect the kids and the community I suppose,” he said, looking up at the stars.

“For a racist pig, you're almost all right,” Ciara slurred.

“Gee thanks,” Miles said. “A lot of it is...my temper. I admit that. And I have a tenancy to spout off without thinking,” he admitted.

“Your mouth on automatic? Yeah, I sort of figured that much out,” Ciara said she swayed a bit then shivered.

“Cold?” Miles asked, with a thread of concern in his voice.

“Yeah. And I'm not looking forward to sleeping in the cruiser,” she admitted. “It can get stuffy, but the seats are getting harder to sleep in,” she sighed. She took a sip of whiskey. “And I am getting smashed on...” She looked blearily at the bottle. “Moonshine of all things,” she slurred. When she got cold he carried her into the trailer.

She giggled a bit when he struggled to carry her inside. He set her down on her feet, unsure what to do next, but she surprised him by kissing him. He blinked in astonishment. She smiled, then took him by the hand and pulled him to his small bedroom. He closed the door behind him just in time for her to leap on him, kissing and pulling his clothes off. They fell on the bed and conscious thought left them both as passion engulfed them.

That began a surprising relationship with Ciara. The next morning they talked when their hangovers receded. They agreed it had been a mutual event. Ciara informed Miles he needed to shape up. “The love of a good woman can sometimes change a man. Or he can at least learn to shut his yap more often,” she teased, eying him. He chuckled and nodded.

They kids were surprised by their relationship. Sydney approved, but Jake seemed put out over it. “I'll never replace your mamacita,” Ciara said to the teen. “But I can be here for you and your sister,” she said gently. He nodded.

Miles realized he had grown up a bit. Constant contact with the community and realization that they had to work together had forced him to grow out of his racist bigoted role to some degree. But he was still the quintessential antihero with a complex and chip on his shoulder. He had no plans to let anyone change the roll he intended for himself.

“Good, that means we don't have to lynch you for being such an asshole,” Joe grumbled. Miles gave him a basilisk stare. Joe shrugged. “Seriously man, stop being such a hard ass.”

“It's the only way to survive here. You adapt or die.”

“Maybe for you. But if you've noticed, not all of us have your attitude, and hey,” he said, spreading his hands, then tapping his chest meaningfully. “We're still here,” he said.

“You haven't died
yet
,” Miles said. “I might have had something to do with that you know.”

“Everyone dies Miles, it's only a matter of
when
. Me, I'm going to do my best here, but I'm also going to enjoy some of my life. And yeah, I'm not going to be a size eleven prick,” Joe said. Miles snarled. Joe shook his head and walked off.

\------{}------/

In mid-fall Miles married Ciara in a flower draped ceremony. The entire community turned out for the event. The passionate Latin woman had bonded to Sydney and Jake, many admitted that, but a few couldn't really see what she saw in the colonel. A few of the younger single men were a bit put out over her choice as well.

Her bond with Sydney deepened and intensified. The girl needed a mother figure Miles realized. A role model, one better than he was. Their close proximity had driven the twenty-year-old woman closer to Miles. He wondered if that was the only reason she'd come to him. That or the prospect of winter.

He hadn't wanted to be involved in a relationship after losing Nicole. The Latina, however, was a fierce woman; he admired her spunk. She took everything as a challenge and encouraged others to get going. She had no patience for slackers or lazy slobs.

She stood up to him, publicly or privately. She wasn't afraid to throw things, including a punch if her temper flared out of control. Their sex was filled with passion, something he also liked. She also took charge in the bedroom often, which was a refreshing change from Nicole. Nicole had rationed sex to only when he'd been particularly good or romantic. He got her pregnant, which got her off his back; she mellowed almost overnight.

\------{}------/

In late fall as the leaves turned and then finally fell in the cold winds, they saw the great migration. Miles picked off as many dinosaurs as they could. They had to fight off a Torvosaurus to keep a Hadrosaur kill. The dinosaur damaged a vehicle before it limped off. Diego dragged each kill back to base. They formed an assembly line. One or two people in the field making the kill, another pair dressing the carcass and rigging it for transport, and a vehicle hauling it back to the safety of the base. Within, those with slaughter house experience took charge and dressed the meat. They used Abe's smoker and improvised ones Joe put together when the fridges and freezers were overloaded. Even the giant freezer container Joe rigged was soon packed to the brim.

With the meat smoked, it was turned into jerky. They did their best to package it in air tight containers. Some was put in salt brine and stored in plastic containers. “I feel like a damn squirrel, storing nuts for winter,” Vicky grumbled.

“Why?” Jake asked.

Vicky turned to him, then pointed to the mountains in the distance. She looked, then shielded his eyes with his hands. “What am I looking at?” Jake finally asked.

“See the snow?”

“Yeah...?”

“See how low it goes?”

“Yeah?”

“Notice how cold it's getting?”

“Yeah...”

“The animals leaving?”

“Um...okay, so...”

“So, once the animals are gone, and the winter really hits, we're not going to have much food. So, thanks to dumbshits who can't fucking leave well enough alone and have to do donuts to impress girls, we're scrambling to get all we can as fast as we can,” she said.

“Oh,” he said finally. After a moment he moved away from her.

For the longest time, Miles, like most of the community, had believed that they had been relocated to a southwestern coast, one that had a mild tropical winter. That changed when the first frost hit, then a storm dropped fat flakes of snow one evening. The first flakes of snow shocked them; then they got together in the community center to grimly plan.

The next morning the paper thin veil of snow evaporated in the morning light, but the warning was taken to heart immediately. Vicky organized everyone into groups. Those that could gathered food or cut wood frantically. Those that had come over with little and hadn't spent a lot of time building shelters went to work in groups to do what they could to improve or rebuild them. Most had basic huts that were not really suited for snow. Even Joe went out to build peaks on his trailer roof to shed any snow.

Miles was unsure what to do; he'd wanted to build a house but hadn't the time. Nicole's dream castle was just that, a dream. He never had the time. If he wasn't doing something out in the field, he was playing sentry or attending a meeting.

As the cold winds picked up, some people muttered about a change in venue. They wanted to head south following the herds. He was tempted, but he realized they'd leave their homes and gear behind. Also the fuel would only get the vehicles so far; once it was gone, they'd be on foot. Out on foot with the predators...Hell No.

It all came up in the next meeting. Carlos and Diego looked torn. Carlos would most likely follow the majority, but from the expression on his face, he'd rather stay.

Vicky stood. “Folks, I know you're scared; we all are. Some of you have never experienced a snow bound winter. I'm telling you now, I'm not very familiar with it myself. But hear me out,” she said. “One, we can't take it with us,” she said, indicating the roof over their heads and the gear. “Two, once we're out of fuel we're on foot. You want to be out on foot with a raptor pack around?”

That made a few people shake their heads no. “Three, we can cut wood here. We can do stuff to prepare, which is what we're doing. We don't even know if we head south it will do any good. If we're too far north, it could be weeks before we get far enough south to avoid the snow. If we survived that long.”

That sparked a mutter among the people. She cocked her head, letting them get it out of their system.

“No, we make our stand here,” Vicky told the community after laying out her reasoning which paralleled Miles.

Miles resented her stealing his thunder. Other leaders in the community looked to him, he nodded. “I'm in agreement with her,” he said, trying to keep his voice professional. “If we run we'll just die tired. We're staying,” he said firmly. “Those of you who want to head to the hills, be my guest. But anything you leave behind becomes property of the community and don't expect a welcome back,” he growled. He knew it wasn't a popular decision, but it was the only one they could make to survive or at least most of them could survive.

Chapter 23

They had a long rough winter. It snowed almost weekly, piling up quite quickly despite all their efforts to clear the snow with what shovels and salt they had on hand. Many of the inadequate shelters collapsed under the weight of the snow. That made people group into better huts as the other shelters failed. They did what they could to shore up the remaining huts with the fallen materials.

The community center was turned into a central lodge for nearly half the population by mid-winter. Thirty people huddled together in misery in what blankets they had.

Hunting in the cold snow was brutal. In the first month, a dozen people were reported dead; most had contracted hypothermia or pneumonia. A few had frozen to death. Two had been lost out hunting, never to be seen again.

Mammoths were reported from time to time, but Miles didn't believe the reports until he saw the shaggy beasts from a distance with his own eyes. The animals were skittish though. By the time they'd humped closer to where they'd seen them, the animals had left the area.

Vicky bagged an elk; she swore it had come down from the mountains. Other ice age animals were reported. But the animals were few, and all were very cagy about coming closer to the strange structures the humans had made. They killed a few things that looked like something out of
Star Wars
but not enough. Never enough meat Miles realized.

The second month many couldn't handle going out to hunt. One by one all the pets were killed for food. Miles did an inventory of their food stocks and was shocked. They'd blown through half of the meat eight weeks into what he judged was winter. He discussed it with the council. They ordered strict rationing of all the food. Miles wasn't sure if the community would pay lip service to the order and obey or not. It was hard not to eat when you knew you had food stored. He'd forced himself to stop snacking on the jerky twice, and Ciara had slapped his hands three times before he'd learned to get out and away from the trailer. Keeping busy was the only way to stop being bored and hungry all the time.

When Joe realized a lot of the buildings were collapsing under the weight of the snow, he had them dig out a couple of his small panel vans he had left, then shovel a path into the compound. They used a pair of Barox to tow the vans into the compound, clustering them together. Then Diego and Carlos led a group of people to create a crude roof over the cluster of vehicles. Snow was piled up like an igloo outside, and one of Joe's stoves was placed in the center. “It's not perfect, but it's something,” Joe said. Miles nodded.