AllFreeNovel
Share Us
There was shifting around behind me as they did as I complied. Ethan even came around behind me and pulled the handgun from the front of my pants. He kissed my neck quickly, then retreated. The man in front of us was waving his gun around wildly. “Nobody moves, I mean it. I’ll shoot!” he yelled while the guys ignored him.
“You shoot, I shoot. And at this range, not only will I blow your head off, but I will do some damage to your wife and kid. Here’s what is going to happen. You will place all your weapons on the table and back away with your hands on your head.” I glanced to my right and saw that Caleb had passed his gun off to Pike and now had my crossbow.
“Do it now, or my friend here will start taking random shots with the crossbow. Full disclosure, that bow is mine, and he isn’t a very good shot. No telling who or what he will hit. Now move it!” I stepped closer to the man for emphasis and heard the guys also take a step forward.
Even as I watched the panic rise in his eyes, I wasn’t expecting his next move. “Run!” he screamed to his family as he threw his gun at my face. I managed to knock it to the side before it could hit me.
“Wait!” I called out as I ran after them. I hit the button outside for the floodlights and watched them hop over the gate and disappear into the woods from the porch. “Well, they just joined the zombie population,” I said, shaking my head. Ethan was the last to come outside and had the man's gun.
“Not only was his gun not loaded, but it doesn’t even have a firing pin,” he said, handing me the gun.
I looked it over, “No wonder he threw it at me. That was all it was good for.”
“Have you really had people come and try to take the house from you?” Boone asked.
“Oh yeah. Plenty of times. God, the first year we lived here, I think it happened once or twice a month. People can’t help themselves. I’ve got a good setup, so I get it. I was lucky to stumble upon this place unoccupied.” I stared out at the woods a few minutes more before turning around with a sigh and going back inside. I hit the switch to turn off the floodlights on my way.
“Well, how did you deal with them?” Pike asked. He was the last one through the door, and I heard him close and lock it as I returned to Gray’s room. If it was story time, it may as well happen in Gray’s room so that he could be a part of it. The men followed me and settled around the room as I sat beside the bed again. Gray glared at me, but I ignored him since I knew he was probably mad that I had left the room in the first place.
“Most of them underestimated the preparedness of a seventeen-year-old girl or the lengths she would go to to protect her kid brother. I’ve always ensured I was well armed and well trained, and most people coming through often have busted weapons like that man. They’re desperate. Once we understand who holds the power, they are usually easy to work with. I feed them, let them rest, then send them down to Henry and Susan’s. They always have room for people willing to work.”
“I guess these people were no different,” Ethan said. “Who breaks into a house with a gun that couldn’t shoot bullets even if it had some in it and tries to take it?”
“A desperate man with a starving family and no other options,” I said quietly. “Now I’ll likely have to put them down when their bodies stumble back to us after they die,” I sighed.
“Ok, I have to ask,” Gray said, “Who the fuck are Henry and Susan? I knowwhothey are, but how did they become so…successful in the apocalypse?”
The way he said it made me laugh. “They already had a large farming operation before the apocalypse hit. They were well respected in the community, and when shit hit the fan, they took in many people. Over the years, they’ve expanded as other farms fell to ruin. This place belonged to a cousin before I took it over. It’s a little farther from their house than they would like, so they never did much with it. A few days after I arrived, Henry stopped by to check on the property, and he told me I could stay and make it my own. He’s helped me build up my stock over the years and trades me for whatever I can’t provide. Usually in health care.”
“See! You are a doctor, Doc,” Gray said with a grin.
“I’m really not, but I can handle minor things, and with me around to do so, it’s less strain on them. Honestly, I think they just took pity on a couple of kids trying to make it on their own and recognized that I wouldn’t ever be willing to come to live with them, so they let me play house here.” My stomach chose that moment to growl loudly, making the men chuckle.
“I better go get dinner on,” Pike said, leaving the room.
“Question, you guys know how to handle a gun, right?” I asked.
“We do,” Caleb answered.
“Good, start carrying one. Winter is coming, and there is a good chance they won’t be the only ones knocking on the door. I’d feel better if you were all armed.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Boone said.
The rest of the night was uneventful. Gray protested, but we all ended up eating dinner in his room as they spent the evening telling me stories about each other, making me laugh. When I went to bed that night, I couldn’t help but think about the desperate family out in the woods somewhere and wish they had stuck around a bit longer so that I could help them.
The rest of the week was uneventful. I didn’t have any other dalliances with the guys. They still flirted unapologetically, but there seemed to be an unspoken agreement between us that things needed to slow down. Matty came by several times and agreed to stay with Gray while we were gone, so he was here as we prepared to leave the following day.
“So tell me,” he said as he stuffed his face with biscuits, “how is it going with the guys being here?”
“Really well. We have almost all the firewood we’ll need for winter chopped and stacked. The garden is just about ready to be harvested. There are so many helping hands around this place that I run out of things to do and just… sit. It’s odd, really,” I laughed as I packed food for our trip. I made a bunch of hard-boiled eggs and was packing up a bunch of carrots and beef jerky to take with us. The guys were outside prepping the guns and sharpening the knives we would take.
“And what about the… romantic… aspect of their presence? How is that going?” he asked.
I turned to look at him. “Matty, you know I love you, but there are some things I’m just not going to talk to you about. Whether or not I’m having sex with five men is on that list. How are things at Anna’s?” I asked, changing the subject.
“Things at Anna’s are great. Henry will teach me how to harvest his big fields next week. I’m looking forward to everything he can teach me about running his farm. Then I’ll be able to teach you and help you grow this place even more. He said just to let him know what you need, and he will make it happen. He also wanted me to ask you about the bull calf you have. I told him I thought you might plan to raise it to slaughter, but I would find out. He wants to add another bull to his herd and might be willing to trade you a bull ready to start breeding in the spring.” He went to eat another biscuit, but I slapped it out of his hand and put a few carrots in front of him instead.
“I have wanted to get my hands on a bull of my own,” I admitted. “I want to add more animals in general. A few more cows, a bull to breed them, more chickens, a rooster. I also want to grow the goat herd, but that might be a next year thing. I’ve been thinking it might be worth scouting out some farms that are further away next year and seeing if there are any abandoned animals we could grab. Now that I have all these extra hands, expansion is a genuine possibility.”
