Dark Days of the After Special Edition | Prequel & Book 1 Read online

  “Good boy,” she said. She held a small milk bone that Cooper took from her palm and began to chew on noisily. To Harper, she said, “How’d you sleep?”

  She stretched and said, “It always sucks getting used to a new bed, but I was warm and I don’t have to go back to that job again, so really I feel pretty good.”

  “Skylar told me you worked in the city, for SocioSphere, but she didn’t tell me what you did there.”

  “She didn’t tell anyone,” Harper said, cryptic. “We did that for security reasons.”

  “The shower’s outside,” she said, respecting Harper’s privacy. “It’s a bit strange at first, showering outside, but the house wasn’t built for all the modern conveniences in life as much as it was built for privacy.”

  “Is it private? The shower?”

  “Sort of. Cooper may hunt you down. And if Connor walks out there, don’t worry about it, he’ll be naked too, so it won’t be uncomfortable.”

  Connor was Skylar’s uncle, an older man who wasn’t unattractive. That didn’t mean she was up to showing anyone that which had not been seen by another man in all her years.

  Feeling that swoop of nervousness unfurling inside of her, she said, “Um…”

  Stephani barked out a laugh.

  “Your face is priceless,” she said, amused. “I’m just kidding. We’re all respectful of shower time. There’s a towel on the dresser and the water’s out back. It’s mostly cold but it’ll wake you up.”

  She snapped her fingers. Cooper stood and ambled off along with her.

  Getting up, stretching, she went and closed the door then found her towel. She unrolled it and saw it was big enough to wrap her body.

  This was going to be weird, she thought.

  She quickly removed her clothes, leaving her bra and underwear on just in case. When she put on her shoes, she looked down and felt like the biggest dork ever. She didn’t know where she would be walking. It could be a pathway, or the weeds, or even bare dirt. It was best not to take chances the first time.

  Out in the kitchen, she found Orbey sitting at the table with Connor. Orbey was older and the sweetest woman ever. Well, unless you crossed her. There was a dead man buried out back to attest to that fact, and surely there’d be more before the year was out. Flashes of the woman sighting her target, then squeezing the trigger once to wound and a second time to kill, burned in Harper’s mind.

  Harper had helped bury the man. She’d shoveled dirt on his grave before his blood was even cold. Shaking off the memory, offering a pleasant smile to the couple, she said “Good morning.”

  “You look like hell,” Connor offered in a pleasant tone.

  Harper’s jaw dropped and Orbey hit her husband.

  “What?” he said, feigning shock. “We have a younger woman living with us and I don’t want anyone getting the wrong idea about me.”

  “That you’re suffering deeply from a lack of manners?” Orbey said, her eyes barely tempered with disbelief.

  “No, that I’m pervy,” he said, aghast. “She’s wearing only a towel for heaven’s sake. Plus the coffee hasn’t done its job just yet. I’m not awake, therefore I can’t be responsible for my actions, specifically the things coming out of my mouth.”

  “The hell you can’t,” Orbey grumbled.

  Harper said, “Well on that note, I’ll be showering if anyone needs me.”

  “Please forgive my husband,” Orbey said, her eyes sweet, but also pleading for clemency. “He’s male. Most days that’s great, but then something like this happens and now we’re back to the dark ages.”

  “It didn’t surprise me that he said what he did,” she replied. “I feel like hell. What would have surprised me is if he’d been pervy. You just don’t see that kind of thing anymore.”

  “That’s a damn shame,” Stephani said, her habit of appearing seemingly out of nowhere persisting. “If you knew how many times I’ve walked by those boys at the barn hoping for a whistle, a long look, someone to adjust their business in their pants…”

  “Are you kidding right now?” Connor snapped, his tone changing.

  “No I’m not,” she said with a grin. “I’m going to try again in an hour.” Connor started to object, but Stephani interrupted him casually and said, “I’ve gotta check on the hives. I’ll be splitting one today and checking the others for mites.”

  “Good luck,” Orbey said.

  Connor looked back at Harper, smiled, then jokingly said, “Well go on and get your shower, and let us old folks eat in peace.”

  Orbey smiled helplessly as Harper walked outside to find the shower. When she did, her jaw dropped for the second time that morning. The shower was basically a concrete pad with pipes leading up the outside of the house. The showerhead was small, clean but with the silver finish worn off.

  “You have got to be kidding me.”

  She never liked her Chicom-assigned housing back in San Francisco, but at least she had indoor plumbing and walls around the shower. Right then she was practically outside for all to see. She looked around, saw only trees, meadow grass and distant mountains. It was so quiet it hurt her ears. This was nothing compared to the noise of the city. Back in San Francisco you woke up to screaming, sirens, gunfire. That certainly wasn’t the case here.

  She found herself wondering about them, these men. There were probably a dozen sweaty guys who wouldn’t mind the way she looked, even if she did. She wasn’t anything great, she knew that, but they probably hadn’t gotten laid in forever so maybe she’d be a catch.

  That’s just an assumption, she told herself.

  But was it?

  She hung her towel on one hook, told herself it was okay. Drawing a deep breath, then blowing it out in resignation, she quickly undressed and hung her garments over the towel. She knelt down and removed her shoes, and then she turned on the water. Standing there with her ivory white ass out for the world to see, she braved the chilly stream.

  “Good God!” she cried, trying to draw a breath.

  If the water wasn’t icy on the exit, it damn well should have been! Stephani said it was cold. Freezing cold was more like it! Her skin pebbled with goosebumps, her nipples pinched tight and stiff. Holding herself against the cold, a lot of little shivers turned to a fierce trembling deep inside herself. When her teeth began to chatter, and her lips felt numb, she wasn’t surprised. What was worse is she was certain someone was going to see her. She prayed to God she was wrong. She would be so embarrassed! They’d see thighs that were a little too large, hips almost too wide, a slight belly and lots of freckles. She glanced down at her privates and thought…no man can ever see me like this! Then she thought about Logan, about how he left her when he dropped her off.

  Logan Cahill.

  Back in San Francisco, he’d inadvertently burned her. He’d also saved her from both death and indignity. It’s true she could fight her own battles, that she hadn’t needed him to save her. Give her the right knife and a gun and she’d probably fare well. But what he went through to get her to safety? She wouldn’t have wanted anyone else with her.

  Either the water warmed a bit, or the numbness in her body gave way to that illusion. Behind her, in a travel soap container, was a half used Dove bar. She lathered up, then went to work washing her body. When she was done, she rinsed and then just stood there. Hands at her sides, head still in the cold stream, she no longer worried about being seen. If anything, she was happy to be wide awake with an active mind. That wasn’t the case back in the city.

  Maybe that’s why she was thinking about Logan. He was in the city. And he was probably exhausted. Would he like it here as much as she did? she wondered. The craziness of the city had a way of depleting everyone. Of course he’d like it! But would she want to be with him? Maybe. Still, he’d burned her.

  Surprising herself, she thought, Yes, I could be with him.

  Okay…so she pushed that thought away pretty quickly. With what was coming, there would be no time for romance, certainly no t
ime for love.

  She shut off the water, dried her body, then put her bra and panties back on. She’d need new underwear from town. She’d need other things, too. Maybe when Stephani was done tending to the hives, they could go together. Or maybe she could go there on her own.

  From what Skylar said, the Chicoms hadn’t occupied much of southern Oregon yet. Especially not the smaller towns. Was it still safe to travel? Orbey would know.

  Back in the house, Connor asked how she felt and she said, “Awake and ready to go.”

  “A cold shower will do that to you,” he said. “Orbey’s heading into town in a bit if you want to go with her.”

  She nodded her head and said, “I was thinking of going.”

  “You’re going to need some lady things. Best get them in case everything goes south. And take a gun with you. Some of those guys down there can get a bit grabby with a pretty thing like you.”

  “First off, I know I’m not that pretty, but thank you for your kindness. Second, is there any law in town?”

  “Local Sheriff,” he said. “But he’s a little soft with the whip.”

  “Meaning?”

  “If one of the local guys offends you, the Sheriff would probably ask what you did to prompt it. He did that with Orbey the first time. Next time it happened, she hit the offender with a stun gun. Nearly electrified him to death. The Sheriff didn’t seem to understand, then again, he isn’t exactly one of us.”

  “He gets it though, right?” she probed. “I mean, he knows what kind of trouble we’re in with the Chicoms, doesn’t he?”

  Connor shook his head and said, “He still thinks the military will intervene.” That’s when they both turned their heads to all kinds of commotion. Cooper came bounding down the hall full of energy. He barked twice at the sight of Harper, but Connor shushed him, saying, “Not in the house you furry menace!”

  Orbey arrived looking unmoved by the outburst and raring to go.

  “You coming with me like that?” she asked Harper.

  “No, ma’am.”

  “Well go dry your hair and get some clothes on. We’re going into the land of heathens and we need to look the part of women who won’t take flack from men.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” she said as she walked back to her room and got dressed. Combing out her hair, she felt clean but not as presentable as she’d like.

  It doesn’t matter, she thought. Hell hath no room for showoffs.

  Chapter Twenty

  “When the Sheriff comes looking for that dead boy,” Orbey said on their way out the door, “tell him we shot him but that he wandered off.”

  “I know what to say,” Connor said, scratching Cooper’s ears. Mumbling to himself, he said, “And it ain’t that.”

  “Don’t show him where the bullets are or where we buried him. Just tell him that as long as this is America, he’s trespassing unless he’s got a warrant.”

  “And if he doesn’t leave?”

  “Make him leave,” Orbey said. “You know the Sheriff. He’s playing pretend detective right now. He hasn’t seen a dead body since Buford Rand got drunk and flipped his car.”

  “What if he really brings a warrant?” Connor asked.

  Waving him off, she said, “The man is no bark and no bite.”

  “A warrant is judge ordered,” he said. “That’ll mean someone else is doing the biting for him, and jail time might come with not following judge’s orders.”

  “If he’s got the peanut sack enough to get a warrant, then let him sniff around. And when he starts to get all fidgety and his jaw does that back and forth thing, you ask him point blank what he thinks he’s going to do to keep these pye-dogs off our land.” Then to Harper, she said, “Well I’m waiting on you now, Sweetie. And don’t you smell fresh!”

  “I think I’m going to like you,” Harper said to Orbey with a grin.

  “What about me?” Connor asked.

  “Jury’s still out on you,” Harper said with a wink.

  They walked out to the Jeep Harper and Logan stole to get there, got in and Orbey said, “This thing’s gonna do the trick.”

  Harper fired it up, let it warm up, then glanced over at Orbey when the older woman asked who the Jeep belonged to.

  “Skylar’s ex-boyfriend,” she said.

  Now she frowned. “Does he know you stole it?”

  Harper swallowed hard, then said, “He’s not going to miss it.”

  Now the woman began to grin.

  She got it.

  “Did he die screaming?” she asked.

  “Something like that,” Harper said, looking away.

  When the slightly modified off-road vehicle was ready, she said, “We’re going to test this thing out.”

  “Do you want to drive?” Harper asked, sensing she did.

  “If you don’t mind.”

  A smile lit her face and the woman got out of the Jeep to trade seats. Inside her jacket, Harper saw a pistol tucked into a shoulder harness. Orbey saw her looking at it.

  “How fast can you get that out?” Harper asked as they passed each other around the front of the off road vehicle.

  “Let’s hope we don’t have to find out,” she said. “But if push comes to shove, I can move pretty quick.”

  Nodding her head, she strapped in and Orbey took off, driving down through the meadow to the tree line.

  “Where are we headed?” Harper asked.

  “Back way out,” she said. “Need to check for poachers and squatters.”

  At the tree line, there was a beaten down path. It wasn’t tire-tracked or bare. Clearly it wasn’t traveled much. They bumped and slogged their way through the forest, Orbey knowing where she was going.

  When they got to a ridge, Orbey stopped, looked right, then said, “Cover your ears.”

  The woman pulled out the pistol, aimed and fired off three quick shots.

  “Sons of rotten goats think they come down here and just park their asses where they want,” she grumbled. Turning and looking at Harper, she said, “They burned three acres across the way last summer when someone’s campfire got out of control. Now they want to come here.”

  “Did you hit anyone?” Harper said, unable to see what Orbey saw.

  “Nah. Just want to…son of a…”

  She dropped the Jeep in gear, heard return fire then ducked sideways. “You armed?” she asked.

  “Connor said to bring my gun in case, so yes.”

  They started bumping through the dense forest into a clearing where three guys were scattering.

  “Get one of them!” Orbey said.

  “Shoot him?”

  “Yes!”

  Harper stood and aimed at the last man, then shot beside his foot. It went wide and hit the tree beside him, bark kicking off as he raced by.

  Orbey stopped before a small campfire and a tent. The fire was smoldering, the embers hot and red. Inside the fire was a cast iron pan, some sort of meat cooking.

  “Hold on,” she said. She got out of the Jeep, walked over to the three man tent, and with her gun in hand, she pulled back the flap. When she came back to the Jeep, she didn’t say a word. She only put the vehicle in gear and drove over the tent. When she was done, she backed up over it and said, “You give these guys an inch, they want ten miles. You shoot one of them and let them bleed out here, they don’t come back.”

  “Seems a bit harsh.”

  “Are you a bad aim, or did you miss on purpose?” she said, looking at her with judgmental eyes.

  “Both, I think.”

  “You’re the leader of the Resistance and this is what you bring to the table?” she said.

  Harper opened her mouth to speak. She wanted to say there was no leader of the Resistance, only pockets of organized dissidents, but that seemed like too much information.

  “I’m not impressed,” Orbey said, backing up onto the path they followed to get them to this point.

  “I’m sorry,” she said.

  “You and me both,” Orbey rep
lied.

  She tied her gray hair back into a tight ponytail. Looking lean and strong, her skin showing her age but still a few years away from seventy, this woman made Harper feel like a pretender. There was “tough” because you could fight, and “tough” because you could live on your own and survive. Orbey was both.

  Harper now had a new task in front of her, and that was measuring up to the standards of this woman—a charming woman with both grit and benevolence.

  “Skylar said you were coming in hot with blood on your hands,” Orbey said as they roamed through the forest. The tall trees towered up around them, the sun barely getting through in some places. It was cool and still, not much moving. She stopped the Jeep, shut off the engine. She wasn’t reaching for her pistol though.

  “What’s wrong?” Harper asked.

  “Shhh,” she said.

  Up ahead, a pair of doe meandered through the woods. They waited for a few minutes for the deer to graze before taking off.

  “We’ve got almost a hundred acres up here. You think they’re cute now, but when everything goes to hell in a handbasket, that right there will be your breakfast, lunch and dinner.”

  She started the vehicle back up and they began to roll. When they popped out the other side of the trees onto what looked like a forest service road, Harper said, “I can hold my own, Orbey. I just don’t like killing indiscriminately.”

  “Neither do I,” she said. “That’s why we’re going to town.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “The second Skylar gives me the word, if that’s what it comes to,” she said, “we’re gonna give some folks a dirt nap.”

  “We’re going to what?” she asked.

  “Anytime you think about a grid-down scenario, and that’s what this will be if things go the way Skylar is thinking, there are going to be your protectors, your potential recruits, your useless eaters and your riff raff.”

  “So you want to identify the riff raff and prepare a hit list?” she asked. Good God did I misjudge this woman, she thought. Where before she loved Orbey’s kind eyes and hospitality, now she sat there in envy.

  “That’s exactly right.”

  “Um…I have a question,” Harper said.