L Akers: Shoot Like a Girl

Gabby and Olivia had spent the day unloading Jake’s truck and putting stuff away, weeding and working the gardens, and even stacking firewood that had been split, but not stacked yet.

All day they’d worked as a team, and even cleaned up the house and hand-washed all the men’s laundry and hung it to dry. Now, they were totally out of things to do. Or at least out of things they wanted to do…

Grayson surely had a dozen tasks he could assign, but he was too sick and too tired to even bother with assigning work. The ladies puttered around for hours, sometimes banging a few things around, hoping to rouse their husbands.

But so far, no luck.

Graysie walked into the kitchen. “What are you two doing staring at each other like that?” she said, her face screwed up at the sight of them sitting so quietly, grimly looking at each other’s faces.

They both laughed. They hadn’t even realized what they were doing.

For them, staring at each other wasn’t like gawking at someone else. It didn’t feel awkward or weird. It was more like looking in a mirror at their own faces, and after a moment or two; something completely normal and comfortable.

“We’re bored,” Gabby mumbled, her chin still resting on her hand.

Graysie grabbed some cheese crackers and a bottle of water and leaned against the counter. She popped one whole cracker in her mouth and chewed, studying her aunt and stepmother. “What about your foraging book, Olivia? You guys could see if you can find some of those plants and mushrooms you’ve been reading about. Maybe surprise Daddy with a salad of some sort from the woods for dinner.”

Olivia perked up. “That’s actually a really good idea. Want to, Gabby?”

Gabby stood up and stretched. “We can. But we need to be back before dark.”

“We’ll definitely be back before dark. I bet a lot of things grow right behind the house. We won’t go too far. Let me get my book, so we can identify stuff. Can you pack up snacks and water for three?” She stood up to go.

“For three?” Graysie asked, scrunching up her eyebrows.

“Yes, three . Me, Gabby and you. We all need to learn to identify edibles—and non-edibles. And don’t start with me… you’re going,” Olivia answered and smiled, and then hurried out of the room to find her book.

Graysie groaned. “Aunt Gabby! Help me!” she moaned.

Gabby laughed. “Hey, if I have to go, then you have to go, too. It was your idea, princess. Unless you’ve got a toothache, a bee sting, or are too depressed to get out bed…”

Graysie rolled her eyes. “I can fake any of that.”

“Nope. Suck it up. You’re going with us. Grab us some flashlights for my bag, just in case,” she said, and laughed. She turned to start gathering food. “And where’s your gun? You’re supposed to be wearing it. Go get it and make sure you bring extra mags too. You never know what we might run into in the woods. Better to be prepared for anything.”

But on that night, it wouldn’t be the woods where they’d run into monsters… in fact, they were much safer in the woods, than at home.

The full moon shone above the small clearing, and tiny specks of light twinkled brightly. If they hadn’t been lost, they would have enjoyed the beautiful night sky, finally void of smog, smoke, and the infamous chem trails that may or may not have existed before the grid went down. It was the brightest they’d ever seen the moon and stars.

Olivia twirled around with her face turned up, studying the glimmering stars. “I can’t believe you didn’t bring a compass, Graysie!”

“Me?” she protested. “Why didn’t you bring one? You’re the adult.”

Olivia walked off a few feet, ignoring her, and circled a tree. “What is it they say about moss growing on a tree? Which direction is that supposed to be?”

Gabby sighed. “I don’t know, Olivia,” she answered in a frustrated voice. “Even if I did, that wouldn’t tell us which direction the farm is. I don’t understand how we both can be so directionally-challenged. This is almost embarrassing.”

Graysie flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Yeah, for y’all. I don’t live here.”

“ Pfft … yes you do,” Olivia answered. “This is your home. College is… well, college . You haven’t been there long enough to call it home yet. And you don’t know either, so stop trying to sound like it’s all our fault,” she snapped.

Graysie mocked fright, lifting her shoulders up around her ears and dramatically waving her fingers in the air. “ Geesh . Evil stepmother much?”

Gabby intervened. “Look, it’s no use snapping at each other. I think home is this way. Come on.” She walked in a new direction, really having no idea which way to go. She knew if they could just get out of the woods, they’d stumble upon a road, and find their way home from there.

She just wanted to keep moving. The guys were probably all awake and worried sick about them.

Olivia gasped. “Wait! Where’s Ozzie?” She turned around in a circle, looking for her dog. “He’s gone!”

“He’s probably on his way home,” Graysie said sarcastically. “If you’d stop babying him all the time, you could’ve told him the ‘home’ command, and we could’ve followed him. But he only listens to Daddy cuz you’re too soft. Now, he’s gone on without us. He’s probably there now, with his feet kicked up on the couch, crunching through a bowl of kibble and bits, and wiping his paws on the furniture.”

“That’s enough, Graysie,” Olivia snapped. “This isn’t even funny. What if he’s lost?”

“ We’re lost!” Gabby yelled. “I promise you, that dog isn’t lost. He knows exactly where—”

“He’s not lost,” a voice loudly said, interrupting Gabby.

Graysie, Olivia and Gabby jumped in fright.

Ozzie ran back into the clearing, wagging his tail happily, with Tina and Tarra following him.

Gabby ran and hugged her friends. “Oh, thank God. Wait, are you lost, too?”

Tina and Tarra both laughed. “No,” Tina said. “We were still scouting—and y’all need to be quiet. We were on the trail of a wild boar. Those suckers are mean.”

Olivia gasped. They’d had a run-in with a wild boar once. She was terrified of them now.

Tina bent down and tightened the laces on her boot. “We weren’t ready to come back, until Lassie showed up and told us Timmy fell in the well.” She and Tarra cracked up laughing, with Gabby and Graysie joining in.

Olivia stood with her arms crossed, staring at the group. “If y’all are done hee-hawing around, can you just show us the way home?” she asked in a prim voice.

Tina turned her back to Olivia and wordlessly mocked her, screwing up her face.

Tarra answered. “Come on. It’s this way.”

Ozzie jumped ahead of everyone, knowing exactly where he was going, just as Gabby had said.

They trudged through the dense woods behind him: Tarra and Tina, then Graysie, Olivia, and Gabby bringing up the rear. Ozzie zig-zagged on and off the very thin trail in front of them all; he’d missed his dinner time and was ready to get to the house.

Five minutes into their walk, Ozzie growled and stopped.

Everyone froze.

They listened as Ozzie continued a low growl, his hair standing up on the back of his neck. Suddenly, he took off, dashing through the underbrush in pursuit of something.

“Ozzie!” Olivia yelled. “Oh no, what is it?” She clutched her chest.

Tarra and Tina both checked their firearms and adjusted their head-lamps. They were going after him. “Home is straight that way about half a mile.” She pointed the same way they’d been walking. “When you walk out of the woods, you’ll be right behind the house. You can’t miss it. We’ll go after Ozzie. He’s probably caught the scent of that pig,” Tarra said.