Joshua Gayou - Commune - The Complete Series - A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Box Set (Books 1-4)

“Jack said ‘They’s scoundrels tossin’ rocks at you? An’ why can’t you get out this chair? Is that cause you so old?’

“Says the hag ‘Naw, a witch come along and witched me on account she didn’t like how perty I was. Made me all old an’ ugly like this. Made me weak so I couldn’t get out this rocker. She come back every night an’ laugh at me, too.

“Well, Jack didn’t like the sound-uh that a’tall, so he grabbed the hag’s chair an’ drug her back into the shack. He set her over in the back an’ found a blanket close by an’ put it over her legs an’ then he got him a far goin’ in the far place an’ he fixed her up some supper an’ fed it to her. The hag thanked ’im an’ said ‘Y’all better git, now. That witch’ll be here soon enough an’ then she’ll get after you for takin’ care-uh me so good.’

“That only made Jack angry, though. He spit through his fingers into the far an’ said ‘We’ll see about that old witch…’

“The witch come on in the late evenin’ an’ bust into that cabin, just angry as you please, ’cause the hag wuddn’t on the porch where she was s’posed to be. When she come through the door, she saw Jack over by the far. He had his shoes off like he owned the joint an’ over the far he had him some bacon sizzlin’ up on a cast iron skillet.

“The witch looked this all over an’ says ‘Well, what-choo on ’bout, boy, steppin’ up in mah house and cookin’ bacon up in mah pit?’ but Jack didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled him a handful-uh dirt from his pocket an’ drew a line ’round the far place, wallin’ himself inside. The witch looked at this, an’ knowin’ a thang er two ’bout a hex, said, ‘Got some kinda glammer on, then?’

“Jack shrugged an’ said ‘Ya’ll better stay over there, now. My mamma was a witch; best evern there was. Shewed me how. You won’t step across if you know what’s best…’

“That made the old witch spittin’ angry. Weren’t nobody-uh better witch than her, so she hitched up her bloomers, winked an eye at Jack, an’ built her up a good-ol’ head-uh steam to hoof over the line. An’ when she did, Jack stuck out his foot, shoved her across so she tripped toward the far, an’ he grabbed up the far poker and beat that old witch like a mule an’ kicked her into the far, where it flared all up and burnt her so much there wasn’t nothin’ left an’ the far went out and wasn’t nothin’ but a black grease stain on the stones; not even wood ash.

“Just then the sun come up an’ shined light into the little shack, an’ the shack seemed somehow new to Jack, like ever’thang had gone all blurry. He started getting’ scared that maybe he been witched up as well an’ walked out the house onto the porch. When he looked outside, he saw that ever’thang ’round the shack was beautiful an’ bright, an’ the area was surrounded by rich fields-uh black, clean earth an’ there was horses an’ cows, an’ a big red barn o’er yander. He turned an’ looked back at the shack, only it weren’t no shack no more. Now it was a big, lovely house an’ when he went inside, the hag was gone, an’ in ’er place was a young woman so perty she made Jack’s heart break. She says ‘Y’all saved me, Jack, an’ now this farm is yours, an’ you was good to me when I was old an’ ugly, so I know you’ll be good to me no matter what happens, so I’m goan marry you.’

“An’ that’s what she did.

“Jack was rich now. Had him some land ever’ bit as good as the family plot—better even, on account-uh his didn’t have no scald. He wanted to travel back to his family’s farm an’ find his brothers an’ show them what they’d done for him an’ have a bit of a laugh, but his wife convinced him otherwise. Said that if Jack did that, he was givin’ them more control-uh his life than they deserved, an’ since Jack had taken such fine care-uh her, she was gonna take care-uh him, an’ protect him from his own willfulness an’ only let him spend time on the things in life that was worth his reckonin’.

“An’ them two are still livin’ out there to this day, happy as they can be.”

All were quiet around the campfire when Lum had finished telling his story, feeling as though they’d been offered a window into his old life, into a childhood spent up in the Kentucky Mountains—perhaps straddling the border with West Virginia—running barefoot through the pines chasing after the creatures of the wood and whispering to the sprites at dusk. Smiling, George said, “What did you girls think of that?”

Lizzy nodded and laughed. “I really liked it. I liked Jack.”

“Well, Jack’s a likable fella,” Lum said.

“How’d they get married?” Rose asked.

“How’d they get… What d’you mean?”

“They were out in the forest. Where’d they find a priest to marry them?”

Lum smiled. “Oh, you don’t need no priest to get hitched, Rose. That’s a thing between two people an’ God. A priest is nice an’ all—good to make things all official—but that ain’t required.”

Rose smiled at this in a manner every bit as gorgeous as her mother, and asked, “Are you going to marry Samantha, do you think?”

“Rose!” George laughed. Lum had sat bolt upright at her question.

He hemmed and hawed a bit, eyes casting about the campsite, and finally said, “Well, I’m lyin’ if—that is… oh, hell…“

Rose pointed at him and said, “Hold that thought, you. I need to step away for a bit. When I get back, you’re telling me everything!” She dug around in their gear a moment until she found a roll of toilet paper. She stood up, shook a finger in his direction, and wandered off into the woods.

“Why don’t you take a flashlight?” George suggested.

“That’s okay; I’ve done this enough times by now,” she said, voice tapering off as she plunged into the darkness.

“Well, you’ve got some time to come up with an answer, at least,” said Lizzy. “It always takes her a long time because she’s so prissy.”

Lum grunted and looked back into the fire.

“Was it really that uncomfortable a question?” George asked.

Lum shook his head; a single pull of his chin to the left. “Not really a fan of havin’ my intentions sussed out. A man likes to come around to his plans in his own time.”

George nodded and said, “Sometimes, Lum, a man’s own time is too damned long.” When the other looked sharply at him, he said, “Trust me. If you love her and it’s right, you don’t want to waste any time delaying. I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t matter if you have an entire lifetime together. It still won’t be long enough.”

The sharpness went out of Lum’s eyes as he considered this and he eventually nodded. He looked back at the fire and remained silent for a long time.

They must have sat like that for five, perhaps ten minutes; George looking up into the starry sky while Lizzy struggled to remain silent, fairly squirming in her chair as though she were suffering a flea infestation. Just when she thought she couldn’t possibly bear another moment of this, Lum stirred and said, “Well, I reckon mayb—”

His words were interrupted by a cough erupting out in the trees; an alien sound that called to mind the popping of a balloon as well as a small bottle rocket jetting off into the sky. Lizzy jerked and turned to look in the direction of its origin; as she did so, she detected in her peripheral vision Lum’s leg kicking out to scoop a pile of dirt over the fire. She took a moment to wonder why he might want to kick out the fire, but then she noticed that his leg was still out straight and quivering like a vibrating cable.

“Lum?” she heard George ask.

And then she heard him speak. His voice was small and weak, coming to them as though from a great distance, delayed and buffeted on playful air currents. He wheezed, “…reckon… rec… I wanna say… I… whatamIsmell…?”