Nathan Jones - First Winter

Although he didn’t have nearly as easy a time getting full days off for this sort of thing. As it was he barely found opportunities to go out and check on the beehive Lewis had let be his thing, to make up for not having any sheep or other animals like his cousin, Jane, Matt, Rick, Alice, and even Alvin Harding now owned. Trev was relying more and more on Jim to check on it for him, and while there wasn’t too much labor involved he still felt guilty putting his brother on the spot. Even if Jim seemed more than happy to be included.

The good news there at least was that the bees seemed to sense the approach of nuclear winter, and they were working overtime storing honey. He just hoped it was enough.

For this trip Lewis planned to leave early in the morning, just in case the ride took longer than expected, so Trev got up even earlier to do his morning chores. As soon as he was finished with that he made his way over to the cabin where the single mothers and children of the shelter group lived, the remaining members of the party of refugees that had come into Aspen Hill with Jane last fall.

The women had happily welcomed Deb to come live with them, which was a relief because otherwise Trev wasn’t sure exactly where he could’ve found a place for her. And while they’d expressed some concern that the brown-haired woman wasn’t opening up to them, the arrangement seemed to be going well otherwise.

At his knock Deb emerged rubbing her eyes and yawning. Like him she wore a coat to ward off the early morning chill, which would become baggage to carry with them once it warmed up. Also like him she had her rifle, pistol, body armor, and pack with camping gear and enough provisions for a couple meals from her share of the supplies the soldiers had brought.

They grabbed their bikes, Deb having borrowed Matt’s, and rode for the edge of town where Lewis had suggested they meet, even though they all lived right next door to each other.

Trev realized why when he saw that his cousin had invited a lot more people than just Jane and the two of them. Jim and Linda were there, too, somehow having woken up and gotten ready without him noticing while he was occupied with chores, and so was his Mary. The three were leaning on the shelter group’s remaining three bicycles, looking bleary eyed but eager.

And it wasn’t just his siblings and cousin. Alvin Harding and Wes Watson stood off to one side, joking with each other as they checked the old, rundown bikes they had to have borrowed from the town. With the two young men were a boy and girl in their early teens, members of one of the refugee families that had first joined the town last fall. Trev thought they might be Ben’s grandkids Eve and Harry; he remembered hearing Rick mention that Wes had made friends with some of the refugee kids back when they were living at that meadow above Aspen Hill Canyon during the fight against the blockheads.

“Lewis drag you all on this adventure, too?” he joked as he and Deb arrived. Although he had to wonder if taking a bunch of young’uns so far away from town was the best idea.

“Well yeah, we’re here for adventure,” Alvin called over. “But mostly for snack cakes.”

Trev bit back a smile. So that was why his normally pragmatic cousin had finagled to have junk food as part of his six month supply. Planning to pay off his helpers even then.

Linda made a face. “Those things are awful. I’m doing it for honey treats.”

That made him blink. Not that his sister preferred eating healthy, but that those were an option. Aunt Eva had been making treats out of the honey Trev, his mom, and Lewis had gathered last spring in this very valley. She added a variety of wild seeds and ground nuts into the honey until she could roll the mixture into balls, then dipped those in rolled oats for an outer coating.

Back before the Gulf burned Trev probably would’ve picked them last on the dessert table, but before the military’s windfall arrived they’d been about the only sweet thing in new Aspen Hill, especially made with fresh ingredients. To a palate starved for variety they were delicious. Or at least, they had been before the town was flooded with enough sugary goodness to stock a dozen stores. Apparently for Linda they still were.

“Sounds like he’s making this trip worth your while,” Deb said, sounding amused.

Eve eagerly piped up. “He is! He told us we’d get one for every thousand shells we found.” Her eyes drifted over Trev’s shoulder. “Right?”

Trev turned to see Lewis and Jane rolling up on their bikes. “Right,” Lewis called. “That’s the deal.”

His cousin was probably using up days’ worth of rations for this. Although that wasn’t what Trev had a problem with. He left Deb with the others and walked over to the two, stopping them out of earshot of everyone else. “Is it safe to bring them?”

Lewis shrugged. “I had Chauncey radio the military. They assured him that Highway 6 is free of trouble right now. Refugees are traveling along it with escorts, not to mention the usual military patrols, and there’s been no sign of bandit activity since the blockheads left.” He smiled. “Besides, we can keep them safe.”

Trev nodded dubiously. “You asked their parents, right? Our parents too?”

“Of course.” Lewis patted his backpack, where presumably the various treats were packed. “They seemed happy enough at the chance for the kids to get some free food. Chauncey even joked that visiting the site of what’s probably going to be a historical battleground is a good educational opportunity.”

“Okay. I’m still not sure about this, though. It’s a long way to go, in territory that was dangerous not too long ago.”

Lewis looked a bit deflated by his objections. “Fair enough,” he agreed reluctantly.

Trev figured if the parents were on board then he was just dampening the mood, and this was something his cousin was excited about. So he decided to lighten things up. “I’m getting sugary bribes too, right?”

Lewis grinned. “Nope. Deb has the same deal as the others, but your reward is you get to help me and Jane with the dull, repetitive task of reloading all through the winter months.”

Trev made a face. “Seriously? Remind me never to put you in charge of finding stuff for me to do.”

“Well I mean, I’m not forcing you to do it or anything. It’s as much your opportunity as mine if you want it.” His cousin leaned off his bike and bumped Trev’s shoulder with a fist. “Partner.”

That perked him up. “You mean business partner, not “howdy, partner,” right?”

Jane snorted, and Lewis laughed. “Right.” He abruptly raised his voice. “All right, let’s get this show on the road!”

Everyone scrambled onto their bikes, and in less than a minute they’d put their backs to new Aspen Hill and their faces to the rising sun, with Lewis and Trev in the lead and Jane and Deb as rearguard.

As they started out a thought occurred to Trev. “You’re paying them by the thousand, huh?” Riding beside him his cousin nodded. “Are you going to make them count that out?”

Lewis shuddered. “Ugh, I wouldn’t do that to them. We’ll just weigh whatever they get.”

That made sense. “How much do a thousand casings weigh, anyway?”

His cousin hesitated. “No idea,” he admitted. “Although it won’t be too hard to figure out. I suppose that means I’ll have to count to a thousand at least once, though.”

After the ride up to the eastern ridge of the valley most of the rest of the morning was spent speeding downhill, aside from the aggravating delay picking their way over the collapsed cliff blocking the road while pushing or even carrying their bikes. But other than that it was an exhilarating trip, especially after the drudgery of hard labor and sentry duty.