The Gathering Storm (Surviving the Fall 2)

“Is the outside pen connected to the barn so they can get some sunlight?”

Mark shook his head. “No, they’re all inside.”

“All right. Let’s get the pen dragged over to the side of the barn and hook it up so they can get some fresh air. I’ll start on that while you check and make sure the automatic water trough is working.”

“What about the garden?” Josie tug

ged on Dianne’s shirt as she trailed along behind.

“That’ll be fine until the Statlers get back, sweetie. Right now let’s just make sure the chickens are fine and then we’ll go check on Mr. and Mrs. Carson.”

Josie nodded and ran on ahead after Jacob and Mark. With the clear autumn sky overhead Dianne could almost forget what had transpired over the last couple of days if not for the steady thunk of the rifle on her back as she walked along. There was no sign of smoke in the sky, though she wondered if that was simply because they were too far removed from a major city to see any.

Though she had a brief reprieve from her thoughts of Rick for the last few minutes, she once again wondered where he was and if he was still okay. She knew without question that he was working tirelessly to get back to Virginia, but whether or not he was in a position to be doing that was another matter.

“Water’s working fine, mom.” Mark walked out the front of the barn and wrung out his shirt with a disgruntled look on his face. Dianne laughed at the sight and gave him a smile. “Thanks, bud. Help me get this pen pulled around, will you?”

Mark and Dianne walked to the back of the barn where a ten foot by fifteen foot section of chicken wire caging was sitting atop large rubber wheels. The contraption had been thought of by Rick and built by him and Jason after Sarah had mentioned that they needed a way to get the chickens outside without her or Jason having to run around after them. Rick’s solution was to cut a small hole in the side of the barn where the chickens roosted at night and build a fully enclosed cage that could be rolled up to the hole and secured with steel pins to keep it in place. The wheels of the contraption could then be popped off and the cage would sit on the ground, allowing the chickens to get out into the grass without having to worry about them wandering off or being attacked by predators.

Once Dianne and Mark pulled the cage into place and set it up, she called out to Jacob who was inside the barn with Josie playing with the chickens. “Jacob! Pull the door open so these guys can get outside, okay?”

There was a muffled squawk as the one of the chickens got in Jacob’s way and then the door opened inward. An explosion of feathers poured out as the chickens fought to squeeze through the narrow opening and get outside. Dianne watched them for a moment before making her way inside to verify that everything was set up properly.

Jacob and Josie were both playing with the chickens inside the barn and Josie held up a chick and squealed with delight. “The eggs hatched! See! He’s so cute! Can’t we take him home?”

Dianne knelt down with a grin and examined the chick. “Sorry, sweetie, but these are Mrs. Statler’s chickens.”

“But what if they don’t come back? Can we keep them then?”

Dianne felt her gut wrench as she thought about the possibility of Rick not coming back, but forced a smile anyway. “Sure, kiddo. If they’re not back soon then we’ll have to come pick these guys up and keep them at our place until they get back. But I’m sure they’ll be back soon.”

Dianne looked at the automatic feeder and the water trough and nodded. “All right, looks like everything’s set here. We’ll come back and check on them in a few days.” Dianne looked at her watch and tapped it. “Come on, we need to get going to check on the Carsons.”

After closing the front door to the barn and checking that the cage was secured one last time, Dianne and her children headed back to the truck. “Hands.” Dianne intoned, mostly for Josie’s benefit, as she had to do every time they finished playing or working with their animals. All three of them quickly coated their hands in alcohol-based sanitizer from a bottle in the front console in the truck as they were climbing in.

As they pulled back onto the road and took a left back towards their home and the Carson’s home, Dianne saw that the previously-unmarred sky was now tainted with a thick column of black smoke. While the source of the smoke was initially hard to see, once they got onto the Carson’s driveway it became obvious.

“Mom… is that…”

“Hold on, kids!” Dianne mashed down on the accelerator and sent the old truck lurching forward down the bumpy dirt road. As they reached the end of the driveway Dianne hit the brakes and the truck slid forward several feet before coming to a stop. Dianne, Mark, Jacob and Josie all stared in horror at the sight before them.

Chapter 5

Las Vegas, NV

“Go!” Rick spat out the last word and threw himself against the back door of the bus. He expected it to be damaged enough to require a substantial amount of force to open and was surprised when he nearly fell out as it opened smoothly and easily. Outside, the midday sun beat down on the street and the air was hot and dry. Dust swirled around the bus and the stench of gunpowder filled his nostrils.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The sound of heavy machine gun fire from farther down the street where the bus had been heading made Rick turn to try and locate the source. Behind him the woman from the bus finished stepping out and clung to his arm again. “Where do we go?”

Rick held up his hand as he peeked around one side of the bus and then the other. There was no sign of any of the shooters so he began looking for a building that they could hide in. “There!” Rick pointed at a building down the street with a large overhang and wide glass front doors that were shattered. “Wait a second, first. Hold this!” He handed his gun bag to the woman and unzipped it as she clung to the handles. He pulled out the shotgun and zipped the bag back up before looping the bag around his back. It stuck out like a sore thumb thanks to the thickness of his backpack but it enabled him to shoulder the shotgun which he did before looking at the woman.

“Follow right behind me, okay?” The woman stared at the gun in his hands like she hand never seen one before and nodded slowly. Rick began moving forward quickly, staying as close to the building’s wall as possible as he moved along. He continually scanned the area in front of him, behind him and to the side, looking for any signs of movement. Another burst of gunfire down the street made him stop and duck behind a large planter on the sidewalk.

The sounds were farther down the street than they had been before and Rick realized that the fight must have continued down the road. “I guess their convoy moved on. Why the hell would they leave us behind?” Rick shook his head and glanced at the woman who was crouched next to him. “Let’s run and get inside that building, okay?”

She nodded and Rick stood up and began running with her close behind. With the blood pumping through his veins and the shotgun in his hand he was beginning to remember some of the years-old self defense and tactical shooting classes he had taken with Dianne long ago. The lessons were simple but the practice had been hard for him to maintain due to his work schedule and he had eventually dropped out, leaving Dianne to finish up. I’m glad she finished. The thought of his wife brought a surge of nausea to his stomach and he tried to push the thought from his mind. Need to survive. Just have to survive for now. Can’t help them if I’m dead.