He nodded with drawn eyebrows, “’Course, I’m in. Hodges is a problem. His boy is worse. I’m just saying, we are playing with fire here.”
Cooper nodded, “Yeah, I know that. But, there’s no choice.”
“We always have a choice, brother. Except for breathing and dying, everything else is a choice,” he said, his mouth drawing up tight.
Cooper grimaced at his friend using his own words against him, “Well, I don’t see much of a choice. If we’re going to try and make a go of things here, Hodges will have to be confronted sooner or later.”
“And, I don’t disagree. I was just making the point that there is a choice.”
Cooper shook his head, annoyed, “Whatever. You sound like a philosophy professor. And, that’s no compliment.”
He looked back at him, nonplussed, “Whatever, yourself.” He kept his eyes fixed on the road.
They arrived back at Dranko’s place by late afternoon. The sun hung low on the horizon, casting long rays across the land. Cooper loved this time of day; the light made everything appear peaceful, content. He remembered many evenings spent with Elena watching the sun fall behind the horizon. He’d never grown tired of watching her face, alight in the soft, warm light of the fading sun. She had looked beautiful in a thousand different ways. The sweet memory turned bitter in his mouth as he recalled the way the sun had faded that day when she lay dying; leaving her ashen. He spat deliberately, trying to clear the foul taste.
They gathered on the porch, all seeking the easy grace of the peaceful sunset. Julianne was off to his right, leaning against a post, gazing at the faltering sun. The lighting highlighted what was already there; her stunning face and glistening hair. She turned just then and their eyes met. Despite his resistance, Cooper felt his heart stir. She looks angelic in this light. The juxtaposition of his thoughts to her deeds made him chuckle to himself and turn away.
Angela was off to his left, looking out in the opposite direction. The soft light made her face seem even more kind, caring. Cooper felt comforted by having her so close by. While his feelings lacked the intensity of those with Julianne, they also lacked the deep conflict and tension that Julianne stirred in him. Angela was calming and exuded warmth he needed. He knew she’d make a good mother for Jake. That thought startled him. Why am I thinking like this, with Elena so soon gone? Guilt washed over him and his face drew into a self-reproachful scowl. He pushed those thoughts away.
“The end of the world has a way of shortening timelines.”
He turned toward Dranko, who had crept up behind him and put his hand on his shoulder.
“Am I that obvious?” Cooper mused.
“Just to me. I know you, brother.”
“That you do,” he said, letting loose an easy laugh. When it ended, he turned serious. “Should we gather folks and make the plan for tomorrow and then have dinner?”
Dranko nodded. Thirty minutes later, they had a plan. They would all work to prepare the garden for planting. Dranko knew they needed to get seeds in the ground as soon as possible. Given the colder climate on the mountain, he was going to work on getting plants going in starters, indoors. The rest would work on the garden itself. They needed to weed, prep, and fertilize the ground.
After a bland dinner of white rice and lentils, they gathered in the living area of the cabin and listened to the radio. The news was dark. Widespread rioting continued across the country. The riots had turned decidedly anti-government. A dozen or so mayors and a handful of governors had declared themselves in open defiance of the national government for their lack of action in releasing more information about the Brushfire Plague and the allegations swirling about it. Cooper had the thought that such actions may have been a deliberate attempt to take their cities off the nuclear target lists that Russia was continuingly rattling its saber over. Nonetheless, haphazard efforts were being made to occupy key sites in the defiant locales and states. The slowness of the federal government’s response made him suspect that desertion was a problem that existed but had mostly gone unreported.
“…and in sobering news, there are reports of house-to-house raiding in search of food in many, many cities. There have been numerous reports of violent and deadly clashes between gangs and neighborhoods that are defending themselves.”
“I was afraid of that,” Dranko intoned.
“The food is running out now,” Calvin added.
Cooper nodded gravely, “It’s going to get ugly. Very ugly.”
“We have one interesting report out of Portland, Oregon. The city is the site of much controversy because it is home to Admonitus, the bio-tech company that allegedly engineered and released Brushfire Plague onto the world. We will talk about that in just a moment, but the city leadership has commandeered two grain barges that were docked there when the outbreak began. They are using the grain to feed the city with organized distribution points throughout the city. So, far, Portland has avoided the food-related violence that is becoming common in far too many places. However, mayors from surrounding towns and cities, including nearby Vancouver, Washington, are demanding that Portland share those foodstuffs. Already, one armed vigilante group from Vancouver seeking to get the grain has been repulsed with dozens of dead. Vancouver’s Mayor, John Stillwell, denies any official sanction of the incursion.”
“I guess, ‘Keep Portland Weird’ won’t be our slogan anymore. It will be, ‘Keep Portland Fed!’” Freddie joked from the corner of the room.
“It’s really funny,” Dranko mused.
“What?”
“I had read many times over in the survivalist forums on the Web that Portland always had at least one grain barge in port. And, that such a barge could feed the city for a year!”
“Really?” Angela asked for the entire group. “I’d never heard that.”
“Well, I’d heard it, but I never quite believed it,” Dranko responded.
“And, they have two. I guess my friends aren’t going hungry then,” Jake commented, his voice the most optimistic it had been in a week or more.
“True. But people from other places are going to be coming for that food. The city government should have controlled that information better. As surrounding communities start to go hungry, that grain could become a curse,” Dranko said.
“Or a great source of power,” Cooper intoned flatly.
“What do you mean dad?” Jake queried.
“Well, if I were the Mayor of Portland, I would immediately use that food to make alliances with the immediately surrounding cities and towns. If they provide border defense for Portland, they get food. Dranko’s right, they are going to have wolves at their door very soon, and hungry ones at that. Better to push those wolves further out by making those kinds of alliances.”
“Good point,” Dranko interjected. “And, he better be training and arming a defense force worthy of the name. Otherwise those surrounding towns might just ally themselves and take the food.”
Jake blew out a loud exhale, “It all sounds confusing to me!”
The radio caught their attention once more.
“…for Cooper Adams continues. The President has declared him Public Enemy Number One for the ‘grave harm his vicious lies are causing’. The Administration has also released a set of documents that they claim refutes the outlandish claims made by Mr. Adams. Those documents are being examined and reviewed by an International Team of journalists and experts.”
“I wonder what that is all about?” Calvin inquired.
“People don’t want to believe in the truth that I revealed. This will give them something to latch onto,” Cooper observed, dryly.