A Lawless Land

Bad Omen

The damage was done. None of the produce from the garden could be salvaged. They still had jars of food left in their food storage, but if they didn't find anymore, it would all be gone in a matter of days. Leo rubbed his face and ran his hands through his hair with worry. All over the community, traces of the storm the night before were still there. Everyone had gone straight to work, making repairs, checking on their neighbors, trying to gather whatever food they had between them so they could ration it.

He had only heard a few grumbles from people that day, but overall, everyone was willing to help and take care of each other in whatever way they could. He only wished there was more he could do, and the only other option was to venture outside the walls and find food elsewhere. The idea made him anxious, it had been a while since he had left the community and he wasn't sure he wanted to find out how much worse things had gotten since the last time. He knew Queen knew, but so far, she had kept silent about her journeys.

All throughout the day, as he worked, he actually considered going out there more, especially after he had seen how little food they had left altogether. He exchanged a look with Brent as they carefully sorted and counted all they had.

"We have enough for a week, two if we are really strict on rations, but I don't see it lasting much beyond that," he muttered helplessly, then worked up the nerve to make his suggestion, "we could go out and look for more, send scouts into different directions and cover as much ground as possible."

Brent visibly swallowed from the shock of such a suggestion, "none of them are prepared for what's out there, yes, I've trained some people, but we don't have that many guns, even less ammunition. How would we protect ourselves?"

"Alright, then I'll go. Even without a weapon, I've had more than enough training to get by just fine out there. If our friend Queen came back, I'd ask her to come with me and help. She probably knows the area pretty well by now, but that's a big if," Leo scratched his jaw thoughtfully, the stubble on his face scraped at his callused fingers, he considered trying to shave it, but realized there was no point.

Brent sighed, "I could go with you."

"But then who would I leave in charge while I'm gone? You're the only one who knows the ins and outs of running things and to keep the council on the same page, besides me of course."

Brent blushed slightly at that, not expecting to be praised for his competence, "we could set out some traps in the woods, try to catch some rabbits or something. I'll get people to check the fishing traps in the lake, we'll figure it out, Leo. Don't stress too much about it."

With a light tap of his fist to Leo's shoulder, Brent left the meeting hall. Leo shook his head to himself, hoping and praying things would work themselves out, or they would have to get desperate. He turned and looked at the calendar that had been nailed to the wall, keeping track of how many months they had been living there, then felt a renewed sense of hope. Even though they had no idea what to do when they first built the community, they eventually had figured it out together and done well considering the circumstances. He just had to hold onto that as he went forward.

>>>><<<<

Queen had ventured out the door as soon as she knew the storm had moved on, Duke on her heels. The damage was extensive, she wasn't sure how they even survived it. Roof shingles were scattered across the yard along with tree branches and shutters from the widows, some of the siding had been stripped, some windows broken, trees ripped up by their roots, one was leaning against the house, but amazingly hadn't gone through the roof.

Darren came out and stood next to her to check out the damage, "wow, we really got lucky last night."

Queen placed a hand on her hip and let out a long breath, "this is why I told you all to steer clear of the doors and windows. You're welcome."