All The Dark Places

13. Share & Share Alike

     It was clear to both of them that they could not simply walk into the village with a load of sundries, that surely the villagers would expect them to share. They planned to share but not to announce it, for fear they would be set upon by everyone at once. They would share some of it and keep some for themselves. It had to be planned out. There was not enough for everyone. 

      "Split between more than two hundred people, this will last one day, maybe two at best," Scott calculated.Rosalind knew it was true. The bags of flour, sugar, rice and salt were simply not enough to go around. "We need to make it stretch," he said. "it will go a lot farther shared between a small group." 

      "Who do you have in mind?" she asked. 

      "I was thinking just the two of us," Scott answered and then began whistling the song 'Just The Two Of Us' until she gave him a raised eyebrow. 

      "That seems a bit selfish." 

      "Oh? Between the two of us, this will last weeks, and if we really go down to iron rations, it might get us through the winter. It would be a tough winter, but still. If you hunt some game with that bow and arrow of yours, we could make it, you and me." 

Again, she knew it was true.

      "I just feel bad. I mean, what will everyone else do?" 

      "Not my circus, not my monkeys." 

     He stopped the horses to stretch and take a long gulp from his water bottle. 

      "Are we at that point already," she asked, taking a moment to sit down on a flat stone at the side of the road and rest her feet. She took her shoes off and poured a little water over her toes, rubbing some life back into them. "the turning point where it's every man for himself?" 

      "Roz, c'mon. We were at that point the minute this happened. The others are too deluded to figure this out. We're simply ahead of the game. Do you really want to go into that village and pass out all these goods? Those people aren't even rationing yet. They're waiting for someone to come in and rescue them. Like the government is going to be there suddenly and take them to mass shelters that have tea and scones. Like there is even a government anymore. People haven't woken up. It hasn't become hard for them yet." 

      "They're all so isolated out here." She nodded. "Scott, I thought you were the hippie, love everybody one in this duo?" 

      "I'm practical. I still love everyone, but we both know we can't feed everyone. We are looking at the future and you and I both know that food will become in short supply at best eventually. If we waited one more week, everyone would figure out that money doesn't mean much right now, and we wouldn't be able to buy anything using cash. We don't have much to barter with, nothing that belongs to us. Now we do if we are smart and don't go passing out our only survival stash to the whole town." 

     Rosalind gave water to the horses and pet their manes, feeling guilty for making them haul such a load. Desmond in particular seemed offended at being used as a pack animal. 

      "Sorry, old boy," she stroked the amber silk of his mane and gave him more water. "I fear you may have to do this much more often." 

      They started off on the road again, halfway to Thornwood on their second haul. The early Summer sun beat down warm on their backs, and the full reality of the situation was setting in even harder than she expected. She had never been considered a very warm and cuddly person. She was not cold hearted; quite the opposite, but people often described her as distant or stand-offish. She was not the one who hugged people at the party. Still, she believed in sharing. She was generous, often too generous with people. With the money she made from The Shadow Book Trilogy, she could have bought a mansion, a fancy car, and expensive jewelry. There was some of that - she bought a new house in Russian Hill, though it was more modest than one might expect. There was a clothing shopping spree and a new car, but it was a Mazda, not a Mercedes. The rest of the money she split between savings and setting up funds for college educations for her husband's nieces and nephews.