Reconquest: Mother Earth

Chapter XIII

Chapter XIII

Gary Daniels shook his head. "Will you look at that? That's the biggest damn tomato I've ever seen. And that cucumber's ungodly." 

Mitch wore a wide grin. "And they taste great, too." 

Daniels put the tomatoes in a basket. "That's from the fertilizer?" 

Mitch nodded.  

"Where did you get that stuff?"  

"An alien." 

Daniels frowned. He looked more like an accountant than a farmer with his wire-rimmed glasses, worn white buttoned-down shirt and black pants with a leather belt. "Hmm." 

"Don't worry," Mitch said. "He's one of the good ones." 

They brought the vegetables back to the farmhouse. After two months, he had found his niche in this isolated community, locating more fertile ground and improving their farming techniques using the knowledge he had gained from Sarm. Using the nearby stream, he had installed a series of pipes leading to the farm area. From there, he used a surface irrigation technique Sarm had taught him. As a result, their food supply had increased considerably.  

He had also helped design and build new roads leading into the valley. Because they didn't have the materials to build asphalt roads, they had constructed dirt roads. His long-term plan was to get bulldozers, earthmovers, and other heavy machinery. Ethan knew where they could find the equipment, but it was not at the top of their priority list.  

After loading the truck with fruits and vegetables, they drove up the mountain. Mitch had spotted fertile ground ten miles to the south that would make their crops more abundant and prevent future crop shortages.  

Daniels pulled the truck up to the storage building where they kept the community's food supply, and Elizabeth waited inside.  

Her job was to distribute the food among the households. She picked up a box of supersized squash. "What the hell are you giving these things, growth hormones?" 

Mitch replied, "Don't worry. It's perfectly safe." 

They put the boxes alongside others filled with lettuce, cabbage, potatoes, onions, and apples. A couple of months ago, the storage area was less than half full. Soon, they would have to look for another place to store food.  

When they were done, Daniels offered to drive him in his diesel-fueled truck. Mitch declined, preferring to jog. Although he worked hard, he still maintained an exercise regimen. Sometimes he could hardly believe that less than a year ago, he was dead to the world. He had made too much progress to stop. He was bigger, stronger, and faster than he had been in his twenties when he started with the SEALs.  

On the way home, he spotted Ethan Herzberg. He and his crew were building an extension that led from the main road to an area with abandoned houses. Mitch wanted to use the houses for new arrivals so they would not have to use the manpower and resources to build new ones.  

Ethan put down his shovel. "Did you have a chance to look at the prints?"  

Mitch nodded. He had studied the blueprints for the footbridge last night. "I'm not an engineer, but it looks sound. When will we be able to start?" 

"After we finish this," Ethan said. "Maybe a week or two." 

"That would be great." 

Ethan wiped the sweat off his brow. "Elizabeth said that you wanted to find fishing supplies." 

"That's right. The lakes and streams around here are filled with fish. If we get better fishing gear, we could take advantage of an underutilized food source. The old bait and tackle shop in the valley has been completely stripped down. I'm thinking Boulder."