Solar Flare Apocalypse

chapter 7

For four days, the people of North Webster worked from dawn til dusk, and sometimes longer. Muscles were aching in every back, but they had accomplished a great deal. The main roads into town were impassable, the men had used physics lesson from long ago to push, pull and pulley vehicles into place. They were stacked like bricks, with other cars acting like stairsteps on the town side. and the men were still hammering sharpened re-bar through them, and filling them with sand, rocks and cement. Fences were sprouting between the barricades, and razor wire from the hardware store was being attached to the tops. There were cars lined up on the inside of the fences, to add strength. It was starting to look like a war zone, and everyone was exhausted, but wherever you walked you heard happy voices and laughter as neighbors connected and reconnected. 

Men and women continued to take shifts patrolling the town at night. Big dogs were loaned to them, and they carried guns and air horns in case of trouble.

The women had nearly emptied the town of perishable food and the ground was a patch work of peas and corn and blueberries getting themselves dry. 

Many of the people that lived outside of town had chosen to come in, along with their sheep, cows, goats, chickens and ducks. The animals were now housed in any backyard with a fence, all around town. Waking up to the quiet of no traffic, or electronics, along with the sound of farm animals was surreal.

Heather Richards and the middle school children were learning to care for the chickens and smaller animals. 

Sugar asked that everyone gather together that evening. All are welcome. People buzzed with questions and concerns for the meeting while they continued to make their town safe.

Jen sat alone in her house, on the sofa with an old atlas on her lap, and a red maker in her hand. She was marking off the miles she thought Adam could travel in a day, following his progress with four red lines for the four days since he left Chicago. He should have been here by now. Her thoughts tumbled with worries of the disasters that could have happened. She hoped he was walking at night, avoiding trouble makers. He would be pretty safe sleeping in the day if he was hidden. Matt found her there and sat with her. "I figure tonight. " He said. 

Jen nodded and sniffed. "We'll worry in the morning. " She said with a watery grin. 

Matt smiled back sadly because he knew they were not going to wait to worry. 

All day long, horses and wagons made trips to and from area farms, bringing load after load of hay, feed, rope, wire, and tools from barns and sheds, and  food, medical supplies, ammunition and blankets from the houses. 

They realized they were racing the clock to get everything in and secured, so they worked right up until the meeting that night..

It was a different group of people looking at Sugar that evening. They were dirty, sweat stained and they smelled bad. And something else, there was pride, and satisfaction there too. These people had accomplished an almost impossible task.

 The crowd sat silent this time, waiting for Sugar. She smiled and looked around. "Welcome." She started. "We have done good work these last three days. I know you just want to go jump in the lake and get clean right now," She was interrupted by scattered laughter. "But we need to decide some things together. I'm going to ask again that the teens under 15 and the little ones be dismissed. The women have dinner ready for them in the dining room. Can a couple of adults volunteer to oversee that?" She waited as the exodus of children and teens filed towards food.

"I want to start by saying that I am not your boss, or mayor, or anything. I hope after tonight we will have settled the question of 'who's in charge'.  I think any adult that wants to be here should be allowed. However, if anyone wants to leave one family member to speak for them, it would get things moving faster."  She waited as families talked quietly. Some women left their husbands in the stands, some men left their wives, and some stayed together.