all.”
Preacher turned around, and that’s
when I first saw that swollen, puffed-out chest rising and falling. First saw
those cracked glasses. I didn’t like anything I saw, and I sure as hell didn’t
like the look he was giving Bo.
“ There’s
nothing here worth having,” he said, real nervous.
“ Not looking
to take anything but a piece of sleep.”
“ You’re
carrying guns.”
Bo nodded. “Like I say, we’ve been
walking. It’s a bad time to be wandering without them if you’re a stranger in a
town. Boys, set the guns down. We’re not in any trouble here, and I don’t care
to make any for the Preacher.” He turned back to the Preacher then. “Let me
tell you our story.”
And he told him. Flat out, no
hedging. Told him about our ganging up in Minneapolis, how he heard about
Grants Pass and the girl’s crazy dream. About bringing all these random folks
together to this little valley town for the common good. About the importance
of having someone around to be a leader.
“ Now, I know
we’re not the types she was looking for when she spouted off on the Internet,”
he said. “But we’re the types she’s gonna need. Folks who used to spend their
whole day behind a computer don’t know how to set up a house, or straighten a
roof. They don’t know how to fix pipes or set up a water system. They might get
a couple engineers, but you can’t tell me there’ll be a lot of guys who want to
do the grunt work there. That’s where we come in. We’re just looking for honest
work, and we’re working hard to get there.”
The Preacher had holstered his
fish-eye now, and he was looking Bo up and down, real steady. Then he took
another rattling breath and said, “Why walk, when there are plenty of cars to
be taken?”
“ You want me
to tell you I wouldn’t take them?” Bo shook his head. “I’d be a liar. We did
manage to hotwire one back when we started, and I’ve thought on it plenty
since, but the roads aren’t real safe. Saw enough B-movies before the collapse
to know that much. We’ve been sticking close to Route Twelve for a long piece
now, but far enough away to hear anyone coming and get down in a ditch. We’re
not angels, Preacher, but we’re not looking for trouble, either. We just want
honest work.”
That got him a nod. “All right…but
why go so far? Oregon’s a long way from Minnesota. I’m sure there are other
towns that would be happy to take on a few strong backs. For that matter, some
of the locals here could probably manage with a few more men.”
“ Are you a
real preacher?” Bo asked bluntly. The question put Preacher off, but he nodded.
“All right then. I figure you know a little something about waiting for a
reward, and working toward it.
“ I don’t
know if they’ll let me in when we get to Grants Pass. I don’t even know if
anyone actually made it there. But if they do, they’re going to have a lot of
different folks from a lot of different places. I might not have gone to school
much, but I can respect the folks who did. I figure they’re like to have a
doctor, or at least someone who studied some. They’re like to have a couple
business folks, who might be good to have around for trading in case anyone
wanders through with goods to sell. They’re like to have just about every kind
of person you can find on the internet, but like I said, there are two kinds
that don’t spend much time there: folks who are used to just working, and folks
who know the word of God.”
Preacher looked at Bo while I looked
at Sarge. I didn’t mind preachers as a rule. I went through Sunday school just
fine and showed up at Ascension Lutheran for the holidays. We were barely
making twelve miles a day as it was, though, what with staying off the roads
and needing time to find food. Adding someone soft to the group was just going
to cause more delay, and I could see what was going to happen if we got caught
in a Montana winter. Figured by my count it was early October
Preacher turned around, and that’s
when I first saw that swollen, puffed-out chest rising and falling. First saw
those cracked glasses. I didn’t like anything I saw, and I sure as hell didn’t
like the look he was giving Bo.
“ There’s
nothing here worth having,” he said, real nervous.
“ Not looking
to take anything but a piece of sleep.”
“ You’re
carrying guns.”
Bo nodded. “Like I say, we’ve been
walking. It’s a bad time to be wandering without them if you’re a stranger in a
town. Boys, set the guns down. We’re not in any trouble here, and I don’t care
to make any for the Preacher.” He turned back to the Preacher then. “Let me
tell you our story.”
And he told him. Flat out, no
hedging. Told him about our ganging up in Minneapolis, how he heard about
Grants Pass and the girl’s crazy dream. About bringing all these random folks
together to this little valley town for the common good. About the importance
of having someone around to be a leader.
“ Now, I know
we’re not the types she was looking for when she spouted off on the Internet,”
he said. “But we’re the types she’s gonna need. Folks who used to spend their
whole day behind a computer don’t know how to set up a house, or straighten a
roof. They don’t know how to fix pipes or set up a water system. They might get
a couple engineers, but you can’t tell me there’ll be a lot of guys who want to
do the grunt work there. That’s where we come in. We’re just looking for honest
work, and we’re working hard to get there.”
The Preacher had holstered his
fish-eye now, and he was looking Bo up and down, real steady. Then he took
another rattling breath and said, “Why walk, when there are plenty of cars to
be taken?”
“ You want me
to tell you I wouldn’t take them?” Bo shook his head. “I’d be a liar. We did
manage to hotwire one back when we started, and I’ve thought on it plenty
since, but the roads aren’t real safe. Saw enough B-movies before the collapse
to know that much. We’ve been sticking close to Route Twelve for a long piece
now, but far enough away to hear anyone coming and get down in a ditch. We’re
not angels, Preacher, but we’re not looking for trouble, either. We just want
honest work.”
That got him a nod. “All right…but
why go so far? Oregon’s a long way from Minnesota. I’m sure there are other
towns that would be happy to take on a few strong backs. For that matter, some
of the locals here could probably manage with a few more men.”
“ Are you a
real preacher?” Bo asked bluntly. The question put Preacher off, but he nodded.
“All right then. I figure you know a little something about waiting for a
reward, and working toward it.
“ I don’t
know if they’ll let me in when we get to Grants Pass. I don’t even know if
anyone actually made it there. But if they do, they’re going to have a lot of
different folks from a lot of different places. I might not have gone to school
much, but I can respect the folks who did. I figure they’re like to have a
doctor, or at least someone who studied some. They’re like to have a couple
business folks, who might be good to have around for trading in case anyone
wanders through with goods to sell. They’re like to have just about every kind
of person you can find on the internet, but like I said, there are two kinds
that don’t spend much time there: folks who are used to just working, and folks
who know the word of God.”
Preacher looked at Bo while I looked
at Sarge. I didn’t mind preachers as a rule. I went through Sunday school just
fine and showed up at Ascension Lutheran for the holidays. We were barely
making twelve miles a day as it was, though, what with staying off the roads
and needing time to find food. Adding someone soft to the group was just going
to cause more delay, and I could see what was going to happen if we got caught
in a Montana winter. Figured by my count it was early October
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