Pulse: Retaliation (Anisakis Nova Book 2) by Eloise J. Knapp Page B
Authors: Eloise J. Knapp
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then sacks from the register. "Let's hope not. I don't have to see it myself to know people are going crazy in bigger chain stores."
Superstores like Fred Myer and Walmart became operational only three months earlier. Dom and Chelsea went there once, just to see what it was like, and were disturbed. The prices were grossly inflated due to the scarcity of resources. Medium quality toilet paper was thirty bucks for 4 rolls. They might have gardening supplies still, but anyone would be risking their lives to get it.
Linda knew her way around. They went straight to two big racks of seeds and took all of them, loading the sacks up to the brim. The packages seemed to be in good condition on the outside, but Linda told him seeds could go bad if they weren't stored properly. They wouldn't know until they tried to grow them.
Dom was in awe, yet nervous that those seeds had to provide food for their future community. They were precious.
Next, they took every liquid fertilizer, herbicide, and pesticide they could find. After ten minutes they had to return to the truck and unload their finds. The next trip yielded deer netting, metal t-posts, shovels, hoes, rakes, and other tools.
Earlier they scavenged heavy duty items, including a chainsaw, table saw, a tiny gas powered generator, and a high quality outdoor propane stove. They intended to use it for boiling water which would be vital to their survival.
Linda was ecstatic about DIY hoop house kits Dom found. The kits contained PVC pipe, clear plastic, and some zip ties. She explained it would make growing a lot easier, and help them produce food year round. The packages were bulky and took up almost half the truck bed, but she insisted they were a valuable asset.
They got everything they came for and then some. Linda and Dom tied a new tarp over their goods and sat on the bumper, exhausted and sweaty. She retrieved two bottles of water from her backpack and handed one to Dom.
"How hard will it be to grow all this stuff?" Dom asked after downing half the bottle.
"Hard. We don't know what the soil is like up there, or even if there's enough clear space to grow." She sighed. "Farming takes a lot of skill. Between all of us, I do think we have a good shot."
They shared a moment of comfortable silence, finishing off the rest of their water. During the hour and a half they'd been raiding the store, the sun began cutting through the fog. It was going to be another sweltering day.
He stood, ready to get back in the truck and deliver their goods to Jim, when Linda set her hand on his shoulder.
"How much do you know about Jamie?"
The question took him off guard. "Uh, not much. He's been our roommate since we started living in Renton. Keeps to himself mostly. Why?"
"I have a bad feeling about him." She was blunt. "He looks at Brittney very intensely. Stares. I might be reading into it, but we're going to be living with each other forever. You know?"
Dom scanned his memory. Had he noticed that? Jamie flew under Dom's radar. Dom never noticed anything good or bad about the guy. "I haven't. Have you mentioned this to anyone else?"
"No. I don't want to start something, you know? Not without any concrete proof. Heaven only knows how many false accusations of sexual harassment went around at my job. I don't take these things lightly."
While Dom didn't like using movies and books as a reference for life, he was going to take a page out of them for this one. How many times had a character made a claim against someone only to have it be rejected, then later the person ends up being a psycho? A woman's claim of a creepy guy would be ignored--written off as an overly sensitive chick thing—and the guy ended up being a rapist? The examples were endless.
As far as Dom was concerned, if someone had a bad feeling, he would take them seriously. "I understand. I'll keep an eye on him. You do the same. If he does anything suspicious, we'll confront him. Okay?"
Linda nodded. "Thanks, Dom. I
Superstores like Fred Myer and Walmart became operational only three months earlier. Dom and Chelsea went there once, just to see what it was like, and were disturbed. The prices were grossly inflated due to the scarcity of resources. Medium quality toilet paper was thirty bucks for 4 rolls. They might have gardening supplies still, but anyone would be risking their lives to get it.
Linda knew her way around. They went straight to two big racks of seeds and took all of them, loading the sacks up to the brim. The packages seemed to be in good condition on the outside, but Linda told him seeds could go bad if they weren't stored properly. They wouldn't know until they tried to grow them.
Dom was in awe, yet nervous that those seeds had to provide food for their future community. They were precious.
Next, they took every liquid fertilizer, herbicide, and pesticide they could find. After ten minutes they had to return to the truck and unload their finds. The next trip yielded deer netting, metal t-posts, shovels, hoes, rakes, and other tools.
Earlier they scavenged heavy duty items, including a chainsaw, table saw, a tiny gas powered generator, and a high quality outdoor propane stove. They intended to use it for boiling water which would be vital to their survival.
Linda was ecstatic about DIY hoop house kits Dom found. The kits contained PVC pipe, clear plastic, and some zip ties. She explained it would make growing a lot easier, and help them produce food year round. The packages were bulky and took up almost half the truck bed, but she insisted they were a valuable asset.
They got everything they came for and then some. Linda and Dom tied a new tarp over their goods and sat on the bumper, exhausted and sweaty. She retrieved two bottles of water from her backpack and handed one to Dom.
"How hard will it be to grow all this stuff?" Dom asked after downing half the bottle.
"Hard. We don't know what the soil is like up there, or even if there's enough clear space to grow." She sighed. "Farming takes a lot of skill. Between all of us, I do think we have a good shot."
They shared a moment of comfortable silence, finishing off the rest of their water. During the hour and a half they'd been raiding the store, the sun began cutting through the fog. It was going to be another sweltering day.
He stood, ready to get back in the truck and deliver their goods to Jim, when Linda set her hand on his shoulder.
"How much do you know about Jamie?"
The question took him off guard. "Uh, not much. He's been our roommate since we started living in Renton. Keeps to himself mostly. Why?"
"I have a bad feeling about him." She was blunt. "He looks at Brittney very intensely. Stares. I might be reading into it, but we're going to be living with each other forever. You know?"
Dom scanned his memory. Had he noticed that? Jamie flew under Dom's radar. Dom never noticed anything good or bad about the guy. "I haven't. Have you mentioned this to anyone else?"
"No. I don't want to start something, you know? Not without any concrete proof. Heaven only knows how many false accusations of sexual harassment went around at my job. I don't take these things lightly."
While Dom didn't like using movies and books as a reference for life, he was going to take a page out of them for this one. How many times had a character made a claim against someone only to have it be rejected, then later the person ends up being a psycho? A woman's claim of a creepy guy would be ignored--written off as an overly sensitive chick thing—and the guy ended up being a rapist? The examples were endless.
As far as Dom was concerned, if someone had a bad feeling, he would take them seriously. "I understand. I'll keep an eye on him. You do the same. If he does anything suspicious, we'll confront him. Okay?"
Linda nodded. "Thanks, Dom. I
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