gold.”
“And it’s a stove,” Kaplan said as he took the can from her and dropped it into the milk crate we had been filling. Between three adults and a teenager, I guessed we had found about ten days’ worth of food if we were careful. In the back of the store room, I found a case of bottled water on top of a blue ice chest. I set it on the floor and opened the ice chest, half afraid I’d find spoiled food or worse inside.
“Well, somebody was prepared for the end of the world,” I said as I looked inside. I pulled out a bottle of Jack Daniels Black Label.
“Sweet,” Hernandez said from behind me.
“We can use it for trade,” Kaplan said as he took the bottle out of my hand and replaced it in the ice chest.
“Really?” I said with false innocence. “Because I thought it’d be really smart to get drunk off our asses and pass out tonight while we made a lot of noise.”
Kaplan ignored the barb and closed the lid on the cooler. “Grab the water, Stewart. Hernandez, help me with the ice chest.” We double timed it back across the road, with Amy carrying two of the shopping baskets. Once we’d dropped off the first load, we made our way back as fast as we could. While Kaplan and Hernandez grabbed the last two baskets and the milk crates from the back, I made my way behind the counter to grab the phonebook.
“Grab the last box on your way out,” Hernandez said from the door.
“Got it. I’m going to grab the city map from the manager’s office, too.”
“I’ll tell Lieutenant Tightass,” she said with a chuckle before she started across the parking lot. I headed for the manager’s office behind the cash registers and pulled the thumbtacks from the corners of the Kansas City map that was hung up behind the desk. Once I had it down, I laid it on the cluttered surface of the desk and worked to get it folded back up.
“Dave!” Amy called out as I was slipping the map into one of the vest pockets. There was a sense of urgency in her voice and I heard engines, so I hustled for the door. When I stepped out into the light, I was greeted by a dozen men in black shirts pointing guns at me from the back of three pickup trucks. Amy had her rifle up, but none of them seemed to be taking the .22 seriously. Ten to one odds do tend to give a man a sense of invulnerability.
“Lower your gun,” I told her as I raised my hands to show empty palms.
“What?” she said. “Why? What are you doing?”
“Xanatos speedchess,” I said softly. She glanced at me for a moment, then slowly brought the gun down.
“We got orders ta shoot looters,” one of the men in the truck drawled.
Journal of Maya Weiss
Thursday, October 17, 2013
I miss them. The only way I could even sleep last night was with Dave’s sweatshirt on and Amy’s bear in my arms. It was the only way I could keep from sleeping in the cab of the truck with the radio on. Between Lynch and the rest of the Marines, we didn’t have to pull watches.
Most of the other people with us and the Marines are crammed into a couple of Greyhound buses Lynch and his men brought back from Salina late last night. Seems like the bastard knew someone was going to try something stupid while he was gone. He didn’t seem surprised when I told him I’d shot Hodges. All he asked was “Did the sumbitch need shootin’?” Porsche answered that more enthusiastically than I could. Dave has a rule about guns. Actually he has several, but the gist of it is don’t point a gun at someone unless you’re ready to pull the trigger. It bothers me that I didn’t even think about it when I shot Hodges.
The sky behind us was red this morning, and I could see the smoke from Kansas City on the horizon. God, it’s hard to keep the truck pointed west. But I promised Dave I’d get Cassie and Bryce to Nate’s.
Chapter 5
Quandaries
~ Safety is something that happens between your ears, not something you hold in your hands ~Jeff Cooper~
“You shoulda seen the look
“And it’s a stove,” Kaplan said as he took the can from her and dropped it into the milk crate we had been filling. Between three adults and a teenager, I guessed we had found about ten days’ worth of food if we were careful. In the back of the store room, I found a case of bottled water on top of a blue ice chest. I set it on the floor and opened the ice chest, half afraid I’d find spoiled food or worse inside.
“Well, somebody was prepared for the end of the world,” I said as I looked inside. I pulled out a bottle of Jack Daniels Black Label.
“Sweet,” Hernandez said from behind me.
“We can use it for trade,” Kaplan said as he took the bottle out of my hand and replaced it in the ice chest.
“Really?” I said with false innocence. “Because I thought it’d be really smart to get drunk off our asses and pass out tonight while we made a lot of noise.”
Kaplan ignored the barb and closed the lid on the cooler. “Grab the water, Stewart. Hernandez, help me with the ice chest.” We double timed it back across the road, with Amy carrying two of the shopping baskets. Once we’d dropped off the first load, we made our way back as fast as we could. While Kaplan and Hernandez grabbed the last two baskets and the milk crates from the back, I made my way behind the counter to grab the phonebook.
“Grab the last box on your way out,” Hernandez said from the door.
“Got it. I’m going to grab the city map from the manager’s office, too.”
“I’ll tell Lieutenant Tightass,” she said with a chuckle before she started across the parking lot. I headed for the manager’s office behind the cash registers and pulled the thumbtacks from the corners of the Kansas City map that was hung up behind the desk. Once I had it down, I laid it on the cluttered surface of the desk and worked to get it folded back up.
“Dave!” Amy called out as I was slipping the map into one of the vest pockets. There was a sense of urgency in her voice and I heard engines, so I hustled for the door. When I stepped out into the light, I was greeted by a dozen men in black shirts pointing guns at me from the back of three pickup trucks. Amy had her rifle up, but none of them seemed to be taking the .22 seriously. Ten to one odds do tend to give a man a sense of invulnerability.
“Lower your gun,” I told her as I raised my hands to show empty palms.
“What?” she said. “Why? What are you doing?”
“Xanatos speedchess,” I said softly. She glanced at me for a moment, then slowly brought the gun down.
“We got orders ta shoot looters,” one of the men in the truck drawled.
Journal of Maya Weiss
Thursday, October 17, 2013
I miss them. The only way I could even sleep last night was with Dave’s sweatshirt on and Amy’s bear in my arms. It was the only way I could keep from sleeping in the cab of the truck with the radio on. Between Lynch and the rest of the Marines, we didn’t have to pull watches.
Most of the other people with us and the Marines are crammed into a couple of Greyhound buses Lynch and his men brought back from Salina late last night. Seems like the bastard knew someone was going to try something stupid while he was gone. He didn’t seem surprised when I told him I’d shot Hodges. All he asked was “Did the sumbitch need shootin’?” Porsche answered that more enthusiastically than I could. Dave has a rule about guns. Actually he has several, but the gist of it is don’t point a gun at someone unless you’re ready to pull the trigger. It bothers me that I didn’t even think about it when I shot Hodges.
The sky behind us was red this morning, and I could see the smoke from Kansas City on the horizon. God, it’s hard to keep the truck pointed west. But I promised Dave I’d get Cassie and Bryce to Nate’s.
Chapter 5
Quandaries
~ Safety is something that happens between your ears, not something you hold in your hands ~Jeff Cooper~
“You shoulda seen the look
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