Earth Reset: The Counselor

By Nick Eager

Nick and his family have survived one month since the solar flare. His best friend, Mateo, resurfaces and pleads for help. Mateo is distraught since his wife was hospitalized during the event, and still needs his care. In addition, he has young children that are no help. Together Mateo and Neal develop a partnership, but Mateo is never the same person that he had been before.
More people seek help and it is getting harder for Nick to turn them away. Since he has figured out how to survive, he thinks it is selfish not to help them. Soon, he is running a small village of 100 survivors. The logistical processes of managing a small town are challenging. Each person has their own personal mental and physical problems, and there are no health care professionals among the survivors. Nick is compelled to do what he can for his people so that they are more capable of surviving. Nick’s previous life problems are revealed in the context of how he helps everyone else.
Nick learns that at least a few husbands have been abusive, and he has to dissolve a marriage. However, that goes badly and the disgruntled husband threatens to become a lone gunman. Additionally, neighboring suburbs are developing their own villages. Some of them are hostile to Nick and his group. Factions among Nick’s group want to attack their adversaries. Nick feels his power slipping away as plans for a fight become firm.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nick Eager
• Release date: Feb 17, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005165512

Nick Eager

Nick Eager is a pseudonym for the author. Nick lives and works in Michigan. He has professional experience with planning for solar flares.

Book preview

Chapter 1: Day 26

I am a murderer. That thought had kept running through my head for the last couple days. I tried to focus on work, but the word murderer kept taunting me.

Looking back, that first month after the solar flare knocked out the power was rough. We’d lost everything of the old world, and we had no water or food supply. Few people were left in town because most had fled south. The few that were left were really desperate, but it was too late to leave now with there being no way to get anywhere. I had survived by making tough choices. It had been so hard for me that I feared how it had affected me. Several people had died, and I was responsible for at least one of the deaths. At times, all I did was sit and think about each person who had died and how I’d killed them or contributed to their death in some way.

I was troubled by the death of my friend, Jason. He had been caught in circumstances beyond his control. I told myself that he didn’t know that the others had been planning to burn down his church. I should have been able to come up with a way to get him out safely, but I’d barely escaped myself. Since then, I’d come up with an alternative theory. I’d been so concerned with getting out that I hadn’t thought of the others. Instead, when I saw the arsonists, if I would have just turned back and yelled fire, then a large crowd could have rushed the men with me. We could have overpowered them. It was so simple, so why hadn’t I thought of it?

No, I told myself. I must stop the blaming myself and refocus on the positives.

My family was all doing fine. Ann and Frank were helping to harvest the food we needed, and Lily was helping in her own way. Ann’s elderly father, Ron, was still with us and did some physical labor even though he had a bad shoulder. Yet, he was needing less pain medicine for it each day.

Frank seemed to be adjusting to the new life the easiest, so I was least worried about him. Frank had a few issues early on; it reminded me of when I was young. As a child, I hadn’t gone through a major trauma like we all had recently, but just like him, I pushed through whatever life gave me.

Additionally, I was watching over the Shoemaker family. Betty, Patty, and Ethan worked with us every day. Betty’s husband had been killed a few weeks ago.

I was always busy. Rarely did I have time to reflect about all the dead people. It felt to me that if I had taken a break before now, then my family and I wouldn’t have survived.

Now, some of my problems weren’t as severe. We had run out of toilet paper, but Ann had invented a way to use washable rags to wipe. We had been using plastic bags for waste, but the bags were low, and the pile of used ones was increasing in height. Consequently, I had been working on building an outhouse. I was digging a pit in my backyard. I worked on it an hour a day, but it was difficult work digging through the hard clay and it wore me out. I was chest deep in the hole, and that was about as deep as I wanted it to be.

Nick, are you digging another grave? Mateo asked over the fence.

I was happy to see him, but also surprised and shocked by him. Mateo had been my friend, but I hadn’t talked to him in a month. The one time I had seen him was when I was digging a grave for a man that I had killed. The world was different now—I was a murderer, and it was necessary to always protect yourself.

I didn’t immediately reply. In the new world, life was much slower. A conversation might be a few choice words that were said after much thought.

I hadn’t been concerned for my safety since I was working in my own backyard. I didn’t have my pistol with me. I’d been wearing it since I started killing people. However, my family objected when I walked into the house wearing a sidearm. Lily protested the most. She went to hide in her room whenever I came inside wearing a gun. She was already reclusive, and having the gun made it worse. She wouldn’t even eat with us. Therefore, I decided not to carry the gun unless I was going somewhere. Right now, it was on the porch, and I was vulnerable.

I looked at Mateo and saw that he was smiling. He was growing a beard like I was. I was beginning to feel that he hadn’t come to kill me.

No, I said, it’s for an outhouse. He nodded. Neither of us spoke for a while.

I wondered how he was surviving. His family had disappeared for a couple weeks, and then they were suddenly back, but hidden.

How have you been doing? I asked. He shook his head and looked away. It took him time to find the words.

Jen had a miscarriage, he said.

Oh, I’m sorry, I said. I had believed that she was several months pregnant by now.

It was the stress. The baby died inside of her, and the toxins started getting into her blood. She almost died too. His eyes were watery. I felt tears in my eyes too.

We stayed in the hospital for as long as we could for treatment, he said.

The whole family?

Yes, they knew Jen there and treated us well as long as they could. Then things fell apart.

How is she now? I asked.

She’s different day to day. It is hard to recover with bad food and too little of it. His voice changed. I am desperate. I don’t know what to do. I’d never heard him speak that way. Male friends didn’t come to each other to cry about their problems. Normally, I’d be uncomfortable with pleading, but it was a regular part of life now. My first thought was that I should encourage him to build up his confidence again. He’d be useful if he stopped crying and could work. The best thing you can do for a man’s esteem is ask his advice. I climbed out of the hole so that I could talk to him at his level.

I am sure that it was a great challenge keeping your wife and kids alive until now, I said. It has been for me. You must have come up with ways to provide food and drink for them. Please tell me how you did it. I had seen him sneaking around the neighborhood in the dark. I didn’t think that he was stealing my water from the rain barrels, but he could have been. I should have found a different way to ask the question. He might have taken it as if I was accusing him.

We had been gone for a while, so our water heater was still full, he said. I nodded. He looked at the homes nearby. Then when that got low, I found the same in other places. He sounded evasive, but I am sure that he meant that he broke into other homes. I hadn’t thought of that. I had assumed that everyone had eaten all their food and drank all their water before they drove out of town. However, perhaps that wasn’t true. Harvesting food from nature was hard work. If there were other sources of food, I could save myself time.

Are you finding food too? I asked. He shrugged.

My biggest find was a sack of rancid flour. I fed it to my kids. I feel like a really bad father—like I might be killing them. I thought he was going to cry again.

No, you are doing great, I said to encourage him. I really had no idea if rancid flour was harmful.

I see you return with food, and you look in good shape, he said. You must know how to survive. I’ll do anything, except I won’t kill. I realized he might think that I was robbing people. I tried to smile and treat his comment like a joke.

I have been farming to get food, I said. My guns are for protection or hunting. You won’t have to kill, except if you want wild meat. There is a lot of food out there if you know where to get it. Here, let me show you.

I had some worms drying in the sun. They were fully cooked and ready to eat, but I’d dry them to preserve them for when we needed them. I pulled out two.

Here, I said. I ate one of the two and gave him the other one. He watched me and then put it into his mouth.

Chewy, he said.

Imagine it is jerky.

It isn’t jerky. They are worms. He was resigned to eat it despite the source.

Worm-flavored jerky, I said.

Who would want that flavor? he asked. We both laughed. I knew that he would survive. Anyone willing to do work and make compromises could make it.

Can Jen work at all? I asked. His kids were little and wouldn’t be much help.

I can do the work for all of us. She’s supposed to stay in bed for months.

Yes, I do all the work around here too. I know you can feed them all.

How many people are you feeding? he asked.

Eight, I said. With you that will be 12. Suddenly, I felt overwhelmed by the burden on my shoulders. Yet, I had no alternative. It had been too easy to turn people away before. It made me feel very guilty, and I didn’t believe that I could handle it anymore. I had to care, and I had to help.

You are the only one doing work?

Actually, no. Ann is baking bread and sometimes harvests dandelions. Ron, my father-in-law, is helping with phragging. That is the reed farm. Betty and her kids are doing that too. Frank is collecting fuel for fires and usually is at the farm too. Lily is managing cleaning the water. Lily wasn’t doing much, but I wanted to defend her. She’s been helping with some planning too. His daughter was young but could handle the water systems. Nonetheless, I didn’t want to take away one of Lily’s few things. However, any effort by his daughter would show that they all knew they’d have to work.

Isabella could help Lily, I said. He nodded. If you need water, just come get it from that barrel.

It only took you a month to set up all of that? he asked.

A little less. I’ve been counting, I said. I think it is April 14, which is the 26th day. He nodded.

Do you need any food now? I asked.

I’m starved. Can I trade you for some food? I didn’t really want any rancid flour from him. I preferred that he work for his own food.

It was in the late afternoon. We’d already done most of our chores for the day. I was happy to have him wait and help with work tomorrow.

It had been wet in the mornings, and the worm pickings were plentiful. However, some of our other foods weren’t well stocked up. I went back to the worm drying rack and pulled off a heaping handful.

Take these, I said. See if you can get your family to eat them. Tomorrow we’ll start working together. I start as soon as the sun is up.

Yes, I see you when you’re out. I’ll join you then. Thank you. He walked back home.

Looking at the pit, I knew I needed to make the outhouse structure soon. For now, I threw in all the bags of human waste and shoveled some dirt on top. I cleaned up my tools. Then I took some of the dried worms to Betty for their breakfast tomorrow. I went inside for the supper Ann had made.

At supper, I told the family that Mateo was now in our group. I didn’t tell them about Jen. I don’t think that I’d even told Ann that I knew Jen was pregnant. There was no point to get everyone excited about it.

After a minute, Ron stopped eating and put his hand to his head. For most people, I would ask how they felt, but he almost never talked.

I hope Dad isn’t having a stroke, Ann said to me quietly.

Why would you think he was? I asked.

If you can’t move around, and have a severe headache, you may have a stroke. She was being dismissive.

Was he having trouble walking today? I asked. He’d been to the farm and back in the morning with no trouble.

Yes, he could walk once he got going, she said. That wasn’t a stroke.

Ron, I yelled. Do you have a headache? He wouldn’t hear me unless I yelled, but I hated to punish someone with a headache by yelling at them.

No, he said.

How do you feel? asked Ann.

What?

How do you feel? I yelled.

Just a little dizzy, he said.

It isn’t a stroke, I said to Ann. His voice isn’t slurred. I think that sounds more like low blood pressure.

Is it a heart problem?

Possibly, I said, but his health has been improving. He’s lost weight and is building back muscle. I think that Lily and I are just prescribing him too much blood pressure medicine. He doesn’t need as much anymore.

"It isn’t my fault, chirped Lily. You told me to calculate how much to give him based on numbers that you had come up with. I just did the math."

I’m not blaming you, I said. You are right that you did what I told you.

It sounds like blame.

Sorry. I wished that I could find a way to say things so she wouldn’t always take it in the worst possible way. We are learning together about this. We should focus on grandpa. I wish I had a BP cuff, to check, but I am probably right. I think that we should slowly reduce his medicine. We could cut it by a quarter for a few days to see what happens. If he improves, then we know we were right.

Not having enough food can make you faint too, Ann said. We should feed him more.

No, he looks really good for someone his age. Plus, I don’t think that he is still losing weight. I think he has stabilized.

I wondered if I was giving enough work to Ann. She worried more when she had time to sit around and think. If she was busy, then she’d be fine. Recently, I had noticed her picking at her skin. She could worry so much that she would bruise herself. It was hard to sit and watch her do that. If I told her to stop, it had the opposite effect. That was partly why I was always busy now. It was less painful for me to go work on something to improve our life than sit and watch her suffer.

* * * *

Chapter 2: Day 27

In the morning, I made my plan for the day. There were enough people working on the reed beds that I could look at how Mateo was feeding himself. That might provide me with more ideas. Ann was up and I told her to organize the crew later to work on the phragmites.

I went outside and stood where Mateo could see me if he was waiting. It wasn’t as cool this morning as it had been. I measured the hole in my backyard and planned the outhouse. I had various materials that I could use, such as a few pieces of lumber.

A priority now was getting firewood. The dropped branches at the park had all been picked up by Frank and Ethan, so I needed to go cut down one of the dead trees. I got tired of waiting for Mateo to come out, so I grabbed my axe and decided to go to the park. I stopped for a moment to grab my gun and a water bottle. Then I taped a note to my door for Mateo.

When I got there, I picked the closest dead tree. It had lots of dead branches that would break off when it fell. Dead trees were better to chop down because the wood was already dried and ready to burn.

The tree trunk was about two feet in diameter. Chopping down a tree is no small feat. I felt that I had the ability to do it because I had been constantly working out by digging and doing other things for the last month. I lined myself up so that I could strike it at waist level, took a deep breath, and then I started chopping.

Every other stroke, I alternated the direction so large chips would be freed. It was better to strike it at an angle than to hit the trunk dead on. In just a couple minutes, I was warm enough that I had to take off my jacket. I was halfway through the trunk when I saw Mateo walking up to me. I paused to talk.

Good morning, we each said.

Did your family like the jerky? I asked.

They ate it, he said.

I have sent Ann and the others out to collect food. However, I thought that we should talk about other sources of food today. I would continue chopping later.

I saw them go, he said. You’re the boss. Whatever you want to do is fine.

I want to return my axe. He nodded and we started walking back home. Our friendship had changed. He was reliant on me, so now he treated me like his boss.

How many houses have you been into so far? I asked.

Just one. I’m afraid to break into very many. If the law caught me, at least it would only be one count against me. Being Hispanic, they might too easily throw me in jail, and then who’d take care of my family?

Good plan, I said, even though I disagreed. I wanted to make him feel confident. I personally felt it was way past the point of worrying about the law. I was killing people, so if the police returned, I was in much worse shape than him. What was one burglary added to my offenses if they had me for murder?

Also, I knew the family, he said, so there is a chance that they may not prosecute me if I paid them back for damages. I nodded.

Actually, he said, I didn’t break anything to get in. I found their hidden key. It took an hour of searching.

I thought that I could make him feel better about it by ordering him to break into homes. We’d already established that I was his boss. Or ringleader. It made it harder to think of him as a friend if I was going to give him orders.

It is alright to break into more houses, I said. As your boss, I will take responsibility for ordering you to do it. He nodded to our agreement.

When we got back to my house, I saw that Ann had added to my note that Ron was still asleep when they’d left, so they didn’t take him. He was up now, so I waved for him to come with us.

Are you dizzy today? I asked Ron. Are your fingers tingling?

No, he said.

Ron wasn’t very useful in farming, but he was a good scavenger. It was a major effort to move him to his condo years ago because he had piles of accumulated junk that needed to be sorted through. However, I knew he would never agree to break into a home. It would be too hard to justify that to him.

I’ve been through that house thoroughly looking for food, Mateo said pointing across the street.

Okay, let’s pick the next one down, I said. They’d left quickly, so maybe they had left food behind.

We should look for a key, Mateo said.

Just in case, we should knock first, I said. I am pretty sure they are gone but imagine breaking in and they are waiting with a gun. I started knocking normally, then I started pounding loud enough to wake the dead. No one was there.

Ron, I yelled, they are having an estate sale. They said they’d leave the key for us, but they didn’t tell where it was. Help us find the key, okay?

Okay, said Ron, excited for the mission.

Mateo looked under the doormat and then behind the mailbox. I looked under rocks and statues. Ron disappeared behind the house.

Not everyone has a spare key, I said.

True, he said. Are we going to break in if they don’t?

I’ll have to think about that.

Is this it? Ron said as he returned. He was holding a key. I took it from him and used it to open the door.

It works, I said, pleased. Ron was so proud.

We went in. I thought that the home was junky. I didn’t know the owners beyond waving to them a couple times. Now, I thought less of them.

There could be food in any room, Mateo said. They might have snacks anywhere.

…or a pantry downstairs, I said. Also, if you see a blood pressure cuff, grab it.

Okay.

We are looking for food, I yelled to Ron. Make a pile of what you find. He went to the kitchen. We each split up.

The basement was dark. I couldn’t see without a flashlight.

Does anyone have a flashlight? I yelled to them.

Here, said Mateo. He came to the stairs and handed me one.

The basement was unfinished. There was old furniture, tools, and a pile of boxes on a ping pong table. I went through the boxes. They were full of newspapers and magazines. Some cleaning supplies were near the laundry. They didn’t have any bleach. I was always needing more buckets, so I took the two they had. I didn’t see anything to eat, so I went back upstairs.

Ron had found a partly used box of noodles, pudding mix, and some food coloring. I laughed. Technically, food coloring was edible, but I don’t think that there was any reason that we’d want to take it.

Ron opened the fridge. It made the room stink.

Always open the fridge last, I told him. Is there anything in there still good? It looked bare except for a few jars. Some people kept nuts and grains in the fridge just to keep them fresh, but they would have been fine unrefrigerated for a long time.

Check the lids on the bottles to see if any are still sealed, I yelled. I opened the kitchen window.

There aren’t any blood pressure devices, Mateo said as he came back. No snacks.

Just a flashlight, I said.

That was mine.

Oh.

I did find a jacket for you, he said.

It isn’t even my birthday.

Have you noticed the hole in the back of yours?

No. I took it off to look. I’d been wearing it constantly and it was torn in two spots. I tried the new one and it was fine.

Did you find anything? he asked.

Buckets. Also, there are lots of newspapers.

Planning on catching up on the news?

They’ll be good for fires until I get that tree chopped down, I said. Let’s put the things we are taking on the front porch so we remember them. I put the buckets there, and my old jacket, but I didn’t know why I needed to keep it. I went downstairs to get a box of papers and brought it out. Ron wasn’t doing anything.

Pack these up, I said pointing at the food items. He needs a list of things to do. He doesn’t hear well, I told Mateo. He nodded.

What are you going to do with the hard noodles? Mateo asked.

Cook them.

I hadn’t thought of that, he said. He sounded serious, and that seemed odd to me.

Why wouldn’t you?

Well, if you had a fire that could attract attention. Also, it would be a waste of water.

We have water now, I said. Plus, you can always drink the cooking liquid.

Oh, he said. I have a barbeque grill and some charcoal.

That reminds me, I am looking for more aluminum foil. I went to the kitchen and saw some. We should start making lunch. However, half a box of noodles won’t go very far for 12 people.

There is another box in the house next door, Mateo said. I just didn’t know what to do with it.

Okay, that should be enough. You go get it while Ron and I carry this stuff back. I was just happy that we had found a way to feed our group, and we didn’t have to work that hard at it.

Who do we pay? Ron asked as we walked out.

I’ll mail them a check.

Mateo pulled over his grill, but I thought that would be better for meat later today. I showed him how I had been cooking with pots. When the noodles were cooked, I drained most of the water and added my last can of tomato paste to it. I simmered that a while. I was hot standing near the fire. The weather had warmed up and felt to be in the 60s.

The crew of five returned from the farm. Ann came up to me.

That’s a nice jacket, she said.

We went shopping, I said.

Really? she asked.

Betty said hello to Mateo. Also, Lily came out of the house.

I’ll take plates to my family, Mateo said. It might be too much of a shock to suddenly come outside.

Okay, I said, We can talk later. The rest of us ate outside, sitting on lawn chairs. We sat in the front which was far enough away from the outhouse.

Have you thought yet about showers for the rest of us? Ann asked. I sat next to her as we ate. We had arranged something for Mary, Ann’s mother, before she passed away. However, the cold water had probably been torture for her. We all smelled bad, and we had plenty of water, but showers weren’t my priority yet. Ann took the dishes in to wash them.

My priority right now was Mateo and his family. I needed to get him trained in many of the things that I did so we could split the work. Also, I needed to see if I could help his family.

As Mateo came out, Diego, his young son, looked out of the door. He had few inhibitions. The only thing keeping him inside was his parents. He’d be happy to run around and play. Mateo sat down next to me where Ann had been.

Should you bring out Diego to say hi? I asked.

Not yet. Jennifer is very afraid.

Of what? Me?

No, I don’t think so. She’s traumatized and knows that everything has fallen apart. She doesn’t want to lose another child.

She thinks that it is unsafe to be outside?

Yes.

Do you try to reassure her that you can protect her? I asked.

I’ve tried, but we have too much history. She doesn’t think that she can rely upon me, he said. I shrugged.

Well, there are two of us now. We are a team, I said. He smiled. I was happy to have another adult male in our group. A lot of work required upper body strength that Ann and Betty didn’t have.

Should I talk to her? I asked.

I think that would help, he said. I nodded and we stood up. I had never really talked to her. I only said hello whenever I had come to see Mateo.

Do you think that wearing my sidearm would help or hurt? It might reassure her that no one is going to take advantage of us.

I can testify to your lethal abilities. He’d seen me bury a man that I’d killed. I took it that he thought it’d be okay to wear the gun. I wouldn’t brag that I had it, but it’d be a silent prop.

We walked over to the house and came in through the back door. Nick wants to say hello, Mateo said as he went in.

Hello, I wanted to see how you are feeling, I said to Jen. She was reclined on the couch. Diego was standing near me by the front door. Isabella looked out from a room to see me.

Hi. Most of the time I am better, she said.

Diego went behind a chair and pulled himself up to balance hanging over it. He smiled when I looked at him.

Mateo told me of your loss. I’m sorry, I said to Jen.

Thank you, and we are grateful for the food. It is better than what ‘Teo has come up with.

He’s done his best trying to support you. Now that we are a team, we can do twice as much. Things are improving. You can be sure that you will have food and water now.

Thank you, she said.

Diego was filthy. The rest of them didn’t look very clean either. Jen was a nurse, so she knew about the importance of washing hands and faces. Their laxness had to be from the lack of water.

With the water system, it really feels good to be able to brush teeth, wash hands, and launder underclothes, I said. Odds were that she was the one to do their laundry, but she didn’t seem up to it.

Can I have Ann help you do laundry until you are up and around? I asked. Jen shrugged. Ann would be busier than normal since I’d put her in charge of farming, too, today. She’d do her morning chores in the afternoon. Jen looked sleepy, so I decided to leave.

It’s nice talking to you. Get well, I said as I went out. Diego stood on the front porch as Mateo and I talked there. Mateo didn’t push him back in, and Diego’s expression made it look like he’d gotten away with something risky.

I can gather the laundry later, Mateo said.

Good. Are you ready to check traps for meat? I asked.

Okay, he said. He made Diego go back inside.

Do you have a bike? That would save a lot of time.

No, he said.

Do you want to take Ann’s? I asked. He nodded.

I took him to where I currently had the squirrel poles. There was one trapped on each pole. He didn’t react to the fact that I’d trapped squirrels and would eat them.

I have to check them daily and move them. My theory is that squirrels aren’t as dumb as they seem. If they see their playmate swinging dead from a trap, they know to avoid it themselves. To keep the kill rate up, I have to keep moving them.

That makes sense.

However, I move them around so much that I’m afraid that I’m going to forget where they are, or lose some.

It is hard to miss a squirrel hanging from a noose.

Maybe, I said.

How about you put flags nearby. That will help keep track.

That’s a great idea, I said. Do you have any?

No, but I’ll keep my eyes open.

Just then we heard some gunshots. They were coming from the west.

Are they hunting? Mateo asked. I widened my eyes and then shrugged.

It sounds suspicious, I said.

Why?

Well, I have a BB gun and have hunted squirrels with it. If I miss, they scurry away so fast that there is no chance that a second shot would get them. I don’t have a lot of hunting experience, but the only time I can say that you want to shoot multiple times is when you have a shotgun aiming at a flock of birds.

I don’t think that was a shotgun, he said.

No. Otherwise, in my experience, in a gunfight there are likely to be lots of shots in a row. The sounds brought back memories of a previous encounter that I’d had in the neighboring town of Raleigh. I didn’t want to tell him how Ben had died because then he might not trust me as much. I’d wait to talk to him about that.

Oh, he said. That’s not what I am telling Jen if she asks. I nodded. I realized we both believed that keeping a few secrets was okay.

Have you thought of hunting bigger animals? he asked.

I’d need better equipment than a pistol and a BB gun.

Wouldn’t a pistol work?

It is a short-range weapon. It doesn’t have the power to carry over distance, I said.

Too bad we don’t have a sporting goods store nearby to scavenge.

Yes, but I think they lock up all their guns. They probably hide the keys better than the average guy.

Still I’ve seen crossbows and other things sitting out, he said.

Yes, and that should work for larger prey. He nodded. We finished moving the traps and took the meat back. I showed him how to butcher them.

Later, we should cook them up for supper, I said. We can try your grill. Do you want to be in charge of that? He nodded.

I thought that I’d finish chopping down that tree now, I said.

Do you want help?

No, I said. I thought he was probably too weak from a poor diet. I held up my finger to show him to wait a minute. Then I went inside to see how busy Ann was.

Ann, the Ramirez’s laundry is piling up. Maybe Mateo would do it if you get him started on it. Ann was very motivated to keep things clean, so she dropped what she was doing and came out. I smiled at Mateo.

How about you do your laundry? Ann can show you how.

Okay, he said with resignation. I got my axe and left while they talked. The box of newspapers and bag of briquettes would help with cooking for a while. However, I didn’t like leaving a tree half chopped down in the park. I was less concerned about safety; I simply had too many half-finished projects.

I decided that it was more efficient to chop equally from all sides, so I moved around as I went. I took several breaks for water and rest. After a while, I called timber to myself as it started to creak. I watched for the direction that it started to sway so that I knew which direction to go.

Then, the tree came crashing down. Dead branches bounced loose.

Picking those up would give Frank plenty of work to do. Diego could help pick up sticks too. However, his mother would not let him out of the house. Frank could supervise a child in the old world, but there were additional safety issues now. Probably the biggest threat now was from wild dogs, although I hadn’t seen any for a week. Frank knew what to do, but Diego would be vulnerable. It’d be best not to suggest this until I had better ideas for safety.

At suppertime, Mateo cooked the meat. Also, we had our normal daily foods from the farm. Mateo took plates into his family and they ate by themselves. The rest of us ate together outside again. Diego helped carry the dirty plates back later.

* * * *

Chapter 3: Day 28

Early Saturday, until more people were up, I worked on my outhouse. All I had so far was a dangerous, unusable pit in the ground. I measured a panel of fallen wooden fence to go over the top of the pit. Was it sturdy enough to hold the weight of a person? I set it on top of the fire pit. There would be less severe consequences from falling into cold ashes compared to a deep pit of waste. I put my foot on it and then decided to reinforce it. It would be weaker after I cut a hole in the middle.

I worked a while to strengthen the platform and cut the hole. The chair leg could slip through the hole, so I’d have to nail it down with some brackets.

I took a break for a drink and I noticed that Ann was awake. My sawing and hammering must have woken everyone. I put a chair over the hole and broke a hole in the seat. Then I stuck three tent poles in the ground and hung a tarp for a curtain. It would provide temporary privacy but wouldn’t hold up in the wind. That was good enough for now, so I went inside.

What is the plan for today? Ann asked.

I want to keep working with Mateo to see what we can get from his plan. Can you continue leading the farm crew?

Yes, but there are some changes. It is easier to get the sprouts now. The Phragmites are up to one foot tall, so we don’t have to dig. We can get as many as we want of those easily. However, we still must dig for roots for flour. That takes time away from other things like dandelions.

Frankly, I don’t miss them now, I said.

Yes, she said, but we still need greens.

The tips of the phrag sprouts are turning green, maybe those count. Yet, it didn’t take time to pluck dandelion leaves, so she could still do that. Most of the effort was to dig, clean, and cook the roots.

Also, I don’t know how much longer I can make bread. I am almost out of yeast.

Oh, I said. Bread from phrag flour was a major part of our diet now. We had to have a solution for that. Have you ever used starter for your bread? She knew that I meant keeping a small ball of dough from the previous batch. The yeast would multiply in it so you could use it for the new batch.

Wouldn’t it get moldy?

No, you always have a new starter for the next day.

I’d rather have yeast, she said.

You know what? Maybe we can scavenge some. I hated being put on the spot like this. It was better to know what we needed in advance so I could think about it. I got a paper and pencil and wrote yeast. Here’s our shopping list. Please add whatever you need to it. She nodded.

Mateo showed up later and he looked stressed. After a good day with him yesterday, I had gotten my hopes up.

Good morning, I said. He nodded.

Are you ready for another day of thievery? I asked. He shrugged. That didn’t go over well. I recalled that he was sensitive to breaking into homes, so maybe that wasn’t the best choice of jokes.

How’s your family? Did you sleep well? I asked.

No, worse than normal. So many people had died that he must realize how close we all were to death. We weren’t so far away from it now. We had only a few days of food stocked up in worms and phrag flour, so any minor disaster could threaten our survival.

Okay, I said. Let’s get started. I got the shopping list from Ann and waved for Ron to come along.

It is another estate sale, I yelled to Ron.

We can do the next house down the street, or even two, I said. We started walking.

As long as we are lucky enough to find a way to get in, Mateo said. After we finish Trumbull, are we going to go across Linwood to Raleigh?

Mentioning Raleigh caught me off guard. I stopped walking for a moment. Ben was killed there, and I didn’t want to go back. Luckily, it would be a while until we finished this block. That might take a week.

Instead, we could go down Cass, I said. I wondered why there had always been animosity between the residents of Circle Park and Raleigh. Circle Park was the richest suburb locally, and Raleigh was the poorest, but they were both working class. The houses were smaller there, but they were on bigger lots. The water table was high, so the houses didn’t have basements. That didn’t attract wealthier residents and the area developed after the good land was taken. Ann never used to want to go for walks there, but that was partly because many of the streets didn’t have sidewalks. Since the Circle Park residents were wealthier than people in all other cities around it, our schools were better. I got the impression the Circle Park residents thought they were superior to other people in the area. In turn, others thought we were stuck up. Maybe it was partly true.

We started looking for a key at the next house. We looked in all the normal places and didn’t find one. I double checked the places that the others had looked.

Do you want me to break down the door? Mateo asked. He was still seeking my approval for everything, but then again, I’d told him that I took responsibility for our actions.

Not yet, I said. We didn’t want to damage the property more than we have to. Animals might start living there if we left the house open. We stood and pondered how to get in.

Is that bathroom window ajar? he asked while pointing.

It could be, I said. He went to it and pushed the screen open. Then he slid the window over. It wasn’t locked.

They locked their house, but not the windows. That wasn’t very smart, he said.

They were stressed. They had other things to worry about than whether the house was secure. It didn’t matter to them whether it was locked if they never returned.

It is kind of high to get in, he said. The window was about five feet up.

Don’t hurt yourself, I said. I have a ladder in my garage. We all went back to get it despite the fact that one person was enough to carry it.

They forgot to leave the key for us, I yelled at Ron. He didn’t seem to care. Mateo paused.

I hereby order you to go through that window and open the house, I said. He nodded, and then energetically went up the ladder. Then he came around and opened the front door. He was eager to please me.

Here’s what we need, I told Ron as I added ‘food’ to the bottom of Ann’s list. Any food would be good, but Ann knew specifically what she needed. Remember, wait to open the refrigerator last.

Ann wanted some aluminum foil, I said. It is easier to just give Ron a paper than to try to explain everything.

For an old guy, he’s good at looking for stuff.

He grew up in the old times when you didn’t throw things away but always had to conserve and reuse.

I’ll keep my eye open for foil if I see any downstairs, Mateo said. We each worked for a while. I snooped through the upstairs. I noticed the photos on the walls. It was an older couple that had lived here. I wondered where they were and what their fate was. A half-eaten candy bar was under a magazine on an end table, but I thought that we’d have to be desperate to want to finish it off.

I found a key, Mateo said. It looks like it is for the garage. I nodded, assuming that he’d go try it.

Please go, I said, and he went out. I watched for a minute as he unlocked and lifted the garage door. I wasn’t a very good lock picker, but a garage door lock might be easy enough. I could try it if we had to.

Ron found aluminum foil, cooking spices, some artificial sweetener, and an almost empty bottle of corn oil. He looked done.

You can pile this on the porch and then see if Mateo needs help in the garage, I yelled. He nodded. I held the artificial sweetener as he took the rest. Most artificial sweeteners have zero calories. There may have been a use for that previously. It fooled you into thinking that you had calories, so it helped with diets. However, it wasn’t healthy now to make you think you had eaten. I set the box back in the cupboard.

I scratched off the items on Ann’s grocery list that we’d found. Vinegar hadn’t been on the list, but Ron had found some. Vinegar didn’t have very many calories, but we might find a way to use it.

I snooped through the rest of the house. In the basement, I looked at some tools. I wondered if I would ever need them. Many of them I already had. I could waste a lot of time here. To move on, I decided to take a few notes on the back of my slip of paper about what we found here that was unique. If the need arose, I’d know where to come.

My way of keeping track would get messy as we started going through more houses. I’d need a better way to organize this. I needed a notebook.

I went to Mateo and Ron. They had found another grill with briquettes.

Should we take it? asked Mateo.

Yes, we might want to have multiple things cooking at once.

Also, we found this bag of birdseed, he said pointing down. It has sunflower seeds in it.

I picked it up. We’d have to be desperate to pick sunflower seeds out of the mix. In some ways, Mateo was more willing to take chances than I was. I thought that it was because he had had so few choices before now.

I looked at the list of ingredients. Millet was the tiny red and gold balls. There was cracked corn and peanuts that might be edible, too. Also, I didn’t know if canary seed was the actual name of a seed, and if you could eat it.

One of my concerns is that the seeds are not food grade, I said. If we wanted to eat them, cooking might kill some of the toxins, but I think the poison in mold doesn’t dissolve when you cook it. Instead, I have an idea that some of these things might grow as new crops. Then we could harvest the fresh food in fall. Having sunflower seeds would be good to grow because of the oil.

That’s a lot of work.

Also, I don’t know if cracked seeds would germinate. Certainly, they wouldn’t if they’d been roasted, but I don’t think you did that to bird seed. Therefore, I am leaning towards not doing anything with it except feeding birds.

Would you save any seeds to plant? he asked. He was too quick to want to act and be done with it.

We don’t have to throw it out now. We can think about it. I don’t know about the Canary seeds. We could always do the poison test on them now. That means, if they cause a reaction, then we know that they aren’t worth planting. They weren’t enough for the effort.

After carrying our plunder home, we tried to get into the next house. There were no keys and no open windows. Of course, the doors were locked. I decided to try to pick the lock, so I went home to get some tools. As I tried, Mateo hovered. I didn’t know what Ron was thinking watching me. Also, Mateo wasn’t being useful just standing there.

Why don’t you look for a key at the next house while I work on this? I said.

I tried the front door for a while and then gave up. I hoped that the back door was different. I tried there for a while too, but with no luck. Meanwhile, Mateo was over the fence in the next yard.

I got frustrated so I thought of kicking the door in. But I was never violent like that. I would more likely use a crowbar. Either way, the door would be damaged and wouldn’t close properly. It felt like a wooden door, so I could nail it closed when we left. We could return through the front door if we needed to. We’d just