Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 67694 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67694 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
Sophie is wearing headphones and sitting in the front yard of a house where we can still see her. We decided to hold firearm classes after breakfast and water duties were done. Water duties involve hauling buckets of water from the creek to the house to be used in a variety of ways. To fill the toilet cistern and to wash with and such. My arms are going to be so toned.
Modern society made things so easy. Running water, electricity, disposal of trash…so many daily conveniences are gone. I will never understand people who used to dress up and pretend they were living in the past. This shit is intense. Though there is a beauty to the peace and quiet of all of this. A sort of simplicity to living this way, with no social media or streaming, or other distractions.
At any rate, here we are by the ruins of the bridge. Just a few blocks away from our new home. I don’t recognize my life anymore. I barely recognize me with a gun in my hand.
The braided hair, black tee, blue jeans, and hiking boots aren’t wildly different from the old days. Which were only like a week or so ago. But the aching back from lugging buckets of water, with a child sitting nearby to worry over, and about to learn how to fire a gun kind of blows my mind.
“General warning,” he says, bringing my attention back to the task at hand. “Don’t draw it unless you’re willing to use it, Astrid. Guns almost always escalate a situation.”
“Understood.”
“That being said, we both know how dangerous things can be now. If you need to protect yourself or Sophie, please don’t hesitate.”
I just nod. We’re standing much closer together than normal. As if we’re trading secrets. And being close to him isn’t a big deal after all those days of being mooshed up against him on the motorcycle. No idea why I even noticed.
“Okay. Your grip when you hold it is going to be firm but not too tight,” he says, handing me the weapon. “One hand holds the gun and the other supports it. Arms extended and feet shoulder width apart. But you’re not going to lock your elbows or your knees.”
“I hate guns.”
“You wouldn’t believe the shit I heard it saying about you earlier. Some of it was downright mean and petty. I was surprised.”
“Very funny.”
He grins. It’s there and gone in an instant. And it does not make my belly tumble and turn. I just have gas or something. “When you fire, it’s a gentle squeeze,” he says. “Don’t jerk the trigger. You’re going to shoot when you’re breathing out. Keep it nice and calm and easy.”
I arrange my body as told and try to calm myself. His hands cover mine, making incremental changes to their position. Straightening my shoulders some and nudging my foot in a few inches. And it’s no big deal, the way he’s touching me. Purely professional for the sake of what we’re doing. But the warmth of his skin on mine lingers for some reason.
There are so many pine trees in the area and they smell beautiful out in the fresh morning air. For sure it’s the flora getting me high.
What is wrong with me today? I wonder if I’m ovulating. It would explain things. Hormones are the worst.
“You okay?” he asks.
“Yeah. Yep.”
The mess of tangled metal on the other side of the creek will do as a target. I concentrate on the sights and squeeze off a round. It makes a noise as it hits something. Of course, when your target is something the size of half a bridge, hitting the damn thing can’t be too hard.
Dean nods. “Good work. Go again.”
“I want to help you and Leon bury bodies today. It doesn’t seem fair, that particular job falling on just you two.”
He casts a look toward Soph over his shoulder. Checking she’s still there and okay. “I appreciate you wanting to help. Natalia and Leon seem like good people. But we haven’t even known them a whole day. One of us needs to be with Sophie.”
I frown. “And we don’t want her around any more dead bodies than strictly necessary.”
“No, we don’t. I’m bigger and stronger and can get the job done fastest out of the two of us, okay?”
“Okay. I’ll clean out the fridge and freezer and sort out the rest of the house. Get rid of anything that’s rotting and make some room for us. Also, we’ve got food for the next few days, but I want to see what’s at the grocery store. Figure out if we need to go looking in the houses or think of making a trip farther afield.”
“We should start making a list of stuff we’re going to need. Solar panels and seeds and so on.”