Harvest Earth (21 page)

Epilogue

The chopping of wood is a mundane task. It requires muscle, sweat and endurance. In other words, it requires all the things that Miles sorely lacks. His most powerful muscle was his brain, and Miles itched to use it. Chopping wood feels like a waste of his time.

But it was his assigned chore for the day, well the morning at least. There was no doubt much more that needed to be done once he was finished. Winter would come suddenly and they would need to be prepared. Food needed to be stockpiled and inventoried. The holes in the roof needed to be patched and sealed. Traps and alarms needed to be set up along the perimeter to warn them of the approach of hostiles. Blankets needed mending, gas needed to be stored and seeds for Spring-time planting needed to be procured. And of course firewood needed to be chopped. It would need to be chopped until the end of time, it seemed. They could never have enough.

“How’s it going there, Paul Bunyan?”

Miles turns in the sound of the voice. It is Tayna, a warm cup in his hand. She is giggling as she hands the cup to him. Miles gladly takes it. He smiles back at her, pretending that he hasn’t been ruminating on how dull the morning has been. With a free hand he wipes sweat from his brow.

“Fine, fine.” Miles says, nearly mumbling the words. Tanya was kind, young and had youthful-looking skin. Miles wondered what the young woman saw when she looked at him. He wondered if she saw him the same way that he saw himself, pale skin, a lopsided haircut, round glasses on a round face and with whiskers covering his neck and cheeks. He wondered if she could see the gray in his hair as well.

Miles raises the cup to his lips. It smells of sweet lavender and honey. The steam rises out of the cup and fills his nostrils. He inhales it deeply.

“Miles! Tanya!” A booming voice rings out from the other side of the log cabin that Miles had come to call home. From around the corner of it Jules appears. There is a rifle in his hand. “There’s a vehicle approaching!” As soon as the words leave his lips the older man is gone, disappearing from view.

Tanya jumps to action first. She has a firearm holstered to her belt that she flings free as she charges towards the front of the cabin. Miles is less quick to respond. He awkwardly paces back and forward as he looks for his rifle, not immediately remembering where he has placed it. He finds the weapon resting against a tree.  Tobias reaches for it without realizing the wood axe is still in his hands. He drops the axe in frustration and then throws the rifle over his shoulders. He dashes up the hill and his sneakers slip in the mud. Miles nearly falls before thankfully regaining his balance.

By the time he is to the front of the house both Jules and Tanya have already taken up positions on the porch. They are pointing their weapons towards the road, a vehicle winding up towards them.

“Miles! Get up here!” It is Jules again.

Miles responds. He leaps up the stairs to the porch and crouches down behind a wooden rocking chair. He doesn’t stop to think how little cover it provides.

Miles watches as a truck approaches. Only one of the headlights of the vehicle are still intact. Behind the truck are two more vehicles, smaller but louder. As they approach Miles recognized them as motorcycles. Miles doesn’t have a favorable impression of people that usually ride the two-wheeled contraptions. Thoughts of tattooed gang members with grisly beards and dark intentions come to mind. Sweat pools in Miles’ palms making holding his rifle more difficult.

“Halt!” Jules shouts when the vehicles are within earshot. “Stop now or we’ll fire.”

The motors of the vehicles cut off as they brake a short distance away. Somebody hops out of the driver’s seat of the truck and strolls towards them. The stranger is holding something in his arms, something that looked like a weapon.

“Stop! Put down your weapon!” Jules shouts again. He pulls back the hammer of his rifle. The clicking sound echoes through the woods and the figure walking up the roadway stops.

The figure then holds his arms out to his side, the weapon-shaped device clenched in on hand. “Is that anyway to greet an invited guest?” The stranger shouts and when the voice of the stranger hits them Jules pauses.

They all wait for Jules to do something. He is squinting down the roadway, trying to make out the features of the man who was approaching him. The tension breaks when the older man laughs, and set his rifle aside. “Gabriel?”

Jules bolts down the stairs of the porch as the man in the driveway starts strolling to meet him. They meet halfway and Jules wraps the man in a hug.

“How the hell?” Jules bellows.

Tayna follows behind her father after holstering her sidearm. Miles tentatively creeps behind her.

The man whom Jules had addressed as Gabriel has a full beard. The whiskers of which are rich and dark. The man also has a black patch over his left eye. Miles can’t be certain, but he also seems to wince beneath his whiskers as Tanya catches him in a hug.

Jules and Tanya grin at him. Gabriel appears to be managing a faint smirk. Miles wonders if this expression is all the man can muster of expressing happiness.

“We waited for you in Philadelphia.” Tanya says.

“I know.” Gabriel replies, “I got-“ He pauses and then gestures to the device in his hand. “Detoured.” The man with the patch over his eye then nods to the group of vehicles behind him. “I hope you don’t mind but I brought some friends along.”

Miles peers past Gabriel and sees others walking towards them now. There is a woman dressed in fatigues with a rifle over her shoulder and a dog trailing behind her at her knee. There is also another woman, pretty but stern, she has a pistol swinging from her hip. The last to approach is a tall Native American man. He is handsome and has long black hair tied behind his head. He seems younger than the rest. About Tayna’s age, Miles figures.

Jules clamps a hand down on Gabriel’s shoulder after seeing the others approach. “I think we’ll need a bigger cabin.” Jules jokes. “We picked up a friend of our own.” The older man then waves Miles over. Miles tentatively takes a step closer.

“This is Miles Clayborn. We picked him up in Jim Thorpe. He’s a tech-genius out of NYC.”

Gabriel offers a hand and Miles shakes it. Miles notes how rough the other man’s hands are, there are calluses on the palm and fingers. Miles becomes acutely aware of the softness of his own skin.

“A pleasure.” Gabriel says, though Miles can’t be sure he means it. The man seems to be made of stone.

Miles just nods. Without realizing it, Miles starts staring. He is staring at the device that he had at first assumed was a weapon that Gabriel held in his hand.

Gabriel must have noticed Miles’ glare because he hands the device to him. Miles takes it in his arms, and is amazed at how heavy it is.

“I picked that up off a creature back in the city.” Gabriel says describing the device. “Be careful. I’m still not quite sure how it works.”

Miles is entranced. The device is gorgeous. The metal it is covered with has a muted tone like nothing he has ever seen before. It has several knobs and display screens, all of which have unique symbols. Miles has never seen these before ever. Even more intriguing is that it seemed to be powered by a source of energy that Miles can not immediately identify. Miles marvels at the object. He feels immediately obsessed with the foreign machine.

Everything else fades away. In the background introductions of the newcomers are made but Miles misses all of it. His mind is whirling. He only wants one thing in that moment, to crack open the device and see how it works.

Who knows what mysteries it might hold?

About the Author

J.D. Laird
has always loved fantasy and science fiction stories for as long as he can remember. It is his hope that this story will inspire the imaginations of future storytellers just like he continues to be filled with so much wonder by those authors who share in his love of these genres.

Justin was raised in New Hope, Pennsylvania and currently lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico with his wife and their two dogs.

www.jdlairdauthor.com

[email protected]