Mad Swine (Book 2): Dead Winter (17 page)

Standing up behind the table and looking at all the eager faces made me feel vulnerable suddenly. I could feel beads of sweat forming on my brow as I addressed our community members. As I welcomed back Brian from his journey, I noticed my right hand begin to tremble slightly, and was grateful for the round of applause as it gave me an opportunity to hide the tremors by clapping my hands together.

After Brian said a few words and sat down, I addressed the group again. Although we had not agreed on ceremony, we members of the council knew each other well enough to anticipate each other’s moves or follow their leads. Gripping the table edge with my trembling right hand, I said, “As many of you already know, Brian brought a few guests to Randall Oaks. I’d like you all to give a warm welcome to Liam and Maureen Finnegan and Jenna Lefew.”

The residents of Randall Oaks made sure that our guests were well received with applause and pats on the shoulders. Someone yelled out, “I love you, Maureen!” from the back of the room. Although Maureen’s face turned bright red, she responded, “Sorry, I’m taken, dear, but thank you anyways,” and everyone chuckled.

“Welcome all,” I continued. “Our other guest, Ian, is feeling a bit under the weather and couldn’t be here with us this evening.

“Now I know you all have questions about our guests, and they’re part of the reason we are all here today, but what I’m going to do is just tell you all what’s going on and I’m sure your questions will change.”

The room grew silent and the sense of vulnerability also grew. The trembling in my right had ceased for the moment thankfully. “About six weeks ago, Brian volunteered to leave the safety of Randall Oaks to not only search for supplies and trade, but also to see what was going on outside, to bring back news of our surroundings. And he has done exactly that.”

A cheer went up around the room and more applause. I didn’t clap this time, but kept my twitchy right hand gripping the table. When the room quieted again I gave them an abbreviated version of Brian’s journey. I told them about the abandoned pet kennel where he’d discovered medical supplies and machinery. I told them about some of the many supplies Brian encountered when he entered empty houses and barns. Finally, I told them all about the Finnegan’s farm.

As I spoke about the Finnegan’s, Kat was kind enough to set out samples of the jars and canned goods that Brian had brought back with him. The samples were greeted with vigor and some of our residents left their seats to come forward and get a better look, to handle the goods.

After a while, I invited Maureen to come forward and talk about the Finnegan Farm and the various crops they grow and livestock they raise. Maureen’s words were devoured by eager ears. Some folks asked questions about the crops and the canning goods and Maureen took all of their questions in stride. Although she spoke with a noticeable Irish accent she was easily understood. I actually found her voice and accent sexy.

Maureen explained in simple terms the equipment they used to manage the crops. She answered questions about the hens they raised and about the produce they grew. Al Sanchez’s youngest son, Robert, came forward and asked if he could taste one of the jams that were displayed on the table.

“Absolutely, handsome,” Maureen replied. She crouched down to the boy’s level and looked him in the eye. “You pick whichever one you want, love.”

Robert selected a raspberry jam. Maureen opened it up for him and watched with joy as he dipped in a finger and sucked up the delicious jam. “Share with your brother and sister,” Maureen said and ruffled Robert’s hair.

When she stood, Maureen asked the rest of the group to please come up and taste whatever they wanted. “These samples are for you. Please come up and let us know how you like them. Come on, there’s plenty.”

They came forward then and Maureen stood among them helping them with jars and telling them which to sample. The smile that lit up her face was precious and I couldn’t help but smile myself; her smile was contagious. And not just the community came forward, but council members also left their chairs and had their taste of the best the Finnegan Farms had to offer.

After a few minutes, Liam and Jenna also joined Maureen and the three of them chatted with members of the community, sharing their goods, and happily answering the multitude of questions. They three of them seemed to very much be enjoying themselves, and I was happy to see them received with such warmth by our community. Well, the food was well received, which was important, but everyone seemed to also enjoy the company of the Finnegan’s.

About forty minutes had passed since the meeting started and about twenty minutes since Maureen offered samples to the folks. Much of the buzz began to finally die down as everyone took their tastes and slowly started to return to their seats. As Maureen, Liam and Jenna were finishing up and closing up some of the jars that hadn’t already been emptied, a hand went up in the rear of the room.

With a quarter jar of corn and bean salad in her hand, Maureen said, “Yes, dear, you have a question?”

Kenneth stood up from his seat and smoothed out his jeans. “Yes, ma’am. First I’d like to thank you and your family so much for sharing the delicious treats. I have to say I’m responsible for many of those empty jars up there.”

Maureen smiled at Kenneth. “It was our pleasure. And it was a pleasure for us to see you all enjoy.”

“We certainly did,” Kenneth said. “My question, ma’am, is how far away is your farm from Randall Oaks?”

Maureen thought about it for a moment and then finally turned to her kin. “Liam, about how far is Da’s farm from here?”

“Oh, it’s about seventeen miles, give or take,” Liam said in his thick accent. He was definitely Ian’s brother.

“Thank you, brother,” Maureen said. She turned back and addressed Kenneth, “Seventeen miles, says Liam.”

“Thank you,” Kenneth said again.

The smile that had originally spread across his face when he’d first stood up slowly diminished and I knew I wasn’t the only one to take note. Brian hunched forward in his seat and I could see his shoulders tensed. Other community members also noticed. They turned toward Kenneth now with serious looks on their faces.

“Seventeen miles is quite a distance to travel,” Kenneth continued. “That seems such a long way—a dangerous way—for a trade route.”

“Aye, it can be,” Maureen said. Her smile was gone, too. She finished tightening up the jar she held in her hands and set it down on the table.

“Would you be bringing trade to us, or would be going to you?” Kenneth asked.

Before Maureen could answer, Carrie Osgood stood up from her chair and asked, “I’m also concerned about the distance, but more than that, what do we have to trade? I mean, we don’t have much, hardly anything and you have everything it seems.”

A pall of silence fell across the room for a moment and then almost as one, all eyes turned to Maureen. To her credit, Maureen did not balk at the question; instead, she looked directly into Carrie’s defiant gaze and said, “Well, dear, we do have quite a lot, but we do not have everything.”

Maureen’s confidence seemed to increase as she spoke and she took a few steps in Carrie’s direction and addressed the young woman again, “You sell yourselves short when you say you haven’t anything. Talk like that seems desperate, seems like you have nothing left to fight for.”

Carrie seemed to wither suddenly under Maureen’s direct gaze, or perhaps from her words. She sat back into her seat and dropped her defiant stare.

Maureen turned away from Carrie and her attention was drawn toward the entrance to the room as the door opened. Ravi entered first, followed closely by Ian and then Lara. The trio came in slowly and found seats up front, reuniting Ian with his family.

Maureen paused for just a moment as she watched her brother take his and then again she faced the community and said, “In fact, you have something very important, something my family does not have. It’s not goods that we are interested in. “

Now a murmur rose up as folks looked to one another, now curious as to what Maureen’s comment meant. I started to see confusion on some faces and suspicion on others. Before their imaginations could get the better of them, I realized we needed to do away with the mystery and just shoot straight, give them the information and let them make their decision.

Brian stood then and said, “Thank you, Maureen.” He moved around from the table and walked until he stood next to the red haired woman. She looked at him for a moment and then nodded. She gave his arm a squeeze before finally leaving his side and taking a seat next to Ian. She embraced him, said something into his ear. Ian smiled and said something in return that returned the smile to his sister’s face.

“It was November thirteenth when I first found Finnegan Farms. It was cold. It rained that day, pretty damn hard, if I remember,” Brian said. He sat at the edge of the table just in front and to my right. “It was my third week on the road and I’d just left my last shelter several miles back when the sky opened up and dumped freezing rain down on me. I wasn’t about to head two miles back to the last shelter so I kept moving ahead.

“Soon I came up on a structure in the distance and I headed for it. As I passed through the field I noticed the neat rows of dirt and I knew this field had been worked recently. I was leery, of course, because these days people can be just as bad, if not worse than the crazies.

“Anyway, I made it to the structure. It was locked, but I busted my way in and to my surprise, there were hens and two pigs in the barn. I startled them a bit, but they settled down after a while. When no one came, I settled in to. I knew these animals would not have survived without anyone to tend them, but I was tired and cold and I figured I’d be on the road again before anyone noticed I’d raided the barn.

“I actually got a good night’s sleep for once. The problem was that when I woke up I had a shotgun barrel in my face and there was some angry Irishman asking me if I could understand what he was saying. I actually couldn’t understand what he was saying because of his accent…”

At this point, Ian stood up and raised his hand in to the group. “Hello everyone, my name is Ian Finnegan. I was the angry Irishman, in case you’re wondering.” He turned to Brian and said jokingly, “And I didn’t blow your head off, brother, so give it a rest will ya?”

Brian laughed. He stood up from the table and put his hands in his pockets. “No, Ian didn’t blow my head off. Instead, he invited me in and offered me the most amazing potato soup I’ve ever tasted. I expected to be sent on my way after then but ended up staying for three weeks.”

Pacing in front of the table now, Brian said, “I learned a lot about farming and agriculture in that time. The Finnegans took me in without question. They gave me a place to sleep and food to eat. They didn’t have to.”

He stopped pacing suddenly and faced the group again. “They took me in and treated me like family and all they expected in return is that I pitch in and help protect the farm.”

Now he looked at Kenneth and said, “Seventeen miles is a long way away for trade, but that’s not what we’re asking.” He looked at Carrie. “We don’t have supplies or food to trade, that’s right. But that’s not what we’re talking about here. What we’re talking about is joining together and creating a larger community. The Finnegans can provide us food and shelter, just like they did for me, and in return, we will work the land with them and protect them.”

The room was quiet as Brian’s words sunk in and then all at once voices rose as folks clamored over one another trying to be heard. Husbands and wives, roommates and lovers, all talking at once, conferring.

“You mean we’re leaving Randall Oaks?” a voice spoke up from the back.

“
I’m
not leaving,” someone else chimed in.

The voices came quickly now and I couldn’t keep track of who was speaking.

“There’s nothing here for me, why not go?”

“Those things are out there, we’ll all die.”

“We’ll die here without food.”

“I’m not going to be someone’s slave.”

“Don’t be an idiot! They’re trying to help us.”

“Who is going to protect us?”

“What about our belongings? Where will we live, in barns?”

Finally I stood up, realizing it was now time for me to take over and do the job these folks expected of me. I pounded my fist on the table, scaring the crap out of some of the council members and startling the community members into silence, as I had intended.

“All right, everybody calm down now and let me say something. Just everyone listen for a minute, okay?”

Now that I had their attention, I came out from around the table and sat at the edge just as Brian had done a few minutes before. As I spoke to them, I looked at each of them.

“I want everyone to hear what I’m saying and think about it very carefully. Do not jump to a conclusion one way or the other. This is a decision that could mean life or death and should be made carefully, with great consideration.”

“Do you really want us to leave?” Carrie asked. I could see there were already tears welling up in her eyes. She was letting her emotions drive her, and that was dangerous territory.

“Carrie, this is not about what I want. This is a decision that I’m going to ask each of you to make for yourselves; each and every one of you, for yourself and your families. I can’t…I’m
not
making this decision for anyone. I’m going to lay this all out on the table so everyone understands exactly what is at stake and we’re not making any decisions right here.