The Fell Good Flue (4 page)

I said, “no, but I’m sure the dogs heard me use the zip before my run.”
Laurence, “I wouldn’t worry too much about them, that wolf has been spraying all around this place ever since he showed up, and the dogs are staying shy until he moves on.” I said, “it still pays not to take any chances. Any other problems?”
He said, “one of the goats got snake bit the other day and I’m still not sure if it will make it or not, but don’t worry, it was not milking.”
I said, “that’s a shame, but there’s not much that can be done about them. Is there anything I can get you for it?”
Laurence, “is there anything that you can get for it? TT knows about it, but there’s not much that can be done that I’m not already doing for the poor beast. It’s a Billy, and he was just trying to protect the rest of them, but I only have two that are old enough to bread right now. If I lose him it will put a strain on the blood line for next year, but the night will tell the story for his chances.”
I said, “its early in the year for the snakes to be out.”
He said, “that’s what I thought, but it was warm yesterday and brought it out. There’s not much I can do about the weather, and a snake in the grass is mighty hard to spot no matter where you’re standing. How much milk would you like to take with you?”
I said, “no more than I can run fast with, greed will get you killed with a hungry wolf on the prowl.”
Laurence, “how about a two gallon sack?”
I said, “too heavy, make it one and a pound of cheese.”
He said, “no one will ever call you greedy.”
I said, “not unless I try running with sixteen pounds of milk strapped to my back and get eaten by a wolf because of it.”
Laurence, “the way you fight, it’s most likely the wolf that would be eaten by you. How about you hunt the dam thing down for me, those two guards of mine are not good enough shots for that cagey beast?”
I said, “I rather have the wolf around than the dogs, and I’m way too busy to set up an ambush for the thing. Besides, your fences are now thirteen feet high and wired, plus you have rods and wire under three feet of ground as well. There’s no way that thing is getting in here unless you invite it, and that’s not a bad idea.”
He said, “hold on a moment now. You’re not suggesting I try capturing the thing are you?” I said, “why not? If it’s doing such a good job keeping the dogs away, I say chain it to the front gate and feed it dog. The runway between the front gate and the building has a top fence as well. You could set out some meat and pull the gate close with a rope from inside the door. You have that quick latch working for you and the sliding peephole in the door to run the rope through.”
Laurence, “and then what, be trapped in my own place by a caged wolf until I can find someone brave enough to put a collar on the thing? No, make that dumb enough to try.” I said, “I’m sure we could come up with something to put it asleep with. A wolf will gulp its food down fast, and if it’s hungry it may not even care if it smells a little funny.” He said, “and who do you think will pet it on the head and ask it if it’s sound asleep?” I said, “I’ll do it, you just catch the thing between those fences and I’ll take care of the rest.” He said, “I thought you were going to stop taking chances now that you have a family.” I said, “I’m not planning to be foolish about it. I’ll toss a net over it first, and maybe poke it with a long pole before getting close enough to tie it up proper. Having a wolf on a chain may be a good way to cut down on the dogs coming around here.”
Laurence, “having a wolf on a chain is a good way to keep anything or anyone from coming around. I’m not making any promises mind you, but if I do catch the thing, you can have no more than a day to chain it up outside of the gates. After that I’ll kill and eat it myself.” I said, “it’s a deal, I’ll look for what I need and check back with you tomorrow.” He shook his head in disbelief that we were even considering it, and gave me my milk and cheese. Then called the watch tower to check if they had seen anything before we went out, and the word was clear so far, which only meant nothing in sight. So we went out to the entryway, and he stood ready to open the gate while I waited a few feet behind and took a close look first. It was getting dark now and there was no way of being sure what was waiting in the shadows. As soon as I was sure I was ready I gave him the nod and he swung open the gate, then I made my run for the zip-line. Thirty yards may not seem like a long ways to go, but the wolf or dogs could travel it faster than I could with a load, and there were lots of places to hide out there. By the time I got halfway there something caught my eye, but I didn’t slow down. Then when I got to the old cars we had placed as a barrier to keep others from crashing things into the gate, I leaped on top and snapped my harness to the dragline with a single move, and gave the trip-line a tug. A weight fell from the nearby building, and I was yanked into the air as I felt a tug at my leg. I was up and away as I turned to see the wolf on the car I had just left and a shot rang out. Then I spun to grab the receiving bar on top of the building I was pulled up to. After disconnecting myself I went to the edge and took a look, yelling out, “did you get it?”
He yelled back, “they missed the elusive beast, did it bit you?”
I yelled back, “just my pant leg, I’ll give it another change tomorrow.”
Then I went to the other side of the rooftop hooked up to my next ride, and with a kick to the tripper I was on my way again. It would have been nice just to zip in and out of his compound, but we just didn’t have enough people to defend such a thing, and we’re not going to make it easy for someone to break in there.
My next stop put me a good ten stories up, and the guard said, “they need to replace that poor shooter with someone that can hit the dam thing.”
I said, “yes Billy, I’m sure you would love the job.”
Billy, “that’s the third time this week he wasted a shell, I’m much better than that.” I said, “I know you are, so that’s why TT has you way up here to cover the rest of the area for the swingers.” And I gave him a piece of my cheese.
He said, “Thanks, your one of the few that take care of me Nibor.”
I said, “and don’t you forget it. But if you see that wolf near the park hold your fire, we may be able to trap it in the entryway.”
Billy, “if that’s the way you want it, better not to waste a shell.”
I said, “if we catch it maybe I’ll turn it into a pet and let you take the thing for walks.” Billy, “only if it can walk a tight line, I’m not going down there anymore.”
I said, “you got good sense Billy, keep up the good work.”
Then I hooked up for my next ride, and was on my way.
Billy had good reason to stay off the ground, having broke both ankles in a fall last year, and some nerve damage that gave him a limp. The ground was no place to be slow, but he was a good shot and TT took care of his runners even after they could no longer run. When I got home Brandy kissed me hello and said, “where does it hurt honey?” I said, “other than the pit of my stomach only the usual places, it’s been another long day.” Brandy, “well I’ll rub you down right after I make us something to eat. What did you bring home this time?”
I dropped my pack and said, “milk and cheese, TT said you need to keep up your strength.” Brandy, “that’s kind of him, but then he always takes care of us. Snake-man brought meat today, so no rat tonight.”
I said, “what a shame, you have so many ways of cooking it.”
Brandy, “now don’t you start with that, “I never get tired of eating rat,” routine. You’re not as good at lying as TT.”
I said, “I know, but it’s fun to hear you say so. How’s Sage doing?”
Brandy, “woke up when he heard you come in. Take off those clothes so I can mend them for you again, you never go swinging without ripping something.”
I said, “I don’t think they’re in bad shape today, but then you always did like me naked.” Brandy, “now don’t you start that with me right now, you know how horny I get when you talk like that.”
I said, “who’s talking, I’m striping,” and she slapped me on the ass.
Then pushing me away she said, “and I’m starting supper,” then went to the kitchen with my pack.
I walked over to the crib and said, “and how’s my little Sage today? Did you get some teaty my little man?”
And he burped a milk bubble.
Brandy said, “he had his supper and yours will be ready soon, now strip.”
I said, “I know your anxious but give me a moment, I’ll be right with you.”
Brandy, “I just don’t want you to spread around the filth you wade through each day, it’s hard enough to keep this place clean the way things are.”
I walked back over to the entryway and started to strip on the tarp we had there and said, “You’re just in a hurry to see me naked again, but you are doing a great job on keeping the place clean.”
Brandy, “it’s not easy to do with no soap.”
I said, “look in the side pocket of my pack.”
And she pulled out a white brick saying, “you got some, but I thought the soap maker was out.” I said, “I got him some fat this morning, and picked it up before I saw TT. There’s also a small bottle of alcohol in there and that skin lotion he makes.”
Brandy, “it’s good to have people that know how to do it the old fashion way. Was it dangerous today, or shall I just wait for the reports to come in about what you did?”
I dropped the rest of my clothes off and rubbed myself with a cleaning rag as I said, “not a problem, no one got hurt as far as I heard.”
Then I walked over to the kitchen and said, “see, not a mark on me.”
She looked me up and down then said, “turn around,” and I did a slow turn as she said, “I see a bruise.”
I looked over my shoulder at her and said, “where?”
And she kicked me in the ass saying, “there!”
I stumbled forward a foot and said, “just for that I’m putting my robe on.”
Brandy, “good for you, it’s still a bit chilly to be going around naked.”
And I walked over to the closet and put my warm red robe on. Then sat down in the big padded chair and packed my pipe as I began to sing, “come on baby light my fire.” She turned around and said, “you got some more? I thought the last of it was smoked up a week ago.”
She brought me a stick from the fire and lit a candle as I said, “I told you I went to see TT today, he always has a little weed. It’s only an ounce, but that should last us until I see him again.” She lit my pipe and took a deep drag, then kind of snorted out some smoke and coughed a bit, saying, “you’re trying to make me horny again,” and gave it back to me.
I took a drag then said, “is it working?”
She said, “I’ll let you know after supper,” and went back to cook the food.
I reached over and turned on the CD player, then took a small stick and lit it off the candle to light my pipe with. It was good to kick back like this after a hard day on the run, and having some juice in the batteries was a thing we went without during the second year, but now most of us were in good shape due to the extra wind generators. Many talked about how it was a shame we didn’t have solar power for the windless days, but no one was making things like that anymore, and only what was at hand could be of any use. These were the days of if you couldn’t make it or fix it you went without. We went without for a long time until we started to put things back together, and even water was a problem before setting up the sky catchers. Unless you lived next to a river it only came from the sky these days, but the waterways were patrolled by gangs, and then you had to use wood or plastic because the rust from metal barrels was bad for you. Even a small thing like the plumbing was hard to do unless you had power for the welder and someone could find the rod, and all the glue for the PVC was used up long ago. Most just did it the old way with a bucket at a time, and in the winter you had to melt snow to drink, which took a lot of snow for a small drink. Yes, staying up north was a hard way of life at times, but reports of too much violence in the lower states keep our 500 or so right here. Some lived in large groups while most were shattered about the city, laying claim to what they could hold. I liked having lots of space and privacy, so we had a building to ourselves and had keep the top floor and roof in good repair. Half of the roof was enclosed with glass, and I can’t tell you what a bother it is to repair a broken pane when there is none that size. But diamonds were worthless for anything else but cutting it, and easy to find these days, so it was just a matter of finding a good piece of glass and making glue from tree sap. So much of this city was destroyed in the early days, people were smashing everything in sight, and the fires took out any house that was made of wood. Water damage and the force of the winter freeze had brought many large buildings down or made them unsafe to live in. But I started to brick up the lower openings to this place years ago, and put sheets of tin over all the other windows I could not keep from getting broken. A few of the lower floors had too much damage to walk on anymore, but the building was sound, and keeping it that way was a constant job along with my other duties. If the raiders had not been a problem we all could of put things right a long time ago, but when you kill a farmer you may as well say you killed all the people he could of fed, and when you kill a worker you kill everything he could of made. If the 10% of the world that survived the plague had all moved to just one place and picked up where they left off it would have been as if nothing happed, but we were going back to the days of the pioneers, and law was in your own hands. Anything you wanted had to be built from what resources you had, and what you had needed to be protected by any means.
Just then I heard the cry on the street, “trade! Goods for trade!”
I looked out and saw a swinger travel down to meet him. The man was on a horse, but I could not make out much else because of the darkness. Then the trader headed down the road and the swinger went back up again. I thought to myself, “he better get off the streets as soon he can, that wolf may take a liking to fresh horse meat.”
A few moments later I heard the sound of auto gunfire, and it must have been at least a full clip. None of our men would use up so much, so he must have been packing plenty of ammo. I could only hope it was the dogs he was shooting at, not one of us.
Brandy said, “fresh dog meat or an opening in living space will be the report for the night.” I said, “whichever it is, the newcomer will be responsible for it, and so far I have only heard one person shooting.”
Brandy, “an arrow makes no sound dear, and retribution is swift in this city.”