Feast of the Locusts Read online

  Gavin bit his lip. “Are you done with your scathing rebuke?”

  She threw both hands into the air but said nothing.

  “James Dean showed up in the middle of my proposal. In a way, I was glad he did.”

  “I knew it.” She turned away from him and looked out at the fading sunset.

  “I was glad because I didn’t want to ask you to marry me with guns slung over our shoulders and while we were working a security detail, especially after just being lectured about proper etiquette for members of a polite society. Besides all of that, I didn’t have a ring.”

  She whipped around. “Nobody expects a ring in the apocalypse, Gavin. You don’t have to make excuses. If you’re not that into me, just have the guts to say so. You know what, maybe it would be better if you went to Tennessee.”

  Gavin’s face remained calm. He put his hand in the pocket of his jacket and went down on one knee. He took her hand.

  She realized what was happening and covered her mouth with her free hand. “Oh my goodness!”

  “Kate?”

  “Yes?” Her heart pounded. She wondered if it were really going to happen this time. She thought about how horrible she’d treated him if indeed he really was going to propose. She couldn’t imagine that he actually had a ring, but he obviously had some object in his pocket. She watched his hand with eager anticipation.

  “Will you marry me?” He slipped a giant diamond on her finger.

  The floodgates broke. She began to sob. “Yes! Gavin, yes, I’ll marry you.” She threw her arms around him and cried. “I’m so sorry for all those awful things I said.”

  He held her tight. “It’s okay. I knew you must have been getting anxious, but I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to get a ring and I wanted the setting to be right. I’d hoped we could have the fireplace to ourselves tonight, but it’s Vicky and Sam’s home, too.”

  Her emotions of guilt soon turned to tears of joy. She looked at the ring. “It’s beautiful, where did you get it?”

  “Don’t worry about where I got it.”

  “You didn’t steal it, did you?” she said, half joking. The longer she considered the option the more it became one of the few possible options for obtaining such a ring under the present circumstances. “Gavin, tell me you didn’t steal it.”

  “I didn’t steal it. I told you when we first found the locusts that I was taking all my cash out of the bank. I don’t know what Sky National paid there IS people, but Bank of America was fairly generous.”

  “But how did you get a ring that fit me perfectly?”

  “Can you just enjoy it?”

  Kate considered everyone else in the neighborhood who might have the same size hands as hers. “Annie Cobb?”

  “Kate! Quit torturing yourself.”

  “It is Annie’s, isn’t it?”

  “Kate!”

  “She was married to Troy’s dad?”

  Gavin said nothing for a few seconds and said, “She was engaged to Troy’s dad. He was some financial advisor. He gave her the ring after she got pregnant but took off with another girl when she started getting big. So, technically, it’s never actually been through a wedding ceremony. Sort of like a new car that has only gone out on test drives. I would consider it a brand new ring.”

  Kate held it up to the sky, watching the evanescing light from the sunset shift through the tiny, crystal-clear facets. “It’s beautiful.”

  “I’m glad you like it.” Gavin pulled her toward him and gave her a long impassioned kiss.

  CHAPTER 14

  A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.

  Proverbs 15:18

  Tuesday morning, Kate sipped her coffee and admired her ring. Two days had passed since her engagement to Gavin.

  Sam came bounding down the stairs with his AK-47 and tactical vest.

  “Where are you off to? You’re not on watch this morning.”

  “Training.” He stepped into his boots and went to one knee to tie the laces.

  “What training?”

  “Ranger training.”

  Kate needed no further information. “I don’t want you getting involved with James Dean until this squabble between him and Mr. Crisp gets sorted out.”

  “Mr. Dean doesn’t need Don’s permission to train us to be soldiers. It’s something that should have already been done.” He changed knees to tie the other boot.

  “Regardless, I don’t want you to go.”

  “Aunt Kate, I love you and appreciate everything you do for us, but you’re not my mom.”

  “No, but I’m the adult in charge of you.”

  “I don’t need anyone to be in charge of me. I can make my own decisions.”

  “You’re sixteen, you do need someone to watch out for you.”

  “My age is just a number. That whole thing about becoming an adult on your eighteenth birthday flew out the door when the lights went out. I’ve killed, I watched my mother and my father be murdered. I’m more grown-up than any eighteen-year-old ever was prior to the end of the world.” Sam opened the door.

  “But I set the rules for this house, and you need to respect them.” Kate stood up assertively.

  “No, you don’t. Dad had two shares in the house, which passed to me and Vicky. We all three have equal say about what goes on in the cabin.” He stepped outside and closed the door behind him.

  Kate stewed in her anger for several minutes. Then, Gavin came into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee. “I’m going to have to cut wood today. If I have any energy left, I was thinking of taking down that sickly oak out back. It should be seasoned and ready to burn by April. I’m afraid we’re going to run out of wood, especially if we have a late spring.”

  Kate stared at her coffee cup. She didn’t respond.

  “Hey, are you okay?”

  “What? Oh, yeah. Cut down the oak. That’s great.”

  He sat in the stool next to her. “Something is on your mind.”

  She explained the spat she’d just had with Sam. “I feel like I’ve lost control of the situation.”

  Gavin took a long swig from his mug. “You don’t really have any recourse, and I hate to admit it, but his point is valid. Maybe you need to let go.”

  “They’re teenagers, Gavin. They need direction, nurturing, they’re not ready to be on their own.”

  “I’m not saying to write them off. I’m simply suggesting that you not expend your energy playing tug of war with someone who doesn’t want your counsel. Give Sam all the love, direction, and advice he’ll take from you, then wash your hands, knowing you did your best. Hopefully, Vicky still understands how much she needs you to mentor and care for her.”

  Kate sighed. A knock came to the door.

  Gavin stood. “I’ll get it.”

  Kate waited with expectancy to see who the visitor could be.

  “Amanda, come in.” Gavin held the door open for her.

  Kate got up from her stool to embrace the grieving widow. “Hey, how are you?”

  “Not good, have you seen David?”

  “No.”

  “He was gone this morning when I got up.”

  Kate had a terrible thought. What if he’d snuck out the night prior and had fallen asleep in Vicky’s room. She didn’t want to cause undue alarm. “I’ll check to see if Vicky has seen him. I’ll be right back.”

  Kate steeled herself for a possible second confrontation. She felt as if the kids were slipping from her grasp and she could not will herself to let go. She walked gingerly up the stairs and did not knock before opening the door.

  Vicky stood, half dressed. “Aunt Kate! Don’t you knock?”

  Kate quickly surveyed the room but saw no trace of David. “Sorry, I should have. Mrs. McDowell is downstairs. She was wondering if you’d seen David.”

  “No. How long has he been missing?” Vicky looked concerned.

  “Just since this morning.”

  “Ohhhh.” Vicky’s
brows lifted as if she’d had an epiphany. “And you thought he might be in here. So that’s why you barged in. Thanks a lot, Aunt Kate. I thought you trusted me more than that.”

  “Vicky, it’s not like that.”

  “Just go—and close the door behind you, please.”

  Kate turned and pulled the door shut. She walked down the stairs feeling worse than when she’d come up.

  Upon returning to the kitchen, she said, “Sorry, Vicky hasn’t spoken with David this morning.”

  “Did he have a rifle with him?” Gavin asked.

  “Yes. He’s been carrying his father’s service rifle, an AR-15.”

  “James Dean is starting some kind of boot camp today. Do you think he might have gone there without telling you?” Gavin offered a stool to Amanda.

  She sat down. “We had a long talk about that last night. I told him I absolutely did not want him to participate. I guess it’s possible he went anyway.”

  Kate took her hand. “I asked Sam not to go, but that didn’t end well.”

  “David really likes Sam and Vicky. He looks up to Sam. I think he sees another young person who has endured even more heartache than himself and believes Sam has the path to get through the pain.”

  Kate’s eyes fell to the counter. “I’m sorry if he’s leading him down the wrong road. I’m trying to keep them under my wing, but I’m not doing a very good job of being a parent.”

  Amanda patted her arm. “That’s okay, Kate. And if I can offer a little advice…”

  Kate looked up, hoping she wasn’t about to be scolded. “What’s that?”

  “Don’t try to be their parent. Just love them as much as you can and be the best aunt you can be. Anything else is going to feel fake and unnatural. I think kids see through fake better than we do.”

  “Okay, yeah, thanks.” Kate hugged her.

  Gavin finished his coffee. “They’re not seeing through the fake in Dean.”

  Amanda let out a deep breath. “No. Because he’s selling them a chance at revenge. Kids will see what they want to see if someone offers to fill a deep emotional void inside them. I suppose adults do that also, but kids have not been bitten by experience yet. Young people are more susceptible to the con.”

  Gavin grabbed his jacket. “Let’s go talk to Don. I’m not content to sit back and let Jimmy Dean wreck our community, at least not without a fight.”

  Kate put on her coat. “Amanda, will you come with us?”

  “Sure.” She followed Kate and Gavin.

  They arrived at Don’s in a matter of minutes. Don and Jack were at Don’s wellhead making some modifications.

  “What’s happening, guys?” Kate inspected the T-shaped contraption which Jack was feeding into the open pipe.

  “Hey, Kate, Gavin, Amanda.” Jack glanced up but quickly turned his attention back to the project at hand. “I fabricated a simple hand pump for my well. I’ve been working on the homemade foot valve, but it keeps leaching water. I’ve given up on perfection and began making replicas of my less-than-impeccable model. They’ll save a lot of time if people don’t have to haul water from the creek and can pump water from their own property.”

  “Can I buy one?” Kate asked.

  Jack smiled. “I’ve already made one for you. I don’t have enough material to make one for everyone, so you’ll have to share with Mr. Pritchard, if you don’t mind. I have one for you also, Amanda.”

  “How does it work?” Gavin looked at the base of the T.

  Jack pointed to the thick cylinder near the end. “I cut gaskets out of rubber with a utility knife and spaced them out using a coupling for a larger size of PVC pipe. The thinner pipe extending below the gaskets allows the water to be forced through when I push down on the T handle. The water jets up through the handle and out this side. I put a threaded end on it so you can attach a garden hose if you want.”

  Gavin pointed to the opening in the middle. “This is the check valve? Air goes in here when you pull the handle back up?”

  “Exactly. It’s simple, but it works. The problem I mentioned is that the water eventually seeps out through the foot valve and the pump has to be re-primed if you don’t use it every few hours. You can remove this cap on the top and pour a couple of gallons of water down the pump. You should be good to go after doing that. Just make sure you refill your bucket for priming before you finish pumping.”

  Don brushed the dirt off his hands. “Is everything alright, Amanda? You look distressed.”

  Kate and Amanda each gave their accounts of what happened with Sam and David.

  Don’s forehead puckered. “I wish I could do something about it, but Dean has a lot of supporters. Jack and I plotted out a perimeter trail that circles the neighborhood yesterday. We’re going to take loppers and hedge clippers and cut a path wide enough for a patrol to move freely through the woods without getting hung up on any brambles or bushes.”

  “What if the patrol were to spot someone who’d breached the perimeter?” Gavin asked. “Would they be able to get through the woods to chase them?”

  “In some places, yes,” Jack answered. “In others, no. It would take years to thin out all the briars and undergrowth in these woods using hand-powered tools. Besides, making it easier for us to move through also makes it more accessible to the enemy.”

  “Then what good does the patrol trail do?” Amanda inquired.

  Don said, “If a patrol spots invaders and they can’t engage them with weapons, either because they don’t have a shot or they lose them in the brush, at least they can sound an alarm. Even if it’s nothing but Mr. Pritchard’s stock pot and wooden spoon clanging, we can do a lot with a thirty-second warning.”

  Amanda looked at the wellhead and crossed her arms tightly. “If Scott would’ve had thirty seconds to wake up before they came in, I think he could have killed them all.”

  Kate put her arm around Amanda. “I’m sure he would’ve.”

  Don pressed his lips together. “We’re going to try to put together a better training program also. But with cutting firewood, getting water, trying to keep these winter gardens alive, and everything else, time is in short supply. Jack and I both feel very strongly against the booby traps. We’d be happy to replace the live shells in the devices with inert rounds so we could use them as alarms. That would actually be quite helpful. I hope the residents will recognize that we’re doing our best here.”

  “You have our support.” Gavin patted Don on the back. “If it were up to me, I’d allocate those remaining hand pumps to your supporters.”

  Jack shook his head. “I hate to politicize a commodity as important as water.”

  Kate considered the situation. “Gavin has a point. Since everyone has to share the pumps anyway, it might as well be our side who is being gracious and letting our opponents have access to the wells. If the shoe was on the other foot, Dean could persuade his followers to restrict access. Not that I expect him to be so rude as to blatantly slap you in the face like that.”

  Don chuckled at her sarcasm. “Yeah, right.”

  “On second thought, Gavin,” Jack tapped his chin with his finger, “I’m going to take your advice.”

  Amanda issued one final plea. “Can you do anything to stop Dean’s ranger school?”

  “I’m afraid not,” Don said.

  “Not unless he’s willing to shut it down for a hand pump.” Jack hoisted one of his devices in the air.

  Kate gave a faint smile and shook her head. “He’ll never cave that easy.”

  CHAPTER 15

  Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning! Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!

  Ecclesiastes 10:16-17

  Wednesday evening, Kate prepared a simple dinner of rice mixed with broccoli and cheese soup mix. Sam walked into the kitchen, returning from his second day of ranger school. Kate and her nephew had not spoken since the
previous morning’s quarrel. She forced a smile. “How was training?”

  Sam looked at her, then turned away. He started to walk out of the kitchen without a reply but stopped in his tracks. With his back to his aunt, he said, “It was good. We learned about troop movements, hand signals, all good stuff.”

  “Dean has skills which could help us out.” Kate stirred the soup mix into the rice.

  Sam turned around. “Then why are you against him?”

  “I’m not against him. I’ve said from the beginning that he might have some ideas we need to implement. My problem with Dean is his delivery. He was very insulting to Don and Jack.”

  Sam pulled up a stool near where Kate was working. “I get that, I know your loyalty is with Mr. Crisp. I respect your opinion, but I hope your blind allegiance doesn’t get more people killed.”

  Kate was ready with a quick defense about how Dean’s rash behavior was more dangerous than even the Badger Creek Gang, however, she held her tongue, refusing to engage in another argument. “You know, Don and Jack have cut a perimeter trail and are scheduling two-person teams to begin patrolling the trail tomorrow.”

  “That’s good. I hope they give credit where credit is due.”

  “It’s not a competition. We’re all on the same side. We’re all literally just trying to survive.” Kate covered the pan and turned off the flame. She let the rice finish cooking with the stored heat in the pan to conserve propane.

  Vicky came down the stairs. “Hi, Sam. Isn’t David with you? I thought he was coming for dinner?”

  “He is, but he wanted to stop by and see his mom. They got into it over him going to ranger school.”

  Gavin entered the room. “Smells delicious.” He greeted Kate with a kiss.

  A knock came to the door. Gavin walked toward the living room but Vicky rushed past him. “I’ll get it!” she said in a giddy voice.

  Gavin stopped and turned to Kate with a look that begged to know what was going on.

  Kate grinned and shrugged her shoulders.