Renewal Read Free

“Have a seat, Terry. Take a load off.”
     
    Terry settled into the chair and couldn’t help but sigh as his legs relaxed.
     
    “How was the Powers Bridge Road?”
     
    “Well, sir. It’s pretty rough since the rain. Lots of mud.”
     
    “I can see that,” Bill replied, looking Terry over with another smile.
     
    “And the bridge has a big gap in it. No one told me.”
     
    “Been that way for years. We keep it that way for a variety of reasons. I’m betting you are just out of school, right?”
     
    “Yessir.” Terry looked at his hands.
     
    “So, they’re messing with you, huh?”
     
    “I reckon so, sir. I mean, the bridge is pretty close to town, and I’m sure somebody has been out here before now.”
     
    “Yeah, they’ve been here. But those were tougher times. It’s been a while since we had any real problems out here. The bridge has been that way since ’22. Apparently there were two groups of real assholes on either side of the river. The ones on the other side were getting pounded, so they blew the bridge and scattered. They were still assholes and mostly ended up dead. The ones on this side were a real problem for our folks, but they were mopped up inside of a year. Once they were gone, the last of the other group set up shop on the other side. Still there as far as we know. We heard their place is a real cesspit.”
     
    “Well, it did smell pretty bad when I came over the hill. I thought it was just pigs or something.”
     
    “Long pig, maybe,” Bill said with a grim look in his eye.
     
    Terry’s eyes got wide. “People still do that?”
     
    “Unfortunately, they do. Do me a favor. Drop the plank in the river on your way back. They won’t make trouble in a stand up fight, but they have been known to sneak across the river at night in search of easy prey. Luckily, easy prey we are not.”
     
    “I thought you said you didn’t have shells, sir.”
     
    “We don’t, but we do have a good supply of rifle ammunition, among other things. We got a young fella who could hit you a half mile away. He’s been upstairs watching you since you passed the woods by the old school.”
     
    Terry was surprised again. “Really? I never noticed anyone.”
     
    “That’s the way we like it. We always keep watch, and if we see anyone, the whole place shuts down.”
     
    Terry mulled it over as Aggie came out with a wooden tray, three cups, and a pitcher of tea. She leaned over and poured for them. Terry found her distracting. For one thing, she smelled clean. For another, her lean torso was less than a foot in front of his eyes. Not much else to look at for the moment. He realized in startled surprise that he had never thought of a woman his mother’s age as attractive before. As soon as the thought entered his mind, he looked down at his hands again and waited for her to finish.
     
    Aggie sat in the chair opposite him, with Bill in the middle. She asked, “So, Terry, where are you from?”
     
    “Well, ma’am, we have a few acres out in the scrubland near the old high school. It’s not much for farming, but it’s not bad for goats and chickens.”
     
    “Why did you become a reclamation engineer?”
     
    “My daddy is always talking about rebuilding. I’ve been hearing it my whole life. I figured this was a good way to help it along.”
     
    Aggie paused for moment. “Yes, I guess you’re right. Rebuilding is important.”
     
    “Yes, ma’am… My pappy was always talking about what it was like before the Breakdown, and it seems like they had it pretty good. He died when I was little, something about blood sugar. Granny was around until a few years back. She just got pneumonia and coughed herself to death one night.”
     
    Aggie leaned across and put her hand on his knee. “I’m sorry, Terry. It’s always hard to lose family.”
     
    Terry gathered his thoughts and said, “Yes ma’am. Thank you.”
     
    “We don’t hear much out here. How is the rebuilding going?”