This Shattered Land - 02 Read Free

asked.
Brian looked up at him with wide eyes and shook his head.
    “It’s
called a Falcata. It’s a very old type of sword used by the Spanish, Greeks,
and even the Romans a couple of thousand years ago.”
    “Can
I hold it?” The boy asked.
    “Brian,
you most certainly may not.” Sarah snapped, glaring at her son. Gabriel
laughed.
    “Oh
it’s okay, ma’am. I don’t mind.” He handed t he weapon to the boy hilt first.
Sarah frowned, but didn’t say anything.
    Brian
grinned from ear to ear. He hefted the blade clumsily, took a few steps back,
and made a few half-hearted swings with it.
    “Careful.”
Tom warned. “That thing ain’t no toy, son.”
    Brian
sobered up a bit, and handed the sword back to Gabriel. “Thanks.” He said.
    Gabe
acknowledged him with a nod, then stood back up and sheathed the blade.
    “I
have a few pounds of smoked meat, and a case of pinto beans that I found not
far from here.” Tom said. “I don’t suppose you fellas have anything for trade,
do you?”
    “We’re
actually running a little low on food.” I replied. “What will you trade for?”
    Tom
and Sarah exchanged another look. Sarah seemed to deflate a bit, and finally
lowered her weapon.
    “We’re
pretty low on ammunition.” Tom said. “Got any to spare?”
    Gabe
pointed at Tom’s hunting rifle. “Is that a .308 you got there?”
    “Yeah,
it is.”
    Gabe
took off his pack and fished out a couple of twenty round boxes of 7.62
cartridges. They are not exactly the same as .308 rounds, but any rifle
chambered for that caliber can fire them. Tom’s eyes widened as Gabriel held
the cartridges out to him.
    “How
much do you want for that?” He asked
    “How
about a pound of meat and three cans of beans?” Gabe replied.
    Sarah
still looked dubious, but Tom appeared to be considering the offer.  After a
few moments, he nodded and reached out to take the ammunition.
    “I
guess that’s fair enough. Brian, go get these fellas a pound of venison and
three cans of beans.”
    The
boy nodded and walked over to a blue tarp that covered a small cache of
supplies next to the makeshift grill.
    “So
you guys live close by?” Sarah asked, stepping closer and looking us over.
    I
nodded and pointed to the northeast. “About two miles or so that way. Got
ourselves a pretty nice setup. Solar panels, wood-burning stove, we even have a
fence around our property to keep the infected out.”
    Tom’s
eyebrows went up. “No kidding? Damn, we might have to pay you a visit
sometime.”
    I
smiled. “You’d be welcome. We haven’t had any visitors in…well, ever. It’d be
nice to hang out with someone other than this guy for a change.” I jerked a
thumb in Gabe’s direction.
    Brian
brought over a plastic bag with the cans of beans and strips of dried venison
inside. I took it from him and stashed it in Gabriel’s pack.
    “Listen
folks, I appreciate the trade, but we have a lot to get done today.” I said.
“We’re going to be heading over to Marion to hunt down some medical supplies in
the next day or so. We’ll come by and check in on you tomorrow afternoon, if
that’s alright with you.”
    Tom
smiled and nodded. “I’ll look forward to it. Maybe I can bring down some game
with one of these here bullets and have supper waiting for you.”
    “That
would be awesome.” I said. “If I hear any gunshots tomorrow, at least I’ll know
where it’s coming from.”
    Gabe
nudged me on the shoulder with one oversized knuckle. “Why don’t you go get
your stuff so we can get a move on?”
    “Oh,
right.”  I pointed back up the mountainside. “Is my pack still up the hill
where I left it?” 
    “Yeah,
I didn’t touch it.” 
    I
turned and trudged back up the steep hill to where I stashed my rifle and my
pack. I heard Gabriel talking to the family behind me as I left. Tom and Sarah
asked plenty of questions, and it seemed like they were genuinely curious to
learn more about us. I found myself looking forward to the