Temp came up today to a balmy -5F and I got the hell out of the house for about five hours. Did the due diligence with the herd, then shouldered my rifle and took a walk just to get away for abit.
I ain't very good at reading women folk, honestly - but I think Annabell wanted to bend Jack's ear about something, and was just *waiting* for me to get the hell out.
Which was just fine, I needed the space. Didn't spot any game, which isn't surprising out this way, but some of the feed trough's we keep up year round to get em coming round had been well foraged. I refilled em with a little seed corn, then mostly sat and thought.
Been a while since I did that, with nothing but a little wind, and the shelter belt to keep me company. Its... relaxing I think.
I sometimes wonder what I'd be doing now, if the world hadn't gone all to shit - if I'd be fixing comnputers in some store in the mall or maybe tinkering with cars instead of scraping out a living with an Uncle that's not blood.
Not that I'm complaining mind, all things considered I got a good life. Jack's a hard man - but he's just a hard man because thats the kind of man he had to become to survive. I've heard him and the 'Gaard's talking. They all miss the 'good life'. Jack's biggest miss? Delivery food. I can't even imagine what it must be like to call someone up on a phone or radio, and them deliver a hot meal to your door.
I've been trying to decide what I want to do with my life lately, and I'll be honest, I dunno. I don't get a lot of socializing out here - but there ain't much to move too. Jack owns a lot of land out here - most of its not in use - I'm sure if I asked he'd give me a hundred acres or so and help me set up a place.
I'd like that - but as much as I need my space sometimes, I don't really want to be alone.
And its not like there are a bunch of people lining up for the chance to live with me. So I guess I'll stay where I am for a while yet. Something will come along.
Oh - so we've finished Jack's project. I thought he'd set up a still or something - we do brew a little beer in the fall - but its a lot simpler then that. And, actually pretty smart, I think.
I mentioned that we usually go out and haul in big bricks of ice from the mouse river - which we haven't done yet this year on account of all the snow. What we did was build a cauldron which has some copper tubing connected to a form. We put it outside, start a fire under the cauldron - a small one - and then dump snow and ice into the cauldron, which feeds the heated water into a form about the size of the ice blocks we use - and then the ambient air freezes the blocks we need - no need to go get em ten miles away.
Pretty smart really. I don't think I'd have thought of that til much later in the season, if at all. But that's Jack - always two beats ahead.
Battery's getting low again. Time to sign off.
Oh geez, sign back on again, oh please, sign back on...
ReplyDeleteI hope you'll get this in time for it to matter.
I said I was going to leave tonight. Well, my fate caught up with me first, sort of. Just after dinner, an entire group from that gang came right up to our door. The leader was there, and the second whom I was supposed to marry, and a bunch of other guys. Grandma said that I had to go with them. I didn't want to go! I started crying and saying so, and she kept telling me that it didn't matter. The leader said that he didn't have time for this and grabbed my arm. He pulled me nearly off my feet.
Then suddenly Mom, who was doing nothing but sitting for the past couple hours, moved on her own. She let out this weird shriek like nothing I've ever heard before and fled up the stairs! We all stood quietly for a moment. I guess the others were as rattled as I was. Then the leader started pulling me towards the door, and I started crying again, and suddenly there was this huge sound like nothing I'd ever heard before. It was a gunshot, but it wasn't like a rifle and it wasn't like a handgun. Mom was back in the stairwell with this thick-barrelled gun I'd never seen before. Well, I'd seen it in books, but I had no idea we *had* one. It's a shotgun. The second-in-command fell over and he had this huge hole right in his head.
Oh man, I bet you can guess what happened next. The leader let go of me and I ran for the hearth. I guess I was stupid. I should have found cover. But I couldn't let them shoot at my mom. I hunkered behind the couch with the house rifle, and Mom was in the stairwell with that shotgun, and the gang had handguns, and we were just all shooting at each other. Two more men fell. I don't know who hit them, because then the leader signaled a retreat and they dragged the bodies out with them.
As they were leaving, Mom pointed that shotgun straight at Grandma and said "Leave now" with this terrible voice. Grandma turned and ran for it, and I started shaking like mad. I think I was more scared of Mom than that gang. Then Mom started laughing wildly, and then suddenly she stopped and was herself again, like before the baby died. It was the weirdest thing I'd ever seen in my life.
I'm alright, but she got hit once in the leg. Not too bad, through and through, missed the bone, and the blood wasn't spurting. So I cleaned it and dressed it like Papa taught me, but she can't really walk much on it. She told me to go light a lantern and hang it from one of the upstairs windows. I have no clue why. Then we just started talking and filled each other in. She was able to know what was going on all along, she was just in something like a fog that she kept trying to push through and couldn't make it, not for years... I don't want to talk too much about that and I don't have the time anyways.
I told her about using Papa's computer, and she told me to go ahead and write here. I don't know if she thinks you guys can help with advice or if she's just keeping me busy. They're going to come back, we both know that, and in force, and I don't know what to do. This house wasn't really built to defend. Why does a "victrian" have to have so many darn windows and doors anyways?
Mom got that shotgun from somewhere, and I had no idea we had it, and I'm pretty sure Grandma didn't know either. So maybe she's got something else. Maybe it'll help.