Read Online This Shattered Land - 02 by James Cook - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: James Cook
Ads: Link
hadn’t.
“Thanks
Gabe.”
He
belted out his rusty, grating laugh. “You’re welcome little man.”
I
pointed a finger at the boy. “He’s getting pretty good with those things.”
“I
know, I’ve been watching you two practice.” Tom replied. “Just remember son,
don’t use that knife unless you have to, understand? It’s not a toy, so don’t
treat it like one.”
“I
won’t dad, I promise.”
Tom
looked at his son for a moment longer, then gave a nod of satisfaction and went
back to studying his map.
The
rest of the afternoon passed quietly. As the sun began to sink behind the
distant blue hills, I walked out to the sheer cliff that forms the entire
western face of the mountain the cabin sits on. A flat section near the edge
overlooks a vast panorama of undulating mountains rolling away toward the
western plains. Gabriel and I had placed a couple of Adirondack chairs there and
dug a rock-lined pit near the ledge. It was a good spot to enjoy the warmth of
a fire and watch the sun bed down behind the Appalachians.
Tom
brought out a folding chair and set it near the other two while I grabbed some
kindling. I got a fire going and took a seat in front of it, holding my hands
out to absorb the warmth. Gabe opened the bottle of Maker’s Mark he brought
with him and poured a few fingers into tin cups before passing them around. We
raised our cups in salute and took a sip. The whiskey was crisp and warm,
singing notes of caramel and oak on my palate and tracing a line of
slow-burning fire on the way down. I sat back and watched the daylight sink
behind the horizon.
The
sky faded from burnished gold, to smoldering orange, and finally to a deep,
dark blue that lightened shade by shade toward the eastern horizon. The blue in
the distance faded into black that grew and expanded until it devoured every
corner of the sky. Stars pierced the gloom in multitudes that glittered bright
and defiant against the empty curtain of night.
“Sure
is a nice evening.” Tom said, starting his second whiskey.
“Yeah,
it is. Probably only about thirty degrees or so out here, but after this past
winter it’s downright toasty.” Gabe replied.
“Speaking
of, how long do you think this damn nuclear winter is going to last?” I asked,
looking over at Gabe.
He
reached up a hand and scratched his beard. “Probably another year or so, maybe
longer. If that Army fella you talked to was right and there were less than a
dozen nukes fired, it should be over in two more years at most. Problem is, it
ain’t just the nukes that caused the Earth to cool down. You gotta remember,
half the fucking world burned down during the Outbreak. Cities, forests,
factories, chemical plants, hell most of the Southwest all the way to
California went up like a Roman candle. I remember watching news footage from
KTLA, and Los Angeles was just one big burning firestorm. All that shit made
its way into the atmosphere too.”
“So
what you’re saying is we’re probably stuck with these cold temperatures for a
couple more years, right?” Tom asked.
Gabe
nodded. “No sense in worrying about it. Not much we can do except try to stay
warm, and hope for the best.”
Tom
grew quiet thinking about that. An hour passed while we sipped the strong
liquor and watched the fire burn low against the far horizon. The temperature
dropped about ten more degrees, making me regret not bringing a blanket. I
threw a couple more logs on the fire to ward off the chill. The cabin’s front
door opened behind me and I heard Sarah’s light tread approaching the fire.
“Little
guy go to bed?” Tom asked her.
“Yeah,
he knocked out in front of the stove reading a book. I left him be, we can put
him to bed in a little while.” She said as she put a chair down next to her
husband.
“Thank
you for staying with him, it was nice to have some quiet time.” Tom said and
reached out for her hand.
“No
problem.” She flicked a gesture at Gabe and me. “I figured
“Thanks
Gabe.”
He
belted out his rusty, grating laugh. “You’re welcome little man.”
I
pointed a finger at the boy. “He’s getting pretty good with those things.”
“I
know, I’ve been watching you two practice.” Tom replied. “Just remember son,
don’t use that knife unless you have to, understand? It’s not a toy, so don’t
treat it like one.”
“I
won’t dad, I promise.”
Tom
looked at his son for a moment longer, then gave a nod of satisfaction and went
back to studying his map.
The
rest of the afternoon passed quietly. As the sun began to sink behind the
distant blue hills, I walked out to the sheer cliff that forms the entire
western face of the mountain the cabin sits on. A flat section near the edge
overlooks a vast panorama of undulating mountains rolling away toward the
western plains. Gabriel and I had placed a couple of Adirondack chairs there and
dug a rock-lined pit near the ledge. It was a good spot to enjoy the warmth of
a fire and watch the sun bed down behind the Appalachians.
Tom
brought out a folding chair and set it near the other two while I grabbed some
kindling. I got a fire going and took a seat in front of it, holding my hands
out to absorb the warmth. Gabe opened the bottle of Maker’s Mark he brought
with him and poured a few fingers into tin cups before passing them around. We
raised our cups in salute and took a sip. The whiskey was crisp and warm,
singing notes of caramel and oak on my palate and tracing a line of
slow-burning fire on the way down. I sat back and watched the daylight sink
behind the horizon.
The
sky faded from burnished gold, to smoldering orange, and finally to a deep,
dark blue that lightened shade by shade toward the eastern horizon. The blue in
the distance faded into black that grew and expanded until it devoured every
corner of the sky. Stars pierced the gloom in multitudes that glittered bright
and defiant against the empty curtain of night.
“Sure
is a nice evening.” Tom said, starting his second whiskey.
“Yeah,
it is. Probably only about thirty degrees or so out here, but after this past
winter it’s downright toasty.” Gabe replied.
“Speaking
of, how long do you think this damn nuclear winter is going to last?” I asked,
looking over at Gabe.
He
reached up a hand and scratched his beard. “Probably another year or so, maybe
longer. If that Army fella you talked to was right and there were less than a
dozen nukes fired, it should be over in two more years at most. Problem is, it
ain’t just the nukes that caused the Earth to cool down. You gotta remember,
half the fucking world burned down during the Outbreak. Cities, forests,
factories, chemical plants, hell most of the Southwest all the way to
California went up like a Roman candle. I remember watching news footage from
KTLA, and Los Angeles was just one big burning firestorm. All that shit made
its way into the atmosphere too.”
“So
what you’re saying is we’re probably stuck with these cold temperatures for a
couple more years, right?” Tom asked.
Gabe
nodded. “No sense in worrying about it. Not much we can do except try to stay
warm, and hope for the best.”
Tom
grew quiet thinking about that. An hour passed while we sipped the strong
liquor and watched the fire burn low against the far horizon. The temperature
dropped about ten more degrees, making me regret not bringing a blanket. I
threw a couple more logs on the fire to ward off the chill. The cabin’s front
door opened behind me and I heard Sarah’s light tread approaching the fire.
“Little
guy go to bed?” Tom asked her.
“Yeah,
he knocked out in front of the stove reading a book. I left him be, we can put
him to bed in a little while.” She said as she put a chair down next to her
husband.
“Thank
you for staying with him, it was nice to have some quiet time.” Tom said and
reached out for her hand.
“No
problem.” She flicked a gesture at Gabe and me. “I figured
Similar Books
