hovered nearby, tending to their needs. I was happy for
the first time in months, I felt safe and peaceful. Tahinah looked
up across the fire, then smiled and gave a little nod as Phoenix
reached out and took my hand.
“We should
eat,” he said.
As hungry as I
was, I didn’t want to eat. I wanted to hold this moment for as long
as I could. Warmth radiated from my heart until I was sure I was
glowing. I was surrounded by love and friendship and wanted to
wallow in it for just a little longer.
“Hoy, Psyche!
You gonna eat or what?” Navarre called me from across a dwindling
mound of roasted rabbit and broke the spell. Deep down, I wondered
if I would ever feel this safe or happy again.
We sat with our
plates on our laps and ate with our fingers. Roasted rabbit and yam
sat beside chunks of tomato and wedges of cucumber, all piled high
on old china plates. Others scooped stew with spoons, sopping the
gravy with thick, crusty bread. We didn’t always eat this well, but
we’d never gone hungry either.
“Do you realise
how amazing this is? There is so much food! There’s no misery! We
live nothing like those people in town,” I remarked. Phoenix was
sitting on one side of me and Navarre on the other.
Phoenix looked
around the fire, “Most of us were expecting it though. Some of them
were drawn here, but many of us chose to live here. Everyone you
see here tonight has spent years preparing for this day.”
“Yeh, we know
heaps of people that live like this,” Navarre said as he tossed his
bones into the fire. “There are four other groups in the area that
have better set-ups than us. One family has been living
off-the-grid for years and has a system that runs everything! As if
they were on the mains.”
“Wow, I wonder
if they would let me charge my iPod?” I said. Music was the only
thing I really missed.
“Psyche, you
can charge it here if you want. Even Libby has enough power to
charge an iPod.”
“We don’t have
power.”
“Yes, you do.
What do you think runs the fridge in the pantry? You have cold
milk, don’t you?”
“Yes… but I
thought it was gas like the one in the bus. You don’t need power
for gas fridges.” Now I just felt stupid.
“We all have
solar panels and small wind turbines. They’re pretty hard to
miss.”
“I’ve been
preoccupied, I guess.”
Navarre made me
feel foolish, but eventually Phoenix came to my rescue. “Another
family has a bunker so big they will spend the next twelve months
hidden in the side of a mountain.”
“Seriously?
I’ve heard rumours about people building bunkers and bomb shelters,
but I didn’t think anyone actually built one.”
“More were
built in the US than here, but there’s plenty in Australia
too.”
“Does anyone
here have a bunker?”
Navarre looked
at Phoenix and both boys shrugged. “Not that we know.”
“But they
wouldn’t tell us anyway, not until things got really bad,” Phoenix
surmised.
“Hey Dad! Do we
have a secret bunker in the hills?” Navarre asked.
The men were
standing on the opposite side of the fire, huddled in deep
discussion. Ruben looked unnerved by the question.
“Don’t worry,
Dad, I know you’d tell us if we had one.” Navarre nudged me with
his elbow and lowered his voice so only Phoenix and I could hear
him. “Maybe our security clearance isn’t high enough.” We all
laughed, but something strange happened when Navarre asked his
father about the bunker. It appeared they did have one and were
surprised by the question, or they were discussing something else,
which they didn’t want to share with the rest of us.
“Well, I know
why Libby has been preparing for years. The prophecy told her to,
but what about everyone else?” I asked after a moment.
“There are lots
of prophecies that predict the end of days.”
“Like
Armageddon and the End Times?” I had read about these and seen more
than one movie predicting the end of the world. “If they thought it
was the end of the
the first time in months, I felt safe and peaceful. Tahinah looked
up across the fire, then smiled and gave a little nod as Phoenix
reached out and took my hand.
“We should
eat,” he said.
As hungry as I
was, I didn’t want to eat. I wanted to hold this moment for as long
as I could. Warmth radiated from my heart until I was sure I was
glowing. I was surrounded by love and friendship and wanted to
wallow in it for just a little longer.
“Hoy, Psyche!
You gonna eat or what?” Navarre called me from across a dwindling
mound of roasted rabbit and broke the spell. Deep down, I wondered
if I would ever feel this safe or happy again.
We sat with our
plates on our laps and ate with our fingers. Roasted rabbit and yam
sat beside chunks of tomato and wedges of cucumber, all piled high
on old china plates. Others scooped stew with spoons, sopping the
gravy with thick, crusty bread. We didn’t always eat this well, but
we’d never gone hungry either.
“Do you realise
how amazing this is? There is so much food! There’s no misery! We
live nothing like those people in town,” I remarked. Phoenix was
sitting on one side of me and Navarre on the other.
Phoenix looked
around the fire, “Most of us were expecting it though. Some of them
were drawn here, but many of us chose to live here. Everyone you
see here tonight has spent years preparing for this day.”
“Yeh, we know
heaps of people that live like this,” Navarre said as he tossed his
bones into the fire. “There are four other groups in the area that
have better set-ups than us. One family has been living
off-the-grid for years and has a system that runs everything! As if
they were on the mains.”
“Wow, I wonder
if they would let me charge my iPod?” I said. Music was the only
thing I really missed.
“Psyche, you
can charge it here if you want. Even Libby has enough power to
charge an iPod.”
“We don’t have
power.”
“Yes, you do.
What do you think runs the fridge in the pantry? You have cold
milk, don’t you?”
“Yes… but I
thought it was gas like the one in the bus. You don’t need power
for gas fridges.” Now I just felt stupid.
“We all have
solar panels and small wind turbines. They’re pretty hard to
miss.”
“I’ve been
preoccupied, I guess.”
Navarre made me
feel foolish, but eventually Phoenix came to my rescue. “Another
family has a bunker so big they will spend the next twelve months
hidden in the side of a mountain.”
“Seriously?
I’ve heard rumours about people building bunkers and bomb shelters,
but I didn’t think anyone actually built one.”
“More were
built in the US than here, but there’s plenty in Australia
too.”
“Does anyone
here have a bunker?”
Navarre looked
at Phoenix and both boys shrugged. “Not that we know.”
“But they
wouldn’t tell us anyway, not until things got really bad,” Phoenix
surmised.
“Hey Dad! Do we
have a secret bunker in the hills?” Navarre asked.
The men were
standing on the opposite side of the fire, huddled in deep
discussion. Ruben looked unnerved by the question.
“Don’t worry,
Dad, I know you’d tell us if we had one.” Navarre nudged me with
his elbow and lowered his voice so only Phoenix and I could hear
him. “Maybe our security clearance isn’t high enough.” We all
laughed, but something strange happened when Navarre asked his
father about the bunker. It appeared they did have one and were
surprised by the question, or they were discussing something else,
which they didn’t want to share with the rest of us.
“Well, I know
why Libby has been preparing for years. The prophecy told her to,
but what about everyone else?” I asked after a moment.
“There are lots
of prophecies that predict the end of days.”
“Like
Armageddon and the End Times?” I had read about these and seen more
than one movie predicting the end of the world. “If they thought it
was the end of the
Similar Books
