Darker Shade of Pale - HER FREEDOM Read Online Free PDF Page A

hand while he tended what looked to be grilled cheese sandwiches. "Got them here."
    "You made them?"
    He never turned around to speak, just focused on the sandwiches. "Yep. I lived in a tent for six months, then a little cabin I built in time for winter. Once that was done, I started growing things—animals and crops. About ten years into living in that one-roomed cabin, got stir crazy and started clearing the land. My sister would visit all summer long, she helped to frame this house. She even brought a bunch of books about building green. Took a couple years to finish the house – we only framed, roofed and walled the outside that summer. Made buddies with the sheriff—and his friend with a helicopter license, coincidently. We were going to lift the glass panels into the valley here, but couldn't. A dead tree was going all leaning Tower of Pisa, and we had to cut it down to give clearance—and there was no way I was going to let the helicopter land in my garden. So, we cut it down and boom, here's this huge chunk of art. It made the countertops, the toilet seat and lid, that table there, a couple chairs… every scrap got used, really."
    "Good to have friends in high places, eh?"
    "Yep, it is good. Good to have family in higher places, though."
    I smiled when he put late lunch in front of me. "Where did you learn to cook?"
    "Used to watch Great Chefs of PBS after school. Julia Child, too. Watched and applied. Seems to work."
    I bit into the buttery yet crisp bread cradling cheese of melting-goodness. "Honestly, with all you've shown me, I'm a bit intimidated."
    "Don't be. There's only eight goats, so milking doesn't take very long. All the milk gets stored in the springbox until Saturday. That's the day I make cheese and butter. Eggs get collected every day, but again, that doesn't take long. Fifteen minutes tops. In regards to the crops, the real hard work is at planting and at harvest. Otherwise, all it really takes is water—and that's negated by the hugelbeds I built, so I don't really have to water them that much. If everything is set up well to begin with, then really, it's just a matter of keeping it running well. I grow mainly perennials, that way I don't have to reseed everything every year. The main thing really, is the grain. But that's two days of harvest, a couple days of drying, then threshing. Everything is on a seasonal clock. That makes a huge difference."
    The more he spoke, the more impassioned he grew about his lifestyle choice. I don't know if I could make it one season, let alone several years.
    "I'll do my best, Tyb. But I wasn't in FFA or 4H. This is total foreign territory."
    "That's okay, Izzy. You're learning , that's the important part. I could flap my lips and you not listen… That's when we'd have an issue. That's not the case, so I'm more than willing to be patient. Hey, want a beer with your lunch?"
    "You have beer up here?"
    "I make beer up here." Satisfaction soaked his voice.
    "Yes, I will have a beer." Cold beer sounds good.
    "Do you have any objections to me turning the radio back on?"
    "None whatsoever." Actually, I was very curious to find out what was known about Christos and his situation. If they found his body, I would be free. Could donate the bulk of his wealth to charities and just go on, forging my way. It'd be too easy, though.
    Tyb wound up the radio and switched it on. Then the world changed.
    "Pure anarchy is ruling the Bay Area. After Haytham Labs suffered a series of explosions, HAZMAT teams from across the region were called in to contain the area. After being declared a Federal Disaster Area, all traffic into and out of the city has been halted as a quarantine mandate has been issued. Officials are quiet on the source of contamination, but experts from UC Berkeley are chiming in with various theories. Everything from comet dust to nuclear fallout has been proposed. Rescuers are still searching for survivors in the ruins, although the likelihood is slim, according