Forager (9781771275606) Read Online Free PDF Page B

you can.” Before we even took a step, the
mayor locked eyes on me. “Present yourself for punishment in the
square at midday tomorrow. If you fail to show up on time, I’ll
have Kurt kick down your door and drag you there. Do you
understand?” I nodded, glad to be given a reprieve. He turned to
the mounted Forager. “As for you, Sawyer, as soon as you can, we
need you to locate a new alternator for our combine harvester. The
alternator failed shortly before the attack. Lucky for us you
arrived when you did.”
     
     
     

Chapter Four
     
    The news of the harvester’s breakdown explained why Josh and
Jason stormed in on me right after I’d killed the deer. They were
coming to get me to help with the harvest.
    After being counted—reporting in that I was still alive—I
walked down the road with the mounted Sawyer following. We passed
other townspeople returning to their jobs, homes, or children. The
crumbled ruins of a house that had recently collapsed served as a
reminder of the state of our town. Most of the houses and former
businesses were still standing, but none of them would endure the
torments of time and weather without regular repairs—repairs we
didn’t have the supplies to make. I sighed.
    “ Why such a heavy sigh, Dillon?” the Forager asked.
    “ I was just wondering what this town looked like, before the
Collapse.”
    Sawyer looked wistful. “Sometimes it’s hard to believe it’s
been thirty years. But even before the economy crashed, there were
houses that needed to be condemned. For whatever reason, their
owners didn’t do the necessary upkeep.” He pointed at the house I’d
been looking at. “That’s the result. It’s only a matter of time
before all the buildings fall.
    “ It all happened so fast. The dollar became worthless, the
stock market bottomed out, all over the world trade stopped. People
in the big cities had it the worst. They only had so much food.
When it was gone…”
    “ Isn’t there anything we can do?” I asked.
    “ Not unless you can repopulate the land, stop the Scavengers,
restore the economy, and rectify the government. It’s all in
shambles.”
    I walked on, thinking over Sawyer’s words. I couldn’t do much
about the population. Most of the dead were from starvation, or the
result of a lack of medicine, or medical treatment. It drove Mom
crazy when she had the knowledge to cure someone, but not the
medicine or equipment. The Scavengers were always a threat. The
only way I could see of stopping them was by exterminating them. Of
course, that didn’t help the population problem. As for the economy
and the government, I didn’t have a clue.
    A walk of about fifteen blocks brought us to the door of my
charcoal-black RV. It boasted silver swoops on the sides and could
sleep eight. Not that anyone but me ever slept in it. Any
unoccupied house could have been home, but the RV suited me better.
After my parents died, our house was too big and too empty. The RV
was a better fit, and still near enough to my parents’ house that
old memories were just a few footsteps away.
    I tried to tie Sawyer’s horse to a nearby tree, but he just
took the reins and made sure they couldn’t drag on the ground,
saying, “You’ve got good grass here, she won’t wander.” The Forager
winced as I helped him down from the big animal. The tall grass
reached to the bottom of my RV. It made good grazing for the horse,
but treacherous footing for an injured man. Sawyer put his arm
around my shoulder and we trudged our way to the three steps
leading to the door. Once inside, he sat down on my beat-up leather
sofa. Even with half the padding missing from the cushions, the
couch earned a grateful sigh from Sawyer when he sat
down.
    In the kitchen, I used a water hose that ran from my old house
into the RV to wash the dried blood from my hands and arms. With
all of the things that didn’t work, I was glad the plumbing did.
Just like in the old days. Even the toilets still flushed in