Waste
A Voice From The Past
I walked around the woods with the hunting crew as we search for some kind of animal to kill for food. We’ve all already shot a few rabbits, squirrels, and 3 deer but we still need some more to last us for a while. I saw a huge buck in front of me in a clearing. It had to be at least a 10 pointer. I raised my rifle into position and took aim at its heart before pulling the trigger. I watched the buck fall to the ground dead.
“Yes.” I whispered as I set my gun against my shoulder and went to retrieve my kill. I tied a rope around the legs and pulled it behind me as I met up with the others.
“Damn that’s a good kill there Serenity.”
“Thanks Dante. I’ve been wanting this buck for a long time.” I said as he helped me hoist the buck into a wagon we had confiscated from a local hardware store the day before.
“Let’s get back to the house and get all these animals cleaned up and ready to eat.” I said unclipping my radio from my pants. I called in everyone and told them to meet us back at the house. I helped Dante pull the wagon through the woods until I heard a twig snap and we both stopped dead in our tracks. I looked at Dante and raised my weapon.
“Stay here.” I said walking away. I looked around the woods and seen nothing but as soon as I turned to walk away, another twig was snapped. I spun around quickly with my weapon ready to blow off the head of a Stray but what I seen made me lower my weapon.
“Whoa there killer.”
“Uncle Lucas?” I asked unsure.
“I’m surprised you remembered. How long has it been?”
“Too damn long. You know you shouldn’t scare someone with a loaded weapon in their hands.” I said chuckling.
“Sorry about that. I was just looking for some food.”
“Why don’t you come over to the house?” I asked smiling. You see Lucas is a good friend of the family. I just couldn’t believe he’s still alive. It’s been so long since I had seen him and it’s just so great to know that I still have some family left.
“Is it alright if I bring some other people?”
“Of course not. How many people are there?” I asked as we walked towards Dante who had a confused look on his face.
“Well let’s see there are my wife and kids…and that’s it.”
“We have plenty of food for all of you. I just need to get back to the house and put these animals up and then I can be over where you are in a few minutes.” I said smiling.
“I’ll have to show you where we are. We wanted to keep our place a secret for as long as we could.” I nodded and Dante looked at me.
“Who is this?”
“Oh Dante, this is my Uncle Lucas. Lucas this is my friend and fellow marksman Dante Romano.” I said introducing them.
“It’s very nice to meet you.”
“Same here son.” My uncle said shaking Dante’s hand.
“We need to be getting back to the house and then over to get the others Uncle Lucas.”
“Lead the way.” He said smiling. I watched as my uncle grabbed a part of the wagon and helped Dante as I lead the way back to the house. I opened the gate and they pulled in the wagon. I shut and locked the gate behind me and went over to them.
“UNCLE LUCAS!!!” I looked over and seen Felicity running out of the house and right into the arms of our uncle.
“It’s good to see you kiddo!”
“Oh God you don’t know how much I’ve missed you! I thought we’d never see you again.” Felicity said smiling like a crazy woman. I shook my head and helped Dante string up the kills. I looked over as Brian, Matt, Jimmy, Johnny, and Zacky all came out of the house. They were going to be cleaning our kills today.
“Who is that with Felicity?”
“That would be our Uncle Lucas. I’m fixing to get over to where my aunt and cousins are. They need a place to be and I know Felicity would want them to be staying with us.” I said to Matt as he grabbed one of my hunting knives from the small wooden table.
“That’s good you have some family left. Family keeps everything going. I sometimes think what would have happened if I lost Charlie like I did Val.”
“What would have happened?” I asked curiously.
“I think I would have committed suicide…but I’m not sure if the guys would have let me though. They would have probably kicked my ass for doing it. Hell they would kick my ass if they found out I was thinking these thoughts but thoughts are harmless to me. All I have to do is look at the guys and all the good memories flow back into my mind and I know they wouldn’t want me dying.”
“You’re right on that one. You might not have your wife but you do have your brothers of the band. The responsibility of keeping Felicity safe has been then only thing keeping me going. I don’t know what would have happened to me if I had lost my sister…” I explained pushing back the tears that threatened to sting my eyes.
“Hey Serenity, we need to get over to where the others are before nightfall!”
“I’ll be right there!” I yelled back.
“We should be done skinning and chopping by the time you all get back.”
“Don’t forget to keep the pelts. We’ll need those for the dogs in the winter.” I said checking my weapon.
“Yes Ma’am.” I shook my head as Matt saluted me like a soldier. I made it to my uncle and we headed out through the woods.
“So how far away is it?” I asked as he got to the place where we first seen each other.
“About a mile.” I nodded and we continued our journey and hoped to god there was nothing surprising on the way back home. A few minutes later, I could see the small campsite and my cousins were all grown up. They had to be at least teenagers now. I just hope they are still as well-behaved as they were when they were 7 years old.
“Maxine! We have a visitor!” My uncle yelled and the 2 teenage twins just stared at me for the longest time.
“Lucas Jr. and Max, how are you guys?” I asked smiling. It took them a minute before they rushed over to me and knocked me to the dirt with hugs.
“Serenity!” Their arms clung to me for dear life.
“Boys let her up!” Uncle Lucas said shaking his head. The boys got off me and helped me to my feet. I fixed my weapon back over my shoulder as Maxine looked right at me and smiled.
“Come over here darling and give me a hug.”
“How are you Aunt Maxie?” I asked hugging her tightly.
“I’m just fine child. How’s your mother and father?” I hung my head and let go of her.
“Did I say something wrong?”
“No Maxie. Mom is dead and I don’t know about dad. I haven’t seen any traces of him.” I said and the memory of me killing my mother flooded my mind and it took all I had to keep the monster deep inside me from surfacing.
“Oh honey! I’m so sorry.”
“It’s alright Maxie. She’s in a much better place now.” I said clearing my throat.
“I think we should get everything packed up and ready to head towards her place.
“That’s a good idea.” I said composing myself and going with Uncle Lucas to help. I helped Maxie pack up her things while Uncle Lucas and the boys packed their own things. Maxine checked over the camp to make sure nothing was missed and I don’t see how they have survived this long with only one rifle and a limited amount of ammo. They’re very lucky to have lasted this long.
“I think we have everything.”
“Alright. Now while we’re heading back to the house, Uncle Lucas will be bringing up the rear and I’ll lead. We have to be as quiet as we can. Strays and Packs usually come out more at night and will attack anything that makes enough sound to alert them.” I explained and I began to lead the small family into the woods. The sun was still in the sky but it would be going down halfway through the trip back to the house. I don’t want to be caught out here at night with the only ammo I have.
I kept my eyes peeled ahead of us and from my left and right. I was ahead of them by mere feet just to scout. I didn’t want to be running into anything. We got the clearing where I shot the buck earlier and the sun was just now beginning to set.
“We’re going to have to hurry to get home. The sun will be setting in about 20 minutes and it will take us at least half an hour to get to the house. Please keep up.” I said before setting myself at a good paced jog. I kept my eyes keen to anything around me and my ears as sharp as a wolf’s. The house came into view and I led the group of relatives inside the fence of my home.
I locked the gate back and ushered them into the house where the others were sitting around and eating a meal. I led them into the kitchen where Felicity was still cooking some deer.
“The cavalry has arrived.” I said smiling and she turned and seen Maxie and ran to her instantly. I picked up cooking so she could have some time with our aunt, uncle, and cousins. Now all we need is to get through this terrible plague and I hope to God that’s really soon.
“Yes.” I whispered as I set my gun against my shoulder and went to retrieve my kill. I tied a rope around the legs and pulled it behind me as I met up with the others.
“Damn that’s a good kill there Serenity.”
“Thanks Dante. I’ve been wanting this buck for a long time.” I said as he helped me hoist the buck into a wagon we had confiscated from a local hardware store the day before.
“Let’s get back to the house and get all these animals cleaned up and ready to eat.” I said unclipping my radio from my pants. I called in everyone and told them to meet us back at the house. I helped Dante pull the wagon through the woods until I heard a twig snap and we both stopped dead in our tracks. I looked at Dante and raised my weapon.
“Stay here.” I said walking away. I looked around the woods and seen nothing but as soon as I turned to walk away, another twig was snapped. I spun around quickly with my weapon ready to blow off the head of a Stray but what I seen made me lower my weapon.
“Whoa there killer.”
“Uncle Lucas?” I asked unsure.
“I’m surprised you remembered. How long has it been?”
“Too damn long. You know you shouldn’t scare someone with a loaded weapon in their hands.” I said chuckling.
“Sorry about that. I was just looking for some food.”
“Why don’t you come over to the house?” I asked smiling. You see Lucas is a good friend of the family. I just couldn’t believe he’s still alive. It’s been so long since I had seen him and it’s just so great to know that I still have some family left.
“Is it alright if I bring some other people?”
“Of course not. How many people are there?” I asked as we walked towards Dante who had a confused look on his face.
“Well let’s see there are my wife and kids…and that’s it.”
“We have plenty of food for all of you. I just need to get back to the house and put these animals up and then I can be over where you are in a few minutes.” I said smiling.
“I’ll have to show you where we are. We wanted to keep our place a secret for as long as we could.” I nodded and Dante looked at me.
“Who is this?”
“Oh Dante, this is my Uncle Lucas. Lucas this is my friend and fellow marksman Dante Romano.” I said introducing them.
“It’s very nice to meet you.”
“Same here son.” My uncle said shaking Dante’s hand.
“We need to be getting back to the house and then over to get the others Uncle Lucas.”
“Lead the way.” He said smiling. I watched as my uncle grabbed a part of the wagon and helped Dante as I lead the way back to the house. I opened the gate and they pulled in the wagon. I shut and locked the gate behind me and went over to them.
“UNCLE LUCAS!!!” I looked over and seen Felicity running out of the house and right into the arms of our uncle.
“It’s good to see you kiddo!”
“Oh God you don’t know how much I’ve missed you! I thought we’d never see you again.” Felicity said smiling like a crazy woman. I shook my head and helped Dante string up the kills. I looked over as Brian, Matt, Jimmy, Johnny, and Zacky all came out of the house. They were going to be cleaning our kills today.
“Who is that with Felicity?”
“That would be our Uncle Lucas. I’m fixing to get over to where my aunt and cousins are. They need a place to be and I know Felicity would want them to be staying with us.” I said to Matt as he grabbed one of my hunting knives from the small wooden table.
“That’s good you have some family left. Family keeps everything going. I sometimes think what would have happened if I lost Charlie like I did Val.”
“What would have happened?” I asked curiously.
“I think I would have committed suicide…but I’m not sure if the guys would have let me though. They would have probably kicked my ass for doing it. Hell they would kick my ass if they found out I was thinking these thoughts but thoughts are harmless to me. All I have to do is look at the guys and all the good memories flow back into my mind and I know they wouldn’t want me dying.”
“You’re right on that one. You might not have your wife but you do have your brothers of the band. The responsibility of keeping Felicity safe has been then only thing keeping me going. I don’t know what would have happened to me if I had lost my sister…” I explained pushing back the tears that threatened to sting my eyes.
“Hey Serenity, we need to get over to where the others are before nightfall!”
“I’ll be right there!” I yelled back.
“We should be done skinning and chopping by the time you all get back.”
“Don’t forget to keep the pelts. We’ll need those for the dogs in the winter.” I said checking my weapon.
“Yes Ma’am.” I shook my head as Matt saluted me like a soldier. I made it to my uncle and we headed out through the woods.
“So how far away is it?” I asked as he got to the place where we first seen each other.
“About a mile.” I nodded and we continued our journey and hoped to god there was nothing surprising on the way back home. A few minutes later, I could see the small campsite and my cousins were all grown up. They had to be at least teenagers now. I just hope they are still as well-behaved as they were when they were 7 years old.
“Maxine! We have a visitor!” My uncle yelled and the 2 teenage twins just stared at me for the longest time.
“Lucas Jr. and Max, how are you guys?” I asked smiling. It took them a minute before they rushed over to me and knocked me to the dirt with hugs.
“Serenity!” Their arms clung to me for dear life.
“Boys let her up!” Uncle Lucas said shaking his head. The boys got off me and helped me to my feet. I fixed my weapon back over my shoulder as Maxine looked right at me and smiled.
“Come over here darling and give me a hug.”
“How are you Aunt Maxie?” I asked hugging her tightly.
“I’m just fine child. How’s your mother and father?” I hung my head and let go of her.
“Did I say something wrong?”
“No Maxie. Mom is dead and I don’t know about dad. I haven’t seen any traces of him.” I said and the memory of me killing my mother flooded my mind and it took all I had to keep the monster deep inside me from surfacing.
“Oh honey! I’m so sorry.”
“It’s alright Maxie. She’s in a much better place now.” I said clearing my throat.
“I think we should get everything packed up and ready to head towards her place.
“That’s a good idea.” I said composing myself and going with Uncle Lucas to help. I helped Maxie pack up her things while Uncle Lucas and the boys packed their own things. Maxine checked over the camp to make sure nothing was missed and I don’t see how they have survived this long with only one rifle and a limited amount of ammo. They’re very lucky to have lasted this long.
“I think we have everything.”
“Alright. Now while we’re heading back to the house, Uncle Lucas will be bringing up the rear and I’ll lead. We have to be as quiet as we can. Strays and Packs usually come out more at night and will attack anything that makes enough sound to alert them.” I explained and I began to lead the small family into the woods. The sun was still in the sky but it would be going down halfway through the trip back to the house. I don’t want to be caught out here at night with the only ammo I have.
I kept my eyes peeled ahead of us and from my left and right. I was ahead of them by mere feet just to scout. I didn’t want to be running into anything. We got the clearing where I shot the buck earlier and the sun was just now beginning to set.
“We’re going to have to hurry to get home. The sun will be setting in about 20 minutes and it will take us at least half an hour to get to the house. Please keep up.” I said before setting myself at a good paced jog. I kept my eyes keen to anything around me and my ears as sharp as a wolf’s. The house came into view and I led the group of relatives inside the fence of my home.
I locked the gate back and ushered them into the house where the others were sitting around and eating a meal. I led them into the kitchen where Felicity was still cooking some deer.
“The cavalry has arrived.” I said smiling and she turned and seen Maxie and ran to her instantly. I picked up cooking so she could have some time with our aunt, uncle, and cousins. Now all we need is to get through this terrible plague and I hope to God that’s really soon.
3/9/13