Without Law, page 7
“Sure.” Bailey gave me a nod and jogged off.
“Make sure the pot has a lid,” I called out after her. She gave me a thumbs up before she disappeared from my sight.
I turned to the others. “Anna, Tara, you two gather up some supplies to start us a new fire. Paige, you’re with me. We will grab some more logs for once the fire is started.”
The first two headed off together into the treeline as Paige hopped up to join me at my side. It would take us a while to boil what we had, and I saw no reason not to keep the fire burning for the rest of the day. “Oh uh, feel free to get the fire started,” I yelled out.
“Will do,” Anna said with a wave.
Paige and I started our walk. “You are impressively fit,” I said. “You have not struggled as much as some of the others.”
“I’m not as strong as Anna, but I didn’t spend all of my time reading books and studying. I was a pretty avid runner. I found that the fresh air and exercise helped me to focus on tough days,” she said with a shrug.
“Smart,” I said as we reached the pile.
We both loaded up with logs and began to head back.
“People underestimate the good a little run can do them,” I said and then inhaled the cool air deep into my lungs.
Paige nodded.
I caught her looking over at me and smiling when she thought I wasn’t looking, but I didn’t say anything to avoid embarrassing her. It looked like she had started to grow comfortable with my company.
When we got back to the fire, Tara gently set the last of her kindling in place forming a nice teepee. She smiled happily and let out an excited yelp.
“I did it!” the blonde exclaimed.
“Good job.” Anna pulled out her lighter and set the dry tinder ablaze.
“Yep, nice job,” Paige said as she stacked the wood close by.
“I think she might have done better than I did,” Anna admitted.
Just then Bailey returned with a pot large enough to hide her entire torso and plunked it onto the earth by Anna. “I think they used this to make stew or something.”
“It’s perfect,” I said as I took off the lid. I was pleased to see that the pot was already clean, since it meant less preparation, and I let the fire burn down for a minute as I filled the pot with water.
Anna tossed on the first log, but I added another.
“We will let these burn down until there is a nice bed of coals in the bottom of the pit. Then we can put the pot on top of it and throw a couple logs around the side,” I said.
Rolly walked up with a hammer in his hand. An old leather tool belt hung around his hips with a small assortment of common tools, and the nails in the side pouch jingled every time he took a step.
“Mornin’,” he said as he smiled at all of us.
“Mornin’,” I replied. “How goes the project?”
“Oh, goes fine,” he said as he dropped his hammer into place on his belt. “First floor is boarded up, and the only entrance is the front one. Should probably only take me a couple more hours to do the rest.”
“Good, once that’s done you think you can take a look at the old jeep? Would be nice if we could get it running again.”
“Oh yeah, I think I can do that,” the old man said with a chuckle. “Well, looks like things are going good here. Just wanted to check in.” He gave us a wave and started back towards the dorms.
“Is having only one entrance a good idea? I mean, shit, aren't their fire codes against that sorta thing?” the athletic redhead asked.
I couldn’t help but chuckle a little. “Those aren't exactly important anymore. What is important is defense, and it is easier to control a single entryway. It ensures we always know where someone is coming from.”
“What about the boarded-up windows? You really think someone is going to smash through those or something?” Bailey asked.
“I don’t know, but I would rather not take the chance. Plus, it provides us a little more protection against the cold nights.”
I felt better already knowing we had a close supply of running water, and just what we had gathered today could go a long way. With consistent trips to the stream we would quickly build up a nice stockpile. Having water on hand would become more important if we needed to start growing our own food. I already had a spot picked out in my mind for that, but if we couldn’t find anything to plant, it would be pointless.
“Alright, keep an eye on the fire and put the water on when it’s ready. The more of it we can get boiled today the better.
“Where are you going?” Tara asked.
“I’m going to grab some supplies so we can get started on another project. We should have plenty of time while the water boils.”
“Need a hand?” Anna asked.
I shook my head. “Not really, but thanks. I just need to grab some stuff from the dorm. You guys just keep an eye on the water.” I nodded to the pot. “Once it cools enough, we can put it back in the jug. I’ll grab a funnel if I can find one to help with that.” Then, I gave the girls a final nod, and headed inside.
With our water situation now under control I turned my attention to thoughts of the future. We had plenty of food but it wouldn’t last, and I was not about to wait until it was low to come up with a solution. The most obvious choice was to hunt, but there were not enough guns to go around. I had hope that maybe we had missed some in town, but I could not count on hope.
A quick search of the kitchen rewarded me with a funnel, and four solid sharp knives. They were plain with only simple wooden handles, but they came to a nice point and were not too badly worn. Then I grabbed the twine from our pile of supplies along with three broomsticks and a wooden mop handle I found in a janitor's closet.
In total, my errand took me ten minutes, and I returned to find the pot sitting atop the fire. I tossed the wooden rods on the ground, and then I went around and handed each of the women a knife.
“Going forward we must be ready for any situation.” I said as I took a seat, pulled up a broomstick, and pulled my own knife. “That means being armed. I would prefer to give everyone a gun and teach you to use them. Though until that can be done each of you will make a spear. A spear is a brutal weapon and an excellent hunting tool.”
I tossed my broomstick to Anna. She looked at it, and the knife in her hand. “Alright, so what, we just tie the knife to the end of the stick?”
“Not quite,” I said. “You want to start by taking a chunk from the top of the shaft. That will work like a shelf to help you attach the knife.” They looked at me like my words were in another language, and I realized that I wasn’t explaining this well. I picked up another of the handles and tried to make a pattern of sorts to better demonstrate.
“Alright, let me try this again,” I said and then I carved an L shape onto the stick that started at the tip, and ran down the middle about three inches before cutting over to the right. “Okay, you want to remove a piece like this. Keep in mind that it doesn’t need to be perfectly symmetrical or anything.”
Paige picked up a handle of her own and looked it over. “You could have just said to remove a portion of one side about the size of the knife handle.”
“Yeah, I guess I could have,” I laughed. “Make sense now?”
“Thanks to Paige, yeah,” Bailey giggled, then she smiled at me and grabbed one of the remaining handles. “So how do we make this shelf then?”
“Use your knives,” I said as I held up my own for emphasis. “I made sure they were all sharp. Once you have that shelf cut out, we will work on lashing the knife onto the shaft.”
I took a seat and made it my duty to watch the pot until the water boiled. “Be careful as you work. Make sure you have enough room around you to avoid the others and always cut away from yourself. The most important thing to think about is not getting hurt. So, don’t get hurt.”
They chopped and scraped as they started to work on the handles for their spears. Things were silent for a few minutes as the ladies worked. The water began to boil but I let it sit. I always preferred to be on the safe side of things and at about the three minute mark I pulled my shirt sleeves over my hands and used them like over mits to help me remove the pot from the fire.
“Fuck!” Bailey cried. Her knife sat in the grass, and she stood, one hand clutching the other, as blood dripped onto the ground. Everyone dropped what they were doing and went to her. She held her right hand closed as it continued to bleed. Tears rolled down her face as she looked to me. “I didn’t mean to mess up.”
“It’s okay,” I said as I tried to take her hand gently. “You have to let me look.” She squeezed her eyes shut and looked but nodded and she let out a small whimper.
I gently pulled her fingers open but her palm was too covered in blood for me to see the wound. I pulled out my water and poured some of it on the injured hand.
Bailey yelped and tried to pull away but I kept a firm hold on her. The water washed away the blood and revealed a gash across her palm.
“I’m sorry, Tav,” the hippie-blonde said. “I know you said to be careful, but--”
“It’s okay,” I whispered gently. I knew that yelling at her wouldn’t help. She felt the pain of the cut and the embarrassment of messing up already.
“That doesn’t look so bad,” Paige said from her place beside me, and she adjusted her glasses and leaned in for a closer look. “It doesn’t look very deep. I don’t think I even need to stitch it up. We can just disinfect it and keep it bandaged until it heals.”
“Really?” Bailey asked as she opened one eye.
Paige gave her a deep and genuine smile before nodding. “Really.”
“You, like, know how to stitch people up?” Tara asked, surprised. She looked at the petite brunette with one eyebrow raised.
The cute bookworm nodded and pulled Bailey’s hand out of my grasp. “Yeah, it’s pretty simple, really.”
“Oh, well, like, thanks for taking care of us Nurse Paige,” Tara said with a smirk.
Anna also smiled at the title.
“Sure,” Paige said skeptically. She looked over to me. “Can I take her to the dorms and get this cleaned up? Shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.”
“Of course,” I replied as I stepped to the side.
Bailey sniffled and pushed in close to Paige. “Thanks,” the blonde hippie chick said with a quiet voice. They headed for the dorm, so the rest of us returned to making spears.
Paige and Bailey returned together a short time later. Bailey’s hand was wrapped in fresh white bandages, and a smile had returned to her face.
“Welcome back,” Anna said.
“Nurse Paige, like, all fixed up?” Tara asked.
Bailey nodded and took a seat. Anna handed her a spear handle with the shelf already cut out for the knife.
“Oh, thanks. You guys got done quickly,” Bailey said.
“Tav helped a bit,” Anna admitted. “Wouldn’t you know but the guy is good with a knife?” She grinned and gave me a smile.
“Well then what’s next?” Paige asked as she picked up her own, completed, handle. She turned it over in her hands and studied the work.
“Next we attach the knives,” I said as I pulled out the spool of twine. The ragged sting was not the strongest choice, but it was our most plentiful supply of thin material. It would have to do until we could find a stronger substitute. Plus, if we used it properly it should hold for a while. “Take your knives and place them into the shelf. Next you are going to want to take some twine and start to wrap it around the two pieces. I cannot stress enough how important it is that you keep the twine tight during this process. This wrap is going to be what keeps the blade on the handle and really give the whole weapon its strength. Start at one end, wrap it all the way down to the other, and then do a second wrap so that you end up where you started.”
The girls started to pass around the twine as I talked. Each one in turn cut a length of twine. They then began to wrap their spears as I watched them. Tara struggled as the rough rope bit into her soft hands, but she fought through the pain and kept pressure on the line as she slowly bound the two parts together.
In the time it took them to finish their spears I had boiled another ten gallons of water. The massive pot Bailey had found was perfect for this job as it could hold almost an entire jug of water in it. After the water boiled, I would let it cool a few minutes and then, with the help of the funnel, I filled the jug once more.
“Done,” Paige said as she triumphantly raised her weapon.
I walked over and took the spear from her. The wrap and the knot were good. I pulled, carefully, on the blade but it didn’t shift or pull away from the handle. “It looks good,” I said as I handed it back.
It didn’t take long before all of them had their own spears completed. One by one they presented me with their handmade spears so that I might check their construction.
I took a step back and crossed my arms over my chest as I took a moment to admire the women standing in front of me.
“You look good,” I said as I grinned at the four of them.
“I know,” Tara said with a wink.
“Hey, for once the statement was not directed at just you.” Anna smirked and slugged the blonde-model lightly in the arm.
“Thanks,” said the messy haired brunette as she smiled, blushed and looked away.
We filled the afternoon with more preparation. We started by making firestarters using paper, the half a dozen empty egg cartons found in the kitchen, and candles. We crumpled the paper into small balls, put them into the divots in the egg cartons before pouring hot wax into the divot to seal it all together.
By dinner we were stocked with many gallons of fresh and boiled water. Everything felt better just on that fact alone. In fact as we all sat down with our freshly warmed cans of beans everyone looked content.
“Can’t believe it’s only been a day,” Anna said as she shoved a bite of beans into her mouth.
“I can’t believe that you ever doubted having Tav around was a good idea,” Paige responded.
“I am just, sooo glad he is here now,” Tara said as she sucked suggestively on her spoon.
“We all are,” the blond-haired hippie added.
“I’m glad,” I said as I stood and stretched. “It’s getting late, we should start heading for the dorms.”
“Go on ahead. I’ll take care of the fire,” Rolly said.
“Thank you,” I said as I grabbed one of the water jugs.
The rest of us hoofed it back to the dorms, dropped off the water, and headed for the second floor.
“Thanks for today,” Bailey said as we stepped into the common room.
“Yeah, it feels like we might actually make it through this,” Anna added.
“We will,” I assured them. “Now get some rest, we have lots of early mornings ahead of us.”
I broke from the group and started for my dorm room but stopped as I noticed a piano that sat in the corner. Holding a lighter out for light I approached and pulled open the top. A smile split my face as I looked at the intact interior. As I stared at the many wires, I knew what our plan tomorrow now was.
“Anyone know how to play this?” I asked as I closed the top and turned back to the girls who were already getting ready for bed.
“I, totes do,” Tara said as she pulled off her tank top. Her large, perfect, breasts tried to bounce free of her lacy black bra with each step she took towards me.
“Really?” Paige asked as she let down her mess of brown hair.
Tara giggled and hopped past me before playing a classical melody on the piano’s ivory keys.
“Well looks like we are keeping the piano then,” I said with a nod.
“Alright, I’m impressed,” the sporty redhead said.
“I had a very good teacher or whatev’,” Tara said before she bent into a deep bow.
“How come you never told us?” Bailey asked as she snuggled into her bed.
“No one ever asked,” Tara said with a shrug.
“Well, I think the coming days we will need a concert,” I said.
“I totally do private shows too,” the platinum blond said as she leaned in towards me.
“Have a good teacher for that too?” Anna asked.
“Self-taught. I feel like I could probably use some more practice,” Tara purred as she stared into my eyes.
After the months alone in the forest, my hormones were on fire with how forward she was, and I wished I could just pick her up and carry her off to my room.
“Maybe someday,” I said as I chuckled and stepped away.
“Soon?” Tara raised an eyebrow.
“You know we’re standing right here?” Anna scoffed.
“I’m not talking to you, red,” Tara laughed as she waved her hand over her shoulder. “I’m talking to Tav…”
“Uhh, I really need to focus on the survival stuff first,” I said, but it was probably just because Anna was standing right there. If she wasn’t, I probably would have pulled Tara into my room and fucked her brains out.
But then again, working was what the Rangers did best. We worked before we played. Hell, we were a little different than most special forces. Rangers worked, then we worked some more, then we worked a bit more, then we thought about playing, but then just decided to work until we forgot about playing.
“I don’t like to be kept waiting long,” Tara purred.
“Wow, so that was a thing,” Anna said with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah… I probably could have done without seeing that,” Paige added with a groan, but I could see her face turn red.
Bailey giggled and shook her head.
“Omg guys, don’t worry, I was just, like, being a tease,” Tara said.
“Alright guys, let's get some sleep. Tomorrow is a big day,” I said with a laugh.
“Why, what’s tomorrow?” Paige asked as she took off her glasses.
“Tomorrow we go on our first hunting trip,” I answered with a grin.
Chapter 6
The next day I woke before the sun came up. I grabbed my backpack, my vest, and the rifle before I crept into the hall. It was quiet and dim as only the faintest bit of light had started to brighten the world. I made my way quietly though the common room, and down the stairs.
