Home Coming (The Survivalist Book 10) by A. American (ebook reader .TXT) 📕

lot of cattle. It’s a major producer of dairy and beef. My dad owned a butcher shop when I was a kid and I learned how to cut working for him.”

“We could really use your help then,” Thad said. “We’ve got two cows to cut up and get smoked. Gonna be a lot of work.”

“No problem. Let’s go.”

“What about us?” Mike asked.

“What about you?” Perez replied.

“You need our help?”

Ted slapped Mike’s arm. “We can’t. We have something else to do.”

With genuine curiosity, Mike asked, “What?”

Ted shook his head and wiped his face. “Come on. I’ll fill you in.”

“I don’t remember anything. What do we have to do?”

Frustrated, Ted pulled Mike over and whispered in his ear. A smile spread over Mike’s face and he blurted out, “Hell yeah!” Then he looked at Perez and said, “I forgot about this. Sorry, you boys are on your own.”

Thad eyed the two suspiciously. “What have you two got to do that’s so important?”

As Mike and Ted turned to leave, Mike waved the question off. “Nothing you need to worry about. We’ll take care of it.”

As they walked away, Perez said, “They’ve got shit to do. Those fuckers are up to no good.”

Thad laughed. “Probably, but I’d rather not be around it when it happens.”

Perez lit a cigarette and pointed at Thad with it, “Good point, amigo.”

Perez tossed his gear into the bed of the truck and the two got in and headed for town. As they were driving towards the county road, they passed Jess and Doc. Jess waved and Thad stopped. Leaning on the top of the door, Jess asked, “What are you two up to?”

“Going to town to help with the beef Dave is giving them,” Thad replied.

“Hey,” Doc said, “can we come with you? I can go check in at the clinic and help out for a while.”

“Sure, hop in.”

Jess and Doc walked around to the back of the truck and climbed up into the bed. As they were sitting down, Jess said, “I’m not going back in there. I’ll help with the beef.”

Doc smiled as the truck started to move. “No problem. You help them with the beef.”

She nodded, “I don’t mind seeing animals cut up. How do you get used to seeing people in that condition?”

“You just get used to it. It’s a problem and I approach it like one. What do I have to do to keep this person alive? Wounds are just defects that give me an idea of what’s going on inside. You just address the issues in order and work your way down.”

Jess shivered, “I still don’t like it.”

“Inside of a person is like the inside of any other animal. We’re all made from the same shit for the most part.”

“Yeah, well maybe. But I don’t eat people.”

Doc laughed, “Not yet.”

Jess slapped his arm, “Not ever!”

They found Cecil at the school. The center of activity in Eustis had moved away from the lake and downtown out to the school. That’s where the wounded were and that’s where most people moved to after the rocket attack. No one wanted to be near downtown where the reminders of that day were everywhere.

Cecil had a large smoker hooked to the tractor and was trying to position it under a covered walkway. Getting out of the truck, Thad walked over to help guide it into position. Doc gave Jess a kiss and told her he’d be in the gym if she needed anything and he left. Once the smoker was in position, Cecil shut the tractor down and climbed off.

“Some shade will make this more bearable,” he said.

“I agree,” Thad said. Then he pointed at Perez and Jess and added, “I brought help.”

Smiling, Cecil replied. “Good. We’re going to need it!”

He walked over to a pallet sitting in the shade of the walkway and pulled back a piece of heavy canvas. “Cause we’ve got lots of work to do!”

Perez looked around. “We need some tables.”

Pointing at a door, Cecil replied. “They’re in there. Already thought about it.”

They worked together to set up the tables, then the three of them wrestled a side of beef up onto one, then another. Cecil went back in the building and came out with a large water keg and set it on the end of the table as well. “Water, so we can clean up.”

“Good idea. I was wondering about it.” Thad said. Looking at the smoker, he added, “I’ll get a fire lit.”

Cecil looked at Perez and asked, “You ever butcher a cow before?”

Perez slapped the piece of meat and replied, “Many times. But most of the hard work’s already done. All we have to do it section it out.”

Cecil nodded. “Yep. So, let’s get to cutting.”

“What are we going to do with the bones?” Jess asked.

“I don’t know, why?” Cecil asked.

“We should crack them open and make bone broth. Kay makes it for Fred when she has morning sickness. She says it’s super good for you, something about it being easy to digest. We should make broth out of it for the wounded people inside. Some of them can’t eat solid food.”

“That’s a fine idea,” Cecil said. “I’ve got a big kettle at the house. Let me run get it and I’ll bring it back. If you want to tend it, we can be making the broth and smoking meat at the same time.”

“Sure, I’ll do it,” Jess replied.

Cecil rode the tractor back to his house and returned with a kettle an Army mess cook would appreciate. Jess went to work looking for firewood while the guys went to work cutting up the beef. But firewood isn’t very plentiful on a school campus.

“Thad, I’m going to take the truck so I can find some wood; there’s none around here.”

“Miss Jess, I’ve got wood here. You don’t need to go look for any,” Cecil replied.

“I figured that was for the smoker. Keeping a fire going to make the broth will take a lot of wood. You think you have enough?”

Cecil looked at