Second Chances Read Online Free Page B
Author: Chris Hechtl
shivering and nearly freezing to death. I think in the fable he did die. But in the toon the ants took pity on him and brought him in. They had a party, and he entertained them as the jester. He sang a song about learning his lesson.”
“Interesting,” Eric said noncommittally. They looked to the others around them.
“Yeah, hopefully they wake up before it's too late. We're going to need food. Right now we've got plenty of energy from the food we've got, the medicine, gear. But eventually it will all run out.”
Carlene snapped her fingers. “Three pigs. One built his house of straw, sticks...,” Carlene said. “A story about building right and planning for the future. We need to do that too, keep an eye on that.”
“Who's the big bad wolf?” Trisha asked.
“Are you kidding me?” Carlene asked with a chuckle, pointing to John's wolf.
“Hanuk?” John asked, looking over his shoulder. Hanuk was busy in a good shoulder roll, getting dirty and apparently loving it. “He's fine. No, for the record, the wolves are dinos and aliens out there,” he said pointing to the great outdoors beyond the walls. “We better be ready when they come huffing and puffing. A log cabin won't cut it,” he said, shaking his head.
“A tree fort like in ‘Land of the Lost’? Or a fort like ‘Terra Nova’?” Trisha asked. She frowned. “Adam and I have horses. That won't work for us,” she said.
“No, I don't think we can do either. A tree fort just puts us in handy bite zone. Pass,” Eric said, shaking his head as well. “The fort sounds good. We can work on that.”
“Electric fences. We'll need clear fields of fire,” John said. Eric nodded. “But no one is going to listen now. They are too wrapped up in their own little worlds. We need to get them settled, then get them working together as a community on the bigger picture,” he said.
“Good idea,” Eric said as the others gave John a long look. John shrugged. “I'll make the rounds. You girls talk to the other ladies, make connections.” He looked at John. “It'd help if we got the basics going though and someone set a good example.”
“I'll see what I can do,” John said. Eric nodded, eying him. John nodded back as the group broke up. He pitched in when he was asked by the horse breeders.
He helped other people with animals work out a better temporary corral for their small herd of horses and donkey. There was a goat and a couple more chickens. They parked vehicles around them and used an awning as a temporary barn. One of John's shipping containers made a nice handy wall for one part of the corral. “It's not enough,” the young woman said, shaking her head. She took her cowboy hat off and dusted her jeans off with the rim. He knew her name was Trisha Southby. He knew she was married, but he also knew she was a bit of a pain in the ass. Bossy too, which was probably why her husband had taken off to avoid the heavy labor. He liked how she fit in her jeans and shirt, but she was a strictly hands-off lady.
“Hell lady, it's a start. We'll improve it as we go. Same for everything else around here,” John said, wiping sweat from his brow. He was starting to regret volunteering to help people.
“Yeah, but what about grass and water? They'll need fodder,” she said, looking at the animals.
“We'll figure it out,” John said. “One step at a time,” he sighed, rubbing the small of his aching back. He noted her husband was giving him a dark look, so he left them to their own devices and animals.
He checked his dogs and the birds over, everything looked well. He'd bought chickens and other farm animals, but a few were missing. The hawks were okay though. He put a lock on the chicken coop. It was all he could do for now, he thought. He fed the other animals, then checked the dogs over, going through the ritual of playing and checking them to make sure each were okay. Each was staked out around the perimeter of his gear to protect it. When all
“Interesting,” Eric said noncommittally. They looked to the others around them.
“Yeah, hopefully they wake up before it's too late. We're going to need food. Right now we've got plenty of energy from the food we've got, the medicine, gear. But eventually it will all run out.”
Carlene snapped her fingers. “Three pigs. One built his house of straw, sticks...,” Carlene said. “A story about building right and planning for the future. We need to do that too, keep an eye on that.”
“Who's the big bad wolf?” Trisha asked.
“Are you kidding me?” Carlene asked with a chuckle, pointing to John's wolf.
“Hanuk?” John asked, looking over his shoulder. Hanuk was busy in a good shoulder roll, getting dirty and apparently loving it. “He's fine. No, for the record, the wolves are dinos and aliens out there,” he said pointing to the great outdoors beyond the walls. “We better be ready when they come huffing and puffing. A log cabin won't cut it,” he said, shaking his head.
“A tree fort like in ‘Land of the Lost’? Or a fort like ‘Terra Nova’?” Trisha asked. She frowned. “Adam and I have horses. That won't work for us,” she said.
“No, I don't think we can do either. A tree fort just puts us in handy bite zone. Pass,” Eric said, shaking his head as well. “The fort sounds good. We can work on that.”
“Electric fences. We'll need clear fields of fire,” John said. Eric nodded. “But no one is going to listen now. They are too wrapped up in their own little worlds. We need to get them settled, then get them working together as a community on the bigger picture,” he said.
“Good idea,” Eric said as the others gave John a long look. John shrugged. “I'll make the rounds. You girls talk to the other ladies, make connections.” He looked at John. “It'd help if we got the basics going though and someone set a good example.”
“I'll see what I can do,” John said. Eric nodded, eying him. John nodded back as the group broke up. He pitched in when he was asked by the horse breeders.
He helped other people with animals work out a better temporary corral for their small herd of horses and donkey. There was a goat and a couple more chickens. They parked vehicles around them and used an awning as a temporary barn. One of John's shipping containers made a nice handy wall for one part of the corral. “It's not enough,” the young woman said, shaking her head. She took her cowboy hat off and dusted her jeans off with the rim. He knew her name was Trisha Southby. He knew she was married, but he also knew she was a bit of a pain in the ass. Bossy too, which was probably why her husband had taken off to avoid the heavy labor. He liked how she fit in her jeans and shirt, but she was a strictly hands-off lady.
“Hell lady, it's a start. We'll improve it as we go. Same for everything else around here,” John said, wiping sweat from his brow. He was starting to regret volunteering to help people.
“Yeah, but what about grass and water? They'll need fodder,” she said, looking at the animals.
“We'll figure it out,” John said. “One step at a time,” he sighed, rubbing the small of his aching back. He noted her husband was giving him a dark look, so he left them to their own devices and animals.
He checked his dogs and the birds over, everything looked well. He'd bought chickens and other farm animals, but a few were missing. The hawks were okay though. He put a lock on the chicken coop. It was all he could do for now, he thought. He fed the other animals, then checked the dogs over, going through the ritual of playing and checking them to make sure each were okay. Each was staked out around the perimeter of his gear to protect it. When all