Najia sipped her coffee outside, watching as her grandfather packed his beloved rifle safely on the gun rack in the back of the truck.
"If all goes well," he said, his hand on the driver's side door, "we should be back by tomorrow night."
"And if it doesn't go well?" Najia asked, sipping from her mug. The morning was hot and muggy already, but the coffee was refreshing.
"Just make sure you get my gun back." John smiled at his granddaughter.
Najia saluted him playfully. "Yessir."
"Well," John called. "Let's go, boys."
Harvey, Gil, and Marlon followed him into the truck. Marlon and Gil squeezed into the tight back seat, their arms hanging out the back windows. John winked to Najia as they drove down the dirt path and disappeared into the dark tunnel.
When they were gone, Najia made her way back to the community center. She found Leah waiting for her outside.
"Going out to chop some wood?" Najia asked her.
Leah shook her head. "They've got enough guys out there," she said. "Figured I'd let them feel manly and spend the day with you. You're more fun, anyway."
They walked side by side towards the farm where work on the crops was just beginning. Marnie greeted them as they approached. She wiped at her already sweaty forehead with her dirty hands. Her hair was tied back in a messy bun, locks of curly hair bouncing in her face.
"What can we do?" Najia asked her.
"Well," Marnie began. "Fall is just around the corner, believe it or not with this heat." She sighed. "Most of the crops are ready to be harvested now. We need to get all these fields harvested before the first frost comes. At this rate, it might be a while, but can't take any chances in the valley. Temps could drop over night." She pointed to a large shed beside John's cabin. "There are baskets and wheelbarrows in there. And," she turned, pointing to the southern most field near the forest, "I'd start harvesting over there. We've got the other fields covered."
Najia and Leah set to work immediately. They dragged two wheelbarrows out of the shed and brought them across the farm to the southern field.
"So," Leah said, her hands on her hips. "How should we do this?"
The fields were sectioned off throughout the farm, growing blueberries, melons, peppers, cabbages, tomatoes, radishes, and wheat. The southern field was filled with rows and rows of corn.
"I guess we'll just each take a row," Najia suggested. "And start picking."
They set to work, going stalk by stalk, picking the corn and working their way down each row, side by side. In the distance, they could hear the chain saws roaring as trees were sawed into for building material. The tree cracked loudly and landed a moment later with a thud.
Leah winced. "I hope they don't clear out that whole forest," she said. "It's so quiet and peaceful."
"It seems pretty dense," Najia reminded her. "And I don't think we want to be stuck in tents when winter settles in, or crammed in the same building together."
"I guess you're right," Leah said with a sigh.
They continued to work through the rest of the morning, stopping only when Marnie came to them with sandwiches.
"It's not much," she said, "but you girls deserve a lunch break."
They thanked her and eagerly too the sandwiches.
"I was thinking we could make up some shifts," Marnie suggested. "Swap everyone between jobs. Figured I'd give you a break here with the fields and you could help us prep for dinner. We have a big crew, now, which means I can't just throw some shit together for myself and Jas."
Najia nodded. "Just tell us what to do."
They followed Marnie to the community center and into the large, make-shift kitchen. Along the wall were saw horses with planks across them, acting as counter space. A large fridge stood in one corner next to a large pantry. In the doorless cabinets were various plastic essentials, from plates and bowls to cups and pitchers, along with rows of jars in all shapes and sizes.
"Electricity is obviously hard to come by," Marnie said as she showed them the refrigerator. It hummed quietly. Inside were carefully packaged eggs by the dozens and various vegetables from an earlier harvest. "But we were fortunate enough to come across some solar panels. Just enough to run the fridge here, which allows us to keep things preserved a little longer, especially in these warm months." She opened the pantry where most of the dry goods were kept. Various spices, some with labels that were clearly taken from various grocery stores. Flour, sugar, and coffee in bulk, along with dehydrated creamers. But what filled the pantry were the various canned goods that were taken from grocery stores over time, including boxes of pasta, sauces, and boxed mashed potatoes.
"I'm not planning on making a three course meal," Marnie said. "There's enough work to be done every day. We can survive on small, simple meals. Especially if it means I don't have to slave in the kitchen all afternoon to get it done. No need to make things any harder than they already are." She turned to them smiling, her hands on her hips. "So, whadda ya say? Shall we throw something together?"
"You're the boss," Leah said. "What are we making?"
"I was thinking some home made soup," Marnie said. She opened the pantry and began taking out cans of soup. "We'll tell 'em we slaved all day preparing this."
"This will take us a half hour, tops," Leah said as she looked over the cans of soup. "All that needs to be done is warming it up."
But Marnie wasn't finished. She pulled out an unopened bottle of whine and fished through a basket on the counter for a corkscrew. She popped the cork off the bottle and took a swig.
"Like I said; we slaved all day." She passed the bottle to Leah. "No one has to know," she said with a wink.