Chapter 3: The Calm Before The Storm

It was something that Mimi never thought that she'd get used to, rising with the sun. But here she was, making breakfast while her husband was outside feeding their livestalk. He normally would have waited an hour, but a bunch of their neighbors were coming to help them plant this season's crops. While the government of Cheyenne has not raised their head yet, they knew that there was the possibility, with the upcoming Civil War that they all knew was coming, that they would have to raise their own food. They could not rely on this new government to provide them with the food that the town would need to make it through the winter.

They were taking precautions, stock piling food for the people in town, buying more livestalk, and growing the food that would provide for both the people and the livestalk. It was a good thing that they had put the wind turbines in storage when the Cheyenne government restored the power in town. Major Beck had declaired that he no longer recognized the Cheyenne government, but the people in town were still wary of him and his men. If food was scarce in the upcoming winter, the town residence would not risk going hungry for the soldiers.

So, after a week of removing the first 18 inches of soil off the fields in town, there was a major group effort to grow wheat, corn, and potatoes in mass. They also assigned people with back yards to build green houses to grow vegtebles like Carrotts, Celery, Lettice, and other vegtibles continuously once the weather got cold. They had to survive, and they didn't want to depend on a government that was resposible for destroying their civil liberties.

Today they were starting to plant as much Corn as could fit in Stanley's fields. Mimi was prowd, because she started growing tomatoes and peas in the green house that Stanley had built as a wedding present. She had taught herself to cook in ways that she never thought that she would have to, before the September Attacks. They all knew that bad times were on the horizon. They were insurectionists.

"Good morning honey." Stanley said, with a sweet kiss to her neck. He was behind her as she was at the stove, "What's for breakfast?"

"Oatmeal and Raisins."

"Yum, and the oatmeal looks good too."

Mimi blushed, "Stanley! We can't, they're going to be here soon!"

"They can wait," Stanley whispered as he chewed lightly on her ear. "I..."

A knock interupted what he was going to wait, "Stanley, Mimi, we're here!" That was Mrs. Green, who walked in seeing the two newlyweds, she smiled, "I hope that I'm not interupting anything."

Mimi smiled back, "I was just trying to convince my husband here that sex has to wait until the corn is planted!"

"Mimi!" Stanley said blushing, not wanting to talk about s-e-x in front of his mother-figure. "Want some oatmeal?" He asked, changing the subject.

Stanley looked over the field that would provide for his family. This fall they would be harvesting 25 more corn than they had last year, and that would help the town keep from starving, and keep his own precious family from starving as well.

After he lost his parents he wanted to die along with them, but he had to take care of Bonnie. When Bonnie was gone, he was reminded for the second time in his life how precious and fragile life was. He knew that he would stand between danger and the two precious individuals that he now lived for, his wife, and the unborn child that he loved even though he had never met it. That was why he worked so hard, why if or when the time came when the Cheyenne government came for them, he would fight for them, to protect their lives and their lively hood.

And he knew that he wasn't alone. People from town, people he had known all is life, and newcomers like Major Beck had all helped to plant in a day what would have taken him weeks to do on his own. And when the day came when they had to stand between the innocent and the evil, he knew that he would.

Mimi smiled. Most of the people had gone home after the planting was done, but Mrs. Green, Eric, Emily and Mary had stayed for dinner that she and Mary had spent much of the afternoon preparing. When they had taken the power, it slowed the cooking process. She was chatting with Emily about her class, when she turned to her husband to ask him if he wanted any more food, but he was sound asleep, his head having barely missed his plate.

TBC...