Hollow World Book 2 Chapter 32

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 The mood on the trip back home was marred by the thick cloud of smoke that hung in the air but when they were finally within sight of the ranch, they all breathed a collective sigh of relief that it was still standing. 

Kyle was disappointed by the lack of Reeses Pieces in the returning groups stash, but perked up when Peter handed him a new, blue windbreaker.  “Try that on.”

Kyle did, squeeling in delight when he pulled a Slim Jim out of the pocket.  He tore the package open and bit into it, running off to find his mother to show her his new jacket.

Amy smiled as she helped Peter bring in the last of their haul, dumping the clothes in the middle of the living room and separating the other spoils into neat piles, one for toiletries, one for medicine, and one for food.

Jud walked in from rubbing down the horses and handed his binoculars to Peter.  “I want you to take
these, I think they may do you more good then they’d do me.”

“You sure?”  Peter took them hesitantly.

Jud nodded before walking off to find Aubrey.  “Honey!”

Zach walked in to the room, passing his father.  “Hey dad, good to see you made it back safe.”

“Thanks, it was pretty uneventful, it’s pretty desolate out there still.”

“Did you see the smoke?”  Zach asked.

“Yeah, at first we thought it was this place.”  Amy said.

“Nah, I haven’t managed to burn it down yet!”  Zach smiled, looking over his shoulder at his father, who just laughed before calling for his wife again.

“What is it dear?”  Aubrey came out of the master bedroom, a pair of knitting needles in her hands. 

“I just wanted to let you know we were home.”  He reached into his pocket and withdrew a thin gold chain.  “I brought you this!”  He handed the heart-shaped locket to his wife.

“Oh it’s beautiful!”  She held the necklace out at arms length.  “But we have no where to get dressed up and go Jud.”

Jud sighed.  “I know, but I saw it and it reminded me of you… I just thought…”

“It’s lovely, thank you.”  Clasping the locket tightly in her right hand, she kissed him on the cheek.  “So, are you guys still planning on leaving in the morning?”  She asked, looking into the room.

Peter glanced around the room, Zach nodded, as did Amy.  “Yeah, I think so, is there anything you guys need before we get out of here?”

“No, I think we’re good.  We should have have something special for dinner.  Last home made meal you guys will have for a while.”  Jud responded before looking at his wife.

“Sounds good.”  Peter said. 

Zach looked at his mother before adding “You sure we can’t convince you to come along?”

“No, we’re settled here.”  Aubrey said.  “I’m glad you offered a big meal dear, I already have one cooking!”

Zach, Peter, and Amy busied themselves sorting the clothes into piles for everyone to try on while they waited for the meal.  Dinne, a large, tough turkey filled with home made dressing and accompanied by canned cranberry sauce, was followed by an impromptu fashion show as everyone tried on their new clothes.  The group spent the night laughing and enjoying each others company.  Finally, Julie excused herself, lifting Kyle’s sleeping body onto her shoulder.  Sarah followed suit soon after, with Aubrey and Jud turning in a few minutes later.

“I’m worried about this war.”  Brian said, drinking the last of the wine that Jud had said he had been saving for a special occasion.

“Why.  ‘It’s coming!’”  Zach forced a hoarse laugh.

“That’s what I’m worried about.”

“There’ll be plenty of time for worry on the road, you guys should get some sleep.  I am.”  Peter told his friends as he stood, downing the last sip of his own wine.

“He’s right you know,”  Amy said after Peter had left.  “If it really is coming, we can’t stop that.  We just need to be prepared.”  She cast a glance towards Zach, who nodded.  “I’m out too.  Don’t stay up too late guys.”

Zach stared into the fireplace for a few minutes, silently, before declaring that he too was going to bed.  Left alone, Brian grabbed Chris’ old guitar and began to pluck at it absently.  It was not until he put it down and walked off to his own bed that he realized that he had been playing “The end of the world as we know it.”

Once he lay down, sleep came quickly to Brian.  When he was shaken awake in the morning by Zach, he caught glimpses of his fleeting dreams, a half fallen building, leaning against another tall building.  He remembered running, but could not discern from what.

“Come on, we’re almost ready.”  Zach said.  Brian got himself dressed in a pair of his new jeans, pulling on a sweater and his winter coat before joining everyone else, who were sitting around a fire on the porch.

“Here,”  Aubrey handed him a cup of coffee.

“We’re taking some of this with us, right?”  He asked after taking a sip.

“We’ve got a five pound bag.  Hopefully we’ll find a Starbucks or something that hasn’t been touched.”  Peter said.  “Get some oatmeal, I want to be on the move soon.”

Brian dipped himself a bowl of oatmeal and ate it slowly, trying to remember more of his dream but failing.

Once everyone was done eating, Peter rose and offered his hand to Jud.  “This is your last chance.”  He offered.

“Thank you, but we’re staying.’  Jud said, taking the offered hand before pulling Peter closer to him. 
“You take care of my son now, you hear me?” 

“Yes sir, thank you for all you’ve given us.  I hope we’ll make it back here in time to enjoy some of your harvest.”  Peter said, nodding, before hugging Aubrey.  “Thank you.”

Brian was next, shaking Jud’s hand and nodding awkwardly towards Aubrey. 

Kyle ran up and embraced both of Aubrey leg’s, almost knocking her over had it not been for her husband’s support.  She tousled the boy’s hair and told him that she’d miss him before kissing his forehead.  Jud knelt down and gave the boy a hug of his own.  “Tell your dad hi for me.”  The old man smiled as he stood and hugged Julie.  “You look after him.”

“I will.”  Julie kissed Jud’s cheek.

Sarah followed Julie, then Amy, each hugging the older couple and wishing them well.  As Amy turned back to the rest of the group, she caught Zach trying to hide a handkerchief as he wiped a tear out of the corner of his eyes.

“Come on, lets give them a minute or two,”  Amy said, taking Peter by the elbow and directing him to where the carts waited.

“Dad,”  Zach said.  “Thank you, I wish you’d reconsider.”

Jud made to reply but Zach stopped him.  “I know.  I even get it.  I’ve just, I’ve just enjoyed our time together.  I know I was not the best kid growing up…”

“I’m proud of the way you turned out, Zach.  Now don’t keep your friends waiting.” 

Zach clasped his fathers hand and then hugged him tight before turning to face his mother.  “Mom,”  Zach paused and dabbed at his face again.

Aubrey picked up her son’s hat and put the bowler atop his head, straightening it with both hands before leaning in and kissing his cheek.  “Take care Zach.  I love you.”

Turning, Zach walked down the steps to where his companions waited.  Joining them as they began to push and pull their belongs westward.

They had only gotten a few steps when Jud called to him.  “Zach,  I expect your ass to be here to help me with the harvest, do you hear me?”

“Yes dad,” he smiled as he pulled the hat down farther onto his head, running his index finger and thumb along it’s rim.

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Hollow World Book 2 Chapter 31

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“Where are we?”  Graham asked again through clenched teeth.

“I told you.  Somewhere we can talk.  In private.”  The Pennyman smiled, sitting down in the snow.

“Not here!”  Despite the fire in his eyes, Graham’s teeth chattered.

“Then I will be seeing you…”  The Pennyman stood, back to his uncle, and took a step.

As he began to fade, Graham called out.  “Wait!”  Immediately the Pennyman’s form came into focus and he again sat down in the snow, smiling up at his uncle.

“This was not part of the deal!”  Graham towered over his nephew, peering down his badly weather-scarred nose.

“Neither was this wonton destruction.  Besides, if you want to win this war, you need to stop wasting your soldiers.”

“Bah!  What are a few of these mortals?  They matter not to me.  I have thousands more.”

“And that is all you have.  You have no more souls left.  And neither do your brothers and sisters.”

“You think we do not know this?  We were Gods, and our followers have been reborn, and we will be Gods again!”  Graham was seething with anger.  “Are you turning your back on your father?  On your family?”

The Pennyman smiled as he stood.  “On my family?  No.  It is you who have turned your backs.  On
your followers.  Know this…”  He grabbed Graham and pulled him close, their noses touching.  “I helped you out as a favor to my mother.  My task now is to return our charges back to the underworld.  Be careful lest I forget some of yours, as you seem to have done.”  Grabbing ahold of Graham, the Pennyman strode forward, off the side of the cliff, both men disappearing into the wind and clouds
below.

“Son of a bitch!”  Graham shouted before realizing he was again standing amongst the burning ruins of his winter camp.  The grotesque head of his sacrifice lay at his feet, a small obol pressed between her lips.  He reached down, pocketing the coin and kicking the head into the nearby flames.  He listened to the crackle of the flames around him, reveling in the smell of smoke that filled his nostrils and the heat that chased the numbness from his hands.  Sufficiently warm, he made his way through the maze of fallen buildings until he came at last to the clearing where his soldiers had assembled.

His ranks, nearly fifteen hundred strong, stood as he approached, men, women, and children rising in a wave.  Graham climbed atop the hood of a wood paneled station wagon, it’s windshield smashed out.  “I have been promising you a war for some time now, even given you a taste of things to come.”  He shouted, waiting for the excited whispers to die down.  Waiting for the news to make it all the way to the back.  He could have just as easily spoke into the minds of each of the Others gathered before him, but it would not have reached everyone in his camp.  A week previous, a group of fifty-two men, who now stood front and center before him, had approached his camp and offered their services to the winner of the pending battle for supremacy.  They had brought their own weapons in addition to a stockpile of bullets that they had contributed to the army.  Graham smiled, his wind-worn lips cracking, before he continued.  “Today we begin our march towards that war.  Today we continue to reclaim what is rightfully ours.”

A shout went up from the men in front, the chains hanging from their belts rattling as they pumped their fists in the air. 

Graham raised his own hands, flat out, calming his new soldiers.  “The road will be long, and some… many of you may not make it to the end.  But those that fall will earn n honored place when I regain my throne.  Those that survive will live in my new paradise!”  This brought another cheer from the men in front, which quickly spread amongst the Others.  “Gather your belongings and make sure your supply carts are ready.  We march in an hour!”

He stood atop the car and watched as his soldiers bustled about.  The weapon carts that they had spent the winter months building were filled with spare guns and ammo.  The two cannons were inspected and declared worthy of travel, their firing teams standing silently by as four men took ahold of each cart, and began to trudge to their place in the column of soldiers that was forming. 

Satisfied that no further direction was needed for his army, Graham dropped down from the car and walked amongst his men, looking them over.  They were a ragtag group and he knew that he would need more if he was to win this war.  More guns, more supplies, and more men.

“Sir!”  His name was David Jenson, but his men all called him Davey Boy.  His jacket declared he was a member of the Gargoyles, or at least he had taken it from someone who was.  He was the most outspoken of their group and had become their leader of sorts, or at least the one that Graham had chosen to speak to.

Graham looked the man over, the black leather jacket hiding a dozen tattoos on his arms alone.  Two gold loops hung from his left ear beneath salt and pepper hair that was pulled tightly back into a ponytail that hung down to his shoulder blades. 

“Where are we going?  We will need supplies shortly.”  Davey asked.

Graham smiled.  “I know just the place, they will have plenty for us.”  And he thought to himself, both in food and weapons.

“Sir?”  Davey asked again, looking Graham squarely in the face.  He suppressed a shudder as he saw what he thought were the reflections of the still burning buildings in the man’s eyes.  He blinked and looked again, making out a new detail in the fire, a large Wal-Mart sign hung broken, a wall of cars lay trashed and on fire around it.

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Hollow World Book 2 Chapter 30

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Clink. Clink. Clink.

The air was filled with the crackle and pop of the wooden beams as the structures burned around him. The cacophony of the flames was accompanied periodically by a hiss as an occasional ember found it’s way into one of the few remaining piles of snow. Black smoke rose about him as ash and soot swirled around on the updrafts created by the flames.

It was not often that he had trouble locating the dead that called out to him, but, using a stick to sift through an already charred frame, he came up with nothing. He looked again and finally found a severed hand, the fingers clenched in a tight fist. The Pennyman threw the hand back into the ash and walked toward the next burning structure, where he felt another pull. A careful search there found a forearm, and then a leg. In the next pile he found another hand, and then a foot. And the other leg.

“Enough of these games.” The Pennyman spat.

A booming laughter answered him, echoing off of the few walls that still stood around him. “But you were just getting warmed up, nephew.” Graham stepped out from within the lone home that was not on fire a hundred feet from the Pennyman. He was holding the detached head of a black woman up by her long dreadlocks. He looked at the gruesome object, looking deep into it’s dead, staring eyes, before turning back to the Pennyman. “She kind of reminds me of someone, you must agree.”

The Pennyman grunted in reply, neither agreeing or disagreeing with his uncle. “What is this about?”

Again Graham laughed, a cold sound. “This?” He spread his arms, indicating the burning homes that surrounded them. “We were done with them.”

It was the Pennyman’s turn to laugh. It was a sound that neither man had heard in millennia. It came forth in a rasp at first, but like a stampede, gathered momentum. The flames closest to him flickered and seemed to dance away. “No, uncle. Not this.” The Pennyman mocked Graham, spreading his arms as his kin had done. “This.” Using two fingers, he first indicated Graham, and then himself.

Flames shown themselves in Graham’s crooked smile. “Ah… Yes. This. Let us just say we need to talk.”

”I am here. Now talk!”

“Oh no, not here, who knows who would hear, it would not do to have the mortals listening in.”

“I know just the place.” The Pennyman strode forward. One step, two, and he was no longer next to the burning buildings, but he was next to Graham. He grabbed a hold of his uncle, causing the surprised man to drop the disgusting reminder of what had called the Pennyman to this blaze, and dragged him along. One step, two steps.

They stood upon a ledge high atop a mountain, a thick layer of snow beneath them with more being deposited as the wind whipped about them.

“Where are we?” Graham demanded.

“Somewhere we can talk…” The laughter came more natural the second time, and echoed down the mountain, being lost below in the howling of the wind.

Clink. Clink. Clink.

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Hollow World Book 2 Chapter 29

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Evelyn had not said a single word to him in the three days since the man, now known to Sam as The Pennyman, had left her at the Bazaar. She followed him around and listened very well, doing everything he asked of her, but said nothing in response to his questions. She sat in the corner of his, no, their he corrected himself, cubicle, brushing her red hair, struggling with a tough knot.

“Come on then,” Sam said, digging through the duffle he kept most of his tradable goods in, pulling out the a pair of shaving cakes and one of the pair of scissors he had pilfered on his last trip into town. He took Evelyn by the hand and led her through the corridor of stalls. He was growing tired of the silence that proceeded them as people saw them walking, and even more weary of the whispers that followed them. Finally, gladly, he found the cubicle he was looking for. “Thomas, what’ll you give me for these?”

The grizzly looking man looked out from behind his blonde bangs and smiled, his yellowing teeth peeking through the shaggy mustache he sported. “For you Sam, I’ll give you a ten haircuts and 3 shaves.”

Sam peered at the barber, “Fifteen haircuts and half a dozen shaves…”

“How about an even dozen haircuts, and four shaves, beside, the beard suits you well.”

Sam reached up and rubbed the dark stubble that had begun to grace his chin. “Ok, you have time for one of those haircuts now?” He handed over the goods as Thomas removed an index card from a stack, signed his name to the top and drew twelve circles and four squares on it before handing it to Sam.

“Hold on to that.” Thomas smiled. “Give me fifteen minutes and I will, you want me to shave your head?” He chuckled to himself.

“Nah, it’s for Evelyn, do whatever she wants.”

For the first time, Thomas looked down at the small figure that stood hiding behind Sam’s legs. “Why hello!” He said, exaggerating the ‘o’.

She huddled even closer against Sam’s legs but managed a weak smile.

“Come on, let me see what I have to work with.”

Sam prodded her and she cautiously let go of his leg, stepping out from behind him.

“Oh, I know just the thing!” Thomas disappeared further into his area. Sam and Evelyn heard the rustling of papers before Thomas returned minutes later with a picture of Taylor Swift. Her eyes lit up and she nodded vigorously.

The time passed slowly as Thomas tidied up his work area before he finally invited Evelyn to have a seat. He began to run his hands through her hair before turning to Sam, incredulous. “When was the last time her hair was washed?”

Sam shrugged. “Not in the last three days...”

Thomas let out a disgusted sigh. “Come on honey, let’s do this right.” He took her hand and tried to lead her through the building, but she resisted, looking to Sam, who nodded.

“Go on with him, I’ll come too.” Reluctantly, she agreed and they all went to the bathrooms where Thomas spent nearly a quarter of an hour scrubbing Evelyn’s hair as she stood bent over a sink. A towel wrapped around her head, they went back to Thomas’ cube and he cut her hair, cracking jokes at the young girl, trying to get her to come out of her shell again but she did not.

Once the haircut was done and Evelyn was again by his side, Sam turned to leave when he felt Thomas’ hand on his shoulder. He turned and smiled, noting the barber’s outstretched hand. Sam pulled the card from his pocket and watched as Thomas
crossed out one of the circles.

“Thanks Thomas, it’s been a pleasure.”

“Likewise Sam.”

As they walked back towards their own place within the rows of cubicles, something caught Evelyn’s eye and she ran to a stall that had a handmade redheaded Raggedy Anne doll sitting on a table. She picked it up, first holding it at arms length before pulling it close and squeezing it tight. A young black woman watched the scene from within the cube and laughed when Sam approached. “Looks like I have a sale.”

“I’ll give you…” He felt around in his pockets and came up empty. “Uh... Oh!” Sam pulled the pistol out of the holster that never left his hip and slid a bullet out of the cylinder. “Will you take this?” He handed the round to the woman who nodded.

“Thanks, I’ll throw in that small doll there too.” She pointed at a small Raggedy
Andy, half the size of the doll Evelyn now held.

Sam grabbed it and pulled the young girl away from the stall. “I hope you like them.” He handed the smaller doll to her. “These are some expensive dolls,” he chided.

“Thank you,” Evelyn said so quietly that had he not been looking at her, Sam would have missed it. The statement was punctuated by the meal bell ringing followed by someone shouting that Anna Maria was calling everyone to a meeting.

“It has been suggested to me that as spring draws near, we should try to re-establish communications with some of the other communities.” Anna Maria was speaking into the microphone to the large group that had already assembled when Sam and Evelyn arrived. “I want James Andrews to pick three men and head north, for a week, then come back, talk to everyone you find, let them know we’re still here, Scott Hughes, you do the same and head back east. Randy, Randy Goeth? You’ve got the southern roads and Brandon Marten, you head west.”

“What about White Sands? It’s more than a week out!” Someone in the crowd shouted.

“Frank,” Anna Maria scolded, shaking her finger at the outspoken man. “You know as well as I do that it was overrun by Others before the winter hit.”

“But someone could have taken it back!” Frank called back.

“Fine, you are welcome to head there yourself if you would like.” Anna Maria smiled, thinking she had solved the problem.

“Why can’t the guy with the car go?” Protested Frank.

“Because I need him to go to Boulder City…”

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Hollow World Book 2 Chapter 28

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Two weeks had passed since the visitors had departed, still heading east. Peter sat on the porch, watching the water drip off of the roof from the melting snow.

Amy stepped back out onto the porch to grab another armload of coffee mugs to bring in and help clean, but stopped when she noticed Peter’s pensive stare. “What’s wrong?”

“How am I supposed to stop the war?” He asked, reaching into his pocket and playing with one of the obols that rested there.

“What?” Amy asked.

“Bill asked me if I was sure I could stop the war…” Peter said, raising his other hand to his forehead and scratching it.

“We should be leaving soon,” Amy suggested, looking back into the house. “Do you think Jud and Aubrey will come with us?”

“No,” Zach said, coming out of the house, “They’re not coming with us.”

“You’re sure?” Amy asked, a bit of disappointment creeping into her voice.

“Yeah, they’re staying. All I think we can do is make sure they have enough supplies.” Zack replied.

“Well, we’re going to need some stuff as well.” Peter said as he stood up. “You guys stay here, I will be right back.” He went inside and called for the rest of the members of the household to meet them on the porch.

It took fifteen minutes, but everyone, including Jud and Aubrey, made it out to the patio.

Peter looked over his friends before beginning, “It is about time we move on. Tomorrow morning, we will make one more foray out to gather supplies, and then once we return, we will spend the next day packing, and hopefully in four days time, we will be departing here.” Despite his expectations, the announcement was not met with any grumbling, so he continued. “Now all of you are welcome to come with us, we’ll be heading toward Boulder City.”

“And anyone who wants to stay with Aubrey and I is welcome to too,” Jud interrupted.

Peter nodded, acknowledging the older man. “Now if any of you are in need of anything specific that I need to look for, you have until tomorrow morning to make me a list. Jud, can we borrow the truck and your horses for the supply run?”

“Only if I can go along.” Replied the older man.

“Fine with me.

The group broke up and went about the rest of their daily routines. Peter took the opportunity after collecting some more logs to check the harness and get it hooked up to the truck. When he got back into the house, he found a two pieces of paper. The first was a list from the women containing clothes that the group could use, including a windbreaker for Kyle, who had outgrown the one that he had begun his journey with. Not pink was heavily underlined. The other piece of paper was from Kyle, and contained the one thing he wanted them to pick up, Reese’s Pieces.

Returning birds sang Peter to sleep and he woke up ready for the journey ahead. Jud already had the horses hitched to the truck when Peter walked out into the yard, and Amy sat in it’s bed, a shotgun strapped to her back.

“What’s going on?” Peter asked her. “I’m going to go so Zach can look over the carts that we have and make sure they will still work for us. He thinks we ought to pick up a new one if we can.”

“Sounds good, are we ready then?” Peter asked, looking at Jud, who nodded.

They spent the better part of the day traveling looking for a development that had not been touched. They headed east to the junction of 40 and 279 before heading north along the latter. They passed by community after community, making quick forays into each, finding homes with doors standing wide open and cupboards bare. It was not until darkness had begun to fall that they came to a neighborhood that looked relatively untouched. The first door they tried was locked so Peter broke a window and found a pantry full of spoiled vegetables as well as some boxed pasta’s. Another foul smell mixed with the rotten food and it was not until Peter got upstairs that he found what it was. A dog lay dead at the closed door of the master bedroom it’s ribs showing. “Poor thing,” Peter said as he stepped over it, pushing into the master bedroom.

The odor assaulted him as he opened the door. The dog had been a precursor to what he found inside. A woman, half of her head missing, lay on the bed, the wall behind it splattered brown with dried blood. Peter held his nose and looked around the room, spying the figure of a man lying on the floor beside the bed, a hole clean through his head and a gun on the carpet beside it’s outstretched hand. He glanced over the room again but could not stomach the smell and darted out the door and down the stairs, shoving the front door open and gasping, letting the crisp winter air fill his lungs.

Resisting the urge to throw up, he relayed what he had seen to his companions.

“Poor souls, they couldn’t handle it,” Amy said before adding, “Let’s try the next house.”

“It’s someone else’s turn to go in then.” Peter smiled weakly.

“I’ll go,” she told him. The next house required her to break a window but netted them two cans of green beans and a blue jacket that she thought might fit Kyle. She tossed these into the bed of the truck and offered, “Should I get the next one?”

Peter smiled and shook his head. “I’ve got it.” They took turns going into houses while Jud watched the truck and the growing pile of spoils they grabbed.

As the stars began to show and the sun finally dropped below the distant horizon, Amy approached the final house of the neighborhood and found the front door unlocked. She opened it and was buffeted by a pair of wings as a large bird flew out the door over her head. Shaken, she took in the scene in front of her. A large floor to ceiling window was shattered on the backside of the house, the whole pane, with the exception of a few shards near the ceiling, laying on the carpet inside the house. A brown brick rested amongst the broken glass. The floor was coated in leaves and stuffing from the empty cushions that lay strewn over the back of the sofa, the walls in black spray paint. Jonathan was here and Nick loves Tara were the only legible comments that she could make out. She started her search in the kitchen, thinking that the she would find nothing but was pleasantly surprised by the box of Velveeta shells and cheese that she found along with two cans of Rotel and an open box of Slim Jim’s. She tok this haul out to the truck before going back to look through the bedrooms. A smashed acoustic guitar hung from a wall in one of the rooms along with a shattered television set. The dresser held a few pairs of white socks and two pairs of jeans that looked a little big for Zach, but she took them anyway. The closet in the master bedroom was empty, a pile of soiled clothes lay upon the bed, something had been living in it recently from the smell. Finally she checked the bathroom, and found two cans of shaving cream, an un-open razor,and a package of bandaids. These all got taken and dumped into the bed of the truck.

“So, do we sleep in the truck or take on of the houses?” Jud asked, trying to stifle a yawn.

“That house,” Peter pointed at a two story structure a few homes from where they stood, “Was in pretty good shape. The garage was empty, we could get the horses and the truck in it.” The other two agreed and they rolled up the driveway, pushing the truck the last few feet into the garage before pulling it shut. Despite taking turns on watch, the night passed quietly and all three set out the next morning in relatively good spirits.

“Look,” Amy pointed south, where a thick wall of black smoke had begun to rise into the air.

“That’s too far away to be your farm, right?” Peter asked, looking at Jud.

“I hope so…”

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