Chapter 10

Junior spent the next several hours exploring the farm. He kept an eye out for anything that might prove useful to his small band on their journey. The first thing he saw was something he should have thought of all along. In the back of Janet's Grandpa's pickup was a fuel transfer tank. Junior knew the minute he spotted it that he had to have it.

Junior asked Janet about the tank and she assured him it could be fitted into the bed of the Ford. Since it held 190 gallons of diesel and had a 12 volt pump it would make refueling a breeze. Janet also pointed a second pump, one that had been taken from a leaking tank so the tank could be welded. She said they could rig it up with some hose and be able to pump fuel from any stations in ground fuel tanks. Janet showed Junior the fuel storage tanks behind the machine shed. Both were 1000 gallons, one for gasoline, and the other for diesel.

"The diesel tank is about half full. Of course this is farm fuel and doesn't have the dye in it that shows road use tax has been paid on it. If you get caught running it in any thing but a tractor or farm implement it's a heavy fine," Janet explained. Junior looked at her to see if she was serious, he noticed the twinkle in her eye.

"I reckon that's a chance I'll take. Any G-Man or Revenoor tries to catch this ole' moonshiner's gonna have his hands right full," he said, laying on the hillbilly accent. With a chuckle they headed back to the house, planning how to switch the tank to Junior's truck. Junior wished there were more of them as he hated to leave the fuel behind, knowing they might need it in the future.

Carr was sitting at the table making bacon and eggs disappear at an alarming rate when they entered. Junior explained to the others about the fuel tank, and they all agreed it would come in handy. Carr decided to stay behind to keep an eye on the things while they were gone. Once everyone else was ready to go they piled in the old farm pickup and headed to the Moore place.

Davey came out onto the porch to greet them when they pulled into the drive. Junior noticed he was not armed and decided to pull the boy aside and give him some advice concerning security in the coming days. Junior, Sarah and Jessica climbed out of the back where they had ridden and joined the others. Davey was joined on the porch by a young woman dressed in all black. Her loose t-shirt and tattered skin tight jeans made a shocking contrast to her pale skin and hair. She had piercings in her nose, one eyebrow, her lip, and both ears. Her hair was snow white, and Junior noticed she was playing with a barbell through her tongue, nervously flicking it against her teeth. As he got closer he noticed the pink color of her eyes and realized she was actually albino. Davey introduced her as Shelley Walker. Janet completed the introductions when Davey could not recall all of their names.

"Thanks so much for the bacon." Shelley said once the formalities were over. "The only meat we've had lately is an occasional rabbit or squirrel. I've never cooked them before, and I don't know how good of a job I did. It was nice to have something different." Junior noticed she made eye contact with each one of them, as if daring them to say something about her appearance. He figured she had a rather large chip on her shoulder about the subject, but knew the others wouldn't give a shit how she dressed or looked. She had proven herself to them by pitching in and helping where needed.

They followed Davey and Shelley into the house. They had discussed the very real possibility that the place would be a mess. A fifteen year old girl and an eleven year old boy aren't really ideal housekeepers. A teenager's idea of clean usually differs greatly from their parents. Instead of the pig sty they expected to find they walked into a house that was spotless. Every surface shined with showroom brilliance, and the carpets appeared to have been recently shampooed. Noting their surprise Shelley laughed.

"I'm a little obsessive about cleaning," she said with a shrug. "I am obsessive compulsive, and ran out of my medicine last week. Lucky for them I only really get anal about cleaning." Junior laughed at the apologetic tone of her voice. While the women showered her with incredulous praise he wandered into the family room where a small boy was playing with Lego's on the floor. Watching him build whatever his imagination dictated, Junior wondered if the lack of television and video games might not be a good thing. Hearing a strange male voice in the kitchen he returned. As he entered an obviously weak man plopped down in a chair, his demeanor showing how taxing the walk into the room had been for him. When he had caught his breath he introduced himself to them.

"Hello folks, I'm Doug Moore. I'd like to thank you for the bacon, and for treating Davey right." He listened as Janet introduced each of the others. When she was done Junior spoke up.

"Mr. Moore, we talked it over this morning, and as soon as we can we are heading out. I have a place up in the mountains in Colorado. That's where we were headed when we stopped here to check on Janet's grandparents. We would like to invite all of you here to join us. We have five people with military experience, and enough guns and ammo to fight a small war. With the resources we have we think we have a good chance of making it when others won't." Junior waited for the man to say something, when he didn't he continued, "We have enough room to haul all of you, but we might want to get another truck and maybe trailer to haul any supplies or tools you might want to bring." Junior stopped when Doug raised his hand.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm staying right here." He turned to Janet before continuing. "My folks have owned this place since my ancestors homesteaded it. The church down the road sits on land my family donated, and I'm related to most of the folks buried in the cemetery. My mom, dad, and wife are there. I intend to be buried right beside her when my time comes. Until then I'll keep this place going and pass it on to Davey when my time comes." The others could see his determination, and although Janet tried to talk him out of it, he wouldn't budge.

"We're doing fine. When I get back on my feet I'll butcher a beef, and some of the neighbors had hogs on pasture, so they should be fine for a while. We've got twenty thousand bushels of corn stored in bins here and at your grandparents place. I was renting them from him," he explained. "We'll be able to feed enough livestock to make it on. I just wish we had electricity, it would make things a little easier."

"Why don't you move down to my Grandparents' house for a while then?" Janet offered. "We got the generator refueled, and I can show Davey how to do that until you're able. I'm sure Grandma has some home canned goods in the cellar, she always did. Davey wouldn't have to go so far to get eggs everyday, and I know my grandparents wouldn't have minded." She had to be satisfied with the man's promise to consider it.

After saying their goodbyes Junior and the girls piled back in the truck. Juanita offered to let Jessica ride up front and jumped into the back with Junior and Sarah. As soon as they were moving Juanita turned to Junior.

"So I take it you enjoyed the show last night?" she asked with a big grin. Sarah blushed deep red as Junior chuckled.

"Hell yeah, it had Sarah so worked up she practically raped me when we got to our room." Junior jerked and rubbed his shoulder where Sarah had slapped it.

"Hey, you were the one who was all over me!" she said. "I have to admit, though, it was damn hot watching you two," she said to Juanita. "How long have you two been together?" she asked.

"Oh, we aren't really an item or anything," Juanita explained. "We do spend a lot of time together, or did, I should say, since we were on the same team. There were no guys around that interested us, and Junior can tell you how turned on you can get after a successful mission. I don't know if it's the same for him, but the more dangerous the mission, the hotter it gets both of us. After a particularly nerve wracking job in South America, Jessica and I ended up getting drunk together. I'm not sure who made the first move but we have been getting together occasionally to let off a little steam ever since." She smiled at Sarah to let her know she was teasing before continuing. "Of course, if Junior had been around, we might have had another option. And from the sounds coming from your room last night, it would have been a good one." It was Junior's turn to get a little red in the face, and he just shook his head.

"Well," Sarah said, "if you ever want to give him a try, you know where to find us." She looked shocked at what she had let come out of her mouth and then grinned at the look on Junior's face. "Hey, maybe you were right last night, maybe I am a little curious about it," she said defensively.