Chapter 3

The girls were eating solid food now and Missy was weening them, filling them with hurt lack of understanding when she refused them with a snarl and bared teeth. They did learn that bared teeth and a snarl means No!, which understanding would serve them for their lifetimes.

Jack, not having access to a workable blender or jars of baby food did as parents have been doing in one form or another since parents offered nourishment to offspring, and just fed them what he was eating, after chewing it for a bit first. Unfortunately they soon started to fixate on his hand with food to mouth just like Missy did.

As the twin terrors of doom started to toddle about, quickly transforming their hesitant steps into sprints and dashes with out the experience to safely come to a standstill at the far end, Jack needed to be ever alert to prevent misfortune. They defeated the corral he devised, so he just fenced in the stove, taught them “Hot! don’t touch” and hoped for the best.

He blocked what he was doing with the stove from view with his turned back, to keep them from attempting to emulate him. It was only a temporary solution, but hopefully enough until they gained the co-ordination and strength to operate the wood stove if not safely then at least with more than no chance of success.

There wasn’t much in the shelter (OK, it was an empty cold-storage locker, well insulated to keep the heat of the wood stove he had installed in and the cold of Long-winter out) except for a bunk and storage spaces, a chair and work-space/eating surface. It was small enough for the stove to heat efficiently, which didn’t mean it was small as the stove was efficient and the insulation stupendous and he had constructed a vis-queen air-lock over the door to prevent drafts. So the two growing girls didn’t crowd the space too much for the first third of Long-winter.

Jack just shrugged and accepted what was, and did what needed doing. It was going to be a Long-winter, not much else going on.

Jack’s dogs had been protected by being locked in individual compartments on his special sled-dog camper shell. Once the road rage became obvious, he took to the back roads, was attacked by a deer which he had to run over to get to stop breaking his truck- (as it was it broke a headlight and turn signal.) and hearing the threats his dogs were making to each other and to the world in general- Jack just hunkered down, and let his poor mad dogs go hungry and thirsty until it seemed the madness was past. Jack had felt disconnected and lost and jumpy, but he just continued his iron bound right behavior for the current circumstances. Nothing moral, just well developed ethics which he applied to his actions in the world. He was traveling far from home with his dogs but instead of traveling way back north, he had realized winter was going to be a good long while giving way to the spring.

Jim scouted out the nearby survivors finding within a thirty mile radius only a small group of simple God-lovers, Only eight or a dozen- much like the Shakers in brethren-hood between the brothers and the sisters except they were open about the friendly love-sharing they participated in.