Chapter 39
Chapter 39
We pass the gate with Mr. George waving us through. Merle drives up the lane heading for the driveway to our house but I realize a problem. We have an entire store full of stuff among the bags and there's no way we have the room to sort it out. Not to mention the plants that we have nowhere to plant since our garden is fully in use.
"Can we circle around to the other road?" I ask Merle before he turns onto our driveway.
Merle stops, leaning forward to talk around Star, "Whatch want over there?"
"We can get one of the other homes to start a garden with what we have so all of the food isn't just on our yard."
"Probably be good if all the homes had their own garden," Star adds agreeably.
Merle settles back, answering, "When they put up the wall, they put them in the lane on our side so we could drive around the outside of tha wall. I don't think there's a road connecting this street to tha next one."
"So we will need to fix that soon," I sum up with a tired sigh. Every time it seems we're doing good there is something else to fix. I ask, "Where can I put the stuff from the store until it gets sorted?"
"Garages, maybe," Daryl comments.
"Give it to some of tha folk that stay here an let them sort it out," is Merle's suggestion.
"Bug can help," Cody suggests, getting elbowed by Star who huffs in offense.
He puts up his hands with a defensive, "He don't care that we call him Bug! He loves bugs. And he's good with numbers."
"Who's Bug?"
Star crosses her arms, answering, "He's slow."
"He isn't slow," Cody argues, "he's weird but he knows a lot about bugs and he's got like, OCD so he's really organized."
"He's Cody's next door neighbor but hes got some kind of disability and he doesnt talk," Star explains.
"He talks, he just doesn't always talk and it's nearly always about bugs."
I have to turn that over in my head a few times. I don't know much about disabilities or the people with them. Back in Surry, we knew there was a class for slow students but they were kept seperate. I haven't ever interacted with them. Not that I really interacted with much of anyone because of the Dursley's.
When I dont know something, I try to get the opinions of others who will know so I ask, "Do you think he would be able and willing to help?"
"He would do it," Cody assures while Star frowns down at her lap.
"Can't hurt to ask," Daryl suggests.
Carol steps up to the window with baby Easton in a carrier on her chest, calling a greeting, "Everyone doing alright?"
"Wait'n on orders," Merle comments, reaching out to brush a rough finger gently over the baby's head.
"We're trying to figure out what to do with all of the stuff we've been getting," I explain.
"Can you use the containers?" She asks, "Since they're empty. Would that work?"
"Yes, it would and it's a brilliant idea!"
Carol steps back to let us pass. Merle drives up to our house and we all pile out. The girls from the cult are gathered out on the patio but come over to help us unload. Daryl grabs the wheelbarrow and a quick transfiguration has it turn into a long flat wagon. Cody and Star run off to get Bug and they will meet us at the containers meeting the other street.
"Which house should we set up the second garden?" I ask Merle since I know he has a good idea of the land within our base.
"If yer gonna have em all planting gardens then will it matter?" He asks, "Will the plants even survive if the weather turns?"
"We could set up greenhouses," I offer.
"So do we wanna plant now or after the greenhouses go up?"
Why do I have to figure all of this out? We need someone to be in charge of our plants and crops. That's what we need. If we have someone in charge of this then we can pass them the supplies and let them sort it out. I tell Merle as much.
"Ya gonna bring it up at supper?"
"Are we going to have a communal supper?" I ask.
"We can get Carol to gather folk," Daryl suggest, pointing back to where Carol and Easton are wondering back down the drive.
I explain to Carol who is happy to organize another big meal. The wagon full of plant trays is left beside our truck for now while the girls follow Carol inside the house. The brothers and I head off along the side of the house to take a path through the neighbors yard to the next street.
All of the containers are empty and it's an easy thing to transfigure double doors into the side of one. The inside is clean but hot so I blast a cooling spell through it so we can work. Next I transfigure the ends which connect to the next containers to open, melding them together and letting it strengthen the structure. Another cooling spell through both containers and I repeat the transfiguration to open up the next two in both directions. It's the work of about ten minutes at most. Then I transfigure long slits high along the sides to let cool air in, giving them a little outer push so that when it rains the water won't get inside.
Cody and Star haven't made it back to us so I start resizing shelves. The brothers help by emptying the bottomless bags. The items within can't be dumped out. You have to actually reach in and pull the items out which takes a while. Items are shoved onto whatever shelf has room while they work.
"Hey, Harry," Cody calls out, leading a nervous boy inside. "This is Bug."
Bug is our age with roving light blue eyes, curly black hair, and twitchy hands. He's tall and thin, coltish almost. He keeps curled into himself and avoids looking at me while I explain. I'm not sure how much he understands, if any of it, but when I ask if he agrees, he gives a shaky nod while wandering down towards the piles the brothers are making. Cody gives a thumbs up, then follows Star who is helping empty the bags. I guess I will have to trust that he understands.
Should I put such a large task on one person? "Hey, Cody," I call out, "how about you help Bug with the inventory?"
He agrees indifferently. I'll get the brothers or Carol to check on them later. As much as I want to trust them, I'm not sure if I should. But I guess I have to trust someone and it may as well be them. If they mess it up it will still be a starting point for whoever takes over after them.
I step out of the container to resize some of the larger items in my bag. The farming equipment, the grills, and the sheds get lined up neatly along the road.
"May wanna save one o them fer the zoo folk," Merle comments, pointing at the sheds as he and Daryl approach with the bottomless bags in hand. "We got all out but the big feed bags since ya said ya wanted them fer the zoo."
I look up bright clear sky, giving a thoughtful hum and ask, "Do we have time to run it there today?"
"It ain't time we gotta worry about," Merle answers, lighting a cigarette as he answers. "Our truck is on empty. The red cans are dry. We need fuel fer us an the gennys."
"Gennys?"
"Generators."
"Could we get enough from the others cars left along the road or do we need to visit a petrol station?"
He shares a look with Daryl, giving a hum and looking away before answering, "Fuel won't last long but in the short term it's something we need. Hitting a gas station or finding a rig would be great but we gonna need to come up with another way to make shit run cause gas is gonna disappear fast."
I am grateful again to the brothers for always thinking of things we need.
"Them sun panels is what we need," Daryl adds with an agreeable nod. "Dunno where to find em but thas what we need."
"Okay well, we can only handle a few problems at a time so let's fix what we can first," I offer, not disagreeing but redirecting. "Lets source fuel on a trip to the zoo because they were out of food when we visited them and I know they must be desperate now. If we see a rig or whatever, we will get it, but otherwise we get there and back before supper and go from there."
"Yer call, Hoss," Merle answers with a dip of his head.
It doesn't take long for us to gather the empty red cannisters and load up in the truck. Antonio is at the gate when we leave so Merle tells him our plan. Then we're off to the little zoo ranch.