As the sky darkened, Paige and Liam erected the flimsy fence around the mine entrance, securing it with screws to the wooden supports, with a metal fence post driven into the ground at the center. Paige pulled a cable cutter out of her toolbox on the ground and clipped a small entrance at the side, then hinged it on one side with metal cable ties. “We can finally sleep soundly,” Paige said, zipping the last tie into place, then slipping a padlock over the freeswinging side to secure the small gate. Finally, she tied a small copper cable to the fence post. It had a yellow stripe in the black rubber insulation and ran along the ground into the mine. Liam leaned against the wall, his arms crossed, “Being secure is nice, but I still think we should offer this energy to others. There are people dying out there while we sip tea in safety.” “They’d kill us if they had the chance. You’ve seen what raiders do. That’s why we’ve been hiding up here. We’re just lucky they haven’t found us yet.” “I wish you’d have more faith in people,” he said, turning to go downstairs and finish preparations on the stew. Paige began to collect her tools, but it was too dark to find them all. She stood and looked through the fence, looking for any movement. It was hard to see, but it looked like they were alone for the moment. Paige pulled a flashlight out of her back pocket, pointed it at the ground and flipped the switch. The ground illuminated, and Paige began picking up the remaining tools. Liam’s head popped up over the ledge leading down to the next level of the mine, “The stew’s ready!” His head disappeared below the ledge again. “I’ll be down in a second,” Paige replied. She shut off the flashlight, picked up her toolbox and walked deeper into the mine toward the ladder Liam had been standing on. As she set down the toolbox to climb down, Paige heard a metallic rustling. She dismissed it as 94
the tools sloshing around in the box, but as she mounted the ladder she heard it again. She called with an urgent whisper, “Liam!” Silhouetted by soft light from their ‘living room’, he stepped out of the hole cut into the side of the mine shaft and looked up at her. She waved him up and then put a finger to her mouth, signaling necessary silence. She pushed herself against the wall behind one of the large wooden support beams holding the earth at bay. As he reached the ledge and stood beside Paige, he whispered, “What’s going on?” Paige looked around the edge of the beam. Liam knelt and looked as well. They could see a shadowy figure investigating the fence. Without light, it was difficult to see, but the figure appeared to be looking for a way in. The figure was quiet, but the fence still shook with a metallic sound when he pulled on it. A whisper reached Paige’s ears, “Any luck, Bill?” “Shh!” “Sorry…” Paige turned to Liam and whispered, “I’m going to turn on the electricity.” “Wait, stop,” Liam grabbed her arm. “We don’t know who they are.” “They’re trying to break in!” Liam took a deep breath, “Let me talk to them. We can’t just go killing people because we’re afraid.” “They might have a gun, Liam. What are you going to do then?” “I’ve got to try,” he said as he stepped out from behind the pillar. Paige looked on in terror as Liam approached the fence. “Who’s there?” Liam called out. The kneeling dark figure froze. “We can hear you messing with our fence. We don’t want trouble.”
The figure stood slowly, facing the voice coming from inside. “You have power?” “We’ve managed to collect some batteries,” Liam responded. Paige gathered courage and rounded the corner, standing beside Liam. She took out her flashlight and shined it at the intruders. Just beside the fence, an older man shielded his eyes from the sudden light. He had a long white beard and wore a black overcoat that hung down to his knees where jeans extended to a tattered edge near the ground. “Get that damned light out of my eyes,” he demanded. Paige directed the beam at his feet, “Who else is with you?” Four dark-clad figures shuffled into the light and stood behind the older man – two women and two men, clothing in similar states. They all looked halfstarved to death. “My name’s Bill,” the man said. “We saw a light. We’re just looking for food.” Liam took a step forward, “I’m Liam. This is Paige. We don’t have much, but we can offer some.” “Liam!” Paige exclaimed. He looked back to her, “Let me handle this.” Bill put his hands on the fence and leaned closer, “Please just let us in. We’re good Christians – good since the Rapture anyway. We’ve been dodging raiders for weeks and have hardly had anything to eat.” “I can’t do that, not yet,” Liam said. “You know how hard it is to trust people these days. Let me get you some food and we can talk more in the morning.” Paige pulled Liam around by the shoulder and whispered, “We can’t give them food! We hardly have any for ourselves.” “They said they’re Christians. I don’t think they want any trouble.” “They could be lying. And in any case, there are five of them and two of us.