Trev thought of how many people he’d run into since the Gulf burned who’d become criminals and parasites and further added to the destruction. Almost everyone else was focused solely on survival and not on any serious rebuilding. People like his cousin who had the knowledge, ingenuity, and drive to push the advancement of society by leaps and bounds, assuming he was successful, were few and far between.
He felt lucky to be a part of it.
Although even though the reloading work would probably fill many of his waking hours, it didn’t have much to do with the business of staying alive through the winter.
Once he and Lewis had exhausted their knowledge and advice about winter in the mountains, everyone went around the room providing their own thoughts and concerns. Things like running ropes between shelter group houses so people would be able to find each other in a storm, digging tunnels to get from place to place once the snow got deep enough, and ways to vary the meals so people didn’t get sick of eating.
The conversation, solemn as it was, was also a good bonding opportunity for the family. After a few hours it became more relaxed, with more laughing and joking, at which point Lucas announced that they’d probably done as much good as they were going to here and called the meeting to a close. Most of the family stayed to chat after that, but Trev said goodnight to Deb and the others and joined Lewis and Jane in their room doing more reloading work.
Oddly enough the biggest concern with working long hours in winter was that the sunlight hours were going to be short, and often the light would be obscured by clouds, so solar lighting wouldn’t be an option for as long as they’d probably have use for it. Even the efficient LED Christmas lights drained the batteries when used for long enough, which meant using other electronics would soon be off the table, at least as much as they had been. They’d have to ration electricity, and try to make use of the windows and daylight as much as possible.
Since the three of them were still getting used to the intricacies of reloading the work was quiet as they all concentrated on their individual tasks. Trev was glad he had the manual dexterity to produce good work even before the experience of long practice made him adept at it, since they couldn’t afford to waste materials and every cartridge counted. Still, he made more than a few mistakes, and although Lewis and Jane were also making mistakes and they were all encouraging each other it was still frustrating.
They worked late, after everybody had gone to bed. And since they were working quietly they all pricked their ears when they heard whispering from the main room. Trev recognized the voices as Aunt Eva and Uncle Lucas.
“You’re doing it again, Dear,” his aunt said quietly.
He heard Lucas chuckle, which became a short bout of wheezing and a single explosive cough. “You’re going to have to be much more specific.”
She refused to relent to his banter. “You know what. Shouldering all the burden. Keeping your worries to yourself because you don’t want us to have to face them. It’s not what I signed up for.”
Trev exchanged uncomfortable looks with the other two. Either his aunt and uncle thought they were speaking quietly enough or they thought Trev had already gone home and Lewis and Jane were asleep. Still, it was awkward to overhear. Should he try to make a quiet escape without disturbing them?
His uncle sighed. “I’m not really keeping them to myself. They’re the same worries we’re all sharing, so it would be pointless to bring them up.”
“Do it anyway.”
There was a long pause. “The boys were optimistic, and I’m not discounting their knowledge. They’ve learned a lot that’s going to help us. But at the same time they’re very, very lucky. Things could’ve gone so wrong for them, and they wouldn’t have been able to do anything about it.”
Eva made a disapproving sound. “You’re not giving them enough credit.”
Another sigh. “No, I’m giving them as much credit as I possibly could. That’s the problem. Last winter was harsh, and it killed a lot of unprepared people. But what we’re facing now? This is the type of winter that kills even the well prepared. Our son and nephew might be the best qualified people alive to survive what’s coming, and even they could still end up dead. All it takes is one thing going wrong, one disaster we didn’t see coming happening at the wrong time.”
“Then see them coming. There’s no one I know better at that than you. Something might go wrong. Tragedy might strike, God forbid. But if it does, at least we know it wasn’t because we didn’t do all we could to be ready for it.”
Lucas’s only answer was another coughing fit. When he stopped Eva’s voice was concerned. “The fits aren’t as bad right now. Try to get some sleep while you can. You haven’t been getting nearly enough. Or eating.”
“It’s not as bad as you make it sound,” his uncle replied firmly. “Once the coughing eases up I’ll be able to eat better and get more proper sleep.”
“Visit Terry and Dr. Langstrom again,” she insisted.
He chuckled, which turned into several seconds of wheezing he struggled to get under control. “They don’t have enough symptoms to work with, or any equipment to diagnose me. A simple cough could be too many things.”
“This cough is feeling less and less simple, Luke. I’m worried. Drinking lots of water doesn’t seem to be helping. Maybe we should have you try breathing steam.”
“Maybe. We can talk about it in the morning. Goodnight, Dear.”
A long pause. “Goodnight.”
After another exchange of uncomfortable looks Trev pulled on his coat and boots and nodded goodnight to Lewis and Jane. They nodded back, quietly shutting off the lights as he slipped out the door.
He could’ve done without hearing his normally confident uncle express doubts about their chances. And he was really worried about his cough. Sure, other people in town were coughing, sniffling, and suffering the other ailments that came with cold. And his uncle kept himself in good shape and had rarely been sick.
Still, he worried. He couldn’t imagine what the rest of the Halsson family was going through.
The day dawned very windy, with a noticeably higher temperature. Trev knew enough about weather to know that wasn’t a good sign.
“The warm before the storm,” his mom said as she handed him some jerky on his way out the door to do his chores.
“Rain, I hope,” Trev said. “Even facing nuclear winter and at a slightly higher elevation, it’s not even the middle of October and we usually don’t see snow until late December.”
“Well we can’t go with what we usually see, since this is the first time the world’s faced the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust, and even the best predictions might not be accurate.” His mom’s lips thinned in a worried line. “Although I’m hoping for rain, too. We’ve still got so much to do to prepare.”
He gave her a one-armed hug and kissed her cheek. “Speaking of which, I’ll probably be out most of the day hunting and scouting good spots for firewood. See you at the party tonight.”
“Be careful,” she called reflexively as he closed the door.
Deb was already waiting nearby, equipped to head out as soon as they finished doing chores together, and he felt his mood lighten as he made his way over to her. She pulled him into a brief, somewhat hesitant hug, which he certainly enjoyed while it lasted.
“Ready to get started?” she asked.
He nodded. “The sooner the better. Not only do we have Mary’s party to get home to, but I don’t want to be caught out there if this storm blows in early.”