Looking Back Through Ash - Wade Ebeling Page 0,133
He rolled himself another before refilling his glass.
“Well? What about Bob Donner?” Daniel asked gently. This man had fought off these memories for over a decade. Retelling them was obviously not that easy, but Daniel needed him to finish getting through it before the vodka ended his chances of hearing a complete story.
“I’m not done,” Jason said, waving him off. “Now, let’s see, after a few years, people had either died off or left the area. Wait, you want to hear about this place?” Jason said, sounding like he was losing what was left of his voice.
“Sure, why not?” Daniel said, slowly and playfully.
“Fuck you,” Jason replied happily. “We were comin’ back to check more R.V.’s when…”
“What is that? An R.V.?” Daniel asked, his curiosity overriding the good sense to just let the drunken man keep talking.
“The campers over there? You didn’t see that big field of ‘em? You came from that way, right?” Jason asked, pointing a wobbling finger to the west.
“Yeah, I saw them. I saw the people living in them, too. I just don’t know what R.V. stands for,” Daniel said, less playfully this time.
“It stands for recreational vehicle. Oh…wait? There’s people living in ‘em? That’s not good. Not good at all. Glad I’m not burning a fire right now. Who are they? You know?” Jason stammered, fear showing on his face for the first time. His hand was shaking horribly as he tried to drink and smoke at the same time.
“I don’t really know. I would guess that they are the people that the Police kicked out of the Warehouse. I didn’t see any guns, I really wouldn’t worry. Trust me, you can’t see this place unless you walk right in front of it. How did you even find it in the first place?” Daniel posed a question that would, hopefully, get Jason back on track.
“Well, I was tryin’ ta tell ya that…We already went over there once, that day your…mom…We almost got blown to bits by the damn drones. Hell, I got gut-shot by one of the…people…who was trying to get out of the city. But we snuck back in later to see if anything survived. We got so much out of just a few of those campers, it seemed a waste to let the rest go to pot. That’s when we found this place. Your Dad said we should bring a little of everything we found here, just as a back-up. But once those fools on the Council started givin’ us grief about bringing in more people…Yeah, we knew…well, Allen did…that place was not gonna last for long. Like I was sayin’, when the pick’ins ‘came slim, your dad got real crafty. He wouldn’t let anyone go out searchin’ for a month. ‘Let the squirrels gather the nuts!’ he would always say. Give people, who were still kicking around, a chance to gather up a bunch of stuff for us, ya see, in peace like. Then we would just go take it from ‘em.” Jason started laughing again.
Getting another drink, Jason seemed to be enjoying himself now. “I’m telling you, Danny, your old man was smart as a whip. For a while there, when things first started goin’ bad at the Warehouse, we just brought most of the stuff here. Oh, and Allen always took some back to his house…your house, I mean. For you, ya know? That was your Dad, back-ups to back-ups. I know you think he was never there for you, or me for that matter, and I’m sorry ‘bout that. But, really, it’s not true! All I had to do was ask him about you, if he was being all quiet-like, you know how he was, and Boom! Off he goes, bragging you up. About how you can snare your own meat and cook it…all sorts of stuff. He just didn’t know how to tell you. He was hard on you for a reason, just look at you. I can tell it toughened you right up.”
“Whatever,” Daniel said indifferently, but his chest had swelled slightly. Those were the kindest words he had ever heard spoken about his father. He could not help but feel a little pride layering in over the contempt. “Okay, just tell me, Uncle Jason. Tell me why Bob Donner is so hell-bent on seeing me dead.”
“Here,” Jason said, handing the remnants of the bottle to Daniel, “you should drink this.” Somehow, Jason had managed to sound both compassionate and sober as he said this.