Days of Love and Blood

pit, glancing at me with worrisome eyes.
    “Why don’t we take care of the rest of this for you?” asked Solomon.
    I hesi tated at first but nodded in agreement. Cooper took the shovel and looked at me before tossing in the first pile of fresh earth. He moved slowly at first, and covered each patch of flowers delicately, letting the dirt slide off the shovel rather than pitching it in. He didn’t speak or make any discernible faces. He only glanced at me every so often. I kept my head down, letting my black hair fall over my eyes to hide my grief. But I could still see him through the locks.
    After it was done, I thanked them all and invited them into the house. Plucking out a few cans of cheesy beef ravioli, I placed their contents into three bowls and set the microwave on high.
    “You have power?” asked Ivy.
    “Yeah, remember? Mom and Dad went off the grid ye ars ago. This house stands completely on its own.”
    “Do you have hot water?” asked Solomon.
    “Yup. Tankless hot water heater downstairs. It’s more efficient. The windmill and solar panels make the electricity and we store it in huge batteries outside. That pretty much gives me enough power for everything around here.”
    “I’ll be damned.” Solomon leaned up against the counter and looked around the room, as if the walls contained some great secret to power autonomy.
    “We could do the same for you, you know,” I offered.
    “You mean, to my house?” Ivy asked.
    “Yup. It wouldn’t be too hard. All we need to do is make a run to any of the big chain home improvements stores. It might take a few runs. But we could do it.”
    “But do you know how to set all of this up?” asked Solomon.
    “Well, no. But we can look at how it’s set up here, get some books - videos - whatever, and duplicate it at Ivy’s house. And if we can do it there, we can do it again at other houses.”
    “What d’ya mean, other houses?” asked Cooper. They were the first words he had spoken since his arrival.
    The microwave beeped and I placed three steaming bowls of hot food on to the kitchen table, ushering them to sit down while I remained standing.
    “Well, you have a bunch of people living on a front lawn. That’s not safe. You guys should all move into some of the homes around here. And then we’ll all work together to get each one up and running. We’re going to have to rely on each other. Honestly, I’m glad that I found you all here. The more people we have, the better our chances of survival will be.” When they didn’t answer I shrugged my shoulders. “It was just a thought.”
    “It’s a good idea,” Solomon said.
    “But why haven’t you done that by now?” I asked. “I mean, why have you stayed outside, in tents and cars and stuff?”
    “ ’Cause there’s safety in numbers,” Cooper answered. “We got lookouts. Every night and all day. We look out for each other. People don’t want to be separated none ‘cause we feel safer by keepin’ close.”
    “Ha!” Solomon laughed. “So he says. Cooper, here, is the one who goes off on solo missions any chance he can get.”
    “I do it for you, old man.”
    “You do it bec ause we invade your space.” Solomon chuckled again before sighing. “But what he says is true. We’ve felt safe as a group. None of us have even though about breaking up.”
    “It’s not like you would be breaking up. ”
    “I know but any distance between us at this point would feel like a canyon.”
    “I’m partial to Carson’s idea,” said Cooper. My eyes flung open as I curiously eyed him to see if he was serious. He looked straight back at me without batting an eye; no glimmer of a smirk could be seen peaking through his unreadable expression.
    “Warning system,” I blurted out.
    “Huh?” Ivy looked at me with one eyebrow raised above the other,
    “A warning system. We should try and create some kind of warning system to alert people - other households - of danger. I think that would make people more comfortable about the idea.”
    “What about regular home security?” Ivy asked.
    “Plexiglas. We cut sheets of Plexiglas and cover every bottom window on every house with it. Bolt all doors and make sure every possible entrance is blocked. That should do it. I’ve been thinking about this a lot. Security should be the number one priority. And I have the electricity to cut the sheets of Plexiglas. It can all start here in my barn.”
    Cooper raised his eyebrows while bring ing the