Free Ragnarok Rising: The Crossing (The Ragnarok Rising Saga) by D.A. Roberts Page B

interesting.”
    “Yeah,” I agreed, covering the corner of the window, again.
    “You want to get some sleep?” asked Southard.
    “I don’t think I can, knowing what’s out there.”
    “Yeah, me either,” he replied. “How about we make some coffee and let the others sleep while they can.”
    “Sounds like a plan,” I said. “I’ll fish out the coffee pot and get some water.”
    “I’ll get a couple heat tabs out of my bag and get them ready,” he said, heading back into his room.
    We brewed a pot of strong Gunny-style coffee, complete with the bourbon. It wasn’t Chuck’s first time drinking it. In fact, we were both growing rather attached to it. We sipped in silence, listening to the sound of Gods knew how many of the Stalkers slinking around outside the walls of our temporary home. If we couldn’t get into the cache, then this place was going to be our only sanctuary until we either returned to the Underground or found our way inside the cache.
    “You still think we should relocate here?” asked Southard, sipping his coffee.
    “If we can clear out these Stalkers , then yeah,” I said. “This place has plenty of arable land for growing crops, a fresh water supply and large living areas. There are more than enough houses to go around for everyone in the Underground.”
    “What about power?”
    “We’ll need to figure out how much power the cache can produce,” I answered. “I doubt it will be enough to power the entire park.”
    “Then there’s the problem of creating a secure perimeter,” said Southard.
    “I think I may have a way around part of that,” I replied. “We won’t have to secure the water’s edge. The zombies won’t go into the water, on purpose. That just leaves the line from the Niangua River to the spring. We might be able to secure that with scrounged fencing or by turning cars onto their sides. There should be plenty of abandoned cars in the area.”
    “Well, then we have a much bigger problem to deal with,” said Southard.
    “What’s that?”
    “What do we do when we run out of coffee?” he asked, chuckling.
    “Well, we can probably plant coffee beans if we can find some to plant,” I said. “But barring that, there’s always chicory.”
    “What’s chicory?” he asked.
    “It’s a wild plant,” I replied. “People have been using it as a coffee additive and replacement for centuries. I’m sure we can find some wild around here somewhere.”
    “Is it any good?”
    “I’ve only had it a couple of times,” I said. “It's really bitter. More so than regular coffee, but it was drinkable.”
    “What about sugar?”
    “We can get sugar from sugar beets and also natural honey,” I said. “There are a lot of things we can do to replace things we used to use all the time with more natural alternatives.”
    “What about toilet paper?” he asked, smiling.
    “That one might be problematic,” I agreed. “Once that’s all gone, it’s back to leaves or we start building bidets.”
    “I’ll take that over using my hand,” he said, shaking his head. “Not to mention, it would be my luck I’d use poisonous leaves or something.”
    “Yeah, that’s not the place you want poison ivy,” I agreed.
    We both chuckled at that mental image. We must have been louder than we had anticipated because suddenly we heard something hit the door with a lot of force. It was followed by several snarls, and then they began pounding on the door together. Our only saving grace was that the door opened outward. Had it opened inward, they probably would have been inside by the third hit.
    The impacts were loud enough that it woke the others. Everyone came running out of their rooms, weapons in hand. Becca looked terrified, but Spec-4 and Elliott were ready for a fight. Southard and I got to our feet and exchanged concerned glances. We both knew that if they got inside, we probably wouldn’t be able to take them all before we were overwhelmed.
    “What the hell is going