Free Man Eaters by Linda Kay Silva

weak, my ass hurts, and I’m about to fall asleep on my trusty steed.”
    Dallas laid her hand on her flat stomach. Hers had been growling for miles, but she and Roper had already spoken about the need to ration what they’d taken from the mini mart. “Fair enough. I think we can scare up something to eat down there.” Dallas pulled Morgana to a stop. She and the horse had become a nice unit in the hours they’d been riding. She was a good horse who seemed to understand the necessity of a consistent gait with a newbie rider. “I say we watch from the hill for a bit and see if there is any movement. If it looks clear, we’ll take the horses as close as we can and then see if we can’t—”
    “Look.”
    Roper and Dallas looked in the direction of Einstein’s voice.
    At first, Dallas had no idea what she was looking at, but then, ever so slowly, she could see the lights in the valley slowly being extinguished, like someone turned down the electricity so slowly that the light dimmed just before dying.
    “My god...” Roper murmured.
    “It doesn’t take much for the infrastructure to collapse when no one is watching the pot boil,” Einstein said softly. “This is the beginning of the swan song ladies and gentlemen.”
    “Are you saying—”
    “The electrical grid cannot continuously run on its own,” Dallas dovetailed on Einstein’s analogy. “And if everyone does what the military has ordered us to do by staying inside, then no one is left to run the shop. So, yeah. Now we’re all in the dark, with no cell phone use, no electrical, and—”
    “Uh uh.” Einstein stepped up to them and continued pointing.
    Roper untied her ponytail and retied it. “Lotta rural folks have generators, especially if they have any kind of livestock. We’ll see more pop up here in a moment.”
    “The darkness is our best friend at this point.” Dallas opened her backpack and pulled out two four-cell flashlights they’d swiped. “We should be able to get in and out this time without getting busted.”
    “And then what, Dallas? We eat and get back on the horses? I don’t know about you, but my butt is numb, my back is sore, my balls hurt, and—” Then, as if realizing what he’d said, Einstein covered his mouth.
    Roper and Dallas both laughed.
    “We need to keep moving until dawn, kiddo, but maybe after you eat you’ll feel better.”
    Twenty minutes later, after leaving the horses tied up, the three of them quietly and stealthily made their way into the small town of Rio Nuevo.
    From about every eighth or ninth house, the hum of a generator could be heard—the low lights of the houses they were running became easier to see.
    “Where to?”
    “I say we—”
    “Shh. Don’t move.”
    Lights from a car slowly went by.
    “It’s just a truck,” Roper whispered as they watched the vehicle slow down in front of every house. Three men in the back threw something out onto the porch of each house before slowly moving to the next one.
    “Is that—”
    “Food.” Roper said. “I’m thinking those people are taking care of each other. Keeping everyone fed and healthy. Or maybe they’re just communicating with each other.”
    “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
    Einstein started backing away. “Suddenly, I’m not very hungry. Or tired. Right. I’m not hungry or tired. Let’s go.”
    Just as they turned to leave, there came a scream from one of the houses. Ducking beneath a hedge on the outside of the main road, the three froze.
    “They kilt ‘em!” A woman screamed over and over. “They done kilt ‘em!”
    The truck backed up quickly, the three men now aiming rifles at the woman.
    “What are you talking about, Celeste? Keep your voice down.”
    “Or what? I’ll wake the dead? I’m telling you, they’re already dead!”
    “Who is?”
    “John and Miguel! They were fine until those military men showed up! Come look! They just be layin’ there, side-by-side, like they sleepin’, but they ain’t!