Free Sometimes We Ran (Book 2): Community by Stephen Drivick Page A

“You’ll have to show me that sidearm throw one day.”
    “You bet.” I got up and walked over to our improvised target to retrieve our knives. “You know, I think we’re getting pretty good.”
    Claire took her knife from my hand. She folded it carefully and put it in her jeans pocket. “You’re right. Add another skill to our resume.” She giggled a little.
    Our knife-throwing session was interrupted by the opening shed door. Claire and I stood up to face our captors. Claire stood slightly behind my back. Jenny came to the gate, and took out a small key chain with about a hundred small keys. She unlocked the swinging gate and stood aside.
    “Well, come on. Management wants to see you both,” she said. There was no rifle this time, no gun shoved in our backs, and no slapping of faces. Jenny had a handgun, but it remained in her holster. Claire and I turned to get our backpacks.
    “You can leave your stuff here. It’s safe. I’ll lock it in the cage.” Jenny almost sounded friendly, but she still wouldn’t smile. As we started to come out of the cage, Jenny stopped Claire and said, “Is your eye okay where you got hit?” Jenny looked closely at Claire’s face.
    “I’ll manage,” Claire said.
    “Good.” Jenny finished looking over Claire’s face. “Yeah. It looks okay. Let’s go.” That was probably as close as we were going to get to an apology.
    Jenny led us outside. It was a nice spring day. Very sunny, but not too hot. A gentle breeze wafted through the trees and high grass, smelling slightly of honeysuckle. Cannon Fields was buzzing with activity. People were walking everywhere with something to do. Above it all, I heard a noise that I hadn’t heard in a long time. It was a sound that made me very happy and a little relieved.
    It was the sound of children playing.
    Several kids ran back and forth on a green space in front of the main building. They were playing a game of tag, laughing and yelling for joy as they ran around. As they played, several residents watched over them with rifles ready. It was good to see some children. The human race might have a chance after all.
Claire saw them too. She looked at me and smiled, her first good smile in weeks. “They have kids. Cool.”
Jenny brought us to the main building’s porch. It was a welcoming affair with a few rocking chairs. It was one-story brick, with a lot of glass. It looked a lot like those welcome centers on the interstates. Jenny pushed open one of the twin glass doors and stepped aside to let Claire and me inside.
    We walked into a wood-tiled lobby with a desk on the right. A small waiting room was on the left, across from the desk. In front of us on the back wall, were a few sets of glass double-doors that led to a large gathering place or dining room. The whole place was neat and tidy, but with some supplies and a few papers scattered around on desks and tables. It was a nice building. Cannon Fields must have used it as a clubhouse or an administration building.
    “Wait here.” Jenny pointed to the small waiting room, then disappeared down a small hallway. I heard a knock at a distant office door.
    “I bet the leader is a big guy. You know, a real survivalist-type. What do you think, Tiger?” Claire said.
    “You’re probably right. He’ll come out with twin ammo belts strapped across his chest or something.”
    Claire covered her mouth as she started to giggle. As it turned out, we couldn’t have been more wrong about the leader of Cannon Fields.
    A pear-shaped, middle-aged woman came out of the hallway to greet us. She wore big black-framed glasses and had a yellow sweater on over a flowery blouse. When she saw us, a smile broke out on her face. Not what I expected at all.
    “Hello and welcome,” she said in a pleasant, almost musical voice. She shook our hands and said, “I’m Denise. I guess I’m in charge.” She turned to Jenny. “Okay, Jen. Thanks for getting our new friends.”
    Jenny started to step outside.