~Alexander Compound, Lima, OH, United States, Earth, Ceti Universe~
Raven pulled the tarp back from the pallet of bags of concrete mix. Across the yard, Sascha stood holding the four-by-four in place. She probably didn't need to hold it in place, he had secured all three two-by-fours already, but she wasn't sure what else to do right now. Her sister was an unresponsive near-vegetable in the basement and her niece and nephew were keeping busy with toys. They had wanted to come up to the yard to watch the adults work, but Raven wouldn't allow it. Not with everything that was going on right now. He grabbed up two bags of mix and went back to Sascha.
"A'right, let's get these other ones set before we get the concrete in. It'll kinda speed up the process."
Sascha grunted, it wasn't how she wanted to do it, but released the pole. As expected by Raven, the wood stayed where it was. He had already stamped down a layer of soil around the pole on top of having the two-by-fours securing it. They moved on to the next hole. He had already dug all of the post holes they needed while she was sleeping. His plans had originally included four gates but the fewer gates the better. They were much weaker than the walls themselves.
Raven sat the next pole in place and held it while Sascha moved dirt in and used another piece of lumber to compress it. They repeated this along the rest of the perimeter. He had decided to move the fence right up against the sidewalk since there didn't seem to be any real authority anymore. It has been two days since he brought Sascha back and the television only showed the emergency broadcast signal. A large number of radio stations were still broadcasting. Some of the local ones seemed to have connections to weather information and provided warnings when a storm brought nuclear fallout from Chicago too close for comfort on its way east.
Neither spoke as they finished placing the last pole and began on the two-by-fours. An adjustment here and an adjustment there was all it took, and they soon had the entire perimeter framed up. He had ordered thinner, individual wooden slats instead of sections due to the cost and difficulty of getting them delivered shortly before society went to hell in a handbasket. He had only even heard police sirens a couple times over the last two days. Foot traffic seemed non-existent as well.
Raven leaned on the two-by-four he was placing and glanced over at Sascha, "think you can make sure the kids get some lunch? I used the forge yesterday to bake some bread. Should still be some on the deep freezer."
"Yeah, I guess. Has she moved from the cot at all since I got here?"
He sighed, "nope, but she barely moved from the bed before that anyways. That's why the kids were always in our room."
She grunted and headed for the basement. Margaret's younger son scooted around a garden plot and headed towards Raven.
"Hey, I had a question for ya," he said as he smiled.
"Yeah, what's up?"
"I was wonderin if I got the wood, if you would help me put a fence up around mom's house. Maybe connect our yards for safety and stuff."
"Yep, prob won't be able to for another day or two though."
He sighed, "thank you man. I don't like not havin a fence up. The house I was rentin on the north side had at least a chain link fence around it."
"It's no problem bubba. Safety in numbers. You still got yer momma's Magnum over there?"
"Oh yeah, locked and loaded."
Raven nodded, "good, I'd keep it that way. All ours are the same. How's yer brother doin? Have you heard from him?"
The heavy-set man went silent for a moment. He looked around, trying to find the right words. His face went through several phases as he tried to control his emotions. His eyes tearing up.
"Nah man. Last I heard was from his wife. She said he was startin to get pale and havin trouble breathing. The bite.... she said it's really nasty lookin."
"I'm sorry to hear that bubba. Hopefully he gets past it. He seems the sort that even a virus wouldn't wanna really hang around," Raven chuckled, trying to make the other man laugh, "ya know, I don't even know yer name. Margaret always just said my oldest or my youngest."
Sudden realization bloomed across the other man's slightly grinning face.
"Shit! Really? I didn't realize we never realized we never actually introduced ourselves. My name is Frank. My brother's name is Jesse. Yours is Raven right?"
Raven stuck out his hand and shook Franks hand, "yup. Hopefully ya didn't hear it with anything too bad."
Frank smiled and shook his head. He picked up a slat, "here?"
Raven nodded and picked up another slim piece of wood. The two men chatted while they placed the wooden slats and hammered the nails home. Before long, they were finished and assembling the gates. The hinges were quickly in place and gates themselves hung. Frank bent to tie his shoe for the dozenth time. That's when Raven noticed the handle of Margaret's fabled Magnum peeking out of his pocket. The baggy shirt Frank wore had previously concealed its presence. He smiled to himself. At least the somewhat simple man had been smart enough to carry it. His own handgun rested in the holster on his hip. The Glock twenty-two caliber was light enough even the kids could wield it but packed a punch with the hollow points within.
Frank shook hands again with Raven before looking at the setting sun and returning to his own home. Raven returned to the basement to finally take a respite and write some. Not that there was anyone to write for in particular. Who would publish anything now? Digital services were rather spotty if or when they worked. The only thing going out on social media when it loaded were either requests for help or offers for sanctuary from this fresh new hell that was life. Rarely, but occasionally, there was information from the World Health Organization or Center for Disease Control. Anything coming from the governments of the world was typically propaganda about who was to blame. Then there were the tidbits about who was attacking who. Even with the world gone to shit, there would always be those who insisted on making everyone else even more miserable.
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Raven woke to Sascha shaking him. It took him a moment to realize someone was pounding on the basement door. He threw the covers off and grabbed his pistol from under the pillow. Moving the curtain aside, he could see the outline of Frank's head. He unlocked the door minus the two slide locks.
"The sun isn't even up yet Frank. What's up?"
"Jesse's wife just called me. She's locked in the closet with my nephew. I could hear Jesse bangin on the door growling and screeching. I think what happened to my mom is happenin with him. I don't know what to do man," Frank blurted out, his voice full of panic.
"Dude, if he is freakin out and everything, I'm not sure there is anything we can do. Where's he live?"
"They live down by St Marys."
Raven rubbed his forehead roughly, squeezing his eyes, "bubba... that's like a forty-five minute drive. Unless that door is solid, there isn't anything we'd be able to do except send em our prayers man."
Frank stood outside the door anxiously dancing side to side. Even in the dark, Raven could see the sweat pouring down Frank's frantic figure.
"And that's a long way to go away from my family right now."
Frank gave an exasperated sigh and turned away. Each step up from the basement done heavily. He understood where Raven was coming from. Jesse, Jesse's wife, and their son were just about the only family he had left. He and his own ex-wife had never had any kids. Raven watched as Frank reached the top of the stairs and turned homeward before shutting the door back. He made sure all of the locks were in place and went to his worktable. Flicking on the lamp, he sat down to go over his plans for the coming day.
He knew he needed to try and get some more wood soon. He needed to make the walls stronger, which he had a few ideas for, and get something going so that he could look over the walls without having to go inside and upstairs. Raven looked over at the cots. It was tempting to go lay back down for a bit. With Frank up and about stressing over his brother, there was a decent chance the man would be back rather than bump around his own home aimlessly. That concern was knocked off of his list quickly though. He heard the Ford pickup truck crank up and pull out into the back alley.