The township of Longs town wasn’t as large as it looked from a distance, the closer you got to it, in fact-the narrower the roads became. The buildings were in small groups but seemed to be spread out over an area of about two miles, still there were shops open that would barter and trade for whatever they could get of any value, and someone was definitely cleaning it up and getting the citizenry there organized. The people, though, seemed somewhat hesitant at the sight of strangers, and weren’t all that eager to engage in conversation. Still, Mars and Chi did manage to get someone to point them in the direction of a place where they could get a cold drink and trade for some food. Out of anything that a person could carry with them, tools-like knives, shovels, spades and even blade sharpening stones held a very high value and Mars had several sharpening stones with him. They stepped up onto the porch of a large Victorian style two-story house that had various signs in the windows, the paint was old and peeling, it was an off-white that made it look like something out of the 1800s. They heard a small bell ring as Mars swung open the front door, he looked down at Chi and winked.
They walked into what looked like an old antique shop at a glance, there were various types of oil lamps and canisters of ball bearings, old refurbished chairs. They were smaller items like magnifying glasses small bowls of glass beads and small pocket knives and old wick lit cigarette lighters in a glass cabinet that was set up as a counter. There were stacks of mended blankets and some old coats and boots of various sizes and conditions in the corner of the lobby next to the front door. There were leather belts, straps and mirrors spread out across the walls. Mars thought that you could spend hours trying to look at everything in the room and still not see it all. They pushed open two double glass doors and walked into another room full of tables and chairs, and there was a long bare wooden counter with a line of worn stools running along the front of it. They walked up to the counter, and he helped Chi up on one of the stools and removed his pack. He heard someone stirring in the backroom from behind the counter.
“I’ll be there in a second.” A female voice bellowed from the next room.
“We can wait.” He answered, smiling down at Chi.
A tall, thin middle-aged woman with flaming bright red hair shot through the door in almost a blur, hurrying along the length of the counter. Her bright hazel eyes lit up, and she smiled broadly at her two guests.
“Well, hello there, I’m Alice-what can I do for ya?” She asked.
“I think the child is hungry, and I was hoping we might do a little trading for a hot meal. and maybe a little information if you could spare the time.” Mars told her.
She put both hands on her hips and leaned over the counter, looking down at Chi.
“Ohhhh, but aren’t you precious!” She looked at Mars. “Alright, so what are you trying to trade?”
He pulled a long, thick, flat blue stone out of his pack and placed it on the counter. And when she saw it, her eyes lit up, making it near impossible for her to hide her excitement.
“Mister-Are you sure you want to trade a stone in that good of condition for food and information?”
“You run a kitchen, don’t you?”
She nodded.
“And I would imagine you have to feed a lot of people that come through here, so you need sharp knives to cook and cut with don’t you?”
Again she nodded.
She explained to them that her family and many of the other families had lived in Longstown, and stayed there long before and after the world governments collapsed. And one thing that the people of Longstown were always good at, was good old-fashioned survival skills that included pulling together as a community. They grew their own livestock, their own vegetables and grain, maintained an armed security force that would keep the peace whenever outsiders would come in and try to test them. There were even a few working guns in town, though they rarely ever had occasion to use them. She had just cleaned three fresh chickens that morning, and she was in the process of frying them on the wood stove in the kitchen, she boiled water to prepare the fresh vegetables, carrots, potatoes and onions, the peppers weren’t ripened enough yet so she couldn’t harvest them. She brought two plates with silverware and two glasses of cold water, along with a basket of fried bread, and then set a small platter of the fried chicken on the counter in front of them. Chi looked up at Mars and then at the large spread of food and then at Alice, the wide eye child had never seen so much food in one place in her entire life. Mars however suggested to her that they might want to give thanks to all responsible for the feast. And both bowed their heads as he said a brief prayer.
Alice sat and watched in amazement at the child's ravenous appetite until Mars motioned her to the side to speak in private. They moved down the counter out of earshot of the child.
“Has there been any strangers through here before us? You know anyone that might have stood out, they may have been traveling with an oriental woman?” He slowly looked over at Chi.
“Oh dear God. Her momma?” Alice sunk down dejectedly on the stool.
Mars closed his eyes and nodded slowly.
There was a band of skinheads that were traveling on horseback, and they had a wagon with a cage on the back covered with a tarp, not more than two days previous to Mars and Chi’s arrival. Alice told him that the leader was asking about a place nearby for them to camp for a few days to rest and water their animals, and as they were pulling away-tied in the back of the wagon looking out through the tarp was a small, thin oriental woman. There were seven men on and around the wagon and six others that split off from the main group and left back the way they came-north, back down Stackmill road. The town constable told them that the best place would be at the old deserted Joplin settlement down by the Sturgess River. It was about four miles from Longstown down Stackmill road until there was a trail that veered off to the right and went into the deep woods.
Mars gave Alice a concerned look as he glanced back over at Chi.
“Well, I believe that Miss Chi and I have already met the six that went back the way they came, and they are no longer of concern to anyone.” He told Alice.
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