They drove the rest of the way to the farm in silence. The little car engine droned along with a consistent monotonous buzzing that was only broken with double thump of cracks and patches in the pavement briefly hitting the wheels as they passed over them.

  Amos was lost in thought, grappling with many fears all at once. He could not tell what Alanah was thinking, if she was even thinking, as she sat unmoving, staring ahead at the road to come.

  He was mad at himself for being careless, mad at himself for forgetting to bring his gun and mad at needing to bring a gun in the first place. Why can’t we go anywhere at all without feeling like we are under threat? It was a stupid question, even when asked to oneself in one’s own mind. He knew the answer. The world has gone to crap and until it gets better, people are going to behave more like animals than people.

  That was it then he realized. Treat everyone like they are a wolf until either you know them to be a lamb or someone else that cannot harm you. Treat every environment like it is full of wolves and if it is not, then at least assume it is being watched by wolves looking for opportunity.

  What a crappy way to live he thought to himself and then his mind circled back to what Alanah had said. “I can’t keep doing this anymore”. What did this mean? Was she tired of living with him, working with him or with just being targeted all of the time. He had so much to ask her but he knew enough to know now was not the time.

  When they pulled off onto the sideroad the now familiar crunch of the loose gravel was a welcome sound that broke up the oppressive sense dead air in the car. “Don’t say anything to them ok, it will just get back to Jim and we will have so much to explain then”. “I get it” said Amos realizing that explaining this whole car and venture to Jim was yet another problem of his to resolve.

  It did not matter in the end. Almost as soon as Alanah got out of the car Andi sensed that something was amiss. After looking for clues and finding none with Amos the older woman walked over to Alanah and lead her away by the arm. Amos watched Alanah follow obediently without question and he realized that she had probably slipped into a state of shock once they had started driving.

  “You two have a fight or somethin?” Simon asked gently once the two were out of earshot. Amos turned to the weathered older man and said “let Andi tell you later, Alanah asked me not to say too much but …..” his voice trailed off and then after a moment or so he picked up again. “but I might as well tell you I guess. We were attacked at a gas station and Alanah was almost abducted. She is pretty shaken up”.

  “Well how about you son, how’d you get off unscathed then or did you? Amos looked up at the much older man and saw genuine concern in his eyes. This small sign of compassion, at that moment, meant the world to Amos. He had not allowed himself to think about what could have happened to Alanah just two hours ago. He couldn’t bear the thought of it.

  The realization that someone else might be worried about him as well was very comforting and it hit him just how much help they still needed and how vulnerable they were, both mentally and physically.

  Simon listened without much reaction as Amos relayed the story from the gas station. He could see the surprise and the disquiet in the older man’s eyes when he explained the gunshots and how the truck ended up driving off the road with one man shot in the leg.

  By the time he was finished Simon was looking at his hands folded carefully together on top of his worn jeans. Like a fortune teller looking for answers about the future, Simon seemed to be studying his lined and calloused hands for an explanation of sorts but eventually looked up without much of anything to say. “Let’s go saddle up that Bay for her then, I think a few turns around the pasture will do her a world of good.”

  His intuition was correct and while Alanah rode Amos helped to make an early lunch with Andi in the kitchen. She was also much quieter than usual and Amos worried about what Alanah might had told her. Was she happy, did she want to go home, was she worried for her safety when she was with him? Andi did not provide any answers and when Alanah was back they all just made do with some farm related small talk over their quick lunch.

  After lunch Simon took Alanah and Amos to his workshop and started to show them the process of reloading ammunition. It was highly specialized and exacting work. Andi was against the idea but Jim pushed back against her concerns.

  “It’s exactly what they need right now. To take their minds offa what just happened and to just focus on a task, shut out all of that other noise for just a moment. Besides, if they are going to use guns then they’re gonna need to get real comfortable with them and reloadin their own ammo is a great way to do just that”.

  The old famer was right and the meticulous process of inspecting and cleaning old cases, adding the primer and the charge and then seating the bullet was both fascinating and demanding. The two kids were completely engaged in the process for well over ninety minutes stopping only once Randy had finished loading their car and it was time to go.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  The drive back was much better for Amos. Alanah was a lot more like her old self and by the time they had gotten close to Boston she was relaying to Amos her shooting schedule for both of them for the week. “Simon says we are foolhardy, whatever that means, for shooting at a brick wall. He said we are on borrowed time if we keep doing that so we should set up some kind of backstop. It took him a while to understand that we are shooting on a rooftop only when the subway goes by, he just doesn’t understand how this makes sense but I guess ya got to see it to believe it”.

  “He’s not wrong, the bullets could bounce back at us, it would just take one time I guess. There are some sheets of plywood on the second floor near the roof access door. I can rig up a backstop with some couch cushions behind them which should help a lot”.

  “Fine but do it soon because we need start practicing right away and I’m making a daily checklist for you as well. Before you leave home you have to have everything on you and I’m gonna check you at random too so you had better have it all”. Amos smiled and said that he was happy to comply, he would not leave unprepared again.

  Alanah left him to his thoughts as they slowly made their way towards the Charlestown Farmers Market. She thought he was designing the shooting range backstop in his head and while he was he was also quite distracted by how Alanah had used the term “home” instead of “squat”. He hoped it was intentional and not just a slip of the tongue.

  It was mid afternoon when they pulled up across from the small green space with the soldiers monument on Common Street in Charlestown. Like all of the farmers markets in the Boston area this one was new and trying its best to establish a foothold amongst a beleaguered neighbourhood.

  The appeal of meeting friends and neighbours in a welcoming environment really resonated with many people especially long time members of the community. They still remembered how things used to be and a farmers market, even if for just a few hours a week, was a truly enjoyable and welcome experience for most.

  They had just set up at the end of an aisle of stalls and already people had noticed the farm fresh eggs and milk. “Are these free range, organic?” “Where is the farm?” “Do you have beef or pork?” “Can I get a deal if I buy eggs and milk?”

  Alanah started to manage and control the crowd of people around their table. She was a natural at this and would answer a question by directing her response to the surrounding people, thereby informing and engaging all nearby. Because she had such a commanding presence people were more than happy to wait their turn and to watch her interact with the line up ahead of them.

  Amos hung back, he felt like he would just be in the way and Alanah seemed to be in complete control. When the initial rush had died off she turned to him and encouraged him “go off and look around, get us something nice for dinner”.

  “Nope, I am not leaving your side. I am ready and watching everyone that passes by or stands too close. I am not letting anyone get the jump on us again if I can help it. Especially if we are taking in cash each time we do this.”

  Alanah gave him a small smile, the first he had seen from her since the gas station. “You learn quickly, that’s good Amos, keep it up”. She turned back to look at the people moving up and down the aisle to see who might be next to need some help. Amos also started watching the people around them and beyond, hoping not to see anyone who might be a cause of trouble for them.

  A few short hours later the market was done and the vendors were folding up their plastic card tables and getting ready to load boxes, bins and bags back in cars for the trip home. They were starting to recognize some familiar faces, vendors that they had seen in other markets around the city in weeks past.

  Some of these people they knew by name and each time they met them they were glad to see a friendly face and to make that connection. The kids were popular amongst the other vendors, they were seen as polite and plucky as one older woman put it. Helen sold beets and all manner of beet products, mainly juices and preserves. Her stall was certainly not the busiest so she had a lot of time to observe the others and she had taken a liking to Alanah.

  When Amos and Alanah were not within earshot she would tell the other vendors to watch out for those two, they were good kids and to make sure that no one bothers them or tries to rip them off. If they had cared to, they could have fussed over their age and how young they appeared and if they were old enough to drive or to sell at the market for that matter.

  No one did though, none of the other vendors had the slightest desire to make life more difficult for those that were trying hard to make it work. Especially two young kids.

  Amos and Alanah loaded up their table, their signs and bags and closed the rear doors of the car with a bit of relief. It had been a long day and quite a scary one at first. At some point, Amos knew that they should talk about what happened and how close they came to something unspeakable happening to Alanah.

  As Amos took one last look around before getting into the car he subconsciously reached down to check Alanah’s Colt revolver that had been stashed in his pocket for the rest of the day. It was a bad habit, one that he was not aware that he had and that he was doing it every fifteen to twenty minutes.

  The problem with this kind of repeated motion is that it is a tell, a sign for those that know what to look for. The young boy watching Amos from across the street had picked up on this tell almost immediately. He was a street kid from the North End of Boston who had come across the Washington Street bridge to see what he could find in Charleston.

  He had been looking for a mark to pickpocket or rob, the farmers markets usually attracted a fair number of them but these two young kids selling milk had instantly stood out to him. There was a reason why but he just couldn’t remember what it might be. When he picked up on Amos feeling for his pocket again and again he first thought this is where his wallet or phone was kept.

  The way he kept putting his hand in was not right however, he was grabbing something and that is when it hit him. This young guy was carrying. There was most definitely something worth knowing about these two, he was sure it would come to him and before these two returned to the farmers market next week.

  When they did, he would be right back here and he would know better what he was looking at and why these two mattered so much.