Page 34 of Powerless
"If it were anyone else, I'd be right there with you," I said. "But look me in the eye and tell me you're willing to let this one go because of your fucking manly pride."
"Ugh..."
"I know, man." I clapped his shoulder. "But since the hurt is so fresh, you should give her some space first. Do your groveling when we get home."
"But I want to move past this and go back to how it was!"
"It's not aboutyou, bro. That's what I'm trying to tell you.Sheneeds to let the sting of you hurting her cool down a little.Sheneeds to feel confident that you genuinely want this to work. See what I'm saying?"
"Damn it." He kicked at a pebble. "You're right."
"She's riding with me back home. Along with Chela, Perdita, and Letty."
"Who?"
"My chickens," I grinned. "A farm in my back yard don't sound so bad, after all."
"Jesus Christ, Jandro..."
"Hey, don't come knocking at my door for fresh eggs every morning if you're gonna bitch." I gave him a two-fingered salute as I walked off. "See you on the road,presidente."
"Uh, Jandro?"
"Si, Mariposita?"
“Why is Big G in his underwear?”
I looked up, then quickly ducked my head down to hide my laughter. While the rest of us were decked out in black riding leathers, Big G stood out like a sore thumb wearing nothing but a pair of boxers that showedwaytoo much plumber crack. The pasty white boy’s skin was already turning pink and had a thin sheen of sweat. Dude was going to be fucking miserable, but he would live.
“Don’t worry about him. It’s punishment for running his mouth.”
“He’s going to get a hell of a sunburn.”
“Yeah, that’s kind of the idea.”
Mariposa turned toward my bike, winding her ponytail up into a bun to shove under her helmet. "Are your chickens going to be okay like that?"
She looked worriedly at the cages I attached with bungie cords to each side of my bike. One held two of my girls, Chela and Perdita, the other held Letty and a rooster I snagged last minute. I decided to call him Foghorn.
"They'll be okay for two days on the road," I assured her. "Once we're home, they'll have my whole back yard to roam."
After talking to Reaper, I decided to grab a male to breed the next generation of chickens. If we were smart about it, Sheol could have its own sustainable, healthy food source. But they had to be treated well and with respect, as much respect as one could give a chicken, anyhow.
My uncle used to work in a USDA-funded slaughterhouse. Conditions there were tough enough before the Collapse, but it turned into a straight-up horror movie after regulations and safety standards went right out the window. On top of already being surrounded by blood and death, overworked employees with worthless pay now had access to dangerous weapons and animals to take out their frustrations on.
And people wondered why I was so good with Shadow. I'd been soothing a grown man after his violent nightmares for years already.
"Are you going to build them a coop?" Mari asked with a smile. She stuck a finger through the cage and gently stroked Perdita's feathers.
"I guess I should, huh?" I scratched the back of my neck. "To keep coyotes from getting them."
"Don't ask me to play vet," she laughed. "I don't know anything about bird anatomy."
Together we looked up, finding the familiar sight of Horus perched on the roof just outside the kitchen. I didn't know much about birds either, but hoped the raptor had enough sense to leave my chickens alone.
"You miss Gun?" I caught Mari's wistful expression as she watched Horus take off from the roof.
"Yeah, I do," she admitted. "He took my mind off things and made me laugh last time."
