Chapter 38
Aweek had passed since the meeting with Markwood.
Though there was still a small amount of fear of some kind of retaliation from the man and his militia, Veronica had resigned herself to worry about more important things at that moment.
She, Nick, and Darrell, we’re already on their way to another city.
There were still plenty of places around the area that might be willing to work out some sort of trade agreement with them.
Veronica was going to try everything in her power to figure out a way to trade with other cities around them.
She felt that the more people she could get involved and trade with, the better it would be for everyone involved.
It was still heavy on her heart that she hadn’t been able to liberate the people from the city the militia had taken over.
There was still going to be time to figure something out to help them.
She found herself thinking about the previous week and how fast things were coming together.
It was hard to imagine that even a week before, no one wanted to listen to the ideas and warnings she was offering.
After everything that had happened with Markwood, the villagers finally heeded her warning.
There were things far more dangerous than just going on without power.
The villagers were all working together now.
The progress that had come from their joint effort was far greater than she could have imagined.
Not only were the villagers finding new ways to protect themselves from outsiders, but they were all learning how to work together in order to prepare for the upcoming winter months.
There was already something in the air that told Veronica that the upcoming months could be some of the worst winter months the area had seen in years.
Her, her brother, and the handsome young man her brother had found in the city continued moving toward the new city they wanted to set up a trade route with. They all were on the back of horses.
The trio had made short time of the travel, and before any of them realized it, they had begun their approach to the entrance of the city.
Instantly, Veronica noticed there were guards posted at the front gate.
She prayed silently to herself it wouldn’t be a repeat of the previous city they were in.
The last thing she wanted to do was to run into more men like Markwood. He was evil beyond belief.
She raised her hand at the other two and motioned for them both to dismount. Quickly jumping off her own horse, she slowly approached the town’s entrance. The guard smiled politely at them and motioned with his weapon for them to approach.
“We certainly don’t mean you any harm,” the man said. “We just want to make sure there isn’t anyone trying to come into the city who is going to hurt the citizens here.”
Veronica smiled. “I can understand that better than you think. I have a village full of people that I’m trying to look out for as well. We’re actually only stopping by to try to set up a trade route.”
“Hell, that’s probably the best idea I’ve heard since this whole thing started. I think it would be great for all of us if we could figure out a way to offer each other goods and services.”
“Is there someone we can talk to in order to try to move this process forward?”
“Absolutely. If the three of you just follow me into town, I will take you to our town hall and introduce you to the leader here. I’m sure she is going to be interested in what you’re proposing.”
Relief washed over Veronica as she followed the man into town.
After everything the trio had witnessed the week before with Markwood, she had been silently hoping that the same thing wouldn’t happen again.
Though the city was nothing like it had probably been before the power went out, it was still one of the cleaner areas she had visited.
Within minutes, they were introduced to a woman who was in charge of ensuring the town’s safety.
After just a few minutes of talking, Veronica knew they were going to be able to strike up some sort of deal.
It didn’t take long for the two to agree that a trading day would be set up for the first day of each month.
Everyone would be welcome to offer whatever sort of goods and services they wanted.
The villagers in her town would be allowed to bring wagons to the border with the people of the city.
It was exciting to see everything starting to come together in the way she imagined things should have gone in the other city.
Veronica felt good about the prospect of trading with the woman’s townspeople. Knowing they would all need each other to survive however long they would have to go without power, it helped to have the knowledge they would be able to trade for the items they needed to survive.
The deal was quickly finished with a handshake and a smile between the two women.
Veronica was happy to have had the deal solidified and was ready to make her way to the next town.
Everything she was planning on trying to do was starting to come together in a way she couldn’t imagine before.
Within the next month, the villagers would have more of what they needed in order to make a happy living environment for all the community.
All three of them were in high spirits as they mounted their horses and started out for the next city.
They had been on the road for less than half an hour when Darrell chucked a small pebble at her horse, causing it to glide to the right. Laughing, Veronica quickly turned around and shot him a look. Conner would never do such a thing, and it made it easier to know Darrell was the culprit.
“What are you trying to do?”
“I just wanted to get your attention,” Darrell said with a grin.
“I’m sure there are a lot easier ways to get my attention than throwing a rock at my horse.”
“You’re probably right. But that doesn’t mean those other ways are any more fun than the reaction I just got.
Besides, all I really wanted to do was tell you how great I think you are at diplomacy.
I’m not all that sure that anyone else could strike the deal you just made with those citizens back there. ”
“I suppose it just comes from the way I was raised and learning things from my mother.”
Darrell chuckled. “Now you have me wondering if I should tell your mom that you actually have something nice to say about her.”
“Just because we don’t always see eye to eye on religion and a few other things doesn’t mean I don’t respect what she taught me as I was growing up.
It wasn’t necessarily that she taught me how to be diplomatic but having a mother like her made me have to learn the ways of talking myself out of trouble. ”
“I guess having a mother like that would make anyone have to learn the same thing. I still applaud you for the job you’ve done so far.”
Veronica could do nothing more than chuckle at the handsome man riding a step behind.
It didn’t matter how hard she tried to keep her distance.
She was drawn to the look in his eyes and the calm demeanor he always had.
Darrell had a rugged charm that burned through her soul.
They had taken the first half hour at a snail’s pace, talking about all the possibilities of what it meant to have the trade available.
Even though they weren’t really that far away from the city they had just left, Veronica suddenly had a feeling that the group was being followed.
Without wanting to alarm the others, she took a quick look around to each side and behind her, but there was nothing out there.
She cursed herself for thinking she could be wrong about the city.
She really didn’t think it was possible that someone would strike a deal the way the woman had, just to go back on it several minutes later.
Shaking off the feeling and putting it to the back of her mind, Veronica pushed forward toward the next town.
If anyone was trying to follow them and locate what direction they were going, it would have been Markwood.
The man had more knowledge about her than she would have liked, and he knew Veronica had the ability to get vehicles up and running again.
She hated the idea her skills were putting others in danger.