DavidPaulHarris.com

Time To Say Farewell He drew in the dirt because there was no pencil and paper. The little ones were apt pupils and learned quickly. The thought crossed his mind now and then that what he was doing was fruitless. What did it matter if the children knew how to read if they were going to die out? Mothers gave birth to stillborns or those that were more mercifully put to peace. A fourth generation of The Changed would never be. He had to mark time somehow. Teaching was as good a way as any. It was time to find another dwelling place so they were on the move again. The new elders felt it more prudent to not stay in the last one after hearing gunfire in the distance. He’d wandered far from their camp this morning but someone had found him. Footsteps drew near and he raised his head from his hand so no one would ask what was on his mind. In his despair he might be tempted to share it. Thoughts like this were best unspoken. Good thing, too, for it was Danna approaching. She sat, smiling compa

The Staying Places Danna wrapped a cloth around the flesh wound given her by Dancy. Other than that and being dazed by the fall, she was uninjured. There was no more gunfire and a roar of victory sounded, followed by another then another. She shook her dazed head then kicked up to her feet and ran toward one of the collapsed buildings, knowing beneath this one lay parents and children. She couldn’t move the heavy pieces of wood by herself so she began to dig, calling out. A weak voice answered and her digging became more frantic. More help came and they all sent sand through the air, making her cough. Danna didn’t stop until someone grabbed her legs and pulled her away. They began clearing the shattered roof and walls, moving carefully to uncover the buried ones. “Go get some water,” Pericles barked at her. Kneeling, she waited as the rubble was lifted and the rescuers began to remove bodies, alive and dead. She crawled forward when she saw the dog-woman, one arm cradling her broken gu

 Guns vs. Spears It didn’t look like much but as Dancy exited the combine, mask in place, he felt the tingle of standing on what was almost holy ground. Alonso came up beside him, hand on the butt of his .40 caliber pistol. In hushed, reverent tones, Dancy told him, “This is where the bug that bit our ass had some of its finest days.” “Huh?” He waved a hand around them. “Near here was Los Alamos, the site of nuclear testing. See these buildings? Miles away they’d explode the bombs then come here to read the radiation levels and see how much damage the winds and sound waves had done.” Alonso didn’t have his weapon drawn. “Take your gun out, dammit.” Need he tell these dummies everything? On the other hand, most of the men they’d faced were half-naked hicks from some burg in the boonies. Now they were facing, if anything, an unknown quality of foe. Was this phony town really as empty as it seemed? A man ran up to him and gave his report. “Someone was here but it looks like they’ve gone.”