What Used to be Arkansas Chapter 6

with audio

(Because this book is under contract, this is the last chapter I’m able to give away for free. For those who would like to continue reading What Used to be Arkansas, I have put my Substack subscription on sale right now for 30% off! That’s only $3.50 a month—stop anytime you want—or $35 for the year. This sale will end in 2 days. You can go here for more information. If you’d rather read the ebook, it is for sale on Amazon here.)

Molly stood and stretched, her legs stiff from crouching so long. With a smile of satisfaction, she looked at the long lines of baby plants she’d planted this morning.

This field was more than just food for her new community of Anson. It was also a cash crop. People in the surrounding area would come here to trade. And traders from Anson would go to neighboring communities and barter. All of it was crucial to the survival of people she’d come to call family.

The last six months had been a game-changer for Molly. She still missed her flesh and blood family, but the pain had eased. Anjulie became like a big sister to her, and Anjulie’s mom, Sue, was very much like a mother. Most of the other people who lived within those walls became her friends. It was everything she’d longed for.

Molly sometimes felt guilty, as if she’d left her real family behind. She supposed in some ways she had, but they would always be in her heart.

In the middle of winter, Molly turned seventeen. It went by with barely a blip. Seventeen wasn’t the coming of age it used to be. In this new world, seventeen wasn’t almost an adult, it was one. 

Now, thirteen or fourteen was the new eighteen. Without a doubt, there were kids out there younger than her who had been forced to take on the burdens of adults. She’d been doing it since before Gram died.

Molly sighed and rested her hand on Nanook’s back as she imagined what her teen years would’ve been like before The Fall. Would she have been on a basketball or a track team? How many dances would she have attended? Would she have been kissed by now?

A picture of Drew flashed through her head—that first glance she’d had of him. Tall and competent as he assured her he was there to save her. The intense look in his eyes, and the confidence he displayed, had convinced her to go with him before he’d even finished speaking.

That day, her choice was Drew or that creature Albert had grown—the caniceraus. It was a no-brainer.

She shook her head, trying to rattle Drew out of her mind. He’d taken off with the other soldiers, supposedly to stop them from hurting more people. He’d just left—kinda like she hoped his memory would do right now. Who knew if she’d ever see him again.