Authors: Algor X. Dennison
Take Back Denver (18 page)
There was mourning for the Barros, and for Brad. There was planning for the future, and plenty of hard work now that the weather was warmer and the fighting was over. The group ate well, recovering from the lean weeks and months some of them had endured, and they enjoyed each other’s company as they recovered emotionally from all they had been through.
As the head of the thriving little ranch, McLean busied himself with the work and direction of the group’s efforts to stay ahead of their needs: food, water, shelter, fuel, and growing their small flocks and herds. The others pitched in willingly and also worked with neighbors to form communities, skill-sharing networks, and even social efforts to provide education, religion, and friendship to everyone who needed it.
Carrie participated fully in all of it, and was more aligned in heart and soul with her husband than she had ever thought possible during their early days together. But every so often she would walk out onto the front porch and watch the sunrise light up the sky to the east. And as bright yellow skiffs of cloud blew past the pink or orange sky against the dark pines along the mountain crest, she would stare into the distance as if she could see past the mountains.
As if she could see right through into Denver and beyond, into the heart of the country that had once been a tightly-woven nation of three hundred million interconnected people and institutions.
And she would wonder how it all happened, and what injustices were going on out there still, and who was going to do something about it.
END of Part Two of the Denver Burning series: Take Back Denver
Algor Dennison lives in Idaho, where everyone else is going to go when the world ends. If you enjoyed this novella, he welcomes criticism, witticism, and reviews at
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