[center][h3][b]"Revolution: Wilderness"[/b][/h3]

[b]Closed to KingOfNowhere and myself[/b]

[hider=Note to readers]
This is a totally fresh reboot of a thread
that KingOfNowhere and I were in with a writer
who unfortunately had to quit RPG.
We love this story concept, though,
so we are continuing it together.
We hope you follow it and enjoy.[/hider]
[/center]

Kimberly Wright's day had begun just as most had for the past three years: she was up well before dawn and well before any of the others in the [i]family[/i]; she stoked the fire and added fuel; she dressed warmly to collect water from the nearby creek, one bucket of which would be poured into the kettle dangling over the growing flames; she again left the cabin to milk the goat, collect the chicken eggs, and dig potatoes from the still mostly-frozen ground; and (her last act before the others began to rouse) started breakfast. Nothing new; nothing different.

One by one, the others in [i]Kimmie's[/i] unusual family began slipping out of their beds, dressing, and making their ways either into the kitchen, out to the barn, or into the fields to perform their own morning chores. She told Nicolas and Carla as they headed for the door, "We need to get the rest of the potatoes out of the ground before it thaws, or they'd start rotting."

The 18-year-old male and female twins confirmed the order and headed out. Still in the kitchen, their 28-year-old aunt, Laura, pulled clothing down from a drying line that ran diagonally in one corner. She asked, "Are we going on a run today?"

"I don't think we have a choice," Kimmie answered with obvious reluctance. She looked to a nearby bed and to the 6-year-old child still sound asleep in it. Pressing the back of her hand to Elizabeth's forehead, Kimmie reported, "Lizzie's still burning up. We have to find some meds to get her fever under control."

"We still don't know what's wrong with her?" Laura asked as she distributed the [i]relatively[/i] clean clothes to the beds of those they belonged to. Seeing Kimmie only shake her head, Laura asked, "If we don't know what's wrong with her, how we supposed to treat her?"

Kimmie looked to the woman with whom she had shared a bed since shortly after the Blackout. Over these 8 years together, they'd learned to practically read each other's thoughts. Laura knew what Kimmie's plan was, and she didn't like it. She offered, "We can try someone else, [i]somewhere[/i] else."

"No, we can't," Kimmie contradicted her. "Our only choice is Bentonville. They have the only doctor for, what, a hundred miles?"

"The price..." Laura began without finishing the thought.

"I'm willing to pay it," Kimmie said. She saw her lover open her mouth to speak and cut her off: "[i]No! I[/i] will pay it."

She went to the door and called the others back inside to eat, and the family sat down to a breakfast. It wasn't much in regard to either variety or quantity. They'd eaten everything else they had over the long, cold, hard winter, so breakfasts recently had been mostly the same: half a potato, 1 egg, a small glass of goat's milk, and a similar volume of apple sauce. Today Kimmie ate only the first and last of the items, giving her share to the children, of whom she considered not just Lizzie but [i]Nicky[/i] and Carla, too.

"I'm going into Bentonville today," Kimmie told the twins as the family set about cleaning up the table and dishes. The expressions and reactions displayed the children's lack of enthusiasm for the idea. Nicky demanded that he be allowed to go, to [i]do his part as the man of the house[/i], but Kimmie shot down that idea, just as she always had before. "We'll be gone likely until close to dark. I'm taking Lizzie with me. She needs to see a doctor."

That led to an animated discussion on the topic. The twins were unfortunately well aware of how dangerous the nearby town could be. Although neither of them had ever asked, Kimmie suspected that one or both of them might also have been aware of the [i]price[/i] Kimmie often paid for goods and/or services on her ventures to the Bentonville. 

Eventually, Kimmie brought talk on the subject to an end and sent the twins off to finish digging up the potato crop. She dressed against the cold and armed herself with the sword she'd made from a piece of farm equipment. Other than her knife, it was her only weapon after having used the last of the ammunition to her revolver more than 2 years ago.

"Be careful," Laura whispered to her lover after giving her a soft but meaningful kiss. Laura had already bundled up Lizzie, and together the pair took the sick and still sleeping (or unconscious?) girl out to the cart attached to the backside of a Schwinn adult tricycle. The padded the wire frame trailer and added yet another thick blanket to both cushion and warm Lizzie. One last kiss from her life partner, and Laura said, "If you're not back before dark, I'm taking the children, the car, and the television, and leaving you."

They laughed together, hugged, and then parted as Kimmie pushed one of the bike's pedal down to begin the more than 6 mile ride to town and, hopeful, an end to the little girl's suffering.