Shortly after, Cally approached the barn and found Daisy carrying large pieces of scrap out to the back of an old pickup. A glance through the open double doors revealed several horse stalls filled to the brim with more scrap.
“Um, I’m here to help you with chores,” Cally announced.
Dropping her load onto the truck bed, Daisy paused to look the shorter girl over. “Did Pa send you?”
“Uh, yes?” Cally answered. Did she detect a hint of displeasure in the girl’s tone?
A tightening in Daisy’s lips confirmed the suspicion, but she merely nodded over her shoulder towards the barn. “Just grab some of that and help me load it up.” With that command, she focused on making more room in the truck.
Cally shrugged and did as instructed. Entering the barn, she grabbed an armload of scrap and lifted. As a result, she almost toppled forward when the scrap failed to budge. Her moment of confusion lasted until she eyed her pale, skinny arms and body. Swallowing her pride, she whittled her choices down to a shiny classic car bumper and a couple of solid two-by-fours. Even then, carrying it all while walking proved to be a strain.
As she passed Daisy going the other way, she straightened up and tried to appear capable. She only got a subtly raised eyebrow in return. Heaving her burden into place beside the rest, she turned around to find Daisy already coming back with easily double Cally’s load under each arm. It then occurred to the gamer that the farm girl had a distinct advantage in strength, height, skin tone, poise, pretty much everything really. Feminine muscles rippled as she tossed her pile into place. “Y’know, on second thought, why don’t you just get up there and make some room while I bring more.”
“Sure.” Almost sighing in relief, Cally clambered up and began shifting junk around. Back and forth Daisy went, bringing more and more things for Cally to position. Soon, the gamer girl found herself standing atop a huge interlocking heap. Sweat poured down her face, and every limb felt like jelly.
“That oughta do it,” Daisy finally declared, not even out of breath. “Let’s get going.”
After the two got into the truck, Daisy drove them down a dirt road through the vast field behind the farmhouse. Tall stalks of some kind of crop, maybe corn or something, rose on either side like a jungle. At last, they stopped at the edge of the property where a wall of junk topped with barbed wire stood as a defense against the outside world. Just beyond that, a deep irrigation canal added to its effectiveness, forcing any intruders to wade through cold muddy water before clambering up a steep slope to the wall’s base.
“Wow,” Cally remarked, rapping a knuckle against the sturdy barrier. “You’ve got a pretty good defense here. Where did you find all the material?”
Daisy handed her a hammer and a bag of nails. “Scavenging teams. There’s a few more of us out here than just my family: neighbors, farmhands, people escaping the cities. Everyone takes turns going out for more supplies.” Soon, the two girls began adding to the wall, concentrating on the thinner places and deepening the foundations.
As expected by now, Cally had to scramble to keep up, all the while trying not to trip over flat ground with her altered legs. Her clumsiness did nothing to improve the atmosphere, and at last, after hammering her thumb for the umpteenth time and catching a subtle eye roll at the corner of her vision, she reached the end of her patience. Setting her tool down, she turned to Daisy. “Look, I don’t need this from you, not after everything I’ve gone through these last two days. I had to fight my way out of my own house with a baseball bat and a hatchet! I’ve jumped off buildings, fought off psychopaths, almost got trampled by a mob, killed more people than I care to think about, and I still got-” She only just stopped herself from saying “transformed by the virus.” Perhaps, it was best not to mention her changes right now. “Anyway, I helped save your cousin, at least, so I think I deserve just a little respect. Is that too much to ask!?”
Daisy looked honestly stunned, dropping her own hammer and straightening up to her full impressive height. Cally gulped but kept her gaze steady.
“I-I apologize,” Daisy stammered. “I didn’t mean to make you feel unappreciated. Fact is, I’m really grateful for what you did for my family.” Scratching her head, she looked off in the direction of the road back to the house. “I guess I’m just annoyed at Pa for sending you out here to work just twenty minutes after you arrived. All he ever cares about is defending this farm. He doesn’t even think that some people might need to rest a bit before having to do chores. I mean, you two were driving all night after fighting all day. Seeing you pushing yourself so hard, it’s downright unfair.”
Cally’s anger vanished at this revelation. “Hey, it’s okay. I slept in the car. And I agreed to this.”
Daisy shook her head. “That’s probably the only reason he let you stay here. Another pair of hands he can order around.” For an instant, she almost seemed to regret her words, but she only sighed. “It’s kinda ironic, y’know. Pa always said even if the world ended, I’d still have to get my chores done. I didn’t like that one bit. Farming’s his thing, not mine. So I got out as soon as I could, moved to the city, studied fashion design. When I started dating a nice city boy, I thought I’d escaped from all this, once and for all. Then, the world really did end, and I lost everything. Now, I’m back here, doing my chores like a good farmer. Two years, and probably all hope for a future, gone in a day.”
“Wow,” Cally said. “Sorry. I didn’t know. I guess we’re all just dealing with stuff.”
“Reckon so. And I sure gave you a sorry welcome for your troubles.” Daisy held out a hand. “Look, let’s start over, ‘kay? Friends?”
Smiling, Cally readily took the offered hand and shook it, only to yelp when the bigger girl pulled her into a hug that almost lifted her off the ground. After being released, she caught her breath and re-joined her new gal-pal in building their wall.