“Frank?” Valerie put a hand on a strand of barbed wire in the fence, “Why did people make fences so dangerous?”
I pulled her hand away from the barbs, “It kept the good animals in, and the bad animals out, and made it a lot harder for thieves to steal things. Dad had a barbed wire fence around the cows. He kept them inside that fence. Told me it kept the foxes and wolves, and other predators out. Protected the cows.”
“But?”
I nodded. It was another sign that humans had never actually trusted each other, except in small groups. How they protected themselves from all the other groups.
“In the city, they had razor wire, to keep people out.” She took my hand in hers, “There were good people. And bad people.”
O studied the fence a bit. “Damn. This is something I saw on that long trip. When I went so far from home.”
She tugged on one of the wires, “This fence was recently built.”
I nodded, and put my hand on the place I’d been shot by people at another fence. “If it’s what I think it is, you’re going to need to learn to use a bow and arrow.” I prayed to the Universe I was wrong. “We need to tell Jessica.” It was six days to Jessica’s town. I hoped we got there before the fence people did.
234 Words
@mysoulstears
It’s week 2×41 of Cara Michaels‘s #MenageMonday flash fiction challenge. You can read about #MenageMonday here. Please, go read all the short tales from this week. The tales are always little works of art, crafted with words, meant to be shared, and enjoyed.
I watched the monitors, I saw the fence, mile after mile of it. I saw a wolf, an eagle, a dog, a cat. It was true. Animals watched the fence. I saw the old trucks on one monitor, and a couple of the guard repairing a piece the fence. I’d seen those trucks countless times.
“The fence?” Taran waved dismissively, “Follow me, and I’ll show you.”
My Soul's Tears 