Leftovers, Part 1

This is another Naomi Quinn story in the Fallen Earth setting.

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5/15/2156

When I was a little girl my mother asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up. I think the first thing I said was veterinarian because I loved animals. Horses specifically. After that I wanted to be an astronaut. Girl power and all that, sure women were in the program but the majority of astronauts were men still. I wanted to show them that girls could be just as good as boys. That’s probably why I got into sports, which led me to wanting to play soccer professionally.

I was a little girl, of course my life goal changed a lot. Around high school though, I wanted to write. Not just write, I wanted to uncover and explore. There weren’t really any new frontiers for humanity to explore, that is save for humanity itself. I wanted to plumb the depths of humanity, learn all of the little stories and show them to the world. There’s nothing quite as powerful as information. That’s why I went into journalism.

Not once, however, did I say I wanted to wander the post-apocalyptic American wastes over a hundred years after I started college. I mean, I suppose this gives me a unique chance to explore a whole new side of humanity no one had ever heard of before. At the same time, though, I would’ve passed on this opportunity had I the choice.

Like the Shirelles said, Mama always said there’d be days like this. Gotta love the oldies.


Naomi stowed away the pencil in her jacket before gathering up the loose leaf papers that made up her journal. Stacking them up and tapping the bottom edge of the papers on the table, she stuffed them in the leather case she protected so fiercely. She pivoted on her make-shift bench and stowed the journal in her bag. It was time to get moving even though the sun was just starting to go down.

It had been a long, frustrating day full of rushing around, hasty meals, and dodged shots. Apparently some people didn’t really approve of how she handled those who stole her bag several days back. Now they were hunting her down, hounding and harassing her where ever she went. She’d stopped by a small settlement about ten miles back for feed and food only to be run out half an hour later by men on ATVs waving around automatic weaponry.

Patting her horse on the back, Naomi stuffed her bag into one of the various saddlebags that rode on the animal’s back. She then moved to the opposite side of the horse and began digging through one of the bags on that end. If they were going to be riding through the wastes at night, she wanted some light. It got awful dark out there and all it took was one wrong step to break the horse’s leg and her neck.

That was why she pulled a harness out from the bag and made her way to the front of the creature. She set to attaching the harness to the saddle, settling the main of the contraption just under the horse’s neck. Pushing and holding a button just under the central unit for two seconds, she let go and turned on the machine. The core hummed to life, emitting a beam of light straight ahead. It was drilled into her head long ago when she took Driver’s Ed, always keep your headlights on when the sun starts to set.

She made another round around her horse to double check that everything was secured and firmly shut before climbing atop the mare and tugging the brim of her hat down forward a touch. It was going to be a long, hard ride tonight and she was already weary from the day’s pace. Naomi wished rather firmly that she had some music to listen to during the trip.




The sun rose to greet Naomi as she rode hard. Her horse wasn’t as fast as the ATVs that her pursuers drove so she didn’t want to waste any time at all. She knew she couldn’t outrun them for too long, nor did she want to. All she wanted to do was choose her own staging area. You can’t control how many friends they bring, so the saying went, but you can pick where you fight them.

Peeling off from the road, Naomi made for an outcropping of trees a mile off. She’d heard of the place a few times, a smuggler’s refuge. Sure, an outcropping of trees in this place stood out like a sore thumb but the theory went that they liked to hide in plain sight. It was also a place someone had to go to intentionally being so far off the traveled road, and those who knew about it knew that it wasn’t really a place that welcomed outsiders.

The Traveler’s Haven, a lovely play on words there, was a small building built among the thicket. Originally it had just been a safe place to camp, but that changed over the years. Some enterprising young man had decided that a small inn would turn quite the profit if he could get the materials out there. Now, instead of a campfire ring and some tents stood a squat two-story building that sat just under the tree-line. The thicket was dense enough to hide it from anyone just scanning the horizon but if you looked closely, the faded wood paneling would be pretty clear. It had a barely sloped roof with a hatch up top to give access for repairs as well as a way to the lookout station built in.

As Naomi pulled in, two men with long barreled automatic rifles stepped out from the trees, weapons crooked in their arms. “Mornin’ Jed,” Naomi said with her winning smile and dulcet voice, tipping her hat.

“Mornin’ Ms. Quinn. Ya look tired, been out long?” Jed’s baritone voice wasn’t exactly friendly. The man had cautious written all over him, even when he’d had a little too much to drink and was laughing with the rest of them. The inn was his life and he’d had far too many people try to evict him.

“All night,” she said with a nod. “Was hopin’ I could hole up here. I got some unsavory folk trying to track me down in some ATVs.”

“Of course. Family before Traveler, Traveler before everyone else,” Jed said with as close to a smile as he ever gave. He nodded towards the other man who stood far too stiffly and seriously. Naomi noticed the posture as being ‘at attention’. “That’s Eric. Ex-Enforcer. Turns out they don’t like it when their grunts try to make a little profit on the side.”

She gave a laugh and nodded once more, sliding off her horse somewhat heavily. “Well nice to meet you, Eric. The name’s Naomi. Welcome to the family.” She stuck out a hand, her smile welcoming.

Eric took her hand in a firm, almost painful grip and pumped it once. “Ma’am.”

“She don’t come ‘round too often, Eric, but she’s an honorary part of the family. Treat her right, now. She’s a friend you’ll want.” Jed spat to the side, a wad of chewing tobacco spraying across the dirt. “Now get yer rear inside before I tan it,” he said to Naomi, stepping aside and taking a hold of the horse’s reins.

With a grin, Naomi tore off a mock-salute and made a show hustling into the inn. Jed had hired her on when he first started building the place to network and bring in some investors. Her assistance had proved to be invaluable as she’d been traveling extensively at the time. Word of the inn spread throughout the proper channels and soon Jed’s family sent in help to secure the land and supply shipments.

Swinging the door open dramatically as she entered, she took off her hat and flourished an extravagant bow with her duster snapped back behind her for added effect. “Fear not my friends, for I have returned!” The few patrons inside paid no obvious attention to her, however the woman at the counter looked over and feigned a swoon with the back of her hand to her forehead. Naomi looked up and laughed, striding over to the bar.

“Naomi, you cad! You rogue! How dare you show your face in these parts again!” the woman at the bar exclaimed with a wide grin as Naomi approached. She had long black hair done back in a tight, thick braid and olive-tanned skin. With large black-brown eyes and a curvy figure, Jed’s wife Liz was definitely a catch.

The wide grin was reflected in Naomi’s face as she leaned forward, elbows on the counter and arms crossed. Her blonde ponytail dropped off her shoulders and dangled beside her cheek as she adopted a hurt tone. “My dearest Liz, I promised I’d return and here I am! Life called and I, but a humble servant to its siren song, could only but dream about fighting it. But look not to the past but the present, for I am here and we can once again pick up where we le-, “ her words ended abruptly as her eyes fell upon Liz’s wedding ring. “You actually made it official? And you didn’t send word? Damn it, Liz! You know I would’ve shown up for the wedding!”

Liz laughed and fingered the silver ring on her left ring finger, spinning it this way and that. “Jed didn’t want to make a big fuss out of it. Now do you want a drink, or is it a bed your after? You look like death twice over.”

“A room would be nice and a meal after. Jed’s probably got the guards set already, but you be careful. There’s some pissed off men comin’ this way who mean to put an end to me.” Naomi stood upright again and adjusted her glasses.

“That’s our Naomi, always making friends. Room 3’s open, it’s all yours. I’ll send someone up to wake you if your friends come asking to play.” Liz pulled the towel from her belt before snapping it towards Naomi. “Now get yourself upstairs. We can talk plenty later. Shoo!”

Poking her tongue out, Naomi whirled around and went upstairs. Room 3 was the second door on the left, easily identified by the large numeral 3 carved into the wood above the door. Inside was a simple room with simple furniture. Jed was as good a carpenter as she’d found out in the wastes, the bed made out of wood that actually looked like it was cut for that purpose. The mattress wasn’t anything too remarkable, likely something shipped in from the Techs years back. There was a small table and stool along with the nightstand by the bed, but that was it. No one came here for a long stay.

Her bag went onto the table and her duster went onto the stool, her boots were sat at the foot of the bed, gun belt on the nightstand and rifle propped up against that. In short order, Naomi braided her hair and threw herself down onto the bed still mostly dressed. She didn’t expect to get that much sleep and wanted to be ready to go the moment trouble came calling. She’d have to wait until this was all finished before she sat down to another journal entry.