I was escorted to the town meeting. A few complained that I had bought too much land. Apparently I bought fifteen times more than the others. So they are hoping to get the opportunity to slice the land into pieces. But the law was absolute. I paid for every square foot of that property so I own it. I was asked to give it a name so that the builder can be sent to construct the wall bordering my property, living space and storehouse. When the wall is constructed, the land is officially mine. Everything within is mine legally and lawfully. The land can't be usurped. I named the property Valentina. The construction crew started work and were harassed by a few unruly locals. The head of this farming state Coleman made it clear that further harassment will result in eviction. So the construction of the property was completed without further incident. I made to check for loose bricks or underground tunneling before I signed the official documents.
Carolina was laughing, "Nastya you are being too paranoid. The walls are secure we have nothing to worry. Quick let's get this land tilled and set for agriculture." I did trade a first aid kit for a generator so we can use electronic devices for a certain period of time. I fired up my laptop to check the set of ebooks I had downloaded. One ebook was about foraging. The next was preservation. The next was about curing meats. The next ebooks were about flowers and the ones after were about vegetables in the garden. I was about to go superspeed when I heard a honking. It was the five water tank I had ordered. I opened the gate and showed them where they are supposed to be. The first two were placed on either side of the house. One is for drinking and cooking. The other is for bathing and cleaning. The other three were placed near the place I was going to plant my produce. A water tanker came and filled it with rain water and said that this should have enough water till the next rain fall. A few neighbors glared angrily but said nothing whatsoever.
I locked up after them and went to work. I had paid the workers to be sure that the walls were higher than the other houses. I quickly removed any obstruction on the land. Then constructed the irrigation system afterwards and a specific place for composting. Then poured earthworm and other productive creatures along with natural fertilizer. Then watered the earth. Afterwards I went to have lunch. We decided to plant everything the next morning. Everyone went to sleep and I stayed awake. The plan was to make sure the property was safe from burglary. I remained invisible as a few managed to pick the lock and sneak in. I happily picked them up one by one and threw them into the garbage pile. They screamed that the property was haunted and ran for their lives. The news spread that the place was haunted. This made living in our home a lot safer.
The plants grew and started bearing fruit. We were hauling the food and people would line up to buy it. Although there were those who had resentment most of the community were pleased we were here and not outside. Irene and Sonja would stay in the house with a shotgun ready in case someone had any bright ideas. The barter system was re-established. Food in exchange for services and other things. Chairs, tables, seafood, weapons and the most unsavory item bartered was slaves. Saber brought them in exchange for food. One day I caught the scent I hadn't smelled in ages. It was a wet dog smell. I knew a werewolf was nearby so I walked to the auction and saw Cain. The seller was getting ready. I asked for Cain and his best friend. The man asked me what I would exchange him. I gave him a box of canned goods, a first aid and a sack of oranges. I had a feeling that he wasn't going to cooperate so I used hypnosis. He agreed and I took them both with me to stall. They both watched me sell my things and I set them both free. I told them to come with me. It is not safe for werewolves to be out and about. I told him I am Sasha in disguise and Cain took my word for it. He and his friend watched me empty my stall of goods and hopped on board as I took what foods I had acquired for the day.
Alice happily welcomed them. Carolina was curious till we told them he was part school security that protected us. The others were pleased to meet them. A smaller house was built close by and I gave Cain the key. I went to dig the pond for the seafood. But ended up making a mess. I had to spend the next hour or so digging through my laptop for any information on making a fish tank to sustain live seafood. I came up empty so I decided to sneak out and find a library that had some kind information to help me. The internet was limited and most webpages have shut down. So finding useful material is like finding a unicorn. Cain asked me not to bother since I would have to go to machine city and they are the worst. So I ended up digging a square hole and started lining the sides with bricks and cement it. I waited till it harden and then used claybas a lining before filling it with water. Then I dump the shrimp, lobster and crab into the pool. I placed a wre mesh on top and walked to collect apples. I did that under ten minutes. We searched though the book to make vinegar and jams. Then I proceeded to make dinner. Cain was grinning ear to ear as he watched me cook. I made sure everyone was seated and then took him and his friend to closet. I gave them a change of clothes and showed them the shower. They got cleaned up and sat down to eat as well. Then we cleaned up and I sat the kids down to help them with their homeworks. After an hour we tucked them in bed.
Then I walked out and told the adults to lock u behind me and go to bed. I turned beast and walked out. Cain and his buddy were grinning ear to ear. I walked ten paces and made myself invisible. Both of them didn't turn beasts but they did walk beside me quietly. I sat down in the apple orchard extending my senses. I used echolocation and saw people were trying to figure out how to sneak in. I heard them say that the house was haunted but others said that it is a ridiculous rumor to keep people from breaking in and entering. A few brought shotguns. I made myself visible. I used the radio to contact Coleman and he said he is on his way. He will be there in ten minutes. I changed back to human form and walked towards the section of the wall they are trying to climb. I climbed the wall like a spider and watched them plan the entire thing. Cain and his buddy joined me too. We were grinning as they placed the ladder and started the climb. They saw that I was staring at them. One of them screamed in shock and fell backwards. Thankfully he fell on a bush so he didn't suffer long term damage. Just a few scratches here and there. The elderly man said something about fairness and his desire to live an opulent life. He demanded that I turn over the deeds to the property to him. Coleman asked him to step down as he was fed up with these idiocies. He ordered his men to wake up the neighborhood and watch as he was escorted to the other side of the wall.
The next morning I went to the market and saw that people had mixed feelings as always. More were happy but few wished that they had snuck out when the train stopped to collect passengers. Regardless I set up my stall and sold my goods. The machine city folks came to purchase potatoes and jam in exchange for a dehydrator, a sterilizer and a refrigerator. The Salt flats bought pumpkin, beans, potatoes, and fennel in exchange for bags of salt and oysters. Texas was self sufficient but they like to help us out so they exchanged guns and bullets in exchange for information. I did mention that the Saber has been selling slaves in exchange for food I suggest that they keep an eye out for troublemakers. The Sin city gave me precious stones and gold coins. I gave them apple preserves, beans and potatoes. The scraps brought a broken toaster and a few sheets of rusted iron. I asked the machine city if I could have some blacksmith tools. They said that they will bring it next time. I found a lady selling chickens and goats so I bought some bartering the dehydrator. I even got some mushrooms. Saber demanded the rest in exchange for a slave of my choosing. I gave them what they wanted in exchange for two both of them were werewolves. The soldiers happily walked away not knowing that they had lost something that they had been searching for. I took my earnings in my truck and made sure to take the wolves with me. I told them that Cain was with me and he is safe. I took them to Coleman to free them before taking them home.
Cain was grinning as he saw his brothers. I did stop by the tailor on my way so that the wolves will have clothes to wear. As I made my way to my house the wolves were happy about the reunion. Irene asked me what I was going to do with the iron. I said that I am going to use the empty space to make a chicken coop and a blacksmith shop. The chicken coop close by and the blacksmith shop a little farther away. Then a place for the goats. I traded the last of my seed collection to get the places built. The chickens ushered to their new homes. The goats got a home of their own. As I started moving things blacksmith tools in. Cain was grinning as I looked through the instruction manual. He laughed and said that he will handle the metal work. He said that he had spent some time as a blacksmith so he knows what to do. He ordered his men to guard the house since it is their refuge and I was amongst those who were defending them. We were their new family. I told them not to exert themselves. Relax and rest. The worst is behind them. I will try and rescue as many werewolves as I possibly can. I just have one request that they lay low. Because there are those who are trying to hunt them down to experiment on them to make supersoldiers. Others are trying to figure out the key to immortality. Any and all are being herded like cattle so do themselves a favor and stay hidden. My family will die before they sell them out. The werewolves were grateful. They soon introduced themselves to society as farm hands. As I watched the sun set I wondered what it would be like when the zombie apocalypse ended. Would another take its place?