2 The Scraplands

                     Chapter 2: The Scraps

Moses turned the bucket over, pouring its foul-smelling contents into the freshly dug hole. He picked up the shovel lying at his feet and began refilling the small pit with dirt.

"It's almost time." He thought to himself. 

When spring came, He would trade some of his pelts to Mr. Jenkins for some seed, and finally, try his hand at raising some potatoes. Hopefully, the six years he spent burying fish, rotten produce, and fecal matter in the plot of land outside his house had made healed the soil enough that it could grow food again. 

It was Mr. Jenkins who first gave him the idea. He told Moses about how, for generations, his family had been working to bring life back into the soil on their farm. It had obviously paid off too, Their land was so lush and vibrant that it stood in stark contrast to the land surrounding it. Moses knew that he probably wouldn't receive precisely the same results out of his little garden, but God willing, it'd be enough to feed himself and his family. He only hoped that he would still have enough time to help Old Joe around in the shop after he started planting. 

After he finished filling the hole, he started back towards his house. Well, It wasn't exactly a house per se, it was a structure made of various scrap metal parts that he had found in the disposal area outside the dome with a tarp over it. Nonetheless, it was home. He opened the tarp's flap to see Matt and his mammy already eating supper. 

"Moses, You're late. We were starting to worry." said mammy.

"I wasn't worried. I know you can take care of yourself, Moe," Matt said.

Moses circled around the small table and took his place in between his little brother and grandmother.

"So, What are we having tonight?" He asked

"Stuff soup again. Just like the last three nights-Ow!" Matt cut off as mammy hit his head with her wooden spoon.

"Now don't you start you're complaining again young man." She sternly told him.

"Yes, mammy."

Moses spooned out himself a bowl of "Stuff Soup" and started eating. Which he soon realized was a mistake because this time the wrath of mammy's spoon came crashing down on his head.

"Ow!" What'd you do that for?

"Haven't I taught you better than to eat before saying thanks?"

"Oh, right, sorry." 

Moses folded his hands in front of him and started to pray.

"Dear Lord, thank you for this food. Please bless it to the nourishment of my body, and please bless the crop I'll be planting next spring. Amen.