The two trucks hummed as they pulled the thick cable tighter. The entire population of Sanctuary was watching while remaining at a safe distance in case the cable somehow came loose from its anchors. I doubted that it would though, Diane had enlisted the help of someone with an architecture background when installing and cementing the massive anchors to the top of the cliff.
Eventually the cable was fastened and secured to the anchors on the meadow as well. The trucks were parked back in the shelter, their job done. Diane looked at Roland who eventually nodded. Diane nodded at me and I waved a flag in my hands. At the signal, several people on top of the cliff released the tethers that held the ski lift. It was attached to the cable with rollers and a cable with a counterweight.
It had been packed full of wood for weight and rolled down the cable at a speed that a bicycle could probably match on pavement. The counterweight rose up as the loaded ski lift went down the zipline. I held my breath, but the lift slowed as it reached the end and came to a gentle stop.
Todd went forward and put the brake lever on while he unloaded the wood. Once it was unloaded, he released the brake. The counter weight slowly came back down and caused the lift to return to the top of the cliff. Cheers rose up as the second zipline was now functional.
It couldn't take people up because the counter weight wasn't large enough, but it was a way to get down quickly. One zipline came down about a kilometer away from the cliff, and the second went as far as we had cable and went almost quarter way across the large meadow.
Roland shook his head with a chuckle, "Some of the ideas you come up with scare me some days."
Diane just grinned at him while gazing at what she had orchestrated. It had taken her half an hour to convince Roland to let her attempt to build this zipline. Then it had taken weeks of planning and building.
A cat meowed and rubbed against my ankles. I bent down to pet the friendly kitty. Roland brought back six cats to help with the mouse population. He had made numerous trips to vacant towns and some settlements in the last couple of weeks. We had a lot more animals and supplies now. It was a good thing that Roland had brought so much fencing back. One trailer had been full of travel crates of various kinds of poultry, although half had been chickens. We had just under two hundred chickens now.
Diane stretched, "Well, I am glad that it went as smoothly as it did." She glanced at Todd, "Up for another fighting session?"
Todd groaned, "Fine, but I am bringing Julian with me."
I grinned at his lack of enthusiasm. I also knew that Julian would make up for it. Roland had insisted on Todd and Julian getting extra training. Todd had become Amber's assistant in keeping things running smoothly in Sanctuary. He had a surprising ability when it came to keeping tabs on people and what they were doing.
Julian had no real desire to travel and was content in Sanctuary. To everyone's surprise, including his own, he took to any kind of fighting practice like a duck to water. Roland was hoping he would eventually become a backup trainer since Julian was still determined to get fired once his month long waiting time was up. It was only three days away and he was getting excited.
I had no desire to swing a sword around and I went over to the playground equipment and climbed to the top of it. I was pretty high up as I looked around the meadow.
We had been here almost a month and there wasn't much left to build. The fences had all been put up, including a huge one outside of the gate for animals to graze during the day. We had buried pipes leading from the creek to animal troughs with a pump near the creek, so we no longer had to carry water.
Diane was already putting both Todd and Julian through their paces as she pushed them according to their current abilities. Julian would probably last an hour and Todd would probably go until supper. That gave me about two hours of free time.
The animals were already cared for, so nothing had to be done there. Someone was hanging a solar led light string around their doorway to make it unique. Everyone had a home of their own now. I turned my head and looked at the home I shared with Diane.
It was on the first ledge and was the very last one on the end. The first ledge was inhabited by fired people since those who were not fired preferred the higher levels just in case a zombie got in. Our doorway was unadorned and plain. Someone was working on metal plaques for all of the doors, but they weren't done yet.
I grinned, I could decorate our doorway. I knew that there were more led lights stored in an area for any member to take if they wanted them. Two solar lanterns hung outside every doorway to allow for light if a non-fired person went inside for a visit. I bet a led string light would look neat around our doorway.
I climbed down and ran over to the smaller storage area. Shelves were piled with supplies meant for the citizens of Sanctuary. I was disappointed to see that there were no purple led lights. It looked like they were all white ones. I really wanted something original that stood out.
I poked around the shelves, and at the bottom of a pile, I saw a bulb that wasn't clear. It took a bit of work to move the piles on top, but I got to what I had seen. Two dark blue led string lights with a solar panel. I did a little dance of excitement and success at finding something different.
I headed back to the housing section of the cliff. The storage areas were further down the cliff face and closer to the gate. I scrambled up the playground equipment and climbed up the slide to the main deck. The main deck was the size of two tennis courts, although there were also several other much small decks scattered along the ledges that were barely big enough to hold 3 or 4 lawn chairs.
There was a tiny deck just down the path from our home. I had even helped Diane carve out our home, although she hadn't let me steer any of the machines. We shared a bedroom and there were three other rooms along the main hallway.
I borrowed a small ladder that was almost as tall as me and set it against the rock. It took a bit, but I managed to secure the led string to the doorframe. I hadn't realized that they were actually icicle lights. I looked forward to seeing how they lit up tonight. The solar panel was angled to catch the most light, so there wasn't anything else I could do at the moment with the lights.
What else could I do? People were scattered around doing something constructive at this time of day. Some were cooking in the kitchen, the sewing people were hard at work on the loom or other clothing projects. Most of these chores I would be no help with and there were no other children to play with.
I wandered back to the storage room, was there anything in here that could give me some ideas? The room was packed with an entire assortment of odds and ends. From spare beds, rugs, pots, and solar stuff to bedding, clothing, and other supplies.
I pulled a knee-high blue pot out of a pile. This was big enough for a large plant... The pot was heavy so it took me a bit to get it to the base of the cliff. Then I ran into a problem. The pot was too heavy for me to carry up the ladder and the slide was too steep and slippery to roll it up. I apparently didn't think this one through all the way...
"Need a hand?"
I turned to see Amber coming toward me with a kind smile. I smiled somewhat shyly in embarrassment, "Can you help me get this pot up there?"
"Of course." Amber picked up the pot in one hand and easily scaled the ladder before setting it down on the ledge.
"Thank you!"
She smiled at me, "No problem. Any time."
I managed to carry it over beside our front door and put it beside it. The dirt would be easy after the digging we did for the duck pond. It was in a pile to the side. I found a small bucket and started making trips to fill the pot.
I looked over at the fighting practice field. They had removed the grass and added a thick layer of sand for some sort of cushion. Julian had given up and was doing cool off exercises. Todd was fired and still had energy to burn as Diane focused her attention on him. Todd didn't stand a chance of tiring her out. They would go until the supper bell rang.
Now, what should I put in this pot? I thought I remembered seeing something on top of the cliff that might work. I climbed up the ladder and went exploring on top of the cliff. Before long, my bucket had several hardy wildflowers that wouldn't mind being transplanted.
I walked towards the zipline with a grin. I wasn't entirely sure that I was heavy enough to make it move. The brake was locked and I loaded several pieces of wood onto the other seat lift for extra weight before getting in. I released the brake and the lift started moving.
"Wheee!" This was so much fun! I would have to take Diane down it later on. I knew that it was available for anyone to use and this was definitely the way to get back down. All too soon, it slowed as it came to gentle stop.
I put the brake lever on and removed the wood from lift, stacking it neatly to the side. I knew that someone would take the wood for the campfire later tonight. I released the brake and the lift headed back up to the top of the cliff.
I grabbed my bucket of flowers and climbed up to the ledge and carefully planted them in a nice arrangement. We were the only ones with a plant outside our door, so we were unique. It was only a matter of time until the snow fell, so it wouldn't last long.
What else could I do? When Diane did fighting training, I was more or less left to my own devices and I wasn't big enough to do most of the chores. I felt like I was forgetting something though. Something important. Oh.
I hadn't even glanced at any of my textbooks since we arrived almost a month ago. I had collected a few new textbooks during my time with the traders. The textbooks were currently stacked on a corner of Diane's desk in her office so my backpack was lighter. I had better rectify that problem.
I went into our home and to the office to collect my books. I came back outside into the sunshine to do some studying. Diane hadn't said anything, but that didn't mean that I shouldn't be diligent in my studies. Simply trying to remember where I left off would keep me busy until supper.