"One of the Dark Ones led us this way from the alley," Justin said, eyeing the man carefully. "We've been trying to find shelter and had hoped to be allowed into the old church."
The old man let out a burst of bitter laughter, then set his potato hook aside and relaxed his stance.
"Only way that bastard will let you in is if you grease his palms. An' you two don't look like you've got the money, let alone food or anythin' else he'd be interested in. Is there anythin' yer good at? We might be able to take you in here if you can work yer fair share."
"I used to be a horticulturist," offered Serenity. Not that you'll be growing much underground, she thought.
"I can handle manual labor," added Justin.
"You know anythin' 'bout construction?"
"Not really," Justin answered. "I used to be a network administrator."
The old man let out another burst of laughter, then slapped Justin on the shoulder before grabbing his hand and shaking it.
"You've just made our day!" he grinned, releasing Justin's hand. "Todd's been lookin' for a guy to help with the fancier tech down at the greenhouse."
"Greenhouse?" Serenity commented. "You have a greenhouse down here?"
"Sure do! Todd an' his team have it closed off right now, I think to fumigate or somethin', but we've got everythin' from potatoes to stawberries."
The mention of food made their stomachs growl.
"C'mon," the old man offered. "We'll get you a meal. Got fried chicken an' potatoes today!"
This freewrite is part 7 of an ongoing story. If you would like to read more, use the links below to navigate.
As always, thanks go out to @mariannewest for providing this prompt. If you would like to see her original post, you can find it here.
Image sourced from Pixabay.