Grid Down Perceptions of Reality

by Bruce Buckshot Hemming

  The doc told him he was supposed to leave that in for a couple hours and then clean it out, fill it up again, and bandage it shut. As he finished, Joe was returning with a smile on his face. “Okay, it’s set. Now what?”

  “Well I would think you need to go find a spring or a pond, someplace with some water to clean the ground hog after you butcher it. But first, did you see any old coffee cans we can make a hobo stove out of?”

  “Hobo stove, what the heck is that?”

  Preston shook his head. “Kids nowadays don’t know anything. Go get me a 3 pound coffee can and I’ll teach you something.”

  Joe returned a short while later and handed him an old Hills Brothers coffee can. “It had some rusty nails in it. Does that matter?”

  Preston laughed, “Nope. You go find some water while I make the stove. The wind has been coming out of the Northwest all day so I doubt if anyone can smell a fire this far off the road, especially with the wind in our favor.”

  Using his K-bar knife, he cut a small door in the side of the can near the top, then he punched a lot of holes on the bottom side of the can, so the fire could vent out. Flipping the can over and placing it over the fire would concentrate the heat on the flat bottom and it would be used like a griddle for cooking the food. It’s a very simple and quick way to cook something. He gathered a large pile of small sticks and broke them into about 4-inches long pieces.

  Joe returned saying, “That’s about the goofiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

  “Don’t you worry about what I am doing. Did you find some water?”

  “Yeah, I’ve found an old spring. I’ll fill up our canteens, and then I’ll go check the snare.”

  He quickly returned with the canteens filled, and then off to check the snare. As he approached it, he couldn’t believe his eyes. There sat a big fat groundhog, all wrapped around the tree he had anchored the snare to.

  The groundhog was staring right at him. He picked up a piece of wood and gave it two quick smacks to the head, putting the animal out of its misery.

  “Fresh meat.” He mumbled as he unwrapped the snare from around the tree. It was all kinked up, but it had served its purpose and given them the food they needed. He carried the groundhog over to the spring and quickly cleaned it. He left the skull on, and using a piece of string he tied it off to a branch so he could skin it.

  Preston got a small fire going, and once it was burning well, he placed the can over it and used the door to feed in small branches. Joe cut pieces of meat straight off the groundhog, with no bones so it cooks faster. None of the pieces were thicker than an inch.

  Preston said, “Give me a piece of that fat while I am waiting for you.” Joe handed him a piece of fat. He had already whittled a turning fork, and using that, he placed the fat on the lid. It hissed and sizzled, turning to liquid grease.

  He said, “Hurry up would you? We need to get some meat cooking while the stove is hot.” Joe hand him a small handful of meat and Preston spread it across the lid. Using a couple of wild raspberry leaves for favor, he placed them on the meat. The meat sizzled and popped as it cooked. He turned it quickly and within a few minutes it was done.

  He used his carved fork to put the meat on a piece of wood he had split, and said, “Joe, come take your food and hand me some more to cook.”

  Joe took the cooked meat and taking a bite, said, “This is really good. You’re going to make Amy a fine wife.”

  “Don’t tell her I know how to do this. Tell her I burnt it horribly and you were barely able to choke it down.”

  “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. I’ll tell her you are the worst damn cook I’ve ever seen in my life, and the only reason I didn’t leave you behind was I was afraid the bears would get sick and choke on you. Don’t want to be cruel the animals you know.”

  After they finished eating, Preston cleaned out the wound again, refilled it with the charcoal, and bandaged it tightly so he could walk that night.

  Chapter 27

  Stumbling in the Dark

  Enjoy when you can, and endure when you must.

  ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

  “How is your wound?” Joe asked.

  Preston said, “Look, it’s no big deal. I’m ready to travel. Are you ready to keep up?”

  It was about an hour before dark and they worked their way up to the edge of the road. They had only seen one patrol go by the whole day. At dark, they started walking along the ditch. They traveled for a couple hours, maybe 5 miles, when they approached an intersection. Something didn’t feel right. Everything looked normal, but something just wasn’t right with the area. Joe didn’t know what was going on but he gave hand signals for Preston to be careful.

  Preston worked his way up to Joe and whispered, “What’s the matter?”

  Joe whispered back, “I don’t know but something doesn’t feel right. Humor me and let’s stay right on the edge of the woods.”

  “Slowly, quietly, let’s work our way up to the intersection. We’re going to stop and watch it.”

  When they were about 50 yards from the edge of the intersection, they stepped off into the woods. Joe whispered, “You stay here. I’m crawling up to see what’s going on.”

  Preston waited on high alert, his rifle at the ready. He had been with Joe long enough to trust his instincts.

  Joe slowly crawled up, being careful not to break any branches or make sudden movements. He was about 20 yards from the intersection now, and his mind was screaming to get out of there, it’s a trap, but he still couldn’t see anything. It took all of his willpower not to take off running, as he could feel something was dreadfully wrong. He sat there for five minutes, watching and listening when he heard a guy cough. He couldn’t have been more than 10 feet in front of him. He was right, it was a trap. Even more cautiously he crept back to Preston.

  He whispered, using one hand over Preston ear, “We’ve got company. I don’t know how many, but there’s one guy for sure watching the intersection I’m guessing there’s a whole lot more. I say we back up another quarter of a mile then head in for a mile, maybe two, and then head out to the other road and cross there.”

  Preston agreed and they slowly started working their way into the brush. The problem was, it was a really dark night, with no moon, and with the tree canopy being so thick, it was pitch black. They were moving at a snail’s pace, not only due to the darkness, but also to keep their noise down, not to mention the new hazard of getting slapped in the face with branches they couldn’t see.

  It took them almost 2 hours to travel a mile, it was that dark. It took another hour to work their way up to the other road. They looked for a low spot to cross. Finding a dip in the road, they crossed safely to the other side. After another two hours of walking through the dense forest, they turned to head back to the road. It was like two blind men walking in the forest without the aid of a walking stick, having to take short half steps. Using their hands, they had to feel which way to quietly go around branches and it was excruciatingly slow. About 4:15 that morning they made it back to the road. With a little luck they should be able to travel 5 more miles before it was daybreak.

  At daybreak they stopped and got off the road, buried themselves with leaves again, and slept. At this rate it would take them 10 days to get back.

  Meanwhile, John, Scott and the remaining men returned with the 105 that morning. They had lost eight men and had two unaccounted for. Two more were wounded, so they were down over half of their force. Without stopping for sleep, they made the rounds and told the widows what happened to their husbands. Unlike a regular war, where somebody else back home would have the duty of telling the people of the lost love ones, these officers did it themselves. Some of those lost were friends, some were family, but everybody knew everybody which made it that much more difficult. The last place they stopped was the hospital, but Amy and Jane had already heard from the wounded they were tending.

  Amy asked in an accusatory voice, “Who made the decisio
n to leave our husbands on foot?”

  John admitted, “I did, and I’d do it again. That 105 is too important. Both your husbands are trained and of the men I had with me, they stood the best chance to return alive. Depriving the enemy of that 105 might very well have saved hundreds, if not thousands of lives. I hope you can understand.”

  Amy, in a less than understanding voice said, “Show me on the map where you deserted them.”

  Scott looked at her. “Why? What are you thinking?”

  “Jane and I are going ride down there and pick up our men, what did you think.”

  John said, “Sorry, but you’re not going. You both have duties and are needed here” Looking at Jane he said, “You are a very needed RN,” turning to Amy, “And you have the responsibility of security for this hospital. You are both staying. Is that clear?”

  “We can do our duties here during the day, and ride down there at night.” Jane said.

  “Absolutely not.” Scott said, almost shouting. “Use your head Jane. You of all women should understand this. Both of you could ride down and right into a trap, or compromise their position and get them both killed. The best thing to do is to wait here for them to return.”

  Amy jumped in, “Okay, we’ll give them two more days and if they’re not back then, we quit your militia and we’re going looking them. Is that clear?”

  John took a deep breath. “If you do that, you will not be provided with any assistance. That means no horses, no wagon, and no support from us whatsoever. And if you do find them, by some miracle, what assistance could you possibly offer them?”

  Scott jumped in and said, “Give me your word you’ll wait two days, and then we’ll talk about it.” Both women nodded their head in agreement. With that the two men left.

  Jane looked at Amy, “You know they are going to be okay, don’t you?”

  “Damn it. I hate this shit. I just got married and my dumbass fool of a husband is going out trying to get himself killed. And those two dumbasses volunteered for this.”

  Jane said, “They are dumbasses, careless and reckless, but we need to find out where they were left behind.”

  Amy said, “Let’s question everyone that comes in for the next two days, until we find out where they left them.”

  They did just that, and once they found out, they made a plan. Using a map to pin point the location they thought Preston and Joe were, they talked it over with Scott that evening.

  Scott said, “You know I can’t let you go, or assist you in anyway, so this conversation never happened, but let’s just say, maybe right at 10:00 tonight, two ladies noticed that the stable guard was sound asleep, and they borrowed four horses, well then, it would be on those two ladies shoulders, wouldn’t it.”

  They simply smiled and nodded, offering him a bottle of Scotch they had found at the cabin. He poured them each a shot. “Here,” showing them the map, “see this secondary road. This is the planned escape route. They are supposed to wait here,” pointing at an intersection 20 miles south from where they are, “this is where they are supposed to wait for pick up from the patrol.” He went on, “They were last seen down here,” pointing on the map, “about 70 miles south of us. The Rainbow warriors are not coming this far north, and we don’t know why, but this is the farthest north we saw them, 40 miles from here.” pointing to a spot on the map.

  “If I was giving you orders, I would say don’t go any farther south than the Rainbow Warrior patrols were last seen. Chances are that Joe and Preston don’t know this information, so they are going to be traveling at night. Your best bet is to wait for them at the pick-up spot, then during the night walk this section trying to find them. Just don’t get shot or shoot them. It’s dangerous for you both, you know that, don’t you?”

  Jane said, “They are our husbands, we are both trained and we understand how they think and move. We stand the best chance of finding them out of anyone.”

  Amy was almost in tears. “I hate this waiting, and not knowing is driving me insane. We have to do something.”

  John patted her arm and said, “I figured you two would be going, so I already warned the patrol to be on the lookout for you. Don’t forget you have friendlies out there patrolling too.”

  “It’s 8:30, so why don’t you just take the horses now and go. Just remember the plan; you stole the horses.”

  They grabbed the horses, which were already saddled and packed with food and a first aid kit, and headed out, stopping by the house for some more ammo, and to tell Michael the plan. He, of course, wanted to come along, but they explained they needed him there to guard the house and supplies. If anyone asked, he didn’t know where they were.

  There was kind of a No Man’s Land in between the two territories. Parts controlled by the Rainbow Warriors, and 20 miles of a buffer zone, and then the territory of the Wisconsin Northern Militia. Not that they knew it at the time, but the Rainbow Warriors were ordered to stop at a certain intersection, going no further north, and one thing the Major did believe in, was following orders. He thought it was bad enough that he would have to go back and explain to the Colonel how he lost the cannon, plus almost 100 men dead or wounded. He didn’t want to give him another reason for punishment by disobeying a direct order.

  All they were able to torture out of the one wounded man they had captured, was that they were up against an army of 300, with no artillery and no other support in the area. The man died before they could get any more information out of him.

  The Major spilt up his men into 10 groups of 40 men each to patrol and try to cut off the men that stole the 105. Every road heading north was being patrolled.

  They set up a night watch at all major intersections, hoping to ambush them if they came through. So far, after two days, the only report was of two men on foot, and it was hardly worth the time to chase them. He wasn’t sure how in the world they disappeared so fast, having to pull that cannon, and without a trace. They must have had several teams of horses to switch out, and stayed on the paved road, never stopping once they had it.

  The major was frustrated beyond belief, unable to complete his mission. In two days, he was supposed to be in Minneapolis to report the supply route was open and secure. He lost his only artillery piece and has now spent almost three days trying to get it back. The only good news was they didn’t get the ammo supply wagon for the 105. Neither side had a working weapon. Now the big question was, did they know about the supply route, or was that just an ambush to thin their numbers out? They’d found an alternate route heading south, traveling 15 miles south, then 10 miles west and 15 miles back to Highway 8. He was going to be able to complete his mission, so he sent word for all the patrols come in.

  The major thought if he can get reinforcements from Minneapolis, they could quickly crush this little uprising from the peasants.

  Jane and Amy had only been gone a few hours when they ran into their patrol. They were surrounded, but luckily the patrol had been warned that they might be coming through. They were told not to go any further than the intersection and wait there.

  They made it there by about 2:30 in the morning. There was a corral at an old farmhouse, so they let the horses go and put the saddles in the barn. They walked the edge of the road all of the way to the intersection, and found a spot in the woods where they could see all four directions. Amy cleared a path where she could pace back and forth without making a lot of noise. Every time she walked up to Jane she would whisper in her ear, “Anything?”

  Jane whispered back, “You’re making me nervous. Would you please stop pacing?”

  “They should be here already.” Amy whispered back. “We should walk down and go look for them.”

  Jane took a deep breath and let it out. “No, we’re staying here. We don’t know which of the three directions they are going to be coming from. With our luck we’d pick the wrong one and they would come through the other way, and we’d miss them.”

  Amy whispered back, “I know you’re right, but what
if they are there and in a firefight, needing back up right now?”

  Jane shook her head, “If they were in a firefight, don’t you think we would hear it? I hear nothing and that’s a good sign. Here you take watch for a while and let me pace.”

  Jane whispered, “Don’t stare at one spot for too long or you’ll start seeing shapes and your mind will play tricks on you. It’s easy to convince yourself somebody’s coming, so you must constantly keep scanning and looking for movement.”

  Jane crept back about 20 feet and sat down with her back against a tree, closing her eyes. “Jesus Joe, where the hell are you?” She was so tired but prayed he was okay. She just wanted to close her eyelids and rest for a few minutes. The next thing she knew, Amy was shaking her and it was daybreak. Amy whispered right into her ear, “Two guys are sneaking along, coming up the road.”

  With excitement in her eyes, she asked, “Is it them, is it the two boneheads?”

  Amy whispered back, “I don’t know. Come take a look.”

  They both crept up to the watch position and saw the two guys crossing the road. One was limping. “Looks like them.” Jane took a chance and whistled. Both men froze, lifting their guns in the direction of the noise. Once the men were facing them, they recognized both of them. Jane called out, “Over here.”

  Joe recognized her voice and couldn’t believe it. They both ran over to them. Joe said, “What in the hell are you doing here?”

  Amy jumped into Preston’s arms, crying and talking at the same time.

  “What’s wrong with your leg? Why are you limping? Are you hurt? Who shot you?