When they’d found this house months ago tucked away in the woods, Connor knew he had struck gold. It resembled a castle with the stone walls and the large, heavy wooden doors. When he saw the house, he had decided it would be his.
He had walked right up to the front door and used the massive black iron door knocker. When the door opened, an older man was holding a sawed-off shotgun in his face. Connor remembered laughing at the man.
A quick shout was all it took for his own men to storm the house. The older couple inside hadn't stood a chance. When they gained entry to the stone fortress, they were richly rewarded. There was a cellar loaded with food, water and cases of liquor and beer. They had struck gold.
The couple were true preppers. Their home was built to withstand an attack, but with just the two of them to defend it, they were no match for Connor and his men.
Connor took the last drink of whiskey from his glass and stood. He wanted to check the cellar and see where they stood. When they had first come here, they hadn't thought much about the future or the winter. They had eaten until they were full every day and the food was being depleted at a rapid rate.
The recent raid would provide some cushion, but they needed more food if they were to maintain their current way of living throughout the winter. If the men thought he was failing in his duties to provide them with the cushy lifestyle they were enjoying, they would turn on him.
They would either leave or kill him. Connor couldn't let that happen. He was never one to give up. When he saw an opportunity, he took it. If he couldn't find one, he would make one. He was going to have to find that other group.
17
Wyatt had to count to ten and regain his composure before he lost his cool. The morning started off with a bang. There were people everywhere it seemed. It was chaotic, which just made everything stressful. No one had any real direction or purpose, which meant there were people in the way.
He had to get a hold on it and fast. He could see his mother getting frustrated with all the women trying to help her in the kitchen. There was no one leading the way. Nobody knew what to do, so everyone was trying to do everything—including the kids.
Megan was silently fuming in the corner. She had been trying to get in a word with Caitlin, but with all the commotion, it was next to impossible. The kids were feeding off the frenzy and going a little wild. There were at least five different conversations going on in various parts of the lodge. Everyone was trying to talk over each other.
Enough was enough. He walked back into the bedroom, grabbed a notebook off the dresser and headed into the fray.
He climbed onto one of the chairs at the table and whistled. It quieted the room somewhat, but not completely. He whistled again.
“Listen up,” he said in a loud commanding voice.
The entire lodge fell silent. The small group upstairs slowly walked down and stood against the stairwell.
All eyes were on him.
“Listen, everyone. We need to get some jobs established. There is a lot that needs to be done. This is an all-hands-on-deck situation.”
He turned to look at Caitlin and Amy who were giggling quietly on the floor, “Cait. Amy. That includes you girls. We need everyone's help. Evan. Bryan. Let's sit down and go over who does what best. Everyone else, please finish eating and get ready for a busy day.”
He stepped off the chair and watched as everyone went in different directions. He hoped to God this would work.
Evan and Bryan pulled up chairs at the table.
“We need food. We need to build a new shelter and we need to work on upping our defenses. We also need to have at least two people on guard duty. Albert is out there with David now. Let's come up with a schedule so no one is out there for more than four hours at a time.”
The men nodded in agreement.
“Okay,” Wyatt started. “Who is great with a bow? I gotta say, the ammunition is dangerously low so we need to conserve what we have.”
Bryan and Evan looked at each other, “Our best bow hunter was killed. Garrett isn't too bad, though.”
Wyatt winced. He wasn't sure if he trusted Garrett yet. His hope was to send Megan out as well. He wasn't going to send Megan out with Garrett alone.
“Okay, we'll come back to that.”
Jack came over to the table, pushing his hair out of his face.
“We need to build some kind of housing, like yesterday,” he said. A long piece of hair flopped in his face again. He pushed it back, showing his frustration.
Evan smiled at him, “What you need to do is get a haircut unless you’re going for some kind of Johnny Depp look, which I gotta say isn't working for you.”
Jack rolled his eyes, “I happen to like my look and so does my wife.” He leaned in and very quietly whispered, “She is the absolute worst when it comes to cutting hair. My mom, well if I want a bowl cut, she can hook me up.”
All four men laughed. Wyatt had been trimming his own hair. He imagined he probably resembled a bit of a shaggy dog himself. In the grand scheme of things, a stylish do wasn't a big deal. Although it would be good to get a nice cut and feel like a normal man again.
Evan and Bryan exchanged a look. That is when Wyatt noticed how normal their own hairstyles looked. Like they had just visited a salon. Not a barber with a pair of clippers, but an actual style.
“Why do you guys look like you just stepped off some photoshoot?” Wyatt asked. He was a little irritated. Their camp had been raided and they were starving, yet they both managed to keep their hair in perfect condition. Bryan smiled, “Our personal stylist insists we keep up with our appearance. I'm surprised she hasn't tackled you and went after that mess of hair on your head,” he said to Wyatt.
“Who?” Jack asked all business.
“Tara. She was some big-time hair stylist before all this went down. At first we thought it was silly, but it helps her and it does make us feel a lot better. You need to have some of those little things to help keep you sane,” Bryan explained.
Wyatt thought about it for a second and could see the reasoning behind it; anything that makes you feel more human is valuable.
“We'll talk to her. Schedule everyone for a haircut sometime over the next few days. The first cut takes a little longer. She says she has to see what works. Once she gets the style down, it’s a quick upkeep every couple of weeks. Like Bryan said, she loves to do it. Says it reminds her of the good old days,” Evan added.
Wyatt jotted down Tara's name and wrote hair beside it.
“Okay, now that we have the most important business out of the way, let's move onto less important matters like, oh, food,” he said.
“David is a killer mechanic. He was working on a generator for the large cabin before everything went south. You have a generator?”
Wyatt nodded, “Yes, but what's the point if there is no fuel?”
“He was working on creating a hydroelectric setup. Water would run downhill, turning a wheel and it produced electricity. I really don't know the ins and outs, but he had it all figured out,” Bryan explained.
Wyatt jotted the information down. He didn't see the importance of that skill right then, but this spring, it would be great to get electricity going.
“How about we put David with Jack on the new lodging. Evan, are you up for that as well?”
Evan nodded, “Yep, count me in.”
“I'll go hunting with Megan and Garrett. If we can take two deer, that will give us a good start on our food supply. We'll need all three of us to get them back here. Jack, do you think you can throw up another deer hang?”
Jack nodded, “Yeah, I'll have Ryland and Frankie help me with that.”
“Okay, we will have the girls help my mom and Willow get that first doe dried and cured. With the weather getting colder, I think we can freeze any of the meat we take from here on out. I almost wish we had snow. I really am tired of eating dried meat,” Wyatt said with longing in his voice.
“Amen!” Jack agreed.
“Why don't you have him help Chase with the border enforcement. The guy is an old Vietnam vet. He has some really good ideas,” Bryan offered.
“Hey, if you guys do take a deer, Greg has been telling us he knows how to tan the hide. Maybe we can figure out how to make mittens, moccasins or other useful items?” Evan volunteered.
Wyatt got excited. The last deer they harvested had been quickly processed. He knew nothing about how to preserve the hide. He had felt like it was wasteful, but didn't want it laying around and attracting wolves or other predators.
Jack got excited. “I'm sure my mom and wife can figure out what to do with the hides once they’re ready. That would be great. I'm guessing if we can get it figured out, the hides or items we make will be great for bartering, too.”
“Sounds good. Any other strengths or skills that we can put to work?” Wyatt asked the two men.
They shrugged, “Not off hand, but you never know what someone can do until you ask.”
“I think we should make some of those cold frame boxes Brenda was talking about. If we can grow some fresh root crops all winter, it will certainly help add to the food supply,” Wyatt stated.
Evan nodded in understanding, “Those are pretty easy to make. That’s a job that Earl can certainly handle.”
“How is Earl?” Wyatt asked.
When they had first encountered him and the rest of the group, the man had looked to be in bad shape. Brenda had declared him to be relatively fine, just a little banged up. His arm had been wrapped. Wyatt hadn't seen him this morning. That was odd.
He made a mental note to seek the man out and introduce himself. If the man was going to be living at the lodge, he wanted to have a good feel for him.
“Okay, well, I think we got a pretty good plan for the day. Jack, what kind of lodgings are you planning on throwing up?”
Jack looked thoughtful for a moment, “I think the best option would be a longhouse. It wouldn't be as big or as fancy as they had in the old days, but we can make it so it’s big enough to sleep eight or so. It only needs to be a bunkhouse. No point in adding windows and all that. Not now, anyway.”
“Do we have the lumber?” Wyatt asked.
Jack shook his head, “No, but in one of dad's old books I’d read about how to hand hew logs for a cabin with a combination of mud and moss to create insulation. We have enough axes and man power. They won't be pretty, but we can make them work. I’ve already hewn most of that stack of logs I was saving to start one of the new cabins, so we can use them for the longhouse.” He paused. “If we can swing it, we need to get busy chopping down some more trees so they can sit over winter.”
Evan grimaced, “That sounds like a lot of work.”
“It is,” Wyatt stated with firmness. “If we’re going to make this work and we want to plan to live here for a while, we need to be busting our butts. We are going to kill each other if we all have to live in this lodge for the next six months.”
Evan groaned, “I’ve heard this area has long winters, but six months?”
Wyatt nodded, “On average. Maybe five months, but it’s gonna be long, regardless.”
“You know,” Bryan started, “I know things are stretched tight, but we may be able to help ease that.”
“How?” Wyatt asked immediately. Bryan and Evan exchanged a look, “We had a couple of stashes around the camp. McDaniels didn't find them. They’re buried.”
“What's in them and are they worth going back for?”
Both men quickly said yes in unison.
“We've got more food, ammo, some medicine and even more guns,” Bryan said.
“I don't know, Wyatt. It’s risky. We have a lot of work to do here and going all that way, risking our lives and leaving the lodge vulnerable...I don't like it,” Jack said.
“We are kind of desperate here, Jack. Any food and supplies we can get our hands on, we need to get. It’s a small risk. We will leave enough people here to guard the place. With as many people as we have now, it’s not a big deal if a few of us head back over there,” Wyatt reasoned.
Jack didn't look convinced, but nodded in agreement.
“We go tomorrow,” Wyatt said.
“Sounds good to us. First light?” Bryan confirmed.
“Yep. Let's get as much done today as we can,” Wyatt said standing. “We are up against a tight timeline.”
The men all headed out to hand out the assignments for the day. Wyatt was going to have to tell Megan about their planned trip tomorrow. She was not going to be happy.
Wyatt headed inside. His mom and Tara had the venison laid out on the counter. There was a ten-pound bag of salt out as well.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
Tara was using a cup to pour salt over each piece of meat.
“Curing the meat. We didn't get that smoker built, so Tara is showing me how to cure meat with salt and a few of the dried herbs we have,” Rosie explained.
Once Tara poured the salt mixture over the meat, Rosie rubbed it in and then flipped it over. They repeated the process with each piece of meat.
“We cleared out an area in the shed, so don't be surprised if you go in there. We will be hanging the meat in there to dry,” she explained.
“Isn't that going to make it salty?” he asked, trying to understand how that could be healthy.
“Not as much as you would think,” Tara explained. “You could technically make a sandwich with it. We have sliced it thin. The salt dries out the meat faster than if we just hang it out there. With the cool weather, we need it to dry fast enough that bacteria won’t grow. The salt speeds it all up.”
“You have eaten cured ham,” Rosie told him. “It's basically the same thing. It may not be as fancy a cure recipe, but it will do.”
Wyatt was skeptical, but he was open to give it a try.
“Let me know when it's ready. I’ll give it a taste.”
Rosie laughed, “Oh you will most definitely be eating this, young man. If I serve it, you will eat it.”
Wyatt had to laugh. It was the same thing she’d been telling him since he was old enough to eat. It was no surprise she still said it.
18
Jack had no idea if it was going to work, but he figured it wasn't going to be a complete loss. If the hewn logs didn’t work out, they could still use the wood to burn during winter but then everyone would be on top of each other in the lodge.
He took a deep breath and swung the ax again. He had recruited Bryan and Evan to help him finish up the remaining logs. Jack figured he should give them a hands-on demonstration on how to hew their own logs.
“Are you sure you know what you are doing?” Evan asked just as he was about to swing.
Pointing to the stack of logs he’d already completed. “They didn’t grow that way. Now quit talking to me while I'm swinging an ax or one of us is going to lose a leg.”
He was frustrated and on the verge of losing his cool. This wasn’t easy work; it required not only raw power, but concentration too. That's when he saw Megan walking towards them.
“What's up?” he asked, thankful for the interruption.
She smiled. “Not a thing. I wanted to see you in action. Wyatt told me you were hewing logs. I wasn’t paying attention when you were working on them before so thought I would check it out. Why are you doing it? Can't you leave them round to build the longhouse?”
He sighed, “Yes, but imagine stacking blocks and then imagine stacking something like toilet paper rolls. It is easier to work with square pieces of lumber than the round logs. This way we can also make beams for the roof support.”
She didn't look convinced.
“You could do that with the round logs as well.”
He sighed, “Why do you think the pioneers took the time and energy to hew logs? They did it because in the end, it provided them with a sturdy building and a few guys could do it versus trying to put different sized round logs on top of on
e another.”
“Okay, okay, I get it. You're right. Can I help?” she asked.
Jack knew Megan was very capable, but this work was extremely strenuous. He looked at her face. She wanted to help. He groaned inside. She was truly like a pesky little sister always wanting to tag along with the boys.
“Fine. You can use that ax. There is a smaller log already set up. You are going to score the log first, which is basically making a V shape about every foot on the log. Like this,” he said picking up the ax and whacking it against the log he had started on.
The ax cut was about two inches deep. He swung again on the other side of his cut several more times.
“See the V shape?” he asked all three of his now attentive pupils.
They all nodded.
“Okay, keep making these deep Vs along the log.”
He swung the ax a few more times, deepening and widening the groove. Then he moved down the log a foot and started the process again.
“You guys do the Vs down the length of your logs. When you're done, we'll move on to the next step,” he instructed.
None of them talked as they got busy swinging and chopping. Despite the chill in the air from the cold breeze, sweat dripped down Jack's brow and down his back soaking his shirt. While he appreciated the cool down, it drove him to keep pushing through the burning in his arms.
It wouldn't be long before that breeze turned into a biting northern wind. They had to get this building up. He was hoping the hewn logs were worth the time and effort. He felt like they would be, but one just never knew.
“Done,” Megan said breathlessly after spending close to an hour working on her one log.
Jack looked over and checked that the entire length of the log had the cut grooves down the whole length.
He smiled, “That is pretty amazing, Megan. You surprise me more and more each day.”
Megan beamed. She was obviously feeling proud of herself as well. Bryan and Evan finished their logs up soon after and Jack gathered them all round again.
The EMP Lodge Series: Books One to Three Page 49