Dane tugged off the boots and stood in his sock feet. The man spotted a leather and turquoise bracelet on his wrist. “That too,” he said.
He gave his grandfather a pained look, “Gram gave me that, Poppa”
“Never mind, son, we gotta eat,” said Jack.
Inside, the women heard all of this, they were busy hiding their wedding rings away in secret places. Behind the wagon now sat two cases of liquor, three cartons of cigarettes, with the boots sitting on top. The man held the quarters and the bracelet.
Dane grumbled, “Damn it, next time we come trading, I am coming naked.”
The man spit out his loud laugh again and slapped his legs. “We're done. Go on in. I can't promise what all is left in there but you get what you need. I'll give you about two hours.” He looked at his watch, “Got it?”
Jack checked his time, “Got it.” They drove into the looming warehouse. “Trish, you have any idea which way to go? They are only going to give us so much time in here.”
Trish replied, “I was here once but it was a long time ago. Go over towards that north corner. Dane is going to need some shoes.” That brought laughter from the riders. They found an area with boxes dumped out everywhere, some still on the wide and tall warehouse shelves. Dane and the girls started digging around. They took a big box and threw shoes of all sizes in. Dianne felt bad that her son had to give up his boots, she found a multi colored pair of high top tennis shoes. “How about these, Dane?”
“Cool” he said, and sat down to put them on.
Food was going to be their most important booty, they quickly searched for the food areas. It's amazing, the laziness of people. Even in these impossible times, the resident scavengers had taken all of the easy to reach food stores first. The higher the shelves rose, the more boxes of food were untouched. Jason managed to find one of those tall rolling staircases, he climbed up to the platform and they relayed the boxes of dried and canned goods down. They stacked all they could in the trailer. In another area, the girls found some otc medications and other hygiene items. The men found a small amount of ammunition in a fenced off area that had once been locked. The boss and his crew had probably already taken most of that and any guns. They also located some automotive supplies. The warehouse still had plenty of useful items but there was only so much they could haul and their time was running out. Jack thought, I won't rule out, coming here and dealing with these people. I think we would have to be very cautious of them, though.
“We better get out of here and on the road,” Jack checked the time. It had used up a lot of time, to move around the warehouse, look for things that they needed and load it up. He put the padlock on the trailer. Cody switches to the back of the wagon. He had found a pillow and was planning to nap, he had been on guard duty part of last night. Everyone else climbed in. They approached the locked gates, Boss man stood waiting. Jack leaned out his window, “Thanks man, we are on our way. Long way back home.”
The man came to the window. “You sure you don't have anything else? You ladies have some jewelry, huh?” Dianne had on some inexpensive earrings. She took them off and handed them over the seat to Jack. Beth slipped off her watch and handed it over. The man took them, leaned down and looked across everyone in the car. Dane said, “Hey dude, you already got all my s—t”.
“I don't know, I got to find them keys,” he was chewing on a toothpick and stood in place with his hand on his rifle.
Jack was getting that uneasy feeling that always triggered an alarm in his head. He was not sure how malicious this guy really was. It was obvious that he was not just going to let them through the gates, without shaking them down for whatever he could. Boss, did have some backup, too. Sizing up the situation, he did not know if the War Wagon could barrel through the locked gates. Besides, the wagon was their only means of transportation. Not only did he not want to damage it, he did not want any of the family to get harmed. He turned from the window and gave everyone a wink. They got the message, let's do this.
Jason sat behind Jack, he rolled down his window, his .45 in his hand. Trish and Dianne opened their passenger side doors and stepped out, their pistols drawn. They rested them on the top of the wagon. Beth and Dane both drew their small pistols. In the very back, Cody pulled the .22 rifle from under the blanket and Jack raised his .380.
“Time for us to go, boss man.” said Jack, with no smile.
The man glared, motioned for his side kick to open the gates. Doors slammed, the wagon towing the loaded trailer burned rubber and left the gates behind. Back on the road, clear of the warehouse, Jack slowed a bit. Everybody was quiet for a while and let their breathing return to normal levels. Jason turned to Cody, who sat in the back of the wagon. “Hey, hand me a pack of those cigarettes”.
Jack said, “Pass me one, Jason”. Beth looked at him, stunned. He said, “What? worried it's going to kill me?”
She smiled and said, “Al-righty then, pass me one, too. Matter of fact, cigarettes all around! Jack, push in that lighter.” Yep, cars like the old wagon once had cigarette lighters that were not for connecting mobile devices, they actually were for lighting cigarettes. Trish, had never in her life had a drag from a cigarette. She coughed and choked until the tears ran down her face. There were a few more sputtering coughs. Most of the burning invitations to cancer, ended up out the window, some of the passengers relished their smokes.
They made their way back to the compound with no trouble. There was no desire to stop again at the liquor store on the way back. They had been lucky and had a very profitable day. Everyone just wanted to get home. It was late in the evening when they arrived, everything was under control there. The girls ran to Trish, “mommy!” More than just Nicky and Brook were excited to have the others safely back. Any day that a successful trip was made outside of the compound, the expeditioners, as well the support team at home were very grateful to be re-united.
They had to push Beth's hunk of useless SUV farther back out of the way. Then they backed the trailer into the big garage shop and unhooked it. The wagon was put in it's place on the opposite side. They would unload the trailer the next day. In the main house garage where the boys had their sleeping space, they had already put up several more sections of shelving, their food stores had outgrown the original pantry area in the house. This was not a circumstance that they were complaining about. Jack and Beth would soon take the first watch, along with one of the boys. After, they could get a night's sleep.
The next day was a cheerful day in the compound. The highlight was unloading and storing all of the new food stores. The pirate booty from the Walmart warehouse. They had brought home more supplies of soap, toothpaste, lotions and cleaning supplies, as well as all the toilet tissue that they could squeeze in. The cases from the liquor store and the cigarettes would be a great addition to their bartering supplies and they would enjoy some of it. A small amount of ammo got added to the arsenal. The automotive supplies, oil, etc. would go a long way in keeping the War Wagon on the road.
Some basic medications were stored away. There was a constant worry about Lynn's prescription meds. They were always on the look-out for more. She was stocked right now and actually she had been able to cut her dosage just a bit. Her doctor, in the Before world, had told her that when she went through the change of life, menopause, that her hormones would do some changing. Her mild seizures would possibly diminish. She was in the early stages of that change. Beth and Jack have slowly quit taking their cholesterol and blood pressure medicines. Of course, there was no doctor to test and monitor and tell them how much more medications they needed. They agreed, what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them. At least, they preferred to think that. They, like all of the family, had slimmed down. The daily work made all of them stronger and healthier.
After the basic chores of the day were finished they gathered in the common room. For the afternoon, they all forgot about the worries of the After world. The girls brought out some boxes of Walmart cookies, not as fresh a
s new but they were a treat. Everyone went through the big box of shoes, trying them on like weird Cinderellas and picking pairs for themselves. And of course, there was the story to tell. The children drifted out to the toys on the patio. Some stories entertained them, but many bored them. That was good, the adults preferred not to have to censor their tales. Everyone had not only become good listeners at story time but most of them took their turns at the telling. As with all things, some were better at it than others. Dane was a very amusing story teller. He was funny and expressive, often waving his hands for emphasis. His recounting of losing his boots and the events of the day before had the family rolling in laughter. “...and then, Momma and Aunt Trish, jumped out of the War Wagon and pointed their guns at that old guy. I am telling you, he was moonwalking backwards.” He did a gliding backwards walk to demonstrate.
With their supplies built up, no recent threats and the Spring weather gracing the compound, they rode these peaceful days. Unfortunately, supplies would never last forever, threats were on the horizon and the weather would soon be hot and miserable. For now, Jack did not want to dampen the spirits of his family.
One thing that they had not had to give up, was music. Jack had always regretted that he could not play an instrument. He did have a guitar and he strummed away some but never felt like he was a natural. He was a big fan of Bluegrass. He and Beth, liked Blues and older country. They both liked country swing and old standards such as Big Band from the 1940's. Beth, sometimes accused him of trying to “twang her to death”, she would listen to her CD's of soft rock. The Christmas before the event, they had given all of the grand-children radios that were battery, solar and crank. These radios would not only charge a cell phone, but charge up their little music gadgets. Of course, the cell phones were no better than rocks, but they were all able to keep their music players charged up. On any given day, ear phones pumped out a huge variation of tunes, from the 1980's to the twenty first century. And in the shop where the males hung out a lot, Jack's old battery CD player broadcast a background theme. It was a game with the guys to get to the player and remove Jack's old music, replacing it with a pounding, pulsing outburst. They loved to see Jack raise up from under the car hood or some current task and say, “What the Hell!”
In their good humor, the girls conspired to plan a dance. It would have to be in the late afternoon, ending by dark for the watches. They would all dress as if going to a party and all music would be allowed. On a Saturday afternoon, with the mild Spring breeze cooling the patio, all twenty one residents of the compound gathered. Spread on the kitchen table were some only slightly stale chips and various jars of dip. Beverages were not ice cold but they had managed to cool some and place them in an ice chest. A lantern burned, sitting in the center of the table. Outside, chairs had been grouped around and the patio was left clear. The guitar leaned against one of the chairs.
Everyone was cleaned and polished up. The girls were all wearing tops that they had found no daily use for or had borrowed and altered, from Beth's closet. Their hair was piled on their head or pulled back in sparkly clasps. They all wore beaded jewelry that the children had made with help from the twins. Jack and Beth both had on their western boots. They were not fancy steppers, after decades of dancing together they were quite competent at the classic two-step and waltzes. Beth was known to break out in any solo gyration that matched the rhythm of the music. Willie Nelson's nasal tones drifted from the player. Soon, George Strait was singing, Beth and Jack led off the dancing.
There was a loud hum of laughing, talking and music. Feet shuffled on the concrete patio. Jack was picking partners, from each of his daughters to the smallest of the girls. Nicky and Brook were having great fun and little BJ wiggled to the music. Beth chose partners from the men and boys. This got everyone up and moving. The CD's were being switched in and out. Some were getting brief dancing “lessons”, others were improvising with interesting results. There was a feet resting break and everyone was snacking on the chips and dip. The dark was coming too fast, they would soon have to end the party and get to the business of the night. Shawna picked up the guitar and to everyone's surprise started strumming a sweet song. She was a bit embarrassed but another was requested. She played something that many of the younger ones sang along with. There was clapping and then a quiet. Shawna touched the strings again, her clear young voice sang the familiar words to America the Beautiful. The family, one by one, joined in. Not many dry eyes in the waning light. They all reluctantly moved away to their duties.
Chapter Three
CIRCLE THE WAGONS
A drop light cast a wide circle of illumination over the patio. It was being powered by the small solar set-up. Lynn was sitting in one of the wicker patio chairs and sketching. She was working on a drawing of her parents dancing. Dianne sat across from her, she was writing about the dance earlier in the evening. Their mates, Lee and Jason had taken the first watch, along with Jason's son Matt. Trish was going over some of the inventory and making lists of things they needed. Big Dog and Little Dog sat at the girls feet. They had been adopted by the united family. Usually they shadowed the children, even slept at the foot of their beds. Tonight, they enjoyed the cool night air.
Inside the compound grounds about half a dozen very tall hardwood trees stood. They were mature old trees with spreading branches of leaves, they gave the combined back yards great shade in the summer. Two of the trees, one on each end of the yard, had ladders leading up to platforms built high in the stout limbs. The young men had come up with the idea of using truck tail gates to make walls on three sides of the platforms. They had taken the U-haul trailer out and removed all of the tailgates they could haul. Car doors took some tools and were more difficult to remove, tailgates came off quick. These platforms would give a guard perched there a view over the fence. The area in front of the houses was not totally visible but it greatly increased the scope of their watch. They also used some of the tailgates to re-enforce around the small hatches they had made in the fence. The hatches were for observation and for firing portholes. In an incident a few months before, Tate had been injured from a shot through the fence. The tailgates and some sand bags they had built up, had improved their perimeter safety.
Matt sat in the tree top. The young men particularly enjoyed this spot for guard duty. Lee and Jason did their slow walking coverage of the fence, from end to end. They were not far from passing in the middle when Jason caught a narrow beam from Matt's flashlight. It was flashing on and off, that was a signal that he had spotted something or someone outside of the fence. Jason motioned to Lee, stay put...someone outside the fence. He moved to the base of the tree and whispered to Matt, “you stay there, point the light where you see movement”. Matt threw the beam at the fence, a little to the south of Lee. Jason moved to the patio and told the girls to alert Jack and the boys that someone lurked around. By this time, the dogs had stood up, ears alert and Big Dog growled a deep rumble.
Their usual exit from the compound was the garage shop door. They had recently decided that it was far too noisy for some situations. They now kept some ladders on the ground, around the inside of the fence, ready to use to go over. Jack came out from the house, he and Jason cautiously went over the fence on the east end. They moved to the corner, peering around to see if they could spot the intruders. The ground behind the fence dropped off steeply to the church parking lot. This made it more difficult for someone to get up to the fence.
There was no moon that night and the light was poor. Jason could make out a dark figure attempting to reach the fence. At that moment, he noticed two of the small hatches in the fence ease open. He knew that gun muzzles would be poking out. Jack said, “there could be others behind the buildings or trees, it's just too dark to see. I got your back, let's check out this guy.” Jason nodded okay, and stepped around the corner.
“Who goes there?” shouted Jason, as he raised his rifle. The figure slipped back down the bank and fell on his back. Jason moved in and
put the rifle on the man's chest. Jack was waiting for any further movement or noise of attack, he scanned the darkened church parking lot. He did not see or hear anyone else. “Get up!” demanded Jason.
Jack spoke towards one of the hatches, “Someone open the garage door and get the ladder down from the fence.” They herded the captive around the fence perimeter and pushed him through the lifting door. After they were through, Eric secured the door back down. Jason shoved the man down in a lawn chair. There was only a dim battery light glowing in the shop. Jack didn't like for an oil lantern to be burning with all the fuel stored there. Lee came into the shop at this time. He asked Eric, if he and Trish would go ahead and take the watch. “Get a couple of the boys, too” he said to Eric. “I think I recognize this guy. We are going to find out what he was up to and if there are any others out there.”
The rest of the family moved into the common room. Until they were clear on what the threat was, they did not want the children to be put to bed in Casa Dos. Shawna said she would relieve Matt, in the tree. Brother climbed up in the other high tree perch. Cody would help walk the fence.
So, the four remaining young men joined Jack, Jason and Lee in the garage shop. The guy in the chair was encircled with seven armed men and no friendly faces. The man looked damn scared. Jack couldn't help but think, This a bit of overkill. But hey, one for all and all for one. He kept the smile from his face.
Lee looked the scroungy guy over. The tattoos made him more certain who he was. “You were the one partying with the gal in the tall grass, right?” The guy didn't answer right away but after looking around him, he said, “Yeah, so what?”
Lee said, “You and the girl live in the big fancy neighborhood, back through the trees and field?” The man looked a bit surprised. Lee said, “I heard the two of you talking. You said that you knew someone was in this neighborhood and you said that you didn't know if you were telling your brother. Did you change your mind? Did your brother send you to check us out?”
No Normal Day II (Unity) Page 3