Earth's Survivors: box set

by Wendell Sweet

  The result was a small, round, thick cake that was as hard as a rock, but if you worked at it, it could be chewed into bite size morsels. The best way to eat it was to drop it into a stew and let it soften before you tried to eat it.

  “This would make a good hockey puck,” Conner said. He tapped his against a rock making a solid clacking noise as he did.

  “Tasty though,” Molly said.

  “This would make a good, tasty hockey puck,” Conner amended.

  “So that's what they meant by eating the hockey puck in the game,” Aaron said.

  “All of those guys were missing teeth,” Nellie allowed.

  “Now you know why,” Conner laughed. “But... Really... Before someone thinks I don't appreciate Janna, she did a good job. Let it soak and it really does soften up, and berries with meat? I was sure I wouldn't like that, but it's nothing like I thought it would be. I think she's right when she says we could survive on them and the dried meat.”

  “Protein... Fat. She's right,” Annie said. “Calories and carbs too. I like that we can do something like that... That we can make nearly all of our own stuff.”

  “We've come a long way, that's for sure,” Conner agreed.

  “We really are completely self sufficient right now,” Dustin said. “All the stuff we're going to get will just make it easier for us. Make life a little better, but it's nothing that we absolutely have to have.”

  “Explain the electric cars,” Molly said. “It's not like we can plug them in so how do we charge them?”

  “Oh yeah. We can plug them in. I mean, no. Right now, no,” Dustin laughed. “But once we're wired we can easily do it. There are four wheel drive electric vehicles too. That's what I want to find. They're not race cars. Low speed. Not a huge range either. A few hundred miles, and we couldn't use them out here because getting them charged up would be too iffy, but back in the Nation? We can use them for everything.”

  “Electricity is easy for us to make. Not like trying to look up supplies of gasoline or diesel. I'm sure it's out there, but this would be a lot easier for us.” Dustin elaborated.

  “But they won't be charged, so how will we get them home?” Molly asked.

  “Generator,” Dustin answered. “Charge them up to the max and they should be able to make it back, If not we'll run the generators on the way back to recharge overnight.”

  “So then why are we going to bring back so much gasoline and diesel?” Nellie asked.

  “Well the gas is strictly to get us back, If we can find any that's any good. Gas can go bad, you know. Mainly it's how it's stored. If it isn't stored airtight it's worthless after a month or two. And even then there's no guarantee. We'll need to find some that's been underground in a capped tank. It's there somewhere; we'll find it, Even if it's not the greatest we can get back with it. It would probably tear up the engine though.”

  “Diesel will be okay a lot longer, maybe as long as a few years, even then it's not forever, but it will get us through the transition period. It will run our generators if it has too. And we'll need that. Eventually we'll have our own supplies,” Dustin said.

  “Our own... Gas you mean,” Molly asked.

  “No... Well, yes. Fuel, I mean,” Dustin said. He smiled shyly. “We can make our own oil easily. And oil will run a diesel engine if it's warmed up a little. We can cook with oil too, the same oil, and when we're done with it use it as fuel,” Dustin told her.

  “I heard of that back in the old days,” Aaron contributed.

  “But where do we get the initial oil from,” Conner asked.

  “Sunflowers... Corn, really any vegetable matter will convert to oil. For what little we drive it will see us through. It's not like we'll be coming out here all that often, so we'll drive with it very little. We'll have the electrics for that. And the diesel generators will only need fuel when there is no sun or water power. That will be rare. We have over a hundred and fifty gallons of diesel left from what we bought in. That will last a long time too. And we'll be bringing more back too. By the time we need it our oil will be ready.”

  “Well, what about methane, garbage, the cows, horses, pigs,” Aaron asked.

  “I thought about that, I did. But even though it seems as though it will be a lot it won't be. At least not enough to run our vehicles like we need to, but, I thought, we can still use it and we will. It can heat for us, help heat our water... Maybe even our houses too. Mainly the cave though in the winter.”

  “You know,” Annie said. “He'll talk forever.” She circled him with her arms and smiled.

  He laughed. “I like to figure things out,” He confessed.

  “And you do,” Conner said. “You do.”

  They ate diner talking back and forth. The radios were dead, but since they had expected it, it was not too much of a let down. After dinner Conner got out the map to plan out their route for the next day.

  The Nation

  “We have to plan this better next year,” Amy said. She and Katie were sitting with Lilly, watching the rest of the Nation, supervised by James, digging potatoes.

  “How so,” Katie asked.

  “Well, if everybody’s pregnant who's gonna dig potatoes,” Amy asked.

  Katie and Lilly both laughed.

  “Stop,” Lilly said, “You'll make me pee my pants.”

  That made Katie and Amy laugh harder. Tears squirted from their eyes.

  “Okay, okay,” Lilly said. “You will be this big soon. Then we will see.” She laughed again too though.

  “Honey,” Amy said. “I swear you have twins in there.”

  Lilly nodded. “Me too, but Sandy swears it's only one. She only hears one heartbeat.”

  “Hmm. Must be a football player,” Katie held her hands apart, pretending to measure Lilly's stomach, “Like... College level, I'd say.” She touched both hands to either side of Lilly's swollen belly.

  “Ha, ha,” Lily said smiling.

  “Alright,” Amy said. “Back at it for us.”

  Katie got back up too and they both told Lilly goodbye. They walked off back toward the barn where they had been gathering eggs. The interior of the barn was cool and shadowed as they walked down to the opposite end where the rabbit hutches were kept.

  “I don't know how you can do it,” Katie said.

  “What, kill a rabbit,” Amy asked.

  “Yeah... I can't do it.”

  “Sure you can. It's food. Can't walk to the store and get it any longer. Even then, someone had to do it,” Amy told her.

  Katie nodded. “Yeah, but I wasn't the someone who had to do it,” she said.

  “You like rabbit,” Amy asked.

  “Uh huh,” Katie said quietly.

  “Well then.”

  Katie sighed. “Yeah... Okay... Show me again, Aim,” She told her.

  Amy nodded and then picked up a rabbit from the cage. She laid it out along her arm, head in her hand. The rabbit didn't struggle or try to get free.

  She placed her other hand behind the rabbit's head, cupping its head behind its ears. She stroked gently for a second.

  “Like this,” she said. “And you do it fast.” Her hand gripped suddenly as she dropped her arm from under the rabbit's body and gave a quick flip of her wrist, snapping the rabbits neck as she did. The rabbits rear feet kicked twice and then quit. “See,” Amy told her. “No big deal.”

  She handed Katie a rabbit from the hutch. “You don't have to,” she told her.

  “I know, but I'm going to anyway.” She laid the rabbit out along her arm the same way she had seen Amy do it and placed her hand behind the rabbits ears encircling the rabbit's neck.

  “Now when you drop it,” Amy told her. “Think of that rabbits head like the handle of a whip you're cracking... Snap it hard and fast, and that's it,” Amy told her.

  Katie nodded, dropped the rabbits body from her arm, snapped its head like a whip, or like she imagined a whip would be snapped like. The rabbit went flying out of Katie's grasp and flew at Amy who
caught it with one hand.

  “Oh, good, Kate,” Amy laughed. “But you are sort of supposed to hold onto it.” She held the rabbit up which was definitely dead. “You did it!”

  “Yuck,” Katie said. “Conner better really be impressed with this. I'm murdering rabbits here!”

  Amy laughed.

  They spent the next few hours into sunset working. They chatted back and forth, when they were ready Amy showed Katie how to butcher the rabbit.

  She picked up a heavy butchers knife, rested the rabbits head against the butcher block. A second later the head was falling into a bucket beside the tabletop and she left the rabbit just off the side for the blood to drain as she picked up another one.

  There were a series of pegs with heavy leather thongs that hung over a rounded trough of metal that drained into the bucket. “Chop off the head and let it fall into the bucket. Let it drain a few seconds, then stick one of the hind legs through the leather thong to hold it over the bucket and let it drain a little longer. I get seven or eight hanging then I start the next part.” Amy said

  “Lay the rabbit back on the block. This knife is wicked sharp so be careful. Feel for the joint in the foot. Place the knife over it, work it back and forth just a little and it will almost slice right through all on its own... One, two, three, four,” She said as she removed the four paws from the body.”

  “Now grab the skin at the neck and back and pull it tight. Then take this knife with the notch, slip it into the skin and run it down the middle and over the stomach bottom to top... See? Now peel the skin off. It'll come right off.”

  Katie watched as Amy reduced the rabbit to six parts in just a few minutes. “Okay,” she said. “That looks like the rabbit I know and love.” She frowned. Then picked up half a dozen rabbits and started in. By the time she was through with the six she had the hang of it.

  “See... Not so bad,” Amy told her.

  “No, I'm just a baby,” Katie told her. “But cooking it, that part I know.”

  “Yeah, well, Janna said she'd cook them. All we have to do is eat them... And real potatoes too... Real baked potatoes. And real butter... Jeez, it doesn't get any better than that,” Amy said.

  They spent some time finishing up the rabbits, then added the waste to a composter Dustin had built; rolled up the skins in a bundle, placed all the rabbit meat onto a low wheeled cart and headed up to the cave.

  Conner

  The Forest Lands

  Aaron stopped halfway to the truck and stared off to the East. “What was that,” he asked to no one in particular.

  “What,” Nellie asked.

  Aaron shook his head. “I...”

  “No,” Molly said. Her head was also cocked back towards the East. A look of heavy concentration on her face. “It was something.”

  “Like firecrackers far away,” Annie said.

  Everyone fell silent for a few seconds, but no sounds came to them. A heavy breeze had sprung up. The sky had darkened perceptibly in the last few minutes.

  “Firecrackers,” Conner repeated. “Gunfire? … Far away?”

  Aaron shook his head as did Molly.

  “I didn't hear it again... I did hear something though,” Dustin said quietly.

  “It didn't come again, at least I didn't hear it,” Molly said. She looked at Aaron who shook his head.

  “Maybe thunder?” Nellie looked up at the sky.

  “I,” Aaron started, and then the sky opened up and the rain came hard and heavy. They all ran for the larger tent they had set up.

  The Nation

  “These potatoes are so good,” Lilly said.

  “And huge too,” Amy agreed.

  “We did very well for our first time,” Janna said.

  “About the size of a man's fist,” James said. “That is good. Usually they were nowhere near that big when I grew them... I asked them to look for some nice reds,” James said as he turned to Amy. “If they can find any that is, but these are nice... Very good.”

  “There are different kinds,” Katie asked.

  “Yes,” James agreed.

  “Silly,” Janelle said. “Instant ones, boiled ones, french fried ones and them is my favorites.”

  “They are my favorites,” Lilly said.

  “They are my favorites,” Janelle repeated.

  “Silly me,” Katie said and began to laugh again.

  “Don't start that again,” Lilly said. “You two are so bad.”

  James laughed too and then turned to Janelle. “She means different kinds like brown skinned, red skinned, yellow... They call them Russet or Idaho... Like that.”

  Janelle was moving her head up and down in agreement. “And french fried ones don't have no skin … Any,” she looked at Lilly who nodded. She smiled and then continued. “Any skin at all. And instant ones are all smashed up... and,” she screwed up her face for a moment. “Did you know that potato chips are also made from potatoes too,” Janelle asked. She looked at James.

  “Yes I did,” James agreed. Everyone else was trying hard not to laugh. James looked at Mark who sat next to Janelle. My Nellie, Mark called her.

  “My Nellie's really smart,” Mark told James now. Janelle turned and smiled at Mark and then turned back to James.

  “Well. How about we have french fries for dinner tomorrow You can help me make them,” James said. “Okay?”

  “Yes,” Janelle said. She turned to Mark. “I wish it was tomorrow,” She told him. Mark nodded solemnly. Janelle picked up her rabbit and began to eat.

  The conversation resumed, flowing back and forth as they ate. Outside the dark clouds that had been threatening rain all day opened up and a light rain began to fall. James looked out through the glassed in entrance at the rain and then turned back to the table.

  “Next week we'll do the corn, I think. Then late peppers, watermelons and then squash,” he chewed thoughtfully, smiled. “And then it will be time for the second wheat and rye harvest.”

  “I had no idea how much work went into harvesting grain,” Amy said. She stared down at her hands for a few minutes, which still ached from the first harvest, shrugged, and then went back to eating.

  “Daunting, isn't it, Aim,” Janna asked.

  “It is really. I mean, it was worth it, but at the time it seemed like so much work for so little,” Amy said.

  “It's one of those things better done with a group of people. Then it doesn't seem quite so lopsided,” Janna agreed. “Rice would be better. Corn too, you know. Next year we'll have a better wheat crop, probably,” she looked over at James who nodded. “Maybe rice next year... Corn of course in a few days.”

  “For flour, you mean?”

  Janna nodded.

  “You dry it out?” Amy asked.

  “Dry it and then grind it, fine or coarse, which ever you prefer. It makes a good flour. Now, rice does too.... A finer flour. But we'll have to see about that next year,” James said.

  “What would you say to a herb garden next year, James,” Susan asked.

  James nodded. “Good idea,” he agreed.

  “It would be medicinal stuff for the most part,” Susan elaborated. “But spices, and some spices have medicinal properties too... We could use some help to set it up. It would be useful... Helpful, but I have no idea how to go about it. If you could show us, help us start it, I'm sure we could take it from there.”

  “I’ll not only show you, but I'll help you get it going,” James promised.

  “Thank you,” both Sharon and Sandy said in unison.

  “Me too,” Susan added.

  James nodded. “You know, I've got the deer in their own area of the barn now... They remind me of goats, really. Now this is kind of strange, depending on your viewpoint... I heard this from elders. They were talking about a tribe that my ancestors had traded with... Back before America became America, but after the whites had come to this country. This tribe had captured deer and tamed them and then had developed them into dairy animals. They hand fed them corn and
other grain.”

  “These Indian men made most of the deer milk into cheese, which my relatives related down through the years as being very good and flavorful. So I decided to give it a try myself.”

  “I got a dozen of them, one male, they seem to prefer it that way, and I got three milking so far. Keep them going after they give birth, same as a cow.”

  Janelle started to speak and then closed her mouth with a near audible snap. James raised his eyebrows at her. “You like deer?”

  “Yep... I have seen them... It shouldn't be I got... I have some Deers in the barn that I am milking is what it should be, Uncle James,” Janelle said.

  “Deer,” Lilly said.

  “Only one?”

  “Honey, Deer is also the plural,” James said chuckling. “And, you're right. It should be I have some Deer in the barn I am milking... I shouldn't have thrown the got in there either...” he smiled at her.

  Janelle smiled back.

  “Little Pitchers,” Janna said.

  Janelle turned to Brian. “That means we got... Have, big ears,” She told him.

  Brian nodded. “Aunt Amy said I will grow into them,” he said seriously.

  Amy burst into giggles and Katie and Lilly joined in.

  James wiped his eyes a few moments later and began to talk again. “Ah,” he sighed. “So... Their milk tasted pretty bitter at first, but once I shifted them to grain it changed... I think they were eating trees and bark.”

  “I didn't even know a deer could eat a tree,” Rain said seriously.

  “Well, not the whole tree, Sweetie, just parts of it,” Janna said on her way out of the room.

  Rain nodded her head. Her face seemed serious as if she was trying to imagine a deer eating parts of a tree. She looked over at Janelle who shrugged.

  Janna came back into the room with Arlene, each carrying a pie.

  “Blueberry,” Janna said.