We Go On (THE DELL)

by Stephen Woods

"Dell?" Dave asked.

  Jenny turned to him. "Yeah, you know, like the kids song, The Farmer in the Dell."

  Listening to the description of the valley and town, I had almost forgotten to ask the results of the reason for the mission in the first place. Bob's smile grew even wider. "I am happy to report there are exactly fifteen-hundred T-walls loaded on seven hundred and fifty flatbed trailers. Each trailer’s connected to a semi-tractor and I'm sure we can get at least one or two running. There are also two flatbed trucks loaded with Hesco containers,” he said. I had to stop him for a description of a Hesco container. Bob described them as a wire frame basket about seven-feet square connected to each other to form a long line of the baskets. They’re lined with a fabric material and you fill them with dirt to form a barrier. He said they’re collapsed and you set them up by spreading them over the area you want and opening them. Then just fill them with dirt and instant wall seven-feet thick. You can stack them to make them higher and once the dirt is compacted they are nearly as strong as the T-walls.

  After his description, Bob continued, "The two trucks of Hesco and the T-walls could enclose a huge area including the town and several acres of the surrounding land. There is also a truck loaded with twenty concrete Y or Jersey barriers and a truck mounted crane to lift it all. I don't know where they were headed but they must have been intending to set up some kind of refugee compound. They never made it and it's sitting in just the right spot for us."

  I was excited about the information they had given me. The Dell sounded perfect and the quantity of barriers we had available to build the enclosure was better than I had hoped. It was coming together, if only the council that waited for us upstairs could come up with a plan to overcome the other obstacles we faced. I told them all to follow me and we headed upstairs to give the council the good news.

  Back in the planning room there was a collective sigh of relief when I entered followed by Jenny and Bob. I got everyone’s attention and had Jenny first then Bob repeat the information they had just given me. There were a few questions which they handily answered. After their narrative, I asked Meredith for a new acreage figure based on the updated number of barriers we had available. She said based on the T-walls alone we could enclose around eighty acres. I addressed the council again. "All right, we now know we can protect an area big enough to contain all of us and it sounds like this place Dell is a great candidate. I'm going to go out there tomorrow to get a better understanding of the place. I'd like some of you to go. The ones with particular expertise that can help me evaluate the area to see if it can support us. What I need to know now is it feasible? Can we solve the problems and make this work?"

  Jim was the first one on his feet and addressed the whole room. "Based on what we know and with the information brought to us by Bob and Jenny, I'd have to say it's more than just feasible. It’s my opinion that we have to try. It sounds too good not to."

  There was general agreement around the room. With everyone in an agreeable mood I thought it would be a good time to go over the solutions to the problems we had come up with yesterday. I asked Jim to continue with the report from his working group. He started by outlining the issues his group had studied. Water, land size and proper management, living space plus space for essential infrastructure. They also looked at electrical requirements, along with fuel and other necessary consumable supplies. After restating their task he delivered his solution. "It sounds like the Dell's location solves most of our problems for us. Heating and cooking will need to be accomplished by burning wood. The abundant forest around the valley should provide all the wood we need for the foreseeable future. Wood is a renewable resource and proper management will ensure its continued availability.”

  He took a few breaths as he flipped pages on his note book. “The water problems solved by the spring in town. Of course, it will need to be tested to ensure it's not contaminated. As long as it's potable we’ll have water except in the case of extreme drought.”

  He continued, “Land size of eighty plus acres should support all of us and leave room for growth if that should become an issue. The available structures allows for adequate living space and also for office space for government type functions. The church can double as a school and the store can be used to house and distribute food stuff.”

  Jim looked at me. “We haven't had a need for money and assume that practice will continue. Food should be shared in an equitable fashion." I nodded my agreement so he went on. "The only problem left to be solved is electrical and we have come up with both a short term and long term solution.

  “For the short term, generators are the way to go. We think two large, in the neighborhood of three hundred kilo watts, would be sufficient for all our power needs. The only limiting factor would be fuel. Generators that large are normally diesel and we’d have to have a quantity on hand to keep them running.”

  That could be a problem, I thought. Fuel stored for a long time gets stale and I’d have to remember to ask about this later.

  “We could extend fuel by instituting power usage times. As an example, the generators will be run from 7 a.m. until 10 a.m. and then from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m., or as necessary for work details, Jim continued.

  A few people spoke up with questions but they were minor detail items.

  "A long term solution could be wind or solar power. Solar is much more labor and maintenance intensive so our recommendation would be to use wind powered turbines. If we could find them they would offer the best and easiest solution for long term power needs,” Jim said.

  I asked about where we would get the fuel for the generators and he explained that there should be a fuel transfer station here in Lebanon. "We need to find it and we can park two or three tankers in the enclosure and they should last, with proper management, for a long enough period to start a renewable power project." Then I asked about the stale fuel issue.

  “Diesel lasts longer than gas but we’ll just have to cross that bridge when we get to it.” I nodded and asked if he had anything else. He said no, so I thanked him and he sat.

  Next I called on Doc Groves and he explained that we should institute a physical exam process for anybody wanting entrance into our compound. I said I thought we were already doing that and he replied we were doing a bite check. What he intended was an exam to also look for signs of disease. He explained that we could not afford an outbreak of any communicable diseases and he also recommended in addition to the exam we initiate a three-day quarantine. He explained that if they came to us with no symptoms the three-day quarantine should tell us if they are safe. I agreed and got agreeing nods from around the table.

  I moved on to Dave for his security plan. He stood. "Now that we know how much material we have to use to construct the enclosure, the only real question is the gate. The gate will have to be strong enough to withstand the continued assault by a large group of Stinkies. We believe it needs to be metal and would be mounted to steel I-beams. We have people with the required welding skills to construct the gate if we can find the material. Other than that, it's just a matter of heavy equipment.

  “A back hoe to level the ground and fill the Hesco. The crane to lift the T-walls in place and a concrete mixer to provide concrete to fill in gaps and set the gate posts. We can use a culvert denial system where the stream exits the compound."

  I stopped him there for an explanation of the culvert denial system.

  "It's something we used in Afghanistan to keep the insurgents from placing IED's in culverts under the roads. It's basically rebar set in concrete that allows the water to flow but not allow a person to access the culvert. It's no problem to build." With that, his presentation was finished and he sat.

  Judy Aikens went next and reported on how much crop production it would take to feed a group as large as ours. As all of our produce would go to feed the population and none to sell, she said with proper management of seeds from planting season to planting season we could easily feed ourselves by the second fall. We
would still have to rely on foraged food supplies until then. Livestock would take a while longer. She estimated it would take three years before we would be self-sufficient without hunting to supplement us in the meat department.

  I thanked her and after she sat I asked if we had missed anything. I saw Kat step away from where she’d been standing against the wall. I knew what she would propose and I hoped it would be well received. People are funny when it comes to the law. If it's to their benefit, they are all for it. If it restricts them in any way, they tend to get perturbed.

  I looked at Kat. "Counselor, would you like to add something?" She smiled sweetly and I knew I'd pay later for forgetting to call on her.

  She looked around the room. “There is an area that I want all of you to consider. We have always had rules in place and there a common sense item’s that we don't have to talk about but everyone knows is wrong,” she said in her best courtroom voice. “Living communally as we do, most of the rules we have are designed to help us get along and keep us safe. Rules that were made in order for us to survive, and are based on fear. Fear of the Stinkies and the Road Gangs." She paused to look around the room, gauging if she had the audience’s attention. "Once we move to this new location and I believe we must move if we’re going to continue to survive. Once we move and we are more secure and more self-sufficient, a lot of that fear’s going to vanish. Once the fear’s gone, people will want to see less restrictive rules. Here are the issues I think that need to be addressed."

  She consulted her note pad and raised her index finger in the air. "One; there will need to be clear rules of conduct. What is acceptable and what is not. We all know murder’s wrong but what about stealing food? What about failing to do your share? You've said you want the distribution of food to be equitable. Shouldn't that be based on the equitable participation in the work load?"

  Another finger joined the first. "Two; how will we divide the degrees of crime? There will have to be punishment for violations of the law. Will you punish everyone equally regardless of the crime? What will that punishment be? We do not, and I don't see us having anytime soon, the ability for long term incarceration. If you can't put them in jail, how’re you going to punish them?"

  A third finger went up. "Who’s going to administer this system? As long as we’re operating in the survival mode under martial type law, Scott will need to be the mediator. Once the new location’s established and things run relatively smooth, I suggest we move to a more civilian administered system.” She glanced at me to see if I reacted to her recommendation that I give up control of the group.

  I smiled and winked to let her know I agreed. She went on, “I'm not advising a timeline on this and I'm not saying the popular vote system we all know is the answer. But as the fear reduces people will want more control over their day to day lives. We are, and always will be, too small and dependent on each other to tolerate rebels. One person refusing to do his or her share or flagrantly violating the law could endanger the entire community."

  She looked around the room as she lowered her hand. "I believe that waiting until later to make decisions about how we’re going to govern our new home will only result in confusion and anger. If we move forward with everyone in the group aware of what the majority agrees on it will ease the transition from martial law to civilian law. And an agreement to follow our laws should be included in the consideration process for admitting new survivors to The Dell. Thank you." With that she turned and went back to stand beside the wall.

  The people in the room were silent as they contemplated what Kat had said. Jim raised his hand and I indicated for him to proceed. "I guess we … I assumed that all the laws we were used to were still in effect. I had never considered that we would need new or different laws. I don't think anybody has." Agreeing nods could be seen around the room. I think that it finally dawned on some of them that there wasn’t any going back to the way it was. Some still held out hope that someone would come and the government would make things right. The truth’s no one’s coming and the government we had always counted on no longer existed.

  I stepped back to the table. "I know this isn’t an area we’ve spent a lot of time talking about. As Kat mentioned, we don't have to make all the decisions right now but a few need immediate attention. We can't afford for people to go off on their own agendas just yet. Maybe in the future, as our community grows and prospers, more freedom or less restrictive laws can be implemented. For now, though, we have to maintain control over most decisions for the good of everyone." I paused to see if there were any questions and was surprised to see Meredith Glenn's hand go up.

  I nodded to her and she asked, "Who’s the we that will be maintaining control over the decision process?"

  "For right now the we is me and the council. At some point in the future, hopefully sooner rather than later, the we will switch to an elected council but for now it's me and the people I've appointed to help me." I tried to make this statement sound like normal everyday business. I wasn't ready for an argument over who should be in charge.

  Meredith nodded. "That's fine ... for now." Her statement was clearly a challenge and it was one I’d have to think about, but not now. There was still too much to do to be worried about who liked me or who didn't. Besides, by the time they were ready for some new shepherd to lead the flock, I was sure I'd be ready to pass him or her, the staff.

  I asked if anything else needed to be discussed and received no's all around. I told Jim and Dave that I wanted a patrol put together to leave early in the morning to go look at the little village of Dell, Tennessee and for them to include any individuals they thought might be able to give answers to the problems we’d find. The meeting broke up and people filed out of the room. Kat hung back to wait for me and, once we were alone, came over to where I stood.

  "Well that was interesting,” Kat said. "I don't think Meredith likes you very much."

  I shrugged. "I got that but I can't figure why. I've never done anything to her and she's so quiet I haven't said more than a few words to her since she joined the group."

  Kat nodded. "I think her and the Anderson girl were close."

  I looked at her. "Who?"

  Kat explained she meant Heidi Anderson, the young woman who had died in the Aid Station after the fight with the Road Gang a month ago. Evidently, Meredith blamed me for her death. Join the club, I thought. I blamed myself for all three deaths that morning. After all, it was my plan that went wrong. My wife and I talked as we moved toward our room. I have always valued her opinion and I do love to talk to her. It would be one of the things I would look forward to when I was no longer in charge. A time for us to have real conversations, like we used to.

  That night I lay in bed and thought about all the mistakes I'd made during the last five years. To my thinking there were simply too many to count. I think sometimes we’d made it this far by luck. When I was asked to take charge of the group, there hadn't been anybody else willing to do it. I knew I wasn't perfect but I knew I tried my best. Apparently, some in the group thought they could do a better job. Well, they were welcome to it. I would relish the chance not to be the one making all the hard decisions. I still thought about it as I drifted off to sleep.

  The next morning dawned a brilliant late spring day, warm and clear. The convoy started out around 7 a.m. with Jenny Moss in the lead. She knew the route and it would be easier for her to lead than to be relaying directions to me. There were eight vehicles in the convoy and we had enough people to inspect the whole village of Dell. As we were preparing to leave, I heard everyone refer to the place as the Dell. I had heard it spoken that way several times at the meeting the night before but now it was everywhere. When people were talking it was the Dell this or the Dell that. I guess Jenny's reference to The Farmer in the Dell had stuck.

  We saw a few Stinkies as we drove through the streets of Lebanon but they were ones and twos and didn't present a problem for us. We just drove right past them. They would moan and reach for
the vehicles as we sped past and a few took a step as if to follow us. We were soon out of the city and into the country side. We didn't see any more of the creatures once outside the city and the drive through the country became relaxing and pleasant.

  The land we drove through was mostly rolling farm land interspersed with wooded tracks of tall hardwood. Oaks, maple, and beech with a few evergreens like cedar and pine covered the hillsides that lined the road. This was truly beautiful country. I soon noticed that the hills were getting larger and considerably taller. The road we were on wound around and over these hills and along streams with rocky bottoms. I wondered if there were any trout in them and I would like to have spent some time fishing these creeks.

  We had been driving about an hour when we turned on to a single lane blacktop road. I knew we were getting close and started to pay more attention to the road and the immediate area. Jenny had told us we would be going in from the opposite direction than when she first saw the place. She said that the road was not as high on the western end as the east so we wouldn't have as good of view of the whole valley but this way was faster. Besides if we wanted a view of the whole valley all we had to do was drive to the other end and turn around.

  The road wound through the forest alongside a creek and the sun played through the trees to cast ever moving shadows. Leaves had built up on the road and quieted the passing of the vehicles. You could feel the anticipation flowing from everyone. We were all excited by the prospect of a permanent home and Jenny's description of The Dell filled us with excitement.

  We passed over a small rise and the view opened up before us. It was just as Jenny had described it. Even from this end of the valley the place was beautiful. The bowl shaped valley, the heavily wooded hills surrounding it. The stream flowing west out of the valley and there in the center was the little village of Dell. Jenny pulled her vehicle to the side of the road and we all followed suit. Everyone got out and made their way to where Jenny stood. No one said a word; we simply stood there soaking in the picturesque scene.