by Annie Berdel
“I want to make sure we don’t forget to make time for things like this” Tommy said “For quiet times like this with just you…and me… and a snoring dog.” He smiled as he nodded toward Dixon.
Tom pulled her over before the fire and they sat on the blanket. Emma nestled into Tommy’s arms and sank into a peacefulness that very few experience. He was her rock. With just a touch he could make her world a better place. Sipping on the rum and staring at the fire, Emma’s mind started to become quiet. Her muscles relaxed as he stroked her hair. The soothing rhythm of his breathing kept pace with her heartbeat. Over and over his hand caressed the strands of hair…whipping the tendrils with intensity with each pulse. The pressure increased with each lashing until blood began to pour from the wounds. Over and over the whip lashed at her and her screams increased until they escaped from her lips. “Noooooo!” she screamed.
Startled, Tom stared down in horror at his wife. Had he hurt her? Frantically looking for signs of a wound, he finally came to his senses. She had another dream. “Shhhhh. Shhh. It’s OK. It’s just us. Just you and me. No one else is here. Shhh.” He whispered as he held her tight. “I’m so sorry,” she whimpered.
Sliding down beside her, Tom took her face between his hands and kissed her forehead. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face under his chin. This was her comfort.
She had started to have the dreams a couple years earlier. Just out of the blue, for no reason at all. No big traumatic event preceded them; they just began, lasted a couple months and then ended. They always left her screaming out in pain. The only thing she has even been able to remember was that she was being whipped across her back. Deep gashes, over and over as someone was lashing out at her, trying to exert control over her. She fought back both in her dreams and in reality as she considered control a sign of weakness. Her relationships with friends foundered as she fought for some type of domination of her emotions. She suffered. Her friends suffered. But Tommy showed her otherwise. She relinquished control to him, allowed him to consume her soul with only the tenderness his heart knew towards her. He was the keeper of her heart.
Feeling him stir, she tilted her head back and kissed the tenderness under his chin. She needed to be consumed before these emotions began tearing at the recesses of her heart again. She let her lips trail up his jawbone and nuzzle under his ear lobe. Reaching around, he forced her onto her back on the blanket. He knew her body well. He knew how to harness her energy and allow her mind to escape the torment it had endured.
Looking into her eyes, he saw the shadows play across her mind. Trailing his fingers down the chasm between her breasts, he felt a shiver pulse through her body. Her body belonged to him. She could deny him, she could fight him for as long as she wanted but always she had relinquished in defeat.
9
The next morning Emma woke to the smells of bacon and coffee. What a more perfect way to awaken was there? Sliding into her bathrobe, she decided to leave yesterday in the past and live in the now for just a little bit longer. Strolling into the kitchen, she caught sight of her husband staring out the window above the sink. So deep in thought he was. Life was dancing its way through his jet black hair leaving touches of gray giving him a distinguished look. Letting out a deep sigh of infatuation, she disturbed his trance. Turning around, he looked at her and smiled. Their eyes locking.
“I talked to Brian yesterday” he said as he turned to place his coffee cup in the sink
“Oh ya, he have anything interesting to say?” Emma asked.
“Nothing he didn’t tell you” Tommy replied sarcastically with a smirk. “You have any plans for the next couple hours?”
“I’m all yours”
“Good, let’s do a once over on our preps. Get the kids over for dinner, I think it’s time we had a family meeting” Tommy said
“OK. I will call them after breakfast. I love you.”
“I love you more, always.”
~
The kids started arriving in a whirlwind of loving chaos. While everyone lived on the same property, the acreage gave everyone enough privacy that it still made these events special. Kevin arrived first with his wife Jessica and their two kids, Jack and Janie, 12-year-old twins. Jonathan and his wife Maria arrived with their son Matthew and then Emily and her husband John arrived with their 3 children, James, Amy and Zack
Connor and his wife, Samantha arrived with their newborn son, Charlie and, once again, Lauren brought up the rear, late as always but bringing a double chocolate cake and begging for forgiveness.
Charlie fed and down for a nap, Emma had the boys set up the spare table for all the kids. Lauren took care of the table for the adults and before they knew it everyone was bowing their heads around the dining room.
“Father God, thank you for the many blessings you have bestowed upon our family. Please bless the food we are about to eat for the nourishment of our bodies. We give you all Glory and Praise, In Jesus’ name, and everyone said” as they all rang out in chorus, “Amen”
The clinking of glasses and silverware began as food was passed around the table.
“Mumsy, you outdid yourself once again!” Jessica said as the rest agreed with nods and grunts.
Baked chicken, mashed potatoes and the kid’s favorite, Emma’s homemade noodles.
Emma had made them years ago for a church event and one of the members of her church, Scott was just overjoyed. He referred to them as ghetto noodles because when he was growing up they were so poor that his family couldn’t afford the fancy store-bought ones in the bag. They were easy enough to make as Emma had spent years perfecting her version of the plump morsels of comfort.
Taking one cup of flour, Emma would pile it on her butcher-block counter top. Using her fingers, she would make a well in the middle of the flour and crack open two eggs into the shallow pit. Adding a splash of salt and pepper, she also combined a splash of her secret ingredient, evaporated milk, into the well of flour. Mixing the ingredients together, she formed a small ball of pasta.
Dusting the board with more flour, Emma took the ball of dough and flattened it on the board with the heel of her hand before adding more flour over the top. Now it was just a matter of rolling the dough out flat with her rolling pin until she reached the desired thickness.
Lightly dusting the dough once more with just a hint of flour, Emma began rolling the dough from one end creating a long tube of multi layered dough. Grabbing a knife, she began to whimsically draw the blade through the dough to create noodles of different widths. The grandkids loved to slurp up the different sizes of noodles, splashing the rich broth that she cooked them in against their chins. Bibs to cover their shirts were definitely a must!
Once she had the roll of dough cut, she then would begin to tediously unroll the cuts to reveal the noodles. Onto the drying rack they went for a couple hours and then into the pot of homemade chicken broth for several more hours of melding with the juicy fatness from the stock and you had a noodle that once laid upon your tongue, would melt like hot butter on a cast iron skillet over an open flame. Layer those bad boys over some mashed potatoes and it was a marriage made in heaven.
Once dinner was over and the table cleared, the kids went to the family room to play video games while the adults talked.
“Alright kids” Tommy began “We need to get down to business. Heard some reliable chatter yesterday that a government coup could be about to go down and if that doesn’t happen a possible martial law imposed to ensure we don’t have a change of presidency anytime soon. Either way, things are about to get very sticky and we need to be able to ride it out as long as we can. That being said, I want to review where we are in our preps and what we need to focus on.”
Low murmurs could be heard from around the table. Spouses had their heads bowed together in private chatter and then there was Lauren. Not being fazed by the news, she was more intent on a slice of double chocolate cake.
Lauren was really the only sort of non-prepper in t
he family. While Emma made sure she had a “Get-home-bag” and supplies to last a while, preparedness was never a hot topic in Lauren’s world. She was an artist. Artists simply do not think about the future. They lived for the here and now!
To be specific, Lauren was a comic book artist and had her own line of graphic art that supported her monetarily. She also did the artwork for Prepper Chicks when Emma needed something. The problem was Emma never asked. If she did, her request got shoved to the back of Lauren’s list and it turned into a struggle to get Lauren to complete anything. It just wasn’t important in Lauren’s world, whatever it was that her mother did.
“Everyone have their binders?” Emma asked
Each family placed multiple 3-ring binders on the table. Each book contained the same information, contact information to thousands of families around the world who had like mindedness in the area of self-sufficiency and had been vetted as a “safe” family, a list of all the preps currently in inventory, medical history for each family member, an inventory of all equipment along with a maintenance schedule, and a pedigree list of all animals on the homestead.
One by one, the family went through each binder and made sure everyone and everything was up to date. They then began the tedious task of reviewing the functioning of the homestead and adding preps to make is as self-sufficient as possible.
Water – They looked at current water storage. Their goal was enough viable drinking water for immediate use for each member of the family for a minimum of 3 months. Making the calculations out at 1 gallon per person per day, they knew they needed 19 gallons of stored water per day. That amounted to over 1,700 gallons of water for all of them. Being able to replenish that water supply was important. There was a spring on the farm with direct access to underground water. This spring also filled the cow pond in front of the barn. A creek also runs through the property but could easily be dammed or contaminated upstream. Catchment systems were built onto each home’s gutter system on the property and a 500-gallon cistern was built underground at each home. Each outbuilding had a catchment system for the various farm animals. Swails were built into the farm as part of their drought resistant system for permaculture and this helped with watering the various fruit and nut trees around the homestead along with the garden. Each family also had a water filtration system for their home water and filtration in their Go-Bags. Inventory was taken for chemicals used for water purification like bleach and for pool shock. Each family took into account their swimming pool which served double duty as a water supply if need be.
Food – Each family had an immediate use food supply of 6 months’ worth of food and recipes. Branching off from there were the long term storage items that, because of how they were packaged, would be good for 25-30 years. Replenishing their food supply, they reviewed the lists of non-GMO, heirloom seeds that each family had in stock. There were the immediate seeds they would be planting in the spring, but also a supply that each family kept in sealed Mylar bags in their freezer. Canning equipment was inventoried and projections made for immediate purchase of jars and lids. They also reviewed the livestock they currently had and their breeding charts. Adjustments were made and any immediate purchases assigned to the appropriate person. Bulk seed purchase was addressed to replenish the foddering system they had set up for animal food along with additional nutrients. The family kept chickens, rabbits, goats, sheep, bees, pigs, a couple dairy cows and a couple cows specifically for breeding and for meat. Emma had become a fan of permaculture farming years prior to moving back to the farm and had established a variable food forest that was invisible to anyone with limited knowledge of farming. Planted around the farm was a veritable gold mine of various fruit and nut trees, medicinal herbs, berries and fruit bushes of every kind tucked into every available nook and cranny on the farm including cold-hardy, hairless Kiwi which she grew particularly for Tommy.
Medicine – All training was reviewed and assigned to be upgraded as soon as possible. CPR and basic trauma medicine were immediate needs with alternative medical inventory taken. Essential oils and medicinal herbs were inventoried for each family and a date set to divide herb clusters to each family as soon as spring arrived.
Clothing – Accounting was given for the growth of the children, materials needed to make additional clothing and appropriate seasonal clothing. Maria was a seamstress by trade so could easily replicate any clothing item necessary. Account was also taken for quilts and bed clothes, curtains and upholstery, feminine products such as menses pads and medical bandages.
Security – Guns and ammo were inventoried along with reloading supplies. Notes were made to add additional supplies as soon as possible. Dates were set for additional training and to acquire additional firearms for the kids. Perimeter alarms were inventoried and additional recommendations discussed. An exercise regime was also established to ensure that everyone within the immediate family was in good shape.
Energy – Energy needs were calculated for farming equipment and housing needs. Fuel tanks would be refilled as soon as possible and additional storage was discussed. Solar and wind equipment was inventoried and additional parts would be ordered. Bio-fuel equipment would also be purchased and upgrades added to the farm equipment. Cooking and lighting needs were addressed with an agreement to purchase extra beehives to be used for candle making.
Communications – Ham radio networks would be checked over the coming weeks and equipment serviced as need be. Schedules were reviewed by each family member and accommodations were made to anyone traveling outside the immediate area as a backup if they could not make it home for some reason.
Network – Each family member was assigned a group of people to reach out to for further instructions if certain scenarios fell into place. Further recommendations were made pertaining to individual trades. Accommodations were discussed about and who would be immediately relocating to the homestead if a scenario plays out. Friends and family in the cities who were in the network would be contacted with instructions and also to review their preps. Maps would be updated and travel routes established with alternative routes assigned depending on the emergency.
Government within the Group – Each family member was assigned a specific task within the group to help everything run smoothly. If people were relocating, they too would be adopted into this pseudo -government. At that time, a governing body would be elected. The nice thing about already having a list of people, was they had already agreed to the rules established so they would just need implemented into the group if and when they were to arrive.
Mental & Spiritual – Each family member was accountable to the other and part of that was to pray over each other as a group and individually. Regular time was set aside for fellowship and for instruction. Inventory was taken into account for the further home-schooling of the children. Situational awareness drills were scheduled on a regular basis going forward. Each family member discussed their preferences if in case of death. A designated area was then agreed upon on the farm to be used as a cemetery.
10
“Time to clear the table!” Connor said. “Let’s play some Conflicted!”
Playing Conflicted with his siblings was fast becoming one of Connor’s favorite things to do at family meetings. They learned so much about each other, sometimes good, sometimes not so good.
Emma discovered the card game Conflicted years ago when a friend was talking about how she was playing it with her friends. Emma was intrigued by the concept so she contacted the creator and not only was an award-winning radio show developed but a long-lasting friendship was formed.
Conflicted is a scenario-based game. A standard deck of 52 cards, each card was printed with a different scenario that a survival or preparedness group could discuss and find solutions to the dilemmas. Knowledge prep was always the neglected prep and the card game was valuable in getting a person to think inside and outside the box. Playing it in a prepper group enabled the members to get to know how the others thought and how they would
possibly react, it opened up discussions about humanity and how far a person would go to protect their loved ones, it made you think about your own ethics and how far you would push the envelope and compromise your own morals.
“I want to play the first card tonight,” Connor said
Everyone nodded and proceeded to clear the table and Jessica took the kids to the front room and settled them in with a movie. Lauren grabbed some fresh drinks for everyone as they resettled around the table.
“Everyone ready?” Emma asked as she joined her family and heads bobbed up and down
“Alrighty then,” Connor said. “Here’s your first card.
“One of your friends has been shot in battle, and a field medic told you he will be paralyzed from the neck down for the rest of his life. This is a post-apocalyptic world you are living in and your friend asks you to please have mercy on him and put him out of his misery. His wife and kids have already died and all he wants to do is be with them instead of living in a world as unforgiving as this. Would you have mercy on your friend and kill him or would you let him live? Why?”
“Well,” said Kevin, “that’s a tough one!” He cleared his throat and continued on, “I’d probably give him a gun with a bullet in it.”
“What for?” Lauren said “He’s paralyzed from the neck down. He won’t be able to even lift it so you are going to have to shoot him yourself cuz he obviously can’t.”