by A. American
The girls finally showed up with Aric in tow. They loaded up and I drove over to the bunker to wait for the old man. Ian and Perez were at the bunker, having relieved us earlier that morning. Perez was sitting on top of the bunker smoking as he usually did. Sitting in the truck waiting on Sarge, the girls were wound up. They talked, all of them, at the same time. It was driving me nuts, so I got out and walked over to Ian.
“Does he ever take a break from those things?” I asked, nodding at Perez.
Ian shook his head, “Only to light he next one.”
“He is going to be a pain in the ass when he runs out.”
Ian laughed, “No shit right? Just think about that, he’s already a huge pain in the ass.”
Perez had lain down on the top of the bunker and raised his hand in middle finger salute, “I can hear you assholes.”
“You were supposed to,” I replied, getting a laugh from Ian.
Perez rolled over and looked at us, “Trust me, I’ve got plenty of smokes.” He pulled a lighter from his pocket and shook it next to his ear. “Lighters, on the other hand.”
I laughed, “That’s hilarious. What are you going to do when you run out of lighters?”
“Whatever it takes. I’ll rub two sticks together if I have to.”
Sarge’s Hummer rounded the corner. Looking up, I said, “About damn time.”
“Have fun in town,” Ian said with a grin.
“You wanna go?”
Waving his hands, he replied, “Oh hell no. You can have that shit. I’m perfectly fine right here.”
Going over to the truck, I asked for volunteers to ride with Sarge. Aric and Fred said they would, and quickly traded vehicles. Pulling up beside Sarge, I asked, “You ready?”
He nodded and pulled off. I followed him out of the neighborhood for the short ride to Altoona. As we rode, Lee Ann asked, “What are we doing?”
“We’re going to stop up here at the market and give away some flour. Then head into Eustis.”
“Where’d we get flour, and why are we giving it away?” Taylor asked.
“We got it from the Army, and we’re giving it away because a lot of people are starving. You may not think so; but we’ve got it a lot better than a most folks out there.”
She didn’t say anything else, just looked out the window as I turned into the parking lot of the old Kangaroo. The place was pretty busy. I was surprised to see a couple of people offering some early vegetables. They must have gotten a jump on their gardens. We pulled up near the gas canopy and stopped. As we got out, I told the girls to form a security perimeter, which they did quickly and efficiently.
Sarge opened the back of the Hummer and pulled one of the sacks over and cut it open. We were starting to get a little attention from some of the folks there as a couple of people wandered over to see what we were doing. Sarge looked at the first woman in earshot and said, “Get a container I can put some of this flour in for you.”
She looked at him uncertainly, “Flour? You giving it away?”
Sarge nodded, “Yes ma’am, just get something to put it in and I’ll give it to you.”
She quickly ran off to the table where she was trading small bundles of lighter wood. Grabbing a cloth grocery bag, she dumped lighter wood from it before running back. “Here, you can put it this,” she said, nearly out of breath.
Sarge shook several pounds of flour into it, “There you go.”
The woman looked down into the bag, “I haven’t seen flour in a long time.” Looking back at Sarge, she asked, “Can I get just a little more?”
Shaking his head he replied, “I’m sorry but we want to give everyone some if we can.”
She smiled, “Oh, yes, of course. Thank you so much.”
“Don’t thank me, thank the Army.”
Word quickly spread of the giveaway, and soon people were pouring in to get their share. It started out orderly enough, but when you have so many desperate people and a very limited resource, things get ugly. The girls were holding people back and only letting them through in a single file. But as more people arrived, they began pushing and shoving to get a turn. I stayed with Sarge to try and control the people there.
One man came up with a five gallon bucket and set it down. While the measurements were strictly by eyeball, Sarge was being as fair as possible. Sarge dumped flour into the man’s bucket as he stared on. When Sarge turned the bag up to stop the man grabbed the bag and shouted, “Give me more!” Sarge jerked the bag and it split open, spilling the rest of the flour onto the ground. People in the line fell to their knees to scoop it up. The man tried to rip the bag from Sarge’s hands as chaos ensued around us.
I cracked the guy in the head with the butt of my rifle, knocking him down. Someone in the crowd grabbed his bucket and made off with it. The people waiting to get in the line started pushing past the girls. I could hear them shouting and the people screaming at one another. Then, just as things were about to get completely out of hand, there was a sudden burst of automatic weapons fire. It was joined by another, and everyone dove to the ground, including me.
I looked up to see Lee Ann and Taylor holding their H&Ks over their heads. Taylor was looking around wide-eyed. Sarge was still on his feet and his voice boomed.
“What the hell is the matter with you people? I know you’re hungry, that’s why we’re here! But you’re acting like damned animals! This is done for today. We’ll try again another time; but if you people behave this way next time, we will not give food out here!”
The people slowly got to their feet and looked at one another. You could see a little shame on their faces, but it was nearly masked by desperation. They were hungry, their kids were hungry, and this was free food. What else would they do?
We pushed everyone back from the truck and I had the girls move in closer to keep everyone away. Lee Ann and Taylor both changed the mags in their weapons.
“Good job girls. This was getting out of hand,” I said.
“It was getting scary. I was afraid someone was going to knock us down,” Taylor said.
Looking at the crowd as they moved off, I said, “They’re desperate. You can’t really blame them.”
Sarge closed the back of the Hummer, “We need to come up with a better plan next time. It would be better if we could portion it out ahead of time and hand it out that way.”
“It would. But what the hell are we going to put it in?” I asked.
He shook his head, “I don’t know, but we need to find something. This sure as shit isn’t going to work.”
“I agree. I wanted to stop in Umatilla and give some away, but that isn’t going to happen now. It would just be a repeat of this.”
“Your guy is awake in the truck,” Aric said.
Sarge glanced inside, “He still tied up?”
“Yeah, he is. Who the hell tied him up like that? Looks painful as shit,” Aric replied.
Sarge laughed, “That would be Dalton.”
I went over and looked in the truck. Aric was right, it sure as hell looked painful. “Damn that’s all kinds of fucked up.”
“True. But it’s effective,” Sarge replied.
“Alright, let’s head to Eustis,” I said as I headed for the truck.
As I followed Sarge down nineteen, Taylor asked, “What was wrong with those people?”
“Remember the other day I was telling you how good we had it compared to most people?” I was looking at her in the rearview mirror. She nodded, “Now you see it.”
“It’s sad,” Lee Ann commented.
“We do have it good compared to everyone else,” Jess added.
“You girls remember that,” I added.
Chapter 15
Sarge and I walked around the side of the table to get a look at the snake
oil salesman. We found an older man standing behind the table with two younger men. The old guy was a big man with gray hair, what was left of it. Sweat beaded up on his bald head in the heat of the day. All three men were armed; and the younger two stood back, keeping an eye on everyone. The old man noticed us standing there and smiled. He stepped away from the table, and one of the younger men immediately took his place.
“So you come to run me outta town?”
Shaking my head, I replied, “Hell no. You can sell what you want.”
The old man smiled. “Well, that’s a first. We’re usually not welcome too long in most places.”
“People still trying to control what other folks are doing?” Sarge asked.
Nodding, the man replied, “Yep. It’s crazy, really. They think if they can’t get a drink, then they are somehow cured.”
“I say, let folks make their own decisions and live with the consequences,” Sarge replied.
The man stuck his hand out, “Name’s Bob Maples. Everyone calls me Big Bob.”
Sarge shook his hand, “Linus Mitchell; call me Sarge.”
I shook his hand as well. “Morgan; good to meet you, Big Bob.”
“You going to be around for a while?” Sarge asked.
Bob shrugged, “Until the market dries up. We don’t really have a plan. Just kind of go with the flow.”
“Well, good luck,” I said. “Let me know if you need anything.”
Bob smiled, “Will do.”
Sarge and I headed across the park on our way to the armory. We found the girls checking out the offerings laid out on tables and blankets. They acquired quite the following of young men as well. As we approached, I heard Taylor nearly shout, “No! It’s not for sale!”
Seeing me, she gave a look of desperation. Walking up, I asked, “What’s up kiddo?”
She pointed to an emaciated figure, “He keeps asking if our guns are for sale. I told him no; but he keeps asking.”
Looking at him, I said, “She said no. What don’t you understand?”
He looked at the H&K, “Just a whole lot of gun for a little girl.”
I laughed. “She ain’t a little gir;l and she handles it just fine.”
Taylor smiled. “Thanks, Dad.”
The man looked at me, “You’re her Dad?”
I nodded. He took another look at the weapon before wandering off. Taylor let out a sigh of relief.
“Glad he’s gone. Everyone wants our guns; and they keep asking.”
“Don’t let them bother you. Just keep your eyes open,” I said.
“Dad; do you have any silver? We want to get something, but don’t have any money,” Lee Ann said.
Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out some silver dimes. I remember when I started collecting junk silver with this very scenario in mind. It was fun to collect, kind of like a treasure hunt. I’d go to the bank and get rolls of coins sometimes, and go through them looking for occasional silver. Dimes minted prior to 1965 contained 90% silver. The Coinage Act of 1965 resulted in dimes from that point forward consisting of 75% copper and 25% nickel; no silver at all. That wasn’t terribly effective though; and I ended up buying most of it. Handing the dimes to Lee Ann, I said, “Don’t spend it all in one place.”
She shook the coins in her hand and smiled, “We won’t.”
“Don’t be too long; we have to get back home shortly.”
“Okay; love you,” Taylor said as they walked away.
Sarge chuckled. “They’re growing up fast, aren’t they?”
“They sure are.”
The girls wandered through the market looking at everything. A smell drifted on the air that caught Jess’s attention.
“That smells good; what is it?” She asked, looking around.
“Smells like pancakes to me,” Taylor added.
“It’s over there,” Lee Ann said, pointing.
They walked over to table with a small hibachi grill set up. Sitting on it was a small cast iron pan. Arranged on the table, were jars of colorful jelly. A woman stood in front of the table eating a thin rolled pastry. Bright red jelly oozed from the other end and fell into the hand she held out.
“Is it good?” Taylor asked.
The woman didn’t take the sweet treat from her mouth. She replied by nodding her head and half smiling. Lee Ann looked at the old man and held out a dime. The old man took it and examined it, then held up two fingers. Lee Ann nodded, and he pocketed the coin. Taking a plastic container out, he poured a thin batter onto the skillet that covered the bottom. It cooked quickly, and he flipped it with a couple of sticks, chopsticks style. When the other side was done, he removed it from the heat and laid it on a piece of cloth.
Lifting the pan, he examined the coals glowing under it, and fed in a small piece of wood before setting the pan back down and starting the process again. Once the batter was in the skillet, he picked up the first one and motioned to the jars. Lee Ann pointed to a jar of purple jelly; and the old man spooned in a generous helping and rolled it up. Lee Ann anxiously took a generous bite.
“Oh, that is so good!”
Jess reached for it, “Let me have a bite.”
Lee Ann swiveled away from her, “Get your own. This is so good.”
The old man never spoke as he worked. No words were ever exchanged. A couple more coins were handed over, and soon everyone was eating their own crepe. They walked through the market enjoying the amazingly sweet treat and talking about how good they were.
“We need to get another one of those. They are so delicious,” Fred said.
“They are terrific. Hey, look at all the people over there,” Jess said, pointing to Big Bob’s booth.
“That’s the guy selling the booze,” Aric said.
“We got enough dimes to buy a bottle?” Fred asked.
“I doubt it. Plus Dad would kill us if he caught us drinking,” Lee Ann said.
Taylor snorted, “Yeah; he would.”
“Let’s just go look,” Fred said.
As they approached Big Bob’s booth, a man walked up to the long line of people and looked around. He was wearing a backpack, and slipped it off his shoulder as he craned his neck. Moving around the group, he set the pack down and started to walk away. Jess saw the pack and called out to him.
Pointing at the pack, she shouted, “Hey! You forgot your pack.”
The guy looked back for a moment, then at the pack. He seemed to hesitate, then turned and started to quickly walk away.
“That guy just left that pack over there,” Jess said, pointing at the man.
“That’s weird; it’s like he’s running away,” Fred said.
“I think we need to get him,” Jess said as she turned to follow him.
“What about the bag?” Taylor asked.
Jess looked over her shoulder, “Go get it; we’ll get him.”
Dalton and Thad looked up at the tank. It was perched on the edge of the bucket of the tractor. A chain held it in place.
“So close,” Danny said.
“I could climb up there and push it. It’s almost there; looks like a little shove would do it,” Dalton said.
“It ain’t going to get up there by itself,” Thad lamented.
Dalton climbed up onto the tractor and scrambled up to the bucket. Removing the chain, he shouldered the tank and heaved. It slid out of the bucket and landed on the plywood platform with a thud. Danny and Thad both let out a whoop as the hardest part of the project was now over.
“Thank God!” Danny shouted.
“Now all we gotta do it plumb it in,” Thad added.
Dalton climbed off the tank and looked at the stack of pipe. “How do you plan to tie it into the houses?”
“I was thinking of
just running a pipe to the nearest hose bib on a house and connecting it there. Open the valve and you’ve got water into the house,” Danny replied.
Dalton nodded, “Sounds easy enough.”
They got to work on the plumbing. A two-inch pipe was run down from the tank to the ground. There, an elbow was installed and a manifold of sorts was constructed with some T-fittings. This is where Danny’s habit of collecting and keeping things really paid off. They had all the fittings they needed, and were able to get pipe run to all the houses. Every house had a hose somewhere. The hoses were run out to meet the pipe to save as much of it as they could.
“We got lucky with this glue,” Thad said as he shoved the last pieces of pipe together.
Danny looked into the can. “Yeah, we did. I do have one more, but it’s never been opened; and I didn’t want to open it yet. Soon as you do, it starts to dry out.”
“Danny; while we wrap this up, why don’t you go fill the fire tank?” Thad asked.
Danny nodded and took the tractor to get the trailer. Once the trailer was in place by the well, he dragged his generator out. While the solar set-up would run the pump, it would to have to run for a while to fill the large tank; and that would be rough on the system. Connecting the generator to the house, he flipped off the breaker that the solar system was connected to, and started the generator. Once it was running smoothly, he flipped on the breaker for it, and back-fed the house.
Back at the well, he dropped a hose into the tank, and turned the water on. It would take a while for the tank to fill, so he went in the house for a cold drink. While Danny was gone, Dalton and Thad finished tying the houses in, and went through them to make sure all faucets were turned off. It would be a shame to get the tank filled and lose the water into a septic tank because a sink was left on.
Once they’d done all they could, the two men walked over to Danny’s house. Maybe it would fill faster if the three of them stared at it. Danny was sitting on the trailer when the guys got there.