by M. C. Allen
I turned to Kofi and Regina, who were getting out the pot for boiling. “I see you two are not wasting any time. Kofi, can you and Regina take care of our water for us while we run a patrol? I’ll need to get some water first or I might drop though.”
Joseph reached into a bag on his side and handed me a clear water bottle that had obviously been used many times. “David, take mine. Since we’re already here, I can just refill it in a bit. You look like you are dead on your feet.”
I took the bottle and drained it slowly, letting my body take it in and replenish my reserve. I would need a lot more than that to get fully hydrated, but it was a start. I sat down and took off my pack. I removed my water bladder, which was completely dry and laid it on top. From my belt, I removed the flexible two-quart canteen and placed it next to my water bladder. I took out two more empty bottles from my cargo pocket. Alex and Dale were doing the same thing—taking out their empty canteens and bottles to be refilled. From my pack, I took out a sports bottle, unscrewed the lid, dipped it in the water, and then replaced the lid. Using the straw, I sucked in cool, clean water. I passed the bottle to Alex, and she repeated the process of refilling and drinking. The bottle made it all around and ended up with Joseph.
“Go ahead and refill that and have a drink,” I encouraged him. “It’s filtered, and none of us have cooties.”
He followed what we had done and was happily sucking away at the straw in just a few seconds. When he had his fill, he asked, “If you have this then why are all of you so thirsty?”
“You can’t drink what isn’t there. It is really dry out there. The last rain I recall was back in May, and like I said, any water we have come across was guarded. Like yours.” I looked over at the rest of my crew.
Kofi and Regina had a small fire going and were adding more branches to set the pot over the flames. We had done this enough times that getting a fire started was a basic skill that all of my kiddos had mastered. We cheated and used a lighter. I had a pack of them, but eventually we would need to go to the ancient method of magnesium and flint. Dale was up next on the fire-making duty. We rotated chores so that we all stayed in practice.
Alex and Dale got ready to walk the perimeter. They gathered their packs into an organized pile up on the bank, near some inviting shade trees. Kofi and Regina would stay and purify water for the rest of us plus watch the gear. Kofi and Regina worked well together. Unlike most siblings, they had a strong bond and never fought. I could also count on Kofi to protect her with his life as she boiled the water we all needed. We were going to patrol once around the new area, and when we came by the pool again, we would stop to drink all that we could another time.
Kofi was adding small pieces of dried twigs to the fire a little at a time, keeping the amount of smoke to a minimum. Too much at once would cause the fire to smoke unnecessarily. Joseph’s group must have had a cook area by their camp for boiling the water; we could smell their fires. For us, it was more efficient boiling the water close to the source so we didn’t need to carry it so far each time.
I looked at Joseph as I got my gear sorted. “Will you come with us for our first circuit so you can point out any problem areas we need to watch out for? Kofi, I want you to stay here on overwatch.” I pointed to a promising part of the embankment near where we had grounded our bags. “Take the Remington up there and cover this quadrant.” I pointed to two points and motioned in an arc between them.
“Consider this your area. You see or hear anything, you give me a call on the radio. The batteries should be good for a while. Regina, if you get a chance, can you set up the solar charger for the spares? It may be hard to find some sun, so you may need to move the panel around, chasing the rays.” Regina gave me a nod while Kofi spoke into his radio.
“Check, check, one, two?” I listened to my earpiece and replied back the same. We were not a military unit, but we had done this enough to know what worked for us.
“Alex, Dale, you ready?” Alex just looked and nodded. Dale smiled and said, “Just a walk in the woods, right?”
“Sure, just another walk in the woods.”
These kids really needed a break. Hell, I was willing to take a bullet earlier just to have a chance to rest. A nice, long, dirt nap sounded perfect right then.
The city had buildings and felt like home. Being out here for the last month without a clear goal in mind except survival was grinding away at us. We all had scratches and bruises from moving in the wild. Even crossing fences was a hazard. Every time we went through a fence, we expected to be shot by an angry farmer.
The stress had reached a breaking point, and it was affecting how the kids behaved. They should have run away earlier when Jordan fired at me. Instead, they advanced toward an unknown enemy and were ready to shoot it out. The only reason I agreed to patrol for Joseph was so we could get some water and possibly find some food. A place to sleep would be nice, but they had the whole cannibal issue going on. This area could be too hazardous for us to stay, but a chance to eat and drink would be worth it.
We had gone without decent food for weeks. It sucked, but we were making it. The lack of water, though, could kill in as little as three days, and with the sun beating down on us, I had given most of my water to the kids to keep them going. In the process, I had guaranteed my death in a few days if we hadn’t found Joseph’s watering hole. Things were looking better, but we needed to survey these people carefully. Joseph sounded like an honest man who needed help; however, I still had trust issues when my kids were involved.
Joseph led us around the perimeter of the camp and kept a running commentary about the troubles they’d had in the last few weeks. They were getting hit from almost every side by sometimes singles or groups of people trying to rob the camp, but the majority of the action was coming from near where we left Kofi and Regina.
The north side of their camp was a problem area, which made sense. The water was there. The south and east sides, according to Joseph, never had a lot of action. West and north sides were the active zones. People were streaming out of the city like us, and they were desperate for resources. We needed to keep a low profile here unless we wanted hundreds of starving people at our throats. Based on his earlier report, there was a group practicing the most taboo act of all for food.
Joseph, Jordan, and Ashley led us around the camp area. We stayed just inside the edge of the forest and I could see where they had started to create a path along the trees and brush. When we got around to the creek bed again, we could see Pamela and Angel behind two separate trees, about twenty yards apart. Pamela craned her neck and gave us a small wave to let us know she had seen us. Angel never looked back. He had good discipline, it seemed, and had chosen a better position than Pamela. That was good information for later if we were going to work together for any length of time. Angel would be an asset we could use. Pamela needed some better instruction on how to use the woods to her benefit, but at least she was willing to try.
Once we made one trip around the camp, we had a better understanding of what we were dealing with. The members of the camp were in tents and, in some cases, makeshift shelters. There were a few permanent buildings that were mainly just screened-in structures for campers to eat without being bothered by bugs. There was a concrete block restroom facility that I was sure wasn’t functioning. I could only imagine the smell of backed-up toilets. Yuck. I’ll stick to the woods, thank you. The area had at one time been part of the state park system where people could camp and hike along the creek.
Several cars of different makes and models sat in the parking lot, but they all had one thing in common—the pulse had fried their sensitive on-board computers. Those vehicles were never moving again without being pushed. Somebody had taken the seats out of several cars and a couple of people were sitting under shade trees, lounging in the middle of the day. I looked at Joseph, and he shrugged.
“Some people just can’t be bothered to help themselves,” he said with no inflection. I figured this must hav
e been a problem that he had dealt with in the past few months.
“Do you have any basic tools like shovels or saws? Maybe an axe or hatchet?” I asked Joseph.
“We don’t have much. One of the trucks has a large toolbox, but they are mainly for working on cars, not cutting down trees to make shelter. That’s what you are getting at, right?”
“Yeah, I was thinking about that. I guess that’s why you haven’t already put up some type of defensive fence of some type. Sorry, I’m just thinking out loud without all the information. This is your camp, and I’m just visiting. Don’t mind me.”
Joseph waved that off. “No, that’s fine. Is there anything else you see that I might have overlooked? A fresh set of eyes is welcome. I’m trying to make bricks without straw. I know we have some hand axes—well, hatchets is more like it. We would spend all of our energy just cutting down trees.” Joseph gestured at the large pines in the area. There were few small saplings that would be easier to cut and move.
“Have you considered pushing the cars into a circle and moving the tents inside so at least you have a defensible position at night? You know, like circling the wagons in the pioneer days?” It was a shot in the dark, but that was the first thing I noticed. “Oh, but the tanks still have gas in them. Forget I mentioned that. Campfire and cars with fuel tanks punctured by gunfire would be a nasty proposition.”
That made Joseph stop and think for a second. He came to a complete stop right in the middle of the open field, looking at the parking lot.
“What if we did that—moved some tents and made a fire, but we didn’t use it?” He was rubbing his chin. I could see the gears moving.
“You mean set up a decoy to draw in midnight bandits? Set up a guard in the trees nearby and just wait for someone to make a move across the open field. We call that ‘hunting over bait’ where I’m from,” I chuckled. I had the beginnings of a really dirty trick. I liked it.
I tapped at the microphone clipped to my web gear. “I may have something that can be a serious force multiplier. Have you wondered why I have working radios?” I grinned at Joseph.
“Actually, that did come to mind. How is it you have in your possession not only working radios, but a charging unit for the batteries? Not even my digital watch was working after the pulse.” His voice went low like we were sharing our deepest secrets. I decided to give him a little information to gain his trust further.
“I wasn’t some nut case who built a bunker in my backyard, but I had several ideas about natural disasters. It was one of my plans for the end of the world. It could have been an asteroid strike, or a plague. I hedged my bets and stored my sensitive electronics in an old metal ammunition can. Well, a really big one that I lined with foam. I researched how to defeat an electromagnetic pulse, and besides building a full-on Faraday cage, that was the best option. I have three radios with me. At one time I had five, but I lost two when we had to bug out of Arlington.”
The people using those two radio units were engaged in a raging gun battle, so it would have been rude to drive up and ask for them back while I was basically abandoning them. I pushed that thought down. I couldn’t change what happened that day, and nothing I did would have mattered in the end. I could live with that guilt as long as my kids made it. I waited a second before telling Joseph about my ace in the hole.
“I also have a thermal scope that is stupidly expensive, but it is really useful when dealing with bandits that attack at night.” I smiled at the memory of the last time I had gone “hunting” for some of those murdering bastards. I continued, “I worked a second job at an outdoor store for a year and used my employee discount to buy that thing. Kind of glad I did. I slap it on the Remington when I need it.” I had batteries for the thermal scope, but nobody was making them anymore. I used it sparingly. The scope had been almost three mortgage payments on my house, but I justified the expense by going on wild hog hunts.
Just about everything I did was really cover for preparing for something bad to happen. All those long-range matches and service rifle competitions were a way to improve my shooting skills. Three gun shoots were expensive, but the constant drilling had given me an edge in the numerous engagements I had fought the last two months.
Jordan stood there with his mouth open. Finally, he got it under control and asked, “Did you plan for everything? I mean, you have working radios and night vision. Were you some rich guy?”
“Nope. I was just a working stiff who spent my money carefully. I never could afford expensive gear, but I got the best I could when the market was good. My problem was that I didn’t expect four children to be with me. That was a miscalculation, and that’s why we are short on food. Speaking of food, do you think you could spare some? We are a little low and could use some variety. Acorn meal and grubs get old.”
Alex snorted at that. She finally broke the silence by saying, “I hate eating grubs.”
Jordan laughed and asked, “You were serious about eating bugs, weren’t you?”
“And acorns. Don’t forget the acorns. They aren’t too bad if you soak them for days after shelling them. It gives you something to do at night besides clean your weapons and change your socks.”
My radio clicked twice. That was the signal that Kofi needed my attention. I held up one hand like a half surrender, my hand formed into a fist. Alex and Dale went still and looked directly at me then they turned to scan our perimeter. I clicked the radio twice and waited for Kofi. We had a system.
“I see two people moving from the northwest. About a hundred to a hundred and fifty yards out. They are moving slow but coming directly toward the waterhole. I think one has a rifle or shotgun. The other could, but I haven’t seen it yet.”
Kofi needed to get Regina out of there. She would be exposed if these unknown persons got any closer. “Kofi, alert Regina quietly. When she comes by you, tell her to stay with you and spot for you with her rifle. Keep quiet and don’t move. I’m going to go west and loop around them. If you see them respond to me moving, let me know and I’ll stop. You may have to engage them from there, but I would like to take one for questioning.” I paused and let him digest all that.
He responded with a simple, “Got it, happy hunting.”
My kids knew me so well. I hate bandits, and if these were the potential cannibals … bonus! My conversations with bandits usually didn’t end well for the other party. When my kids were in danger, I was no longer the gentle man I had once been—and danger was always around us.
CHAPTER
THREE
We made our way around to Angel’s position, and I started peeling off extra gear that I didn’t need. I dropped the plate carrier vest and snatched two extra magazines. I stuffed the extra ammunition in each of my cargo pockets and jumped to check for noise. Good enough for the short term. I looked at Alex and Dale for a second and made a quick decision.
“Dale, go to the middle of the camp and mingle with the people there. Be your happy, jovial self. You are our response team. If you hear shooting, that means something is wrong. If it happens to the south, east, or west, move to that location and support the people there. You have to use your best judgement. This could be a distraction to attack from another side, so be alert. Try not to flirt with the ladies until we know which ones are single.” That last part was a joke, but he knew I was serious. Mingle, but keep alert. He was good at getting to know people and gather information. He looked harmless to most people.
“Alex, I want you to stay here and hold this position with Pamela. I’m taking Joseph with me after two unknowns out there to your right. Whatever you do, don’t shoot at anything to your right. That may be us. Joseph, are you okay with this?”
“So far I agree, but where do you want Angel?”
“Angel is going to be the second part of our move. I would like for him to loop around to the far right side and come at them on the eastern side. Here is my last radio.” I reached into my cargo pocket and turned it on, checking the channel and sound. I
hit the send button twice with my thumb, paused, and then spoke. “Angel will have the third radio, Kofi. He will be coming in from the east in a large loop. Tell Regina not to light him up, please.”
Angel snorted and took the radio. He hit the transmit button twice like I had, then he spoke into the microphone piece, “Remember, I’m the little brown guy with a shotgun.” He spoke with a deep southern accent, not what I was expecting. Hopefully, we would have time after this to talk more, but that was for later.
“Joseph, I hope you don’t mind me taking charge of this operation, but we can work out command structure later. Right now, I need Jordan to find a location to cover the southern side of camp and Ashley to go with Angel and take a position on the east side. Ashley, when Angel goes into the woods, only focus on the region to the right of him. For your part, Angel, go straight out about seventy-five yards and start looping to the left. If these two try to run toward you, we will let you know, but try to move quietly and quickly. You did a great job earlier when you had me pinned down. Any questions from anyone?”
Ashley asked how she was going to tell if someone out there moving around was friend or an enemy.
“If they are out there on your side and they are not Angel, just observe for now. If they make a move directly toward camp, then use your best judgement. Use your scope to scan the forest for movement, but don’t get tunnel vision and only look through the optics. Use your peripheral vison, or someone can sneak up on you.”
Angel nodded, clipped the radio to his shirt collar, and secured the earpiece. He gave a silent thumbs up, tapped Ashley lightly on the arm, and moved to the opposite side of the camp. When Ashley was in a spot behind a tree, Angel started moving into the woods. I clicked the radio twice and asked Kofi for an update.
He responded immediately. “They have slowed down, and I could see that they both have rifles. They slung their rifles and started crawling toward us about a minute ago. I can still track them now that I know what to look for. They still don’t see us.”