by Steven Bird
“Hey, before we get off on another subject, which I’m sure will take us down a totally different conversational path, did Charlie and Jimmy get Sabrina back to the Gibbs family? How did that go? Where are they all now?”
Griff spoke up and said, “Yes, they got her to them safe and sound. Tyrone works security for the church now in exchange for room and board for his family. From what Pastor Wallace says, he’s a real class act and has been a huge help to them. Hopefully, someday they can find something more permanent, but at least they have a safe place for now.”
“Excellent. At least we have one happy ending around here. Tyrone really seemed like he had his head on straight. I’d love to see the Gibbs family, along with Sabrina, of course, as permanent residents around here someday.”
“Amen to that,” replied Jason. “I feel better about the church with another permanent security guy on staff with them, too. If you’re gonna have an open-door policy at a place like that these days, you’ve got to be able to deal with what shouldn’t be walking in the door.”
“Now, back to business; I’m assuming we have some things to discuss,” said Evan, redirecting the conversation.
“We sure do,” replied Jason. “First off, Daryl successfully made it to the radio gear and back with his packhorse. He stashed everything underneath that rock overhang on the hill behind his house for now. It’s far enough away from him for plausible deniability if need be. Before we venture out into the woods to set up the repeaters, we want to observe for at least the rest of the day and maybe tomorrow to make sure there aren’t any prying eyes above us. Speaking of which, I’ll let Daryl explain.”
“Last week, I was over at Linda’s place… just checking in to see how she was doing. We sat on the porch, sipping some of her delicious homemade herbal tea—”
Evan, Jason, and Griff all shared a grin.
“—when we saw a large bird high above the ridge directly in front of her place. She grabbed her binoculars, and low and behold, we had a drone buzzing around the skies.”
“Armed?” Evan asked.
“No. At least, I don’t think so. I’m a primitive weapons guy, so I’m not all up on that stuff like you guys, but the wings looked slick with nothing hanging beneath it,” Daryl replied. “Anyway, Luke said they saw something similar in the skies over the Thomas farm over the course of the next few days. It looks like someone is curious about the area.”
“Has there been any helicopter traffic?” Evan asked.
“Nothing like that here,” answered Griff. “Pastor Wallace said some of the remaining Del Rio residents have seen a large single-rotor helicopter come in and out, landing down by the river near the bridge. And as Carl said, there have been UN patrols driving through town, asking if anyone has any information on insurgent domestic terrorist groups like the Blue Ridge Militia. Of course, everyone is being tight-lipped about it, but we’re afraid the right pressure will be placed on the right person to start tipping them off. It’s only human nature that you’ll have a worm in the apple, eventually.”
“Domestic terror...” Evan said, shaking his head. “The only terror being perpetrated around here wears a big UN logo on the side. Any word about Q? Ted? Carl and family? What about fallout from Vanessa’s place?”
“We aren’t sure about Q and Carl’s folks. We are hoping to raise them on the radio once we get the repeaters in place and online. As far as Vanessa’s place, yes, the UN patrol that cleaned up the scene burned her house and barn to the ground. They also threatened the surrounding neighbors with the same thing if any information regarding the perpetrators was withheld. In this case though, I doubt anyone beyond us and those involved know anything other than there was a shootout in the middle of the night.”
“That’s good.”
“Yep, the last thing we want is a Waco or Ruby Ridge style assault on this place or any of the other homesteads as they try to root us out,” added Griff.
Daryl spoke up and said, “Speaking of which, we need to put together a contingency plan to evacuate the women and children if it comes to something like that, or if things get too hot and heavy anywhere in the local area. I think we need to meet with the other homesteads and possibly have two or three fallback locations where our non-combatant family members can hide out until things blow over.”
“I never thought I would see the day when we could consider our family members non-combatants,” Evan said, looking out the window as the children played on their swing set.
“I know, but just look at what happened at Vanessa’s place with her little girl present,” Jason said in a serious tone. “It was by the grace of God that we happened along when we did.”
Griff walked over to the window, looked outside at the children, and said, “Unfortunately, all throughout human history, children have not been sheltered from the evils of tyranny. Here in America, we were lucky to have been sheltered from it for as long as we were. The rest of the world, or rather the ugliness of humanity and the evils of corruption and power-hungry collectivism, have violently knocked down the walls of our once stable and free society. As Thomas Paine said, ‘If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace.’”
Chapter Twenty-Three: Building Faith
As Ed continued his bedside vigil beside his friend Nate, he read from a tattered old Bible given to him by Meredith. As the candlelight flickered and danced across the page, he sensed movement on Nate’s bed. Startled, Ed placed his hand on Nate’s and said, “Nate, buddy. Can you hear me?
Nate’s hand flinched, followed by the batting of his eyes and a deep breath. “My head hurts,” Nate said softly as he began to shift around restlessly on the bed.
“Nate. Oh, I’m so glad you’re back with us,” Ed said as he wiped a tear from his eye.
“What the heck happened? Where are we?”
“We are safe with friends. We’re free, buddy. No more Camp Twenty-one. No more worry of you getting shipped back to the feds. I’m gonna get you back to Peggy, where you belong.”
“Where is Tommy and everyone else? Are they okay?”
“The Bronco and our bus were hit by an aircraft of some sort. Not everyone got out. I’m not sure who did,” Ed explained sorrowfully. “After the Bronco was hit and we crashed, people started to scramble. It was dark and chaotic. I kicked out a window and dragged you away as whatever hit us came in for the deathblow. We barely made it out. I did see others get out, but I honestly don’t know who. I just saw orange jumpsuits, no faces.”
After a moment of silence, Nate said, “Thanks, man. You’ve been dragging me around for a long time now. I owe you everything.”
“You don’t owe me anything. If it weren't for you guys, I would be alone in this world now. You are my family, blood or not.”
“Same here, brother,” Nate said. “I really need some water. My head is pounding, and I feel like I haven’t had a drink in days.”
“You haven’t... except for this bag, that is.” Ed held the candle so Nate could see the IV drip that Meredith had set up for him.
“Where are we?” Nate said, looking around.
“An old shelter of some sort under a suburban neighborhood home. The couple that lives here is awesome. I’d love to have them as neighbors back at the homesteads,” Ed said with a smile.
Just then, he heard the door to the stairs creak open as Meredith said, “It’s just me.”
“He’s awake, Meredith! He’s awake!” Ed said with joy in his voice.
Meredith hurried down the stairs and said, “Well, hello, there. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“Thank you, ma’am. Thank you so much for taking care of me and hiding us away, wherever we are.”
“Oh, you don’t need to thank us. We were getting pretty bored around here with nothing to do, anyway. We consider it a welcome break in the monotony.”
“Where’s Henry?” asked Ed.
“He’s upstairs. Why don’t you go and tell him the good news while I check out yo
ur friend here. Light that oil lamp and hand it to me before you go, if you could be so kind.”
“Of course, ma’am.” Ed lit the oil lamp with his reading candle. “Here you go,” he said, handing it to her. “I’ll be right back.”
Hurrying up the stairs, Ed realized it was his first time out of the basement since they had brought them in. Looking around the home, he noticed what used to be a nice leather sofa in the corner of the room, which looked like it had been hacked to bits. Looking at its proximity to the fireplace, he immediately understood why.
“Welcome to the surface,” said Henry from the adjacent kitchen, startling Ed. “It’s good to see you in real clothes instead of that jumpsuit, as well. How do the shoes fit?”
“Oh, hi,” Ed replied. “Nate is finally awake.” He could barely contain the excitement in his voice. “And the shoes fit just fine. They are a little loose, but when you’ve been stripped of your shoes and forced to walk around on hot gravel and concrete, loose shoes are good shoes. We can’t thank you two enough for everything you’ve done.”
“See, son, prayers do work. Say, do you want to go on a run with me tonight? I might as well take advantage of the backup while I’ve got it. I’ve got someone I’d like you to meet, as well. Meredith will take good care of Nate while we’re gone. You won’t have to worry about that.”
“I’d be honored, sir.”
“Great,” Henry replied. “After we eat tonight, we’ll head out.”
“What are we looking for tonight? Food? Supplies?”
“Sure, those things are always on the radar. Most importantly though, to use a phrase from the modern corporate world, human resources can be one of your most valuable resources.”
~~~~
Later that evening, as Ed continued to read from Meredith’s Bible while sitting alongside Nate’s bed, Nate remarked, “You seem to be really getting into that.”
“Yeah... I guess so,” Ed replied. “I always considered myself a worldly fellow. Being born and raised in the New York City area of Long Island, I saw the rest of the country as ‘flyover states’ that were there to merely link New York with California. After moving to the Midwest and then ultimately Ohio for work, I started to see things in a different light. I slowly began to see that the great infrastructure of modern-day collectivism was a sham. None of it will ever truly be mine, although they say it belongs to the people. That, combined with the social engineering of governments and a culture that puts modern day humanism on a pedestal above all else, regardless of the damage we do all around us, really started pushing me back to basics. And now, with this all around us,” Ed said, making an all-encompassing gesture with his hands, “I’m really starting to think that, like my mother always said, the ‘Bible is the operator’s manual for life.’ We, as modern humans, had drifted too far away from the basics of life. Prior to the attacks that caused the collapse, people may have lived in the same house their entire life, yet they had no idea if there was anything they could eat in the woods behind them. As a society as a whole, we had completely forgotten how to live on our own planet without a vast infrastructure to support us. And now look what our high and mighty modern society has become without that infrastructure firmly in place. So, yes, I’m taking a new interest in this book in my pursuit of the true basics of life.”
Nate smiled and sat up in bed. “Damn, my head hurts.”
“Still the same?” Ed asked.
“No, it’s truly getting better. I just feel like I lost a championship fight against Mike Tyson. It’s sort of a ghost of a headache at this point that reminds me it’s there when I move or something.”
“Well, don’t push yourself.”
“I need to get the hell out of this bed. Speaking of which, where’s the bathroom?”
“Ha. Bathroom...” Ed said with a chuckle. “You’re in the city now, boy. Or, well, the suburbs. Same thing though. They were all on city water and sewer, which hasn’t worked for quite some time. Living on the Homefront and the Thomas farm with their own well water and septic systems has gotten you spoiled.”
“Yes, that it has. So... what do we do?”
“Oh, sorry,” replied Ed, still chuckling under his breath. “They have a bucket upstairs converted to a toilet with some sort of homemade treatment in it to keep the stink down. They dump it in a hole in the backyard when it’s full. They keep it up there because it would stink things up down here without adequate ventilation, but I can go get it and bring it down here to you.”
“I’d be forever in your debt. Those old stone stairs look like a bitch for a guy on one leg.”
“No problem, brother. I’ll be right back,” said Ed as he set the Bible on Nate’s bed and headed upstairs.
~~~~
After Nate had taken care of his business and Ed dealt with the bucket, Meredith came down the stairs and said, “Ed, Henry is ready for you.”
“Ready for you?” queried Nate.
“Oh, he wants me to accompany him on a supply run this evening. I figure it’s the least I can do.”
Looking concerned, Nate said, “Well, don’t go and get yourself killed. It’s a long way back to Tennessee to have to hop the whole way there on one leg.”
“Don’t worry, man. I’ll be back. I’ve got as much faith in Henry as I do just about anyone.”
With that being said, Ed smiled and proceeded up the stairs to join Henry for their supply run. “Hello, Henry,” Ed said, closing the hidden stairwell door behind him.
“Hello, Ed. I’ve got something for you,” Henry said, opening an old leather saddlebag. “This was my grandfather’s revolver. It’s an old Colt Single-Army, chambered in .45 Colt—or .45 Long Colt as some people call it today. It’s older than I am, so do your best to hang onto it. It’s the last family heirloom I have left. At one time, I had an extensive gun collection, including the Garand I carried in Korea. Unfortunately, during the early stages of the collapse, Meredith and I had to head downstairs unexpectedly to avoid a gang of looters. They cleaned us out. It took everything I had to stay down in the basement and not come up and fight them for it. I’d have killed every last one of those sons of bitches for even touching my prized family possessions. I just couldn’t risk something happening and leaving Meredith all alone in what was the most uncertain of times.”
“That showed some real restraint,” replied Ed.
“It still eats me up to this day.” Henry stared at the remains of his decorative wooden gun cabinet that was now just a pile of potential firewood. “But anyway, back to business here. You can carry this tonight. You won’t do me any good unarmed. But I need it back.”
“Understood, sir,” Ed replied with sincerity.
Henry handed Ed the pistol along with an old-fashioned leather holster with cartridge loops going all the way around to hold the .45 Colt cartridges that any good Western-genre film star would be proud to carry. As Ed admired it for its quality and craftsmanship, Henry said, “My grandfather had that holster rig custom made by an old saddlemaker when he was based at the old Camp Travis in San Antonio, Texas, right after World War I. It cost him a month’s salary on what was then a corporal’s pay, but he knew it would be a prize possession for generations to come, and he sure was right. That pistol and this old shotgun are all I have left from the looters. Thank God I had this old Winchester Model ’97 and that Colt pistol squirreled away in a chest down there for safekeeping.”
“Well, let’s get moving,” he said, ending his stroll down memory lane. Getting back to the business at hand, Henry led Ed out the back door and through the backyards of some of the surrounding houses that had since been abandoned by people who had either passed away with no local relatives, or from people who fled the outskirts of Atlanta, looking for a safer and less populated area to wait things out. Henry knew exactly which fence boards were not nailed securely in place, making a known-only-to-him quick and easy way to transit through the neighborhood with little effort, while remaining off the main streets. Pointing to a large w
hite house with a screened-in back porch, Henry said, “That old son of a bitch there should die off anytime and stop being such a headache to me. He’s got all kinds of issues and no way to get what he needs. I’ve tried and tried to be nice to him, but he threatens my life every time I’ve gone to offer him help. You can only let a dog bite you so many times before you have to just give up and stop trying to feed it.”
Henry then led Ed out onto Willow Park Lane and said, “We’ve got to cross this street and then slip in the back door of that old brick house. That’s where we are meeting everyone.”
“Everyone?” Ed asked with a curious tone.
“Yes, my human resources I was referring to earlier.”
Ed merely nodded in reply as Henry hurried across the street and into the back door of the old abandoned house. Once inside, Ed noticed there was another door that separated the back porch, which had been converted into a room, from the rest of the house. Henry knocked on the door and took a step back, waiting silently for a reply.
“Who’s that?” answered a voice from inside the room.
“He’s one of the survivors I was telling you about.”
“Why is he armed?” the voice inside asked.
“Why wouldn’t he be?” answered Henry in an agitated tone.
After a brief pause, they heard the sound of several locks being actuated, followed by the door opening only a few inches, and then the rest of the way. “Come on in,” the man inside said.
Chapter Twenty-Four: A Community’s Plan
After several bed-ridden days being cared for by Molly back on the Homefront, Evan was finally up and on his feet again. Although Molly had put him on an austere “light-duty” restriction, he was just glad to be out and about on his own property again.
Walking the fence line of one of his sheep pastures, Evan came upon Jake, standing watch in a tree stand. He noticed that Jake’s attention wasn’t on his task at hand, as he had slipped in undetected. “What are you working on so intently up there, son?”