Not Dead in the Heart of Dixie

by R Kralik

  No one's here to give me more reports, so I'm gonna lie down and rest my back.

  See ya later.

  2:00 PM...

  Mick came in to eat lunch with me and I got a report on the tunnels.

  The first tunnel, along with the big room, is open for business and the soldiers suggest we begin moving food and supplies there as soon as they leave. You betcher bottom dollar we're gonna do it.

  The second tunnel is 20 feet in, and crews are working on the supports as well as the “doors.” They believe they'll have the tunnel dug as well as the big room before they leave. They also believe they'll have the tunnel supports up. but not the room supports. We'll need to do that ourselves.

  The third tunnel will not be started before the unit leaves, and they suggest that we wait for their next visit instead of attempting it ourselves. We plan to do as they say.

  Mick says it's nice and cool inside the big room. The days are getting longer and hotter every time I wake up. I might have to move into the big tunnel room during summer because of the heat and the fact that I despise summer. It'll probably bother me a little having a gazillion tons of dirt over my head but, if it's cool in there, I'll be able to live with it.

  He also said that the entire wooden fence should be covered with flame retardant by tonight.

  Several little wooden buildings have been unloaded and put in place including the ones for Clinic Diane.

  Velma has already begun preparing her quarters and the clinic. She recruited three old soldiers to build in cabinets. They'll be rustic, but they'll work.

  When Velma discovered how few bunks would fit inside the building she demanded that a third building be brought in to hold four additional bunks. I don't know if she'll get her way. I guess we can take care of it after the unit leaves.

  A device that makes a loud siren sound every 10 minutes has been threaded through a wire cable and installed across the rock quarry.

  Mick says the quarry is about 25% full of HDI's trying to smoosh themselves into the rock wall. I wish I could read an HDI mind. I can't imagine what I'd learn.

  Anyway, Pop has potatoes planted in the lower garden. I have no idea when we'll be able to harvest them.

  Chris says we have a case of herb seeds ready to begin planting as soon as we get the ground prepared inside the finished chain-link fence. He said the onion starts will arrive in the fall.

  Emma still has a line of soldiers at her sewing room door. She's been pinning the solders name to each piece of clothing. She tells them to check back in eight hours to see if their order is complete. Elaine's helping her and they've been working like crazy women.

  There's a large number of propane tanks lined up on Dane's property as well as ours and Wilky place. We have plenty of propane to see us through this winter in the little wooden buildings and motorhomes.

  I plan to use the cook stove for most meals this winter because it helps keep the house warm and will save on propane.

  A knowledgeable soldier showed Nana and Emma where and how to use the wood cook stove to make hot water for dish washing and general kitchen needs. It'll be hot in that kitchen when they run the stove. I'm ticked off that we didn't know about this earlier. Unfortunately, the Kitchen Queen Cook stove from Mr. Peterson's shed didn't come with a manual.

  I wanted to dance when I learned about the hot water capabilities, but my stupid, worthless back kept me from it. I plan to dance as soon as I feel better.

  I have no idea what's for supper. Mick'll bring me a plate from the mess tent. I thank God for every meal they serve us. It means one more meal in our stockpile for the compound when the unit isn't here.

  I need to sign off and holler for someone to help me to the potty bucket.

  See ya later.

  10:55 PM...

  Supper was beer-battered fish filets that come in a box. We also had coleslaw, hush puppies, and french fries. Mick added a piece of lemon pie to my plate and it was pretty tasty. I wish the unit could leave the mess tent here when they head out.

  There's a full load of lumber near the area where Chris and Josie's house will be built. Its right on top of the spot Hisa and Soo's house used to be. It's gonna feel strange looking down the hill and seeing a new house instead of the old Stang house.

  The well is complete and filling with water. I hope I can get down there to watch the first bucket come up, but I doubt I'll be able to make it. My back is still killing me and it hurts to move. It seems like every member of the compound has stuck their head in my door to tell me the well is finished. I wish I could jump for joy with them.

  Pao, Jeremy, and Jason feel confident they can operate the fire trucks properly. I pray we never need them, but if feels good to have them here.

  Dane stuck his head in to tell me I'll hear a lot of gunfire tomorrow because they'll be practicing with the machine guns. I mentioned that the noise will probably bring a lot of HDI's this way and he said “Whatcha think we'll be using for targets?” Dane is one of a kind. I wonder if he'll decide to hop on the bandwagon and marry Elaine before the unit heads out. For some reason, I don't expect it to happen.

  All eight guard towers are in place, but only five of them have flooring, sandbags, and machine guns installed. I don't know what the unit plans to do tomorrow.

  Carissa and the girls spent a lot of time in the basement, organizing the allotments. She says we don't have enough shelving to hold it all. I told her that Jason plans to go out for more shelving once the unit leaves. A lot of shelves will be placed inside the tunnel room for storage. She rolled her eyes and said she dreaded trying to figure out what goes in the tunnel room and what stays in the basement. I told her I'd help come up with a plan.

  The mess tent will be disassembled when breakfast is over the day after tomorrow. I'm guessing everything will be packed up around the same time.

  We still hear sporadic gunfire from soldiers on guard taking out stray HDI's. We're used to hearing it now.

  Lisa's been spending time helping Tim Stein get set up in his little wooden building. I see a relationship growing between the two of them already. I'm hoping its interest and not just lust. I plan to speak to her about it.

  Her grandfather left me to care for her and guide her. I'd feel like I wasn't doing the job he wanted me to do if I leave the situation up in the air.

  She's a good girl, and I trust her. Tim seems like a really nice guy but I don't know him well enough to give him my blessing to date Lisa. She's only seventeen, and that means I still have a little control. I know her grandfather told her to allow me to guide her. I just hope she will.

  I need to wake Mick and ask him to move the computer off my lap. I'm getting tired, and the pain pills aren't making it easy to stay awake.

  Bye for now.

  Thursday, May 1

  It's Luke and Larson's sixteenth birthday. I hope we can keep them “off the grid.”

  We'll have a quiet celebration tonight after supper. Rona doesn't want any soldiers invited. She fears they'll discover we have teens that aren't on anyone's list and force them to sign up.

  By the way, if you think the tunnel room and basement are the only places we'll hide supplies and food, you're wrong.

  Dane, Jeremy, Pop, Kevin, Rona, Mick, Jason, and Marisa met in my bedroom early this morning to discuss other options. So far, the nine of us are the only ones who know about this.

  There's an old rock chimney at the back of Pop's 40 acres where an old farmhouse previously stood. Pop discovered the place three months after he bought the land. No one told him there was an old homestead back there. He discovered it when he decided to keep a few horses and was checking the old fence for needed repairs.

  Anyway, the place has a root cellar as well as a storm shelter which the original owners dug by hand. They used concrete blocks to build the storm shelter. There's also a covered well. Pop has owned the land 45 years and never tried to get water from the well. He has no idea if it's still good, or caved in, or filled in, or whatever.
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  There are no roads into the area except a small trail behind Pop's pasture at the back of his house. You'd need to go to the back of the pasture to find the trail. Then, you'd have to cut the fence in order to follow it in a vehicle.

  We will have food, weapons, and supplies stored in the old root cellar and storm shelter. We'll also check the well.

  And...

  Out in the boonies lived an old hermit whom everyone called “Cookie” because he was an alcoholic and addicted to cooking sherry. He was found dead on one of the park benches in town last year.

  His home was a large cave which was used as a “Speak Easy” and gambling joint during prohibition times.

  The cave entrance is vast and the ceiling's probably 40 feet high. Folks could drink and gamble inside the cave without worry of being caught, because the land was owned by the Chief of police himself, and he got a nice cut each week. The windows for buying or cashing in chips are made of rock and were still standing when I was a teen.

  There's a tunnel off the main room that leads deeper into the ground and ends inside another large room.

  Smack dab in the middle of the tunnel is a small sinkhole. The last time I was there, someone had laid plywood over the sinkhole and attached a rope to the ceiling. You could either walk across the plank, or swing over the sinkhole by holding on to the rope.

  There are more sink holes in the room at the back, and if you grew up around here, you know where those sinkholes are.

  I have no idea how big the back room is because every time I was there we had only flashlights to use for exploring. I wanna see what that room looks like all lit up.

  At the rear of back room is a hole near the ceiling which leads outside. Over the past gazillion year’s, dirt and debris has fallen through that hole and formed a dirt ramp inside. We always referred to that hole as the back entrance/exit. We'd crawl up the dirt ramp and wiggle out that hole. It was big enough for two people to wiggle out at once.

  Anyway, I'm surprised that I never heard of anyone falling into a sinkhole or getting killed in the cave. Actually, I'm surprised that none of my high school classmates ever fell into one of those sinkholes.

  During the 60's and 70's, teenagers used the cave for parties and drugs. There's graffiti all over the walls. If you mention the cave to the teens around here today, they'd have to ask what you were talking about. It probably saw its last party in the mid-eighties when the land was sold and the new owner put up “No Trespassing” signs.

  Neither Marisa nor Carisa have ever visited the cave.

  The area has since grown over with trees and weeds high enough to cover the cave entrance somewhat. No one visits there anymore, except for Cookie and us. A small clearing near the cave entrance is where we hid our vehicles and several compound members when the first unit came through.

  We plan to have quite a few supplies, weapons, and food hidden in old Beggar Cave. We'll begin stocking it after the unit leaves. We will not tell Josie or Velma.

  I feel bad that we have to hide it from Josie, but she's strongly rooted in the military with her husband, and she might tell him. We just don't know. We're planning future meetings to discuss which members will have this information.

  Back to the compound...

  Crews are still working on the tunnels. Sergeant Rifting is in charge and he say's they'll work until they walk out of here with tunnel dirt on their boots.

  I'm extremely grateful to him and his crew. They've given us a hidey-hole that might save our lives. I'll take any piece of extra security I can get.

  More Wooden buildings are being unloaded at various spots on the hill. I'll need to draw a map and label each building with the name of its occupant in order to keep tabs on everyone.

  The sounds of sporadic gunfire travels across the hillside every now and then. HDI's never give up.

  The horse barn behind the Masterson house is filled with hay. Jesse and Jeremy took two trucks and several young soldiers looting for hay yesterday. They got the job done. I think we have enough hay to last through winter now.

  Mick and Dane took the Jeep and headed out alone to “see about a couple of things” before Mick leaves.

  I'm still stuck in the bedroom with pain meds and an aching back.

  I think I'll use the metal walker and sit on the chaise so I can talk to Nana and Emma while they make a birthday cake for two teenage boys. They should make two cakes. Luke and Larson can eat more than Mick, and that's a lot.

  See ya later.

  2:00 PM...

  Carisa's having a bad day. She wants nothing to do with anything. Her bad mood is caused by the fact that her Dad is leaving tomorrow to fight enemies we know nothing about.

  Mick and I both talked to her, and he tried to explain his reasons for going. I know she understands, but she's mad at him. I told her that I'm mad as well, but I wanna send him off with my support, and confidence that I'll love him for always and forever.

  Understanding doesn't make it any less frightening. I'm with her on that subject. I'll fear for his safety every second he's away. There will be lots of praying going on around here.

  Rona and Nana are deeply involved in cake decorating while Emma tries to finish up the uniform repairs before the unit heads out.

  I haven't seen Chris or Josie today. They're hiding out in Josie's motorhome, probably enjoying each other’s company before Chris leaves.

  I took a peek inside the radio building from the kitchen window. My back won't allow me down the porch steps and along the pathway to the building just yet.

  There's all kinds of gadgets will lots of knobs in there. There's maps on the walls and little red tacks stuck in several places. I plan to ask Josie to explain it all to me when my back is better and I'm trying to kill time while Mick is away.

  Jason says the unit has begun preparations for leaving. They're packing up everything except their tents,

  The fence crew is hanging the big white signs on the sides of the fence. I guess we're the official caretakers of an official government onion field. Pop will get in there with the Kubota as soon as the unit leaves. He's itching to get started.

  Hold on...

  Okay, Dane just stuck his head in the door and said that the paperwork Chris sent to home base for signatures has arrived back and everything was signed. We've all been approved. Lucky us.

  The construction crew who'll build Chris' house will arrive sometime at the beginning of next week. My first thought when Mick told me that was that we have one week to get all our special supplies hidden in our secret spots without anyone finding out. It's gonna be tough, but we must get it done.

  I'm feeling achy and sore and I need to lie back for a while.

  See ya later.

  11:30 PM...

  Luke and Larson's small party went off without a hitch. The cake is gone. I have no idea how many pieces they each had, but it was more than two.

  They loved their presents and told Rona and Kevin that the gifts were exactly what they wanted. Rona squeezed my hand and gave me a wink.

  Mick told everyone to leave, point blank. He said he wanted to spend the evening with his family and he was “sure they'd all understand.” Of course, they all understood and left to spend the remainder of the evening someplace else.

  Mick and I are in bed. He's trying to fall asleep and I'm wide awake.

  We've said goodbye in our own private way and both of us held on for several minutes longer than usual. I didn't want to let go. I never wanna let go.

  Mick leaves tomorrow. It seems like a bad dream, like it really won't happen. I have visions of him walking halfway down the drive, and then he turns and runs back up the hill into my arms.

  In my vision, he tells me he can't leave. He hands his gear off to Chris and tells him to go on without him. I can dream, can't I?

  Most of the unit is packed and ready to leave after breakfast in the morning. Mick has a military pack full of gear sitting at the end of our bed. His government issued weapons are lying besi
de it. I feel sure that he has a few special things from home inside the pack.

  After we came up the hill from supper, Carisa threw her arms around him and cried. It broke my heart. I've always tried to imagine how hard it was for women to send their husbands off to war. I'm now imagining how hard it is for children to watch one parent go to war and the other parent struggle and cry during the night while he's (or she's) away.

  Carisa says something is squeezing her heart so tightly that she expects it to come flying out the top of her head at any moment. God, please help me stay strong for her.

  Mick hugged her as long as she wanted to be hugged. He had tears running down his cheeks when she finally pulled away. He promised her that he'd do his best to stay alive.

  She went over several things with him and gave him a pack of Clorox wipes to keep in his pack. She told him to make sure he wipes his eating utensils before and after he uses them, and not to sleep close to anyone sick, and air his feet out whenever he has the chance, and several other things.

  I began to wonder if she was receiving messages, telepathically, from his mother. I thought she'd tell him to watch out for booze, drugs, and wild women. Then, I realized she didn't know what else to say and was expressing her love in the form of caring advice for his health. After giving him several more “orders” and another pack of Clorox wipes, she headed to her room for the night.

  I'm still having a hard time believing he'll walk away from here tomorrow morning.

  I'm gonna sign off, snuggle up in his arms, and have a meltdown.

  Bye for now.

  Friday, May 2

  He's gone. He didn't turn around and run back to me.

  Velma's on alert and watching me like a hawk. Maybe I should fake one of those panic attacks so she'll give me the divine concoction and I can sleep for hours. Nah... That’s not my style. Besides, Carisa needs me awake and alert. She started crying with the first step he took. I joined in, and pretty soon the entire porch was full of crying women and uncomfortable men.