Home Invasion

by A. American

  “Me too. But that pig grease will work too,” I replied. I looked over her shoulder and said, “I’ll leave you ladies to it.” And I wandered out to the living room where the older girls were watching another movie.

  Plopping down on the couch, I asked, “What are you guys watching?”

  “Transformers,” Taylor replied.

  I put my feet up and settled back onto the sofa to enjoy the movie. I enjoyed listening to Little Bit and Mel in the kitchen. The weather may suck, but it was making for a good day. While they cooked, we watched the movie and relaxed. It wasn’t long before Little Bit came into the living room carrying a plate with slices of golden brown deliciousness in one hand and a jar of honey in the other.

  The girls sat up, their excitement obvious. While fried mush wasn’t exactly a culinary delight, it was something different. And more importantly, it was made at home. Most meals were made at Danny’s where we ate communally. So it was nice to be eating at home with my family. Mel and Little Bit joined us and we snacked while the movie played.

  Finishing my last bite, I leaned back on the sofa and put my hands behind my head. Sighing, I said, “As bad as I don’t want to, I have to head to the bunker in a bit.” I’d checked the board on Danny’s porch earlier and he and I were scheduled to be there in about an hour.

  Mel was drizzling honey onto a bite of the corn mush. “Why are you guys doing that? I mean, with this rain, there isn’t going to be anyone out. Why don’t you just stay home tonight?”

  Standing up, I said, “I’d like to. But I gotta go for a couple of hours.”

  “You’re going to get wet, Daddy!” Little Bit said.

  I was at the door putting my gear on, trying to decide if I should wear my poncho or raingear. In the end, I decided to wear the poncho so my gear wouldn’t get wet. Not that I was worried about the gear. Just that the vest would get heavier if it got wet.

  As I pulled the poncho over my head, I looked at Little Bit and said, “No I won’t!”

  She laughed at me and said, “You like bush!”

  I held my arms out and said, “I’m the swamp monster! Rhaaaaa!” And I started walking towards her like a bad monster-movie creature.

  She squealed and ran for the kitchen. I kept up my monster walk until I was standing over Lee Ann on the sofa. “I’m the swamp monster!” I said.

  She was watching the movie, lying on the sofa propped up on one elbow. “You don’t scare me. Go away.”

  Looking down at her, I said, “I don’t scare you?”

  “Nope,” she replied without looking away from the screen.

  I studied her for a minute. Then I stuck my finger in my mouth, popped it out and stuck it in her ear. Lee Ann screamed and bolted from the sofa. “Ewww, dad. That’s so gross!”

  “Do I scare you now?” I asked, laughing.

  Taylor quickly sat up and ran from the sofa. “You scare me! I don’t want that nasty finger in my ear.”

  I leaned over Mel, who was still sitting on the sofa. “Don’t even think about it,” she said.

  “What?” I asked, feigning innocence. “I was just going to give you a kiss.”

  She turned her head to the side and I kissed her cheek. “Now go away,” she said.

  “Well that wasn’t very nice.”

  She turned and looked at me. “I just don’t want you to do anything you’ll regret.”

  I scratched my nose and asked, “Would I regret it?”

  Mel laughed. “Oh, you’d regret it. Count on that.”

  “Alright. I’ll see you guys later,” I said as I headed for the door.

  Outside, I looked up into the slate gray sky. The wind was already blowing and I thought about the solar panels. Walking around the house, I grabbed the little tool for separating the panel plugs and began to disconnect them from one another. Once separated, I took them into the shed and leaned them up against the wall. I could not afford for them to be damaged by this storm. Once they were all stored, I headed for the bunker.

  Danny was already at the bunker when I got there. Jess and Doc were standing close to one another and looking a little weird. We chatted with them for a minute before they left. I watched them as they headed away, disappearing into the rain.

  “Something seem a little weird with them?” I asked Danny.

  “Yeah. I think they’re up to something.”

  “Something?” I asked.

  Danny laughed. “Yeah. Something.”

  I got his drift. “Well, good for them. I hope they’re happy and it works out.”

  The wind picked up even more and the tarp really started to snap. We worked to tighten it as much as possible, but I felt we would lose it tonight if the wind kept up. Once it was as tight as we could get it, I sat down on a bucket. Sitting with my back to the bunker kept me mostly out of the rain. Though with the wind, there was no place totally out of the rain.

  I took out the little radio and hung the antenna on the pole in the center of the tarp. It wasn’t very tall, but it would be better than the small collapsible antenna built into the radio. Turning it on, it was already tuned to the frequency for the Radio Free Redoubt. The signal was faint and hard to hear, but I could tell he was excited about something. I tried to fine tune the radio and managed to get it a little clearer. But with the wind, I still couldn’t really hear it, so I pulled out my earbuds and put them in. Now I could hear it.

  … retaliatory strike. The Chinese minister continued to say that the attack was unprovoked and the ships sunk off the California coast were delivering humanitarian aid. This of course is in direct conflict with what our military sources say. You don’t deliver humanitarian aid with tanks and APCs.

  But we are now facing a new and very perilous threat to the nation. Should the Chinese actually strike back with nuclear weapons it would be disastrous. But I take heart in the statements coming out of NORAD. They’re saying the strike against the Chinese fleet was delivered by subs and not ballistic missiles. It was a limited strike aimed squarely at the invading vessels and not the Chinese mainland.

  They go on to say that the use of ICBMs or even submarine-based weapons by the Chinese would yield little results. In other words, the return wouldn’t be worth the investment considering the state of the country at the moment. When you add this to the statements coming from the President, it seems unlikely that they will retaliate in nuclear capacity. But they still could, if only to save face.

  I fear a limited strike that would allow the Chinese to save face on the world stage while not being committed to a full launch and thereby squandering their arsenal. This is the real key. They cannot afford to leave themselves vulnerable to the Russians.

  Now that we’ve mentioned the Russians, they have made it clear that any use of nuclear weapons on their personnel, no matter where they are located, would result in an immediate reply. The Russian Foreign Minister clearly stated they would meet force with force. Which was taken to mean they would launch in kind, however many weapons were used against them.

  The only good news I have for you folks is that the Chinese invasion has been halted. Though it has stranded thousands of Chinese personnel in California. But if the people will rise up, they can rid themselves of this Chinese scourge!

  I was shocked at what I was hearing. To think that nukes were now at play was terrifying. Of course, they’d already been used against us as an EMP. But they were detonated high in the atmosphere and there was no risk of fallout. No worries of dying from radiation sickness or having your skin burned off. Or even worse.

  The only saving grace to this was the thought that maybe the Chinese got a belly full and wouldn’t try anything further. Of course, the Russians were still here; and while the Chinese weren’t a direct threat to us here in Umatilla, the Russians damn sure were.

  The wind was beginning to howl. The tarp was really whipping and we were being pelted with rain. Danny tapped my shoulder, and when I looked at him, he was gesturing for me to take the earbuds out.

&
nbsp; He had to yell to be heard. “I been trying to talk to you! This is ridiculous! There’s no reason to be out here. I’m going home!”

  I nodded. “You’re right! Let’s get the hell out of here!”

  We had to shield our faces as we walked back towards the house. The wind was fierce, and it forced us to lean into it to make any headway. Danny and I parted ways in the yard as he headed for his house. Limbs in the big oak trees were being thrashed and there were several large limbs lying scattered around the yard. I worried about the chickens, but there was nothing to be done now. Hopefully, someone thought about that ahead of time.

  I made it to the house and stumbled in. I stumbled because the dogs were inside the house. Mel must have let them in because of the storm. Everyone was asleep. I was soaked. Even with the poncho. My boots would need drying, so I kicked them off and set them in front of the fireplace and headed into the bedroom to change clothes.

  Mel woke up when I came in. “You back?” She asked.

  “Yeah. The storm is pretty bad so we came home.”

  She rolled over, saying, “Good.”

  After changing, I went out to the living room and built a small fire. The house felt damp and this would help dry it out some, but I didn’t want it to make the house too hot either. With my boots drying, I headed into the kitchen for a glass of tea and sat on the sofa and put my feet up. I would stay up while the storm raged in case something happened that needed immediate attention.

  So I spent the night listening to the wind and rain pound the house. Occasionally, I would hear a crack followed by a dull thud as some large piece of a tree would come crashing down. Gusts would send debris slamming into the house as well. It was a long night to sit and think about what I’d heard on the radio. And as I sat there in the dark listening to the world outside being pummeled, anxiety began to build up inside me.

  I’d always had a fear of nuclear war. It was kind of in the back of my mind. Not something I focused on daily. But it was there, nonetheless. When things changed, that fear faded from my mind with so much to worry about. Actually, I would never have imagined this threat returning. Who would want to nuke the US now? And for what? But here it was.

  Something big hit the house. It rattled the windows and the bang woke up Little Bit. I heard her cry out in her room and I went to check on her. She was sitting up in her bed and I sat down beside her. It also woke up the dogs. They were all on their feet, whining. I stopped to pat their heads and rub their ears. It had the desired effect and they all lay back down.

  “What was that?” She asked.

  Putting my arm around her, I replied, “Probably just a limb or something. Nothing to worry about. Go back to sleep.”

  “Is the storm still going on?” She asked.

  I laid her back in her bed and said, “It is. But I think it’s slowing down now. I’ll be up. Just go back to sleep.”

  She looked up and asked, “You’re staying up?”

  Leaning down and kissing her head, I said, “Yes. I’ll be up.”

  “Okay,” she replied as she pulled a stuffed bunny in tight and closed her eyes.

  I rubbed her head for a minute before standing up and looking at her sister who was asleep on the upper bunk. Teenagers were blessed with the ability to sleep through anything, like work, school, chores and tropical storms it would seem. I smiled and shook my head as I left their room, pulling the door to. I checked on Taylor as well. She was sprawled out in her bed with a sleeping mask over her eyes. Again, I couldn’t help but smile at her. Must be nice, I thought as I pulled her door to and headed back to the sofa.

  Whatever hit the house did have one positive effect. It brought my mind out of the funk of nuclear annihilation. I settled back onto the sofa with my feet up. But instead of staying up as I told Little Bit I would, I fell asleep.

  CHAPTER 9

  I woke up with her standing in front of me, bunny under her arm.

  She rubbed her nose and said, “You said you were going to stay up.”

  Blinking, I said, “I am up. I was just resting for a minute.”

  Little Bit wrinkled her nose and replied, “You were snoring.”

  I laughed and reached out and grabbed her. “I don’t snore!” And I pulled her onto the sofa with me. She laughed and squealed as I tussled with her.

  We played on the sofa for a minute before she asked if it was still raining. I told her I didn’t know, but we would go find out, together. Picking her up, we went over to the window and I pulled the blind open. It was still raining, though only lightly and the sky was brighter than it had been the day before. It looked like the worst was over.

  But all Little Bit saw was rain. A pout formed on her face as she moaned, “It’s still raining?”

  I set her down and replied, “Just a little. It’ll probably stop soon.”

  She stood in front of the window with her hands on her hips, looking out. After a moment, she spun around and stomped off towards her room, saying, “I’m going back to bed till the rain stops!”

  I shook my head and went to the kitchen. I needed some tea before going out in the soup. Mel came in as I closed the fridge. As she tied her robe, she said, “You’re already up. I guess you’re going somewhere?”

  “Just going out to see what the storm did,” I replied.

  She looked surprised. “So you’re going to be here today?”

  “As far as I know,” I replied and took a sip of tea.

  “Something hit the house last night,” she said as she placed a skillet on the stove. She opened the fridge and paused. “The light isn’t very bright. What’s wrong?” She asked.

  I looked at the fridge. “I didn’t notice anything when I was in there,” I said as I stepped over. She was right though. The light was dim. Maybe because the compressor was running from when I opened it.

  “I’ll go out and check the system. We’ve had a lot of cloud cover the last couple of days so the batteries haven’t been charging. Might need to run the generator today. I’ll check it out.”

  Mel cracked an egg into a bowl and said, “Okay. Go check it and come back in. I’ll have some eggs ready.”

  I patted her ass and kissed the side of her head. “Be back in a bit.”

  When I opened the door to go out, the dogs rushed for the door and pushed me aside. They were tired of being in the house. They were outside dogs and that’s where they preferred to be. It was still drizzling a bit, so I reached back inside and grabbed my raincoat from the hook by the door and slipped it on.

  First thing I did was set the panels back up. There was only a light breeze now, nothing that would knock them over. Once they were back up, I pushed a big pile of moss off the top of the trailer and opened it up. The meter on the system showed eleven point six volts. Definitely needed a charge, so I dragged the generator out of the shed and brought it around. After checking the oil and fuel, I started it up and let it get up to speed while I dragged the big thirty-amp charger out.

  With the generator warmed, I hooked up the charger. The generator changed pitch immediately, picking up the load. That was good, it meant the charger was working. With that task taken care of, I walked around the house, looking for whatever crashed last night. There were limbs down everywhere. Lots of moss as well. It was like a thick soft carpet covering large parts of the yard. I sat on the stump of a huge oak tree that had been cut probably two years ago from the look of it. Sitting there, I took in the scene.

  The limbs and branches, the moss and the innumerable leaves mixed in created a scene out of some sort of fairytale movie. I half expected to see fairies or nymphs, maybe gnomes, moving about. It made me laugh to have such silly thoughts and I quickly got up and dismissed the notion and continued the search. Going up on the back porch, I climbed up onto the rail and looked on the roof.

  There was a pretty good-size limb lying over the bathroom. I climbed up and dragged it to the edge and tossed it off. Going back over, I checked the shingles. There was some damage to two of th
em, but the tar paper hadn’t been ripped below it. Nevertheless, I would need to find some way to patch it.

  Just as Mel promised, there were eggs. She had a plate sitting on the table waiting for me. I sat down and she brought me a glass of tea as well. Eggs were plentiful. We usually had more than we could eat, even allowing for the ones that hatched. The chickens were prolific. Miss Kay made it a point to go out to the coop and check on the young roosters. They were kept in small cages to keep the fighting down. But the crowing could be obnoxious at times. As soon as two roosters were ready, she would have them butchered, always on a Sunday.

  I’d made a chicken-plucker out of a four inch PVC cap and some of the black rubber bungee cords. A rod connected to the center of the cap was connected to a drill. Once the chicken was scalded, the drill was started and the bird rotated in front of the cap. The rubbers beat the feathers off the bird. It was crude but effective.

  I looked at the plate of eggs, half a dozen from the looks of it. Picking up the salt shaker, I smiled. Breakfast was one of my favorite meals of the day. The only thing that could make it better would be some toast. I know you thought I would say bacon. But we have plenty of pork, having made sausage recently. And while that’s not bacon, it’s a close second.

  But toast, preferably rye, and even Wonder Bread white would be good right now. That’s something I haven’t had in a long time, and there was little chance I could again any time soon. So I enjoyed my eggs like I do my whiskey, naked.

  Mel joined me with a plate of her own, and together we commiserated the absence of toast.

  “I could use a cup of coffee,” Mel said.

  “The old man has some next door.”

  She smiled. “That’s true. But I couldn’t ask him for it. It’d be like asking for one of his children.”

  “I think he’d give away his kids a lot easier,” I replied with a smile.

  She laughed and looked at me. “I like this. Having breakfast together. I miss this sort of thing.”

  “Me too. It’s nice.”

  But then things changed. I saw Mel looking at the door. She pointed with her fork and said, “Well, you can ask him yourself.”