THE TOCABAGA CHRONICLES: (BOX SET PART III - BOOKS #9-10)

by Thomas H. Ward

  I spent all day with the dogs and left at 5 pm with Tony to get more food from Steve. I stopped in the Green Room for a quick drink and found Maggie there with Chris. Looking at the posted handler sign, I noticed that both of them had signed up.

  Maggie said, “Jack, I really want to be a handler. You know, I love dogs.”

  “Yep, I know that. I have just the dog for you. Her name is Freda. She’s gonna have pups and you’re just the person to handle that.”

  “How soon will she have pups?”

  “Any day, as far as we can tell. If you’d, like go down to the fort with Tony and meet her. Tony is picking up some food to take back. He’s over at Steve’s.”

  Chris asked, “What about me?”

  Years ago Chris had a Jack Russell. Chris knew how to work with dogs. He’d make a perfect handler.

  “Oh, I got a dog for you also. Its name is Dierk. Go with Maggie and meet your new dog. Tony has a list of commands written in German and English. Since the dogs only understand German you need to memorize that list. The idea is to teach them English.”

  “How do we do that?” Maggie inquired.

  “Every time you give a command use the English word first, and then the German word after it. In a few weeks try making commands in English only. You both need to remember these aren’t normal dogs. They’re trained guard dogs.”

  They both left to find Tony so they could meet their new friends. I needed to make up a training plan so all the handlers would be doing the same routines. I went home to work on that.

  As I sat in my office making up a plan, it occurred to me that these Shepherds would be a valuable asset to Tocabaga. Besides guard duty they could help locate missing persons which could be of real benefit in the future. They could also be used for hunting.

  I felt good about our new friends. I couldn’t wait to see Adolf the next day.

  JULY 31, 2025

  It’s been a couple of weeks since my last entry. There hasn’t been much to write about. I haven’t heard from Rico, so I assume he’s dead. We may never know what happened to him. He was either killed or died of Ebola. It’s hard to imagine that anyone could kill Rico. I hate to think about it.

  None of my people have been back to his compound fearing that Ebola-infected people may be roaming around the area. We’re on lock down and no one is going in or out of Tocabaga unless it’s approved. If someone needs to leave the island then a four person security team will accompany them.

  We are hoping that no Ebola carriers show up at our door step. Security is on high alert. When dealing with Ebola there are many logistical problems. Suppose a person or even worse a horde of people show up at our bridge. We can’t let them in because they may have Ebola or been exposed to it. There’s a 10 to 30 day incubation period.

  Speaking of the horde we haven’t seen them or know where they went since no one has been off Tocabaga for a while.

  Another problem with Ebola is you can’t touch anyone or interact with them. The best we can do is give them food, water, and maybe the EVB150 oral vaccine. Then we have to send them on their way.

  But what if they don’t want to leave? What if they just camp out on our roadway and expect or demand us to give them food and water. What do we do with these poor souls? Do we shoot them and put them out of their misery?

  Well there’s a problem with shooting them because then we’ll have infected bodies lying in the road near our compound. Bodies with Ebola can be contagious for up to 60 days. You can’t let the dead just lay there. Coyotes might eat them and become contaminated. They could spread the damn disease to other animals.

  That means we have to go out and remove the bodies. If we throw them in the water and the sharks eat them, will they get Ebola? No one knows the answer to that. Would that contaminate our fish food supply? We don’t know.

  We can’t pick them up and bury them because we’ll be exposed. The only thing we can do is burn the bodies to kill the virus. Then pick up the ashes and dump them in the water.

  Thank God, so far Albert’s family hasn’t shown any symptoms of Ebola. I still don’t know what to do if they come down with it. Doc was supposed to make a plan to deal with it. Ebola creates a lot of problems.

  I made my mind up to add another layer of security. We’ll put up a series of chain link 12 foot fences, topped with razor wire, half a mile from the Tocabaga Bridge. Three fences spanning the road will force an enemy to climb them, bash them down, or go around them in the water. There’ll be a 40 foot killing zone in between each fence.

  My plan is to run the fence along the shoreline all the way back to the bridge. If anyone tries to use the water to bypass the road block they would still have to cut or climb another fence to get on the bridge. This would slow down any intruders and allow us time to pick them off.

  Of course, we still have our claymore mines positioned on the guard rails lining the road. There are over 1,000 mines that we can blow which would terminate any horde of unwanted trespassers.

  In addition there would be four men stationed at the first fence once completed. They’ll be armed with M4’s, M249 light machine guns, and hand grenades. A few old cars will serve provide cover from gun fire. One of our bullet-proof Hummers could also be there at night.

  These improvements, along with the new radar system, would make our little island a lot safer until the Rangers return. I want to start this new line of security as soon as possible.

  The Shepherds are getting along great. They’ve already learned most of the English command words. The wolf dogs are adjusting very well to their new homes. I decided to adopt Adolf. He’s adjusting well to my family. He’s friendly to the kids and my wife. I made it clear he wasn’t a household pet like our little toy poodle, which he seems indifferent to. They just smell each other and go their own ways. Adolf stays on the patio at night. During the day I take him with me everywhere I go.

  The canines are being used for security patrols. They are working out better than I expected. Adolf made everyone at my house feel more secure. He barks when anyone comes around.

  A few days ago a chopper flew in and collected the EVB150 from us for distribution to the Military. Captain Sessions called me and advised that the Army had taken over Washington D.C. after a little struggle. The President and his cabinet had been placed under arrest along with most of the Congress. His Rangers were still doing mop operations in the Keys.

  That was good news because it means the country is on the long road to recovery. We’re on the road to freedom under the United States Constitution. Yes, it’s going to be a long difficult trip to get back to normal. It will take years of hard work, but now there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.

  During the past few years, thousands of people have been killed or died of starvation. Basically there are very few businesses open to buy products or food. The whole economy is a disaster. The entire nation is still like the Wild West. The rule of law is at the end of a gun. Those with the most guns rule. Gangs and small armies still roam the country looking to take what they want by force.

  For now we have to remain vigilant. We have to remain strong. We will continue to fight to stay alive.

  AUGUST 1, 2025

  The adult members of my family were sitting on the patio talking about what we could do to help establish the new government. We needed to do something for our city and country. The question was what could we do?

  What came first, the chicken or the egg? Of course it was the chicken. When we look at our country, what needs to be done first? The answer is simple. We need to establish law and order. We have the laws but not the order. There are no more major law enforcement agencies.

  It’s necessary to appoint a County Sheriff and enroll as many Deputies as possible. A local police force is required for each city. The problem is how do you do that? There’s no money to pay them and when they’re on duty their families are unprotected.

  There’s only one way to solve this problem and that’s to use vigilante gr
oups. These are groups of self-appointed citizens, who undertake law enforcement in their community without legal authority, because the legal agencies are inadequate. So in essence, they do become the legal authority as long as they follow the laws on the books. Right or wrong, that’s the way I look at it.

  I told my family that since martial law has been declared then maybe Captain Sessions could appoint a group to help enforce the rule of law. I decided to discuss this with Sessions as soon as possible. In the meantime we’ll do what’s necessary to protect ourselves from the forces of evil.

  One major problem is that most of our security team doesn’t want to ride around and enforce laws all over the city. It’s dangerous work so why risk your life when you can stay safe on Tocabaga? Then there’s the Ebola factor. Ebola scares the shit out of everyone.

  Tommy, Ron, and I went to the Green Room at 5 pm and found Army Mike there along with Lisa and Rick. Somehow the discussion got around to our food supply. Basically we obtain most of our protein from fish, chickens, eggs, and some pork from the wild pigs. Carlos, one of our best hunters, kills one pig every couple of weeks. We don’t have many wild pigs at the fort so pork is a rare treat.

  Mike said, “It sure would be nice to have some beef or deer meat.”

  Lisa replied, “Yeah, I’m so sick of fish and chicken.”

  “I know where we can go deer hunting,” Ron commented.

  “Where’s that?” Mike asked.

  “Up north, near my old cabin in the woods, about 10 miles from Bushnell City.”

  I responded, “It’s a two-hour drive on the Interstate. There’s wild cattle, deer, and turkeys all over the place.”

  “Yep, and even gators if you want any,” Ron stated.

  “It’s a dangerous trip into no-man’s-land. We have no idea what’s up there,” Tommy said.

  “There’s only good old boys and rednecks up there. I think it’ll be safe. We just tell them we’re there to hunt a few deer. It’s probably safer than going to St. Petersburg,” Ron replied.

  Mike said, “I’m willing to go.”

  I looked around the room and everyone was nodding their head in agreement. I took a drink and pulled out a smoke. Mike lit it for me and said, “Come on big guy. Are you afraid of a few good old boys?”

  I took a drag and replied, “No, it’s the inbred idiots who don’t even know what day it is. They don’t have a full deck. Those are the ones that’ll kill you.”

  Ron asked, “Well, are we going or not? It’s up to you, Jack.”

  “Ok, but we need the two Hummers for security and one big F 350 pick-up to carry the meat. I wanna bring along Carlos because he’s our best hunter. The crew will be Ron, Mike, Tommy, Carlos, and Rick. We’ll need a total of eight people.”

  “Hey, what about me?” Lisa asked.

  “If you wanna come along, fine.” Lisa let out a big smile and blew me a kiss. “We need one more man,” I said.

  Just then Maggie walked in the bar. Everyone looked at her and she said, “What? What’s everyone looking at me for?” Maggie went behind the bar and poured herself a shot of Wild Turkey.

  She had Freda with her so Adolf went to greet her. I was pretty sure that Freda was Adolf’s daughter. Freda still hadn’t given birth. The Shepherds were playing with each other.

  I replied, “You wanna go on a hunt?”

  “A hunt for what?” Maggie asked.

  “We’re going on a deer hunt.”

  Maggie slammed down her shot glass. “Shit yeah, count me in.”

  I looked at Tommy. “Do you wanna bring along Johnny and teach him how to hunt?”

  “I don’t know, let me think about that.”

  “Ok, we take off at 8 am. Everyone meet at the bridge. This is going to be an all-day trip.” We all had a few more drinks and went home.

  I was excited about the hunt because we hadn’t had a real steak for a long time. If we could kill three cows, and a couple of deer, that would more than feed everyone on Tocabaga for a few weeks. I could taste that big juicy steak as I fell asleep.

  AUGUST 2, 2025

  It was a bright sunny day as I loaded the truck with all our gear. It should be like a Sunday drive out in the country.

  I remember in the good old days my father would take the whole family for a Sunday drive. It was a big deal to drive out into the country side. We’d leave the big city and head out into the wide open spaces of the country.

  I used to wonder in amazement at how farmers lived. I always thought it would be a great lifestyle. Being a farmer is a lot of hard work, but you have a lot of freedom.

  Tommy showed up with little Johnny. “Johnny’s coming along. He’s gotta learn how to hunt sometime.”

  I rubbed Johnny on the head. “It’s gonna be fun. Just listen to your Dad and me.”

  Jim Bo was staying behind to watch the family instead of Ron. He would also take care of Maggie’s dog, Freda, while she was gone. Jim helped us finish loading the gear and asked me, “What route are you taking?”

  “Interstate 75 to the Bushnell exit.”

  In the old days we had all been to Ron’s cabin many times. We knew there were two routes you could take to get there. I picked the one that was the most direct.

  We double checked all the gear and rolled out. Tommy, Johnny, and I, along with Adolf were in the first Hummer. Ron was driving the second Humvee with Mike, Lisa, and Maggie. Last in the convoy was the F-350 truck with Carlos and Rick.

  The most dangerous part of our route took us through the northeast side of Tampa. We kept the 50 calibers manned while passing through Tampa in case some dirt-bags tried to jump us.

  As we drove along with our little American Flags flapping in the wind, we saw a few cars and some people walking on the side of the highway. They looked at us and some of them waved. We waved back as if they were friends. Some of them gave us the finger and we gave it back. We passed the danger zone with no problems and were soon out in the countryside.

  We were cruising along at 45 mph. All we could hear was the rumble of the big knobby off-road tires. It was almost 10 am and sweat was dripping off my head. I was stuffed in the back seat with Adolf. His long tongue was hanging out trying to stay cool.

  Johnny said, “I gotta pee.”

  I replied, “Me, too. Pull over here.”

  Tommy pulled over to the side of the road and the Hummer rumbled to a stop. The other trucks pulled up behind us. I couldn’t wait to get out and neither could Adolf.

  I opened the door and Adolf jumped out. He ran to the grass along with Johnny. They both sat down in the shade of a big tree. I joined them. It felt cool there because of a slight breeze.

  Tommy broke out some water and snacks for everyone. It was peaceful except for a passing car or truck every now and then. I peered out into the wide open field of high grass. It seemed strange not seeing a single house or building.

  Rick said, “This is nice. I wish I had a little house right out there in the middle.”

  “It reminds me of my Dad’s farm. Big open fields are so peaceful,” Mike commented, who was sitting in the gun turret keeping watch.

  The high grass waved back and forth creating a hypnotic-like spell. We just sat there looking at that dumb field. We were relaxed for the first time in a long time. The sense of danger had been lifted off our shoulders by Mother Nature.

  I pulled a piece of grass out of the ground, stuck it in my mouth, and chewed on it. I used to do that when I was a kid. It triggered memories from long ago. Grass actually has very little taste. It tasted green to me, like a plant should.

  We were suddenly brought back to the real world by the sound of trucks. Mike yelled, “We got company, there’s 20 vehicles moving south, on the other side of the highway.”

  Everyone stood up including our guard dog. Tommy moved quickly to the Hummer machine gun as the trucks came to a stop directly across from us.

  I said, “Johnny, get in the truck with your Dad.” Everyone moved to their vehicles for protectio
n.

  I scanned the entire line of trucks and estimated there were about 150 people in all. Two men came walking across the median carrying a white flag along with rifles. Stopping about 50 feet away they shouted, “We mean you no harm. We just want some information. Can we come over?”

  I yelled, “You can come on over but leave your guns there!”

  I stepped out from behind the truck as the two heavy-set men came walking up. Adolf was by my side and he growled as they approached. I told him heel, stay. They looked at the dog and slowly held out their hands for me to shake from a few feet away.

  I responded, “I’m Jack Gunn. Sorry, we don’t shake hands because of Ebola.” Adolf sat there growling at the strangers.

  “It’s nice to meet you. My name is Sam Smith and this is Daniel Gibbs. We’re the leaders of this convoy. I can assure you we don’t have Ebola.” He spoke in a firm tone, as he glanced down at the dog.

  I looked at them closely. They were well-dressed, wearing jeans and clean shirts. They had short hair and were clean shaven. I asked, “Where are you headed?”

  Sam said, “We’re going as far south as possible.”

  I could tell by his accent he was from up north; probably from somewhere in the mid-west. “Where are you from?”

  Sam reached out to pet Adolf and he showed his teeth. I warned him, “He’ll bite you.” Sam quickly pulled his hand back.

  “We’re from Cleveland,” Daniel answered. “Where are you guys from?”

  I said, “South of here, about 50 miles.” I didn’t wanna tell them exactly where.

  “How many are in your group back there?” Daniel asked.

  “We have about 600 people.”

  “Why are you guys heading north?” Sam asked.

  Tommy standing in the gun turret replied, “We’re going hunting.”