by Cooper, DJ
Loel agreed and everyone went to bed.
Chapter 10
“Settling In”
“Every great and deep difficulty bears in itself its own solution. It forces us to change our thinking in order to find it.”
-Niels Bohr
The next morning, waking up with a cloud of uncertainty; the now many members of the group came together and laid out some plans for the day ahead. With the power out the first priority became figuring out the solar pump for the well. Water was at the top of the list along with other things that would help them adapt to life without electricity. For the moment they ran the generator to pump the water. This could not work long term and they knew the gas would run out soon enough. With all that had happened the day before they wanted to make one final push for supplies. The goal would be to get everything they needed from the locations they came from. Considering how quickly things had spiraled into chaos, it had to take priority.
Herb and Janice were off by themselves having an animated conversation. Overhearing them, Charleigh and Toni approached, “Janice, what’s wrong. “
Janice was almost in tears but looked at them. “Our granddaughter won’t know where to find us. If she gets out of Lexington she’ll come to our house looking for us.”
Charleigh, who was very good with people, gave Janice a hug. “Why didn’t you say something sooner? Never mind, don’t you worry about that. I will go see what we can do to make sure that anyone looking for any of you can be found.”
No one thought about this issue before. In all the mess the only thoughts were about keeping their friends safe. Charleigh approached her mom and told her what Janice said.
Dez looked pained and said, “Oh no, poor Janice. If only she’d said something right away, we could have gone for her.” Hand on her chin she mindlessly tapped her lip with her index finger. “No use crying over spilled milk. She’s right though, we didn’t think about that.”
“Mom, can’t we just go get her?”
“I don’t know if that is such a great idea, Charleigh. If gangs are running amok and there are problems in the city I can’t see putting anyone in that position.”
“Well, we have to do so something.”
“You’re right. We’re going to have to do something. Today before the guys leave let’s go talk to them and see what we can come up with.”
Dez and Charleigh went over to Matt and explained the issue; he agreed something had to be worked out.
Charleigh was agitated because she adored Janice. “Can’t we just go get her?”
Matt shook his head, “It’s just too dangerous right now. We don’t know what we’re up against out there. It could be perfectly normal, but then again it could be worse than we imagine. Without communication with her, there is also no way to know if she is where they think. There is just too many what ifs.”
After a few ideas were expressed, everyone agreed that they could not go out in search of loved ones. And just putting a note with the address was a bad idea.
The best idea was to leave notes at all the places people would go looking for loved ones. It would instruct them on what to do.
YOUR FAMILY IS SAFE. GO TO THE ABANDONED FARM ON SAYLOR RD, OFF MAY APPLE. WAIT THERE UNTIL CONTACTED.
They struggled to decide how they would distinguish those that showed up with family from those just looking to raid, and they had to figure that part out quickly.
It was Toni that suggested the solution when she suggested that they use the CB for verification. Each day someone would go and observe the farmhouse from the hill. They could check and see if anyone was there. If they found people they would radio back and a group would be on standby to either pick up or fight off whoever they found.
Those found at the farmhouse would be approached cautiously and it had to be established that it was a note that sent them there. Questions were to be asked as to who they knew and what their names were. This information would be radioed back to base where the person would be found. They would then radio back questions only that specific family member or friend could answer. Notes were prepared by all who needed them to be left and given to those that were going back for the supplies.
Everyone that stayed at the house worked on making a count of all the people there. Others started a full list of supplies. Gathering the information offered some thoughts on ways to stretch them. They talked of group meals to conserve these supplies. The count was 7 adults and 1 child in the main house, with 2 adults and a child in the cabin. In the other house there were 8 adults, including 16-year-old Cameron, whom they counted as an adult and 5 children.
Tawny looked concerned, tapping the paper with the end of the pen. Dez asked her, “What’s wrong?”
“Do you realize that is 15 adults and 7 kids altogether? We should definitely think about making meals mess hall style or we are going to run out of food very quickly.”
Dez admitted that was already on her mind. “This has already turned into a large group. I don’t know what to do about the complications it will bring. These are our friends and it will grow when the others get here, so we’re just gonna have to make it work.”
“Yeah, I know. I just hadn’t really thought about it.”
“Well, we just have to make the best of it. I like the mess hall idea but this kitchen is just too small.”
While they were busy discussing it, they didn’t notice that Janice had come in. Overhearing what they were talking about, she cleared her throat to get their attention.
Dez turned, seeing her standing in the doorway and walked over to her. “Hi Janice, what’s up?”
“I have an idea about the meals issue you were just discussing. Are you able to reach the guys out getting the things from the cul-de-sac?”
“Yes, we could call them on the CB. What do you have in mind?”
“Well, I was thinking about that barn over there.” She turned to point to the barn behind the foreclosed house. “It’s empty and it has a nice floor. We could prepare the meals and serve them in there. I have about six long folding tables in my basement. There are even chairs. If they can get them we could set up a proper mess hall.”
Dez hopped off the stool she’d been sitting on and grabbed the mike to the CB. She promptly ordered up some tables pronto.
Herb came back over the radio and said, “What for? Is my wife planning for a yard sale?”
The girls laughed as Janice motioned for the mike and matter-of-factly responded to him. “Mister, don’t you be sassing these ladies. You just get the tables and don’t you go forgetting the chairs.” Winking at the girls, she continued, “And while you’re at it you can get them strong men to grab that old wood stove out of my canning shed, too!”
Herb wasn’t happy but he agreed.
“Sometimes you gotta get on that old coot.” Janice joked.
That made the girls laugh harder. They were still giggling as they headed over to the barn to see how they could get it set up.
The barn had a cement floor and was well put together for the purpose. It could certainly be heated as well. It also had a loft for storage. The ladies talked while looking around and thought it would be perfect. Janice took it as a personal project and gathered the kids to begin sweeping it out.
Returning to the kitchen Tawny and Dez then sat down to discuss the food. The idea was to gather it in a central area so they could plan meals and keep track of it. Since some did not have much for supplies, while others were well stocked they needed to get it organized. Consolidating the food would best cover all their friends and family. They didn’t think there would be an issue because they had the largest stockpile and others would see the offering and realize it would work best.
Dez and Tawney returned to the barn to look at the storage option, and saw that the kids and Janice were already making progress on the cleaning. Janice recommended they begin by using up all of the refrigerated items to save on generator fuel. “We also need to start drying or canning anything we can.”
>
Dez smiled at Janice and winked at Tawny. “What a treasure she is.”
They snagged Janice to come to the house and help them with some logistics on the food. They saw Rose hurriedly moving towards them. She barely came out of the house until today when she insisted they charge her tablet for her. Dez told her they would see what they could do when the generator was run again. Rose walked away in a huff because that they wouldn’t start it up for her. Tawny looked at Dez as they pulled up chairs around the table and asked about Rose.
“I don’t really know anything about her,” Dez shrugged.
In a lowered tone Janice said, “I would not expect much from her, she’s not the joining type if you know what I mean.”
Toni walked in and overheard what Janice said. “Well, she had better learn to be.” Reminding them what Jeremy always says, “If a man shall not work, he shall not eat.”
Dez smiled. “Yep, that’s my son” and laughed.
Rebecca, who was forced to remain on the sofa until she was stronger, chimed in from the living room, “I think we will be ok ladies. We can make a better inventory list when the guys get back. I want to do something and maybe you could release me from sofa duty to do that?”
Dez, with the motherly tone said, “We will see about that, young lady,” and they both laughed again.
“It feels good to laugh when we can, days may come when we can’t.” Tawny sighed.
***
Matt and Connor took Loel to his storage building in the box truck because he said they would need it. Both guys were harassing Loel the whole way there about how guys exaggerate the size of things. But when he opened the storage unit, they were amazed at what that man had put in there. It was full. To the ceiling.
Loel just stood there looking as if he was Spartacus, a mighty gladiator, just after winning a ferocious battle.
He’d stored hundreds of pounds of food. There were canned meats of every kind, rice, and beans, wheat and vegetables. It looked like a grocery store.
Matt said to Loel, “I can see why the urgency! Holy shit man, I had no idea.”
Loel smiled, “That’s the point.” He continued as they squeezed down a tiny pathway. “Wait till we get to the good stuff.”
When they got to the rear of the unit he had an assortment of rifles and thousands of rounds of ammunition.
Matt exclaimed, “What a cache! Were you planning on a war?”
Loel just laughed and told him to settle down and he would let him play with the toys later.
It took most of the day to clear out the storage but they were able to do so without incident. Even so, they each spent their rest time standing guard, just in case.
Herb, Jeremy, Frank, Jim, Joe, and Aaron took the pickup trucks to the cul-de-sac. First stop was to go to Herb and Janice’s, where they found that Janice forgot to tell them that the old wood stove was actually a cook stove. It was big. They needed all the guys to load it into the truck. They grabbed the tables and chairs Janice had demanded. There were some old traps Herb had used as decorations for the shed. It was more like a mini barn. They had garden tools and a grinder Herb said Janice would want, along with some canning supplies. They went through the house grabbing blankets, pillows, warm clothes and anything left in the cabinets.
They brought coolers for the food left in the big freezer which in only 24 hours was already starting to thaw slightly.
Joe asked, “Won’t this just go bad?”
Herb told him Janice would know what to do to preserve it. They left a small box of food for their granddaughter along with the note they’d prepared.
Herb took Aaron along to help bring the supplies back. He left the others to gather from the other homes. “I don’t want to leave the frozen items in a cooler too long. It's best we get the ladies on preserving this or it may be lost.”
Jeremy, Frank, Jim, and Joe continued to Jim and Joe’s houses. Neither of them had the treasures they’d gathered at Herb’s place but still it was productive.
Finding blankets and warm clothes, a few first aid supplies, and food the houses were cleaned out of usable supplies. Stopping over to Randy and Sue’s house to check on them before heading to Frank’s, They found that Sue was still adamant they would not leave their home.
Sam pulled Randy off to the side and reminded him, “You know where to find us if you need anything but be careful not to lead others there.”
Randy said, “I know. I also know we don’t have much food now.”
Sam offered to leave some of what they’d already gathered from Jim and Joes, but Randy declined, saying, “I know we’ll run out and then she’ll be forced to leave. Couple that with the demands of George’s group that are steadily getting worse you’ll likely see us in a few days. Once she’s hungry and no longer feels safe she’ll change her tune.”
The men shook hands and after gathering what they could at Frank’s, they went over to check on Amanda. When they got there, they were not prepared for what they saw and were thankful that Herb had taken Cameron with him when he left.
Amanda’s door was partially open. They knocked and there was no answer. They went in to check it out, calling out to her with no response. After searching the entire house and not finding anyone they thought she must have left.
As they were leaving, Joe heard a slight whimper and put his hand up for them to be silent. He jerked his head, looking to the hall closet. There! He’d heard it again.
He went to the closet and cautiously opened it. There he found Amanda, naked and beaten. She’d been traumatized and was almost incoherent. He reached out for her and she started screaming and hitting at the air.
They knew what had happened to her, although no one spoke it. Joe carefully wrapped her in a blanket and carried her to the truck. She stared blankly at him as they waited. The others gathered a large trash bag of clothes for her and any supplies they could find. Jeremy radioed to base. “We’re on our way back. We need a room for Amanda. She is with us. Oh, and get a couple of ladies to help her.”
Dez came back over the radio. “What happened to Amanda?”
Jeremy only responded by saying. “The worst thing that could happen to a woman so prepare someplace private, if possible.”
Sam said they could use his room and he would set up his tent. Dez asked Janice and Tawny to help her with this. She didn’t want the younger women to see this right now. Looking to Janice with a tear in her eye she asked her, “Since Amanda knows you it might help her if you were there.”
When they got back, Joe carefully carried Amanda into the house. Janice was waiting with some food and hot tea. On the way there, Amanda had begun crying uncontrollably and was exhausted. Janice managed to get her to eat and into a warm bath. She was very soothing in the way she spoke and handled her. Cleaned up and safe, Amanda fell asleep without telling them what had happened.
Dez told the others that she would tell them when she was ready to and said that no one was to push her. They already had a pretty good idea of what happened. All they needed to be told was who’d abused her. One of the women kept watch on her at all times because they didn’t want her to wake up alone.
Everyone else was occupied with various duties. Some of the guys were setting up the woodstove in the barn while others were putting the supplies in the loft. Charleigh and Toni prepared the evening meal. The goal was to get the mess hall set up so they could eat in there. This would also get everyone together in one place to talk about what happened today.
They wasted no time getting started with assigning watches. Crews to get things done were set up and shifts were created to get them onto a schedule and give each person a task or job.
Chapter 11
“Thief in the Midst”
“Man is not, by nature, deserving of all that he wants. When we think that we are automatically entitled to something. That is when we start walking all over others to get it.”
-Criss Jami
September 28
It had been j
ust ten days since the banks closed and only three days since the power went out, yet it seemed that the whole country was in chaos. Many people ran out of food within the first few days after the banks closed. Robberies and looting were rampant, even in their small town. George went from militia to warlord in as many days and his gang of thugs was becoming a plague all its own.
Lexington was only 35 miles away and was the largest city close to them. Like many large cities, there were several gangs in residence, including elements of a well-known and feared Mexican cartel. The gangs and thugs had already begun to spread to the nearby communities in search of supplies.
All of this weighed heavy on the minds of those at the house. During the morning meal the group discussed different issues they felt needed addressed.
Security was high on the list of things to address. They had no fence and the lawn was getting tall, too tall for Jeremy’s liking.
“An intruder could sneak up simply by belly crawling in the tall grass and without being noticed I bet.” He argued.
They decided some of the fuel could be spared to get it mowed. Jeremy and Cameron volunteered to take care of it. Sam was concerned about the safety of people doing daily chores, even working in the garden he said could leave them vulnerable, “It’s out back and off to the side of the property.”
He persisted, “I want everyone old enough to carry a firearm armed at all times. Those unfamiliar or uncomfortable with them… It’s time we get them trained in safety and use.”
Rose immediately objected, saying she did not believe in guns because they killed people. She’d not allow Jim to carry one and neither would she. She sat stubbornly with her arms crossed and glaring at them. Matt looked at Jim who just rolled his eyes as he stood there with his Glock 26 on his hip.