Doing The Apocalypse Shuffle: Southern Prepper Adventure Fiction of Survival Grid Down (Old Preppers Die Hard Book 2) (13 page)

“That sounds simple enough, we put enough weight on it or figure out how to make the tractor push it down into the dirt with the hitch and we could turn over some dirt a hell of a lot faster than by hand.” Charlie said watching Farley draw the outline for one on the dust of one of the tractors hoods with his finger.

“Getting our garden in and planted is priority one, figuring out how the hell we will water it is another matter we need to be studying on. Hauling water as you know takes up entirely too much of our day already.” Farley declared.

“Maybe we can use the tractors to haul 50 gallons or more at a time?” Charlie said.

“We can rig up something suitable for that, I am sure, we got us a couple trailers parked out back for those things but filling or finding water barrels is another thing. Trash cans might work for that maybe but I need to get my hands on a water pump or at least a boat bilge pump or something to fill them with.” Farley said his mind traveling back to wanting to pilfer the marina once again.

“Farley, why don’t you ask down at the bait store if they know anyone like a contractor around here that has one of those pumps they use to empty rain water out of excavations?”  Charlie asked, knowing where Farley’s mind was probably going.

“That’s a good idea, however I keep wondering how long that bait store place can or will exist. Not having food for sale in there reduces their chances of being targeted but evidently they are eating something and looking well so you got to wonder what they got most to rely on food wise that others don’t have. It wouldn’t take much to rob that place and there are plenty of people that might have some determination to give it a try soon and make them tell where some food is or just to swipe what beer and such that is left. It’s a world that pretty much exists as a world without rule of law for the most part, so you got to look at all angles and possibilities. They are also our canary in the coalmine, as it were, as to what the conditions are or will be outside this place. That’s sort of their protection, I guess you might say, it’s the only place you can get local news or a chance to maybe find some goods if you got something to trade with but that’s the lynch pin that is going to get them possibly whacked. A lot of people won’t have anything to trade at all and if they have a gun or a knife they might in their desperation give it a try. I tell you what I hadn’t considered though that is interesting, is all those churches organizing like they have. Close knit groups of believers bent on as it were to add the element of religion to a threat or assistance the same as all history presents to us is something to consider. If you add desperation and disaster to the mix, it is often times hard to figure out exactly how a person or a situation will pan out based on holier than thou and you’re an outsider for not participating in a political community or belief system.” Farley said pondering if such groups might spell trouble for them.

“For that matter, Becky was a pretty devout Christian that had taken to forcing everyone to listening to her say grace over dinner. It hadn’t been her usual routine or habit before the disaster and now Jeremy said she was also reading her bible quite a bit more frequently and longer than she had in the past.” Farley said speculating if that meant anything else other than seeking answers and support from her faith.

“Farley, not to mean any disrespect to her but since we are not very religious folks around here, do you think she will grow to resent us or want to go to one of those churches to seek others out that share her spiritual beliefs?” Charlie asked stopping Farley with that statement to quit going through a shelf of insecticides to see what kind of stocks they had of that all important item that he had forgotten might be needed in his long term preps.

“Damn, Charlie, you said a mouthful there. I don’t think she will start asking to attend church or push religion at us too much for awhile but it is something to consider. I am sure she understands our need to remain secluded from others but that gospel is based on followers. I am not somebody who does the congregation thing but I can quote you some scripture from when I was forced to go to church or Sunday school as a kid. Once I found the scripture in the bible that said ‘build me not a church and when two or more are gathered in my name so be it a church, I started looking down on those that built expensive structures instead of investing in the community. Why, if you took all the money they pump into those cathedral-like edifices they were told specifically not to build, I bet you could fix a lot of woes for the people that are too poor to even attend one. I never found me a reverend or a preacher that could give me a plausible answer to the “give my father not gold or silver” thing or an answer to why churches are built at great expense instead of being simple assembly halls.” Farley said pondering these meanings and reflections that influenced how he viewed his own beliefs in a higher power.

“Farley, you need to have a talk to her about talking any religion when you go trading down to the bait store. You are still going to try for some more stuff once you pick up those extra chickens they owe you, aren’t you?” Charlie asked.

“Oh yea, I am not going to be going around there as much as I might of originally thought about. However, if the world is continuing just like it always has after a disaster and folks are trying to rebuild, I sort of like us to stay in touch with the community and be part of it. Now, telling Becky to watch it about not talking religion is another whole can of worms I just as soon not open very soon, especially since she is focusing more on including it in her life. I just as soon not compare notes with her on any aspect of it but I will mention something about in the end days or end of times the bible warns us of following or believing in false prophets. Those fire breathing end time Southern Baptist preachers and Radio evangelists are having a field day at the moment. I never realized how many of those Christian stations must have their own generators and enough fuel to keep broadcasting. I had to force myself to listen to a few of them in order to try to gauge the messages or directions they were giving out to the listeners. One thing I am particularly concerned about is that for years FEMA has reached out to preachers as leaders of communities to help get government messages of submit to authority and surrender your guns based on biblical texts. So far I think for the majority of the spiritualists I have listened to fall into about three or four circles of thought. You got the doomsayers of the approaching apocalypse listed in Revelations, the few that remind us “no man will know the exact time when judgment comes, the love thy neighbors and support the weak and elderly and the FEMA inspired folks sending mixed messages of politically organizing grassroots support for questionable mandates with the “Give unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s” so the farmers don’t shoot government officials appropriating crops and livestock on sight. Then you got some reverends quoting various parables about beating swords into plowshares or the opposite tact that if you don’t have a sword, to sell your cloak and buy you one. Anyway, that’s enough talk about religion, I will say something to Becky and we will just see how things develop. I guess we are about done here and should be getting back.” Farley said after grabbing a couple cans of bug spray to take with him.

“I suppose that door will be alright left open or you could lock it and I will leave one of the garage doors unlocked.” Charlie said speculating on how long it had taken Farley to get into the building and the chances of anyone trying the door.

“Just leave the last bay open and we will lock the access door.” Farley said agreeing to Charlie’s plan.

7

The Setup

“Hey, Charlie, where did the maintenance guy that had the keys to that shed go off to? Any chance that he would come back here if wherever he went got too hard to live around?” Farley asked.

“That would be Bobby; he lives about an hour from here. I thought about him awhile back but its been over 12 weeks since I have seen him last so I guess since I haven’t seen him by now or anyone in his crew they aren’t coming would be my best guess.” Charlie said not knowing Bobby had lost his life 4 weeks ago from a heart attack from lacking his medications.

“Ok, I was just checking. Anyone else that might show up around here that you know of?” Farley asked.

“Nobody I can think of, I don’t know any personal details about the lawn and maintenance crew people, the snack bar people, the boat rental folks and everyone else got told to report to personnel and I was told to shut down the facility. Then nothing more, everyone was gone, phone lines are dead and I didn’t go to the base, figured it was kind of futile.” Charlie said.

“I am kind of like you in thinking that if anyone was coming they would have already been here but you never know. Hey, day after tomorrow I think I will take a boat out and do a bit of reconnaissance around here and play fisherman; you got anything with an electric motor?” Farley asked.

“No, all we got is small gas engines or paddle canoes.” Charlie explained.

“Well, that will have to do, I guess. Tonight let’s try to see what time campfires start up and stop and observe from different vantage points and make us sort of a map of known inhabitants.  That information will help me on my scouting some and if we try to make it a regular practice to observe that sort of thing we might get a better feel for the situation around here especially if some place always has a fire and suddenly doesn’t one evening.” Farley said trying to get a feel for what he now called ‘their’ neighborhood.

“I think there is some solar or battery lighted channel warning buoys on the far point of this reservation, do we leave them lit or maybe try to turn them off?” Charlie asked.

“We leave them lit, I guess. I suppose anyone that sees them has seen them before and knows what’s over here already. Hopefully everyone close by is short on gas and not venturing out much although someone who actually lives around here might think to come over here looking for supplies; I would have by now.” Farley stated.

“Well, just keep in mind a few people have already done that, Farley. We can’t be living in fear everyday and there are not enough of us to really consider standing any kind of regular guard duty. If someone actually wanted to try something it would probably be dusk or dawn anyway and we got that one covered by making sure we are all together at those times. Other than organized possible marauders, it’s just opportunists that hopefully will think twice about this opportunity.” Charlie stated.

“I agree, the longer the lights are out the less we need to worry about as people become less mobile and the population is further reduced. Let’s go down to the fishing dock and see if the boys are doing any good.” Farley said.

“Ok, we can do that, let’s get together after dinner for a beer and we can do some of that campfire spotting you were talking about.” Charlie said thinking that was a perfect excuse to sneak off from his wife Feng.

“I guess the evening assembly area for us is the pavilion, it’s inland far enough that the campfire shouldn’t be able to be seen from the lake. The only problem with that is it’s so far from the cabins and we end up with everyone carrying flashlights around if the moon isn’t up. I think we ought to blackout curtain one of those cabins for our club house or recreation hall but it’s so dang hot this time of year we would melt without having at least the front windows wide open. That would leak out some light but hopefully not enough to be seen easily from the lake much. I got to try and find us some old board games like monopoly or something, playing cards is going to get old by themselves in a hurry I think.” Farley said thinking that their occasional night time group get togethers were really going to get boring or aggravating but it beat going to bed early all the time.

“Farley, Fong wants to go to the bait store with you next time you go and I must say Miss Feng and I have more than our share of reservations about that as you can understand. Thing is as you know Feng has a birthday coming up and he wants to see if there is anything there that he can trade for as a present for her. I told him I doubted there would be anything suitable in there and that it was very dangerous for him to be going off of this place but he kind of has his heart set on it.” Charlie said giving Farley a new quandary to think about.

“Hoo Boy, you’re a regular fountain of good news today. You know Miss Feng is going to have ten fits about sending her nephew off with me. I will look around the bait store and if they got anything at all suitable I will get it and bring it back for you all. Did you tell him that you’re already giving her that food we traded for? You know the yummy cans of sweet and sour pork along with some of those MRE pound cakes? Maybe you can tell him it’s from both of you all.” Farley said not wanting to incur Miss Feng’s ire and not really happy about dragging Fong along with him down to the bait store, either.

“You and Jeremy have talked about trading so much that he wants in on the action, kind of like a right of passage or something. Just like when you gave him a knife to carry and Miss Feng had to go along with it and say he was grown up enough to have it and times have changed. I, unfortunately, see his point a little and take his side: we need to teach them boys to trade and for that matter drive and a host of other things that they need to know to grow up quickly so what do you say, Farley?” Charlie asked.

“I say it’s too soon but you got me on that birthday argument, maybe I got something or perhaps Becky does that would suit the bill?”  Farley offered.

“Well, that might work and I appreciate the idea but I think it’s the adventure he looks forward to as much as giving her a gift.” Charlie stated.

“Damn, I like the boy and ordinarily wouldn’t mind a bit taking him anywhere he wanted to go, in fact I would be honored to but you know these roads can be dangerous and that bait shop isn’t the friendliest place in the world. Besides, I can’t imagine what he might even be able to find there and might just get disappointed and take the risk for nothing.” Farley objected.

“I know. But like I said before he is bound and determined to do it. I overheard him talking to Jeremy about it and they were running down what inventory he could remember trying to come up with ideas.” Charlie said.

“You mean I got to take
both
them boys on a shopping trip?”  Farley said incredulously.

“That’s what I am asking you to do. I would go along with you all but I need to stick around here and keep Feng calmed down and Becky said she would help.” Charlie declared.

“This sucks! So you have already talked to Becky about it? Hell fire, I am surprised she went along with it. I am even more surprised she is not insisting to go along. I will take them then, but I still say it’s a very much ill advised thing to be doing. Birthdays, Christmas, holidays in general are now pretty much just another day and changed forever.” Farley declared.

“Ah thank you so much, Farley, I will square it with Miss Feng but you know she will be mad at us both for a little while. I am going to tell her the boys need to know the trails and roads in and out of here so she doesn’t get too suspicious about what we’re up to. I also think it would be good for them boys to have met a few of the locals around here.” Charlie concluded.

“Well, I guess we will go tell the boys and then I am going to have a little talk with Becky about not bringing it up to me when you two were first considering it. I don’t think it’s too cool to just drop that bit of news on me all the sudden without giving me a longer amount of time to consider or talk it over amongst ourselves. You keep Miss Feng from giving me too many fits you hear, Charlie? She can over do it sometimes you know.” Farley said, feeling like he had been backed into a corner.

“I will handle her for you and I hope you will please be patient with everyone.” Charlie said

“There’s the dock; I wonder where the boys are at.” Farley said as they parked the truck and got out to look for them.

Farley called the boys names out and was rewarded with a holler back that they were busy with something further on down the shore and him and Charlie started wandering their way.

“What are you guys working on?” Charlie asked

“We are resetting and re-baiting the Yo-Yo reels. We only caught one bluegill today off the dock and we cut him up for bait to try to catch some catfish along the shoreline this evening. ”Jeremy said indicating the automatic fishing reels he was setting up.

“Hey Farley, does the bait store have any of these for trade?” Fong asked raising the bobber on the rig he was setting up to insure the bait would remain on the bottom.

“What kind of knot is that you got on that hook? See, if I pull on it hard, it will come loose. One more time now, this is the easiest and best fishing knot I know of.” Farley said, demonstrating.

“About those Yo-Yo reels, I didn’t notice any but I will ask next time I am in. You can make you an automatic fishing rod with a snare trigger though it’s just not as easy to find a place to rig it because nature doesn’t always cooperate and provide you a sapling where you want. Don’t matter though; you can set them just like putting fishing rods out. You got some string or paracord in your pockets like I told you to always carry around?” Farley asked.

Bits of string and odd things should always be in boy’s pockets and Farley enjoyed their occasional challenges to him to come up with a new use or survival trick with various items like a marble, safety pin, steel washer or whatever else had managed to find it’s way into their pockets.

Once they both affirmed they had some cordage and their pocket knives, Farley set about teaching them how to make an automatic fishing pole or fish snare, as Fong liked to call them.