After the Republic (16 page)

“It’s a bit of a hike to the closest one,” Joshua said. “And a lot of the stores nearby are running out of everything.” Caroline groaned.

After a few minutes Joshua looked over the crowd. “Where’s Drew?”

“He took off on that new motorcycle,” Jim said. “Took a backpack with him, but not much else. Didn’t say where he was going and snuck out before I could ask.”

“Well, I hope he gets back before too late.”

***

The next morning was colder than the previous two. Joshua’s breath was clearly visible in the winter air. Reagan joined him on the porch for a few minutes before pawing at the door, apparently having had his fill of the cold. Rebecca opened the door to let him inside.

“Brr. Don’t get yourself sick, Josh.”

Joshua nodded, took a swig of coffee and opened his Bible.

Twenty minutes later Jim made his way down the hill, a look of obvious concern on his face. “What’s wrong?” Joshua asked.

“Drew apparently never showed up last night. I just checked and he’s not in his room. It doesn’t look like he came in at all.”

Joshua shook his head. “Oh, brother. Go see if Jack is awake. We should go look for him.”

Jim threw his hands in the air. “I have
no
idea where to look.”

Joshua shrugged. “Me either.”

Before Jim could make it halfway across the clearing they heard the sound of a whirring motorcycle engine making its way up the path. Drew pulled up to Joshua’s cabin. “Good morning, guys. What’s up?”

“Where have you been?” Joshua asked.

“I had a few things to take care of.”

“We were worried about you,” Jim said. “I was getting ready to wake Jack up.”

“Why were you going to wake Jack?”

“Because we were going to look for you,” Joshua said.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you guys. But you don’t need to worry about me or keep track of where I am. I can take care of myself.”

“In a normal world I wouldn’t doubt that,” Joshua said. “But we are
not
in a normal world, and we all need to be extra careful.
Especially
those of us who are on the council. We have to lead by example.”

“Well, I’m not going to promise I’ll tell you every time I come and go,” Drew said. “But I will take extra precautions to ensure that no one follows me back here or knows where we are.”

“What if something happens to you and no one knows where you are?” Jim asked.

Drew brushed off the concern. “That’s on
my
shoulders. Again, don’t worry about me.” He put his helmet on and drove to his cabin.

“I worry that he’s being a bit reckless,” Jim said.

“Slightly. Well, I’m glad you guys are staying with him. Some of us are hoping you can be a mentor to him.”

After raising the flag Bob and Kane went to check the trotlines. Joshua’s heart sank when they returned and reported no fish.

Sunset brought more bad news. Not only had the chickens still not produced any eggs, a predator had apparently snagged one of the hens.

The next day offered more of the same: no fish and no eggs.

Joshua frowned. “If the chickens aren’t going to lay eggs maybe we should just eat them.”

“They’ll eventually start producing,” Rebecca assured him.

“I hope so, but I’m starting to wonder.”

“It’s not unusual for chickens to stop laying in the winter,” Rebecca said.

“True, but they weren’t having any problems last week on the farm,” Joshua answered. “I think this move freaked them out.”

“They’ll be okay.”

As they walked from the chicken coop to the cabin Thomas’ Suburban made its way down the mountain. He rolled down the window. “Hey guys, how are y’all doing?”

“We’re okay.” Joshua frowned. “But I’m frustrated that our chickens have not laid one single egg since we’ve been here.”

Thomas shook his head, toothpick dangling from his lips. “Man, that ain’t good. Are y’all giving ‘em any laying mash?”

“Laying mash? What the heck is that?”

Thomas took off his cap and scratched his head. “A special feed for hens. Helps ‘em produce more eggs.”

Joshua’s brow furrowed. “Interesting. Never heard of it. We’re just amateur farmers and really don’t know what we’re doing.”

“Man, I’m headed out to get a few things. I’ll see if I can pick some up.” After a few minutes of chit-chat Thomas drove down the path toward the road.

***

A few hours later Thomas dropped a 50-pound bag on Joshua’s porch. “Laying mash. Maybe this’ll help.”

Joshua and Rebecca sprinkled the laying mash onto the ground in the coop. The chickens gobbled it up like they had not eaten in weeks. As they walked back toward the cabin a few raindrops started falling.

“As cold as it is, this could be a mess.” Joshua caught a couple of raindrops in his hand. With every step they took the frigid rain seemed to intensify. Reagan took off and made it to the dry safety of the porch. Joshua brushed his hand across the subtle ice glaze on the railing. “Not good.”

Shortly after dark Joshua made his way onto the porch. Snow was beginning to mix with the freezing rain and the arctic wind felt like a thousand stabbing needles.
The temperature is dropping fast,
he thought. Branches were beginning to sag under the weight of accumulating ice. Somewhere in the darkness he heard a branch snap and collide with several others before crashing to the ground.

Bob arrived at the cabin, clothed from head to toe in dark green winter rain gear. “This looks like a significant storm. We could lose power. What is your plan for an alternate heat source?”

Joshua shrugged. “Hadn’t thought about that.”

“Martin and I will secure firewood.” Bob did an about-face and vanished into the darkness.

Inside, Joshua turned the television to a 24-hour weather network. He felt his shoulders clench as the announcer offered a frigid forecast.
The winter storm making its way into the North Carolina mountains could last for up 36 hours. The temperature is likely to remain below freezing for several days thereafter.

A couple of hours later Joshua and Rebecca were relaxing on the couch. Reagan was curled up in the corner and John and Ruth were seated in recliners. It was pitch black outside, save for the giant snowflakes falling between the ice-covered trees. Suddenly the cabin went dark.

“There goes the power.” Joshua pursed his lips.

“Didn’t the weatherman say this storm could last another day or so?” Ruth asked.

“Yep,” Rebecca said. “Just what we need.”

They heard a knock on the door. It was Perry. “I guess your power is out too. It’s going to get cold in our camper trailer.”

“You guys are welcome to hang out here if you’d like,” Joshua invited.

“Thanks. Let me go get my better half.”

A few minutes later they heard three more loud knocks on the door. Joshua opened the door, expecting to find Perry. Instead it was Bob, accompanied by Kane. They had armloads of firewood, which they unloaded on the porch.

“Martin and I have secured firewood and can retrieve more if needed,” Bob said. “McGee and Jones are securing wood for the second cabin.”

“By ‘second cabin’ I assume you mean Drew’s place?” Joshua asked.

“Affirmative. The second cabin.”

A few minutes later Perry arrived accompanied by a shivering, whimpering Caroline. “This is miserable,” she complained.

Everyone crowded around the fire as it slowly flared to life. Reagan secured the spot closest to the warmth of the flames.

Both cabins were packed wall-to-wall that night. Everyone bundled up in an effort to stay warm.

***

The power was still out the next morning and the floor in the living area was covered with sleeping bags and blankets, most of which were still occupied. Bob was tending the fire.

Reagan pawed at the door. When Joshua opened it the anxious puppy bolted through it and charged down the steps. The deep snow completely engulfed the energetic pup. Frightened by this unknown, fluffy white substance that towered over his head, Reagan let out a yelp and ran back to the familiar safety of the porch. Joshua laughed. “Cold, isn’t it, boy?” Confused, Reagan walked around on the porch for a moment, and then went to the far end and did his business there. Joshua followed Reagan back into the cabin, where others were beginning to stir.

“I would
love
a cup of coffee.” Caroline sat up and stretched her arms.

“Me too,” Rebecca agreed.

“But that’s probably impossible with the power out.” Caroline frowned.

“Any thoughts on how to handle food without power?” Perry asked.

Of course, Bob had the answer. “We will cook leftover bear meat in the fireplace.”

Caroline groaned. “Bear meat? Eeewww! That’s just weird. Don’t you have any eggs?”

Rebecca answered. “Unfortunately, no. Our chickens have not laid one single egg since we’ve been here.” Caroline groaned out loud.

Not one to mince words or be politically correct, Bob shared his unsolicited insight: “We must adapt if we are to survive. That includes eating things we are not accustomed to. Adapt or perish, city girl.”

Caroline let out an exasperated sigh. Sensing her despair, Rebecca suggested they search the cabinet for something she would find more palatable. Joshua retrieved some of the bear meat and Bob put on his raincoat and went outside.

Caroline returned from the kitchen with a can of assorted fruit, which she held up for Perry to see. “Not optimal, but I’d rather have this than that nasty bear meat.”

Joshua put a large, cast iron pan filled with bear meat into the fire and Bob positioned an old aluminum coffee pot atop the wood stove. While it took longer than a modern coffee maker, the resulting brew was more than welcome.

The scene repeated when lunchtime rolled around. Caroline again resisted the bear meat and Perry retrieved something she found more palatable from their camper trailer.

Night came and went, and there was still no power in the camp. Eight sleeping bags cluttered the floor in the living area, each strategically positioned as close to the fireplace as possible. The group was well-fed thanks to the bear meat and they only occasionally dipped into the supply of non-perishable food. Caroline still resisted the meat.

Another night passed and there was still no power. Firewood was running low, so Joshua and the other men bundled up and ventured outside. A strong northerly wind knifed through the mountains, reinforcing the frigid temperature. The penetrating sunlight brilliantly sparkled on the thousands of shards of ice dangling in the trees. Joshua cautiously tested the mixture of snow and ice beneath his feet.

“This stuff is starting to melt,” he said.

“It’s about time,” Perry said. “Maybe we’ll get power back soon. It’s been four days.”

“This is good preparation,” said Bob.

“Preparation for what?” Perry asked.

“For the high probability that at some point we will lose power permanently.”

Perry groaned.

After the firewood had been replenished on the porch Bob and Kane checked the trotlines. Joshua and Perry trekked up the ice-covered hill to check on the people in Drew’s cabin.

Jim greeted them on the porch, his eyes bloodshot and underscored by heavy black bags. “I
really
hope the power comes back soon. There are six children stuffed into this house, not to mention the adults. I think people are about to go stir crazy.”

Joshua peered in the door, where the floor was completely obscured by sleeping bags and blankets. “You guys are just a bit cramped.”

Jim let out a sarcastic chuckle. “That’s the understatement of the day. It’s a sardine can in there. The kids are complaining about eating the same thing at every meal. We’ve tried to explain to them that we can’t just go to the grocery store or go out to eat like we could at home, but they don’t seem to get it. Even beyond being cooped up in this storm, I’m worried about how they’re going to adjust long-term. We could be in for a tough time with them.”

Perry nodded. “It would also be an understatement to say that Caroline is struggling to adjust. She bottles everything up, especially since Charlie and Allie…” He choked up, unable to complete the sentence.

Jim’s brow furrowed and he scratched his chin. “I’m worried about people sinking into depression and basically giving up.”

“That would be bad,” Joshua said. “And it could be contagious. Please think on how we can combat it.”

Upon returning to Joshua’s cabin they found Caroline seated on the floor, crying like a newborn baby. Rebecca and Ruth were seated on either side of her. John had retreated into his bedroom to escape the mayhem.

“What’s wrong?” Perry asked.

“I can’t live like this!” Caroline answered through her tears. “I… I miss Charlie and Allie… I feel like we’re prisoners here. We can’t go
anywhere
or do
anything
. You guys are eating all of this weird stuff like deer and bear, and we could run completely out of food. I may be forced to eat that crap. Who knows, the power may
never
come back on in here. I want my life back.
I HATE THIS PLACE
!” She again broke down into tears.