The Solitary Man’s Refuge (27 page)

“I still say if we are going to survive the challenges
and changes we are facing that all that ammo might come
to be pretty handy. What are these used for? I never have
seen 12 gauge ammo like this.” Bubba said holding up a
box of shot shells.

“I bought those shells because I thought they were
cool and might give me an extra edge when I was having
vision problems for distance shooting. They have two sixty
five caliber balls in them. It would put a hurting on
something that’s for certain and has about a six inch
spread at 75 yards, my favorite poison of choice though
ended up being Centurion Buck and Ball. That is a 2 3/4
12 gauge shell with one .65 caliber lead ball, and six #1
buck pellets.” Donald said showing him an unopened box
of them.

“Wicked, sounds like that shell is pretty handy for
hunting deer or adjusting attitudes. Mind if I get me a few
of those to load my own weapon with?” Lowbuck said
holding up two boxes of shotgun shells.

“Sure take what you need, better yet, those extra
camo nylon ammo pouches are full of them, that bandolier
you got your shotgun carry ammo on will be dropping
shells soon enough in this heat and as the elastic loses its
stretch just from age or use. I got an extra pistol belt if you
need it but I don’t have any extra suspenders. I guess if I
am going hunting in these woods I might as well get back
to being used to wearing full battle rattle in the field. I got
my old military Load bearing gear which I prefer over the
modern crap, it’s not as hot in this weather to wear as a
vest.” Donald said going over to the corner of the room
and pulling his field gear out of an old GI duffle bag.

“I have an extra military surplus canteen belt I can
hang those pouches off of, but I think I will give Cat the
use of your spare one if you don’t mind. She can use that
Keltec 9mm carbine of mine and carry her mags on it.
Does your Mom shoot, Donald?” LowBuck asked
envisioning an elderly women wearing LBE if Donald had
been crazy enough to talk her into dressing up in it.

‘No, she has got a thing about guns, but all that’s
about to change I hope. I am going to attempt to lay the
law down to her and tell her she is absolutely not going to
stay in the city if I have to work and she not be armed.
Hell, I want I want her armed down here also, but she can
be pretty darn stubborn in her opinions.” Donald said,
contemplating how that conversation was going to go
when he told his mom some cold hard facts and the need
for her to learn about firearms and safety.

“I don’t blame you, I think you would have a lot
more peace of mind leaving her here with us, but I don’t
know how she would fit in without you around to explain
things to her.” Bubba said broaching a subject he knew
Donald had a lot of concerns about.

“Well, she would be as safe, that is as safe as one
can be these days, but she would most likely drive herself
and you and me crazy until we got some kind of routine
existence established that she could wrap her head
around. She will be appearing around here eventually
though to move in for the duration and I guess take over
my bedroom and that puts me on the futon if you and Cat
are using that trundle bed this winter in the other bedroom
so you can stay warm by the wood heater unless that
motor home of yours has some kind of alternative energy
heater.

Our sleeping arrangements are going to get more
than tight enough around here as it is, but Janice is also
supposedly coming to bug out and maybe bring along
whomever else she might feel to be necessary to consider
taking in. You and Michael need to help me figure out how
to install that Great Northern portable wood stove I got in
the prep shed if we are going to be needing some extra
gathering room or sleeping space. It was on my need to
buy before doomsday list to get some fire retardant
cement so the roof didn’t leak around the chimney pipe if I
had to cut a hole in the roof to install it but that’s hind sight
now. Man, I got about one million things missing some little
extra part or item I didn’t prep, or wish I had been able to
financially come up with, or maybe even had got around to
trying out for usability or function possibly before it was
needed. Well, we will just have to make do with what we
got and I will be on the lookout for the rest of our needs
when I am in town if I can find some way to acquire it, let
alone purchase it with our limited cash or maybe I can find
something extra or duplicate in my preps to barter with.
We are kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place with
a best of times, worst of times scenario going on here. On
the one hand, we are sitting pretty for months to come
regarding food stores, on the other hand unless that trap
line we are running produces an overabundance and I
doubt that it will, food will not be a barter item for me and I
doubt for anyone else around here. Not for love, money,
gold, guns or bullets, all the food available is now pretty
much of a priceless and irreplaceable commodity.” Donald
explained trying to impart a sense of how desperate of a
situation it already was now, let alone what it was going to
become in the future.

LowBuck had a serious thought on his mind he had
been waiting for the right time to bring up and now was as
good as ever he had decided.

“Donald, I was talking to Michael about another
problem you might have not closely considered. Those
neighbors of yours seem to be watching us walk back and
forth between your homestead and his. A couple
wheelbarrows of supplies heading in his direction the other
day did not go unnoticed and he thinks it might be a
security concern. He said that whole family has been to
prison at one time or another and might be the sort of
people to be thinking of stealing some supplies if you let
your guard down. We don’t know if they are armed or not,
but let’s just assume they got at least a Saturday night
special pistol available and an inclination to try another
armed robbery and are desperate for food. I don’t want to
piss anyone off by being overly un-neighborly but we need
to keep them at a distance so we don’t get a surprise
stickup when they come around to pretend to talk about
the weather. You know it won’t be just the food but your
life they want to take in that scenario, so heads up and
start planning how you are going to deal with them when
they “just come to say hello”. Another thing is that I think
you and Michael need to only travel between houses at
agreed upon times. As short as the distance is between
your houses is, if the two of you look out for each other
you can’t get surprised very easily. That brings me to my
next point; Cat and I are going to head out. Now don’t start
the objections until you hear me out, Donald. I got a fellow
prepper I can go see in South Carolina that has a hundred
percent better prepped location to bug out to than you and
has a standing invite for me and my wife to bug in there.
You did well, better than most preppers trying to get
yourself established here, but you don’t have enough food
stores for yourself let alone all the adopt a puppies you’re
still trying to pick up along the way. Man, don’t look so
glum. I will be increasing your survival rate by months if
you don’t have to share supplies with us and to be honest,
increasing my own survivability by the same measure if I
go move to a better location. Now then, down to the dirty
and nitty gritty. Michael thinks you might want to consider
a little preemptive dealing with them if you know what
I mean before they get a chance to attempt to set you up.
We both agreed to play grim reaper if they attempted
anything more than petty thievery while you were gone as
long as you went along with it and I told him that was
highly unlikely you would agree, so what do you think.”
Lowbuck said, looking like a farmer sharpening his ax for a
turkey dinner and smiling at the gobbler that strutted about
the yard unawares of the threat.

“Well, you got that right! I ain`t up for no cold
blooded shit unless we are truly threatened and I don’t
think neither of you are either, if we got any other possible
way out. Let’s think about both scenarios for a min.”
Donald said brooding.

“Well, Michael and I talked about just being firm and
secretive with the neighbors. You ain’t ever met any of
them Donald so you can be as bitchy as you want when
first meeting them if they come around if you like. Problem
is that first meeting most likely will have a note of
desperation about it and it ain`t like they don’t smell your
cooking some good food over here. You can smell their
efforts to eat too and maybe predict when they run out of
chow, so that you have some warning to get your guard
further up. Here is another thing you ain`t thought of dumb
ass, I mean that kindly by the way and I am sure you got
some kind of contingency plans going on I am unaware of,
but you been preaching preps and prepperdom in that bar
up the street for the past year and them barmaids that live
on the road leading in here and their boyfriends are going
to be thinking about you when times get rough. As Michael
tells it, they are all kin around here so you in prepper deep
do do when they think of the last place they might be able
to get a meal from. You might want to consider following
me to S.C. and leaving this little place behind.” LowBuck
said hoping to overcome Donald’s most likely blusterous
refusal to do so and leave his home.

Donald looked at his old friend for a moment with
quite a few mixed emotions furrowing his brow as they
crossed his mind and then he settled his thoughts on the
response he wanted to give to his now departing prepper
buddy. It was a horribly tough decision to abide by
because he could see many outcomes and sides in the
conversation they were having that could mean life or
death for him and his charges.

“That is some profound shit you laid on the table
there Mr. Bubba and it is duly noted.” Donald replied. ”
This is something Michael and I have given some thought
and conversation about in the past and it basically boils
down to a localized war of attrition amongst the neighbors.
Who lasts longer because they had some food stored
survives for a bit longer and then maybe there is some
game left to hunt or it becomes more plentiful after a
season. Let me tell you from a military viewpoint how I
came to some of my conclusions. Starvation makes people
stupid and weak. Desperation that tempts people to
commit crimes comes to good people later than criminals
who plan on having things before they are needed by any
means possible, so we are on a timing thing. It’s like this
end of the road is a big cell block but without a set
schedule. I will draw water from that creek in back of us at
certain times and if food is available most likely cook at
certain times. That is when anything sneaky about
attacking will come. If you want to take out the most
soldiers, catch them at chow or crap time. Speaking of
crap just to make you smile about my way of thinking, if I
know you were my enemy collecting water downstream
from me at a certain time and I ain’t wasting bullets and a
devious yutz I can take a dump at a appropriate time. If
you are too tired or crazy thirsty to boil water fully, I got
you. Michael will be running that water wagon of his
delivering to the community if we get proper support,
enough said on toad stools and other plants that might
somehow get into a threats water supply. Dysentery, food
poisoning etc. is already going to be taking its natural toll
on humanity and most are going to be too weak to present
a threat once disabled by hunger and disease. You see
that giant log I got positioned out there next to the
orchard? It takes me 10 minutes with a machete to get
myself a clear field of fire through that wood line for
anyone approaching my encampment and they would
never see me and I got solid cover to hide behind if I get a
little bit of warning something is headed in my direction.
Watch this shit, Bubba, I am about to wake up the
neighborhood!” Donald declared as he picked up and
“bump fired” the AK he was going to be lending to Michael
towards the great pine log in question.

BRRRRRRRRRRRPPPPPP! Thirty rounds of
7.62x39 went thundering down range sounding exactly like
full auto and breaking the stillness of the day.

“Ok, how about that? Now the whole world knows I
can rock and roll and am well armed, so folks now are
officially put on warning that I got some serious firepower
around here. When Michael comes to visit me, he will be
toting that Romanian AK 47 and I am pretty sure some
convict armed with only a .25 caliber piece of junk pistol is
not going to even think about popping a cap in his direction
when he walks in front of their house carrying that thing.
Now, if they got a rifle or shotgun, well then that’s another
matter and one I can personally take care of if needed or I
decide it to be required if I see things are going to get out
of hand and am threatened. In that case, somebody just
might forget to duck if they bother me too much, but I ain`t
going out and playing sniper just to reduce chances of a
confrontation. I got too much heart and soul for that,
Bubba, and I know we all feel similar when it comes to
avoiding harming anyone if it can be helped. I hate to say
it, but I am hoping they just die off somewhat naturally, but
it does take time to starve to death and I wouldn’t wish that
painful horrible death on anybody.” Donald said gloomily
and began to wander back to his house.

Donald said an emotional farewell to his prepper
buddies, LowBuck and Cat, who would be most likely be
leaving out in the next few days headed for South
Carolina. He stopped at Michaels’ on the hill and gave him
the spare keys to his kingdom so that he and Amy could
guard the prep stash after Lowbuck left out. Even though it
made perfect sense that Michael and Amy change houses
temporarily to guard the bigger stash it vexed Donald a lot
to have to suggest it, but he saw no other alternative for
collective security and survival sake.