Saturday Survival Serial – Volume 3, Week 13

This is week 13 in volume 3 of the Saturday Survival Serial. To learn more about what the Saturday Survival Serial is, click here. To start at week 1, click here.

The following day before noon, Roger, Sticks, Kory, and Bill walked into Main Camp. They were greeted warmly by several people and said their hellos while shedding their packs. Captain came out of the main building and waved a greeting. He was followed by Denise, Richard, Tori, and Bret.

“I wasn’t expecting you guys for another couple hours! Good to see you.” Captain shook their hands. He gestured to the people with him. “Seems all of you are ready and rarin’ to go. They’ve been watching for you since the sun came up!”

Bret spoke up. “Not me, I slept in. Who knows how long it will be before I get to sleep on anything softer than a tree root, let alone sleep in.”

Everyone laughed good naturedly. Captain told them to leave their gear there and follow him. He made small talk while leading them to a wooden shack that had tire marks leading right up to the large doors.

“This is what you’ll be driving.” He opened the doors and revealed a Ford Ranger with an extended cab with a large metal cylinder in the bed. There were hoses and pipes going everywhere. One of the front fenders had been removed where the pipes were feeding into the engine. Captain went over how it worked and fired it up after getting a few more people on the lookout. The sound of an engine would travel for miles in the silence and could draw in unwanted attention.

“You’ll have to have your packs on your laps. You shouldn’t push it much over 40 miles per hour and only then for short periods or you’ll risk it overheating and the fuel feed can’t keep up. If you keep it at a steady 30 or so, you’ll be fine. You could get four in the cab with packs on your laps and the other three can fit in the back with the gate down. The tank is well secured. As long as you’ve got enough wood, you should be fine. Tori and Richard know the system well since they’ve driven it the most.”

There were a few questions before everyone was quiet and looking around at each other. Roger broke the silence first.

“So, do we want to head out now or wait until the morning?”

No one answered right away. The reality of what they were planning on doing settled over the group with a heavy weight.

Tori sighed. “Well, we sure aren’t going to accomplish anything by standing around here. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can get information and get back home.” She glanced around the camp quickly before saluting Captain and turning around to go grab her gear.

The rest followed suit and said their goodbyes before loading into the truck. It started right up. Richard was going to take the first shift driving, leaving Tori in the back to keep feeding the wood into the gasifier.

They pulled out of the building and camp, turning onto a dirt road. Kory was sitting with his legs dangling a little over the edge of the tailgate. A rope had been tied from one side to the other for people to hold on to. He started laughing as they picked up speed.

Tori grinned, understanding exactly what he was feeling. After so long without being in a vehicle, going even twenty miles an hour was a thrill. You felt as if you were flying across the ground and in many ways, you were. Traveling like this was a pure luxury now. Unfortunately, it also made you a moving target that could be heard from a long way off.

*************

Shannon and Joli stood in the doorway of the ‘grocery store,’ dumbfounded at what they saw. Shelves like you’d see in any grocery store across the country were lined up in rows and stocked, if thinly in several areas, with packaged food. Labels they hadn’t seen in over a year greeted them: Campbell soups, Vlassic pickles, Heinz ketchup…it was almost too surreal.

Joli’s knees gave out a little and Shannon reached out to steady her. When she looked into Joli’s eyes, she saw shock and couldn’t help but laugh. The look turned to annoyance and Joli straightened up.

“Hey now, I only laughed because you looked how I feel, too! No need to get all huffy with me.” Shannon grinned at her friend who tried to maintain an upset expression but failed. Shannon laughed again and held up her ration paper.

“Let’s go shopping!”

They giggled and got a cart, making jokes about how they never imagined missing grocery shopping. “At this point,” said Joli, “I don’t even care if my cart wobbles and pulls to the right!”

They went up and down the aisles, gasping and pointing at what was offered. There was a section of large bulk bins that were filled with staples like sugar and flour, and others that had oats, rice, and lentils. The ‘dairy’ section was all boxed or canned milk products, of course. The butter was powdered and so was the honey. Though it cost half of her “personal pick” points, the large #10 can of powdered honey was more than worth it to Shannon. The trade value of it would skyrocket. Then again, they were supposed to report what they had left before they were given their next ration cards. Her wheels started spinning on ways to beat the system and she knew she wasn’t alone when she saw Joli eyeing the large bag of kosher salt.

They checked out and filled their cloth bags, walking home and chatting about what they wanted to make first. When they turned down their street, they saw a group of workers down the road, erecting wooden posts.

One of the workers waved to them as they got closer. They waved back and Shannon called out, “Whatchya building?”

“Bulletin board. For posting news, information, help wanted ads between neighbors, that kind of thing.” He pointed down one of the side streets. “There’ll be two on every block, diagonal from each other for maximum coverage. This place is supposed to start filling up soon. I heard there’s another couple hundred people coming in, maybe more.”

Shannon took that information in. I wonder what the population capacity is for this place, or if they even have one set.

“Hey, do you know what the population was here before?”

The man shrugged and shook his head. “No idea. I’m from Missouri.”

“Hey, Missouri man. Quit jaw jacking and come help hold this beam in place, would ya? We have another dozen of these to get up today and I’d like to be done before dark.” The other man was tall and it was easy to tell he had come from, or at least grew up on, the east coast.

“Yeah, yeah. Keep your shirt on.” He waved to the ladies and turned back to his work.

Shannon and Joli gave each other a pointed look as they continued on to their homes.

“Hey, let’s have the guys over for dinner tomorrow. I have no idea what I will make but I’m cooking. It’s funny. Before, I hated cooking so much, I got everything delivered. Now, I can’t wait to burn some water!”

__________

The next day, Shannon was enjoying her time off. She’d settled into her little home pretty well but made sure she reminded herself often that it was all only temporary. It was a bittersweet complex: reminding herself that it wasn’t going to last made her sad and, at the same time try to enjoy it all the more. She wanted to live like this again…but not really like this.

She woke up and made an instant coffee that was wretched and wonderful at the same time. She had oatmeal with some of her powdered honey and butter that was so good, she went back for more without any guilt. Part of living is enjoying what you can, when you can. Nothing lasts forever. Though she allowed herself the indulgence, her mind was still working on ways to squirrel some of it away that she could take with her when she left. Or I could stash it while on a pass!

That thought happened two hours ago and she had been reading the code of conduct manual ever since. What she read lead her emotions on a roller coaster ride she wasn’t expecting. People were allowed to leave the camps if they wanted, but were stripped of everything except their clothes and anything they could prove was theirs before coming to the camp, which would be next to impossible of course.

What she had read about the children though, that had deeply disturbed her. So did the stripping of all references or allowed discussion of religion, politics, race, culture, family traditions….basically anything that would make a person identify as an individual. She was disgusted at what she read and wondered how anyone could not see through what their ulterior motives were: total control. Conditioning, molding, and shaping how people were to think, act, and feel.

When she got to the end of the manual, she looked around her apartment again. This time, she didn’t feel any comfort. She felt as if the walls were closing in on her. Her heart began to pound and she got up, needing to get outside into the open air. Throwing her door open, she pounded down the stairs and out onto the sidewalk. Her coffee cup was still gripped in her hand and liquid sloshed over her fingers, dripping onto the concrete.

She took in several deep breaths with her eyes closed and face to the sun, trying to calm her racing emotions. The first thing she heard as the blood raging in her ears subsided was the birds. She focused in on them, letting their carefree whistles and calls center her again. Everything’s good, you’re going to be just fine. Her eyes popped when someone spoke to her right.

“Gorgeous day, isn’t it? Birds are singing, nice breeze, the sun is warm. Day off?”

She turned to see who was talking and recognized the man from her first day here. She plastered on a smile and nodded. “Yes, on all accounts. How have you been?”

Pako walked closer with a smile and replied, “Not too shabby. Yourself? I have to say I sure do appreciate the hot shower I had this morning. As I recall, you’re specialized in utilities.”

Shannon relaxed a little at the easy conversation. There was something about this guy that put her at ease which was both a nice feeling and put her on edge. She had survived this long largely from learning not to put too much trust into anything good.

“Here to serve! By now, the whole camp has running sinks and showers. Toilets will be another week or so, at the least. We’re waiting for concrete to dry before we can get to work. Until then, I have time off. What about you? What’s your story?” Shannon took a casual drink of her lukewarm coffee and tried not to grimace at the taste. It was barely when drinkable hot.

“They had me on meet and greet duty but I’ve now cycled in to working on the construction of the livestock pens, garden areas, and general layout of that area. When the busses come in, I head over to the main building and meet them, then head back when I’m done. I like it, breaks up the monotony.”

Shannon nodded. She understood how doing the same thing everyday could wear a person down.

“So, what do you make of all this?”

Shannon turned to Pako and looked him dead in the eye. The question was direct and yet, could be referring to just about anything. She decided to play the safe card.

“Well, I like my apartment and the clean streets. The shopping is pretty good but I sure wish they’d get their shipment of toilet paper in soon.” She grinned, hoping she’d answered well enough to satisfy him. To her relief, he laughed and agreed with her. They talked a little while longer before he said he had to get going.

“I live three blocks down this street, take a right and go two blocks. I’m on the corner in a dark blue house. Stop by if you feel like it. I play a mean game of cribbage!”

Her eyes lit up. “It’s been a looong time since I played a good game of crib. How’d you get a board? Cards?”

Pako grinned and winked at her. “I carved the board and pegs myself. The cards are something I…acquired. They’re the good kind, too. Thick and waterproof.” He smiled at her again and waved before turning back the way he’d come.

Shannon watched him a minute and then started to go back inside. Just before she opened the door, she heard a window slide open and Joli say, “I do believe m’lady has a suitor.”

Shannon scowled. “Oh I do not. I met him the day we got here. We talked about the food. He’s a soldier, or at least was. He was just out for a walk.”

Joli scoffed. “Mmm hmm. ‘Just out for a walk’ to the place you ‘just so happen to live.’ Notice he turned back down the road he pointed to when giving you directions to his place? I’d say he came looking for you, found you, and tossed his hat oh-so-valiantly into the ring.” Joli grinned mischievously and pressed her face into the screen on the outside of the window frame. “Pardon, m’lady, but your dance card is full, at least for tonight. You’ve already got friends coming over for the evening meal. Your parlour games with m’lord  will have to wait until another night but fear not! “Tis a lady’s prerogative to keep a suitor pining after her and after all, ‘tis only one day.”

Joli’s laughter could be heard echoing up and down the street, cut off by her sliding the window closed to avoid being splashed by the coffee Shannon tossed from her cup. She could see Joli’s laughing face through the liquid as it streamed down the glass. The laughter filtered got louder as Shannon flipped her the bird before going inside to start cooking dinner.

_________

Dale sat back in his chair, putting his hand on his stomach.

“I am going to regret that second helping later but right now, it feels so good! After so long of never getting quite enough to eat, it’s nice to be able to put on a few pounds. Those pastries were just too good to be denied!”

Also at the table were Joli and Edgar. Shannon had made a sort of bean and lentil soup with canned chicken. She also made crackers from scratch that didn’t turn out half bad. The real treat was the pastries she’d made for dessert with honey and butter sprinkled on top. She’d traded a tablespoon of honey for a tablespoon of cinnamon with a neighbor down the street the day before. It had been uncomfortable to knock on people’s doors, asking to trade for the spice at first. After the third house though, she had learned that people were open and pleasant when they answered. Completely unlike how it’d been before. She felt like she got the better end of the deal, too. When she went to use some she’d hardly had to use any and had the rest stored in a scrap of plastic bag. The reactions from her friends was enough to make it all worth it and more.

Everyone at the table were relaxed, full, and satiated. They sat in silence for a little while. Shannon got up to clear the dishes and Edgar helped. When the table was cleared and dishes soaking in the sink, Dale asked Shannon if there was a basement in the apartment.

“No, why?” She eyed him, trying to figure out what he was up to.

He grinned like a little boy up to no good. “Just wondering is all.” He glanced around at the windows and then the corners of the room. “I brought that radio. It’s charged and ready to go. We can’t talk out but with the tweaks I did on it, we should be able to pick up anyone who is either within about 10 miles or has a strong signal. If there was a repeater tower close by and functioning, we could go further but for now, this is what we’ve got.”

He pulled out a cloth wrapped object and began unraveling it. When he removed the last of the fabric, he revealed a radio that was about a foot across and maybe ten inches tall. It had a handle built into and but there were obvious modifications made, evidenced by the wires sticking out the back. Dale grinned wider as he held it out, showing it to everyone.

“Want to give the world a listen with me? I know we’ll hear something.” He wiggled his eyebrows excitedly.

Shannon laughed, even while looking around and out the windows. They had left one window open but closed the other mismatched curtains. She saw the others do the same. Eyeing the radio, her curiosity got the better of her and she nodded.

“Wait, let’s go into the bathroom. The running water will help to cover some noises. If anyone was listening and heard a radio, what do you think they would do?”

Joli said, “There’s one in the kitchen in the Food Commons, though.”

“Ya, and that is a very public place. This is different. This is being 14 years old and watching Cinemax after dark. We could get in trouble if caught, the radio taken at the least. Bathroom or nothing.”

The others gave in and followed her. She closed the door behind her and moved to stand in the shower stall to give the others more room. Joli turned on the faucet to a medium stream. Shannon nodded to Dale, who grinned and grabbed the knob, turning it.

Static came across the single speaker. Dale moved his fingers to the tuning dial and began to move it up the frequency line. Clicks and warps of sound interspersed with more static while he continued to slowly twist, hoping for a voice.

Just as he was about to get to the end, the line went crystal clear and a voice said-

*************

“…remember that the United Nations has killed enough people right after the disaster for being too old, too young, too imperfect. They have allowed the most unspeakable acts against humanity to occur and now, all of a sudden, have a change of heart? Do NOT be duped by these camps! They are not what it seems! If you are in one of them, you need to do whatever you can to get out! Find a way. There are other places you can go where you are truly free!

“If you think you’re free at one of these camps, ask yourself three things: Number one, “Can I come and go as I please?” Number two, “Am I free to make my own choices on what work I do, where I live, and who I want to marry or have a child with?” and finally, Number three: “Am I allowed to worship whatever God I want, keep my heritage, and raise my children?” If you answered no to any of those, then you.Are.Not.Free!

“There is help out there. There are freedom fighters out there and they are forming against those who would rule over the human race, the resources available, indeed the entire planet! If we do not rise up and take it now, when the population of humanity has been cut at least in half, we may never have the chance again! It doesn’t matter if you’re country was founded by people like George Washington, you are still human and you still have the right to be truly FREE! Rise up, and fight for it however you can! We are Liberty’s Teeth, and we will fight!”

Tyler keyed the mic off, his breathing coming in and out hard. He immediately began breaking down the radio while RR slung his pack on, ready to get away from this location as fast as possible. Though there hadn’t been any word of people being tracked from radio transmissions in many months, the fear and habit had stuck. It was something that was so well practiced now, they were half a mile away before they spoke.

“Are you starting to get a little off your rocker, Tyler? That broadcast was a little…intense to say the least. You going looney on me?” RR eyed his friend as he walked.

“Not any worse that usual,” Tyler replied. “Off my rocker, that is. As far as the intensity goes, it’s important to get people riled up a little so they’ll maybe take some real action instead of just listening and hiding. Or worse, going to one of those camps.”

RR hmph’d and kept walking at a quick pace. They looped around in a wide arc before making it back to Center Camp. People were settling in and the workload had been lightened considerably with the extra hands from North Camp. People were sitting around, laughing and working on various projects in the early evening light.

Al, Sarah, Jimmy, and Amie were sitting on Jimmy’s front porch, talking. RR waved to Tyler, who was going off to put the radio away and get cleaned up, and made his way over to the group. After greeting everyone, he told Jimmy what Tyler had heard on the radio about the Canadians and how they were able to get around using the smaller rivers and waterways. He told them about how they were blowing bridges up to slow the U.N.’s progress and make it look like there couldn’t possibly be anyone on the other side, either.

“I was thinking we should do something like that around here, too. What do you think?”

Al and Jimmy looked at each other before looking at their wives. They all nodded at once.

“That is a fine idea, RR. We’ll need to get the atlas out and figure out where, why, and how but any advantage we can get is one I’ll gladly take. Plus, depending on how far we go out, might be some good salvaing out there, too. How about after the gathering?”

The others nodded, except for RR. “I think we should get the ones at least closest to us before then. We need to leave a couple easily defendable ones intact for our own purposes. They should also be rated to take a good amount of weight, just in case we have to move large loads. Unlikely, but if we secure the right bridges, we can control a lot of things, giving us a greater advantage still.”

Jimmy said, “Yes, and make us a target. We don’t want to give our position away from the start and taking out all the bridges closest to us except a few is the perfect way to do just that. It would be best if we could rig them up, not attaching the explosives unless and until we decide to blow it up. One or two here or there wouldn’t cause much notice but all around us? That’s just asking for attention we don’t need yet.”

Al nodded his agreement. “Learn the positions of them, scout them for resources and access points, take out a large one,a medium one and leave the rest. If nothing else, it could create a bottleneck or choke point and we could more easily know what’s moving in and out of the area.”

RR thought about it for a moment and realized it all made sense. The more options they had, the better. The sooner they got them in place to be used as needed, the sooner they would have another layer of security.

************

Leslie called out the different sizes of wrenches needed to get the pipes attached securely on the last section of the main sewage pump. Shannon grabbed them from the toolchest and brought them over. They had been working the last two days on getting the right parts laid out in place across the system before assembling it. Having things laid out first made the whole thing run more smoothly since any parts that weren’t compatible were almost immediately obvious. Finding enough hardware was the difficult part. They’d already had to use a cutting torch four times to cut sections of rebar, then shape it to fit where they needed it.

“Hand me the 5/8ths, would ya?” Leslie was showing real promise and proved to be a quick study. Shannon was really starting to like her and hoped the feeling was the same. They worked in silence with ease, moving things into place and holding them while the other secured it. Before they were able to start doing a final check on the pipes and hoses, an alarm went off outside. They looked at each other, wide eyed and listened. The alarm dinged twice, paused and dinged twice again. Shannon had read about the different alarms in the manual. “We have to get to the Food Commons.” She put her tools down and ran with Leslie out the door and toward the sound. They heard a vehicle behind them and saw a truck coming. It slowed down and they were told to hop in, they would take them the rest of the way. There were several others in the back, too. For a moment, Shannon thought about running for it, afraid that it was all some ruse to get her in a truck but Leslie was already climbing in. Shannon followed.

To her relief, they pulled up alongside the large building where hundreds of people were converging together.  In front of the doors was some sort of long square that was covered with a sheet. It looked to be a box or something. Everyone got out and went into the former parking lot of the school that was now used as a sort of community center.

After about fifteen minutes, the waves of incoming people subsided and people were quietly talking amongst themselves. There were some armed men in military uniforms outside the doors, watching the crowd. Shannon looked around and saw another two soldiers on each side of the parking lot. Her heart started to speed up and she felt herself start to get that panicked feeling. She looked down and closed her eyes, breathing deeply to calm herself. She shuffled her feet to make it look like she was just standing there, waiting with everyone else.

The crowd collectively jumped at the sound of an air horn blasting from the doorway of the Food Commons. They doors opened after the sound stopped and out came the man who was “Mayor” of this camp. Shannon hadn’t seen him since she’d first arrived here. As he began speaking, she was reminded of a trained monkey-slash-parrot that was trained to sing and dance for entertainment. The thought almost made her laugh out loud and that could be very bad for her if offense was taken. She heard something that caught her attention and she focused in on what he was saying.

“…unfortunate situation indeed. There is no reason for people to think they are trapped here. Anyone may choose to leave and head out into the world on their own if they so choose to, as it states in your code of conduct booklet.”

Booklet? Are you kidding? Shannon smirked.

“Behind me here is a coffin and it has been filled. It’s both sad and unnecessary. Last night, this person was caught trying to leave the camp under the cover of darkness. A person who would do something like that instead of just going through the proper channels? Well, the only logical reason for such behavior is that they were doing something they knew they weren’t supposed to. The investigation is ongoing but you can be assured we are doing everything in our power to….”

Shannon stopped listening to the lip service that was now being served. If it was dark out, how do they know he was trying to leave? Unless it was on the road itself and he tried to get past the checkpoint? No, that doesn’t make sense. Electricity was something that wasn’t wasted and there weren’t any streetlights really lit up at night. They were working on isolating streetlights in high traffic areas first but it wasn’t a high priority, according to Dale.

So if they didn’t need lights but could still see people trying to leave and, assuming he didn’t try to leave via the road, how did he get caught? She half listened in as the mayor babbled on while she tried to figure out the puzzle.

She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see Edgar smiling at her. He leaned in close and murmured, “Lovely speech he’s giving up there. What’s it about?”

Shannon coughed to hide her laugh and replied just as quietly, “No idea other than a guy tried to leave in the night and they shot him for it. They say if he was trying to leave in the dark instead of going through the proper steps, he must be up to something bad so, they shot him. I sure don’t remember reading that in the book.”

Edgar grunted and said, “It’s kind like that song “Hotel California.” Because “you can check in but you can’t checkout.”” Shannon recalled that song and forgot how much she liked the Eagles. She really missed music.

They listened a few more minutes before Shannon said, “The thing is, with the lack of the electricity they need to have streetlights or spot lights going, how did they see him?”

He grunted again as the mayor was finishing up with platitudes about working together to better the whole group and other nonsense. “Well I’d say they either have night vision goggles or surveillance system with it as an option. It’s so dark out there that anything could slip by or through and if they shot him while he was moving in the dark? Had to be night vision. Well, I suppose there could be some tripwire line out there but then they’d be going crazy every time an animal came through.”

Shannon hadn’t considered that. Her thoughts swirled around and around in her head. She felt like she was pulling layers back on an onion like she used to for making kabobs, only this onion was sinister and each layer revealed showed that all things are not even close to what they seem.

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Thank you so much for following along on the last book in the Jimmy Walker trilogy! We are over the halfway mark of this volume and expect book 3 to be published by November 2016!