Matthew Mark - Dark Days Rough Roads

After pulling everything out they started to set up. The first thing they did was to string a few booby trap simulators up around the perimeter. This would alert them to anybody sneaking in. Haliday had Dawn buy these at one of the gun shows they had frequented. They just had to hope animals wouldn’t set them off, but they placed them two feet off the ground, so unless it was deer they were good to go.

They set up a nice little four season tent. It wasn’t big, but big enough for two to sleep comfortably with some gear close by. They tossed in a couple sleeping bags that were zero degree rated, so it would be warm enough. The temperature was only going to dip down to about 35, but they wanted to stay warm in order to stay nimble and quick.

They placed a light blanket over each horse. They pulled out a small camo net and covered the trailer. After some squabbling about who would pull guard duty first, they settled in for some food. They heated up some water on the small camp stove and made soup. They opened up a can of pears and split it.

Dawn looked around. She had to use the bathroom. She grabbed a bucket with a potty lid on top and biodegradable trash bag in it and hauled it over behind a tree. Haliday taught them to use the blue RV chemical in it to keep the odor down and help degrade the mess. She finished her squat as Haliday called it and headed back to camp. She hated his crudeness at times.

They made sure the camp stove was out, no food was left out, and hunkered down for the night. They figured on three hour shifts, which would give everyone six hours of sleep. Based on Haliday’s progress, they could nap a little longer if they needed to. They wouldn’t know until the morning though. They looked up at the stars. Without any lights, the stars were so bright now. There had been few places on earth you could experience total darkness.

The night was uneventful. They all laughed about camping. Years ago, camping was a motor home in the parking lot of a hotel. That was as rough as it got. Now they’d learn to appreciate nature. They fed and watered the horses and then they whipped up some nine grain cereal using instant soy milk and made some Tang. They took some vitamins and started to break down the camp.

The last thing was the morning bathroom break. Karen didn’t mind the bucket, but Diana had a fit. Dawn explained that there was no Four Seasons resort close by, so that’s what she got. After a few minutes of potty dancing, she gave up. The three of them then sat there looking at the bucket. What do we do with it, they wondered. None of them wanted to touch it.

After a few minutes Dawn said, “You dig the hole. I’ll pull the bag and dump it.” They disposed of the mess and got ready to leave. Everything was taken down and they called Haliday. “We’re on our way to meet up with you.”

Haliday said, “Sorry, I should have told you guys to leave a day earlier, we’re already here waiting. We’ll be here, call if you need us.”

They started the ranger, climbed up on the horses and started back toward the road. They were only about 50 feet from the camp site when Karen got the trailer stuck. They tried for an hour and a half, but could not get it free. They couldn’t leave it there so they called Haliday to let him know.

Haliday had told Dawn to head out and now they themselves were on the road after the tense morning incident. He’d be seeing Dawn sooner than he thought; he just didn’t know it yet. She would have a small problem he would have to deal with.

He looked around. Nobody was saying anything. They were still in shock at the incident. Not only did they shoot this guy, but Haliday had left Phil and his family in quite a bind. Haliday didn’t care. They broke into his house, took what he needed to survive and were ready to stand there and let him get killed as well. Screw Phil, he thought. He didn’t expect them to be there in spring when he got back.

Mike said, “Hang a right at the next road.” Another mile and they would be at Bill and Linda’s farm. Two Lindas. That would be weird, he could see it now, “Hey Linda,” and both come running. Linda said they usually answered based on who called them, so to him that made sense.

They pulled up near the gate. Haliday noticed it was locked. He grabbed his binoculars and looked toward the house. Smoke from the fireplace was visible; he saw some cows out in the pasture and a couple horses as well. He couldn’t see anyone though. He wasn’t about to go walking up to the door either.

“Well Mike, it’s your friend. You feel safe walking up there?”

“I’m sure we’ll be ok,” he said.

“We? There’s no we, it’s you, I’m not taking the chance. You go. Here, use this.” Haliday went and unscrewed the antenna for the stereo. Didn’t need it now anyway. He tied a white rag around the end. “Wave this as you approach.” Mike headed toward the door.

He got about 50 feet from the house and the front door opened. “Hey Bill.”

“Hey, Mike, are they with you?”

“Yes, they are,” he said.

“Ok, here’s the key.” He walked up and got it. “Please lock the gate behind you when you come back up.”

“Thanks Bill.” He walked down back to the trucks and opened the gate. They rode up to the house.

Bill had put on a percolator for coffee. He had this sitting on a wood stove near the kitchen. They all exchanged hellos when they went in. “Where’s Linda at?”

“She’s taking a nap. She was up early tending the chickens and livestock. I heard you guys coming and kept a watch out. I thought it was you getting out of that truck, so I didn’t bother to wake her. Hell of a mess we’re in huh?”

“That’s for sure. The past few days have been pure hell Bill.”

“I can see by that eye, did you win or lose?”

“I lost that battle, too many of them, but I’m alive.” Bill asked who was up for coffee. Everyone almost in unison accepted.

“Ok, I’ll pour this one and then I’ll get another batch ready.” Linda woke up and came out and greeted them. She had a concerned look on her face.

Haliday said, “We’re not staying, just stopping by.” She looked a little relieved at that.

She said, “I’m sorry, was it that evident?”

“Don’t worry, I don’t blame you. These days you have to count your blessings and your beans. We understand completely. That brings me to the next question, Mike; it’s your ball now.”

Mike didn’t get a word out of his mouth. Bill and Linda said they could stay. “We can put you in the middle bedroom and Kayla in the end bedroom.”

“Oh, I’ll be going with my dad,” she said. “But thank you.”

“No problem honey.”

Haliday asked them what they have heard. “Anything going on or anything worth sharing?”

Bill said he had talked to a neighbor who went into town. A few folks had set up a small blockade and seemed to be trying to control everything in town. He wasn’t sure if they meant to do good or meant to do harm, but he was avoiding town at all costs. He said most around here are just staying put to ride it out.

“How are the people around here set for food?”

“Well, most have soy, corn or wheat and a lot have some cows and poultry but other than that I don’t know. We can get through for a while, but it won’t be gourmet.”

“How long is that?” Haliday asked.

“I guess we can make it until planting season with no problems. We usually stock up for winter and we can slaughter a cow and that’ll give us a lot of meat. We should be ok.”

“Water going to be an issue?”

“Not at all, we have an old hand pump and rain barrels.”

“You got a tarp by chance?”

“I should have one around somewhere why?”