Anthony Newman - American Survivor

Joe interrupted Cobie before she could speak and said, “Cobie, you do know that Cloe is almost an identical twin to you. She could be your younger sister. If she’d wash her face, she’d be almost as beautiful as you are.”

“I’ve been told that she is my Mini Me more times than I can count. I thank God she looks like me instead of her long nosed father,” a red faced Cobie replied.

“Mom, you changed the subject. I don’t trust him. He says nice things and then uses a chainsaw on women and kids.”

“Look, if you don’t want to go just say so. I won’t make you. Now finish eating and get your butt outside and bring some more limbs to the cabin to be sawed down to size,” said Cobie in frustration with her strong-willed daughter.

“Cloe, I can carry most of the stuff by myself, so you can stay here and gather firewood all day,” replied Joe, and then he added, “I’m not sure I trust you either. You could be one of those Islamic Terrorists in little girls disguise.”

“Wait a darn minute. I’m not a little girl.”

Joe sawed and stacked wood the rest of the day while Cloe packed the logs to the cabin and stacked it just outside the back door. He tried not to think about the raven-haired beauty in the cabin as he did his chores. He failed miserably.

“Joe. Joe. Hey, Joe, wake up! Mom said dinner would be ready in twenty minutes.

Joe was deep in thought about the woman in the cabin when Cloe hailed him, and he knew he had to get away from these two in the near future. They didn’t need him when Cobie healed, and the Munchkin didn’t want him around. He had learned the hard way not to cling to someone who didn’t want you around.

“I’ll finish this branch and then clean up for the day. Thanks for waking me up. I was daydreaming about before the bombs fell,” Joe told the girl.

“Joe, you were awfully quiet this afternoon. Did I piss you off or sumptin?”

“No more than usual. You know your mom loves you and no one will ever come between you and her. One day a man will come into her life, and you don’t want to make her choose between you and a man she loves. She will always choose you and will miss out on another part of her life,” Joe said as they walked to the cabin.

Cobie handed them a bucket of water, washcloth, and soap as they walked up and said, “Today is the day you two start cleaning up outside. Start by sweeping the sawdust off each other and then wash up for supper. Hurry up the water is warm,” Cobie said as she looked at the dirty pair.

“Be careful lifting,” Joe said.

“I’m only using my good arm,” Cobie said.

Cobie surprised them with rabbit roasted over the fire in addition to rabbit stew when they joined her at the table. They were all full to their eyes with rabbit stew and at least the roasted rabbit was a bit different.

“I wish we had some more vegetables to go in the stew,” moaned Cloe as she played with her spoon in the stew.

“I might be able to rustle up a few cans of vegetables when I go to my cabin tomorrow. That does bring up the question of a trip into town to try to find more food. I’m not a dietitian but only eating meat every day and a few canned vegetables can’t be good over the long haul. A little girl needs vegetables, vitamins, carbs, and other stuff that’s good for them,” Joe said.

“I’m not a little girl,” Cloe protested.

“Then start acting like a young lady,” her mom answered.

“Back to the topic on hand, I plan to go to my home tomorrow and bring some supplies back here. I will then go back to my cabin so I can get an early start to the city. I will sleep most of the afternoon and evening tomorrow so I can leave for the city before midnight. I want to be in and out of the city before daylight. I need a list of anything you really need before I get back here tomorrow morning,” Joe told the girls.

“Joe is it worth risking your life over a can of green beans,” Cobie asked with a frown on her face.

“No, but I need a few crucial items and might as well fetch some other things. I’m going to hit the hospital and doctor’s offices to find some antibiotics and other medical supplies. I don’t plan to risk my life. I won’t confront anyone, and I don’t plan on becoming a hero or a statistic in this disaster,” Joe insisted.

The next morning, Joe had breakfast with the girls and then headed to his cabin. He took a southern route this time to avoid wearing a path. He stopped at the edge of the woods before walking across a small open area, looked around for danger, and didn’t see any. Joe was halfway across the meadow when he saw a place where the grass was matted down. He looked around, saw something shiny, and picked it up. He was holding a folding knife in his hand that wasn’t rusty because it had been lost only a short time ago. Joe now knew people were wondering across his property. He pushed on toward his cabin and stopped a short distance from it while still hidden by the woods.

He watched, listened, and then approached the cabin. He didn’t see any signs of footprints in the sand around the cabin and felt much relieved. Joe gathered a bag full of canned vegetables, a few boxes of pasta, and the spices. He cut a generous portion of venison from the haunch and placed the food on the table.

Joe walked over to the kitchen table and read several of the group of letters that he was supposed to read every day and quickly read them. His Grandma had a quick wit but could also use sarcasm like a knife. He picked up another that read:

Dear Joe:

Have you thought much about prepping yet? The cabin is a nice one but has none of the modern conveniences. It was our Bugout place and was meant to give Grandpa and me a place where we could survive an apocalypse.

We were always worried about Russia or China attacking at first, and then the damn Iranians and North Koreans got the bomb thanks to our weak assed presidents. When the Bitcoin bubble burst ten years ago, the entire financial system almost failed. Thank God, the president back in 2019 made it illegal to use the fake money in the USA. The USA prospered as the rest of the world went into a depression. We dodged that apocalypse.

When Eastern Europe became part of the Caliphate in 2022, quick action by the US military kept Great Britain, France, and Italy from falling into the terrorist's hands. I know the wars in Europe will go on way past your lifetime but could eventually lead to an apocalypse.

You should get the picture that I’m painting is that the world is going to crap and half of our country is helping the bastards ruin it. Read the survival books in the basement and become a survivor.

Yep, that’s tough talk, but I’m a tough old broad. Do what I said and you will live. Be prepared to do the hard stuff. It will soon be a kill or be killed world out there.

Joe didn’t laugh as he read the letter this time and vowed to read all of the survival books. He took the next five letters and put them in his backpack. He then went down to the basement and brought up an arm full of the books. He sorted through the books and decided to take the books titled Army Survival Manual FM 21-76, Edible Wild Plants, The Ultimate Survival Medicine Guide, and Wilderness Survival Skills with him to read at Cobie’s cabin.

Joe saw his compound bow setting in the corner and attached it to his backpack along with an assortment of arrows. He planned to practice using the bow at Cobie’s cabin and thought he would look for a bow for women during one of his trips into town.

He locked the cabin and started his trek back to the other cabin deep in thought about what his Grandma had warned. He wondered how his grandparents had led such a happy life while being so paranoid. It dawned on him that by being prepared for whatever life threw at them made them happy. Knowing that you have food and weapons set aside along with the skills to survive had a very calming effect on people. He felt just the opposite and vowed to do what it took to obtain that calm feeling from being prepared.