The Solitary Man’s Refuge (36 page)

“Damn boy, you distracted me.” Michael said
looking for any way out of the fix he was in that would end
the chess game.

“Donald, exactly what do you mean by moving on? I
ain`t letting them son of a bitches run us off. I already told
you, if you didn’t have the heart to dispose of the problem I
would…” Michael said looking stern.

“I second that!” LowBuck said suddenly appearing
in the doorway.

“That’s a solution guys, but it don’t solve the
problem. Our water supply is probably contaminated with
some shit that my filters won’t remove like heavy metals or
something. I am still on stored water, no telling what is in
this rain we got falling on us and the crops and don’t forget
about that damn nuke plant down the road. I ain’t
comfortable with the possibilities they got that thing
shutdown or not already. Besides, Bernie already shot two
folks for shooting one of his dogs and that sucker is even
getting crazy eyed if I mention much about the problems to
come. We going to get back to him later, but right now,
let’s consider an option I came up with. I know where there
is an old youth camp up at the lake that is vacant and was
for sale before the SHTF. It’s got plenty of room for
everyone and also has its own 8 acre stocked fish pond.
The thing is a dream come true for us, it has everything
you would think one of those places has, like canoes,
docks, chow hall, cabins etc. It was being sold as is with
the bush hog tractors etc. so we got garden equipment
already on sight and better than we got here that doesn’t
need to be shared. “Donald said excitedly trying to win his
friends over and give them the jest of what he thought was
a fine proposal.

“How far and how big is this lake you talking about?
Wait a minute, it has a pond and a lake on the property?”
said a befuddled LowBuck.

“Yea, Man, remember I showed it to you on the
internet. I said if we won the lotto or I closed that mega
deal I was working on that it would be a great place to
have to run prepper conferences or teaching retreats at.
Donald said referring to past plots and schemes they had
had over the years.

“ Oh yea. That big place built like a steel ready built
school with the cabins surrounding it.” Bubba began.

“Hang on Donald and Bubba, You never mentioned
this before. Bring me up to speed. This was some kind of
summer camp in the past? A recreational facility of sorts?”
Michael said waving a finger at Amy to still keep watch no
matter how interesting this conversation was getting.
Donald had no luck doing the same with his mother and
instead moved to the same lookout window as hers and
carried on the conversation from across the room.

“It was a project that me Goat Hollow and LowBuck
discussed awhile back. It has a huge commercial kitchen
run on a giant propane tank. Probably still has some fuel in
it, horse trails and stables, no horses though. Very few
neighbors, craft classrooms, bunks you know like a little
rich boys summer camp. I say we move there and the hell
with this place and whoever is now living here.” Donald
said anticipating compliance in the group.

“You think it’s still vacant then?” Michael asked
pointedly at Donald.

“Should be, it wasn’t sold, but gentleman and
ladies.. If it’s not … we got to take it because we will be out
of gas and out of options by the time we arrive.” Donald
said searching the faces of his survivors group for
recognition of the realization that he was proposing
something pretty possibly dangerous and nasty.

“You mean to tell me that if the place is occupied
we just kick the residents out?” LowBuck said confused
that his normally peaceful friend would propose such an
operation.

“Sorry to say that’s exactly what I mean. I ain’t
staying in the woods fulltime being sweet and nice looking
for a vacant house while being within sight of my target
stranded. Cold hard fact, they join us, fight us, or leave. I
say its vacant still, if not, get your war face on and we give
an ultimatum. I am not advocating going in guns a blazing
but there be smoke on the water if we get the wrong
answer. We got a lot to offer someone if they want to ally
themselves and I don’t see a reasonable alternative do
you?” Donald said in that strange matter of fact voice he
got into when threatened with over whelming odds.

“Shit we can take it!” Michael said already
committed before the hen party of ladies started objections
of “What if there were children? What if there were
mothers etc.?”

“My Truck will be loaded with at least ¾ of a ton of
our supplies and I might even start to run out of gas before
we get there. If I break down on their doorstep what do you
think I should be doing? Not like I can walk up and ask
them to call Triple A to send a wrecker to rescue me. We
got enough gas in all vehicles to get there and have a little
bit, a very little bit, leftover to move to another area or end
up basically dying in place without our destinations
resources and shelter. I would actually welcome them
receiving us with open arms and being and becoming a
defensible community but who knows who or what types of
people we find there? Think about it, the two other camps I
know of in the area are about 50 miles apart and one is for
retarded kids and the other is Youth offender schools, oh
and a hospice. It is going to be vacant I tell you and the
only people we are liable to trip across is locals searching
it for food.” Donald said adamantly.

“I am in, the hell with this place” Michael said
reaching for his AK and going to make the houses
perimeter rounds.

“I will be back.” Amy said grabbing the SKS and
following Mike to talk about in private the decision that
sounded like it was already made.

“Can we recon it without too much trouble?”
LowBuck said watching the pair start to go out on roving
guard.

“It looks like it from the pictures but pictures been
known to lie.” Donald said admittedly

 

“Sweetie, we in?” Bubba said to a worried Cat that
was sitting with and consoling Donald’s distraught Mother.

“I don’t want nobody hurt, Donald it sounds safe
enough. We won’t be required to do anything too bad will
we if we are forced to take that camp I hope ?” Cat said
patting his mom’s hand to consoler herself as the elderly
women.

“I certainly hope not. It’s all going to depend on just
who it is that might be there. It shouldn’t be too hard to
scare off a few people if they were assured they could go
in peace. The place is big enough for all of us if they want
to stay. We will approach anyone we meet friendly enough
and try to have a parlay. It’s all going to depend on how
desperate their conditions are, or that they think they are.
The pond and lake have plenty of fish so they shouldn’t be
totally starving. But like I said it should be vacant. “Donald
said diplomatically so as not to alarm anyone further of his
intentions.

“Unless they are locals and hunters, I doubt they
would have more than a few pistols.” Michael said giving
his assessment.

“You are probably right Mike. There might be a few
22 rifles still there. That place has a small marksmanship
range as I remember. Whether the rifles would still be
around or how they are secured is debatable. I say they
are gone because it would take a ATF license to transfer
them to a new owner unless you somehow made it just a
private sale, but most people would be bank financing the
property and including them in a mortgage would be too
big of a hassle for too little money I would suspect.”
Donald concluded.

“Is there any other building or houses in that area
that might be suitable, say if for whatever reason that
place isn’t feasible to occupy once we get there? That’s a
big risk you are asking us to take Donald. What if when we
get there and the place is burned down like probably half
of town is by now? Then what?” Amy said accusingly

“Good point Amy. That hadn’t crossed my mind yet.
We would be up the creek that far out without a paddle to
get back. Ok, we should see signs of wildfire long before
we get there if there is a problem, so we would get some
warning on whether or not to go on to our destination. Shit,
I don’t know that area well, no readily available objectives
or destinations other than that come to mind. That lake has
750 miles of coastline so we divert and go looking for a
vacant vacation cabin somewhere is all I can come up
with…” Donald replied pondering what he might be getting
himself and his friends into if his former bright idea was
inaccessible for any reason.

“That still leaves forcing ourselves on another
community as squatters or occupiers and if we going to
have us a little war of wills I just soon have it on the ground
around here I know versus someone else’s backyard. You
know what I mean Donald.” Michael said going to go have
a peek at the unwatched window that covered the woods
in back of the house.

“We a tribe now folks, that’s what tribal people do is
have disputes with other tribes over resources. This has
been going on for millions of years and the veil of civilized
society right now has got a lot thinner. If we got to run
around like a pack of dogs to get by we will, but even dogs
respect each other’s boundaries to some extent. The
reasoning behind that is not based on some human
concept of morality and respect; it is based on animal
commonsense. If an animal gets hurt in a fight it can’t hunt
as well and its chances of survival are diminished, so you
avoid fights or you get into it for dominance with minimal
injuries with another animal because you both know the
whole point of it is to make the other animal move out of
your territory. They don’t fight to kill or maim usually, they
fight until one backs down and is allowed to leave. We
won’t be cornering anyone, routes for unfettered escape
will always be available unless it’s a do or die situation.
Then its Katy bar the door and let hell come out and play.”
Donald said trying to express his logic.

“ Well either I got to get them folks next door to me
in agreement on mutually acceptable terms or drive them
off is that what you are saying?” Michael said irritably.

“Brother, I respect you and pretty soon me and you
need to start teaching our tribe some basic infantry tactics
but we aren’t at war with anyone in particular and we need
alliances for mutual defense. I was sort of half ass
thinking of bringing them with us on this little road trip if
they seemed civilized and useful after we had some more
conversations.’ Donald said carefully studying everyone’s
reactions.

“Screw that, we already had this conversation on
the need to keep our own supplies for ourselves. If we
need an extra gun or two if we staying around here that’s
one thing, otherwise I say we go with what we got.”
Michael replied getting agitated.

“Just a suggestion, but like we said before, its best
to be the club owner that teaches his bouncers to talk
patrons out versus beat them out. I am adverse about
taking in anything other than a stray dog maybe at the
moment to increase my security, because at least with
them you know where their loyalties lay somewhat. Hell,
applying the same principle of evaluating the expense and
care of a dog in terms of food out of our mouths don’t
make sense, so neither does taking on an extra warrior or
two or three doesn’t either. That is unless he or she can
provide their own food. That’s also my point, those folks
been hunting deer their whole lives based upon the way
you described their guns when they settled in. let them
hunt for us and protect the clan and in return we feed them
until we get settled?” Donald stated so the room listeners
could consider this wisdom.

“ Well based on that logic we should organize with
them deadbeat deer skinners next door you put to work,
but I am not having them meth head freaks anywhere near
my house or have them sleeping with me in the same
campsite.” Michael said threatening some attitude
adjustment and said “Unh! And adjusted his pistol belt of
mags for the AK he had been fidgeting with.

“That isn’t ever going to happen for sure. I was just
saying we got to be open to possible alliances, Anyway, I
will go tell Janice and her sister our latest plans, they can
go with us or get dropped off in Ramer with their kinfolks.”
Donald said rising and heading for the prep shed.

31
Bugging Out

It took the make do prepper tribe a few days to load
everything up and prepare for the bug out to the lake.
Every bit of trunk and roof space was taken up on all the
vehicles and stuff was tied on as best they could. The sight
of the piled up roofs and roped bumpers reminded Donald
of the old cars and trucks you see in old photos of the
depression where a family had gathered up every possible
item of their household and headed out for parts unknown.
The last thing loaded was the roof of LowBuck`s
motorhome, if it hadn’t been for all space Donald wouldn’t
have ever been able to dig up his orchard and hopefully
transfer all his trees to their new locations. All though he
was joking and running around humming a country
western song “ Where are you going to live at when you
get home” everyone could tell destroying his garden and
orchard really bugged him. They left the vegetable annuals
for Old Max and dug up three boxes of asparagus and two
boxes of root crops to try transplanting. The two wood
stoves and all the solar equipment filled up the back of
Lowbucks motorhome.

The most important and cherished prep Donald
owned was a SUNRNR power generator.

 

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This thing was awesome! It was the Cadillac of all
portable solar powered generators. Portable it was, but
that meant two strong men were required if it had to be
lifted for any reason. The thing was built like a tank out of
12 and 14 gauge metals and had a very durable powder
coat paint finish. I have had frying pans that were made of
much thinner metal than that. It had 4 inch caster wheels
that made it easy to move around on the floor but the
kicker was it weighed 260lbs complete. Those handles on
it were over built for durability and technologically
advanced also. One of them could easily support the full
sustained weight of the unit but they were also made from
a special conductive steel alloy that acted sort of like a
Faraday cage to protect it from a Solar Flares effects. Not
being privy to the proprietary process or an electrical
engineer, this special feature was always an enigma to
Donald. A very useful enigma though and he felt blessed
to have had the foresight to choose such a unit.