In turn, they supplied us with various types of freeze-dried foods, several cases of wine from Mel’s stash, one fully functioning drone, and a more-than-generous amount of coffee beans, both raw and roasted.
A few in our group complained quietly that David’s group had gotten the better deal.
“I would have traded it all just for the coffee,” I told Jake, getting an affirmative nod.
* * * *
It was now time for a pre-pack. I was always amazed at how much crap one can accumulate and spread out, once you have settled somewhere, even for just a short time.
It was clear this would take the remainder of the day to complete.
“Is everyone okay across the river?” I asked Mike once we were out of earshot of the others.
“They are now,” he replied. “Most of them were just doing what they were told and not necessarily bad guys. You wouldn’t leave an animal suffering on the side of the road, too injured to recover, would you?”
“No, I guess I wouldn’t,” I responded. “So, all of them were too far gone to save?” I asked, wondering at the same time why it mattered to me now.
“It’s the damnedest thing,” he replied. “There wasn’t one of them that could have survived, even with the best of medical intervention. It’s all quiet over there now, though.”
* * * *
“Lance, Mike!” called out Lonnie. “Meet me, Jake and the others up at the radio. Jim has an update.”
I wasn’t sure what to expect anymore. Every time we met for an update, the news could range from almost boring to hair-raising, pit-in-your-gut type news.
Today, at least for now, the news was good and I hoped it was a new pattern forming.
Word from other ham radio operators that Jim and Mark had worked with over the past week were all relaying the same basic message. The group marching through Raton now was not veering off the main route, like the previous ones had.
They appeared to be heading in a straight line, minding their own business and not actively recruiting others along the way.
“That’s good news so far,” I said aloud. “They will pick up a few here and there just by default, but we may get lucky and have them pass right on by.
“They are held up on the Interstate for the night, just north of town at the base of the Pass, it looks like,” came more than one radio operator account.
* * * *
We took the afternoon to bathe in the lake. The swimming lessons had been put on hold and would need to be resumed another time.
With nearly everybody pitching in, we got the last of the greenhouse materials in place for the assembly of the outer walls and roof. David decided to complete one at a time in order to get the planting started right away.
“We’ll get one up before we head out,” I promised him. “Like an old-fashioned barn raising.”
“Tom took a deer this morning, a nice 8-point buck,” David told the kids.
“He just came right up on me in front of the house,” said Tom. “I nearly tripped over my own daughter, trying to reach for my rifle. Maybe he got spooked by the fire yesterday…or it could have been the helicopter. Either way, he has provided for us all, and that rack is going on the front of the house.”
* * * *
Guard duty was cut by a third, with short sticks being used to pick shifts, just like when we were kids.
As kids, we played “long stick, short stick” for most major decisions, and all others not as important were settled with the “rock, paper, scissors” game.
Joy was paired up with Mike. She and I both thought their conversation would be interesting. Their shift was from 10 to midnight, and it was performed as all would be this night, from a raised platform in the middle of the camp.
Each two-person team would sit back-to-back, Forest-Gump style, and cover 180 degrees of the property.
It wasn’t as much fun for Mike, as he liked to walk around, but it was effective security, he would later admit.
Joy was happy to be off her ankle and took the opportunity to talk with Mike.
“I wanted to say thank you for helping save not just one, but now all three, of our kids.”
“It’s nothing,” he replied. “I like that sort of thing.”
“Are you nervous? I mean, about our group heading out again into the unknown?” she asked.
“Nah, I like to be on the move. It’s the staying in one place that gets me anxious. The only thing I’m not sure of is being around a whole bunch more people when we get to Colorado. It’s taken long enough just to get along with everyone here. Then I have to start all over?”
“What does Sheila think?”
“She’s got the same mindset, and she would probably disappear into the woods with me, never to be seen again, but now we have Javi to think about. It’s not a bad thing, and he’s growing on me more every day, but he needs to be around kids his own age, like he is now.”
“Yes, there are a lot of people there. We were just up to visit last Christmas with the boys. But there are a lot of houses spread out, and I’m sure we can find something suitable for your family. It’s the rules, though; they are not the same as here. Now we all make decisions together, since it’s the way it’s always been. But there it’s done like any established community to ensure things get done. There is a council, as well as a leader, with others in positions of authority who help to keep things working for the benefit of everyone.”
“What are you
