As a group, the six of us wandered through the complex for over an hour. There was a lot to see and many decisions to be made. Then we broke into pairs or individuals and examined the place on our own. At some point, there had been minor vandalism to the main building and several cabins, but overall the site survived the ravages of neglect in good form. The two guard dogs traveling with us made several runs around the perimeter before swimming in the fast and clear but shallow river. Exhausted from their efforts, they made themselves at home and took a nap lying under the small trailer carrying extra fuel and luggage.
Before dusk, we pitched tents, made and ate supper, and discussed details about the new homesite and our proposed move. Ed claimed a cabin on the edge of the complex for the new armory. He'd already planned to place bars on the windows inside and out and reinforce the doors and add multiple new deadbolt locks. He and Marilyn would occupy a cabin twenty feet away. Doc proposed living in two rooms of a four room cabin and using the other two rooms for his medical practice. Another cabin had been reserved to be used as the office. Sadly, we were short at least eight cabins. Additional housing would have to be built before we moved.
As darkness enveloped us, wood was added to the fire, and we lingered to talk several more hours. As we discussed the move, more tasks were identified with each issue we addressed. Before we turned in, Shane said, "It would be easier and more productive to leave a ten or twelve person crew here all winter to accomplish the list of work we've discussed." It was a good idea, but I hesitated to split our group and maintain two camps throughout the winter and early spring.
John laughed, "I do believe if you listed all of our jobs, they'd fill a new roll of toilet paper from one end to the other."
Kira grinned mischievously. "Are you insinuating some of those suggestions are crappy ideas?"
With that, we all laughed then turned in for the night. Our guard dogs slept outside the tents but in close proximity. We hadn't seen any zombies close-by, but I wanted the dogs nearby to sound an alarm well before an attack was launched.
Dawn came and passed, and at eight we drove back toward Deliverance. We routed our trip through four small neighboring towns to check on building supply stores. All had been vandalized, but enough stock remained that we wouldn't need to transport hardware, lumber or roof shingles from stores near Deliverance. Among the many pages of notes and sketches about our new homeplace were material lists for the tasks to be completed. I figured there must be a year's work just on the items we'd seen on our cursory inspections. When the repair work began, I was sure we'd uncover additional work that needed to be done.
We arrived at Deliverance before dark. Morgan reported that the vegetable garden was pretty much cleaned out except for carrots, potatoes, watermelons, etc. The corn harvest had gone well, and the field corn was stored in the corn crib where it would continue to dry. We were about ready for the final cutting of hay before late fall cool temperatures slowed all growth.
He said there'd been no outright problems, but the Masters were still behaving like jackasses. They grudgingly performed work around Deliverance but continued to claim they wouldn't leave on procurement trips as long as Joe and Ronnie were locked up like criminals. Our nurse, Marcie, said there were no discernable changes in the patients’ conditions while we were gone.
There was almost more work in progress, and jobs planned to be implemented, than I could keep up with. We intended to make our move to Missouri the following year in late winter or early spring depending on the weather. The leadership committee discussed the details at length and continued to fine tune a workable plan. Pages of repairs and improvements needed to be made. John made drawings showing engineering details like structural supports, drainage improvements and areas to be cleared and graded. His major drawings were of the new barns and other buildings we'd need. Lists had been made of equipment to take and the order in which it would need to be onsite for specific jobs. The first equipment listed was our biggest farm tractor, its implements and the five hundred gallon fuel tank filled with diesel fuel.
Two weeks into September, ten of us drove back to Missouri. We planned to put new roof shingles on eleven cabins and make structural repairs to the sheeting and roof trusses of two of those. I estimated we'd be gone five or six days.
Five more people would leave two days after we did and drive to Chicago. We had been pillaging a Walmart Midwest Reginal warehouse for five years. The previous year, the self-contained heating system failed and a majority of the remaining canned foods froze and burst. We were making a final trip to gather the last of the dry goods that we hoped remained useable.
Twelve more people in two crews would dispatch the following day to look for sheep, draft horses, riding horses, horse drawn farm equipment and feed. They expected to be gone three or four days. If they had good
