One opening is in the front of the house. It’s wide enough for an average size car to drive through. The other one is in the backyard. One person can easily walk through it. We dug trenches under both openings. Each trench is filled with sharpened stakes vertically placed. They are covered with branches, leaves, and dirt. I saw these booby traps in a documentary about the Vietnam War. Locals were able to slow down the soldiers by using these affordable and easy to build traps.
The trenches are the first layer of defense, but they won’t be enough if there is more than one invader. As a second layer of our defense strategy, I placed my laptop’s built-in camera above the front door. I had to detach it from my laptop and connect it to a long copper cable I removed from the vacuum. The laptop is now in the storage room and shows a live image all day long. Just like we take turns for standing watch at night, we now have a lookout schedule during the day as well. There is always somebody in the storage room checking the camera footage.
They say an average attacker can cover 21 feet in 1.5 seconds. This camera shows at least 100 feet in the front yard. It gives enough time for watchstanders to warn others.
The Hernandez family already has a big collection of guns. Automatic rifles, shotguns, handguns, and plenty of bullets in different calibers. We did a short firearm practice this morning to make sure everyone is ready for a gunfight. Miguel and Val are expert shooters. Yolanda and Diego got the target in at least half of the shoots. The shooting practices they held as a family activity before the pandemic seem to be paying back. It was the first time I fired a gun, but Miguel helped me to get used to both handgun and rifle.
We opened a small hole on the storage room’s ceiling and piled up tiles around it to create a shooting point. It’s big enough for one person to fire an automatic rifle. Whoever is watching the live camera footage at that time can quickly climb up the ladder and surprise the unwanted guests. However, the watchstander needs a way to alarm others before taking action.
We put light rocks inside soda cans and tied their tops to one side of a fishing line. Once the line is pulled from the other side in the storage room, rocks make noise by rattling around in the cans. We placed a group of cans in the living room and hallway. This primitive alarm system should work well to warn others about an approaching danger during the day. If it’s nighttime, it’s better to wake everyone up quietly by going into their bedrooms.
There is one more preparation I wanted to help the family with before I leave for California tomorrow morning. It’s a bug-out location near the house.
About three hundred yards from the house is a hillside with the view of their home and its surroundings. We built a tent from branches, leaves, shopping bags, and an old couch in between three trees. It looks ugly and funny, but the family can use it as a shelter in emergencies. It would protect them from weather conditions at least.
We buried food in mylar bags, water in a steel container, and a ready to fire assault rifle near the tent. These will help them stay alive for a while if their house is compromised. They can wait here until the invaders are gone or they can plot and launch a counterattack.
“How does our mansion look from there?” Val asks while I adjust the hunter binoculars to see the house better. I have been working on the tent with her and Miguel in the last few hours.
“Hernandez Castle looks ready for centuries to come,” I say, adding to her witty description of their house.
She smiles and reaches out for the binoculars. I notice the little plane tattoo on her right wrist.
“Where would you like to fly to if you had a chance?” I ask, pointing to her tattoo.
“Venice Beach…or Monterey. Somewhere by the ocean on the West Coast,” she says while scanning the area through binoculars. “What about you, Matt?”
“In addition to California? I would love to go to Alaska... Amazing nature with not many people. Sounds like a perfect combination,” I say. I used to watch a TV show called Alaska: The Last Frontier. Even though I love being in urban areas, seeing the self-sufficient locals deep in the Alaska forests always made me want to spend time there, away from everything. If not for my entire retirement, it would be a great escape for at least a part of it.
“We should build a pool here, amigos,” Miguel says. His humorous approach to life always reminds me of my father.
“Tequilas are on me at the pool party!” I say and then add, “I owe you that!”
“You already helped us a lot, Matt. I am in debt now,” he says with the familiar friendly eyes. The lines in his forehead become thicker as he looks around to analyze our lookout spot.
I am glad that I have been helpful here. They were very generous about the supplies and gave me a handgun and rifle for my cross-country trip. I promised them my stock I had buried in the woods. I haven’t told them about the treasure in the storage unit yet.
Miguel and Val pick up the tools and move down to the house.
“I will stay a few more minutes to enjoy the view. I will catch up with you guys,” I say. They smile and nod before turning their heads toward downhill.
I lie down and look at the blue sky while they are on their way downhill. I go through my trip plan one more time. It will be a long walk or bike ride if I can find one. I will
