Doing The Apocalypse Shuffle: Southern Prepper Adventure Fiction of Survival Grid Down (Old Preppers Die Hard Book 2) (11 page)

“They best watch what they are doing regarding influencing faith, or shared beliefs based on resources; it's possible that you can end up with a "spy" in your group, someone who's loyal to another camp just a few miles away; their survival strategy is often to infiltrate other camps and steal goods or gain intelligence.” Farley said.

Jeremy didn’t quite get it but understood and anything that made his mom and Farley laugh like they were doing was fine by him and he saved his embarrassing questions for them to answer later.

“Now, Becky, damn that was funnier than hell, I really got to wrap my mind around this now because trade and everybody that trades together or has a monopoly on a product is my gig as  you already well  know. If churches are buying up supplies for their congregations that means they are tradesmen and trading posts in and of themselves because they must evidently have access to certain goods. We ourselves are trying to establish our tribe as one that has something to potentially offer, if you get my drift.” Farley said pausing and still smiling to himself about her remark about that preacher and his church ladies hitting Barnett low on giving them a cost price on feminine products. Being saved religiously or otherwise took on a whole new meaning now in regard to houses of worship! 

I am
not
afraid of an
army of lions led by a sheep
; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion." - Alexander the Great

Farley slowed the van down while getting ready to turn into the campground and took off his sunglasses so he could get a better look around.

“It appears all quiet, looks like we are finally safely home, folks.” Farley said honking his horn so Charlie would know they were approaching the first gate.

Jeremy got out of the van and ran over to remove the lock Farley had broken off and open the gate. He was surprised to find the old one was now gone and a new padlock had replaced it.

“Hey, Farley, there is a new lock on here!” Jeremy exclaimed and looked over at Farley who was watching the road to the resort. They both heard the sound of Charlie’s truck horn as he began coming up the drive.

“I guess he put it on there, I didn’t even think to ask Charlie if he had another lock to replace the old one. Matter of fact, I bought one at Barnett’s today.” Farley said exiting the vehicle with Becky to go stand by Jeremy at the gate.

Charlie pulled up to the gate and got out of his official government truck in full dress uniform with clipboard in hand and mockingly challenged them saying that this was a “Federal Facility and that it was closed to the public and a restricted area for military personnel only until further notice.”

“Geez buddy are you kicking us out before we even get moved in, Charlie? Did you have a little change of mind after we left?” Becky said smiling.

“Damn, I told you to make your bed this morning, Jeremy. Look here, you little rascal, you have done pissed off the warden.” Farley quipped back.

“That is Master Sergeant Wu to you, Farley.” Charlie said, back pointing with his fingers counting the stripes on his impressive looking sleeve.

“Oh, woe to me! Master Sergeant Wu is after me!” Farley said giving him a crisp military salute that made Jeremy and Becky laugh.

“You all hang on a second and I will get this gate unlocked for you. I guess you were gone about twenty minutes when it occurred to me I had another lock to put on that gate and since it’s hard to see the entrance from the reception center or I might have been off taking a piss or something, I put it on there thinking a shiny new lock looked better for appearances sake. I wanted it to look like we were on our toes and operational rather than someone seeing that one you busted open.” Charlie said before telling them that he had already sent Fong back to tell Feng they had arrived on a bicycle he had remembered was stored in the camp grounds custodians’ office.

“So did any visitors decide to come around today?” Farley asked, getting ready to go back to his van and drive it through the now open gate.

“Matter of fact, we did get some. You go get your van inside the perimeter and after we secure the gate I will tell you all about it. Everything’s just fine, matter of fact what happened is funnier than hell.” Charlie said rushing Farley to go ahead and hurry up and move his vehicle out of the road and follow him down to the reception gate.

“Visitors, huh? I am dying to hear this story. They were the friendly kind, I hope.” Farley said as Becky and Jeremy loaded up with him to sort of play a mad game of chase after Charlie’s truck to get down to the gate house and secure their borders and chat.

Charlie motioned them to have a seat at the picnic table that sat next to a now defunct ice house like shed containing the machine with a bill board on its side showing a map of the campground and started to fill them in on what they had missed since they had been gone.

“Well, I guess it was about 1:30 or so and I was halfway expecting to see you all returning and was looking out up the road or I would have missed them. I saw this big black dualie truck easing up the road all slow and quiet like.” Charlie said pausing for effect as everyone looked back in the direction of the main gate for confirmation that it wasn’t happening again.

“They were definitely scoping the place out and being very cautious just like you thought they would, Farley, but me and Fong saw them first and started that little deceptive ruse we talked about. I came out of the office and got in my truck, started it up, pulled next to the door at the gate shack, said a few words and Fong climbed up on a chair and pointed his arm out the door in that camouflage shirt you lent him and waved me on through.” Charlie said chuckling.

“All any one from that truck could see was just an arm in uniform doing the cadence of a ‘pass through move the vehicle along’ signal and then I went to meet them at the gate with an ugly ‘I don’t like you. I don’t like any civilians’ look on my face before getting all professional and nice with them.” Charlie said his eyes sparkling with mirth before excusing himself to Becky and whispering to Farley that “he was right and that even though he was so nervous he felt like he was going to cough up his own asshole because he was so nervous about approaching that truck, he just went into his normal military manner and training and got a grip on himself and that he scared them more than they scared him.

Charlie said he got out of his vehicle at the gate just like he did with us and acted liked he owned the base and every soldier guarding it and how dare these people take up his valuable time trying to trespass upon his and the well posted federal governments’ facility.

The government and Charlie’s years of military experience as a top ranking non-commissioned officer made it a walk in the park for him to berate, as well as be nice,. to those men that seemed to have no military experience at all but did have the traditional southern respect for the services and elders in general.

Charlie said they were quite apologetic about getting him out in the hot sun today to talk to them when they didn’t belong here and that they were fixing to turn around right when they saw his truck and waited on his further instructions.

Charlie said he told them no harm done but it was best if they didn’t come back and to be careful about hunting and fishing too close to this military preserve. Charlie said he then also asked them directly if they were the two fisherman that had confronted his boy and his friend at the fishing pier this morning and Charlie said after a bit of hemming and hawing they admitted it was them but they hadn’t thought they were trespassing or upsetting the boys any.

He went on to further elaborate that he didn’t have any problem with them personally and besides on a good day the lake was supposed to be for the fun of all and that the Air Force and him in particular recognized this fact, but it was kind of like taboo now to be getting too close to military facilities, what with the terrorists and the grid going down and everything, everyone was kind of on edge.

Farley and crew had all been wearing themselves great big shit-eating grins throughout the new “base governors” statements of the occurrences around here since they had been gone but the next round of questions and answers had them chuckling uncontrollably.

“Now you all quit making me laugh, I got more story to tell and it gets better!” Charlie said as the giggling and the outright outrageous laughter ensued seeing Fong riding an old three wheeler that probably came off the flight line at an Air base somewhere crest the hill with his mad momma in a golf cart passing him by to be the first to arrive.

“Charlie, you should have put Miss Feng on sentry duty at this gate, I doubt anybody could have passed her by!” Becky said observing the golf cart and hearing a growing volume of static Asiatic expletives being voiced that seemed to get even louder and as she got closer and evidently she didn’t care if she were understood or not by anyone present.

Becky waved at the feisty diminutive lady and was rewarded with a smile that assured her and the rest of the people that she was mostly happy fussing and not particularly mad about any one thing.  She didn’t have Farley in her sights for taking longer to get back than he said it would take though.

“You bad man, Farley! No good, number 10, Farley, bad man where you been all day? Red necks come here today you no show?” You been gone way long time!” She gibbered as Farley tried to get his mind to translate what she said in Pidgin English as well as look at Fong or Charlie for translation or support.

“Where you been? What you do? You say you supposed be back early?” Feng said in a rush to get her new girlfriend in agreement with her against the men in a confidential way that left no doubt that in her mind all men needed supervision and any woman speaking any language had to know better than us.

The statement tickled Becky almost as much as the assembled men folks who bit their tongues and just let her vent. Miss Feng dismounted her golf cart chariot and grinned at the assembly to consider the friendship they shared and their love for her and her outrageousness was apparent.

“Hug your sweetie, Wu, and get her calmed down. We are all gathered in one place now and this day is ending up not so bad at all. We got guns and ammo now thanks to our efforts or me being a good trader if I feel like crowing a bit and you fended off a threat quite handily, I must say. Talk more on that one, please.” Farley said studying a happy Fong headed his way ringing a cheesy tin bell attached to the handle bars on the trike but it seemed almost as loud as Miss Feng’s jabbering to announce his arrival.

“Today is going to be our little thanksgiving celebration for arriving safely and working on plans for committing to surviving together, tomorrow the work of doing that task begins, well not quite yet, let me weld that damn gate permanently shut first and then we will set about having fun.” Farley declared.

“I am actually looking forward to all that work, Farley. Just getting by day to day waiting on the next meal watching the rations dwindling is pretty worrisome as well as boring. It will be nice to have some positive projects going on to focus my time and energy on.  What kind of project do you suggest we start on first?” Charlie asked, anticipating the many things Farley said they needed to be doing that were necessary.

Author Note
: Try to have yourself at least two or more plans or projects going at all times. That way you have things to think on regardless of weather, materials shortage, or whatever other variables may come up, you will be able to keep yourself occupied. This also helps to prevent disappointment and keeps your spirits up. This is very important in the wilderness or a bug out situation to keep your mind and senses right.
 

“Great question, Charlie. Where to start indeed, my friend, I have been pondering on that very subject myself some. Becky suggested we do some physical exercises in the morning but I never liked doing PT much and we are going to get plenty of exercise tomorrow already so we are shelving that idea for now. I say we start a 2 hour class on lake survival: you listen, and I talk and walk and point out or show you things I want you to know about on the way. How’s that sound? Assembly will be at my place at 6 am tomorrow, then we all assemble ourselves the next day at your place, then Becky’s and so on.” Farley said working out in his mind what was most important to start on.