SURVIVING ABE: A Climate-Fiction Novel (8 page)

After a bit, Con asked, "
Got any dollar bills?  How about some Liar's Poker?"

"
I know better than that, you’ve already cleaned me out a few times.  So, are you two going to buy this place?"

"
We might.  Neither of us wants to take on building a house at our age, so that’s not on the radar.  It does have a well and Hank says putting in a septic tank is no biggie; conceivably we could pull a camp trailer full of food up here and hook up to basic necessities.  We’re thinking it would be a good fallback position, if things in the cities start to disintegrate for any reason.  Even if things go on as they have been, retreats and recreational properties are still popular, so resale should be good. We might even make money on it by just putting in a septic system and graveling an RV-type site by the well."

"
I can easily see it as a survival property, and I hope we do," Ela added.

"Do what?"

"Survive on this property.  Is this a reality show, Mom? . . . A Candid Camera merge with Doomsday Preppers episode?"  Ela started examining the rear view mirror looking for a hidden camera.

Con laughe
d, enjoying her daughter’s sense of humor and effort to make this as easy as possible.  "While you’re trying to find all the hidden cameras I’ll prepare the guest-quarters, turndown your bed, and see if I can find a chocolate mint for your pillow."

That was followed by grunts, moans, and a few
under-her-breath swear words as Con crawled around rearranging things in the back and throwing any unnecessary items for the task-at-hand into the driver’s seat. "You look pretty flexible back there, but do you need some help?" Ela asked sweetly.

"No, I need a breather," Con puffed.  "It’s going to be nice and cozy.
  I bet you’ll remember this for a while.  Great story to tell during those long, boring civil disobedience sit-ins, don't ya think?"

"
Oh, I think I’ll save this for doing jail time after we get arrested for the sit-ins."

"
I don’t want to hear about my child in jail.  Stop it!  Tell me about all the potential knights in shining amour that are, as we speak, feeling your stress and saddling up to ride to our rescue."

"Don't you m
ean knights in armor?" asked Ela.

"Knights in amour or armor . . . it's your choice; I already know which one I'd pick," said Con with a wink.

"Most of the knights I’ve met recently were in jail," Ela said lightly.

"It’s worse than I thought,"
Con moaned.

"
I’m joking.  I’ve been arrested with a group only once. We were held in a paddy wagon with our hands cuffed behind our backs for hours, and then we were taken to the police station and held for a few more hours; then finally released.  No charges were filed, but we were effectively taken out of the fray while it lasted."

"
The stuff of a mother’s nightmare, enough sea stories," Con said as she struggled into a raincoat with a hood.  "I’ll be back,” was followed by a blast of cold damp air and a slamming door.

Ela
put on an extra headlamp her mother had handed her, and looked over the rear accommodations.  Bedrolls on sleeping pads all topped with an old wool blanket that Ela recognized as the one her mom had always kept in her vehicle.  The preparations pleasantly surprised Ela, it looked comfy with plenty of full-length room to stretch out. To roll over, though, not so much, it was pretty close quarters for two adults.

A few minutes later the back hatch opened and Con step
ped under it out of the rain.  "Ela, I think the best way to do this is for you to come back here and take the rain jacket, so you can use the facilities before bed.  Then, whenever we need to go, we can put on our shoes and the rain jacket in the very back of the car, to try to limit the mud and wetness inside it.  Sound like a plan?"

"Okay, let me get
my shoes.  It’s getting colder!  We’ll need to warm up the car for a bit when we get done with having the hatch open."

By the time Ela
came in from the rain Con had all the extra stuff piled in the front seats, so they had the whole back of the Forester to sleep in. Neither of them were really sleepy, and with the storm’s noise, and the gusts of wind shaking the car, it didn’t make sleep seem possible.

"
So, Mom how’s your financial situation?  You are doing okay, right?"

Con took a breath, "Using my sixty
year old woman’s perspective I'm doing fine.  The house is paid for and I have some money in the bank, so I’m lucky.  I got that way by saving and paying extra on the mortgage every month, and putting a few dollars aside every time I got paid.  I’m just continuing to do the same thing I’ve always done.  Now I’m paying ahead on food and supplies, instead of putting money in the bank, so my golden years don’t depend on the honesty of bankers or getting a part-time job doing menial labor."

"
That’s the stuff of a daughter’s nightmare, so enough of that.  You still making jewelry?"

"Not as
much, in the summer the garden takes all my spare time.  But in the winter I still grind on a few rocks and bend wires.  A friend of mine has a stand at the weekly Farmer’s Market in the summertime. I help her run it and in return get to sell a few pieces, but lately the garden makes more than the jewelry."

"
And when someone pays cash for something you record it and pay the proper taxes?" Ela asked.

"
I’m getting tired, and I think I’ve got a little gas from that rich food at the restaurant," Con changed the subject.

"Mom!  Okay, okay . . .
no more tax questions.  Think we will be able to sleep?"

"
More than we did in the tent we put up in the yard when you were little."

"Night Ma,"
Ela drawled and turned off the water jug light.

Not long afterwards she heard a soft snore from her mom
, so she knew at least one of them was going to get some rest.  She remembered her mother never needing much time getting to sleep.  When asked about it Con would laughingly say that was one of the Marine Corps’ most valuable lessons, learning to sleep when the opportunity presented itself, rather than being a slave to a schedule.

Ela
figured it might have to do with her nightly intake of herbal essence, from her earliest memory she knew her mother used marijuana instead of drinking alcohol.  It was all part of seeking the alternate route, which aptly described the original plank in her mother's contrarian platform.  Ela saw her mother as one who preferred being with a friend or two, passing a cherished pipe in a garden, rather than at a table in a crowded bar sipping a martini.  Thinking about the aging individualist she had for a mother, Ela drifted off.

Up early, Tess turned on her SSB radio to let it warm up before the morning radio-
net and then started gathering weather data, anxious to see the overnight changes in Abe.  Once the connection was made between the HF radio and her laptop, she began downloading satellite images and atmospheric data.

As the images appeared, Abe's symmetrical shape struck her; Abe looked like a hurricane over the four corner's region of the U.S.  She knew the symmetry wouldn't last; when his easterly movement started,
later today or tomorrow, Abe would morph to resemble a comma.  What now appeared as Abe's center of circulation would become the head with a long, cold front for a tail that would eventually stretch from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico.

Along that frontal boundary, battles to survive an atmospheric collision of epic proportions would take place.  Based on temperature differentials between the two air masses, and the
precipitable moisture content, high precipitation rates were very likely to occur all along Abe's cold front.  Combine high precipitation with slow movement and catastrophic flooding is inevitable.

Tess felt privileged to witness such an extreme storm forming and evolving in the atmosphere above her.  At the same time she dreaded the implications for the people in Abe's path, which included her.  Knowing Abe was approaching and saving his last punch for the Mid-Atlantic States heightened her urge to prepare; and that started with making Chestertown today.

Time to stop planning and start doing.  As soon as she heard her segment called she planned to read her weather forecasts and news, and then pull up the anchor to make way for Chestertown.  The forecast she'd put together for today read more like a warning than a forecast, but boats from Maine to Texas needed to be aware of threatening weather conditions coming toward them, survival conditions for most:

Forecasts:

Today, please be advised of the dangerous weather that is in store for most of the Eastern Seaboard and Gulf Coast:

A
kink in the polar vortex is forcing extremely cold air south into the Western U.S. today, and in the next few days, as far south as the Gulf Coast.

Our atmosphere is setting the stage for a frontal passage that will be dangerously turbulent in passing, and then will freeze the wreckage in its wake.

Hard to believe, but check your propane tanks, because the outside temperature is about to take a drastic dive across most of the Southeast.

News &
Conclusions:

The East Coast heat wave will cause rolling power outages across the eastern third of the U.S. this afternoon during peak usage hours.  Municipal Water shortages are anticipated in some cities, including Washington, D.C.

Reports from the U.S. Southwest include widespread power and communication outages in areas affected by winter storm Abe.  Some officials are reporting that cyber terrorists are targeting U.S. communications networks.  Our ability to predict weather depends on communicating with satellites, and that ability is said to be at risk.

Food for thought; we can watch and prepare for nature's storms only if our defenses against cyber warfare are up to the task.  If they are not, we're blind to the dangers from nature and our enemies.
  Please check local weather sources and stay informed.

Fair Winds from S/V Robin

Under way when the first breeze rippled the river's surface, Tess looked forward to sailing the Chester River to Chestertown.  She loved moving the boat and the Chester River offered her a beautiful venue to do that.  Tess watched how the red-colored nylon ribbons sewn into the mainsail's trailing edge streamed, indicating which way to adjust the sail.  When all four streamed straight back, it indicated the air left the sail cleanly, and that the sail was using the available wind efficiently.  The tell-tail at the top of the sail kept Tess busy, it had the shortest attention span, and tended to be the first to indicate the mainsail needed trimming.

Tess
easily got lost in her passion of reading the wind, trimming the sails, steering the boat, and keeping the boat speed up enough to gain lift from the keel.  She only used the autopilot when her attention, or both hands, were needed elsewhere; otherwise helming her sailboat satisfied her soul’s need for harmony with her environment.

For Tess success at sailing, as well as living, required the same attributes.  A sailboat has two wings, one in the water and one in the air.  The angle of attack, or attitude, of those wings makes all the difference in efficiently reaching your intended destination, or not.  Keels, sails, and people with bad attack angles sideslip as much as they move forward, leaving wakes roiled with unnecessary turbulence.

~~~

Riding a midafternoon
breeze, S/V Robin glided into Chestertown's anchorage on a broad-reach under mainsail alone.  As the graceful 35-footer rounded into the wind, Tess locked the helm amidships, doused the mainsail, and walked forward across Robin's small foredeck.

Robin
had slowed to a stop when Tess reached the bow and released the primary anchor, paying out anchor rode as Robin’s bow started to drift downwind.  A few seconds later Robin’s movement came to an abrupt halt as the anchor hooked the bottom mud of the Chester River once again; this time in quaint Chestertown, Maryland.

Message 1:
From Duenna@noaa

Sources at NOAA report Winter Storm Abe, will intensify and begin moving to the east in the next 24 - 36 hours.  Regional ground and air transportation have been, and will continue to be, severely disrupted.

Message 2: From Ethos@uscybercom

USCYBECOM has upgraded to its highest alert level.  They are calling for authorities in Washington to raise the National alert level to an Elevated Threat Alert, after an intense wave of cyber attacks in the last 24 hours.

Message 3: From Acolyte@epa

After receiving numerous reports of water spigots broken off by sledgehammers, and fire hydrants by vehicles, the President reacted decisively this morning.  Effective immediately: an Executive Order has declared physically damaging any municipal water supplies and/or systems an act of terrorism.

Waking in the hour before dawn he switched on an LED light, the interior of the tent was eerily quiet, and still.  No breeze, no birds, no other sounds could be heard.  Curious, Gus unzipped the tent fly just enough to peek out, before quickly zipping it tightly closed.  The world outside the tent had turned white, with snow
still falling.

Wondering what that meant for his hunt, he reached for the weather radio and fiddled with it again with the same result, it wouldn’t work.  Considering his situation of being above 8000 feet in an unexpected snowstorm made Gus cautious, over the years he'd heard of hunters dying in these conditions.

He decided not to leave camp to hunt while it was still snowing.  The chances of even seeing an elk in reduced visibility, never mind shooting and recovering it, were not good.  But if the snow let up this afternoon what was on the ground would be good for tracking.  By using his binoculars to find any disturbed snow left by the elk he had seen yesterday as they moved through the clearings, he could see where they'd been, an advantage in figuring out where they were going.  The snow might be a good thing, he thought.

By the time Gus dressed and ventured out of the tent to prepare breakfast he was in a hopeful mood.  Last night’s snow shower would probably clear out by noon, the bull he’d spotted probably hadn’t gone too far, and he would be leaving tracks even a novice could follow.  This just might be the day.