The last thing was the morning bathroom break. Karen didn’t mind the bucket, but Diana had a fit. Dawn explained that there was no Four Seasons resort close by, so that’s what she got. After a few minutes of potty dancing, she gave up. The three of them then sat there looking at the bucket. What do we do with it, they wondered. None of them wanted to touch it.
After a few minutes Dawn said, “You dig the hole. I’ll pull the bag and dump it.” They disposed of the mess and got ready to leave. Everything was taken down and they called Haliday. “We’re on our way to meet up with you.”
Haliday said, “Sorry, I should have told you guys to leave a day earlier, we’re already here waiting. We’ll be here, call if you need us.”
They started the ranger, climbed up on the horses and started back toward the road. They were only about 50 feet from the camp site when Karen got the trailer stuck. They tried for an hour and a half, but could not get it free. They couldn’t leave it there so they called Haliday to let him know.
Haliday had told Dawn to head out and now they themselves were on the road after the tense morning incident. He’d be seeing Dawn sooner than he thought; he just didn’t know it yet. She would have a small problem he would have to deal with.
He looked around. Nobody was saying anything. They were still in shock at the incident. Not only did they shoot this guy, but Haliday had left Phil and his family in quite a bind. Haliday didn’t care. They broke into his house, took what he needed to survive and were ready to stand there and let him get killed as well. Screw Phil, he thought. He didn’t expect them to be there in spring when he got back.
Mike said, “Hang a right at the next road.” Another mile and they would be at Bill and Linda’s farm. Two Lindas. That would be weird, he could see it now, “Hey Linda,” and both come running. Linda said they usually answered based on who called them, so to him that made sense.
They pulled up near the gate. Haliday noticed it was locked. He grabbed his binoculars and looked toward the house. Smoke from the fireplace was visible; he saw some cows out in the pasture and a couple horses as well. He couldn’t see anyone though. He wasn’t about to go walking up to the door either.
“Well Mike, it’s your friend. You feel safe walking up there?”
“I’m sure we’ll be ok,” he said.
“We? There’s no we, it’s you, I’m not taking the chance. You go. Here, use this.” Haliday went and unscrewed the antenna for the stereo. Didn’t need it now anyway. He tied a white rag around the end. “Wave this as you approach.” Mike headed toward the door.
He got about 50 feet from the house and the front door opened. “Hey Bill.”
“Hey, Mike, are they with you?”
“Yes, they are,” he said.
“Ok, here’s the key.” He walked up and got it. “Please lock the gate behind you when you come back up.”
“Thanks Bill.” He walked down back to the trucks and opened the gate. They rode up to the house.
Bill had put on a percolator for coffee. He had this sitting on a wood stove near the kitchen. They all exchanged hellos when they went in. “Where’s Linda at?”
“She’s taking a nap. She was up early tending the chickens and livestock. I heard you guys coming and kept a watch out. I thought it was you getting out of that truck, so I didn’t bother to wake her. Hell of a mess we’re in huh?”
“That’s for sure. The past few days have been pure hell Bill.”
“I can see by that eye, did you win or lose?”
“I lost that battle, too many of them, but I’m alive.” Bill asked who was up for coffee. Everyone almost in unison accepted.
“Ok, I’ll pour this one and then I’ll get another batch ready.” Linda woke up and came out and greeted them. She had a concerned look on her face.
Haliday said, “We’re not staying, just stopping by.” She looked a little relieved at that.
She said, “I’m sorry, was it that evident?”
“Don’t worry, I don’t blame you. These days you have to count your blessings and your beans. We understand completely. That brings me to the next question, Mike; it’s your ball now.”
Mike didn’t get a word out of his mouth. Bill and Linda said they could stay. “We can put you in the middle bedroom and Kayla in the end bedroom.”
“Oh, I’ll be going with my dad,” she said. “But thank you.”
“No problem honey.”
Haliday asked them what they have heard. “Anything going on or anything worth sharing?”
Bill said he had talked to a neighbor who went into town. A few folks had set up a small blockade and seemed to be trying to control everything in town. He wasn’t sure if they meant to do good or meant to do harm, but he was avoiding town at all costs. He said most around here are just staying put to ride it out.
“How are the people around here set for food?”
“Well, most have soy, corn or wheat and a lot have some cows and poultry but other than that I don’t know. We can get through for a while, but it won’t be gourmet.”
“How long is that?” Haliday asked.
“I guess we can make it until planting season with no problems. We usually stock up for winter and we can slaughter a cow and that’ll give us a lot of meat. We should be ok.”
“Water going to be an issue?”
“Not at all, we have an old hand pump and rain barrels.”
“You got a tarp by chance?”
“I should have one around somewhere why?”
“I’ll tell you how to make a rain catch, that way no contaminants from the roof get in it. Bird or goose crap mainly. It rains, you unfold and secure the tarp, and it catches in the barrel.”
“Sounds like a plan,” he said.
“Your tractor running?”
“It is, but we’re saving the fuel for it, we only got about 250 gallons of diesel for it.”
“Ok, save it then. Firewood and everything else?”
“Plenty of that too.”
“How about security?”
“Well, now that we have two more, maybe we can get something set up. Hoping my son makes it here too.” Haliday spent the next two hours explaining how to secure the farm and house as much as possible.
“Last but not least, firepower?”
Bill smiled, “Oh, I got plenty of that.”
“Let me see what you have.” Bill led him to the den. He opened up a safe and exposed a fairly impressive collection. 30-06, couple 12 gauges, little Marlin 22, but most noticeable was the two AR15s and couple of 9mm pistols.
“Nice, you got ammo?”
“I have about 1,000 rounds of 5.56, 500 9mm, couple thousand 22lr, and about 200 each for the rest. Got bows too,” he added. “Mike bring his?”
“Yes, he did.”
They walked back into the kitchen. “Bill, you mind if we stay in the barn tonight?”
“I sure do, I’d prefer you to crash anywhere in here you guys can find a place.”
“We appreciate it.” It was close to dinner time now. Haliday said dinner was on him. “Before I cook though, can we park the vehicles in the barn?”
“Sure thing,” he said.
Haliday had everyone get what they needed for sleeping tonight, had them bring in the cats and dog and then he walked in with a bucket of groceries. He went over to the kitchen and began cooking. He cooked up a hell of a dinner. He made some chicken alfredo, some corn, even made some naan and for desert they had some bananas and honey. He mixed up a couple pitchers of Arnold Palmer. There wasn’t anything left when they got done.