“I told you guys already you need to be teamed up when you are out. I also told you that you need to be armed. That means everyone who can fire a weapon. Power in numbers. Carry as much ammo as you can. Avoid firefights, shoot and run to get the hell out of there. You get out of there as fast as possible. They’ll win a straight up firefight.”
“The gas stations are important. You need to lock them all down and let them know what’s going on. That gas is a precious commodity. You might want to think about treating as much of it as you can. Any stabilizer you can find you should use. Don’t let them get that either. If you place a car over the tank access and take the wheels off, it’s hard to move it that way.”
“Save any canned food for last. Eat what’s fresh first. Use that grain. Hit up the library and check for cookbooks. Same with auto repair manuals, electrical repair, hell, anything you think you might need. Conserve your wood, burn it for warmth, not comfort. There’s a difference. Only burn enough to keep the edge off the cold. Use clothing and blankets to keep warm.”
“Think about teaming up in households. It’ll help save wood and the safety factor is worth it alone. Make sure the houses are secured; keep doors locked, windows secured, all that good stuff. I can’t tell you enough how important it is. Remember safety and security at all times and in all locations.”
“If you guys plan to hunt, try to keep it reasonable. I mean, don’t hunt to eat meat every day. You can overhunt. If you all go out and hunt everything in sight, within a few weeks it’ll be impossible to find game. Ration control is your friend. You’ll be surprised at how little you need to eat. Keep a balance of protein and carbs though. Think about crops next year. That’s all you guys do around here is farm and fish, right?”
“I could go on and on, but it would take weeks. What I will do is teach you some of the tricks I used here and some new ones as well. You have to think guerilla warfare. If you can’t work it out with them and you go on the offensive, you need to go primal on them. You’ve seen how well it works.”
Haliday walked out to his bike and brought in a star jack. “These are also known as caltrops. I’ll leave this one with you. If you are being followed by bad guys, you toss a few dozen of these behind you and they’ll flatten tires. Make as many as you can. Keep them on every vehicle you use.
“Everyone here knows what stop sticks are, right? The cops use them. Well, here’s a poor mans version. You take plate steel and cut it in strips. The longer the better. Six inches wide. Use a torch and cut some very sharp V’s into the middle. Three inches on each side. Bend those up and sharpen the edges and point. Hide them under leaves, loose dirt, lay them down as needed, you get the idea.”
“Don’t try to up armor your vehicles, the weight will kill them. But you can double up this plate steel and make some firing portals. If you build a plate that’s 30 inches wide and 18 inches tall, with a slot cut in it, when you are laying down prone behind it, it’ll provide cover. Except from snipers who take the high ground. But they can’t be moved easily because of the weight, so be careful how you use them.”
“You can take some peppers, grind them down, mix in some boiling water and let it cool. Add oil along with a touch of gas and use it in balloons, squirt guns, water extinguishers or whatever will spray and spread it. Improvised pepper spray. The stores around here might have some they usually sold for key chains.”
“Bug spray and flammables can make some nice little flame throwers. Light it with a match or lighter and spray away. If you feel giddy enough you can tape a candle to the can and light it. Just move slowly so the flame doesn’t go out. You guys have to think outside of the box here on everything. I’ll try to make contact and give you more ideas.”
Rob walked over to him. He extended his hand. “I don’t who the hell you are, but thank you very much. I hope I speak for everyone here.” Everyone was thanking them. “Any parting words of wisdom?”
“Bury your dead, and honor them with the freedom the constitution gives us.”
They peered outside. They walked over to their bikes and climbed on. A quick wave good-bye and they were on their way. The streets were all empty. No one was out. They barely noticed any candles burning anywhere as they rode along. About 45 minutes later they called on the radio. “Open the doors. Stand by. We’re home.”
They put the bikes in the pole barn and walked by the horses’ stalls. He paused to say hello, they knew him well. They locked up the pole barn with the help of Kevin and went to the house. They walked in and were greeted with hugs from everyone. Even Blake who had found a new family. Lots of tears of joy streamed down the faces.
Haliday walked over to Blake. He gave him a handshake and a quick shoulder hug. “Damn good job kid, I’m proud of you.” Roger looked around. “No offense anyone, but we’ll have plenty of time for stories in the morning. I’m going to bed. Blake, there’s a bunk up there for you too.” Blake opted to stay downstairs for a while. Haliday went upstairs and passed out. He slept for 12 hours straight.
Chapter 25
When he woke up, he felt the ground and looked around half expecting to be in the woods. He swung his feet off the bed and went to stand up and hit his head on the ceiling. He would have to get used to this. The bunk area of the house was basically a big loft that skirted the perimeter of the house. He looked down and saw Max and Romeo looking at him. “What’s going on furballs?”
He walked down the spiral steps into the common area of the house. “I need coffee.” Dawn brought him a cup, which was unusual. She hated the stuff; even the smell was disgusting to her. He took a long sip. “Oh man, nice hot coffee and nice warm house.”
She looked at him. “You stink.”
He raised an armpit and whiffed, “Just a little sweet aroma to this hunk of man candy,” That’s all he said.
“Oh boy. Ok,” she said, “coffee then shower.”
He sat at the large table and looked around. He never really expected to use this place for what they built it for. It was really just a cabin they built and used occasionally in the summers to get out of the city and away from the crap that enveloped it. This was close enough to take a long drive into the cities for shopping and entertainment, but far enough away to avoid crowds of people.
The cabin was built according to his plans which he had had a small firm draw up. Had to submit plans to the county for approval or he wouldn’t have bothered. Of course they had no idea of the modifications he would make during the entire construction process. Lack of inspectors and the distances they travelled made it easy. They would come out and inspect prior to any particular phase, and then after it was done. They never showed up unannounced.
The land was roughly 60 acres, just less than half backed up to a large creek and woods. Plenty of water and enough wooded land for hunting. The rest was all flat land for crops. He leased the farming rights to a farmer who planted crops and harvested them. This helped to pay the taxes and to build the new cabin. During the year they built the cabin, they didn’t let anyone plant on it.
There was nothing wrong with the old house except it was just not suitable. They tore this down and left a pole barn and another smaller outbuilding. They built the cabin to the specs they outlined and did a lot of the work themselves. They used a wide variety of different contractors for other parts. The locals just figured he was cheap and looking to save a buck. Security was the reason. No single one contractor knew too much about the place. The locals would know very little about the place.