Read Dystopia: The Beginning of the End Online
Authors: DJ Cooper
Dystopia: The Beginning of the End (15 page)
“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language. And next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.”
-T.S. Elliot
It was too late that night to try and set up or unpack, so they chose to just make a campfire by the creek and camp out there until daylight. They would cross over the creek tomorrow.
The guys Ryan had sent with them kept the watch so the weary group could rest. Most were exhausted and fell asleep within minutes.
Jeremy remained awake for a time considering things as they would now be he said to Destiny, “Mom, I don’t know what it is but something is nagging at me. I feel like something is wrong, but can’t exactly say what.”
Dez with a troubled tone said, “Me too bud and what’s worse is Arthur told me before we left in secret to watch my back.”
Jeremy with a raised whisper said, “What? Why?”
“Shhhh.” She said, “He said there was something up with the group coming from the north. Matt asked to have a private conversation with someone named Morgan.”
Jeremy asked. “Who’s Morgan?”
Dez said, “I don’t know, but Alfred said Matt had a strange look. He said he didn’t like it, but didn’t know why either, but one reason is that he did hear my name mentioned.”
Jeremy said, “I got your back Ma.”
Dez reached out and touched his arm, saying, “I know you do, and ever since you were eight years old you’ve been the man of the family.” She smiled at him saying, “I love you, Spud.” Then giggled.
Jeremy hated being called Spud and huffed as he flipped her the bird and rolled over.
They both laughed quietly for a few minutes, then drifted to sleep.
The morning was chilly for a Kentucky November, there was a decent frost on the ground. It immediately made Matt worry about everything ranging from the kids to how they would fare over the winter.
Dez walked up to him, bringing his morning coffee and he smiled and said, “At least some things are still normal.”
Dez laughed at him, saying, “Spoiled.”
Sipping her own cup she asked, “So dear, what’s the plan?”
Matt shrugged his shoulders and said, “Get everything and everyone over to the barn?”
She smacked his arm, saying, “Smart ass.”
He winked and said, “I was just thinking about it, I’m not sure the box truck will make it across by itself, so I think we need to get the other vehicles over first.”
She nodded as he sighed, saying, “We may end up having to unload it into the pickups and then bring it over empty.”
She asked, “Can’t we just leave it on this side?”
He shook his head no saying, “First, it shines like a beacon someone is here, but second it can be used as housing or something. I was trying to think how we would quarantine others that come and that might make a good space for it.”
Dez looked thoughtful and said, “At least it would be shelter and separate from the group until we were sure they were fine.”
She then poked him and told him to come over to the fire that Janice was whipping up some eggs and spam they had kept separate.
Matt nodded and said, “Be there in a minute.”
She snickered as she walked back saying, “If I had said bacon he would be first in line.”
He just laughed at that and followed her.
They spent the morning hauling supplies across the creek, Matt was right that the box truck wouldn’t make it, but after they unloaded the other trucks they hooked a tow strap to it and were able to get it to go up the other side.
After it made it to the other side, Sam said, “Man, I’m glad it just needed a little help, I was not looking forward to unloading it into the trucks to unload them again.”
Janice, Rebecca and Sarah worked their magic on the little camp stove and made a delicious stew for lunch. While Tawny had everyone amazed with biscuits she made in what she called a solar oven. Everyone wanted to know how in the world she could cook biscuits with some tin foil.
She laughed, saying it required a little bit more than tinfoil. She went on to tell them that the sun’s rays are much stronger than they think.
She said “ I simply cut a flap in the top of the box covered it all with aluminum foil inside, made it black on the outside and inside bottom once you get the biscuits in there and cover it with the plastic it heats up from the rays of the sun, and voila it is an oven. You use the top flap aim the sun into the oven, easy peasy.”
None the less, she was the hero of the lunch table, and they toasted her for bringing them biscuits with their stew.
The barn was big at least, it was forty feet by forty feet with a sizeable loft above. It was interesting because it had a steep roof that held a smaller short loft above the main loft making a third floor almost. Dez, Matt and their families, including Jeremy, Toni, Charleigh and Conner along with Ariel used the main loft for sleeping quarters with Sam, Tawny and Dylan above them in the smaller one.
The area below the loft was where the others had set up each their own small living space. Some even using tents as bedrooms. The kids loved the tents and seeing this Rebecca made one of the larger ones a sort of play room for them.
It was tight, but not unbearable with the two wood stoves to keep it warm. One was already set up in the area Janice had cordoned off as the kitchen. The other was being set up thanks to Frank and Connor in the family area, by midday it made it very comfortable inside and it had already begun to warm up.
Ryan’s militia guys opted to hang out for the day just to make sure they would be fine and Janice wasted no time in putting them to work.
Cameron and Astrid went out and collected a few buckets of coal already and had collected some wood for the fires. Everyone was busy making the barn cozy, Herb had Jeremy setting out the solar panels to charge the batteries and Sam began to dig for an outhouse. Things were not looking so bad after all Matt thought as he watched the kids playing in the field.
Matt was kind of irritated he had drawn babysitting duty with Dez, but found he was enjoying the peaceful afternoon for the first time since the madness began.
When it was time for the evening meal, Matt was shocked when he entered the barn. It looked like a veritable paradise compared to what he had envisioned. There were sleeping areas with beds and tents and a REAL living room area with the sofas that they brought and a game table in the corner. Janice had Jeremy fashion temporary cabinets from the two dressers she insisted on having that made for a nice counter. Alongside it was one of the sinks that was hooked up to a pipe that drained outside into a large barrel and a small shelf above it held a 5 gallon jug of water.
The outhouse was little more than a tarp shelter over the hole Sam dug, but it was decent until they could finish the rest of the building. Herb had already sat most of the kids in front of the TV with some old cartoons playing to wait for dinner.
Matt was amazed at what this group could do in a single day. He suddenly felt encouraged with a burst of pride for these people he called friends and family.
That night Matt, Jeremy, Frank and Sam each took a watch and insisted the Militia guys get some shut eye on the sofas.
Matt said, “Ryan will be pissed if I send you guys back worked to death and exhausted.”
They laughed and thanked them for the hospitality.
“Arriving at one goal is the starting point to another.”
-John Dewey
Over the next couple of days they managed to build a proper outhouse and set up the shower area like they had done in the mess hall. They had the chicken coop put together and found that it was overall quite comfortable.
December 10
th
Matt awakes to a crackle on the walkie, it is Sam at the entrance. “Matt, Matt… you there buddy?”
Matt sleepily responds, “Yeah, Sam, what’s up?”
Sam laughingly says, “Rise and shine there princess, we got company.”
Matt is suddenly very awake, jerking himself out of bed, he asks him, “Who is it? Is everything ok?”
Sam responds, “Relax there cupcake, it is Ryan and Cory. They are on their way over to talk to you, be there in five.”
Matt thanked him and started crawling down the ladder, where he turns and finds his coffee ready for him sitting on the table next to Dez.
She smiled up at him, saying, “Good morning.”
He reaches for the cup and kissing her says, “We have company.”
Ryan and Cory are outside the barn as Matt exits, he tells them, “Go on in and grab some coffee I’ll be right back.”
Waving at them as he meandered over to the outhouse.
Dez grabbed some cups when they entered and told them, “Have a seat in the living room”, she smiled sweetly while motioning them into the room as though she were seating them for fine dining. Moving into the area set up with the sofas and game table.
Cory looked around the barn saying, “Impressive.”
They were all enjoying some coffee and carrying on some idle chat about how things were going while waiting for Matt to return.
Matt approached the group and said, “To what do I owe this pleasure?” and took the seat across from them.
Ryan said, “We have news from Arthur.”
Matt sitting up straight was waiting for the news, as Ryan continued, “Your group has arrived at your house and they all look good. We talked with them yesterday and they said they had not had contact with any other people in at least two weeks. They told us they traveled down the power line easements and railroad tracks precisely to avoid having contact with people.”
Matt thought about their quarantine set up for them while Ryan said, “Since Ebola has a two to twenty-one day incubation period, I think maybe another seven days quarantine will be ok. As long as you trust John would be honest about the contact.”
Matt replied, “John would never lie about something like that, if he says they have not had contact, they haven’t.”
Ryan told him that he did not want them roving through the area alone and thought it best that they would bring them down and asked Matt if he would rather they remained in the house for the seven days and that he would keep them supplied and protected, or if he thought it was best they be brought right away.
Matt jumped up saying “Let’s go get them.”
But, Dez looked disturbed.
Cory asked her, “What’s wrong, there little lady?”
Matt looked at Dez as she spoke, saying she thought they should stay there the seven days.
Becoming angry Matt almost shouting, “What do you mean? What the hell Dez?”
Dez put her hands up for him to calm down and continued, “Think about this Matt, they come here and must be quarantined for seven days.”
He nodded as she went on, “Well, how do you think Matty is going to take it, knowing you are in the yard right outside their shelter and he cannot have contact with you? Or you for that matter, look at you all anxious, when he is crying for you what will you do?”
Dez looked up at him and said, “I don’t want it to be any worse for him than it has already been, when he does come you should be able to have contact and hang out. They will be safe and we can keep in touch with Arthur through Cory here and get places ready for them and plan a party. I just think it will be easier for everyone if we wait.”
Toni standing nearby said, “I’m sorry Matt, but I think Dez is right, some of my family are with them and I know I would have a hard time with that. It will be fine for them to rest up there and wait.”
Ryan nodded as well saying, “Listen Matt I thought about it too, and I swear we will see to it, they have everything they need and keep ten armed men there to secure the area, with everyone else on standby. At the end of the seven days we will bring them here ourselves.”
Matt sat down with a heavy heart, deep inside, he knew they were right, but this was his family.
Dez approached him and said, “Listen, why don’t we get everyone together and start getting things ready for their arrival.”
Matt looked up with a slight smile, and while he was angry with her for suggesting it; he knew she was only worried about Matty and that was why she had said it at all.
“We will have a great big old fashioned hoe down”, He said and smiled a little bit.
With that all settled Cory asked Dez if she knew someone named Darrel, she told him she had a friend in Cincinnati named Darrel and asked him why. He said he had some contact with a ham up that way with a message from him for her.
She asked him what it was and he said, “The message said, Angela and I with kids, headed down to hunting cabin. Issues here are not good. Please advise if safe.”
Dez jumped up and asked if he could get them a response and he nodded yes, telling her they were waiting for one.
She responded with, “Let them know condition yellow and to proceed to location one, upon arrival to instruct them to contact Arthur on the CB and wait for instructions from there. Tell them to have contact with no one and to advise of the last contact date upon arrival.” Everyone looked at her asking location one?
She said, “Like Matt’s family, we need to be sure of their condition, we can use our house as the quarantine zone for anyone coming into the county. There are two houses and a barn that can be used to separate groups. We must take precautions to keep people in our area safe.”
Then she asked Ryan if she could send supplies for them after Matt’s family had been moved. Ryan told her not to worry about that, saying that it was a good idea and they would see to it anyone quarantined had what they needed.
With everything all settled and excitement in the air they all sat down to a hearty breakfast that Janice had already whipped up. Pancakes, hash browns with Matt’s favorite, fried spam.
They all laughed as Matt blurted out, “Spam…yuck, Men need Bacon!”
Dez said she could remember days when he would eat a whole pound of bacon, as a snack. She told them how she would reprimand him, telling him, “You’re gonna have a heart attack.”
The seven days went quickly with everyone making accommodations for them and getting ready for a party. They planned a big gathering with neighbors and Ryan’s militia group, everyone was to bring covered dish meals to share.
Tawny had wine made and a new batch of mead. There were friends with guitars and other instruments, planning to play some music for the hoe down as they were calling it.