Surviving the Fog (13 page)

One day she was standing on a plank laid
across a pair of rough sawhorses.  She asked him to help her
while she bolted a section of the wall.  Obligingly, he stood
behind her, and he gripped the plank firmly to steady it.  He
felt a sudden gust of wind, and suddenly the rear of her little
short skirt flew up to her waist.  During the day, her panties
had worked themselves up between her cheeks.  There, before
him, was presented the most wonderful twin moons that it had ever
been his privilege to behold.  Apparently she did not know
what had happened.  She continued to concentrate on the bolt.
 Startled, he almost pulled the plank out from under her.

As soon as she finished, he excused himself
and went to Chief’s Headquarters to see Mike.  John and Desi
happened to be there.  Hector told Mike that Kathy might be
better off working in some other capacity.

"She's not doing her work?" Mike asked.

"No, no, her work is just fine.  Better
than fine.  She's good at everything she tries."

"Is she causing a problem on the crew?"

"Uh, no, not exactly.”

"So, it's because she has the hots for you,"
Mike guessed.

Hectors jaw dropped.  "What did you
say?"

"Gee, Hector," said Mike in an exasperated
tone of voice.  "I'm about the most clueless guy here when it
comes to the girls, and even I knew that Kathy wants to be your
girlfriend."  John and Desi broke into laughter.

"Oh," Hector said, feeling very foolish and
somewhat disgruntled.

"Talk to her, Hector," Desi suggested.

"Yeah, dude," said John.  "Women are
hard enough to figure out when they do talk to you.  When they
don't, well, guys can't figure out shit."

"No kidding," agreed Mike.  Desi just
laughed.

Hector started to leave.

"Hector, it's okay to be her boyfriend, but
don't forget the rules," Mike warned him.

"She's a kid, Chief," Hector growled.
 "I wouldn't touch her."

Hector went back to the job site.  He
didn't know what to say to Kathy.  The other kids left.
 He and Kathy were alone.

Abruptly he said, "I'm too old for you,
Kat."

Kathy stopped what she was doing.  She
turned to look at Hector.  She had a serious look on her face,
and she didn't pretend to misunderstand what he was speaking
about.

"I know that would be true in the old world,
Hector,” said Kathy.  “But I don't think that's true in this
world."

"But..." He tried to think of something to
say, but it seemed like his brain had ceased to function.

"I'm sorry if I make you feel bad, Hector,"
she said mournfully.

"Jeez." He put one arm around her neck, and
he drew her close to him.  "Kat, I just worry that it would be
better for you to have someone closer to your own age."

She put her arms around him, and she leaned
her head against his chest.  For a minute they stood there,
and then Kathy said, "Hector?"

"Yes, Kat?"

"Can I wear your cap?" she asked softly.

She held her breath.  After a moment,
Hector sighed, took his cap off, and placed it on Kathy's head.
 Grinning, she stepped back and reversed the brim.

"Can I tell the other girls that you're my
boyfriend?  Please! Please!" she begged. "They'll be so
jealous."

He smiled an exasperated smile.  "Okay,
go ahead."

"Yes!" she squealed, and she threw herself
back into his arms.  They stood like that for a few minutes
enjoying the feel of each other, and then, linking their arms, they
started walking down to the dining hall.

"So, do you prefer me in jeans or in skirts?"
Kathy asked mischievously.

"If I see you working in that skirt again,
I'm gonna smack your butt," Hector warned her.

"Yes, sir," Kathy responded demurely.

"And don't think we're going to do anything
more than hold hands," Hector grumbled.

"I know the rules,"
responded Kathy
.  I can't wait to get
a taste of your tongue
, she thought
mischievously.  
I hope you like
mine.

For the most part, the kids took the news of
Hector and Kathy good naturedly.  Of course, being teenagers
they had to razz them.  Late the next day, Erin and her
friends were sitting in their favorite spot under the wall.

"That Kathy," a girl grumbled.  "I said
I wanted him first."

"No, you didn't," another girl reminded her.
 "You just said that he was cute.  I'm the one who said
that I wanted him for my boyfriend."

"No, you said 'maybe' you wanted him for your
boyfriend."

“Erin, why do you think that Kathy wants
Hector for her boyfriend?” a girl asked.  “He doesn’t seem
like he would be her type.  She always seemed to be afraid of
all guys, and Hector is a lot older.”

Erin thought about it.  “Maybe fear is
the reason,” she answered.  “It’s hard not to be scared when
we stop and think about our situation.”  The other girls
nodded.  “Maybe she feels safer when he’s around.”

"That Kathy," grumbled the first girl
again.

Erin smiled.  "Don't
blame Kathy because she took a chance.  We know what a chicken
she used to be.  She decided to be brave for once."
 
Way to go, Kathy,
she said to herself.

When the first row of rooms was finished,
Hector used the forklift to move the next group of floors up to the
second level.  This meant that both boys and girls were
sleeping in the dining hall.  It was very crowded, and they
had very little privacy.  Most of the girls had pajamas that
covered them, but some had to borrow heavy shirts from the boys to
be decent.  Mike kicked the girls out of Chief’s Headquarters,
and he reclaimed his space for the first time in weeks.

Once the second group of floors was
installed, Mike allowed the girls to occupy the first floor.
 There was still very little privacy, but at least there were
no boys around, except for John who was living with Desi in the
alcove cave.  The one safety rule that Mike required was that
anyone not working on the lodge had to stay out of the construction
area during the day.

By the end of the first week of September,
the rooms were completed.  Hector had built a parapet with
rails along the edge of the upper rooms, and he built a ladder that
the kids would use to access the second floor.  Hector used
the cabin canvas tops to screen the individual rooms.  Now
they had to build a roof.

Hector had already vetoed the idea of laying
the logs from the front of the rooms to the ground above the cave.
 Instead he used a scissors machine to raise four combinations
of three logs tied together to be columns that ran from the floor
of the cave to the ceiling of the cave.  The middle log was a
little shorter than the others, so that a space was created between
the outer logs.  Then a log was run between the spaces, so
that it became a beam.  Once Hector was satisfied that the
columns and beams were stable, he used a block and tackle to
position logs from the top of the rooms to the top of the beam.
 He covered these logs with black plastic, and then he laid a
layer of smaller logs over it.  It was certainly not airtight,
and there was a large gap between the beams and the ceiling of the
cave so that smoke could escape, but it was close enough to retain
most of the heat from a central fire.  Hector was worried that
there would be too much smoke in the lodge, but by using only old
wood they kept it manageable.  Hector used the rest of the
black plastic roll to insulate the outer walls of the cabins as
best he could.

"Will it leak?" Mike asked, as he dubiously
studied the roof.

"Hell, yes, it will leak," answered Hector.
 "But it will get us by for the winter.  Next year I'll
make wood shingles.  That should stop most of the leaks."

Jacob had gone hunting, and he killed a deer
at the beginning of September.  Mike found a jig saw in his
tool chest, and they used it to cut the deer into pieces that they
could store in the freezer.  Some of the kids were reluctant
to eat the venison, but most of them were glad to have the meat
once they had a taste of it.

Mike wanted to save the canned food for as
long as possible, so he sent out parties to hunt for rabbits, to
catch birds, and to look for eggs in their nests.  He allowed
them to use the bows and arrows and their spears but not the
firearms.  He usually sent them in teams of four.  In
late September, Mike sent Howard on a hunting trip.  With
Howard were Ahmad, and the twins, Kevin and Nathan.

"Go east along the river for a day and a
half," ordered Mike.  “Then spend the rest of the day, and
until noon of the next day, hunting.  Then start back.
 Look around.  See what the area is like."

Mike was not hoping for a lot of success.
 His real purpose was for the members of the hunting party to
get acclimated to the wild.  He believed that they needed kids
other than Jacob to be comfortable in the mountains and in the
forest.  Once the hunting party had left, Mike went to talk to
Hector.

"I told Jacob that I would check on Mrs.
Brown.  Take Eric and Jacob and go see how she's doing."

Hector and the boys rode the pickup to the
farm, stopping a safe distance away.  Mary met them with her
shotgun.

"Hello, Mrs. Brown," Jacob called.

"Hello, again, Jacob," she replied.
 "Who's that with you?"

"This is Eric from my camp, and this is
Hector,” Jacob explained. “He's from the logging camp.  Our
Chief sent us to see if you needed any help or maybe some food.
 We can share some."

She hesitated.  The boys were okay, but
the man worried her.  "Well, come on in, then."

The trio from the camp spent the morning
looking over her place.  They discussed swapping rice and dry
cereal for potatoes and milk.  The farm lady milked her cow
every day, and her cow produced more than she and her children
needed.

"I've got two big freezers so I could freeze
the milk.  It's not as good frozen as it is fresh, and it's
good for only a few weeks, but it will do in a pinch.  I can
send some butter, too.  I've got a lot of that."

"Wow," said Eric. "You can make butter?
 Real butter, not margarine?"  Mary nodded.  "Do you
have, like, a churn that you use to make the butter?  Do you
have to pump it up and down?" Eric asked eagerly.

Mary laughed.  "’Fraid not, Eric.
 I use a blender and ice to make butter.  I wish I could
offer you more, but my husband was supposed to pick up our supplies
for the summer.  Except for milk and butter, the freezers are
pretty empty."

Eric was especially interested in the solar
room which could only be accessed from the barn.  Mary had
filled buckets with dirt, and she was growing cucumbers and
tomatoes on trellises.

"Why do you have all these barrels of water
in here?" Eric asked.

"I wondered about that too, when my husband,
Davis, put these fifty five gallon drums in here.  He said
that water loses heat slowly.  He was right.  It can be
zero degrees outside, and if we have a sunny day; it will be too
warm to stay in here without opening the door to the barn.
 And if we shut the door before the sun goes down, these
barrels will warm this room for a long time."

Eric had a sudden idea.  "Hector, could
we move the solar panels from the dining hall to the roof of the
Lodge?"

"Yes, I could do that.  But why?
 The roof of the Lodge is too high to use gravity to supply
the water.  We would need a strong pump to get the water to
the top of the roof."

Eric was thinking.  "What about making a
closed system?  What if we used the solar water pump from
Chief’s Headquarters to circulate hot water to barrels inside the
Lodge?  Wouldn't that keep the Lodge warmer?"

Hector was struck by the thought.
 "You're right, Eric.  It would help a lot.  And at
night the solar pump will automatically shut down.  The hot
water in the barrels will stay there.  We wouldn't have to
burn so much wood.  We could save wood, and it would not be as
smoky.  But, I don't think there are any usable barrels at the
logging camp.  I know there's a few in the storage room that
we have for our recycles, but they don't have tops like these
barrels."

 Mary was listening.  "I could lend
you four barrels," she said.  "That would help a little.
 My problem is going to be wading out here in the snow to milk
our cow.  We have a solar milking machine, but it still
requires someone to attach it to the cow.  My husband always
did that in the winter.  And when the sun doesn't shine, I
have to milk the cow by hand."

"I wish I could come up and help you, Mary,"
said Hector.  "But we have to save the gasoline.  I don't
think that we are going to get anymore."

"There'll be lots of times when the snow will
be so deep that you couldn't even make it through, Hector," Mary
reminded him.  The trio returned to the camp after eating
lunch at the farm.

"Sounds like you had a successful visit,"
Mike said, after they reported.  "I hope Howard's group does
as well."

Meanwhile, Howard led his party up the small
river.  It was much smaller now.  In some places it could
be waded through, even along the section by the camp.  They
had to be careful though.  When it rained hard, it was not
uncommon for the small river to become a raging torrent.

It started raining that afternoon.
 Everyone who attended the camp had been required to bring a
poncho, and Mike had insisted that they take them on this trip.
 Now, they were glad he had done so.

"I guess that's why he's the Chief," Kevin
said grumpily, as he stumbled along the path.

"I wish I was back at the Lodge," Nathan
complained.

"You begged Mike to let you come with us,"
Ahmad reminded him.

"Yeah, but I didn't know it was going to
rain."