The Journal: Raging Tide: (The Journal Book 4) (2 page)

And Colonel James Anderson, was fiftyish and
married to the military. His steel gray eyes fit his gray buzz-cut
hair. Jim’s six foot two frame towered Tom by a good four inches.
We met only a year ago when Eric and Emilee arrived unexpectedly at
Sawyer Air Force Base after the first of the earthquakes. With
Jim’s weekly visits these last few months, on the pretense of
playing cribbage, we’ve gotten to know each other well, almost
better than I knew Tom. Our relationship, though, is the same: just
good friends, never to be anything else. I’ve loved - and lost -
two men this past year, my heart won’t allow for anything closer
than just friends.

“Earth to Allex, are you joining us?” Tom
laughed and I sat.

“So what have you come up with for us to
take?” Jim tore open a warm yeasty roll and dipped it into the
brown gravy that oozed around the venison.

“It’s only a preliminary list so far, much
will depend on how long we’ll be gone. Any idea on that, Jim?” I
questioned.

“I’d say anywhere from two weeks to two
months. It shouldn’t take any longer than that to find out what we
need to know,” he said around the bite of bread.

“
T-two months
??” Tom stammered. “Why
so long?”

Jim gazed at his friend and house mate, and
smiled. “Jealous?” he asked with a smirk.

Tom glanced at him, and then at me. “Yeah,
in a way,” he confessed. “I envy the adventure. It gets boring
pushing paper around my desk all day.”

“Tell you what, Tom, if you help us get
ready for this, next time you can come with us,” I offered with a
chuckle.

*

The step-van filled with a store full of
liquor that Jim had sent us six months ago when Marquette was
evacuated, was steadily depleting. Mark had tagged it The Christmas
Truck and we had agreed to keep the contents to ourselves. I know
that was a selfish thing to do, but the few of us with access to it
truly enjoyed the normalcy it provided, like now, as we sat on the
deck overlooking Lake Meade, having an after dinner drink. Besides,
had we shared it with the town, it would have been gone in a week
and could have caused a multitude of problems.

“What’s on your list, Allex?” Jim asked,
handing me a small glass with lots of ice and a shot of my favorite
spiced rum.

“Well, on the gear and supply list, I have a
tent, sleeping bags, air mattress, pillows, two extra blankets, a
tarp, kerosene lamp, camp stove, cast iron Dutch oven and fry pan,
a cook-kit, tin coffee cups, French press and percolator, Berkey,
bucket, flashlights, batteries and matches/lighters… and a can
opener.”

“You do know the Humvee has limited storage
space, right?” Jim snickered.

“Yes. I also know you can remove those two
seats in the back. They’re only held in place with turn lock pins,”
I replied with a grin.

“Eric?” he asked.

“Eric,” I confirmed. Eric has been a wealth
of knowledge when it comes to military vehicles. “Besides, all of
that will take very little space since it packs into itself.”

“What about personally? You still need
clothes and food,” Tom said.

“So far on that list I have my medic bag,
towel, washcloth, soap, comb, toothbrush and paste, two pair of
jeans, sweatpants, hooded sweat shirt, two long sleeve and two
short sleeve t-shirts, socks, underwear, shoes and boots, jacket,
gloves, rain gear and a hat. All of which fit in my backpack, with
the exception of the medic bag, and I’ll be wearing one set of the
clothes at any given time.” When my list was met with silence I
looked up. “What?”

“That’s a pretty concise list, Allex, I
would have expected more,” Tom said.

“I grew up camping. We were taught how
little you really need. And I’m sure we will be coming across
streams and rivers where we can wash what we need to.”

“I’ve no doubt you’ve already thought about
food, right?” Jim asked, the corner of his mouth twitching to hide
a smile.

“Of course. The only thing fresh we’ll take
are eggs, and maybe a day or two of meat. Other than that, I think
it’s best to take only dried or canned items that don’t need
refrigeration, like oatmeal, beans, Spam, tuna, all in disposable
containers. Plus, coffee, flour, sugar, yeast, lard, and salt. We
should be able to find some food along the way, too. Before we
leave I’ll make regular bread and a batch of Ezekiel bread.”

“What’s that?” Jim asked.

“It’s a high protein, high fiber batter
bread,” I said. “It’s been said that it contains all the nutrients
the body needs to survive, and that this was the only food that
Ezekiel ate during his journey,
Ezekiel 4:9
. It’s also
rather tasty and because of the lack of certain ingredients, like
eggs and milk, it stays fresh a long time.”

“Sounds like you’ve thought of everything,”
Tom murmured quietly.

“I’m sure there are things I’ve forgotten,
Tom, that’s why we three are going over these lists, to fill in the
gaps.” I was getting the feeling that Tom was feeling very much
left out of our plans. “Anything else you would suggest?”

“What about fuel?” he asked. I turned to
look at Jim. I was
not
going to be making all the decisions
here!

“The Hummer is a diesel, however it gets
lousy mileage, maybe ten miles per gallon. It does have a
twenty-five gallon gas tank, though, and with the extra weight of
the seats gone,” he glanced at me, “it could be more. That’s two
hundred and fifty miles, which covers a lot of ground. We can also
strap four or even eight jerry cans to the sides and back, and that
would give us an extra twenty to forty gallons.”

“One of those fuel cans needs to be kerosene
for the lantern and camp stove,” I said, writing that down on my
list. “What else should I know about the Hummer?”

“It has four wheel drive of course, and
run-flat tires. That’s how I made it back after driving through the
fire. There is a second tire within the visual tire and why they’re
extra wide. Plus high clearance wheel wells for tactical
maneuverability. The body itself is extra wide, a good six feet
across. One can sleep widthwise in a pinch.”

Tom sat a bit straighter in his chair. I
think he was starting to get into the planning with us. “Have you
considered the possibility of running into other communities or
other individuals? What about trade-goods?”

“What would you suggest?” I asked, facing
him so he couldn’t see that was already on my notepad.

“Nothing we can’t replace, of course, but
something useful,” he took a sip from his glass of bourbon and the
ice cubes tinkled around the golden liquid.

“I’ve got enough toothbrushes to last twenty
years. I could spare a few,” I said, and wrote that down.

“I know it’s only been eighteen months since
the first earthquake, however, most people weren’t half as prepared
as you, Allex. What about something that could now be considered a
luxury, like scented soap or razors?” Tom suggested.

“Yeah,” I said, “and pins and needles,
fishhooks and line, nail files or a comb.”

“Matches!” Jim joined in.

“I’ve got an extra five gallon bucket we can
set up just for trade items,” I offered. “I’ll ask the nuns to make
up small sewing and fishing kits. Maybe two fishhooks stuck into a
piece of cardboard with ten yards of line wrapped around it. One
pack of fishhooks and one spool of line could make two dozen kits,
we can spare that; same with sewing needles and thread.”

We finally decided on a five gallon bucket
filled with fishing kits, sewing kits, toothbrushes, combs, a bag
of a dozen matches tied with a rubber band, several baggies with a
half cup of salt, a bar of soap cut in quarters, generic aspirins,
cable ties, emery boards, and baggies with one cup of rice. It was
a good thing the food warehouse truck had a case of sandwich
baggies.

JOURNAL ENTRY: April 2

I spent several hours last night going over my lists
and separating them into work-oriented projects, ones that I can
enlist others to help with.

I took my newly revised barter list and let myself
into the store front that was once the Downriggers Bait Shop. The
nuns, Sisters Agnes, Margaret and Lynn have done wonders to the
shop that now holds all the supplies that were removed from the
Walstroms store in Marquette before the city burned to the
ground.

The main floor has a children’s play area with all
kinds of colorful toys and a well-padded floor to prevent injuries
to the little ones. It is a warm and cheery place now. The main
floor also houses the rooms that have been converted into displays
of children’s and adult clothing. Upstairs, and logically away from
the curiosity of little fingers, are the rooms filled with bath and
cleaning products, lotions and hygiene care, as well as bolts of
colorful cloth and rows of soft yarns.

~~~

“Good morning, Allexa! What can I help you
with today?” Sister Agnes beamed.

“I’m hoping I can enlist your help with a
few things I need for our trip.”

“Darn! I was hoping it was to help talk you
out of going,” she lamented.

“Not you too,” I pouted. If it weren’t rude,
I’d turn around and leave. “I really am tired of hearing what a bad
idea this is.”

I was only half joking. The entire town was
abuzz with the pending road trip, not all of it good.

Sister Agnes looked chagrined. “Oh, no,
please. I was teasing. I know many people feel this trip is going
to be too dangerous, though I don’t. Actually, I think it might be
fun and just what you need. What can I do to help?” The sadness in
her eyes flickered for only for a moment.

“I plan on taking a bucket full of different
items to trade with others we may find along the way. Useful
things, like thread and needles. I have a list, though if there are
any other simple items you can think of, please feel free to add to
it.” I handed the piece of paper over to the nun.

The three nuns had taken to dressing very
casually and only wearing a short white coif head cap to express
their station in the church. Father Constantine quickly got used to
wearing whatever he felt like, with the addition of his clerical
collar. There were times it looked very odd with a bright plaid
shirt and jeans.

“That’s a generous and noble act, Allexa. My
apologies for my comment earlier,” Sister Agnes. She started
reading the list. “Ah, teach a man to fish... These are very
practical items for the most part. Do you have a preference how
these are set up?”

“I was thinking two, maybe three fishhooks,
poked into a half of a three by five card, then wrapped with maybe
ten or fifteen yards of fish line around the card. If we use one
package of hooks and only one spool of line that will give us many
to give away without shorting the people here. I’d like the needles
done the same way. Maybe two sewing needles, six pins, a safety
pin, and a selection of different colored threads. What do you
think?”

“Yes, those would be practical and desired.
I’ll get our staff working on these right away,” Sister Agnes
said.

“Staff?”

“Sort of,” she chuckled. “The younger
children can cut the cards in half, while the older ones can handle
the pins and hooks. I think the mothers that help out here would be
best at winding the threads neatly. Most of the adults are looking
for something to do, and so are the children.”

“It’s good to see everyone working so well
together.”

“Well,” she hesitated, “not everyone gets
along, but we’ve managed to rearrange the schedules to accommodate
the difference in personalities.”

“Good. Oh, here is a box of a hundred
sandwich baggies to put things in. I don’t think we should have too
much to give away. Everything needs to fit into one bucket and we
don’t want anyone to think we have unlimited resources.”

“One of the boxes we found in the trailer
was filled with travel sized items. Would you like some of those
for your bucket?” Agnes asked.

“About the only thing I think would be handy
would be aspirin, Ibuprofen, or allergy meds. Anything else I would
prefer to stay here,” I replied. “Oh, and I need a haircut. Has
anyone shown a talent in that area?” I absentmindedly ran my
fingers through my now shoulder-length hair.

“Sister Doris always did ours,” Agnes
answered softly. “When Doris died from the flu last November, so
much was lost with her. We do have a retired barber that has been
helping out once a week. He will be here in an hour if you care to
wait.”

“Please have him save me a slot. I’ll be
back shortly.” I made my way across the street to see Marsha Maki
about some food supplies for the bucket. I didn’t mind in the least
using my own storage and supplies for our trip, but not to barter
away; some of that could come from the town. I’d given enough.

*

I found Marsha in the back room that she and
her husband Arnie had designated for home-food supplies. It was her
suggestion that people needed to fix some of their own meals and
until they could grow gardens, that food came from the warehouse
trailer, with Marsha keeping a close eye on it.

“What is that?” I asked as I watched her
filling in a grid on a chalkboard.

“It’s the pool we’ve started, trying to
guess how long you and the colonel will be gone,” she stated. “Many
of the people are really excited about this trip and what you will
find out. This is their way of sharing in the mystery of it.”

“I see,” I said. “What’s the prize?”

“There isn’t any, it’s only bragging
rights,” Marsha said. “Now, what can I do for you?” she asked,
dusting the chalk off her hands.

“I’d like some staples as barter items,” I
requested. “Like a half cup of salt in a baggie; one cup of rice; a
quarter cup of yeast, things like that, I’ll let you decide. Not
too much, I don’t want to put a strain on our town supplies. Ten
baggies of each should be more than enough.”