Read After the Republic Online
Authors: Frank L. Williams
“Yes, but not tonight,” Joshua said. “We’ll crash on the floor and do that tomorrow.”
Thomas nodded. “That works, man. I’ll come down and meet you guys at about 10:00 tomorrow morning and we can figure things out. We do need to get your cows out of the trailers.”
Thomas, Joshua and Perry set up a temporary fence using aluminum corral panels Kane had packed on the Silverado. Once the cows had water and some hay Thomas provided, the group dispersed to their appointed locations. Thomas drove up the mountain to his secluded cabin. Bob and Kane took backpacks, sleeping bags and weapons and retreated into the woods.
Joshua flipped the light switch as he and Rebecca entered the cabin. The bulbs flared to life, bringing a warm feeling to the otherwise vacant living area.
“This feels empty.” Joshua scratched a trembling Reagan on the head.
“That’s because it is,” Rebecca answered. “But it has potential. We can make this feel like home. Starting tomorrow. I’m going to sleep.”
“I
love
the way you think,” Joshua embraced her. “I’m glad you have a positive attitude about this. Let’s get some rest.”
They unrolled two sleeping bags. Reagan curled up nearby and Joshua kept his pistol within reach. His mind wandered as he drifted off to sleep.
What will the future bring? How long will it take the conflict to find its way to us?
PART II
CHAPTER 6
Joshua was awakened by a cold nose on his arm. Reagan nudged him a couple of times. “Okay, boy.” Joshua rubbed his still-heavy eyes as he slowly sat up.
What a difference a week has made
, he thought. Just a few days earlier, Joshua had watched President Wagner’s first State of the Union address with renewed hope for America. This was a man who truly believed in America, who understood what made it great. Now, he was gone, along with most of Congress. A series of deadly attacks had crippled the nation, and now those attacks had made their way to North Carolina. A wholly unqualified man with questionable principles, Nelson Armando, was now the President. Joshua’s best friend, Perry, had lost his two beautiful children in the attack on Raleigh. Now, just a few short days later, Joshua had led the love of his life, Rebecca, and a group of friends across the state to a new home. Without the leadership and tenacity of Bob Kendall and Kane Martin, they might not have made it here. To this strange new place in which he now found himself.
How did all of this happen?
Rebecca rolled over and forced her eyes open. “Good morning,” she mumbled.
“’Morning.” Joshua yawned. “How did you sleep?”
“Not bad, considering we slept on a floor. I was completely wiped out.”
“Same here. I could use a cup of high-test coffee.”
“We’ll have to dig the coffee pot out of the Explorer.” Rebecca stretched and then yawned.
Reagan didn’t waste any time, making a beeline off of the front porch. While the dog did his business Joshua surveyed the vehicles parked around their cabin. Rebecca joined him on the porch. “Well, we got all of these people here,” he said. “What the heck do we do now?”
“We’ll figure it out.” She trudged down the steps and retrieved the coffee pot, a note pad and Joshua’s tablet.
“Well, this won’t do us much good.” Joshua held up the tablet and frowned. “No signal.”
“It’ll do us some good to disconnect from everything. Those things can be a ball and chain anyway.”
Joshua shook his head. “Maybe, but we still need to know what’s going on in the world.”
“Let’s get some coffee and look around our new place,” Rebecca said. “I’d like to at least have a few things settled in by tonight. It would be nice for this to at least
resemble
home.”
While the coffee was brewing they explored the cabin. In many ways it was similar to the farmhouse they had left: there was a large master bedroom, a master bathroom, two smaller bedrooms – one of which would become Joshua’s study – a small bathroom and a large living area. The kitchen was undersized but functional and had room for a table. The walls featured wood paneling and had a rustic look about them, and the living area featured a large brick fireplace with a wood stove.
“Thomas did a good job,” Rebecca observed. “I like it.”
Joshua nodded and looked at his watch. “It’s 8:00. I’ve got two hours to get ready. They’re going to be looking to me for guidance, and I need to start off on the right foot.”
Rebecca kissed him on the cheek. “You go get ready. I’ll start moving the small things in and figuring out where I want the bigger items.”
Joshua sat back down on the steps. Reagan rejoined him as he began scribbling furiously on his note pad, mapping out an agenda and his opening remarks. An hour and a half later he looked up and realized people were beginning to stir.
***
It was 10:00, and everyone had gathered around Joshua’s front porch when Thomas’ Suburban made its way down the mountain. “Let’s get started,” Joshua said. “Rebecca has agreed to take notes. Jim, will you open us in prayer?”
After Jim offered the invocation Joshua continued. “First, we’ll have Thomas give you an overview of the property. Before he does that, don’t forget that everyone will need to make an arrangement with him for the use of his land. Thomas, come on up.”
“’Morning, y’all,” Thomas took off his well-worn baseball cap and scratched his head. “I’m glad to have y’all here. Heck, I’m just glad we all
made
it here. That was quite a trip.” Thomas’ son, Tommy, passed out maps.
“The building in the middle with a ‘J’ on it is Joshua’s cabin, where we’re standing now.” Thomas twisted his toothpick in his mouth. “The building marked with a ‘D’, just up the path, is Drew’s. Thanks to Drew, there will be a community shelter across the path from his cabin.”
Joshua glanced in Drew’s direction, perplexed.
That’s interesting,
he thought.
“This is the road where we came in,” Thomas continued. “I’ll get each of y’all a key to the gate. This little path leads to the lake, and this one leads up to my cabin.” Thomas paused and cleared his throat. “My family and I tend to keep to ourselves. That doesn’t mean we won’t hang out with you guys some. Just respect our privacy and let us keep this area for ourselves.”
“Absolutely,” Joshua interjected.
Thomas continued. “The red spots are where my guys have drilled wells, dug septic tanks and added power connections. Come see me after the meeting and we’ll decide who gets which spot.” Thomas pointed at a space on the map adjacent to the areas earmarked for cabins. “You guys can fence this in and use it for the cows. This stream will give ‘em water unless it’s overly dry, then you’ll have to bring it from the lake. There’s a path just past Drew’s cabin that leads up to the Appalachian Trail. That’s about it. Any questions?”
Drew raised his hand. “I was glad to see the power working in mine and Joshua’s cabins, and I’m assuming it’s connected at the other home sites. Obviously the power company expects to get paid. How will we handle that?”
“Man, that’s a good question,” Thomas answered. “Right now it’s all on one account, so you guys can just make arrangements with me and I’ll take care of it. I’ve got some contacts with the power company and with some guys who work down at the dam.”
“Thomas, I hate to see you bear the responsibility for paying all of our bills,” Joshua interjected. “Don’t you think it would be better to put these on separate accounts?”
Bob jumped in. “Negative. That could attract unwanted attention and unnecessarily expose us.”
“Good point as always, Bob,” Joshua responded. “Everyone make arrangements with Thomas to cover their power bills.”
“That works for me, man,” Thomas said. “Any more questions?”
Drew again raised his hand. “Similar question. Obviously, whatever county we are in will expect property taxes to be paid on this. How do you want to handle that?”
Bob again piped up. “To avoid drawing attention to our presence we should make arrangements with Mr. Page and pay him for the taxes. No deeds should be altered with the county tax office at this time.”
“Thomas, is that okay with you?” Joshua inquired.
Thomas shrugged. “All right with me.”
“We must all be prepared for the fact that we could eventually lose electrical power,” Bob added. “We must be prepared to make do without it for extended periods of time, perhaps permanently.”
Caroline audibly groaned.
Joshua tried to move the meeting along. “Any more questions for Thomas before we move on to the next item?”
Once more, Drew raised his hand. “I do. I’m not getting a cell phone signal here. Are the rest of you guys able to get one? If not, how do we stay connected to the outside world?”
“Man, I don’t get much of a signal up here either,” Thomas said. “But I think it’s kind of nice. Pretty much everyone I need to talk to is right here. If I do need to make calls I tend to do it when I’m in town.”
Bob offered a warning. “Contact with the outside world could compromise our position. You are advised to remain off the grid as much as possible.” Bob looked in Drew’s direction. “And you, boy, you need to break your addiction to all of those gadgets. They are a crutch and make you a liability for the rest of us.”
“Whatever,” Drew muttered under his breath. “Jerk.”
Joshua scratched the back of his neck. “Guys, that’s enough. We don’t need to be bickering among ourselves on our first day here.” Drew and Bob both nodded begrudgingly, but Bob kept his glare on Drew. Drew avoided eye contact with Bob.
“I agree with Bob that communication with the outside world – particularly electronic communication – could endanger us,” Joshua added. “But I also agree with Drew that I would like to know what is going on elsewhere in America. Thomas, we brought our satellite dish and TV with us. Do you think we can get it working?”
“Be careful,” Bob interjected. “While I advised you to bring the dish, upon further consideration if you use the satellite box you had at your farm it could contain identifying information. In light of the incident at the farm, they will be looking for you.”
“Y’all, I think we can work around that,” Thomas said. “I’ve got satellite hooked up at my cabin and a guy that works at the satellite company owes me a favor. I’ll see what I can do about getting you a new box.”
“Thanks,” Joshua said. “If we can get the satellite working, without compromising our position, that will enable us to monitor the outside world. Does anyone have any more questions for Thomas?”
There were no additional questions. Thomas said, “One more thing, some of my workers will be here this afternoon and can help y’all unload and get set up. They’ve been up here working the past two weeks, and they’re good folks.”
Bob frowned. “Their presence concerns me. How do we know they will not compromise us?”
Thomas took the toothpick out of his mouth and twisted it in his fingers. “Let’s just say they don’t want to draw attention to themselves either. They just want to get paid and be left alone.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Man, you don’t have to worry about them. They know I’ve been trying to sell lots and cabins. It’ll seem normal to them. And they don’t want to be bothered either.”
“Hmm. We’ll see.”
Joshua moved on. “Next, we need to discuss the rules under which we will operate. I’ll go over these and then find a way to get you all printed copies. We’ll officially vote on them next week after you’ve had time to read them.”
“You mean we don’t have to pass it to find out what’s in it?” Drew chuckled.
“I guess not.” Joshua grinned and then reviewed the proposed rules: