Our End Of The Lake: Surviving After The 2012 Solar Storm (Prepper Trilogy) (16 page)

“So you’ve been sleeping out in the open?” I asked grabbing a bottle of water off the tractor and offering it towards them, but Randy shook his head and produced one from his own cooler.

“No, we been sleeping in abandoned cars at night” she said looking worn out by the ordeal.

“Can you show me on this map where we are roughly.” I asked.

“About right here.” Randy said studying the map

“But that map doesn’t show all the crossroads and lake drives that go to our cabin.” he informed me while handing me back the map.

“Look, I will pay you if you can take us all the way.” he said fumbling for his wallet.

“Not necessary, I will take you there. But you are going to have to really holler early if I need to turn. It’s going to be hard to hear you back in that trailer.” I said indicating where he and his missus would be riding.

“That tractor is pretty small.” he said looking at the single bare metal seat I had.

“When we get closer, one of you can sit up front and give me directions.” I said still considering the map.

“That will be fine.” a greatly relived Randy said escorting Sue back and arranging them in my trailer.

“Takes me a minute.” I told them as I went through the elaborate start up procedure for the tractor.

“You ready?” I hollered back over my shoulder and with a lurch off we went.

We got about 6 miles down the road with me missing most of the pot holes and not throwing them around too bad as I swerved back and forth changing lanes to avoid the occasional cars.

Randy shouted directions occasionally to me and I started slowing as I approached a small gas station and looked it over slowly as I passed. The glass door of the front of it was busted in a one window was smashed and I speeded up and kept going down the road. Well, somebody has already looted that and I am not going to be the one accused of doing it this far out in the country where everyone probably knows each other. Randy hollered at me to pull over, so he could help navigate the twists and turns of the road back down to their lake cabin, as we crowded each other with him sort of perched on one fender, as his wife getting bounced all over the place in the trailer.

“It’s the fifth drive on the left.” he hollered over to me as we navigated the gravel road on the shore of the lake and I turned in.

“Home sweet, Home.” said Randy cheerfully, as he climbed down off the tractor and then helped his wife up from the trailers bed.

“I am not complaining, Dave, but that was a hell of a ride!” she said looking even more of a mess than she did when she got on.

I laughed and said dryly she should, ‘tell the county to fix the road’ and we walked towards the cabin.

“We got some food in here, David, but we left most of our groceries behind in the car.” Sue said forlornly.

“Yeah, stay for supper, Dave.” said putting down the ice chest and opening a rancid freezer. “PHEW! We need to get this shit out of here right now!” He said grabbing a garbage bag and empting the foul smelling contents into a bag.

“Get it outside, but I got plans for that, so don’t go chucking it in the lake or anything.” I said watching Sue looking through the kitchen cabinets.

“What plans?” she said looking up at me speculatively.

“How many hooks you got? I want to build and run a trot line I said.

“Great Idea! But I don’t think I got any line heavy enough to support it.” Randy said.

“Oh, we will find something.” I said eying the Venetian blinds.

“Oh, no you don’t, David.” Sue protested seeing the direction my thoughts were taking.

“I was just thinking things through, your blinds are safe. I would say we could consider your neighbors, who don’t appear to be at home, but I would give them several days to possibly arrive before messing with their stuff.” I said peering out the window.

“Looks like we might have this point on the lake all to ourselves.” she said joining me at the window.

“Well, that clothes line over there can stand to have one strand missing, if they do come home.” I said looking inquisitively at her.

“Oh sure, get that, they shouldn’t mind.” she said and I went to get the nylon cord. As I was walking back, Randy called out, “Dave, how about a glass of wine?” while holding up an empty glass in one hand a bottle in the other.

Bleh I thought, I do not really like wine, hot wine at that, but it does contain alcohol.

“Yes, thanks.” I said and joined him and Sue at the table.

“Want to try for a fish fry tonight?” I asked holding up the line. They looked hesitant, so I added. “I don’t mean to impose on your hospitality, but I saw a hammock over there that would suit me for the night, if you want to try some night fishing?”

Looking relived not to have a stranger overnight in her house, Sue said that arrangement would be fine.

“Grab your tackle box, Randy, and I will start rigging a Trot line.” I said while sipping the wine, while trying not to make a face.

“That stinking meat will be good for catfish, but I will put a few hooks a bit shallower in case it appeals to a bream or a bass, too.” I said while measuring off monofilament line and tying it to the clothes line. “You can sink some of that meat in a can or something to attract fish while I make this thing Randy.” I directed.

“I hate even getting around it, but ok, let me go find something. He found a old paint can with some dried pant in it, added the meat and bent the lip over and tied a line to it and proceed past us with it held at arms length to the dock and threw it in. “ Nasty stuff.” he yelled up to us while washing his hands in the lake. Then he turned and came back to the table and reached for his wine.

“I’m going to tie this to the front of your boat and paddle it out a ways and anchor it. If you got enough rope I can use the cleat on the boat to make a retrievable clothes line like they use between building in New York, so nobody has to go swimming again to retrieve the fish.” and then proceeded to outline my plan.

“So we just pull back and forth to bring the fish in huh, that’s neat.” said Sue grasping the concept.

We got the line baited and the rig set up and proceeded back to the table.

“Unless you got some light gauge wire, I need you to sacrifice one of your lamp cords.” I said to Sue.

“What are you going to make now, Dave?” she said draining the last of the bottle of wine into our glasses.

“You might as well learn this trick too or you’re going to get awfully tired of fish for supper.” and began explaining about snares, as Randy returned with a lamp cord and a pair of wire strippers.

“If we catch some fish tonight after the line soaks for awhile, when we clean them we can use the guts for a bait pile and you can set snares for a Raccoon or a possum or something.” I began before Sue interrupted me.

“But we got canned food, and I am not going to eat a possum!” she said adamantly.

“Well, suit yourself, that’s the trick anyway, if you ever need it. I suggest though you don’t wait to run out of food before you try it.” I said pointedly.

“Well, I bet these houses around here have some food in them.” she said looking about.

“Perhaps, you know about lake cabins, some people have supplies and some don’t even stock a can of beans. Be sure to boil your water and don’t trust that lake.” I said looking up at her.

“David, can you explain a bit more about that ‘Carrington Event’ thing again?” Randy asked and I proceeded for the umpteenth time to cover the basics I knew, as my audience huddled together. We checked the lines and got three good fish and Sue fried them up in cornmeal for us and we had dinner by kerosene lamp light.

Shots rang out from across the lake and somebody was yelling something, we could not make out and then it went quiet. It’s amazing how sound travels across the lake at night and we couldn’t make out where the noises had came from.

“You got anything for protection, Randy?” I got around to asking.

“I ain’t got shit.” he said miserably

“Then I would start breaking into houses tomorrow to see if you get lucky enough to find something and start carrying that fish knife you had out earlier.” I suggested.

“You know how to use a gun?” I asked

“I shot a friend’s once or twice, but no, not really.” he replied.

I spent the next half hour or so telling him the basics of how different types of guns worked, in case he got lucky enough to find one. I also advised them to always try and stick together and not get to separated when they were doing fishing or scavenging.

“How did you estimate when Sundown was earlier, Dave?” Sue said cleaning up the dishes. “I haven’t been able to figure how close that was for days after our watches stopped.” she said while moving around with a flashlight.

“Well, for whatever reason mine’s still working, but there is another way of doing it. How much time left before sundown? Hold out your hands in front of you at arms' length and, with the edge of a palm lined up at the horizon; see how many fingers you can fit between the horizon and the position of the Sun in the sky. Each finger width represents about 15 minutes.” I said sitting back and watching the moonlight shimmer on the lake.

“I got to try that tomorrow.” Randy said turning towards Sue. “We got anymore wine left?” he asked her.

“Well, one bottle but maybe we ought to save it?” She replied.

“To Hell with that, let’s drink it now. Old Murphy’s house has a full bar in it over there and I am paying that house a visit tomorrow.” he said.

Well, ok.” and she rose to go get it.

“Randy, a lot of these places have firewood stored around them, I would gather up all I could before winter, as a suggestion.” I said offering my glass for a refill of the wine that suddenly didn’t taste so bad to me.

“I better grab it before someone else does huh.” he said watching the lake.

“Well, I am heading to bed soon, might as well tell you all good bye before morning, I will be setting out pretty early to go see if my friends are up here or not.” I informed them.

“If they’re not there, you’re welcome back here, Dave.” Sue said in her most neighborly voice.

“I appreciate it, but if they’re not there, I will be heading for Montgomery next.” I replied wondering what the tomorrow would bring.

“We will get up and see you off or maybe we can have breakfast and check the trotline in the morning?” Randy said hopefully and fidgeting with his wine glass.

“I will be waking up with the sun, if you hear the tractor fire up and want to make the effort of seeing me off, fine but after the trip you all had I suspect you will want to stay in bed awhile longer.” I said contemplating a buggy night about to be spent in a hammock.

“You got any mosquito repellant?” I asked of Sue.

“Oh, come inside and be comfortable in your own bed, Dave. I am just not used to having strangers and you’re a nice guy, so you’re welcome to the spare room, if you like.” she said good-naturedly.

“I will take you up on that, sounds much better than semi roughing it, thanks.” We sat around a bit longer and she showed me to my room. We said our good nights and I sank down into the soft bed without even taking my clothes off and fell fast asleep.

I saw the sun begin peeping in between the blinds, as I woke up bleary eyed and thirsty. I tip toed past the closed door of my hosts’ bedroom and found a bottle of water in Randy’s ice chest. I almost didn’t take it; I felt I was committing the ultimate sin by doing so. Funny, how our concepts of value changes under circumstances like these. Hell, they got a whole lake and all day to boil water, it’s not like I was leaving them without something, I reassured myself and slipped out the door.

Ok, you old oil drinking machine
, I said as I checked the dip stick and added my last two quarts of 40 weight oil. Damn thing is probably going to get temperamental about starting now to. Hang on, I better check my gas. I am getting pretty low. I think one of these boats around here has what I want. And I wandered over to the neighbor’s. The boat had two cans full of gas, but no oil on board. They probably had some in that shed, but I didn’t want to make a bunch of noise busting in, so I just carried the cans back and refilled the tractor. Randy came outside mid process and said good morning.

“You got any oil I can have?” I asked

“Yeah, I got a few quarts.” he said turned to go get them, as I stowed the cans on the back of the trailer.

“Borrowed some gas, huh. You get that off my boat?” he asked uncaringly.

“No, I confiscated your neighbor’s, you can tell them it was me if they show up, if you want.” I said in my best smart ass manner and started going through the procedure of starting my steel mule.

“ Ok, they can put out a APB on a guy on a tractor wearing suit pants and dress shoes,” he guffawed and then added “I will tell them your name was Oliver Wendell Douglas.” he said making aspersions to the lead in TV. series Green Acres.

“Good one.” I said grinning and extending my hand. “Good bye, Randy, tell Sue goodbye for me and thank her for the use of the bed.” I said looking towards the house.

“She is out like a light, but I will tell her.” he said shaking my hand.