“Well, all of that aside, we’ll need to get a lot of work done around here before winter sets in. I also think that you and Kelly and Derek might have some ideas on better fortifying the place,” Grandpa adds. Derek takes the lead.
“Yeah, we were mulling that over yesterday when we walked around some of the property perimeter closest to the house. I know that you already have a security system with cameras. But we can upgrade that system and also put in night vision. We can set trip wires and hard wire the security system with the new cameras right into your main electric box. I think we could even take a few more drastic measures on the outlying perimeters. Probably nothing the women would want to know about,” Derek offers. By looking at Derek now, nobody would ever even know he’d almost died such a short time ago. He is doing all sorts of odd jobs and helping Grandpa around the farm. Sue had told her once that he was something of a computer geek in the Army. Reagan doesn’t know the extent or exactness of what he did for the Army, but she knows that he was a Security Operations Specialist. He took out enemy communications systems, tracked them through their own computer systems and did all things nefarious that had to do with being a computer geek. And he shot people, too.
“We’re all in this thing together, Derek. It’s ok,” Grandpa informs him. The three military men look at each other.
“It’s just that we don’t want anyone breaching the back of the property where we won’t be able to rig up security surveillance. The range would be too far. There are all types of human traps that you can make. You know, stuff that wouldn’t kill someone and some that... well, could. But we could set traps that would effectively keep them snared until we decided whether to let them out,” Kelly expounds.
“You mean like a booby trap?” Sue asks. John jumps in.
“Right, but we don’t have to make them lethal. We could set them up so that someone would fall in but not be able to get back out or snare nets. Those are always effective, too. But I can build some traps that will take out our enemy should they come too close,” John explains. He’s much more animated when he’s talking defensive military actions
“We can also set up some demo charges on trip wires, sir. That’s John’s specialty. We’ll put up warning signs to hopefully dissuade trespassers, but it may not stop some,” Derek recommends. “I know it sounds bad, but we wouldn’t have to make them so that they would blow up in someone’s face, but that they would alert us to their presence. It’s a good technique when you’re trying to cover so much area.” Derek finishes.
“These are all good suggestions. I’ll think about them, and then we’ll get back to those at the next family meeting. We try to meet once a week to go over everything,” Grandpa tells them.
“Sir, if you don’t mind us asking, how is that you still have electricity and running hot water and... all of this? We came in from Arizona to get here. Stopped in Arkansas to get the kids and let me tell you the whole rest of the country is a mess and in the dark. We rarely saw a light on in any of the homes, none left at all in big buildings and companies, or our own military base at the end because our generators eventually gave out,” Kelly asks. Grandpa smiles.
“Right, I suppose some things need to be explained first. Years ago I became interested in solar power, steam power, alternative energy sources. Even tried one of those electric battery solar cars once. I’ve always been kind of a tinkerer at things.”
“That’s the understatement of the year,” Hannah quips. Sue and Grams laugh. Grandpa just frowns and continues on but not before Reagan catches Kelly looking queerly at Hannah. What is his deal?
“Well, as I was saying,” he continues giving the women his look. Nobody acknowledges it. “I installed solar paneling on the roofs of all the outbuildings and the house. Then I improved the idea of geothermal heating and cooling and was able to harness energy for use with ramping up the electricity from solar power.”
“But wait, I thought those things didn’t work all that great, and they stopped hyping the solar power stuff like twenty years ago or so,” John interrupts.
“Well, they don’t normally unless you have a strong battery. But I made my own changes. And I found that if I made some big changes I could get some bigger results. One day’s worth of sunshine can create enough energy to light the house and more importantly fuel the house with electricity for three days. We also have four small gas wells around the property, and I main-lined off of them and put in a gravity force pump. That’s how we can use the lights, get gas to the hot water tanks, run the water wells and how we’ll heat the house in the winter. Gas company never found out about it and I guess I always figured what they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. Not like they didn’t make enough money over the last forty years on all the deep fracking they did in this county. Now that I have help, we’ll also re-open the two old wood-burning stoves, and you boys can learn all about chopping wood.”
“Wow, that’s genius, Doc,” John adds. Suck up, Reagan thinks hostilely. “Derek and I already know about chopping wood, though. Our dad used to make us do it for our grandparents back when we were teenagers.”
“Yeah, well, the solar and gas has fueled the house and barns for years, and we don’t need electricity to keep the gas wells pumping. It’s just gravity force pushing the natural gas up out of the wells direct. There’s no air conditioning, though. Haven’t figured that one out just yet. Too much of a draw on the power,” he jokes. This is what Reagan loves about him. He’s always had to be so serious, the town doctor on whom everyone relied. But Herb McClane’s wit is his best feature in her biased opinion.
It irritates her that John chuckles at this. But most everyone else at the long, rectangular table laughs, too.
“That doesn’t explain the tractors, though. I saw you using that old Ford the other day. Aren’t you gonna run out of gas soon?” Kelly asks.
“Nope, not as long as we’ve still got water around. I went back to the early roots of the American tractor, before the oil companies decided to go with gas operated engines. No need! I’m not driving that thing to qualify for a NASCAR race. It doesn’t need to go fast. So I took the two old tractors I already had and replaced and rebuilt the engines to run on steam like they were originally meant to do. Then I did a little tweaking. I knew I would need enough power to dig with the backhoe attachment and the front bucket and also plow my fields. I did have to work with it until I got the power I needed,” he says with a wink.
“You could’ve patented that, sir,” Kelly says and rubs the beard on his chin, which has been trimmed tight to his face. For someone who is supposed to be the same age as John, who she found out is twenty-nine, he sure has a lot of gray hair in his beard. He also has gray streaks in his black hair which Grams had trimmed for him last week along with the other two men. Derek had wanted his hair buzzed, but Sue had argued. It is strange to see him cleaned up. His hair is wavy and lighter brown on top, the sides shorter and darker in shade. And John had shaved his beard off, as well, revealing a very chiseled chin, sculpted, full lips and deep, hallow cheekbones. He is hideous. Reagan chews her pencil eraser and continues to stare at him until he glances her way. She gives him an unfriendly scowl which he returns with a look of confusion and a shake of his stupid head. Even his perfectly highlighted hair is pissing her off. Though she reasons out that they are sun streaks, it still irritates her. Everything about John irritates her.
“No way, Kelly. When I was young, there was a man in Ohio who made a steam power car, and he ended up with cement shoes at the bottom of the Ohio River. No thanks to that. I’ll keep the shoes I’ve got,” Grandpa adds.
“Really? That’s crazy,” Derek pipes up. He’s been to the farm before so some of this isn’t news to him. But their grandparents were very private about the goings on at the farm with everyone but the girls and they were always under a strict gag order. Grandpa had always been suspicious of outsiders finding out too much about the farm. At the time Reagan had thought he was being paranoid. Now she realizes he was just being smart. Every person in the county would’ve ended up at their doorstep when it all started.
“The thing is, oil companies liked people to use oil and gas, not free water if you get my drift,” Grams adds. She’s a conspiracy theorist to the ninth degree. Her gray head bobs up and down, and her eyes grow wide as if she’s putting her listeners under a spell. Reagan rolls her eyes and shakes her head. This is getting boring. She starts toe tapping. It’s something that irritates Grams, but this sitting around doing nothing is killing her. There’s always something that needs done around here.
“If you don’t mind me saying, sir, this place is stocked up to the gills. Like you knew this was gonna happen or something,” John questions. Judgy much? -Reagan wants to ask him. Because she’s sitting next to Grams, she holds her tongue. She just knows that Sue took the only other available seat on purpose so she’d be stuck by Grams. Sue sits peacefully next to Hannah.
“We’ve always done a lot of stock-up. But about ten years ago when the Middle East turmoil started to get bad again and then later our new President changed the trade laws, I just started getting a bad feeling. When you get to be my age, son, you learn from history or you learn to like repeating it. This isn’t something our government has ever picked up on,” he explains patiently. His silver hair is slicked back with rain water. His wire-rimmed glasses, still fogged up, lay on the scratched surface of the antique table in front of him. All of the women in the family had had their eyes lasered for perfect vision but not Grandpa. Typical doctor, not wanting other doctors to treat him.
“Plus, don’t forget, Grandpa, you and Reagan made that trip through the back to the city to get supplies last month all by yourselves and on horseback, too,” Hannie adds. For some reason, Reagan wants to strangle her. Typical Hannie, always with the praise and optimism
“What do you mean through the back?” Kelly asks Hannah directly. Why does he stare at her like that? Does he think if he stares hard enough at her that she’ll see him or something? What an idiot.
“There’s a back way out of the farm. Paths that you can take that will lead to the city. Not our town, which is tiny, but the nearest city, Clarksville, I guess would be a better way to say it. You can only get there by horseback now with the roads not being safe, so I don’t go. But Grandpa and Reagan went and they brought back a lot of stuff.” Hannah explains all of this while fingering her pale braid just like Grams does all the time. Obviously a hereditary trait.
“How can you do that? It’s not safe anywhere anymore. We came across probably ten states and through a hundred cities and every one of them is a war zone,” John explains with concern, his brow pinches.
“Clarksville isn’t as populated as Nashville or even Louisville, but there were stragglers of people trying to survive there. I’m not gonna lie. We did run in to a bit of trouble. But my granddaughter’s a pretty deadly shot. Luckily for you boys, she’s not also trigger happy,” Grandpa adds and winks at Reagan. She grins lopsidedly at him and then sees John noticing this exchange. She sends him a nice scowl.
“So this Clarksville isn’t safe then?” Kelly asks.
“No, but it’s big enough that if you’re careful and go at the right time, it’s manageable,” Grandpa informs them. “Can either of you ride?” Where is Grandpa going with this?
“I can- or at least I could when I was younger,” John answers. Boring! When is this damn meeting going to be over?
“I don’t know how, sir, but I’d be willing to learn.” Kelly adds in. He looks in Hannah’s direction again. What a creep. Reagan gives him one of her scowls, too, and he looks away with an angry grimace. Mission accomplished.
“Well, if this weather breaks tomorrow I think that should be the first thing we work on. Cars aren’t too helpful anymore, even if they are electric,” Grandpa chuckles at his own jest. “And I think Reagan can be the one who works with you. She’s the best rider on the farm, and you should learn the right way. I’m just an old, amateur cowboy. Best not to learn my bad habits.”
“Grandpa!” Reagan hisses angrily. It’s the first time the whole meeting that she’s spoken, which is not the norm. Usually she and Grandpa go over the livestock, their care, feedings and maintenance of most everything on the farm. “No way! I’m not their babysitter. I don’t want to teach them.”
“I think it makes the most sense. I’m busy here with things, and Derek has expressed an interest in learning the tractors. I can’t teach everyone everything.”
“He’s right, Reagan. You should be the one to teach them. You are the most qualified. It’s not like I could do it,” Sue chimes in.
“Or me,” Hannah adds in humorously. Sue laughs. Hannie is always poking fun at herself. This time it’s not funny.
“This is bullshit!” Reagan swears and crosses her arms over her chest pouting.
“Young lady!” Grams threatens.
Reagan immediately looks up at John who is smirking arrogantly. Oh, she could get him easy enough. She’d put him on that nutty stallion in the back pasture grazing with cattle. See how long he can stay on that freak, the arrogant ass!
“Don’t even think it, Reagan,” Sue warns. What is she, a mind reader? Damn her for interfering. Grandpa just continues on as if the horseback lessons are a foregone conclusion.
“I’d like for each of you men to learn the tractors and horse riding. I’ll also show you the gas system I’ve rigged just in case it should fail or malfunction during the winter season. That would be the worst time. Then there are the solar panels. They’re pretty self-sufficient, but they occasionally need adjustments. Then we’ll go over the harvest season, and I’ll also train you some on some basic veterinary care. I’m no vet, but I’ve studied a lot over the years and I have a library full of helpful books.”
“That sounds great, Doc. We’ll do whatever you tell us, and we’ll learn whatever’s necessary. We’ve gotten pretty good at taking orders being in the military for so long,” John jokes. He, Kelly and Derek all laugh and agree. Kelly and John bump fists. Oh brother, Reagan thinks. Their manly machismo makes her want to vomit. She makes a retching sound which earns her a warning look from Grams.