Part 3 (1/2)
”Church is in twenty minutes. Are you and Mrs. Thames riding with us?”
”Oh, I forgot all about it. I'm not used to the times always changing yet. I guess I'm getting old. I'm sorry, son; I already have dinner on the stove. You go ahead and come back by here after you're done. Y'all can eat with us tonight and catch me up on the news. Besides,” Frank said with a wink, ”that'll give me an excuse to eat twice.”
Jake chuckled and replied, ”If the Misses knew of your plans, she'd send you with us and finish dinner herself.”
”That's why we're not going to tell the Misses, Jake.”
They laughed.
”Okay, okay; we'll be back in about two hours. See y'all then.”
As Jake turned and walked off, Frank leaned outside and said, ”Looks like a storm's coming tonight.”
”Yeah, I think we might get some rain, but the storm's already here, Frank.”
”I s'pose you're right.”
Jake stopped for a moment and considered his next words as he had a dozen times over the past few weeks. He decided now was as good a time as any.
”Frank, I don't mean to offend you with what I'm trying to say. You've weathered some tough things in your life and I know that, but why don't you and Mrs. Thames move in with us for a while? We've plenty of room. Geram and I can put up some more fencing and move all the livestock closer in. Our house is much more defensible, and you know Kate just adores you both.” Jake shrugged and looked down, ”I guess what I'm mean to say is we're worried about you.”
Frank struggled for a moment to maintain his composure, before speaking, ”I'd like that, Jake. Let's talk about it more tonight.”
Jake smiled and nodded, before turning and walking towards the Bronco.
Frank stepped out on the covered front porch and spoke once again. ”Jake, thank you. You're more of a son than my own blood. I'm glad you're here.”
Jake looked back one last time and said, ”That's what we do, Frank; take care of our own. We'll see you in a couple hours.”
Jake thought Reverend Lenton was in perfect form. His sermon had been on the dangers of idolatry. The reverend identified idolatry as a good thing that becomes the ultimate thing. Idolatry causes men to jump out of windows when stock markets crash. It causes decent people to kick a chair out from underneath them when they lose their job or home. The symptoms of idolatry were everywhere, and Jake reasoned they were likely the cause of much of the current suffering in the world.
After the service, the ladies prepared coffee while the men talked of community-wide defensives. It was Geram's first meeting, and the men were particularly interested in hearing the opinions of the young soldier. He reared back in his chair as he typically did before speaking his thoughts.
”We've several choke points that the community should consider reinforcing so that we can keep ourselves safer. We've got Miller's Creek that crosses the road to the north and then hooks down to the east. A few miles out to the west and south we have some bottoms that stay wet year-round.
At the bridges over Miller's Creek, we could take a tractor with a bucket and dig out the approaches. A trench several feet deep would cut us off from anyone bent on trouble.
We could do the same to the bottoms. The more it rains, the more these cuts'll erode and become even more difficult to cross. People could still get by on foot of course, but not with vehicles.
The raids by vehicles are getting out of control. I think we'd be a lot safer if we cut ourselves off and got more organized. Plus, if we put the determined intruders to walking to get to us, they'll be tired before they make it to our checkpoints, and that'll give us one more advantage.”
The ladies appeared with coffee for everyone as Geram finished his proposal. Mr. Richardson interjected as the cups were being filled.
”I like your thoughts Geram, but that'd completely cut us off from the outside world. We could construct some timber bridges to cross the ditches if we had to, but they would have to be set in place with a tractor. There would be no quick way out of here. I can accept that, but everyone needs to consider what that means for themselves and their families.”
A wiry old man with a long, white beard spoke up as Mr. Richardson trailed off.
”That's fine by me. I've been talking with some folks on the HAM, and I can say it's only getting worse out there. The cities are hopeless. People've run out of money and they ain't got any means of earning more. The emergency food centers are overwhelmed, and the military can barely keep them running smoothly when they do have food. We've got plenty here to last us longer than most places. I say we do it.”
A teary-eyed old lady added, ”I agree with Ron; things're only getting worse. I got a call from my daughter-in-law in Arlington a few days ago. It was horrible. She just cried and cried about how they should've left when they could. They haven't had power or running water for weeks. Their phones were restored for a few minutes so she was able to call out, but I guess they've lost it again. She's hearing talk of a dollar devaluation soon. She said that everyone up there is afraid that the whole thing is going to collapse and then they won't have any food. She said the government is worried that some states will try to pull together and leave the union. She doesn't think they have the ability to stop something like that at this point.”
Several nervous conversations erupted from within the group. They discussed the rash of violent home invasions that had recently happened, and a string of house fires that could only be arson. Of course, the old farmers settled on the topic of livestock thefts.
An old man in a dusty ball cap and a leathery face, worn from years of working the fields, interrupted the cacophony with a booming voice.
”I believe it's settled, then. We'll do our best to shut ourselves off from whatever's out there. If anyone within the sound of my voice disagrees, I give you the floor now.”
Silence.
”Alright, we'll start tomorrow. I'll offer up my tractor to help with the north bridge, is there anyone else willing to help with the others?”
Several hands shot up from amongst the group. ”Good. Thank you. We start work first thing tomorrow. We'll need all the help we can get. If you're able-bodied, we could use you. Let's end with a prayer, and plan on seeing everyone again in three days at noon. Be careful; I want all of you back here with us next time.”
In the past, Kate thought the drive home from the church was peaceful and serene. The countryside was mostly cotton, corn and soybean fields, depending on what stage the particular field was in its rotation. When it wasn't crops beyond the shoulder's edge, it was open pastures with cattle dotting the rolling green sea of gra.s.s. On any given day, the herds could be seen seeking relief from the heat in the shallow ponds, or cl.u.s.tering under the spa.r.s.e stands of oaks and pecans.
An occasional cedar-planked barn or brick farm house interrupted the scenery. Barbed-wire fencing seemed to go on forever; along the road, across the fields and around the old farm houses. Tonight's drive was tense, however. Any time spent away from the safety of one's home was a risk that had to be carefully weighed.
Kate captained Bronco while Jake leaned out the pa.s.senger window. He scanned the shoulders with his spotlight for any signs of trouble. They would slow down in front of the farmhouses and sweep the light across the front yards to check on their neighbors.
Geram sat in the back seat with the scoped, FN FAL .308 rifle that he had borrowed from his brother. The optic was a first generation night vision scope. The moon was waning but was still bright enough to provide ample light to compensate for the optic's outdated technology.
Jake slowly scanned left and right, searching for inconsistences. He looked for tire tracks in an abandoned driveway, an unfamiliar vehicle along the edge of the road, or anything that may warn of trouble up ahead. He saw nothing of concern, though. The only signs of bandits he could find were the occasional white eyes of a lone racc.o.o.n.
Kate turned onto their narrow, paved road that had more patches than original pavement. Jake sighed with relief. Soon they would be enjoying dinner at Frank's house. Afterwards, they could discuss moving arrangements over coffee and cake.
Kate had squealed with excitement as he broke the news during the ride to church. Mrs. Thames had helped fill a void she had struggled with since the loss of her own mother. Mrs. Thames was grandmotherly in nature, and a master of everything from canning to crocheting. Kate was looking forward to spending more time with her 'adopted mother'.
As they drove under the final stretch of the live oak canopy that enveloped most of the road, Jake noticed a dark SUV parked in front of the Thames' home. Kate slammed hard on the brakes as Jake shouted to stop. The front door was open and appeared to be sagging from the hinges.
Jake switched the spotlight off and fumbled for the AR pistol that was at his feet. Slowly, his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Geram had already slipped out of the back seat and was in position in the ditch alongside the road.
Kate turned off the headlights and look to Jake for guidance. She began to tear up. Jake leaned over and put his hand on hers. He whispered in his most rea.s.suring voice, ”Baby, I'm going to get out now and go down to Geram. We'll watch the house for a moment and then decide what to do next. I need you to turn around and go to the Richardson's farm. I need you to keep your headlights off if you can. Okay?”
Kate whispered, ”Okay.” Her voice cracked with emotion.
”Good. When you get to the Richardson's, have him send his boys down here on horseback. We might need their help. Stay with Mr. Richardson until we come for you.”
Kate began to gently sob and grasped his hand. ”Please be careful.”
”I always am. Now go and tell them to please hurry back.”
Jake wanted to rush the house, but Geram kept urging him to wait for a little while longer. The winds from earlier were growing fiercer. Geram reasoned the temperature must have dropped five degrees from when they left the church. The rain would be upon them soon. Lightning was already illuminating the horizon.