Fades The Light: The Prepper Reconstruction Read online

  “They ask you any questions about the status of your neighbors?” David asked warily.

  “Well they asked were there many of us left on the lake and got tricky asking how many forms did I need to carry back to you all, but I told them I rarely seen anybody and didn’t mention your trading post. If that’s what you mean.” Mason said guardedly.

  “Good Man! Have you another drink on the house.” David replied smiling as he was reassured for the moment that his little community still remained somewhat off the radar of officialdom.

  In the realm of regional conversational topics, the weather and what the Fed might be up to loomed large in our little piece of Alabama. From swapping stories of major wind blows to guessing the magnitude of a recent tornado, storm chatter is a way of life on the lake. And now the news that Mason had brought to them put a lot more relevant information in the mix to consider and apply to today’s meeting discussions.

  “Hey there Mr. Mason, do me a big favor if you would please. Don’t be mentioning the census or those relocation camps around here to anyone else except our little group here. I will tell you why. See, we got us several shall we say less mature members of the community already thinking about going to the city and I don’t want their decisions swayed by anything they might overhear until us old men talk this thing out some if you understand what I mean.” David said giving him a slight nod to confirm his support.

  “Sure, I won’t say a word.” Mason confirmed

  “That’s partly why we are having this little get together here, we got us a little situation with some newcomers passing through that are painting an entirely too rosy picture about the benefits of those relocation camps to some of our younger community members. Everyone here can come and go as they please but those "young'uns" don’t have the first clue in a cabbage patch about what the outside world is really all about. We got kids that were mostly 4 -14 when the crap hit and pretty much for the most part all they know is backwoods lake living in our community.” David explained.

  “I see your point there David. Man that’s hard to think about just how they are going wraps their heads around to adapting to a big city after running the woods and lake for 10 formative years like a bunch of pioneers. I guess you got some orphans in the mix too or does everyone have some kind of family they can rely on to see them through?” Mason asked trying to envision the boys and girls David was describing in his little survivalist community.

  “We got a mix of parentage legally speaking for sure, but in this community it’s an odd mix of the village raising the child, out right non state sanctioned adoptions and some kids living with blood relatives or parents. It depends on the age and wishes of the kid when they lost their family member or members as to how to classify them. Basically LowBuck, Goat Man and I act sort of as the grandpa gang that handles community child placements and affairs and complaints for those needing some directions.” Dave said and then chuckled at LowBuck who didn’t consider himself a grandpa in the age sense and was looking comically offended.

  “Then you got Boudreaux, Goat Man, Stewart and Jack who handle the communities vocational and trade decisions for them if needed. The grandma gang who refer to themselves as the ladies of society deal with education, matters of the heart, nursing and everything else they think us men folk are not capable of handling. By the way they got their own meeting going on somewhere and I will introduce you to Sherry later after Cat gives me a little heads up about what they have been discussing if she decides to. I figure if LowBuck shares the wealth with some of that hop head Fred belly wash of his with them separately so they can socialize amongst themselves while we have this initial meeting of the boys, our reception at the community dinner table will be much more pleasant.” David said while wondering if Lois was over her war path yet. She didn’t drink and neither did her husband Jack for that matter, but Jack being a former alcoholic instead of a abstainer had over the years taught her a bit about bar room manners and personal decorum towards those that drink alcohol in excess by stressing it was important to be a person known for overlooking some of the drunk shenanigans of those that partook without the holier than thou attitude.

  Best thing Jack had taught Lois was “Words that soak into your ears are whispered - not yelled.” And David sincerely hoped she would remember that bit of wisdom this evening.

  David had already realized that the info Mason had disseminated to him so far, could in the hands of the right users either mollify or exasperate any existing situation that had come to mine. Critical thinking was especially necessary now and even if his little group of revelers were going to cloud their thinking for today, it wasn’t going to cloud their judgment any none tomorrow; this was all new and must be discussed to the inth degree in his opinion.

  Many deep thoughts and profound notions came up from these oftentimes late night “bitch fests “as he was sometimes wont to call them, as the buzzed up well doers partying with him vied to make their points or conclusions known to one another. It was an odd but community beneficial tradition that was the grandpa gangs way of doing thing’s especially when after weeks or months of not seeing each other they would meet up and chart the fate of those that depended on their insights and knowledge to carry on and overcome adversity.

  3

  Lives of Quiet Desperation

  After all the men folk from last nights over indulgence went through a metamorphosis in the morning and struggled our way back to the realm of the living, we were evidencing some hangovers which would have killed a mule. In addition to a roaring headache, Mason’s eyes were redder than hell and he was having a hard time tolerating the sunlight that had come in through the raised shades of the window next to him and the bright light had finally got him out of bed.

  “What’s up Hollywood?’ David said handing him an extra pair of dark sunglasses. Lowbuck, Goat Man and Boudreaux already had there’s on. Them being more experienced with the residual after effects of some good “Stump Blower” blend vodka and were grinning at him from David’s kitchen table drinking some spiked coffee containing a much watered down version of the hair of the bear that mauled them.

  “Oh you all ain`t right, its way too early in the day to even look at you evil guys.” Mason moaned trying to adjust his eyes.

  “Onwards and upwards Fresno, we got work to do today. I warned you about messing with Lois. I told you specifically “Never get into an argument with an idiot - you’ll just lower yourself to their level and they’ll beat you with experience.” But you didn’t heed my warnings and you got customized.” David said smirking at him.

  “Whahh? What are you talking about? I can’t even think straight yet.” Mason complained rubbing his throbbing head.

  “You got seriously down to the nitty gritty talking about her last night my friend and she frying panned ya.” Lowbuck said laughing.

  “Didn’t do more than what she called a love tap but it took you out of the land of the living for a few seconds buddy.” Stewart exclaimed as he entered the room looking for some of the “hair of the dog that bit him” not realizing the term they used was bear because it packed a wallop like Russian Vodka.” Stewart chuckled watching the heap of blankets Mason was tangled in stirring on the floor.

  “Somebody hit me? I got no recollection of any of that. Here now, give me a minute I just got up. Ah hell I remember! I got side swiped when I wasn’t looking. Said something about her minding her own business or that I should be minding mine and then I heard this god-awful ring ringing in my head.

  “Be glad it was just a dented aluminum Teflon coated one and not cast seasoned cast iron” Dump said while smiling like a possum eating fish.

  The group took imaginative genuine glee in tormenting and bedeviling Mason in his hung-over state. They had all decided previously they weren’t going to tell him until later that it really was an accident that Lois had conked him with that frying pan. She was pretending to hit him with it when he stood up and just sort of walked into it. Lois apologized profus
ely but Mason blacked out for a few moments and didn’t hear her. He had crawled himself off to bed shortly after and only remembered the laughter of the group over the incident and not much else

  .

  “He looks like the dog’s been keepin’ him under the porch.” Boudreaux exclaimed pointing a thick arthritic thumb at him all the while chuckling and making humorous faces at the disheveled man making his way to the kitchen table. Exaggeration is an art form to Cajuns. David had once heard Boudreaux talking to one of his friends for example.

  "Martha, did you hear dat ole Madam Belle died."

  "No."

  "Well, Madame Belle died and I was sicker than her!"

  Listening to as well as understanding Boudreaux took some getting used to and Mason looked around for someone to translate for him which was pretty funny because over the last ten years the lakes communal language had evolved into a hybrid of Cajun, southern and many twisted borrowed words from its international and multicultural residents.

  “He just means your looking pretty rough buddy. Dang Dump Truck, You’re worse that a pet raccoon - can’t keep your hands off anything.” David said scolding Dump and retrieving his hat that he was fiddling with.

  “I was just looking at it. You about wore that thing out haven’t you?” Dump said unabashed as David moved his old boonie hat out of reach.

  “Well I don’t want you wearing it out any quicker. Mason, you probably don’t want to see another drink but a small one is prescribed as the only way for you to shake that mung head you got off. You guys go ahead and tell him what really happened last night and I will go to see if Jack is back to his house yet.” David said as he rose a bit shakily and grabbed his own cup of spiked coffee and headed out the door humming a song.

  Well I asked my old pappy why he called his brew,

  White lightning 'stead of mountain dew,

  I took a little sip and right away I knew,

  As my eyes bugged out and my face turned blue!

  Lightnin' started flashin' and thunder started crashin'

  Shhhoooh . . . white lightning!" -George Jones

  Jack wasn’t anywhere about so went down to the lake to clear his senses before starting to think on the days problems.

  4

  Of A Cat and Old Dogs

  David sat on his deck looking out across the lake and thinking back with bit of melancholy on the years he had spent watching the sun go down or come up from this very same spot. “Fish cat” was curled up napping in the chair across from him and the animal looked very peaceful. David never got tired of trying to ponder that cats mind and what it thought about whether it was sleeping or awake

  .

  Fish cat was quite an odd feline character indeed. David was never sure if it regarded itself as a dog or more of maybe some kind of hybrid cat. People often referred to it as “dog cat’ because it had so many doggy ways that were opposite from any normal cats personalities or particular attributes.

  Boudreaux’s old dog Bear had deposited the mostly black kitten on his doorstep one day and then had wandered off like he didn’t care what happened to it. David had been looking out his kitchen window and had seen Bear carrying something furry in his mouth towards his cabin but he had never suspected it would turn out to be a mewling live kitten.

  “Oh great, now what am I supposed to do with this?’ David had thought looking around for where Bear had gotten his old hound dog self off to. A quick glance around had shown Bear hiding off in the wood line pretending he wasn’t watching or caring what David would do with the little doggy slobbered upon beastie.

  David had spoken softly to the partly soggy some what nasty and foamy kitten and then had picked it up to examine it more closely. The cat objected at first but soon settled down and seemed too tired to continue to fuss and meow and let the giant human caress its fur. The cat’s fur was jet black but its underbelly looked like it was wearing a little white bikini which was cute because it was a female.

  Cats were not really very welcome creatures around the lake because of their super predatory ways in reducing the small game population, but there were still a few of them kept as pets to those that employed them as barn cat mousers. David wasn’t really much of a cat person, he liked dogs much better but he loved all animals and had taken the little waif in.

  I guess growing up around mostly dogs had influenced this cat to somewhat start thinking he was one and she mimicked some doggish ways. She would sit-up on her hind legs to be petted sometimes and she would also do it to reach out with a very gentle paw to tap on David’s hand to get his attention. David was glad she just used the soft velvety pads of her feet to do this trick because that cat had claws like iron fishhooks and as often as she did it he would of probably got accidentally scratched up a lot if she wasn’t so deft and gentle. Dang cat had claws big enough to be a bobcats he had always thought.

  Like a dog she would stick her head in a bowl of food and move it all over the place instead of daintily staying and eating in one place like most cats would. But like a cat she would use those tremendous claws to daintily fish out choice morsels from a can or bowl that were awkward to get to with her mouth. She ran up to David every time he returned from a trip and greeted him loudly with her best cat interpretation of his name repeated over and over until she got a hello caress and pat. I swear that cat tried to talk to David often and would pickup a word here and there in English and meow speak it until he learned what she was saying in HuCat speak and he responded accordingly.

  There was a running battle between Fish Cat and David as to whether or not she was an inside or outside cat. She had heard OUT from David enough times to quickly learn its meaning, but when he let her in because of cold or storms if she needed to go to the bathroom she would look at him and growl meow OoooooooooowwwT to get him to open the door.

  Growing up as a kitten in a fish camp on the lake had also helped her with her human speak understanding. At first whenever David had said the word “fishing” the cat would run and jump in the boat. If the word was just being used in conversation , Fish Cat would look embarrassed for a second and then start cleaning its paws or pretending it just felt like taking a nap in the boat instead of being an embarrassed feline who had jumped the gun and their was no fishing trip in progress.

  Fish Cat got its name for a variety of reasons but mostly because Boudreaux’s dog had somehow managed to give it swimming lessons and it was known to wade in the shallows trying to catch a fish or could sometimes be seen just jumping off the dock and swimming about like a dog playing in the water.

  David always grumbled as smart as that cat was it still hadn’t learned he didn’t eat fish heads and the cats occasional “gifts” to him on his doorstep irked the hell out of him. He didn’t complain much though when the occasional fresh killed squirrel or rabbit appeared. He and that hunting and fishing cat had shared some cat kill more times than he would ever admit to anyone. Life was very hard on the lake and you did what you had to do sometimes to get by. David had no qualms about sharing a meal with fish cat and congratulated it on its prowess and hunting skills.

  Thinking about Boudreaux’s old deceased coonhound Bear made him feel rather sad. The dog had passed naturally from old age about 5 years back and had been honorably buried by the whole community as a great loss to them all. Boudreaux had been beside himself with grief for a month at the loss of his cherished friends assistance and love, but necessity for the hunt had made him seek out and train two more dogs to take his place.

  There were no just plain common ordinary pets to be loved and pampered in ones home these days. The two rather large and particularly odd looking dogs Boudreaux had adopted and trained were a mix between one of Roland’s cart dog German Sheppard’s and some kind of Blue Tick hound dog. Smart as hell and vicious as the devil if need be, they were an integral part of camp life security and hunting for the prepper complex.

  Roland, Roland, my dear old dead buddy. How many friends have gone before and after you s
ince the big raid on your place? Roland was shot and killed years ago trying to defend his horses from being eaten by a roving band of marauders his surviving ranch hand had said. His death and the loss of his working farm had devastated the community here on the lake. No more trade goods, livestock, fertilizer, feed; sacks of vegetables etc. appeared from Roland’s now deserted farm 40 miles up the road anymore. The biggest loss was Roland’s knowledge of all things farming and being able to mend farm equipment in the field. He passed on a lot of his knowledge but nothing like he could have before his unfortunate demise.

  David remembered that lesson of lost knowledge well and utilized the last hour of everyday at the cook fire as knowledge sharing time for whomever wanted to be or was assigned to be speaker for the evening to share skills, knowledge, stories, history or whatever they wanted to. Any bit of knowledge lost was forever these days and you never knew when you might need it. The oral history of the surviving prepper clan was also remembered and passed on like so many tribes in history had a custom before them.

  All members of the clan young and old could have their say and turn at the campfire after displaying good listening skills to other speakers. It was amazing what the younger people picked up on as new skills by just observing nature they interpreted and could pass on to the group. Knowledge of water levels in the lake, fishing areas, animal habits, concentrations of bugs or snakes etc. was invaluable information for them all the groups elders soon found out.