Chapter 4
Over the last month Kevin has slowly gotten better. The vitamins and regular meals had done wonders for both of them. Kevin has started to open up a little. He has moved his sleeping bag a little closer to the fire. But he is still having nightmares at least once a week. So Scott still sleeps beside him. I knew him as OpEd so long it still seems a little strange to use his real name.
About a week after Scott and Kevin made it to the cave we heard on the radio that they had attempted to escape from the camp and were presumed dead. The announce went on to pretty much say that is what happens to traitors. There was no mention of any international protest or the challenges to the work camps. Of course that was not surprising.
Because of the increased risk I had sharply limited the amount we went outside of the cave. By the end of the month everyone was bitchy and stir crazy. So I relented and told them if they made themselves a pair of snowshoes I would take them with me when I went to reset my snares and traps. Of course Scott and Kevin had to learn how to make the snowshoes. Then they had to learn to walk on them.
I had taken the traps and snares down because of the blizzard. While I had come to terms with having to hunt I still was strongly opposed to wasting what I trapped. There was no way to check the traps and collect the animals during a bad storm so I took them down till the weather was better. Then Scott and Kevin had shown up.
Just to be safe I decided to go out first on my own and make a quick sweep of the area. By now I knew the whole area like the back of my hand. I could move through the area without being seen. They were not ready for that yet. We had checked the forecast and the next several days were supposed to be cold but clear. So we decided that if I thought it was safe I would take them out the following day to practice using the snowshoes. I figured they would need a couple of days getting the hang of them. Once they were comfortable we would plan to make the trip to the other valley.
At 9:00 AM I was in the outer cave scanning the area with my binoculars. After about 15 minutes I was satisfied that the area around the cave was clear and I headed out. Before I moved up here I don’t think I would have believed how beautiful and how cruel it was up here in the higher elevations. There were only a few wispy clouds and the sun was reflecting off the snow. I was glad to have my sunglasses as the glare was intense. But as I looked across the valley it looked like a post card. You would never know that any human had ever stepped into the valley.
When I went back in and told them that it was safe to go out and practice with their snowshoes they were like to little kids. I had to laugh at them.
I made one more inspection of their snowshoes and we went outside and I took them down an animal trail to an open area where they could practice.
They had fun teasing each other about their relative lack of skill.
Somehow I found myself in the middle of a snowball fight. Soon Scott and Kevin were laughing. Suddenly they both turned on me and I beat a hasty retreat behind a tree. We just relaxed and had some fun for the entire afternoon. Kevin was still a little weak from being so sick and when I noticed that he was getting a little tired I said, “Hey guys I think it’s time to head back in.” They nodded and we headed back. When we got back inside I boiled some water and made us some coffee. As we sat by the fire Kevin said, “Thanks for taking us outside. I really had fun.”
Smiling I said, “Your welcome Kevin. I’m glad we were able to do it.”
As we sat there and sipped our coffee it felt great to just relax. I think that was the first time I have truly relaxed since I moved up here. And as I thought back over the day I realized that today was the first time that I heard Kevin laugh. It gave me hope that he was actually getting better. So it had truly been a day of first.
Over the next several weeks Kevin’s health continued to improve. The nightmares were slowly becoming rarer and he had become comfortable with me. It was good to see him finally come back to life. It was typical of my luck that Scott and I had finally met and we could not do anything about it. He and I had talked several times while his brother was asleep. Our main concern was for Kevin. There was no privacy in the cave and we could not ask Kevin to just go out and play for a hour. So both of us were more than a little frustrated. There had always been a attraction between us even when we had lived in different towns. Now we were so close and did not feel like we could do anything about it.
Scott and I had started discussing what was going outside of our cave. We both wanted to know what was really going out there. However my radio was not strong enough to bring in anything other than local stations and even then reception was kind of suspect. It was Scott that had suggested that we run some kind of flexible wire antenna to improve reception. That way we could possibly bring some stations from across the border. The advantage of using the flexible wire was that we could bring it back in when we were finished with it. That way we did not compromise our safety. It was a great idea but I did not have any kind of wire we could use and it would have to be easy to conceal. We could not afford to have something like that detected. After much discussion I decided to see if Jack could get some wire for me as well as my normal amounts of lantern oil and salt. That would mean making two trips to his farm but we all thought it was worth the risk. It was decided that I would head out the next morning to see him.
Things had settled into a comfortable routine for us. Kevin, Scott and I rotated cooking duties and we made a list of what would be served each night. That allowed us to vary the menu and at the same time keep strict control on our food stores.
They both had to learn how to cook over a fire. It was not like cooking on a electric stove. But they both learned quickly and lets face it there was a limited number of options to choice from particularly with meat. In the winter. It was deer or the occasional rabbit. In the spring we would be able to try and catch some fish. They would be a welcomed addition to our diet. I had tried to dry some fish last year but my efforts had not been edible. I was going to attempt it again this summer and I hoped I had figured it out. It really rankled me that I had not been able to pull it off. I hated to waste potential food that way.
In the morning I headed out to Jack’s. It was cold but the sun was shining and I really enjoyed the exercise. When I got to his farm he was not anywhere in site so I settled down to wait. It was almost 2:00 in the afternoon when I saw him drive up in his pickup truck. I waited for a few more minutes till he finished unloading. Then I stepped out of the woods and called out to him, “Jack” He turned around sharply and looked irritated. Then he smiled and said, “You are getting better. I did not know you were there this time. I will have to pay a little more attention.”
I smiled and said, “Thanks for the compliment.” He shrugged without making any other comment.
Then I said, “I would like to trade for some more lantern oil and if you have it some copper wire or lamp cord. I need 10-15 feet of it. And for next time I would like to get two gallons of lantern fuel instead of one.”
He mulled it over for a minute then said, “I have the oil in the barn and I might have some wire you could use for an antenna in there as well.”
Alarmed I turned and said, “What makes you think I want it for an antenna?”
“I still do some consulting work part time and I was a CB and amateur radio operator for years. There is not much I don’t know about radios. What did you think those antennas on my barn were for?” I just shook my head and said, “I thought they were for TV or something.” Every time I thought I had him figured out he threw me a curve. While he went into his barn for the oil and wire I unpacked the furs I had for him.
He came back out in about 10 minutes with the wire and the oil. After he had looked over my furs we settled on a price he surprised me by speaking again. “There has been a lot of chatter online. The government is up to something. They have positioned troops near most of the major cities and no one from the military or the government is talking. There a lot of nervous people out there today. It seems that some in the house and senate are calling for the president’s impeachment. They say he has violated the constitution with the work camps and other measures. What caused this latest uproar was the arrest of several members of the house of representatives who had been outspoken critics of his administration. Well that went too far for some in his administration. Several high level members of his cabinet resigned today. There is supposed to be a major address by the president tonight at 8:00 PM EST. Nobody knows what he is going to say. But most people don’t expect him to step down.”
When I heard that I had a sinking feeling that things were going to get a lot worse and is said, “That does not sound good at all.”
“Just thought you would want to know. Of course most of this never made the local or national “news.” All they have said on the national news is that the president would address the nation tonight. Now days the national news doesn’t print or say anything that does not get approved by the government. But this is too big. It is all over the net and the international news. All of a sudden there seems to be a lot of trouble with accessing certain sites. It seems that the more controversial sites are having a lot of trouble staying online. Weird that it only seems to be happening to the sites critical to the government.”
I just shook my head.
He said, “I thought you would want to know. It would be a good idea to lay really low for he next couple of weeks.”
“Thanks for the heads up I appreciate it.”
He nodded walked back into his house. I loaded up the rest of my furs and the wire and oil and headed back. Having to wait for him had thrown me off schedule. It was almost dark when I got back to the cave. All the way back I thought about what Jack had said. It was so out of character for him. Because of where he lived and the fact that he did not speak much I had unfairly labeled him as not very intelligent. What made it worse I was pretty sure that he knew that I had underestimated him and that embarrassed the hell out of me. I had always prided myself on not making snap judgments about people. Now it seemed that he just did not feel the need to speak unless he had something he wanted to say. I guess he did not believe in idle chatter.
I did not know what to make of what he had told me but I was very uneasy about it. I had thought about it all the way home and as soon as I had everything stowed away I told Scott and Kevin about it.
Scott took the wire and rigged a bigger antenna for the radio. It was long enough to reach from the inside cave to and hang over lip of the exterior cave. This allowed us to stay inside where it was warm have better reception than we had before. For this occasion we decided to break out the backup radio. That way we could listen to one till it needed to be charged again. Then we would switch to the other one and listen while the depleted one was charged. Kevin volunteered to be the one to keep them charged as we listened.
Kevin had cooked dinner and had it ready when I got home. After Scott had finished with the antenna we sat down to eat. It was about 30 minutes later that we heard “We interrupt this broadcast for a network special report. The president will be addressing the nation in 10 minutes.”
It was obvious that they did not have any idea what he was going to say either so I tuned them out and finished my coffee. Then we heard them announce “Ladies and Gentlemen the President of the United States.”
There was a short pause then he began to speak. “My fellow Americans I come to you tonight with a heavy heart. Last week it was discovered that several members of the House of Representatives had violated the Secrecy Act of 2009. Therefore I had no choice but have them arrested. No man or woman is above the law.
Unfortunately some in government are trying to use these events as an excuse to force me from office. In these dangerous times I will not allow anyone or any group to endanger our great country. It is with deep regret that I am forced to announce that I am declaring Martial Law. I am hopeful that we can have things back under control in the next couple of months. I would ask that everyone stay calm and remain at home tomorrow. Anyone caught on the streets after 7:00 PM tomorrow evening will be subject to arrest. You will see members of the military patrolling the street. They are there to maintain order. I am confident that the good people of the United States will work with our fine military personnel in insuring that our great country stays strong. General Swanson will be taking the remainder of the time to lay out rules that are in effect during Martial Law. ”
“Thank you Mister President. I will be going over the main points of the order tonight. All the national networks will be going over the specifics tonight. In order to insure that everyone is familiar with the regulations all regularly scheduled programming is will be pre empted for 24 hours. In 48 hours there will be a written copy available for viewing at your local post office. While martial law is in effect any public gathering of more than a 6 people will have to be approved by the government. If you chose to ignore this order you will be arrested and I must warn you the penalty will be severe.
The 7:00PM curfew goes into effect tomorrow evening. This will allow people that are traveling to get back home. If you are too far from home to get back in time go to the nearest military checkpoint and ask for a special travel permit. You will be allowed to travel from 7:00 AM through 7:00 PM till you arrive home. Effective immediately all sporting events and any other gatherings with the exception of worship services are temporarily banned.
Your armed forces will be doing their best to keep control. I am asking that every American do their part to help our great country get through this.
From time to time I will be addressing you to update you on our progress and to keep you informed of any new rules or regulations.
I wish to thank you in advance for your cooperation in these trying times.
Till I address you again may God bless our great country”
Kevin was the first to speak, his only comment was, “Holy Shit!”
I looked over at Scott but he seemed as stunned as I was.
© 2006, Joseph Men