Original Work The Unwelcome Sign

“INSIDE. HELLO?” Someone called, which set off the dogs who started barking furiously.
“Cover me from the upstairs bathroom” I told Sadie. I grabbed my AR and headed out into the yard, carefully, using the house as cover, slicing the pie around the corners until I could see.

It occured to me that I would have been better off checking what was going on from the security of the house. Oh well, I'm committed now. I switched the carbine to my left shoulder to match the corner I was approaching. Staying some distance from the it, I shuffled sideways a little at a time, each 'slice' allowing me to see a little further.

The dogs were still barking furiously. I finally got to where I could see the gate at the end of the driveway. Carol, Detective Johns, and a third person were standing stock still just on the otherside of the gate. Rudi had his front paws on the gate putting him at eye level with the people on the other side. He continued to bark, clearly angry. Loco was a few feet away, growling lowly, the sound barely escaping her throat. Johns had his hand on the grip of his pistol which was still in its holster. Luckily for him.

I let the M4 hang on it's sling and walked forward. “Come!” The pups stopped what they were doing and came over to me. “Sit!” Rudi sat next to my right leg, leaning against it, facing the group. Loco was on my left.

“Afternoon” I greeted them.
“ah..Good afternoon” they chorused back. Carol took over. She had a clipboard in her hand. “We were wondering where Sadie is? She was supposed to meet us to start with the food collection.”
“She sends her appologies. She's laying down resting. She's got a pounding headache, and it hurts to sit up, much less stand. I think it might be food poisoining. She was puking her guts out an hour ago, and then it moved further down. For a while she had the waistbasket in front of her while she sat on the toilet. Did she eat anything at your meeting? Are all of you feeling OK?

They looked at each other with worried expressions. I tried to hit them with too much information, so they wouldn't ask any more questions.

“Oh, we're sorry to hear that, tell her we hope she feels better.” Carol spoke for the group I noticed. She looked down at her clipboard. “You wrote down at yesterday's meeting that you have some items that you will donate for distribution to others that need it.”

“Sure did. I've got it put aside. I'll go get it. Be right back.” I looked at the pups, putting my hand, palm down with a downward motion. As they lay down, I turned and went in to get the small box of canned food we put together. Back at the gate I passed it over. Neither Carol nor Johns made a move to take it. After a brief awkward pause the other person took it from me.
I gave a sympathetic smile. “It's not much. I wish we had more to give. Lord knows people will need the help.” I looked Carol in the eye, “Thank you for doing this. I appreciate you stepping forward and taking charge, looking out for everybody's' interest.”

Carol stood slightly taller, shoulders pushed back, and beamed with self important pride. “Just doing what needs to be done for the good of the community.”

“How is the collection going, anyway?”
“We stopped at your house first to see about Sadie.”
“We'll, I wish you luck. I'll let Sadie know that you were inquiring about her health. She'll come and help you with the food as soon as she's able”
“Yes, well, thank you. We need to move along now. Bye.” The “bye” was echoed by the other two as they turned and started walking away. After a few steps Johns said something to Carol, who nodded. He turned and walked back toward me while the other two kept going.

“What's up?” I asked as he came up to the gate. He looked at my AR.
“I know you're a gun guy, being an instructor and all. All I have is my duty pistol” he tapped the Glock 22 on his side. “I'm going to need that rifle so I can keep the neighborhood safe. I'm sure you have other guns you can use.”

“Um, no. That's not going to happen. Sorry.” If he had approached me a bit differently, I might have been more inclined to help him. Not with my rifle, but maybe something else. Him all but demanding that I give him my M4 changed my attitude.

One of my pet peeves is people not taking any steps to take care of themselves in an emergency, and then demanding things from those that had the foresight to do so. Even though it meant sacrifices on their part. Vacations not taken, luxuries not bought. Ugh!

He didn't say anymore, but just looked at me. I returned his stare until he looked away and slightly lowered his head. He turned and left without another word. I looked up to my right to see Sadie watching me from the bathroom window.

“I heard most of that from where I was. Did Detective Johns really ask for your rifle?”
“Yeah. That was awkward. Bad enough the food. But now they are going be asking for other things? I wonder how long before the 'asking' turns into 'demanding?”

“When they get more desperate, or more frustrated. Either when they really need the things they want, or when no one cooperates. I'm betting it will be the later.”
“Which will happen sooner, don't you think?”
“Yeah. They aren't starving yet, not even close, but when they finish their collection run today, I think they will come up way short. Carol is going to be furious.”
“What can she do about it? How can she force people to do what she wants?”
“I don't know. I'm afraid we'll find out.”

 

We spent the afternoon puttering trying to figure out what to do about chickens.
“How will you go about catching them?” Sadie asked
“Not sure. You're the farm girl, any suggestions?”
“No, I never had to catch wild chicken before. I know domesticated one can lead you on quite the chase. They can change direction quickly”
“I've got a few ideas. I was thinking a noose or a net on a pole.”
“That might work, but you'll be running around and will probably miss alot. I think you'll also attract attention from the neighbors.”


“Or trying to get them when they are asleep, using the night vision to see them.”
“They probably roost in trees.”
“Some of them have chicks. They wouldn't leave them, would they?”
“You might be right, you might be able to get a brood hen with her chicks on the ground”
“I also thought about trapping them. Either a falling box, or a small enclosure.”
“What will you use as bait?”
“What do you suggest?”
“Maybe some of the wheat berries? So which method do you think you'll use?”
“I'm thinking I'll try a few different ways. More chance of success if I hedge my bets.”
“What can I do to help?
“Would you get some of the wheat berries together? And indentify a spot where you want to keep the birds when we get them. Maybe a couple of old pillow cases too. I'm going to gather up the things we need. Let's go out after dark and see what we can catch.”
“Ok Sweetie, it's a date!”

I had everything for our chicken wrangling expendtion together when I heard the dogs start barking and run for the gate. It was their “we're excited, and someone is here” bark. Trusting their judgement, I went to the gate with just my pistol on.
“Zed! Zed!” It was our closest neighbor, Macie. For her to not start a conversation by first saying “good afternoon” was not a good sign.
“Afternoon Macie, howya doing?”
“Carol, that policeman, and another woman came to my house!”
“Yes, the Food Committee. They came here too.”
“Did they go in your house?”
“Um, no. Why?”
“They knocked on my door and when I answered, Carol asked me for food to donate. I said I didn't have any. She said I must have something, and we all need to give for the common good. I told her I can't give what I don't have. Then the policeman”
“Detective Johns”
“Whatever. Detective Johns, he steps forward and says they need to come in to my home to see for themselves.”
“What!”
“Yes. I stood in the door, but he pushed me out of the way and they all came in and
started going through my things. They looked in my cupboards and refrigerator. I didn't have much, but they took it all.”
“What! What are you supposed to eat?”
“ Carol told me that I can go to her house and she will give me an equal portion of the food that they get from people. Everyone will get the same amount.”
“Sure they will” I told myself, remembering the “Animal Farm” quote. “All animals are equal. Some are more equal than others”
“That's crazy!” I told Macie. “People aren't going to put up with that!”
“Those that don't have anything think its great. Did you give Carol some food?”
“Just a little. We didn't have much”
“They took everything I had. Do you have any you can spare?”
“Afternoon Macie,” Sadie had come out to join us. Her timing was not by chance.
“ Afternoon Sadie”
“Carol and crew paid Macie a visit after they left our house.” I let Macie repeat what she told me. She could use the oportunity to vent some more.
“What?” Sadie's response mirrored mine.
“Pretty crazy, huh? I was just explaining to Macie that we gave what little food we had to the committee and we didn't have any extra.”
“I heard that the government was setting up food distribution points” said Macie.
“Where'd you hear that?”
“Mrs. Quinn told me” the Quinns lived across from Macie. “There's one at the Moravian church. I'm going to go down there and see what they have. You want to come along?”
“No, I”
“We'll probably go later” Sadie interrupted me. “Let us know the details when you get back.”
“Well, OK. Oh! Mrs. Quinn also told me this, when she went to Government House, she couldn't see the Governor.”
“I'm not surprised. He's got to be real busy.”
“He's friends with the Quinn's. They supported his campaign. He would have seen her.”
“Then why didn't he?
“There are rumors that he left the island.”
“Left the island? Where did he go? Who's in charge?”
“I don't know. I think John Grey is trying to pretend that the Governor is still here and he is issuing his orders.”
“He won't be able to keep that up for long.”
“Maybe the National Guard will take over. They would be good at handing out food and preventing looting. I may hear more when I go to the church.”
“Well, please let us know what you find out. And be safe out there”
“I will, Jesus is watching over me.”
Sadie and I gave a quick wave as Macie turned and walked away.
“Wow...”
“Yeah. Wow.”

 

Brazen huzzy and her lap dog LEO, my only response to him would have been classic...
"Molon Labe"

 

I'm getting the feeling that Carol and Detective Johns are prime candidates for unwelcome signage...

Good story...keep up the good work.

 

I was glued to my iPad all day, great work!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

“Can you believe that?” Sadie asked once Macie was gone.
“Unfortunately, yes”
“Forcing their way into people's homes? I'm surprised people put up with it.”
“That's why Johns is in uniform with his pistol on his belt. I bet they don't try that with everyone, just those they think they can bowl over. They didn't even hint at something like that with me.”
“No, they're afraid of you.”
“Me?”
“You know what I mean. And I'm worried that makes them dangerous. They won't confront you directly. They'll go behind your back, or get someone else to do their work for them.”
“I don't disagree. We just need to watch out as best we can. By the way, I'm glad you came out when Macie was asking for food.”
“I saw which way the conversation was going. We can't start that. I like Macie, but we can't adopt her.”
“Understood. It would be different if she had some useful skills. We have to look at our stores as a commodity. Not just to keep us alive but as money.”
“So, we don't give people food, they have to earn it. But that shortens the time we can survive on our preps.”
“Yup. It's going to be a balancing act. We have a limited budget and we have to spend it wisely. And we need to quickly come up with ways to come up with more 'income'”.

Walking back inside I picked up my M4 and magazine carrier and put them on.
“Going somewhere?”
“I'm thinking I would take a walk through the neighborhood. Talk to a few people, see how things are going.”
“It'd be a good change to see what Carol's doing. Give me a minute and I'll come too.”
“You're 'feeling poorly', remember? Let's not make Carol any more suspicious than she already is.”
“Fuck her”
“Yeah, well, you were saying we need to be careful around her. She'll be taken care of one way or another, let's be smart about it.”
“Well alright. But be careful.”
“I will. I'll bring the radio. I'll let you know how I'm getting along.”

“You two be good. Protect Mommy.” I told the pups as I let myself out of the gate.
I rounded the knoll that hid our house from the rest of the neighborhood and past Macie's place. She had a small apartment under a larger unfinished house. It was block construction like most houses on island. Windows and doors were in place but it was unpainted and the electrical service wasn't finished. That wasn't really important any more.

 

I didn't see any sign of Macie as I passed. The Quinns' house was kitty-corner to Macie's. Mr. Quin was in the yard, grilling what smelled like steak. He looked up as I neared. Was that a hint of guilt I detected?
“Oh, hi Zed.” He raised his fork in greeting.
“Hey Kevin, how's it going?”
“Not too bad. Trying to survive until things get back to normal.”
“Think that's going to happen?”
“Sure, why wouldn't it?”
“I heard Ellie went to Government House today”
“Yeah, she went earlier today”
“How'd that go?”
“Well, she found out the the government is setting up food distribution points around the island.”
“Cool. That where you got the steaks?” I smiled and winked at him
“These?” he pointed with the fork. “Oh, no, we had these. Cooking them up before they go bad. Is that a rifle you're carrying?” He said, stating the obvious.
“Yeah. There's been quite a bit of violence since this has started. There have even been home invasions in the area” I don't think he caught my reference to the food committee. And I'm not sure why I felt the need to explain myself to him.
“Yeah, sometimes I wish we had a gun, but Ellie won't allow one in the house.”
I decided to switch gears.
“By the way, did the food committee come by your house?”
“Sure, they came by.”
“Did they go in your house to see what food you had?”
“What? No! Why would they do that?”
Ellie opened the door and stuck her head out. “Are those steaks done? Oh. Hi Zed.” She looked none too pleased to see me.
“Hi Ellie. How are you making out?”
“Is that a gun?”
I didn't reply. What was there to say? Of course it was a gun.
“I don't allow those around my children! I'm going to have to ask you to leave.”
“Of course. My appologies, didn't mean to offend anyone. I'll move along so you guys can enjoy those steaks.” Ellie shot me a dirty look and as I turned to leave I heard her whispering angryily to Kevin.

 

I bypassed the next several houses until I reached Mr. Charles' place. He was in his garden, pulling weeds.
“Afternoon, Mr. Charles.” I greeted. He straightened and stretched his back.
“Afternoon Mr. Zed, howya doing?”
“I'm safe. You?”
“So-so. These are troubling times.”
“Yes sir, they are, and I'm worried we haven't seen the worst of it yet.”
“It's bad enough when it's the criminals you have to worry about thiefing from you. Now I have to worry about my friends and neighbors.”
“What happened? Have you had some trouble?”
“Someone was in my garden last night. Took some things. Worse is they stepped all over and caused more damage than just what they took.”
“Any idea who did it?”
“No. I seen some foot prints, but that don't tell me much. And then that Miss Carol comes by with them other two, wanting my crops.”
“Did they take any?”
“I give them a little of what was ready. She said it wasn't enough and I had to give more. She said I had so much and most people had nothing. I told her the plants weren't ready yet and she said they'd be back. That policeman, he told me that I should be happy for the protection and that giving my food was worth it for the safety he was giving us. He said everyone has to help as they can.”
“Hmmm. How do you feel about that?”
“Feel! How do think I feel, them thiefing my food, they no better than the one was sneaking around my garden last night. Worse! They do it in the light of day!”
“Do you have a gun, Mr. Charles?”
“No. No, all I have is my cutlash.”
“Would you like to have a gun?”
“Well, I suppose I would. I never thought I'd need one. Looks like maybe I do, though. But where would I get one?”
“I might be able to help you with that.”
“Why would you want to do that?
“Purely selfish reasons. I think you are going to be very important. Not just for what you are growing now, but for the lifetime of experience you have in that head of yours. I want you to stick around for a while” I smiled at him.
“I don't know a lick about guns.”
“I do. We'll talk more in a day or two, when I have a chance to spend a couple of hours with you. Meanwhile, do you have any thin string or wire? And some empty cans?”
“Well, I'm sure I can find something like that. Why?”
“Put the string around your garden and the paths leading to it. Like around ankle high. Put the cans on the string with a couple of pebbles in it so it rattles when the someone walks into the string. Kindofa primitive alarm system. Don't make the string to strong or you might trip a person and they could fall and hurt themselves.” I winked at him and he chuckled.
“ Now I want to continue my walk around the neighborhood. I enjoyed chatting with, Mr. Charles. You be safe.”
He stuck out a large paw and we exchanged a firm shake.
“Thank you Mr. Zed, I appreciate you stopping by. Even if you are being selfish.” He shot me his own big conspiritorial wink.

 

As I walked through the neighborhood, I was struck by how quiet it was. Many houses seemed empty. I don't know if it was because the people had left, or if they were just sitting inside with nothing to do because the electric was out. Here and there I would see people outside. Sitting in their yards, some cooking on fires in their grills. What are they going to do when the propane tanks run empty?

I turned the corner onto the street that Carol lives on. Her house was about halfway down, on the left. I saw a couple of people coming towards me, carrying small bags, those plastic shopping bags you get at the grocery store.
I greeted them as we passed, but they didn't seem interested in having a converation. As the third person approached, I asked, “Afternoon. Whatcha got in the bag?”
“Food” was the one word reply.
“From Carol's?”
“Yeah.” as the walked past me.

As I came up to Carol's house, I could see there were a number of people hanging around. Two men stood on either side of the front door. One was the man from the meeting asking whether he could shoot people who were breaking into his car. His little .38 was on his belt in a cheap nylon holster. His partner was armed with a machete.

There were a couple of other groups standing around talking, all with plastic bags hanging from their hands or wrists. They stopped talking and turned to watch as I walked up to the door.

“Afternoon” I greeted the two men guarding the door. “You guys security?” I smiled at them, which probably wasn't the best move.
“Neighborhood watch” Mr. .38 replied “You'll have to leave your rifle with us if you want to go in and get some food”
“Ummm...No, thanks, I'll just stay out here. Just though I'd stop by and see how things were going.”
“Oh, I guess that's ok then. Are you going to join the neighborhood watch? That rifle would be handy to have.”
“Hadn't really thought about it” I lied.
We were interupted by Carol and Johns coming out of the house. “Oh, it's you, Zed” said Carol.
“Afternoon” I responded, nodding at Johns who nodded back.
“Leave your gun with the Watch and come in get your food allotment.” invited Carol.
“Nah, I'm good. But thanks. These other people need it more.” I glanced around and noticed that the people in the yard had moved in closer.
“But what are you going to eat?” Carol's eyes narrowed slightly whether with curiosity or suspicion, I'm not sure. Probably both.
I was starting to mentally kick myself in the ass for coming here. Get yourself out of this one, Zed.
“Ummm.. We are going to check out the food distribution that the government has set up. They should have something for us.”
She visibly relaxed. I noticed Johns staring at my rifle.
“We are setting up transportation to the Moravian Church first thing in the morning. How many people can you take with you?”
Damn this woman was crafty. I could tell she was suspicious and trying to trap me. “I'm not sure when we are going. I have to check with Sadie. She might have other plans in the morning. But if we are free, we'll check in with you. What time are you meeting up? I assume you'll rally here?”
“That's right. Everyone is supposed to meet here at 6:00am and we leave together.”
“That's smart. Better to travel together, what with all the trouble. But should everyone leave? Will the neighborhood be safe with everyone gone?”
“I'll be staying” Johns replied. “I'll patrol and make sure the neighborhood is safe. I'm asking everyone to leave their keys in case I need to go inside to check.”
“Check for what?”
“In case I hear a noise or something that gives me probable cause to think there is a burglary in progress or some other crime being committed. I'll need to go in and check it out.”
“Oh, that makes sense” Makes sense if you want to take the opportunity to see what people have in their homes. “Well, I'll probably see you in the morning then”
“They won't let you have that rifle at the distribution center.” stated Johns.
“Yeah, you're probably right.”
“You can leave it with me when you go.”
“We'll see. Depending on what Sadie has planned I may be around to help you patrol while the other's go for food. I'm sure you'd like backup.”
Johns scowled at that. Which confirmed to me that he was up to no good.
“I can keep an eye on things by myself. I don't need a civilian getting in the way.”
“Ok, no worries. Just a thought, but I understand what you're saying.” I tipped my head to those on the porch, “Well, good night all”, and I turned and walked off, followed by the silent stares of those in the yard.

 

Carol and johns need to be dealt with.

 

Indeed, they do!

 

Oh yeah... always hated home owner associations...

 

That is an HOA on steroids!

 

“Why'd you have to go to Carol's?” Sadie asked. “Now she's even more suspicious than before”
The walk back home was quiet and I made note of a couple of likely places to try to get some chickens. Arriving home, I told Sadie about my walk around the neighborhood.
“I know, I know, dumb move. I've been kicking myself the whole way home.”
“This is going to be trouble.”
“Yeah, probably. Sorry Sweetie. As if things aren't bad enough.”
“We'll figure it out. So, are we still on for the chicken wrangling?”
“Yeah. Let's let it get dark and give people a chance go to sleep and then we'll go out. I've scoped out a couple of places”
“So, around midnight?”
“I think that's about right.”

We set out a little before midnight. It was a clear night with a three quarter moon. Plenty of light to move around without a flashlight.

“I saw some chickens in this area on my way home. Let's set up one of the traps a little bit into the bush where people won't see it.”
I don' t know who owns the land, there is no signs anyone has been on it, no stuctures, no drives or paths. Only a few game trails.
“How do you want to do this?”
“I'm thinking something similar to a fish trap for the first one.” We took the stakes that I brought and made a small circle about four feet in diameter with a funnel entrance that narrowed to the width of a chicken. We tied chicken wire to the stakes and over the top. Sprinkling some of the wheat berries in a path starting outside the trap, leading inside, with more inside to keep the chicken happy until we got back.

The one trap used up all of the chicken wire that we brought with us. So we moved on to the next thing on the agenda, catching chickens by hand.

“I saw a hen with some chicks in this area when I came through this afternoon. I’m figuring she’s got them holed up under a bush or something.”
“How do you want to do this?” Sadie asked
We were back on the street after setting the trap. There was plenty of moonlight to see to walk on the road. Looking for chickens in the bush might be another matter.
“I don’t want to attract attention if we can help it. I’m thinking we take our headlamps off and hold them in our hands so we can control where the beam goes. Use the lowest output and cover the lens with our hands and only let out just as much light as we need.”
“You want to stay together or work different areas?”
“What do you think?”
“If we stay fairly close, if one of us flushes a chicken it may run towards the other person”
“Ok. Let’s start in here.” We left the road, crouching to see under the bushes, weaving our way through the undergrowth. Pillow cases in one hand, headlamps in the other, we slowly worked our way further from the street. Forty or fifty yards in I got snagged. The ‘Catch and Keep” bush looks innocent enough. It doesn’t have thorns so much as it has really long, aggressive Velcro hooks. It latches on to skin and fabric alike.

If you pull, more grabs you. Struggle and your stuck. You have to stop and carefully remove each branch one by one. The pliers of a multi-tool like a Leatherman are good for this. A knife blade, wielded carefully can also do the job of lifting the hooks away from you.

 

Sadie noticed that I stopped moving and provided some light to aid my efforts. “If I were a chicken, I might think that sleeping under this would be a good idea.” I said quietly.
Free, I squatted down, Sadie following suite a few yards away. We shined our shielded beams at the ground under the Catch and Keep. The ground was clear, looking like it had been scratched over by birds looking for food.
“There!” Sadie whispered just loud enough for me to hear her. I looked at where her light was pointing and saw a hen with her head under her wing and some chicks tucked in tight to her. Several feet in from the edge of the bush.

Catching Sadie’s eye, I motioned for her to stay where she was. I showed her my pillow case, pointed at her, and crouched down with my bag open. She nodded understanding.
I carefully made my way around the bush to the side opposite my wife. Getting down on all fours, and then on my belly, I started worming my way towards momma hen, the clingy hooks just inches above me.
I could only wiggle forward a few inches at a time, pushing with my toes and pulling with my forearms and elbows, my head held sideways to clear the bottom branches.
At this point I was three or four feet under the bush, hoping that I wouldn’t run into any scorpions or centipedes. Especially centipedes! But I was now within arm’s reach of the hen and her chicks. Letting go of the pillow case I transferred the light to my left hand and got ready to grab with my right.
I must have telegraphed my intentions, because mama chose that moment to wake up. She clucked once suspiciously, then saw me. I made a frantic grab for her and just managed to get one of her feet. At which point I was now in possession of a couple of pounds of wing beating, hand pecking, claw scratching, squawking bird.

I hung on as best I could, dropping the light and trying to get the pillow case. I noticed the chicks take off away from me.
Between the chicken’s contortions and mine, I managed to flip the light away from me so it was shining in the wrong direction, and get my left arm caught in the bush.

The ruckus set off a couple of dogs nearby, which led to a chain reaction of every dog in the neighborhood barking their fool heads off.

So much for stealth.

Dragging the chicken closer, so I could use both hands, I was able to get both legs in my right hand. With much better control over the bird I was at last able to stuff it in the pillow case. With some more contortions I was able to tie the opening in a knot, securing the hen, who settled down once she was in the sack.

Whew! The dogs started to quiet also. “You OK in there?”
“Peachy”
“I got all the chicks when they came out.”
“I got the hen, but I’m stuck. Can you come around here and help me?
Sadie moved around the bush to where I had entered it. I pushed the sack with the bird back towards her until she could carefully grab it.
“What can I do?”
“See if you can find a stick, maybe with a fork, so you can push some of these branches away from me. Especially as the ones I get off of me.”
She poked around until she found one that would do the job. Working together, me using my knife to lift the branches off of me, and Sadie keeping them from reattaching themselves, I was able to squirm back out from under the bush.
“Alright, I’m done for the night. Thank you Sweetie”
“Welcome Sweetie. We did good. Better than I thought.”
“We didn’t do too badly, did we? I’m ready to get home and wash up and get some Neosporin on these scratches.”
“I’ll help you with that. Maybe some aloe too?”
“Yeah aloe would be…”As I stood up I felt something crawling inside my shirt, just above my left collarbone . Before I could get to whatever it was, it felt like someone put out their cigarette on top of my shoulder. I pulled my shirt off over my head as quickly as I could. Turning it inside out and shaking it resulted in a translucent tan scorpion falling to the ground. The little bastard was about 3” long from head to tail. He tried to scurry away, but I stomped the life out of him before he got far. The satisfaction didn’t last long as the pain drove it away.

 

Unsheathing my knife, I knelt down and cut the stinger off the squashed scorpion. “Open that sack for a moment”
When Sadie had it open, I speared the critter with the tip of my knife and put it in the bag with the hen. Resheathing the bowie, I pulled my pack off my back and swung it around in front of me and set it on the ground. I dug through the first aid section and got a couple of Benadryl out and swallowed them dry. There is some question about the effectiveness of it on scorpion stings. I've been hit twice before and both times got Benadryl down my throat within a minute and didn't have any issues. The sting wasn't any worse than a bee sting. Whether that was from the medicine, my robust constitution, or wimpy scorpions, I don't know, but why argue with success.
The one treatment that I was missing, that I used on the two previous occasions was ice. I was wishing that I had an instant cold pack, but my aid kit in this bag was too small to contain it. I may need to rethink this.
It took us ten minutes to get home. By then my shoulder was throbbing a bit. So much for the antihistamine. I got an ice pack from the freezer, sat on the deck and let the cold do its thing.
“Can you handle the chickens? I want to sit quiet for a few minutes.”
“Sure.” The pups were very interested in what was in the sacks. “I'll put mama and the babies in a crate in the shed for the night. I think I have some sphagnum moss that I can line it with. We can work out something more permanent tomorrow.”
“It is tomorrow” I reminded her. By the time she got back, the Benadryl had done its job and I was asleep in my chair.
I woke in the predawn with a blanket over me and a pillow behind my neck. My left arm felt gooey. I guess Sadie put some salve of some sort on my catch and keep scratches.
I bundled up the blanket and pillow and made my way upstairs and climbed into bed. The difference between the cool of the morning and the warmth of the bed felt great. I pulled the covers up to my chin, adjusted my pillow and was back asleep in moments.

My slumber was short lived however. Promptly at 6:00am a car pulled up to our gate and honked the horn. Which set off the dogs, who ran out and barked furiously at the car. Startled awake I rose up enough in bed to see out of the bedroom window. It was Carol. The car was full of other people. She honked again but didn't exit the car. Really? Ugh.
“What is it?” Sadie asked.
“Carol. I'll go talk to her. It's probably about the run to the government food distribution.” My sentence was punctuated by another honk of the horn. I waved from the open window until I got her attention. I tugged on my trousers, holstered my Glock, and went out, shirtless and shoeless. Maybe she'd refuse me service.

I went up to the gate, and stood, a hand on the head of each of the pups as they sat, leaning against my legs. Carol opened the door and got out, using the car door as a shield. Whether against me, or my two, very vicious dobermans, I couldn't say.

“Morning Carol”
“Hi Zed! Hope we didn't wake you.” I didn't reply to what should have been self evident.
“I suppose you're here about the run to the food distribution.”
“Yes. How many people can you take with you?”
“We're not going to go right now. Probably later” I wasn't about to tell her that we had no intention of standing in a line for a government hand out.
“Oh. We have more people than we have room in cars. A lot of people have run out of gas.”
“That's a shame”
“Well, if you're not going, we could just borrow your car.”
“Carol, that's not going to happen. We don't have much gas, and what we have, we need to be careful of”
“But you have two, while some people have none. You don't feel bad about that?”
“Why should I? My wife and I have worked hard for what little we have. Whatever we have came from that hard work, planning ahead, and being frugal.”
“People are noticing that you aren't contributing. They are talking about it and getting angry.”
“I don't suppose you are doing any of that talking?” She didn't respond and looked away guiltily.
“Are people talking about you and Johns forcing your way into peoples' homes and taking what little they have to give to others?”
“Without my efforts, this community would soon starve. I'm what's keeping us going. Meanwhile people like you are doing nothing to help others. I'll bet you are even hoarding food. You can afford to give more than the paltry few items we got yesterday. I'm afraid you are forcing our hand. We are going to have to come and have a look at what you have here that the community can use.”
I could see heads nodding in the car.
“Carol, you need to leave. Now. And don't come back. You won't like what happens if you come back.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“Carol, you are threatening me and mine. What's worse is you are doing so under the guise of 'The Greater Good'. What I'm not sure of is whether you are buying your own line of bull. I suspect that you have actually deluded yourself and can rationalize your actions as being to help others. In my eyes that makes you all the more dangerous. Steer clear of us, Carol, do you understand me?”
She glared at me but didn't say anything. Getting back in her car, she slammed the door and spun the tires as she backed away.
“That go about how you expected?” Came from the bedroom window.
“Yeah, pretty much. Unfortunately.”

 

We spent the morning getting the chickens set up. I knocked together a small coop with some plywood. It was only four feet tall, so I hinged the top so we could access it for cleaning. It only weighed about 50 pounds, so we could move it around, hoping that the chickens could feed themselves at least partially if we put the coop and enclosure in different locations.

“I wonder if our trap caught anything” Sadie wondered.
“And if it did, is it a chicken?” I smiled at her. “We might end up with land crabs or an iguana.”
“Well, that'd be alright. Loco and Rudi like iguana.”
“Yeah, that's true. We really need to adjust our thinking. While we have food for them for quite a while, we need to be on the look out for ways to stretch that.”
“Not only that, but we need to be careful about what we throw away. Recycling is going to be important. Something as simple as an empty bottle has value, whereas last week we would have just put it in the trash.”
“I agree Sweetie. We'll have to figure out a way to clean and store that stuff.”
“So what are your plans for the afternoon?”
“I was thinking of visiting Mr. Charles.” I told her my idea of arming him.
“I think that's smart. I took an immediate liking to him. He seems like a solid old time West Indian”
“Yeah, that's what I got too. Hard working, respectful, with a head full of experience. I'm worried he will be taken advantage of and want to give him an advantage. He's also important to us long term.”
“As long as you're going, would you mind taking him things for me?”
“Sure. Whatcha got in mind?”
“Oh, I've got a couple of plants that he might like”
“Perfect. I'm sure he'll appreciate them.”

“Inside!” I used the traditional local greeting when you are calling to someone in their home. Mr. Charles opened the door and looked out.
“Good afternoon Zed. How are you today?”
“Afternoon Mr. Charles. I'm safe. You?”
“I'm blessed. What brings you by?”
“After our talk yesterday, I wanted to get back to you as soon as I could. I'm worried about how things are going, not just in general, but in our neighborhood. So I'm here to continue what I was talking about yesterday.”
“Ok Zed. Would you like to come in?”
“Yes please.” He let me in and closed the door behind me. “Is the kitchen alright?”
“Perfect. The table with be helpful.”
“Would you like a drink? I have some lime water.”
“Yes sir, I surely would.”
He poured me a glass and I took a sip. “Nice. That's refreshing. Those your own limes?”
“Yes sir. I have a couple of lime trees that produce well. Never had much luck with orange or lemon though.”
“By the way, Sadie wanted you to have these” I reached into my pack and pulled out a couple of tree starts wrapped in damp newspaper.
“This one is Maringa. Almost every part of it is edible. It's also called the 'Drumstick Tree'”
“Yes, yes, I've heard of it. I've had the seed pods back on Antigua. What's this other one?”
“Let's see if I can say it right...Plectrunthus barbatus...I think I got that correctly. But it's easier to just call it the 'toilet paper bush'” I grinned at him.
“A plant for either end!” He gave a hearty laugh. “Please give Miss Sadie my thanks!”
“ I certainly will. Now, on to my real reason for coming here.” I again reached into my pack and this time came out with a revolver. A Smith and Wesson 64, a .38 special with a 4” barrel. I opened the cylinder, checked that it was empty, closed it and handed it to Charles. I also got out a blue plastic 'dummy' training gun of the same model revolver.

Charles grabbed it awkwardly, hand way down on the grip, with his index finger automatically finding the trigger. He extended his arm, pointing the gun at a jar on the counter, his left hand grabbing his right wrist for support. That quickly told me what I wanted to know.

“Ok, let's start at the beginning” I said, gently taking the revolver from him and setting it on the table. “I want us to go over three main topics today. First is gun safety, second is marksmanship, and third is when you can use deadly force.”
He looked at me and nodded.

“Medical care is almost non existent now. What was a minor gunshot wound last week, could kill you next week. So you need to be careful when you handle and use this pistol. As far as safety goes, I want you to remember two things, don't ever let this point at anything you wouldn't want to put a bullet into. This includes yourself, or things you might not be able to see. When it's in your hand, you need to positively control where it is pointing.

Next, keep your finger off of the trigger. Not just off the trigger, but up on the frame, here.” I picked up the pistol and showed him the register position. He picked up the inert training gun, taking care to not point it at me, and mimicked the finger position and looked at me for validation.
“Correct. The only time your finger goes on the trigger is when the gun is aimed at the target and you have made the decision to fire. Ok, good. If you always follow those two rules you'll never hurt someone unintentionally.”

“Let's practice.” I had him stand up with the training gun. I stood to his side. “Point the gun at the wall in front of you. Good. Now turn towards me.” Charles turned and lowered the muzzle of the dummy gun so it wouldn't point at me.
“Great! You understood whhat I was looking for?”
“Sure, you wanted to see if I would point the gun at you when I turned around.”
“I know it seems like a simple, logical thing, but I can't tell you how many times people have turned around and pointed guns at me. Ok, turn back and point in on the wall again. When he was in position, I walked in front of him and stopped in front of the gun.
“Where is the gun pointed now?
“At you.” he quickly lowered it.
“You need to be aware of what is going on around you. You were pointing the gun in a safe direction, but then some idiot walked in front of you. This can happen in a moving situation.”
“ I understand.”

Sitting back down, I grabbed the next training aid out of my pack, a cardboard mock up of a front and rear sight. Using them I explained sight alignment and sight picture. Handing the mock ups to him I had him put them together to show me that he understood what proper sight alignment looked like.

“I see that you are right handed. Do you know which of your eyes is dominant?”
“No, I didn't know I had a dominant eye. Does it matter?”
“Oh yeah, it matters. But as long as we know about it we can deal with it.” A quick test confirmed what I thought from watching hm handle the gun.
“You're left eye is dominant.”
“Is that bad?”
“No, no, not bad, especially when shooting with pistols. You need to aim with your left eye.”
“Should I close my right, then?”
“We'll see in a minute. Hopefully not.”
“Why not?”
“You ever watch boxing?”
“sure”
“Ever see a boxer fight with one eye closed?”
“Only when it was swollen closed”
“I guess my question is this,do you want to fight with one eye closed?”
“No”
“I don't want to teach you to shoot, as much as I want to teach you to fight with a handgun. Does that make sense?”
“I hadn't really thought about it before, but yes,”
“Most people focus on shooting, when they should be focused on fighting. It may seem like a small thing, but it's an important distinction.”

“Ok, stand up again and pick up the training gun.” He did as instructed and I adjusted his grip to something more effective than the hand grabs wrist method he used before.
“Now, I want to verify a couple of things.” I stood in front of him, about four feet away. I pointed at my right eye. “bring the pistol up and aim like my eyeball is the target. Look through the rear sight, find the front sight, line up the top edges, and put all of that on top of my eye.”

Charles raise the pistol to eye level with his elbows bent half way, putting the revolver too close to his face. I reached out and pulled on the gun. “You are better off with your arms extended.”
He didn't respond but continued to work on aiming. He moved his head slightly form side to side. I could see he was having trouble deciding which eye to use.

“Close your right eye for a second” He did and was then able to settle down and work on aiming. “Ok, front sight is good, but the rear sight is a little low.” I reached out, holding the barrel of the dummy gun and made the adjustment.
“See how the tops of the sights are lined up now?”
“Yeah, Ok, I see”
I pushed the gun down, “Do it again, on your own.” He brought the sights up slowely and carefully got them lined up.
“Good! Now don't move anything and open your right eye.”
He did. The sight picture hung for a second before it wandered in the confusion of two eyes. I had him close the right eye, and start the whole process again. Each iteration, the 'hang time' before the confusion grew longer and longer. After the 8 repetition, he was able to keep the sights aligned with my eye with both of his eyes open.
“Great! Good job! That's a great start. Remember, if the sights get confused, just close the right eye long enough to get it back.”

“ You now know half of what it takes to hit the target.”
“What's the other half?”
“You tell me.”
“I guess making the gun go off.”
“exactly! And how do we do that?”
“Pull the trigger”
“Yup. And this is the important part. Aiming is easy, once you understand the concept. Most missing is due to improper trigger pull. Two things to know, you need to put the middle of the first pad of your finger on the face of the trigger.”
I showed him by digging my thumbnail into the spot I described. Hard.

Lessons with an emotional component stick with you.

 

“What's the second thing?”
“That you press straight back on the trigger, smoothly increasing the pressure until the gun fires, like this.” I picked up the model 64, checked that it was empty, pointed it a nailhead sticking out of a wall that I determined was a safe backstop and smoothly ran the trigger a couple of times.

“Watch the front sight” When I saw he was, I did another trigger pull. “Where was the sight?
“Steady”
“Watch again.” This time I pulled the trigger too hard and fast, making the muzzle dip as the trigger broke.
“How was that?”
“Front sight dropped.”
“So, if I fired a shot, where would it have gone?”
“down”
“Right. Did we need to fire a shot to know that?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I saw which way the sights went”
“Exactly! If you watch the sights, they will tell you where the bullet is going. It's called 'calling the shot' and is an important skill to develop. What I was just doing is called 'dry fire', which is operating the gun while it is empty.”
“Won't that hurt the gun?”
“for the most part, no. Modern guns in good condition can be dry fired with no harm. Just make sue the pistol is empty, and pointed at something you wouldn't mind putting a bullet into in case you mess up.
“It's a great way to practice. No noise or recoil to disturb you, you can do it in your house. And most importantly you are using up any precious ammo. Now it's your turn.”

I had Charles dry fire for five minutes until I could see the start of fatigue and boredom. He had the principles down and was doing well. Then the dreaded question. “On TV, they pull the hammer back. Should I do it that way?”

“pulling the hammer back makes the trigger pull easier, which is good it you need to take a precise shot at long range, but in a close range fight it isn't a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“ It's too easy to pull the trigger unintentionally in a dynamic situation. And you have to change your grip to cock the hammer. And what happens when you cock the hammer and now you don't need to shoot? In a gunfight, just use the double action trigger pull”

Despite this advice, he still need to know how to deal with all of that so I showed him how to cock the hammer with his left hand so as to not disturb the grip of his right hand. How to safelty lower the hammer if he didn't need to take the shot. And we finished with him dry firing in single action mode.”

“I thought revolvers were simple.”
“Actually I think they are more complicated that some semi automatic pistols. But, once you understand them, they are good solid tools. Now, let's shoot!”
“Shoot? Where?”
“Out in your yard.”
“Is that safe?”
“Yeah, as long as we are careful. I scoped out a good spot where the hill will stop the bullets. Put this on/” I handed him a holster, which he threaded on his belt. “Now, being careful wher the muzzle is pointed, put the revolver in your holster.” He complied and gave the holster a pat once the gun was in place.
“How's that feel?”
“good. Different.”
“Powerful?”
“ Umm.. yeah. Like no one can mess with me”
“Good. But don't let it go to your head. You can now easily take life. Carrying a gun is life changing in many ways.”


I picked up my pack, putting the dummy gun and mock sights in it and headed for the door.

Once outside I set up a board with a paper target. Just a piece of paper with a quarter sized dot on it. Digging in my pack I came out with a different pistol, another Smith and Wesson revolver, similar to the one on Charles' belt, but chambered in .22LR.
When S&W realized that they could fit ten rounds of .22 in the cylinder instead of six, I immediately picked up one of their model 617 as a training gun for occasions just like this one.
Next out of the pack was eye and ear protection. Once Charles had them on, I handed him the 617. He opened the cylinder and I handed him the cartridges. CCI CB caps are a reduced load and thus fairly quiet. When all then chambers were full, he closed the cylinder.
“Ok, now just like we did in dryfire. Remember to keep working on the sight alignment the entire time you are pressing the trigger.”
He raised the sights to his eye and started the trigger pull. The hammer came back smoothly and then fell.
“Perfect!” I had been watching the gun and new he had a good hit. I glanced at the target which confirmed what I already knew. I looked back at Charles who had a grin on his face.
“Fun?”
He nodded and got ready to shoot again, resulting in a second shot in the black dot. Towards the end of the ten shot string he got tired and blew a couple of shots low, opening what was a 1” group out to 3”.
I took the revolver from him. “Great shooting!”
“Great instructor”
“Well, I've done this once or twice... You're off to a good start. You now know what it takes to put a bullet where you want it. If you apply what you just learned every time you shoot, you'll get better and better.”
“Can I try out the .38 now?”
“Yup”
With the model 64 loaded, he took aim and pulled the trigger, putting the .38 caliber bullet into the same place as the first of the .22s he fired. He moved on to the second shot.
“Stop. Where did that last shot go?”
“Low. But I aimed the same way. What happened?”
“You anticipated the recoil. If someone pushes you, what do you do?”
“I push back”
“That's the natural reaction. The pistol pushed you, so you pushed back.”
“it didn't happen on the first shot”
“On the first shot, you didn't know it was going to push you. On the second, you did. That's one of the reasons we started out on the .22.”
“No push...”
“No push
“So what do I do?”
“In a close range fight, it won't matter. But at twenty feet or more it does. Keep up the dry fire practice, but the real key is to learn to fool yourself about when the gun is going to fire.”
“fool myself?”
“yeah, if you know when the gun is going to go off, you know when to push back. So when you are pressing the trigger, do it slowly, making continuous sighting corrections, while adding a little more, and a little more, and a little more pressure to the trigger until you finally achieve enough pressure to make the gun fire. It should almost be a surprise. That way you don't know when to push against the recoil.”
He fired the remaining 4 shots, putting them together with the first.
“Reload!” I yelled at him. Startled, he looked at me. “Get that pistol reloaded! Now! He fumbled a little , dropping a cartridge.
“Sorry, just making a couple of points. That revolver only holds 6 rounds. When it's empty, don't dick around, immediately reload it. Get in the habit. Even if you are just target practicing. Also, notice how when I put just a little pressure on you, it got harder to perform a simple task? “
“Yes, I understand. You startled me, I wasn’t expecting that.”
“Ok, that's enough for one day. You've done very well, I just want to leave you with this. Don't pull that gun unless you are willing to use it. You may not have to shoot it, because sometimes people will stop when they see you mean business. But if you have to shoot, shoot. Don't hesitate. If you have a reasonable fear that you are in danger, shoot and keep shooting until the threat is gone.”
“I understand.”
“Time for me to get back to the wife. Good luck. We'll talk more soon.”
“I can't thank you enough. Not just for the gun, but for teaching me how to use it.”
“Glad to do. You stay safe now.”
“You too Zed, you too.”

I left Mr. Charles' house, knowing that I'd evened the odds a bit. For both him and me.

 

The plot thickens!.....or should I say, the plot's chickens

nice story....keep it going.

 

I agree wholeheartedly, a good fun read!
GB