A Powerless World (Book 2): When the Peace is Gone Read online

  Millie stood up. “Well, since that’s settled, if you girls will help me, we need to make breakfast for a bunch of folks. We’re going to need the fuel for the day we have ahead of us.”

  I didn’t doubt her one bit. This would be a busy day.

  CHAPTER 3

  If you have never cooked for two dozen people at once, let me tell you it is an experience. Even though Millie and Monroe had no children, Millie came from a large family. She easily mixed up four dozen of her mouthwatering biscuits, a stew pot of gravy, and fried eggs made to order. Since we didn’t have room for everyone in the kitchen and dining room, we roused them in smaller groups. We fed the first of us that were already up after the first batch of biscuits were done. Then we got our boys, Brian and Marietta, Mike, and the Thompson boys next. Once they were done, we finished with the three families. We wanted the younger kids to be last, since sometimes they dawdle over their food, and we didn’t want anyone having to wait for them to finish.

  As each group came down and we took their egg orders (I almost got a pad of paper, and was wishing for a pencil to stick behind my ear, and some gum to chew and pop), Russ explained the plan for the day. There seemed to be a wave of relief over the parents’ faces when we laid out the sleeping arrangements. Did they think we were going to take back the invitation to stay, or separate them from their kids? They didn’t know us very well – yet.

  Once everyone had fueled up on breakfast, the group headed for the door. I ran to the front, one hand on my hip, the other up in that traffic cop stop position. Damn, I wish I had a whistle.

  “For my crew, you know better. Get out back to the pump house and get busy. To the new folks, take this as a friendly reminder: there are no doctors, dentists, nurses, or anything of that nature working these days. We cannot afford to not take care of our health, and that starts with brushing after every meal. We’ll set up a station for everyone out back to save on the septic. I mean, who cares where you spit? Just keep it away from the livestock and the gardens. If anyone doesn’t have a toothbrush or toothpaste, see me. We have a lot. Also, we will set up a wash station by the hand pump out back. Wash before every meal and after EVERY bathroom trip, no matter the reason. We can’t afford for anyone to get a stomach bug or a cavity. Dismissed!”

  The newbies looked a little scared, but my folks walked away snickering, so I guess the others took that as a sign I was serious but not issuing any public floggings for cleanliness infractions. They all headed out toward the back, except for Kate, who needed toothbrushes all around. They had been sharing one among them and had no toothpaste at all. We went out the front door to the trailer. I knew exactly where the stash of oral hygiene products was out there.

  Bob went over to Russ and Monroe. “You know Anne got me thinking. With this many people we may put a hurt on the septic in the not too distant future. I think we might ought to think about some alternative toilet choices.”

  Mike walked up just then. “This sounds like a shitty conversation.”

  Bob almost choked on the coffee he was taking a drink of at that moment. It took him a minute and a few whacks on the back from Monroe to clear his airway.

  “Damn, fella, give a man a head’s up before you say shit like that. That shit ain’t funny. I got shit to do and I can’t be chokin’ and shit. There – is that enough shit talk for ya?”

  Bob laughed and slapped Mike on the back…a little too hard. Probably a little payback for getting him choked earlier.

  Mike grinned at him. “Seriously, I can help y’all dig some latrines if you think we need them. I have a bit of experience there. Guess what privates do in a brand new outpost camp?”

  Bob shot Mike a smirk. “I’m sooo gonna start calling you Sergeant Shitter, dude.”

  Mike started to protest but Russ cut him off, lowered his voice, and spoke directly to Bob.

  “If Janet or Anne hear that, especially around the kids, you’ll be on latrine digging duty for life. Fair warning, bubba.”

  Bob thought about it, then, with a grim expression, replied, “You’re right. I’m only gonna call him that under my breath, in passing, so no one else hears but us. A man has to know where to draw the line, particularly when he has two wives – one in matrimony, the other in life friend mode. Anne’s like a work wife when I’m not at work. She bosses me around as much as Janet.”

  Russ kind of snickered, and Mike heehawed.

  Monroe looked thoughtful. “Ya know, we still have the old outhouse out back. It could probably use some TLC, might need to replace some wood, but after all this time I would guess everything down there had composted. We can use that for the guys. I think the gals should get the use of the inside facilities. We can also dig a pit latrine for the guys to use for taking a leak. For both of those, we’ll throw wood ash in every day from the cook fires or whatever fire building we do. That should help keep the smell down. It’s only been me and Millie for the most part using that big ole septic tank except the weekends y’all came out, so it should hold up for a while. I also stocked up on the enzymes that help everything break down, so we’ll make sure to add that at least once a month. I’m not worried too much, but I reckon we can make a few changes here at the start that we might really be thankful for later on.”

  Russ looked at Mike. “Mike, I do hope you take Bob’s ribbing as a sign that you are very welcome to our group and this place. We’d love for you to stay.”

  Mike smiled at Russ. “I’m in. I see a lot of potential here, and with some pretty basic fortifications, I think we can make it defensible. I’d be more than happy to help with that – after the latrine work is done. And believe me, I can handle anything Bob dishes out.”

  Russ replied, “I don’t think we can wait for the latrine to be done. We need to work on security first. We’ll freshen up the outhouse for now.”

  Bob started chanting, low so that just the guys could hear: “Sergeant Shitter…oh, Sergeant Shitterrrrrr…”

  They were all laughing so hard us folks out in the yard looked in, and Millie came to the door from the kitchen.

  “What in the world is going on in here? I see you fellas are having a grand time. Have you already gotten those trailers unloaded and stowed? Do you need something to do? I’m sure I can find something for you if you do.”

  The four of them made a beeline for the front door, Monroe calling over his shoulder, “No dear, we have plenty to work on. See ya later!”

  Millie smiled a knowing smile and headed back to the kitchen, where she and Marietta were already working on lunch for the crew.

  ****

  With all the extra hands, we were able to get the trailers and trucks unloaded by noon. After lunch the guys stowed the trucks and trailers in the old garage. We then set to work sorting and putting up everything we had brought. Remembering it all nice and organized on the shelves at home, this disarray was grating on my nerves. My slight OCD was flaring up again. I had to resign myself to the fact that three households of preps were not going to fit nice and neat anywhere.

  We put what we could in the root cellar, trying to keep the same organization Millie had already established, adding like items to the same shelf. We got most of the food in there but it was packed so tight we basically had a path in and that was it. There was no spare room for anything else. The rest of the supplies were stacked as orderly as we could in the part of the basement we weren’t going to use for one of the new families. We tried to keep duplicate items together and not bury anything. Supplies are no good if you can’t find them when you need them. We made a point of keeping first aid and sanitation items in the basement up front, closest to the door.

  By the time we got everything organized and stored, it was the middle of the afternoon. Russ came up to me as I was coming out of the basement.

  “Babe, me, Bob, Mike, Brian, and Monroe are going to take a walk around, see if anything is out of place, and try to get an idea of what kind of security measures we need to get set up.”

  He handed me
one of the two-ways.

  “I’ll have mine on me. If anything happens, just holler at me. If you and Janet can help get the new folks situated with the sleeping arrangements we talked about this morning, I think everyone will settle down. They seem to be a bit tense.”

  I nodded in agreement. “I’m sure it’s the uncertainty of the circumstances. They don’t know us, or each other for that matter, all that well. They feel like outsiders, or that they’re intruding, no matter how much we tell them they are welcome to stay. I’m sure we’d feel the same way in their place. I think we need to have a group meeting right after dinner tonight so we can assure them they ARE welcome and will become a vital part of this place.”

  He wrapped me in a big hug – you know, the kind that makes you feel warm, loved, and you want to just snuggle into for a week. He rested his chin on the top of my head for a second, then leaned back and looked me in the eyes.

  “I don’t think I could have done all this without you. I can’t imagine how this would have turned out if it had happened an hour later. If you and Rusty had already left…”

  He stopped, a pained look in his eye. I reached my arms up around his neck.

  “But we hadn’t left. As is his usual Monday ritual, your son was running late, thank goodness. Everything happens for a reason. We can wonder and stress about what could have been, or we can get busy living in the new now. It’s going to be a ton of work, but we’re together. We have our family, our friends, and some new friends; we have food, water, and shelter; we have protection and a plan. Let’s get it in motion. I love you too, Baby. Thank you for being so stubborn and making me see that something like this could happen. Now, enough of this mushy shit. We’ve got work to do.”

  I gave him a kiss, backed out of his embrace, and headed for the house. He went off to join the guys, with most of the dogs trailing him, but he stopped and turned back to me.

  “Oh, Anne, I almost forgot. Can you tell the Scanlins it will probably be tomorrow before we can go look up their friends? We really need to get everyone settled and get some security set up today.”

  I smiled at him.

  “Of course. My guess is they will be okay with another day of rest here before they get back out there again.”

  He gave me a thumbs up and jogged to catch up to the guys. I headed for the house.

  ****

  In the days following the pulse, I can’t count the number of times I walked into a room and flipped the light switch out of reflex, or glanced at the microwave to see what time it was. Every time, I would think to myself, “Yeah, that doesn’t work anymore.” If there hadn’t been so much to do in those early days, I could very easily have slipped into a deep depression over the loss of the conveniences of modern life. No more TV or internet; no more power to run pretty much every aspect of our lives that was maintained via electricity.

  Now, walking into the shaded living room of the farm house, it seemed almost normal not to hear a television or radio playing; to be able to clearly hear voices all throughout the house, as there was no electrical hum of air conditioning or fans, or compressors on refrigerators or freezers. How quickly we humans adapt to our environment.

  What I did notice was an enticing aroma emanating from the kitchen. I followed my nose in and found Millie and Janet working over the stove.

  “I don’t know what y’all are cooking but it smells awesome!”

  Millie turned to me and smiled. “Kitchen Clean Out Soup is on the menu for tonight.”

  I guess my look was pretty dumb, because Janet started laughing.

  “Millie had a bunch of bits and pieces of meat and veggies from the past few days, not enough of anything for a crew this size, so we threw it all in a pot, along with a few jars of canned tomatoes, some potatoes and carrots, and some onions and celery, and we ended up with a pretty big pot of soup.”

  I looked at the pot on the gas stove. It looked like an industrial size stainless steel pot, probably two to two-and-a-half-gallon capacity, and it was pretty much full. Yep, that should feed two dozen people.

  Millie leaned down to peer into the oven. I leaned over her shoulder.

  “And what tasty item do you have in there?”

  She looked back at me with a grin. “Only the best cornbread made in the state of Tennessee.”

  She had a right to be cocky. She did make the best cornbread I had ever eaten. But I was curious about something.

  “How do you make cornbread for this many people at once? I’ve made two skillets for us and Janet and her crew, but I wouldn’t think you could fit as many as we’ll need in your oven at the same time. Eating breakfast in shifts this morning meant we were able to cook the biscuits in batches. We’ll all be together for dinner. What’s your secret?”

  With a knowing smile and a crook of her finger, Millie started toward the screen porch. Once we went through the door, I smelled cornbread cooking out there as well. I forgot she had a wood cook stove on the back porch. It was very old, from before gas or electric, but still had burners and an oven. There was a pipe through the wall that vented outside. It was in pristine condition, which I was sure was due in no small part to Monroe’s ministrations.

  Millie went to the oven door and opened it to show off three more skillets of cornbread baking there.

  “Wow, Millie! I had no idea you knew how to cook on one of these. There must be a trick to it. I mean, getting the right amount of wood, so your temp is right, then keeping it as steady as possible. When did you learn how to do this?”

  She shut the oven door. “I’ve worked with it over the past few years. There is definitely a trick to it and you have to keep an eye on it. But in this situation this stove may be our salvation. We have enough gas to last for quite a while, maybe a couple of years, for the kitchen stove, but if this situation goes on longer than that, we have this stove for backup. It will never run out of fuel as long as we have trees. I’d say we’re going to have some hungry folks in here soon. When did you want to eat this evening?”

  I thought for a second. “Russ wants us to get everyone settled into their sleeping arrangements first. Can we give it about an hour?”

  Millie went to the wood stove and closed the dampers. “I’ll have to keep an eye on this one. I’m still not completely confident in my skill with it. Janet, go turn the other oven off and leave the door closed. The cornbread is almost done so it will finish cooking and stay warm until we’re ready to eat. What do we need to do to help everyone get settled?”

  “I think we can gather the other women and get most of it done with just us gals. The men are all out doing…whatever they’re doing. I think Sara has been keeping the younger kids occupied with ‘school’ today (I did the air quotes when I mentioned school), so we can set Ben and Rusty with babysitting duty so she can be a part of this task as well.”

  Janet raised an eyebrow. “School? What’s she using for books?”

  I smiled. “I think these classes were about our new way of life. She grabbed one of the Thompson boys – Matt, I believe – and took them to see all the livestock, the gardens, and I think she even had them checking out weeds in the gardens. Since she is a teacher, I’m sure she will want to set up classes for the kids, but they may not always be about reading, writing and ‘rithmetic.”

  Millie nodded. “Yes there is a whole lot more to learn about living in this world than they teach kids in school these days. Kids don’t know anything about where their food comes from. They think it magically appears at the grocery store. They don’t know what it takes to actually grow your own food. They’ll know now. They have no choice.”

  Janet had a look on her face that told me she had come up with something.

  “Anne, I have an idea. We are going to need every able hand to maintain and defend this place very soon. I think we should set up daily chores for all the kids. Feeding the livestock, gathering eggs, filling the outside basins, pulling weeds – there will be plenty for everyone to do. Maybe we could come up with some kind
of reward for their hard work or a competition. We should have a mom meeting as soon as we can to get everyone’s input on it. The parents will know what their kids are able to handle. Lord knows there’s no free ride for anyone anymore.”

  Millie replied, “They have a roof over their head and food in their belly. That’s their reward. When I was a kid you knew what your chores were and you did them without being told. You’re right: there is no free ride anymore and everybody in this world needs to learn that if you don’t work, you don’t eat.”

  I grinned at my friends. “That is an awesome idea. Mom Meeting in the morning, first thing. We’ll get the word out.”

  She was right. We were going to need every able body doing their part to help us all survive, even down to the youngest. It hadn’t been that long ago that every member of a family contributed every day to the existence of life on a farm. From hunting, cooking, laundry, and food preservation done by the oldest kids, to weed pulling in the garden, livestock care, and wood stacking done by the youngest, all the children in the family did chores every day.

  Kids today had no idea what it was like to live as their grandparents and great-grandparents did. Ours were about to learn.

  ****

  We spent the better part of an hour getting everyone settled into their new semi-permanent accommodations. As I said, most of them didn’t have a lot. The Scanlins lost almost all of their stuff in the fire; the rest hadn’t brought all their clothes with them because they didn’t have a way to carry them – not one they had considered anyway. The station wagon we had “borrowed” from their old neighborhood could have been used to carry some more stuff had they thought about it before they left. I would talk to Russ about maybe going back and seeing about getting some more of their personal items. I knew any venturing outside the fences of the farm would be frowned upon, but if we didn’t get more clothing for these people, they were going to be running around naked before winter. Clothes wear out, and if you only have a couple of outfits, they wear out really fast. We could share some things, but that meant less for all. We definitely didn’t have anything that would fit the smaller kids.