Supply Run Into Steven's Point

Posted on Mon Oct 14th, 2024 @ 6:20pm by Hale Stratton & Alonzo Blazevic & René Rouen & Killian Sutton & Timothy Reynolds & Timothy Cotton & Edward Harrison Jr & Kelly Cardona

3,056 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: The Road Ahead
Location: Hale Homestead/Steven's Point, WI
Timeline: September 15, 2010 - 6:30 p.m.

Ragnar came back from gathering wood with a large pile; he and Killian had marked several decent trees that they could fell and utilize but he himself had had an idea that he wanted to discuss with Hale so after dropping the wood where it could be stored or used he approached the Major; crossing his arms low in a comfortable pose. “Hey, I understand this is your land and you seem to be the go-to leader… got a moment?”

Killian stood next to Ragnar as he brought up the the question and leaned against the wall as a passive bystander of the conversation. The wood that they had felled was now back and the others were already getting it into sorted piles out of sight.

Henri stepped up to Hale and the other adults gathered to give him initial reports on the set up. He waited patiently for acknowledgement to address his concerns.

Hale's gaze landed on Henri. "You have something," he asked.

Henri nodded as he glanced about the land and people working to set up camp. He returned his gaze to Hale. "I do. We are going to need to establish a long term plan for our survival. Addressing issues such as security, infrastructure, even industry of some sort. Establish communication with other nearby communities."

"I've been working on a plan but for now, let's get the tents up and work on building cabins," Hale said. "Getting everyone settled. I'll share my thoughts with the group soon, maybe tomorrow night after dinner. That be alright?"

Henri nodded before turning to a parcel of land stretching back a few hundred meters. He studied the landscape for a moment. "I own...owned a vineyard and winery back in France. I know how to farm. It's too late in the growing season to start any large scale farming, but come spring...," he turned back to Hale, "... I can get crops growing."

"We'll need that," Hale said. "Crops. We'll have to prepare the land. Uproot trees, get rid of rocks and all of that. Work out how much land you'll need and we'll get organized."

Alonzo was carrying a somewhat heavy satchel, overhearing the conversation. "Just make sure to save me the good rocks, please," he said looking at Hale. "They can be quite..." Alonzo shifted the satchel and tried to look as though he was not struggling, not sweating, and had more muscle than he did. "Useful," he finished. "I can find several uses for them let alone as tools or potential weapons."

"So do I," Hale said. "If we build a double barricade, rocks and gravel can be fill the gap and make the wall much stronger. But sure, we'll save you some choice ones."

"My hero," Alonzo replied with a smirk. "Thank you. If we get desperate, we can make slingshots and aim for skulls."

"Not a terrible idea," Hale said, "given that you can nearly always find rocks but ammo, not so much."

[Approaching Steven's Point, WI]

Steven's Point, the county seat of Portage County, in a good year, had less than 20,000 people. These days, considerably less. Those that remained had come to some decisions about how things should be going forward. Take what you need; don't get greedy. Most of the stores had people there, armed, who would help you get what you needed and stop you from taking too much. So far, it hadn't been much of a problem and, being so far away from large population centers, they weren't expecting any big problems.

They understood that food would become an issue so hunters brought back meat, dressed and portioned, while everyone dug out root cellars and starting figuring out how to grow herbs and vegetables in their back yards. The local police patrolled regularly and dispatched any who had turned since their last tour.

Which was all a way of saying that the town looked peaceful as the group pulled into the Feltz Lumber Yard. Old man Feltz, dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt, came out to see who it was and found himself smiling when he saw Hale Stratton step out of the lead vehicle.

The two chatted for a few minutes, shook hands, and Hale returned to the group congregating near the vehicles. "In return for two fully dressed deer, we're free to take whatever we need."

TJ stood next to Kelly as he looked around the town. "Peaceful as a post card." He remarked as Hale came back to the group after talking to a shop owner and making a deal with him. "Two fully dressed deer, Sounds fair to me," he remarked.

CeeCee nodded "Sounds easy enough. If this area is anything like the ranch there should be plenty of deer. Sandwich has my Winchester Model 1894 .30-.30, but we both are experienced hunters. Wish we had a way to communicate with them now, he would already be out bagging one." She thought for a second "Hale, sir, two questions: Does this town have a sportsman's outfitting store and two an electronics store with Ham radios and such." This time the sound and tone of Catalina's voice was respectful and sincere.

"Also wouldn't hurt to see if the hardware store has any decent tools. If we are going to be constructing shelter, preparing to create defences it wouldn't hurt to have some extra tools around for others to use to speed up the process." Keola added in the same vein as CeeCee. "I could also use a heavier coat for when the colder nights draw in," he gestured to himself. "I didn't come from Miami dressed for winter," he chuckled.

In the back of the group, the big man, Edward, spoke up, trying to be helpful. "I have a lot of tools in my truck. Can be used for both building...um...buildings, and working on cars." He paused for a moment of thought, then added, "But I don't have saws or nails." He deemed to deflate slightly, realizing that he really didn't say anything helpful. "Sorry, Major Hale, Sir. I'll be quiet."

“We could probably do with getting some material for making clothes,” Kelly offered. “That way we could be self sufficient instead of having to keep finding clothing stores and supplies.”

That isn't a bad idea, Kelly." TJ offered. " Not bad at all. Would definitely be a step in being self-sufficient. You'd need thread and sewing kits as well, along with either knives or scissors to cut. the material."

CeeCee bit her lip and then stated "I have a feeling the town folks will want more than two fully dressed deer. Perhaps some fish and smaller game, or even an Elk may help. Making snares and setting trotlines and or drift nets for fish." She then turned and smiled at the big man named Edward, "You are right about nails, though we can always salvage some from old boards and such, bet we could acquire a saw or two, that is if Hale doesn't already have some." With a warm smile still on her face she said "And you kind sir, look to be one most suited to a life on a ranch or farm, an environment that requires creativity and not being scared of hard work."

Edward lifted his head and smiled softly, blushing slightly, as the attractive woman spoke to him. He stood a little straighter, as he replied, "My great-Grandpa had a dairy farm, that I used to help on, when I was a little boy, so I'm used to that kind of work." Though he was hesitant to say anything, it was clear in the way that he looked at CeeCee, that he thought she was very attractive.

CeeCee groaned a little inside as she realized that Edward mistook her kindness as interest. She did not wish to break the kind man’s heart, he had no way of knowing she played for the same team in the sexual department. She had merely done what she always did with the ranch hands back home, but she forgot that they would never attempt or mistake her intentions, fear of what her Grandfather, Father, and Reuben would do if they even thought of it. “Dairy farm, huh, suppose it can be a difficult place to work if the cattle are as ornery as are beef cattle. Had one of our bulls decide to trash my brand new F-150 pickup a few years ago, when it decided to do an imitation of a Spanish Bullfight. Damn thing slammed into my truck eight times before it got through its thick skull the truck was not there to harm it.” She said with a smile towards Edward. Just because I like the ladies doesn’t mean I cannot befriend him.

As they spoke, Timothy looked over the area. "Do they have a gun shop, Hale? In case we need ammo or parts for our weapons?" He was confident that the weapons they had liberated from the other gun shop would last for a good long time, provided they were properly cared for. "If nothing else, do they have a reloading machine so we can recycle our used rounds?"

"For now," Hale said, "the only thing we're concerned with is getting tents set up so that folks can sleep tonight. Tomorrow, we'll come back in for lumber and other things." He paused a second, thinking through what he knew of the town, "Tim, I do believe there's a gun shop. Ed, your tools will make all the difference, thanks for offering them. Kelly, making clothes is a bit far down the line but Keola, we're doing a Walmart run tomorrow to pick up coats and the like. Make sure Serena has your sizes or that you're on the run so we'll get what you need. For now, let's go find some tents."

It didn't take long to track down a store that specialized in a wide variety of camping gear. The sign in the front window said only, 'take what you need but please, leave the rest for others.' The door itself was unlocked.

Catalina walked about the store studying the various items she saw, making mental notes to herself. Then suddenly tucked up under a shelf she found an item worth taking straight away; a Big Agnes Big House 6, three-season, freestanding, base/care camping tent. It would provide plenty of room for people and could sleep six individuals. It had its faults but those could be overcome with some ingenuity. She looked about and spotted Edward, with a smile she called to him "Hey Edward, could you come help me please? This bad boy is just a little to heavy and bulky for me to get by myself."

Looking over to where she was calling from, Edward stroke over, a soft grin on his face. "I got it," he said confidently. He then moved over to the rolled up tent, which was nearly four feet long, and roughly two feet thick. It had safety placards on both ends, stating that it was a heavy load, and two people would be needed to carry.

After centering himself on the side of the bundle, Edward bent over, took hold of the bundle with both hands, and dead lifted it up, and onto his right shoulder. As he looked over at Catalina, he grinned innocently. "Where shall I take it?"

Catalina smiled “Guess you should put it in one of our vehicles. Are you sure you have it okay?” she was genuinely concerned for the man’s health. “If you do I’ll continue looking about to see what else we may need.” She was automatically going through a list that was used when it was time to set up a base camp for birthing, branding and clipping the herd of cattle they owned.

Edward nodded. "This isn't too heavy," he said honestly. "I've wrestled livestock and vehicle parts heavier than this." He actually seemed like it was light, perched up on his shoulder. "I'll go put it away, then come back and help you keep looking." He then turned and strode towards the entrance.

CeeCee nodded, "Okay, be careful even though the locals seem to have things under control, things can turn ugly quickly." Edward reminded Catalina of Forrest Gump; from the movie. One of the lines ran through her head as she watched Edward head out, "Stupid is as stupid does." she shook her head glad to have him, though. She began to wandering another isle seeing what it had to offer.

Edward made his way outside, then carefully stowed the large tent in the back of one of the vehicles the group had used to get to get into town.

Kelly made her way across to more tents and accessories, if they were to use tents until more comfortable accommodation could be built then supplies for inside the tents were needed. She motioned to TJ. “TJ what do you think? Maybe some lamps, and there’s also extra sleeping bags, what else do you think we need for now?”

TJ walked to Kelly, "Extra sleeping bags for sure, Hurricane lamps or just candle lamps. Maybe a tote or" two to put our stuff in and some pillows." he answered as he continued to think on the question. "Oh,: He added. "Some blankets, it will start getting cold at night."

Kelly nodded. “Blankets, pillows and extra sleeping bags are the priority, like you said it’s going to start getting cold. We can’t have Thea getting ill in her condition.” She paused. “Do you think you’d want to have kids in the future?”

TJ nodded his head. "No, we can't Kelly and we need to make sure the baby is taken care of as well." He paused as Kelly asked her question. Fact was, he had thought a great deal about starting a family with Kelly. "That is a good question Kelly, and I've thought a lot on recently and even more since finding you." he took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. " The pilgrims came to a new world, with less than we have and started a nation. I think we should at least try to start a family. I don't mean right now. But once we get a cabin built and get more settled, then we can decide together if the time is right. What do you think of that?"

Kelly’s smile said it all. “I think that’s a wonderful idea. As you said not now, not with everything that’s happening right now. We need to have a safe environment to raise a child in.” She gave him a quick kiss before grabbing some gear. “Come on let’s get these supplies sorted.”

TJ beamed at Kelly's answer. "Absolutely. right Kelly. While no environment will be 100 percent safe. We need to make it as safe as possible." His smile grew at her kiss. " Lead the way Kelly, I'm right behind you,"

Kelly smiled and nodded before gathering up what they needed. The group would have all the comfort they could provide.

Like Kelly, TJ's arms were full of blankets and pillows and as he was following her, he managed to grab a thick comforter that he thought Thea or any of the other ladies might like.

Catalina having seen Kelly and TJ walking down an aisle with blankets, pillows, and sleeping bags. This turned her mind to the thought of the need for hammocks and cots; she found an aisle with said items, and she smiled as she began to run the numbers in her head of how many they need. She found some cots, three to be exact. One of them was something she had never seen before, a bunk bed type by Disc-O-Bed 2XL, capable of being turned into two separate cots. The other two were standard cots. There was also four air mattress, five sleeping pads, and finally eight hammocks. She decided they would need them all. She looked to see if Edward was back.

Killian brought everything that they had requested to be brought back to the Cabin area and loaded the vehicle up. His weapon nicely stowed at the back of his waistline, and he continued settling everything as they progressed through the wants and needs. He didn't mind loading the vehicles. While his wife was better at Tetris than he was, they both still had managed to move enough times and help enough friends move to learn the optimal packing techniques.

CeeCee opened one of the hammocks and rolled it out. She then ensured the parts for the hammocks parts were placed on top. She gathered the cots and laid them on the open hammock. then finally added the boxed air mattress on top of them. She then gently began to fold the hammock so it would hold everything, turning it into a very awkward sling, which she slung over her right shoulder with a grunt. I'll come back for the other hammocks after I drop these off to be loaded. With that thought she staggered toward the doors.

While the others filled the shopping list, Hale made a few stops around town to talk to the people he knew. Doing a bit of recon. From what he could gather, the town was policing itself and there the not-dead-enough presence had been eliminated in area thanks to an active militia led by a few with 'military experience' though the specifics weren't mentioned. Those he knew well indicated, in quiet asides, that it would be better for the group to do their 'shopping' outside of the town's perimeter in future and Hale got the message. Steven's Point was becoming a closed town.

Once they were loaded up, the group made its way back to Hale's land. Tents were set up in a ring around a campfire. Ethan, Alonzo and Hale in the cabin, Thea, Reuben, and CeeCee in the small barn, and the rest sorted into tents with small wood-burners in the tents that were designed for them. The work done, the group met around the campfire for a meal before turning in.

 

RSS Feed