by Doug Kelly
He scampered away.
The black cat came out of the large boxwood bush and scurried toward the fire as it meowed with hunger. Suddenly, it turned and went directly to the pile of rabbit entrails on the ground. It chewed and swallowed, and the entrails hung from its mouth.
Dylan positioned a chair near the sizzling flesh. He leaned back in the chair and tried to relax. As he stared into the fire, his mind slipped away into a trancelike state. After his mind wandered, he began to create a mental list of priorities. The first priority was water. They had the stream, the lake, and a good filter. With a filter, there was no need to boil. Good, he thought. That will save wood. Oh, but we will need more wood for cooking, and during winter, we’ll need to stay warm. I can’t burn wood in the house, no fireplace. Great, I need to get more blankets. Don’t forget about food. He closed his eyes and his thoughts continued to race through his mind. We have food stored that should last until next year. Expand the garden; we need to grow our own food. No, think bigger, we need more than just a garden. We need a small farm to feed everyone and a way to store food over next winter. Oh, don’t forget about hygiene, we need to bathe and wash clothes. Great, I’m back to water again. Not enough water.
Still in a trance, he opened his eyes and stared into the fire, listening to the fresh meat sizzle, and then he began to think aloud. He was repeating, “Not enough water.” In his daze, he did not hear Jim approach, carrying two buckets of water.
“Not enough water?” asked Jim. “I’ve got two buckets here. How much do you need?”
“Huh?” Dylan realized what he had done and snapped back to reality.
“No. I was just thinking aloud.” Dylan rubbed his tired face. “There are a lot of us here now. We need a lot of water.” Dylan pointed at the buckets. “There has to be a better way.”
“When you figure it out, let me know.” Jim set the buckets down, went to the fire, and inhaled the smell of cooking rabbit.
Dylan turned the rabbit over and wafted the aroma toward Jim’s face with the palm of his hand. Jim began to salivate.
“Cut me off a piece of that now, Dylan.”
“It’s almost ready. Can’t take a chance with rabbit. Get that water inside, and I’ll be in directly.”
When it was thoroughly cooked, Dylan skewered the rabbit with his knife, carried it inside, and put it on a plate that Mary had ready for that purpose. They ate red ripe tomatoes from the garden, rabbit, and a can of green beans.
Finished with his meal, Jim quickly left with the wheelbarrow to retrieve the boxes of chlorine tablets from the swimming pool filter room at the Community Center. Inside the house, Dylan opened a drawer to find a scrap piece of paper and a pencil. He wanted to show his children how to play a game of tic-tac-toe. He pushed the plates and cups out of the way and put the paper on the tabletop. As he drew each grid, explained the rules, and offered strategic hints to his children, he watched Kevin pouring water through a towel into buckets to strain it, then through the filter to purify it. His mind began to wander, thinking about water again.
Then his son shouted, “I win,” and Dylan snapped back to consciousness.
Dylan slid the paper closer to his son and said, “Teach your sister,” and handed him the pencil.
Dylan looked at the cups that he had just pushed aside on the table. Each still contained a small amount of water. Dylan took each cup and poured the contents into one, nearly filing it. He put the cup of water to his lips, tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and slowly drained the glass. With his last gulp of clean water, his thoughts crescendoed into an epiphany. He sat the cup heavily back on the table, banging the tabletop. Everyone turned just as Dylan announced, “I know how we can get running water.”
“You’ve been in the sun too long,” said Kevin, laughing.
While Kevin was still laughing, Jim appeared back at the patio door. Through the screen door, he told them the boxes of chlorine were on the driveway. Dylan told Kevin to go to the patio, and there, they stood by the embers of the fire.
“I can get running water back in my house,” said Dylan
“What in the hell are you talking about?” asked Jim.
“Do you remember the excavated foundation at the top of the hill? The one with the spring water leaking into it?”
Kevin and Jim nodded their heads.
“They poured the footings for the foundation wall, installed the drain tile, and routed the water away.”
“Yes, I remember. How does that get us water in the house?” asked Kevin.
“That pit is at the top of the hill and we’re at the end of the street, the lowest point,” explained Dylan.
“Get to the good part,” demanded Jim.
Dylan held his hands up. “Okay, okay. I’m almost there. We destroy the drain tile and use concrete to plug it, so it can’t drain.”
“And?” Kevin was motioning impatiently with his hands, wanting Dylan to speed up the story.
“We need to get all the garden hoses we can find and siphon the spring water to this house when the pit fills. We’ll dig a shallow trench and run the hose down to my spigot by the patio. All I have to do is remove the back flow valve and the water will flow into this house’s plumbing system.”
Jim interjected, “Why not my house? It’s closer.”
“It is closer, but it’s also a two-story and your lot is at a higher elevation than mine. Dylan pointed to his house. “Mine is a little lower so I’ll get more water pressure, maybe enough for a shower.”
The word “shower” reverberated in their minds. Kevin and Jim stood there, wide-eyed. They looked at the spigot and traced with their eyes up the hill to the orange fence surrounding the open pit. Each man imagined the path of the hose down the hill and the feeling of showering again.
“And the toilets would flush?” asked Kevin.
“There’s only one way to find out,” Dylan responded.
“Say no more,” said Jim, “I know where there’s concrete. Is it sacks of concrete you need?”
“Yes, sack concrete should work,” answered Dylan. “The water is already there. I guess we could pour it where the water drains away and wait for it to cure.”
“I know where there are sacks of concrete close to that pit,” said Jim. “I want to get started now. It’ll take days for that pit to fill, so we better get moving.” Jim walked away, not waiting for the other two men.
Kevin knocked on the patio door to get his wife’s attention. Mary came to the screen, and Kevin explained that he needed to go. He blew a kiss to his wife through the screen, and then Dylan and Kevin ran up the slope to catch up with Jim.
Jim showed them a house with sacks of concrete stacked in the garage. The partially constructed house had a roof, so the sacks had not gotten wet from rain. Dylan put a sack of concrete on his shoulder and carried it to the pit. He repeated the process until he had enough bags of concrete. Kevin found an extension ladder, carried it to the pit, lowered it, and placed it against a pit wall. Dylan climbed down the ladder, destroyed the drain tile, and poured sack after sack of concrete at strategic locations in the pit. When he was done, Dylan put his dirty hands in the sheet of water draining down the jagged limestone wall to wash off the concrete powder. He climbed out of the pit, replaced the orange plastic safety fence, and went home.
They walked triumphantly back to Dylan’s house, with Kevin in the lead. Kevin was anxious to brag to his wife about what they had done. As he got close to the patio door, he saw a man inside that he did not know. Kevin froze. He turned quickly and gestured for Dylan to hurry. On the patio, Kevin slid the screen door open with a heavy hand and quickly entered the house. The man sitting at the table jumped back. Kevin noticed his wife’s expression and quickly realized that he had overreacted to the stranger’s presence.
“Kevin, I want you to meet Joel Hales,” announced Mary. “He’s our neighbor.”
Embarrassed at his entrance, Kevin tried to be overly polite in the way he shook Joel’s hand, an
d kindly said, “Nice to meet you.”
Dylan entered the room quickly and asked, “What is it?”
“Joel is here,” said Kevin.
“Hi, Dylan. I brought back the bow and arrows.” Joel pointed to the weapons on the floor. “These were a big hit with my son.”
“Good. Give me a few days, and I’ll have some bows made for you and your son. Arrows will take longer.”
“I didn’t forget,” said Joel. “I’ll get some of those reeds from the stream and get them to you.”
“As many as you can?”
“As many as I can.”
“Dad?” Brad summoned his father.
Dylan turned to see his son with a sad expression on his face. “What about me? Can I have a bow?”
“Of course you can. I’ll teach you to hunt rabbits and squirrels.”
His son smiled and quietly returned his attention to the tic-tac-toe game, already in progress with his sister. Brad drew another X on the paper and then drew a line through the three identical letters in a row before announcing that he had won again.
“That’s not fair,” exclaimed Jennifer, as he she leaned forward and slammed her pencil on the table.
“Relax, it’s just a game,” said Dylan.
Joel went to Jennifer’s chair, rubbed his chin, and said, “Do you want me to play your brother? I bet I can beat him for you.”
”Yes,” said Jennifer, as she crossed her arms and stuck out her tongue at Brad.
Joel lifted Jennifer up and placed her on his lap as he sat on the chair. He picked up the pencil to draw a new grid for the next game and realized that the paper was full. He turned it over, but the other side was not blank. He read the other side of the paper and held it up to show Dylan what it was. “When did you get this?”
Dylan immediately recognized the paper. It was the pamphlet he had found in his closet, when he put away his rifle. “I don’t know. It was lying around, and I thought I could use it to help start a fire. Scrap paper would be good for that.”
“They came by my house,” said Joel. “There were two of them. They wanted to share their prophet’s revelation. They said he predicted this, and he was the pathway to Heaven.” Joel dropped the paper back on the table. “They even offered me food.”
“How did they get over here?” asked Dylan.
“They were on foot. They walked all over the neighborhood with these pamphlets. I saw them leave when they finished. They walked away through the field, toward the lake.”
Dylan took the paper and stared at it with intense curiosity. He then placed it back in the drawer. He removed another piece of paper for the game to continue, and placed it on the table.
Joel curiously lifted that paper up to see its underneath and said, “Map.”
“Map?’ asked Dylan.
“See for yourself.” Joel turned it over.
Dylan ran his fingers across the surface, studying the details. “It’s a small map of the surrounding area. Come here, Kevin, look at this.”
Dylan pushed the map closer to Kevin for him to study it. He did so with quick movements of his eyes, darting north and south, east and west. He traced the outline of the lake with his fingers, noticed a bike trail around its perimeter and railroad tracks farther away, and finally followed the water upstream, away from the lake, to the edge of the map.
“This map makes me wonder,” said Kevin. “What’s going on around us?”
Joel shrugged his shoulders. “I haven’t left this neighborhood.”
Kevin looked at Dylan, pushing the map back toward him, and said, “We should look around. I’ll get David to take me to the bartering lot. After that, you and I will go upstream, and maybe on another day, go to the far end of the lake.”
Dylan rubbed his face with his hands and then ran his tired fingers through his dirty hair. He quickly thought about a shower again and the comfort of washing the smell of a thousand miles of river off his body and out of his clothes. It would be days before the pit filled, so he thought it would be good timing to explore the area now.
“Okay, let’s do it.” Dylan looked at Joel. “Are you in?”
“I don’t think I’m cut out for that. I should stay here.”
“I’m going,” said Kevin.
“Excuse me!” exclaimed Mary. “Where do you think you’re going? I really don’t feel like being left alone, again.”
“Mary,” said Jim, “I’m not cut out for that, either. We’ll be here, so you really won’t be alone.”
Mary appreciated the sincerity in his voice, and agreed to stay and watch Dylan’s children.
“Mary, come back home with me and meet my wife,” Joel offered. “She’s been homeschooling our three children and they should be done for the day. Bring the kids and let them play for a while. I think it would be good for them.”
Mary looked at Dylan, and he nodded with approval.
“I was a school teacher,” said Mary.
“If you’re offering, I’m sure my wife would love the help.”
“I miss it,” Mary admitted.
“Go ahead, Mary,” said Kevin, “I’ll do your dishes.”
Mary playfully slapped her husband across the head. “There’re not my dishes, and I’m not your dishwasher.”
Kevin held his hands up mockingly to protect his skull and said, “Okay, I understand. I just wanted to help.”
“Feisty, isn’t she,” said Jim, trying not to laugh.
“That she is. That’s why I love her.”
Mary playfully kissed her husband on the head and left with Joel and the children to meet Kim, Joel’s wife.
Jim sat at the table and all three men stared at each other for a brief moment before Dylan pulled the map close and studied the locations of Kevin’s three targets. Sequentially, he placed his index finger over the intersection where he thought the bartering lot was, and then he traced the stream up current, off the edge of the torn map, and finally slapped his hand on the diagram of the lake and the road that crossed its far end. He looked up at Kevin and asked, “Where to first?”
Kevin took possession of the map and smoothed its wrinkles on the flat tabletop with the palm of his hand. Imitating Dylan, he first placed his finger where Dylan had indicated the probable location of the bartering lot. “Here. David already said he would show me where it is. You stay here and finish up whatever project is next. This shouldn’t take me more than a day.” He traced the stream with his finger. “Maybe the next day we could walk the stream, but not so far that we can’t make it back by nightfall.” Then he pointed to the lake and whistled. “That’s a lot of area to cover. Scouting just one side could take a while.” He scratched his head and stared at the map, squinting his eyes, deep in thought.
Dylan pointed to the bike trail and said, “We’ll go on the east side of the lake. It’s closest to the bike trail and that connects to the road over the dam. It will be easier to cover ground if we use that trail.”
“Then that’s the plan,” affirmed Kevin.
“Jim, I need you to get that rain barrel you mentioned,” said Dylan. “I’ve got another project.”
“Oh, Dylan.” Jim stood up, leaned on the back of his chair, and hung his head low. “I’m dead tired. Can’t it wait?”
“I’ll help you get the rain barrel tonight, and I can work on it tomorrow,” Dylan suggested.
“Deal, but you don’t have to help me get it. I think I can manage rolling an empty rain barrel down the street. I’ll leave now.” Jim started to walk backward toward the patio.
“And tell David he’s going to the bartering lot with Kevin,” said Dylan.
“I’ll tell him right after I get that rain barrel.” Jim walked through the patio door and turned back around when his feet met the concrete. “Kevin, when do you want to leave with David?”
Kevin simply replied, “Tomorrow.”
Chapter Six
Dylan woke early the next morning, anxious to get the next project started. He raised the garage do
or to a rush of cool morning air. Dew still clung to the long blades of grass in his yard, glistening in the morning sunshine. The rain barrel that Jim had scavenged for him the previous day was lying on the concrete driveway. On top of the rain barrel was a coil of dark-green garden hose. Dylan dragged both items into the garage and pulled down on a cord attached to the attic’s folding access stairs. The creaking ladder unfolded, releasing dust and fragments of insulation downward.
With a tape measure, Dylan estimated on a wall of the garage where the kitchen sink was located on the opposite side. He cut a rectangular opening in the drywall, removed the oblong section of sheetrock, moved the fiberglass insulation aside to expose the plumbing, and located the hot water pipe. The builder had plumbed the house with plastic tubing, and the hot water lines were red.
With a quick push from Kevin, the door from the house to the garage swung open just as Dylan knelt down to inspect the red pipe. Unknowingly, the barrel hid Dylan when he knelt down. When Dylan raised his head and peered over the top of the barrel, his ascending movement startled Kevin.
“Were you hiding from me?” asked Kevin.
Dylan stepped back and moved the rain barrel away so that Kevin could see what he had done to the wall.
“No, but I could use a hand if you have some time.”
Kevin stretched his tired body and tried to rub the fatigue from his eyes. “You got it, Boss. Maybe you should explain what you’re doing first.”
“If we get this barrel up into the attic and place it on the cross beam, we can use it like a water tower. Gravity will bring the water into the pipes. The drawback is that we have to carry buckets of water up the attic steps to fill the barrel. The advantage would be that we get warm water until the season changes.”
Kevin pointed to the rectangular opening in the drywall. “And you connect it to the plumbing here?”
“That’s right. I can splice my plumbing to some tubing we’ll get from an empty house, and use that to connect the hose coming down from the attic.”
Kevin was deep in thought. He imagined the barrel in the attic, supported on the crossbeam, the hose coming through a hole in the ceiling, and all that connected to the spliced tubing in the garage wall, directly behind the kitchen sink. He rubbed his beard and said, “I think that’ll work. I suppose you need me to find some tubing.”
