The Troop

by Gayne C Young

  “Don't miss,” I taunted.

  “I won't,” Liam scoffed. “Because I'm going to tag him in the body. Not going to risk a headshot like you.”

  I rolled my eyes and Liam smiled.

  He pushed the rifle through the tight brush and quickly dropped the cottontail with a body shot.

  “Good one, Liam,” I offered.

  Dad smiled and gave him a thumbs up.

  I took the .22 from Liam and waited and in a few minutes, we had three rabbits on the ground. A few minutes after that Liam made it four rabbits. I was about to make it five when a huge jackrabbit ambled out of the brush and onto the road but Dad said, “Jackrabbits are pretty stringy. They’re pretty tough eating. Let’s wait on taking one of them unless nothing else presents itself.”

  I nodded and we ventured out onto the road to grab the four rabbits and took them off into the brush to clean them. Cleaning rabbits is easy although kind of gross, I guess, if you're not used to seeing animal guts.

  We walked back to camp to find Johnny and the group had made a second fire pit - this one minus a drying rack - and had a decent fire going.

  “Heard the hits,” Johnny announced. “So I thought I'd get a head start on the fire.”

  “How’d you know to start a fire for cooking and not for smoking?” Liam questioned.

  “A .22 sounds a lot different than a .223,” Johnny explained. “And a hit sounds a lot different than a miss.”

  “No misses tonight!” Dad bragged. “Four shots. Four rabbits.”

  Johnny and Dad showed us how to best prepare the rabbits for the grill by quartering them and sprinkling them with plenty of pepper. The cooking meat mixed with the wood smoke smelled awesome and none of us could wait to try our first harvested meal. The rabbit was a little tough and tasted kind of gamy but still made for a good meal. Not only that it, but it showed all of us that we could live off the land and that we could feed ourselves.

  And more importantly that we could survive out here.

  25

  That night I had some of the scariest dreams I’ve ever had.

  Or at least that I remember ever having.

  I dreamt I was on an island. It was green and tropical and looked a lot like all the shows I’ve seen about Hawaii. I was on the beach with my mom and Dad. They looked like they did before the divorce, so I guess they were still married.

  In the dream anyway.

  We were all having a good time there on the beach and then my mom just steps away from my dad and me. She just kind of backed up and away from us and then she just disappeared. She just vanished into thin air. Dad and I sat on the sand and watched the waves. The water was super blue, and the waves were small and gently rolling. I looked away from the waves for a minute only to notice that my dad was gone and that the jungle behind him and me was gone too.

  All the palm trees were gone, and the sand was now dirt. The sky went from blue and serene to dark and overcast. The island had become a desert devoid of any life and I was the only thing on it.

  Then Bob appeared.

  Or I should say it was a decomposing corpse like a rotting zombie but somehow, I knew it was Bob. He hobbled toward me and pointed straight at me. He opened his mouth and his jaw dropped from his face and almost completely off his body. He moaned, “I’m the lucky one…I’m the lucky one.”

  Over and over.

  “I’m the lucky one…I’m the lucky one.”

  And then I woke up.

  I shot up off my cot like a man possessed. I clutched my chest and felt that my heart was beating about a million miles a minute and I was covered in sweat. I gasped for air feeling like I was choking. I looked over to see Liam sound asleep snoring as usual.

  I found great comfort in that.

  26

  After I calmed down a bit, I decided there was no way I was going to be able to get back to sleep anytime soon so I put on my sandals and glasses and headed towards the dinning flying. The moon was bright and easy to see by and the glowing knobs on Johnny’s radio made the perfect beacon.

  I guess he never ever really does sleep.

  Johnny must have seen me coming because he took off his headphones and waved me over to the seat next to him. He looked down at my feet and said, “Sandals. Good job sir. That’s a lot better than bare feet. I swear one of you guys are going to step on a snake or a scorpion before we get out of here.”

  Johnny paused for a second then asked, “What’s up? Can’t sleep?”

  “Nightmare,” I answered. “A bad one.”

  “I know how those go,” Johnny said on the long sigh. “Nightmare about anything in particular?”

  I was about to say what it was about, but Johnny tried to get me to laugh. He’s a lot like Dad in that way.

  “You know there’s no Bigfoot out here right?” Johnny chided. “Cuz if that’s what you were having a bad dream about there’s really no need. They mainly live north of here where it’s cooler.”

  “I don’t blame them,” I chuckled. “No. I dreamt about my mom and Dad.”

  “I bet there’s a lot of dreams and nightmares about parents and love one going on in this camp.”

  “You think?”

  “Yep everybody is worried about what’s going on back in the real world. They may not show it, but they are.”

  “What is going on in the real world?” I asked pointing to Johnny’s radio.

  Johnny exhaled in exasperation. “About what you would expect. People are starting to panic now there’s no more comfort zone.”

  “Comfort zone?”

  “Yeah. No more air conditioning, TV, Internet, hot water: all things that keep ya’ in a comfort zone.”

  “Microwave food, cold drinks, plenty of snacks,” I continued.

  “Yep. All that.”

  “So, people are freaking out?”

  “Sounds like it. My buddy Bill in Austin said a lot of people have moved into their yards or out into the parks under tarps or in tents at night in order to escape the heat building up in their houses.”

  “Like you said, there’s no air conditioning.”

  “Nope Bill said the Texas National Guard is trying to help folks out with food and medicine but there’s not a lot of it to go around and people are starting to panic. People are starting to...”

  Johnny stopped midsentence then started again. “You know, you really ought to get back to bed. Try to get some sleep. We’ve got big plans for tomorrow.”

  “Really? What?”

  Johnny smiled and said, “I can’t tell you. Not yet anyway.”

  I rolled my eyes and Johnny laughed and said, “Seriously though, get on back to bed. Try to get some sleep. Put those dreams behind you. Out of mind out of sight. Ya’ don’t need them getting in your way.”

  27

  I woke up the next morning covered in sweat but this time it was from the heat and not from a nightmare. Liam was gone and outside the tent it was already pretty bright. I guessed it was around seven or eight. I got dressed and made my way over to the dinning tent to find everyone but me already up and gathered around the fire. I was immediately struck by the smell of grilling meat and heavy smoke. It smelled great and reminded me just how hungry I was.

  Dad and Johnny had a skinned deer by our newly constructed smoker and we’re loading it with strip after strip of meat. All the scouts were sitting by the cook fire roasting meat over the flames with long skewers.

  “Hey sleepy head,” Dad joked. “Grab one of those sticks and come get breakfast.”

  I grabbed a stick that had already been shaved clean of bark and Dad handed me a long slice of meat and said, “Salt-and-pepper is over there on the table but go easy.”

  I nodded, grabbed the offered to meat and asked where the deer came from.

  “Your Dad!” Johnny bragged.

  “Really?” I asked in disbelief.

  “Yeah. Really,” Dad laughed.

  “I mean…I didn’t mean like I was surprised you can kill a deer because you�
��ve killed lots of deer…I just didn’t know you went hunting.”

  “I headed out to the road early this morning and shot a doe where we got the rabbits last night,” Dad explained.

  “But don’t tell anyone!” Liam yelled from the fire. “Because it’s not deer season.”

  “Basically, your Dad’s a poacher,” Carl continued.

  “OK guys. You’re right. Give me the meat back,” Dad said trying not to laugh. “I don’t want y’all participating in a crime.”

  Carl and Liam shook their heads “no” and Carl wolfed down the meat on the end of the stick in one gulp. I guess it was still too hot cuz he waved his mouth with his hand then downed the half bottle of water next to him in a big hurry. Everyone started laughing and I went to the fire and began roasting my deer meat breakfast.

  “Did any of y’all go hunting with Dad?” I asked.

  “My dad’s not here,” Liam said. “But thanks for asking.”

  I looked at Matt then shot a dirty look toward Liam. I was about to call him out for being a total selfish idiot, but Dad changed the direction of the comment really fast.

  “No,” dad offered. “I wanted all of you to get as much sleep as you could.”

  “I saw you leave camp this morning,” Matt commented. “I figured if you wanted me to go with you, you would’ve woke me up.”

  “You would be correct on that Matt,” my dad offered.

  “Y’all eat as much meat as you want,” Johnny instructed. “What you don’t eat we’ll dry into jerky.”

  “Yeah,” Dad reiterated. “Eat as much as you want. You’ll will need energy for the hike out to the road tonight.”

  “We’re going?!” Carl exploded. “Tonight?!”

  “Yep. By yourselves and on your own,” Dad offered

  “But with lots of rules,” Johnny added.

  “Lots of rules,” Dad continued.

  “So, no horseplay today,” Johnny continued instructing. “Stay in the shade and drink as much water as you can. Lots of it. Staying rested and cool is the name of the game.”

  “Well if you really want us to stay cool,” Carl began. “Then we should hike up to the waterhole for an all-day swim.”

  “Negative on that one,” Johnny closed. “I don’t want you wasting calories hiking and swimming before tonight.”

  “Tell ya’ what,” Dad offered. “Y’all can spend all day at the waterhole tomorrow once you’re back safe and sound.”

  “Then could you shoot us a pig?” Andrew suggested. “We could cook it in the sand like those Hawaiians do and have a real beach party. What’s it called? A luau?”

  “We can plan out whatever you want once you’re back safe and sound,” Dad reiterated. “All of you back safe and sound.”

  28

  “So, what are we supposed to do all day?” Liam complained. “If we can’t go swimming and have to stay in the shade all day?”

  “I’m glad you asked,” Johnny said. He wiped the blood and meat from his hands and walked away from the deer toward the fire. “After we finish butchering the deer and clean up, we’re going to take a little inventory. Going to make a list of all our provisions so we can plan out our meals and hunts, etc. And Liam since you’re the quartermaster…”

  “Then I’m in charge,” Liam moaned.

  “Oh no. No way my friend,” Johnny chided. “This job is way too important. I’ll take the lead. You just follow.”

  “But I’m the quartermaster,” Liam said suddenly proud of his position.

  “True, but you’re also taking half doses of your ADHD meds and have the focus of a pinecone.”

  Liam laughed and said, “Ah, man you had to go there? Really?”

  “I did,” Johnny laughed. “I did.”

  “Does anyone else want any more meat?” Dad asked over everyone’s laughter.

  “I’m full,” Carl said.

  “Me too,” said Andrew.

  “Then the rest of this meat gets made into jerky,” Dad concluded.

  “And then inventory,” Johnny said. “Everyone helps.”

  Johnny returned to the almost skeletal remains of the deer and Dad let Johnny take over. Dad wiped his hands and walked towards the fire and called Carl and me over to him. Carl and I walked with Dad as he led us to just outside his tent.

  “What I do?” Carl asked.

  “Yeah. We do something wrong?” I asked.

  Dad looked puzzled. “No. Why would you think that?”

  “Habit I guess,” Carl chuckled.

  “No,” Dad began again. “All’s good. I just want to ask y’all to keep a lookout for Luke. He’s always been...”

  “Eerily weird,” Carl offered.

  “High strung,” I added.

  “No,” Dad said. “Distant maybe or socially awkward. I’m not sure what all is wrong with him, not that there’s something wrong with him, but he’s always been a little outside of the norm and since this all happened has gotten even more so.”

  “What can we do about that?” I asked drawing a blank on what Dad was suggesting.

  “You two are in charge,” Dad stated. “Y’all are the leaders. Just try to include him in everything you can.”

  “He said he won’t go with us tonight though,” Carl reminded.

  “I know but it won’t hurt you to ask him again. It’ll make him feel important. Include him as part of the group. Let him see that he’s needed. We need to stick together now more than ever.”

  Carl and I nodded.

  “Now go help with inventory,” Dad said.

  29

  I think taking an inventory did everyone some good. It not only gave us something to do - something out of the sun and in the shade - but also showed all of us just how many supplies we had. Food wise we had tortillas, hamburger buns, chips, oatmeal, protein bars, various canned goods, lots of powdered Gatorade, flour, cornmeal, salt and pepper and a few other spices. We also had a case of dried noodles and a three-day supply of Meals Ready to Eat or MREs as Johnny calls them. All of this we were going to stretch out as long as we could.

  We had three wall tents we weren’t using, poles for them, and a few tarps. Lots of rope and tent stakes, two tanks of propane and a grill, cookware, flatware, and a tool kit.

  Weapon wise we had six regular bows and target arrows, Johnny’s compound bow with a few target arrows and a dozen and a half hunting arrows, eight .22 rifles and over 850 .22 bullets, Dad’s AR-15 and almost 90 bullets for it.

  “That may seem like a bunch of ammunition,” Dad offered after the count was completed. “But it’s not it’s enough for long term hunting. We’re gonna need to really up our archery skills and to work on some traps.”

  “I say we make some spears!” Andrew promoted.

  “Spears?” Liam scoffed. “What could you spear out here?”

  “Lots of stuff,” Andrew countered.

  “Let’s stick to upping our archery skills and making some bird traps,” Dad reiterated.

  “Which is why we’re going to get that chicken wire tonight,” I reminded everyone. “So, we can make some traps.”

  “That’ll be great,” Johnny said. “But I’ll show us how to make some other traps. Some primitive ones that’ll be just as good.”

  “So, as long as we can hunt and trap, we’ll have plenty to eat,” Dad said. “It’ll just take work and lots of effort.”

  30

  Our plan was to leave around eight. That would give us an hour or hour and a half of daylight with little of the heat. Barring no real problems, we would hit the truck by 11 or 11:30. Loading the corn and chicken wire would take no more than an hour and we were giving ourselves upwards of four hours for the hike back to camp. If all went well, we would be back at camp no later than 4:30.

  Again, if everything went smoothly.

  And if there’s one thing I’ve learned from all my Boy Scout outings, it’s that things rarely go the way they were planned.

  But then maybe that’s just my troop.

 
Carl and I asked Luke and Matt again if they wanted to go. Both said no. Matt said he didn’t want to go back there, and Luke said he thought the trip would be too dangerous without adults. Carl told Luke that we were all adults now, but Luke disagreed.

  Carl, Liam, Jack, Andrew, and I brought our packs to Johnny for inspection around seven.

  Well, seven according to Johnny as he’s the only that really knows what time it is anymore.

  After going through our packs, Johnny agreed that we had enough water and protein bars then commented on how he wished our deer jerky was ready to take with us. In addition to food and water, we were also taking some rope, some tent stakes, a tarp, and two wall tent poles. The latter would let us set up the tarp for protection if need be as well as allow a way for us to carry the rolls of chicken wire back. Johnny gave Carl his binoculars and said they’d come in handy and could even be used after dark to scan the road, as there should be enough moonlight.

  We were ready and itching to go at 7:30 – again, so said Johnny – and as Dad said he couldn’t think of any reason for us not to leave early we could go ahead and go. We had our packs on and we’re about to head out of camp when Matt asked if he could say a prayer for our travels.

  “You’re the Chaplin,” Dad reminded everyone. “It’s up to you.”

  Matt said, “Dear Lord, we ask that you protect all of us…especially these Scouts as they head out alone. Please watch over them and keep them safe…And tell my dad…that I love him. Amen.”

  “Amen,” we all repeated. “Amen.”

  31

  “Slow and steady is the name of the game,” Carl announced as we made our way out of camp. “Slow and steady and drink water before you get thirsty.”

  We all agreed and hiked down the road and out of camp. Just as Carl decreed, we walked slow and deliberate and even though the sun wasn’t beating down on us it was still plenty hot. Carl and Jack were in the lead but soon took the rear after everyone else started complaining.