One day I was out walking the fence line with Bracken and his younger brother Calvin. I tried to keep my mind focused on the task, but it just kept fogging out, making it impossible to stay focused. I don’t know what was wrong with me; I felt like my mind was shriveling up even as my body began to fill out from the good food. Bracken kept telling me to keep up. I tried my best, but it just wasn’t good enough; I lagged behind the others.
At one point, I passed a large clump of bushes. I was almost past when I heard my name softly called through the bushes. It took me a second to realize it was Dakota and another few seconds to figure out what to do. I told Bracken and Calvin that I had to take a leak, and then disappeared into the bushes.
I was so happy to see all three guys hiding deep in the bushes, and they were apparently elated to see me. They hugged me so hard I almost passed out. They were whispering excitedly, Dakota with tears in his eyes, exclaiming that they had thought I was dead when they ran from the farm and were overjoyed when they heard from Jenny and Skylar that I was alive and well. They explained that after secretly returning the fateful gun to its owners, they had sought refuge in the nearby town where Skylar and Jenny happened to live. It seemed that fate had brought us back together and I decided that I’d leave with them later that night. At least with these guys I didn’t have to pretend to be interested in life and the mundane things that go along with living. They understood what I’d been through and didn’t try to push or pull me into being something I just didn’t have the strength to be anymore.
Late that night, after everyone in the house had been asleep for several hours, I slipped out the back door and met up with the guys by the fence. I had taken some bread and a few slices of ham to placate the dogs so we could make a quiet getaway. As I climbed the fence, I looked back at the sleepy house, so pleasant and unaware of the hell that the sun had unleashed in the cities. On this farm, Time had plodded along almost like nothing at all had happened. I was tempted to stay, but I felt I could never fit in with the peace and happiness it contained.
Chapter 30
A Home and a Purpose
The guys had moved into an old abandoned home on the edge of the small town about a half-day’s walk from Bracken’s farm. Unlike in the big city, the neighbors had allowed the guys to live in the house as long as they took care of it and until the deceased owner’s heirs came to claim it. Even the town’s one police officer condoned the deal, but he warned them that any “funny business” would get them promptly run out of town.
The house was a nice two-story Victorian home about a quarter mile beyond the last house in the neighborhood. It was surrounded by fields, which had been overgrown with weeds and the occasional volunteer corn plant. The kitchen was large and comfy, and the upstairs had enough bedrooms so that we each got our own. Best of all, according to the guys, who eagerly gave me the tour, was the huge garage/workshop, which was full of equipment, tools, two large workbenches, and plenty of windows to let in natural light. It had a woodstove in the corner for heat and even a skylight over each workbench. Ideal, they said, for inventing. There was a cistern out back that was nearly full of water. We had to carry it in with buckets and boil it for drinking, but it was readily available, at least for now.
Every day, the guys and I went into town looking for chores we could do to earn food and parts from lawnmowers, electronics, etc. At first, the guys kept their invention ideas a secret even from me, but eventually they showed me their designs. As soon as they gathered enough parts, they began working on them. They couldn’t wait to get back home everyday with their new acquisitions. Since I knew almost nothing about electronics, inventing, or physics, and my math skills were pretty weak, the guys patiently explained and demonstrated things to me, allowing me to apply what I’d learned on extra pieces of equipment.
All of the things the guys and I were working on had to do with making life easier for people. We rewired solar arrays and small wind turbines, which had been damaged during the CME’s, into well pumps and heat exchangers, took apart lawn mowers and made them into generators to run emergency equipment and power tools, and fashioned small electrostatic motors out of recyclables. We also made heat exchangers out of wood and empty pop cans and traded them for food at the market that was held in the school gymnasium. Many of the items we gave away free to desperate families in need of heat or a source of power.
Another type of project that the guys and I worked on and used for bartering was a defense system for people’s farms. With the help of Matt’s zombie manuals, we showed farmers how to make weapons out of things they could find around the house, and how to set up a perimeter alarm system to warn of marauders, which were beginning to be a serious problem. Doug still felt bad about wounding Bracken’s brother and dog, so we helped their family with a defense system for free to help make up for it. They accepted the apology and help graciously.
The guys had a top-secret project, which they were most excited about and worked on late into the night, relying on light from candles at first, then from some of our solar and generator projects. Using odds and ends like glass bottles, PVC pipe, copper wire and tubing, aluminum foil, and the transformer from a neon sign, among other things, they were able to fashion a high-voltage Tesla coil, capable of generating electricity. They worked for months perfecting it and making it safe for everyday use in households. Since my math and science skills were still lacking, but my penmanship and drawing abilities were fair, the guys had me write all the notes and draw illustrations and diagrams of their work. I became adept at writing coherently, and even noticed that my vocabulary and grammar improved greatly the more I was around the three highly intelligent geeks I had come to love as brothers.
I dated Jenny Garten, Skylar’s friend, for several months after moving to town, but she developed an interest in Matt and started dating him instead. I didn’t have a problem with that; she was too flighty for me. On the other hand, she suited Matt’s crazy-fun personality perfectly.
I met a girl in town named Taylor Smith, with whom I have found a comforting affinity. Like me, her life has been full of heartache and sorrow, and Time has not been kind to her. Most of her childhood was spent being shuffled from one relative to another while her parents alternated between drug and alcohol binges, jail, and rehab. Her older brother Irvine, who had been in Bracken’s class at school, had also fallen into the abyss of drug addiction. Taylor felt like everyone who was supposed to take care of her had abandoned her. Shortly after PF Day, her parents were released from jail and tried to make a family for her and Irvine. Unfortunately, without drugs or alcohol to feed their addictions, they and Irvine became alternately volatile and angry, then sullen and depressed. Taylor tried to be placating or simply stay out of their way, making herself as inconspicuous as possible, but Irvine often fought bitterly with both his parents. Soon they had kicked Irvine out of the home and he was later found frozen to death in the town park after a snowstorm. Taylor has never gotten over his death or her parents’ abandonment of her, just as I have never gotten over my losses. But I have learned some things since coming to this quaint little town.
As I come to appreciate this new life and the purpose I have found, thanks to my brothers, helping people survive and thrive in this world that Time has forgotten, I have realized several things. One is that money, or whatever is substituted for money, is worthless unless you have loved ones to share it with, to really be with and appreciate. Another is that, like Sara always said, life isn’t always what it seems; one should always try to look at an issue from all sides before jumping to conclusions and passing judgments. And Time, which I used to think was my enemy, is simply the means by which we measure our successes and failures in life; those, in turn, influence how fast or slow we perceive Time to be passing.
Finally, survival isn’t just about knowing how to forage for food, or find shelter, or protect yourself from all the bad things that life throws at you; it’s about figuring out how to find happiness and love, how to mov
e beyond the bad things and search out good stuff, and ultimately, how to make a new life, a life with purpose and relationships, the things that make a life worth living. I’m happy to say that I’m almost there. I’ve come to terms with my anguished past, established a sustainable present, and am looking forward to a future with limitless possibilities.
There’s only one thing I hold near and dear to my heart, and that is my Sara. Maybe someday I’ll tell Taylor and the guys about her. Or maybe I’ll just keep her memory tucked away in my pocket to replace those tears I spent the day she died. I’ll hold her memory next to my mother’s watch to remind me never again to waste the Time I have been gifted with the people I love.
Discussion Questions
1. What were some of the themes throughout the story? How did those themes affect the story and help move it along? (Examples: Time; money—Benjamins; the number 13; color—the blue of Sara’s eyes, her red coat, the grey surroundings when she died, etc.)
2. Ben felt like Time was his enemy through most of the story. At what point did his perception of Time begin to change and when was he able to come to terms with it?
3. How would you describe Ben’s personality? Is he shy, sensitive, and introverted or outgoing and gregarious? Does he confront problems head-on or try to avoid thinking about them? How does his personality type help to shape the story?
4. What did Aaron mean when he said, “Well now. Emancipation is something I know a little bit about”?
5. Why did Aaron call the homeless people in Swope Park “Lost Souls”?
6. Why did the Lost Souls prefer to live in the park instead of some of the many empty buildings and houses?
7. Why did Patrick hurl the knife at Sara?
8. What was the significance of color when Ben found Sara dying?
9. Why do you think both old Mr. Westcott and Sara have peaceful expressions on their faces when they died?
10. Why did Doug “borrow” the gun from the empty farmhouse?
11. How did Bracken’s family’s perception of Ben’s personality differ from Ben’s reality? (If you’ve already read How I Became a Teenage Survivalist.)
12. Ben felt like he couldn’t stay with Bracken’s family. Why is that? Why did he feel more comfortable living with his three friends?
13. What are the things Ben learned about life by the end of the story? How can you apply these words of wisdom to your own life?
Find Out More
"Our sun is approaching a period of high turbulence, referred to as the solar maximum, with many scientists suggesting a peak in activity around 2013." This activity could result in a solar superstorm which, under the perfect circumstances, could cause the collapse of the power grid as portrayed in TIME LOST: Book 2 in the Teenage Survivalist Series.
Find out more about solar superstorms and coronal mass ejections (CME’s):
NOVA Secrets of the Sun
The Sun's Wrath: Worst Solar Storms in History
NASA Science: A Super Solar Flare
Solar Superstorm Could Knock Out US Power Grid
Learning how to survive without electricity is all about creative problem solving. Think about everything in your life that runs on electricity and try to figure out a way to replace each of them. The links below show how Ben and Sara solved some of their most pressing problems.
Find out how to become a survivalist:
Surviving An Urban Disaster: Interview With Richard Duarte
Urban Survival Tips - Part 1
Urban Survival Tips - Part 2
Scavenging For Survival
How to Turn a Pallet into a Garden
About the Author
Julie Casey lives in a rural area near St. Joseph, Missouri, with her husband, Jonn Casey, a science teacher, and their three youngest sons. After teaching preschool for fifteen years, she has been homeschooling her four sons for ten years. Julie has Bachelor of Science degrees in education and computer programming and has written four books. She enjoys historical reenacting, wildlife rehabilitation, teaching her children, and writing books that capture the imaginations of young people.
Find out more at www.julielcasey.com.
A Message From the Author:
Thank you for taking the time to read my book. I would be honored if you would consider leaving a review for it on Amazon.
I’d like to shout a big thank you to all my family, friends, and fantastic supporters of the Teenage Survivalist series.
You all are the best!
Check out these titles from
Amazing Things Press
Guardians of Holt by Julie L. Casey
Keeper of the Mountain by Nshan Erganian
Rare Blood Sect by Robert L. Justus
Evoloving by James Fly
Survival In the Kitchen by Sharon Boyle
Stop Beating the Dead Horse by Julie L. Casey
In Daddy’s Hands by Julie L. Casey
Time Lost: Teenage Survivalist II by Julie L. Casey
www.amazingthingspress.com
Time Lost: Teenage Survivalist II Page 15
