Not Dead in the Heart of Dixie

by R Kralik

  Rona's getting around on crutches like she's been doing it all her life, and basically, she has. I can't tell you how many nights I spent as a kid, sleeping on hospital chairs while Rona was getting “checked out.” She was a rough and rowdy kid. When the boys pulled her pigtails, or called her four-eyes, she'd fill her knee socks with gravel and lay it on 'em.

  Men in beekeeper suits are cleaning up dead bodies across the road. We'll need to clean up all the trashed vehicles as well. Pop doesn't wanna drive the tractor over any of it. We don't have spare tractor tires.

  Pop and Emma are in the garden, harvesting tomatoes, while Nana teaches Valerie and Marisa how to can them. We also have cauliflower, carrots, zucchini, cabbage and a whole list of herbs for drying. Next month, the garden will explode and we'll spend hours every day canning and preserving.

  I haven't seen Jeremy today. He's locked in his little wooden house even though the temperature is almost eighty-seven degrees. I wanna take him to the dark tunnel room and show him the calmness there. Maybe he can let go and let loose with his grief.

  Deuce has been in the meadow with the horses all day. He's having a harder time dealing with the loss of his sister than he did the loss of his parents. He's withdrawn, indifferent, and apathetic to everything going on around him. I don't know what to say to him that I haven't already said. Time will ease his pain and maybe I should just leave it alone and let it do its work.

  I miss Rebecca. I miss her soft smile and quiet giggle. I miss seeing her chase Amber and Michael around the yard. I miss seeing her eat like a little bird at meals. I can't imagine what Jeremy's feeling. I suppose the only thing I can do is be here if he needs me.

  Josie said she was able to get word to Chris about the fake military in Moulton but she hasn't heard back from him yet. She's been spending a lot of time in the radio building and says radio traffic and the frequency of “click codes” is increasing. The ones she's able to interpret mostly contain information on troop movement and basic surveillance of HDI activity

  Everyone here has their guard up and we're doubling guards at night. We fear that the small group last night was sent ahead to clear and scout for a larger group. We have no reason to believe that's true, but we fear it.

  Pao and Tim are trying to get shelves up in the tunnel room so we can organize all the supplies and food we've taken inside. We haven't told Kenny about the tunnel yet. Ian's fears that Kenny may be some sort of spy or have some affiliation with the fake military. He says we should wait until Josie hears back from Chris before we say anything about our supplies and plans to Kenny. Rona assured him that we can trust Kenny, but Ian is ex-military and he trusts no one. I like that about him.

  Marisa looks wonderful. She has the glow.

  I don't want her stepping a foot off this compound until the baby comes. Actually, I don't want her or Carisa stepping foot off this compound ever.

  I'm still pondering the wild people who killed Rebecca. I can’t imagine what other mutations may be lurking out there, waiting to be discovered.

  I can’t believe we haven’t seen these “wild people” before now. Jesse and Jeremy have been all over the countryside, looking for hay. I wonder if the group near the rock quarry are the only ones in the area.

  I wondered aloud where they lived. Dane says they probably live in the trees. Jason thinks they live underground. I suppose we'll never know unless we go looking, and we don't plan to do that. Jeremy would tear each and every one of them from apart from limb to limb and I can't say I'd blame him.

  Anyway, Josie notified home base about them. I have no idea what they plan to do.

  Well, I should get up and help with the tomato harvest. I think I’ve have a tomato sandwich while I’m out there

  See ya later.

  10:15 PM...

  I want you to come back and carry me home. Away from these long, lonely nights. I'm reaching for you. Are you feeling it too? Does the feeling feel oh, so right? ~ Air Supply

  I'm so lost without Mick. I can't comfort myself, much less anyone else. I'm aching for him and want to hear him whisper “I love you” right up close to my ear. Sigh...

  Everyone was busy after supper, trying to prepare the tunnel room while Kenny was visiting with Kevin in the clinic. Kevin's in on it and was asked to keep Kenny there as long as possible. He didn't like the idea, because he trusts Kenny, but he went along with it.

  So, we're keeping the tunnel information from Kenny, and we're keeping the cave and Pop's location from Josie, Velma, and Ian.

  This is beginning to feel like we're a sneaky government of two or three parties playing games with the others.

  I've almost had enough of watching my tongue and I'm tempted to blurt out everything to folks at breakfast in the morning, but I won't. I'll wait 'til I simply can't stand it anymore or someone gives in and decides it's time to reveal all to everyone on the compound.

  We've been missing something. We've seen no HDI's come from the hillside or down the road in the past two days. It almost feels creepy, like the abnormal isn't the norm anymore.

  Dane plans to go into town with Jason and Tim tomorrow morning to check out the HDI status there. I made him pinky swear that he wouldn't go anywhere near the rock quarry and I was surprised that he agreed with me.

  Josie says there's still a lot of radio traffic and she was partially able to crack a little of the code from the fake military. Her biggest concern was the word “sprayed.”

  She's following the rabbit down the hole and fears that the fake military is getting ready to “spray” areas with some sort of chemical or biological spray. She is two inches away from freaking out and she's sleeping in the radio building again. She sent a second message to Chris but still hasn't heard from him.

  Her paranoia is beginning to effect some of the younger folks, and everyone asked her to request gas masks and instructions.

  Is the dictator of the fake military ready to eliminate everyone in the country other than his own troops? Will this spray eliminate HDI's? What about animals? Does the dictator have this “spray” or does it belong to the real military? Can this really be happening or am I in the middle of one of those fabulous stories on TEOTWAWKI forums I used to read ten times a day?

  My brain is fighting with me. One side says there's no possible way the dictator has had the time to gather all the supplies needed to conduct a nationwide “cleansing.” The other side is saying “maybe he's had this plan for years.”

  I don't know whether to be afraid, or indifferent. The ONLY reasons I care at all is because of my family living here on this hill, expecting my protection. Without Mick, I almost don't give a hoot if I'm taken out by HDI's, fake military, Chinese, North Koreans, wild people, or some green fog.

  To put it short and sweet, I'm only here for my family. To hell with myself.

  I suppose you're tired of reading this drivel and self-pity, so I'm headed off to sleep in my lonely bed and await whatever tomorrow throws in my lap.

  Goodnight Mick, I'm all out of love, I'm so lost without you...

  Bye for now.

  Wednesday, May 7

  I haven't mentioned Wilky Place in a while, so I need to update the information.

  The last time the big unit was here they finished the fence across the back of the property and down the right side. They didn't have concrete to set the fence posts, so they simply dug the trench deeper.

  If I'm correct, the fence is over 8 feet tall. Brody wasn't satisfied with that so he used the Silverado and small flatbed to get several rolls of barbed wire from a TSC 30 miles away. He got enough to run three strands along the top of the fence, adding another 21 inches to the height.

  The trench is dug across the front and waiting for trailers. We haven't been able to turn loose and allow any of the men to head out for trailers with Brody. Serena refuses to allow him to go by himself.

  Since Tom, Sable, Daryl, and Montel left with the military, Brody and Serena are the only adults there. I'm feeling bad about it. I
think I'll mention it to Dane, again.

  The three children Ian and Rick rescued from the woods are gaining weight and coming back to life.

  They all enjoy running and playing with Amber and Michael. They look completely different than when they arrived.

  We were able to provide them with a few sets of clothes from the haul Josie, Ian, and Rick brought back when they looted the clothing stores and Walmart.

  Hey, there's a thought!

  If Dane, Jason, and Tim come home with good news from town, we may try to loot Walmart. Hopefully no one's beaten us to it. I’ll stay on the compound. I have no idea when I'll be ready to step foot outside the gate again. Maybe next week. Maybe never.

  Emma and I continued to can tomatoes this morning while Nana helped Elaine and Merry with breakfast. I've discovered that keeping Merry busy is a very good thing. If she has less free time, she doesn't become depressed and lethargic.

  Using a huge pot for oatmeal along with a water bath canner on top of the gas stove was difficult. Nana finally said forget it and made a small pot of oatmeal for the kids and raspberry muffins in the oven for the adults. Everything worked out fine in the end, even though elbows got in the way more often than not.

  OMG! Carisa just ran in and said Mick's on the radio. See ya later!

  3:00 PM...

  The news is good.

  First of all, Mick and Chris will be here with the unit in three days. I have no idea why they're coming here.

  I'm walking on clouds because he's coming home. I plan to have everything ready for his first night back. I think he deserves a nice bath in the big ol' cast iron tub, compliments of yours truly. Don't you?

  I need to tell Nana to plan on venison burgers for that night. I don't know if the mess tent will be up but I want a family supper around our own table.

  Shawna and Lisa have the teens in the tunnel room, organizing supplies and probably practicing some of the martial arts skills they've learned.

  The second best news is that town is missing all the HDI's again. Dane says they saw a looter group down the street and he's sure the group saw him but neither group approached the other.

  I told Dane to get looting crews to town as soon as possible.

  There are three groups gearing up and I have no idea who's going. I'm not going and neither is Josie and Marisa, because they're pregnant. Kevin and Rona are stuck on the compound as well.

  I guess that the looting crews will be Ian, Pao, Tim, Kenny, Elaine, Dane, and Jason, I'll stand guard in one tower and Pop in another. I think Josie and Marisa will stand guard in the rear towers but I'm worried about them getting too hot. I plan to take a bucket of cool water and a hand towel to dip and wrap around my neck to keep myself as cool as possible. I plan to force Marisa and Josie to do the same.

  Pop may give in and take a bucket and towel along with him. I asked if he wanted to switch places with Emma so we'd have an all-women guard shift but he declined and said he'd rather sit in a hot tower than make pickles. I'm almost with him there. I hate making pickles, but I hate the heat worse.

  I hear truck engines which is my signal to head to the guard tower and take over from Tim.

  See ya later.

  10:00 PM...

  Standing watch was absolutely miserable.

  I was trying to figure out how to lose 10 lbs before Mick gets here, but I don't think I'll need to worry about it now. I sweated more than I have in the past 10 years. Anyway, I was glad when the looting crews came back through the gate and Kenny came to stand watch.

  The crews took a big rig with an enclosed trailer, the jeep with the goat trailer, and the Dodge truck. They came back with both trailers and the bed of the Dodge packed full.

  The list is too long to write out, but I'll tell you what types of stores they looted.

  They looted Walmart and found a battery operated fork lift to take the supplies from the top shelves. Of course, the battery was dead.

  Half the men climbed the shelves and tied rope around large cases of supplies to lower to the floor. The others grabbed it and loaded the truck.

  They got lots of canned food, paper goods, clothing, small appliances, camping gear, diapers, baby food, powdered baby formula, personal hygiene items, cookware, dishes, kitchen supplies, and a wide assortment of other things. They filled half the big rig trailer, the bed of the Dodge, and the rear of the Jeep with items from Walmart.

  The men were most excited about the 5,000 rounds of .22 ammo along with lower numbers of other calibers they found on the top shelves. The women were most excited about the canned food.

  Nothing was left in the pharmacy and Dane figures that the looter group he saw the other day has already been there.

  The clothing section inside the store was full of goo covered clothes hanging nicely on their racks.

  Pao says there's plenty of underwear and socks inside plastic bags covered with HDI goo, and he'd be happy to retrieve them if we wanted to wash the HDI goo off. My answer was “Heck, we'll use gloves and roll the bags inside out to purge the contents.” Yep, we want those goo covered underwear bags. Dane rolled his eyes and said he'd “see about it on the next run.”

  The food section was bare as was all the little candy stands and drink machines around the registers. The shoe section was also bare and the camping section looked like it had been spit polished (Jason's words, not mine).

  Thank goodness the other group didn't find a way to get all the stuff from the top shelves in the storage area. I wondered aloud if the other group might be “Times Nine Farm” that Tommy, LaShay, and Bill belong to. Remember them? They were rescued with Mick and Dane from the freight trailer?

  More about the loot haul...

  They looted several clothing stores and boutiques. Elaine says we have clothes for newborns and up. I was thankful to hear that because Amber and Michael are growing out of their clothes. There's no way they'll be able to wear the same winter clothes next year. I suppose Emma will fire up the sewing machine if she needs to. I've noticed her candle burning late at night. She's probably working on blankets and quilts for the military.

  They also looted the vitamin store and found it almost undisturbed. There's a load of vitamins and herbal goodies in the back seat of the Jeep. Elaine said they found a lot of flavored teas.

  The goat trailer's full of plumbing supplies, tools, and....

  CRAP!

  Josie just sounded the alarm through the kitchen window.

  Gotta run...

  11:45 PM...

  Josie's picking up radio traffic from Asian troops. She doesn't know if it's Chinese or North Korean, but it's getting clearer by the hour which means they're headed our way. She's sending click codes amazingly fast and someone's answering her. We should know the exact location of the enemy by tomorrow morning if she deciphered the click codes correctly.

  We'll be spending the entire night loading up food and supplies to take to the tunnel room. It's time to tell Kenny about the tunnel room because we need his help.

  I'm scared and confused. I don't know what to do other than get as much as we can hidden in that tunnel room and send more to Beggar cave if we can determine whether or not it's safe to go that way.

  The teens are leading the goats to the second tunnel room. I don't care that the supports aren't finished. We need those goats. We need that milk. I don't want any of those darling milk machines to get eaten by the Chinese or North Koreans. Oh, my God, I don't know what to do next.

  I beat on the door of Jeremy's house until he opened it and let me in. I told him what was happening, and he was gearing up before I finished explaining everything. He's in the thick of it right now, using the hand truck to haul blue water barrels to the tunnel room.

  Holy Smokes, I just realized that someone needs to run to Clinic Diane and tell Velma to start packing up all the medications and supplies. Surely Luke and Larson have been there to tell their parents what's going on, but I plan to check anyway. We're all in a frenzy.

  Oh Ge
ez! We need to get all the ammo and supplies from the guard towers. Should we do that? Should we keep guards posted? Forget it. I'm leaving that up to Dane, but what if someone is captured from a guard tower and tortured 'til they talk about the tunnel rooms? This feels like a double-edged sword and we're about to fall on it.

  This is a bad dream, right?

  The loot from today is still on the trucks. It needs to go straight to the cave and be left there. It's six miles out in the boonies but we need to get it there as soon as possible.

  I plan to ask Dane and Ian to scout on foot, or by horse, the path to Beggar Cave. That means we'll have to actually tell Ian about it. Oh Lord, please don't let him take it the wrong way! Can they make it that far and back before the enemy arrives? Should they use the BMW? It's really quiet.

  The cruel, inhuman side of me wishes we had HDI pits with hungry HDI's all over the field, waiting to be fed the bodies of our enemies. How could I even think that? Someone needs to slap me hard and fast.

  Oh, heck, I don't know!

  I need to stop trying to make all the decisions myself.

  I need to get out of here and walk into my nightmare.

  Bye for now.

  Thursday, May 8

  I fell asleep with my head on the kitchen table about 3:30 this morning. I was awakened by Josie yelling through the kitchen window about 5:00 this morning.

  It startled me so bad that I fell out of my chair and hit the floor. It took a moment for me to realize where I was and why I was there. I jumped up and ran straight to the window to find out what was happening.

  North Koreans are 25 miles northeast of us and they're heading southwest. The North Korean group numbers approximately 2,000 men not including officers and high ranking officials.

  At this time, they're camped and not moving, but that could change at any moment.