by Eric Vall
“Of course,” he said with a nod.
“We all have our jobs, so let’s get to work,” I said before I capped the marker I had been using, finished my coffee, and headed to the courtyard with Rolly.
As I walked towards the trailers, I noticed that the grass in the courtyard was starting to get long. Come summer, depending on the rain, it might die off and become a patchy carpet, but right now it was starting to look like an unkempt field. It wasn’t a problem, at least not yet. Though we would want to figure out a way to at least keep a pathway carved out to keep down on bugs and places for animals to hide on our land.
“You don’t happen to have a manual lawn mower hidden in that shed of yours do ya, Rolly?” I asked as Rolly and I reached the vehicles. Then I hopped in the jeep. There was no point in carrying everything across the courtyard when I could just pull right up to the building we would store the gear in.
“Sorry to disappoint ya, but no,” he said as he shook his head and climbed in.
“Damn,” I muttered as I started the jeep. It only took a moment for me to drive from the parking lot to the dorm building. I parked the old olive green machine and started to fill my arms with scavenged goods.
“You think we will need one?” Rolly asked as he did the same.
“At some point we will need a way to knock some of the grass down, but it's not a priority right now.” I said as I tried to pull the building doors open without letting any of the gear in my arms fall.
“I’ll keep it in mind and see what I can do,” the handyman said.
We quickly fell into a rhythm of grabbing a new load and then sorting it out onto various tables in the lunch room based on what type of item it was. There was one table full of clothing, another full of bedding, and a third with any form of illumination. It took us about twenty minutes to empty and sort the Jeep and its trailer, and another half hour to do the same with the rest of the stuff. After we finished, we stood there a moment, just staring at the sheer amount of stuff we had managed to bring back.
“Think this will last us a while?” I asked.
“Oh yeah, this’ll do just fine,” Rolly chuckled. “The bikes seem like a good find.” He gestured with his head towards where the two bicycles sat next to one of the long lunch tables.
“Yeah, they will be useful in the coming months for sure,” I said with a nod. “Come on, let’s roll down the hill and check out the town. I want to see what sort of maze we can set up with the cars that were left behind.”
Rolly nodded and followed me out of the building. Then we each grabbed an ATV, took off down the hill, and rolled into town. We parked in front of the town’s one general store and started to walk the streets.
I took note of every house that lined the streets. What was most important to me were the windows. I wanted to know what sort of view they got of the area, where they were on the house, and if any of them were close enough to move between in a fight. The more we could move while firing at the bikers the harder we would make it for them to find out where we were and return fire.
“So I noticed you slept out in the main area with the girls last night,” Rolly said as we walked.
“Yeah, I had a talk with Bailey last night, and it turns out the girls were all a bit nervous,” I said. “So I decided that it was time I moved out there with them. It’s actually a bit safer anyway.”
“I’m sure it was a real hard adjustment for you,” the grey haired man chuckled.
“It was tough but I think I’ll manage,” I said with a grin.
“I will say that it is nice to know that you make the girls feel safer,” Rolly said. “They are good girls and deserve to feel safe despite our situation.”
“I agree, and I think they will feel better as their skills continue to grow,” I said as I stopped and smiled at him. Then I turned back to the surrounding houses. “I want every window boarded up, but leave gaps big enough to see through and shoot though. If we make all of the windows look more or less the same it should confuse the bikers a bit once the shooting starts.”
“Good idea,” Rolly said. “I can bring down some scrap and I bet there is stuff in the houses I can bust up too.”
“Perfect,” I said.
We walked completely through the town once and looked at the front and back of every individual house. I refused to send any of my girls into a house if the only entrance spilled out onto the street so I made a mental note of every one that we could use.
There were about a dozen vehicles still parked in the streets. Four of them were large pickups, one was a big grey van, two were SUVs, and the rest were sedans of various sizes.
All but one of the trucks would work as amazing barriers. They would not be the easiest to move into position but thankfully we could use our working truck to push them around if need be. One of the trucks was simply too large. It was a red beast of a vehicle with huge off-road tires and a lift kit. The bikers would barely have to slow down to slip underneath the thing. Though if we found ourselves in need of more barricades, we could bolt something onto the side to make it into more of a wall. With all of the abandoned vehicles we could cut off the direct route to the school completely, force them to cut through the neighborhood, and then direct them through the streets in an S pattern.
“I don’t expect you to move the cars alone, but once we get them in place do you think you could go through and make sure there are no gaps large enough for a bike to slip through?” I asked as we returned to the convenience store. “This part of the plan doesn’t really work if they can just go around.”
“Of course,” Rolly assured me. “I saw several places that would need a more conventional barricade anyway. There were some places where a guy on a bike could easily slip between some of the houses.”
“Make sure you leave at least a few paths for us to travel on foot,” I said. “Mobility is going to be a huge factor in how well we do in the coming fight. We are very outnumbered and if we get cornered at any point there is a good chance none of us will make it out of this alive.”
“Understood,” the man said as he leaned heavily on the ATV. He then pulled out an orange pill bottle, opened it, and popped one of the small white pills into his mouth. He sighed heavily and moved to sit on the four wheeler.
“Doing better now that you have enough pills?” I asked as I sat down on my own ride.
“Yeah, much better,” he said. “I didn’t realize how bad I was feeling until you came back with more pills. It was really stupid of me to keep my condition from you. Hell, it coulda killed me.”
“You’re right, but thankfully Bailey and Paige told me in time,” I said. “I hope if you have any troubles in the future that you will come to me sooner. I don’t want to see any of you hurt. Especially when I can do something about it.”
“I know,” Rolly muttered. “I just didn’t want you to think I was weak.”
I chuckled and looked over at the man. “You really thought I would think you were weak because of a heart condition?”
He shrugged. “I mean it kinda means exactly that.”
“I disagree,” I said as I shook my head. “I think you have proven to be an exceptionally strong and capable member of our team. You are only weak when your condition cannot be treated properly, and even then the weakness is only physical.”
“I think you might think too highly of me, Tav,” the old man chuckled. “Thanks though, always like knowing I am appreciated.”
“Of course,” I said with a nod. “I don’t just appreciate you for your hard work either. I value your insight and suggestions as well.”
“I’ve noticed,” he said. “I don't think anyone has listened to me this much for a long time.” He cracked a wide smile and shook his head. “Still not convinced it’s a good idea.”
“I think we are good here for now,” I laughed and fished the ATV keys out of my pocket. “Let’s get back up the hill and see how the girls are doing,”
He nodded, shifted to sit correctly on the
four wheeler, and followed me up the hill.
We had spent the better part of the morning poking about town, and the sun was starting its descent towards the horizon as I pulled back into the parking lot with Rolly. We made our way across the courtyard and found Anna and Bailey spread out on the long grass cleaning half a dozen fresh fish. There was a small pile of entrails thrown to one side as the two worked to remove all of the scales from the creatures.
“Good haul,” I said as I walked by. “Throw those in the smoker when you’re done and grab your guns.”
“Will do,” Anna said with a smile.
We arrived at the library, and I turned to Rolly. “I am going to see how Paige and Tara are doing with their research and get them ready for some shooting. You think you can set up the range?”
“I think I can handle that,” Rolly replied. “What do you want them to shoot today?”
“Take some spent shotgun casings, and set them up down range,” I said after I thought about it for a moment. “Let’s see just how accurate these ladies really are.”
“Will do,” Rolly said with a nod before he turned around and marched off towards our range.
I went into the library, jogged down the small set of stairs that led to the stacks and our meeting table, and found Tara and Paige with several books spread out before them.
“It isn’t time to stop already, is it?” Paige asked as she looked up.
“I am afraid so,” I said with a nod.
“Oh thank god,” Tara said as she slammed closed the book in front of her. “I was seriously starting to lose focus here.”
“Did you guys find anything?” I asked.
“Yeah, I think we did,” Paige said.
“Good, tell me about it later,” I instructed. “Right now I need you guys to grab your guns and earplugs and meet me at the range.”
“Gladly,” Tara said as she jumped up and rushed for the door.
“Well okay then,” Paige chuckled. “I am starting to think that Tara doesn’t enjoy the research as much as I do.”
“You don’t say,” I said in mock disbelief.
The brunette chuckled and headed for the door, but she stopped just long enough to give me a kiss and smack me on the ass before she too disappeared outside.
I shook my head, grinned, and headed for the range.
By the time I got there Rolly had already set up the targets, grabbed some ammo, and laid out the guns. He was sitting at one of the benches he had built as he waited for everyone to arrive.
“Thank you,” I said as I gestured downrange to the targets.
“Yeah, I am excited to see how they do,” he replied.
“Me too,” I said as Anna walked up. She had her SKS cradled in her arms like a small child, and it glistened like it had been recently coated in a fresh layer of oil.
Bailey joined us a moment later with her AR-15 hanging from her left shoulder. Both women had their pistols strapped on and moved to stand in their favored shooting lanes.
“Wow, are those really what we are shooting today?” Anna asked as she got a look at the tiny targets.
“Yep,” I said with a grin. “We need to see just how accurate you guys can be,” I said.
“Oh, this should be fun,” Bailey said with a wide smile. She immediately popped in her ear protection, took a seat at her bench, pulled her rifle out, aimed, and started to adjust her sights. She had clearly been listening to all of my lessons so far.
Tara and Paige joined us a couple minutes later, and they each carried a shotgun. They took up their positions on the range, and I set boxes of shells in front of them.
“Today you will be using slugs,” I said. “I want to see how straight you can shoot, and it is a little hard to gauge that with birdshot.”
“Aw man,” Tara groaned. “I guess that’s fair.”
“Personally I think it will be a fun challenge,” Paige said with a shrug as she started to load her gun with the green colored cartridges.
“Good, now get your ears in because I don’t think I can keep Bailey from shooting for much longer.”
The girls nodded and scrambled to put in their ear buds as I stepped back to watch over the firing line.
“Range is hot,” I yelled once I was sure they were ready.
Chapter 6
The next hour flew by as the girls practiced hitting small targets. Bailey had no trouble. She rarely needed a second shot to take down a single empty shotgun shell, and the ease with which she acquired targets was beautiful. Not only was she a natural, but she took every bit of advice and critique immediately to heart. Unlike many men I had taught to shoot in the past, there was no ego tied to this activity to her, so she saw no reason not to listen to me and try to do it her way.
The other three were not bad, though. While not as immediately precise as their hippie companion, they could all hit the small target out at twenty yards given enough time to aim and breathe properly. Tara struggled the most with this, but as I watched her shoot, I realized it was her inherent impatience that was her weakness. She would often work on lining up the perfect shot only to yank the trigger quickly, or let off a shot before she was certain she had it. As for Paige and Anna, well they just simply needed more practice to be as quick and precise as Bailey.
“Alright, you guys did great, but I think it is time to pack it up for the day,” I said.
“If we have to,” Bailey whined.
“Don’t worry, I am sure you will have a chance to show us all up again soon,” Anna teased.
“I’m not trying to,” Bailey laughed.
“We know,” Paige said with a sigh. “You’re just really fucking good at this.”
“You are all getting pretty damn good at this,” I said. “Our practice is paying off, but if we shoot for too much longer we might not have enough time to build a shower.”
“Yes please!” Tara exclaimed before she quickly checked that her gun was unloaded, put it on the table with the others, and skipped over to me. She looked back to the other girls who were still packing up. “Come on, hurry up!”
“Settle down,” Paige chuckled. “We want a shower too.”
“Yeah, I have pretty much forgotten what hot water feels like,” Bailey said.
“I haven’t...” Anna muttered with a smirk.
“Yeah, yeah, we know,” Paige said as she rolled her eyes.
“When do the rest of us get to go enjoy this mountain ski lodge?” Tara asked as she narrowed her eyes at me. “I’m starting to get a little jealous.”
“Let’s finish dealing with these bikers, and then we will see about taking a nice little vacation,” I said.
“I guess that sounds fair,” Tara said.
“We’re ready to go, Tav,” Anna said as she added her gun to the armory table. Bailey and Paige nodded in agreement.
“Awesome, let’s go pick a nice spot,” I said.
“I’ll clean up here and join you guys in a little bit,” Rolly said.
“Much appreciated,” I replied. Then I headed out into the courtyard with the girls. It didn’t take long for me to find a nice spot close to the buildings bathed in sunlight. Based on the path of the sun and where things were around it I guessed it would have sunlight throughout the day, and that was the important part since we needed that light to heat our water. Once winter came around, we would have to figure out a different solution, but that was a problem for another day.
“Is this the place?” Anna asked as she watched me stand there and stare across the sky.
“Yeah, I think so,” I replied with a nod before I pulled out my knife and tossed it into the ground. “This will be our marker so we don’t lose the position while we grab lumber and tools.”
We made a run to the shed and loaded up on hammers, nails, 2x4s, and a couple staple guns to use to adhere the plastic. We made a second trip to the shed and grabbed some pipes, a showerhead, a valve, and two five gallon jugs.
By the time we had gathered our pile of resources Rolly h
ad finished cleaning up after our shooting sessions and had come to join us. He had his toolbelt strapped on and was already picking out the straightest of our 2x4s.
“We all ready to get this done?” I asked.
“Oh, hell yes,” Tara said.
“You heard her, Boss, let’s get started,” Rolly grinned.
The base of the shower was simple. We created a wooden frame out of 2x4 that was eight feet tall and attached to a simple three feet by three feet base. We built the base out of some treated lumber Rolly had found down in the town, capped it with some pine plywood, cut a small drain hole in the center, and wrapped the whole thing in plastic to help protect it against the water. Without the proper treatment there was a good chance we would have to replace at least the floor of the base in a couple months, but this would work as a prototype.
“What do you think?” I said as I stepped inside our frame. It was not overly cramped, and it didn’t rock around as I shifted my weight around on the base.
“Right now it doesn’t look like much,” Paige admitted.
“I can see the potential in it,” Tara said. “What’s the next step?”
“Let’s get the plumping done,” I said as I picked up some half inch PVC pipe. I ran two separate pipes from the top of the frame and joined them together with a Y shaped coupling. Then I attached a small piece of pipe to the bottom of the Y and attached our shower head. All of the pipes were attached directly to the 2x4 with metal clips and connected together again at the top so that we could start and stop the flow with a single valve.
Next we went to work on getting out water jugs in place. Using some adapters we fitted our pipes onto the front of the five gallon water jugs we had pulled from the campus dorm. They were the thin blue plastic jugs that came pre filled with filtered water and fit atop water dispensers.
“So, um... how are we doing to get the water into the jugs?” Anna asked as she watched me hook them up to the pipes
“I’ve got an idea,” Rolly said as he took a step forward. “We could cut off the top of each of the jugs, add a hinge, create a seal on both sides, and put a simple latch in the front to keep it closed.”
