An Unwelcome Development

On Liberty, what did you serve on?

 

Ah OK, I was dropped off there several times after sea trials out of RR, on either CG's or DDG's, back in the late 70's.

 

i missed it but i do like your youtube zen who would have thought of a tennis ball lol

 

I need a fix...

 

Zen's promising a FIX by this weekend... something about having to work?

 

Work! Imagine that…I had a job once, without a doubt the worst day of my life n all dat sheet & stuff!

;-)

 

UGH! I'd be able to write more regularly if it wasn't for this need to support my wife and pups.
Work was particularly hectic, including having to come in on the weekend. Anyhoo, here's a nice, juicy tidbit that will hopefully make up for my tardy submission.


A strange new bed in strange surroundings with unaccustomed sounds, added to being over tired, over worked, and over stimulated, all conspired to rob me of a restful night's slumber.
The first light of pre-dawn was actually a relief, when it arrived, giving me an excuse to give up my losing battle for recuperative rest. Sitting up I rubbed the backs of my grubby hands against my gritty eyes, clearing the sleep with questionable success. Snaking the water bottle out of my pack, some went down my throat and a handful on my face. That helped. Some.
Sadie was either sleeping, or pretending to, so I let her be. I shrugged one shoulder through one pack strap, settled the shorty AK on its sling in front of me. Chamber checks and patting down my pockets to satisfy myself that my normal EDC gear was in place, I quietly left the barracks that a month ago had been a store.

Surprisingly, there was activity in the yard. Several women were working in the same area that the food had been prepared yesterday. Crossing the yard to them, I scanned the surroundings. The guards at the gate and on the roof waved in turn as I looked in their direction.
“Mawnin'!” I greeted, a grin accompanying my attempt at the colloquial. I received a polite, “Morning Mr. Zed” in return.
“Up early and hard at work already.” I worked at chipper, they seemed to take it in the spirit offered.
“Miss Zelda asked us to have breakfast ready for the worker dem.”
“Perfect. Thank you.”
“Don't have to thank us. Least we can do. 'Sides, we sure doan wan' disappoint Miss Zelda.”
Interesting. I tried to read behind the words to get at the marrow of the nuance. Trying to detect if there was anything behind them I needed to be concerned about. I came up empty, with nothing to make me doubt the sincerity in which they were offered.

They offered me a choice between a fresh johnny cake or a pate'. I'm not a morning person, needing some time to come to terms with conciousness, let alone food, so I deferred their offer with an “I'll be back in a bit”

I found myself at the warehouse, slowly wandering, looking but not really seeing. Plopping down on the cracked pleather of the swivel chair, I made several revolutions, stopping, finally, at the desk. I drummed my fingers idly on the desktop. Boredom led to me opening the draws. I'd been through them once and hadn't found much of interest or use other than the inventory. The contents of the center draw caught my attention on this go round. The previous occupant must have been a pizza lover. There was a lifetime's supply of those little packets of cheese and crushed red pepper.

It was the pepper that set me off, synapses firing, making connections. I scooped all the little packet up, carefully locating all of them. Too many for my hands or pockets, I
quickly sourced a plastic shopping bag. It was half full by the time I was done.

Running out the door I headed for the construction shop, the picture of the sprayer sharp in my mind. It was right where I remembered it. A two and a half gallon tank sprayer like gardeners use, with a wand nozzle. It was empty, and sticking my nose inside I didn't detect the odor of any chemicals. I noticed a clean bucket and snagged it as I headed out the door.

A minute later I was in the medical supply shop. There were cases of isopropyl alcohol on the shelves. I grabbed one.

Bottles were quickly pulled from the case, tops twisted off and contents poured into the bucket. There was an untidy pile of empties by the time I had two gallons of the iso. The tedious part was opening the little pepper packets and dumping them into the bucket. I stopped the process long enough to locate a pair of scissors in the office. Opening the packets went quickly after that.
Done, I left my concoction to soak for a while. I'd come back and finish in a little while.

Stan found me, a satisfied smile on his face and a sheaf of papers in his hand. He pulled one off the top of the stack and handed it to me. Somehow he managed to contain himself and not say anything until I'd read it.
“YOU ARE INVITED!” yelled the headline.
“To a community event at the housing community. Food and drink! Friends and Fun!
And a chance for the community to come together, get organized, and work together to provide for the future. 3:00pm – Food and Fun 4:00 meeting starts. See you there!”

I handed it back, glad that he'd taken the initiative. Playing with him, I didn't say anything. He couldn't stand it.
“So? What'd think?”
I let loose the smile I'd been holding at bay. “Nice. Very nice! How'd you pull it off?
“Found a computer and printer in one of the offices. Just moved it over to the clinic because they had power from the generator. You like it?”
“I said I did. What? You want a hug and a kiss, or will a pat on the back do?
He looked hurt, until I winked and grinned.
“Seriously. It's good. Thank you. You going to hand them out, or put them up?”
“Both. How many people can you spare to send out?”
I'd thought about it during my sleepless night and had an answer ready. “Both you and Juice can take your teams out, two hours max, then come on back.”
He nodded, satisfied with my answer.
I gave him a friendly slap on the upper arm. “Thanks for picking this up and going with it.”
Stan nodded, happy with the praise. “Yeah. No problem Zed.”
“You thought about hitting the university?”
“Should I?”
“It's only half a mile a way. I'd thought about approaching them separately, but time is an issue. Might be easier to have them come here.”
“Ok, I'll take care of it myself.”
“Good! We don't need Juice around all those Co-eds.”
“We should put our best foot forward, eh?”
“Juice would be using alternative anatomy, I'm thinking.”
“Yeah, well, I don't know how much of that Esme would put up with. And there's lot's of knives in the kitchen.”
“Point taken. She's reforming him then?”
Stan shrugged and smiled. “Can anyone reform a reprobate? She keeps a tight rein on him, least ways.”

That set, I moved on to the next thing on my list, heading home. Everybody was busy with one thing or another, so I took off on my own.
It felt funny. Driving down the road without a car load of heavily armed people. I went the back way, minimizing potential contact with people. It was a nice morning, still cool, fluffy cumulus clouds accumulating mass as the sun warmed the ocean. It could have been any quiet day pre-event. Without thinking, my hand reached out and my index finger stabbed the knob to turn on the radio.
Static where I'd normally hear an NPR host reminded me of reality. And of one of the things on my To Do list. Switching gears I poked the selector to bring up whatever CD was in the player, a mix I'd made in better times. More finger stabbing found a collaboration between the Corrs and the Chieftains and soon I was smiling and tapping my fingers on the steering wheel.
Amazing the power of music to transport you.



The song ended as I pulled into our road. A final finger poke shut the stereo off. Coming around the first turn, the upper chicane now in sight brought me back to today. Well it was fun while it lasted.
I'd called ahead, so they were expecting me. Still, I approached the road block slowly. No need to startle people with guns. I waited while the guards moved the blocking vehicle, then drove through slowly, negotiating the tight turn needed to make it through.

Stopping on the far side, I hung my arm out the window and rested my chin on my bicep. “Morning! Anything major going on?”
The one guard quickly looked at the other. That couldn't be good. “Well, um, a guy came up a hour or so ago. Said he knew you. That you'd be expecting him. You two worked together?”
That could be any number of people, I thought. Why were they acting weird about it?
“Did he have a name?”
“Mark.” the first guard offered.
“Shaffley” the other contributed.
Hmm. Interesting. “You let him in?”
More worried looks. We asked him some questions. He started off real friendly, all smiles.”
The second guard took over. “But he got kind a mean like, about the questions. We just wanted to make sure he really knew you.”
“No. That's good. You did good. What then?”
First guard's turn. “We thought it was above our pay grade. We're not just supposed to let people in, right?” He looked to me for confirmation, which I supplied with a nod of my head.
Number two took over. These two seemed to make a good team, a part of my brain noticed. “So we called Lavell up. He talked with Shaffley for a few minutes and then led him down to the headquarters. He knew you were coming so they're waiting for you there.”

That's all they had for me, so I thanked them, praising their diligence, and continued down the road. People were out and doing, in there yards, or walking along the road. The vehicle caught their attention, with the result of them stopping and looking, mixed amounts of curiosity and caution. When they saw it was me, waves and smiles were quick to follow.
It was good to be home.

I ran directly home to some frantic pups who were in dire need of nourishment, both mind and body. I let myself get swamped with doggy love for a few moments and then gave them some food before allowing myself the luxury of a quick shower and change of clothes. The solar system seemed to be holding its own and I was able to snag an icy can of Coke from the fridge/cooler. I took a moment to replenish the ice in the fridge with some from the twenty four volt chest freezer running off the solar system. That would hold it for another day.

Letting the last to sugary cold goodness run down my throat, I gave some last minute loving to the pups before leaving again. They wanted to go, they always did, but they had a job to do, just like me. It hurt to see their dejection at being left behind, alone. I left quickly, trying not to dwell on it.

Seconds later I pulled the Jeep up to headquarters. Entering I found Shaffley holding court, surrounded by Lavell, Jacob, Fiona, and a couple others. When he saw me, Mark got up quickly and met me, hand out for a big manly handshake. He tried to dominate it. I met his smooth handed grip but didn't exceed it, in no mood for macho posturing.
“It's real good to see you Zed! Your people have been filling me in on all the good you've been doing! I'm not surprised in the least!” He was all charm and smiles. He looked fit and in good shape. Except for the four parallel scratches that started at his left temple and traveled angrily all the way to his jaw.

I disengaged from the handshake. I'm not fond of surprises, or things interrupting my flow. I had things that needed to get done. And Mark's sudden appearance was a surprise and an interruption. I tried not to let it show. “So you made it.” Statement not question. I followed up. “Weren't you holed up at your landlord's place? Thought he was pretty dialed in?”
The charming smile was smoothly replaced by sadness and acceptance in turns. “We were. Bill, my landlord, had his estate all set up. Fence, generator, solar, alarms, cameras, the works.”
“Yeah I remember you telling me about all that stuff quite a while ago. Seems to me that you were advising him? Giving him some training?” The last a bit of a sore subject for me.
The guilt was a barely noticed micro expression that I'm sure everyone else missed. He blew past it. “True. He had a year or more's worth of food, guns, ammo. His whole family was trained.” he trailed off.
“Were you still together with Skye?”
Same look. Lasted longer. “Yeah, yes, Skye was there and at the last minute a handful of friends came in.”
“Landlord was cool with that?”
“Oh, he invited some people, friends of his, and he didn't seem to mind when some of Skye's friends showed up.”
“Huh. I'd figure any of his friends wouldn't want to leave their big homes.”
“Oh, they didn't want to. They were forced out. They showed up after the event with little more than what they could carry. Stupid stuff too, like pillows.” he shook his head at the thought. I noticed sympathy head shaking among his audience.
“Well, numbers are important, I've come to find out. And these people should have had a wake up call.”
“We” I noticed the shift from 'I', “tried to train some of them for defense. Between him and me we had guns to spare. I,” he stumbled, “we picked the best of the bunch and gave them some training. We didn't really have enough ammo to spare..”
“I hear that.” I interrupted. “ammo for training has been an issue. For sure”
He nodded. I wanted to plant the thought that we didn't have an orchard of ammo trees.

Hearing the pause, he picked back up. “We got attacked by looters a couple of times, but we were always able to fight them off.”
“Gangbangers or just regular thugs?” Lavell always on the lookout for intelligence.
“Not sure, but I did notice a lot of red.” Lavell nodded, filing away the info.
Mark continued. “Then there was the third attack on the second day. A little worse, bigger group, split up and hit us from a couple sides. That's when Joey shot Bill.”
“What?”
“It was a negligent discharge. Hit him in the right kidney, punctured the diaphram, the liver, then out.” Mark had a bit of a medical background. “He didn't last long.”
“You saw it happen?” I was trying to get a picture of the fight.
“Yeah.” He met my eyes and held them. “I was a step too far away to stop it.”
“Hmmm. I would have figured with a split attack you and he would have been seperated. Being the two most experienced fighters”
Our eyes were still locked. “I'd stopped the attackers on my side and came back over to lend a hand on Bill's side. I wished I'd been just a little faster. I might have been able to stop it.”
I broke eye contact first, giving him the victory. So what happened? How'd you end up here?”
He hung his head and we all waited. He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he started. “Things fell apart without Bill. Everyone started arguing. Nobody wanted to be in charge, but they didn't want to support anyone else, either. Then we got hit again. We didn't stand a chance. Some of us fought, but not together. I was doing pretty good, got a bunch of those bastards. Then something hit the wall next to me that I was using for cover. Fragments hit my face.” his hand moved to the scratches on his cheek. “It threw me back over. From the knot on my head, I must have hit it on something that knocked me out. When I came to, it was over.”
“You must have been out for a while.” My statement earned me the eye lock again. Something he'd learned in law school, or maybe earlier, dealing with a borderline abusive father.
“I was. The attack was in the early afternoon. A passing squall woke me at dusk. I got up and looked around. They'd taken all my weapons. All the weapons. I couldn't find anything.”
“The others?”
“Dead.”
“Was everyone still there?”
“Sure. Why?”
“Just wondering.” I was about to add,“the attractive women weren't taken?” but something stopped me.
“So how did you get here?” Fiona's eyes were a bit wider than normal, pupils slightly dilated.
“I found some food and rested 'til the next day. Then I buried everyone.” Which made me remember our handshake a few minutes ago. Mark continued. “I was in a daze, didn't know what to do after that. There were enough scraps around to keep me fed for a while, not that I had much of an appetite. Then a couple of weeks ago I gave up. I stopped eating and just collapsed in the yard. I'd failed to save these people. I just laid there. Baking in the sun, getting drenched in the rain, willing for death to take me. If I'd had a gun, I would have eaten it.” He met everyone's eyes on that one. I felt like I was at a bad AA meeting.
“So what happened?” Fiona was rapt. Jacob gave her a sideways look.
“I had a vision.”
“Jesus come down from Heaven?” I don't think I managed to keep the snark out. He pretended not to notice.
“No, nothing like that. It started with a ray of sunlight between some leaves shining in my eye, getting my attention. Then scenes from my life flashed in front of me. Times I'd done good, times I'd done bad. Unfortunately there was more of the later than the former.” He did a good rendition of contrite.
I realized that I couldn't die yet. I don't know what comes next, after this, but I knew I need to fix that, balance the bad I'd done. There were people out there that could use my help. So I got myself together and headed out. Along the way I'd help people here and there. Cut some firewood, make some repairs. Never staying long, always moving on to the next person, the next family that needed a helping hand. Lord knows there were enough of them.”
I watched the group. They were all listening intently. Mark always had been good at closing arguments.
“I thought I was drifting aimlessly, but something was pulling me in this direction. I started hearing talk. Talk of this group, led by a man, that was doing good work. Putting things back together. Then it made perfect sense. I knew Zed wouldn't sit around in this sort of situation. If anyone is going to help others, it's going to be him.”
The group was really warming to this new direction.
“And so I end up here and find out I was right. He,” Mark pause to correct himself, “you, have done amazing things. And now I'm here to help.”
“Oh. So you're planning on staying?” I tried to say that in a neutral tone. I don't know if it worked. I didn't get any feedback from the others one way or the other.
“Only if you'll have me. I don't want to intrude. I'll go my own way, just say the word.”
“Mark'll be a great addition here.” Fiona defended, a bit quickly. “He has a pretty solid medical knowledge, especially trauma care.”
“He was one of your instructors, right? We can always use more of those.” This, from Lavell who was always looking out for his people, trying to provide the best for them whether that was equipment or training.

“We'll talk more, later. Right now I've got a lot on my plate.” I looked at the group, thinking, weighing options. I didn't have a good one. “Lavell, please take Mark down to the condos and find him a unit to use for now, until we figure out what we're doing.”
“Sure Zed. Anything else?”
I probably should have taken a moment to talk to him, but I just didn't have time. I put out of my mind the thought that I'd might end up regretting it.
“No. That's it for now. I really got a run. Trying to get this other community up an running. I've got to recruit a couple of people to give presentations. Hold down the fort. I'll be back in a day or two.”
Lavell nodded his understanding. I turned and jogged out the door, realizing it was funny that if Mark was so interested in helping, why hadn't he asked about coming along with me? That thought got shoved down with the other half examined questions about Mark's sudden appearance.

I located the deacon, the bar owner, and the washer woman and talked them into accompanying me to the meeting where they could tell the community what was possible and how we'd done what we'd done. I loaded them up in the Jeep and headed back to town, my mind continuing to return to this new, unwelcome, development.

 

Thank you.

 

Ah, the Chieftains…bit of good wholesome tribal music there, the kind to get a man in a pleasant mood for the coming events n all dat sheet & stuff! ;-)

Pay attention Zed…if it don't feel good don't do it! (Of course he will anyway and we, all of US, know it.

 

You're welcome.

 

great stuff zen cant wait to find out what the iso and pepper is for

 

Like always Zen, great job. Interesting new twists, and I'm awaiting more when you get the time

 

So are you all thinking that maybe Mark may not be telling the Entire Truth about what happened?

 

Mark ain't b rite n all dat sheet & stuff!

 

ya think? Those scratches have a story..

 

Thank you Sir, yes those scratches will tell a tale...

 

Yes they will. But not before. . . Sorry, can't talk now, gotta go, someone's at the door.

 

Mark is gonna be bad news!!!!

 

I have the displeasure of working with a "Mark". Family has standing orders to shoot on sight without exception if seen after TEOTWAWKI. Good character development by the way.

whynot