Finding just who is my family by D.A.Sanford - HTML preview

Sanity returns

It now has been what seems an eternity but this haven has been truly a sanctuary. The actual fighting we have done has been short induration but there was always look outs. Tension was always there. It couldn’t be helped. The ravine is all you need to see to be able to know what we do.

Not one of the family has ever been hurt outside of the normal children playing cuts and scrapes.

We have fought many a gang that tried to take what is ours, our children. The ravine keeps filling with pissed on corpses.

There are areas that now thrive on child slave labor. Those areas dread hearing the sound of this world’s only air force. My family.

Now the older ones of our children are expert marksmen. The reality is that age does not insolate one from death or the need to kill to defend others. I now fly the helicopter with the marksmen strapped in the open doors.

We strafe those fields and kill the overseers. Our school bus’s drive in and rescue those slaves. Once they are on their way back to our compound, we fire bomb the owner’s home. Any adult that is freed is given supplies and told that they needed to leave the area.

“Our children are the only ones to stay.”

All seem to accept that fact. All are just happy to be free and run away.

Lately, there has been more reports of those people being taken out by others. Our location has been known for a long time. We constantly have people coming to deliver what food they can to support us.

Then the day we could not hope for happened. There at our gate were a small group of people waiting for us under a white flag. Our teens came out on the now famous ATV’s and we adults have our weapons.

“We come to you in peace.” Their leader states. “The final gangs have been eliminated by the good people of this world. This world has now had enough of fighting. Governments have been reshaped. Your compound’s battle to save the children has become the only shining light in this whole fiasco. Down on the road, you will find a tanker of fuel for your helicopter, trucks of food and clothing, other things that you will need to expand your compound.”

I have to ask, “What strings are attached?”

“None. If you are suspicious, please listen to the different broadcasts. Fly over any area, you will see people starting over. Soon we will be back to honor you all but we have arranged for mobile homes to be brought here to alleviate your overcrowding.”

They turn and leave. We wait for a few hours and then make our way to the road. Sure enough, there is no one around but there is a line of trucks. We search and find no hidden surprises.

We now have propane trucks, we were getting very low, fuel trucks, food, clothing and personal necessities. We never were on starvation rations but neither are we getting fat. Every child gets three meals a day. They sleep clean and warm. The thing is, we haven’t had the abundance that we had at the beginning. Don’t care. Our children are happy and that is all we care about.

At the called meeting of our family, after we brought all the abundance here.

“As all can see, we have had a wonderful bounty brought to us with the news that the last gangs have been eliminated. We need input as to what you think we need to do to check the validity of their news.”

A few of the children tell us that they will listen to the radios. The older ones say that they will go in pairs on the ATV’s to scout. I tell them to be careful and to run if they encounter anyone.

They look like they are a little irritated but also happy.

“We always do papa.”

My heart Is bursting with pride.

“Everyone be safe and on alert. Before we start scouting, let’s see what the radio reports are. Ham is the one that will be from the individual people. In the meantime, the shooters will come with me on a flight. We now have enough fuel to go further out. Flying high, the big thing we need to see is the attitude of people we fly over, especially fields. We all know the signs.”

Sharon now says, “We still needs to be on a defense footing. The radio, the visual sightings are important but don’t let anything lull us into a situation that we cannot get out of. You children are our children. We are all family and we protect each other. Always remember that and we will live.”

The radio gang come later and have us come to the radio room. Band after band, no matter AM, FM, Shortwave and Ham, everyone is saying that it is a miracle. Fighting has stopped all over.

News is coming over that our example of gathering and protecting the children is being adopted and followed all over this world. They all are singing the praise of our family. Here we thought we were just trying to live.

The biggest thing was the news that we were contacted and resupplied. Those people were reaching out to us for permission to bring those trailers here for us with more supplies.

It is tempting to hold on with our solo struggling but after the news, after flights with nothing but people waving at us and the scouting, it was decided to call out.

I get on the ham radio for the first time since moving here. “This is Don of the family talking to the ones that came here. We will allow you to bring those trailers here, one at a time. We need to meet you at roadside to inspect the inside for troupes. Anyone caught with more than a knife will not live.”

The answer came that they need to come with a dozer to widen the trail first. By now, that trail has been beaten to death so I tell them that no more than five people are allowed as crew.

“We will have snipers. Just in case.”

Three people showed. One to work the bulldozer, one for fuel and the last is a mechanic. Josh was the one to stay with them as they worked. It took a short time until the children had a treat seeing the road coming out of the woods.

Josh was shown how to operate the dozer. It along with the fuel truck were being left so we could clear land for the trailers. He was given the information as to how much to clear.

It was decided by us that we would connect them all to our home as if they were modules. Each will have the bathrooms connected to the water. The rest of the area would be converted into bedrooms. The children that are now four to a room will like that. The teens will get their own rooms.

With each delivery came more news that we actually could accept that this was finally over. The crazy thing is that this retreat, this shelter was home for us. To the children, our family, this is home. When the new government came to talk with us, they were amazed when it was the children that told them that this was home when the government offered to build a new home closer to the other towns.

Marie voiced what we now all felt, “This is our home. We do not need any other. If you need to do something, find all those children who were not lucky enough to live through that terrible time and make a memorial to them. We grant you the privilege to make that memorial on our home land.”

One of the older teens adds, “That memorial needs only to say, ‘For all you lost children and parents, we’re sorry. Signed Civilization”

I choak as I tell them that she was right. “You will never know how many have died. Lost and alone or brutally tortured for entertainment. As civilization, we need to never forget that price.

Over a year’s time, everything was done as we asked. I am happy to say that a few parents found their children here. Our family rejoiced. Our family helped those who came only to find disappointment that their children were not here. We all joined them at the memorial for support.

Some would just drive away saying that they still would look some more before mourning at the memorial.

We asked our children about going with some couples but all told us that this was their family now. Unless their family showed, they want to stay with their two moms and two dads.

That is the way we lived and yes the people would still find children living on their own. Usually a town would adopt those but some would be brought here. Most were traumatized but eventually were brought back by the now army of healing family of ours.

Ours have seen it all.

We lived through it but more important we are family.

The new me realizes that I am now the richest man in the world. Our children are our riches.

The funny thing about this whole thing is that the sign at the ravine is still there. The government sends a crew to touch it up every so often. The bodies, now a pile of bones, and the car are still there and visible. It has become a spot that the people who survived the war come to show just how they feel about the whole thing.

No plants grow there. It must be the constant urine watering. That spot is, shall we say, a public rest stop to relieve ones self of bad feelings. It is not uncommon for some to yell and cry at the same time.