The Gatherings by D.A.Sanford - HTML preview

My luck

I started this journey strictly by accident. I was trying to duplicate what an utuber was doing. This one was camping in unusual places that could be risky. Could even be illegal. The only problem with his places is that they are in the great white north where it is winter for quite a few more months than I really can stand.

I looked on the web maps for places that were, shall we say, a little more hospitable. At first, I was not as daring as that one was he camped under an active bridge. I saw the homeless under there. I found an abandoned stretch of road. It had a bridge over a river. I camped there.

After a while, the thrill was gone but I found that I just liked the enjoyment of just being out in the deep woods and fending for myself. He had gear but would only have a very small fire with throw together store bought items for his food. I always caught my meat and knew a lot of the forest eatables.

I loved the outdoors. You see, growing up, I lived in the city. Highrise apartments but the city streets and parks were, shall I say, far more hazardous to your wellbeing than the thought of a bear or mountain lion. Animals usually will leave you alone.

Out here in nature, you only need to remember one simple thing. “Don’t fuck with nature, it will kill!”

Another is when in doubt, DON’T DO IT.

I escaped the city by sheer luck. On payday, I went into a convenience store for a premade supper. At the checkout, I saw that the lottery payout for that night was a little more than five hundred million. I bought a quick pick, the meal and a six pack.

The next morning, that meal had been eaten, the beer was gone and I really did not feel much like breakfast. Coffee was the only thing I wanted. I really think that the meal was bad. After a short time and a beer or six, my body rejected the meal. Unfortunately the beer came out at the same time. A total waste of what little money I had to spare.

The ticket was on the table so I looked up what numbers were drawn. There was one winning ticket. My stomach rejected the coffee and I felt the other end of the digestive system voice its opinion. There on my table was that ticket bought at that store with the correct numbers.

After checking the numbers for the eighteenth time. I put on my coat and went to the lottery headquarters. I took the one time payout. After tax’s and the reduced amount for one time payout, let’s just say that I was able to get out of the city that day.

I had watched that man for quite a while before. I put half in an account and the other half into the hands of one of the famous brokers that did not make money if you did not make money. I made money. I bought a good home in the very remote part of the state.

Now I could live the way I wanted. I enrolled in a few survival courses. Only the ones that were well established. They taught me how to survive. What wild plants I could eat. How to hunt and trap. Then how to cook and preserve what I find.

The biggest thing is don’t over work an area. Conserve but carry two things. A very good, very reliable side arm and hunting rifle, preferably a sniper style. They push that those rifles that spray bullets are only good for killing a hoard. A waste of ammunition. One shot, one kill.

They also stressed that in a crisis I may need to kill the worst animal, a human. Don’t aim at one unless you are going to fire and kill.

It was about a year and I was on my own. I had all my equipment and started to go out camping. Always ready for anything that may attack, I really did not need to kill anything more than a killer rabbit or an attack bird.

While I was out one time, I came across an abandon mine. Most of it was going up the mountain rather than going down. I figure that the vein they were following went up. They had mined until they hit a very large cavern. The vein must have run out. That is why it was abandoned long ago.

I found that it was on the land that was currently owned by no one. In this area, a mine claim must be worked. If it remains unworked for five years, it is abandoned and anyone can claim it. I asked and found that I could claim the land as a homestead.

I needed to make a house there. That generally was considered a cabin type house. If I lived there for five years, the land was mine. I filed and had a nice cabin built down on the field below the mine entrance. The mine tunnel I had expanded so I could park a quad in there and still have room to walk around it. The entrance had a very sturdy locked door. I was told that it would withstand a direct blast.

My land was more than enough for me. The house I had was sold. I now live here permanently. That cavern is now my man cave. It is furnished very well. I have been known to stay more in there than in the cabin. Especially in the cold of winter and the humid parts of the summer.

Game galore and I have a garden but I now have the taste for those wild vegetables. There is no need for a root cellar. The cavern is all that I need, everything keeps well in there. I will say that it does have one thing that I love. There is a cold stream that has a slightly deeper area where my keg sits.

It did test out as very good drinking water.

I had everything in there that was pioneer vintage with the exception of a composting toilet. Don’t want to mess up my drinking water.

Occasionally I do need to go into town to get the expendables. I have enough lamp oil that would last through the worse winter but other things just don’t last. No chickens so no eggs. I do not raise pigs, they stink. Other things like that I go into town for.

I decided to get a freezer so I put up a solar array that will keep that running and some LED lights. I also bought a wifi set up. That is one thing that I should not have brought in here but also something I really needed.

I have enough land here to be able to live as I want. It may seem odd to a lot of you but have you ever taken the time to really smell what you smell like? I do not mean not washing or wiping for that matter but getting rid of all those fragrances that we slap on ourselves every minute of the day or night.

I remember when I was growing up, my father smelled like raisins. Do not remember what mom smelled like but dad worked in a factory. He always came home clean but always smelled like raisins. I’ll never forget that. That was in the days before everything had the smell of flowers, perfume, spices and such.

The forest life has me only using unscented. I wash clothes in rain barrel water and hang them on a clothes line. Dishes in the same soap I wash with. Rinsed in clear water. I now smell myself and catch just a hint of pine. Those are the prevalent trees around here.

The reason for the unscented is because those scents are not natural, even though they smell like that. The animals, however, smell the chemicals that make up the odor. You alert them that something is wrong and they need to flee. I went hungry for a few meals. That is actually something that survival training went over but it went over my head.

The scent is what alerts me when someone is going through my area. I get the occasional hiker going through my land. Treat it with respect and I have no problem. I will laugh when I see someone that does not know what to bring. Their back pack is so loaded that it is heavier than they are. I will offer to go through what they have and recommend what to leave behind.

Do you really need an expresso maker while camping? Cowboy coffee is the best while sitting beside the campfire. If you need expresso, tough it out with instant. Bringing a maker is for those with full blown RV’s.

I made lockers in a shed. If they choose to leave things, I let them lock their items in a locker. They get the only two keys. I tell them that if they lose both keys, I cut the lock only after they pay fifty dollars. Don’t pay, you don’t get your stuff until you do. If they have the keys, there is no charge. That fifty dollars is to encourage them to be responsible.

There has never been anyone that has not returned with at least one of the two keys. There are trash bins here also. Don’t litter up my land. Right now I have five of the ten lockers with those extra things.

There are the ones that will ask about the locked mine. I tell them that mine is mine. Not for the public. My usual story is that it is unsafe and I do not want to have law suits because someone went in and never came out. That usually satisfies them but lately some have said that it still would be a good place to hole up. A good hide against the coming storm.

Wifi, I know what storm they may be talking about. War is an ever present threat. That is the way of man. I want it and will take it from you by force if necessary. Force is always necessary in their eyes. Now their force is enough to kill the planet.

I have been stocking up. Canning, drying, smoking and freezing everything I can spare. I often eat one meal a day to conserve but also to discipline my body. I hike to the top of my mountain a few times a week to just look. That mine, I brush the dirt every time I go in and out. Door is locked at all times.

This is why I sometimes regret installing wifi. I feel that it may be better to just vaporize in an instant but I try to get ready as possible. Survival instinct kicks in. I even have, may the gods forgive me, a pump and hidden water spouts in front of the mine door and a wire to the metal. Flip a switch and whoever touches that door will be electrocuted. I have the amperage to do just that.

It will not be too much longer before I go in and lock it down. Those who asked will show up and want in. That is what I am now mentally prepared for. I estimate that I have enough supplies in there to last me two years in lock down. Just me alone.

What I need to decide now is what do I do. Let a few in or flip the switch. I do not get much sleep here in the cabin. There seems to be an increase of people passing through. All over packed but none want to leave what I would consider unnecessary.

Now I see some with small carts overloaded. It is time for me to gather the last provisions in the cabin. All my weapons are in the cavern. All that is here will fit in my cart. I choose to go at dusk tonight. During a time that I do not see anyone, I leave. None of those items in those lockers are anything I want so I leave them with a note that they are on their own.

I figure that they will not return here for those frills they left.

Stealth is now needed.

With the past few months of tension, I have scouted out various routes to the mine. That way I can see just who is at or near the entrance. See if they are armed, see if they are potentially hostile. Hostility is met with hostility.

I bring my cart to the point where I decided to conceal it. There is a good vantage point. I will be able to see the door and the clearing around it. I will yell at whoever is there and let the chips fall where they may.

There before the door are two young ones. Can’t be more than fifteen. They have a wagon piled high with what I can tell is mostly food. Some clothing. Now is the time to decide. I yell down to them.

“I own this mine, show me your hands.” They do just that but the boy yells back. “Our parents told us to come here and ask to be able to hide here. They are back at our home. They told us that we are not allowed to return there under any circumstances. We have our own food. Please let us in.”

I tell them to stay right there. I come down with my rifle ready. I am poking in the bushes for others. Finding no one, I take a look at what they have. The girl tells me that they only have some kitchen knives for defense. I get my cart then open the door.

“Get in quick.” The three of us are in and I lock the door. I had made an inner door that is thick that has a large four by four as a bar to hold it closed. It is insolated to prevent sound from coming through. I have what I need to make repairs so I will be able to make a sleeping platform for them. For now I need to go over some basics.

“First, what are your names?’

They tell me that their named are Korry and Chelsea Stevens. “I’m Hector Manson. I set this up for just me but we will combine stores and share same portions. With the food that you have and the things I have, We should be able to make it a year before we run out. Towards the end, it may only be two meals a day but that is only if I cannot get out to hunt.

It may be a cavern but it is kept clean. There is a small alcove that has the composting toilet. The water is okay to drink but washing will be away from it so that we do not pollute our only water supply. Can either of you cook?”

Both say they can make simple things. I tell them that is all we will be having. “Leftovers are tomorrows breakfast. That is usually a good soup. I did not think I would need it but now I do. I will make a partition for privacy in that alcove. We will sponge bath there. The sink in the kitchen drains away from the water source. That is where the sponge bath water gets drained. Now, let’s get things sorted out.”

Just then, we feel what feels like earth quakes but this area is not a seismic area. All I say is “It must be starting. Your parents, do you live near here?”

I am told that they are close, within a mile down the road but Korry tells me that they realize that their parents knew that they would not be allowed in here. They felt that the children would be accepted. They were told not to try to get them. I try and find that I still have wifi. With the number they gave me, I call and a man picks up.

“This is Hector Mansion. I own the mine. Get your asses here now. Your children are here and safe. You both are needed here now. They need you. Do not take anything but run or drive. Bang on the door three times pause then three more. Now go, get here now!”

The two are now crying. The dam has burst. Both had been holding back. Putting on a brave face. Now they only had to wait a little while longer. About ten minutes later, I am at the outside door when I heard three bangs and them three more.

My pistol at the ready, I open the door and the parents come in, but there are shots being fired as I slam the door closed, hit the water and power. Screams are heard as I close the inner door. Those four are now crying. Their father, Jonus, tells me that they sent the children knowing that they at least would survive. “Never did I expect that forceful call from you. Thank you.”

I go over the rules for them. We feel a strong quake and know that the city miles away has been hit. I take out my Geiger counter and find that there is no radiation leakage in here. Either they are using conventional bombs or this truly is a life boat. I tell them that I do have a system for sampling the outside. That can wait. I need to make that screen and a platform. “

The four of you will have to sleep on the same platform for at least tonight. We can work that out tomorrow. Today is shot so, while I at least make that platform and screen, someone make soup. That may be a staple in here for a while.”

Chelsea shows her mother, Calest, where the supplies are. Jonus helps me hang a sheet for now as a screen. Then we make a large platform . We make it eight feet wide and sixteen feet long. Four sheets of plywood. That is so we later can make a divide, a privacy wall for the parents. I am not dumb. The stress will need to be released. I really do not care but as Jonus and I are making the platform I talk about that exact subject. “Your marriage is closed. I do not and will not participate. That will cause undo animosity. That is my final decision. That goes for your daughter also. I have been here now for a few years, you must know that. I am satisfied being by myself in regards to the subject. I will take it as an offence if offered.”

Jonus knows that I mean it so he does not say a word but he does look like he was worried about just that. Paying for the sanctuary.

We soon are called to the table. Calest asks why did I have service for eight when it was only going to be me. I just told her that I was going to conserve water. It took a minute for both Jonus and Calest to get it but both children are laughing. Korry just says that I was going to do the dishes every eighth day. Now their parents get it. We all had a good laugh and good soup. It turns out that she only used minimal ingredients. My estimate of the length of the food stores, when they were not here, still should be accurate.

The children brought almost every blanket they had so everyone had a good night. The lights were brought down until there were only the floor LEDs that marked the path to the toilet and boundary of the stream.

Morning chores were divided. Calest was doing the cooking. The two children’s first job was to take a water sample and check it. I showed them the PH test kits. How to use the Geiger counter to check for radiation and one other test to show if there are other contaminates. The water should be good. It is a deep spring that goes through many layers of rock and sand. It would take a lot of contamination to get to us.

A side note, those quakes have stopped in our area. There is now no internet. Nothing on wifi. Not even my phone works. We truly are on our own.