Read Online TEOTWAWKI: Beacon's Story by David Craig - Free Book Online
Authors: David Craig
money of any kind return as medium of exchange and it would be many generations before anyone would be foolish enough to trust fiat paper money again although he had little doubt politicians would lead the gullible into that something for nothing scheme once more.
When all the gas cans was gone they traded the pickup with it's half full gas tank and horse trailer to the town's pharmacist for all the arthritis medicines and pain killers, prescription and nonprescription, he had in stock.
On the way out of town Beacon found a hand lettered flyer posted on the town's bulletin board which announced the formation of a "Sanctuary Settlement" in the next valley.
The mountain men's horses could hardly carry all the ammo back up to their retreat. Beacon had to walk the horses back up the mountain with Old Bill riding the stouter horse his medicines in their backpacks with bedrolls tied on top.
They took a roundabout route back to the cabin backtracking, J hooking to set up ambushes and checking their back trail several times a day for anyone who might be trying to follow them back up onto the mountains. The two cold camped two nights and then, after setting for three hours on one last ambush of their trail, they finally headed for the cabin.
When they got back up to the gate Beacon took the hidden chainsaw and with Old Bill standing guard went up a mile and down a mile felling trees across the Forestry road.
Then they filled the keyhole of the gate's lock with J-B Weld. Beacon and, using the last of the gasoline in the saw, felled every tree that would fall across the Old Bill's driveway for a mile up the hill. At the top of every curve they redirected the drainage ditches along the sides so rain and snow melt would run into the middle of the track hopefully washing it out within the year.
The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Mountain Men
Old Bill's arthritis had been acting up and they discussed the possibility of joining the Sanctuary Settlement as they wove their way back up the mountain track arriving at Old Bill's cabin just in time to catch a band of bandits looting the place.
Old Bill got two and Beacon got one before the remainder of the gang sought shelter back inside the cabin. At some point during the firefight something inside the cabin caught fire. Despite the looters best efforts the fire kept growing with them trapped inside.
The banditos claimed to want to surrender but both he and Old Bill knew it was a trick. The three of them opened the door to make a run for it firing as they ran out. The resulting influx of air caused the cabin's interior to explode into flames as Beacon put a .223 round through the heart of the first one out the door a split second later Old Bill put a 30-30 round into the chest of the second who fell backwards into the last man. The last desperado was incinerated when the second outlaw fell back knocking him into the inferno.
It took hours for the fire to die down. After checking for anything salvageable among the ashes, aside from some ash covered cast iron pots and pans there wasn't much so they assessed their situation. There was plenty of canned food, guns, ammo and supplies cached in cool dry mini-bunkers all around the mountain, but there was no place left to live and winter was coming quick.
Sanctuary Settlement
They bought their way into the Sanctuary Settlement with the loan of the horses to the settlement for as long as they were there, a freshly killed doe and their good looks; specifically their mountain men appearance which promised a steady flow of venison. But the clincher had been the four cases of plastic solar powered sidewalk yard LED lights shaped like gray softball sized rocks from their trading caché.
Refused admittance to the corral until a group vote in the evening they'd placed two of the gray plastic globular plastic lights in the sun to charge while waiting for nightly
When all the gas cans was gone they traded the pickup with it's half full gas tank and horse trailer to the town's pharmacist for all the arthritis medicines and pain killers, prescription and nonprescription, he had in stock.
On the way out of town Beacon found a hand lettered flyer posted on the town's bulletin board which announced the formation of a "Sanctuary Settlement" in the next valley.
The mountain men's horses could hardly carry all the ammo back up to their retreat. Beacon had to walk the horses back up the mountain with Old Bill riding the stouter horse his medicines in their backpacks with bedrolls tied on top.
They took a roundabout route back to the cabin backtracking, J hooking to set up ambushes and checking their back trail several times a day for anyone who might be trying to follow them back up onto the mountains. The two cold camped two nights and then, after setting for three hours on one last ambush of their trail, they finally headed for the cabin.
When they got back up to the gate Beacon took the hidden chainsaw and with Old Bill standing guard went up a mile and down a mile felling trees across the Forestry road.
Then they filled the keyhole of the gate's lock with J-B Weld. Beacon and, using the last of the gasoline in the saw, felled every tree that would fall across the Old Bill's driveway for a mile up the hill. At the top of every curve they redirected the drainage ditches along the sides so rain and snow melt would run into the middle of the track hopefully washing it out within the year.
The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Mountain Men
Old Bill's arthritis had been acting up and they discussed the possibility of joining the Sanctuary Settlement as they wove their way back up the mountain track arriving at Old Bill's cabin just in time to catch a band of bandits looting the place.
Old Bill got two and Beacon got one before the remainder of the gang sought shelter back inside the cabin. At some point during the firefight something inside the cabin caught fire. Despite the looters best efforts the fire kept growing with them trapped inside.
The banditos claimed to want to surrender but both he and Old Bill knew it was a trick. The three of them opened the door to make a run for it firing as they ran out. The resulting influx of air caused the cabin's interior to explode into flames as Beacon put a .223 round through the heart of the first one out the door a split second later Old Bill put a 30-30 round into the chest of the second who fell backwards into the last man. The last desperado was incinerated when the second outlaw fell back knocking him into the inferno.
It took hours for the fire to die down. After checking for anything salvageable among the ashes, aside from some ash covered cast iron pots and pans there wasn't much so they assessed their situation. There was plenty of canned food, guns, ammo and supplies cached in cool dry mini-bunkers all around the mountain, but there was no place left to live and winter was coming quick.
Sanctuary Settlement
They bought their way into the Sanctuary Settlement with the loan of the horses to the settlement for as long as they were there, a freshly killed doe and their good looks; specifically their mountain men appearance which promised a steady flow of venison. But the clincher had been the four cases of plastic solar powered sidewalk yard LED lights shaped like gray softball sized rocks from their trading caché.
Refused admittance to the corral until a group vote in the evening they'd placed two of the gray plastic globular plastic lights in the sun to charge while waiting for nightly
Similar Books
The Ruining
Anna Collomore
Moonseed
Stephen Baxter
The Final Prophecy
Greg Keyes
Last Summer in Louisbourg
Clare Mowat
A King's Commander
Dewey Lambdin
Terminal Justice
Alton L. Gansky
Waiting on the Sidelines
Ginger Scott
Queens' Play
Dorothy Dunnett