When The Fault Breaks: Life Will Never Be The Same Page 8

  But the flip side is if someone does come along and then can't live by those simple social standards the consequences will be severe."

  "Who died and made you King?"

  "To the asshole that doesn't have the balls to face me man to man and ask that, that's a perfect example of what I mean about anti-social behavior, no one did, it's simple if you don't want to live by standard social norms then stay here; that includes whoever you are that asked that question, we don't want or need your type of attitude around us."

  Someone asked, "Does that mean death if the situation warrants it?"

  Tammy answered that one.

  "Your damn strait it does, and any reason that forces us to protect the whole."

  "So if any of you left out there can't deal with those strong standards? Enjoy your night. Now back to matters at hand, where we're heading we will not be able to bring any motor homes or SUVs so we will be leaving them for those that are staying. Maybe we will trade them for some tents that some of you are living in."

  "You can have your tent back Peter; we will make do."

  "Thanks Allen, but I hoped you would have been one that wanted to leave."

  "No I have three young kids and a hard trek is not for kids."

  "There are other kids standing over there to go already, even a few babies."

  "I know but Sheryl doesn't want to take them."

  "I understand Allen, so I guess I will trade you the tent for our motor home, minus some of the stuff in it."

  John called out, "You can use my horses to help find a new location."

  "Thanks John does that mean you guys are going with us?"

  John and Linda had come in on horseback with two extra horses and two mules for all their gear; they are from Kanab, UT. John is a real cowboy type and Linda is your typical cowboy's wife. Both are really nice people and enjoy life to its fullest.

  "It sure does Peter, I wouldn't miss it for the world."

  "All right then anyone who still wants to go, join Ramon there and we can start planning and figuring out what resources we have and what we will need. As I said before the rest of you are free to go or you can hang around maybe you will change your minds and want to go."

  I heard someone call out but I could not recognize the voice.

  "That is highly unlikely Peter; I cannot believe you are abandoning us like this. You should be ashamed of yourself."

  "Please come up and talk to me like a man."

  "Okay I will."

  Coming forward was a tall man with really long dark brown hair and a full beard and mustache. He spoke with a slight English accent and came to the U.S. from England many years ago. Before the quake he was a published writer.

  "George, is that you? You must have been in the U.S. too long; you are losing your accent. I didn't recognize your voice."

  "Yea it is me, why are you just up and leaving us?"

  "I'm not just up and leaving anyone, we made it an open invitation anyone that doesn't want to go is free to stay, it's their choice, including yours my friend."

  "I like it here; I have everything I need right here. Why go traipsing through the woods looking for something when we already have it here?"

  "Look around you George; look at the filth, the crime, the lack of food, the lack of fire wood, need I go on?"

  "No, but even if you leave here it will follow you wherever you go."

  "Maybe, maybe not, we will be trying to build a new community, one free of all the crap we have here. Free of all the crap we left behind before the quake, one where we don't have to worry about crime, one where we don't have to worry about nasty people, I hate nasty people."

  You could see George processing it all; you could see he was thinking about it hard.

  "I see your point; I guess I did not understand Peter."

  George smacked me in the arm and asked, "Why didn't you say so in the first place?"

  "Because I didn't want to say all that to the very people I felt that way about, it would have fallen on deaf ears. It would have been taken wrong by those who are not that way. Everything I said about the resources here is true, please join us George. You are one hell of a cook so we can use your skills and I know you don't want to stay here with all this."

  "Okay Peter than I will join you, we will help however we can."

  "That's great George, you will not regret coming with us. You will be on the ground floor of making our own Utopia."

  "Not like you have a pie in the sky view there do you Peter?"

  "Nope, just hopeful thinking my friend, just hopeful thinking."

  Chapter 7: The Search for a New Home

  The next morning, we met at our fort, Fred and Brandon brought their maps of the area they looked into earlier; we did not make it an open meeting because we wanted the location to be classified. We knew we had much to resolve so we closed the fort doors and jumped into the task at hand.

  Pointing to the maps, Fred was showing us what they had in mind.

  "If you follow the ridge until you reach this pass you can then drop down

  into this valley. It looks like it's a very steep grade most of the way down so it will be one that we have to rig the equipment down. When we get to the bottom we will go north and follow the stream up to the headwaters; then over this pass looking down into the valley and see what lies beyond that."

  Steve was one of Fred's men and has been involved with the planning from the start and added.

  "We are going to have to be flexible on how we go to make sure that not only the horses can get there but the ATVs as well. If we don't we will have to carry everything the entire distance or not be able to bring as much."

  Sarg said, "You are right Steve; it is something you have to try but not at the cost of not being able to find a good location for our new home."

  "Thanks, from what I can tell from the map we should be able to make it a considerable distance with the ATVs. For one thing we can use their winches to transit some of the harder more vertical locations."

  "Let's not get ahead of ourselves guys; first we need to make it there on horseback."

  "For sure Peter, my horses will be able to get us further than the ATVs, but we will need to walk them at times, or take an alternative route for the horses."

  "Thanks John, you are the most experienced rider that is why I want you to lead this expedition."

  Fred stepped over next to John, put his hand on John's shoulder and said, "I assigned Andy and Steve to help you, they both know you will be in charge, and are very good working on their own, they will be a great help finding the valley. I would advise you listen to their input, I have, that's how we made it here safe."

  Andy is a young guy from Flagstaff in his mid-twenties he has this look about him, he seems to look right through you, but is really a good guy. Steve is also in his mid-twenties with a clean-shaven head, all of it including his eyebrows. I turned back to John.

  "Fred has assigned his two best scouts to accompany you in finding the location. These guys are seasoned combat Special Forces Army Ranger Scouts they are as good as it gets, they know as much about scouting as you do about horses. I think you should work closely with them as they can help reach the valley successfully."

  "I will be happy to have them with me Peter, and thanks Sarg I'm sure they'll be a great help." With that the three left to gather supplies and work out their own details.

  All of a sudden Dan, a big fat guy with red hair from Scottsdale AZ, burst through the door and started screaming something unintelligible at us. We all stopped going over the maps to see what the commotion was.

  "Dan what are you screaming about? We could not understand one word you said, talk to me man; tell me what's on your mind."

  "Why are you screwing us all over, by taking off like this. Out of the blue you're tired of the place and you're out of here just as fast as you can."

  "Trust me Dan it's not all of a sudden, we have had issues about all the troubles here for some time."

&nbs
p; "Of course there's problems but nothing we can't deal with. So you just decided you're gone and screw everyone?"

  I could see this was not going well, Dan was just getting more and more angry. He kept raising his voice louder and louder. I was trying everything to calm him down, but it was to be to no avail. Fred became concerned and unsnapped his holster and put his hand on his weapon. That was a good thing for me because Dan had no intention of allowing us to go.

  "You're not going anywhere Peter; you're all staying here just like the rest of us. We all NEED to stay together to make it through this."

  With that Dan pulled his gun, a Glock 9mm and pointed it at my head. Then he started screaming in that unintelligible manner again waving his gun in the air. I tried to calm him down but he wasn't going to no matter what I said. Fred was certain Dan was going to shoot.

  Fred could see Dan's safety was off and his finger tight against the trigger, so the next time Dan waved his weapon away from my face Fred took his shot and hit Dan square in the temple. Dan dropped, dead before he hit the ground.

  It was crazy, everyone was running around screaming. Ann ran over to me and squeezed me so tight I thought I was going to pop. I looked over at Fred and he was still standing there holding his weapon with this look of disbelief in his eyes.

  "Are you all right Fred?"

  Fred looked back still in disbelief and said in a questioning manner.

  "Me!? I'm not the one that just had a 9mm pointed at my face. There was no doubt in my mind that he was going to shoot you. He was escalating more and more and I didn't want to see you shot."

  Ann ran over and hugged Fred tight around the neck, and said, "Thank you Fred, I didn't want to lose my best friend and husband either."

  Then Ann returned to me.

  Sandy also spoke up, "That nut case was going to kill Peter."

  Sandy could see that Fred was very shaken and walked over to him and took him in her arms. Fred fell into her arms and sobbed.

  "It'll be alright Fred; you only did what you had to do. If you hadn't none of us think Peter would still be with us."

  Fred told Sandy, "I've never killed someone before."

  "But you spent so many years in the Army; you've never had to shoot anyone before?"

  Fred responded, "No I wasn't in a job that put me in that situation. I worked behind the lines."

  By now I had regained my composure and went over to Fred. I put my arms around both of them and hugged them both.

  "I don't have the words to say I'm sorry you had to do that, but if you hadn't I'm sure it would be me laying there not Dan. You had no choice Fred, you had no choice."

  "I know Peter but that doesn't change anything, well now I guess I can answer that question many Preppers ask themselves."

  "What question is that Fred?"

  "Would I be able to pull the trigger if I had too?"

  Suddenly we all heard a very loud hysterical scream, and saw Becky running toward Dan.

  "YOU KILLED HIM, YOU KILLED MY DAN."

  Becky, Dan's girl friend from Phoenix, was crying and screaming while kneeling over his body.

  "WHY, why did you kill him? WHY DID YOU KILL HIM?"

  With that Ann exclaimed, "He was going to kill my husband! If Fred hadn't shot him Peter would be dead now."

  "He would never kill anyone."

  "Look in his hand Becky; look there, his gun is still in his hand."

  Becky looked down and saw the weapon, she picked it up and started pointing it at Fred still crying and screaming you killed him.

  Tammy walked over to her and stepped in front of the gun.

  "Becky, give me the gun, you don't want to do this."

  "Yes I do, he killed Dan."

  Tammy reached up took the barrel of the gun in her hand and gently removed it from Becky's hand. As she did, Becky collapsed over Dan crying uncontrollably. Tammy took her in her arms and the two cried. I went over to Becky and she turned to me crying.

  "I didn't know he was going to come after you Peter. Last night after the meeting I told him I wanted to go and would go even if he didn't, he just went nuts. He didn't want to go and didn't want me to go. He started screaming about how I betrayed him and that he was going to take care of it. He was the one that said that about being militia last night."

  "It is all right Becky there was no way you could have known what he was thinking. Like most of us he always had his weapon at his side. I keep thinking I could have said something different that may have calmed him down."

  "There was no way Peter, if I couldn't get him to calm down, you didn't stand a chance of doing it. I will understand if you don't want me to join you now."

  "I would never hold Dan's actions against you; you are definitely welcome to come with us still. Weren't you guys staying in a tent down by the lake?"

  "Yes we were but I don't want to go there now it will be too hard without him there."

  "Well you can stay with us until we leave, we will be heading out soon."

  "Thanks Peter I will take care of Dan then my things and meet you and Ann back here."

  Plans were made for the section leaders to meet up again at my place the next day to finish figuring out where to go. It took most of the day but we agreed about where to explore.

  The next morning the three men started out staying on the trail that had been worn by all the daily traffic of hunting and gathering. They rode for several hours before they reached a point where no one had been before. From their vantage point they could see the valley below and the other side as well. They discussed their plans on how to proceed from there.

  Their trek started out fairly easy but that didn't last very long. It required many changes in elevation both up and down and lots of bushwhacking. Every time they came upon really heavy vegetation or thorny brush they had to find a way around it or get off the horses and cut a path. On the third day of the trek Andy was riding in front when the horse he was riding stumbled sending him tumbling to the ground.

  "Are you alright Andy?"

  "Yea Steve I'm okay but I think I dislocated my shoulder."

  "That you did my friend, but I am pretty sure I can reset it."

  "I bet you can but that doesn't mean I am going to like it."

  Steve poked fun of him, "Oh stop whining you big baby."

  "John can you come over here? I need you to hold Andy, so I can pull his arm back into position."

  "Okay Steve, how do you want me to hold him?"

  "Wrap your reign around his chest and hold tight I will be pulling fairly hard and twisting."

  "Okay let's do this."

  "Alright Andy, do you need something to bite on for the pain?"

  Ready for it to be over he snapped, "No just get on with it."

  Steve grabbed Andy's arm and without any warning pulled, you could see the relief in Andy's face as his arm popped back into place. Luckily for Andy, Fred had required all of his team to be Wilderness First Responder trained so Steve was able to get shoulder back in with no problem. After Steve immobilized Andy's arm, they decided they were in as good a place as any to spend the night. Fortunately, the horse was not injured at all and just got up and stood there waiting for Andy.

  The eighth day was a good day for them, after cresting a ridge they were able to see a promising valley below. They took a couple days to figure out how to descend given that horses don't like going downhill, especially steep ones, but they did prevail. Though the area looked good from above it turned out it was not suitable for our needs. After close to two weeks of riding, with only a few days of resting to give the horses a break, they were on an overlook just above the valley floor.

  "John you have got to see this."

  "I will be right there Andy."

  Steve and John rode over and couldn't believe their eyes; the three of them sat there in awe.

  "Oh my, look at it."

  "It's beautiful. Is this the valley we are looking for?"

  "I think so, but even if it isn't it sure as
hell can be."

  "Let's get down there and get a better look."

  "I'm with you there Steve."

  "Let's ride."

  It was maybe another ten more miles away, deep in the wilderness and down in the bottom of a large broad valley. As they rode through the valley they saw the location was perfect; there was ample wild life to live off of for a long time, clean fresh water, and almost unlimited wood. They continued down the valley and came to a large open clearing. Andy was in the lead when Steve and John heard a loud cry out, "YAHOOO!"