Chapter
The activity at the compound seemed routine but everyone was on edge. The tower scouts reported activity outside the walls on a frequent basis. There were people or groups keeping an eye on them but they were far enough away where they only saw glimpses of movement or a flash of a scope. Since Sean had been shot they were very careful about not exposing themselves.
People had their routines; in fact they needed their routines. They worked hard and long hours but it was satisfying with all the chaos going on outside the walls. The ham radio reports painted a pretty grim picture of communities around the country but the few reports that came from Dallas and Fort Worth were horrific. Those reports tapered off and they stopped altogether over the last week.
Jose Garza and his family fit into the compound very well. They helped with the agriculture and Jose was skilled in wells and drilling and had the opportunity to repair a well pump. They had other sources but over time if equipment broke down and could not be repaired they would eventually lose their water sources. Jose and his family spent what little spare time they had in the evenings learning English and teaching Spanish. His wife Eve was a wonderful addition in the kitchen where she shared her culinary knowledge of authentic Mexican food and taught several other members how to prepare delicious meals.
Nothing was wasted at the compound. The manure from the animals was diluted with the compost and provided a fertile growing solution for the crops. The uncooked kitchen scraps went into the compost and the cooked ones if there were any were often fed to the pigs. The rabbit pellets fell into the worm bins below where a very rich soil was also used, usually for starting the seedlings of some of their more exotic plants.
Dan Martinson stayed busy as the resident blacksmith. Besides teaching classes to two teenagers and two men, he was busy making things that the compound could use. He made some tools for use around the blacksmith shop, some other tools that were used in harvesting the crops and even some kitchen utensils. He made some hooks for hanging things including animals they slaughtered for food. One of the better things he made was an old timey bellows to supplement his hand powered air crank. Given these he could do his blacksmith work and not ever worry about whether there was electricity or not. The wood cut down for fifty yards around the compound when it was being built was just starting to season to where it burned down to coal well.
Doug fell into a routine that was similar but different to when Ralph was around. He felt as if the weight of the whole compound was on his shoulders. He had Gunny helping him but it seemed he had to make every decision. People were lining up to get his input or okay or direction about things. Sheila kept him sane by keeping everything organized. He also didn’t mind her being around. They’d developed into a comfortable relationship that seemed like it would blossom into more but there just wasn’t time.
Dusk approached which meant they only had a few more hours until their day was done. Sheila walked into what the two of them had come to refer as the “Crown” room. Like the end of the day conversations he and Ralph used to have, Sheila gave him an update on the day’s activities, what was accomplished and what was outstanding, still needing to be done.
“Hey Doug.” Sheila said.
He handed her a glass of crown and they shared a quiet moment together. Doug and Sheila had several long conversations so she pretty much knew about how he felt about Ralph, Susan, and her.
Susan walked by all messy from a day in the clinic with the animals. She must have come back for a quick bite to eat and then back to the animals she loved. “Hey you two.” Apparently Susan had no trouble making the transition from Doug to Jeb. “Gotta run, I have a lamb that is about to be a mama.”
Doug and Sheila went out to the front of the house and sat in a garden bench seat.
The sun had gone down and it was starting to cool off. Sheila shivered and Doug put his arm around her. They sat silently for a few minutes. Sheila look up at him.
“Doug, I need to tell you something.”
“Okay.”
“I don’t really like Crown.”
Doug just laughed thinking she had been about to tell him something serious.
“Why do you let me pour you one then?”
“At first it was a way to spend a little more time with you and I saw how much you enjoyed it so I didn’t want to make it seem like I didn’t like it because then we wouldn’t spend that time together.”
“Sheila, you don’t have to play games with me, you can speak freely. I don’t care if you have a Crown with me, you could have a glass of wine, or water, or whatever, I enjoy spending time with you too.”
He looked into her eyes. She seemed so appealing, he just wanted to lean over and kiss her. He was about to do just that when Gunny came running up.
“Doug, you need to come to the gate, we have visitors.” Gunny said.
"Jeez, can't catch a break." Doug thought.
Doug shrugged apologetically and got up. “See you later.” He said to Sheila.
On the way to the gate, Gunny briefed Doug. “Got some Army dudes out there.
They asked to talk to the person in charge. I asked them to tell me what it was about and they said it was for the person in charge. They looked well-armed. I don’t think we should let them in.”
“How many are there?”
“Five, the leaders name was James Adkins, a Captain I think.”
They arrived at the fence. Three men and one woman were standing behind the Captain. He stood about five feet out from the fence. Sean and Tim held their AR-15’s trained on the group. Gunny kept his at the ready. Doug felt for his Springfield Armory forty-five on his hip and made sure the strap wasn’t buttoned in.
Doug said “I’m in charge,” Though he felt a little silly saying that.
The man in front said “I am Captain James Adkins of the 4th Regiment. Behind me are Staff Sergeant Yates, and PFCs Hawkins, Hinton, and Larson.”
“Okay.” Doug said. “I’m Doug, what do you want?”
“Can we come in?” the Captain said.
“I don’t think that would be a very good idea. We don’t know anything about you.”
Doug said.
“You know, we could order you to let us in, given that the country is under martial law.”
“You could try.” Doug said defiantly.
“Seriously? You think we could not breach this gate and take you all down if we wanted to?”
“In case you haven’t noticed, you have weapons trained on you.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, we have better weapons. AR-15’s against M16’s, we have grenade launchers as well as grenades. That is neither here nor there. We are not here to make you do anything. Actually we wanted to warn you.”
“Warn us of what?”
“Warn you that not all in uniform are benevolent.”
“We have experienced a little bit of that already.” Doug said, thinking of the Sherriff.
“We are actually part of a larger contingent that is currently in Paradise, but they are planning on making a trip out here. They heard from various sources that there are a lot of resources here and they plan to take them.”
“Take them. Just like that?”
“Well, like I said, not all of them are benevolent.”
“So what do you want from us?”
“Okay, it is not what we want from you, it is what we can do for each other.”
“What can we do for each other?”
“For starters, you can take us in and we can help you fight them when they come.”
“How do we know you are not with them and this is a Trojan horse type of operation to get inside so you can attack us and let them in?”
The Captain turned his shoulder toward Doug. “Are you familiar with the Oath Keepers sir? This is the patch representing the oath we took to defend America against all enemies foreign and domestic. Colonel Frank Seline represents a domestic enemy and right now, he represents the your first and foremost enemy and right now he is planning on taking whatever you have and I don’t think he cares whether he leaves the people in this compound dead or alive.”
Doug said “As a matter of fact, I have heard of the Oath Keepers and I respect what they stand for. The founder of this compound and I had many discussions of whether the military would actually take hostile action against the people. What is with this Colonel dude, why is he acting against the American people?”
“There are good people and bad people in all walks of life, but when a bad person evolves into a position of power and you take the thin veneer of civilization away where there are no constraints such as a higher power to answer to, they naturally gravitate toward the base inclinations. This man is a psychopath and I believe he intends to do you harm.”
Doug said “Give me a sec.” He took Gunny aside.
Gunny said “I don’t like it, it could be a trap.”
“Yeah it could, but you know this compound was never designed to keep out a military force. It was designed to keep the people inside safe from stragglers and roving bands of thieves and people that didn’t prep. We can’t keep out a military dedicated to taking this place.”
“Yeah, but if we let them in they could have the upper hand and once inside take us out.”
“I think they could take us out anyway, but with their help, maybe we can make it harder to take this compound.”
“I don’t know.” Gunny said.
“Look at it this way. If we do nothing we can’t stop the military from taking us anyway.”
“Okay.” Gunny said, resigned to whatever fate lay ahead and willing to let Doug call the shots.
Doug approached the gate. “Will you be willing to hand over your weapons before entering?”
Sergeant Yates said “No way, sir. We don’t disarm, standard policy.”
“That is the standard policy when dealing with the enemy, Sergeant, not with dealing with our own countrymen. Yes, we will hand over our weapons. Hand over your weapons men. Private Hawkins will retrieve our vehicle where you can inspect it.” The Captain said.
The four men stepped up and held out their weapons through the gate to Gunny. He had to make two trips to lay them on the ground by the side of the gate. The Captain stepped up and handed over his M16 and his forty-five.
Gunny opened the gate while Tim and Sean kept their weapons trained on the group. Hawkins walked back to the vehicle and the four men walked through the gate slowly. Annie Hawkins drove the transport past the gate and stopped. The gate was quickly shut and as Hawkins got down from the driver’s seat, two other compound members that had come up climbed up to inspect it.
The Captain looked at Doug and said “We have some talking to do.”
Doug said “Follow me.” And led the way back to the main house. Doug started feeling like it was Crown time again.