"The Bad With The Good"

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3 DECEMBER 2018

The Forest Ranger called out to the people scattered about the parking lot of the Oregon Caves National Monument, "Will everyone join me here, near the flag pole, please. Please! Everyone ... yes, everyone please ... please come over to the flag pole..."

The people -- some locals from very near, some tourists from very afar -- headed his direction. They immediately began shooting questions at him, rapid fire, as if he was a politician standing before a Media frenzy after a public embarrassment. He waved them down begging, "Please, please wait until everyone has assembled ... and I will answer those questions I can."

Waiting for the 50 or so people in the parking lot to join him was the longest two minutes of his life. Despite asking them to hold their questions, the inquiries kept coming at him. When he feared he might pull the 9mm from his hip and shoot his next inquisitor, he ascended the park bench across the and began.

"My name is Taylor Edwards. I am a Ranger with the National Park Service..."

Almost immediately, the questions resumed. He tried in vain to wave the assembled quiet. When that failed, he raised his hands to rest akimbo on his waist -- with his right hand conspicuously near his side arm -- then raised his voice until it matched his intimidating size. "Please! I have answers for your questions, but ... you have to shut up if you want them."

That had the desired impact. The entire crowd both went silent and gave Taylor their undivided attention. Even the dogs and small children seemed to be paying attention to him now. Taylor drew and expelled a deep breath then continued in a calmer but still firm tone.

"As many of you already know," he explained, trying to hide his own emotions about the tragedy unfolding out there beyond the Siskiyou Mountains, "the United States has been attacked by Russia ... with nuclear weapons."

The crowd again came alive with emotion again in their own ways. Someone asked, "What cities are gone?"

"I can't tell you the name of every city that has been destroyed," Taylor cut into the show of emotion, "but I can tell you about the nearest ones. Portland ... and Seattle to the north. San Francisco and San Diego to the south. I haven't heard about cities near us to the east, but ... New York ... DC ... Dallas. And there are others."

Taylor had to stop for a moment. He, too, was wracked by emotion. He had spent time in each of those cities. And he knew he never would again. No one would. For thousands of years those cities and others would never host humans again.

The questions began flying again.

"What do we do now?"
"Where do we go?"
"Are we going to die from radiation poisoning?"

Taylor answered these three at once. "Where you go now is up to you. No one is going to tell you what to do or where to go. You can get back into your cars and head down the mountain. Or ... you can stay here at the Monument. Either way this part of Southern Oregon is probably the safest place for you to be right now, so ... I wouldn't go far."

"Why?" someone asked.

A woman in the group answered for Taylor. "The radiation clouds from Portland and San Francisco will head east ... inland ... and not affect us."

"Affect us as much," Taylor corrected. "The clouds will head east, yes. But eventually all of that radiation from those attacks and the others around the world will be affected."

Someone asked what other countries had been nuked. The result was a minute or two of mixed facts and imaginations.

Then the questions for Taylor continued.

"Are we on our own?"
"Who is going to help us?"
"Is there anyone left out there?"

"Yes!" he assured them. "There are others out there." He flashed his satellite phone. "I'm in contact with others..."

Suddenly everyone was asking either what he had heard or whether they could use his phone to contact friends and family. Taylor calmed everyone down again. "Each of you will have an opportunity to call your loved ones, I promise!"

He continued answering the question, "There are others out there. Most of us ... them, our fellow Americans ... most of them are still alive. Only a few cities have been nuked."

Again, there was a round of Which cities? but Taylor continued onward.

"As far as help goes..." He flashed his sat phone again. "...I think we are on our own for a while. Even though I am in contact with others out there in the world, I am getting no answers about whether there is help ... about what we should do next. I think ... I think we are on our own for now."

There was another round of emotional questions and comments when someone called out "What now Ranger Rick?"

Taylor laughed. Then realizing that he had not laughed in days he laughed again. He considered the question for a moment.

"You are all welcome to do as you please. This is still America. It is still a free country. I myself ... I am staying here."

"Where?" someone hollered. "There is nothing here."

"The Chateau," someone called out.

"Yes," Taylor said, jerking a thumb over his shoulder. "Just up that trail is the Chateau at the Oregon Caves. Warm rooms, comfortable beds ... kitchen, real bathrooms, not outhouses. We can stay there until..."

He hesitated, until someone asked, "Until what?"

Taylor hesitated. He hadn't wanted to bring this up, but he knew that for the benefit of all, it needed to be said. He glanced to the woman who had earlier spoken about radiation before saying, "We have no fear of being nuked here. There are no targets in this portion of the State of interest to anyone with a bomb. However--"

"Radiation," the same woman said softly.

He continued nodding, "The radiation that will miss us today ... the fallout from Seattle or Portland or San Francisco ... it will circle the globe ... carried by the jet stream. In a few days ... maybe a week ... there will be no place on the Earth safe from that radiation, let alone the radiation from the other bombs all around the world ... not even in the Chateau. No place with be safe, except--"

"A cave!" one of the children called out. When Taylor looked to the young girl, she smiled with pride as if she was the only one who had considered the possibility. "We can hide in the cave!"

Taylor smiled, nodding. "We can hide in the cave. We gather supplies ... food, water, warm clothes ... we go down into the cavern ... and we don't come out until we have to."

"How long?" someone asked.

Taylor hesitated as a buzz of answers flooded through the crowd. He finally said, "I don't know. A couple of weeks." He saw in their eyes their concern, and while he didn't want to say it he did. "Possibly ... a couple of months."

Post for Alice Lee (Profile):

"I can't tell you the name of every city that has been destroyed," the Ranger was saying, "but I can tell you about the nearest ones. Portland..."

"Beer," the blonde next to Alice whispered.

"...Seattle to the north."

"Coffee," the girl continued.

Alice elbowed her friend, Suzy, warning, "Shhh! This is serious."

"San Francisco..." Taylor continued.

"Ghirardelli chocolate..."

"...and San Diego to the south,"

"Little dark guys named Juan and Jose."

Alice slapped her friends ass, causing the shorter but more voluptuous girl to first squeal in surprise, then giggle. She said in a defensive voice, "Hey! I'm allowed to say that, remember? I'm dating one."

Alice chastised her traveling partner in a growling whisper, "I don't think that dating a Hispanic allows you to--"

"Oh God!" Suzy cut in, her eyes wide with shock. She looked to her friend but did not see the same shock in her eyes. "Did you not here that? New York City is gone."

"We knew that already," Alice said, trying to hear what questions were being asked of the Ranger and what answers he was giving as her friend ranted on about all the things lost when the Big Apple went up in a ball of flame.

When she heard a question asked for which she had the answer, Alice offered out over the crowd, "The radiation clouds from Portland and San Francisco will head east ... inland ... and not affect us."

The Ranger made eye contact with her, smiled, and continued. That smile's effect on Alice was immediate, and she leaned to her friend -- still staring at the impressive man -- and whispered, "I think he's the one."

Suzy asked, "The one what?"

When Alice only smiled to her devilishly, then turned four shades of red, Suzy's eyes widened in shock. "Him! He's a Ranger!"

"What's wrong with Park Rangers?" Alice asked.

"Nothing! I just ... I mean ... oh, c'mon Allie! The world is coming to an end ... and you're talking about losing your virginity to a Park Ranger who's as old as your father."

Alice looked back to the Ranger. She whispered, more to herself than to Suzy, "Means he knows what he's doing ... doesn't it?"

The man on the bench went on for a long while. When there was a lull in the conversation, Alice called out, "What now Ranger Rick?"

Suzy elbowed her as the man laughed. She growled, "What are you doing, Allie."

She giggled, saying, "It's called flirting. You should try it with a guy some time ... rather than just ripping all of you clothes off and saying Take Me!"

They laughed together quietly as the conversation around them continued. Although she herself hadn't gotten any farther with a guy that being felt up, Alice's best friend in the world was a bit of a slut back home. Well, back home, and everywhere else, too. In the three days that they had been touring Northern California and Southern Oregon, Alice's friend had already gotten laid by four different guys. Alice didn't know how to feel about it all. She had vowed to wait on sex for marriage, but ... well, like Suzy said a moment earlier, the world was ending, so what was she waiting for?

She looked back to the Ranger, then around the crowd. There were some other good looking men -- old and young both -- for whom spreading her legs would certainly be a welcome sight. But the Ranger was a attractive, was a power figure, and -- should things go well between them -- would certainly take care of her should this new life for them all get hard or dangerous ... wouldn't he?

Hell, Alice thought, you haven't even fucked him yet, and you're already thinking about moving in together and setting up house.

Post for Taylor Edwards

Telling the crowd that they may be down in the cavern for as much as a couple of months had a dramatic mood on the crowd. Some were shocked. Others were outraged. And a few even laughed, with one even making comments about the Ranger's sanity.

As before, the questions flew:

"How can we live in a cave for months?"
"What will we eat?"
"Won't we freeze to death?"
"How can we live in the dark for that long?"
"Are there vampire bats in the cave?"

One small child even called out, "Will I learn to see in the dark?"

Taylor laughed at that last one, which drew some attention to him and the kid and -- just long enough for him to take the floor -- gave him an opportunity to offer some answers. "We won't freeze to death, but...!"

He hesitated for just a moment as he made eye contact with the girl who had been so accurately talked about the radiation situation they would all be facing soon. She was looking him directly in the eyes with a slight smile on her lips, as if she knew something he didn't. If he had realized that she had picked him to relieve her of her virginity, he might have told the others Deal with this shit on your own, then invited her to the visitor's center alone.

Taylor continued, "It's 44 degrees Fahrenheit in the cave, year round, so ... it's gonna be cold. But, we can use tents, pads, tarps, blankets, etcetera, etcetera, to insulate ourselves from the cold rock ... then heat the areas we enclose to stay warm. There are several relatively flat locations where small groups of us ... four, six, ten ... can live comfortably."

More questions flew, but Taylor stuck with those that had already been asked. "We'll have light, and food, and supplies."

"How?"
"From where?"

"You already have some of that with you, don't you?" He looked around, and some people nodded. "And we can go down the mountain ... to Cave Junction, to the market or to the residents ... buy what we need--"

"Won't they want to come back with us?"
"Can we have that many people?"
"What if they won't give it to us? The world is ending. Won't they horde it?"

That last one got everyone's attention. Taylor had already considered the questions of whether the people down in Cave Junction would be willing to give up food or demand their inclusion in the group that would be hiding here. And he didn't have any answers.

"We'll deal with that when we deal with that," he said without commitment. "But listen to this! And I mean this!" As he continued, he lifted his hand to casually but meaningfully rest on the butt of the 9mm on his hip. "No one will take anything ... anything ... from another person unless that item is offered or sold. There will be no pillaging or looting. Understood?"

The response was less than encouraging. Like Taylor, these people had likely seen their share of post-apocalyptic movies in their day. And in each and every one of them, good people nearly always resorted to bad deeds. To be honest, despite being an officer of the law -- albeit an armed Park Ranger, not a real cop -- Taylor couldn't honestly say that he, too, wouldn't find himself doing wrong to ensure that he and those he cared about survived this horror.

He glanced back to the blonde who was still eying him like he was a well done steak to be devoured, and thought to himself, Who do I care about at this point in time? He had no family in the area; and he hadn't talked to any of the members of the family which he did have in months, even years for some of them. He studied the blond, then caught sight of the even sexier girl beside her, who was studying Taylor in her own way. I could care about you, he thought, feeling a less-than-optimally-timed erection beginning to make its presence known inside his tight fitting jockeys.

Another question brought Taylor back to reality. When it worked its way to his conscious, he answered, "Our first step...? Well ... that's simple. We have to determine who is going to stay and who is going to leave."

He looked out upon the parking lot, then continued, "I would like everyone who is, for certain, going to depart the monument to move their cars to the far end of the lot, near the entrance, or in this case the exit. If you don't mind, I would like you to stick around for just a bit longer so that I can have another word with you as a group."

"What about the rest of us?"

"The rest of you," Taylor continued, gesturing to the space nearer the flag pole, "should bring your cars up here as the others pull away. I want to see what each of us has to offer in the way of supplies."

Suddenly, the crowd exploded into comments, questions, and accusations about who had what, who didn't, who got to keep what, and more. Taylor shook his head, realizing that this was not going to be an easy thing to pull off.

(OOC: TheNextNewGuy, this would be a great place to put that post about which we talked. Make sure you read the PM I am going to send in a bit before you post.)

(OOC: BTW for all writers. I would prefer that the IC thread not get blasted with lots of OOC comments, sort of like this one. I am only doing this because I need to get this across to everyone early on. The exception is this: if you need to ENSURE that a fellow writer reads a PM before posting, you can feel free to put in an OOC at the end of a post that says something to the affect of "OOC: Read your PM first [writer name].")

Jason had been up in the hills for two weeks camping and surviving on what the forest provided him. He did this as often as his job allowed him which was getting longer and longer between trips. He was just getting too busy at work to get the time off he wanted. Oh sure he still got his time, but to get a full two weeks was a godsend.

Unfortunately his time was coming to an end. today was his last day and he had to pack up and head back to civilization. He broke down his campsite and made sure it looked as pristine as it did when he had first got there. Then he started his hike down the mountain.

He had enjoyed being out of touch with the world, just being by himself enjoying his own company and the sounds of nature. He had always enjoyed the outdoors ever since his father had first taken him out hunting at the age of five. His father had doted on him being the only boy in the family. He had two older sisters and his father loved them but he had always wanted a boy to teach all the boy things his father had taught him. Jason had spent many weekends hunting and fishing and as he grew up working on cars and in the shed repairing things with his father.

Of course his mother had not let him just get a mans education and had him in the kitchen cooking and learning to sew and iron as well. By the time he hit high school he could kill a deer, dress it and knew twenty different ways to cook it.

It was inevitable really that he would choose a career that would allow him to work out in nature. He had studied hard and become a Environmental structural engineer. He had wanted to work as a watchdog on the oil rigs all over Texas but had instead accepted a job with the EPA making sure that new and old buildings complied with all the new safety and environmental rules. Most did so with no problems but some tried to cut a lot of corners and Jason loved slapping them with huge fines and making them redo it the right way. If he found out it was the contractors fault he would de list them and ban them from working for a certain amount of time. He was strictly no nonsense and his reputation was spreading.

As he approached the parking lot at the Oregon Caves National Monument where he had parked his car he saw a large crowd gathered around a Park Ranger. He wondered what was going on. Was a kid trapped underground, or was there some kind of emergency happening? That was one of the disadvantages of being out of contact with the world, you never knew what was going on.

He made it to the back of the group without attracting any attention as everyone seemed focused on what the ranger was saying. He listened for a little bit and it seemed they were discussing about buying a lot of supplies and going down into the caves while others left. Just what was going on? He spotted a couple of girls and walked over and tapped them on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, but can you tell me what is going on. I have been camping for awhile and I just got back so I haven't heard anything."

Post for Alice and Suzy:



"Excuse me," a rugged looking man said to the two friends from just behind them, "but can you tell me what is going on. I have been camping for awhile and I just got back so I haven't heard anything."

Alice didn't fully grasp what the man was saying and casually began explaining, "The Ranger is splitting us into those who want to stay and those who want to leave, so we can--"

Suzy, however, had caught the entire meaning of Jason's question, and nodding her head toward the Siskiyou Mountains that surrounded them asked with shock, "You've been out there this whole time...?"

When he confirmed her question, she continued, "So you have no idea that Russia nuked the fuck out of us...?"

Alice was watching the man now, and while his expression changed significantly, she had never been very good at reading men. Was it doubt in the crazy girl's fantasies? Or shock in the very serious young woman's truthful declarations? Did he believe? Or was he ready to laugh and tell her to get outta here?

Suzy continued, "We're at war! Or at least ... we were ... but ... it's all over ... I think." She turned to a guy she'd been chatting with earlier and asked if he knew whether the bombing had ended, and when the man said he'd heard it was all over, Suzy turned back to the rugged looking man and said, "They nuked New York, DC, LA ... hell they even hit Portland, though I don't know why they would do that. There's nothing there but--"

"Infrastructure," the guy she'd been talking to said, clarifying, "Railroads, I-5, the Columbia..."

Suzy shrugged, turning back to Jason and saying wryly, "All I know is they had micro breweries and outlet malls, but hey, what do I know."

She looked the man up and down for a moment. He'd obviously been out in the woods for a while. He had days worth of grown on his face, and he reeked of camp fire smoke. Suzy hated camping. She hated anything that smelled, figuratively speaking, of the great outdoors. She and Alice had stayed in motels during their weekend trip, and the closest she'd gotten to being out in nature was having to squat and pee in the woods yesterday morning.

And yet, looking the man up and down, she recalled being forced by her father to sit through that stupid Robert Redford movie about a frontier man and thought to herself I could get back to nature with you, Jeremiah.

"Girls...?"

Suzy turned away from yet another man she was considering parting her thighs for to find Ranger Edwards just a yard away, addressing them. She glanced to Alice and found her horny virginal friend's face red with embarrassment, her impure thoughts obviously running rampant through her lust filled brain.

"Are you staying?" Taylor asked. "We need to know if--"

"We're staying!" Alice answered eagerly, moving half a step closer to the ranger as she repeated excitedly, "We're staying. We're in the Prius ... baby blue one." She jerked her thumb over her finger. "Where do you want us to park?"

"Jesus," Suzy murmured, her smile broadening wide as she turned her back to the Ranger and whispered into her friend's ear, "Do you need a Kleenex for the goo running down your thigh--"

She emitted an oof as Alice elbowed her in the stomach. After Taylor gestured to an empty space nearer the flag pole, Alice grasped her friend by the elbow and dragged her away toward the car, peeking back over her shoulder a couple of times. She giggled and whispered, "Oh my god, I can't believe I'm going to have sex with the Ranger."

Suzy laughed. "Counting your chickens, aren't you...?"

She, too, peeked back toward Taylor as they arrived at the car. She watched him for a moment, as he offered his hand out to the new guy, whose name, Suzy just recalled, she hadn't asked for. She watched the two for a moment, and -- seeing Taylor lean in and say something up close and personal to the Mountain Man -- said solemnly to her friend, "You may find out that he's not your type."

(OOC: I have Anthony's permission to write that last paragraph about Taylor. I'm not "god moding".

Taylor had been making his way through those who hadn't returned to their cars, answering or avoiding questions as appropriate. He was trying to be inconspicuous about his destination, which was the two beautiful young women at the edge of the crowd. When he arrived, they were talking to a man who looked like he'd just been released from a jungle prison. Taylor asked, "Girls...?"

The more natural blonde was watching him with wide eyes and an even wider smile. Taylor didn't quite know what that was all about, but deep in his mind, he was hoping it was infatuation with him. Oh, if only he had known he was right.

"Are you staying?" Taylor asked. "We need to know if--"

"We're staying!" the girl asked, beginning to talk about their car and such. She and her friend hurried off.

Taylor watched them for a bit, then looked to Jason. He assumed that the man had been standing here the whole time, so it didn't occur to Taylor to introduce himself. Instead, he offered his hand and then a moment later, leaned in close as if telling a secret. "I have a pretty good feeling that she has a crush."

(OOC: This is a continuation of the previous post. I thought I added it but didn't.)

Taylor Edwards, Park Ranger:

Taylor gave the two young women one last glance before looking back to Jason and asking, "So, what do you think, um ... I'm sorry, I don't know your name...? Stay or go...? No pressure to do either. I'm telling everyone that. Each of you is free to make your own call, but ... I honestly think that staying here is the best for everyone."

Honestly, Taylor thought as he listened to the man, HONESTLY ... I'd like to see you jump in your car and head down the mountain ... tata ... have a nice trip ... through the fallout. Oh, Taylor didn't actually feel ill will toward the man. Hell, Taylor wished Jason a long and fruitful life. But, like so many men with -- how do you put it? -- his level of testosterone, Taylor would just as soon have seen all of the other manly men in the group take a powder.

And this guy, well, Taylor could see that this guy was exactly that, a manly man. Taylor had seen his share of outdoorsy types, and this guy fit the look. The Ranger was pretty certain that Jason hadn't just driven over from Grants Pass or up from Shasta to watch the leaves fall and drink steaming mochas at every little independent coffee shop along the way.

Taylor was guessing -- correctly, as it would turn out -- that he had been back woods camping, one of the only recreational activities that could take place in the Siskiyou Forest this time of the year. It was too late for deer season and too early for snowmobiling or snow shoeing. Matsutake mushrooms were in harvest, but the Park Service had closed this area to legal harvest three years earlier to allow the crop to rebound from all time lows.

So, Jason was a Fall an Winter camper ... which meant that he could handle himself in tough situations ... which meant that he would be a great asset to Taylor and the others in the days and weeks to come ... which meant that Jason would be looked to for support and aid ... which meant that he was competition for those two beautiful young women who had already struck a conversation with the man earlier.

And that was Taylor's problem with this man: sexual competition. Taylor liked his women, and -- when possible -- he liked to be the only suitable mate from which they had to choose, be it at a party in the city or a weekend overnight nature school in the Siskiyou. Jason was going to cut into Taylor's potential harem ... and that really irked the Ranger.

Jason looked down at the Park ranger and sighed. He was used to this reaction from guys but really at a time like this? He had just come back to civilization to be told that they had gone to war and half of the US was now probably a radioactive wasteland and this guy was worried about how he was going to effect his chances with the women that were left.

Man he had put up with this attitude all through high school and college. Guys just saw a big guy with muscles that didn't look half bad and immediately assumed he was after all the girls he could score. The real problem was Jason was very shy around girls. Growing up in a household with three strong women he had learned to respect them early on and was always polite to them. Oh he could talk to them without any problems, it was when the talk turned sexual in any way that he became flustered.

Some girls had taken him as a challenge and so he was not a virgin and they had found out a few surprises of their own about him. However he was currently single and really not looking. Work was just too busy to let him. Well he guessed that would no longer be a problem.

"Look I really haven't had much time to deal with this but if what those girls told me is right I guess staying here is a good idea. The winds will carry the radiation clouds away from us for awhile but eventually they are going to get us. I would say we have maybe a couple of weeks before that happens."

He shrugged and looked around as people moved their cars around the lot.

"Mine is the red 4WD near the trail. It is pretty close to the back so I guess it can stay where it is. My question to you is how well do you know those caves? We might be down there an awfully long time and having a source of water would come in handy, especially one that comes from underground. That way it is less likely to be contaminated by fallout."

Introducing Kyle Markus and Dean "Dino" Paul (my characters) and Natalie "Nat" Peters (AngelEyes1994 character), for whom I have been allowed to insert some dialogue (thank you AngelEyes1994):


Oregon Caves National Monument
3 DECEMBER 2018: 10am


A Ranger called out from very near, "Will everyone join me here, near the flag pole, please..."

Kyle Markus and Dean Paul (OOC: Right, left) watched the goings-on from their bikes. They didn't move. Orders from a man in uniform didn't often garner an immediate response from members of The Mayhem Riders motorcycle club. They simply watched quietly as the man gathered most of those in the parking lot and began talking to them, presumably, about the end of the world that was at hand.

Kyle, who was the Vice President of the Riders had always believed that the world would end in a bang, not a whimper. He shook his head now, remembering all of the time, energy, and money that the government, corporations, non-profits, and individuals had put into saving the environment -- one bird at a time, one recyclable cup at a time -- only to see it blown to fuck and killed by a sky full of radioactive debris. He glanced down at the nearly empty beer can in his hand, smiled with disbelief at the current situation, sucked down the last of the piss-water, and tossed the container into the shrubs.

"What's going on?"

Kyle turned to see -- then, after looking about for her Old Man, ogle -- the beautiful woman coming toward them from the direction of the park's composting-design outhouses. She adjusted the fingerless gloves on her hands, then reached up without modesty and adjusted her smallish breasts within the bra through which her pert nipples easily revealed themselves.

"Did you wash those?" Kyle asked, looking at her hands as she pulled the leather tightly around her digits. Before she could answer, he glanced past her to the big biker following a couple of dozen yards behind her and added, "You never know where that thing has been."

Her response was as Kyle had expected. Natalie Peters didn't take shit from anyone but her Old Man, and she only took it from him as a periodic exercise of reminding the other member of the Mayhem Riders that he was the Club's President and, therefore, a man to be obeyed by men and women alike. Unlike most motorcycle clubs, the Riders allowed their women to ride their own bikes if that was their choosing. For that privilege, female members like "Nat" had to perform initiations that went above and beyond those of a regular Old Lady. Nat had performed them well, and had become the first of only 3 females within the Riders to open their thighs and press their pussy against something more powerful than a male member's dick.

Kyle's use of the words that thing referred, of course, to her Old Man's dick, which he was sure she had just been sucking or jerking moments earlier. While Will "Willy Pete" Peterson had the right to do as he wished with his penis, his philandering had always disturbed Kyle. Nat was the most beautiful woman he'd ever met, particularly amongst Old Ladies and the biker crowd. Beyond her beauty, she was strong and determined, something Kyle had always appreciated in a woman. Will didn't deserve her. Kyle knew that. Nat knew that. Every one knew that, except for Will, of course, who thought he deserved anything and everything that his election to Club President afforded him.

When Nat gave Kyle an expectant look, he himself looked back to the embroiled crowd.

"Ranger there's rallying the troops," Dean answered in his cousin's place. "Apparently he's got a plan."

Kyle smiled and asked cynically, "Didn't Custer have a plan?"

He watched as 50 or more people gathered around the Ranger. Yet another person who did not join the crowd was Willy Pete, who arrived from the same direction Nat had and -- mounting his bike -- said, "Let's go." Willy Pete reached for the electric start button, then paused when he saw no one mimicking his actions. "Let's go! We've got business down the road."

Still, no one moved. Dean always followed Kyle's lead. And Kyle had learned that if Nat's actions were different to her Old Man's, that he could often hesitate and feel things out. So he, too, just watched the crowd. When Will asked what the hold up was, Kyle said, "This Ranger. He's got some kind of plan. Doncha think we should at least see what it is? Might be an opportunity here."

"What opportunity?" Will asked, laughing loudly. "We've got a deal ten miles down the road waiting for us. That's our opportunity."

Kyle looked between the other three, then back to Willy Pete. With respect, he said, "The world is changing, right now, right here and every where else. Do you really think a satchel full of meth is the best opportunity we have right now?"

"Desperate times," Will responded. "Desperate times, desperate people ... desperate for distractions and relief ... desperate for the product we can now sell for any amount. Now ... get on your fucking ride ... and let's go."

Kyle just stared for a moment, donned his With all due respect, sorry expression, and turned back to listen to the conversation at hand. When he heard the Ranger mention having a satellite phone, he glanced to Willy Pete and asked, "Do we mention that we have one?"

The expression on the man's face told all, leading Kyle to go back to the conversation. The Ranger gestured to the trail that led into the woods, saying, "Just down that trail is the visitors center. It isn't much, but ... it's warm and dry and..."

"We should stay here," Nat said, the first to break the silence here at the bikes.

"We're not staying here," Will said firmly. "We've got business!"

Kyle knew the woman was right, but he couldn't say anything. The Prez made these decisions, unless a vote was requested by the Club and a minimum of 5 members were there to say Yea or Nay. There were only 3 voting members here, so ... Will's word was God's word.

As they watched, a rough looking man in dirty clothes approached and asked two young women, "Excuse me, but can you tell me what is going on. I have been camping for awhile and I just got back so I haven't heard anything."

Kyle and Dean glanced to one another, chuckling. Dean asked, "Jesus, is this guy for real?" It seemed inconceivable to them that anyone in America couldn't know what was going on out there beyond the mountains. But then again, they had never enjoyed the peace and quiet that came with simply getting away from it all. They didn't know it now, but they were going to get a taste of that really soon, and they were all going to be glad for experienced people like Jason.

When the crowd began breaking up and moving vehicles, Will again demanded, "Let's go."

This time, the other three did as told. They mounted their Harleys, fired them up, and shot quickly through the parking lot, scaring the daylights out of those they sped by. They had business down the hill. But ... their dealings with the Cavers was far from over.

TheNextNewGuy said:

...(thank you AngelEyes1994)[/B]

Click to expand...

(OOC: Your welcome, TNNG )


"What's going on?"

Natalie "Nat" Peters had missed the start of the meeting at the flag pole. As Kyle had presumed, she had been involved in a sex act with the Club's President in one of the outhouse toilets. She was not too tickled with Kyle calling her on it, so she ignored his words.

She also was not tickled with his conspicuous ogles. Nat knew Kyle wanted her. Hell, every man wanted her. It had been a curse since her late teens when, finally, her ass began rounding out and her still-smallish breasts expanded just enough to better emphasize the large, always-pert nipples

Ironically, it hadn't taken the maturing of her body to attract men to it. Nat had once shared the same distaste for men in uniform as Will, Kyle, "Dino", and the rest of the Mayhem Riders down in Green River. Their dislike for cops was easy to explain: they were outlaw bikers who in the course of their entire lives had likely never made an honest cent. Nat's problem with uniforms had come from the fact that beginning the day after her 13th birthday, her step father had begun raping her five or six times a month, often just after he got home from work, often while still wearing most if not all of his California Highway Patrol uniform.

Will had saved Nat from possibly years more of molestation in a round about way. When she was 15, Nat had witnessed the Mayhem Riders' murder of an undercover ATF agent. She was offered protective custody if she was willing to testify, and to get away from her step father Nat jumped at the chance. She was whisked away to a series of ever changing safe houses and motel rooms with basic cable, continuing her education via online and occasional live tutors.

She never had friends, and only seldom liked the agents protecting her. It was the happiest time of her still young life. She was no longer getting fucked by her brutal step father, and she was no longer having to hide her embarrassment from the girls in school who knew things were just not right with her.

Then, just days after her 17th birthday, the case fell apart. The Feds thought Nat would be safe with her family -- after all, her step father was a cop! -- so they told her she was going home. Without hesitation in her step, Nat entered the front door of her house that first day back, walked the extent of the ranch style home, and went right out the back door.

Despite it being against protocol, Nat had been talking to her protectors about the Mayhem Riders off and on. She knew more about the bikers than the bikers would have liked. She also knew more about the Feds' cases against the Riders than the Feds would have liked. Nat walked right into the Riders' clubhouse, asked for "Willie Pete", and said boldly, "I'll help you with the ATF ... and I'll be your Old Lady if you want me. All you have to do is teach me how to ride a motorcycle ... oh, and kill my step father for me."

After spending the next several days looking into what this stick of a teenage girl was telling them, the Club voted to take her in and kill her step father. And Nat watched the latter take place. They snatched him in the parking lot of a liquor store one night, took him to a rural location, and beat him to death -- slowly and painfully -- right before his step daughter's eyes. It was the most horrifying thing Nat had ever seen, even more than the murder of the Fed that had put her in this situation. And yet Nat hadn't diverted her eyes from the beating once.

Over the next year, most of the Feds' cases against the club fell apart. At 18, Nat was now legally an adult. She no longer had to hide, from the Feds, from her mother, from her friends, from her fear. Her entire personality changed. She became confident, and even when the Feds arrested her to investigate her connection to the Club and its cases, she stood her ground like the strong woman she now was and just told everyone Fuck off and leave me alone.

As she'd promised Willy Pete, she became his Old Lady. She fucked him. She sucked him. She did things for him no woman had ever done for him, things many women would never do for their Old Man or just Man in general. She had done all of this out of both appreciation for taking care of her step father and for continuing to protect her from the Feds, who had not forgotten the damage she had done to their decade long attempt to shut the Club down and put all of its members in prison for the rest of their lives.

"We should stay here."

Nat didn't look toward Will as she spoke the words. She knew what his response would be. But for the first time in over a decade, the now-24 year old woman realized that she was no longer beholden to another human being. She had allowed her step father to abuse her for more than 2 years, knowing that if he was not relieving his stress in her bed, he would do so in her little sister's bed. And she had allowed her Fed handlers to control her every breath for 2 years while awaiting a trial that they should have known would never take place. And then, for the next 7 years, she had done unspeakable things for Will -- in and out of bed -- for his continued protection.

It was time for a change. It was time for Nat to be in control of her own actions and her own destiny ... and her own body.

"We're not staying here," Will said firmly. "We've got business!"

Even as her Old Man was speaking, Nat was already formulating his demise. It would be easy. He was a man of violence, surrounded by it at all times. She could surely find a way to see him dead without putting the blame on her. She had to avoid blame, of course, or the other Riders would be forced to do to her what they had done to her step father years earlier.

Will demanded, "Let's go."

They all mounted their rides to head for their business down the hill. But Nat took one last look at the crowd and at the Ranger. And, as was her subconscious nature -- her undesirable need to be protected by a man -- Nat thought to herself, Will he take care of me when I return?

Post for Ranger Taylor Edwards

Oregon Caves National Monument
25 November 2018, Sunday
11:00am

Taylor was finishing his conversation with Jason when he heard the powerful motors of three Harley Davidsons fire up and shoot for the entrance. As he watched the shocked -- and, in a few cases, angry -- parking lot occupants part for the bikes, the ranger thought to himself Good! Didn't want their kind around anyway.

Taylor couldn't know now the benefit the Mayhem Riders would contribute in the near future to the group of people who would come to be called the Cavers. Of course, he couldn't know now some of the actual mayhem they would cause as well.

Right now, though, Taylor was concerned with those who were moving their cars to the top of the lot. There was a lot to do and little time to do it. He got lucky when one of the Cavers -- a rowing coach for Oregon State University -- offered him a bull horn that the woman used to guide her rowers when out upon the Willamette River near Corvallis.

"Can I have your attention, please!" he began, asking all in attendance to again circle around him where he was now standing on the reinforced bumper of his Park Service Humvee. "We are about to embark on a ... well, let's call it an adventure for right now. We are all very different people from one another."

He glanced about to faces he knew and faces he'd never seen before. "I see locals ... people who visit the Caves often ... a few Season Pass holders even. And I see faces that I've never seen before. There are people here who wanted to visit the caves..." He feigned a grimace, continuing with the bad news they hadn't received until they arrived, "...only to find out that our season ended on the 1st. Sorry."

He shrugged, then continued. "With all of our differences, we have one thing in common. We are here! We are looking to survive this tragedy that has befallen our country ... our friends and family out there in the world. And -- I can guarantee this! -- none of us has the resources necessary to survive this on our own. We have to work together ... and that means pooling our resources."

He hopped up onto the hood of the rig and, as he talked, gestured to some of the people who he had made connections with over the last hour. "I have delegated responsibility for several tasks to..." He gestured to and named six people as he explained that one was to collect first aid equipment; one was to collect food; one to gather names, occupations, skills, and more; and so on and such forth.

"Now, you are welcome to keep anything that is yours that you are not willing to give up. As I said earlier about whether you had to stay or not, this is still a free America. But I want you to keep in mind that some people have little or nothing in the way of food ... clean water ... warm clothes. Some of you were camping or hiking and have lots of gear. Others were here for a day visit and have nothing. Please ... help your neighbor. Help the group by giving up what you can."

He pointed to a pair of pickups with canopies that had been parked side by side. "Everything we collect will be stored here for the moment. It'll all be moved to the Chateau, then -- if it still remains when we make the move -- down to the cave itself."

He stepped down to the bumper once again as he continued. "As far as the Chateau goes, that property is owned by the Federal Government, of course ... it is on Monument property. And as such, it will be made available to us, I can guarantee that, too."

Taylor had been very familiar with the Chateau's seasonal staff, particularly a pair of female employees that didn't know about one another but who had known him very well ... and very often. Now, though, there was only one employee left, the Chateau's winter caretaker. Taylor didn't honestly know him very well, because this was Taylor's first winter at the Caves. The gate at the bottom of the hill was to be closed for the season on the 1st of December, with only the caretaker remaining, so -- now to his embarrassment -- Taylor hadn't really taken the time to get to know the man who he now had to go to with an important request.

"So, what I would like everyone to do now," he continued, "is spend the next hour or so gathering your thinks. Donate what you can to those collecting at the trucks. Then, make your way up the trail to the Chateau. The caretaker will find room for everyone, and..."

And what? Taylor wondered. This was all moving so quickly. He'd come up to the caves this morning expecting to find no one here. The world was ending: why weren't all these people at home with their loved ones, waiting for the end? Hell, why wasn't he?

"This evening," he finished, "we will have a dinner ... sort of a potluck ... and we will talk more about what is to be done in the next few days and weeks. Thank you everyone."

He lowered the bull horn, dropped off the bumper, answered a few quick questions, then headed up the trail to talk to the caretaker.

(OOC: Taylor is going to talk to Aussie_Wolf's caretaker, then -- unless a character needs to talk to him about something -- his next post will be after the potluck dinner. If all writers will catch their characters up to the post-dinner get together, that would be wonderful. I probably will not post for Taylor again until RL Saturday to allow everyone to introduce and post their characters to dinner.)

Post for Alice & Suzy:

The two girls rummaged through the car, deciding what they wanted to contribute to the community and what they wanted to horde for themselves. It was interesting what each of them found important to keep for themselves: Alice stuffed her purse and backpack with such things as romance novels and chap stick, energy bars and warm gloves; while Suzy hid away make up and skin cleansers, condoms and lubricants. When her friend glanced up to see her stuffing her battery operated vibrator into her purse, Suzy laughed loudly. She tossed a string of ribbed rubbers at Alice, then jabbed a finger toward her groin as she said, "You're gonna need these if Ranger Rick's gonna go spelunking in your cave!"

Alice blushed brightly, then joined her friend in loud giggles. They finished packing their purses, back packs, and other assorted bags. Then Alice moved the car near those belonging to the other Cavers. She found one of the Gleaners, as someone had called those gathering donated items, and offered up what remained in her car. There wasn't much to offer that Alice thought would be of use: the two girls had been spending their nights in motels, so they had no camping supplies; and they had been eating at diners so there were few snack foods to be had, let alone healthy foods.

"If we need to ... need fuel," one of the male Gleaners asked, "can we drain the gas tank?"

Alice looked to Suzy, who shrugged. They told the man in stereo, "Sure."

Alice looked at her keys one last time, then handed them to the gas-collecting Gleaner. He assured her she would get them back and thanked her before the two girls wandered off toward the Chateau.

(OOC: These two are done until needed. Anthony, you can advance the story as appropriate.)

Post For Jason

Jason wandered down to his car and opened the rear doors. He examined everything inside deciding what to do with it. He had outfitted himself like he usually did when going camping and so he had nearly everything bar the kitchen sink as an ex girlfriend was fond of saying. He just called it being prepared for the worst and now it had happened and he didn't think he had packed enough.

He swapped out his sweaty clothes for some clean ones and decided to keep his backpack handy. If they were going to head down into the caves he would need everything in it. Everything else in his car he could donate though except for his weapons.

He decided it would just be easier if he backed up to the two vehicles than carry everything over, so he waited until it looked like they weren't busy anymore and then drove his car over. Opening his rear doors he introduced himself. "Hi my names Jason. I was the guy that was camping and didn't know what was going on," he chuckled. "Anyway I have a few things in here that we may need. Here's five thermal blankets, a months worth of dehydrated rations and a weeks worth of can goods. Sorry it's only for one person though. A large first aid kit, A complete tool kit, a couple of tarps, tent pegs, kerosene lanterns, torches, batteries, firestarters and matches, two 5 gal gerry cans of fuel and 2 of water, a small 1 gallon can of kerosene, two boxes of long candles and oh yes a bag with four rolls of toilet paper. That stuff is like gold to a camper," he smiled.

He saw their amazed smiles as they unloaded all his stuff and he chuckled. "Hey I like to be prepared when I go camping. I got caught out once and almost died and vowed that it would never happen again. Guess we are just lucky about that huh."

He closed the doors and got back into his car and started to drive it back to his spot then thought better. If they were going to head back down to town his large car would probably be a good vehicle to use. He decided to park it close but nearer the exit. Once done he covered the guns and then locked up his bow and arrows as well before heading to the chateau.

(OOC:That should take care of Jason)

(OOC: I felt I needed to explain the presence of the Brownies and Cub Scouts at the Caves the weekend after Thanksgiving, when you would have thought they would all be home with their families.)

"Excuse me, Ranger ... Edwards, yes?"

Taylor politely gestured a wait one finger to the woman seeking his attention, finished his current conversation, then turned to ask, "What can I do for you?"

"My name is Lois Reed," she said, offering out her hand.

As Taylor took it, she -- and then he -- glanced back to a passel of children running crazily around the parked cars, climbing on everything and -- more often than the Ranger would have preferred -- screaming at one another as small kids will. Taylor's list of scheduled visitors for the day had included a troop of Brownies and a troop of Cub Scouts, but -- what with the world getting nuked and life as we knew it about to end -- he hadn't honestly expected to see them at the Caves.

"I am scout leader for Brownies Troop 111," she began, again looking toward the mix of boys and girls rushing about. When she looked back to Taylor, her eyes were glazing over as if she was about to burst into tears. She began to speak, but her words caught in her throat. When she was able to continue, she asked meekly, "Are we invited to join you and your people?"

Taylor's eyes opened a bit wider as he said surprised, "Of course, you are. Why ... why would you think otherwise? Who-- Did someone say that--"

Lois waved Taylor off and laughed nervously. "No, no ... nothing like that. I just-- We just ... Well, you have to understand why we're here to understand my concerns."

"Why are you here?" Taylor asked, chuckling. He looked to the kids, then back to Lois as he inquired, "I mean ... shouldn't these kids be home with their families?"

"They have no families," Lois said quickly "I mean ... some of them have no families."

She went on to explain that Troop 111 -- as well as the Cub Scouts of Troop 48 -- were, in her own words, throw away kids: all were either foster children, homeless children, or wards of the State in one way or another.

"Thanksgiving is a difficult time for kids like these," she went on. "While other children are eating from a huge table filled with food, surrounded by family, these kids are standing in line at the local church or homeless shelter, surrounded by strangers."

Taylor looked to the kids again. Despite the depressing description Lois was giving, the kids seemed to be very happy and enjoying themselves here at the Caves. He realized, of course, that it was because they were here, and not in some homeless shelter or huddled in the back of a freezing car parked under an overpass or being ignored in an overcrowded foster home that they were happy and free of the concerns that likely plagued the balance of their time on this earth.

"We do this adventure every Thanksgiving weekend," Lois continued. "The troop does their own Turkey Day dinner Thursday, then we take them camping for the 4 day weekend ... get them away from all of the television and internet images of spend-crazy consumers going nuts on Black Friday."

Suddenly, Lois sobbed. It was just one sob before catching herself, but Taylor couldn't miss it. She looked away from him for a moment, but when she turned to look back tears were streaking down her face and she was beginning to tremble.

"These children ... they have no where to go. Most of them have no one who cares about them except those in the troop--"

Taylor stepped forward and took Lois's shoulders in his powerful hands as he reassured her, "You are all welcome here. And we will care for them as much as you do."

Just that instant a pair of Brownies -- ages 8 or 9 -- streaked past, screaming at the top of their lungs as a trio or Cub Scouts -- the same age or a year older -- chased behind them with a snake that obviously had been dead for a couple of days. The sound -- and the realization that he would be hearing it again often! -- sent a chill up Taylor's spin and exploded goose bumps over his arms.

"Are you sure?" Lois asked, toying with him as she smiled wide.

Taylor feigned a grimace, then asked, "Can we keep just the quiet ones?"



Once the 12 Brownies, 14 Cub Scouts, their 7 chaperones, and all their gear was assembled and packed over shoulders, the group headed up the trail for the Chateau, where all of the Cavers would be living for a day or two while the actual Cave was prepared for their longer term residence.

Taylor headed over to where the Gleaners were organizing donated food, clothes, and other supplies. The Ranger was impressed! People who knew how to camp or travel about rarely brought more than they really needed, and Taylor hadn't expected these type of people to part with much because they wouldn't have had much in excess; and people who didn't know how to camp or travel about usually had way too much but -- because they wouldn't know exactly what was or was not excess -- again would not have donated much.

Instead, the donations filled the back sections of three SUVs, as well as a U-Haul style trailer that had been emptied of furniture and valuables that no longer seemed to have much value at all. One of the gleaners nodded Taylor's attention to the rugged looking mountain man to whom the Ranger had talked earlier.

"Name's Jason Monroe," the female gleaner said with a bit of an ogle of the man. "A good portion of this is his. He might be someone you should talk to more. Seems to have a better grasp of how to get along out here than some of our other folk."

Taylor had gotten that same impression from the man earlier. And now, understanding where he needed to keep his thinking -- on the group's survival, not his own wants and desires -- Taylor felt a little stupid and selfish that his first thought upon meeting Jason was that the manly man was going to be sexual competition for him.

"I'll talk to him," Taylor said.

He thanked the Gleaners and gave them some more instructions on what to do with their stash. He helped them load up some of the heavier things, then turned to survey the people in the parking lot. He couldn't help but smile with amusement. The number of back packs and bags and bed rolls reminded him of move in day at the University.

"Okay, everyone up to the Chateau, please," he called, then remembering the bull horn, picked it up and said softly, "Everyone to the Chateau. We'll get everyone comfortable ... have dinner ... and talk about what's next."

(OOC: Okay, this time, that is Taylor's last post in this IC thread until later this evening. Promise. I am starting two separate 1xx1 Scene Threads which I will link here at the appropriate place in the time line.)

Post for Harry

Harry Keswick had been looking forward to the off season for awhile now. He had been working at the Chateau for a little over a year now and was ready for another quiet off season. He had started as the caretaker last year just before the close of the season, learning what he needed to of the place and what was required of him, then had spent the winter months looking after the empty place.

It was quiet and relaxing. He didn't have much to do, except keep the place relatively snow free, carry out any maintenance issues, and make sure the pipes didn't freeze. Other than that he had the run of the place. It was the ideal job for an old sea dog looking for some peace and quiet.

When the season had started up again he had stayed on as general handyman and gardener. Room and board were free and really the work was pretty easy. He helped out where he could and explored the caves and forest in his free time.

Now just when he was getting ready to hunker down again, the world had to go and get itself blown up. He had heard what had happened on the radio and had seen all the cars in the parking lot. It didn't take a genius to realize where they would be heading first. Of course they would be expecting food but unfortunately for them he didn't have much. While the roads were still passable he only got enough food to last him a week and the usual pantry stuff of course.

He didn't stock up until the first of the winter storms was due. Then he ordered big and stocked the large walk in fridge and freezer with enough food to last the entire winter just in case he was snowed in. He also stocked up on pantry stuff as well. The Shopkeeper down in Cave Junction would probably be getting his order ready pretty soon but he had a feeling he might need it a lot earlier this year. He might have to make a deal with the guy. Food for safety. He had a feeling that these hills were going to be the safest place around for awhile, but eventually the fallout was going to reach here too.

As he started to set up some chairs and lay out jugs of water and cordial for the kids he just hoped that somebody had a good idea on what they could actually do.

Post for Taylor Edwards:

Taylor was almost reluctant to enter the Chateau and face the Caretaker. The ranger knew very well that Harry Keswick was looking forward to a peaceful, quiet winter of mostly alone time. With the exception of a handful of visits from the Park Service prior to the first lasting and deep snow; or the very rare visit by wildlife scientists deep into the winter, of which last year there had been none; the Chateau's caretaker only saw other people if he chose to go down hill.

Taylor found Harry in the inn's restaurant already preparing for his unexpected visitors. He offered the man his hand without speaking, gave him an apologetic smile, and set forth to helping him set up.

"Ranger Edwards?" a woman' voice called. A moment later, one of the Gleaners located the two and hurried over to them. She greeted the caretaker with a nod, then looked to Taylor and asked, "So ... where do you want us to put the donations?"

(OOC: This "scene" continues HERE. And explanation for this "scene" thread is included at the link. Please select the link, subscribe to it, and follow the conversation and link there.)

Post for Suzy James

"I'll see you up at the Chateau, okay?"

Alice Lee looked to her friend and instantly recognized the expression on her face. She looked about herself and -- just as she had expected -- found Suzy's latest romantic target well within killing range. She leaned in close, whispering, "Is this really the time to be--"

"Relax! Suzy told her, her lips spreading in a devilish smirk. "I'm just going to say hi ... introduce myself."

"The last guy you just said hi to," Alice reminded her, throwing her bags over her shoulder to depart, "spent the next hour testing the shocks on my car while I sat in a greasy spoon being stared at by a toothless waitress with bad skin."

Alice was getting no where with her horny friend. She only shook her head and turned for the Chateau, saying over her shoulder, "Don't forget to use protection."

Suzy laughed. "Protection! Why bother? We're all gonna die of radiation poisoning, so ... why bother?"



"Hi again."

Jason was too occupied with the same things Suzy should have been involved in to see the 21 year old sometimes model, sometimes barista approaching. When he turned to look at her, she smiled broadly, offering out her hand. "Suzy. Suzy James."

(OCC: A conversation between Suzy and Jason begins here: http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=1239160. You should read it if you want to see Suzy flirt. )

Introducing the Situation in Cave Junction


Sunday 25 November 2018
Noon thereabouts:

(OOC: For the fun of it, Cave Junction Chamber of Commerce web page and the City of Cave Junction Web Page. Like I said, just for fun.)

At City Hall, Mayor Paul Scott, two of the four City Councilors, and a couple of dozen residents and merchants sat or stood in the Main Hall watching the never ending news coverage of world events. The two subjects of most interest to those in attendance were the impending arrival of the radioactive dust clouds and the civil unrest that was beginning to take place all around the country and all around the globe.

"Seven days," someone said, repeating the news they had all just heard. "Seven days, and the fallout arrives here. What do we do?"

Surprisingly, the room remained quiet. A question like that amongst these folk tended to result in animated conversation, which always mutated to deep argument, which in turn always resulted in the Mayor telling every one to settle down and wait for the next City Council meeting, at which motions would be made and votes counted. But the City and these people had never faced something so serious as their potential demise before.

"Is the City Alert System operational?" Scott asked the Public Works Supervisor.

Cave Junction had recently installed a system that would call every landline and cell phone in the area -- even those belonging to people only passing through -- in the case of an emergency. It had been used for a late summer thunder storm that had started some wild fires, but other than that, it had only been tested.

The P-Dub Sup said simply, "Sure."

"I want you to issue an alert," Paul continued, gesturing the two Council Members, the City Administrator, and the Supervisor to follow him. Once inside his office and behind closed doors, he said in a soft but serious voice, "We're going to close Cave Junction ... declare an emergency ... lock it down."

The First Council Member's eyes widened. "What...? Why?"

"Because people not from Cave Junction are going to be coming here," Paul explained, "wanting what we have, wanting to stock up ... and some of them are going to be insistent ... and most of them are going to be armed. There is going to be civil unrest ... looting ... worse. This doesn't happen just in big cities. It happens -- it's happening -- every where. We need to have control of the entry points to the city, and we need armed protection on the streets, near the stores particularly."

"You can't do that." the First said firmly. "You don't have the authority. The Council has to vote, and--"

Paul was already giving the Second Council Member a knowing glance. The Second spoke with obviously practiced words, "I move that we declare an Emergency, that we give the Mayor authority to take what ever steps are necessary to protect the citizens and businesses of Cave Junction, that we authorize the Sheriff to deputize citizens, authorizing them to take up arms and--"

"My God!" the First cut in. "Are you serious? Are we really going to do this?"

The Second continued, "To take up arms and protect the Merchants of Cave Junction as directed by the Sheriff, under the authority of Mayor Scott."

"You don't have the authority," the First cut in again.

The City Administrator informed them, "We have a quorum, the Mayor and two of four members of the City Council. City charter permits an emergency vote if--"

"Vote!" Paul said, looking between the two Council Members.

"Aye," the First said without hesitation.

The Second hesitated. But after a long moment, during which all eyes were staring at him expectantly, he murmured, "God save us ... aye."



Things moved fast after that. Unbeknownst to the reluctant City Council Member and most of the city's 2000 citizens, Paul had already been moving forward with closing Cave Junction up. Even before the Alert System had dialed every number in the area -- informing listeners of the Emergency Declaration and where they could get repeating information at any time -- the Sheriff was in the elementary school's cafeteria with 60 armed men and women.

"Road blocks will be set up to the south at the East Fork of the Illinois ... to the north at George Creek ... to the east at Chapman Creek. Roving patrols will--"

A snicker near the back of the room interrupted the Sheriff. When he looked up from the page in his hand, the person near the back asked, "Why are we watching Hwy 46? Are we afraid the bats are gonna attack from the Caves?"

Someone else in the room said, "Meth heads ... pot growers ... survivalists. The Siskiyou is full of danger."

The Sheriff nodded. Much of the trouble he dealt with here in the tiny town in which he not only patrolled but also lived came from the rural areas surrounding it, not the town proper. He continued, "Roving patrols will watch the outskirts. But remember: although you are being authorized to carry arms and, if necessary, use force to protect the town and its citizenry, you are not being told shoot first, ask questions later. You don't have the same Good Samaritan protection that a person giving CPR would have if they inadvertently harmed a heart attack victim." He jabbed a finger into the air toward the crowd. "You shoot someone, you answer to me."

They finished the meeting, and the armed citizens headed out toward either the road blocks that were already being set up or to the jeeps and pickups from which they would operate their roving patrols.

Once they were all gone and the Sheriff had joined the Mayor and Council Members in the former's office, the law man informed them, "The hording has already begun."

Mayor Paul looked up, asking, "Where...? Who?"

"All over, but..."

"But...?" Paul pressed.

"Some of the store owners are clearing off their own shelves," the Sheriff said. "Storing stuff away in more secure settings ... basements ... warehouses ... their own homes. Away from the windows they know will be busted out if things go to shit."

Paul considered the issue for a moment, then asked, "Is there anything illegal about it?"

"Not if its their own stuff."

The Mayor contemplated the issue, then said, "Nothing we can do about it. But..." He looked to the Sheriff. "...keep tabs on who's moving what where ... just in case."

Post for Alice Lee

Alice dropped her bags before the door of the room and stared at the key in her hand. It was a key. An actual key! She and Suzy had spent dozens of weekends traveling about together over their adult years, and this was the first time she had actually held a real key in her hand.

This place is so old, Alice thought, entering the room. Looking around at all of the antique furniture and wood paneling and inefficient single pane windows only reinforced that thought. And yet, it was ... what was that word her gramma would have used, quaint!

She spent the next hour putting her things away. She was treating this situation like any other weekend at any other hotel on any other weekend with her friend. She just could not face the face that the world as she knew it was ending. She could not accept that every thing she had known was going to change.

Well, except for Suzy, of course. Alice's best friend was not here to help her, to comfort her, to reassure her. No, Suzy was hitting on yet another conveniently located cock downstairs or outside the Chateau or -- if already successful -- in the back seat of a car in the parking lot. Alice did not understand how it was so easy for the girl to hit on men. Well, actually, she did. Alice was Alice, and Suzy was oh my god!

She finished storing her things away, then dropped onto her bed. She contemplated Suzy and the mountain man, then thought about Ranger Edwards and her own state of purity. Was her desire to give Taylor her virginity something she wanted because she thought it would make her happier, a more complete woman; or was it a desire to be more like her friend Suzy, who rarely went more than 4 or 5 days without having a man's cock inside her?

Just thinking about sex made Alice warm and wet down below. She caressed a hand down over her jeans to her crotch, playing it there against the denim for a moment. She reached to her belt to undo it--

When the door of the room suddenly burst open. A woman, followed by another, entered, greeting Alice and announcing as Alice popped to her feet that they'd been told to bunk here. They discussed the sleeping arrangements for a moment -- there was only one double bed -- during which it became obvious to Alice that the two women didn't care whether they took the bed or the floor, that they would be sleeping with one another any how.

Great, Alice thought, even these girls are getting some ... well ... sort of ... not ... not getting IT ... but ... getting SOME thing. I must be the only virgin in the world.

Gloria Benson, MD: picture

The locals called her Doc Glory. Cave Junction knew her, and she knew Cave Junction. With the exception of her college and medical school years, she'd always been here. And with the exception of those bygone years, she'd never considered leaving again.

Until now.

There was a radiation cloud coming. And when it got here, people were going to get ill. Deathly ill. People she knew. People she loved. Children she had delivered. Adults with whom she'd sat when the life of their elderly parents slipped from them. She was these people, and these people were here. And now, all she could think of was getting the hell away from here.

Glory wasn't afraid of or trying to escape the radiation cloud. There was no escaping it. She knew that. There were very few places on Earth where anyone could hide from the fallout now circling the globe. The North Pole maybe. Antarctica. It was unlikely that she could get there in time, Glory thought, smiling at the absurdity.

No, what Glory was afraid of was what that cloud was going to do to her people. Radiation poisoning wasn't a pretty sight. And Glory wouldn't be able to help any of her friends and neighbors. Any of them. Oh, she could make their death more comfortable. But, they were going to die. She couldn't stop that. So she was thinking Run!

But ... to where?

Moderators: The young man in the photo below is 18 and will be the ONLY member of this family who EVER is even MENTIONED in a sexual situation.


Sunday, 6pm:

The Harder Family:

Vic listened to the greeting on his father's cell phone, then left the same message he'd left a dozen times before. The last time he'd talked to either his father or mother had been Saturday night. They couple had been on their way back from an arts and crafts show in Vancouver, B.C., delivering some of their sold products in Portland, Oregon, when the Russian bombs began striking all across America. Seattle and Portland were gone now, and likely so were his parents.

He hung up the land line and turned to find his younger siblings all staring at him in silence. He hesitated before saying anything, unsure of whether he should simply tell them the truth. He didn't. Instead, he said as he had before, "The circuits are all busy. It said we have to try again later." The expressions and responses from each were very different from one another.

Kimmy, who had just turned 16, shook her head before turning and walking slowly away. She'd done the math, figuratively and literally, and knew that the odds were that their parents had been in The City of Roses when the bomb hit.

Sas, 11, had always believed her only brother. Of course, she didn't know what the circuits are all busy meant. She just missed her parents.

And Liv, well, she was 4, so she neither understood what Vic was saying about circuits nor why mommy and daddy weren't back yet from the pretty things show.

When Vic heard a voice that wasn't from a family member, he rushed into the living room, his anger growing with ever step. He found Kimmy standing before the television, watching the latest news update. He commanded, "Turn it off!"

Kimmy ignored him, instead turning the volume up higher. Vic hurried across the room, snatched the remote from his eldest sister, and aimed it to turn the television off. Kimmy punched him in the chest, then again. Vic wasn't a muscular type of guy, so the slugs hurt. He pushed her away, open handed, then turned off the television.

"We agreed!" he said, reminding her that the news was off limits when the younger children were present.

"We need to know!" Kimmy hollered at him, regaining her balance and heading back toward him.

"We do know!" he snapped back. "We know all we need to know. Face it!"

Kimmy tried to get the remote from her brother and -- because he wasn't the fighting type -- finally did. He turned and walked away as she again turned the television on and clicked through the menu for the Roseburg based local news station. She had just found it when the screen again went black. She turned just in time to see her brother holding the unit's electric cord ... and a pair of rose pruners he'd gotten from the back porch.

"NO!" she hollered as he snipped the plug in from the cord. She attacked him with chest slapping fists and with little effect other than moving him back a couple of steps. She began to sob, then turned and ran away, crying, "I hate you!"

Vic let Kimmy go, turning to find the younger two girls looking at him with shocked eyes. He smiled, saying, "She doesn't hate me."

"Does she hate me?" Sas asked.

"No!"

Liv pressed her lower lip out, asking, "Me?"

"Of course not," Vic reassured them, moving to take them into his arms for a hug that had become oft repeated over the last few days. They returned their big brother's hugs. He pulled back, saying with a big smile, "Let's have ice cream, 'kay?"

They both cheered.

Minutes later, he had them sitting before the roaring fire in the hearth as he went searching for Kimmy. He found her sitting on the porch, shivering against the dropping temperature. He gave her the coat he had anticipated her needing and sat beside her. Several minutes passed before she leaned toward him and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Are they dead?" she asked in a whisper.

Vic hesitated before saying, "Probably. I don't know. But--"

"They would have called."

"Yes."

Another long moment passed before she asked, "What do we do now?"

"We can't stay here."

"Radiation?"

They may be living in the boondocks 25 miles outside a rural town of only 2000 people, but they weren't ignorant rednecks. They knew what had happened, and they knew what was about to happen. They just didn't know what to do about it. Other than stay together. That was a gimme. Parents or not, they were Harders. And the Harders stuck together, no matter how hard things got.

"We need to go to Cave Junction," Vic told her, slipping an arm around his sister to hold her tight against him. "I'm sure they have a plan. They may even know how to get a hold of mom and dad."

After a moment, Kimmy agreed. She stood and returned to the house, with Vic close behind. They dished up the rest of the ice cream, giving the little ones another scoop as well. After involving Sas and Liv in a game, the two older Harders went to their parents room and got into the closet. Vic came out with his Dad's pump 12 gauge shotgun; and his sister came out with the man's ancient .22 caliber rifle. They were more than familiar with the weapons. They did, after all, live in the woods. They cleaned, then loaded them, then packed all of the ammo into a back pack. It wasn't much, but then they didn't anticipate trouble. After all, this was real life, not a Mad Max movie, right?

Harry and Margaret had started stockpiling there non perishable items from their warehouse as soon as they heard the news. Oh not a lot of stuff, they didn't want to deprive the town, but they knew that there might be a panic and that looting was a good possibility. So for the next couple of days they had slowly moved cans, bottled water, flour, rice and other essential things that would not spoil to a run down warehouse on the edge of town and loaded it into a semi trailer from their fleet.

It was their emergency backup they told themselves. Soon they had filled the entire trailer and they began on a second one. Both of them had truck licenses and they just wanted to be ready. At the same time they continued to keep the shelves stocked and they did receive some deliveries but they had already been on the road to them. They doubted they would get any more.

When they tried to phone their suppliers in cities not even effected by the missile strikes or the fallout yet, they either got a busy signal, the phone rang out or there was nothing at all. They both wondered what they were going to do and then the mayor issued his decree and Cave Junction was closed off. They were happy they had planned ahead. They had maybe a fortnights worth of food stocked in their warehouse, less of fresh food and less if people panic bought. They would not jack up their prices after all what use was money now but they wouldn't give it away either, that would just cause a riot. They just hoped a miracle happened and a solution to this dropped out of the sky and into their laps.

Alice Lee:

Kicked out of her room by Suzy, who was hot to trot for that mountain man, Jason, Alice wandered down to the lobby of the Chateau. It was not long before she was helping the Gleaners sort through the donations, inventory the goods, and make a list of things needed from town.

She and Suzy had stopped in Cave Junction this morning on their way up to the Caves. Alice had found it quaint -- there was that word again -- and comfortable and delightful, and had even mentioned to Suzy that maybe they should consider moving here after she, the younger of the two, had graduated from OCCC. Suzy had, of course, laughed hysterically, asking, "Where the hell am I gonna get work?"

By work, Suzy had meant modeling work, not brewing coffee as they both did now at a Starbucks in Newport, Oregon. Her friend's career in front of the camera had only been an off and on gig for local photographers and advertisers, but it had made her considerable more money than making lattes ever had or could. Of course, all of that -- Starbucks and modeling -- was in the past now.

Eventually, Alice's work downstairs brought her face to face with Ranger Edwards, a moment that instantly caused the teen's face to fade to white with shock and embarrassment. The thoughts she had for him, for their future together -- their naked, sweaty, moaning future -- left her simply standing there before him, unable to say anything other than a squeaky, "Hi!"

"Doc Glory" visiting the Grocery, Cave Junction:

As she walked up and down the aisles, filling a hand carried basket, Gloria couldn't help but notice that the shelves seemed a little less crowded than they had been when she was here just three days earlier. It didn't take a genius to know that her friends Harry and Margaret were hording away some of their product, preparing for the troubles that the television and internet news reports said were already plaguing other cities across the US and the world beyond.

She filled the basket with medical supplies, bandages and such, but also with common household liquids and such that, unbeknownst to the average person, could be used in the treatment of radiation poisoning and the ailments that accompanied it. She hesitated before joining the line of desperate people who looked like they were trying to clean out the small town's grocery, waiting until she was the only person near enough to her friends to speak openly, in whisper of course.

"I see I'm not the only one preparing for the worse," she said cryptically, glancing toward an end cap display that had been filled with goods last week but was now only holding Christmas decorations that no one would be needed this season.

She listened to the reply, then -- still speaking softly -- informed her friends, "I'm not sure what's going to happen here in town, but ... if you hear of any kind of plan ... you know--" She glanced around for eavesdroppers, then continued, "--to survive this..."

She was hoping that she didn't actually need to say Please, don't forget me and what I've done for you and this town. Gloria had given her all for Cave Junction over the years, not that Harry and Margaret hadn't also. And now she found herself ... well, alone. None of the City Leaders had come to her with a plan to incorporate her into the city's future. No one had discussed with her the fact that she was the only doctor in town, that her skills would be needed, that the Authorities would ensure she was protected from not just the imminent radiation cloud but from the unrest that was sure to come with it.

She felt bad that she was considering fleeing or hiding or what ever it took. But she also felt abandoned by the very Leaders who had so often applauded her efforts and generosity. What good were all of the plaques and little statues given to her over the years and now collecting dust on the mantle going to do her now?

She glanced around her again, at the people who were preparing by stocking up, then looked back to her friends again and said, "I guess everyone's stocking up ... packing up." She looked into their eyes, husband and wife, and with a meaning only for them added, "I'm packed ... but ... with no where to go."

(Aussie, I am sending you a PM about this post.)

(OOC: The conversation two posts above between Ranger Taylor Edwards and Alice Lee continues here.)