"Becoming Family" (closed)

Camille:

"Rabbits and chickens," was Buck's request.

White meat, thought Camille. Is rabbit white meat? She wasn't really sure. She'd never thought about it before because, simply put, she'd never eaten it before.

She glanced at the younger girls as the men were talking about raising and slaughtering bunnies. They didn't flinch, which surprised Camille. Bunnies … bunnies!

Henry followed with, "Let's flood the creek again."

There was a quick conversation on that subject. It went far beyond electrical power with a little generator; the pond could support fish and would attract ducks and maybe even geese. Buck said he'd be able to trap nutria, not that Camille even knew what a nutria was. Alice asked Henry if there'd be enough water to irrigate a big garden.

"I want my own bed," Honey said, with Monkey quickly agreeing.

Henry asked, "And what about you, Alice?"

Camille answered instead, desperate for Alice to agree with her. "Indoor plumbing."

She looked around the table for backup, then quickly clarified, "Toilets, bath tubs, showers … running water, hot and cold, in the kitchen and bathroom."

Camille turned her face away from Henry and gave Alice a desperate expression, seeking support.


Alice:

Fortunately for Camille, Alice understood. And she agreed. She could survive without indoor plumbing, but, come on, who wouldn't want it, right. She looked down the table, saying firmly, "Indoor plumbing. These children need it. Hand washing, baths … visiting the toiler without having to go out in the weather. It's just not healthy."

Suddenly, it wasn't just Camille and Alice asking for the modern feature … well, a feature that had been modern for more than a century in most American homes. Some ideas were bounced around.

"All it takes is lifting water up high enough to flow down into the spigots and toilet," Alice simplified. "A tank, like a water tower, right? The plumbing still works, and I assume the house has septic?"

It all made sense.

Everyone was going to get something they wanted. Alice looked down the table to Henry, asking with a devilish smirk, "What about you … papa? What do you want?"

Henry contemplated his answer for a moment, unnecessarily; he knew what he wanted. He smiled and answered, "I want my Family to be happy."

There was a mix of guffaws and laughter, but Henry held firm. "Your happiness will be my happiness. So, you all get what you want. We'll start on the new projects tomorrow."

There was glee throughout the room, and each of the Family members raised their glass of milk, juice, or water -- even Daisy tried to mimic the motion with her sippy cup -- to toast the work to come.

The rest of the day was spent performing chores and planning the projects. It was going to be a lot of work, but Henry had little doubt that it could be done. There were, of course, a few ingredients missing in this big cake they were preparing, but again, Henry had ideas on those as well.

There was personal business with which to deal as well. Henry pulled Samuel aside at one point late in the afternoon to talk to him about Camille. Samuel turned a beat red when Henry spoke about the young man's obvious infatuation with the slightly older woman. Samuel hadn't realized that his ogles and attention to Camille had been so obvious; Henry laughed and told him, "Oh, you have no idea."

Henry was fearful that the teen's yearnings might become an awkward issue if Camille didn't return his affection, so they came to an understanding: Samuel would back off for a while, would give Camille space, would see if perhaps the young woman didn't approach Samuel instead.

"And if she doesn't, then what?" a disappointed Samuel asked.

"Then it wasn't meant to be," Henry told him with a sympathetic tone. "I want everyone to be happy here, and you won't be if you make a play for Camille and she rebuffs you. Understand?"

Samuel agreed, and they returned to planning their work on the pond. It turned out that damming the creek was simpler than they'd expected. The dam was a 10 foot wide concrete barrier that reached left and right into firmly packed earthen levies; the levies themselves were each about 30 feet in length and reached out to the edge of the forest, which was about 12 feet higher than the creeks lowest point. In the middle of the concrete portion was a gap 4 feet across; Henry and Samuel just went to the barn, packed down the pressure treated, 4x4s that were 6 feet long, and dropped them one after another across the narrower gap.

And like that, they were recreating the pond. Oh, it would take days, maybe weeks to fill the reservoir. But … one project well on its way; time to begin another one. The two eldest men in the Family set about collecting the ingredients for the indoor plumbing project next. Once upon a time, a well had irrigated almost 2 acres of vegetable gardens, corn fields, and other grain crops. The two began moving some of the pipe and fittings to connect the old well to the house. Of course, they would need a working pump still, and they didn't have that yet.

By the time the sun had fallen and dinner was made, the pair felt very good about what they'd accomplished.

Alice:

While Henry and Samuel -- often with the help of Buck and others -- worked on the two outdoor projects, Alice and the rest of the Family tackled the work inside.

She had decided that the first and most important task had to be cleaning the place up. The Family had been using the kitchen and parlor -- now the bedroom for all -- and the hallway between them; and the living room had been used for storing anything and everything that couldn't be left outside, including a large, semi-organized stack of firewood that occupied almost a third of the room.

But the rest of the house had essentially been ignored, with the exception of some repairs meant to keep Mother Nature outside.

Before cleaning could commence, though, some gutting had to be done first. The home's lathe and plaster walls were simply horrific! In every room, the walls were simply crumbling; there was plaster dust, old paint, and moldy wall paper that just had to go.

When Alice mentioned the dust and possible lead-based paint that would be created by ripping out the walls, Henry had a surprise for her: the loot from the Militia convoy that had been left behind in stashes included a pair of military gas masks and chemical ponchos.

Henry had left them behind, of course; the priority at the time had been food, first aid, and other such vital items. "I'll go get them tomorrow. We need to retrieve some of the cache's contents anyway."

Alice was tickled. She and the girls spent the day planning the renovation, then making dinner. The Family was bubbling with joy as they sat through their meal, talking of the present and future.


Camille:

Alice turned out to be a formidable force as the day proceeded. Camille had been the rebellious teen type growing up; when she wanted to move out of her parents' house, though, she became a little more compliant to those off whom she was sponging so as to not have to find a job.

So, despite never having appreciated being told what to do, Camille found herself following Alice's lead through the day. Alice was a fair and kind task master, which made obeying her directions easier. A few times, Camille questioned an instruction or offered her own thoughts, most of the time in an attempt to lessen her own work load.

But they got through the day without anyone hating anyone else, so that was good.

Camille took notice in a change in attitude when it came to Samuel. His persistent nearness in proximity had decreased; when he did near her, his ogles and wide smiles seemed to be lessened as well. Oh, he was still being polite and friendly; he just wasn't flirting with her persistently or asking if there was something he could do for her.

It was a relief. But … at the same time … it was rather disappointing. Camille liked the attention of men, and when she couldn't get it she liked the attention of almost-men, like Samuel.

A few times during the day, Camille had attempted to spend a few minutes with Henry, to chat him up, maybe even to make some more sleeping arrangements jokes or hints. But the man had always been too busy or had simply made it obvious that he didn't have time for her antics.



The next morning:

Alice and Camille both were up earlier than they had been the day before. Relative to the others, though, they had still slept in late. By the time they were dressed and out in the kitchen, the rest of the Family was putting the finishing touches on breakfast.

Breakfast was highlighted with non-stop conversation about the projects and the work ahead. After the food was gone and the dishes again cleaned and put away, the topic on everyone's minds was trekking out to collect loot from the stashes.

"I should go with you," Camille said when talk turned to who was going to go and who was going to stay. "You saw me with your rifle yesterday. I'm probably better with it than you are. You have two of them, so, give me one and let's get this show on the road."

There was some more discussion, during which Alice said, "I can stay here with the little ones. We can do some work..."

Alice caught the disappointed expression on Monkey's face and quickly added, "...and have some fun down by the water. Or cook something fun."

"Yeah!" the six year old said leaping up and down.

Alice looked to Honey, telling her, "You could go with Henry or stay with me. I'd love some time with you."

"I'm going with Henry," the 9 year old said firmly.

"I'll stay," Buck said quickly, smiling to Alice. He'd taken to the eldest of the women quickly. He told Henry, "I want to build some live traps to catch chickens and rabbits, okay?"

With the tasks laid out, the day began.

Henry:

He wasn't at all surprised when Camille spoke up with, "I should go with you."

Henry had gotten a sense that she'd just about burned out on housework the day before. Camille seemed to yearn for adventure, so he went to the corner to retrieve his scoped .30-06 and handed it out, saying, "I think you're already familiar with this."

He thought he saw concern in Alice's expression, but then Henry knew the woman would show such worry no matter who went on the trek. When no one else was paying much attention, he whispered to her, "I'll keep everyone safe out there. You keep everyone safe here, yes?"

By 8am, they were off: Henry, Samuel, Monkey, Honey, and Camille. Henry was packing an open sight .30-30 over his shoulder and a 9mm semi-automatic Beretta pistol on his hip; and Camille had his other rifle, of course. They had other firearms, but Henry had wanted Alice to have those at the house, just in case. She admitted that she wasn't a fan of guns, but Buck was very handy with the .22 caliber rifle and pistol, as well as with the 12 gauge shotgun, despite the fact that the one and only time he'd ever shot it he was practically thrown onto his butt, an event about which they still laughed at times.

Shortly after entering the forest, Henry switched places with Camille. Walking just a pace behind her, he very softly began speaking to her about what to do if they ran into someone. He didn't want a fire fight over a few backpacks full of stuff that they'd done just fine without for months. He cautioned her, "There's nothing up there at that landing that's worth your life or the life of anyone walking behind us, understand?"

When she got nearer the landing, he gestured everyone to the ground. He removed his wrist watch and handed it to Camille, whispering, "Wait here. If after two hours I have not signaled you or returned, you turn around and creep out of here, back home. No questions. Just go back."

After some whispering he continued, "If you hear someone coming your way through the brush, don't shoot. It might be me. But, if you see it's not … if you're certain it's someone else..."

Henry looked to the rifle in Camille's hands for a moment, then looked back up to her eyes. He tapped his chest, indicating center mass which they'd discussed on the walk earlier, then told her, "One shot, to let them know the danger hidden in the woods, then you run. Hit or miss, you run. Monkey, Honey … they are nimble little things. You keep them between you and Samuel, and you'll be fine. Understand?"

He arranged a signal, turned, and headed up the trail. They were 80 yards from the landing, hidden in thick brush on a narrower, brushier deer trail than the one down which they'd trekked that first day. Henry crept so slowly that it was almost impossible to notice his movements at all. He occasionally peeked back over his shoulder to find Camille's face, then after 30 yards he lost sight of them. He continued onward, taking 90 minutes to cover that 80 yards; this was nothing new to him, having been raised by a father who took him creeping through the woods just like this on their deer and elk hunting trips. Henry had been just 13 years old when he killed his first Mule Deer from just 40 feet after having crept up on where it was sleeping; and two years after that, he'd been watching a bull Elk descend a trail at a comfortable trot, heading right directly at him without ever knowing Henry was there, finally taking the shot when the big animal was only four or five trots away. The elks speed, momentum, and weight caused it to fall to the ground and roll over, slamming into Henry and sending him off into the bushes where he was stuck in the leg by a limb. His father called the four inch ragged scar his battle wound.

When he finally reached sight of the landing, Henry found something he would never have expected: a tent, campfire, and a foursome of people … stacking and inventorying the Family's stashes!


Buck:

The snare went off, nearly taking Buck's finger with it. He jerked his hand back and cursed, then looked about himself, fearful someone had heard him. Papa didn't like foul language, and though shit wasn't considered that dirty by most people, Henry didn't like it. Buck retrieved the end of the wire and pulled the bent tree over in an arc again, setting the trap. He pulled his hands back slowly and smiled as the dangerous arrangement stuck in place. Then he moved onto a new project.

For days, Buck had been contemplating and testing live traps. It was easy to make a trap that would catch a rabbit or chicken; and it was easy to make one from which it was easy to remove the captured animal; but it was more difficult to make one that was both easy to use and easy to empty. Two previous designs had caught animals, only to have them escape Buck's grasp as he was trying to transfer the creatures.

Finally, though, he thought he had it. He set the rabbit trap up on a known trail through which the four legged creatures ran; then went back nearer the home where some of the now feral chickens ran about during the day light. Hopefully, by the time Henry and the trekkers returned, he would have something captured and still breathing to show for his work.

At the landing:

Marla was neatly stacking canned goods when a peculiar sounding whistle sounded from high in a tree. She looked upward to find Jeffrey signaling with hand gestures toward the trees beyond the curve of the landings end.

"We have company," she whispered to the others, nodding her head in the direction toward which the tree climber had gestured. They scurried into or behind the tent to hide, just as Marla was doing the opposite and stepping out into the open.

"We've been expecting you!" she called out, raising her empty hands. She waited for a response, but getting none she added, "We're not stealing your stuff. We were just organizing it … hoping perhaps we could trade with you."

After yet more silence, she tacked from peaceful to threatening. "We mean you no harm and were hoping for a peaceful exchange … but … if that's not what you want, I have to warn you. I have three people in the forest, all armed, all skilled with their weapons. I would rather there was no blood shed, but … if that's what you choose, I can promise you that it will not be only our blood that paints the forest."

All she could do now was wait for a response...



Down the trail:

Camille had been nervous about being left behind, and as the time passed she initially became even more so. But looking to the others with her and thinking about those who had remained at the house, she began to relax, even playing a silent game of Rock-Papers-Scissors with Monkey, with the winner of each bout getting one of the pretty little forest flowers that the six year old was picking from the edge of the trail.

Then, "We've been expecting you!"

Camille flinched and hunkered down nearer the ground, telling the others to do the same. She thought the voice had been meant for them, then concluded that the woman was likelier speaking to Henry.

Worry enveloped the little group hiding in the bushes, and Camille found herself growling at them to be silent and still. When the woman began speaking about armed men -- people she'd said -- in the bushes, Camille felt she had to act, even if her hands were shaking so much she doubted she could shoot the rifle in her hands.

"You stay right here and watch Monkey," she commanded Honey. She looked to Samuel, telling him, you stay back … just enough to be able to see me."

"Henry said to stay here," the teen reminded Camille.

"He didn't know he was going to run into people with guns, though," she said.

Of course, that wasn't entirely true: Henry had hoped they wouldn't have company, but he'd always known it was a possibility. He'd told her there was a good possibility the Mapleton Militia would try to track them down, but only a slight possibility that they'd manage it because he'd covered their path so well.

Camille began creeping up the trail, twice as fast as Henry had but still cautiously. It had rained a few days earlier, so the leaves that would normally crunch beneath her feet were soft and silent. But the occasional snap of a twig caused her heart to jump often.

"I'm waiting for your response!" the voice called out over the forest.

Camille accelerated just a bit, looking back for Samuel. She wanted Henry to know he had back up before he made a decision, one way or the other, on what to do. For all she knew, he was already coming back down the trail.

I doubt anyone is following this, but just in case there is, I want to inform you that TiredFingers and I have decided to work on something different. He should be putting up his first post soon.