Story Market Day

ComCamGuy

ComCamGuy

Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Demons in the Dark


Derek was tired. He knew he was too tired to think. It wasn’t the physical effort of the day. It was all the mental gyrations. Veronica and Violet were putting so much pressure on the practices they were doing. He didn’t know how many times he jumped out of the truck, dragging his bail out bag and rifle, but he knew it was a ton.

He knew if he was tired, so was Gretchen. If they were tired, then all the older people must be wiped out. The only two who didn’t look like they were dragging at the end were Veronica and Violet.

He had just finished his shower and was crawling into bed when Sensei looked at him funny, then looked over at the passageway to Gretchen’s room. He let out a low ‘woof’ and hopped off the bed and trotted towards Gretchen’s. He stopped in the doorway to see if Derek was following. When Derek did, Senshi moved quicker.

Derek came through the closet into Gretchen’s room, following Senshi. He saw his tail vanish into the bathroom. He could hear the water running but he trusted Senshi. He peeked around the corner and saw Senshi standing next to Onna who was sitting and staring into the shower nervously looking back and forth. Her tail started wagging when she saw Derek.

“Gretchen? Are you OK?” he asked tentatively.

“Go Away!” came Gretchen’s voice from the shower. It didn’t sound right to Derek. It sounded upset, or crying, or maybe distraught. Senshi and Onna whimpered at his feet as they looked into the shower.

“Come on, Gretchen. Tell me what’s going on. The pups are worried, and now I’m worried.” Derek could feel some panic of his own now.

“Go Away! I’m a horrible person and you shouldn’t be around me!” Gretchen’s voice was wavering and cracking. Derek could feel the emotion in her statement.

Derek was worried now.

“Gretchen, you’re not a horrible person! Come on out and talk with me!”

“No! Go away!”

“If you don’t come out, I’m coming in.” Derek picked up one of the big towels next to the shower.

Derek slid open the shower door and reached inside for the shower knob turning the water off. He glanced in. Gretchen was in one of the corners, facing the corner. Derek stepped in and draped the big towel across her back. He gently pulled her away from the corner, wrapping her in the towel as she came away from the wall. As she was wrapped up, she spun and buried her face in his shoulder. He wasn’t sure but he knew she was shuddering and maybe sobbing. He walked her carefully out into the bedroom and sat her on the edge of the bed.

They all sat quietly. Senshi in front of her, Derek beside her and as always when she was upset Onna was on her right side. Knowing Onna was there gave her great comfort. Instinctively, she turned to Onna who promptly licked her face delicately and bumped her face with her nose.

This seemed to help Gretchen collect herself and gather her thoughts. She finished tucking the ends of the towel around her to stay covered, freeing her hands to ruffle Onna’s furry head.

“Do you want to tell me or do I have to ask?” Derek sensing he could break the silence in the room.

Gretchen stiffened and closed her eyes.

“I was thinking about how lucky we were to end up here with Veronica and Violet. “About how we have food, water, shelter, and training how to survive going forward and…and…and…” She took a few gasping breaths.

“So how does that make you a horrible person?” Derek had to ask.

“Because I realized how much better off we were with mom and dad dead!” Gretchen threw her arms around Derek and bawled. Onna pushed her head with her own, Senshi pawed at her and Derek just held her.

Derek could see the train of thought. He hadn’t put it all together like Gretchen did. If Gretchen was a horrible person for thinking it, then he was one too. She was right.
 
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ComCamGuy

ComCamGuy

Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Work Continues


“This stuff stinks!” Felicia commented to no one in particular. They were out on the back porch waterproofing some canvas tarps for the trailers.

“Well, it works.” Veronica replied.

“But it’s dangerous as all hell to do!” Owen said as he stirred the stuff on the electric heating element.

“That’s why we are doing it out here instead of in the garage.” Bron said as she used the brush to paint the mixture onto the canvas.

It was beeswax melted into hot kerosene. Bron was supervising this having done it before. Highly flammable, an open flame was to be avoided, hence the electric burner. They were coating canvas tarps to cover the trailers and to use as canopies off the side of the vehicles when they stop.

While Bron, Felicia and Owen were coating the canvas, Derek and Gretchen were rolling them up after they cooled and dried. Some went onto pipes on the side of the vehicles while others were set aside to cover the trailers. Veronica and Violet were out running some other errand.
 
ComCamGuy

ComCamGuy

Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
“Do I want to know what all is in the trunks we are picking up?” Violet asked Veronica as they stood in front of Mark’s place.

“Eventually.” Veronica replied cryptically.

Mark unlocked the rear door to the store and rolled up the freight door.

He rolled two large plastic shipping trunks out to the back of the military G-Wagon.

“Ladies, I hate to see you guys go.”

“You could always come with us.” Violet offered again.

Mark shook his head no.

“When I leave, I’ll go up to my brother’s place in Logan. He has a good little farm up there. I’ll help him and his wife up there. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the offer, though.”

“Well, if you change your mind, you have the map co-ordinates to come find us. If you stay in the area, you know where my house is. You are more than glad to move in. We will be gone in a week or so.” Veronica said as she and Violet loaded the two trunks into the G-wagon.

“You girls be careful! It’s getting nuts out there!” Mark said as he gave both a heartfelt embrace.

Veronica dropped the keys for the BMW into his hands before climbing into the G-wagon. They waved goodbye as they drove away.
 
Sportsman

Sportsman

Veteran Member
Thank you.
I wonder how many people still use the old waterproofing techniques instead of spray on magic chemicals. Personally, I was glad to see those days be gone. And this reminds me that I need to spray a new layer on some old nylon tarps.
 
ComCamGuy

ComCamGuy

Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Work Continues

The group was out on the back porch waterproofing canvas tarps. They were coating them to cover the trailers and to use as canopies off the side of the vehicles when they stop. They were using a mixture of beeswax melted into hot kerosene. Bron was supervising since she did it before. It was highly flammable, an open flame was avoided, hence the electric burner was used.

“This stuff stinks!” Felicia commented to no one in particular.

“Yeah, but it does mask some of the smell of estrogen that overwhelms this place sometimes,” Owen jokingly said back to Felicia.

“Well, it works.” Bron replied.

“But it’s dangerous as all hell to do!” Owen said as he stirred the stuff on the electric heating element.

“That’s why we are doing it out here instead of in the garage.” Bron said as she used the brush to paint the mixture onto the canvas.

It was smelly, hard work and did not take all of them. Bron had the detail running smoothly with Felicia, Owen and herself coating the canvas. Derek and Gretchen rolling them up after they cooled and dried. This left Veronica and Violet free to run some final errands.

“We will be back in a few hours” Veronica said to Bron as she drove away in the ENT followed by Violet in BMW.


Veronica hated to see the BMW go as she saw Violet slide it up to Mark’s place. It had been a fun diversion. She wished she had more time with it. Mark would take care of it. He would give it a good home but she just did not have enough time to have the fun she deserved. Riding the mountain roads with the sunroof open and the windows down, listening to her tunes would for those few moments let her get lost and feel free but she would never get to have that. She had to get rid of the car. She never got to do that. She was getting lost in her thoughts again.
Violet saw the look gunning the engine of the BMW to startle Veronica out of her deep thoughts.

“ Hey Boss, Do I want to know what all is in the trunks we are picking up?” Violet as she exit the BMW to stand next to Veronica in front of Mark’s place.

“Eventually.” Veronica replied cryptically.

“Sounds intriguing and a little like Christmas 2000 something in Germany, Boy did I get in trouble with what was in the trunk of Dad’s car when we opened it. I think he is still a little peeved about it. You know how to stash things in boxes. Let’s go Butterfly We have things to do, people to see and place to go.”

“Mark are you here!” yelled Veronica.

Mark unlocked the rear door to the store and rolled up the freight door.

He rolled two large plastic shipping trunks out to the back of the military G-Wagon.

“Ladies, I hate to see you guys go.”

“You could always come with us.” Violet offered again.

Mark shook his head no.

“When I leave, I’ll go up to my brother’s place in Logan. He has a good little farm up there raising llamas and alpacas . I’ll help him and his wife up there. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the offer, though.”

“Well, if you change your mind, you have the map co-ordinates to come find us. If you stay in the area, you know where my house is. I would be more than happy to have you move in. We will be gone in a week or so.” Veronica said as she and Violet loaded the two trunks into the G-wagon.

“I will keep it in mind if I need a place around here to shelter. You girls be careful! It’s getting nuts out there!” Mark said as he gave both a heartfelt embrace.

Veronica dropped the keys for the BMW into his hands before climbing into the G-wagon. They waved goodbye as they drove away. Mark was not sure if he was ever going to see them again. He tightened his hands around the keys of the BMW.
 
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ComCamGuy

ComCamGuy

Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Boxes of Wonder and Worry


Violet saw the look on Veronica’s face as they drove away from Mark’s.

“I know, it’s the sucky part about moving all the time. We’ve known it our whole lives.”

Veronica thought about all the friends they both had growing up, all the ones they never saw again. Violet was right, and it did suck. Mark was a good friend, one she didn’t like the idea of never seeing again. That seemed to be the way the world was, though. Violet was the only one from her childhood she still knew. Their two families were so entwined with each other, it was like they were just one family with different parts.

She was never this close with Tim, the person she said she would spend the rest of her life with, much less his family, who she was really never sure what they thought of her. What about Derek and Gretchen? She felt closer to them than she felt to Tim, and she was married to Tim for years. With Derek and Gretchen she got the opportunity to somewhat have children, but without the poopie, wiggly useless stages or the whole pregnancy wreck your body phase. They were housebroken and old enough to be fun.

Fun. Was she seriously saying it was fun to be responsible for two teenagers who lost their family to tragedy? That thought threw a wet blanket on her mood for sure. She and Violet had accepted responsibility for them. They weren’t their parents, they were their guardians. They had a responsibility to teach them, protect them, and provide for them. That’s what some of the things in the boxes were for.

“One of the boxes has some more long blades in it for the rest of the crew. I know you have been training Owen, and the kids, but we need to do at least some with Bron and Felicia as well. The other box is full of stuff for you and I since we will be at the front and back of the formation.”

“More guns, V? don’t we have enough? At this rate, instead of G-Wagons, maybe they should be called Gun Wagons!” Violet shot back at her comment.

“We don’t have that much.” Veronica countered.

“Bullshit! We have the stacks from Paige for each of us, to start with. That’s a bolt gun, a shotgun and the suppressed carbines apiece. Then there is our stubby carbines and the wonder pistols you had Mark make, then at least two more pistols. What is the new stuff from Mark, flamethrowers?” As Violet started listing it, it sounded more and more like overkill to her.

“It’s not overkill. It’s making sure we have the right tool for the right task!” Veronica was defensive now.

“It’s a rolling friggen arsenal is what it is. What was the next layer you are adding now, Veronica.”

“ARs in 308 to give us some more punch at close range and a little more reach.”

“After we get to the house, maybe later this evening, can we talk? Either your radar is seeing something I’m missing or something else is going on. I’m getting worried. I don’t know if I should be worrying more about the trip or if I should worry more for you.” Violet said, her voice soft and thick with her emotion.

“Sounds like a good idea. I know we need to resynch our brains better. We hit the road soon and we need to be dialed into each other better.”

The rest of the ride back to the house was in silence, both deep in their own thoughts.
 
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kyrsyan

kyrsyan

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Maybe I'm crazy, but if I were in their situation, I'd be of the mind that you can never have too many weapons for defense. And offense if needed.
And going into the unknown, a possible safe haven but not an area they have more than tenuous links to, where things might go balls up and they might have to find a different place... Yeah, I'd want weapons to see through until we were solid.
 
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ComCamGuy

ComCamGuy

Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Presents


Everyone had a lot of fun getting presents when Veronica and Violet got back, even though they were serious presents. Bron, Owen and Felicia all got large bowie knives. Owen immediately began practicing the moves Violet taught in the classes for the short sword. Bron and Felicia watched him and suddenly an impromptu class started up.

Derek and Gretchen took a few more minutes getting their new knives settled into place before joining the class.

Their blades were different. Less bowie and more tool like in appearance, they had an angled tip like a tanto, but reversed. Veronica called it a Seax.

They looked at the complicated straps attached to the sheaths. Violet spoke up.

“Don’t worry about those. I’ll help you set them up later. Go do some practice with them.” She pointed them to join Owen and the rest.

Violet went back to the last two blades Veronica pulled out. They looked like a strange mix of old and new.

“What’s the deal with these?”

“Mark had these and figured we would appreciate them, along with a few other treasures he dropped into the box I’ll show you later.” Veronica replied.

“OK, but what are they?”

“Evidently for WWII, they needed or wanted more fighting knives than they could turn out new. They took a bunch of surplus cavalry sabers and chopped them up or cut them down to make fighting knives. These two used the original handles, replaced the guard with a much smaller one and reprofiled the tips, leaving a long thin fast knife or short sword. He had three. He kept one and we got the other two. I like it because it’s fast and gives me a great reach.” She held it at arms length. The blade portion was at least fourteen or fifteen inches.

Violet moved the one Veronica handed her. Damn! It was fast! It was a lot faster than her other large blade. She knew she would have a lot of fun learning what it could do.

Veronica felt good right now. A little more relaxed. She knew Violet had a right to be concerned about her. She was worried about herself if she was honest. The part of her still spooled up was a little quieter now, seeing the added knives as continued preparation. The other side of her liked seeing the smiles of everyone she handed presents to. She knew she still had to talk to Violet later, but for now she could relax a tiny bit.
 
Shooter

Shooter

Veteran Member
with all the dead and wounded in WW1 probably a lot of extra bayonets around, let a bored G.I. find a file in a near by barn, youll end up with all kinds of knives made from them, Ive seen some pretty good collections of Trench Art,
 
2T2-Crash

2T2-Crash

Contributing Member
I have an uncut M1905 bayonet in prestige shape, with the canvas wrapped/leather tipped scabbard. its a far cry over the bayonets for the M4
 
FNFAL1958

FNFAL1958

Senior Member
Griz3752 said:
Never mind the $$$$ - easy for me to say: it didn't come out of my pocket - to not have the usefulness of the thing is enough to make me misty eyed.
Click to expand...
I know right, at the time I fell for the new and now kind of Knifes and did not realize I had a the better one all along. The one I gave it to has since passed away and I have no chance to get it back now.
 
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ComCamGuy

ComCamGuy

Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
In the Garage Late That Night


When Violet let the dogs out, she saw Veronica at the far side of the garage, doing something in her Ent. She walked over. As she did, she saw Veronica was sitting in the driver’s seat, reaching this way and that. She was rearranging where she had things like the larger caliber AR, her ‘run’ kit, spare sunglasses, first aid kit and who knows what else. As Violet watched, Veronica would practice baling out and grabbing this or that as she went.

Violet watched and watched. She could see Veronica was putting a lot of effort into her drills. Once again the worry and dread grew in her. What did Veronica know? What wasn’t she telling her?

“Veronica? It’s late. You should go to bed.” Violet said as she walked closer.

Veronica barely looked up from what she was doing as she replied.

“I’ll sleep better when I know this is right.”

It wasn’t the words that struck Violet, it was the way she said them. Insistent, on the verge of manic. Not the normal calm cool hunter.

“What has you so spooked? Talk to me.”

Veronica stopped moving. She set the rifle back into the Ent and turned to Violet.
“It’s just us. We are traveling through places we have never been, to some arbitrary point on a map to meet up with people we have only known for a few months, traveling over roads we don’t know the condition of, with no back up, no extra help to call on if anything goes wrong. You called it a wagon train and in many ways it is just like that. Do you want to know something?”

Violet looked at her friend as she spoke. “Sure, What?”

“A lot of those wagon trains didn’t make it. A lot of them got to their end destination with less than half the people who started out with them. You guys say I’m the wagon master of this train. Well, it eats me up wondering about how many wagons we will lose, how many of us won’t make it. The other part is what about when we get there. How much food, water and shelter are we bringing and how long will it keep us going?”

Violet could see Veronica was worried about valid things and was doing her best to not worry the rest of the group. But, damn it! She was her friend and she was supposed to help. Veronica kept talking.

“Mechanical problems, medical problems, road and weather problems, all of these can sink us in a heartbeat. That doesn’t include bandits or local people just not happy someone s traipsing through their town. The best bet for us at the far end is all the supplies and resources we can carry with all the vehicles we are taking. Problem is, that’s one person per vehicle. No back up drivers, no navigators and no one to shoot the marauders and Indians when they attack the train.”

“Part of me wonders about inviting Bron, Felicia, Owen and Daniel. What did we get them into? Pulling them from where they were and dragging them off into our boondoggle. Would they have been better staying here in town and not getting involved? Hell, Owen KILLED his own brother because of what he did when they came here! Daniel would still be alive if it wasn’t for us! We haven’t even left and we have some of the group dead.”

Violet could see Veronica had all of this bottled up and building for some time. She knew her mom’s advice would be to let her talk it all out since she was finally opening up, but the other part of her mind was worried along the same track as Veronica now. Well, a shared burden is easier to carry.

“V, we will do the best we can. It might be just a simple drive through the countryside, no problems and we meet up with Paige and crew in a week or so. I know we will get there before Dad and Poppa Ivar’s crew. We will be leaving in a couple days. They won’t be on the road for several weeks. We try to figure out solutions beforehand for the things we can anticipate, and work anything else when it shows up. But if you wear yourself out before we even leave, you won’t be able to do much. You need to rest and share the burden some. We have two more days of hard work then we rest for a couple days and head out rested and ready. Felicia and Owen have a plan to blow off some steam and recharge us during those two days.”

“But first we finish the preps” Veronica countered.

“Right, First we finish the preps.”
 
ComCamGuy

ComCamGuy

Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Presents

Veronica and Violet were always going off on these mysterious trips. Most of the time they came back happy and giggling. Although the rest of the group wanted to believe they were important it was getting frustrating getting left with grunt work. They were getting angry with the “don’t ask policy”. They were not kids like Gretchen and Derek. Bron and Felicia along with Owen decided they would confront them when they got home. Gretchen and Derek knew this was not a good idea but they just kept their mouths’ shut and would watch the adults.

The dogs alerted at the sound of the G-wagons approach. Gretchen and Derek sat down as it appeared battle lines were about to be draw.

“Hey Gretch go fetch a couple of sodas.”

“You go get them I don’t want to miss any of this. Senshi fetch soda”

Senshi, happy to show off his new trick, trotted over to the cooler returning with a soda for Derek. He handed it to Gretchen and sent him back for another one. The dogs then assumed their position by kids as they waited for the fireworks to begin.

Veronica pulled the G-Wagon up to where Bron, Felicia and Owen were waiting. As they walked around to the back Veronica and Violet were concerned by the looks on the faces of their friends.

Veronica opened the back of the G-Wagon as Bron approached, being the elected spokespersons

“Veronica, we need to talk….”

Veronica reached into the trunk handing Bron a large Bowie knife, “ So what do you think about this?”

Not only did Bron start stuttering she eventually stop talking as she became entranced with the blade. She started feeling the movement of the blade and how it felt in her hands.

Veronica waved Owen and Felicia over to give them each the same style large Bowie she just gave Bron. As they felt the blades in their hands and how it soon became a natural part of them they understood why Bron did not finish the ‘talk’.

Violet could see Bron and Felicia enjoyed and appreciate the gifts but were unsure how to handle them properly. She saw Owen practicing some of the moves she taught him earlier in short sword classes. Bron and Felicia were intrigued by Owen’s dancer-like movements and started trying to emulate them. Owen was soon back in his comfort zone teaching two new students. He was happy, he was entering Zen in his mind a place to heal. Violet was happy, he was on a path to healing.

In her mind at least a few problems were able to be put off to later. Veronica was the real problem. She had to get her to talk.

How did they do it? Derek and Gretchen sat watching as the two somehow defused the situation. They didn’t even seem to know there was a situation. The two thought for a moment maybe they should tell them there was a problem. They had to sense something was wrong. It was their duty.

Veronica saw the two sitting watching what was going on. She had gifts for them too and by the looks on their face could tell they had intel. She had to figure a way to get it out of them without making them finks. First she had to give them their presents.

“Hey, you two! Get over here, you think I forgot you!” Veronica call out.

Derek looked over and quickly spoke to Gretchen as he stood up.

“Not now Gretchen let’s see if they were just venting we don’t want to be finks. It might just go away. Let them handle it. Let’s go see what she’s got for us.”

The two got up and went to the G-Wagon to see what Veronica had for them. Their blades were different. Less Bowie and more tool like in appearance, they had an angled tip like a tanto, but reversed.

“It’s a Seax.” Veronica told them

They looked at the complicated straps attached to the sheaths.

“Don’t worry about those. I’ll help you set them up later. Go do some practice with them.” She pointed them to join Owen and the rest. The two left, glad to not have to answer any more questions for now.

Violet went back to the last two blades Veronica pulled out. They looked like a strange mix of old and new.

“What’s the deal with these?”

“Mark had these and figured we would appreciate them, along with a few other treasures he dropped into the box I’ll show you later.” Veronica replied.

“OK, but what are they?”

“Evidently for WWII, they needed or wanted more fighting knives than they could turn out new. They took a bunch of surplus cavalry sabers and chopped them up or cut them down to make fighting knives. These two used the original handles, replaced the guard with a much smaller one and reprofiled the tips, leaving a long thin fast knife or short sword. He had three. He kept one and we got the other two. I like it because it’s fast and gives me a great reach.” She held it at arm’s length. The blade portion was at least fourteen or fifteen inches.

Violet moved the one Veronica handed her. Damn! It was fast! It was a lot faster than her other large blade. She knew she would have a lot of fun learning what it could do.

Veronica felt good right now. A little more relaxed. She knew Violet had a right to be concerned about her. She was worried about herself if she was honest. The part of her still spooled up was a little quieter now, seeing the added knives as continued preparation. The other side of her liked seeing the smiles of everyone she handed presents to. She knew she still had to talk to Violet later, but for now she could relax a tiny bit.


In the Garage Late That Night


It was late in the evening when Violet went to let the dogs out for one last time. It surprised and concerned her she saw Veronica at the far side of the garage, doing something in her Ent. She walked over to find out what was going on. As she did, she saw Veronica was sitting in the driver’s seat, reaching this way and that. She was rearranging where she had things like the larger caliber AR, her ‘run’ kit, spare sunglasses, first aid kit and who knows what else. As Violet watched, Veronica would practice baling out and grabbing this or that as she went.

Violet watched and watched. She could see Veronica was putting a lot of effort into her drills. Once again the worry and dread grew in her. What did Veronica know? What wasn’t she telling her?

“Veronica? It’s late. You should go to bed.” Violet said as she walked closer.

Veronica barely looked up from what she was doing as she replied.

“I’ll sleep better when I know this is right.”

It wasn’t the words that struck Violet, it was the way she said them. Insistent, on the verge of manic. Not the normal calm cool hunter.

“What has you so spooked? Talk to me.”

Veronica stopped moving. She set the rifle back into the Ent and turned to Violet.

“It’s just us. We are traveling through places we have never been, to some arbitrary point on a map to meet up with people we have only known for a few months, traveling over roads we don’t know the condition of, with no back up, no extra help to call on if anything goes wrong. You called it a wagon train and in many ways it is just like that. Do you want to know something?”

Violet looked at her friend as she spoke. “Sure, What?”

“A lot of those wagon trains didn’t make it. A lot of them got to their end destination with less than half the people they started out with. You guys say I’m the wagon master of this train. Well, it eats me up wondering about how many wagons we will lose, how many of us won’t make it. The other part is what about when we get there. How much food, water and shelter are we bringing and how long will it keep us going?”

Violet could see Veronica was worried about valid things and was doing her best to not worry the rest of the group. But, damn it! These were her friends and she was supposed to help them. Veronica kept talking.

“Mechanical problems, medical issues, road and weather conditions, all of these can sink us in a heartbeat. That doesn’t include bandits or local people just not happy someone traipsing through their town. The best bet for us at the far end is all the supplies and resources we can carry with all the vehicles we are taking. Problem is, that’s one person per vehicle. No back up drivers, no navigators and no one to shoot the marauders and Indians when they attack the train.”

“Part of me wonders about inviting Bron, Felicia, Owen and Daniel. What did we get them into? Pulling them from where they were and dragging them off into our boondoggle. Would they have been better staying here in town and not getting involved? Hell, Owen KILLED his own brother because of what he did when they came here! Daniel would still be alive if it wasn’t for us! We haven’t even left and we have some of the group dead.”

Violet could see Veronica had all of this bottled up and building for some time. She knew her mom’s advice would be to let her talk it all out since she was finally opening up, but the other part of her mind was worried along the same track as Veronica now. Well, a shared burden is easier to carry.

“V, we will do the best we can. It might be just a simple drive through the countryside, no problems. We will meet up with Paige and crew in a week or so. I know we will get there before Dad and Poppa Ivar’s crew. We will be leaving in a couple days. They won’t be on the road for several weeks. We try to figure out solutions beforehand for the things we can anticipate, and work anything else when it shows up. At some point you just have to trust the cosmic muffin.”

Violet hoped she could get a laugh out of Veronica but she only got a giggle. Well it was better than nothing so she continued.

“If you wear yourself out before we even leave, you won’t be able to do much. You will useless to any of us, especially yourself. You need to rest and share the burden some. We have two more days of hard work then we rest for a couple days and head out rested and ready. Come on Butterfly you don’t have to charge down Kahlenberg Mountain yet. We are not in that much trouble yet. Save it for when we are, Kumpela.”

Veronica understood what Violet was telling her. She always like to tease her about her proud Polish heritage. Not many people took the Polish serious but she did and Violet knew she did.

“Felicia and Owen have a plan to blow off some steam and recharge us during those two days.”

“But first we finish the preps” Veronica countered.

“Right, second we finish the preps. First you sleep.” As she called the dogs inside and lead them all to bed for some much needed sleep.
 
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ComCamGuy

ComCamGuy

Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Finishing


“So, second best sleeping bags for the tents on the trip, best one in the survival packs?” Veronica was asking or telling, depending on how they were taking her.

“Yup.”

“Weapons, armor and ammo right where you can get them in a hurry?”

“Yup.”

“Rechargeable batteries for the walkie-talkies?”

“Yup”

“Derek, Gretchen, some hunting and fishing gear gear for forageing along the way?”

“Got some, ready to go” Gretchen answered.

Veronica kept going down her checklist trying to make sure they had everything. Once they pulled out, she didn’t want to unload have a truck or trailer alongside the road to find something.

Violet remembered Veronica agonizing over her notepad making the list. She was hoping this last walkthrough would help Veronica relax some. If she did, it would help everyone else relax.

Finally, Veronica stopped flipping pages.

“I don’t know anything else that needs to be done other than the last-minute stuff to load up. I know I’ve been a raging snot, but I’m trying to make sure we are ready.” Veronica sounded at a loss for what to say next.

Violet looked around. Everyone else didn’t know what to do, either.

“Well, I know Owen and Felicia had a plan for us to unwind for a day or two so we are nice and rested before we drive out. Tag, you two are it.” Violet said. She could see Veronica kept wanting to check stuff, but didn’t know what to check.

Felicia stood up.

“So, Owen and I plotted out a good couple of meals while we have the big kitchen. Since Veronica isn’t taking the big screen, we figured to do some serious eating and chilling with movies and snacks. Owen is doing the big breakfast tomorrow morning. I was inspired by Veronica and Violets stories about the jambalaya they had out at Paige’s and have to throw down my family’s version tonight. Can’t turn away from that type of Cajun challenge.”

“And I’m working on some traditional Romani cuisine for the road food. We do a lot of one pots and stews that will work well in the crock as we drive. For tomorrow though, I’ll make a sheet of baklava.” Bronwyn smiled when the others perked up when she mentioned baklava.

“I have a family recipe I’ll be using for cinnamon rolls for the morning.” Owen added.

Derek leaned over and talked to Gretchen quickly. She blushed a moment and nodded her head.

“Unless you have something else planned, Gretchen makes killer sourdough flapjacks!” Derek said to the group.

Veronica and Violet watched as the group seemed to gel together before their eyes. It was one thing to work together on a task. This was something much more. Violet could feel the shift in energy in the room. She could also see some of that energy flow back into Veronica. They needed this.
 
Texican

Texican

Live Free & Die Free.... God Freedom Country....
How much sleep will the group get the night before they leave?

Maybe better to schedule to leave later and then leave a day earlier since everything is ready.

Texican....
 
ComCamGuy

ComCamGuy

Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
The Road Ahead


“Both can be problems. I don’t know which is better.” Violet said to the rest’

The group was sitting around the dining room table after a nice big breakfast. The current debate was night driving vs day driving for the trip. The theories fell into two camps. The idea of day driving was increased visibility. Night driving’s proponents theorize at night, all you can see is the important stuff and it will keep you focused and away from distractions. Also at night, the road will be frozen more solid, both a benefit and a bane.

“Well, One of the problems with night driving is we will be lit up like friggen Christmas decorations and people will see us for miles.” Bron countered.

“With the string of vehicles we are taking, it’s not like we will be sneaking up any anyone, day or night.” Veronica replied.

“I’m sure some of it will come down to weather and road conditions.” Felicia added.

“And how comfortable we feel on the road.” Owen said.

“Don’t forget, some of us don’t have as much experience driving with trailers.” Gretchen said, a bit of worry in her voice now.

“Isn’t that the reason we said we would do the slow and steady thing? So we didn’t get all sideways and wrap ourselves around a tree trying to hurry?” Derek added.

“Yeah, it is. Look. We are supposed to be relaxing today. Tomorrow night we go to bed early so we can get a jump on things. At least tomorrow night we will drive out in the dark so we can clear the city before daylight. It should attract less attention.” Veronica tried to get the focus back on relaxing. If they were going to just worry over the trip, then they could leave sooner. She for one liked the idea of a last bit of down time before the real work began.
 
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