Engineering Home: Book 11 of The Survivalist Series Read online

  ENGINEERING HOME

  A. AMERICAN

  Engineering Home

  Copyright © 2022 by Angery American Enterprises Inc. All rights reserved. First Edition: March, 2022.

  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of Angery American Enterprises Inc.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.

  Cover Design by Brad Harris.

  Formatting by Disgruntled Dystopian Publications.

  CONTENTS

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I know this book has been a long time in coming. Four years is a long time, and I’m so happy it’s finally complete! I promise there won’t be such delays any longer. More books will be out this year.

  I want to give a special thank you to Kim Piner for supporting the projects I’m working on. Kim is a great person and her husband, Audie, from what Kim has told me, was a great man.

  In memory of Audie Piner May 15, 1963—June 12, 2018

  I also want to thank some other folks—the Frazier boys of Starks, Louisiana. Johnsy, thank you for letting us intrude into your piece of heaven on the river. I cannot thank you all enough. Blaine, Shane, Hank, and Bean, you guys are generous to a fault and a hell of a lot of fun to hang out with; thank you.

  Lastly, I want to thank Big Kev and Bridgit. It was a phone call between me and you that opened the door for us to come out to Starks in the first place; thank you, my friend. You two are dear to our hearts, as are all our Louisiana family

  CHAPTER 1

  Mom and Dad’s arrival at the house wasn’t the only one. There was another arrival that we all were thankful to see finally. It’s funny the things you begin to notice when you’re paying attention. Our world slowing down forced everyone to slow down as well. It wasn’t a bad change, quite the opposite; it was a much-needed change. And it was because of this forced leisurely pace I noticed the dry crispness of the air. Fall was coming.

  Several things were pointing to it. First, the grass was slowing its growth. In the Before, this was always my best cue. Second, I knew the season was changing when I could go from mowing the yard every weekend to once or twice a month. Finally, the days begin to feel a little different, the humidity finally releases its soggy grasp, and it can be downright pleasant outside. The temperature may still be in the high eighties, but relief is on its way.

  And the change came at the right time. With Mom and Dad here now and the power restored to the community, there was a lot of work to do. We had to find Mom and Dad a house, and we had to work on the places with power issues. The power coming back on had brought to light a myriad of problems, air-conditioning systems among the leaders.

  But that could all wait. There was time. Right now, I was focusing on Mom and Dad. They slept in Taylor’s room the first night. She happily offered up her bed for them. The following day, they slept in, and I left them to get some rest. I was up early as usual and padded around the house barefoot to not make much noise. I enjoyed my mornings to myself. It was quiet, and I could think. It was the best part of my day. The rest was pretty much like a firehose to the face.

  I carried my morning glass of tea out to the porch and sat down. The porch light was on, and I looked up at it for a long time. We all had power again but had no idea how long it would last. But I would enjoy it while it did. I was about to do something I hadn’t done in a long time. I was going to take a hot shower. Just the thought of it brought a smile to my face. I scratched Meathead’s back once more with my foot before getting up and heading for the bathroom.

  Heaven, the hot water pouring over my head was pure heaven. With my eyes closed, I let it cascade over me, just taking it all in and soaking up the hot water literally. But while the water ran over me, I couldn’t help but think of everything that needed to be done. How many wells worked? How many pumps would we have to pull and replace? Could we even find the pumps? What other unforeseen problems awaited us? And that’s just here. Folks in town were sure to need help as well.

  There was always something to be done. I smiled as I ran my hand through my hair at the thought of free time. Free time was a figment of the developed world’s imagination we’d once lived. Now you had to work, literally, for every bite of food and drink of water, for fuel to cook and clean. The list was endless. So, I turned the water off, very reluctantly, and got out and dressed. I wasn’t in a hurry and put on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt.

  Wandering back out to the kitchen, I poured another glass of tea. I was about to go out of the backdoor when I heard a knock at the front. Looking at my watch, I moaned; it wasn’t even seven AM yet. Opening the door, Sarge stared back at me.

  He looked me up and down and asked, “You go out in public like that?”

  Taking a sip of tea before answering, I replied, “You’re standing on my porch, and I’m in my house.”

  “Oh, yeah, well, dress like a grown-up and come with me.”

  “Why? What’s up?”

  “Why are you still standing there? Get some damn clothes on.”

  With a grunt, I shut the door in his face and headed for the bedroom. Mel stirred as I came in and asked, “What’s going on?”

  “I don’t know. The old man’s at the door.” I replied as I pulled a pair of pants on.

  “What time is it?” She asked from under the blanket.

  “It’s early. Go back to sleep.”

  “Where are you going?”

  Sitting down to pull my boots on, I replied, “I have no idea. Probably just going to follow a senile old fart around.” And reached back and patted her ass.

  “Be careful,” she replied as she pulled the blanket up a little further over her head. I pulled it back down, and she squinted against the faint light coming into the room as I leaned over and kissed her cheek.

  When I opened the door, Sarge looked at his watch. “Hurry up; the whole world is waiting on you.”

  With my plate carrier in one hand and my rifle in the other, I closed the door behind me and asked, “What the hell is up?”

  “Dalton found something you need to see.”

  That got my attention. As I pulled the rig over my head, I asked, “What?”

  “Stop beating your gums, and I’ll show you.”

  I held my hand out with the body armor on for him to lead the way. As we walked, Sarge began talking. “He saw them last night when they came in but decided not to do anything. He wanted to see what they were up to.”

  As we headed towards the bunker, I asked, “Wait, what? There were people in here last night?”

  Sarge nodded. “Two.”

  “Why the hell didn’t we grab them?”

  “Calm down, keep yer britches on. Gulliver kept an eye on them to see what the hell they were up to.”

  Irritated, I asked, “And? What the hell were they doing?”

  “They were monkeying around with the fuel tanker. But they di
dn’t get any fuel or anything.”

  As we talked, I saw Dalton step out into the road. He was standing at the intersection where the bunker sat. He didn’t look very concerned, and it confused me.

  “Top of the morning, lads!” Dalton greeted us.

  “What’s up? The old man here says you saw a couple of people poking around and didn’t stop them?” I asked.

  He nodded with no indication of concern whatsoever. “Indeed. Follow me,” he said as he spun on his heels.

  We followed him over to the tanker. He stopped a little short and stood staring at the ground. Sarge and I stood to either side of him, following his eyes to where he was looking. Two sets of footprints were apparent in the sand of the road.

  “What the hell did they do?” I asked as I looked at the tanker, looking for signs of tampering.

  “They just looked at it. Poked around for a minute. Then they whispered to one another and left,” Dalton replied.

  “How did they get in here?” I asked.

  Sarge pointed down the road. “Tracks run that way.” Then he looked at Dalton and asked, “Did you follow them out?”

  Dalton nodded. “I did. They go out to the south here, onto the ranch.” What we called the ranch was a forty-acre parcel that once had been a hayfield. The owners took good care of the field, cutting and rolling it up to sell. “Then they turn east and go into the reserve. They used the reserve to go around to the north-west where they got on motorcycles.”

  “You tracked them already?” I asked.

  “I followed them out.” His reply troubled me, and he saw it. “Don’t worry; they didn’t see me. I kept my distance.”

  “Ok. So, these guys came in, looked around, took nothing, and left.”

  “They took something,” Sarge replied, “knowledge. They know we have a nearly full fuel tank here. You remember that little incident down on nineteen at forty?”

  I slowly nodded. “Yeah, Mike crushed the bike.”

  Sarge nodded. “And they have a truck, a truck that runs on diesel.”

  “So, you think they’re after the fuel?” I asked, more thinking out loud to myself than anything else.

  “Ya fucking think, Einstein?”

  Rolling my eyes, I replied, “It was a rhetorical question.” Then it was my turn to be a dick. “That’s a big word; you need a dictionary?”

  “I know it’s hard for you, but, for just a minute, can you put your stupid away, so we can talk like adults?” Sarge replied.

  Dalton laughed. “Ha! You two? Adults?” With his hand on his belly, he laughed uproariously.

  Cutting his eyes at Dalton, Sarge replied, “That’ll be enough out of you, Gulliver.”

  “So, what do you think? They coming back?” I asked.

  “I doubt it. I think they came in here looking for the fuel. Of course, now they know it’s here, and they’ll probably try and make a play for it,” Sarge said.

  “That’s what I’m afraid of. What bothers me even more is that they aren’t stupid. Taking that long circuitous route means they have some tactical common sense,” I replied.

  “We should double the guard at night for a while,” Dalton replied.

  “I think we should put everyone on alert, to a degree. We don’t know how many people they have,” I replied. “They’re pretty smart.; took the longest possible route to get in here. They think they got in and out without being seen.”

  “We can use that to our advantage,” Dalton said.

  “We could lay up an ambush out there where they cut through the reserve; try and catch them coming back in,” I replied.

  “If they come that way. While they did try and be sneaky about it, they came in and out on the same track. They’re not that smart,” Dalton replied.

  The old man rubbed his chin. “True. I wouldn’t, would you?” He asked, looking at Dalton, who shook his head. “I think they’ll have to come back with the truck. They’ll need a way to haul the fuel. Trying to come tear assing in here on motorcycles to try and steal fuel isn’t a very good plan. I think if they come, they’ll come in force and try to fight their way in.”

  “Or,” I interrupted, “they could just ask for some.”

  Sarge scoffed, “Get yer head outta yer ass.”

  “Think about it. They got in here and know we have the fuel. They know who we are and what we have. Would you want to try and kick the door in on this place? I wouldn’t. Not at first, at least. I’d roll up and knock on it, see if anyone answers. Ask to trade for it. If that didn’t work, then move to desperate measures.”

  Sarge took his hat off and scratched at his gray head. “That makes sense,” cutting his eyes at me, and he added, “as much as it pains me to admit it. Let’s double the guard for now. I’ll tell Wallner, and he’ll handle it. Let’s have everyone keep a shootin’ iron handy for the time being too.”

  “Good,” I replied. “Now that that’s settled, Miss Kay got any breakfast on?”

  “Of course, she does!” Sarge barked. “Unlike some people around here, she does her job!”

  I pointed at Dalton, “He’s talking about you, you know.”

  Dalton slapped his belly, “Either way, I gotta eat. I’m starving.”

  We walked down to Danny’s house. Sarge said he’d get with Wallner later to discuss the changes to the guard. As we passed under the shade of the trees hanging over the road, I commented, “You guys feel that? The change in the air?”

  Sarge looked up. All he could see was the canopy of the oaks above us and replied, “Yep. About damn time too. It’s been hotter than the Devil’s nut sack for far too long.”

  “I’m looking forward to having a fire in the fireplace,” I replied.

  “Hold yer horses there dipshit, let’s just enjoy some cooler weather before we go getting into fireplace cold,” Sarge replied.

  “Old people don’t like cold weather,” Dalton added.

  Sarge cut his gaze onto the big man, giving him the stink eye. Dalton shrugged, “Just sayin’ is all.”

  “Yeah, well, you best be sayin’ it about someone else, Gulliver.”

  “Just an observation,” Dalton replied as he opened his stride, putting a little distance between him and the old man. “Makes ‘em grumpy.”

  Surprisingly Sarge didn’t go after him. He just grunted, “You just hope you look this good when you’re my age.”

  The house was crowded when we got there. Dad was sitting on the porch with a cup of coffee. Sarge called out, “How’s the coffee, Butch?”

  “Best I’ve ever had. But then, every cup I’ve had since I got here has been the best.”

  “That’s what I think of every cup, too,” Sarge replied with a smile.

  Dalton nodded as he bolted up the steps, “There any grub left?”

  Dad stabbed a thumb over his shoulder, “There’s more food in there than I’ve seen in one place for a very long time.”

  I dropped into a chair beside him as Dalton and Sarge went into the house. It was quiet out, and we sat looking at the yard for a long time. Dad finally broke the silence. “This is amazing. I have to admit, I wasn’t sure about coming here. But this,” he held his hands up in a general gesture, “this is really hard even to believe.”

  “I chalk it up to dumb luck. A lot of things happened that all led us here.”

  He shook his head. “You walked all the way here from Tallahassee?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. Took about a month. It sucked. I damn sure don’t ever want to do it again.”

  “Hell, I guess not!”

  “But I’m thrilled you two are here now,” I replied. Then I looked over at Dad, “I should have got there sooner. And I’m sorry.”

  Dad visibly jolted. He leaned back in his chair and replied with complete sincerity, “You don’t owe me or anyone else a damn apology! You had to take care of Mel and the girls. Hell, what you did to get back to them was a feat in itself. Then what you’ve done here, all these people. It’s beyond imagination.”

  “I
appreciate it. Means a lot to me.”

  “What you’ve accomplished, what you have here, people would kill to have. I know it’s been a lot of arduous work, but it really is something.”

  I shuffled my feet, uncomfortable at the thought of those that had tried to kill for it. “You’re right about that. Plenty of people have died for this. And, sadly, the killing isn’t done. We had some people sneaked in here last night.”

  Dad looked surprised. “How’d you know?”

  “Dalton, that giant that just walked by, he saw them last night. He watched them and tracked them back to where they came in from.”

  “Why didn’t he do something?”

  “We had that very conversation just a minute ago. He said they didn’t do anything; just monkeyed around the fuel truck a bit. So we figure they’re looking for fuel for a truck. We ran into this little group once; they have an old deuce and half.”

  Sipping from his cup, Dad replied, “That would be a good reason to be looking for fuel.”

  “It’s damn sure a rare commodity today.”

  Dad looked down the road in the direction of where the tanker sat. “How’d you guys get that tanker of fuel?”

  “We took a trip up to Eglin Air Force Base. The old man, Linus, has connections there and they supplied us. We brought back all kinds of supplies, medicine, clothes, and all kinds of stuff. The fuel was part of that.”

  Dad sat shaking his head in thought for a long moment. “So, the Army is out helping? We never saw any help.”

  “I wouldn’t say they’re out helping. We went to them for assistance. Linus was made a Colonel,” looking at him, I smiled, “that really pissed him off.”

  “He seems like the kinda fella that would get pissed by something like that. I had a First Sargent in Vietnam like him.”

  “He’s a pain in the ass, but I like him. Once you get used to his way, he’s actually fun to have around. And there’s no one I’d rather have beside me in a fight than him. Well, him and some of the others here. Everyone here can handle a weapon. This place would be a hard nut to crack. Hell, we’ve taken down harder places.”