Chapter 5: Field Expedient

[lloigor]

Carl walked out to Evans place after checking the deserted storage shed that housed Evan’s truck. Walt had arranged (insisted) on keeping the truck out of sight so that folks who didn’t need to know about it didn’t know about it.

 

When he got out to the once-was-a shack that was now a tidy little cabin, he winced a little at the obvious solidity of the building...It definitely wouldn’t fit into town at all.

Evan was on top of the ice house fitting some kind of frame. Carl decided to cut to the chase. “What now?” came the question.

“I managed to liberate a medium sized solar panel. Good stuff, monocrystalline and almost new.”

Carl winced. “Where did you get that? Did anyone see you?”.

“Don’t sweat it nervous nellie, I bought it through a fence that Davy introduced me to in Buffalo last time I took a drive.” He finished up the rack and then spent a minute fussing over the joints and the attachments, then hopped down.

Evan started to walk down the four steps to the ice house. “I can’t believe you didn’t help yourself to a beer.”

Carl decided to cut this off quick. “Actually, a beer wouldn’t be a great idea, Walt has a job for you and I.”

Evan continued down the ladder, Carl heard some rummaging around and when Evan re-appeared, he was holding two ancient metal thermos with wide mouths and a handful of deer jerky.

“So, what’s the job and what’s the pay?” Was the response while Evan handing over one of thermos and half of the jerky.

“Don’t know what the pay is, but this one is different, Walt wants us to sweep the area and see what is actually going on. Apparently folks in town are getting a touch nervous about those two missing hunters that the Sheriff was up here asking about.”

Evan went back to the icehouse door and reset the lock and spit pasted a hair onto the door frame. Evan was nothing if not mildly paranoid. “Let’s get back to cabin then.”

Carl followed him back to the cabin door, Now sealed up and painted with a heavy coat of dark grey paint.

“Since you did have the courtesy of giving me a warning order, you can have a cup of tea and we can go over some details and I can get some stuff ready.” He took a sip of water and stuffed a piece of jerky into his mouth to get it started onto the path of chewability. He checked the firebox of the small wood burning kitchen stove that he had brought home a couple of months ago, and put in a small piece of firewood. He poured a couple of cups of near boiling water from the teakettle that stayed resident on the stove and handed Carl one of the cups and a pre-filled tea strainer from the bunch that stayed on the shelf next to the stove.

Once they got settled, and the tea ritual completed, Evan just made eye contact with Carl. “OK, I’ll do this with you, I won’t even ask why. But first thing is we are going to do it right, and Walt says nothing about how we do it. I love the guy to death, but he is too much the snake-eater and I ain’t comfortable with how he thinks like Rambo sometimes.”

Carl nodded. “Agreed.”

They sipped tea and chewed jerky for a while. Both deep in thought. Evan got up and walked over to the curtains (thoughtfully provided by the Goodwill in Buffalo) and went into where the full sized bed sat perched on it’s homemade platform (lots of pallets, screws, and glue) and snagged a cylinder and walked back to the kitchen table. USGS 7.5 minute paper maps were sorted though and four were selected.

Both of them grabbed a map and studied, took them about fifteen minutes and several exchanges so that both of them were happy.

Evan leaned back in the chair and chewed vigorously on another piece of jerky.

Carl tested his again and continued to let saliva do its magic.

They finished their tea, put their coats back on and started back to town. The half mile walk was taken at a leisurely pace.

Carl: “You good?”

Evan: “Right as rain”

“How long to get prepped.”

“Two days, minimum”

“Walt is gonna be grumpy.”

“Walt is always grumpy.”

“Gonna be nice weather for a couple of days, Be good for the drones.”

Evan grunted “Any ideas on waterproofing?”

“Weight’s the problem, with them being autonomous, the damn things are heavy?”

“Yeah, but you like having someone see your trace as much as I do.”

“True that.”

They got to the back door and spotted Walt coming out of the kitchen with a cup of coffee. Evan and Carl looked at each other and relayed a knowing look.

Yep, the old bastard looked grumpy.

Comments

comments

[emily07]

Dear John,
reading always also wants to make me guess ahead of what it´s going to be - so I wonder if - in the end- Evan will "downgrade" his shed to proper Chorazin standards because of what happens in the story or not and Carl will upgrade his shed?

Also now that I know what Lloigor are, I wonder if Yhoundeh brought them back to guard her domain. A little voice inside me wonders what it is with Americans and swamp monsters?! Even JMG´s third spacebat-anthology (which I haven´t read yet) features one on the frontpage. I´m probably wondering because where I´ve grown up there was a little overflowing rivulet creating...a marshy area..a riparian area?!.. and the only monsters there were arguably my friends and me.

I like the phrase "the once-was-a-shack" and they´re badinaging again, I likes this ;-)

My farvourite search enginge says that a firebox is a foldable camp-stove - correct interpretation in this setting? (only out of terminal curiosity...)
Interesting that Evan likes his tea freshly strained, at first blush I thought you were describing a samowar.

Interesting how they plan their reconnoitre, since I have no expertise whatsoever in that area this is really interesting for me!

Nice last sentence! If you continue like this I´m very happy that I´m reading this in installments, otherwise as sure as anything I´d be staying up all night to read the story.

Also I like how deindustrial / Chorazin features, like the bedstand etc. get into the story.

I´m looking forward to next tuesday and hoping for the next installment!
Thank you for writing.