spot to keep an eye on I-10 traffic while they were in the mine. It would be tied in to the main security console, and would give them a good idea when it was safe to venture out.
Also, by keeping track of the vehicle traffic after Saris 7 hit, they’d have a pretty good idea of how many others were able to survive.
Mark made a mental note of the things he’d need to install the camera. The ground appeared to be rocky soil, instead of solid rock. He’d be able to install a pole with a set of post hole diggers and a 50 pound bag of sacrete.
It would be a pain in the ass lugging that 50 pound bag up there, of course, but he’d manage. He looked to the south to get a quick estimate of how much coax cable he’d have to run to the nearest ventilation shaft, and how much flexible conduit he’d need to protect the cable from rats, rabbits and squirrels.
It would take at least four trips to get everything up here, he figured. Then he kicked himself for coming up empty handed. He could have brought the pole and conduit up with him and left them up here. Since he didn’t plan in advance, he’d have to make an extra trip. He’d have to try to plan better in the future.
He took out a little notepad he kept in his pocket. At least a dozen times a day, he found himself scribbling notes for himself. Things to buy, things to do, things to make. He very naively thought that stocking a shelter for forty people for five to seven years would be an easy thing to do.
But it turned out that it was a lot more complex than he’d ever imagined. And every time he crossed an item off of his “to do” list, he thought up two more things to replace it.
Mark looked at his watch and realized he needed to get back down off the mountain. He’d made a verbal co mmitment to the various companies who were shipping things to them that someone would be at the mine every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from nine to five. And he had two large generators and a load of lumber due in today.
Mark walk ed back down to his pickup, said goodbye to the construction foreman, and drove away from the construction site. Once out of view, he turned down the access road to the mine.
He was very careful not to let any of the construction workers know that he was affiliated with the mine in any way. That was the one question they might answer that he could not explain. If he was an addiction treatment specialist, here to construct a big treatment center for a big California conglomerate, why in the world was he hanging out at the mine a quarter mile away, driving a forklift and unloading lumber from a truck?
That was a question he had no good answer for.
-13-
Mark, Hannah and Sarah fell comfortably into a routine. On Mondays and Tuesdays, Mark ran errands, placed orders, and talked to contractors and salespersons of various goods. On Wednesdays through Fridays he stayed at the mine, doing various things on his “to-do” list. He posted a sign at the entrance to the mine for the truck drivers to sound their horns when they showed up with a delivery.
The girls spent their mornings shopping for supplies. They were bringing their loads directly to the mine now, since the storage locker was filled to capacity. Mark had built a dozen rows of shelves in Bay 11 of the mine, and they had nicknamed it “Walmart.”
Sarah had even taken the time to paint signs to hang over the entrance to the bay. The biggest one, a full three by five feet, was painted in blue and yellow, just like the retail giant where they purchased most of their supplies. From a distance, it looked pretty good.
A smaller sign, in the same color scheme, said “Take what you need, but need what you take.” They assumed that once everyone was assembled in the mine, and knew that supplies were limited, that some of the residents would hoard things. And
Also, by keeping track of the vehicle traffic after Saris 7 hit, they’d have a pretty good idea of how many others were able to survive.
Mark made a mental note of the things he’d need to install the camera. The ground appeared to be rocky soil, instead of solid rock. He’d be able to install a pole with a set of post hole diggers and a 50 pound bag of sacrete.
It would be a pain in the ass lugging that 50 pound bag up there, of course, but he’d manage. He looked to the south to get a quick estimate of how much coax cable he’d have to run to the nearest ventilation shaft, and how much flexible conduit he’d need to protect the cable from rats, rabbits and squirrels.
It would take at least four trips to get everything up here, he figured. Then he kicked himself for coming up empty handed. He could have brought the pole and conduit up with him and left them up here. Since he didn’t plan in advance, he’d have to make an extra trip. He’d have to try to plan better in the future.
He took out a little notepad he kept in his pocket. At least a dozen times a day, he found himself scribbling notes for himself. Things to buy, things to do, things to make. He very naively thought that stocking a shelter for forty people for five to seven years would be an easy thing to do.
But it turned out that it was a lot more complex than he’d ever imagined. And every time he crossed an item off of his “to do” list, he thought up two more things to replace it.
Mark looked at his watch and realized he needed to get back down off the mountain. He’d made a verbal co mmitment to the various companies who were shipping things to them that someone would be at the mine every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from nine to five. And he had two large generators and a load of lumber due in today.
Mark walk ed back down to his pickup, said goodbye to the construction foreman, and drove away from the construction site. Once out of view, he turned down the access road to the mine.
He was very careful not to let any of the construction workers know that he was affiliated with the mine in any way. That was the one question they might answer that he could not explain. If he was an addiction treatment specialist, here to construct a big treatment center for a big California conglomerate, why in the world was he hanging out at the mine a quarter mile away, driving a forklift and unloading lumber from a truck?
That was a question he had no good answer for.
-13-
Mark, Hannah and Sarah fell comfortably into a routine. On Mondays and Tuesdays, Mark ran errands, placed orders, and talked to contractors and salespersons of various goods. On Wednesdays through Fridays he stayed at the mine, doing various things on his “to-do” list. He posted a sign at the entrance to the mine for the truck drivers to sound their horns when they showed up with a delivery.
The girls spent their mornings shopping for supplies. They were bringing their loads directly to the mine now, since the storage locker was filled to capacity. Mark had built a dozen rows of shelves in Bay 11 of the mine, and they had nicknamed it “Walmart.”
Sarah had even taken the time to paint signs to hang over the entrance to the bay. The biggest one, a full three by five feet, was painted in blue and yellow, just like the retail giant where they purchased most of their supplies. From a distance, it looked pretty good.
A smaller sign, in the same color scheme, said “Take what you need, but need what you take.” They assumed that once everyone was assembled in the mine, and knew that supplies were limited, that some of the residents would hoard things. And
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