on the way, a camp cooker and his sleeping bag. Sleeping in the back of a Land Rover didn’t qualify to Dan as a hardship. His dad used to call it a night in the Mootel. Farming joke.
As he went to set off, Leah was stood by his car door. She seemed to want to say something, but just stood there.
“I’ll be back tomorrow” he said.
“Promise?” she asked, her eyes full of innocence. Dan was raised never to make a promise he couldn’t keep, and there were just too many variables.
“I said I’d take you out on a trip. You can be Second Ranger as soon as I can make it happen.” That would have to do.
“What did you used to be?” she asked, surprising him.
“Tell you what” Dan replied, “When you can figure it out I’ll take you with me.” She frowned at him, clearly thinking this was unfair, but he drove on before she could say anything else.
“Take care beyond the wall, Stark…” called Neil, solemnly as he drove past.
“Nob” replied Dan with a smile, leaving the camp behind. He felt better. Better to be out on his own, unburdened by the responsibility of protecting them even for a short time, but more confident that they would be safe without him.
GETTING OUTSOLDIERED
Dan moved along the roads steadily, with confidence as he had driven them many times before. He passed bodies, days old car crashes and even evidence of a house fire. Not a sign of anybody. He didn’t stop to paint the messages he had the day before; he had a purpose, a goal, and he needed a plan to do this safely. The payday he was after was serious. Military armouries were likely to be far more popular than a Morrisons, and would probably be defended if anyone was still alive around there.
As he drove, he thought of the society that Penny envisaged based on the thoughts they shared. He was obviously marked as the head of operations.
‘Ops commander Dan; First Ranger’. It sounded a little too American for his liking in honesty. He had a Society Leader; head of basecamp, in Penny. She could assess new recruits and set work tasks, keep everyone busy.
Head of Engineering was now Neil, although he wasn’t really interested in a leadership role it seemed. Maybe he could get Neil to teach some of the younger ones in the future. Maybe some science geeks survived, and they could work out things like manufacturing bio-diesel and using solar panels to heat water.
Scavenging teams needed to be beefed up; Dan liked Jimmy and Kev, he just needed more like them.
He needed to find farmers; people who could grow crops as well as rear animals. He needed animals for that matter. He needed people who knew how to cut down trees for firewood, people who knew how to hunt and fish – not just for now but to teach people in the future. Dan could teach the basics of shooting and fishing, but he already had too little time.
He needed to find people who could cook large meals from limited supplies, he needed people with medical expertise as his own training was good for first aid and bullet wounds. A surgeon would be good.
He needed to find people with skills like his own; what good is a ‘First Ranger’ without other rangers?
So many mental notes were made that he had to stop for a break and make actual ones. Coffee and smoke time. There was a time not too long ago, five days in fact, when he called that breakfast.
The more he thought about it, the more rabbit holes he fell down. He would need hundreds of people with a range of experience and expertise to get this easy idea of a new society going. It seemed an impossible task at the time, so he tried to push it all from his mind and concentrate on the immediate.
Go and get some serious weaponry – three clips for a Glock and a small calibre rifle weren’t going to protect much. After that, worry about recruitment and training.
He thought about where they were going to set up this utopian cooperative society, he had an idea forming but this would require an in-depth local recce when he
As he went to set off, Leah was stood by his car door. She seemed to want to say something, but just stood there.
“I’ll be back tomorrow” he said.
“Promise?” she asked, her eyes full of innocence. Dan was raised never to make a promise he couldn’t keep, and there were just too many variables.
“I said I’d take you out on a trip. You can be Second Ranger as soon as I can make it happen.” That would have to do.
“What did you used to be?” she asked, surprising him.
“Tell you what” Dan replied, “When you can figure it out I’ll take you with me.” She frowned at him, clearly thinking this was unfair, but he drove on before she could say anything else.
“Take care beyond the wall, Stark…” called Neil, solemnly as he drove past.
“Nob” replied Dan with a smile, leaving the camp behind. He felt better. Better to be out on his own, unburdened by the responsibility of protecting them even for a short time, but more confident that they would be safe without him.
GETTING OUTSOLDIERED
Dan moved along the roads steadily, with confidence as he had driven them many times before. He passed bodies, days old car crashes and even evidence of a house fire. Not a sign of anybody. He didn’t stop to paint the messages he had the day before; he had a purpose, a goal, and he needed a plan to do this safely. The payday he was after was serious. Military armouries were likely to be far more popular than a Morrisons, and would probably be defended if anyone was still alive around there.
As he drove, he thought of the society that Penny envisaged based on the thoughts they shared. He was obviously marked as the head of operations.
‘Ops commander Dan; First Ranger’. It sounded a little too American for his liking in honesty. He had a Society Leader; head of basecamp, in Penny. She could assess new recruits and set work tasks, keep everyone busy.
Head of Engineering was now Neil, although he wasn’t really interested in a leadership role it seemed. Maybe he could get Neil to teach some of the younger ones in the future. Maybe some science geeks survived, and they could work out things like manufacturing bio-diesel and using solar panels to heat water.
Scavenging teams needed to be beefed up; Dan liked Jimmy and Kev, he just needed more like them.
He needed to find farmers; people who could grow crops as well as rear animals. He needed animals for that matter. He needed people who knew how to cut down trees for firewood, people who knew how to hunt and fish – not just for now but to teach people in the future. Dan could teach the basics of shooting and fishing, but he already had too little time.
He needed to find people who could cook large meals from limited supplies, he needed people with medical expertise as his own training was good for first aid and bullet wounds. A surgeon would be good.
He needed to find people with skills like his own; what good is a ‘First Ranger’ without other rangers?
So many mental notes were made that he had to stop for a break and make actual ones. Coffee and smoke time. There was a time not too long ago, five days in fact, when he called that breakfast.
The more he thought about it, the more rabbit holes he fell down. He would need hundreds of people with a range of experience and expertise to get this easy idea of a new society going. It seemed an impossible task at the time, so he tried to push it all from his mind and concentrate on the immediate.
Go and get some serious weaponry – three clips for a Glock and a small calibre rifle weren’t going to protect much. After that, worry about recruitment and training.
He thought about where they were going to set up this utopian cooperative society, he had an idea forming but this would require an in-depth local recce when he
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