Aftermath
I had been prepared, or so I thought, for the coming cataclysm; I had a bug-out bag created from various books and websites, I had a shelter full of supplies, and I had an escape plan. I had learned to get along pretty well in my own company; after all, I knew there was a time coming when it would be every man for himself, so, naturally, I figured I was going to be all right when the fit hit the shan. Boy was I wrong. Being a Doomsday Prepper, having the survival guides and books, being in all the web chat rooms and support groups... it all amounted to about the weight of a hair on a tick’s ass when all hell finally did break loose. Sure, I was better prepared than most as far as supplies and equipment, but, emotionally... well, that’s another story. I mean, who can really plan ahead for that? Even when you’ve spent a lifetime expecting the unexpected, you still never really see it coming.
Anyways, like I was saying... I wandered around on my own for a while and then I started to meet up with other people I ran into who were out wandering around too, also somewhat aimlessly... probably for much the same reason. Before we knew it, we had banded together, and well, now here we are in Nouvo Eden. (NOT my idea... it was voted on by committee. The runner up was Aquarius Shiver. You probably wouldn’t even want to know some of the other “also rans.”)
The first people I met were Marta and her kids Jeff and Anna; they were in a pretty bad way. They had very little supplies, and knew next to nothing about surviving in the wilderness. At first, they were wary of me, and I can understand that. Here comes this guy, loaded down with a backpack chock full to twice the size of a bear, and armed to the teeth, when the world has gone bat shit and you need to feed your children. It took a few weeks for them to even begin to trust me. Running into the Alvarados helped with that, though. Next thing I knew, I went from being alone to being the defacto leader of a group of 9 people. Of course, after the Alvarados, the Jensens and Stewarts came across one of our moving camps, and at that point it made sense to strengthen our numbers, so we folded them in, too.
I figured by the time we were a 16-pt headcount, we had enough people to start a permanent camp, so I lead everyone back to my bug-out hideaway. Fortunately, my cache had been hidden well enough that the stores hadn’t been tampered with. I guess you could say that was the true beginning of Nouvo Eden.
(I really need to get them to change that name.)
The “hideaway” was at a lake surrounded by forest, the nearest neighbor two miles away on the side of the lake where the cabin was, and across the lake were resort cabins. The owners of the resort, the Tarvers, were hunters and fishers. We had a good relationship. Their oldest son had helped me set up the well on my property. Once we landed, the first thing I did after getting everyone settled, was to go across the lake to see if the Tarvers were still around. The old couple was more knowledgeable than I was about the area, and they even let the families stay in their cabins. No use dickering over “timeshare” fees these days. Not like money mattered anymore, anyway.
Marta and the kids lived with me. There were two farms on the lake; the Olsons had pulled through, but the Kiefers hadn’t made it. We were able to use their livestock, though; moved them onto the land around my cabin. We built a water wheel on the river entering the lake and setup wind fans and solar panels to provide some semblance of electricity. It’s meager, but we don’t require much. We keep it rationed to an "as needed" basis, and find we don't really have a lot of need for it, anymore. We live pretty simply, these days. We built up a wall around the lake properties perimeter to keep out invaders, and a drawbridge to keep marauders from breaching the lake through the river.
That was five years ago, and folks are still trickling in from all over. We have a vetting process to put people through before we can allow anyone to join our collective... nowadays more than ever it’s important to know who you can trust. But we have a community that is thriving and growing. When we got big enough, the people set up a small governing Council to manage this rapidly expanding boomtown. They elected one of their own to represent them as a Mayor, and they voted to appoint me as Sheriff. Law Enforcement was never a track I’d have sought out for my life, but we all have to take on whatever roles we’re suited to in this new world. If there’s a hat that fits you, you’re probably gonna end up with it on your head, at some point. But I can’t blame these goods folks for yoking me with that one. People here respect me, look up to me, and that’s what you need in a place like this to keep the peace.
But things here are good here. One of the new Mayor’s first formal acts was to officiate over a wedding. Mine. I would probably have been the last one to see that coming when this all started, but it just felt right, and, for the first time since the world fell apart, it felt safe. The whole town turned out. It was good for everyone to let loose and really celebrate.
And then, of course, we all got back to work.
We’re not short on able-bodied workers here, and folks in general are willing to help out in whatever way they can. Right now we’re building five new houses for the latest approved refugees. We even have a Doctor now - Dr. Vince Gregory. People said when he came along he was a genuine godsend. The Alvarados built a greenhouse, so we can grow more fruits and vegetables year-round. And Marta is teaching the children in a schoolhouse/library we set up. I lead scavenging parties out into the surrounding areas, and some of the yields from those expeditions have been invaluable to our everyday operations. We have horses for speed, and oxen for strength, and we’ve built wagons for transporting large stores of collections.
There’s still a lot of work to do, but everyone pulls together pretty well to get it done, and what we don’t have, we either learn to do without, or find a way to recreate. We believe in one another. Most importantly, we look forward to tomorrow. We still expect the unexpected, but, now, we have a better understanding of what that could be. And, as for expecting, well, Marta and me, we are. And I couldn’t be happier. I guess you could say, my cup runneth over. Who knew it would take the end of the world to finally get everything I’ve ever wanted?
Hopefully, in another five years, this will be a new center for what’s left of humanity. But, until then, we’ll work with what we have, and we’ll make the most of what we got. More than anything, though, what we’ve got here, is each other. And when it’s all said and done, how could we ask for anything more?
(for another perspective on this post-apocalyptic world, please see my partner's companion piece to this entry:
Lighthouse Signal: Message In A Bottle)
LJI WEEK 13:
OPEN