Chapter 6: Chickens & A Van

I returned to Brooke Caldwell’s house. I was met by five upset young ladies, all clamoring for my attention and telling me what to do. They were upset that I left to do things that someone needed to do.

I raised my voice, “QUIET!” you slept in. It’s your fault, NOT MINE girls! You must know we needed to get out and rescue some farm animals. You do want to eat in the future, don’t you?”

I held my hand out and stopped talking as they all started chattering again. I stalked off and left them standing there, upset. I went in and made my own brunch. I had cereal and did my best to ignore them. Nope, they were nearby and harping like hell. They knew I could hear them, and they were not done letting me know they were upset.

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!”

“All of you STOP acting like little children and listen to yourselves. I am NOT going to put up with this. Your pissy behavior is ludicrous. I can drive my ass back over to my boat and sail off and leave you and your bitching here. Is that what you want?”

“THINK GIRLS! You girls need ME a hell of a lot more than I need you. Got it? Now get the fuck out of my face. The next girl that raises her voice to me is going to get her ass walloped well. Now GIT!!!”

They slunk off gibber-jabbering softly with each other and headed outside. They shut the sliding glass patio door, so I would not hear them. That was just as well. After I finished eating, I called Izzy in.

I said, “Izzy, our vacation is over. I need to get things going so we don’t starve to death next year. The food in the grocery stores will not last forever. The fresh stuff has gone bad already.”

“You are now my second in command. You know I was a military guy, and I take my responsibilities seriously. I want you to remind them the next one that raises her voice to me WILL get spanked until she can’t sit.”

“Act like a child - and I’ll treat you like a child. Repeat that mantra to them when needed over the next few days.”

I said, “I don’t need or even want the responsibility of all 126 new girls. If push comes to shove, I will take you and Peyton, and we three will sail off to someplace else. It will be much simpler to support two girls. We were happy until now. This - this is really too much!”

I said, “I am going to tell you what I did today, and you can pass that on. I found chickens. Lots of chickens at an egg farm.”

“The back of the Jeep is full of eggs that I collected there. Have the girls bring them in and get with Everly Moffett; the two of you are my corporals. They are NOT to wash the eggs. I know, poop on eggs?. There’s a reason to not wash them. Washing eggs removes the natural protective coating it has at birth. That coating keeps out air and bacteria.”

I said, “Do you understand what I have said so far? Act like a child - get treated like a child, and number two, Don’t wash the eggs until later. It shortens their shelf life.”

She said, “I understand, I’ll do as you ask. Unlike these upper-class bitches, I realize that you know more than we do. They have yet to get that. They are really spoiled and a little dumb if you ask me.

I grinned because I agreed. “I said, I guess I will just have to spank a few.”

I went on, “The government made you wash eggs that are for sale. I guess the government didn’t trust people to wash the eggs at the right time. We can’t do that.”

She said, “Don’t wash them; they last for almost a month - I got it.”

I said, “I am so happy you are here. Go get the girls and have them bring the eggs in. Then have Everly help you by contacting all 126 schoolgirls. Mention that we have fresh eggs. We need to distribute those eggs.”

“There will be many more eggs. After the Jeep is emptied of eggs, I have other chores I need to run.”

I said, “Oh, we need to get ALL the cardboard egg flats back. They are reusable, and there is no source for new ones in the future. Each flat holds 30 eggs. Be sure to keep the egg flats, babe.”

She kissed my cheek, “Sure, I got this, Jack.”

I stuck my head out back, “Girls, come inside.”

I waited until the other 4 came in.

I said, “I have around 800 or 900 eggs in the back of the Jeep. While you were asleep, I was busy working to feed you girls. Things are going to run out if we don’t get ahead of our situation.”

“You are now no longer little schoolgirls. You have adult responsibilities for yourself and the other girls here in Savannah. The time for talking about raising animals and food is over. We must start doing that now or go hungry next year.”

I said, “_I_, as head boss-man here, have decided I need two of you to help me. I want Izzy, for one, because I trust her and know her well. I also want Everly because I need a central contact point for all the other schoolgirls. She already does that to an extent. I don’t know any of the other girls outside of you five.”

“Izzy is going to take you out to the Jeep, and you can bring in all the eggs. Izzy, here’s the keys, all of you go bring the eggs in. Everly, stay behind a minute, please.”

The other four headed for the front door.

“Everly, we can’t have chaos and mayhem like this morning. I was off doing my best for you girls, and I come home to get all that bitching I got? Please. Never again. Tell them to cool it, or I will spank the next girl that gets out of hand.”

I said, “Just so you know my background, I was a senior sergeant in the Marines. I WILL be respected or someone is going to get it. I mean that. I told Izzy I want you two to repeat this mantra daily; Act like a child - get treated like a child. I mean that with all my heart and soul. Someone will not be able to sit down if she crosses me again.”

“This is very important; they need to grow up NOW. All of the girls here are responsible for each other. All 126 of you former schoolgirls and my two. If anyone gives you any shit. You tell me. OK, you can go now, and thank you, dear.”

The girls were making trips back and forth. It looked like they were done.

Izzy came in, “That’s the last of the eggs.”

I said, “Good, time for you to learn how to drive, Izzy.”

“Huh? I don’t have a license.”

I smiled, “Don’t worry, Officer Dimple-Butt of the Savannah Pee Dee will never pull you over.” She giggled.

We got in the Jeep.

I said, “I can’t be the only driver. I need at least one more right away, probably two or three soon. We also need a van, something that carries more than a couple people. I figure with 126 girls and you and Peyton. We need a bus or a big passenger van of some sort. Right now, I need another driver. You are she.”

We spent the next hour familiarizing her with the Jeep’s controls. I took her to a mega church’s parking lot and had her park, start, stop, and take us up to 25 miles an hour and then stop again.

Then, I had her take us out onto the streets. We lazed along at 25 miles an hour for a while. For now, I was limiting her to a slow speed. She needed to develop the reaction time and reflexes she would need. I had her cruise about as we looked for something with more seats.

As we drove, I considered the issue of a van. We had not driven far, but we had not seen anything we wanted. We drove past a giant car lot and saw it was a Carmax. As far as I knew they carried mostly used cars. Who cares if it’s new? There are hundreds of choices to pick from.

I had Izzy turn around, and we went back to Carmax. We pulled in, and she and I walked up and down the rows, looking at cars. She liked a full-sized van from Ford. It’s a Ford Transit. It’s tan on the outside.

It’s a 2025 Transit® Passenger Van. It is a model XL and has 12-passenger seating in four rows. I thought about removing the fourth-row seats. Cargo carrying would be improved.

It was big for Izzy. It’s a tank, really, but almost underpowered. It should be a good starter vehicle for Izzy. There are no traffic jams so a bigger van should not be much of an issue.

It would fit the current 5 girls just fine, plus some more. It was not my ideal car, but it was a good choice as a starter passenger vehicle. She liked it, and that was important to her.

We went inside the showroom and saw sets of clothes and shoes around here and there. I was glad the dust from the bodies was now gone.

We looked around until we found the box where all the keys were kept. Then, we needed to find the key that opened the key box. That key to the key box was sitting on the desk in the sales managers office. That took time to locate.

We located the keys we wanted for her Transit Van and went out to look at the van she had picked. 22K miles on it. It has a V-6, a 3.5 Liter engine, and a 10-speed automatic. Just what the doctor ordered. I checked the fluids. It was good to go. The oil was clean.

We saddled up. The dash was quite techy. Izzy played with the dash control for several minutes. Soon, she was comfortable with it and ready to drive. It connects to her phone.

She was soon driving around, and the map part was working well. I thought the map on the screen looked a little too cartoon colored. She loved it; that’s what mattered. It sits 12, but the back row folds down clumsily. It’s not good for carrying cargo as it sits.

Izzy took me back to Carmax, and I got my Jeep and followed her back to the house. I was treated properly when we arrived.

There were two extra girls; they were the Chinese girls from just down the street. They are Hsiu Chen and Hsiu Li, 18-year-old twins. They go by Chen and Li. Evidently, Chinese names are reversed.”

Everly approached me and asked to meet me in the office upstairs.

“Jack, nobody has come to get any eggs. It seems almost nobody can drive. I was told different things like: I don’t have a license, I’ve never had lessons, or I don’t know the rules.”

I said, “I can see that now. The short-term solution is for Izzy to give a few girls driving lessons. They don’t need licenses; there are no cops now. Those girls need to stay under 25 miles an hour for the first few months. If they wreck at 25 and have seat belts on, they should be plenty safe enough.”

“Izzy and I had picked up the little 12-passenger van, and she is checked out driving it and the Jeep.”

I said, “Tomorrow, you and Izzy, along with Brooke and Meilani, will start shifting girls closer to here.”

I continued, “If nobody will move, we can consider driving lessons for others. We can’t help girls who are not close enough to be helped. It’s that simple. Some of the girls should begin shifting to Wainwright Country Club.”

I said, “The long-term problem is that gasoline will last barely a year. It begins to degrade and loses its ability to power an engine. That goes equally for diesel engines. It will be hard enough of they are in walking distance.”

I said, “Electric cars may last longer - that’s a big maybe. If the power goes out, we’re still screwed. If the batteries degrade, we’re screwed. A big issue is I am not aware of any battery powered vehicles that carry people or cargo well. We may have to worry about that issue later.

I said, “I also need help with the animals and farming. A minimum of eight helpers to start now. If not, none of those girls will ever eat salads, fresh vegetables, or fresh fruits ever again.”

“A few years from now, canned food will no longer be any good. I won’t kill myself to feed a bunch of lazy slackers who won’t help themselves. That’s a Darwinian issue.”

“Huh?”

I said, “If the girls refuse to evolve in this new world, they are doomed to die. Charles Darwin came up with evolution. That has not been a theory for decades. Animals do evolve. Failure to evolve means extinction.

I said, “OK. Begin by packing some of them in here at Brook’s house, and in the Hsiu house. All 126 girls need to know they MUST move to the country club or someday. If not, they WILL be left out. We will tell them about driving later. A big thing is, with them driving, that will only last as long as the fuel holds out. Gasoline and diesel go bad as they age. That’s how it is.”

I said, “If not, I cannot help them, and they will be out on their own.”

I paused, “Please ask Chen and Li to come up. I will need help tomorrow with the chicken ranch.”

She left. A few minutes later, Chen and Li came in.

I said, “Hello, ladies, this is the first chance I have had to meet you. The short of it is we are in danger, and it’s getting worse as time goes on. As far as I can tell, I am the only man anywhere in this area.”

“I brought Isobel & Peyton here by sailboat. Everly tells me there are a total of 126 school girls from the Garrett school in the area. They live locally and are the only people still alive that you know of.

I said, “Please understand that’s a lot of responsibility on my shoulders. I think I am the only one here that grew up on a farm. I am not really a farmer; my Dad’s place was more of a hobby farm, but I’ll try my best. I want to ask you two to help me with the chicken farm I have found.”

I said, “Right now, I really need two girls that are capable of working together to help me. In a couple years the grocery stores will be barren and the remaining food too dangerous to eat.”