Chapter 8: Janice - In El Paso

He began. "My name is Bill Edwards. I was a young teen on the Day. My parents, older brother, and younger sister all survived. None of us even got sick.

"We lived for a couple of years on our cattle ranch going into town when we needed supplies. The stores were deserted as was most of the town. After a few years, people started to band together. There were six families left in our area and we grouped together on some things. It was quiet for a number of years. About six or seven years ago, no one came traveling through any more until a big group came into town. They said that they were taking over and we would have to obey. One of our friends shot at them and they mowed him down. They took his wife and kids and we never saw them again. My parents are still there. My brother and I were impressed into what they call the militia three years ago. My sister had married one of the local guys but she was taken away and he was shot. My brother and I had talked it over. As soon as we could, we were going to leave and return to the ranch. There are some hills where we could hide and no one would ever find us.

"I was sent out on this patrol to try to breech the defenses with that other guy. You caught us. The militia doesn't have running vehicles or electricity. The leaders don't think having those things is good. That's why they attack El Paso. Also, they need women. Rick was wrong to attack you but neither of us gets to be with women. We don't have enough rank. Women don't have status with the group."

I said, "They do here and where I'm from. How many men are in the militia?"

He answered, "Just over a hundred. Almost half were impressed like my brother and me."

"Okay, now if we set you free, what are your plans?"

He said, "I would like a meal and a place to sleep. In the morning, I will hunt for my brother and then we'll leave for my parents' ranch. If I get caught, I will tell them that Jerry got in front of me and was killed in an ambush. I will tell them that El Paso is ready for trouble. I can show you on a map where we came into town."

"Okay. I'm sure that information will be interesting." Charlie and Andrea were close. I said, "Charlie, untie him. He needs to stay close to someone in the family." He nodded and went to untie Bill. After untying him, the three had a seat at one of the long tables. I went to Dale.

He said, "You must feel confident."

"Yes. Bill talked and you will note that I never touched him."

"Yes. But I heard what you said. I believed you."

"That was good. I don't bluff. Once all your fingers are mangled, amputation of the hand is the next step though I've never had to get that far."

Dale said, "Remind me not to ever make you mad." He grinned. "Tim is a good man and you may have knocked sense back into him. He and his wife had a difficult time. She wasn't a nice person and her children took after her. They left headed south. He's been giving all the women the eye since."

"He had better be careful around my fellow wives and girls, they can protect themselves plus Robby and Bennie will be watching him subtly. If he bothers Andrea, he should hope Charlie isn't with her. Charlie would hurt him."

Dale said, "I think he could." We parted and he started toward Charlie and Andrea to talk about the radios they found. Before I could get there, Tim came up to me. He stopped about five feet away.

He held out his hand and said, "Missus Janice. I apologize. I haven't been civilized since my wife left me and maybe not before that. Please forgive me. I would like to be friends with you and your family. You teach painful lessons. My shoulder still hurts."

I shook his hand. "Apology accepted, Tim. I was going to talk with my son, Charlie, and Andrea about the radios we found, why don't you join us?"

We walked over and I said, "Do you mind if we join you?"

Charlie looked at Tim but said to me, "No, ma'am."

Andrea giggled as we sat down. "Missus Janice, I just thought. If you and one of Charlie's other mothers are standing together, how do you figure out who is 'mom?'"

We all laughed. I said, "Usually, the son or daughter is specific or it won't matter which one of us answers."

Charlie said, "Yes. Who answers and what they say is the rule then, too. You learn to be specific when you have to." We all laughed again.

I said, "Okay, Charlie. What did you find?"

He answered, "We found a Kenwood guy at the first place. He had two 450SAT radios with manuals! He only had one power supply for twenty amps but plenty of coax and wire. We pulled down a lot from there. We also found a G5RV still in its plastic bag. I thought I would put that at Andy's house.

"I picked up the other and found a power supply at the next house that will do. That guy was into two-meter radios. I think he had about fifteen regular mobile rigs. If we can power up a repeater, we could set communications for the region here. It's fairly flat and line of sight is what works on VHF."

"Charlie that was an excellent job! I will send you along with a radio setup to Andy's parents' house. You can install it tomorrow if that works for her parents. Tonight, get on the net and talk to your grandmother. Ask her to get you a list of hams and addresses for El Paso. It will make future efforts even more productive. She has repeater lists also. She will have to look all that up. Talk to Andrea's parents. If they allow your installation tomorrow, you can coordinate with grandmother for your test and the information."

At that point, Herb was walking by and saw his daughter involved in a deep conversation with Charlie and me. He said, "Is there anything I can help with?"

Andy said, "Hi, dad. We found radios today. Charlie, you tell him."

"Mister Herb, we found radios. I selected one for your house. It would make it easy for your wife and you to listen on the net and talk to other people in our communities."

"So, what do you need from me?"

"May I come over tomorrow morning and install it. When you pick a place, Andy can show me. We can set it up and test it. I have a manual and I can put in a two-meter radio there also."

"Andy is it? Andy, you've always reserved that for special people."

"Dad, I think he is. He saved my life today."

Charlie quickly said, "No, sir. I just got us off the road to a safe spot and called in my Mom and Dads. They did the saving."

Herb looked at me. I said, "Charlie did what he was supposed to do, did it coolly, and did it right. He followed what he had been taught and prevented your daughter from being at risk."

Herb said, "That's a lot sometimes, particularly when you're under pressure.

"Okay, young man. You can perform your installation and test.

"Andy, you know the family rules. Obey them."

She responded, "Yes, sir. Charlie's rules are stricter and he obeys them. Mom trusts him."

"That says a lot. Coordinate timing with your mother but tell her it's okay with me."

"Yes, sir." Herb moved away and Andrea breathed a happy sigh of relief.

"Why were you worried?"

"I know he's my step-father but he loves me and my mother very much. I trust him and love him as if he were my real dad. If he approves of something, it's like everything else. He thinks things out and weighs the possibilities. He was our leader before Mister Dale was elected. The only reason he isn't now is that he refused to run. For that reason, my mom was nominated and elected to the council.

"I like to think that, if my first dad had survived, my mom would have two husbands and he still would be my dad."

I said, "That's pretty high praise for him. Okay, your plans are approved pending approval from your mother, Andrea. Take care of that and, Charlie, don't forget to talk to your grandmother. I'm sure your Uncle Mike will let you answer for us tonight. You will need paper and pen for tomorrow. Get a time."

They echoed, "Yes, ma'am." I'm not sure which one was happier. I know I was glad my son wouldn't be out in the city tomorrow. I wanted to work with my spouses and a few folks from here and set up a really good ambush.

It wasn't a surprise that Charlie sat with the Harold family at supper nor that he and Andrea had talked to Mindy and received her approval. They had also talked to Mike and he was willing to let Charlie handle things. He later told me that he drilled him on proper protocol for sending a message to his mother. He admitted that Charlie was already letter perfect.

After supper, it was time for the radio net. Charlie went to the seat in front of the radio and sat down with Andrea in a chair beside him.

Charlie went through the process of turning on the radio, perhaps making a few extra unnecessary adjustments. He finished in time for everyone to hear Judith's pretty voice say, "Good evening. This is Judith Andrews. The Survivor's Net is now on the air. Are there any new members?" She paused. "Does anyone have traffic this evening?"

Charlie keyed the mike. "This is Charlie in El Paso with traffic for Grandmother Shirley." After being told to go ahead, he said, 'Grandmother, are you on frequency?"

Momma Shirley came on and, in her warm tones, said, "Charlie, my boy. Go ahead. I'm ready to copy."

"Grandmother, we found two radios and will install one tomorrow. If you could be available to help check it out at about eleven your time, that would be great."