Wall III The Paul Herrington Experience

By Thomas G. Baker

Sixteen-year-old Paul Herrington Jr. finds himself perplexed as the world around him suddenly collapses, his life as an average teenager transformed into a desperate struggle for survival along the banks of the Kentucky River.
This is the story of a boy forced by events into early manhood, and his adventures as he discovers his place in a world destroyed by famine and conflict

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thomas G. Baker
• Release date: Jun 16, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301748242

Thomas G. Baker

After years of living on his sailboat in the small laid back village of Astor Fl.Tom has, as they say, has swallowed the anchor. He now resides in the tiny hamlet of Big Bone, Kentucky beside the creek bearing the same name. With an affable orange tomcat named Tom-Tom as companion he spends his days communing with nature, writing novels, and reminiscing with old and dear friends.

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WALL III

The Paul Herrington Jr.

Experience

Thomas G. Baker

WALL III

The Paul Herrington Jr. Experience

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or localities is entirely coincidental.

WALL The Paul Herrington Jr. Experience

Copyright © 2012 by Thomas G. Baker

ISBN 13:

Smashwords Edition

License Notes

All rights reserved. No part of this ebook may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the author.

Table of Contents

Chapter I The Collapse

Chapter II The Rescue

Chapter III The Rough riders

Chapter IV Full Steam Ahead

Chapter V The Reverend Snow

Chapter VI The Kathryn Mc Graw

Chapter VII Higher than a Georgia Pine

Chapter VIII We Got Company Coming

Chapter IX Rollin on the River

Chapter X Tense Times on the Ten-Tom

Chapter XI A taste of Civilization

Dedication

This book is dedicated to those few among us many who diligently strive in the quest to unlock and understand the human experience, to unearth mans past and chart his course into future. Too many times they are the voices in the wilderness, the canaries in the coalmine their cries drown out by the herd of humanity as it thunders along headed toward the wall, the ultimate wall.

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Preface

Like the main characters I write about, over my lifetime I have become increasingly alarmed about the growth in world population. I see it as the greatest threat faced by mankind. By our failure to recognize and to act we may be condemning future generations to a life of abject poverty in a world unfit to live in, that is if there are future generations. I have therefore attempted to present the reader with one possible scenario though there are likely many others many even less desirable.

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Introduction

We live in the age of information and the global economy. We have within the last two century’s advanced the development of homo sapiens farther and faster than it has traveled in all of previous human existence. We have used our technology to populate the planet with more people alive today than have existed throughout the entire species history. We must stop and ask ourselves if we using this technology wisely or simply squandering it for profit and short term gain? So far we seem bent on overcoming and circumventing the walls, which have kept all of natures’ creatures in balance and harmony. We are no longer creating a better world to hand down to future generations but instead are leaving them with only the prospects for a grim future.

Paul Herrington Jr. was a typical sixteen-year-old living in Georgetown Kentucky going about his daily life. Like most of today’s teenagers world events were of little concern and took a back seat to the problems of adolescence that is until….

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Chapter I The Collapse

I disliked hearing my parents argue but these days Mom and Dad had been griping a lot mostly about everything but especially food, gasoline, and, money. Like my contemporaries I went out of my way to avoid the unpleasantries of life preferring to concentrate only on what was important to a sixteen year old. When the news of the world turned grim I like kids everywhere turned a deaf ear and was content to leave it to the adults to sort things out as they always did.

It therefore came as a total surprise when we were summoned to the gym just before Christmas break. The principal told us that due to the current crises school would be suspended until further notice. This was a turning point for suddenly it affected the central core of my life and could no longer be ignored. That evening I made a point of joining in the family conversation as I suddenly had lots of questions for which I had no answers.

I asked, Dad what’s going on? I mean they’re closing school, something about a national emergency? Are we at war or something?

He said, Just what in the hell rock have you been hiding under. Things have been going to hell in a hand basket for months don’t you ever listen to the news at all?

I’d be the first to admit that news had never been a priority unless of course it entailed something of interest such as a new game, celebrity scandal, or crime committed close to home. Otherwise it was all just talking heads spouting gibberish.

I listened while dad explained what was happening around the world. Like the famine in Africa, the wars that broke out in the Middle East and between India and Pakistan of the attacks on South Korea and Japan by North Korea. How the droughts and growing shortages of food and fuel had the economy on the verge of collapse.

Knowledge that there wouldn’t be enough gasoline for dad to get to work truly hit home. I had been looking forward to getting my drivers license and was hoping to have a car by my next birthday. What dad was telling me sucked as it was going to wreck all my plans.

I suddenly felt sheepish as all this crap was going on around me and I hadn’t a clue. That night I went to bed and thought it over and remembered what dad had said, "There are three kinds of people; those who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who wonder what in the hell happened." It was for sure I fell in the last group as I could only wonder what it all meant and just hoped it would be over soon.

We lived in a split-level just outside of Georgetown, Kentucky in a nice subdivision close to I-75. Dad worked at the big Toyoda plant making Camry’s until it shut down and almost everyone around was thrown out of work. Food was becoming scarce the grocery store shelves grew barer by the day. Walking down isles seeing all the empty shelves was eerie and mom struggled to come up with meals complaining she couldn’t get enough of anything to put a decent meal on the table anymore. Then one day there was a sign on Kroger’s door saying that the store would be closed to regular business. Instead it would open as a distribution center and people whose last names began with A thru E could line up on Monday those F thru L on Tuesday and so on.

I went to the store with mom she had made out a wish list and we waited for almost three hours but when we got to the head of the line she was handed a cardboard box with assorted cans and bags. As I carried it back to the car she looked through it and said, There’s no way I can stretch this until next week.

Over the following months I came to learn what it was to go to bed hungry. Sometimes I would lay awake remembering all the food I had wasted or left on my plate over the years. Things kept getting worse and without any gasoline we were forced to walk all the way into town. It was already August and dad was worried about what we were going to do for heat this winter. He and mom had a meeting and decided we should move to the old home place on the Kentucky River.

Dad said since there weren’t any jobs or school we’d be just as well off someplace where we could fish, hunt, and next spring if things hadn’t improved put out a garden. I didn’t relish being forced to spend a winter in the decrepit, drafty old farmhouse isolated from everyone I knew. Dad tried to explain how much better off we’d be but I just couldn’t see it. Surely the government would do something it always had. I tried every persuasion, but in the end despite my protests we got ready to move.

Another reason for my reluctance to leave was a biggie Melissa Lambert who I had began dating before school closed. She was my first steady girlfriend and a real dream smart, funny, and popular. Our relationship had blossomed into love culminating in our going all the way in the back seat of Gary’s Warner’s Civic. It was the first time for both of us and though we tried all summer events had made spending time together almost impossible. We had managed to meet a few times but for the most part had to settle on talking and texting several times a day. Our feelings and passion for each other remained strong but our physical relationship was withering on the vine.

I did get to ride my bike over to her house to say goodbye. We talked and held hands and when the grown ups weren’t looking kissed long and deep promising to be faithful to each other and to always keep in touch. I thought a couple of times of begging dad to let me stay with Ted or Gary so I could be among friends and keep seeing Missy. Yet I knew when my dad made up his mind that was it.

Dad managed to scrounge enough gas for the trip and we packed the car with those things he and mom deemed essential. All my essentials were declared nonessential, as there wouldn’t be any electricity to run the television, my X Box, computer, iPad, or even a cell phone. To be stripped of all technology, my friends, and Missy left me totally miserable. Dad made the off handed remark that my gadgets hadn’t done me much good as I didn’t have a clue about what was going on anyway.

My father had been raised on a small hardscrabble farm along the Kentucky River. When he and mom married they moved to Georgetown and he took a job with Toyota. After grandma and grandpa died there had been talk from time to time about selling the place as for the most part it was abandoned and used only for the infrequent family reunions or hunting. I had bagged my first buck along the riverbank last November. All I’d been worried about then was getting the rack mounted and gave away the meat. This year priorities had changed a growling belly was already providing me with added incentive and I was looking forward this hunting season more to putting meat on the table than hanging a trophy on the wall.

As I said the old farm was overgrown and run down especially this year since there had been no gas for the lawn mower or to bush-hog the fields. The house had suffered decades of neglect except for the new roof dad had put on a couple of years ago. There wasn’t even electricity or telephone. The bathroom dated back to the stone ages with an old porcelain tub on legs. Even when we had electricity the toilet was prone to clogging so most opted to use the rickety stinky outhouse in the back yard.

We moved in and while mom unpacked dad and I hacked paths through the waist high weeds in the yard. As I slashed at the grass with a corn knife I was pissed at all the adults in the world for letting things get to the point where I had to endure such hardship. It just wasn’t fair, I couldn’t get my drivers license or see my girlfriend and was cut off from civilization with no games, facebook, cell phone, or friends, nothing.

I didn’t have much time to dwell on my plight as from the first day on Dad and I worked almost from dawn to dark. I didn’t know my old man had it in him. I had never been able to see him at work in the Toyoda plant but he sure threw himself into the task of making the old homestead livable. I considered myself no slouch and had played both football and basketball in school yet found keeping pace with dad left me looking forward to crawling into bed at night. He never complained just kept pecking away at whatever task until it was done. Once in a while he’d look over grin and say, Come on junior you gonna let an old man out do you. Show me what you got.

Food was our biggest problem. Dad and mom had scrounged enough from the neighbors and Baptist Church to give us a few weeks supply but after that we would be on our own. We had been here a little over two weeks and were already running low. Dad was going into town with our neighbors the Williamson’s who lived on the next farm down river. Dad had grown up with the sons Rolland and Mike. They were close friends and though they were dad’s age treated me like a younger brother. I asked to go along so I could call Missy but dad said stay here grab a pole and catch us something for supper.

I was more than a little disappointed but went ahead and dug up some night crawlers, got the poles, and walked down to the river. It was one of those glorious September days more like spring than fall. I sat on the bank with my fishing pole waiting for a bite and begin to think. I was growing worried because I was sure mom and dad were both going hungry at times so that I had enough to eat. For the first time in my life I began to realize the sacrifices my parents were making for my well-being. Going over the events of the last couple of months I thought about how shallow and selfish I had been, worried only about what I wanted, and taking full advantage of being an only child.

I had never learned what it was to share rather just soaked up my parents’ affection and good will like a sponge and thinking of it as my just due. I mused how one-sided it had all been and now my parents were even going to bed hungry while I stuffed myself.

I suppose for everyone there comes that one special moment of awakening when for the first time life takes on a new perspective and clarity. The moment when focus shifts from one's self to their place in the world around them and a boy comes to lose his child like naivety and begins to reason more like a man. Looking back mine came on that bright fall afternoon as I sat fishing on the banks of the Kentucky River.

No longer would I see fishing as just sport something to pass the time. It was work an essential element in the game of survival and could mean the difference between life and death. I threw myself into the endeavor and vowed that as long as there were fish in this river my family would never again know hunger.

Dad came back from town and said things had gotten a helluva lot worse, and they had seen people showing the effects of advanced malnutrition. He and the Williamson’s had managed to pick up a few things but felt from now on we would have to live off the land and that meant we would have to start hunting, trapping, and fishing almost every day.

He said what had worried them the most was the Army and National Guard was working with county officials. They were going around to every farm and systematically stripping them of livestock and crops then forcing folks to pack up and go with them. Abner told dad he thought the government had gone stupid crazy strippin’ the whole country like a pack of locusts. He allowed there wasn’t going to be a hope of hangin’ on through the winter much less puttin’ a crop out next spring. He was expecting any time to see them roll onto his place.

Dad and mom talked it over. Mom wanted to go but dad said he had his suspicions that there was no way the army was going to be able to do what it was promising. Especially if they crowded millions into camps like they were talking about. Even if people managed to get through the winter there wasn’t going to be enough food to last until next years crops matured.

He said we should try to stay and ride it out right here. We’d only leave if they found us and took away Abner’s livestock and crops.

We waited for the army to come knocking on the door. They came close but we and Williamsons lived down a gravel lane over a mile from the main road. It looked like a driveway to nowhere and they had missed us. Dad and the Williamson’s worked to camouflage it a little better and had even taken down the mail boxes. Mike and Rolland would sneak out from time to time and check and by the middle of October they were certain most everyone was gone except us.

The Williamson’s had managed to obtain a little gasoline and gave dad enough to run the chain saw so we could cut wood for winter. We spent part of each day cutting, carrying, and stacking it in the back yard. Dad remarked, We got it easy think how hard the old-timers had it using only an ax and cross cut saw. Granddad told me when he was a kid they used to spend most of their spare time getting up enough wood to last through the winter.

The days grew colder October brought the first dusting of snow and I could see what dad meant. Even though we cut at every opportunity the woodpile remained static sometimes growing a little sometimes shrinking. I realized we would have to cut everyday if we expected to keep any kind of reserve for the days when weather conditions would be too inclement to venture out.

I had never spent much one on one time with my father as adults had their world and we kids tended to live in ours. Over the past weeks I had come to know my dad for the person he was as we worked and hunted together. He had skills I never knew existed and taught me such things as how to lay out a trap line or set up a salt lick by hanging a salt block wrapped in burlap from a tree branch. We set out fish traps and trotlines in the river. Vegetables were scarce and we were for the most part becoming carnivores.

The Williamson’s were holding their own and had life somewhat better than us as they’d been preparing all summer by raising a big garden. They had put away potatoes, beets, onions, and had canned vegetables, fruits, and jellies. They were more then happy to help us out anyway they could and when dad or I shot a deer or caught a good mess of fish we’d share the meat.

Abner Williamson came by one afternoon and asked if dad and I would go with them and help fetch some horses. The next morning when we set off in their pickup he told dad that a friend of theirs had a herd of Quarter horses and a couple of Percherons. Abner said the army had missed them on the first go around but was afraid they’d come back. The owners were leaving and couldn’t stand the thought that they’d be taken and butchered for food. Abner felt that horses were going to be important assets for transportation and work so even though it was risky he didn’t want to pass the offer up.

It was ten miles to the ranch when we got there the horses were in a corral. I counted seventeen and the two huge Percherons. I had never touched a horse much less ridden one. When I expressed my reservations Abner grunted and said, Ride a bicycle don’t you? Same damn thing only difference you don’t have to peddle and the horse does most the fartin.’

Dad helped me put on the saddle and bridle and said, Don’t worry just take it easy they tell me this ones real gentle.

After an hour we were ready to set out the four of us doing the herding, as Abner had to drive the pickup truck that was loaded with saddles and other horse stuff.

We didn’t have to worry about traffic Abner’s pickup had been the only car or truck on the roads. I asked dad and he said that was how bad things were. Most folks had gone with the Army those left had no gasoline so were stranded and getting desperate. I’d noticed that except for me everyone was wearing a pistol. I had thought it was in case we saw a deer or something but now it started to sink in that there were people much less fortunate than we were.

I started to wonder what the conditions were like back in our old subdivision and how Missy was doing. Did she and her family have enough to eat? It was for sure they weren’t doing any fishing or hunting. Maybe they had already gone to the camps with the army. I hadn’t thought about a cell phone in weeks, as there wasn’t any signal at the farm. I noticed Abner’s oldest son Mike had a phone on his belt. I asked if I could to borrow it. Mike said, Yeah but it probably won’t work damn towers down most of the time. He looked at it and said, I’ll be damned got a signal here you wanna call somebody.

He rode over and passed me the phone. It took a couple of minutes to remember Missy’s number. I dialed and was surprised as it was answered almost immediately and I heard Missy’s voice say, Hello.

I said, Missy it’s me Paul, how are you?

She said, Oh my God Paul it is you. Where are you?

I said, Herding horses.

She said Herding horses?

I said, It’s a long story how you doing?

She said, It’s horrible we have nothing to eat nothing at all. Mom and dad are both real sick. The lady next door died yesterday they’re digging a grave in the back yard. Everyone’s hungry they even stole my dog dotty.

I asked, What about the army and the food center can’t you get there?

She said, The army’s all gone and there isn’t any food center. Nothing no food anywhere everybody’s starving, you can’t imagine how bad it is. Paul there’s no heat in the house people are dying everywhere. We’re all going to die.

I heard her breakdown and start crying. I had no idea what to say so hesitated then told her, Don’t cry it’s going to be all right I’ll think of something. What about Ted, Gary, and Steve you hear from them?

She said, They’re no better off than we are.

I said, Missy I love you I have to go just hang in there I want you to get hold of Gary or Ted. Tell them I called and that I’m working on something. I’ll try to call you tomorrow for sure.

She said, Please try but sometimes the phones don’t work. Paul I’m so scared, I love you and miss you so much.

I said, I love you too. Don’t worry It’s going to be all right.

We said goodbye and I handed the phone back to Mike.

He asked, Get through?

I said, Yeah but things are getting really bad aren’t they?

He said, Worse than bad. People are dyin’ like flies and it’s fixin’ to get a helluva sight worse fur it gets better.

The realization that my friends were dying of cold and starvation struck me like a bullet. I guess I had harbored this idea that somehow they were all still getting by. What could I possibly do to help them? It was hard enough to feed my own family we were just skating by as it was and had no extra food to give away. Yet I just couldn’t bare the thought of knowing that Missy was going hungry. I didn’t know what I was going to do but was determined to do something.

We plodded along I was glad the mare I was riding knew a hell of a lot more about horseback riding than I did. She had been doing all the leading and for the most part I was a passenger trying to look the part of a cowboy. We decided to go cross-country and had cut through a couple of abandoned farms. We’d stopped to open a pole gap when two guys came out of an old barn. Both had rifles one of them went up to Mike. I was too far away to overhear the gist of the conversation but as it went on grew louder and from what little I could catch guessed that they wanted some horses.

Dad was close to me and said, Paul take your horse and go back to the rear. That was easier said than done my horse did what it wanted and I had no idea of how to make it turn around as all my attempts so far had little if any effect. I looked over and saw that dad had taken the .45 revolver out of its holster and had it hidden from view of the two men.

I was absorbed in trying to get my horse turned around and follow dad’s wishes when the first shot went off. I looked up just as Mikes horse reared and he went off backwards. Dad fired and one of the men fell. The other pointed the rifle toward us but Mike’s brother Rolland shot twice and he too went down. The startled horses scattered mine tried to go with them but I jerked the reins hard and for once it obeyed took only a couple of steps and stopped.

Dad and Rolland were already off their horses running to the spot where Mike was lying. I looked on in disbelief not fully comprehending what had just happened. Then I saw one of the men reaching for his rifle. I shouted as loud as I could, DAD BEHIND YOU. Dad turned and I watched as the 45 went off and part of the man’s head exploded into pieces.

I jumped off my horse and had the forethought to hold onto the reins, reached over got dads reins as well, and tied them off to the fence. On the way over to where Mike was laying I walked passed the men and couldn’t help but look. It was grossest thing I had ever seen. Dad had blown off half of the one guy’s face the other had been shot in the chest. Both looked shaggy and unkempt like they were homeless. I was relieved to see Mike sitting up rubbing a bloody shoulder. He said, That bastard was going to kill me over a fucking horse. I’m OK it’s just a scratch my ass hurts a lot worse than my shoulder does. He got to his feet dusted himself off and said, Everything still works.

Attention was turned to the two bodies. We walked over and stood looking down at them. Dad said, The son of a bitch didn’t give me any choice… wonder who in the hell they were.

Rolland said, They sure didn’t live around here probably just passin’ through. I’m afraid were gonna start gettin’ a lot more of em.

There were a couple of backpacks in the barn. Dad and Rolland went through them, but there wasn’t any identification. We dragged the bodies over by the fencerow and went to work rounding up the horses which hadn’t ventured far and it only took a few minutes. Dad opened the gap and we herded the horses through and went on our way leaving the bodies unburied. I thought how fast things had changed. A few months ago this place would have been crawling with cops not to mention news teams from Lexington. Now nobody even cared and we went on our way like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. I knew now beyond a shadow of a doubt the world I had known was forever changed.

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Chapter II The Rescue

We herded the horses safely to the Williamson’s then dad and I walked home. It had been as he said, One helluva day. I asked him what had happened.

He said, They were just hungry men, people get desperate when they’re hungry they do desperate things and abandon all the good within them just to survive. That’s why I wanted us to leave and come here to get away from it all. For awhile it’s going to be like one of those end of the world movies you used to watch…we may starve along with them but I’d like to do it with a little dignity.

I said, I called Missy her family’s starving so is everybody else, all my friends. I want to do something it’s not right just to let them die but I don’t know what I can do? Dad I need to do something!

We walked on a little ways in silence then said, "For a kid that didn’t seem to know his ass from a hole in the ground a month ago you’ve come a long ways fast. I think you know by now were right in the middle of an apocalypse like the world’s never seen.

"Junior I’m sorry we brought you into such a lousy world but I had no idea things was ever gonna get this bad. It bothers me too. There’s lots of folks don’t deserve to go through this either but there’s nothing I can do about it. My only job now is to protect you and Ann the best I can.

After what we went through today you know what we could be up against. People are going to start foraging and they’re not about to stop when they come to our front gate. Those were just two but I’d bet it won’t be long before there’s others, better organized roaming around taking anything they want.

I thought as we walked along. Things could have been different. It could have been us lying along the fence row this afternoon. I mentally pictured myself in the weeds with half my head blown off. Who knew what was coming next. Our little place was like an oasis compared to the world around it. Cold weather would soon be here and with any luck maybe it would keep us somewhat safe.

Still I couldn’t get over thinking about my friends knowing they were back home cold and hungry. Lying in bed that night I dreamed up all sorts of plans. Most were goofy wild schemes, holdovers from my kid days, but I felt a couple of them held some merit. By morning I had it mostly worked out. I couldn’t pull something like this off by myself no-way. I was going to need help and lots of it. I also knew it was going to be a hard sell that dad would try to talk me out of it. There wasn’t time to wait for the right moment to come along so I started in at breakfast.

I said, Dad I got a plan.

I did my level best putting everything I had been thinking on the table. Starting with the reasons why I thought it would be good for all of us because I knew if I could sell dad then I had a chance.

He listened and when I finished turned to mom who had been listening intently and said, The kid makes a good point. What do you think?

My mother said, It would be a lot to take on especially right now, and it could put us all in jeopardy. What about the families Paul have you thought about them at all?

I said, Mom it looks like everybody I know is gonna die… I don’t want to live by myself forever. I don’t know if they’ll wanna leave home or not but I gotta ask them.

Dad looked at my mother turned to me and said, Go take a walk and gas up the chain saws. Your mother and I need to think about this.

I had done all I could to make my case. I knew better than to pursue it further as experience had taught me that badgering my parents usually didn’t produce the desired results. I went out to the shed, gassed up the saws and fiddled around hoping that when they reached a decision it would be favorable.

I had grown up with Gary, Ted, and Steve we were more like brothers than friends. Our families had always been close, so much that at times it was hard to tell whose kid belonged to whom. Melissa was the only new comer to the group yet even my mother