How could three weeks have passed so quickly?? So much has happened, new people, fights, new information on the fall of civilization, plans, training, and so much more! We have been non-stop on the go the entire time…until today. We decided that today would be a “free day” to do as we please. Now don’t get me wrong, we still have to take our turns doing SecFor duty (Security Force – protection of the camp) but we are used to that. Just to have the rest of our time free is amazing! I will take the time to try and get caught up to speed on everything that has happened. So lots of writing to do…

We started with a group of 23 heading from Las Cruces to my cousin Bill’s cabin north of town. There was:

Myself and my wife Lisa. We are old people, I am in my early 60’s and Lisa is 3 years younger.

Matt and his wife Susie, he is 54, she 53. He was a real estate appraiser, she an office manager. We’ve known them a long time and they have done some prepping and he has done a decent amount of civilian weapons training.

Kim and Daniel, Matt/Susie’s daughter and son-in-law. They are 28/27 respectively and have two daughters ages 3 and 1. Daniel was a paramedic before he went to work for his father at his dad’s law firm as a paralegal. Kim was an EMT, then paramedic, then got her nursing degree and was a home health care nurse. But, she also spent a year in the emergency room doing trauma care.

There is Jim Hansen and his wife Nancy along with their 4 kids. Jim is in his early 40’s, in great shape, very little shooting/weapons experience, smart, very religious/spiritual, and a natural leader. Nancy is late 30’s I think, athletic (a dancer from what I hear), smart, wicked sense of humor, and very attractive (Jim married up). Oldest is a boy, Paul, age 15, big strong, athletic (football player), and smart. Girl, Morgan, age 13 (just turned 13, going on 19), smart, funny, a long distance runner in school, and cute as a button. Boy, Kurt, age 11, quiet, smart, looks like a carbon copy of his dad. Girl, Sherry, age 9, very quiet, smart, cute, looks like her mom.

And Jared. He is 22, and turns out he is still in the military…ahhhhh, on extended leave. He joined the Army the day he turned 17, was the youngest soldier to ever be accepted into and graduate from Ranger school. He is dangerous. He reminds me of a crouching tiger or stalking leopard. He has ZERO body fat, moves like a professional Olympian, and there is something else about this kid…I just wasn’t sure what it was. I know he wasn’t telling me everything, there is more about him hiding in the shadows. I know he spent 15 months in Afghanistan, but that is not it…there is more. And that I will write about shortly when the time is right.

Then the new commers just before we left Las Cruces…the Hurstons. There is husband/father Ken, 6’5”, athletic, age 39, funny as they come, smart, willing to learn anything, but no weapons training of any kind…and they showed up with nothing more than a shotgun. Annie, wife/mother, age 36, a marathon runner, smart, sarcastic funny, and she is as tall as me (6’1”). She is very attractive but tries to hide it. And, she has taken martial arts, Judo and Karate. They have twin boys (Tim & Trey), age 16. Strong, smart, athletic, quiet, and 6’2”, maybe taller. And they have twin girls (Melissa and Melody-goes by Mel), age 14, both play volley ball and run track so they too are athletic. And they are both about 5’7” or so. Both are knockout good looking…and they know it. Mel is pretty outspoken.

And of course Maria and Amy, my former next door neighbors. Turns out Maria is in her early 40’s, fit, quiet, competent, and showing no signs of animosity about me killing her husband. Her daughter Amy is gregarious, a high school basketball player, and on some kind of honor roll at school.

So there we have it…25 people strong!

• Old adults- 2 (Lisa & I)
• Middle aged adults- 3 (Matt & Susie, Maria)
• Young adults- 7 (Ken/Annie Hurston, Jim/Nancy Hansen, Jared, Kim/Daniel)
• Teenagers- 6 (Paul/Morgan Hansen, Tim/Trey/Melisa/Mel Hurston, Amy)
• Kids- 2 (Kurt/Sherry Hansen)
• Toddlers/infants- 2 (Judy/Maria)

Ah, but that leaves out the new folks that have joined us…

The 2 high school football players that came walking in. OK, rather captured while sneaking around the cabin area. They are friends of the Hurston girls who left a note hidden at their house telling the boys where they would be. But, I will save their story to be in sequence of events. But, for now…their names are Allen and Joseph (goes by Joe). They are seniors in high school, both 17, starters on the varsity football team, Allen a linebacker, Joe a wide receiver. Good kids, not particularly genius material but both have great attitudes. Their family stories are sad. At first I thought they were going to be boyfriends of the Hurston girls but they aren’t. Well, if they are, they hide it well It looks more like they are all really good friends from before E0.

And then there is Bill & Linda’s son’s family that showed up towards the end of the first week. Mike and Beth plus 3 kids.  Mike is mid-30’s, Beth, late 20’s. Kids are ages 4, 7, & 9, all boys (Peter, James, John…seriously, that’s their names). The whole family is stocky, not fat, just big. Mike is a firefighter/medic Beth is a school teacher. They are from Albuquerque originally.

Finally there is “Waif”…and we don’t know anything about him other than he appears to be about 10 years old. He showed up about 10 days ago. Was wandering down the river and spotted by one of our scout teams. He was filthy, stick thin, wouldn’t talk, didn’t resist them in any way, and wandered around camp like a zombie for the first 5 days. He still doesn’t talk but he is functional and has taken to Sherry Hurston. Not in a creepy way, just is almost always by her side. No one has yet to see if he sleeps, let alone where.

Well, technically there is another family…Pete and Dorothy Kane. They showed up a couple days ago. I’ve known them for about 6 years, they knew about Bill’s place. They had been preppers back when I knew them, but stopped a couple of years ago and we haven’t associated with them since. Their story is bizarre and the outcome with the group not good. But, that will have to wait as well…I am just not up to telling it right now.

So there we have it…

• Old adults- 2 (Lisa & I)
• Middle aged adults- 3 (Matt & Susie, Maria)
• Young adults- 9 (Ken/Annie Hurston, Jim/Nancy Hansen, Jared, Kim/Daniel, Mike/Beth)
• Teenagers- 8 (Paul/Morgan Hansen, Tim/Trey/Melisa/Mel Hurston, Allen, Joe, Amy)
• Kids- 6 (Kurt/Sherry Hansen, Peter/James/John, Waif)
• Toddlers/infants- 2 (Judy/Maria)

31 folks in our little community. And a community we are! But, time to go check the SecFor (security force…fancy name for guards that are posted to keep an eye out for folks coming near our area). I will write more when I get back. But, before I head out I want to talk about Jared for just a minute.

I know I already talked about it to some degree but I feel it important to write about it now to compliment Jared and Morgan. As I wrote before, Jared is completely smitten with Morgan. And, it is obvious that Morgan is head over heels crazy about Jared. And just for a memory refresher…Jared is 22 and Morgan is 13. Yeah, 9 years’ worth of difference, Jared is an adult and Morgan a minor…a really young minor. At first I was pretty much appalled and talked to Jared about it. He sounded convincing when he spoke of what he felt and how he would conduct himself…legally and with honor. He has…so far.

I thought Jim would freak out but he hasn’t. Jim and I talked a couple times about it. We did talk about the fact that if she was 20 and he was 29, or she was 41 and he was 50 there would not even be a second glance. But…13 is young…very young. Jim agreed to let them be “friends” as long as it stayed at that level and nothing, absolutely nothing, more than that developed. Jared and Morgan both agreed. And both have kept to that agreement…so far. I am still skeptical on how long it can last. But, what the heck….if it is really love maybe it will all work out. We’ll see.

Gotta go for now…more later today…I finally have the time.

 

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