This startled you at first but realizing that it probably shouldn’t have you continued forward. These last couple of weeks would have frayed anyone’s nerves but the laws of science dictated that the boy had a secret entrance or maybe a secret exit would be more accurate of a description. Under other circumstances this would have been a fun discovery, the boy obviously had kept this small thing hidden under your nose… What else might he have up his sleeve?

 

   You reached the end of the alley, for lack of a better term and sure enough there was the boy holding back a section of the fence so you could follow him through. He gave some explanation about having designed this escape hatch during a “war” with some neighbor kids. You knew he had one particularly good friend but hadn’t considered what his standing with the other neighborhood kids might have been. For the moment, you just filed away the “war” thought and followed your son along a small disguised trail behind your next door neighbor’s shrubs. The bushes overhead were low enough that you had to walk hunched over but the trail was well used, just by shorter people…

 

   You past through several neighboring properties and it took considerable thought to keep to your mental map of the subdivision. The boy whisked you through a couple more of his camouflaged fence hatches before he finally came to a stop. The fence in front of him looked like any of the others you had already came to that he had magically opened allowing you to pass through… He didn’t open this one though. He just told you to take a look… “Take a look at what?” you asked tentatively.

 

   He looked at you like you must be kidding? “Look through the peephole” he said pointing out the roughly drilled hole at just about the correct eye level for himself. You bent down and attempted to peek through… On the other side of the fence was the two lane county road that lead right past the main entrance into the subdivision. Other then recognizing the road and knowing approximately where you must be, you failed to understand the significance of what he wanted you to see. “What’s so important about this particular spot”, you asked? “Is this it or am I missing something?”

 

   You could see the disappointment on the boys face… He had expected you to see the sites strategic significance without his having to explain… You were aware that the boy still idolized you to a great degree. The two of you had discussed at great length the historical significance of this battle or that war as he brought his latest reading interests to you over the years. “Don’t you remember Dad, the time the Romans won the decided victory over their enemies just because they had an early warning of their arrival?” You didn’t recall exactly which battle he was referring to but his leisure reading time was much more extensive then yours these days so you didn’t question him further on the specifics. He went on to tell you that every time the kids from the other side of the residential development went to “war” with him and his friends they tried to sneek in through the front gate. “We always knew they were coming because we put someone on this spot to watch for them and signal us when they would be arriving.” There was that “war” word again, you made a mental note to ask him about this further when you had a moment. You certainly didn’t mind him playing war with his friends but wondered if it meant the same thing it did when you were playing it as a child. A lot of things had changed in the world and it was strange to hear him talking about it as a present day experience rather then in an historical context.

 

   Alright, you explained you saw his point but asked if there was more or was this the only thing he had brought you out to see? He furiously shook his head, he said this is only the first place; you hadn’t even got to the places he really wanted you to see!

 

   Taking one more look through the fence you acknowledge that this was indeed a good spot to watch for anything approaching the front entrance and would provide several minutes notice before they came into view of the gate area itself. Patting him on the back, you told him to “move out”, the boy beemed with pride at the recognition you had shown him!

 

   From there he began to back track along one of the trails you had used to reach this point but made a sudden stop. He explained that something or the other was out of place and you needed to wait for a minute while he checked out this particular backyard. You agreed but thought to yourself how this would look if anyone discovered you right then… You would move right up the ladder from “crazy survivalist guy” straight to peeping tom. There would be no stopping at GO or collecting $200 dollars, if this wasn’t such a nanny state you might have worried about getting yourself shot!

 

   Hearing a low whistle and then seeing the bushes your son had disappeared into a few moments before begin to rustle again as he made his return. You watched as he came back through the brush with the skill you would have expected from a military scout. His eyes locked on you and then you saw he was trailed by a very large German Shepard… You weren’t exactly scared of dogs but this was a little unsettling since you had never even seen this dog before. The dog appeared startled as well when he finally saw you standing there. He stopped short and let out a low growl, not quite showing his teeth but definitely not giving you any indication that you were welcome there.

 

   The boy scolded the dog and proceeded to introduce his friend to you… He said, “Dad meet Max”, he continued to explain that he belonged to the people that lived here but your team had made friends with him a couple of years ago and he was kind of a mascot of sorts. He told you to stand still and let the dog sniff you. Needless to say, you did as you were told and after the dog had taken his time to smell your shoes, pants and nether regions he apparently approved. The dog pushed his muzzle up under your hand and acted as though he expected you to pet him. You were happy to accommodate his request, carefully tussling his head and ears. Your son produced a small baggy from his pants pocket and gave Max a couple of dog biscuits he had been carrying. The dog being satisfied with the treat, walked back through the brush. You made another mental note to ask your son for further details as soon as this tour was over…

 

   Your son was off down the trail again and you kept close behind until he had lead you through another of his fence modifications. Once you were safely into the next yard you were able to breathe a little easier. Standing behind another neighbors garden shed your son pointed to another “peep hole”, he motioned for you to take a look…

 

   This time you were almost on top of the gated entrance way into the neighborhood. You could see a man standing behind one of the cars that was positioned to block the access drive. He was not visibly armed but was doing his best to look menacing. The whole scene didn’t look very official but the fact that at least something was getting done did give you a little glimmer of hope for the future…

 

   Since the boy hadn’t seen the entrance being blocked you asked him to take a look for himself. He stepped closer and peered through. He gave a quick nod as if he immediately knew what was up. So far the boy had spoken very little, you took this opportunity to ask him what he thought…

 

   He said that the man standing there was so and so’s father. He went on to explain that he didn’t normally dress that way, normally dressing like you did. Thinking to yourself that he must mean shirts and ties as opposed to the jeans and hunting style jacket the man was wearing today. The days of dressing in slacks and wearing loafers to the office were probably gone for good, not much point in dressing up when their weren’t clients to call on anymore!

 

   You explained that you were more interested in what he thought of the “fortifications” then how the man was dressed. He just said that since this wasn’t a very defensible position that he probably would have suggested something like that… He went on to name some military armament that would have been a better choice but conceded that without those being available, he guessed a car would slow them down! After taking a second quick look yourself, he lead you around a bend in the trail and stopped a few yards down and squatted behind what must have been one of the brick walls flanking the driveway.

 

   He spoke quietly, you presumed so the man behind the car wouldn’t hear him… He told you that the next place you needed to see was across the street and would mean that you would have to cross in plain view of anyone out on the street or watching from any of the houses within view of the entrance. You thought to yourself that it must be a lot easier to move around the neighborhood unnoticed when you were a kid. People would certainly notice a grown man sneaking around but largely didn’t seem to pay much attention to what kids were doing. You asked what he thought you should do to draw as little attention to their movements as possible. He explained that he normally would just wait until he didn’t see any cars coming and then just sprint across but since he didn’t think you could run as fast as him, you should probably just walk across and hope no one would notice you…

 

   Why this crossing of the street was requiring so much stealth or even consideration wasn’t exactly clear. What was the big deal anyway? In all the years you had lived here had something particularly interesting escaped your notice? You supposed you could just require the boy to tell you what was up but he was so into this whole adventure, might as well go along for the ride… If this was just any normal day most of the houses would be empty, everyone having gone to work instead of gathering together at the mailboxes exchanging speculation and passing the time so their empty stomachs wouldn’t be as nagging!

 

   “Alright, you lead the way – on the count of three we’ll go! You count and I’ll be ready to run…” You both got to your feet and braced like runners at the starting line waiting for a gun to fire and start your race. He counted 1… 2… 3 and he was off! He had gotten a lot faster since the last time you had challenged him to a foot race but you were able to stay up with him, more or less. He ran out and across the sidewalk, dashing straight across the street and didn’t stop until he got to the deep shadows along side of a house. He stopped so fast that you hardly had a chance to slow down before you would have piled into the garbage cans sitting next to the wall. It was the garage side of the home so you might have gotten away without alerting the homeowner but with the current situation only getting worse, avoiding any confrontations would probably be best.

 

   Even though the run was not more then a couple of hundred yards, you still needed a moment to catch your breath. Assuming the boy was doing the same thing you kept your eye on the street to see if you had drawn any unwanted attention. After a minute or two without hearing anything out of place, you turned to see what was suppose to happen next. Your eyes had enough time to adjust to the dim light under the trees but try as you might you could see your son. Not wanting to call out his name or fully trusting your eyes to not be deceiving you, you just stood still for another moment watching. You didn’t want to make a fool of yourself if he indeed was standing right beside you unseen.

 

   No, now you could be certain, the boy had vanished again… Since the joke had been on you a half an hour ago leaving your own backyard it was safe to say there would be another logical explanation this time as well… Continuing further into the shadows along side the house the light seemed to get dimmer and dimmer the further you went back. Standing now at the back corner of the house you tried to see through the spaces between the fence boards but couldn’t see much. Looking up you discovered that the tree cover was surprisingly dense. This really shouldn’t have come as a surprise, you remembered that this part of the county was considered “the sticks” back when you were a kid. The acreage this subdivision was on was more then likely old forestry or mining land that had been used up for proper commercial purposes and therefore sold off to a developer to turn into the then latest in suburban sprawl. Why hadn’t you ever noticed the number of large trees still standing in what appeared to be in the middle of your neighborhood, you thought to yourself?

 

   Your thoughts returned to the issue at hand, where did your son go and how could you follow someone that you couldn’t see. Pushing against one section of the fence at a time you worked your way along assuming that eventually you would find the trick section your son had slid through. One after the other you kept trying boards but nothing gave way… Searching along the tops of the fence for a catch of some kind also proved fruitless. Your attention completely on the task at hand you failed to watch your backtrail and didn’t realize you weren’t alone until the hand grabbed your shoulder, nearly spinning you completely around…

 

 

To be continued -

 

Prepper

 

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