Observations

fiction

"Okay, you've been surveilling the neighborhood for a week now. Tell me what you saw and what you think we should do."

"Most of the houses are abandoned. And there are a few that look abandoned, their windows are boarded up, the doors blocked, but people are living there. Must be other entrances you can't see from the street. There are two older couples on either end of the block that tend to their gardens daily but don't seem to leave the house other than that."

"Good. So a few unknowns in the boarded up houses and two older couples. Anything else?"

He smiled now. He'd been holding back the good stuff. "That house there. Solar panels on the roof. I've seen inside their garage and they have backup batteries for the panels as well. There is a generator in the side yard that's chained to a few cinder blocks. They also have shelves and shelves of supplies in the garage. Food, water, clothes, it looks like a supermarket in there."

"That's a good stash of energy and supplies. So what do you think?"

"I think that's the house we target. Take it all. Maybe even move in ourselves."

"I mean, they just have all of that for the picking right?"

"Right. It's perfect."

"So...do you think they got all of that solar power installed after the siege?"

"Well, no, a lot of people had solar before. They were probably climate freaks."

"Okay, and the extra battery backup? Did a lot of people have that as well?"

"Well, some people did."

"The people who didn't trust the power grid."

"Yeah..."

"And how about having not just that but the extra generator? Chained down? You think that was something they just happened to have?"

"They could have gotten that after the first wave. A lot of people realized generators were valuable then. And chaining it down is just a good precaution."

"How about that level of supplies? You think they were just the first ones at WalMart when it all went to shit? Or you think that's a few years of planning?"

He was starting to realize he had made a terrible mistake but couldn't quite figure out what it was. "Probably both?"

"Okay, so we've got someone who planned ahead. Power and supplies and then they were able to secure a good sized generator. What sort of people do that? What else do you think they have that you haven't mentioned?"

"A truck?"

"Maybe. But I'm talking about guns. They have guns. Probably a lot of them. More than you and I have. And the reason you can't see people entering those boarded up houses, I'd bet you dollars to donuts, they have a tunnel system through this whole area. Each of the houses is connected. And those old people you noticed, you think they didn't notice you? You think when they were out gardening they weren't taking note of if you were still watching the area?"

"You think they are lookouts? Who would use old people like that?"

"Anyone smart. Because young people like you overlook them. You don't pay attention to them. They were spying on this neighborhood long before the lights went out. They already know who does and doesn't belong. And that house, that one with all the power and the supplies? That's just the central hub for this commune. Trust that they already know we are here and we'd be better off moving out...."

"Now would be good."

They turned around to see a gun pointed at them.

"We're going to give you a chance to move on down the road. If I were you, I'd take it. We've got eyes on your family where they are camped over the ridge. They are fine, and we'd all like to keep it that way, if you understand what I'm saying. And, son?"

"Y...yeah?"

"Work on those observation skills before you get your old man here killed."

"Yes, ma'am."