299 Days: The Stronghold Read Free Page B

on their own, and we deal with the minority. Be a decent human being and you won’t have any trouble from us.”
    Grant laughed, “That could be our motto.”
    Rich laughed. He realized they had polished off about half that bottle of whiskey. He was feeling it.
    “I think I should head home,” he said, jingling his keys. “We need to have a law against drunk driving. We’ll put it into effect tomorrow .” They laughed.
    “Nah, I’m kidding,” Rich said. “I have a cot here. I’m fine. A couple hours of napping and I’ll be fine. My wife is used to me being here all night sometimes. How are you getting home? Mark left a couple of hours ago. I can call my wife.”
    “Don’t waste the gas,” Grant said. “I’ll walk. It’s only about two miles. I need to stay in shape. And it’s a beautiful night, the stars are out, I have my walking companion,” Grant said pointing to his AR leaning against the wall nearby, “and I have a buzz. Perfect walking conditions.”
    Grant and Rich shook hands. This was a great partnership. They were exactly the right people to be leading this community. They had a plan.
    Grant left and started walking…home. “Home.” That’s right. Not to the “cabin,” but to “home.” Wow. He let that sink in.
    The walk home was one of the best of Grant’s life. He thought about how all the “coincidences” were coming together and how they might actually make it out there at Pierce Point. He thought about how he just knew that he needed to talk to Rich that night, how he brought the whiskey that seemed to lubricate this important conversation, and how they were on the same page. He kept thinking about the mini republic at Pierce Point.
    A mini republic. It wouldn’t be easy to pull off. He remembered that famous line from Ben Franklin. When he was leaving the 1787 Constitutional Convention, a woman asked him what they had created. “A republic. If you can keep it,” he said. Human beings seemed to love tyranny for some reason. No, it would be more accurate to say that they feared freedom and settled for tyranny, especially soft tyranny where they were taken care of. It would be hard to make a republic work, even a small one.
    Grant thought about this Pierce Point mini republic and his life. He had spent his adult years seeing the corruption and injustice and learning how not to run a society. Now they had a chance to start all over again and do it the right way. A mini republic.
    This is just a dress rehearsal out here. For something bigger.

 
    Chapter 110
     
    Funeral Planning
     
    (May 11)
     
     
    Grant was in such a good mood walking back from the Grange. Maybe this Collapse thing wasn’t so bad after all. They would get to rebuild things better—way better—than they were before. Grant’s family had supplies and they were in a good place. This new world was kind of fun.
    It was a little after midnight when he came up on the guard shack on Over Road. He didn’t want to get shot by mistake, so he made loud walking sounds as he rounded the corner and headed down Over Road. He said loudly, “Grant here” and put up his hands. He heard John say, “Got you.” John could see Grant’s outline in the big light at the end of the road. He didn’t point his 30-30 at Grant, but had a round in the chamber and kept it at the ready.
    As Grant got a few feet from him, John said, “Bad news, Grant. Mrs. Roth died a few hours ago. Mary Anne has been crying nonstop.”
    “Oh, that’s terrible,” Grant said. “Lisa said this would be coming soon, but it’s always a shock when it does.” He looked and the light was on in John and Mary Anne’s house.
    “John, you go be with her. I’ve got guard duty,” Grant said.
    “Thanks.” John turned and left. As he was going to his house, Chip was coming from it and toward the guard shack.
    Chip came up to Grant and said, “Have you heard about Mrs. Roth?”
    “Yeah. Bummer,” Grant said.
    “I thought I’d do some guard