that read, Resettlement and registration locations …
Powell brushed the debris from the rest of the sign and hoisted it up by the wooden stake. “I guess we know where everyone went.”
… nearest location 400km North on Highway 10, Camp Herald.
24 | Community
We told the group about the sign we had found, but the radio played only the same emergency broadcast as before. Some of the group talked about leaving to find Camp Herald, but talk wouldn’t manifest into action without firsthand proof of its existence and some assurance of its benefit to us. Gary checked the radio daily for any new signal or information while the rest of the group made predictions about the future.
Amid the chaotic chatter of speculation in the house, there grew one pocket of calm I could lose myself in—Haley and Kyle had become friends. They sat together, writing notes to each other, and ran around outside together, playing and laughing. Haley was teaching Kyle how to sign, and he was teaching her how to be a child again. The two families grew closer. Sean, Owen, and sometimes Samuel too, would work on the vehicles together while Sarah, Kate, and Abigail watched the kids play and told stories of happier times. I remained just outside the periphery of their small community—an outsider looking in through the windows, longing for warmth.
Haley had Kyle, and their two families had become one. Other small groups formed, while our original group seemed to drift apart. Gary was absent for at least half of the time. Randall was lost to one-sided arguments with himself or his God. Powell and I were too busy with the running of the house to socialize, too busy rationing for the future to make the best of the present.
Technology had once made the world seem smaller, but it had also played its part in spreading communities farther apart. The fact that we needed each other, relied on each other, and had little distraction, other than the need and struggles for basic survival, seemed to have brought most of us closer together.
Water no longer flowed from the faucet, and the issue of a single washroom shared between us all became a moot point. The nearest group of trees became the nearest point for relief, and weekly trips were made to the nearest lake or river to wash and bring back water to store. The house water was kept in the old feeding troughs in the barn and boiled, filtered, and treated before use. Occasionally fish were brought back to the house, but rarely in a quantity that could be shared with anyone outside of each sub-group. Kate’s family and Sarah’s family would make their weekly wash trip together, and the kids would come back clean and smiling, discussing in sign language and secret notes the wonders they had seen on their trip. It reminded me of my childhood, of Sam, and of a time when three was a large enough number to abate any feelings of loneliness.
25 | Resettlement and registration
Following a house meeting regarding the latest radio broadcast, we all waited patiently, gathered around the television while Gary flicked through the channels. Several members of the group took turns peering around the back of the television, seeing it turned on for the first time and curious of its magic regardless of Gary’s attempt to demystify its workings during the meeting.
Most of the channels displayed either snow or a test signal picture, but as promised by the voice on the radio broadcast, several national news channels had been restored under a limited capacity and with government and military cooperation.
“ Local and national governments and authorities are asking for cooperation and patience from their citizens during these troubled times. Countless families have lost their homes and even family members to fire, and entire towns and cities have been evacuated due to subsequent safety concerns. All citizens are being asked to stay away from built-up areas within large
Powell brushed the debris from the rest of the sign and hoisted it up by the wooden stake. “I guess we know where everyone went.”
… nearest location 400km North on Highway 10, Camp Herald.
24 | Community
We told the group about the sign we had found, but the radio played only the same emergency broadcast as before. Some of the group talked about leaving to find Camp Herald, but talk wouldn’t manifest into action without firsthand proof of its existence and some assurance of its benefit to us. Gary checked the radio daily for any new signal or information while the rest of the group made predictions about the future.
Amid the chaotic chatter of speculation in the house, there grew one pocket of calm I could lose myself in—Haley and Kyle had become friends. They sat together, writing notes to each other, and ran around outside together, playing and laughing. Haley was teaching Kyle how to sign, and he was teaching her how to be a child again. The two families grew closer. Sean, Owen, and sometimes Samuel too, would work on the vehicles together while Sarah, Kate, and Abigail watched the kids play and told stories of happier times. I remained just outside the periphery of their small community—an outsider looking in through the windows, longing for warmth.
Haley had Kyle, and their two families had become one. Other small groups formed, while our original group seemed to drift apart. Gary was absent for at least half of the time. Randall was lost to one-sided arguments with himself or his God. Powell and I were too busy with the running of the house to socialize, too busy rationing for the future to make the best of the present.
Technology had once made the world seem smaller, but it had also played its part in spreading communities farther apart. The fact that we needed each other, relied on each other, and had little distraction, other than the need and struggles for basic survival, seemed to have brought most of us closer together.
Water no longer flowed from the faucet, and the issue of a single washroom shared between us all became a moot point. The nearest group of trees became the nearest point for relief, and weekly trips were made to the nearest lake or river to wash and bring back water to store. The house water was kept in the old feeding troughs in the barn and boiled, filtered, and treated before use. Occasionally fish were brought back to the house, but rarely in a quantity that could be shared with anyone outside of each sub-group. Kate’s family and Sarah’s family would make their weekly wash trip together, and the kids would come back clean and smiling, discussing in sign language and secret notes the wonders they had seen on their trip. It reminded me of my childhood, of Sam, and of a time when three was a large enough number to abate any feelings of loneliness.
25 | Resettlement and registration
Following a house meeting regarding the latest radio broadcast, we all waited patiently, gathered around the television while Gary flicked through the channels. Several members of the group took turns peering around the back of the television, seeing it turned on for the first time and curious of its magic regardless of Gary’s attempt to demystify its workings during the meeting.
Most of the channels displayed either snow or a test signal picture, but as promised by the voice on the radio broadcast, several national news channels had been restored under a limited capacity and with government and military cooperation.
“ Local and national governments and authorities are asking for cooperation and patience from their citizens during these troubled times. Countless families have lost their homes and even family members to fire, and entire towns and cities have been evacuated due to subsequent safety concerns. All citizens are being asked to stay away from built-up areas within large
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