299 Days: The Restoration

Chapter 314 Reaction in Pierce Point

In Pierce Point, New Year’s Day had been a big deal. People were stunned that at least one hundred Patriot guerillas had been training right under their noses and had gone into Olympia as part of the offensive. Right under their noses! Who knew?

Quite a few people, as it turned out. Before New Year’s, there were a lot of people whispering about the “rental team.” It was amazing that it had remained a secret as long as it did.

Dr. Lisa Matson was thoroughly depressed. She didn’t even go into work for several days. Her husband had left her for… some stupid war. A war? Leaving her for another woman she could sort of understand; men did that sometimes. But playing army with his little buddies? Leaving her for that was insulting.

The worst part was that everyone was telling her what a great hero Grant was. She just nodded, went along, and tried to smile. She was too humiliated to admit that he had left her, but the fact that everyone thought Grant was the greatest thing since sliced bread made the humiliation even worse.

On top of all this was Lisa’s constant worrying that Grant, as much as she hated him, would get killed or wounded or captured. She didn’t really care about him anymore, but she didn’t want her kids to lose their dad. She didn’t want them to lose him again, like when he’d left them in Olympia. Then she’d realize that he voluntarily left them and would get furious at him again.

Security at Pierce Point was going well. Rich and Dan had things under control. In the several months they’d been doing it, security had become a well-oiled machine. The gate guards were still doing a great job. They received several new volunteers to replace the guards who left with the 17th. The new volunteers, however, were either a little too young or too old to keep up with the others. That was okay; it was nice to have extra people on the gate and to rotate in and out to keep the better guards rested. The beach patrol was in full swing. They even shot some people trying to steal oysters, but only after the thieves started shooting first. It was sad: dying over oysters.

Crime was increasing in Pierce Point, but was still manageable. It was mostly shitbags stealing little things when they thought they could get away with it. There were no gangs of any kind in the community. Almost every home was well-armed.

The Crew, the backup people to the Team who did perimeter security for Team raids and handled the dogs, were now doing the SWAT work in Pierce Point. They had trained with the Team, and Rich and Dan were giving them lots of great training. They were pretty good. Pierce Point was lucky to have them.

Food and illness were starting to become a problem, though. The New Year’s Eve battle in Frederickson stopped the FCard food coming in, although it was dwindling down to a low level before the battle. There were no gardens this time of year. Hunting was very poor because most animals were hibernating or tucked away in their sleeping areas. Besides, the area had been heavily hunted for the past few months. Even rabbits, which were considered pests a few months before, were nowhere to be found. Fishing and gathering shellfish was not yielding anywhere near the amount of food it had even a few weeks ago.

One important source of food was the cattle raised by the private farmers. They were called “private farmers” because they grew livestock and crops for sale, instead of donating them to the Grange. At the beginning of the Collapse, most people didn’t resent them for selling for profit because there was an adequate amount of food. But now, in the winter, things were getting tighter and more people started questioning the farmers’ “gouging” on food prices. The private farmers hired some of the community as security but realized they couldn’t hold back a mass invasion of hungry neighbors. Besides, most of the people in Pierce Point were out of anything they could barter for food, so there was no point to trying to sell the food. The private farmers held a meeting with Rich and Dan and decided to donate half of their cattle and even a few old horses to the Grange kitchen.

Luckily, many people in Pierce Point had been storing food in the summer and especially the fall. Smoked salmon became a staple. Canned clams and oysters became the base ingredient of soups and chowders with a rotating supporting cast of canned vegetables. Those who had been “preppers” before the Collapse were using more and more of their beans and rice, and other foundational foods like oatmeal, dried mashed potatoes, and pancake mix. But these supplies were getting low.

A few more people volunteered to work for the community in order to get a meal card. Some of the new volunteers felt a little guilty that they hadn’t thought volunteering for the community was important until after they needed the food. Some of the long-time volunteers resented them, which caused some tension.

Cries to open up Gideon’s semi-trailer of food were getting louder. Grant, the main political force behind the effort to stave off opening the trailer, was gone and no one knew when, or if, he would return. The people who wanted free food were getting bolder and louder. Things weren’t desperate yet, especially with the private farmers donating half their livestock, but everyone could see that it was a matter of time before the semi-trailer needed to be opened up.