An Old Man And His Axe: A Prepper fiction book of survival in an EMP grid down post apocalyptic world (Old Preppers Die Hard 1) (8 page)

5

THE BIG MEET AND GREET

Farley drove in the small dirt road and passed a couple nondescript cabins on the way to the one the boy’s mother was staying in. The pair got out of the van and walked towards the cabin and after finding it vacant went out back towards the pier where evidently a woman was fishing. Jeremy called out a greeting and the woman waved and put her fishing rod down on the deck and began walking towards them.

“Hi Mom, are you having any luck today?” Jeremy said.

“I got one fish on the stringer but that’s about it. Who’s your friend?” Becky said scrutinizing Farley.

“Friend I met on the road, he might have the solution to our gas problem, Mom!” Jeremy blurted out.

“Really? My names Becky, by the way.” Jeremy’s mom said starting to shake Farley’s hand but thinking better of it with all the dirt from fishing she had accumulated on it.

“Pleased to meet you, Becky, I am Farley. Your son says you are trying to get to Mobile. I might just have a possible solution for you that will help us both out. Let’s walk back down to the pier and we can talk while you fish.” Farley said.

“It’s a great idea, Mom!” Jeremy said chomping at the bit to get the contrived story out and see her reaction about Farley’s proposition.

“It’s nothing complicated; it is basically a simple trade of sorts… Hey you’re getting a bite!” Farley said as he took off at a run towards the pier after seeing the fishing pole being dragged toward the water.

Thankfully Jeremy’s faster legs made it to the dock faster than Farley or his mother’s and he began to play the fish.

“It’s a big one, Momma! I think it’s a bass!” Jeremy cried out as the fishing reels drag protested the run the fish had taken.

The rod was bent into a bow shape as Farley and Jeremy’s mother yelled encouragement and advice to the boy.

“It’s a monster!” Jeremy shouted as he struggled with the rod.

“It sure is!” His mother said grinning and not knowing which way to turn as Jeremy capered back and forth on the end of the pier trying to land the fish.

Any doubts that it wasn’t a bass and instead a big catfish disappeared as a huge largemouth bass began to tail dance and jump on the lakes choppy green waters.

“Keep your rod tip up! I will try to land him when you get him close enough to the dock.” Farley said as excited as everyone else.

“He ain’t tired yet, Farley! Might be awhile until he will let me...” Jeremy said while advising both the exuberant adults to stay out of his way that he had this big fish covered and they were somehow in his way.

The fight lasted about another 10 minutes as the boy skillfully played the fish in close enough for Farley to reach down and grab the poor creature by its big mouth that he probably could of easily put his whole hand in and carry it back to shore so there was no doubt about losing it.

“That’s about a 10 pounder if I ever seen one!” Jeremy exclaimed as smiles flashed all around that the boy had caught this big behemoth of a fish.

“It’s a scale tipper all right, that’s the biggest bass I have ever seen outside a wall mounted championship one at the Bass Pro shop.” Farley declared.

“I am glad you caught him, Jeremy, I don’t know what I would of done if I had been holding the rod. Hells bells, we almost lost the rod and if that had of happened I would have been sick!” Becky said sobering somewhat.

“Well, I didn’t lose the fish or the rod! Farley this was a bit of an unexpected catch but do you want to have dinner with us tonight? You see what’s on the menu!” the boy said laughing.

“Sure I will  ... That is, um, that is if it’s all right with Becky?” Farley said questionably.

“Sure it’s all right! Jeremy needs to thank you for help landing that fish because I don’t think I would have been brave enough to grab it by his lip like you did, Farley. Why that thing looks like it could bite you all the way down to your elbow!” Becky said chuckling as her son basked in everyone’s praise and his own pride for landing the monster.

“That was some fine fishing boy; why you are so good that you ought to be on one of them professional angler shows!” Farley said adding about an inch to the boys beaming smile.

“He sure should!” Becky said tousling the boy’s hair in what for him was an embarrassing show of affection not meant for Farley’s eyes but enjoying his Mama’s praise anyway and only spoiling Jeremy’s moment but for a second.

“Are you going to help me clean him, Farley?” Jeremy said eying the fancy set of knives he saw the man wearing but not yet had the nerve or opportunity to ask to see them.

“You got it buddy, I will even cook it for you unless you rather have your Momma do all of the cooking.” Farley said enjoying the moment of watching a child and his mothers’ shared exciting experience.

“Now that department is mine, I can cook some fish very well thank you!” Becky declared.

“Let me clarify that Farley, I can do a pretty good job of cooking it on the campfire. I ain’t used to not having a stove to cook on.” Becky said wistfully, seeing that the stove hadn’t worked for many weeks now.

“Oh, I got something to cook on in back of my van you can borrow for this evening that I think you will find it is more like what you are used to. Ever hear of a rocket stove?” Farley said still admiring the fish.

“No, I never heard of one. Is that some kind of propane camping stove?” Becky said speculating as Jeremy took his eyes off his prize momentarily to glance at Farley for an explanation.

“No, it uses wood but it will only take you four or 5 sticks max to cook a good dinner. It uses clean burning technology and wood gasification to accomplish that task. I will tell you all about it when we set it up for dinner.” Farleigh said thinking about his Silver Fire Survivor stove. (Coupon Code “Foster”)

“I am anxious to see that marvel. I tell you what, gathering wood without an axe is a royal pain in the butt, I would love to see something that just burns sticks and can cook a meal.” Becky said grinning at the boy who was still examining his fish as the excitement of catching it wore off temporarily.

“I am too, can it burn pine? That’s what’s the easiest kind of wood to find around here.” Jeremy said.

“It can burn anything from twigs to sticks and pieces of 2x4 to dried cow manure but I will find us some hardwood. No axe, huh? That’s got to be a pain. I bet you all have pretty much cleaned up every campsite around here looking for fallen branches.” Farley said thinking that the pair had to have had a time of it collecting and gathering wood over the last several weeks.

“He has an axe, Momma! Weird looking thing, looks like it came out of an apocalyptic zombie movie.” Jeremy said before Farley stared at him for a second.

Like Mom’s everywhere she didn’t miss a move and asked Farley if anything was wrong.

Farley winced for a second thinking that axe of his probably still had some blood on it but countered with a disarming statement that he had to tell Jeremy a couple times to leave it alone on the way here. “You know boys and sharp tools.” Farley said with a grin and dismissed the matter with a scolding glance at Jeremy that his mother missed.

“He has been eying my blades also so I guess I won’t keep him in suspense any longer. I know when I was his age that the curiosity of them has to be killing him. Come here, Jeremy, and be careful with them, they are as sharp as razors.” Farley said unsheathing the smallest one for the boy to examine.

“Wow, that is sweet, is that handle made of bone, plastic or deer antler?” Jeremy said examining the extremely sharp handy blade before handing it to his mom for her perusal.

“Genuine Elk Antler.” Farley declared.

“Silver Stag, made in America! I didn’t think they made anything in America anymore. I got some kind of Chinese crap cooking knife that came with the cabin we have been using to clean fish that isn’t worth a damn and I can’t sharpen it for the life of me. You know they give you a kitchen of sorts with whatever leftover flea market deals are left after the last tenants take off with stuff. I’ve never seen so many mismatched plates, cups and knives in my life! ” Becky said starting to hand the blade back to Farley before her son asked to see it again.

“The company that made this fine tool in Washington State is so proud of their wares they offer free lifetime resharpening/refurbishing service. Made in U.S.A. You see it says D2 on the blade? Well that is the kind of steel it is made of. That’s a very hard wearing tool steel that you don’t see very many knives made out of. That kind of steel is used to make burrs and threading dies and punches and such with because it can cut softer steels. It’s kind of a semi hybrid form of stainless steel but I still need to keep a bit of oil on it. Easier to sharpen than a lot of stainless and holds that edge much longer. The knife is designed for extreme field use. That one there the company calls a “Corky Cutter”. I asked them why they called it that thinking it was named after the blade smith that envisioned it but they said no, the company’s owner sometimes has a penchant for naming things after the employees that work with him. Pretty cool, huh?” Farley said before pulling out his big blade.

“This one here Silver Stag calls a Sidekick Pro.

They also make a Bowie knife to die for. I can show you a catalog later so I can show you what a jeweled blade is all about.”

• Silver Stag Big 16 Inch Bowie Knife Lifetime Warranty

• 1095 High Carbon Tool Spring Steel

• Deer or Elk Antler Crown Burrs or Elk Stick Handles

• Handmade Laced Old Western Style Leather Sheath With Tie Downs

•  Silver Stag Repolish and Resharpening program

“Mine has on the pommel where the lanyard hole is what I call a “Barbara Kiss” to customize it. See, I always loved the machining or jewelling as they call it on fine pocket watch cases, you know the engraved concentric circles you see sometimes on fine time pieces or rifle bolts? Well I was talking to Barbara one day, that’s the fine cheerful and helpful lady who answers the phones and plays house mother to the boys in the shop, and I asked her could I please have a special customization on this knife they were hand building for me. You see, unlike most companies these days, they accommodate customer requests and offer personalization features like engraving or using your own piece of deer antler to make a handle with. Oh yea, Jeremy, you asked what those handles were made out of.”
Farley said.

“Every knife silver Stag makes is handmade and hand honed. They use naturally shed antlers that are expertly selected for whatever type of knife they are producing. Because every antler has different attributes or functions, it takes a keen eye and a craftsman’s hand to choose just the right one to fit a specific blade style. Now they use whole hand sawn elk and deer horns for most of their knives but this one comes out of what they call “Slab” series which uses sections of moose or elk antlers that are sawn and hand-ground for fit and function. The reason I chose a slab handled knife over one of those beautiful crown or point handled knives is this one is Full Tang Construction with Elk Antler Scale Handles.” Farley explained.

“You see how the blade and handle are forged from one piece of steel? That makes it extremely durable.” Farley said proudly showing off one of his most prized possessions.

With Silver Stag’s heat treatment, the blade scores an even 60 on the Rockwell scale of hardness. D2’s easy maintenance and edge-holding properties make it the premiere—if sometimes expensive—steel for custom knife makers.

The thumb grooves (jimping) on the back of   the blade’s thick steel spine gives you a solid platform for exerting added down force and increases blade control no matter the cutting task.

“Oh yea, see here mom, my knife has what they call a rat tail blade that they stacked leather spacers on and epoxied together. If I beat on the back of the blade with a stick doing something they call “batoning “  to split a piece of wood there is a big chance  that the handle could come loose or break.” Jeremy said showing off some of his knife lore he learned off YouTube videos.

“Why in the world would somebody abuse a knife like that?” Becky said trying to envision the process.

“You and a lot of other people ask the same question but some people in an emergency survival situation think it might be necessary to split a big piece of wood to start a fire or build or fashion a tool like a wooden spoon. I don’t do it myself but I might need to use my blade as a pry bar in a very extreme emergency and like the extra strength. By the way those unsawn antler knives they make are strong as hell. I saw the lady off the YouTube show “Deer Meat For Dinner” take a big ball peen hammer to an antler hilted knife trying to bust it and it’s amazing what kind of abuse they will take. For that matter, a marine Kabar fighting knife has a very solid square tang that can take a lot of abuse unlike most knives hilted like that.” Farley said watching the boy do mock fighting moves with his beloved big blade.

“So, are you going to clean that fish with your little blade?” Becky asked.

“Oh yea, it will do the job nicely but I wish I had one of Silver Stag’s long flexible fish filleting knives. Nothing like a good sharp slim blade to follow a fish’s backbone but I don’t happen to have one of those with me.” Farley said re-sheathing his knife.

“That smaller one of yours reminds me of a paring knife sort of. Hey, if you don’t mind, I say we start getting ready to eat while that fish is still super fresh.” Becky said welcoming an early meal and a new stranger to share some news with.

“Not a problem. Let’s get that Silver Fire Stove of mine out of the van, Jeremy, and Becky, you can find me a bowl and some clean water to put the filets in, add a bit of salt to it if you have it.” Farley said thinking this fish fry they were about to have reminded him of the best things in life he had experienced before this disaster put a new spin on life in general.