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Post by mnn2300 on Oct 2, 2013 7:07:30 GMT -6
I'm really loving this story but you posted Chapter 15 twice. Yeah, strange things happened when I posted, it appeared to not go so I hit the button a 2nd time, thanks for pointing that out, I removed one of them.
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Post by kaijafon on Oct 2, 2013 7:36:55 GMT -6
I'm totally ready for moar. lol! good chapter, they got a lot done. Thank you!
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Post by idahobob on Oct 2, 2013 11:15:15 GMT -6
Moar,MOAR,MOAR,MOAR!!
Bob III
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Post by mnn2300 on Oct 2, 2013 18:03:16 GMT -6
Chapter 16
“Well, it’s up to them now, we’ll give them one more chance in four days.” Quinn said.
They drove up to Marks place and unloaded the solar panels, Mark had picked up a small concrete mixer and the supplies they would need and had leveled out a spot for the solar tracking units and laid the concrete for them yesterday, now it was a matter putting the bases in hooking up the motors and then placing the solar panels in place. That took much of the afternoon. Jessica made fried chicken for dinner for everyone along with some sweet corn fresh from gardens in the area that they had been raiding, some homemade bread and some lemonade from a package as real lemons were in short supply around here these days, after dinner she pulled out some apple cobbler and coffee.
“Dang that was good.” Mark said. “Excellent meal, but I ate so much I don’t know if I’ll be able to work any more today.” Quinn said. Jessica smiled. “I’ll help with the dishes.” Sharon said.
After a few minute Mark and Quinn got up to try to finish their project before dusk. "So are you two going to move down to the mansion?" Quinn asked. "You know, we want to, yet we love it here with the woods and the lake, what we were thinking was to stay here until fall and then move down there for the winter, we'll still help with any projects you want help with before fall, but I think we'll live here for now if you don't mind." Mark told Quinn.
"Sure, that’s fine. Why would I mind? You can come down and pick out a bedroom, make it yours and stay there when you want and then come down for the winter when you’re ready.” Quinn told Mark. The two men finished the project just as the sun was going down, so they would have to wait until the next day to see how the additions to the power system worked. They made plans for the day after tomorrow to go down to the grocery warehouse that Quinn had found. Both had work to do at their own places the next day. Quinn had livestock to move from this grandparents farm and a couple surrounding farms to the mansion and Mark and Jessica were still working on the raised bed gardens.
Saturday Mark and Jessica drove down to the mansion in the pickup with the trailer hauling the forklift they had originally gotten at the lumber yard in Jackson the day they first met Quinn. Along with that, they had the two 27’ U-Haul trucks they had carried the fruit trees in, with the three vehicles they headed towards the Cities to the grocery warehouse. About 45 minutes later they arrive at the warehouse, however the gate was not how Quinn left it, it was actually lying on the ground as if someone drove a vehicle through it.
Quinn keyed the walkie talkies each vehicle had and told the others to wait there, he and Sharon were in the lead truck, they slowly drove around the corner of the building, there was no vehicle, but it was obvious that someone had broken one of the doors on the loading dock to get in, the bottom of one of the big doors was badly bent and while it had been pulled closed it no longer was the tight fit it once had been, Quinn called for the others to come around. He opened the door further and jumped up to get inside. Motioning for the others to stay outside he went in with his pistol in one hand and a flashlight in the other. After what seemed like an eternity to the others but was actually only about 10 minutes he came out.
“There’s no one here but someone made a mess out of some things.” He told the others. “Some cans and bottles broken, and it appears a couple of pallets on the second shelf up were knocked off the shelf and their contents left to rot. I also saw some rats that scurried off when I shined the light in. I suggest we get what we want today, maybe even grab another truck or two. Let’s get the forklift unloaded and the lights set up.” They had brought a small generator to power one of the doors and then once it was open, power 4 sets of construction lights they had brought.
“Good thing you thought of the ramp for the forklift.” Jessica said, noting the height difference between the warehouse dock and the height of the trailer the forklift was on.
Mark and Quinn took turns with the forklift loading the trucks with pallets of long term items. Rice, beans, sugar, salt, pepper. Flour and corn meal, while both would turn rancid after time, they could freeze it to slow down that happening. They also took some cereals, coffee, tea, pastas of various kinds, canned fruits and veggies, cooking oils, instant drinks. By the time they started on the second truck both Quinn and Mark knew they could use a couple more trucks, they stopped and talked and decided that Mark, Jessica and Stacy would go to another truck rental place nearby and get two more truck while Sharon and Quinn would stay at the warehouse getting more pallets near to the loading dock they were using, they figured there was enough toilet paper, paper towels, facial tissue and soaps of various kinds to fill another truck. Taking a short walk around to see what else they would use to fill the trucks they came across 4 pallets of canning supplies: jars, lids, they would need those.
The others got back with two more trucks and they filled those. They re-loaded the fork lift they had been using onto the trailer and then Quinn shut the door and used a table from the break area to block off the bottom where it was bent, hopefully it would stop rats and mice from getting in, or at least slow them down. Back at the mansion they unloaded and took about a quarter of the items and reloaded into one truck for Mark and Jessica to take to their house. Stacy said she wasn’t feeling well so Quinn and Sharon drove up to Mark and Jessica’s to help them unload and arrange the items. He drove the U-Haul with Mark and Jessica following with their pickup and the trailer and Sharon drove the SUV they had picked up a few days ago. The trip, including the unloading took another 3 hours, When they finished unloading Quinn parked the U-Haul across the road at the house he had first spied on Mark and Jessica from about 6-7 weeks ago.
Sharon picked him up and Quinn tried not to notice that she had tied the shirt she was wearing up under her breasts so her midriff was exposed. She was a fine looking woman, but he felt after what she and Stacy had been though he had to give them time before he showed anything other than a brotherly type of interest. Sharon lifted the center console and slid over to let him drive but she only moved over a little bit. He started putting the truck in gear but Sharon put her hand over his and stopped him. “Quinn?” Sharon said. “Yes.” He said looking at her. “Can we talk for a minute?” Sharon asked. “Of course.” He said turning towards her. “This is going to be difficult.” She said hesitating, he waited for her to continue “ How do you view us?” she asked him. “I’m not sure what you mean?” Quinn asked. “You’ve been walking on eggshells around us ever since you rescued us, do you not want us around?” she asked him “Where did you get an idea like that?” Quinn asked. “You seldom look at us, you avoid touching us, are we damaged goods to you?” she asked. “No, absolutely not. You two were caught in a bad situation that was out of your control, don’t ever say you're damaged goods, you’re not.” Quinn told her. “Then why the walking on eggshells routine?” Sharon asked. “Because I don’t want either of you to think I am like those guys that had you. I am attracted, you’re both beautiful women, but after what you went through I want you to be easy around me. I don’t want to seem like an animal in heat that’s only after one thing, so I was giving you some space.” He told her. “We know you’re nothing like those two animals that held us, you proved that the first day and every day since. Giving us space and respect are good sometimes, but not all the time and not right now.” She said, putting her arms around him and her lips to his. It was after dark by the time they got home.
- - -
The next couple days they all worked on projects around the mansion. Wednesday was the day they were to go back and check on the shopping center where they had first seen the teen with the diapers and baby food being attacked by a pack of feral dogs. They had left notes both times they had been there, Quinn decided that if the person did not show this time they would be on their own this time. Quinn, Sharon and Stacy arrived in the SUV at noon, no sign of the person waiting for them. Quinn parked a bit past the car that the person had climbed on top of to get away from the dogs, noting that the load of diapers and baby food they had left last time were no longer there. “Well at least they’re making use of the supplies we left.” Quinn said opening the door and exiting the truck, he looked around, trying to spot anyone watching them. Five minutes went by, then ten. “How long are we going to give them?” Sharon asked. “I’d like to give them at least til 12:30.” Quinn replied.
Another ten minutes went by, there was some sound from the side of the shopping center. Suddenly someone was running towards them with a bundle in their arms, a shot rang out from behind them, the person stumbled and dropped to their knees but didn’t drop the bundle. Quinn, Sharon and Stacy all pulled out their guns, a couple more shots rang out, one hitting the SUV. “Back in the car, quick!” Quinn shouted, throwing it in gear as soon as he knew the other two were inside but before that had even settled into their seats.
Suddenly the windshield shattered as a bullet hit it. Quinn continued driving until he was at the side of the person who had been running towards them, he jumped out of the car letting the door shield him from whomever had been shooting at them. It was a girl, 16 or 17 holding a baby, she held out the baby to Quinn as she fell to the ground, Quinn handed the baby to Sharon in the front seat and picked the girl up and put her in the back seat, that’s when he noticed Stacy was leaned over in the seat blood running down her blouse, eyes closed, she had been shot, presumably from when the windshield got shot out.
“Son of a…” hearing more shots and seeing the two in the back seat bleeding out he jumped back in the drivers seat and threw it into gear and stepped on the gas. He felt a pain and then some extreme heat on his left leg, he looked down and saw he had been shot in the thigh at some point.”
He ignored it and pulled out into the road headed back towards home. Sharon had seen the two in the back seat and was climbing in back to do what she could. Once Quinn was a few miles away and sure no one was following them he pulled over, the blood was still coming out his leg, he applied pressure to it. “Sharon, how are they doing?” he asked.
“Not good, they’re both still alive, but you’re going to have to find a drug store or something and get bandages and tape. I can’t move as I have one hand on each of them where they were shot to stop the bleeding.” She told him.
Quinn knew of a drug store about a mile away and drove to it thinking to himself that he was an idiot for not being prepared with a first aid kit in each vehicle. Pulling up by the door he got out and took off his belt and wrapped it around his wound and buckled it, he almost blacked out from the pain. Luckily for him the front door had been broken in, hopefully it had not been looted of the supplies they needed. He limped in supporting himself by holding on to counters and shelves, he couldn't put his weight on his left leg and every time he moved he felt intense pain shooting through it. He made it to the first aid aisle and grabbed a bunch bandages and surgical tape, he was just coming out the door when he passed out from loss of blood and the pain.
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Post by kaijafon on Oct 3, 2013 1:53:58 GMT -6
oh no! I'm sure glad you update so quickly!! I'm hanging by a thread here! thank you!!! I hope they all make it!
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Post by crf78112 on Oct 4, 2013 21:13:05 GMT -6
Great tempo, right to the cliff hanger. I'm a patient guy but my wife is mad with you.
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Post by kaijafon on Oct 5, 2013 6:14:10 GMT -6
Ok, I REALLY NEED MOAR!!!! did they all make it? how is the baby???
ugh!!! I can't hold on much longer!!!!
(ok, I can but I'm trying to match the drama I am reading in the story.... lol)
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Post by mnn2300 on Oct 5, 2013 9:50:47 GMT -6
Looks like I finally mastered the cliff hanger. But at least I'm not like TV shows that make you wait 3 or 4 months. I'll have the next chapter up in a half hour or so, just need to give it a final edit.
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Post by idahobob on Oct 5, 2013 10:00:49 GMT -6
Moan!
The pain from hanging from this cliff!
Moan!
Bob III
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Post by mnn2300 on Oct 5, 2013 10:31:41 GMT -6
Chapter 17
Quinn faded in and out over the next couple of weeks, Sharon being a former dental hygienist, knew enough about first aid and medical procedures to get everyone bandaged up and stabilized at the scene and she somehow dragged the much heavier Quinn back into the SUV. She then drove like hell up to Mark and Jessica’s. Jessica who was a veterinarian worked on the three with Mark and Sharon’s help.
The baby, named Joshua they found out later, was none the worse for being tossed around and spending the drive on the passenger floor of the SUV. The girl; Makala, had also been shot in the leg, a through and through , but it had missed anything vital, she was up and around on crutches within a few days. Stacy had been shot in her left shoulder and there was some damage to the bone and muscles, she was stable but would probably never have full use of her left arm. The bullet in Quinn had nicked the thigh bone and then tumbled, ripping the thigh muscle extensively, Jessica was amazed he had even been able to move, let alone get out of the SUV and move in the drug store to get bandages. He had lost a lot of blood and then the wound had become infected, it was 10 days before Jessica had the infection beat and now he would start the long process of healing and physical therapy. Jessica didn’t know if he would ever be able to walk without a cane, but time would tell. Quinn was still very weak from the infection and it was a few days before he heard the entire story. The girl, Makala, had been helping the baby’s mother, who was a neighbor, care for the baby when the mother got sick and then died from E2. Makala’s step father, who was an alcoholic, had Makala taking care of him, getting him food and booze while she still cared for the baby.
Things came to a head after Quinn had left the baby supplies and the note and Makala told her step father she was leaving, they fought and eventually Makala grabbed the baby and ran out the door. Being it was still early in the day her step dad was not as drunk as he could have been, he grabbed a rifle and followed her. Having been a veteran of the first Gulf War he was a pretty good shot and almost took everyone out. Luckily he was on foot chasing after Makala so when Quinn took off he was left far behind.
Later when Quinn had gotten some of his strength back Jessica decided it was time get everyone back to the mansion where they would have a bit more room and she had had Mark and Sharon set up some physical therapy equipment. In what little spare time Jessica had, she had read up on Physical Therapy exercises for the various types of wounds and had sent Mark to find and then set up the equipment at the mansion. It would have been nice to have had an orthopedic surgeon but she did the best she could and with some hard work and luck they would all have use of their limbs again to some degree.
Mark and Jessica moved into the mansion with everyone else; Jessica to take care of her patients and Mark to take care of the livestock and other chores. Makala was off the crutches a few weeks after they moved to the mansion and was helping out around the house, Quinn and Stacy eventually got their strength back but neither were ever 100% again. Sharon’s shoulders range of movement was only about 50% for the rest of her life and she could always tell by the pain when the weather was about to change. Quinn was on crutches through most of the winter but still worked around the mansion which they had turned into a farm. Mark had rounded up a few more cows and chickens with advise from Quinn and Jessica as to feeding and care and with some pointers and help from Quinn was able to butcher as they needed more meat. By spring Quinn was just using a cane to get around and back to helping with the chores, although he had a limp for the rest of his life. He and Mark did their spring planting in mid-May. Jessica had her baby in late May and Sharon had a baby two months later, both had girls and with the little boy, Joshua, that Makala had brought into the group, they knew life would go on.
The End
Ahh wrap up time. I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did writing it. I think I have learned a bit about keeping peoples interest from one chapter to another with a small or big cliff hanger. I learned it on this board.
The survival type stories I write are usually about your normal, non-survivalist type of person. I go more for the 'learn as you go' type of person rather than the type that has planned for the apocalypse for years. I hope you enjoy that point of view. I started this story way back when I was writing my first story in the series as Quinn was first introduced there, it unfortunately took me a while to actually write and post his story.
I still have at least one more story in this series and its about Jeff and Rebecca; the young couple from Richardson Texas that Quinn ran into first at their apartment and then on the road, its their story, how they survived the E2 plague and what happened on their way to California. I have the first half written already and work on it as ideas come, I'm hoping that won't be too long but I won't make any promise as to time.
I also have two other stories in the works, one more science fiction rather than end of the world type, I'm a few chapters into it also and while I know how I want it to end I don't yet have a path to get there, and I find in all my stories that my characters sometimes have ideas of their own as to how the story will go.
As usual life always gets in the way of my writing: family, work, Church duties all take time. Thank God we have had no medical issues lately, they seemed to plague us for a while as I was writing both the first story in this series and Vanished - both of which are in the completed stories section of this board.
I am planning on putting all of my 'Get Busy Living' stories into one book and publishing for Amazon Kindle. At that point I will have to have them removed from this board as Amazon requires that they be the sole distributors for any Kindle story. Up until that time, feel free to read and even copy them for your own personal use (remembering that I retain all rights). I will also post on this board before I do that so you have a bit of warning. I am not sure if I will wait until Jeff and Rebecca's story is told or keep that as a sequel.
I hope you enjoyed the story and comments are always appreciated, and if you see any mistakes please post them so I can correct them, I try to carefully edit my stories but I know I miss things, so extra sets of eyes are always welcome.
Some of you may wonder why Minnesota, Wisconsin and Texas play a big part of my stories, simple answer is I know the areas. I grew up in Minnesota and lived between Minnesota and Wisconsin the first 31 years of my life, then I moved South and live just a few miles north of the Richardson suburb that played an important part in Quinn's story near the beginning. As far as the Beef Jerky shop in the Oklahoma city of Marietta, yes there really is one, its called Robertson's and every time we drive through we stop and buy a pound of Beef Jerky. I have no stake in it other than as a customer but if you're ever driving Interstate 35 in southern Oklahoma its worth it to stop, they also sell Hams, and sandwiches, etc. Its a great place to stretch your legs and enjoy some good food.
Thanks
Mike
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Post by idahobob on Oct 5, 2013 10:43:49 GMT -6
Thank Yuuuuuu!!
When you publish it on Kindle at Amazon, Please, please, please, let us know.
Bob III
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Post by mnn2300 on Oct 5, 2013 10:50:45 GMT -6
Great tempo, right to the cliff hanger. I'm a patient guy but my wife is mad with you. Is that because she is reading it too or because you've ignored her while you read it? Either way hopefully she forgives me now that the final chapter is up.
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Post by kaijafon on Oct 5, 2013 12:27:07 GMT -6
Thank you! great story though I'm sad it is over.
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Post by papaof2 on Oct 5, 2013 12:32:46 GMT -6
I've enjoyed the story. Publishing will get you wider recognition. Just remember to be very creative when you do the promo blurb for the Kindle page. Get Busy Living should appeal to readers with a variety of interests: for example, action/adventure fans could be drawn into the world of PAW fiction. Get your book promoted on sites such as pamspriderecommendations.com and others.
Some of my characters (Accidental Family) occasionally take on a life of their own. Those may be some of the better chapters - although it's possible that I'm too tired to be a good judge of that when a chapter is completed at 2AM ;-)
I've considered publishing Accidental Family on Kindle after it's completed, probably more to be able to say that I'm a published author than for the money - 70 cents royalty on a $1.99 book isn't much until you get into thousands of books sold. If a book is popular enough, an author might reach minimum wage for the hours spent writing and editing ;-)
Sent from my IdeaTabA2109A using proboards
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Post by patience on Oct 5, 2013 20:20:56 GMT -6
A great tale and I am also sorry it's over, the sign of an engaging tale. I particularly liked how you wove together the individual stories. Fine job!
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Post by crf78112 on Oct 7, 2013 2:59:15 GMT -6
Great tempo, right to the cliff hanger. I'm a patient guy but my wife is mad with you. Is that because she is reading it too or because you've ignored her while you read it? Either way hopefully she forgives me now that the final chapter is up. We read this together and the last cliff hanger was almost too much. I think she's a little sweet on Quinn now and was some upset to leave him passed out. You are officially forgiven but now she has developed the MOAR syndrome.
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Post by teedee on Feb 4, 2014 15:41:38 GMT -6
Good job. I started reading this a long time ago and I like the way you wrapped it up. Thanks
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Post by kareninks on Sept 15, 2014 12:18:58 GMT -6
Very good story. When it gets on Amazon, I will certainly get it!
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Post by ydderf on Sept 17, 2014 7:35:42 GMT -6
I'm unsure why I didn't find this story earlier. It is now on my list of read stories, thank you for posting it.
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Post by mnn2300 on Sept 17, 2014 11:53:07 GMT -6
I'm glad its getting some notice again. Still haven't been able to finish the last story in the series, just blocked on it. But I have not forgotten it. I won't do the Kindle thing until its finished and been up here a while.
As many of you know I posted 'The Affected' story in the 'ongoing stories' thread (my story is done but a couple other people used it as a basis for stories of their own. I am working on another more sci-fi story. Not going to post that until I am in the editing stage as its taken me a long time to continue it.
Unfortunately I am a very slow writer, the ideas are there but I get halfway through and find my characters have taken over leaving me wondering what to write.
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Post by papaof2 on Sept 17, 2014 15:31:04 GMT -6
Unfortunately I am a very slow writer, the ideas are there but I get halfway through and find my characters have taken over leaving me wondering what to write. Glad to know I'm not the only writer whose characters have minds of their own ;-) Sent from my IdeaTabA2109A using proboards
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Post by mnn2300 on Sept 18, 2014 8:52:44 GMT -6
Yeah, seems like they have minds of their own and are upset when you try to make them do things they don't want to do. Prime example: In my 'Vanished' story, my plan was for Russ to die when he got into the car accident. Instead he talked me into making him the prime character of the story <shakes head> I just never know where my characters will take me -- which is probably why I will always be an amateur writer. I doubt Stephen King has this problem.
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Post by bjoyce on Sept 19, 2014 13:12:09 GMT -6
I have now finished all books to this point. Very good stories. Please keep writing and sharing.
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Post by bosshen on Jan 24, 2015 14:13:45 GMT -6
I've read all your Busy Living stories now and love your writing style. It's easy to read, descriptive and with very few editing errors. You've got a gift for story telling.
Thanks for taking the time to share.
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Post by oldfloridabill on May 15, 2015 3:27:56 GMT -6
I am surprised they didn't go kill the shooter.
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