The Provider by John Hunt

Author:John Hunt [Hunt, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-78535-690-2
Publisher: John Hunt Publishing
Published: 2018-06-28T16:00:00+00:00

THIRTY-FOUR

“Societies usually failed not because of the problems they couldn’t deal with, but the ones they didn’t anticipate,” I remember Louise saying in class. And she was right. Our first difficulty, a foretaste of problems to come later, came from an unexpected quarter.

It was a few days later. Bob was out checking his traps. He had a few dozen around in a five-mile radius and usually managed to bring something back for the pot. Matthew and Sue were out foraging for mushrooms, berries and greens. Jessie had the sharpest hearing. She straightened up. “Listen,” she said. “Can you hear it?”

By now I’d picked it up, the sound of an engine, the first one we’d heard, apart from our own, since the Event. We dropped our tools, I picked up my rifle and we ran up to the fence. An old Land Rover was coming along the track, looked like it should have been in a museum, apart from the dirt.

Dad opened the gate, we went out and met the driver as he was stepping out of the cab. He was in his twenties, stick-thin, slight, ravaged face, already balding, a goatee beard, unarmed. He leaned heavily on a stick as he hobbled toward us carrying a basket.

“Hello there,” he called. “My name’s Paul. So nice to meet you.”

We introduced ourselves. “I’m Donald, this is Mary, my wife, Louise Maclaren, Jim, my son, Jessie and Bess.”

“I’m on a mission to the Kenai peninsula,” he said. “I’d heard on the radio that you were in these parts, thought I’d come along and see if I could encourage you to join us.”

“A mission? What kind of a mission?” asked Dad.

“To bring people back to the faith,” he replied.

“Which faith?”

“The true faith. Believing in God, the only, one, God. Following His commandments in the Bible. We’ve ignored them for too long and that’s why this judgement has come on us. I’d like to explain it better, if you have a bit of time to spare.”

Dad hesitated. “I don’t think this is for us,” he replied. “I think it’s best if you move on.”

“Do you speak for everyone? We’re a democratic society, aren’t we? I’ve come all the way from Fairbanks. I’ve brought you some fruit here, as a goodwill gesture.” He handed over the basket, it was full of figs, dates, raisins, some scrawny apples. My mouth started watering. “Won’t you give me the chance to explain what I’m talking about? We’re a large group, we could help you. You won’t survive here for long by yourselves.”

“In all the time we’ve been here, Donald,” Mom intervened, “this is the first visitor we’ve had. Let’s not turn him away like that. Besides, I’m very partial to figs. That’s very generous of you, Paul.”

“OK,” Dad allowed, “as you’ve come this far. Have you had much luck yet, in your mission?” he asked as we walked over to the lodge.

“We’ve set up a number of groups along Highway 3,” Paul replied, as he limped along. “But Anchorage is a terrible place.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.