the dimming of the light (Part 8)

Peter Hunter

Day 6

  Happy Harry reprimanded me today

'Is that tractor taxed and licensed?'

As if it mattered, or if indeed I cared or was the misery's attempt at a joke or did he imagine he was still a sergeant major in the army Day 6 without light or any electric to power anything and I should worry about a law in what might now be a non-existent state? The weather had turned bitterly cold the morning had been white with frost and the shallow end of the lake frozen

  none of these helped my humour or my health and if I were to attend the midday meeting I needed the mid-sized tractor to get me there. My bicycle was not ideal because of some icy patches on the roads and what little petrol was left in our car was far too precious when there were several hundred litres in the Colonel's domestic oil tank

  with Chris clinging to the rear where the accessory bar offered a foot and handhold we found it perfectly adequate as a short range transport

It was obvious that many were already suffering. On lady who lived by the High street approached me and offered to trade some of her hen's eggs for a brace of trout 'that would be great' I answered ' we will catch them before dark, gut them and let the sub-zero air tonight freeze them - and they will be ready for you in he morning'

'If the cats don't find them first.' added Chris.

An advantage of living in the country, I thought - and a sign of things to come if any of us survive what seems to fast becoming the pattern

  but those in the towns, particularly those in flats perhaps high-rise flats with no electricity to power their elevators not much food put by small or no gardens

had they already resorted to eating domestic pets, rats feral pigeons that sort of thing

  If not now, it had to come

  unless the electricity returned but that was looking less and less likely

The council chairman was, I thought losing what little authority he had prised from the villagers. He had not suggested anything very constructive and both Chris and I thought we detected a growing core of almost lawless disregard for the majority a sort of' I'll do what I want and bugger the consequences' attitude

  not surprisingly developing into an 'every one for themselves tendency' which alarmed us and I resolved to be on my guard as I had more to lose than most and a larger area to protect my ground four hundred yards long and most of it out of sight of the house and Chris and Sharon's flat - the whole area full of game, pheasant, pigeon, rabbits and much else, feathered and furred in theory illegal to kill

  but how much the rules and law matter now

  and of course I could not to ignore my lake full of fish.

I had my high-powered air rifles with thousands of pellets a hunting bow and dozens of arrows - all relics from my youth but perfectly serviceable. If if things were trending towards lawlessness

  I should also find my shotgun useful and I resolved to save it and use the other weapons for hunting

These things were useful for hunting and potential defence but my age and health were against me. However my brain told me those events would probably not progress to that point

Why why was this happening although fast becoming academic there had to be some explanation we probably would never find out would never know

  I did not imagine many surviving that long

(To be continued)

Peter Hunter 2012

for those already thinking of the explanation - the clues are in

Time Of The Eagle on Kindle