Survival Family Stories
By Stephen Brandon
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Copyright 2016 Stephen Brandon
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corrected copy 7/29/2016
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Thank you for downloading this ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.
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Author's Note
This book is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, incidents, and dialogue are from the authors imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or other persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Real and fictional locations are used for background only.
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Table of Contents ~(ToC)~
Fire Plug
Prologue
Chapter 1 Thought
Chapter 2 Pebbles
Chapter 3 Alice
Chapter 4 Deb's gone
Chapter 5 Base Camp
Chapter 6 Plans
Chapter 7 First Year
Chapter 8 Not Our Plans
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The Mountain
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
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The Valley
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
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The Gascoyne Family
Chapter 1 The Summons
Chapter 2 The Return
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About Stephen Brandon
Other books and stories
Connect with Stephen Brandon
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Prologue to Fire Plug
Short skinny kids never have it easy in school. They are easy prey for those bigger that have no core values. I'm not just talking about the schoolyard bullies. I'm talking about every m&%^#$r f&#*#$r that feels superior because they're taller and have more muscles.
In the fifth grade one of the schoolyard bullies, after knocking him down said he looked like a fire plug with his red hair. Later that year this group of bullies caught him on the way back from the store, knocked him down and standing over him, they peed on him. One even stood on one leg and barked like a dog. At that point humiliation turned to anger and a desire for revenge.
One day the leader of the bullies made a mistake when taunting him, he said he'd never amount to anything because he couldn't fight.
Some schoolyard bullies mature and repent of their youthful ways, but others simply grow up and learn new covert methods.
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Chapter 1 Thought
James Theodore Brown was born on a Wednesday, the 29th of February. Two years after he was born his father lost his job and was only able to find a minimum wage job, and his mother also had to work just to make ends meet. After struggling for years, his father finally started making enough so his mother didn't have to work any more. As an only child he was the apple of their eyes. His school grades were above average. His small frame kept him out of sports and made him the target of bullies.
The Saturday his father caught him crying behind the lawn shed was the day his life turned around. His father knew a friend that was ex-army. After talking to him he agreed to teach James self-defense.
Between formal fighting lessons and disabling blows he also taught James how to survive in the woods and wilderness.
Within a year James developed enough automatic reflexes that one afternoon when he was attacked in the school parking lot he effortlessly broke the lead bullies collar bone and knocked another down with a leg sweep before he realized what he'd done. Standing back up he told the other two bullies to take their friends and go. They went.
That evening as he was telling his father about the attack there was a knock on the door. It was a big man and he demanded that James's father punish his son for breaking his sons collarbone and pay the doctor bill or he was going to the police. James's father called James to the door and told him to tell about the attack in the school parking lot. James's mother listening to the threats the big man made called the police and told them that a stranger was threatening her son. They arrived just as the story was ending and the big man started ranting and raving. After taking the details they told both fathers to be at the school in the morning with their sons. Then they told both fathers that they could either arrest both boys for assault or let the school principle handle the punishment.
The next morning James and his father were sitting in the school office when the two injured bullies arrived with their fathers. Both their fathers were talking about suing James's father when they walked in. When James stood up and they saw that he was smaller than either boy they looked at each other and then their son's. The other bullies father turned to his son and said, that little punk is the boy that cracked your skull, just wait until I get you home.
In the principles office with the two cops in attendance he listened to one of the bullies tell his tale and then asked James to tell his side of the story. Then he had all three boys stand against the wall and commented, well unless James had a crowbar, I don't see how he came out uninjured. A teacher reported the attack and the other two boys haven't been identified yet. James, you're suspended for one day for fighting on the school grounds. You two are suspended for the rest of the year for assault on school grounds unless you want to let the police handle the punishment. Your fathers can arrange tutors, at their expense, for you or you can repeat the grade next year. I'll allow you to take the finals in five weeks and advance to your senior year, if you pass them. This report will remain in your school records and if you come on school grounds while suspended I'll have you arrested. If James is assaulted or harassed in anyway for the rest of the school year you boys will be the prime suspects and the first the police will arrest. Do you boys or your fathers have any questions?
That summer his father's friend took James to Montana for the summer.
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Chapter 2 Pebbles
The summer for James started off with two weeks camping. Bill told James that they had food for a week and in that week he showed James how to make a bow and set traps for game. They made two bows and a dozen arrows. Bill taught James how to recognize edible plants and construct snares and dead-fall traps along the game trails.
At the end of the second week a friend of Bill's stopped by and took the tents and sleeping bags. When they returned to camp all James found was his back pack, a small shovel, a new knife, his canteens, and a note stating that at the end of the next week Bill would disappear. After that he would start hunting James and take anything that he left unsecured.
When James asked Bill what was going on, Bill simply replied, this summer you learn to survive completely on your own. My friend is an expert, and he'll steal the meat right off your fire if you turn your back.
Three days into his solo survival, James went to relieve himself just outside his camp and when he returned the rabbit cooking over the fire was gone. All he found was one footprint at the edge of his fire. The next morning he followed the trail of drippings to a spot near his camp. Other than a few bones nothing else was visible. After searching the area for an hour he still couldn't find any trail leading away.
James m
oved his camp and set new snares. That night he went to sleep hungry.
He started moving his camp every few days and setting new snares until the day he got a small deer with an arrow. Taking three days to dry the meat he watched for his tracker. On the third night his drying rack collapsed when one of the trip wires was tripped. All he caught sight of was the back of the tracker leaving his campsite with one handful of meat. The next morning he packed up and moved his camp to a small cave he'd spotted several days before.
The cave looked small from the outside. It was much deeper than he originally thought and near the back he found evidence of a camp fire that was only a few days old. After a more careful search he found a weapons cache along with food. The cooler still had ice in it. After two days of a cold camp surviving on dried meat and what was in the cooler he heard a noise near the front of the cave.
An individual entered and started toward the back after dropping a small load of firewood at the old fire location. James let him take several steps before he cocked the revolver. The intruder froze and then slowly turned. As he turned around all he said was damn. James immediately realized it was a girl from her voice and figure.
All he could think of saying was, “You owe me some meat.”
She laughed and replied, “Nope that was my pay for catching you unawares, although that trick with the drying rack was really cool. Dad never taught me that one.”
“Who's your dad?”
“Bill, our teacher. Now he'll fail me because I got caught by you.”
“After finding the fire and cooler I was hoping to catch my tracker, but wasn't really sure I would. My original plan was to hide up here for several days until the tracker moved out of the area. Then keep clear until time to come back off the mountain. Now I have a problem. I can't tie you up and escape. I can't let you go because you'll ambush me. Get the fire started while I try to figure this out.” stated James.
“Nothing to figure out James, this is my daughter Deborah although she prefers Deb.” stated Bill.
Deb and James both jumped because they didn't hear him enter the cave and he was standing right beside them in a deep shadow.
“By the way James, the revolver is empty, I took the shells out last night while you were asleep. Deb, you ain't got the fire started yet? I know you like your meat cooked, and James has enough for all. Plus I brought some supplies. James, get my pack from the cave entrance.”
“Yes Sir.”
I heard him tell Deb that she passed because she tracked me well. However, she did need some remedial training in booby traps. His was a work of art, and I might even have tripped it. It was bad luck that he found your base camp, but you should have left some indicators to inform you that it was compromised. Your training on that starts in the morning.
With the pack slung over his shoulder, James added, “I want in on that training. She avoided all the campsite traps, and you avoided the pebbles at the cave entrance twice.”
All James got for an answer was a laugh from Bill. Then Bill said, “Next time make sure all the pebbles are turned right side up so their discoloration doesn't show.”
After eleven days of intensive training and practice they walked off the mountain into town and left the next morning for home.
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Chapter 3 Alice
James never felt more confident and aware of his surrounding as he entered his first class of the new year. After glancing around the room he grabbed a seat on the last row of desk. A few minutes later he became aware that someone was watching him. Using his peripheral vision he checked out the last row of desk and then the next row up. It wasn't until he got hit with a spit-ball, and saw a redhead holding a straw, that he knew he'd been tagged. Looking closer he realized it was Deb, although her hair was a dull tan during the summer.
After class they compared schedules and found they had one other class together.
That afternoon one of the bullies made a move on Deb. She elbowed him and then James grabbed his ear and pulled him down so he could whisper in his ear. Don't mess with people I know.
As soon as he released the ear the bully took off down the hallway as Deb commented, does the head always follow the ear.
The senior year went quietly. James noticed several girls that before wouldn't give him the time of day, giving him the eye when they thought Deb wasn't looking.
Neither of them mentioned it until just before Christmas break when Deb commented that he'd better let Alice know he was taken before she had an accident. Deb didn't like the comments she'd overheard in the girls gym locker room.
James asked what was the comment.
Deb grabbed his ear and said, “You just make sure she knows you are spoken for before she loses some of that bleach blond hair.”
That afternoon James spotted Alice with a couple of her girlfriends and called her over. He then told her that his girlfriend didn't like the comments that she'd made in the girls locker room and if she didn't cool it she'd loose some of her hair. As he told her he looked close and could actually see some dark roots in her blond hair.
He understood Deb dyeing her hair for the summer because red was to easy to spot, but Alice bleaching her hair blond. Blond wasn't a good color for camouflage. Now that girl in third period math class that dyed her hair purple, she was just trying to attract attention? Girls, what did they think of?
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Chapter 4 Deb's gone
After Deb graduated Bill moved his family to Montana where he owned most of a mountain. He made his daughter half owner in the campground he opened. As a sideline he taught survival skills in the woods. By the end of the summer he'd managed to procure a lease to buy eighteen square miles in the valley bordering his mountain. With his contacts he was booked up for most of the next summer before the ink was dry on the contracts. Jesse, one of his contacts is California offered to send him a man to train so he could expand. Bill thought about it and decided to contact James, after all he knew his skill level and Deb had mentioned the fact that she missed him several times.
James had found a job for the summer and when it ended he was back home living with his parents when the call came in. After a quick conference with his parents he called Bill and accepted. Bill told him to get there before Thanksgiving.
Picking James up in town, Bill told him that his winter gear was in the back of the truck. To qualify, all he needed to do was survive on the mountain for the three weeks until Thanksgiving and then make his way to the house undiscovered. Then he handed him a rough sketch map of the mountain and valley, and his house location. Next week his assistant would arrive. Prey and tracker rules are the same as last summer for both of you. You'll have a slight advantage because my assistant hasn't been on the mountain since it snowed.
Bill dropped James off at the end of the gravel road a quarter of the way up the town side of the mountain. James decided he'd follow the fire trail up the mountain and then backtrack to a good area where he could hide his trail. After an hour climbing he decided that backtracking would still leave indications in the snow. So he wandered over near a rocky outcrop and tossed his pack. Immediately he noticed that his tracks weren't the same so he continued further up and then stepped on rock and went back down to his pack. Heading off at a right angle to the fire road he found a thicket and started cutting limbs below the snow level. Three hours later he had a fair set of snowshoes that also smeared his tracks when he lifted his foot. Then he followed the rocks back up to where he got off the trail and followed the rocky area until just before dark. Digging a hole he built a small fire, cooked supper, bent some bushes over and bedded down. In the morning he ate a cold breakfast, buried his fire hole, and camouflaged his campsite by placing vegetation and then sprinkling snow over the area from a snowbank.
James circled the mountain until he got to a good overlook of the town. Picking a good spot he used his heaviest knife and chopped limbs and brush until he had a nice blind that was almost invisible fro
m below.
The next morning he started searching for a cave to setup as his base camp. He found one overlooking the valley that Bill's house was in.
On the way down to where the caves he found last summer he spotted a deer. It took two arrows to bring it down. Field dressing it on the spot and burying the entrails he wrapped it in it's skin and hauled it down to the cave. After spending the night he searched until he found another cave that had brush growing in front of it. After checking it out he set some trip indicators around the area and hiked back up to the heaviest snow bank he'd seen where he finished butchering the deer and placing thin strips of meat in the snow to freeze. Digging in he built another camouflaged campsite in a nearby thicket. Cutting the deer hide up he made three bags and packed them with snow to shape and freeze.
The next morning climbing back up the mountain he started looking for a suitable pine or spruce to hang his bag of meat in. After four tries he found a suitable pine and hung the meat bag just out of sight of the ground and high enough, he hoped, that a bear or wolf couldn't get to.
The next morning he took his second bag down the mountain toward the valley and was surprised by a stand of spruce in a creek bottom. Climbing the spruce was easier than the pine so he hung the meat bag higher. Circling the stand of spruce's he set a dozen trip indicators.
Climbing out of the creek area he heard a thump. Freezing he heard faintly two people talking. Even straining he couldn't make out the words. He assumed that the sound was coming from up the mountain. It was a day early for his opponent to be dropped off so it must be a poacher. With a grin James pulled out his spare bowstring and put the old string in his pocket. He knew he only had ten good arrows left since one was broken when the deer bolted and one was slightly damaged from the hunt. He decided to use that one first. He tracked around the base of the mountain in the direction that he guessed the noise came from. Coming up upon the gravel road he looked to see if he could tell which direction the gravel was thrown by the passing vehicle. Traveling up the side of the road he found at a bend what he was searching for. The driver had applied his brakes and left fresh groves, so the vehicle was gone. With about three hours of daylight left he slipped a little further off the road and headed up the mountain looking for indications of where the vehicle stopped. An hour later he was at the end of the road and found one broken twig leading off toward the direction he'd departed when he was dropped off. From the lack of ground signs the individual he was following was very much at home in the woods. His opponent must be a day early, so extreme caution was needed in tracking him. James decided to head up the mountain and spend the night in his blind.