Trophy Cub - 17. Home Is Where Your Honey Is

The Jeep sped along the dark country road with Gunnar behind the wheel, Thomas riding shotgun, and Mike in the backseat, leaning forward to make sure he heard the conversation.

“You two may as well try to get some sleep,” Gunnar said. “I’m sorry that we missed dinner, but we’ve got a ways to go tonight, and there are no freeways to get there, so it’s going to be all back-roads for the next five or six hours.”

“You want to fill us in on where we’re going?” Thomas asked.

“Well, last month, when I was trying to locate the pack compound where Mike was being held, I went through all of the properties I have in Wisconsin in that blue binder back there to see where I could establish a ‘home base’ if you will. Since the pack was so close to Green Bay and Lake Michigan, the house in Sturgeon Bay was the logical choice to be positioned within striking distance. Now that we need to put some space between us and the pack and need a spot where we can hide out for the winter, I’m headed to the other option.

“It’s a four-bedroom cabin sitting in fifty secluded acres in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest region in the northernmost part of the state. I read all of Nils’s notes about it. He bought it from a group of ‘preppers’ who were anticipating WWIII. When the Cold-War ended back in ’91, and the apocalypse they were expecting never happened, the peppers were getting older and looked to sell the property for extra money to retire to Florida and fish.

“It’s completely off-grid. The road leading to the cabin is private, so it isn’t even on any maps. There are three wind turbines in the cabin clearing, as well as a 2,000-gallon propane tank. When Nils bought the property, he had the propane tank replaced and filled, the turbine batteries upgraded, and he added a bank of solar panels as well.

“There’s water that can be pumped from a nearby lake on the property and run through a purification system into a storage tank just up the hill from the cabin to provide water pressure, as well as rain barrels that can provide water for non-drinking purposes. With the ample electricity provided by the wind turbines, the preppers had installed a huge commercial refrigerator to store perishables, and even a walk-in freezer to fill with enough frozen foods to last them a year if necessary.

“When we get there, everything is going to have been sitting idle for 30 years, so we may need to put some elbow grease into putting things back in working order, but nothing that you can’t handle Thomas. We’re going to put that master’s degree in engineering you got back in the 50’s to the test,” Gunnar concluded, giving Thomas a wink.

“If you wanted a perfectly fine, working cabin to hide out in for the winter,” Thomas grumbled, “I already have one back in West Virginia.”

“Yes, I thought of that little bear, but first of all, I wanted to go somewhere a day’s drive or less from where Joshua left us so that we can get off the roads and into hiding as soon as possible. If we went to your place, we’d have to make a big detour to avoid the south Wisconsin area, and we’d be traveling for days unless we flew, and I don’t want to risk going to Green Bay or Minneapolis to go through the airport right now.

“Second, after Pip cracked under torture and spilled the beans, there’s no guarantee that they don’t know who you are by now and do the research to find out where you live. We can keep your cabin as a plan B, if necessary, but right now we’re going to the one place at our disposal where the only record if its existence is in that blue binder there!”

Thomas nodded his head. “Smart, big bear. I should know by now to trust you when it comes to matters of safety and security. That was your business for over a hundred years after all.”

“Hey guys,” Mike interrupted quietly.

“What is it Cub?” Gunnar asked.

“This seems like a lot of trouble all because of me. Maybe it would be best if you just gave me back to the wolves so that they will leave all of you alone.”

“Fuck, no!” Gunnar stated firmly. “Just because you haven’t made the choice yet, doesn’t make you any less my Cub. And, as Thomas likes to say, ‘nobody messes with our cubs.’ We haven’t gone through everything we have so far just to give up now. Like it or not, you’re stuck with us in a cabin for the winter!”

“Papa, I’d love being with you if we were in a house, or a cabin in the woods, or even a cave! I just wanted to make sure doing all this just for me is worth it to you.”

“If it wasn’t worth it to me,” Gunnar replied, “I never would have rescued you from those wolves in the first place. You’re my Cub now, and I’ll fight to the death to protect you. Now, we all know where we’re going, and I have the GPS on my phone guiding the way, so why don’t you lay back and get a few hours’ sleep, okay?”

Mike nodded and sat back in his seat as Gunnar had suggested.

Thomas sat looking over at Gunnar with a sideways grin. “I told you you’d make a great Papa,” he said, and then he leaned over against the door, propping his head on his hand to try to get in a few hours of hibernation.

****

It was still dark when Gunnar stopped the Jeep along the side of the road. Shaking Thomas awake, he nodded toward a set of metal gates nearly covered by weeds and overgrown underbrush. As Thomas got out and began clearing away the overgrowth, Gunnar grabbed the blue binder and flipped to the pages containing the paperwork for the cabin. Stapled to one of the pages was an envelope, and Gunnar pulled it out now, opening it to find a set of keys.

Thomas had cleared the middle part of the gate enough to reveal a heavy lock. Gunnar tried the key marked “gate” on the ring, and although a bit rusty, the lock turned and popped open. Each taking one side of the gate, the two bears fought against thirty years of deterioration to push both sides open.

Gunnar got back into the Jeep and pulled it in between the gates, and then Thomas closed each side behind him, fastening the lock back into place.

“This is the only way into the property,” Gunnar whispered to Thomas, not wanting to wake up Mike who was still sleeping in the back seat. “This used to be a driveway, but from the looks of it, it’s going to be overgrown and a rough drive even with 4x4. It’s a half-mile from here to the cabin. Let’s get a little more sleep in the Jeep and then we’ll drive the rest of the way when we have daylight to see where we’re going.”

Once the sun came up, it was easier to see that although the road was completely overgrown with weeds and grass, there was still a clear path through the dense forest. Gunner shifted to 4x4 and slowly made his way up the hill between the trees, rolling over the thick growth of low foliage as he went. After a half-mile they emerged from the dense forest into a clearing of overgrown grass turned brown and gone to seed, with a large sturdy log cabin squarely in the middle. Three tall motionless wind turbines sat off to one side, and a bank of solar panels facing south and nearly buried under years’ worth of dead leaves sat to the other side.

They piled out of the Jeep, and Gunnar flipped through the keyring as he walked through the tall grass up to the front porch of the cabin. Finding the key to the front door, he opened it up and they stepped inside.

Right away, they could tell the difference between a house that was cared for over the years by a dedicated caretaker, and a house that was left empty for decades. Dust and cobwebs were everywhere, but it seemed that the structure was in sound shape, and the metal roof had held up to the many northern winters without leaking. The cabin seemed to have either come furnished, or Nils had some furniture delivered after he bought it, as the living room was outfitted with couches, end tables, and recliners, and the kitchen area had a sturdy round wooden table and chairs. Thomas walked through the first floor quickly, opening doors and cabinets until he found the main circuit breaker and apparent electrical room in a closet at the end of a hallway. He flipped a few switches, connecting the cabin’s internal electrical system to the bank of batteries storing the energy from the turbines and the solar panels, and then flipped the cabin’s power main to the “on” position.

A couple of ceiling lights in the living room and kitchen came on with a flicker, and the kitchen’s refrigerator and walk-in freezer began humming softly. Thomas inspected a little more and found an old-style digital panel indicating the power level in the batteries.

“Well, we have a little bit of juice left in the batteries after all this time, but it isn’t going to last very long. I’ll start by cleaning off the solar panels and checking their wiring connection to the batteries, and then I’ll have to tackle the wind turbines and find out why they aren’t turning right now.

“I’ll tell you, old bear,” Thomas continued, “I’m pretty impressed so far. Those preppers must have spared no expense to make this place completely self-sufficient off the grid. I’d like to have half of this shit at my own place! With just a little work, depending on how it goes with the turbines, I’ll be able to get this cabin ready to ride out the winter in no time. It looks like the heat is provided by that big iron wood stove over there in the corner of the living room, so I know a big ol’ grizzly bear who is going to be chopping a lot of firewood in the near future!”

“Hopefully, we’ll have a cub to help out with some of the heavier chores as he starts growing into his new body soon,” Gunnar said quietly to Thomas.

Just then, Mike came down the hall from the kitchen.

“Refrigerator and freezer are both working, the water pipes and sink faucet work, and the gas stove works too, but there’s no food in the place,” Mike reported. “There’s a whole pantry just off the kitchen for storing canned and dry foods, but those preppers must have taken everything with them when they sold the place. We’re going to have to fix that soon or else I’m going to end up a hungry bear’s dinner.”

“Technically, with your size, you’d be more of an appetizer or an amuse-bouche,” Gunnar replied with a chuckle, “But you’re right, we didn’t have time to pack up any food when we ran out the door yesterday afternoon and left our Thanksgiving feast sitting on the dinner table. Mike, Thomas has a ton of work to do to get this place ready, and you’ll need to be his assistant for the next few hours. I’m going to find the nearest town with a good-sized grocery store and stock up on the essentials. Once we get settled, since we have all this food storage and freezer space, I’ll make a run to Duluth and hit a Sam’s Club or Costco for enough to last the winter. The less we have to go outside of our fifty acres for the next few months, the safer we’ll be.”

“Just a second, before you go…” Mike said, and ran upstairs. Gunnar and Thomas heard him tromping through the bedrooms up there. “Okay, they left two king-sized beds and two queen beds in the four bedrooms up there, but there’s no bedding. So, while you’re out shopping, we need sheets, pillows and blankets too.”

“Good thinking, Cub,” Gunnar said. “Glad we found that out before I left.”

“Especially,” Thomas interjected, “Since you and I both need to turn or phones off. Now. If we’re going off the grid and becoming un-trackable, that’s the first step.”

Gunnar sighed. “You’re right. Good night old friend,” he said giving his phone a little kiss as he powered it down. “I’ll have to rely on paper maps to navigate out there, and I’ll have to depend on luck to find a town with decent sized grocery and housewares stores till I can go to the city.”

“It’s not like we’re going back to the stone-age,” Thomas said grinning, we’re really just turning back the technology clock about thirty years or so.”

“Yeah, well have fun with the late-1980’s technology here while I go out ‘hunting and gathering’ for sustenance,” Gunnar replied mischievously, and walked back out the front door to the Jeep.

“Come on,” Thomas said to Mike, “Let’s rummage through all the closets and take stock of what tools we have available, and then let’s get started cleaning off those solar panels so we aren’t left in the dark tonight.”

****

Gunnar arrived back at the cabin with the Jeep loaded full of groceries and household supplies. He had to travel to a town about thirty miles away that was on the crossroads of two main state roads to find a store large enough to supply what he needed. It seemed to be an independent family-owned all-in-one store, the sign along the storefront proudly offering Hardware, Variety, Sport Shop, Grocery, Meat, Dairy.

Gunnar realized that he hadn’t checked out the kitchen situation before leaving, so after loading two carts with groceries and bottled water, he filled two more with four sets of bedding, sets of plates, glassware and silverware, a cookware set, and a coffeemaker. If Gunnar had to go without coffee for months, it would have been a long, hard winter for Thomas and Mike.

He raised a few eyebrows as he loaded up the carts with his purchases in the store, but no one dared to confront the big, hairy man to interfere in his business.

Returning to the cabin, Gunnar saw that the solar panels had been cleared and cleaned, and Mike was walking through the field around the cabin with a long hand-sickle, cutting down wide swaths of overgrown grass with each swipe of his muscly little cub arms. He’d already cleared a ten-foot-wide circle around the cabin, a path from the cabin to the solar panels, and had created a clear rectangular parking area for the Jeep.

Mike was now working on a path from the cabin to the wind turbines, and Gunnar noticed for the first time that Thomas had climbed one of the thirty-foot towers and sat straddling the machine with the housing around the generator taken apart.

“Gods, Thomas,” Gunnar shouted, “Be careful! You’ll break your fool neck!”

Thomas just waved his hand dismissively and continued his work.

“I tried to tell him to wait till you got back to go climbing up that thing, but he was on a mission,” Mike said to Gunnar walking over with his sickle and cutting the grass at the bottom of the pole.

“After we got the solar panels cleaned off and working properly, he checked the electrical components all the way from the batteries to the top of that tower. He says that it’s probably something mechanical, which is good, because that will make it easier to fix.”

Just then, Thomas swung his leg off of the turbine and affixing a strap around the pole and behind his back, descended the tower with all of the grace of a seasoned lineman.

“Okay,” Thomas said. “I’ll need to check the other two turbines, but with this one, the generator and electrical components are all in good shape, it’s the gearbox that’s worn out. The bearings in those gearboxes are only rated to last for twenty years, and most of them don’t even make it that long, so those blades stopped turning at least fifteen years ago.

“I’m going to have to get back on my phone and get online just this one more time and order three new gearboxes and some additional tools. Those should take a couple of weeks to get here, and I’ll have them sent general delivery to the nearest post office.

“We’ll need to conserve energy as much as possible till then, so we’ll need to hold off on putting any heavy strain on the walk-in until I get this fixed. You’ll need hold off on your trip to Sam’s Club until then.”

“Gotcha,” Gunnar replied. “I didn’t buy any frozen stuff today, so we can shut the walk-in off for now and just use the fridge till you get the gearboxes fixed. Any other problems?”

“Surprisingly, no,” Thomas confirmed, “The solar panels are working as they should, and they should have the batteries about half-way charged by the end of the day today. There is a holding tank for water up the hill there, and the electric pump that fills it from the little lake through the trees over there is operational. The water purification system seems practically new, so I’m guessing that Nils had that put in too when he upgraded the battery bank and the propane tank.

“Speaking of which, the propane tank is huge and it’s full. If we’re just using it for cooking and the water heater, then there’s plenty to last till spring. Good thing thirty-year-old propane doesn’t go bad; we’d have to do a major clearing job on the road up here before we’ll ever be able to get a truck to deliver any more.”

“You’re the man,” Gunnar said, punching the smaller bear on the shoulder with a grin. “What does that lake look like? Good for swimming?”

“Oh, no,” Thomas said, taking a step back, “You aren’t getting me to go for any more of your polar bear plunges. You have a Cub to torment with that kind of stuff, now. But, when I was over there, I did see some fish jumping out of the water, so we might be able to catch a few and have a nice dinner or two before the lake freezes over.”

“Excellent,” Gunnar said. “Cub! There’s a whole Jeep full of groceries and housewares to put away. Drop the sickle and give me a hand!”

****

Later that evening, after a satisfying dinner and a preliminary cleaning of the inside of the cabin, they all decided to go to bed early to turn out the lights and conserve the batteries.

Gunnar and Mike had just finished their second round of gentle lovemaking for the night, and Gunnar was laying on his back with Mike’s head laying on his chest. Mike was listening to the big bear’s heartbeat as it thumped away with a steady rhythm through the layers of muscle and fur.

“Cub?” Gunnar asked tentatively, causing Mike to look up at him. “When Thomas gets the turbines fixed, I’m going to take a trip to Duluth and do a major shopping run to stock up on all the food and supplies that we’ll need to last till spring.”

“Yeah, Papa,” Mike replied, “You said that before.”

“Well, before I go,” Gunnar continued, “I’ll need to know if I’m stocking up for two bears and one human, or if I’m stocking for two bears and a growing, changing cub. Those are two completely different things. If you decide to have me change you, you’re going to need to consume at least triple the number of calories per day than you normally would, even more than me and Thomas eat each day. So, before I go, I’ll need for you to tell me which way it’s going to be.”

Mike lowered his head and pressed his ear against Gunnar’s chest again, listening to the sound of the comforting beat while gazing into Gunnar’s hazel eyes.

“Papa, you’ll be stocking up for two bears and a growing cub. I’ve made my decision, but I’m not quite ready for you to breed me just yet. I need just a little more time to say goodbye to being a human, if that makes any sense. I’ll let you know when, okay?”

“Fair enough,” Gunnar replied. “Good night, Cub. You make me so happy. I love you and I’ll be proud to be your Papa.”

“I love you too Papa. Good night.”