This is a continuation of an alarming series of events. You can go to the beginning of the series here: An Uncivil War
As pieces of the puzzle (that is, answers) came together, I started to remember more details from the past.
One night I had an enormous burst of recall. It went back to a time when there was still just a little bit of organization and respect left in society. But that was slipping fast. I remember ugly details of the strife, lawlessness and violence, all of which I shall spare you here. They really were disgusting.
I was getting ready to go into hiding, having picked neither of the ridiculous sides (therefore being a Neutral).
When I say “ridiculous sides”, well ridiculous is a kind word, because what both sides really had become were mean-spirited, hateful, violent, and ignorant followers of greedy leaders. Both sides were being encouraged and poisoned by the mega-rich “social leaders” – pathetic.
I had accumulated enormous supplies in my house, especially pre-packaged rations. But I lay half awake at night trying to figure how valuable the supplies were if I could not protect my home.
The Bombing Begins
One night as I tossed and turned in bed, it started. I think it was around 3:30 am. Simultaneous enormous explosions seemingly everywhere, continuing on and on. My cat and I wrapped under the sheet and blanket – what else were we going to do. The house lifted from the bottom as debris rained on top. It felt like we, along with the house, were travelling a crazy distance. But I couldn’t tell. It was so loud. My cat froze scared beyond scared. So did I. Yet somehow the house mostly stayed together.
The Dust Settles and I Am Hurt
Once the dust settled, I knew I was deep underground, still alive, but hurting everywhere. My cat seemed unscathed. My worst wound was an ugly abdominal wound. I writhed in fever day after day and night after night from the wounds. I ate what I could and drank what I could. I was too scared of the “house” collapsing to go far from the bed.
The cat made her own way by eating mice and other rodents. She lay against me when I was shivering with chills. She pulled the blanket back off me when I was roasting in fever.
An Exit From Safety
The cat also explored to find an exit.
I finally was able to get up a little bit. The cat showed me the exit. It was a long path. When we got to what appeared to be the opening to the outside, she was precise to point out the order to move rocks that guarded this tunnel-pathway that was the entrance to my house.
Getting Medical Help
I knew I needed medical help, so the cat stayed back, and I dragged my bloody broken body out and down a hill to the west. I barely looked around other than to track my bearings so maybe I could return and die. Most everything was a disaster.
Eventually I came across an area in the valley that had a hospital somehow still in tact. I went in and they took one look at me and set me up for emergency surgery. It was rough. Recovery was rough. I am not sure how long I was in the hospital.
And this is where I began the story in Part 1: An Uncivil War (Part 1). The young nurse told me to leave the hospital quickly, pointing me up the hill.
Somewhere deep in my brain I must have remembered not only where the entrance to the cave that led to my home was, but also the right way to move the rocks and keep the entrance covered and secure.
Because that is when I found the tunnel to my buried cave-home, I found my cat, and I started this story.
Index
Index to Chapters in order:
- An Uncivil War
- An Uncivil War: Letting Wounds Heal
- An Uncivil War: Trust No One
- An Uncivil War: The Peculiar Situation With Cats
- An Uncivil War: How It Started
- An Uncivil War: Answers About Cats
- An Uncivil War: The Bombing Begins
- An Uncivil War: Coast To Coast
- An Uncivil War: In Leadership We Don’t Trust
- An Uncivil War: Peace At Last?
Paul Sees the World 