Author's note:
I am a new author here at Lit, and I'd genuinely appreciate your constructive comments. But first, I would like to thank Gamblnluck for his kind assistance in getting these stories kick-started and posted. I would greatly appreciate chatting with anyone who might want to sign on as a beta reader/editor; hopefully, you're someone who has posted your own stories. And thanks to you for reading this. I hope you enjoy going out into the bayou and swamp.
If you are looking for a stroke story, this is not it. All characters are over the age of 18.
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Coven of the Ancient Swamp Ch4
The Whale
Standing out on the back porch taking in the changes that my brother and his folks had finished in one day was simply amazing. They had gotten the temps moved across the yard and installed them in places, and everything hooked up. Day one of Operation Rolling Thunder was a success. The concrete pads for the yard were in place, and they got the shoreline reinforced, so it didn't fall into the bayou. Today would see the new dock come in if Derrick and his people stay on schedule.
Bob walked into the kitchen as I was getting a cup of coffee. "Bob? You need a cup?"
"Thanks, Shep, but the boss lady has informed me that I had my fill of coffee, but I want to talk with you about the cottages you want to build over here. Yesterday at work was like a three-ring circus with lines of people needing supplies to get all the debris ready to be hauled away. I spent my day on conference calls with the company wheel horses. Here's the idea, the company will sponsor your demonstration project to put up houses on the existing footings. We have a division that does modular homes, which are shipped nationally. These homes are certified to exceed all national and international building codes. As a result, there is no need for any local permits or inspections. Everything arrives on-site in a container, and then it's assembled here. Depending on the house, the size of the crew, and their skill level, it can take as little as two days to have a house complete and ready for occupancy. From go it takes about three weeks to get a house out the door. Now? Could a barge deliver the containers to the new dock? One way or the other, we can all be in our new homes in about a month or less from a green light. What do you think?"
"I think, WOW! I'm going to town to talk with the Admiral again. I will reach out to you with any questions or a green light this afternoon. Thank you, and please thank all of your people." Another problem goes down the tubes.
"Hey, Jack! Good morning. Do you need some coffee?" I called out.
"Hell yes! Angie is still asleep, and you know what they say about waking sleeping dogs, don't you, Shep?"
Handing Jack a cup of coffee as PG bounced out, "Daddy! What did you just about, my sweet Mother! Daddy, you know you gunna pay for that. Don't you, Daddy!"
"Baby, if I weren't in the dog house, I'd be lost."
Jack and I walked into the backyard and looked around at the new concrete pad as a mobile crane pulled in, followed by a convoy of transporters. "Well, here comes a new dock. If I don't miss my guess, the stump will be coming out of the water today too."
"Jack? Yesterday afternoon PG and I met an old friend of yours and his lady."
"Yeah, I heard all about it, Shep."
"Can you please tell me the story about how Leo's Dad worked with the Old Master and also Leo?"
"Well, yeah, I know the story better than most. Denzel was from the old world, where he had learned the craft of turning wood into amazing items. Anything he wanted, he could and did make. He created almost magical items, the beauty of the wood radiated out from what he made. He enlisted, oh I don't know, 25 maybe more local folks to help him here in the shops. He taught all of them his secrets, and together, they made beautiful wooden furniture and cabinets and flooring, countertops, paneling, and well, I don't know what else. Anyway, he worked with Leo's Dad, who was also from the old world, to sell what they made here. As you know, the Old Master went on about 20 years or so ago, and that was the end of the mill here. Leo's Dad lasted a year or two longer. Then he went on too. So Leo got the store, but he didn't have a solid product he could sell. The mill had shut down. The folks that worked there moved on. Some returned into the swamp, and others seemingly lost to the winds. At first, Leo wanted to get many of us who lived out in the Ancient Swamp and along the bayous to make what he called craft items. We all traded what we made for things we wanted, like clothes. This arrangement worked all right for quite a while. Then one and then another family that lived on the bayous got swept up in state tax issues. Just like my family and I did. In the end, we all lost our homes to Leo and became his slaves. As you know, many slaves and their families have run away, and they live out in the swamp now. The sheriff's deputies are always out looking for the runaways. The deputies cut channels in the mangrove thickets to make it easier for them to move about in the swamp. The way it looks, they didn't care about the damage they were doing to the swamp or what the cost was. Everything began to wash away."
"Well, Jack, that's a hell of a story. For sure, that is not right, at least not in my book. I do not know what I can for certain. I do not know how I can do it. But I know I will do something about this. That you can take as a fact."
"Hey Derrick, you got a quick minute? Or are you lost in the songs of the Loralie?"
"Very funny, brother. What do you have?"
"I guess the dock will be in today?"
"Yeah, there's a barge on the way here, and that hazard to navigation will be gone. So tomorrow will see the one crane delivered and installed. Then after that, the maglev system will go in, followed by putting up the yard crane going in the next day. After that, we will be bringing in the heavy-duty transporters. Then we rock and roll with the containers and whatever else that comes. OH!! Sorry, I spoke to the yard in Galveston. They have almost finished the work on your salvage barge. When they send it this way, they will put on the barge as deck cargo, a forklift, and a small mobile crane for you. That should be here in about five or six days."
"Hey? Do you know if the boss man has got anything hot going today?"