Bob Perkins phoned the clinic in Portland to let them know they would be expecting a large influx of people. The Doctor at the clinic objected, saying the odor was too bad to continue to operate. Bob said, “Don’t worry, we are on it. Just be ready for the people coming in.” Bob got his right hand man to contact a cement company and to order large amounts of lime powder. The man who was in charge of the clinic’s skeleton crew now, Les Smith, received the shipment of lime and had it dumped into the holes in the downstairs rooms. Next, he received the cement trucks and had the cement poured into the two holes. This was allowed to dry for three days, before they could receive the new people.
There was a noticeable change in the odor of the clinic after the three days had passed. During this time, decorations had been placed in the main living area and dining room to welcome the elderly and put them at ease. There were also candles lit all over the two rooms, creating a nice atmosphere and fragrance.
Arnold, the purser on the cruise ship, called a meeting for the 55 and older in the movie theater of the ship. “We have just received word that a very special event is scheduled for you folks. You must be 55 or older to go on this spa adventure. It is to begin the day after tomorrow. You will not leave all at the same time; it will be a rotating schedule and each day 300 of you will leave by launch to go for your spa day. Please pack and be ready. The lucky first ones will receive a note slipped under your cabin door! Don’t worry; each of the following days, a new batch of you will also receive a note until everyone has had an opportunity to attend the spa! What do you think?”
There was a roar in the theater of people talking all at once! “I never expected to be treated like this after being homeless!” “I wonder what fun things the spa includes. I hope they will do manicures and pedicures for us. I haven’t been able to reach my toenails for a while and they are out of control!” “You know, 20 years ago I would have said a spa day is sissy, but now that I am older, a massage sounds heavenly!” and a whispered, “Do you trust this spa day? Karen from the shop said there was an evil plan to get rid of everyone over 55. I didn’t believe her and refused to go with the ones who left. Could she have been right?”
Max thought, “Those old folks are not going to get one over on me. I will find them and bring every last one of them back here! I don’t care if Bob Perkins says it is too expensive and a waste of time. You don’t make a fool out of old Max.” Max realized he wasn’t going to get back-up from Bob or any of the other government people so he took a leave of absence from his job and started making his plans. Max decided on a houseboat since he would most likely be spending a lot of time on the water, going to different ports, looking for the elderly who had eluded him. He had no idea what he was getting into!
Donald and Bruce had their hearts pumping 100 miles an hour! They had just shot a wolverine! Donald held his finger to his lips for Bruce to be quiet. He whispered, “There were two of them out there. Let’s see if we can still hear the other one.” They strained their ears and eventually heard, “shhh-lump, shh-lump” which Donald figured was the live wolverine dragging the dead one. He reloaded and motioned for Bruce to get the door, got the wolverine in his sights and ‘ka-pow’! They had theirselves a double wolverine kill! Donald said, “Well there is supper for tonight! He didn’t want to leave the two dead animals on the porch, as it would probably upset the ladies when they went out for their morning coffee, so he and Bruce dragged the animals out to the processing shed. He had this shed for his outfitting business. Many of his clients liked to save the skins to take home for showing off to their friends. He was not a taxidermist, by any means, but he could preserve skins. They got back to bed, both feeling satisfied and useful!
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The next morning, Donald and Bruce went straight to the processing shed and got to work. Donald had a little stove out there and he put on a huge 2 gallon pot to boil while he cut the heads off of the wolverines. They went straight into the pot. The brains would be used for tanning the hides to preserve them. Donald got out two knives and taught Bruce how to skin the creatures. It went slower than normal as Donald walked Bruce through each step. They had already gotten the guts out of the creatures and Donald put them in a tightly tied up package in his small fridge that he kept in the shed. He would save the guts for a polar bear trap later.
The men cut the meat into usable sized pieces and wrapped them in butcher paper to take to the kitchen. Bruce was bubbling over with excitement! He had gone from being very queasy, to being proud of providing his ‘family’ with organic, sustainable nourishment! Nancy received the fresh meat in the kitchen and said, “Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know. I heard the shots last night. I would rather pretend that you found this meat at the grocery store. It just makes it easier to prepare. One question, though. Can I make chicken nuggets in the air fryer with this meat?”
Donald laughed and said, “Yes, it should be perfect for that!” He and Bruce retired to the processing shed after each retrieving a cup of coffee and set to work on preserving the hides. Bruce asked Donald, “Why are we going to all of this trouble, Donald. Why don’t we just use the food we brought with us and why are we spending all of this time on tanning the hides?
Donald replied, “The food we brought with us is not going to last for long. We have to fill the deep freeze with as much meat as we are able to hunt and we need to do it now before the harsh winter hits. As far as the wolverine pelts, the elderly have not brought much in the way of clothing since they didn’t have much living on the streets. The hope is that some of these ladies are good seamstresses and can make warm, usable clothing out of the skins we just got and hopefully continue to get!”
Bruce said, “I’m glad you are thinking ahead!” and the phone rang.
Donald answered, “Hello?”
Carl, his brother said, “Donald, I’m glad you answered. Max just called Karen and she told him you are in Alaska. He tried some of the other numbers of the elderly you have with you, but no answer. Can you please tell all of them not to answer their phones. He is trying to pinpoint your location so he can bring all of them back. He says as long as they are on American soil, they belong to him!”
Donald felt chills run down his spine. “Is the government backing him up?”
“No, he is going on leave and is going to do this all on his own. Do you think he can find you?”
“I don’t think so. There are too many places we could be up here. I think we are pretty safe, but I had better talk with the boat storage man and the bus company to ask them to keep us on the downlow if anybody starts asking questions. By the way, we have destroyed all of the cell phones except for mine, so he can’t locate them by GPS,” Donald explained. “What new developments have happened with the rest of the elderly?”
Carl said, “It is happening. They are going on a ‘spa day’ starting tomorrow. Three hundred of them a day will go to this so-called spa.”
Donald asked, “How are they going to explain it away when the elderly don’t come back to the ships?”
“I have no idea but I will let you know when I hear,” Carl answered. “I had better get back to work. Keep your phone on, brother.”
“I will. Talk with you later,” Donald ended the call.