While Viktor, Gary and Peter were working on securing the tower to the tank, installing the solar panels, battery pack, and mounting a windmill to the top of the tank, I looked around for someone to go get water with me.

With everyone busy with their various work, I grabbed Melody and we took off for what I knew was the closest water source, a little private lake just up the coast about 10 miles at the end of Sunset Boulevard. As I recall, when we did work near there when I was 16, it was very exclusive and you had to have a membership to the neighborhood. I think it was  called Santa Los Lake, but it doesn't matter, I knew where it was.

There wasn't even a dent in the milk truck's charge. That solar skin was doing its job beautifully. In 20 minutes, we were driving up Sunset Boulevard with our guns at ready, not sure what we would find. But, like everywhere else, all was quiet when we came upon the lake. I wondered why, so drove down into the parking lot and looked at the water. The lake was unusually low and a bit murky. It smelled. A closer look revealed dead birds and a dead turtle at the water's edge. There had been people there. Dried tracks leading down to the water as the level in the lake dropped. And then, I saw it…

"Look, Melody! There's a body in the lake over there!" And then, I saw another one. And another one…

I grabbed Melody's hand and we walked quickly back to the truck. This time, I noticed all the shell casings glinting off the sun. There had been a massacre--probably over the water. It didn't make any difference, the water wasn't any good for anyone and wouldn't be for a long time. There was a reservoir further up on Palisades Drive, but my map search showed it dry. That reservoir probably got its water from deep wells. And it probably provided water for the communities nearby and the lake, mortally polluted.

When we got back on the road, I told her, "We may have to leave the city behind to find water in a flowing river that won't be contaminated. But today, it's only about 30 miles to MacArthur Park and its large lake. We have to get back home, first. The guys should have everything installed for the water tower and we will need to raise it."

We arrived without water just as everyone was taking a lunch break. Viktor told me he had everything ready and had, with Derek's assistance, set up the necessary winches we would need to bring the water tower into place. Melody and I grabbed some veggie sandwiches and joined the others at the site where the crowd was again, forming… Our man/woman/kid power. Some of it reliable, some of it, maybe not.

Derek had driven a steel girder up against his inside wall. At the very top, Victor had then welded a pulley for a steel cable that would come from a winch mounted below connected to the top of the tower just below the water tank. At the same time, the hoist on the flatbed truck was connected to the same location. The hoist could only lift the tank about 20 feet. And then, the cable from the winch anchored in Derek's lawn to the base of an ancient acacia tree would have to pull the tower and tank to the vertical. Timing was everything…

To keep the tower's four base mount holes on target, ropes were tied to either side where the manpower, divided up, was supposed to keep the everything lined up, according to plan. I was very concerned, because it was a dangerous move.

I began wishing we had a crane. But in the old days, many water towers were raised by horse and manpower. Electric winches were much more dependable and powerful. My big concern was whether or not the people power would keep the four base pads on each of the legs aligned on 16 bolts without breaking or bending any of them.

When everything was in place, I used the loudspeaker function on my phone to tell everyone what to do next as precisely as I could. Viktor on one side and I on the other, would swing the tower into place for it to land properly on all 16 bolts… A tall order--I crossed my mind.

"Derek, start winching… And Gary, you do the same! Teams, keep your lines tight and make sure you keep the tower and tank on target to the vertical position. Don't let it tip over either way or the other!"

I waited apprehensively as the power of both winches raised the tower to my right gradually while I watched the positioning of the leg pads as the tower rose higher and higher and the pads ground deeply into the two by four placed for the base pads to come up and over before dropping into the four bolts… My job, I hoped.

When the tower and tank reached a 45° angle, I ordered, "Gary, let your line go slack. Derek will pull it up the rest of the way!"

As Derek's winch brought the heavy tower gradually more vertical, I watched the alignment carefully as both of the teams kept their lines tight and in line where the pads would come up over the two by fours where Viktor and I could drop them in place.

When I saw the pad holes were not exactly in line with the bolts, I had to push on the leg in front of me while Viktor pulled on the other side. We both sighed a huge sigh of relief when the pads dropped firmly onto the four bolts and a couple more inches of winching brought the other two legs firmly down on their bolts as well. All that was left was to get the big nuts and bolt the whole thing securely in place where any wind or earthquake would not have any affect.

Everyone cheered. There were no rope burns, pinched or smashed fingers… No strained muscles that I knew of. My T-shirt was soaked with sweat. I signaled to Melody and went down to my house where the shower no longer had any pressure. So, I took off my reeking shirt, washed myself as best I could from my sink and put on a clean T-shirt for the trip to MacArthur Park.

Once again, the trip was uneventful, but the streets near the park were nearly blocked with cars and debris. So mad to be pushed away so we could continue. Once we got to the lake, it was very low and a deep chocolatey brown with a green scum topping. There were tracks a lot of people had come to the lake and drawn water, probably by the bucket.

If we would pump that water into the pristine tank, I was afraid it would be filled with small fish, tadpoles, algae and bacteria, making it nearly impossible to drink without a great deal of filtering and screening. The screen we had for pumping left a quarter-inch square gap for the water to enter and to keep larger debris out. But this was too much.

Our next, and last option that day, was Silver Lake Reservoir, northwest of MacArthur Park and another 10 miles, by freeway. When we got there, the reservoir was very low for it being only June, but the water was blue and looked like we could use it for now. Melody stood guard while I pumped the truck full in short order and we were on our way back to the safety of our street.

We arrived at the estate and pumped the water we had gathered into one of the new tanks placed at the base of the water tower through a filter that Gary created to make the water as pure as we could, knowing we would still have to boil it before drinking. Viktor and Gary, then began pumping the water from that tank to the top of the water tower tank using the combined wind and solar powered pump built-in. It was a slow process, taking over an hour.

As soon as we could, we left to get another load at Silver Lake Reservoir. We arrived again around 5 pm, dead tired. Melody and I retreated to my swimming pool, thankful that we still had it. All the others had been emptied one way or another. We ate and went to bed early.

Gary and Victor filled the water tower tank with the two truckloads of water from the milk truck and tested the pressure of the pipe going to Derek's house. With a lot of overhead piping to do in the next few days, they also retired, telling everyone… 

"Don't worry, as long as we can find water sources to put water into the water tower, we'll make it last until the fall rains. In the meantime, please cover your pools completely to keep them clean so we can use them as additional reservoirs, along with building more cisterns and ways of capturing all the rain runoff we can. We have a lot of work to do.

Melody and I were sound asleep when my phone rang again at 2:33 am. Wondah's worried face appeared on the all points bulletin…

"Our sensors picked up the snowplow gang coming up the street slowly this time. Derek and I have our drones up and we are seeing infrared bodies sneaking up to the fences on the street below us and climbing over the walls. Apparently, to make a sneak attack on us. We need all hands and guns on deck, pronto!"

We knew the routine, Melody and I quickly dressed. She went to the front of the house where we had built a perch for her to stand on allowing her to look and shoot over our front wall. I climbed to the roof again, dragging both my rifle and the AR-15. I could see others climbing to their roofs below me. Whenever one of the intruders was seen coming up over a wall, those that had a good firing line, did. Bodies were dropping from those walls. But, everyone's worry was any who got over the walls and were sneaking up on our shooters. There was a lot of firing going on, but I didn't get a good shot.

There was a roar as the dump truck took off up the street. Derek, from the drone, set off the first Claymore just as the truck arrived, perfectly. The blast tore the truck's tires to shreds, hammered through the door and dump truck bed, knocking out the windows and killing the marauders in the cab, while the surviving crew of the truck bed scrambled to escape down the street.

I scrambled down off the roof and caught up with Melody as she was getting our gate open so we could join the fighting at the end of the street still continuing. She yelled as we ran…

"I got one sneaking up the street. Did you get any?"

"Didn't fire a shot. And from what I'm hearing, we won't have to."

When we arrived at the body of the one Melody shot, she was quite small and dressed in black  with a black stocking cap mask pulled over her gaunt 15-year-old face. I found it disgusting what desperation was doing to these gangs. What they were sacrificing for water and food. I had to do something about it. But what? I didn't know.

As before, we left the cleanup for morning after we searched thoroughly for any stragglers from the intruders who might've escaped. When we were sure they had all left, we retired to our various beds to sleep fitfully for the rest of the night. While Wondah's amazing motion detectors and cameras kept watch for us.

Melody and I talked for a bit after we got back in bed. I consoled her for what she did and promised I would come up with a way to help others so they didn't have to resort to violence to get what they needed. I had an idea I had been percolating in my mind for some time, but hadn't acted on. Just a possibility. Once again, thought of the idea kept me awake long after Melody fell fast asleep. Morning came too soon.

Copyright 2023 © Ronald W. Hull

6/20/23