Jason’s Conundrum
Chapter 1: Changing a Time Line, for the Better
Jason Hedges was a young man living ‘down under’ in the slums of the city. His Mother had been a single parent and even now she struggled to put food on the table and keep cloths on their backs.
But she demanded he stay clean and made him go to school...a joke in itself since he had no real skills... or possibilities in the future. But she demanded he try, and as hard as she worked he felt he owed it to her, and he went every day and came home and worked part time at a store selling guns and ammo for the many Hunters and Gatherers that helped support the entire community.
The History of this place told of massive cities, millions of people living close together and causing unrest because of it far too often. The Great War ended all that...and many of those massive cities even today were too dangerous to enter...radiation you know... and the number of smaller towns went up accordingly in the aftermath of the War.
But the nearest city was a full days travel from here and no one went there anymore since even finding the treasures that might still be there wasn’t worth the painful death that many had gotten by trying.
The last one to try was over a hundred years ago, and their pictures and stories were still talked about today when people asked when it might be safe to return , and scientists estimated another 200 years at least before the cities would be safe again, or what was left of them by then.
The technology they had today was left over from that time. Radios and Phones the Leaders used and some vehicles, but only the rich could afford them or the fuel to run them for long. So for many of the 50,000 people in their city things weren’t good enough to brag about. But they got food and water and whatever passed as shelter for the many that huddled together for warmth on cold days. But Sara got them a tiny spot, barely 15x20 with a roof over their heads and two small rooms. One they used for living space and eating, and the other for sleeping, and they owned two old cots and some blankets, and Jason knew they were better off than some, but not by much.
They ate dried noodles and bread, and some fruit when they could find it, and Jason went out looking sometimes and got credit for being a Hunter, by the few that he spoke to regularly. He didn’t own a gun of any kind, even though he sold them to others. His income helped keep the roof over them and Sara worked odd jobs all over to keep food on their table, and together they were just making it work.
Today he was out in the country walking, and he found a few bushes with berries on them and picked some and put them into a small plastic bag he kept for such things. He then found a tree with small green apples on it and he gathered some that seemed at least a bit ripper than others and put them into his backpack.
He was having a good day he decided and when he smelt smoke he wondered who might be way out here...some Hunter perhaps...and he went to see since he knew a few that worked this area.
But as he walked up an old man, maybe 65 or so, was sitting there poking the fire and Jason asked if he could warm himself, and the man smiled and waved for him to sit.
“Doing a little Hunting?” he asked as Jason laughed saying he wished he was, he was only gathering what little he could find. He wasn’t a Professional Hunter by a long shot.
“Remember this...those that work at gathering are still Hunting...” the old man said as Jason seemed spellbound by his words.” So even gathering fruit or vegetables is Hunting if it helps someone, somewhere.” he added as Jason admitted that might be true.
“If I knew more about what to actually Hunt it would help, but I don’t have a father and my mother doesn’t know a lot about it either.” Jason said and wondered why he bothered to unburden himself on this old man.
“Libraries are filled with books, and you can read there for free.” He got told as he laughed saying he was in the wrong part of town for that, as the old man looked up and smiled.
“All you need is a little bit of Luck.” The old man said as Jason almost laughed out loud at that one.” Here..take this...its a rare Good Luck Charm that I’ve carried for many years. Keep it hidden inside your shirt, and if anyone asks tell them I lent it to you. If I ever want it back you must give it to me, thats the only catch.” he said, as Jason looked at the green circle and agreed and put it on and dropped in inside his shirt like he was instructed.
“You have a long walk home, better get going.” The old man said, as Jason thanked him for the gift and started walking back. But as he walked along something odd happened. He stopped to see some plants and instantly knew what they were and he picked a large bouquet, and it smelled great, and he took home enough wild tea for several days and Sara was impressed.
Chapter 2: Stepping Up
Jason was a new man by the next day. He felt great and he went out hunting for food and never came home empty handed. He was on one such trip when he heard a scream and ran to see several young men dragging a girl into the bushes. He was no prude but this just wasn’t right, and so he grabbed a large stick laying nearby and rushed in screaming and swinging it and one man went down screaming in pain, and several others turned and ran, knowing they were seen.
She looked up helplessly from the spot they threw her and after a second he smiled and dropped the club and helped her to her feet. She was so relieved that she cried and hugged him, and he walked her back to the house and she sent for a ride to pick her up.
She never said her name,and Jason didnt ask. She had been through a lot today and she thanked him for his help and left on foot saying she’d meet them halfway, and he made sure she was going to be alright, then went about his business.
He found a whole patch of the wild tea after a while and so gathered a good amount and went back to the local neighborhood and offered to sell some to others he knew, and he made a few dollars today and it felt good having something in his empty pockets for a change.
The word got around pretty quickly that Jason was becoming quite the Hunter and Gatherer and soon he got asked to watch for things and if he didn’t know what it was they took the time to explain it to him. So now every day was a learning experience and by the end of the month he had a full time job gathering things for people from the forests and fields nearby.
He had cash for the first time and soon things got better for him all around. But when he came in one day he got the biggest surprise, as a police car was sitting by his house waiting, and he asked if he had done something wrong.
“Dont worry you’ll be fine..” He got told as he handed over the bag to his sister and they placed him in the back and away they went. They drove through the middle of town, then out into the better neighborhoods and finally stopped by a large house with a huge garden in front and they walked him to the door and knocked and when a man opened it they all stepped in to see a rather fat man walking up all smiles, with a young lady right by his side.
Jason recognized her as the girl from before and the big man shook his hand graciously smiling all the while.
“So you were the one?” he asked as Jason asked for what, and the man laughed.” You saved my daughter from getting attacked by some hoods a little while ago. They probably got what they deserved for such an act but you never did, so today you get a reward.” he said as Jason looked surprised, as the girl stepped forward and said she was Clare, and she thanked him for being there when she needed him, and he smiled and said he was glad to help.
The big man handed him a check and Jason didn’t even take the time to read it, instead putting it in his pocket without a second thought. The man looked impressed by that but said nothing, and soon Jason was on his way back home again, and the officer told him he did a great thing that day and because of it they caught several crooks that had been terrorizing the local neighborhood.
“Miss Clare told us right away what happened and she said one young man took a hard blow from a club, so we went right away to check the local hospital and clinic and found him getting help and arrested him on the spot. He then told us everything, and we got 3 of his friends too. It was a nice haul for us and really going to help the locals too since they were causing lots of trouble around here.” he said as Jason looked surprised it had happened this way.
“Did you look to see what was on that?” The second officer asked as Jason said he didn’t but ask if they would drop him off at the local bank, since he didn’t want to be carrying around cash in this neighborhood, and they understood. He got out there and went in and when he said he wanted to start an account a few looked sceptical, but one lady did the paperwork for him and told him he needed a deposit to make it official, and he handed her the check and her eyes nearly fell out.
The Branch Manager came running out to shake his hand and when Jason got his bank card he swiped it to show it was working properly. The number that came up shocked Jason to no end and the man handed him the card with the biggest smile he had ever seen.
“ 25,000 credits...that makes you one of our best depositors.” The man said as Jason just nodded and played it cool and took the card and went shopping, down to the local store and got himself better cloths with a decently heavy pair of blue jeans and new shoes that were more like short dress boots, and a nice denim jacket. He also bought a coat for his mother, and a pair of sneakers that didnt have holes in the toes, and then he went home to shock her once again, saying that they would be alright now for a while, and she got the whole story and looked faint to hear it. But it was the best luck they ever had,and she admitted that, and he said that things would only get better for them from here,and she just smiled and said she hoped so.
But this made Jason feel like a new man and the next day he went into town and to the library to check on some things. He never would have gone wearing the junk cloths he had before, but owning nice stuff made him more bold, and he sat there all day studying things as a few people from his class in school saw him and looked surprised, and he bought a pamphlet that showed plants and mushrooms from all around the country and took it home with him.
Knowledge is a powerful thing, and with this new found knowledge he knew of many things out in the countryside that people walked by every day that were good to eat, and some were rare too and he offered to find some for a price, and even local restaurants agreed saying no one they knew could find any, and Jason got a nice big canvas bag and hung it around his neck and went gathering, and two days later he came back and made a nice profit from his travels too.
And with these new customers he decided he needed batter transportation, and when he found a young man with an older truck for sale Jason went to see about it. It was what was commonly known as a 1/4 ton pickup, small but fuel efficient. It was a 4 cylinder automatic and Jason knew he needed a license for it but that wasn’t a problem now, and so after some dickering he bought it for a few hundred and parked it by his house and went into town the next day to get the necessary permits to drive it and then came home in time for dinner.
“I cant believe how much you’ve changed in such a short time...” Sara mentioned as Jason laughed and waved the idea away.
“This is nothing, you wait and see, things are finally getting better for us.” he mentioned and she wondered where he got such confidence from, but just smiled and felt happy for him for the first time.
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