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Post by warsparrow on Aug 6, 2014 16:08:46 GMT -6
Writing was never about making money (ok well maybe a little) it was about telling a story, a story you wanted to read. And hopefully a story that other people wanted to read. A story that made people want to invest their time in and comment on or create a discussion about, and in some cases make people write their own story that people would want to read.
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Post by ydderf on Aug 6, 2014 18:11:00 GMT -6
Bob needs to give his head a shake. Get over it. She has too many chickens a garden maybe rabbits maybe a cow or goats or horses. I think he needs to negotiate a truce and help defend the farm. Things are only going to get worse.
Thanks for the new chapters
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Post by ydderf on Aug 6, 2014 18:11:26 GMT -6
Bob needs to give his head a shake. Get over it. She has too many chickens a garden maybe rabbits maybe a cow or goats or horses. I think he needs to negotiate a truce and help defend the farm. Things are only going to get worse.
Thanks for the new chapters
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Post by warsparrow on Aug 7, 2014 12:40:13 GMT -6
Chapter 10
Unexpected.
He managed to get the bodies searched, moved and dumped before the sun was up and the kids were awak; but he was utterly exhausted and practically fell into the cot in the garage.
When he woke the sun was almost at midday and he was both thirsty and ravenous.
He found a plate of eggs and chicken had been left by his bedside as he slept along with a pitcher full of cold water.
The food was cold meaning it had been left hours ago but he wolfed it down anyway.
After he was done and feeling somewhat human again he went through the items he had taken from the dead men before dumping them back by some old dead trees down the road.
Was it wrong that he had become so callus about the act, or that now he was actively thinking about how to dispose of bodies or the sanitation involved?
He put the thought from his mind as he looked over the new weapons that they had acquired from the dead raiders.
There were four pistols and one rifle that now had a broken stock, it had been the one the man in the bed had on him when he was thrown from the truck.
There was a Glock .40 with a whole 3 bullets in it, a nickel plated .380 llama with seven rounds left, a star model 31P, which Bob got excited about until he realized that even though the 31P was 9mm, it carried a double stack fifteen round magazine and it only held four rounds currently.
Finally there was an old Colt 1911A1 marked us government property, it had only 1 round left in it, but looked like it had been well loved and cared for. He thought that is he could locate anymore ammo he might use it for a holdout gun.
The Rifle turned out to be a mini 14 in 7.62 x 39, the same ammo as his AK. It had a full magazine but it wasn’t interchangeable, so he just left it for the time being.
He started packing up his belongings and strapping them to the bike; he had made the decision last night to leave and he was sticking to it; the woman and her kids needed the help he knew, but he also knew that she had stolen from him and hid the truth as to why she wanted him there.
Once he had most of his things packed he opened the garage door and pushed the 64’ out into the gravel driveway, he only had a limited amount of space and there was no way he would be able to take all of the firepower he had accumulated. He had no problems leaving the woman the left over stuff, especially if it helped her, and doubly so if she heeded his advice from the night before and moved closer to town, or in with someone who could help provide better protection than just being here alone.
As he was going over his weapons choices Melissa came around the garage door and stood there watching him.
As he sat on the cot with the weapons arrayed out before him, he could tell she was trying to frame some sort of argument that would get him to stay.
Supposing he did stay, what then?
As soon as her ‘man’ returned, then he would be superfluous; maybe even a threat to their nuclear family.
No it was better if he just cut his ties and moved on.
He looked up at her as he was still deciding and that was all the acknowledgement she needed.
“I’m sorry, I should have been up front with you, and told you that the outlying farms were being ransacked; and I’m also sorry for taking your ammunition without asking” she said, even though her face showed no such thing.
“To make it up to you I packed you some food and a couple of bottles of water, they’re by the front door.”
She stopped for a moment before proceeding.
“The prepper I told you about yesterday might be interested in the AK, and trade you something that is more conservative with the limited ammo you have”
Bob got up and stretched and she turned and walked in front of him onto the front porch, then held the screen door open for him to enter.
There packed into a pack that looked as though it had been made out of old blue jeans, was several soda bottles filled with water, a few plastic baggies filled with fresh vegetables from the garden and a plastic container with half a dozen hard boiled eggs.
“I know it’s not much but it’s the least I can do after you helped defend my family last night and brought my brothers things home” she said then stepped back so he could pick it up.
He was about to ask where the prepper man was located when a sound intruded in on their conversation.
It was the sound of several dozen motorcycles coming down the road, only instead of proceeding past they throttled down and several entered the farmhouses driveway.
“Ah Crap, hold ‘em while I grab the Shotgun” Melissa said and Bob was already moving to the door.
His AK was already off of his shoulder and he was using the corner of the Porch for cover, two bikers were already off of their bike and examining the 64’
“You better have a damn good reason for molesting my Hog” Bob yelled at them.
All of the bikers looked to be doubled up and about ten guns appeared in response.
“We’re confiscatin’ your ride” the obvious leader said.
“Like hell you are” bob said, the realized he had never replaced the empty magazine in the AK after emptying it the night before.
He also realized that he had left the BM with an empty magazine also , ands the only gun he had on him with bullets was down by two from shooting that lying sack in the back yard.
“you ain’t wearin’ no colors, which to us means your ride is fair game; you might have that AK, and you might be a great shot with it, but your gunna kill maybe what Ten of us max? Then what? We kill you and take turns on the pretty little thing with the Gage peekin’ from the side of the house. Then burn this place to the ground”
Bob made his decision.
“Can I keep my bags at least, I gotta survive” He said.
The Leader laughed. He knew he had them now.
“Raiders we ride!” He said and started His Bike, the others followed suit and then he watched as his pride and joy Left the driveway ridden by another.
Bob spent a good five minutes swearing like a drunken sailor as he watched them disappear down the road. Then he went to the garage and tore through his bags for the other Magazine loaded it and then Broke out the rest of his ammunition.
He set to work making sure everything in his arsenal was loaded. He chose the 31P as back up because He had ammunition for it.
Melissa came into the garage and sat down on the old concrete floor, then set to work loading the .44 and the noble 12 gauge.
He handed her the Smith 5915 and a box of nine to load into it and set to work unloading the Mini 14 of its rounds, maybe sometime later he could find a tree and make a new stock, but that was beyond him now.
“Are you going to go after them now?” she asked.
“What’s the point? I can always get another can opener” he said.
She looked at him for a second.
“I meant for your bike” she said.
“that 64’ was fourteen thousand dollars worth of embezzled money from a biker gang just like that one I used to run with; I’m feeling the Karma right now” He stopped and looked at her.
Then he made another decision.
“It doesn’t look like I’m going anywhere now so I might as well tell you a story”
He told her everything from the moment he knew that the gang he was with was bad news to the time he woke up in that morning. He left nothing out except the part, not even the part where he cried for her brother.
She wiped tears away when he told her about having to leave his dead body because he couldn’t bury him.
She left him in the garage after that and went to make them lunch.
He decided he needed to put a weapon into each of the outlying buildings, just in case the same situation ever arose again and they were in separate places.
He was just finishing up placing the noble twelve where it was easily accessible if needed but still out of the reach of the young ones, when he heard several new vehicle pull up in front of the street.
With the AK now loaded and the spare magazine in his back pocket, he raced for the back door.
There was a knock at the front door and He could see Melissa answer it without her Shotgun and the two Children behind her.
“Melissa Ahern?” A soldier in uniform asked her “Mother of Gerald and Darla Seever?”
“Yes” she said hesitantly.
“We have been assigned to escort you and your children to the Safety of Wright Patterson Airfield; because you are listed as Lieutenant William Seevers Common Law Wife and the mother of his children”
“You will have five minutes to gather whatever personal belongings that you see fit and will fit into one standard sized suitcase or pack per occupant. Are there any other persons living in or presently in the home?” the soldier was very direct, and his face should that compliance wasn’t optional.
“No, just me” Melissa lied with a straight face.
“Ortiz, Johnson, check the backyard; Pawlansky wait here while I make sure there’s room”
He then looked down at Bobs shoes sitting by the front door.
“And those?” he asked.
“Thift store, put ‘em out by the front door and people think there’s a man about, a girl can’t be to careful” she said. The soldier didn’t look like he believed her.
“Look at them. Do they look like country folk shoes?” she asked.
What shoes had Bob been wearing? He couldn’t remember.
The Brown loafers? Yeah. Those definitely wouldn’t look country, they cost like $300 each.
Melissa turned from the door and walked right past Bob without looking down at him; he eased the BM out of it’s holster and held it out to her as she turned the corner toward the children’s rooms.
She took it and slipped it into the small of her back; then flicked her eyes toward the back door.
Bob understood, as soon as the soldier were satisfied the yard was clear he was to make a run for it. He heard the two soldiers move back up front and tell the captain that the backyard was clear, then he moved to the back screen door, opening it slowly to make as little noise as possible; he looked back and saw the little girl Darla wave goodbye to him, holding a stuffed dog toy in one hand.
He waved back and was gone out the door and up against the house.
Peeking around the corner he could see the two vehicles that were parked there, one was a HMMWV with a Mk19 grenade launcher attached; he knew what that was after watching hours of the gulf war when he was a kid.
The truck that was behind it was bigger than the old 2 and a half ton unit’s he used to see, maybe a five ton.
“you guys wait here, Ortiz and I will check the house, load her and the children in the back of the M939” he heard the head soldier say.
He crept back and looked into the main bedroom through the curtain as the soldier entered. He saw the man look through several of Melissa’s drawers until he found her panty drawer, then he picked a purple pair and held them to his nose before he stuffed them into his Camouflage pants pocket and turned and left.
That had to be one of the creepiest things that Bob had seen even before the world decided to fall apart.
He watched as the other soldier came out holding Melissa’s 12 guage, which the soldier then unloaded, they searched her in the street after that and confiscated the Star From her, also unloading it before they loaded her into the back of the truck.
Bob swore to himself, and then decided to retreat behind the chicken coop.
He watched as they finally loaded up and began to move out.
“Imagine for a moment, that you’re a soldier stuck in a faraway land” a voice said next to Bob and he jumped.
There was an old man standing next to him casually holding an AK similar to his, though probably semi auto.
“Imagine that your home country is attacked and you want to come home” He said continuing where he had stopped.
“Your good at you job and motivated, and you know other people who are good at their jobs and are motivated; people who can fly aircraft or pilot warships; now how do you keep those young motivated soldiers right where you want them to be?” He asked then lit up a cigarette.
“You make sure they’re family is safe?” bob asked turning to the man now that the vehicles were out of sight.
“Close, just change the word Safe to Hostage and I think you’ve got it” he said.
Bob shivered at that thought.
“You must be Bob with the full auto AK” He said and held out his hand.
Bob offered his hand.
“William Seever” The man said as they shook.
“Aren’t you supposed to be?” Bob started to say.
“I’m Sr. Your thinking of my son” I would have been here before but my wife is in a home and required a certain amount of looking after.
“Required, as in past tense?” bob asked.
The man before him nodded.
“It was just a matter of time until the oxygen tanks ran dry; and that place was no place for women and children”
“Can we..?” Bob stopped pointing after the long gone trucks.
“Rescue them? On my best day maybe, but they got a lot of firepower and one or both of us would likely die, you at least got your motorcycle and can catch up with them”
“No, I don’t a biker came by and got the drop on us, we managed to not get shot but they got my bike” bob said.
“Well looks like we’re both screwed. Your agreement with my future daughter in law is null and void now, you can take what she gave you and go; but I’m now moving in here now so you can’t stay” He said and started heading for the houses back door.
“I’ll just gather my things and go then” Bob said and went into the barn to retieve the Noble 12 and then gather up the other weapons he had just hidden.
He returned to the garage with is armload of weaponry and deposited them on the cot.
Luckily he hadn’t put his main pack on the bike yet and still had that. He opened it to put the pistols in and the auto magazine Also Bob had been looking at fell out.
It had blood on it but the car lot that he had been interested in was still visible as was the small map showing where it was.
Another thought occurred to Bob, Was William Seever the man that Melissa had been referring to as the ‘Prepper’?
If he was then there might be some trading he could do with the old man.
Chapter 11
“You think you could be heartless enough to leave your dying wife as she gasped for breath?” William Seever said in answer to Bob question why he hadn’t come right away.
“Besides she said she had you wrapped around her finger” He said as he looked over the weapons that Bob was offering him in trade.
He immediately picked out the colt 1911a1 and the Winchester bolt action, and then added the AK and the Glock.
“That’s right, she came to see me twice since you showed up here. She may not have looked like it but she was a runner, and made the five mile journey to see me. The first time was when you fell asleep on the front porch, the second time was this morning, after I told her last time not to leave the children alone again, or with a strange man”
Bob should have taken offense at that but didn’t, the world had changed in these last few days.
“I wouldn’t have come at all if she wasn’t the mother of my two grandchildren, and at the start I wasn’t even sure if they were my grandchildren; being a small town and all we tend to know each other’s business”
He looked over the .44 before setting back down and completely ignored the .380.
“I’ll give you an M1 carbine and 500 rounds for these, including 5 fifteen round magazines and four thirty rounder’s” he said.
“No, but give me a pistol with extra mags, a gun I can hunt with and double the ammo and you can have all the rest of the stuff on the table” bob paused “ I also have some gold I can throw in if I need too.
William Seever waved that away.
“I can’t eat it, shoot it or drink it, it’s of no use to me right now. Pretty soon money and gold will be worthless; the world is going to revert to warlords, armies and surfs and the only currency will be lead and survival”
Bob wanted to bring up the idea of attempting to rescue Melissa again.
But William seemed to know what he was thinking before he did
“When I joined the military they only accepted 3% total without a high school deploma. You know how many they have in service right now? 24%. What do you think that shows about the people who are guarding that base? These are not people adept at critical thinking on their own, those people at that base are going to exactly what they’re told; and that is to shot intruders, and if the intruders breach the walls, to shoot the hostages”
He paused.
“It’s a lost cause, let’s just conclude our business and you can go on your way” he looked over all of the stuff on the table and made some mental calculations.
“I’ll give you the M1 Carbine with ten 15 round magazines, six 30 round magazines, all loaded and in pouches. I’ll give you a ruger 10/22 with 2 extended magazines and a brick of ammo, and I’ll give you a Hungarian FEG with four mags in two double pouches but no ammo, you got 9mm already. On top of that I’ll throw in a case of 12 MRE’s and some survival books and stuff”
Bob was thinking about it when The old man continued.
“But I want the 31P and all the rest of the stuff, gold included but you can keep the BM as your back up gun”
“Half the gold, you said yourself you can’t shoot it or eat it”
“Done. Give me three hours to get it all and get back here” He said and made to leave “And I’d appreciate it if you would stay out of the house while I’m gone”
“As long as you don’t mind me keeping the AK for now as protection, just in case”
The man seemed fine with that and nodded before he exited the back door locking it and walking off into the fast fading light of the setting sun.
It looked like it might rain.
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Post by 223shootersc on Aug 7, 2014 14:22:26 GMT -6
thanks, good chapter
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Post by kaijafon on Aug 7, 2014 20:16:21 GMT -6
that is just one weird family...she doesn't seem like she is "all there", and her bf's dad is just hard hearted about his grands... I'd die trying to rescue my grands.
see you are so talented you have me complaining about characters!!! lol!
thanks
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Post by warsparrow on Aug 8, 2014 13:04:34 GMT -6
Chapter 12
Cross country woman
Bernadette stayed away from the road and walked in the ditches or woods when she was able too, trying to find any kind of transportation she could while avoiding the now more frequent military vehicles that were moving about the area. She ended back up at the farm she had left, thinking that maybe she could spend the night there and start again in the morning; but when she approached from the back where the coop was she saw blood and feathers all over the yard.
He first thought was that dogs or a coyote had gotten in because she hadn’t closed the gate well, but as she got closer she could see that the gate was still locked and none of the chicken corpses had been disturbed or torn into after they had been killed.
Something shiny in the grass caught her eye and she picked it up, it was an expended shell casing, it was larger than the .22 rounds she was carrying but the top hole was about the same diameter. The base has a plus mark on it and several other symbols.
Looking at the case she could guess who had shot the chickens for no reason; just as they had shot people at the check point for no reason.
She knew then that the area was no longer safe and she would have to get away from the area no matter what, even if it meant walking. She filled her bottle again and drank what she could before leaving the yard, and knowing that the sun set in the west she began hiking west, but quickly changed that direction to north when the setting sun blinded her. She would need to find a hat or some glasses at the next house she found that she thought it would be safe for her to check out.
She walked north until the sun went down, then she walked on west through the night, following one of the roads that led to the indiana border.
He borrowed boots were soaked and her feet were getting rubbed raw, eventually she knew she would have to find a spot to hole up in and let her footwear dry and allow her to get some rest and give her sore dogs some down time.
She ended up laying down under some pine trees near a small stream and after taking her boots off falling fast asleep, despite the roots digging into her back and side. She woke several times to the sounds of gunfire, sometimes one or two shots, others quite prolonged firefights.
Eventually her exhaustion won out and she fell into deep slumber, only to be awakened by a tractor riding cross country through the field in front of her. It gained the road and headed southward.
She would have liked to tell the driver not to head that way, but she knew that as a woman alone it wouldn’t be prudent.
The sun was well down in the sky, he having slept most of the day away in her exhaustion, but she saw that she was still heading away from the soldiers and decided to head north again until the sun went down, then head west as she did the night before.
Her stomach was grumbling, and she was sure this was the longest she had ever gone without eating in her life. She opened her bag and out plopped the half can of cat food.
Oh god. How had she forgotten Phil?
Literally the last thing Laurence had said to her before leaving her was for her to take care of his cat, and she had completely forgotten about it.
She contemplated going back but was now more than thirty miles away from the farm if she was a mile, and she hadn’t seen him when she had returned. She hoped the soldier hadn’t shot him when they shot the chickens.
‘I am so sorry Laurence’ she said silently as she rooted out a can of Chicken soup from the bag and popping the lid just upended it and let it slide down her throat without tasting it.
She was now down to three cans of soup and two cans of cat food.
She thought about tossing the cans of cat food away but realized that she might need them for herself, even though the thought of eating it made her stomach turn now in three days when she was starving she was sure it would be like the finest steak dinner. She also emptied the first of her two water bottles and she would soon have to either find more, find another water pump or find a cistern she could use to refill them.
She got up and put clean socks that she had liberated from the old farm house on and then the borrowed boots, then picking up the still wet pair she had been wearing she put them in the fron pockets of her oversized shirt and began heading north.
She knew she still had two beers and an energy drink left for emergencies but she knew that both would make her thirstier in the end so she would hold off on those for as long as she could.
Soon she came to a road that was heading west to east and she was contemplating folloing it now even though the sun wasn’t already down, but her fear kept her there watching, soon she could hear the sounds of many engines and the trees lining the road mad them echo and move about weirdly; then she spotted the head lights and they resolved themselves into a motorcycle pack of about ten with almost all of them riding double.
She didn’t want to think about what would happen to her if these men found her out on the road by herself, and her little .22 would be nearly enough to stop them.
She shrunk back and flattened herself to the ground almost not daring to breath as the gang of bikers road past in staggered lines.
Soon they were down the road and she could see the red of their rear lights as they faded off into the distance.
It was so quiet though she could still hear them even after they had long since gone from her sight.
She could also hear a dog barking somewhere and several other noises she took to be a chainsaw or something similar. She decided to head cross country some more until she came to the next east west road and by that time it should be full dark and she could get on the road and make better time. It would be risky but she was counting on either hearing or seeing any vehicle before they got near enough to her.
She crossed the road like a scared rabbit and made her way to the comforting darkness of the woods on the other side of the road.
A week ago if someone had told her that she would be thankful to be in the woods in the dark in the unfamiliar countryside she would have laughed in their face; but things had changed a lot in the last days and she wasn’t the submissive apathetic housewife anymore; waiting for her husband to come home and bring her crumbs after he had spend the better part of his off day at the bar with his supervisor.
She told herself right then that she was no longer Bernadette Bendarski, she was now a single woman and would use her maiden name if anyone asked. She did not need her worthless husband’s name to define her anymore.
The sound of the barking dog faded and the chainsaw had stopped, but she kept resolutely heading north using the last purple hues of the sunset to keep her heading in the right direction across the open fields.
Eventually she came to another two lane blacktop and turned left to follow the road. Keeping far enough on the road that her boots did not crunch the gravel and give her away but close enough, she could dive into the ditch id she saw anything or anyone approaching.
Any farmhouse or barn she saw in the distance made her uneasy and she past then as quietly as she could, practically running if she heard a dog bark of even cattle shift in the corral.
She made good time through the night and eventually had to drink to quench her thirst, she chose the beer to save her precious water supply. As she predicted, the beer being a diuretic she had to constantly stop to drop her trousers in the woods to relieve herself.
This act saved her skin as she was busy with her business she heard a subtle sound on the road.
She listened more intently as she quietly as she could pulled up her jeans and unslung her pump action .22.
“I swear I saw someone on the road not five minutes ago”
A voice said not ten feet from her.
“You sure it wasn’t a deer or an escaped cow?” another voice asked.
“I don’t know, but it was too small for a cow” The first voice said.
“Dammit, wake me quicker next time” The second voice said “And put the safety back on, I don’t want to get accidently shot!”
She stood stock still, unsure of what to do next; she didn’t think she could be quiet enough to sneak around behind them in the woods, and getting back on the woods and heading away from them would just get her spotted.
She may have to stay standing there until it got light enough that she could hide or they saw her.
She slowly raised the .22 in their general direction.
What could she do? She wasn’t even sure if there were only two of them.
“Well I’m awake now, so we might as well get moving” The second man said and he lit a cigarette.
The brief light of the lighter told her a story like a picture could tell a thousand words.
There were two bikers less than three yards away, the smoking one had a large chrome revolver strapped over his shoulder like some modern day cowboy.
The man with him had a pump shotgun, which she guessed he had slid the safety off and that is what had alerted her to them being there.
There was a black Harley between them she would love to have, if she knew how to ride. She shot gun wielding biker put the gun back into some type of scabbard on the side of the bike and began rolling up a blanket that was laying there.
Once done and secured, she had expected them to get on the bike and go, but the smoking one began pushing the bike down the road, with the other man following.
Apparently the bike had broken or they were out of gas, and they weren’t prepared to abandon it.
She listened intently for almost an hour to make sure that they were gone, before she even thought about stepping back out onto the road; and as soon as she did, far away she heard the boom of a shotgun and a pistol, then the sound of several other guns.
She thought she knew the cause of those but it wasn’t any of her business. She just wanted to be away from there. She managed to get no more than a few hundred yard when she heard an approaching vehicle and had to dive into the brush to hide herself.
A HMMWV with a big machine gun came roaring past heading toward the sounds of the gunfire.
After that she stayed off the road and pushed herself as hard as she could, stopping only to drink the energy drink and keep herself moving as fast and as far as she could.
Dawn found her near a broken down barn, it’s room and walld collapsing but the cast cement silo still standing, even though it’s roof too was gone.
After checking for spiders and snakes she crawled into the silos small access door and fell fast asleep.
She only slept for a few hours before the sounds of either another motorcycle gang or the same one came roaring by.
She ate another chicken soup and again avoiding drinking her last bottle of water she headed out of the silo as quickly as she could.
She followed the ditch until she found some woods and was going to stay there but decided it was too damp and swampy so she moved on until she found a better patch.
It was nearer to a house than she would have liked across a road, and she could see that it was occupied by what appeared to be a woman and two children.
She was tempted to go up and ask for water, and as she watched she worked up her nerve to do so; but before she could step out of the woods and reveal her presence when a HMMWV with a big gun showed up at the driveway followed by a large tan painted truck.
She could see that people were in the back of the truck.
Three soldiers walked to the front door of the house and pounded on it.
The woman answered the door with her two children behind her.
The soldier said something she couldn’t hear and as she watched two other soldiers went around either side of the house.
A few seconds later the woman immerged with a pack stuffed with items with her children in tow, then the other soldiers entered the home and then came back out with a shotgun which they unloaded. Then they searched the woman right there in the street and took a pistol from her before forcing her into the truck with her children.
The guns they put into the HMMWV before they drove off.
Bernadette was shaking all over, this kind of thing wasn’t supposed to happen!
She comforted herself that at least now she knew the house was empty and she could resupply and hopefully get some water.
As she stepped forward though she saw figures moving in the house; someone must have been hiding inside or had come in through the back door, there appeared to be two men inside the farmhouse now, and she could she that they had guns.
She quickly stepped back into the safety of the trees.
This house wasn’t going to provide anything and she needed to get away from this area as fast as she could.
She looked longingly at the farmhouse one last time; the lacquered sign out front proclaiming the home belonged to the Ahern’s was now no longer true.
Then turned and made her way west as quickly as she could.
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Post by kaijafon on Aug 8, 2014 16:14:09 GMT -6
oh so close but yet so far away!!! excellent chapter!!!! thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!
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Post by biggkidd on Aug 8, 2014 17:08:59 GMT -6
Good going!
Larry
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Post by ydderf on Aug 8, 2014 21:07:04 GMT -6
Well done thank you.
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Post by warsparrow on Aug 10, 2014 12:32:19 GMT -6
Chapter 13
A long hike
As soon as the old man was out of site Bob simply went to the attached garage and got the spare key he had seen handing there, then he went back inside.
He wasn’t there to steal anything that wasn’t already his.
He went to the children’s room and found the binoculars and the compass and even the star map, he picked up the jeans pack that Melissa had packed for him and even though he said he wouldn’t he went through her kitchen drawer hoping to find a replacement can opener.
Giving up on that he left the house and relocked the door. Slipping into his brown loafers and sat down in the garage to wait for the senior Seever to return.
He fed the chickens and checked over the garden, all the while keeping an eye out for either raiders or returning military personnel.
He ate a quick salad from the things in the garden and made sure he had his fill of water.
Not a single vehicle came by in that time and as soon as the old man returned Bob lit the lantern that was in the garage and looked over the weapons.
The Carbine was an Underwood made by Gm with an aftermarket stock added and the magazine pouch he remembered from the old Combat television show, the ammo was in 90 round battle packs and the extra mags were all loaded into military canvas pouched and attached to a military web belt. The FEG was new in the box and had 4 magazines.
The Ruger 10/22 looked bone stock but with 2 25 round mags clipped together and a 4 power scope on the top.
The 12 MREs and books were in a military style rucksack along with a crank radio flashlight combo similar to the one he had owned back at his old house. He tried it and the light came on but all of the stations were just static.
There was also to his surprise a pouch marked M13A1.
He opened it and found a pair of Universal Camera company military binoculars. Also included were some Water purification tablets and a small LED light with a red lens and a map of the Midwest region.
“Satisfied?” the Old Man asked.
Bob nodded and handed over the AK, then quickly set about rearranging his things. He dropped the extra BM Holster for the FEG Holster and added the mag pouches. He divided the rest of his things into the ruck and the Jeans back pack, which for its ragged look was sturdier than the cheap Chinese nylon one he had gotten from his neighbor.
The load was heavy and unwieldy but, he realized that it would get lighter by the day as he ate the contents and expended ammunition. Then with a final wave goodbye to the elder Seever, which the old man nodded in return he took a heading on the compass and stepped out into the night.
The sky was overcast and threatening rain, but there was no lightning or thunder, which he was grateful for, though he did wish he had thought to keep the ball cap from the big box store on him instead of in his saddlebag.
He stumbled through the fields trying to keep his heading steady and go as the crow flies, but realized that probably hadn’t been his best idea. His shoes were soaked and so were his pants from the fields as the weather hit the dew point and deposited its stored water onto the ground plants.
Vinnie’s world Of Autos was just north of Lima and he knew Lima was east of him and a major city in the area, so he knew that there had to be a road that led to the city sooner or later. And the next road he came across he would use it to hasten his journey.
Lima had once been home to the Abrams Tank production facility, back during the cold war days, and he was worried that there still might something there that would warrant an additional military presence.
Off in the distance he heard a shotgun blast, then a string of small pistol shots, then a second shotgun blast.
It was far enough away that he put it out of his mind; he had indeed become that used to it in the five days now since the world he knew ended, that the sounds didn’t even warrant him to slow down or hide or even change direction.
He thought of what Melissa had said to the soldier about his shoes not being country type; he thought of maybe hitting to hit a big box store he was sure would be in lima if he could get there without getting caught or lost along the way, but then he also thought that the last time he had done that he had back up, and a working vehicle as an escape plan.
He would contemplate that later as he got closer to his destination.
He had to stop and readjust his load several times, and each time he had to resist the urge to shoulder the new rifle and just walk; he had been caught flatfooted too many times as they used to say in the old cowboy movies, and sooner than later his luck would give out.
Finding a darkened store on a dark overcast night on a dark road in unfamiliar territory wasn’t as easy as it sounded; he stumbled along several roads, sure that he had the right one, only to be disappointed. He ended up near a shopping center and removing his military binoculars he scanned the parking lot.
He could clearly see two military vehicles in the parking lot, one guarding the entrance, the other randomly patrolling around the parking lot. There would be no workman’s boots for him tonight.
He finally located a sign for what he thought would be the right road and got as far away from the shopping center as he dared, then decided to wait until the dawn was breaking before proceeding.
He woke with the first chirping of the birds and made his way back to the road. Several hundred feet away he could make out the sign on a small steel post telling him he had finally found his destination.
He decided he would work his way behind the building, to where the fields butted against the parking lot and decide on his course of action from there.
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Post by warsparrow on Aug 10, 2014 12:35:15 GMT -6
Chapter 14
Consequences
Captain William Seever Sr. (Ret.) watched as the man he knew as Full Auto Bob left his daughter in laws house, stopped to take a compass reading on a cheap child’s compass then pass out of the light of the lantern.
When he was sure that the man wasn’t going to return he lifted up a 1970’s Realistic three channel CB and pressed the talk button twice, then once more, before turning it off.
The old style transistorized units were monsters that required 8 AA batteries and had a maximum range of about a mile, but that was more than enough for his purposes.
Two men materialized from the darkness wearing thirty year old woodland BDU camouflage.
The woodland Camouflage may have been superseded by more modern styles but it still was a superlative design for what it had been intended for, the deciduous forest of Western Europe or America.
The two men entered the house first followed by the Captain, who closed the door and made sure that the blinds were pulled before lighting up the lantern on the kitchen table.
“I still say we could have used the guy” The shorter of the two men said as he removed a rucksack he had been shouldering.
“Forget it” Captain Seever said “He has no experience and this isn’t his fight, now break out the map Dunn”
Dunn spread out a map taped together from pieces of typing paper that showed the general layout of the military airfield, and weighed the corner down with a large cylindrical item.
Seever looked it over for a moment then looked at his two compatriots.
“You know that no matter how this goes tonight, from here after for the rest of our lives we will be known as Terrorists, so if you have any doubts at all, say ‘em and walk away. No harm no foul”
Dunn was the first to speak up.
“We’re already considered lone wolf Domestic Terrorists by the same government that trained us, so I say if we’re going to do the time, we may as well do the crime”
“Vasquez?” Seever asked pointedly.
“The way they threatened to strip search my sister right there in the street when she resisted going with them, that just ain’t right; and if my Brother wasn’t in The Sand Box Right now, he’d say the same thing”
Captain Seever nodded. “I’m still going to need a .45 to mate that can too” Dunn said pointing to the home made suppressor.
Seever went into the other room and returned with both the Colt 1911a1 and the AK.
“I’m going to need these cleaned and checked by the time I’m finished; I’m sure Full Auto Bob never cleaned them. Vasquez, I need you to go out and locate those dead raiders Melissa mentioned that they killed last night. We’re going to need them”
He knew from just looking at her that Melissa dyed her hair, he hunted out her hair dye and went into the bathroom with it and a tube of hemorrhoid cream.
This wasn’t going to be pretty.
Twenty minutes later he was done and came out with a towel around his neck.
He used it to wipe the cream off of his face and looked into the mirror, now was the time to see if countless hours spent standing in the checkout line in front of a bunch of beauty and gossip magazines would pay off.
The Hemorrhoid cream was supposed to tighten the skin and make a person look younger, and he had to admit that while he didn’t look twenty years old, the cream in conjunction with the hair dye did take a good ten years off of his face.
Besides it was going to be dark and they weren’t expecting infiltrators.
Dunn was finished with both weapons and had affixed the suppressor to the old Colts Barrel bushing by the simple expedient of 2 part epoxy, in an hour it should be hard as metal.
Vasquez was also back also and waiting and they both gave him the thumbs up as he came out.
“Ok, talk to me guys”
The map showed the most likely places that the hostages would be housed, and where the roads entered and exited the perimeter, as well as the best places they could exfiltrate if something else went wrong.
With the Captain satisfied with their plans and preparations, Dunn passed out the two extra mags he had for the AK and the Single extra he had loaded with subsonic for the 1911.
“If we need more than that we’re already screwed” He said before they made ready to leave.
“What am I going to use to call the dogs?” Vasquez asked.
Seever selected the Noble 12 gauge from the dining room table, as well as the .380 and handed them over.
They made their way cross country, each holding a dead body in a fireman’s carry. When they closed on their destination the slowed and let their breathing normalize before proceeding. They laid the bodies out so that two could clearly be seen from the road and positioned the third on the road itself.
Again Captain Seever turned on the old Realistic and clicked it twice, but now a single click replied.
“Ready” he said to Vasquez.
Who then took the shot gun and chambering a round fired it into the air. Then pulling the .380 from his belt he emptied the magazine into the ground and dropped it. Working the bolt he fired another 12 gauge round into the air, the woods nearby making the sound reflect and reverberate about.
The he simply dropped the shotgun and calmly walked into the woods.
They didn’t have long to wait, in the quiet they could hear they prey approaching and soon a HMMWV with a H@MB mounted on top came driving into view, then slid to a halt in front of the bodies.
“Confirmed Red Dog 6, three bodies and firearms” they could hear the Radioman saying from the idling vehicle.
The driver called out.
“Michael’s, is that a Chromed colt on the ground?” He asked.
The gunner swiveled in the open top mount and looked at it.
“I can’t tell” The gunner said.
“Hang on I’m gonna check” the driver said and turning the vehicle off, exited the Military Vehicle.
“You know we ain’t supposed to leave the HMMWV” the passenger called.
“Shut up Gyles; I know about your Souvenir underwear collection, and I want something for myself” He said and bent down to pick up the empty chrome automatic.
Captain Seever walked from the shadows and put two subsonic .45 rounds into the gunners head, then turned and put another into the drivers brain pan; Vasquez reappeared and had a knife to the passengers throat.
“Out” The captain said motioning to the passenger and the radio man.
Dunn was already getting in and removing the dead gunner.
The passenger tried to pull some line about not doing anything but enforcing orders, when Vasquez simply slipped a large zip tie over the man’s head and pulled it tight.
“That’s for my sister” He said and then spit on the soldier as he lay trying to breathe before passing out.
“that was supposed to go around the man’s wrists” The Captain said. “Screw that. Panty stealing Freak” Vasquez replied.
The comms guy exited slowly from the back of the humvee with his weapon and then saluted the Captain.
“Good to see you sir” He said, then shook hands with the other two.
“What’s the news?” Dunn asked.
“They’re being held in the northeast section, in the old C-5 Galaxy hanger they were remodeling into an extension of the museum” He said.
Vasquez started to say something, but the radioman kept talking.
“I think it’s going to get worse; their bringing in many, many more cots”
“You could still come with us” the Captain said.
“No, I’ve seen our guys do enough messed up sh…stuff in the last five days, that I’ll end up shooting them if I stay. If I have to I’ll throw away my uniform and walk back to Grand Rapids”
“Ok you know what I’m going to have to do in case another unit comes across you” Seever said.
The Guy nodded “Just try and make it clean”
Seever nodded to the man also and suddenly stiffened, turning toward the road.
The Radioman turned his head to see what the Captain had seen, putting his jaw line in the perfect position.
The old man’s fist shot out and the radioman went down, out like a light.
“Three years Golden Gloves champion” He said and then started to strip the man.
They changed uniforms and before leaving, he did what he promised, he put a round cleanly through the Radioman’s thigh, then using the man’s own Israeli dressing he bandaged the kid up, and moved him off the road aways.
“Ok it’s a two hour drive ahead of us, so let’s get a move on” Captain Seever said and they all got in with Vasquez at the gun mount and Dunn as the driver.
An hour and thirty eight minutes later they were looking at the base through the darkness using a set of Stiener’s and counting the guards.
They had no idea where they had gotten so many working generators but the base was lit up almost like the strike had never happened.
Somewhere Von Clausewitz was smiling.
“Ok, nothing to be done. We go in as planned, there is no coming back later on this” He looked at the others two, they both nodded.
“Once we’re in the gate and heading to the motor pool I want you Vasquez, to find some back up wheels out, just in case. And if you can’t, then get one of the Mk19 HMMWV’s and bring down the fence on the darkened north side”
They got into their seats and drove to the gate; the guard gave them a cursory look and waved them through.
They pulled away and realized that they had no idea where the motor pool was even situated.
Back at the gate, the guard glanced back inside the kiosk and saw a red light blinking.
He looked closer and realized it was the radio transmission detector used to spot IED’s. Something in or on the HMMWV that had just passed through the gate was capable of receiving or sending a radio transmission or signal.
He immediately called the Officer of the Watch.
Dunn drove around as calmly as he could, trying not to appear lost as they searched for the bases motor Pool.
Behind them he saw several of the older style M151 jeeps that were used to patrol and for security turn on their Blue flashing lights.
“I think we’re made captain” Dunn said.
“Take the next right and we’ll bail” Seever said.
“Vasquez, it’s time to load Ma” He called and tugged the man’s pants leg.
Vasquez opened the attached Ammunition can and looked startled.
Empty.
They were so humped.
Before he could tell the captain though, Dunn had already turned into the darkened space between two hangars.
“Out, out, out!” Seever said and jump with surprising agility for someone as old as he was.
Something flew off of his belt and impacted on the pavement, he could see the red light of the Walkie Talkie fade out.
Of all the stupid things to forget, turning off the Talkie was among the dumbest.
“Go!” He said and ran for the opening on the other side of the Hangars.
A guard with a rifle appeared at the end and without breaking stride; the captain pumped two silenced rounds into the man’s center of mass.
“Split up, try and exfiltrate as best you can!” He said as they exited from the seclusion of the Darkened area.
They could see the motor pool now across from them about a hundred yards away.
Before they could take three steps though, a security Jeep came careening around the corner.
The Guards were more surprised than the three men standing there and The captain emptied the rest of the .45 into the men as the jeep approached.
Shoving the dead men out of the vehicle, Dunn jumped into the driver’s seat.
“Go!”Dunn said to the others “I’ll buy you some time”
Then he took off like a mad man.
“Vasquez, find that Mk 19, I’m going to try and make it to the hostages” Seever said and took off.
Vasquez handed the Full auto AK to the Captain.
“You’ll need it more than me” he said and ran for the motor pool.
Seever ran as fast as he dared, keeping to the shadows and the sides of the hangars, while his hand automatically found the belt pouch containing the extra mag for the silenced pistol, and loading it as he moved.
He was forced to shoot one more guard before he got close enough to see where the hostages were being held, there was a double row of concertina and razor wire and guards on MRAPs with Machine guns and even a guard tower situated there.
It was an honest to god FEMA camp!
There was no way this just came together, the supply and logistics the army used wasn’t designed like that; this was preplanned and the necessary items put in place for use when needed.
He realized that there was no way he was going to be rescuing anybody from there.
“Hold it right there!” Someone yelled.
******
Dunn was doing his best to keep ahead of the other vehicles chasing him, swerving and driving around parked museum pieces as recklessly as he dared to, and still make sure he had a margin for error just in case.
Soon though he was going to have to take the turn and head out into an open area, and that where he knew his luck would change.
Taking the turn he floored the little 4 cylinder motor and hoped that it was capable of giving more.
As soon as he was clear of the airplanes, the waiting HMMWV with the Tow locked on and fired.
Blowing the M151 into the air and rending it like a child’s toy; it came back down and rolled to a stop just short of a B-24 with the emblazoned name of The Strawberry Bitch.
The World War Two planes matte color of Italian Sand giving an appropriate backdrop to what could have been a scene from an old war movie.
******
The explosion distracted the guard behind the Captain and he whirled around bringing the AK to bear, sending a two second burst into the soldier. Then he ran for all he was worth, the sound of a full auto AK was like kicking the hornets’ nest on any Military base; and he didn’t want to be around to see the results.
Unfortunately they already had him corralled and there was no escape, he unloaded the magazine and dropping it inserted another.
He was trapped.
Inside the muggy, stifling hangar where Melissa Ahern was supposed to be sleeping; she was awake and holding her children trying not to cry.
When she asked about Seeing her Fiancée or even talking to him, the guards had threatened to take her children; and looking out the partially open door and seeing the barbed wire and the trucks with machine guns she knew what she was.
A prisoner.
She heard an explosion somewhere out in the night, then the bark of a full auto machine gun.
She knew the sound.
It was an AK.
Was Bob trying to rescue her? They hadn’t exactly made up, but she was sure it wasn’t her Future father in law. He wouldn’t lift a finger to save her, the kid’s maybe, her no way.
****** Vasquez found the Mk19 HMMWV and clamored inside, he got nto the open turret and opened the ammo box. It too was empty, simply jumping from one vehicle to the next he opened the ammunition can on that one also.
Empty.
He realized then that he hadn’t seen a single Vehicle outside of the base use its main weaponry, apparently the troops were trusted by their superiors either.
He sat back to consider what to do next.
The sniper in the guard tower shot once and Vasquez slumped down and his body slid from the sloping back of the vehicle.
******
Captain William Seever Sr. (Ret.) knew he was in deep trouble, the MRAP was thermal capable and he was sure that they should have his number by now.
Unless they were more vulnerable to EMP than the HMMWV, in which case the specialized vehicles were just there for show.
He peeked his head out to look and both opened up on him with they’re main weapons, perforating him, the hangars, the contents inside the hangars and random other things behind the Hangars.
No the MRAP’s were more than just for show.
********************************
Twelve miles northwest of Columbus and twelve feet underground the acting director was awoken by the special secure phone.
She left her office and received word of some kind of attack at the airbase, infiltrators or terrorists or saboteurs. It was all very confusing and she had to ask about casualties and injuries. They said that they would call back.
While she waitied a man entered the bunker, this was a secure area and it required a special pass; he was accompanied by two guard with automatic rifles.
“Pull up footage just made available on AA-40531” He said to a technitian who was at her station.
“I’m sorry who are you?” The acting director asked.
The man pointed to the big screen.
Footage of a man with a bad hair dye job and an AK machine-gunning a soldier.
“That’s enough” He said to the technician. Who then cut it off.
“This footage shows that obviously the situation has moved beyond your control. Under National Security Presidential Directive 51 under Executive order 12656 for the Continuation of Government; I As of this moment I am taking command as one of Five Regional Directors for the Contiguous United States”
The acting Director for Ohio’s Emergency Management, was dumbfounded; while she had been briefed on the COG rules, she had never heard of this part.
“I’m sorry I have never heard of that Directive, you will have to expand on it or show me some paperwork” she said.
The Man before her pulled out his .40 Beretta and put a hollow point bullet right into her head.
“Trust in the fact that my power comes from the highest authority, and to disobey that power is treason, does anyone else feel treasonous today?” He asked, still holding the pistol.
Everyone stood in shock.
One man raised his hand.
“Yes?” He asked casually pointing the gun in the man’s direction.
“What should we call you?” he asked.
“You don’t. When I want a conference I’ll summon you, and when that happens you will call me The Director” He said and stepped over the dead woman and walked over to the door of the newly vacated office.
“Now get to work, we have a busy day tomorrow” He said as he closed the door behind him.
The two armed men took up positions one on the door to the Directors office, the other at the exit.
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Post by kaijafon on Aug 10, 2014 19:27:39 GMT -6
oh wow! what a turn of events. I'm glad the father in law tried to rescue his grands and their mom. wish he would have succeeded... but I think this is more real life possible. thank you
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Post by biggkidd on Aug 11, 2014 19:48:03 GMT -6
BOB forward or backward to the rescue! lol
Larry
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Post by warsparrow on Aug 12, 2014 10:46:58 GMT -6
Chapter 15
Decision
Water.
Water is the stuff of life; life began in water and even a single day without it can cause detrimental effects to the brain and body.
Bernadette had broken down and finally drank her last bottle of water 12 hours earlier, and now she was obsessing about water.
She couldn’t take her mind off of it.
She had spotted a well near an abandoned and caved in barn, and had been working her way toward it as stealthily as she could in the sunlight. There wasn’t a lot of cover, and she would have never considered doing anything so fool hardy if she wasn’t so desperately thirsty.
She knew in the back of her mind that drinking from an old well was a gamble only slightly less chancy than drinking from an open river or stream; wells were periodically tested for water quality, but this being an abandoned one there was no real telling what she might get.
She made sure she had her two bottles were ready as she made her way the last distance in the searing summer heat. It had looked like it might rain the night before but the cloud cover did nothing but keep the heat of the day in and make this afternoon almost unbearably hot.
Today she knew the two things she missed most about civilization.
Tap water and air conditioning.
She got to the well pump and tried to pump it, it moved slowly down and stopped, she used all of her might to get it back up and try again.
It took a dozen pumps to get it moving somewhat freely and then another two dozen before some rusty brown water to come out.
After another dozen pumps though the water cleared, though it still had a sulfur smell to it; she kept it going as she put a bottle under the spigot to catch what she could.
She had spent enough time outdoors by now that it was almost like she was reverting to her more animal nature, head swiveling this way and that, looking for anything that might indicate danger; or a potential threat; she also learned to trust he gut instinct when she felt that someone or something wasn’t right with a situation.
Several times already she had passed up what seemed like an ideal place because something just didn’t feel right about it, and she had been rewarded on one occasion that just as she had thought a man came out of what had looked like an abandoned house with some silverware and a big pistol stuck into his waist band.
Now she got the tingle in the back of her neck, when she felt as if someone was watching her.
She quit pumping tight there, taking her one bottle of water and ran for the cover of the collapsed barn. But instead of entering it she worked her way into the overgrown brambles that had taken root next to the buildings rotten exterior and slowed her breathing.
She pulled her Rifle from her back in the prickly confines of the thicket, catching her hair and her clothes and even the sling on the gun in the barbed branches as she moved slowly as she could trying to wriggle her way along a rabbit run into the center.
“You sure?” A voice said.
“I’m telling you it was a broad dressed like a man. There’s no way you could miss that long brunette hair” Another said, their voice cracking.
“You in the barn woman?” They yelled. “Don’t take kindly to folks walkin’ on our property and stealin’ our water”
Bernadette stopped, and eased herself into a sitting position.
“How’d she look?” The one said.
“I didn’t get a good look, just long hair and a tight ass” Crackling voice said.
“If you all come out maybe we can to come talkin’” The older one said.
“We’re gunna get some, we’re gunna get some” A Third voice said, almost like a taunt to the other two.
“You to go in and flush her out” The obvious leader said.
“No way, she had a .22 rifle on her that I saw” The third one said.
“Wimps” the older one said.
Bernadette heard the swish of feet close by her hiding place, and a rabbit came bounding past her, and almost as quick as lightning a snake she hadn’t even seen lunged for it, missing by mere millimeters. She swore that if she wasn’t so dehydrated that she would have went on herself.
She stifled the urge to scream and run as the snake slithered out of sight behind her.
Bang!
“What the hell was that?” Crackling voice asked.
“Sorry, Friggin’ rabbit scared the crap out a’ me” The third said.
“Hey, dingbats; there ain’t nobody in here” The leader yelled from inside the old collapsed barn.
“Bull!” the third said.
“You callin’ me a liar?” The leader said threateningly.
“Naw man, it’s just that I swear she ran this way” The third voice said defensively.
“While you all had use looking at the barn she runned off” The leader said.
“She could be still hiding around here” Crackling voice said.
“where? In the brambles? That’s full a’ rat snakes” the Third said with a laugh.
“We’ could set fire to it anyway, an if she’s in there she’ll have to come out” Crackling voice said.
“And what if she’s not? We burn down half the county” The third retorted.
“Yeah that would be kind of cool” Crackling voice said with a laugh.
“Hey bitch, you in there?” The Leader called.
She could hear him close to the rabbit run she had crawled in through.
She closed her eyes and held the rifle at the ready, if she heard them trying to come any closer she swore she would empty the rifle in their direction.
Something touched her borrowed bott and she involuntarily pulled the trigger.
“Crap!” she heard right after the report of the .22.
She opened her eyes and kicked the snake away from her, and then she pumped ten more rounds out of the rifle in quick succession, keeping the barrel level and sweeping over the area.
Dropping on to her belly she began crawling toward the entrance.
Someone fired three rounds into the bramble patch, but they were high and missed her completely.
“I can’t believe she shot me in the ass!” The leader was yelling from somewhere around the side of the barn.
There were two more rounds fired at her hiding place but they also were well wide of where she was.
She stopped when she got close to the opening and looked out at the side of the barn.
She could see three young men looking around the corner at the thicket.
A pimply faced kid with thick glasses and some type of chrome revolver, an African American kid with what looked to be a BB gun and an older guy with greasy black hair swept back from his head holding some type of clip fed rifle with a chrome top on it.
The leader was both trying to hold his behind where the .22 had got him and line up and fire the rifle into the batch of brambles.
He let off two more rounds, before yelling.
“You still alive in there bitch?”
As a reply she took aim and put a bullet into his exposed kneecap.
He fell down screaming, dropping his rifle and clutching at his knee with both hands.
The one with the BB gun wasted no time dropping the useless toy and scooping up the rifle, then without hesitation he turned and fled for all he was worth away from the barn and the Bramble patch.
Then she charged from the entrance heedless of the remaining brambles, right up to the pimply faced kid.
“Drop it!” she yelled.
“It ain’t loaded! It ain’t loaded! I got no bullets!” He started screaming, the dropped the gun and covered his head.
“You just wait!’ the guy on the ground yelled at her through clenched teeth.
Bernadette looked over at the man on the ground.
“When I get a hold of you, you gunna wish I kilt you” He said.
She looked at the kid in front of her.
“Take off kid” she said and shoved him with the barrel of the rifle.
He took off with a stumbling gait, trying to get his feet under himself enough to really start running.
She picked up the Revolver, a chrome H&R 929 .22 with black rubber grips.
“You got any food or water?” She asked the man on the ground as he glared at her.
“I ain’t got crap for you bitch” He said.
She put a bullet into his other knee.
When he had stopped screaming and was down to a whimper she spoke.
“You should really be more polite to a lady, especially an armed lady” She said.
“Screw you” He replied.
“You better hope your pals come back for you; cause five days with no food, I’m betting there are plenty of hungry dogs around now that can smell the fresh blood here” She said and turned and left.
She reloaded the .22 as she walked and then figured out how to load the pistol, which she found carried nine shots. Out of the box of fifty she had started with she was down to 14 rounds left.
She made her way into the woods and then suddenly remembered her thirst she opened the bottle she had filled, and even though she was still worried she drank the water down. She should have tried to drink it sparingly but her thirst overcame her logic and before she knew it the bottle was empty.
She went to put it back into the plastic bag she was using to hold her stuff and found that it had been torn by the brambles, all of her food was gone as well as her other empty water bottle.
She knew that if she didn’t find some things soon her situation would go from merely desperate to downright life threatening.
About four or so she came up on someone’s back yard and saw that the doors were banging in the breeze, she watched it for almost an hour to make sure that there wasn’t going to be any surprises, and also noticed that there were no cars coming down the road that it was situated on.
When she was confident that the place was abandoned she made her way first to the garden that was there and grabbed some of the ripe cucumbers, eating them as fast as she could while she made her way to the back door.
The kitchen had been ransacked and it looked as if there was a struggle. She checked the fridge and found it too was empty of anything edible.
She tried the water and it dripped some, so she put a bowl underneath it to catch what she could.
There was a dead man in the living room, and looked to have been that way for several days, there were no weapons by him so it obviously wasn’t suicide. She avoided that room after that and made her way to the bedrooms.
She found a usable backpack with some skulls on it and another pair of pants she could use, and then she scored a drawer full of socks that she greedily stuffed into the backpack.
On the nightstand was a man’s watch, the old style Timex with a silver face and a worn leather band; the kind that had to be wound daily, and a belt knife of some sort which immediately went on to her belt.
She went to the bathroom and found a comb but no brush, then looking at the toilet she got an idea.
Removing the porcelain lid from the back, she saw that it was full of clean water.
Taking her one remaining bottle she filled it to the rim and drank her fill, then refilled it again.
Maybe around somewhere she could find another container.
Going back to the kitchen she opened the garbage lid, then regretted it as swarms of flies came flying out disturbed by her looking.
Water was her main priority now.
She went back to the refrigerator and opened it again, there was a nearly empty bottle of maple syrup and a glass jar with one pickle spear in it.
She took both.
The pickle turned out to be still good so she ate it and then drank the pickle juice, then she checked the syrup and found that also was still usable.
She took both back to the bathroom and filled them in the toilet.
She would have liked to clean them first but there simply was no water to do that and any water that was there she was going to use for drinking.
Satisfied with that she returned to the back garden and took some tomatoes and beans as well as a few more cucumber s then beat a hasty retreat back into the woods before someone else came along.
********
She was sitting and eating and trying to finally make the hard decision she had been putting off.
Voluntarily cutting off all of your own hair as a woman was a very hard call to make.
She knew that the men earlier, if they could be called that had recognized her as a woman even though she was dressed as a man, by the length and style of her hair.
She still had the scissors she had liberated from the first house she had ever broken into, two days before, and with sigh after she finished her garden lunch she set to work.
If she had trusted that she would not be interrupted, she would have stayed in the bathroom and just cut her hair where there was a mirror she could see what she was doing, instead she just cut it as short as she dared and hoped for the best.
Maybe at the next house she could find a hat as well.
She was walking along a field making for the next batch of trees not far from a road and feeling pretty down after cutting her hair off, when out of nowhere a beat up old International farm truck slid to a halt adjacent to her and the passenger door was opened.
With the sun behind it all she could see what a man’s outline in a cowboy hat.
The passenger door stayed open and she had to make a choice, the woods we’re too far and pulling her pistol or rifle might get her shot.
If she was worried about something happening to her from the man in the truck, it evaporated the moment he spoke.
“Come on sister, this freedom ride isn’t going to wait forever!” the person yelled.
The driver was as gay as she had ever heard anyone.
She made her decision and ran for the vehicle, jumping in to the truck that probably hadn’t left the farm in thirty years.
The driver was almost over the top movie cowboy gay.
He was wearing a purple Stetson and had a village people mustache and honest to god fur topped cowboy boots.
She realized he had probably stopped because with her short hair and mans clothes, he had mistaken her for a lesbian.
“I’m not a lesbian” she said.
“It’s nice to meet you too” He replied “Honey you can be whatever you want to be, you saw them soldiers rounding people up right?”
She nodded.
“Well, trust me; whenever the army goes around rounding people up, it never ends well; I’m getting while the getting’s good”
She nodded at that also.
“Bernadette Bowman” She said offering her hand.
“Billy Boy’ Grayden” he replied, then downshifted the truck to make a turn going west.
“You can set your shootin’ iron in the back window” He said with an accentuated drawl.
She did so and smiled at him.
“Whats our plan Billy boy?” She asked as they made their way toward the setting sun.
“I got on to hearing on the old CB I had at home that there was a caravan forming to head west and get away from the army men at Wright Patterson we’re going to try and meet up with them. Ok by you?” He replied.
“A lovely plan” Bernadette replied.
“To freedom!” he said and pushed his foot harder on the gas as he waved his arm out the window.
Chapter 16
Steve’s War
This chapter is pure fluff. I asked a friend how he would die if society collapsed, he said in his car, so this is for him. That’s right I’m going to literarily kill my friend.
Also Bob had been right, Vinnie was there.
He was sitting in his leather office chair with a pistol in his lap and the back of his head missing.
Bob had approached not quite from the back, but close to where he could see if there were people inside the showroom or the windows had been busted out.
Everything looked ok so he went around to try and find a way in.
In the back, up against the building he saw a 1970 AMC Rebel Machine, dark green with a black stripe and it’s hood was up.
The car looked familiar but he put it out of his mind, with the hood up, there was obviously something wrong with it, and he knew the car he was looking for was inside.
He found the door by the car was open and led into the service area. He went to the front where the showroom was and the offices and that’s when he found Vinnie.
The Chrysler was still there but needed gas, so he went back to the service area to see if he could locate a can.
He stopped to survey the area and heard something peculiar.
It sounded like snoring.
He unslung the carbine and made his way cautiously toward the sound. From under another Rebel Machine a pair of legs was sticking out.
He kicked the left shoe and jumped back.
There was the bang of someone hitting their head then a few choice curses, before a head peeked out from under the car.
“You don’t work here do you?” they asked.
“No” Bob replied.
“Whew, thought I was going to be in trouble. Could you hand me the Phillips screwdriver there?” Her said then ducked back under the car.
Bob got the screw driver and handed it under.
“I’m Steve, I was heading to Kenosha for a car show when the power went out in Chicago. I turned right around and started heading back to Reynoldsburg. When I got close everyone let me know that Columbus was a fireball, so I decided to head back west; but the plastic piece for my Z bar let go; and I came here to get another”
He emerged with a round piece of plastic with a hole through the center.
“But I’ve been driving so long that I guess I fell asleep under the car”
He wiped his hands on a shop rag.
“How did you even know this was here?” bob asked.
“You came looking for one of the old cars here didn’t you?” Steve asked.
“Yeah the 63 Chrysler” Bob replied.
“You still got the ad?” He asked.
Bob produced it, still with Also Bobs blood on it.
Steve took the ad and turning it over so that Bob could see it, pointed to the car in the background of the photo.
“I assume you saw the owner in his office right?” Bob asked, taking the ad back.
“Yeah, shame. He could have run any one of these classics on the gas he had here” he looked over at the three other classic cars that were in the process of getting cleaned up for sale.
“I wouldn’t run the Bog Chrysler though. It will be a gas hog” He turned to leave.
“What about the Nova?” Bob said pointing to the 72 Yenko Clone.
“No good. Haven’t you noticed how few of the popular cars are around driving? That’s because almost all have been switched to HEI or and MSD box. Electrical and therefore vulnerable to EMP”
“Your best bet is the 74 Duster. It’s a six so it should be decent on gas and non HEI. Let me put this part in all we’ll look it over”
He left and Bob finally found a gas can, then Steve was back.
“That was quick” Bob said.
“it’s an easy part, just hard to get” He replied.
The duster turned out to be an orange red base model with 58k miles and the six with the column shift. Whether or not it was original or not, it had an AM/FM 8 track CB.
There was maybe a quarter tank of gas in it.
“We’ll need to get you some gas” Steve said and grabbed the screwdriver and a pan.
Bob had seen this trick before and knew exactly what the guy was planning.
“Before we do that, shouldn’t we see if it starts?” bob asked.
“Might as well” Steve said and they went into the front and found the keys.
Bob got in and it turned over easily, then settled into a decent idle.
He played with the CB for a moment and a voice suddenly came out of it.
“We’re going to convoy all the way west”
Then there was static as whoever the voice was talking to replied but was too far out of their range to pick up.
“Thirty west, that’s right, anybody who doesn’t want to get rounded up and put behind barbed wire”
Then it was gone.
Steve and Bob looked at each other.
“Convoy west?” He said.
“I’m game” Bob said “by the way I’m Bob”
They shook hands and Steve was going to go and get them some more gas when they heard a vehicle pull up upfront.
The both made for the door to the show room and saw a HMMWV there.
A soldier exited and tried the door and found it locked; he stepped back and unslung his rifle, then put two rounds through it and into the office where Vinnie’s corpse was.
The two men looked at each other.
“I’ll distract them, you get that car out of here and we’ll meet up on US 30” Steve said and headed out the back to his car.
He could hear the soldiers bust out the glass and the crunch of thier boots.
“Any vending machines?” one of the men still in the HMMWV asked.
“No but we got a body in the office. Suicide” the man replied.
“Who cares? Check the back”
Bob stiffened and got his carbine at the ready.
Just as the man came to the door, Bob heard the squealing of tires and saw the dark Green Rebel Slide around the corner in a pall of blue white tire smoke.
“Crap! After him!” He heard the man say.
The Men hustled back into the HMMWV and took off.
Steve had the car on the go and was working the clutch for all it was worth, he had started off in low with a good tire squeal to get their attention, but now he was trying to get as much distance between them as he could.
While the outside remained essentially stock, the mechanicals had all been gone through, not something easily done in an off brand muscle car.
Venolia pistons mated to Scat rods and an offset ground crank took a motor starting out as 390 cubic inches and increased it to 416. The Indy heads had been painted AMC Blue to match the rest of the engine and remain stock looking. A rare R4B intake held a Demon carb hidden under a dual snorkel air cleaner with the vacuum operated plenum.
The Clutch was held in by a Lakewood shatterproof bell housing that in turn led to a Borg Warner super T- 10 with an initial 2:81 gear. All that led to a 3:54 Auburn Posi unit in a stock rear end held there by Eaton springs and Koni shocks.
The hood mounted tachometer reminded him to shift and he was already passing a hundred miles per hour, at one twenty five he shifted again. The Speedo went to 140 and he knew she was capable of every bit of that.
He swerved lightly just in case they had the big gun trained on him, hoping they would try and just shoot him to bits.
He had come this way twice already and knew that he could hit the on ramp past the stalled Propane truck and then loop around and come back to thirty.
At one thirty he decided he was safe and could begin to brake, the turn off to the on ramp was fast approaching.
At one hundred and twenty miles per hour, something as innocuous as a piece of broken muffler can be a deadly item.
He was taking the corner on his Z rated tires when that small section of errant detritus found his right front tire; shredding it mercilessly and causing him to lose control. He thought he could control it and was almost there when the stalled propane truck appeared in his windscreen.
He didn’t even have time to scream.
********
Bob had the Duster out of the service door and was just getting ready to leave when the loudest explosion he had ever heard rocked the area.
The over pressure blew out all of the showroom windows and snapped the overhead wires.
He had no idea how far away it was but was glad that the door he had brought the car out of was on the opposite side of the explosion.
*********
The initial explosion sent the AMC flying backward where it smashed against the pylon of the overpass, and sending other nearby vehicles flying. The overpressure did the rest, bringing the highway bridge crashing down and rendering two roads impassable.
A group of Motorcycle gang members who had just finished looting a farm and were fleeing were caught off guard by the explosion and piled up into a huge wreck; the final bike a ‘64 panhead swerved around the pile up but ended up flying off of the collapsed bridge.
The HMMWV was rolled by the outward expansion of the wave and ended on it roof crushing the Gun and the gunner. The other soldiers managed to exit the vehicle.
“What do we tell command?” one of them asked.
“You can tell them what you want, I’m done. There’s a 63 Chrysler back there, I’m going to get it cut my loses and get the hell out of here” the other replied.
************
In the end he found the convoy and joined up at the end of it.
There were fourteen vehicles in all and most looked like they were worse for the wear. Right in the middle was a short quick fuel gas truck like the kind found a regional airports, this one was being pulled along by a flat fronted KenWorth that looked like it had come straight out of Bj and the Bear.
In front of him was a 68 olds Delmont 88 with what looked like a family of five in it and in front of them was an International Pickup that was so old he couldn’t tell what color it was, that was driven by a guy in a purple Stetson with a shorthaired woman who dressed like a man. He hated to know what their relationship involved.
He turned on his CB and just listened as they all headed west into the setting sun.
Chapter 17
The promised land
They only stopped to refuel the vehicles and take bathroom breaks, distribute food and water from places they came across. After His duster had been fueled, Bob took it upon himself to act as a perimeter guard.
He hated to admit it but lately everyone had made friends with had either died, been taken by the soldier of told him to move along. He kept to himself and made sure that he was far enough outside of the light when they stopped for breaks or to fuel up or search some building or vehicle that his night vision was still good; several times people approached him with food and to make some small talk, but he generally just thanked them and said he had to get back to watching out.
All through the next two nights he had to only fire his rifle twice, once to scare of a fox attracted by the sound of a crying baby and the second time by someone who had tried to sneak up on them. Both shots had been just to frighten and that had been the end of it.
By the middle of the second straight day of driving they were down to just ten vehicles left, and people were doubling and even tripling up. So far though no one had chosen to ride with Bob and he was the only one without a passenger.
Just after a Sixty Four Falcon joined up and became the tail end vehicle, the old international finally gave up the ghost and ground to a halt on the side of the road, one of its wheel bearing permanently seized.
“Duster can you take a few passengers?” the call over the CB asked.
“Yeah” Bob replied with a sigh, he was really beginning to enjoy his solitude and the sounds of the road.
He pulled over and the Gay Cowboy and the short haired man dresser pulled their packs and rifles from the vehicle.
Normally all the stuff would go into the trunk on a trip, but with the world changed as it was, everything was kept close at hand in case they had to flee.
The Gay cowboy yelled “Shotgun!” and opened the door.
Holding the seat forward for the woman.
The woman bent down to get in then raised her head to thank the driver for taking them in.
She stopped.
“No way!” She said.
Something in the woman’s voice caught his attention and he looked at her.
She looked so familiar.
Then he knew.
She had gotten thin, sunburned and all her hair was gone, but it was her.
“Bernadette? Bernadette Bendarski?” he asked.
“Bernadette Bowmen now” She said and hugged him a cross the car seat.
“You two know each other?” The cowboy asked, getting into the back seat without being asked.
“You have to tell me everything” She said as she put her seat belt on and he dropped it into gear.
So he did.
From the Heroin days all the way up to the point where she had gotten into his car.
As the sun set on the open road they saw first one then another, and soon dozens of home with porch lights on.
Off the road slightly was a neon sign proclaiming cold Beer on tap and all ten vehicle pulled in to a semi packed parking lot of old cars and trucks.
A quick conference and it was decided that only half would go in while the others waited, just in case it was a trap of some sort.
Bob was to be the first to enter followed closely by Bernadette.
He knew it was against the law to bring a weapon into a liquer establishment but he wasn’t about to let his rifle go.
He slung it steeled himself and let out a slow breath.
The door swung open easily and everyone looked his way.
“More survivors!” Someone yelled.
And a cheer went up.
“We got steaks going on the grill and cold beer on tap; keep your weapons holstered or slung and we’ll all get along great!” The bartender said.
Bob had finally done it.
The land of Power and open Restaurants.
They were finally safe.
End of Part 2
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Post by biggkidd on Aug 12, 2014 11:38:54 GMT -6
Good Job good story! \ Thanks Larry
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Post by millwright on Aug 12, 2014 18:19:50 GMT -6
Good Job.
Keep it up.
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Post by warsparrow on Aug 13, 2014 10:48:03 GMT -6
I'm going to be on vacation for a Little while, but I did want to make Sure I Finished Part 2 of Bobs story before I went. Writing more than 160 pages in less than a month, I need to recharge my batteries and decide how I want to proceed with the story.
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Post by ydderf on Aug 13, 2014 13:57:02 GMT -6
Nice read thanks. Is part 3 going to be soon?
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Post by ydderf on Aug 13, 2014 14:01:03 GMT -6
Enjoy your holiday! Go somewhere sunny solar battery chargers have come way down in price. grin
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Post by kaijafon on Aug 13, 2014 20:54:05 GMT -6
very good story!!! thank you!!!
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Post by warsparrow on Aug 22, 2014 12:54:27 GMT -6
Bob Story Part 3
Seven days since Zero hour.
Chapter 1
Alcohol and offers.
It was almost hilarious when the entire convoy anted up and all they could come up with was $13.
A week ago no one would have left the house with less than $20 on them, but the world had changed and what everyone thought was the end all be all of needed items suddenly became less important than a can opener, or a back pack, a stout knife or even a decent pair of socks.
Bob said he would take care of it and went to the bartender.
“Got any Gin?” he asked the bar man.
“Yep, but it won’t be cheap, microbrewers we got, but when’s the last time you ever heard of a Kansas whiskey or a Idaho Scotch?”
Bob rolled a gold maple leaf across the counter to the man.
“That should cover my group’s whole bill and leave the bottle” He said.
People talked and conversed and a few cried as they sat in the crowded bar/ restaurant.
Bernadette let everyone know that their tab had been covered by Bob and that they were free to order whatever they wanted.
He sat at the bar alone with his bottle of gin and a huge steak, fresh cut fries and a salad, Just enjoying the feeling of having a full belly for once in what seemed like a long time.
A well dressed man sat across the bar from him, he looked to be Latin American or maybe Puerto Rican.
Bob put him out of his mind as a few people came over to thank him for the food and generosity.
Soon the well dressed man was sitting next to him, and he thought for certain the man would hit on him.
Instead he said something that made his skin turn cold.
“Hello Tubby” he said casually while sipping a water.
Bobs hand slid down his leg to his FEG.
He didn’t want to kill a man in a bar in front of all of these people but he wouldn’t hesitate either.
“Relax” he smiled, looking casually around the bar.
“I’m former Special Agent Rohelio Bagram” he said and held out his hand, Bob didn’t take it.
“I took credit for your murder in the desert, it allowed me to infiltrate the southern California smugglers and make a huge bust”
Bob thought about that for a moment.
“Rohelio?” Bob asked, He realized the one shot of Alcohol he had was already affecting him “Pilipino?”
“Yep, but I could pass myself off as other, truth is those gangs didn’t care”
“What are you doing here?” Bob asked suspiciously.
“recruiting, you get good and drunk tonight; fill your belly with some locally grown goodness and tomorrow I’ll take you to meet my new boss” He said and walked away.
Speaking of where he would be sleeping He called the bartender over and asked him.
“Well all of the local hotels are full, and the school’s been turned into a refugee center, but nothing says you and your group can’t head out back and set yourselves up a nice gypsy camp” He replied.
Bob nodded his thanks and called Bernadette over, who was drinking a beer and dancing to the tunes of ABBA on the jukebox with Billy Boy.
He had the bartender repeat what he said because by now Bob was feeling the effects of the high end alcohol.
He realized then that he had had enough and asked if he could get a to go box, then taking the bottle with him he stumbled to the door.
Luckily the rest of the riders had been busy and had moved all the other cars back behind the bar, where an open field was dotted with similar enclaves of circled vehicles, much like the wagon trains circling for the night in the old Movies.
He woke with a head ache and a back ache from sleeping in his car. He was going to need to find a blanket or something soon.
Bernadette was curled up in the back seat and he had no Idea what had happened to Billy Boy.
On the passenger side floor was a sports drink, the bottle of gin and his food from the night before, as well as a bottle of aspirin.
He got out, did his business in some convenient bushes, took the Aspirin and washed it down with the drink then climbed on top of the Duster’s flat hood and fell asleep again.
He woke to Bernadette shaking him.
“You have a visitor” She said.
“Thanks for last night by the way”
Last night?
Had he done something last night to Bernadette?
“No we didn’t do that” She said reading his face “You bought everybody food and drinks and let me sleep in the car”
The Pilipino was waiting for him with a newer Cadillac.
“Did you get my gifts?” He asked.
Bob knew he was referring to the Sports drink and aspirin.
Bob nodded and got into the passenger seat, putting the carbine next to the seat, just in case.
Rohelio Just looked over briefly and then started the car.
“Seat belt” he said.
“What if we get ambushed?” Bob asked.
“Your safe here” the Former Special Agent said and waited as Bob put the belt on.
If he had expected to be led to a palatial estate he was sadly mistaken, the Drivers employer was in an old store front down the road form an Armada Inn.
Rohelio parked and led him to the front door, then past two guards.
A man who looked like he hadn’t slept in days offered a cup of coffee to Bob, he gratefully accepted.
Bob took a seat to wait as the man sat down at a desk and started looking over papers.
“How many people did you kill before all this happened?” He asked suddenly.
“None” bobs reply was automatic.
“How about after?” He took off his half glasses and looked up at the accountant.
“Just me or all together?” Bob said.
“However you want” The man replied.
“I’ll say seven then” Bob replied suspiciously.
“Roughly one a day, and that was just you or immediately near you; think about how many some of the hardcore bastards have killed in that time; I don’t think this country is going to be coming back from this” The man said.
Bob realized with a start that this man was the Person he was supposed to come and see.
He had been expecting an office, or at the least a secretary.
The man stood and shook his hand.
“I’m former Govenor Michael Hanrahan” he said.
“I’m sorry, I don’t live here and didn’t vote for you” Bob said.
“Not many people did, that’s why I’m Former Governor” He sat back down “If I was current Govenor, it would be sitting in a bunker somewhere eating Freeze dried lobster and drinking 20 year old scotch”
Bob had to smile at that.
“So you have met my recruiter, and he recommended you; you to apparently have a history of sorts” he said shuffling some more papers.
Bob just nodded, he had expected the hard sell.
“So do you want the long or the short of it?” The former Governor asked.
“I’ve got nothing but time right now, so I might as well have the long version” Bob replied.
“Ok then, I hope I can count on you to keep most of what we talk about between us, just in case you decline”
Bob nodded his affirmation.
“Good” Then he opened a folder and handed a picture to Bob.
“This is one of the last Satellite images we were able to download before we were locked out of the loop”
It was nighttime shot of the United States and everything in a line east of Thunder Bay all the way down to Texas was dark all the way to the coast and almost to Florida.
“One of our internet activists managed to pull in some second hand accounts about an explosion between Evansville and Loisville” He said.
“A hacker?” Bob asked. “It’s like calling an illegal Alien and undocumented worker, Control the language and you control the discussion. Yes a ‘hacker’ but since he’s on our side he an ‘internet activist’”
“My people estimate the initial EMP burst, if that is what it was, had an almost 400 miles radius; and that was before it traveled up the power lines or along the railroad tracks” He stopped to take another swig of coffee.
“You’re from Ohio right?” he asked not waiting for an answer “It’s the tenth most populous state in the union; we heard about Columbus by the way, sorry to hear that”
“I’m going to assume you know about what the National Guard was doing right?” he looked directly at Bob.
“Rounding up the families of active service members, yeah I saw it first hand; Pulled right up to the front door with a HumVee armed with a grenade launcher on top and putting women and children into the backs of trucks”
“That was three days ago, now they’re wounding up everybody; especially people fleeing to get her like you did; we’ even have reports of them burning farms and shooting the farm animal; not to eat but just to deny them to the people who don’t want to go into the Camp at Wright Patterson”
The Ex governor looked ready to spit.
He stood again and looked out the window.
“We received an order to send every kernel of corn and every grain of wheat, along with all our live stock east” He looked over at Bob.
“If you do that, what are your people going to eat?” bob asked.
“We tried the same tact, they just repeated the order” Hanrahan replied.
“So I asked to speak with the current Governor and get his opinion, in response they sent some armed men with a ‘Regional Director’ who was to take charge of this state and the States around it under some Continuation of Government Order”
“What happened to him?” bob asked.
“His body guards are dead, after trying to kill me; and he is rotting in a cell in Lincoln”
“So in short, you are not the legally recognized person in charge here” Bob said.
Hanrahan looked at him for a moment.
“We have heard nothing from the President, he have heard nothing from the cabinet, we haven’t even heard anything from our own Governor; and so far I’m the only one with experience who has stepped up; hell even the ‘regional Director’ they sent was some kind of political appointee of the President from like five years ago; he was some kind of professor Emeritus from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh with a degree in Political Rhetoric and Liberal Arts or some crap”
Again the Ex Governor looked ready to spit.
“Which is what brings us to you. I’m told that you have some experience in accounting and the locating of assets. I’ve got plenty of accountants and all that but they have a certain squeamishness about going in to other states and finding what we are going to need in this Post Apocalyptic World that we are entering; not just finding it, but securing it and getting back here to where we can use it”
Bob thought it over for a few moments as he finished his coffee.
“What kind of authority do you have? And what kind of guarantees can you give me that I won’t get thrown to the wolves if the lights come back on in a week?”
“I’ll write anything you ask and have it notarized and sealed in a vault if that’s what you want. Will you take the job?” He asked.
“What kind of resources? And what are our resources?” bob asked.
Hanrahan knew he had him then.
“You want trucks, I can get you trucks. Drivers? Escorts and Security? All you want. The clock is ticking and every second we sit on our hands more of it gets looted, broken, burned or turned into so much worthless scrap”
“I’m going to need a better place to work from than the hood of my car” bob said.
“We’re tight on space; how it works is single men share bunks at the refugee center, but families and couples can get their own rooms or take over one of the abandoned buildings that have popped up since the economy tanked a few years ago. I heard that you came in with a woman and another.. Uh..Gentlemen; and it’s none of my business if you want to claim them as your partner; but it will get you better accommodations”
Bob coughed at that; but it made sense.
“I’ll have to discuss it with them, but I think it will work out” Bob said and shook his new Bosses hand.
“How soon can you work something up? Like I said we’re pressed for time”
“If you have a local library with some yellow pages and can get me a list of wants; I can probably have something ready for you by late this afternoon” Bob Replied.
“Excellent”
With that bob left.
Chapter 2
Escherichia
Bernadette wasn’t feeling the best she had ever felt upon waking up in Bob’s car.
At first she put it down to eating too much good food after practically starving, and the excess beer she drank while dancing the night away to some bad seventies disco, then she thought maybe it was stress related from finally reaching a safe spot to rest.
When her insides turned to water she knew it was something else.
She drank the rest of Bob Sports drink and made sure she had plenty of water to put into herself, but she started feeling weak and dizzy and had to lay down next to the car to rest.
Bob found her there burning up.
Rohelio had dropped him off and was more than willing to help get her to the closest emergency care center.
They looked her over and decided she needed some IV’s and antibiotics.
“Don’t worry, this isn’t the first case we’ve seen of someone drinking bad water; we’ll have your wife up and well in no time” the head nurse told him.
He decided then to head to the library and start getting into his new job; just to take his mind off of everything.
Your wife.
“ you know what Rohelio, Tell the Boss I will take him up on his housing offer; just have him drop off my new address when he delivers the list of items he needs” Rohelio said he would and dropped Bob at a decent sized Library in an old red brick building.
While he had expected it to be old, dim and musty, he found it to be modern and airy inside.
Billy Boy had said he was some type of It guy or some such and maybe he could get the man onto one of the computers and have him start doing what he could to help get things going. If the internet was still up maybe he could even start hunting down those survivalist websites the media was always railing against and actually download some useful information on how to make things.
The librarian was more than helpful when he told her what he needed and he soon had a pile of out of town phone books to look through.
He started with trucking warehouses and common carrier distribution centers, as well as wholesale food sellers and even firearms manufacturers and gun stores.
Before he knew it Rohelio was sitting before him.
“You think I could get a few volunteers to help me with this?” he asked as the Pilipino just looked at him. After a second he got the feeling that the man wasn’t just here to deliver a list and an address.
“What is it? Is Bernadette ok?” He asked.
“As far as I know she is fine” he replied “they found Billy Boy, the guy that came in with you”
“Found him? I had no idea he was lost” Bob said and started to look through another phonebook.
He looked up again.
“Found him how?” He asked then, already feeling like he knew the answer.
“Dead. Throat slit from ear to ear, nothing was taken from him and no one saw a thing. It looks like someone lured him into a corn field and killed him there” Rohelio said.
Bob took it all in for a few minutes.
“Any idea why?” He asked.
“I was going to ask you the same thing, first we thought it might be a homophobic thing, but no one else has been attacked, then we thought it might have something to do with you or your group; but what happened that was special to your group but not the others. We’ll keep looking into it. Something is bound to turn up; I mean I was there last night too and I didn’t see anything odd or out of place; except for myself of course”
Then he dropped the list and the address sheet in front of the Accountant and turned to walk out.
“We’ll send someone at about five to come and get you, and then we’ll go over what you found”
He actually didn’t Know Billy Boy that well, but Bernadette had spent the most time with him and he guessed it would hit her harder than it did him. He had seen so many people die in the last week he was becoming almost numb to it.
He opened up the list and was surprised at what it contained, while food and other expected items were on there, the majority of the list was machines and heavy equipment. Presses and lathes and, types of bar stock, Filters and oils and milling machines.
He could guess that there wasn’t a lot of manufacturing going on in what was often called fly over country, but if this was one of the only places that had active power then it only made sense that it should be the new manufacturing base for a recovery.
He quickly went through the phone books he had and made a few lists then asking for the county by county maps he made copies and went to work.
An hour later he was standing back before the Ex governor as well as some other people he guessed were his advisors and laid out his plan.
“I have made a list of the nearer things that we can hopefully recover, just as a preliminary run to work out any bugs and assess our methods and tactics, out load outs and ROI, Return on investment. Think of it as a shakedown cruise for a new ship”
“Or as an Army squads trial by fire” a man in uniform said “Find out what vehicles work best, which men can work well together and who can make the cut and who can’t”
“Exactly. I have made a map with the best route to take to get the most items on the list before the trucks are full in Blue, alternate routes of something comes up in Green and emergency escape routes as well as meeting points in case something goes horribly wrong in red. We might also think of having a few vehicles ready in case we need a rescue mission or one or more of the vehicles get in capacitated or break down on the way or coming back”
“We’ll have everyone log times and fuel consumption, how long it takes to scavenge and load up specific items; any other items they come across that they thing could be useful or other observations they make”
Everyone nodded their agreement to this.
“I knew Rohelio was right to suggest you. We’ll get everything ready for tomorrow morning” the ex Governor said “On a personal note; I am sorry for what happened to your friend; we will do everything we can to find out who did that”
“I didn’t know him that well, we were just riding partners when his truck broke down. He was just some computer guy looking for a safe place to keep himself alive”
At that Hanrahan and one of his advisors looked at each other briefly.
“You’ve earned a rest, go and check out your news digs; Rohelio will send a few guys to help you secure a few things that will make it homier”
Rohelio dropped him in front of an abandoned coffee shop, and handed him the key. He went in and found that it still smelled mildly of ground coffee and had books still in the shelf along one wall. It held plenty of tables though which would come in handy for his work; and it looked like the manager’s office though small and cramped looking with its desk and file cabinets as well as unused stock of coffee mugs and cups, would make a passable bedroom for one of them.
Soon two men showed up in a pickup truck, carrying a double bed and some other furniture for him, and they helped clear out the things he didn’t need.
Nothing was wasted and they piled it all in the back of the truck, the scrap paper would be used as fire starters, the mugs and cups would go to the bar of the refugee center, even the bric-a-brac on the shelves would be repurposed.
He arranged everything to his liking and set up an office right by the front window, with the file cabinets labeled for types of salvage, locations of salvage, what salvage needed to be kept together and how much they would need.
Satisfied he walked down the street to the Emergency care center and saw Bernadette again.
She was still sweaty and feverish, just coming in and out as she alternately called and cursed her kids; crying about someone named Phil and yelling at her husband. The few times she did come out of it she just asked for water; which Bob gave her through a stray.
Just one day ago and this would have been fatal.
Just one week ago and it wouldn’t even had been a problem.
Bob found a piece of paper and added medical supplies and equipment, and made a note to look up the locations of all the hospitals within 400 miles of their location.
Unusually spent for so early in the evening, he walked back home and fell into his new bed, not bothering to undress.
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Post by warsparrow on Aug 22, 2014 12:54:51 GMT -6
Bob Story Part 3
Seven days since Zero hour.
Chapter 1
Alcohol and offers.
It was almost hilarious when the entire convoy anted up and all they could come up with was $13.
A week ago no one would have left the house with less than $20 on them, but the world had changed and what everyone thought was the end all be all of needed items suddenly became less important than a can opener, or a back pack, a stout knife or even a decent pair of socks.
Bob said he would take care of it and went to the bartender.
“Got any Gin?” he asked the bar man.
“Yep, but it won’t be cheap, microbrewers we got, but when’s the last time you ever heard of a Kansas whiskey or a Idaho Scotch?”
Bob rolled a gold maple leaf across the counter to the man.
“That should cover my group’s whole bill and leave the bottle” He said.
People talked and conversed and a few cried as they sat in the crowded bar/ restaurant.
Bernadette let everyone know that their tab had been covered by Bob and that they were free to order whatever they wanted.
He sat at the bar alone with his bottle of gin and a huge steak, fresh cut fries and a salad, Just enjoying the feeling of having a full belly for once in what seemed like a long time.
A well dressed man sat across the bar from him, he looked to be Latin American or maybe Puerto Rican.
Bob put him out of his mind as a few people came over to thank him for the food and generosity.
Soon the well dressed man was sitting next to him, and he thought for certain the man would hit on him.
Instead he said something that made his skin turn cold.
“Hello Tubby” he said casually while sipping a water.
Bobs hand slid down his leg to his FEG.
He didn’t want to kill a man in a bar in front of all of these people but he wouldn’t hesitate either.
“Relax” he smiled, looking casually around the bar.
“I’m former Special Agent Rohelio Bagram” he said and held out his hand, Bob didn’t take it.
“I took credit for your murder in the desert, it allowed me to infiltrate the southern California smugglers and make a huge bust”
Bob thought about that for a moment.
“Rohelio?” Bob asked, He realized the one shot of Alcohol he had was already affecting him “Pilipino?”
“Yep, but I could pass myself off as other, truth is those gangs didn’t care”
“What are you doing here?” Bob asked suspiciously.
“recruiting, you get good and drunk tonight; fill your belly with some locally grown goodness and tomorrow I’ll take you to meet my new boss” He said and walked away.
Speaking of where he would be sleeping He called the bartender over and asked him.
“Well all of the local hotels are full, and the school’s been turned into a refugee center, but nothing says you and your group can’t head out back and set yourselves up a nice gypsy camp” He replied.
Bob nodded his thanks and called Bernadette over, who was drinking a beer and dancing to the tunes of ABBA on the jukebox with Billy Boy.
He had the bartender repeat what he said because by now Bob was feeling the effects of the high end alcohol.
He realized then that he had had enough and asked if he could get a to go box, then taking the bottle with him he stumbled to the door.
Luckily the rest of the riders had been busy and had moved all the other cars back behind the bar, where an open field was dotted with similar enclaves of circled vehicles, much like the wagon trains circling for the night in the old Movies.
He woke with a head ache and a back ache from sleeping in his car. He was going to need to find a blanket or something soon.
Bernadette was curled up in the back seat and he had no Idea what had happened to Billy Boy.
On the passenger side floor was a sports drink, the bottle of gin and his food from the night before, as well as a bottle of aspirin.
He got out, did his business in some convenient bushes, took the Aspirin and washed it down with the drink then climbed on top of the Duster’s flat hood and fell asleep again.
He woke to Bernadette shaking him.
“You have a visitor” She said.
“Thanks for last night by the way”
Last night?
Had he done something last night to Bernadette?
“No we didn’t do that” She said reading his face “You bought everybody food and drinks and let me sleep in the car”
The Pilipino was waiting for him with a newer Cadillac.
“Did you get my gifts?” He asked.
Bob knew he was referring to the Sports drink and aspirin.
Bob nodded and got into the passenger seat, putting the carbine next to the seat, just in case.
Rohelio Just looked over briefly and then started the car.
“Seat belt” he said.
“What if we get ambushed?” Bob asked.
“Your safe here” the Former Special Agent said and waited as Bob put the belt on.
If he had expected to be led to a palatial estate he was sadly mistaken, the Drivers employer was in an old store front down the road form an Armada Inn.
Rohelio parked and led him to the front door, then past two guards.
A man who looked like he hadn’t slept in days offered a cup of coffee to Bob, he gratefully accepted.
Bob took a seat to wait as the man sat down at a desk and started looking over papers.
“How many people did you kill before all this happened?” He asked suddenly.
“None” bobs reply was automatic.
“How about after?” He took off his half glasses and looked up at the accountant.
“Just me or all together?” Bob said.
“However you want” The man replied.
“I’ll say seven then” Bob replied suspiciously.
“Roughly one a day, and that was just you or immediately near you; think about how many some of the hardcore bastards have killed in that time; I don’t think this country is going to be coming back from this” The man said.
Bob realized with a start that this man was the Person he was supposed to come and see.
He had been expecting an office, or at the least a secretary.
The man stood and shook his hand.
“I’m former Govenor Michael Hanrahan” he said.
“I’m sorry, I don’t live here and didn’t vote for you” Bob said.
“Not many people did, that’s why I’m Former Governor” He sat back down “If I was current Govenor, it would be sitting in a bunker somewhere eating Freeze dried lobster and drinking 20 year old scotch”
Bob had to smile at that.
“So you have met my recruiter, and he recommended you; you to apparently have a history of sorts” he said shuffling some more papers.
Bob just nodded, he had expected the hard sell.
“So do you want the long or the short of it?” The former Governor asked.
“I’ve got nothing but time right now, so I might as well have the long version” Bob replied.
“Ok then, I hope I can count on you to keep most of what we talk about between us, just in case you decline”
Bob nodded his affirmation.
“Good” Then he opened a folder and handed a picture to Bob.
“This is one of the last Satellite images we were able to download before we were locked out of the loop”
It was nighttime shot of the United States and everything in a line east of Thunder Bay all the way down to Texas was dark all the way to the coast and almost to Florida.
“One of our internet activists managed to pull in some second hand accounts about an explosion between Evansville and Loisville” He said.
“A hacker?” Bob asked. “It’s like calling an illegal Alien and undocumented worker, Control the language and you control the discussion. Yes a ‘hacker’ but since he’s on our side he an ‘internet activist’”
“My people estimate the initial EMP burst, if that is what it was, had an almost 400 miles radius; and that was before it traveled up the power lines or along the railroad tracks” He stopped to take another swig of coffee.
“You’re from Ohio right?” he asked not waiting for an answer “It’s the tenth most populous state in the union; we heard about Columbus by the way, sorry to hear that”
“I’m going to assume you know about what the National Guard was doing right?” he looked directly at Bob.
“Rounding up the families of active service members, yeah I saw it first hand; Pulled right up to the front door with a HumVee armed with a grenade launcher on top and putting women and children into the backs of trucks”
“That was three days ago, now they’re wounding up everybody; especially people fleeing to get her like you did; we’ even have reports of them burning farms and shooting the farm animal; not to eat but just to deny them to the people who don’t want to go into the Camp at Wright Patterson”
The Ex governor looked ready to spit.
He stood again and looked out the window.
“We received an order to send every kernel of corn and every grain of wheat, along with all our live stock east” He looked over at Bob.
“If you do that, what are your people going to eat?” bob asked.
“We tried the same tact, they just repeated the order” Hanrahan replied.
“So I asked to speak with the current Governor and get his opinion, in response they sent some armed men with a ‘Regional Director’ who was to take charge of this state and the States around it under some Continuation of Government Order”
“What happened to him?” bob asked.
“His body guards are dead, after trying to kill me; and he is rotting in a cell in Lincoln”
“So in short, you are not the legally recognized person in charge here” Bob said.
Hanrahan looked at him for a moment.
“We have heard nothing from the President, he have heard nothing from the cabinet, we haven’t even heard anything from our own Governor; and so far I’m the only one with experience who has stepped up; hell even the ‘regional Director’ they sent was some kind of political appointee of the President from like five years ago; he was some kind of professor Emeritus from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh with a degree in Political Rhetoric and Liberal Arts or some crap”
Again the Ex Governor looked ready to spit.
“Which is what brings us to you. I’m told that you have some experience in accounting and the locating of assets. I’ve got plenty of accountants and all that but they have a certain squeamishness about going in to other states and finding what we are going to need in this Post Apocalyptic World that we are entering; not just finding it, but securing it and getting back here to where we can use it”
Bob thought it over for a few moments as he finished his coffee.
“What kind of authority do you have? And what kind of guarantees can you give me that I won’t get thrown to the wolves if the lights come back on in a week?”
“I’ll write anything you ask and have it notarized and sealed in a vault if that’s what you want. Will you take the job?” He asked.
“What kind of resources? And what are our resources?” bob asked.
Hanrahan knew he had him then.
“You want trucks, I can get you trucks. Drivers? Escorts and Security? All you want. The clock is ticking and every second we sit on our hands more of it gets looted, broken, burned or turned into so much worthless scrap”
“I’m going to need a better place to work from than the hood of my car” bob said.
“We’re tight on space; how it works is single men share bunks at the refugee center, but families and couples can get their own rooms or take over one of the abandoned buildings that have popped up since the economy tanked a few years ago. I heard that you came in with a woman and another.. Uh..Gentlemen; and it’s none of my business if you want to claim them as your partner; but it will get you better accommodations”
Bob coughed at that; but it made sense.
“I’ll have to discuss it with them, but I think it will work out” Bob said and shook his new Bosses hand.
“How soon can you work something up? Like I said we’re pressed for time”
“If you have a local library with some yellow pages and can get me a list of wants; I can probably have something ready for you by late this afternoon” Bob Replied.
“Excellent”
With that bob left.
Chapter 2
Escherichia
Bernadette wasn’t feeling the best she had ever felt upon waking up in Bob’s car.
At first she put it down to eating too much good food after practically starving, and the excess beer she drank while dancing the night away to some bad seventies disco, then she thought maybe it was stress related from finally reaching a safe spot to rest.
When her insides turned to water she knew it was something else.
She drank the rest of Bob Sports drink and made sure she had plenty of water to put into herself, but she started feeling weak and dizzy and had to lay down next to the car to rest.
Bob found her there burning up.
Rohelio had dropped him off and was more than willing to help get her to the closest emergency care center.
They looked her over and decided she needed some IV’s and antibiotics.
“Don’t worry, this isn’t the first case we’ve seen of someone drinking bad water; we’ll have your wife up and well in no time” the head nurse told him.
He decided then to head to the library and start getting into his new job; just to take his mind off of everything.
Your wife.
“ you know what Rohelio, Tell the Boss I will take him up on his housing offer; just have him drop off my new address when he delivers the list of items he needs” Rohelio said he would and dropped Bob at a decent sized Library in an old red brick building.
While he had expected it to be old, dim and musty, he found it to be modern and airy inside.
Billy Boy had said he was some type of It guy or some such and maybe he could get the man onto one of the computers and have him start doing what he could to help get things going. If the internet was still up maybe he could even start hunting down those survivalist websites the media was always railing against and actually download some useful information on how to make things.
The librarian was more than helpful when he told her what he needed and he soon had a pile of out of town phone books to look through.
He started with trucking warehouses and common carrier distribution centers, as well as wholesale food sellers and even firearms manufacturers and gun stores.
Before he knew it Rohelio was sitting before him.
“You think I could get a few volunteers to help me with this?” he asked as the Pilipino just looked at him. After a second he got the feeling that the man wasn’t just here to deliver a list and an address.
“What is it? Is Bernadette ok?” He asked.
“As far as I know she is fine” he replied “they found Billy Boy, the guy that came in with you”
“Found him? I had no idea he was lost” Bob said and started to look through another phonebook.
He looked up again.
“Found him how?” He asked then, already feeling like he knew the answer.
“Dead. Throat slit from ear to ear, nothing was taken from him and no one saw a thing. It looks like someone lured him into a corn field and killed him there” Rohelio said.
Bob took it all in for a few minutes.
“Any idea why?” He asked.
“I was going to ask you the same thing, first we thought it might be a homophobic thing, but no one else has been attacked, then we thought it might have something to do with you or your group; but what happened that was special to your group but not the others. We’ll keep looking into it. Something is bound to turn up; I mean I was there last night too and I didn’t see anything odd or out of place; except for myself of course”
Then he dropped the list and the address sheet in front of the Accountant and turned to walk out.
“We’ll send someone at about five to come and get you, and then we’ll go over what you found”
He actually didn’t Know Billy Boy that well, but Bernadette had spent the most time with him and he guessed it would hit her harder than it did him. He had seen so many people die in the last week he was becoming almost numb to it.
He opened up the list and was surprised at what it contained, while food and other expected items were on there, the majority of the list was machines and heavy equipment. Presses and lathes and, types of bar stock, Filters and oils and milling machines.
He could guess that there wasn’t a lot of manufacturing going on in what was often called fly over country, but if this was one of the only places that had active power then it only made sense that it should be the new manufacturing base for a recovery.
He quickly went through the phone books he had and made a few lists then asking for the county by county maps he made copies and went to work.
An hour later he was standing back before the Ex governor as well as some other people he guessed were his advisors and laid out his plan.
“I have made a list of the nearer things that we can hopefully recover, just as a preliminary run to work out any bugs and assess our methods and tactics, out load outs and ROI, Return on investment. Think of it as a shakedown cruise for a new ship”
“Or as an Army squads trial by fire” a man in uniform said “Find out what vehicles work best, which men can work well together and who can make the cut and who can’t”
“Exactly. I have made a map with the best route to take to get the most items on the list before the trucks are full in Blue, alternate routes of something comes up in Green and emergency escape routes as well as meeting points in case something goes horribly wrong in red. We might also think of having a few vehicles ready in case we need a rescue mission or one or more of the vehicles get in capacitated or break down on the way or coming back”
“We’ll have everyone log times and fuel consumption, how long it takes to scavenge and load up specific items; any other items they come across that they thing could be useful or other observations they make”
Everyone nodded their agreement to this.
“I knew Rohelio was right to suggest you. We’ll get everything ready for tomorrow morning” the ex Governor said “On a personal note; I am sorry for what happened to your friend; we will do everything we can to find out who did that”
“I didn’t know him that well, we were just riding partners when his truck broke down. He was just some computer guy looking for a safe place to keep himself alive”
At that Hanrahan and one of his advisors looked at each other briefly.
“You’ve earned a rest, go and check out your news digs; Rohelio will send a few guys to help you secure a few things that will make it homier”
Rohelio dropped him in front of an abandoned coffee shop, and handed him the key. He went in and found that it still smelled mildly of ground coffee and had books still in the shelf along one wall. It held plenty of tables though which would come in handy for his work; and it looked like the manager’s office though small and cramped looking with its desk and file cabinets as well as unused stock of coffee mugs and cups, would make a passable bedroom for one of them.
Soon two men showed up in a pickup truck, carrying a double bed and some other furniture for him, and they helped clear out the things he didn’t need.
Nothing was wasted and they piled it all in the back of the truck, the scrap paper would be used as fire starters, the mugs and cups would go to the bar of the refugee center, even the bric-a-brac on the shelves would be repurposed.
He arranged everything to his liking and set up an office right by the front window, with the file cabinets labeled for types of salvage, locations of salvage, what salvage needed to be kept together and how much they would need.
Satisfied he walked down the street to the Emergency care center and saw Bernadette again.
She was still sweaty and feverish, just coming in and out as she alternately called and cursed her kids; crying about someone named Phil and yelling at her husband. The few times she did come out of it she just asked for water; which Bob gave her through a stray.
Just one day ago and this would have been fatal.
Just one week ago and it wouldn’t even had been a problem.
Bob found a piece of paper and added medical supplies and equipment, and made a note to look up the locations of all the hospitals within 400 miles of their location.
Unusually spent for so early in the evening, he walked back home and fell into his new bed, not bothering to undress.
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Post by 223shootersc on Aug 22, 2014 13:43:51 GMT -6
thanks for another great start, need MOAR
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Post by millwright on Aug 22, 2014 19:01:15 GMT -6
Shift into dealing with post TEOTWAWKI....
This is where real skills will come into play.
Before this stage, its all about survival.
Good start.
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