Together Again - Buildup to a disaster

[longbow]

The store shelves will be empty again if you keep this $htuff up!

 

[longbow]

Copyright, Longbow Entertainment a Division of Upland Hills

Beth has the cold wind of reality hitting her. After about an hour of talking about what will be happening, you could see it click. She wants to be on our team, but does not have much to offer. They are going to move into our basement and set up. All they want to bring is the bunk beds and one bed for her.

She is offering her house to serve as building supplies for the super weatherization of our house. She wants nothing to do with the home that her husband committed suicide. We are going to move out what they need and bring it up in a few trips. The house does not have much, so the move will not take up much of the day.

Clothing, bedding and some furniture were rolled up on some push carts and the van. Our basement is a walk out and we just parked by the doo r and unloaded. The washer and dryer she has and most of the other appliances are very old, but work, so we stacked them in the garage for spares. Everything they had of value had already be sold or pawned.

The garage at Beth’s home was your typical garage. In the attic were 7 rolls of insulation that will come in handy. Chuck was going to insulate the attic of the house for winter and put them out of the way so the mice would not get them. There were also about 20 sheets of metal roof deck and large boxes of nails. Everything else we left in place. They had about three days of food and they are keeping it in the basement. $100 dollars is all they have in cash, and she had not paid his last quarter of life insurance payment. He died without any insurance, but who knows if they would pay with everything going down. Everything they needed, took up less than 200 sq ft of my basement.

The government survival website was written for 5th graders! We were able to get on it by 9:30 PM. Everyone signed up for the census and grain deliveries will start within a week. They provide the grain, we have to provide the containers. We also have to go to the grain collection sites. Those sites could be 5 or 20 miles away. I have two new galvanized trash cans that will be perfect to transport, but don’t know if they will let me use it. How long that lasts and how much they give us is unknown. My guess is about 150 lbs of grain in each can. Other items will be at the site, and we must bring our bar coded food sheet to complete the order. Each person has a bar code and we need to protect it.

CBS news was showing the rivers of people leaving the west coast. It was orderly, but people are wanting to know when FEMA will help them. I’d say they are hours or days away from riots. There is no way; 25 million people on the move can be helped. Thankfully, none of my family lives out that way.

A longer ground shock or earthquake just rolled past and this one was more intense, but only enough to cause the hanging lights to sway. Power went out again and we debated turning on the generator. The radio was turned on and we decided to call it a day.
A Moderate earthquake has hit Memphis but it is too early for any damage reports. The quake was in the 5.5 range. At least the wave coming up the river will not be too bad.

Looking out the window, the police have pulled over someone on the hill about a ½ mile away. Busted for breaking curfew!

 

[9mmfan]

 

[nawainwright]

dude, if you get into this and pull it again......I'll drive back there and smack you around before I start begging.

 

[sbcman]

His kids and wife are also active in the church and they will be a good match for our little group.

Finally something about religion. I've wondered why this topic hasn't been brought up more in both your books. But, I'm a Christian and a pastor, so maybe I look for these elements more than others.

Keep up the great work!

 

[1911Shooter]

I am having withdrawl symptons over here.

 

[cburnworth]

longbow how about doing a thread for just the story & then an additional thread for posting comments?

 

[longbow]

Copyright, Longbow Entertainment a Division of Upland Hills

“Can I have you drivers license and registration please and you are aware it is 20 minutes past curfew” said Officer Riley. Barb said she is trying to get home, but it took longer than she thought. He noticed the two ladies were more than a little nervous. If everything checks out, they will be back on the road in 5 minutes and he can head back to town. “Who is your friend in the car” asked the officer. The lady in the passenger seat said Sally Garrett .


I’m giving you a warning for curfew and you both need to get home right now. This will expire in 30 minutes and if you are pulled over after that time, you are going to jail. Now get home and drive safe. I will be behind you following you into to town. The clock is ticking.


Barb and Sally laughed as they headed back to town! They had spotted one of the guys at the home down by the creek about a ¼ mile behind them. In the garage was the back end of the truck she had shot at and was going to make an example of him after curfew ends in the morning. She had 3 other people that were going to raid this place and take back what should have been hers at the Kroger. The place he is at is small, but it is much nicer than the little section 8 apartment she and her new man has.


Mailman Mike finished getting the rest of the gear and food from the house and put it in the two wheeled wheelbarrow. He turned around, locked the house and put the note for the coroner telling where the body is buried. At least the house was cleaned up and secure. They had shut off the power, and drained the water from the pipes. The house looked like the owners packed for a few hours and took only the needed items. It didn’t matter that the owner was less than 800 feet away, she was not coming back.
He arrived back at the house and said he needs to share what he has been working on. The meeting will be in the garage and everyone needs to bring paper and a local map.

Carrie and Cassie were setting up the picnic chairs as the families started to arrive and ask what all the secrecy is.

 

[longbow]

Copyright, Longbow Entertainment a Division of Upland Hills
Evening Everyone!

What I have just handed you will get me fired if you tell or show anyone outside of this little group. Each post office keeps a list. . Mainly it is for troublemakers and who has mean dogs, but also we share this list with the police and IRS at times. All the employees who make mail deliveries has this map in the vehicle and it is updated as we see fit. I also have added a few notes based on some of mail and packages I have dropped off over the years.

I mainly used it for keeping an eye on older residents and mean dogs. I actually saved a few lives by noticing who is not getting the mail. However, that is not what we are going to talk about.

RED map is for troublemakers and GREEN map is for like-minded people.
The red marks for drug dealers, criminals, sex offenders, drunks and people we think are up to funny business. These are from court records, observations or word on the street. This list is very accurate and has kept postal delivery people safe for years.

Green marks are for people who I know, that are doing what we are doing to survive. They also are for people we could ask for help. Over the years I have noticed things, and made mental notes of what people are doing for my own protection.

Before these events, none of you made this list. You are just normal, average people. That will make a difference with the local powers that be, are looking for items. People on the list, good and bad are about to be in a world of hurt, depending on how this list is used by the police and elected officials.

We need to lay low for the next week or so, or until the “purge is done”.

I think the police and some vigilantes are about to deal some justice on the red sites. I’ve already heard at least two of the red sites mentioned on the scanner this afternoon.

When I was at work, my boss asked me to update the list with all the trouble going on. In his office was the Sherriff, and that set off the alarms. All of the delivery people updated the red list. No one added any new green list sites. I think we all knew what was about to happen and didn’t want to hurt any more of the good people. It was too late to remove any green list sites, but I think my boss will be destroying the green list map. I even have doubts the Sherriff or elected officials even know about the green list.

The second handout is what ended up “lost in the mail”. I could go to jail for this and I need the copies back. These are the instructions from FEMA to the County Emergency Management Coordinator. They sent two copies to our county by mistake. I took the copy that was to go to the previous coordinator who retired last fall.

We have in our hands the plans for dealing the crisis and we need to stay below the radar. We need to ask for aid, pick up the aid and look like we are not well prepared. We cannot talk about what we have or will have outside of this group, or we risk having it taken.

The plan covers the next two years, and only the first six months is laid out. In about a month, when the weather gets cold, payments for homes, and other loans will be suspended till the crisis is over. People who have jobs in food production, energy and vital replacement parts industries will be paid a premium and be first in line for food and fuel. It looks like they will bribe you to keep you working. Three of us fall into those jobs and we should car pool as long as we can.

Take a few minutes to read the environmental description and prediction data and then we can adjust our cold weather plans.

 

[cavemike]

look like it is on now

 

[9mmfan]

 

[AngryRooster]

 

[grunt soldier]

now we are getting into the meat and potatoes sir

 

[Kedric]

Wow, amazing story so far, subbed and looking forward to the next installment!

 

[longbow]

Copyright, Longbow Entertainment a Division of Upland Hills

I’ll just sum up the bad news, and then we can cook the brats over the wood fire.

I just wrote down everything Mailman Mike said. Today, I started a Journal, because we can’t rely on the computers and power always being around.

At the peak of the long winter, temperatures will be 25 degrees or colder compared to the last winter. Snow fall will be less, so at least we won’t be buried in snow and very cold temperatures. The cold period will not be long enough for glaciers to form, but the snow cover is going to take longer to go away. The next clear sky and hot summer could be years away. Not everything is bad, but the haze might be around for a long time. They are stating in the document the super volcano might take years to quiet down.
The part that has me worried is the depth of the freeze they are predicting. Right now, it doesn’t get below 2 feet. Through dumb luck, I built the foundation and water lines down to 4 feet, because I used the Chicago area freeze line depths when the contractor did his thing. The prediction is almost 6 feet for this zone! The water lines in most of this area are at best 3 feet down, and that will destroy the pipes and make the water systems useless at the peak of the freeze and useless during the warming period.

Our well is 100 feet south of the house and the water line will need more cover, or we need to dig down part of the way and insulate above it to hold the heat. We have the dirt, but not any insulation. Sounds like the dirt cover wins by default.
The idea of a warming shelter for the coldest of cold days is what we are going to build, but we haven’t picked a spot.

A few prayers are in order at the moment, because 4 families are going to move into this shelter and space is a premium. The best idea floated is tearing apart the two camping trailers and rebuilding them in the basement to create super insulated rooms, and use the rest of the home as an airlock. The problem is the basement is not much more than 700 square feet.

The smell of the brats cooking was the signal to put the concerns of the day to a rest. These matters will be attacked in the morning after a good night’s rest, and we might even dream up some better ideas……………………………….

Mike took over the morning watch at 8 AM. He turned on the FRS radio and beeped the code that he was in the covered fox hole to watch the main road and the side street that passed the house. Everyone was using the beep codes so that others in the area would not have a clue as to what we were doing. Today he brought his 1917 rifle and Dad’s 1911. Before he took over his shift, he joked that 100 years ago, other Americans were in the trenches with the same weapons. But there was a difference, the scope on the rifle was much better and help was a few beeps away.

Three cars topped the hill and the last one was going too fast and almost lost it when it landed back on the road. In just a few seconds they made the right turn and first two cars went right for Beth’s home and the last car was acting as cover for the intersection.

Mike just watched them until they slowed to turn. At that point he brought his rifle up. He covered the gate to see if they were going to crash through it and the old Ford. They didn’t and went right to Beth’s home. The first car went for the front and second drove to the side. The people came out shooting and tossed one firebomb at the house. It landed on the metal roof and burned. The smoke from the fire and the gun fire got the attention of the rest of the families.

He noticed the car on the road only had one person, and that was the first he shot. One shot, one kill was what he was thinking to control his breathing. With all the gunfire, no one at Beth’s home noticed, and they kept shooting at the windows and walls. With a 45 Degree turn of his shoulders he started picking out targets. The next person he shot was an older man with green hair and a purple beard he had some type of weapon he thought was a semi auto 308. The shot hit him dead center in his back between his shoulder blades. The old guy went down and so did the lady to his left. She was screaming she was shot, and was hit by a bullet or bone fragments. He noticed who she was yelling at and pointed the rifle at him. He was a skinny looking meth head and he could see all the sores on his face. The next shot hit the guy in upper chest and he was down.

Another cycle of the bolt and he was up looking for more targets. A teenager with an AK 47 that just didn’t sound right was shooting up the side of the home. Another squeeze of the trigger and the bullet hit the target but missed his chest. The impact hit his right bicep and grazed his upper chest. He was down, but not out of the picture. Three rounds were pushed into the gun and he was looking for more targets.

Up at the house, no one had a good view of the shooting and Mike was not answering the radio. Gunfire from the foxhole said he was alive, but it sounded like three of four people were shooting back at him, and Beth’s home was on fire.

The screaming lady popped up at the fence line with a few wounds on her face and arm. She was looking for whoever was shooting at them and not even trying to hide. She had no concept of cover or concealment and she went down from a head shot at 100 feet.
The wounded kid and the other lady got in the car and tried to escape. They were shooting in the wrong directions and none of the spray and pray shots came close. The shot kid was deflected by the glass and the head shot turned into a lower jaw removal shot. He was alive, but his lower jaw was removed and a mess of flesh remained. The car swerved into a tree and the lady was face planted into the windshield and knocked out.

The shooting had stopped. None of the hit targets were moving and he waited for help. He could hear the help running in the weeds and new they were close behind him. They yelled out the code and he gave the correct reply. Three more showed up to reinforce him.

They waited 5 minutes before moving closer. That gave the bad guys some time to bleed and them some time to get a better view. All four of them called targets and put two more round each in them. The only one that was not already dead was the lady knocked out cold. Mike put a round in her chest and then in her head.

The battle was over and they waited another half hour to pass before checking things out.

Up at the house, they tried to call the police, but the car must have hit the phone box stub next to the driveway at Beth’s house. They had lost phone and internet connection, plus at least another 100 homes in the area shared the same fate.

A Police officer arrived about an hour later. One officer in a shot up Dodge Charger who had the 1,000 mile stare. He took names of the dead and asked us to put them in the one car that was wrecked by the tree. The officer asked us if we wanted the guns and cars. We said sure and he handed the keys and guns to us. One tossed road flare from him was all it took to start the damaged car on fire. The car, bodies and our most recent problem was being consumed in a rolling fire.

The names and faces of the dead looters didn’t mean anything to us. The addresses of the people shot were within a few blocks of the burnt out Kroger. The Police officer said the poor side of town is branching out, and this has been happening all over the area. The lady named Sally Garrett was stopped just up the road last night and was most likely looking for places to rob.

No formal report was taken, the officer said he made mental notes and might be back, but doubted it. He did ask that we toss in some more wood to burn up the bodies “real good” because they will stink if not completely burnt up. Other than that, he said, “don’t waste any time on them. You all need to get ready for the cold.” He shook our hands and was gone.

 

[strahd71]

Sally straight up got stanked!

jake

 

[Westside]

ooooohhhh baby this is getting good. how are the food stores doing?

 

[Plinker]

I'm looking forward to the next entry from Longbow, hopefully tonight?

 

[longbow]

Copyright, Longbow Entertainment a Division of Upland Hills

Beth cried as she walked around her home. Every window was broken, most of the doors were full of bullet holes, and the main breaker tripped from a bullet hitting the circuit breaker box. The place was a mess. She told us we can use her place for supplies and materials to build the cold weather shelter. The metal roof saved the house from burning down, and even the metal roof will serve a new purpose.

None of us had a clue for the reason on the attempted hit on the place, and most likely never will. Random events don’t have meaning, but we still have to deal with them.

I was able to salvage the air filter box and mass air sensor from the truck to keep mine running. Her truck took a few hits to the engine and radiator, but other parts might be of use. The tractor should be able to move it later in the day.

Mike is doing alright; we are keeping him talking and said he’s glad he could help protect us. As long as he looks at bad guys as targets, he doesn’t think it will drive him crazy.

Less than 10 shots were fired to put down the attackers. Another 10 rounds were used to make sure they were all dead. We gained two crappy cars and a mix “used weapons” and ammo that we can use or trade. Two of our neighbors stopped by and asked who we pissed off, but other than that they are keeping distant.

The girls said the light is less today. We don’t have a light meter, but they used the digital camera to take a picture and noticed it one larger F stop to take the same picture today compared to two days ago. My wife, with the nose that knows, said she could smell a whiff of brake or welding fume smell in the air.

Two of the kids are working on the puzzle that was the phone box. The damage was not too bad, but they are trying to figure out why all the phones don’t work. It looks like the power to the box is damaged, versus the lines to each of the home. When they find the power line they will make the repair. It is low voltage, so when they find the problem, they won’t get fried…………….

The shopping team has returned in the U-Haul box truck, and were honking at us as they passed. It was our time to shop again. They said the grocery store was restocked and they took the debit cards for payment. They spent all they had and made three trips in and out of store. Police were at the door, in the parking lot and walking around the store. They loaded up on long shelf life items. Not nearly enough for the long winter, but more than a few days ago. If we do the grain storage right, we might make it.

The cold will make it easier to store the beef we are about to slaughter. There is enough hay to feed them till it gets cold, and then we will smoke, salt and freeze what we can.

The kids were yelling they fixed to phone box! The hit to the box had pulled the connection for the power to the phone lines out, but it still “looked “connected. The volt meter found it, but they had to walk a mile over to the next phone box that looked the same and find out why it worked and ours did not.

The message light was on and the internet was working again. Two family members called and want to come over, but they have to travel over 1,000 miles west from the east coast. Without supplies and housing we have no choice but to say no. Our fear is they are still going to show up.

The internet is saying grain handouts will be starting in two days and you need to bring your own containers. They are going to allow 100 lbs per person for the first handout. The disclaimer says you need to have the proper storage containers to prevent spoilage. Our time is from 9 AM to 10 AM and others in the group are in the afternoon. Grains include corn and wheat, but we have to make it into flour. The only mill we have can hold a pint of grain at one time.

 

[starbreather]

Ahhh