The Unraveling: Book 1 of the Bound to Survive Series

by Charley Hogwood

  “I would be happy to. When is good for you?”

  “Mondays are usually slow out there, does that work for you?”

  “Mondays are usually rough in the morning trying to get everyone out to job sites but I can do afternoon.”

  “Sounds good. Here’s the address on our business card. I’ll see you then.”

  Cal was embarrassingly terrible with names.

  “What was your name again?”

  “Lucy, just like it says on the card,” she smirked.

  7

  Chapter 7

  Saturday, December 31st

  Wellington, Florida

  Dr. Mark Welby lived in a gated golf course and country club community near the Polo Grounds in Wellington, Florida. Mark had no interest in the clubhouse, but it was nice to have a golf course in the backyard for the weekly exercise. It was one of those evenings where the sun settled behind the tropical clouds bringing the darkness a little early, and the mosquitos awoke from their vampire-like sleep to swarm the countryside in search for blood.

  Mark was out on the back patio by their pool, preparing the grill for the evening’s cookout. Clara was milling about, preparing the decorations and spraying for mosquitos.

  “We are in a screened in patio darling, why are you crop dusting?” Mark inquired.

  “You know as well as I do…Zika. You wrote a book on the subject, remember?”

  “Yes love, but if you’ll keep the doors closed I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

  Ignoring him, Clara walked around the pool deck trailing a cloud of fogger from a can. Mark sighed under his breath, shook his head, then proclaimed with mild sarcasm, “I love you sweetie, you are the most amazing wife in the world, how ever did I get so lucky.”

  Clara rolled her eyes, unfazed.

  The doorbell chimed and Mark walked through the house to answer. Opening the front door, he saw the whole gang had arrived.

  “Hey everyone, come on in.”

  Cal stepped in and began making the introductions as they filed into the foyer, and Mark had hugs and handshakes for all.

  “Clara is out on the lanai, there’s a cooler with beer by the grill and some bottles of wine on the table. Come on out and make yourselves at home.”

  “I brought a cooler with some fine Belgian Ales as well,” Cal added.

  “Ahh, a fellow beer snob. Very nice.” Mark laughed and began walking towards the patio.

  Clara, seeing the group approach, walked over, followed by a trail of bug spray in the air.

  “Hi everyone!”

  “This is my wife Clara. As you can see, she has been on a mission to poison the atmosphere out here.”

  “Oh stop, you old curmudgeon,” Clara shot back. Another round of greetings, hugs, and air kisses ensued.

  Cal and Mark huddled over by the grill.

  “Well, here we are, the Doomsday Club,” Cal said nervously, bringing a beer to his lips in what he hoped was a casual looking motion.

  Mark moved to calm Cal’s nerves. “Hey, that’s not a bad moniker. Every group needs a catchy name.”

  In typical male fashion, the rest of the guys grabbed beers from the coolers and set about pretending to inspect the roasting meat in some primal genetic requirement to see meat on a fire. The ladies gathered in the plush patio chairs and began the small talk about the lovely pool decorations, Caribbean music, and tasty wine. Just another day in suburbia.

  Mark announced the menu and Clara chided Mark’s homemade claim: “The potato salad is homemade, as in, it made it home from the deli.” Everyone laughed and the light mood was set for the evening.

  The chatter slowed as the group settled in and enjoyed the dinner. Everyone seemed to be on their best behavior and getting along great. About twenty minutes into dinner, Mark noticed a lull in the conversation and decided to swing the topic around to why he invited everyone here.

  “I’d like to thank everyone for joining us tonight. Cal and I have known each other professionally for a while and recently we discovered we had something in common. I presume you all have some concerns about things that may be on the horizon. So do we. I’m not really sure where to start but Clara and I have seen some bad things in our travels. We met while working overseas. The Ebola outbreak made us realize just how bad things can get when people become hungry and sick. We thought once we came home and settled down we could grow old and not worry about such things. Well, now we aren’t so sure. What I’m going to say will probably… definitely… sound crazy. We aren’t the kind of people to cry wolf but something is happening and I think it’s time to get ready for trouble just in case.”

  Everyone was quietly focused on the doctor. Rusty discreetly looked around the around the large patio table to monitor the reactions. Luckily, everyone seemed tuned in and not (yet) offended or scared.

  Mark continued.

  “Clara and I have learned that surviving in a major disaster event is extremely difficult to do alone. If we hadn’t been surrounded with such solid colleagues in Guinea or Liberia, we would have probably been lost with so many other good people before help arrived. If I go too far, please let me know.” There were no signs that Mark was losing anyone’s attention, but Charlotte was reaching for the wine.

  “I’m not sure how much Cal has told you, but I am on the infectious disease crisis response team at the hospital. I’m also the CDC liaison for the County Emergency Operations Center. We conduct weekly conference calls with the CDC and statewide health departments throughout the southeast. By the way, please keep this information close to the vest. I have a feeling it may not matter in the future, but for now there’s no reason to panic people.” Heads around the table nodded in agreement.

  “There is something odd going on with this flu season. The mortality rate is significantly higher than we would expect at this time of the year. The shot is not working. At this point I’m not sure if the new strain is natural or something else.”

  Shane interrupted, “What exactly do you mean, something else?”

  Mark considered his response for a moment while looking around the table. He decided to go for it.

  “To make a nuclear weapon, you need plutonium, uranium, centrifuges, and all kinds of highly specialized equipment. But to make a bioterror weapon, all you need is a mediocre scientist, some decent bacteria, and a sucker who is willing to die for his cause.”

  “Are you saying we are under a bioterror attack?” Shane was now focused like a laser, and his voice wavered just slightly.

  Everyone around the table seemed to be trying to get comfortable in their chair at the same time, and Charlotte unconsciously reached for Cal’s hand to steady herself in her thoughts. Mark wondered just how insane he must sound right now, but decided to commit to the possibility and push through.

  “I’m saying that viruses have always been a major threat to humanity, but people are just as much a threat, if not more.

  “The current theory has this strain of flu coming out of South America. The beginnings of this illness have been traced to that area. Venezuela is a no-go for anyone right now. To be honest, the last we heard was the government had seized control of all medical supplies for ‘better distribution to those who need them.’ The CDC has a team in Colombia but the border between the two nations has become a hot zone of insurgency and paranoia. The World Health Organization and other NGOs have withdrawn from the area for safety and frankly, at this point, no one seems to know what’s going on.”

  Cal raised his hand and asked, “Uh…What’s an NGO?”

  “Sorry, an NGO is a Non-Government Organization. They are usually non-profit groups that have funds raised by governments but are not operated by governments. They provide aid in times of crisis around the world. Doctors Without Borders and CARE International are a couple of examples. Actually, fun fact, CARE International coined the term Care Package in World War II.”

  “Oh that’s cool,” Charlotte chimed in with a giggle. “Whoops, go on Mark, sorry.”

&nbs
p; Cal had to roll his eyes at that one, but was secretly glad to see that she was keeping her sense of humor together.

  “With all this being said, Clara and I would like to plan for a possible event here, and either join or form a small group that can help each other in case this gets to be a problem.”

  Cal looked around the table. Other than the slightly concerned faces and noticeably emptier bottle of wine, he didn’t see anyone on the verge of puking at the thought of needing to prepare for a deadly pandemic. He decided to take the lead.

  “Well, you heard the good doctor, does anyone have any questions or concerns at this point?” Looking around, Cal could almost hear the gears turning in everyone’s mind. Being the project manager of the group, Cal began to prepare a list of things to work on. He figured he’d start with the big categories and then break it down later on. Cal was relieved that he and Rusty had started planning ahead of time. Things were on the verge of being complicated enough as it was, let alone trying to build the framework of a group on top of everything else. He opened his zippered portfolio with a well-worn and scribbled legal pad.

  “What? No Rite-in-the-Rain waterproof pad? What if our evac requires a swim, all will be lost!” Rusty chided with a hand on his forehead.

  Cal worked to ignore his buddy and started making columns for things to do, things to consider, things to research, and names of who may be best suited to do each of those things.

  Rusty jumped in and offered some more insight to the group.

  “We have been trying to figure out the best way to move forward and there is a lot to do. I realize that this can be overwhelming, but it makes sense to break it down into bite-sized pieces. What we are trying to accomplish here is to prepare our families in case of a disaster event. Doc has ideas of a possible disease outbreak and I think that is definitely something we need to prepare for given the current situation. But, it’s also important to remember that there are a lot of different scenarios that can cause trouble, not just the total apocalypse disasters. I’ve been researching and studying for the last couple years. Most of you know I have taken just about every FEMA or Emergency Management class I can get. They even let me play with radioactive samples when we did Radiological Surveyor First Responder training.”

  Jokingly, Charlotte scooted away from Rusty, commenting on how he did seem to be glowing a little. Only mildly distracted, Rusty continued with a smile.

  “Cal and I have been working on a group plan and we realized that in order for anything to get done we needed a few basic systems in place. The areas we realized that were immediately important are who we bring in, how we make decisions, some safety rules, how we learn new things, and how do we find and integrate information and intelligence into the group operations.”

  Charlotte began to feel slightly uncomfortable, like this was turning a bit more militia than she was willing to be a part of.

  “This sounds like a lot more than just some friends helping each other in case a hurricane blows us away. Can’t we just all get some basic supplies and help each other until the trouble is over? I mean, what’s the worst that ever happens? The lights go out for a few hours, maybe a couple days at most?”

  Shane took the opportunity to chime in.

  “In 2004 and 2005, Hurricanes Frances, Jeanne, and Wilma all blew right over my house. For the first two storms, I was without electricity for almost a month. And I didn’t live in the sticks, I lived in a nice area with thousands of neighbors. When Wilma came through the year after, everyone who had bought all the generators and fancy stuff during the first two storms had already sold it all on Craigslist because they thought it would never happen again. They were wrong, it all happened again and it was a mess. Even if we don’t get some apocalyptic pandemic, a bad hurricane can be a SHTF event.”

  Clara silently mouthed “SHTF?” and gave Mark a questioning look. He shrugged.

  Cal took the floor in an attempt to bring the conversation around. “We aren’t saying that aliens are coming, or that a meteor is going to wipe out humanity, all we want to do is put together a simple group of friends who will pledge to be there for each other in case trouble comes. And that includes everyday situations like helping in case of a car break down… or zombies.” Everyone laughed at that last line, but Charlotte still seemed a little bit on edge.

  “Seriously though, this isn’t supposed to be the primary thing we do. We aren’t making a militia and I don’t want to be interviewed for a segment of 60 Minutes about a doomsday cult. It’s supposed to support the everyday things we do, like raise our families, go to work, and lead happy lives. If something bad happens, we’ll be there for each other. That’s all.”

  Cal patted Charlotte’s hand before he continued on, trying to reassure her that this wasn’t going to turn into a circus sideshow.

  “So Mark: Rusty and I were thinking that it would be a good idea to learn different skills, would you be interested in teaching some basic medical to the group?”

  “Of course, Clara and I would be happy to.”

  “Rusty, would you be ok with teaching some basic firearms?”

  “Yeah man, it’ll be fun. Shane and I can even add in some self-defense without firearms.”

  “Glendora, would you head up the gardening and work with us to figure out the best way to reinforce our food reserves?”

  “Well, hell yeah. I’ve been looking forward to planting some more of those seeds I’ve been saving. Do y’all wanna start a shrimp farm? Cause I’ve been thinking…”

  Charlotte interrupted. “That’s a great idea! I was reading about aquaponics and maybe we could use shrimp instead of tilapia. Tilapia is bland on its own.”

  Clara jumped in, too. “I know, they are bland. We could have shrimp platters, shrimp scampi, jumbo shrimp, shrimp cocktail…”

  Cal, in shock that Charlotte had been reading about aquaponics, was trying to decide when to interrupt without coming off as dismissive.

  “Those are great ideas ladies. Why don’t we get a feel for just how much food we’ll need and go from there?”

  The girls mischievously looked over their wine glasses and started whispering plans for their magical foodtopia. Cal suddenly realized that his “honey-do” list was about to get very, very long.

  Rusty tried to help Cal get back on track. “Cal, what did The Survival Group Handbook say to do?”

  “Right, uh, let’s see. First we decide if a group is right for each of us, check. We find some good people, check. I think we are off to a good start there. We have a basic organizational foundation but we need to nail it down some more. We have decided on a few likely hazards to prepare for as a group, and we have determined that everyone in the group, so far, will either shelter in place or evacuate as a group if the need arises. Let’s firm up our decision-making process and confirm the committees. We have eight basic areas of survival that seem to overarch everything we need to do.”

  “There are EIGHT areas?” said Clara.

  “Oh, yeah, according to the SGH…”

  “Crap, he’s using acronyms, it’s all over now.” Charlotte pretended to faint in her chair and Cal blew her a kiss.

  “Moving on from the dramatics over there… the Eight Areas of Survival are food, water, shelter, health and safety, security, energy, communication, and transportation. To cover all of that, I think it would be best to form committees. We won’t have a lot of people, so organization will be important, and I think we should definitely put people in positions based on the skills they already have. Are we all still in agreement?”

  Cal took it all in for a moment, everyone seemed to be comfortable with the plan so far; even Charlotte had lost a bit of her hesitation from earlier.

  “OK, so speaking of food, Glendora, what do you think about heading up the food committee? Then all you ladies can grow all the shrimp you like.” Cal made an exaggerated sweeping arm motion, as if he was looking out over an ocean.

  “I already do some of that with the store and the cafe,
so I’ll just do some math and see how I can scale it to the number of people we have,” Glendora replied.

  “I think we need to establish a baseline time and supply needs for each family.” Rusty offered.

  “Surprisingly good idea Rusty. How long should we plan to fend for ourselves?” Cal asked to the group. Rusty flipped him the bird for his passive-aggressive jab.

  Mark jumped in, “Well, if we are thinking a total pandemic, I’d say maybe a few months, a year at most. Pandemics can pass through a community in waves of possibly eight weeks at a time and if the mortality is high enough, services may be down in all sectors. We could be on our own for many months.”

  “We are going to need a bigger garden.” Clara replied, sounding like the boat captain from the movie Jaws. Everyone snickered and Charlotte gave her a high five. Cal took charge again. “Let’s be careful how we have conversations with people about what we are working on. The last thing we need would be people remembering we are building an ark when a storm is blowing in. We don’t need any stray cats wandering in.”

  Shane held up his beer in acknowledgement, “Aye to that.”

  “Moving on. Rusty, I’d like you to head up our security planning. If we can’t protect what we do have, we are only holding it for someone who wants it more than we do.”

  “OK great, sounds like fun. At least we will never run out of things to do it sounds like.”

  Cal continued. “Mark, I know I already asked you to teach us some basic medical, but would you mind being the group medic as well?”

  “I’d be happy to oblige,” Mark replied.

  “And running with Rusty’s idea about supplies, can you put together some kind of medical kit supply list, so we can all start getting these things together?”

  “I can do you one better, how about I put together a group buy for anyone interested? I get better pricing and better quality materials as a doctor ordering from the true medical supply warehouses. I can also come up with a list of skills that we should all practice, and I will teach them whenever you all want to get together.”