Prepper's Apocalypse | Book 1 | Prepper's Apocalypse

by Newman, AJ

  “Where are you going?”

  Tom lied to protect the location of their home and the route they’d take. “Out to Eureka to our homes. We were caught on vacation in the San Francisco area.”

  “Damn the bad luck. I have a well if you need water. We only have enough food for ourselves.”

  “Thanks, we’ll take you up on the water.”

  The man and his wife were friendly, but Tom saw a glint of light from the barn roof and a shed. He was sure snipers were watching them. Tom saw the small orchard loaded down with oranges and apples. “I know you said you were short on food, but could you share some fruit? We have a few apples left, but some oranges would be great.”

  The man asked his wife to fetch a couple of bags and allowed Tom’s crew to pick a half bushel of apples and oranges before leaving. Tom thanked the man. “This fruit will help us get home. Thanks, and you can call off your snipers. I would have done the same if you showed up at our place. Stay safe.”

  “How did you see them?”

  “I didn’t. They didn’t cover their scopes, and I saw flashes of sunlight where none should exist. The sun behind them would make it difficult to see them and would eliminate the sunlight glancing off the glass.”

  “Thanks, and watch your backs. We’ve run off some tough-looking folks this week. The SOBs snuck back at night and stole fruit and grain we had stored for planting,” the man said.

  Granny B watched the Tactical and Shooting store through her field glasses from a clothing store across the street. “It hasn’t been on fire, but all of the windows are broken. The door has been forced open, so we know it’s been looted. Tom, take Bill and Jackie with you. You know what to do. We’ll take any weapons you find, and ammunition would be great.”

  Tom motioned for his sister and Bill to join him. He checked Bill’s and Jackie’s weapons and then said, “Empty your backpacks and take one of the bags with you. Let’s hope we fill them.”

  They looked both ways to make sure no one watched and ran across the street to the store. Tom had Bill stay just inside the door, watching for anyone trying to sneak up on them. Jackie and Tom walked inside to see all of the long gun shelves empty, and the glass display for pistols shattered. Not a pistol or rifle was in sight. Jackie stepped in further and slipped, falling to the floor. Jackie yelled, “The darned floor is covered in bullets! The bastards ransacked the place and didn’t bother to pick up loose bullets. I see plenty of 9mm, 12 gauge double aught buckshot, .22s, and a few others.”

  Tom bent over and pocketed as many of the 9-mm as he could find around him. “Let’s find something to shoot these other bullets,” and then helped his little sister to her feet.

  “Tom, look over against the far wall, archery stuff. I’m heading over there.”

  The archery section was more promising since they could see several compound bows still hanging on the racks. Arrows and quivers were plentiful.

  “Look! Tom, there’s a woman’s bow.” She nocked an arrow, pulled the bowstring back, and let the arrow fly. “I can use this one. I was pretty good with a regular bow.”

  Tom took the best men’s bows and a youth bow to Bill and then went back to scrounging. He went behind the counter and into the back room. This room was divided into storage and gunsmith service. Tom took several small gun-cleaning kits and bore snakes for every caliber from .17 HMR to 12 gauge.

  Jackie saw the shelves filled with empty long gun boxes and wondered what was behind them. She hoped to find a safe. She was surprised when she moved several dozen empty boxes from the pile. “Tom! Oh, Tom! Come here, big brother! I have a big surprise for you!”

  Tom looked at the boxes. “Empty boxes don’t thrill me.”

  “But full boxes would.”

  “Huh?”

  She pulled a box from the top of the remaining pile and pitched it to him. “Hey, it’s got a gun in it. Darn, It’s a nice little bolt action Savage .22 Magnum. What’s in the others? We need some ARs and a couple of shotguns.”

  There were eleven full boxes, and none had an AR. They found four Ruger 10/22 22 LR semi-automatics, two Savage .17 HMR bolt actions, two .22 Magnums, two bolt action Savage .308s, and one Mossberg 12 gauge pump shotgun. Tom looked over the booty. “I wish there had been some AR15s, but these .308s will reach out a lot longer with more power. I see some scopes over there. We need ammo for these. Hey, Bill, go bring the others over. We need someone sorting the bullets.”

  Lucy, Greta, Sam, and Brenda gathered and sorted the bullets scattered across the shop floor. Lucy found several boxes of 9mm and .22 long bullets that had been kicked under the display case in the turmoil. While the bullets were picked up, the others searched for slings, magazines, and scopes for the rifles. They found several red dot and regular 3 x 9 power scopes and one excellent night vision scope.

  Tom read the instructions for the night vision scope. “The night belongs to us. We need some more of these.”

  Granny B had a doubting look. “What makes you think that thing will work since it has all those fancy electronics?”

  “Because it is working. I think the foil pouch is metallic and served as a Faraday cage. Anyway, it works, and we need to scrounge for more batteries. These are rechargeable, and our pocket solar chargers should work, but spare batteries would be nice.”

  They ended their stay at the Tactical and Shooting store with the rifles, over five hundred bullets of all types, and the bows, plus more arrows than they could carry. They made camp west of the Sporting Warehouse on the Sacramento River bank and sorted through their new weapons and camping gear.

  Granny B and Tom kept the .308 rifles with their new scopes. Tom handed out the other rifles to the team. Lucy received one of the Ruger 10/22s to her mother’s chagrin. Tom interceded before Sam took the gun away. “Sam, I’ll teach Lucy how to handle the rifle responsibly. She can help hunt, and another rifle when needed could make a big difference.”

  “My daughter is only twelve years old.” Sam snatched the rifle from her daughter and stormed off.

  “Well, as Granny B says - that went over like a turd in a punchbowl,” Tom muttered to himself.

  Granny B walked up and patted him on the back. “You might want to take it slow training Lucy. Any mother is going to be protective of her daughters.”

  *

  Chapter 11

  Redding, California – The Sacramento River.

  The river was low from the lack of recent rain and was full of floating garbage. The apocalypse hadn’t brought out the best in people. The mosquitoes and biting flies were horrible near the river, but Tom didn’t want to camp in the city. He built a fire and placed some evergreen boughs on the fire, which filled the area with a thick cloud of pine-scented smoke. The smoke was terrible but much better than the mosquitoes. Tom watched several of the group move away from the smoke but quickly return. “Don’t you love the smell of pine trees burning in the evening?”

  Granny B shook her head. “You don’t remember the forest fires back in the 20s that leveled several cities north of Ashland. We were fine on up in the hills, but the people down in the valley suffered greatly.”

  “Oops, my bad.”

  Brenda reluctantly moved closer to the fire and was surprised how the insects disappeared. “Tom, the smoke drove the little boogers away but aren’t you worried about someone coming to see what’s burning?”

  Tom’s arm swung from side to side, pointing out the numerous columns of smoke rising around the city. “Normally, I’d be worried, but there are dozens of buildings burning along with hundreds of campfires.”

  Gunfire erupted across Highway 5, and Tom hit the ground with his pistol drawn when a stray bullet hit one of the trees a few yards from the camp. “Hit the dirt. There’s a fight going on across the highway, and a stray bullet will kill you just the same as one intended for you.”

  The gunfire was non-stop for the better part of a half-hour before tapering off. Tom left camp with Jackie at his side to find out if the gangs had mov
ed on. They stayed in the trees as long as possible but then went between several unoccupied houses that backed up to Highway 5. They were shocked by the number of bodies strewn around a motel’s parking lot and the north lane of Highway 5. The battle had been brief but fiercely fought. The victors were nowhere to be seen around the area.

  “Little sister, ya think there might be some weapons or ammo lying around that hasn’t been scooped up?”

  “It’s worth a try, but won’t we be exposed on that parking lot?”

  “Not if I go out after midnight and use the night vision scope. It won’t be ideal since the scope has a small field of view, but it’s very dark now with only a sliver of a moon.”

  “I’ll go with you to help carry any weapons back.”

  “I think we’ll bring Brenda with us. I hope we find the people fighting were too busy chasing the others to police up the area.”

  “Tom, she’s a bit older than you. I thought you’d sworn off women for a while.”

  “Sis, we need someone to pack weapons and ammo. I ain’t looking for romance. Get your mind …”

  “Brother, all men think about is sex, and you are a man.”

  “We also think about tacos, muscle cars, and big caliber rifles. I’ll let you know when I’m shopping for a girlfriend.”

  Granny B woke Tom up at 11:30. “Rise and shine. Time to go scavenging. If this works, we might want to use the scope to search the Sporting Warehouse.”

  “I don’t know about that. The field of view is too narrow, and we’d miss more than we find. I’ll give you my thoughts on it after we get back.” Tom walked out into the bushes and returned a while later.

  “Ladies, are you ready to see what we can find across the highway? Stay close to me and keep close to the bushes or a house so you won’t stand out. Let’s hit the trail.”

  They crossed the highway below the Highway 44 and Highway 5 cloverleaf, dodging wrecks and stalled cars. A bumper car ride at a county fair had fewer crashes than the road. Tom snickered when he saw an F150 sitting on top of one of those not so smart cars. The tiny car was about a foot thick with a gnawed arm sticking out from the squished metal. He watched the motel parking lot from three hundred yards north of the motel and decided it was safe to go on across to the parking lot. They proceeded down Hilltop Drive to come into the motel’s parking lot using a Mexican restaurant to shield them from view. Tom led them behind the restaurant, where they found the first bodies. Tom had been using the night vision scope to search for other people and had only seen a woman and a couple of kids scurrying around in the dark.

  “I see a dozen bodies spread across the parking lot. I don’t see any rifles lying around, but the men might have ammo pouches and magazines on them. Jackie, take my rifle and use the night vision scope to watch for any dangers. We can see enough to move from body to body and strip them of anything useful.”

  Brenda walked stooped over to stay as hidden from view as possible to her first dead man. Her pulse quickened, and her stomach felt queasy as she approached the body. She laid her bag down and patted the body around the waist to find a dagger and a flashlight. She checked his ankles and found an ankle holster containing a .380 automatic pistol. His pockets only delivered a few 9mm bullets, a pocketknife, and two packaged condoms. She made sure the .380 was loaded and stuck it in her pocket. The rest went into her bag before she moved on to the next body.

  This man lay face down, and it took all her strength to roll him over. Brenda patted the body down and found several 9mm magazines, another knife, and more condoms. She mumbled to herself. “The SOBs must have had a hot date after their battle.”

  Brenda washed her hands with a squirt of 70 percent alcohol and then chuckled to herself. She started to head to the next body when her hand hit something hard. She felt around and found the pistol. It was an automatic, and she assumed it was the companion to the magazines.

  Tom had searched his fourth body, finding only a few magazines, flashlights, a bayonet, and a few condoms. He wondered if the condoms were being used for something besides their intended purpose. The next body was a woman whose hands were bound behind her. He thought, These men were raiding the area to take women. They were also ready to sample their captives but were ambushed by someone trying to free the women. Oh, crap! It could have been more raiders trying to steal the kidnapped women for their own use.

  He was deep in thought when the pebble hit him on the back. Tom knew it was Jackie trying to get his attention, but his heart still raced, and his body was in the cusp of the fight or flight mode. He stayed low and looked around the area. He saw movement where Brenda had been, but there was a dark object moving toward her. He rose to a crouched position and then ran as fast as possible as he drew his blade. Tom hit the man while at full stride and slashed at the dark figure. Tom heard a muffled sound coming from the man as he continued stabbing him.

  Then Tom heard Brenda. “Tom, I think he’s dead. Help me up.”

  “Are you okay? I’m sorry we crashed into you. I had to stop him before he got to you. We’d better leave now before his friends show up looking for him.”

  “Wait, he has a short shotgun, a pistol, and a tactical vest full of magazines for the pistol.”

  Tom helped her search the man’s pockets and took the shotgun before they joined Jackie. Tom gave up on searching the sporting goods store. They traveled safely back to their camp and examined their treasure under a Tyvek tarp using one of the newfound flashlights.

  “Darn, the man should have had an AR. Everyone in the world has at least one AR,” Tom said as he took one of the pocketknives.

  Sam watched over his shoulder. “My boyfriend had a dozen of those assault rifles. He called them AKs and ARs. He also had a gun he called a SAW.”

  Tom snapped around to look her in her green eyes. “That’s basically a light machinegun. SAW stands for Squad Automatic Weapon. It shoots a 5.56 NATO round that will tear a big hole in you.”

  “I told you he works in a business where he needs a security force.”

  Tom sneered, “Most drug dealers have what’s usually called a gang of thugs to protect him and spread their deadly poison around the country.”

  “You bastard! I never said I liked what he was doing!”

  “Yet, you stayed with him and spent his money.”

  Tom never saw her hand coming as she slapped him. “Screw you. You asshole. I didn’t have a choice. He owned me. I was a damned slave. Of course, I made the best of it for Lucy and me.”

  Lucy came to her side. “Momma, I didn’t know. I knew I hated him, but ….”

  “Hush, baby, and come with me. I don’t want to be with these people.”

  Jackie grabbed Tom by the arm and dragged him away from the others. “That was downright mean of you to treat her that way in front of her daughter. You should go apologize, now!”

  “You know I hate drugs. Drugs killed our mom and dad. If Mom hadn’t been stoned, they’d still be alive. I’m sorry I hurt her feelings, but I can’t stand drugs or the people who shove them on society.”

  Jackie had tears in her eyes. “I barely remember mom and dad, and you had to talk about them using drugs. How do you know they used drugs? I can hardly remember what they look like.”

  “Grandpa’s friend Jake was over one day when we were about fifteen. I heard Grandpa and him talking. Grandpa was still mad at Mom after all these years.”

  Tom started to leave when Jackie grabbed him by the collar. “Go to Sam.”

  Tom walked back to the camp and saw Sam packing their possessions. “Sam, I’m sorry about running my mouth about Carlos. Lucy, I never should have passed judgment on your mom’s boyfriend.”

  Lucy looked up at her mom and didn’t say anything. Sam pulled her daughter close and kissed her. “Darling, go stay with Granny B until I come to get you. Tom and I need to talk alone.”

  They watched Lucy leave, and then Sam spoke. “I know Carlos is a scumbag. I was fourteen when I joined a gang in San Francisco bec
ause my boyfriend made me. It was exciting for a while, but then I saw the drug dealing, killing, and extortion of old people in our neighborhood. I ran away but was caught by the gang that operated for Mendoza in our part of the city. I was passed around the gang for a month until Carlos showed up one day. He had to have me, and I needed to stop being raped every night. I didn’t know that Carlos had a dozen captive women like me at his compounds worldwide. So, yes, I knew what he was, but couldn’t escape with Lucy. He thinks that she’s his child. He would have tracked us down and killed me. I took advantage of the disaster to make my escape.”

  Tom had guessed she’d had a bad life, but her story shook him to the bone. Tom pulled her close. “You’re safe with us, and I’ll keep my mouth shut about Carlos.”

  Sam felt safe in Tom’s arms but knew no man could love a tramp like her who’d been with dozens of gang members. She pushed him away. “Thanks, and don’t worry about that. I want to tag along with you until we part in Ashland. I hope I can find some decent people to travel with on up to Seattle.”

  “I thought you were raised in Frisco.”

  “I was, but my parents moved to a little coastal city to get the rest of my brothers and sisters away from the gangs. Carlos paid for their move.”

  “Please come back to the fire and forgive me. Sometimes my mouth gets ahead of my brain.”

  “You’re forgiven.”

  *

  Chapter 12

  Redding, California – Twin Valley BVD.

  They doubled the guard that night but were still able to get an early start before dawn the next morning. Tom wanted to be out of Redding before the sun rose. They’d even decided the night before to skip scavenging any more sporting goods stores to avoid contact with the people who slaughtered the men in the parking lot.