by A J Newman
“Look asshole, this bitch has a shotgun. Try to get in this wagon, and you will get a load of buckshot in your belly.”
He walked away, cursing us and waving his hands at the crowd of people. Jake put the tractor in high gear and pushed the pedal to the metal. We were quickly out of sight.
I yelled back to the women and asked them where they wanted to be dropped off.
“I don’t know what to do. We just need a safe place,” said Sally.
“I want to go on to Cincinnati. Can we ride with you until we have to split?”
I looked back at the two rather attractive young ladies and replied, “Yes, as long as you don’t get in the way, help find food and split all chores with me.”
Paula looked at me, winked and said, “Zack, you aren’t married, are you? Do you have a girlfriend back home?”
While Paula was right about her dirty thoughts, I lied and said, “I have a girl, and we are getting married when I get back.”
I actually thought both Sally and Geena were hot and could warm my bed any night.
Paula laughed, and we drove on.
We were just outside of Le Claire when we saw a man lying on the side of the road waving at us.
“Paula, help me!”
“It’s Frank, my husband.”
Jake brought the tractor to a halt, set the brake, jumped off the tractor and ran over to the man. Paula got there first and was hugging him when I arrived.
“Frank, are you okay? What happened?”
Frank looked up and replied, “When the power went off, and my truck wouldn’t run, I decided to walk back home yesterday afternoon. My sister helped me put some food and water in a bag, and I was ready to walk home. I always carry my pistol, so I thought I was prepared. I saw several townsfolk who asked where I was going but didn’t have any issues until I got on Highway 80. Then a man who was heading east stopped to talk and the next thing I knew, I was waking up this morning at the bottom of that ditch with a bum foot and robbed of everything but my clothes. I tried to stand up and walk, but my ankle hurt so bad I was forced to crawl back up to the highway. No one would stop and help me until you came along. I recognized my tractors right away and thought maybe that someone had stolen them.”
“Darling, Jake and I will get you back to the farm. Don’t be mad, but I loaned Zack the John Deere to help get Sally, Geena and him to their homes.”
“It’s the right thing to do. I never thought these antiques would be anything more than toys for an old man. Keep the tractor if it will help you. I don’t expect the power will come back very soon.”
I shook his hand and said, “Thanks for the tractor. You are right about it being a long while before the power comes back on. Old tractors, cars and trucks may be the only transportation besides horses for a long time.”
Paula filled him in on the attack on their farm and our arrival while we loaded him into the wagon.
“Good luck and thanks for the tractor. We need to be making tracks east. I need to get back to Kentucky and make sure that my daughter is safe. Keep your guns handy and don’t take any crap from anyone.”
It was 2:00 p.m. when we left Le Claire and were making about 10 miles per hour. I thanked God for the tractor because I now knew that it would have taken me forever to walk home. We ate a late lunch as we crossed the bridge over the Mississippi. The tractors attracted attention, but no one threatened us or tried to approach since we were making sure that the shotguns were highly visible. We were just north of Galesburg when I decided to look for fuel and food. We had traveled 36 miles in four hours, and the tractor was burning diesel at an alarming rate. I didn’t want to go into town, so I stopped beside a deserted semi-truck and trailer and searched for the driver. The driver was long gone, so I cut one of the air hoses off the trailer, made a siphon and started filling my fuel cans. I filled the tractor’s tank and finished topping off my last fuel can.
I opened a side hatch on the truck and found some tools. There were a pry bar and a pair of pliers. Just what I needed! I went to the back of the trailer, twisted the security band off the door and opened it. The truck was headed to a store, so it was filled with pallets containing a variety of non-perishable foods. I helped Sally up onto the back of the trailer, and we picked the foods we wanted from back pallets. While Sally transferred those packages to the trailer, I climbed on top of the pallets and found some of my favorites. I pitched packages of chocolate chip cookies, Spam, toilet paper and beef stew back towards Sally.
“Zack, do you see any tampons? Us girls will need them eventually.”
“I’ll take a look. That reminds me I need to look for other sanitation items and some first aid supplies.”
I had found most of what we needed when I heard, “Hey Zack, you had better come here quick. We may have trouble.”
I scrambled to the end of the truck, pulled my 1911 and saw a small crowd had gathered. One loudmouth yelled, “Are you going to share the food?”
“Sir, if you’ll get out of our way, you can get all you want. If I were you, I’d get what I need and then move on before a riot breaks out when the people up and down the road hear about the food.”
“Thanks and thanks for the advice. You don’t need the gun.”
“You are welcome, but I do need the gun. I killed an asshole yesterday who tried to take our tractor away from us, and I will do it again if we are attacked.”
Geena raised her shotgun and smiled at the crowd of people and said, “Several men shot my friend and me and left us for dead over a VW bus. As long as I have this shotgun, no one will mess with me again.”
The man smiled and replied, “Ma’am I believe you mean business. I’m sorry I came on so strong, but we have been robbed, and some scum took several women along with our food. They left here an hour ago, and you’d better avoid them.”
I watched the guy and his group for a few minutes saw how hungry the children were and how happy the families were to get the food. I thought there must be widespread hunger sweeping across the USA. I called him over to the tractor.
“Do ya’ll have any guns or other protection?”
“No, we are from Illinois, and none of the group had a gun in their cars. The damn state has crazy gun control laws.”
I thought for a minute, handed him an unloaded shotgun and said, “Here is an extra 12 gauge. I’ll drop a box of shells down the road a piece. Not that I don’t trust you, but I don’t trust anyone now.”
“Thanks, mister. I’m Joe Black.”
“You are welcome. I’m Zack Johnson. Good luck.”
We finished loading then drove on a way before I laid the shells on the side of the road and waved back at Joe.
We had driven another hour before I started looking for a place to spend the night. We had about an hour before dark, and I wanted to have a secure spot before nightfall. I saw a series of deep gullies up ahead and told the girls we were going to check the area out. We were about 10 miles below Galesburg when I got off the tractor, cut the fence and drove down into one of the gullies and parked.
“Ladies, I’m going to scout the location to make sure it’s safe and will be back in about 30 minutes. Watch for intruders and don’t make any noise.”
I walked through the trees to the other side of the gully and saw a field planted with soybeans and a farmhouse about 400 yards away. The series of gullies cut through the farm and while a pain in the ass for the farmer, they made a perfect place for us to hide. The gully where I had parked the tractor was about a quarter mile long and 100 feet wide and covered in trees. I walked along a different gully that ran north towards the house, got within a hundred feet of the house and watched the house for several minutes. There were a man, his wife, and two teenage kids. They were having supper, and the only issue was the kids were gripping about the internet being down. I was satisfied there were no dangers lurking nearby and headed back to the tractor.
I stopped about 30 feet from the tractor and heard the ladies talking.
“Well, then, we�
��ll just have to toss a coin. Just because I can’t walk right now doesn’t mean that I’ll let you steal him away from me.”
“Look you are my best friend, but a woman without a man is probably a dead woman or a sex slave to some biker dude now that the world has ended.”
“Let’s call a truce and flip a coin for him.”
“Do you think he will go for it?”
“He’s a man, isn’t he? Once his daughter is safe, he’ll be chasing both of us.”
I backed up another 50 feet and made some noise as I approached the ladies.
“Lucy, I’m home. What’s for supper?”
They both laughed and were very nice to me for the rest of the night.
I started a small fire against the bank of the gully, and we roasted a couple of cans of Spam, warmed up some canned vegetables and had chocolate chip cookies for dessert. We sat in the wagon eating our supper, and I noticed that Sally practically sat in my lap during supper. Geena glared at her during the entire meal. I tried to help clean up after supper, and the girls said that they could handle the dishes.
“Ladies, if you don’t need me, I’m taking this roll of TP and hand wipes out to the men’s room. I recommend that the men’s room should be over there about 50 feet in front of the tractor and the women’s about 50 feet behind the trailer. Since I don’t have today’s newspaper, I will promptly return.”
“That’s a good idea. Hurry up, I have to pee and need your help getting out of the trailer and to the bathroom.”
As I walked away, I heard, “Geena that was a dirty trick. You know I can help you go use the restroom. What did you want him to do, hold your hand while you pee?”
“No, but I want him to steady me while I get to the bathroom,” laughed Geena.
I returned in about 15 minutes, and Sally was struggling to get Geena back into the wagon.
“Wait, I’ll help.”
I picked Geena up and gently placed her over the low side of the wagon, and she gave me a kiss on the cheek.
“My, such a polite man we have here. Thanks so much. You are a big help. I hope I’m back on my feet before we head to Indianapolis without you. Perhaps we’ll go on to Kentucky with you. You seem to be a nice guy, and we don’t know what to expect in Ohio.”
I stammered and replied, “I’m sure your folks will miss you very much, but you are welcome to find a home in Kentucky. My girlfriend might even introduce you to some lucky men down there.”
I was not going to start screwing these women while on the way home. I had enough bad people out there that might try to kill me without them fighting each other and killing me.
I tried the ham radio again, and no one had heard from Mike123. I asked several to try to pass a message on to Mike123 in Kentucky. One man was telling me his son had driven home from Fort Knox and told him all US Armed Forces were being brought home to guard the USA against further attacks. He went on to say half of our military had been wiped out the first day and we had retaliated along with the rest of the western nations.
“Who did we retaliate against?”
“My son doesn’t know. He thinks we nuked all the countries that support terrorism.”
“Has all of the USA been attacked and lost power?”
“My son says he was told that the USA, Canada, and northern Mexico were hit hard by the EMP blasts. All of Europe, China and Russia were also without power.”
“Thanks for the information.”
Damn, this guy could be right or a fruitcake. I chatted with several ham operators and then strung my hammock between the tractor and a close tree. I had the first two-hour watch. I heard a noise from the wagon and turned to see Geena taking her bra off. She looked over at me, pulled the cover up to her neck and went to sleep. I had heard some giggling and harsh whispers before it got quiet.
Just before my watch ended, Sally woke up, stood up in the wagon without a bra and only wearing panties while she stretched. The moon was almost full, so she was framed against the sky. She slid a shirt on, climbed down from the wagon and joined me in the woods in front of the tractor.
“Hello, handsome.”
“You say that because I’m the only man around.”
She giggled and replied, “No, I think you are a very good looking man. If you didn’t already have a girlfriend, I’d be interested in you.”
“Thanks for the compliment, but my girl would shit if she knew that I was out on the trail with two beautiful women.”
“So you think I’m beautiful? Well, don’t tell her when you get back. Damn, you might have to tell her. Geena is trying to talk me into going home with you to Kentucky.”
I thought, “Oh shit,” but said, “That would be nice,” and shut up.
“What’s your girlfriend’s name and what does she look like?”
Damn, I thought for a few seconds, I have to tell her something that I can remember, so I gave her Joan’s description.
“Her name is Patsy, she’s about 5’4", 110 pounds with dark brown hair. We are supposed to get married this fall at my farm.”
“I think you made that up. It took you too long to come up with her name.”
She slid her arm around me and rubbed my back. It was feeling way too good, and I had to get away from her, but I was enjoying the massage too much.
“No, I was trying to decide how much to tell a strange woman that I just met yesterday. I’m not telling you the exact place that I live either.”
“So you are afraid of a tiny little girl like me?”
“No, but honestly, I am afraid you might mention to someone else where I live and any details about me. Sally, this is only the tip of the iceberg. Ninety percent of the USA will be dead in three to six months. Think about it. If there were 10 people sitting here, nine would be dead in six months. Starvation, disease and lack of medical help will kill millions over the next 30 days. Criminals trying to take your food will kill much more; women will be bartered for whiskey, food, and ammo. Normal good Christian people will slit your throat to take your food and feed their kids.”
She snuggled up to me, and I reflexively placed my arm around her. My hand slid under her loosely buttoned shirt, and I grazed her breast. Electricity ran down my spine. She looked up, and we kissed. We kissed passionately for a long time. I slid my other hand down her back and tried to slip down her backside when she removed my hand.
“Yes, I want you, but I am not a girl that you jump in the sack with and leave the next day. It doesn’t help that my best friend wants you too and is sleeping 50 feet away.”
I held her for a few minutes, kissed her and then gave her my watch so she would know when to wake Geena up.
“You need to put some pants on before mosquitoes bite that pretty butt. You’d look funny fighting off attackers wearing a thong.”
“I was able to fight you off. Do you like my thong? Do you think I have a pretty ass?”
“Goodnight and remember I have a girlfriend.”
“I don’t believe that crap, and you didn’t act like you had a girlfriend when you had your hand on my ass.”
“Well, maybe I forgot when I saw you naked in the wagon,” I told her and then went to my hammock.
I thought about her all night.
Geena wiped the tears away and tried unsuccessfully to go to sleep.
✪✪✪
Chapter 6 - Back Home
The United States of America
Mike strapped on his holster with his Glock 9mm and got an extra mag for it and his Ruger .380 he always carried. He filled his canteen, stuffed a couple of water bottles into his BOB and started to walk into Owensville to find the ignition parts. As an afterthought, he raised the hood on Zack’s truck to check the distributor to make sure he bought the right parts. He had the hood open when he saw the red metal box bolted to the side of the firewall. Damn, that’s where the spare ignition parts are stored. He felt stupid for forgetting that he and Zack had installed the box and filled it with the parts needed for when TSHTF. He open
ed the box and saw two complete sets of ignition parts and wires. He took the top off the distributor and removed the electronic parts and then it was just placing the points and condenser on the distributor plate and securing them with screws.
He cranked the engine, and it fired right up but ran a bit rough. He adjusted the timing, and it ran better, but still had a miss. Mike opened the red box, removed the extra spark plug wires and replaced all of the wires. The engine cranked up and ran perfectly.
Mike said to himself, “Damn, I’m great. I must thank Zack for us being prepared for this EMP crap. Now to go fetch Callie and my bitch sister. Damn, I need to calm down and start thinking things through, or I will get my sorry ass in trouble.”
Mike had reluctantly become a prepper because Zack talked about it all of the time. They even watched that show on TV about prepping. He read a couple of the novels over the past year about survival and knew that there was trouble ahead. He went back into the garage and retrieved a hand fuel pump, 20 feet of hose, and four gas cans so he could get gas when needed. The truck had a full tank of gas, and he put a case of water and some food in the cab. Now he was ready to travel, but which way should he travel? He knew it was early in this disaster and that eventually, people would try to take the truck from him.
He went back into the house and got a Smith & Wesson MP15 and five 30 round mags from the gun safe. He thought, “better safe than sorry. If an AR and 150 rounds weren’t enough firepower, he was probably fucked anyway.”
He decided to take the bypass around Owensville and then take the Baker Parkway to Anderson to avoid as many city streets as possible. No sooner had he turned onto Highway 54 did he see an old Chevy stopping and the driver waving at him.
“Sorry Mike, I thought it was Zack. That is his old '54 Ford, isn’t it?”
“Yes and I’m heading over to Anderson to bring his daughter back over to the farm until this power shortage ends.”
“Good idea. Our antique truck club is spreading the word to fire up their old cars and trucks to help out the police and hospitals. Please spread the word when you go through Owensville and Anderson.”