by AJ Newman
***
We watched the sky perform light shows that boggled our minds with electric blues, greens, yellows and reds. There was still a bright green glow around the entire Earth from the charged particles striking Earth’s protective atmosphere.
Mary aptly described the light show, “Matt, it’s almost like one of those 65 inch plasma TVs puked its guts out over the entire sky. It’s a riot of colors.”
“Yes, no need for LSD tonight, the colors, the colors!”
Patty and I had a good laugh as Mary looked at us with a wry grin.
We continued to watch in awe until well after dawn when Mary asked, “Anyone hungry besides me?”
“I could eat,” I replied.”
“You can always eat, but yeah, me too. I’m also hungry and I’ll take the hint that I should get up and fix breakfast. How do deer sausage, scrambled eggs and toast sound?”
I quickly replied, “No Patty, I’ll take care of y’all until you are both well. Of course I’ll expect some great meals after that.”
Mary replied, “That’s a deal. Patty, you’d better keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn’t poison us.”
She replied, “Don’t worry, I’ll keep a close eye on him and give him some cooking classes to boot.”
***
“I know you want to stay away from town, but don’t you think we should know what’s going on there.”
“It’s going to become very dangerous there in the next few days. I want to stay away from people as much as possible, but I agree on keeping an eye on what is happening in the area is important. I’m just not sure how to go about it safely. You two know best that people can be dangerous.”
“Damn skippy, we’ve both learned a lesson from our trip to Mary’s house.”
“How many people know about this place?”
“None in town know about the prepping. Most in town know that Mary and Frank built a nice place up here and think Frank retired from NASA.”
“I guess they also know I bought the place and probably think I live up here alone.”
We talked about our options at dinner on several occasions.
“Where did George end up when you threw him out?”
“He was staying at the Great Divide Boarding House and found a job as a janitor at a bar on the edge of town.”
“I think we can safely say that George will come looking for you and about a third of the town will come out here looking for food. I think we should take the chance and only wait a week to install our cameras and sensors. Until then we need to post a guard every night.”
“I can stand watch, but Mary won’t be able to for a couple of months.”
“I agree with you being a lookout, but really, where. It’s way too cold for any of us to be on guard outside I think it’s best if we post you just beside the window looking onto the front porch with an AR while I sleep on a cot close by
I also think that we made a mistake in just the three of us trying to secure this place. I’ve inventoried the rations and we could have added another three people, and still have food for a year. Crap, crap, crap, what have I done?”
“Matt,” said Patty, “what you did is make it possible for us to survive. Yeah, I guess we have made a serious mistake concerning people and survivors. Well, the bottom line is that we have to put on our big girl panties, well, not you and step up. You wear whatever it is you guys wear.”
Her outburst left us all chuckling for a few seconds, before reality kicked back in.
“Okay, what do we really do?” asked Mary.
Next week we’ll post Mary in front of the monitors so she can handle the electronic surveillance.”
“I like those Ideas, but won’t Mary doze off and miss intruders.”
“The sensors include movement and sound. The monitoring station has an audible alarm that has a volume adjustment. It would wake her up. I also have two remote monitoring handsets that you and I will carry at all times. They are connected by a signal from the main station and have the same video and sound capability.”
Later that night when it was my turn for guard duty I crawled out of my sleeping bag and noticed a chill in the air. I went to sleep with only my mosquito net above me and woke up deep in my sleeping bag and now I needed a jacket for guard duty.
Patty noticed I was shivering and said, “It’s colder than I ever remember for January. Hell, we’ve got three more months of winter. Is this caused by the CME?”
“It’s too early to tell, but yeah, I think so. Let’s just hope it’s only a small drop in the average temperature. I don’t know much about climatology, but those Global Warming politicians were very upset at a fraction of a degree change upward in temperature. We can’t control the sun so we have to improvise and roll with the flow. Let’s begin planning for the worst case.”
“How will we know what the worst case is?”
“We won’t, but I’d suggest starting at an average day in the Artic.”
“Hell, I’d rather die.”
“That possibility may also be in the cards.”
She replied, “Well, thank you very much, Mr. Gloom and doom,” as she threw her dirty socks at me.
“Seriously we need a plan to bugout to a warmer climate.”
“What, wait, huh? Bug out? Are you nuts?
✪✪✪
✪
Chapter 9
Pinedale, Wyoming – After “The Flare”
Obviously, I wasn’t in Pinedale when the shit hit the fan, or as the girls say after The Flare, so most of this is not firsthand knowledge. What you are about to read is from what the residents told me or I saw later.
The town stayed fairly calm until the last collision because Sheriff Bob Alton said it had to stay calm. Sheriff Bob, as he was called, listened to the radio and TV announcements and knew bad times were coming. He had 10 deputies to cover the whole county and placed them on 12 hour shifts 6 days a week until things calmed down.
Sheriff Bob was a big, slow moving man, but his mind was constantly evaluating his surroundings and thinking ahead of any possible trouble.
He had been a Lieutenant in the Army Military Police and had been extensively trained for multiple contingencies including nuclear warfare.
He immediately saw the solar flare situation to be similar to a nuclear EMP blast and began planning for the worst case.
He placed extra flashlights, walkie talkies, radios, emergency weather radios and batteries for all in steel garbage cans, lined with rubber insulation, and lined steel lids, in his garage.
He and his wife begin stocking piling food by sending her to several nearby towns to make large purchases of non-perishable foods from Cosco and Sam’s Club. She paid cash and made sure no one knew where she lived. She also purchased survival gear and ammunition at every store and outfitter within a hundred miles.
She stocked hundreds of pounds of beans, rice, sugar and salt along with several closets full of can goods.
Sheriff Bob had a small spring fed lake on his property so he wasn’t worried about water. He took several 50-gallon plastic drums, cut them in half and built a pretty good water purification system.
He placed, washed, and purified sand in one half drum with a cheese cloth filter over it. That drum flowed into another filled with charcoal that flowed into another with purified sand. The water from the last drum flowed into a 50-gallon plastic drum and then was treated with bleach to finish the purification. He wasn’t sure he needed the charcoal, but it made him feel good that it would take out most carcinogens.
For transportation Sheriff Bob had an old 1962 Chevy truck and two mules that he used to travel through the high country when he went trout fishing.
Sheriff Bob gave the town’s people warnings to stock up on food and to be prepared for the worst.
“Bob, why do we need to prepare for a solar flare?”
“Because it could block communications and fry the electronics in everything. That’s the worst case. If that happens it could be
weeks before food can be transported in from the warehouses. I’d prepare just like you would for a long winter storm.”
He knew this was watered down, and downright misleading, but he also knew telling people the truth that they would not have electricity for the rest of their lives, was not in anyone’s interest. Well, he knew that was just silly, because panic was the last thing anyone needed.
Most of the people did purchase more food than usual, but as Bob knew, it would never be enough to survive the upcoming disaster.
***
Patty was at my place when panic spread around Pinedale three days after the CME. She had left her assistant manager in charge of the store and left on two weeks’ vacation before The Flare.
The week before The Flare, the following exchange took place.
“Patty, should you be leaving with this solar flare stuff keeping everyone on edge?”
“I haven’t really been feeling well, and Mary and I plan to sit this thing out. Things should be okay, but if there’s trouble don’t get hurt over someone stealing a can of beans.
Just hold the 90% sale and when the shelves are bare, put a sign on the window, leave the door to the store open and go home.
If credit the card readers go down, tell folks that they can pay for everything as soon as the craziness is over.”
“But Patty, if you’re going to just give everything away, why not put out a free for the taking sign and leave it open?”
“Yes, we could do that, but if we did, the place would be wrecked. When this nonsense is over I’d like to restock, not rebuild.”
“I gotta’ tell you, Patty, I’m scared. Could I buy some food now on credit? You can take it out of my check later.”
Patty wrote a quick note, “You have been with me for a long time, loyal, and a good friend. Here, take this voucher for you to receive a gift certificate for $2,000 worth of anything in the store. That way you can’t be accused of stealing. If you take more, just sign for it on the IOU log book.
Oh, and do the same for Bruce.”
“Patty, thank you, this really means a lot to me.”
The assistant manager loaded up her van and took the supplies home with a big smile on her face. It was only a few days later that all hell broke loose at the store.
She was late to work on the morning after the Alpha Omega III collided with the sun. Her car wouldn’t start and the TV and radio were dead. She knew Patty depended on her to open the store so she saddled her son’s horse and rode into town.
She hobbled her horse in the vacant lot behind the store and placed a bucket of water at the corner of the fence in hopes the horse wouldn’t kick it over. She planned to check on it every couple of hours.
She walked around to the front of the store and there was a crowd waiting to get in along with the part time cashier.
“Wilma, you’re late. Patty always opened the store on time.”
“Bruce, my van was dead this morning and I had to ride my son’s mare in today.”
She noticed there were several horse and wagons tied to the trees in front of the store and one old pickup.
There was a round of “My car was dead, too,” from the crowd.
She opened the doors and let them in while the cashier turned the lights on and prepared to man the cash register. The first few hours were busy and then there was a surge at mid-morning after everyone realized that all TVs, radios and most vehicles were dead. Then the line backed up and out the front door.
Wilma told the crowd, “I’m placing a one cart maximum on all purchases so we can make sure everyone gets some food.”
“This pissed off the people in the store and made the people waiting in line happy.”
George pushed two carts, side by side, to the cashier and demanded to be let out without paying.
“I own the store and I’m taking this food. Don’t try to stop me.”
Wilma walked over to him and replied, “You don’t own the store and Patty kicked your drunken ass out. You are not going to steal this food.”
George punched her and tried to push the carts through the door, but one was stuck. Several of the men grabbed George and threw him out into the street.
George was drunk and the rough treatment made him a bit wobbly.
“He yelled, “I’ll kill all of you sumbitches, and my cheating wife.”
He left heading back to his room where he retrieved his .38 revolver. He grabbed a bottle of scotch from the kitchen table and went back to the store. He walked in waiving the pistol and everyone scurried to get out of his way.
Wilma saw him and said, “George, put the gun down. You’re not going to shoot anyone over a can of beans.”
He pointed the gun at her, pulled the trigger and smiled as she fell to the floor with a red stain spreading on her chest.
George filled a cart and calmly pushed it out the door and down the street. He never looked back.
The cashier said, “Go get the Sheriff. I’m closing the store.”
The people panicked and started taking what they wanted. Fights broke out and more shots were fired. The cashier high tailed it home with a ham and a turkey under his arms. The store was now a battlefield of scared and desperate people. The store was empty and five bodies lay on the floor by the time the first deputy arrived. All of the guns and ammo from the display cases had been looted, but the gun safe was still secure.
***
George waited until dark to go back to the store. He was still worried that he would be seen since dark wasn’t really dark anymore due to those damn lights in the sky. He had guessed correctly and found the store looted except for the gun safe and the hidden storage room.
He knew the combination to the gun safe and had the safe open in short order. He found a bag to load with ammunition and shouldered three M&P15s and two Ruger 9mm pistols. He was ready to take the war to his cheating wife and her rat bastard lover.
He then found the hidden latch to the storage room and as he hoped, found food, liquor and more ammunition and guns. He loaded up a shopping cart and took it out to the horse and buggy that he had stolen earlier that night.
He took the arms and ammunition to Patty’s house, passed out, and didn’t wake up until mid-morning.
***
Sheriff Bob surveyed the damage at the store and allowed the kinfolk to take their loved one’s home to be buried.
“Sheriff, how soon will you have the man who killed my brother Billy in jail?”
“There are no witnesses and I doubt that we’ll find anyone to testify. I’ll try to find someone who saw the riot, but don’t count on any arrests. This was a riot and everyone was guilty of something.”
“Screw you. If you don’t handle this, we will.”
“Good luck, now understand me real clear, you little shit, if you cuss me again, I’ll put your sorry ass in jail for a day or two, until you heal up. We clear on this, I mean, real clear.”
Having never heard Sheriff Bob speak to anyone like that, he was cowed and said, “Yes sir, I’m real sorry. I didn’t mean to be a wise ass. It won’t happen again. Hell, I know you’ll do your best, but if I find him first, I’ll……………”
“LeRoy, don’t you be tellin’ me what you gonna’ do. You do what you gotta’ do, but you ain’t gotta’ be tellin’ me. You got me?”
“I got you Sheriff.”
“Atta’ boy. Please tell your ma how sorry I am about Billy. I hope she understands why I won’t be able to come out for the burial.”
“Don’t worry, Sheriff, I’ll make her understand but right now she’s a grievin’. Bye.”
“Bob the safe was locked yesterday. This morning it was wide open and empty. Look over here. There’s a hidden storage room that had a lot of ammunition, food and several guns. Whoever the thief was, he dropped more than he stole.
I think George came back and stole the guns. I went by his room several times yesterday and this morning and he didn’t go back there,” said the deputy.
“I a
gree. I need to find Patty and this Jones fellow and warn them about George. After shooting Wilma, he’s probably gunning for both of them. Jealousy is a powerful evil. Take the rest of the guns, ammo and food over to the jail and lock them up in a cell. If y’all need any for your family, just take ‘em.
Bo, you take my horse out to Patty’s house to warn her about this, and check for George. I’ll take my old truck out to the Williamson place and warn Jones.”
Bob knew the riots and killing would ravage the town and just three lawmen would only get themselves killed trying to stop the mad men and women.
Half of Pinedale’s people died over the next two weeks and another quarter died over the next month. Most of the remaining folks left when the temperature continued to drop, and the food began to run out. The rest simply froze.
***
The next morning George rounded up all of his drinking buddies who were just a step away from starving and doled out food to them. His plan was to form a small army to take the Williamson place and any other ranch that had food. He would kill Jones and take his wife back.
George looked at his friends and said, “My wife purchased tons of food, ammo and guns for that Jones fellow who bought the Williamson place. He didn’t pay for it so it belongs to me. If you help me get rid of him, I’ll share the food, weapons and ammo with you. Everything, well, everything except Patty. Y’all can have Mary.”
There was murmuring and an open discussion before several of the men said, “Hell yes. We’ll join you.”