by Ron Foster
“We got about 15 people who are like me or better prepared but don’t think they can make it home because of distance, money, lack of gas etc.’ Earl said telling Nubbie he could have that catfish he caught for his family if he went back to the bank to retrieve it. Chicken soup sounded good to him and he had a lot of things to discuss with Zack tonight.
“What is that?” Ann asked pointing at a cardboard box with ZACK scribbled on it in large capitol lettered magic marker he had been toting around guardedly with him.
“That is something Parker needs to find a safe place for just as soon as I dig in it for a minute. What did you do with my Army tent?” Zack asked Ezra.
“I got it pitched next to your good tent in the clearing over yonder. I put your American Flag up flying over the Bivouacs area over there.” Ezra said.
“This needs to find its way over to my tent Parker after we pour us a drink. Anyone but Knobby or Nick want to get in on this last free pour of mine can have one last one but don’t think you are doing any favors to me for having a last drink at the end of the world.” Zack said getting selfish about his whiskey stash.
Most everyone didn’t drink anyway and politely said no thank you or heeded Zacks admonishment he thought he could use the strong drink better than they could and declined.
Knobby and Nick said they would drink out of their stash later as they gently ribbed him about how they had out traded him earlier and Ezra thought it was hilarious how they had pulled it off.
“Zack you going to take a ride on my cart?” Rachel said pointing at the cool looking vehicle.
“In a minute, I got a couple of other things to discuss first.” Zack replied.
“She wants to show you some features you can’t see from here. Go on over there and see before she busts a stitch trying to show you. That thing has an ice chest on it! Even Dee’s limo doesn’t have that!” Donna said and then facially indicated that there was some kind of secret over there he needed to go look at.
“We don’t have enough for everyone but you and Ann can have a taste of steak tonight if we drive off in the woods somewhere.” Rachel whispered to him showing the accessory had some rib eyes and T-bones in it.
“Holy shit!” Zack whispered back before loudly announcing it was very cool but a useless feature with no ice in a grid down situation for the benefit of the onlookers before returning back to the group.
“I thought you traded all the fresh meat? How did you come up with those three boxes of chicken pieces?” Zack asked upon his return.
“Reading your books! You never tell someone in a trade all you got upfront! Isn’t that what you are always preaching Zack?” Dee said laughing about how she and the other two girls had managed to hide a little bit out of the trade. She gave Zack a wink to that statement that meant they also had gotten the used go-cart dealer to give them some of their trade goods back he had just seen.
“Hey me and Ann need to go take a ride and do some recon this evening before the sun goes down if you would excuse us,” Zack said evidently not going to have the histrionics everyone thought he would over the trade everyone had made without his presence.
“Hey, if we made shish kabob out of all that steak, we could all have us a famous last supper with those folks we were just talking to.” Zack said thinking it would be about one skewer apiece but what a meal!
“That’s ok with me, where you going Zack?” Dee asked.
“I am going to get my jug and Parker and see if Nick and Knobby want me to do them a favor!” Zack said with a grin and quickly walked off in their direction.
“Hell, this ought to be worth two favors!” Zack said thinking he was going to have fun balancing the trading scales with those two.
11
Giving And Getting
“Hey Parker, come give me a hand over here if you got a minute please.” Zack said bent over the battery compartment of a golf cart as he and George tried to figure out how to use his 12volt solar charger on a 48- or 24-volt system.
“Sure, what do you need?” Parker said coming over to the big oak shade tree they were using as a garage.
“I am going to lend you a few things for the duration of this apocalypse since you didn’t get a chance to bring very much with you on the plane. We can’t have you running around with just a multi tool to your name trying to survive. You my friend are in serious need of an upgrade and it just so happens I packed some extra shit for you and Dee should it be needed. Thing is I only got one extra pistol to lend. I got a sweet old-style Sig .380 230 model in stainless that normally goes in my concealed carry pocket of my vest but I got my little Ruger pistol in my pocket so I won’t miss it much.” Zack said reaching down to pick up a black Sig Sauer Emblazoned plastic case beside his socket wrench set.
“Now that’s cool as hell! Reminds me of the Walther the movie spy James Bond used to always carry.” Parker said as Zack passed it to him for inspection.
‘Yea before everyone started making the tiny Keltecs’ etc. that was the Cadillac of three eighties. I got three loaded mags of the good stuff nickel casing hollow points and will share a half a box of hot ball ammunition with it. I can’t offer you no gun leather to go with it until I manage to get home and get back here though.” Zack said eying the younger man who had typified what a prepper was to him and that he was most grateful to have around during these trying times.
“So, you saying you going to let me carry this as my own for a while?” Parker said understanding the meaning on Zack bestowing it on him, or so he thought.
“Well Parker you can carry it or you can decide to lend it to Dee. That’s the thing I want to talk to you about. You see Ann and I come prepared to share extra gear knowing you and her might need something but we were also doing a minimalist bug out practice for ourselves in the process. Now you have been staying up late talking at the campfire with me since day one and we discussed a lot of things while just playing out various disaster scenarios or just shooting the breeze, but it’s time we got some of the most serious questions of our lives to answer out of the way…The upcoming days and weeks ahead aren’t going to get anything but harder and our fates are now at a big time crossroads you might say.” Zack said looking grim at the questioning looks his formerly part time internet friend was giving him.
“What do you mean crossroads Zack? I kind of thought that we were working things out as best we can and you had decided to go with the flow until we could figure some things out better for the long run,” Parker inquired.
“That’s the thing my friend, things ain’t going to get no better, EVER! Only things can get worse from here on out as far as I can see, I ain’t liking what we both know has been going on in the background so far but it’s time we had a discussion about them. Now just take this opinion as an old man’s ramblings if you want, but I know a thing or two about desperate people and hard times ok? Those folks that live close by here and are preppers that left all were swearing that they would be back with some help but I doubt you will ever see any of them anytime soon.” Zack said letting the statement sink in.
“What do you mean? Now I can’t say I would like to have some of them everyday living in my backyard but they seemed sincere enough in their promises to help bring some extra supplies back to us that are remaining.” Parker said.
“Oh man don’t kid yourself! I am not saying that they are all bad men and women, it’s just that they are going to think differently about it after they can’t see your face across the dinner table or campfire anymore. That’s when they will decide they need what they got at home more for themselves than sharing precious food supplies with a bunch of strangers. Don’t get mad at them for not sharing now. Just be mad they built up false hopes and weren’t being honest with you or themselves when thy said they were coming back here. This is a logistic nightmare over here to feed you all and nobody wants any part of it if left to their own survival and devices figuring others thin like them so what’s the point of depriving themselves just to help someone
short term realistically? Now I ain’t going to try to make a point either way for or against this kind of thinking. I am just saying without full community support any relief efforts they were thinking of contributing to pale in comparison to meet their upcoming personal needs.” Zack pointed out.
“But they left their vehicles and gear behind so folks had a better chance!” Parker objected.
“They left their vehicles and gear behind because they couldn’t take it all with them yet off the island. They were happy to share what they had with who they gifted it too but preppers often times got backups to their backups. Those tearful farewells in my opinion were a bit one sided and I know a few folks said to me I could come share some preps with them but leave the rest of the rabble we got here behind. Time for some folks to spin in the wind and lose some of that attitude they got. They need to start begging to be a part of something bigger than themselves and shed some of their funky perceived self-worth. Me I got a bit of something for me and mine put back I plan on slicing and dicing thin to the starving point, but you and Dee and a few others are homeless when it comes to tomorrow for practicality state. Now don’t get me wrong, I ain’t saying I am going to be giving up on you or the others but the apocalyptic philosophy of “It is what it is” makes you a bunch of starving dogs hanging around the homestead.” Zack said bluntly.
“Damn boy you ain’t one to mince words, are you? So, me and Dee are not on our own yet but soon will be, I guess. When are you planning on heading out?” Parker asked.
“Well Mack and his family, Nubbie and Brent all live over by me which puts me at a disadvantage somewhat when it comes to a drain on my supplies. I been telling them for years to get prepped but I doubt they can last on their own food wise more than a month. I bought four 30 days for one person buckets of food and two 4-person 72-hour ration buckets for the day I envisioned they would come around asking for a hand out but I gave that all to Mack last time we had a solar storm approaching and had a talk with him. For $25 bucks a month or $600 they could of all had that little bit of insurance but they liked guns and ammo better I suppose. Its kind of hard to balance your thinking when wanting an AR or something but I got what I got by half stepping along which brings me back to firearms. Like I said Ann and I came here what I call minimally prepped but thank your lucky stars we did. You got a choice of a single shot 20 gauge or a Henry 22 survival rifle if you want to lend Dee the pistol. Ann and I have the single shot folding shotguns as Kayak guns and have the survival twenty twos in our bug out bags. Earl needs a Long gun so he is getting whichever one you don’t choose. That leaves one of Each for Ann and I to carry going home. We also have two BB/ pellet guns. A daisy 880 and a Crossman Pump master. Ezra gets one of those, he has his concealed carry pistol and an air rifle gives him hunting capability. He is the oldest of you all and its better if you park him out in the woods somewhere to still hunt or on the shore fishing rather than trying to stalk game or run a trapline.” Zack declared doing some preliminary apocalyptic planning.
“Earl got Lucky and just won that neat Beeman dual caliber air rifle off Ezra at the drawing and had it in his hand when the ground started shaking. He would be a good hunter for the group. I am thinking if he is out hunting squirrels, he might need that Shotgun if he sees a deer or turkey on the other hand, I sort of want it as a defensive and hunting weapon. I guess its going to depend on what your ultimate plan is. Are you going home and staying home or coming back here for a short bit?” Parker asked thinking living in a tent over here would soon suck big time. On the other hand, as a temporary bug out location he couldn’t really ask for a better place or expect a better bunch of people to be stuck with.
“I am still debating what I am doing but short term I am going to try to get Rod to carry all the folks in my neighborhood back home. It is only an hour ride from here but I don’t have any news on road conditions. The power being out is one thing, but flooding and maybe giant ass cracks in the roads is another. We need to get back to our preps and supplies quick as we can and I am thinking as early s we can. Mack just lives a hundred yards or so from me. His truck is back there and he could get me back here if the roads are passable but that is not a for sure thing so I might be bugging out and can’t get back here even if I want to.” Zack said advising the chances of Parker and others getting abandoned here with no more help was a very high possibility.
“Have you talked with Dee, Rachel and Donna yet?” Parker asked.
“No, I am talking to you first. it’s a pretty messed up situation, I only have a tiny 2-bedroom house. Really about a bedroom and a half and I don’t have room for let’s see, Earl, You, Ezra, Dee, Rachel, Donna that’s 6 people and I know I got Brent, Nubbie, Mack etc. going to be needing some help. Can’t be done! I got maybe, and don’t you breathe a word of this, maybe a year and a half worth of food for two people. Mack is not supposed to bother me for supplies for at least 2 months and help me fend off the other neighbors. If I lose two months more food giving Brent etc. some that puts me in a tenuous position of having to refuse to help or do without myself in the coming months. Oh, by the way I am going to lend one of the air rifles to Donna and Rachel as a critter getter. We got like 10,000 BB’s and 500 or more .177 pellets for those things by the way. That will feed a body better longer than that shotgun or one of the twenty twos’ but I got to travel through Montgomery (Monkey Town) on the way home and I just soon keep some firepower for me and Ann. On the other hand, I don’t know what guns Rod might have I could borrow until I get to my gun safe so it’s possible, I could be leaving more weaponry here. On the other hand, could be also he says hell no I ain’t driving down there or the bridge to Montgomery is out or something. Lots of variables, way too many but I can’t stop the sands of time or the crushing winds of a disaster and we got to act with a bit of expediency no matter what we got going on.’ Zack said with a bit of urgency.
“Well we won’t know anything much about the roads until radios start working, I guess. Have you talked To Rod about your plans?” Parker asked.
“Well no, nothing regarding what we are discussing right now. He is supposed to go home, get the radios going, come back here and have an in-depth discussion. He will be back, I ain’t worried about that. Hopefully he won’t find too much to do before gets around to it though. Bobby says it will be most likely two or three weeks before the water goes down and folks can drive out if things are running normally, but I don’t think we can use that word normal for our planning.” Zack said.
“Did he give you any kind of insights on what he thought we should be doing?” Parker asked.
“Who? Bobby or Rod? I haven’t had a chance to talk to Bobby much yet but Rod and I had a discussion previously when we were getting ready for this camping trip and he was showing me where he lived. His house is in a gated community by the way and we played the grid down conflicted game with each other of what it would be like bugged in over there. He is open for having a community of survivors over there by the way, well he said he was. It is all good fun and fantasy of a prepper fiction book of running gun battles where you never die until you get down to the real nitty gritty of just living day to day. I got a proposal for him when he gets back that I think is going to work and it should make Bobby really happy.” Zack said contemplating.
“What is that Zack? I am open for about anything as you know.” Parker said all ears.
“I know you are Buddy but you have your own talk with all the folks I have mentioned so far and see about you all forming some kind of tribe or alliance together. Let me tell you about this plan first and then we will get into my alternate possibilities to overcome this situation best we can. Now Rod’s community has a small stocked pond and I am thinking of resettling a bunch of people for the duration.” Zack said.
“How does that work? That community is going to freak out if we all just suddenly appear in their neighborhood.” Parker said not seeing that line of thinking.
“Well Rod said most of those people living behind th
ose gates are either younger liberal minded sheeple or older retirees so we going to use that against them. You are going to invade their little sheltered enclave in a mass migration move and be on their doorstops before they can do much about it. Check out how we are going to pull this off.” Zack said before beginning to elaborate on his gated community invasion.