Dorrie plucked a sandwich from the plate and tore off a bite. “Thank you.”
“Anything for my queen. Wednesday’s going to be busy. Let’s take the load on the truck to the farm tomorrow and stash the goods. That way we can do our business and then do another bout of shopping. You can do clothing, and I’ll hit Sam’s club again. Keep in mind we want quality clothing that will last. The survivalist forums seemed to lean toward a brand called Carhartt.”
“I’m familiar with the brand. High quality with high prices, but designed to last. I’ll see what they have to offer, but mostly I think we’re going to need simple, sturdy clothing that we don’t mind getting filthy. Walmart fits the bill.”
“That’s your department. Hon, I’m tired. Let’s go to bed so we can beat the morning traffic.”
CHAPTER FOUR
They did get an early start. To save on fuel costs, they left Dorrie’s car parked. Turning onto their graveled drive at the farm, Max noted the small tow-behind camper trailer parked beside the driveway about a hundred feet from the front of the house. A tall, heavy built black man was sitting on their porch.
When Max left the truck and went to greet him, he saw that the heaviness was due to solid hunks of muscle. The man seemed to be twice as broad in the shoulders as Max, and at least six inches taller.
“You must be Max,” the giant said, rising to his feet. Max felt his hand disappear as he accepted the surprisingly gentle handshake. My name is Jacob, King’s oldest.”
“I’m pleased to meet you Jacob. We’ll only be here long enough to unload the truck.”
Jacob followed Max to the rear of the truck. Max opened the roll up door and lowered the lift. “That’s a hefty load you have.” He said. “Tell you what. I’ll help you unload for five an hour. That’s on top of the money already agreed to.”
“Sounds fair to me,” Max agreed. “Work must be hard to find around here.”
“Work’s hard to find anywhere, and you get to where you take what comes along.”
“I’m beginning to realize that. What sort of work do you usually do, Jacob, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Why would I mind? Up until two years ago, I was a professor at the university over in Demorest. Taught calculus and statistics. The university folded. Takes a middle class to have students. America doesn’t have a middle class any longer.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. I recently lost my job too.”
“Nothing to be sorry about. Oh, I whined about it for a few months, but you know what? I’m glad it happened. I’m closer to my family and my dad. He’s getting along in years and time with him is precious. He’s a wealth of real-world knowledge. I’m happier now than I’ve ever been in my life. Anyway, let’s get at the load. It doesn’t seem to have the intelligence or means to move itself.”
Bobby heard Jacob’s statement and giggled. “Seems like all we’ve been doing lately is moving dumb stuff.” He stepped onto the lift platform. “Beam me up, Dad.”
They performed the laborious job of carrying the contents of the truck to the basement. Thanks to Dorrie directing the placement of the supplies, the well-organized stacks consumed remarkably little space.
Midway through the job, she arranged several of the chairs her grandmother kept in the basement into a rough circle. Motioning to a case of water Kelly had brought down, she called for a break, handing out paper towels so they could wipe the sweat from their faces.
Balling up a wet wad of towels, Jacob accepted a bottle of water from Dorrie and took a chair. He glanced toward the growing piles. “You sure are stockpiling a lot of supplies. You folks getting ready for world war three?”
“Not necessarily war, but we do think hard times are coming,” Max replied.
“Dad told me what you’re doing. Fact is we’ve been prepping for the past three years. Belle, my better half, majored in economics and follows trends. She’s surprised the flip hasn’t happened already. Fairly well convinced me it could happen any day.”
“What exactly does she think is going to happen?” Dorrie asked.
“According to her, the economic boiling point was reached in oh-eight. Governments took measures to lower the temp, the pressure, but the flames burning through the global economy were merely set to simmer. The root problems remain. The austerity measures adopted by many nations only served to exacerbate the disease. No money in circulation meant less consumerism, leading to less production, leading in turn to higher unemployment and less money in circulation. It’s a standard feedback loop, and the noose is getting tighter.”
“That’s pretty much the conclusions Dorrie, and I share,” Max told him.
“Yep, the fools in the top seats of government sold their souls for power and money. They won’t, or perhaps can’t admit that if the economy falls, their money becomes as worthless as yours and mine. If we fall far enough, the only things that will have value will be food, water, women, horses, liquor, and tobacco. Guns and ammo too. What weapons are you folks packing?”
“None.”
“None? How about what you’ve got stashed in the freezer with the sign on it.”
Max looked upon Jacob with distrust and started to speak. Dorrie reached to touch his arm and spoke to Jacob.
“How did you know?”
“Smelled the linseed oil and the gun oil. Both scents are familiar to me. As far as knowing they’re in the freezer, there’s no other place down here to hide them. The sign is sort of a giveaway too.”
Jacob shifted in his chair to address Max. “You folks are from the city. Have any of you fired a weapon before?” He noticed the tight expression on Max’s face. “There’s no need to be hostile or protective. We have all the weapons we need over at our place. I’m trying to be helpful.”
Still tense, Max asked, “Yes, we do have weapons, rifles and pistols, and no, we have never owned one before a few days ago. How do you mean you’re trying to help?”
“We have a firing range set up, and you’re welcome to come over to use it. My brother and I will turn the four of you into sharpshooters.”
Max relaxed. Jacob’s, matter of fact manner, relieved him from feeling threatened.
“Jacob, we’ll take you up on your offer as soon as we complete our move. We still have some financial dealings to conclude and a lot more shopping. Our aim is to spend nearly all our money before it’s worthless.”
“I hear that. You folks ready to get back to it?” Jacob stood, looking around for a place to put his empty bottle and the wadded up ball of paper towels he still held.
Dorrie saw his dilemma and pointed to an empty five-gallon bucket.
“Toss it in the bucket. You want another bottle?”
Because of their early start and Jacob’s enthusiastic help, there was plenty of shopping time left after their drive back to the city. They had lunch at a fast food joint, and then Max dropped Dorrie at the house to retrieve her car to shop for clothing. Max and the kids returned to Sam’s Club.
With a store associate advising them, Max and his two helpers loaded one cart with a variety of canning equipment, including the lids Dorrie said they needed, along with three electric pressure cookers. He was surprised at all the accessories available, lid wrenches, pea shellers, corn cutters, fruit peelers. He found supplies and grinders for preparing meats. There were large containers of spices for pickling and for preparing jerky and sausage. On a rack in this area, he found a considerable number of books related to the subject and loaded a selection of those as well. After adding thirty gallons of pickling vinegar, the cart was too heavy for Kelly and Bobby to push to the front and almost too heavy for him.
For the rest of the shopping, Max concentrated on canned goods. Cases of products with meat as an ingredient, stews, and chili making the bulk. His shopping constrained to the five thousand he still held from cashing his severance check, they filled a smaller number of carts. He was again able to convince a manager to have store employees do the loading of the truck.
; The next day, Wednesday, Max and Dorrie spent the morning at their dining table going over finances. Dorrie reminded him that they would need to withhold money to purchase livestock from King Magnus, as well as feed, and other supplies associated with keeping animals. Max took this opportunity to talk about something on his mind.
“I haven’t met them all, but the O’Donnell’s seem to be a decent family.”
“Oh, they are,” Dorrie, agreed.
Max nodded and continued. “From what King said about the lack of work in the area, they’re strapped for cash. What say on out next trip out to the farm we pay for the livestock in advance and see we can contract them to help us lay in the proper supplies and containment. We may need to contract their help with planting too.”
Dorrie agreed. “You’re right about that. I’m beginning to see we’re going to need a lot of help, at least through the first year. Thing is, if we wait too late, money will be worthless to them. At least by paying in advance they can do the same as us and spend it fast.”
“Then you agree we’ll take a chance on their honesty?”
“I’ve met the family and yes, I think we can trust them.”
“Okay. After we finish our transaction at the bank, let’s go to the farm, unload the truck, and plan to spend the night. We’ll see if we can get an audience with the King tomorrow.”
The ringing of the doorbell broke their conversation. Dorrie answered and ushered a well-dressed middle-aged man accompanied by a short, plump blonde woman about thirty years old, into the living room.
“Max, this is Conway Perkins, and I’m sure you remember Mary, our agent who found the house for us.”
Max rose from the couch to greet them. Mary had all the papers ready. They signed and an hour later, the guests departed, leaving behind a bulging bank bag stuffed with eighty-five thousand dollars worth of crispy new, hundred dollar bills.
The bank transaction went just as smoothly. They departed with another bank bag stuffed with hundred dollar bills.
To Dorrie’s dismay, because she considered such food to be like eating garbage, in the interest of saving time, again the family had a meal-to-go from a fast foods franchise. The seat of the large truck was wide enough for them all. As they ate, Dorrie turned on the radio to catch the news.
The European governments had used military suppression to gain control over the rioting. They killed or injured thousands of citizens. Fires still burned in Dresden and in London, but were under control.
Displacement due to the fires caused an even larger number of homeless for whom there were no services in place to provide shelter. Those without family to turn to formed impromptu camps in public parks and other green spaces. Despite heroic efforts, the cash strapped social services could not keep up with the crushing needs of the steadily growing ranks of people in desperate need of the basics, food, water, sanitation facilities.
In the US, Congress stalled a bill to provide emergency assistance to our allies by demands for further cuts to entitlement programs, refused to release funds without those added conditions. One representative announced on the floor that America was only a few steps from financial collapse, and it would be foolhardy to extend any form of aid. The opposing party ridiculed her. They accused her of fear mongering to advance her own agenda of austerity.
Downplayed was a news item of food riots in several California cities, dismissing them as nothing more than copycatting the uprising in Europe. Local police forces quelled the rioters, using Sonic Blasters, tear gas, and rubber bullets.
The newscast ended, replaced by a syndicated voice of unreason spouting a diatribe aimed to cause discord. Dorrie turned the radio off and spoke past Bobby, sitting between her and Max.
“Riding around, shopping for clothing, I listened to NPR on the radio. A panel of economists was discussing America’s options. The consensus seemed to be a shift to isolationism. One expert went against the grain. His position is that the world has become a massive global economy, and there was no way we could disconnect from it. That the global collapse has already happened, but the world powers were in denial. He said it was only a matter of time before the citizens realized the house had already crumbled, and we were living in the rubble and rose in revolt.”
“I think I’d agree with him,” Max responded. “I just hope nothing happens before we’re prepared.”
“We’re making progress. We’ll continue gathering supplies and plan for the worst as fast as we can.” Dorrie turned the radio back on and asked Kelly to locate a station. Kelly promptly pushed a preset for a country station that played classic oldies.
***
Jacobs was occupying the same chair on the porch as the previous day. As the family approached, Max saw a rifle leaning against the wall beside the chair. Jacob rose to greet them.
“Are you expecting trouble?” Max gestured toward to rifle.
“My brother Otis saw Billy Ray Dobbs and some of his clan drive up your driveway last night. They recognized our trailer and left without stopping.”
Max didn’t respond, simply gestured at the rifle again. Jacob looked in that direction and a look of comprehension crossed his face.
“That’s right. The name doesn’t mean anything to you. In these parts, Billy Ray Dobbs has the reputation as a thief and possibly a rapist, although not proven. Runs with a gang of meth heads. As for the shotgun, Billy Ray and a few others around here aren’t to be taken lightly.”
Max frowned. “Damn. It seems like we’re running from the city just to put ourselves at risk.”
Jacob shrugged. “There’s danger everywhere, at least here you can put a face to it.”
Max followed suit and shrugged in turn. “There is that. We’ve got another load.”
Jacob stepped down from the porch. “Same terms as yesterday?”
“Same terms. Isn’t your brother Otis going to feel left out?”
“No, what money any of us earns goes into the same pot. Things are too tight to do otherwise.”
“Dorrie and I came to some decisions that might alleviate your situation. After we unload the truck, if your Father’s up to it, we’d like to discuss some things with you and Otis and him.”
Jacob’s face broke into a broad grin. “If you’re talking about earning some money, I guarantee you he’s up to it.”
Dorrie again supervised the placement of the supplies in the basement. She was overjoyed with the wealth of canning supplies Max had purchased.
When they finished unloading, she invited Jacob to eat lunch with them. He declined the offer, saying he’d been thinking about left over ribs from the night before. Max offered the use of the truck which was accepted. Jacob promised to return with his father within a couple hours.
Shortly after Jacob drove away, Max received a call from Rebecca Stevens, his friend from work. Her call brought him to tears. Larry, John and now Wallace, all suicides. Rebecca was extremely distraught, saying Larry’s wife was acting suicidal too. She told him she was at the end of her strength from lack of sleep, but she was afraid to leave Meg alone.
“I have to go somewhere else. I don’t want to, but I’m at my wits end.”
Max saw Dorrie indicate for him to pass her the phone. “Rebecca, I don’t know what to say. I’m going to pass the phone to Dorrie. If there is anything we can do to help, I know she will figure it out.”
Max handed Dorrie his phone and went to the porch to cry. A few minutes later Kelly joined him, tears flowing down her young cheeks. She tried to speak to him, but no words came out. Max opened his arms, and she stepped into his embrace.
After a few moments, she mumbled into his chest. “Mom told the lady she was welcome here. Why did Wallace have to go and kill himself? He could have come here. Why are nice people killing themselves?”
“I don’t know, honey,” Max said, truthfully. “I just don’t know.”
King Magnus, with his two boys in tow, entered into a dining room to the sight of a family in tears.
“Wh
at’s wrong with you folk? You done gone an’ lost a close one, ain’t ya? King asked.
King Magnus and his boys listened as the family delivered a disjointed recital of their past few days.
“You folks have been put thru the wringer. Ya done lost some good people sounds like, but what they went an’ done is their business for their own reasons. Your man Wallace did you all a mighty fine service. Don’t know what gets inta people thinking death is a way out, but I ain’t been for a walk in their shoes.”
“King, the world’s so messed up right now, people don’t know which way to turn,” Otis said.
“Well these here folks is turning right. Ain’t nothing like the fresh air and good clean dirt ta set the mind straight.” King paused and then spoke to Max. “My boy Jacob, said you be wantin’ ta talk business, but iffen you rathered another time we can oblige that.”
“No, now’s a good time. We were overwhelmed with so many gone, but let’s talk.” Max turned to Kelly and Bobby. You can stay if you want.”
Kelly stood from the table. “Bobby and I need to weed and rake around the chicken house.” Bobby followed her out the door without his usual grumbling.
King watched them leave and then turned to Max and Dorrie.
“They’s some good kids you’re raising. Kids tell a lot about what sort of people’s in charge of’em.”
“Kelly’s a charm, but we’re still working on our boy,” Dorrie said. “Please, everyone sit. I’m going to have hot tea. Would anyone like a cup? Water, coffee.”
“I reckon a cup o tea would suit us jist fine. You haven’t met my boy Otis. Otis, this is Mister Max and Miss Dorrie.”
Max rose to shake Otis’s hand. Otis was every bit as massive as his brother. “One thing’s for sure, King. You don’t raise little kids.”
“Nope, be a right waste of time on a farm. Man’s got ta be able to wrestle a bull to the ground. You want to get straight to the point about work and money or do we need to polite about for a while?”
“Straight to it, but let’s wait for Dorrie to join us,” Max said.
DISASTER: Too Late to Prep Page 5