Sharecropping The Apocalypse: A Prepper is Cast Adrift

by Ron Foster

  Stores all had been emptied seemingly overnight when the power was still on in the beginning of the disaster and the promised water tankers from the National Guard never materialized at what was supposed to be the distribution point at an old strip mall in his area.

  He like so many others had showed up early on their appointed day before the designated time and waited uncomfortably for hours waiting on a relief convoy that never came. A pair of police squad cars had arrived about an hour after the designated time and made a brief announcement that he said infuriated and incited the assembled crowd to take violent actions.

  “Go back to your homes; all of you go back to your homes now peacefully. There will be no deliveries today. You are instructed to come back here two days time.” An officer said over his cars public address system.

  He said more but whatever it was he was saying couldn’t be heard legibly as an overwhelming sigh of distress was put forward by all the hungry and thirsty folks of the assembled mob which soon turned to shouts of anger and a general move of the crowd in the police cars direction.

  The cops immediately aggravated the situation further by turning up the mike and announcing that the crowd was ordered to disperse immediately or they were subject to arrest under the emergency powers act. It didn’t take long before the sea of desperate humanity began to surge forward shouting questions and indignation at the officers before they retreated back to their cars with guns drawn and left the parking lot in a hurry leaving the milling crowd to their own devices.

  The more uncaring or radically minded people soon began to take out their anger and needs on the strip mall as garbage cans, paper stands and the like were used to bust out the store fronts and batter down doors as an orgy of looting began in earnest.

  Will said his first instinct was to leave the area as fast as possible but any thoughts of returning home without anything to sustain himself in the coming days soon lead to him jostling his way into a broken window of a Dollar store with the thugs and common folk all just wanting something, anything they could grab and carry off.

  People were shouting, threatening each other, crashing about and generally just mindless as they swarmed the stores aisles snatching whatever they could grab and hold on to. Will grabbed a cardboard case of sweet peas and managed to make it mostly out the door without too many hands trying to steal cans of his hard won goods from him.

  Other people didn’t fair so lucky as fights, strong arm robberies of the weaker and accidents took their toll. Will said he didn’t wait around to find out what was next or try for any more goods and instead got in his car and hurried home before the mayhem of the crowd or police reinforcements to suppress it caught up with him.

  The strip mall wasn’t far from his house so about two days later he decided to walk up there and see what was going on. The batteries in his weather radio had gone dead the day before and when he started his car to listen to its radio he noted he only had only a little under a half of a tank of gas. Travel restrictions were in force but the radio said FEMA was mobilizing and assembling relief supplies in the city of Montgomery about 80 miles away just like they did to respond to hurricanes along the Gulf Coast after Katrina.

  Will had a good life long friend named Ned who lived in that town and figured that if he could make it down there that his chances of receiving some help were much better in the less populated city. He decided that he would leave out in morning after he ascertained just what was going on in and around his neighborhood and he figured he should have just enough gas to make it.

  Will was no stranger to power outages and the aftermath of storms spawned by hurricanes that made their way far inland to his area and was not worried much about any dangers of walking around his neighborhood despite the lawlessness he had participated in the other day. That was a fluke he thought, a momentary misjudgment as he got caught up in the desperation of the moment.

  People in his community normally all pulled together and grew closer as a community after a disaster and looting was a rare occurrence mostly brought on by greed and opportunistic criminals looking for whatever goods they could steal like electronics and not out of necessity to obtain food and water.

  His conscience had plagued him for days after participating in the Dollar store fiasco and his curiosity and need overcame his fears of returning to what was supposed to be his relief distribution point. Maybe today there would be some emergency supplies he could get. The only neighbor he knew in his apartment complex was out of town and he desired news and human interaction after being held up in his apartment for these long weeks. Getting out in the light of day and fresh air and possibly running into somebody to talk to was exactly what he needed to clear his mind and help him to figure out what he needed to do he had decided.

  There were very few cars traveling out on the street and except for a few furtive worried faces peering out from behind the curtains of their homes windows Will said that he saw no one else until he got near the shopping center where he spied a military vehicle with its two Guardsmen occupants.

  Will wandered over to the vehicle and one of the soldiers asked him what it was he wanted. Will asked if this place was still a disaster relief distribution site and was informed that no, this place wasn’t designated as one anymore and that the new site for his zip code area was a local school building about 3 blocks away. The guardsman advised however that there were no real supplies available to give out to the public there and that the only service he could get at the location was when they fire department turned on one of the hydrants every few days to allow who ever brought a container to draw some water.

  The soldier also further advised him that the highways leading out of Birmingham south were pretty much impassable at the moment because of stalled or disabled cars and was pretty much a mess because of the mass exodus that was going on in the city and that it would be best for him to try an alternate route if he was going to try reaching Montgomery.

  On his way home to his apartment he started thinking about somehow making his way over to Tuscaloosa and then heading south but he really didn’t have the gas for that. He had a business associate that he was on friendly terms with that lived in that town and he had been invited over to his house for dinner a few times but that didn’t mean his friend would have any precious gas to spare or for that matter be inclined to give it to him if he made it that far and asked for it. However this still seemed his best option, it sure beat staying around here he considered.

  Will told everyone that once he used to walk the streets in his neighborhood with money and friends but in a blink of an eye or the flick of a switch his world had ended and he soon ended up pretty much as destitute as if he had always been homeless.

  He had finally decided to try for Tuscaloosa and deal with whatever fate or luck brought his way when he got there. He certainly couldn’t stay around where he was at much longer.

  He had barely any food of any kind whatsoever left and there was the water shortage to contend with. He knew from past experience that the technologically prehistoric water system for the city wouldn’t last more than a day or two, hell the sewage system that the city had over spent on and mismanaged and had almost bankrupted the city and was far from complete was backed up already. He hadn’t had a flushing toilet in days if you had water to pour in it and that fact alone told him he had to leave. People in the complex of 150 or so apartments had resorted to whatever means necessary to dispose of their waste and the funk and the stench from the areas where the dumpsters were parked would have gagged a maggot.

  Will had simply peed in the sink and thanked his male plumbing for the ability to do so until the pipes in the apartment began to backup. He used a garbage bag lining his toilet bowl for his other business but disposing of a sack of turds was problematic at best because it seems that everyone in the complex thought of using the dumpsters for the same purpose as he did and rotting garbage bags of filth appeared to be just casually tossed in the general direction of the receptacles wit
hout any regard for the consequences of the bag bursting open when hitting the pavement. Will said he couldn’t really blame folks for this much as he was guilty himself of getting in smelling and throwing distance from the dump sites and let fly of a garbage bag before quickly hurrying away gagging.

  Will gathered up what few cans of food he had left, poured what little bit of water he had into empty soda bottles and precariously balanced an open boiler pot full of rain water on his cars floorboards and headed out one fine morning without a plan or much hopes for his future.

  As he drove to Tuscaloosa he was amazed by the number of cars that were stuck on the sides of the road as well as the number of people trying to hitch a ride or walking along the highway aimlessly. Will wasn’t one to pick up hitch hikers but a couple and their 4 or 5 year old child pulled his heartstrings and he decided he had to stop and give them a ride.

  Will was scared to death after picking them up though because the man kept referring to the gun he had in his pocket and how they would be ok if anyone messed with them while traveling on this road. Will had never been an advocate for guns and had never been around anyone that talked so much about shooting someone let alone allegedly having one in their pocket and he feared what at first appeared to be such a nice looking couple might turn out to be not so nice and rob him of his car or worse.

  The couple had a plastic bag full of bottled water and a couple suitcases with them and upon seeing his pot full of water sort of obliged him to give them all a drink of the precious commodity. The couple explained they had left out from their home under similar circumstances such as his but were forced to leave what they had behind when their car ran out of gas miles down the road.

  Talk turned to where everyone was going and why and apparently they didn’t have much of any real plan either and they were just seeking shelter and sustenance like Will was. The couple’s ultimate goal was to try to get to some relatives country property somewhere on the Georgia border but how they would eventually get there they had no idea about now that they didn’t have a car or any money.

  Will took this news in with suspicion and apprehension but he tried to assure them and offer hope that the government was setting up camps to help folks like them and maybe they could get a ride of some sorts from FEMA or some other relief agency. The man was not so sure of the fact that the government could mount such a huge response but his wife was adamant that help must be locatable somewhere in the city ahead and they would be all right somehow soon.

  Will mentally went over his route to his friend’s house and then eventually told them he would have to turn off before the city proper and that he was sorry he couldn’t carry them all the way into town but he didn’t have the gas or the time to do so. This bit of news didn’t go over well and the couple tried to cajole and beseech him to please not put them out and to take them on into the city proper but Will told them that the best he could do was slightly go out of his way and drop them off at the first highway exit they came upon before he had to turn around and go back towards his friend’s house in the suburbs.

  Will got a niggling uneasy feeling as the man and woman riding with him became more silent and argumentative with each other and him. The child sensing his parents aggression soon began fussing and caterwauling and Will suggested they pull off at the next exit and stretch their legs some and let the kid wander around a bit.

  The couple agreed and in a mile or two he pulled into the rest area in front of the restroom. Will got the map out and showed the man where they were at and that his turn off was about 8 miles away but the city exit was another 20 or so.

  Will asked them “What do you think about me maybe leaving you all right here? You can have the rest of the water in the pot to see you through until the next ride comes long and they could rest under a picnic shelter?”

  The man didn’t like the idea much but Will was adamant that this was the best idea and they could stay here or get out where he had to turn off at the highway junction up the road and the man scowled at him and went to talk to his wife who was over in the shade of a tree at a picnic table next to the non- functioning bathroom facilities.

  A lot of what seemed to be hushed talk and a thumb gesture towards the woman that indicated Will who was back at the car made his mind up and Will got out of the car and opened the rear passenger door to remove their luggage. The women pointed at him and yelled and the man turned and hollered at Will to wait but he just dropped the suitcases and jumped into the driver’s seat and started up the car with the backdoor still open and the man starting to run toward him and he sped off towards the ramp.

  “You know what that man did next?” Will told the assembled crowd of Clem, Bertha and others listening to him intently.

  “The son of a bitch pulled his gun out and started shooting at me! Blam! ..Blam! Blam! Well at that point I just floored it and got the hell out of dodge. Can you imagine? I was helping them folks; I wasn’t taking their stuff that was obvious to see. I can’t believe he decided to fire at me not once but three damn times, I tell you what, I sincerely believe that man was going to try and take my car and maybe my life if I had not of got that weird feeling about them and left them there. I swear people are just not right and I vowed then not to trust another soul but that’s not the worst of it or the only person that threatened me with a gun before I got here.” Will said still visibly shaken from his encounters.

  “He had this here knife on him.” Rossy Ross said producing a smallish kitchen butcher knife from her kit bag slung over her shoulder. Then she stared at the man like it was the only righteous thing to do in her opinion to a chicken thief armed with a knife was to keep threatening him to outright shoot him he moved in her direction.

  “A man needs some protection and that was all I had. I didn’t try to pull it on you or nothing I just had it stuck in my belt.” Will complained.

  “Yea this dumbass had it shoved into a piece of cardboard I guess thinking it was safer to carry that away.” Rossy said tilting the barrel of her rifle in his direction.

  “Nothing wrong with someone trying to protect themselves Rossi, knife is just a tool unless it’s used otherwise.” David admonished before telling Will to carry on with his story.

  “Well that asshole actually hit my car’s trunk with one of those wild shots he sprayed in my direction and as my sorry luck would have it, it hit right where I had my water bottles stored so he really screwed me up beyond giving me the first biggest scare of my life.” Will said somewhat visibly relaxing as everyone commiserated with him by saying how wrong it was for the couple to attack him for no reason or for that matter even if he wanted to leave them and they couldn’t understand it wasn’t his fault they had a predicament.

  “Wait folks this story gets better!” Will exclaimed and proceeded to tell them that when he finally got to his friend’s house all he had was six cans of sweet peas, a can of chili and a box of minute rice that was wet along with his clothes from the hole getting punched in his trunk and the guy he had come to see wasn’t at home. Will said he waited around in the driveway for about 4 hours and decided that maybe he should go on into town and see if any aid was about because he was already spooked about being shot at once today and a neighbor had come by asking what he was doing in Mr. Neil’s driveway and was sporting a revolver on his hip.

  The man was nice enough but somewhat threatening to him none the less and inquired of Will’s further plans. Will told him about the only thing he could think of was to keep hanging out and hoping Neil would come home eventually to which the man raised his eyebrow and asked Will what he had planned if he didn’t. Will tried to explain to him about his horrendous journey to get here and the horrible scare he had earlier today but the man just said “Not my business and said that he thought it would be best that if Neil didn’t show up this evening it might be best for everyone if Will kept moving on in the morning. Will explained to him he was light on gas and had little to no water so the man said he could remedy that situation wi
th a gallon of gas and 2 liters of water for 20 bucks.

  Will explained that he only thought about the outrageous prices for a second before readily agreeing he would clear out tomorrow and sleep in his car tonight if that would be ok. Will said he had a fitful sleep for a few hours going to bed about ten for lack of anything better to do and cranked up his car about 4 am the next day and was surprised to see the same neighbor out on his front lawn now carrying a shotgun and waving goodbye to him with a smile before he went back in his house.

  Will drove into town the next morning distraught and currently not having a friend in the world. He had no idea where his next drink of water or food was coming from or even where he was going to lay his head down tonight. He had about a 1/8th of a tank of gas left and no options. What to do? What to do? This question had been rolling over and over in his mind as he headed towards the towns center knowing no other options other than to seek someone, anyone to give him a clue about how to get out of this predicament. Smoke hung on the horizon like a curtain on the stage for the big last show on earth. A black man running from his attackers scared the hell out of him as he outran his pursuers at a stop light intersection Will had luckily observed. All the traffic signals were out, wrecks littered the intersections as the unwary or impatient made up their own set of driving rules. Will was a stranger in a strange apocalyptic world. Where were all the people at he wondered as he proceeded carefully through a city of locked doors and shade drawn windows? What the hell was that? A body? A mannequin from Halloween Will thought looking at a bloody carcass lying on the side of the road. No that was real, Will thought with a shudder and decided he should try to stop at the first police station he could find in order to get some help and report the body. Weren’t cops the people who you needed to be talking to in such a situation he advised himself? But he had no idea where a police station was at and since you never knew what kind of militarized yahoo officer these days you might meet who just wanted to arrest someone, anyone for that matter regardless of the situation, he decided to think better on the notion but didn’t see too many other choices.