Sharecropping The Apocalypse: A Prepper is Cast Adrift

by Ron Foster

  Will saw a couple squad cars parked in front of a Piggly Wiggly supermarket off to his left and pulled in apprehensively. They must be guarding against looters he reassured himself and drove slowly straight toward the cruisers.

  “Halt! Move no further!” A young cop brandishing a shotgun called to him as he approached while his partner took a pistol stance behind the passenger car door and a AR 15 wielding smartass balding Sergeant exited the obviously crowbar pried doors of the establishment leveling his weapon art him and bellowing several orders all at once.

  Will said he had his hands up in the air quicker than his foot fully applied the brake which caused his slowly moving vehicle to swerve and he almost damn near hit an overturned grocery cart.

  “What do you want?” a scowling sergeant called with weapon leveled at his windshield.

  “I managed to stammer out nothing and that I just needed some information with my hands raised and sticking out my open window before that asshole of a sergeant told me to just keep it moving, that I was in some kind of a police powers zone before I guess a lieutenant or a captain or something exited the same store with a full grocery cart and told the guy “At ease” and walked over to me. He said that all grocery stores and warehouses were under the emergency command powers act and that any foodstuffs they contained were under the auspices of provisions for first responders like police, fire departments and medical first and that Homeland Security would advise how excess was to be distributed to the civilians.

  “Let me tell you now folks he no sooner got that out of his mouth than the fourth of July started or World War 3 or something as a bunch of camouflage wearing men started shooting at them from the edge of the parking lot and I burned rubber the hell out of there without a backward glance and kept heading down the road until my gas run out not far from here. I tell you I shook and shaked for about 15 minutes wondering just what the hell had just happened to me and then started crying like only a man that has lost it all can before finally stopping sniveling and began studying my surroundings.” Will said looking at his audience to see if they were sympathetic with him or not before carrying on with his story further.

  “There was this place, an old beat up trailer just setup and stuck out on the side of the road in the middle of no where I guess you would call it and I walked towards it thinking I am soon gonna die but surely somebody would still have some compassion or mercy on me because I didn’t know what else to do. Now I didn’t throw caution to the wind and go beating on the door, no I sat there for a while peeking out through the woods at it then eventually found myself sitting my sorry ass down in the middle of the driveway leading up to it for some time just waiting. I eventually found my courage to approach it directly and hollered out my intentions but there didn’t appear to be nobody to home. I hung around the outside of that place for hours waiting on its residents to get home before eventually I got balls enough to just break into the dang place and that was where my thievery and callousness got born. I had to look around the property to find me an odd bit of metal that I used to pry the door open and I came upon an awful sight upon entry. An old women and I swear she was blue as a Smurf sat in a chair deader than hell and looked like she might have been possibly chewed upon by the cats that hightailed it out of the house once I began looking around. I don’t know what the old lady died from, couldn’t of been more than a few days I am guessing but I still get the creeps imagining her bluer than that weird old folks southern hairdo she was wearing. Lacking any supplies or any other options I stayed. I ain`t proud to say it but I grabbed the quilt off her bed and drug her out and left her about 50 yards from the place at the edge of the woods. At this point I neither had the energy or inclination to find a spade to bury her with so instead I then went through her kitchen trying to find myself a meal. There was lots of flour and baking supplies but little else and I just sort of camped out there for a few days in her place hoping that no relatives of hers would come by to check on her. I was out of gas, out of luck and had no other options than to eat what was there and move on. I ain`t no country boy, wouldn’t know a edible weed from poison ivy and when I got done with what she in her cupboards then I sometimes became a thief in the night to survive.

  I had my suitcase. A pot to boil water in, a couple liter bottles to carry water in and not much else. I tried eating clover but couldn’t stomach it. I used to stop at houses to ask for help but folks just mostly run me off after saying sorry they couldn’t help me, more than one threatened me with violence if I didn’t hurry up and get off their property. I found another house after awhile that was unoccupied; guess who ever owned it didn’t make it back from where ever they were. That one had about a weeks’ worth of can goods in it that I stretched out for a couple weeks rations before moving on once again.

  I did get a handout or two along the road, people ain`t all bad or just plain crazy or mean, well I used to think that. I won’t go near an occupied house anymore. I was watching a house from the woods one day for any signs of life in order to get a clue as to who the occupants were and I was just about to approach it when I saw two men coming back from the road leading a man with his hands tied like a prisoner. That scared the hell out of me, maybe they had caught a thief like me or he had done something particularly bad. I was curious though why anyone would take a prisoner these days? Were they maybe holding him for the police? If they were holding him for the police that meant maybe the government had regained control of the cities and things might be getting back to normal again. I decided to stay in the woods and watch for a while to find out what they were going to do with him. I sure wish I hadn’t, they killed him but that wasn’t what bothered me so much. I thought maybe he had done something really bad and maybe he deserved it. I was waiting for them to go dispose of the body somehow so I could sneak away. But they didn’t dispose of the body, they started cutting him up! That when I realized those evil men were cannibals!” Will said looking at everyone anxiously and shuddering.

  “So that’s why you were scared we were going to eat you. Nothing to worry about here boy, you tell me exactly where them folks live and I will go put them out of their misery myself.” Clem said disgusted at the notion of how anyone could eat another human.

  “Yes, that’s why. I have been trying to stay off the main road and travel around at night and early mornings. I saw the trail leading to Rossy`s house over here and followed it to see where it went and that’s when I tried to steal me some eggs from your chickens. You can see why I wanted just a few eggs to eat; I wasn’t going to harm any of your chickens, just take a few eggs. They would produce more and you wouldn’t miss them I figured.” Will pleaded wondering what they were going to do with him now.

  “Bertha looked at him intently for the moment and then said “you poor man! All is forgiven. I will fry you up some eggs myself in a few minutes.” She declared and then squished him with a big hug.

  “Hey what about my door?” Rossy said, touched by the man’s story but still miffed that her house was now wide open for Lord knows who ever came by the place next.

  “Don’t worry about your old door; Clem will fix it for you Rossy.” Bertha said and Clem agreed.

  “Well you can stay for a bit but if you cause any trouble or try to steal anything else around here you just think you been living in hard times, I will personally show you what hard times are all about if you cause any mischief. Do we have an understanding? Clem said warning the stranger.

  “Oh thank you sir, thank you all! I will be good rest assured!” Will said greatly relived he had found some kind of friends in this world gone mad for no matter how short of time they might let him stay.

  “You said you were trying to make it to Montgomery? I could drop you off on my way back to my house but I can’t tell you what you may find when you get there, might be more of the same or maybe worse.” David said ominously.

  “Hey I would really appreciate it. I will take my chances in the city. I guess I am more suited for that than trying to
survive on the road way out here.” A grateful Will replied.

  “Perhaps there is another solution; we will speak of that in the coming days as you get your strength back.” Clem said wanting to study the man’s character more before speaking further.

  7

  SURVIVAL MUSINGS

  David had been prepping and studying survival for years and had watched the debates in the survivalist and prepper forums speculate on what was needed in a bug out bag without too much interjection and greatly waning interest mostly because by now it seemed he had pretty much seen it, done it, been there many times over..

  The majority of the discussions in the prepper forums and blogs centered on packing far too much gear for everything imaginable except for what people would actually be facing in those circumstances. The thousands of lists of items to put in your bug out bag, get home bag, long term survival packs etc. were usually predicated upon unrealistic scenarios and expectations.

  Countless hours are spent every day by people with good intentions to disseminate preparedness information, debate contents of bug out bags etc. and further research the same tired old knowledge bases for further info thinking it would increase theirs and others chances of survival and often times it is all for naught.

  When someone first starts prepping for a disaster and joins the prepper community, they are besieged with all kinds of advice both good and bad about what they need that ultimately begins draining their pocket books and psyches before they come to profound realization that they can neither carry all the crap they have bought nor is it as useful as they once thought.

  Oh David himself had tons of survival and outdoor gear stored in boxes or collecting dust on shelves and much of it came from dinking around trying to create the ever elusive all-purpose world-class bug out gear setup. It had caused him various degrees of anxiety, pleasure, financial hardship and hard won knowledge to finally say enough and accept the fact that he had approached his own survival in a bug out situation all wrong in some ways.

  Situational awareness is what is needed before anyone packs their first bag. Sit back and mentally envision your route and its conditions. Where are you going? Why are you going? Are you going to return home someday? Is there anyway you could just stay where you are at?

  Normal survival kits are small and designed to keep you going long enough to get rescued. Larger survival kits such as those required by aviation rules for bush pilots in Alaska or nautical overboard bags for life boats are larger and both are specific for certain survival in particular environments. The larger kits still are designed to be lighter weight than most of the bug out bags this author has seen but usually contain an item or two specific for food procurement in a certain environment like a gill net to take advantage of the abundance of fish in streams in Alaska, or larger hooks and heavier lines for saltwater fishing.

  Before the reader goes charging out to the internet searching for such large premade kits and examining the content lists to the inth degree, let me tell you this, they are mostly overpriced, expensive, often contain cheaply made goods in them and the stuff you already have around your house or that you can procure cheaply from the dollar store will serve you much better. People will still believe they wire.

  Don’t get me wrong, there is definitely a place for ready made kits, particularly if you buy one such as the Henry Repeating Survival Kit which is one of the most complete, and high quality compact survival kits made. The only items missing are food and water. The tools for getting and carrying these are in the kit. I have made up and carried similar kits over the years but this a great all in one pre made item for you to add to your gear that is well thought out. I could live for a long time with one of these and a Henry rifle.

  These are assembled in the USA specifically to save lives; many included items are U.S. Military Issue and/or NATO Issue. I carry one of these in my cargo pants.

  The Survival Kit contains:

  Basic Survival Instruction Sheet

  Aloksak Water Tight Bag

  Personal Use Fishing Kit

  Mini Map Compass

  Mini Rescue Flash Signal Mirror

  Beeswax Tea Light Survival Candle

  Tinder Quick (10)

  Type 1A Utility Cord (20 ft)

  Photon Micro Light

  Sewing Kit

  Spiral Wire Survival Saw

  1 ft flexible latex tubing

  Trauma Bandage and Gauze Roll

  Adventurer Compact Repair Tape

  Adventurer Compact Fire Starter

  Rapid Rescue Survival Whistle

  Snare Wire (20 ft)

  Adventure All Weather Matches (10)

  Utica Kutmaster Mini Multi Tool

  Flat Coffee Filter

  Water Bag

  MicroPur Water Tablets (05)

  12 Hour Light Stick

  Space Survival Blanket

  Compact Signal Panel

  Silica Gel

  Fresnel Lens Fire Starter

  Derma Safe Razor Knife

  The Survival Kit Box

  Hard Anodized Aluminum

  Size: Appx 7.3″ x 4.6″ x 2.3″ (including clasps)

  Weight: 6.2 oz

  Fire and Water Resistant

  Extremely Durable

  Not recommended for cooking

  Color: Dark Gray

  Don’t forget to add some gun food in there, it will fit! Add a condom to put inside of a sock to make yourself another canteen.

  I have written many books and articles on survival and have furnished old common survival knowledge refreshers as well as some new insights and tips but as a prepper and survivor I remain selfish and reluctant to reveal all my personal tricks.

  My selfishness to disseminate some information is based upon my own desire for self-preservation because if everyone plans on surviving the same way I do, then competition for resources increases and reduces my chances. It took a bit of soul searching on this authors desire to help others yet be ahead of the pack if the worst comes to teach you the following, but maybe by me doing so I will create a lot more sane survivors on the road I might have to travel down with hope versus a bunch of wore out, disillusioned desperate preppers with too much ammo and the wrong resources to rely on.

  I kind of feel like I am giving up family secrets or something like the talking dog in the bean commercial giving up the secret recipe, but I like many of my fellow preppers and their family members are getting older and passing on all their experience and survival information to future generations and by remaining silent I feel I am might be needlessly condemning others to unnecessary suffering that I could of prevented by not trying to selfishly give myself a few small advantages for whatever reason.

  Ok, enough pontificating, here is the simplest survival plan I can give you that makes practical sense and is also one of my most effective solutions to a long evasion and escape situation. The application of such a scheme will depend on your own circumstances but I hope my advisements will get you thinking in the right direction what might be needed for your own personal situation. Whether or not you share this with others someday is your own personal decision but a kind word about who you got it from and my books would be appreciated.

  It is said that the majority of the population in the United States lives within 100 miles of the coastlines and that means there are rivers, streams and ponds around the areas many people will be traveling through or towards. Civilization has always started and located around waterways. Where are you bugging out to? It better have water and you need to travel as close to water as you can depending on your mode of transportation or ability to haul supplies. Let’s look at a worst case scenario, say for whatever reason I am forced to be on foot in bug out situation heading 50 or more miles away to a destination.

  I live in the Deep South and farm ponds, creeks, rivers, lakes etc. are abundant. I can see them from the highway, the back roads etc., and every 10 miles or so it seems. Let’s say you have your bug out bag of 40 plus pounds or so and I ha
ve my backpack weighing much less and a lightweight shoulder bag, ready set go, let’s begin this fictional preppers road march.

  I won’t get into road conditions at this stage, it all depends on how many people are fleeing their homes and why, which is something else to contend with. For conversations sake let us be hiking on the roads less traveled and come up on our separate ponds in a pasture. You have your handy dandy survival fishing kit and I have mine.

  While you start hunting for bait in the form of bugs or worms that you may or may not find burning calories I am one step ahead of you because I am already carrying bait in my survival fishing kit as well as my food procurement shoulder bag. There are tons of different commercial marshmallow baits containing fish attractants as well as various preserved natural baits you can choose from and purchase to add to your gear. You can also make your own dough bait with a little flour, salt and water and the variations of recipes for it are endless, thing is I grew up using dough bait successfully on all kinds of pan fish and catfish so I just carry the makings of it to be mixed as needed instead of investing in commercial stuff, well I take that back, I do like the crappie nibble baits like many companies make.

  They are light weight and I carry a jar of them in my food procurement bag as well as a few vials I filled with the little bits of play dough like substance that I added to my survival fishing kit that always remains on my person.