by A J Newman
“Zack, let’s find a safe spot and spend the night here. You are in no shape to travel.”
“Sorry, but get your pretty asses back in the wagon and let’s roll. We won’t get home if we stop for every boo boo.”
“You are one hard-headed bastard.”
“Yep.”
We drove for several hours until I knew we wouldn’t make our distance goal for the day.
“Ladies, we can’t get through Peoria and find a safe place to camp before dark. I’m going to go right at the next exit and take Highway 18 to help us get around Peoria.”
Sally replied, “Can you find us a hotel with hot showers, a soft bed and a five star restaurant?”
“Of course I will put that high on my list of places to camp tonight.”
I kept looking for a safe place to camp for the night to no avail until I saw an old barn on the west side of Highway 18. The barn was huge, but very old. One section had collapsed and I was sure it was deserted. It was almost dark so this place was our best hope.
“I’m going over to the barn and see if it’s safe for us to spend the night. Keep an eye out for the bad guys.”
My side hurt like hell as I dismounted the tractor, but I hid the pain as men are supposed to do in front of women. I walked around the barn with my pistol drawn and saw there wasn’t much light so I turned my flashlight on and spooked an owl. It scared the shit out of me and I dropped my gun and the flashlight trying to get away from it as it flew over my head. I picked my gun and flashlight up hoping that no one saw me in this moment of embarrassment. I turned around to see both Sally and Geena behind me giggling with their hands over their mouths.
“Big brave man told the defenseless women to stay behind while a bird scares the crap out of him.”
“That’s alright Sally. You can go into dark barns in the future to scout them out for monsters, bears and hoods. It won’t hurt my male ego one bit.”
“Oh no, you are doing a great job and you keep us laughing.”
I opened the large barn doors, drove the tractor into the barn and closed them for the night.
“I’ll gather some wood while you two clear a spot so we can have a fire.”
I found plenty of old 2x4s and a stack of firewood at the far end of the barn and carried several loads to the girls. On one trip I saw an old wheel for the back of a tractor and rolled it to the stack of wood.
“We can start the fire in this wheel so it doesn’t spread and burn our new home down,” I said as I stacked some wood in the wheel.
The wood was very dry and caught on fire quickly. Geena soon had a pan of boiling water and a frying pan filled with slices of Spam cooking. We dined on fried Spam, smashed potatoes and coffee that night. We were very tired, the girls were still in a daze and my side was still on fire. We took our turns at guard duty, but no one got much sleep that night.
The night was uneventful; we ate chocolate chip cookies and breakfast bars and got underway by 6:45 a.m. We continued around Peoria on side roads and did the same to get around Bloomington. We saw a few people in their yards breaking ground for gardens and even saw one man skinning a deer. They watched us pass, but didn’t even pick up their rifles as we passed.
Geena got my attention and said, “Almost everyone has a pistol on their hip or a shotgun in their hands.”
“I guess they have either had an experience like we did with those men trying to rob us or have a neighbor who has been robbed. It’s been three days and food is running short. People will start getting mean now.”
Ahead, the road made a sharp bend to the left and just as it began to straighten out, I saw a roadblock ahead. I stopped about 500 feet from it and used my field glasses to check it out before advancing. There were four men and two women manning the roadblock, which was made up of several cars in a line across the road. They had heard the tractor and were examining us with several pair of field glasses. They were clean looking and I didn’t think they would cause us any problems so I drove up to the roadblock, shut off the tractor and walked up to them with my pistol holstered. Geena and Sally had their shotguns ready, but below the top of the wagon.
One of the men asked, “Where are you going and why should we let you pass through our town?”
I stuck my hand out to shake hands and said, “We were on vacation and are heading home to Kentucky. I’m trying to avoid the big cities so we’re travelling on back roads. Why are you blocking the road?”
“There are several gangs in the area trying to steal our food, water and women. We have guards all around our little town and will kill anyone who tries to rob us.”
“Look Mister, we only want to get on to Kentucky and have had several SOBs try to steal from us. Their bodies are scattered from Iowa City to Peoria. Both of our ladies were wounded during one of the attacks and I was shot the next day. We're all right now, but we don’t trust anyone on the road thanks to those bastards. So if you will let us through we will be on our way.”
One woman came over to the leader, they whispered for a minute and then she said, “Of course we’ll let you go through, but we don’t have any extra food. You can have all of the water you want.”
She walked over to Geena and Sally, saw that their clothes were dirty and asked, “Would you like a hot shower and some new clothes? As I said we have plenty of water and we also have extra clothes.”
The ladies looked at me and said, “Please Zack?”
I looked at them and replied, “Since when do you need my permission to take a hot bath?”
While the girls were bathing, Jim, their leader, and I filled each other in on the events since the lights went out.
“How did you get the tractor running? All of our cars and trucks died at one time.”
“Only vehicles with computers and electronics were affected by the EMP blast. Vehicles made before the mid 70’s should run. Do you have any older vehicles?”
“I know a couple guys have some old trucks, but I don’t think anyone has tried them. We assumed that they were all fried.”
Jim looked around and yelled at one of the men, “Hey Carl, come over here for a minute.”
Carl walked over and sat down on a log beside me.
“Carl, have you tried to get that old truck of yours running?”
“Yes and it’s just as dead as the new ones.”
I asked, “What model truck do you have and what engine is in it?”
“I have a 1949 Chevy with a 351 Cleveland.”
“What carb and ignition do you have?”
“I have a 750 Holley and a MSD Super Pro distributer with computerized timing.”
“Do you have the original distributer, coil and another set of ignition wires?”
“Why yes I do.”
“Get them and I’ll get your truck running. We just have to take the engine back to having parts that made it run before electronics.”
We walked over to Carl’s place and an hour later Carl drove us around town with a big old smile on his face.
I looked at Jim and said, “Have ya’ll been out on the highways and searched the semi-trailers for food? There are thousands of them stalled around the country full of food.
“Damn, we never thought of that. We have always been farmers and hunters around here so we have fresh vegetables, meat and fish, but are running out of ammunition, toilet paper, canned goods and spices.”
“Follow me to our wagon.”
I folded the tarp back, showed him a wagon full of supplies and said, “This is one hundredth of what was on that trailer. You also need to check the local sporting goods stores for ammo and guns before looters get everything.”
We went on working on trucks and cars until Jim’s wife called us for supper. They fed us roast beef, corn on the cob, green beans and mashed potatoes with sweat tea. My stomach was full for the first time in a week. Jim’s wife cleaned my wound, applied more antibiotic salve and re-bandaged my side. She also gave me a bottle with some pain pills and made me take two. My side st
ill hurt, but I’d be able to sleep.
“Zack, we owe you so much for helping us get these vehicles running. What can we do to repay you?”
I thought for a minute and said, “We have everything we need to make it to Kentucky so there isn’t anything we need. If you want to repay us, then pass on help to deserving people that aren’t as fortunate as we all are. Pay it forward.”
We sat around a fire in Jim’s backyard until everyone was yawning and ready for bed. I noticed they had guards out at the roads into town, but no one guarding around their houses.
“Don’t you need guards in town?”
“No, the guards out on the roads will warn us if anyone approaches.”
“What if they are watching your roadblocks from afar and decide to sneak into town at night from the woods to see what is so valuable in this town?”
“Oh crap! We hadn’t thought about organized raids. We will be posting guards from now on.”
We had a huge breakfast of pancakes, eggs and ham the next morning and were soon on our way. Jim’s wife made us take a smoked ham. We were southeast of Bloomington trying to work our way around the city and back on Highway 74. I wanted to travel a hundred miles today and not stop for anything.
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Chapter 8
Hunting
Champaign, Illinois
“Good morning Davi. Please join your mother and me for breakfast. Did you sleep well?”
“I had a very restful night. Being home agrees with my body. I feel very rested and ready for battle.”
“Good morning sunshine. I have made your favorite breakfast. Blueberry pancakes, sausage and cinnamon rolls.”
Davi didn’t realize how hungry she was until the smell of the pancakes, cinnamon and sausage filtered in to her nose. She ate four big pancakes, three cinnamon rolls and a half dozen sausage links while her mom fussed over her. Her dad watched her while he finished his third cup of coffee.
“I’d like to take the Jeep and scout out the area this morning. I don’t want to draw too much attention to us, but I’ll bet many of our neighbors need help.”
“Dad, I’ll be ready in twenty minutes. I agree on not bringing too much attention to ourselves, but we must take our side arms. Perhaps you take a pump shotgun and I’ll take that Mini 14 .223 and we should fit in with the other farmers. Automatic weapons might scare some of the locals.”
“I agree, but I’ll put a couple of M4s in the back of the Jeep in case we encounter some hard cases. I want to check out a couple of neighbors and a few of the small towns and still be back before dark.”
Davi’s mom gave her a bag with their lunch and some bottled water as she hugged them goodbye for the day.
They drove west for about three miles until they came to the Robertson’s farm. They were on a back road so they weren’t surprised they hadn’t seen anyone on their journey. Aaron honked the Jeep’s horn as they turned down the long driveway to the Robertson’s house. Davi saw two men run from a barn towards the house and come back out with shotguns. They drove slowly towards the house with Aaron waving as they got close to the house.
“Aaron, you scared us. We thought some of the scum from the city were snooping around again.”
“Has there been trouble?”
“No, but we noticed someone watching us from the overpass and when we went to see who it was they took off and disappeared. Last night the dogs started barking and we saw several men lurking around the chicken coop. I fired my shotgun into the air and scared them off. This morning we found they had stolen six chickens.”
“Be careful, things will get much worse when the cities run out of food. It’s been two days and the stores are empty by now. Most people don’t have more than a few days of food in their pantry and when it runs out, they will kill for a can of beans.”
“I hadn’t given it much thought, but you are right. Bad times are coming. Hey, who is this beautiful young girl and how did you get the Jeep running?”
“This is my daughter, Davi. She was on her way home when the lights went out. Davi, this is George Robertson, his wife Emily and their daughter Bonnie.”
They all shook hands and then Aaron explained about the effects of the EMP blasts and why older vehicles would still run. They went to the barn and George had his oldest tractor running in short order.
“Thanks Aaron, I thought all vehicles were dead. I have an old Ford pickup in my garage that should run after I put the points and condenser back in the distributor. I’ll pass this info on to my neighbors.”
“Ya’ll watch out for people flooding out here from the city. Shoot first and ask questions later.”
“Now Aaron, we are good Christians and we will be glad to help anyone who needs help.”
“Good luck. People will come, take your food and rape your wife and daughter. I don’t want to piss you off, but you are in danger.”
“Thanks for the help and the advice, but we will keep helping everyone we can.”
They left and drove due north to visit the Millers next. The Millers had several hundred acres and a large cattle farm and dairy that had been in the family for generations. Davi was enjoying listen to her father talk about converting from a warrior to being a simple farmer and how much he loved tilling the soil and watching the crops grow. They had driven about three miles when they heard gunfire in front of them.
“Dad, that’s about a mile away. How far is the Miller’s farm?”
“Damn, it’s a mile ahead of us towards the gunfire. There is a wooded area southeast of the Miller’s home that will give us cover if we go off road in about ½ mile. We’ll park the Jeep and sneak up on their house. I don’t want to drive up and get shot by the Millers or caught in crossfire.”
“I agree you know the area. I’ll follow,” said Davi as she thought, “once a soldier, always a soldier.”
Aaron pulled the Jeep into a thicket about 500 yards from the house and they took positions behind a fallen tree to observe the house. The house was surrounded and taking gunfire from the front and one side. There were several bodies littering the ground outside the front door and Davi thought the fight must have started there.
Davi went back to the Jeep and retrieved both M4s and two bags full of magazines for them. One of the M4s had a scope and she put it to use immediately. She had fired three times with three kills before the men knew that they were under attack. Her dad had fired but had not hit anyone.
There was a ravine running towards the house and they ducked down and ran as fast as they could towards the house. They covered half the distance when they heard the sound of ATVs speeding away from the farm. Davi steadied her rifle on the side of a tree and shot several times, but couldn't tell if she did any damage. She placed a white handkerchief on the end of her barrel and started walking with her dad towards the house.
A man and a woman came running out of the house along with several teenaged kids. They stopped at one of the bodies and broke into tears. The woman lifted the young boy’s body and hugged it as if the boy were still alive. The man, Mr. Miller, walked over and shook Aaron’s hand as he thanked him for running the killers off.
“Aaron, you saved our lives. Those bastards were caught butchering a cow yesterday and Joe ran them off. They came back and killed him as soon as he walked outside. The damn lights have only been out for a couple of days and the world is going berserk. That city trash came out here to steal our cows and anything not nailed down. They only took the hind quarters and left the rest of the cow to rot.”
“We are glad to be able to help and are so sorry for your loss. We heard the gunfire and knew that you were in trouble. We just did what anyone would do to help their neighbor.”
They took turns digging until they made the grave deep enough to bury the Miller boy, then said prayers for him and the survivors of this holocaust.
Mrs. Miller brought out some sandwiches and several bottles of cold beer. They sat on the patio looking towards Champaign wondering wh
en the gang would return.
“Rick, you need to know they will be back and bring a small army the next time they come. The food is running low in the cities and these punks will be leaving the cities in a couple of days looking for food. These people will come back for vengeance. You need to pack up and head south. Take a small herd with you and find a safe location to rebuild. Get wherever you are going as quickly as possible so that you have the rest of spring and all summer to grow some crops and get ready for winter. There won’t be any gas or electricity to heat your homes.”
“I hate to say it, but I think that you are right.”
“Stay off the roads and travel as much as possible at night. Take some wire cutters with you to cut fences and stay in the fields and woods. The roads will be very dangerous in a couple of days. Here take this rifle and bag of ammo. Don’t trust anyone. Davi and I have to get back home and check on Sharon. Travel safe and may God be with you.”
They hiked back to the Jeep and headed back home without saying anything for a long time.
Then they both tried to talk at the same time.
Davi said, “Dad, don’t we need…..”
At the same time her dad said, “Darling we need to take……”
“You go.”
“No, you go first.”
“Dad, we need to take your advice and leave this area. Load up and head south.”
“Darling, I was thinking the same thing. What will your mother think?”
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Chapter 9
Mike to the Rescue
Anderson, Kentucky
Mike saw the exit for Highway 1078 just as he saw the family stranded on the side of the road. He sped up to go around them when he saw the woman and two children sitting beside a dead man.