A small barn rounded out the farm, giving them a place to store tools and gardening equipment. There was also a 1958 Massey-Ferguson 65 that looked to have seen better days under a tarp in there. There were parts missing, the plugs and plug wires were gone and the battery case was empty. The right rear tire was also flat. The paint job was so bad that nobody in their right mind would ever touch it. In reality, the missing parts were buried in a galvanized container right next to it along with fresh fluids. The tractor had been rebuilt into pristine condition, minus the paint, and could be made ready for use in a couple of hours.
Brad tossed the empty beer in the garbage, grabbed his rifle and went upstairs to see what was going on in the neighborhood. Up the road, the gay couple was talking to the Roberts across the street. If they’d noticed his activities, they hadn’t paid attention, from what he could make out. The upstairs wasn’t getting much hotter now that he’d opened both upper and lower halves of the windows and turned on the fans. That was going to be a good thing; the power was going to be out for a very long time.
As he passed the bathroom he glanced at himself in the mirror and chuckled. He realized that he looked like the atypical prepper as seen on TV in his shorts, t-shirt and flip-flops. More like a Mad Max version of Jimmy Buffet and he was okay with that as he walked off down the hall humming Buffet’s ‘Volcano Song’.
Katie
Cleveland, TN
Katie’s phone chirped with an incoming message that read; “This is the real deal. Get your stuff together and get to the farm immediately. The SHTF. Don’t try drive it, take the bikes. They’ve found some nukes. Go NOW! Love you, dad”. She looked at the phone again, not really believing what her eyes were seeing. Zack looked at her questioningly.
“What?” he asked and she handed him the phone, which he quickly read before jumping off the sofa, “We gotta go! No way your dad would joke about this!”
“Just wait, shit. Check the news. He could be playing.” Katie said, reaching for the remote and changing the channel off of Barney, which in turn upset Kenna, who was watching it. “Just a minute, baby. Momma’s got to check something.”
What she saw made her mouth go dry. The banner at the bottom of the screen read that nuclear tipped missiles had been found aboard two container ships and that once again, America was under attack. “Well, shit again! We’ve gotta go, now!” she changed the channel back to keep Kenna occupied while they collected their bug-out gear in silence. Zack made sure their weapons were loaded and ready, then went downstairs to the garage to get the bikes ready while Katie filled the Camel Baks and put extra bottles of water in the packs that would be riding in the trailer with Kenna. She quickly made up some sandwiches and snacks and tossed them into a nylon bag and had just finished zipping it shut when the sounds of Barney suddenly quit.
“Momma, it broke.” Kenna said from the living room. Katie dropped what she was doing and hurried in to find Kenna pointing at a black screen. She picked up her daughter.
“It’s ok, Kenna. Let’s go for a bike ride instead. Okay?” she did her best to smile and act normal, when in reality she was suddenly stressed and very scared. The drills with her parents were all fun and games, but it felt like that part of the equation was missing.
“Okay. Daddy comes too?” Kenna asked and Katie nodded. Zack bounded back up the stairs.
“Bikes are good to go.” He said, grabbing the two backpacks and the bag of food that she’d made and ran back downstairs, returning quickly. “Lights are out. That’s not good, that means they got at least one off and I don’t want to be anywhere near here when people figure it out.” He told her, handing her the holster that she put on quickly, dropping her pistol into it and securing it.
“Shouldn’t we be changing clothes into cammo or something?” she asked and he chuckled.
“No, babe. We’ll blend in a lot easier in civvies. Remember, we don’t stop unless we have to and if anyone tries to take our shit, we shoot first. Dad’s rules, but I agree with him.” He shouldered the AR-15 Brad had given him, making sure it was chambered and on safe before handing Katie hers. When he looked at the safety lever he grinned to himself. Someone, Brad had never said who, had done a little work to the rifle. The safety selector should have read Safe, Semi, and Auto, but it didn’t, just Safe and Fire. Auto was a hidden function. The rifle was anything but legal and had absolutely no paperwork on it anywhere, just in case the government came to collect weapons. Zack respected the hell out of that.
He strapped the baby into the trailer and made sure the gear wouldn’t shift easily before raising the garage door as quietly as he could. In a way, he was glad to be getting the hell away from the apartment complex; there were too many people to make him feel secure about staying. The place was trouble waiting to happen. As he wheeled his bike out of the garage, Kenna in tow and Katie behind him he almost ran into Gloria Chapman, the owner of what he’d often referred to as Shady as Hell Apartments. When she saw the rifle strapped to his back, she pointed at him accusingly.
“Mr. Schafer, no guns are allowed on the premises! That’s a violation of the lease!” she snarled and he stopped suddenly and smiled serenely.
“Ms. Chapman! It’s nice to see you. I would’ve been remiss leaving without telling you a few things. For the last year, you’ve been more tyrant than landlord. It’s people like you that really make this world a fucked-up place, but ya know what? Evict me. Please. And stuff the lease up your bung hole while you’re at it.” He stepped on the pedal and moved forward leaving the old girl standing aghast in disbelief. He kept his speech as clean as he could, not wanting to anger Katie. He was still smiling as he guided the bike onto Norman Chapel Road. He thought about giving her the one finger salute on his way out, but he’d already dropped an F bomb within hearing distance of his daughter, and if she repeated it, he would be in for an earful.
He had already gotten into trouble when Kenna was ‘helping him’ work on his truck, with the occasional hisses of “Shit” and “Dammit” coming back to haunt him when his daughter was playing a game on his phone, would mess up and repeat what she’d learned with uncanny accuracy, both in tone and proper usage. No, he’d learned to watch his mouth the hard way.
He made their way to 25th Street he noticed people mostly just standing around their now useless cars and hoped they’d figure it all out quickly and get as far away from I-75 as possible before dark. By then things would start going downhill rapidly. Before Katie and Kenna, he would’ve been more reckless. As he turned right onto Adkins Drive in front of the community college, he realized that it was just possible that he’d grown up a little and that it wasn’t such a bad thing, as he looked over his shoulder to see his daughter looking around and smiling. Nope, not a bad thing at all.
Jessie
Cleveland, TN
Jessie was sleeping soundly until her phone beeped indicating that she had a message. Grabbing her phone off the nightstand she read the message, shook her head to clear away the last stubborn fingers of sleep and read it again and then nudged her husband, who grunted in response.
“Wake up. You’ve got to read this.” She mumbled, handing the phone over to Dillon, who in turn read it and sat upright.
“The hell? Did you read this?” he asked excitedly.
“Yes, that’s why I gave it to you.” She answered from underneath her pillow. Dillon jumped out of bed and turned the TV on. He was shocked at what he saw.
“Babe, you’ve got to wake up and see this.” He said, cranking the volume up to a level that he knew would wake her. She huffed and sat up, miffed that anyone would wake her. One thing she had never been was a morning person. She looked at the TV, read the banner and got up to get some coffee on.
“Hey babe, we need to get it together and get over to Pop’s place. This shit is for real.” Dillon said from the bedroom, where he was glued to the screen. “Evidently the virus was the first part of the attack. Now they’re trying to nuke us. This shit ain’t good.”
/> The coffee made, she brought him a cup and started watching what was going on. The scene was from in front of a hospital in Los Angeles that was surrounded by people, some were sitting or lying on the ground, obviously sick. The reporter gestured to the crowd behind him.
“Now, as you can see here, Emergency Rooms and hospitals across the country are being overwhelmed with people that are suffering from apparent flu-like symptoms. The problem is, that this is not the flu, or at least not the normal flu. Some have lesions breaking out on their skin, some cough up blood and from what we can gather several have died. This isn’t just happening her in the U.S., but all over the world. ISIS is claiming to have unleashed a virus at every major airport in the world. The effects of this could be staggering. The government has advised people to remain in their homes, to shelter in place, is the phrase the government is using. If you have to venture out, then you should wear an antiviral facemask like this.” The reporter held up a flimsy white paper mask, “Now granted these aren’t perfect, but the CDC recommends them and they will become readily available through your local health agencies. They do say that if you’re sick to stay home, at least for now. Local hospitals are being inundated with people suffering from this outbreak. The fear is that if you aren’t infected with the virus, you will probably come into contact with it by going to the Emergency Room.” The camera cut back to the news desk.
“Oh, shit! Mom!” Jessie said and looked at Dillon.
“She’ll be fine. She works up in cardiac.” He smiled trying to give her some sense of relief.
“Bullshit! God! I hate the world right now.” She complained and then the power went off and she looked at Dillon.
“Well, that ain’t good. Probably just a power outage though.” He said and picked up his phone, “The hell? It was fully charged. Wait here.” He left the room and made his way to the living room which abutted 25th street, one of the busiest in town. Traffic was at a standstill and people were getting out of their cars, looking confused. He made sure the front and back doors were locked before he returned to the room. “You’re not going to believe this, but I think they did it.”
“Did what?” Jessie asked, tugging on a pair of jeans.
“Nuked us.” Dillon said, suddenly looking worried.
Walt
O’Fallon, Mo
Walt cranked up the white Dodge Ram that he had meticulously restored. The factory Cummins diesel had been overhauled so that it had no computers tied to it. Not that he didn’t like computers, he just preferred them not to be controlling his truck. Then again, he liked working with his hands. It was seven A.M. by the time he’d made it to work and what he’d heard on the radio in his truck made him believe that the world was about to go sideways. That wasn’t a direction he liked, unless he was on a mud track in his truck. Brad had preached to them that the shit would hit the fan any minute, and while he’d initially doubted it, he’d paid attention anyway. As he pulled out onto K street, traffic was moving, but not very fast. He cursed the drivers under his breath and stated thinking about shortcuts. Of course, he figured, everyone else knew the same shortcuts that he did, so they were probably just as bad. He’d tried to call his wife three times, but his cell wasn’t working. That was his first clue that something bad had happened.
Walt was normally anything but impatient. He was known as Mr. Cool because he’d always kept his head, even under extreme circumstances, but today he felt an urgency that he just couldn’t explain. He got tired of waiting and slipped the big pickup into four-wheel drive and drove down the median. It seemed to him that people were just following the car in front of them and he had neither the time, nor the patience for that. Walt was all about family.
Tanith was at home, getting the kids ready for school, well, all but Curtis the six-month-old. Between work and her kids, she had little to no time for anything else, and that was fine for her. Tim, the oldest at sixteen, had just gotten his driver’s license and as usual, was itching to get out the door and drive the truck that he’d worked and paid for. He and his sister, Lexi, went to the same school, so it was easy for him to take her. Nate was in middle school, in the wrong direction, and Everett was in elementary school, also in the wrong direction, so Tanith would be dropping them off on her way to the sitters to drop Curtis off on her way to work. This was a normal day in the Swinney household. She’d get the breakfast dishes when she got home, if Walt hadn’t beaten her to the punch.
When the lights suddenly went out, she looked up and hissed. This was not what she needed. Why couldn’t the power go off on the weekend, when she wasn’t as busy? Tim was texting friends, when he suddenly looked up.
“Mom, did you forget to pay the cell bill?”
“What? No? Why?” she asked, dressing Curtis.
“Because my phone is absolutely dead.” Tim said, holding it up for her to see.
“It wouldn’t be dead just because the bill wasn’t paid.” Tanith replied and tossed him her phone.
“Use mine. And don’t drain the battery.”
“Really, mom?” Tim complained and looked at her screen, “Your phone’s dead too.” He tossed the phone on the couch. She immediately snatched it up and looked at it, then tried to restart it. Nothing.
“Oh, shit.” She mumbled. Between her dad, the survivalist nut, and Walt, she thought she might know the answer. “Tim, go start your truck.”
“Why?” he asked.
“Just do it.” She said, continuing to dress Curtis just in case. Curtis just smiled at her, showing off the act that he had four whole teeth. Tanith was suddenly very worried. Tim came running back in.
“It’s dead too.” He said just as Walt’s truck came around the corner. There was no mistaking the sound of the Cummins diesel. Walt ran into the house and sighed loudly, relieved that everyone was still here.
“What’s going on?” Tanith asked.
“Nothing good. That virus is getting worse, the news said that the Coast Guard had captured a couple of ships with nuclear missiles on them just before the power went out, so I’m guessing they got one or more off. We need to pack up and get the hell out of here right now.” He said, rushing to hug his wife.
“Why don’t we just stay here and ride it out?” Tanith suggested and Walt shook his head.
“Half of St. Louis will be headed this way looking for food and whatever they can take. We need to go now before it gets ugly. When people find out that the police are useless, it’ll be a free-for-all.” He explained.
“Oh, my God! Where are we going?” Tanith asked sitting on the couch.
“Your dad’s place, the farm. We have to stop by and pick up my dad on the way.” Walt said, walking to the bedroom to retrieve his pistol.
“I’ll pack up the camping gear, guns ammo and anything else I can think of. You start with the food and we’ll all work on the clothes. We need summer clothes, but stuff for hiking and camping. Get to it guys.” Walt told the kids and they all ran off to their rooms. Tanith put the baby in his activity center and went into the kitchen. Grabbing garbage bags, she dumped in everything that was non-perishable, wishing she’d gone to the store yesterday. Then it donned on her.
“Walt, how is it your truck is running?” she called out.
“No electronics to get fried. I did away with them when I rebuilt the engine.” He called back.
“Oh.” She said and went back to gathering food, paper towels and anything else she could think of. She was thankful that they bought diapers in bulk, but worried about what they would do when Curtis started growing. She didn’t relish the thought of old fashioned cloth diapers. She really hated the thought of leaving the safety of their home, but she trusted Walt because he was almost never wrong.
Nate finished packing first and dumped his backpack and duffel bag on the living room floor.
“Dad! What else can I do to help?” he yelled at his father.
“Go out front and watch the truck. If anyone comes near it, yell!” Walt called back. Nate shrugged a
nd went to sit on the porch. He noticed some of his neighbors coming outside and looking around like the answer to what happened might lay in their front yards. Kids came out to play after their parents realized that school was out for the day. Had they been better informed, they might be making plans to do something else. Tim came out, carrying two garbage bags and put them in the truck bed.
“Keep an eye on that. It’s food.” He told Nate quietly when he returned, Nate just nodded. Nate knew what an EMP was and if what his father had heard on the news, he had no doubt this was caused by one. He also knew that recovery from one could take years, if the whole world wasn’t affected. He believed that it was. Why would terrorists just launch on the U.S. when they pretty much hated everyone. No, Nate was sure the rest of the world would have been hit too. The fact that they were the ones that started the virus meant to Nate that they meant business. Nate sighed realizing that the world, as he knew it, was over. That was when he heard someone scream and a lady with a very bloody head came running down the street, followed by an older man swinging a frying pan. The odd part was that he was smiling as he chased her.
“Mom! You might want to come here!” He called out and his mother appeared at the door just in time to see them round the corner.
“What happened?” she asked stepping out on the porch.
“Beats me. That lady came running down the road, bleeding and the man was chasing her.” He reported.
“Did he say anything?”
“Nope, just smiled and kept running.” Nate said and his mom went to go get his dad.
If Tanith needed any more proof, she didn’t say it. She went into the room where Walt bas loading up the guns, grabbed her pistol, made sure the chamber was loaded and donned her holster.
Three Days From Home Page 3