by Mark Goodwin
Courtney winked at her friend. “And it didn’t poison you, so I guess I don’t get all your stuff.”
Lisa laughed. “It’s still early. It might take a day or two to get into my bloodstream and kill me.”
Courtney helped Lisa put the cushions back on the couch. “You won’t have to keep doing this. We’re going to rearrange the loft so Everett and I can sleep up there. You and Ken can have the bedroom.”
Lisa put her hand over her mouth. “No way! I can’t let you do that.”
“Too late. It’s already settled, and I’ve drawn up the design. It’s going to be like the Ritz Carlton up there.”
Ken looked at Everett. “Are you sure?”
Everett smiled. “Absolutely. We’re taking the mattress up in the loft, so you still get the hid-a-bed if that makes you feel any better. Let’s get that coffee.”
Everett poured the remaining contents of the pot into cups for Ken and Lisa and started a fresh batch.
Courtney disappeared into the loft and returned minutes later with a huge box of generic pancake mix and a half-gallon of artificially-flavored syrup. “Who likes pancakes?”
Lisa clapped her hands. “This is going to be like a vacation!”
Courtney read the directions on the box. “Let’s not get carried away. Society is burning to the ground. But, I will say, things could have been a lot worse.”
Lisa located an iron skillet and a non-stick sauté pan to make the pancakes in. “You don’t mind if I help, do you?”
Courtney handed her the box. “I think we’ll all live a little longer if you do. Everett is under the impression that you set us up so I could cook for him, but if the truth be told, pasta and sandwiches are the limits of my culinary forte.”
Lisa quickly found the utensils. “Perfect. Boys, go in the living room. I can’t work if I’m crowded. Courtney, you can give me a hand or go relax with the guys. It’s your choice.”
Everett laughed. “She gets a choice but we don’t?”
Lisa pointed toward the living room. “Get your coffee; I’ll call you when breakfast is ready.”
Courtney elected to stay in the kitchen to help out. Everett and Ken relocated to the living room, as directed, and turned on the television.
Ken sat back on the couch with his coffee. “So we went from having full access to the secure CIA database, direct access to the trunk lines of every major news source at work, Internet and thousands of satellite channels at home, to three country-town local channels.”
Everett took off his coat and removed the small radio from his pocket. “Don’t forget AM, FM, and shortwave. When you add those in, it isn’t that big of an adjustment.”
Ken took the remote and scrolled to see which of the local channels were covering national news headlines. All three had suspended regular programming to cover the attacks and subsequent chaos.
The ABC affiliate, Channel 3, was reporting on the reaction of foreign markets.
The male reporter stated that he typically hosted the local morning show. While he didn’t normally work as an anchor, Everett sensed that the man was quite knowledgeable.
“European markets were in free fall this morning while US markets remained closed. It is unclear how long the SEC will keep Wall Street shuttered, but it is likely to be weeks. In addition to equities markets, currency markets are also experiencing violent downdrafts this morning. The dollar was already experiencing a major loss of value against the euro, Swiss franc, and other relatively stable currencies prior to the attacks, but now it has taken a complete nose dive. The failing currencies of the weaker members of the BRICS trading block seemed to have hit bottom, at least temporarily, while the dollar takes front seat as the most-terminally-ill currency du jour.
“The Swiss franc and Australian dollar have gained heavily against the US dollar, but gold and silver have proven to be the safe havens of choice for those seeking shelter from the cataclysmic break-down of the world’s reserve currency. Physical inventories of precious metals are all but non-existent. Sellers who hold bullion can name their price.
“The FDIC has mandated that all US banking institutions remain closed until further notice. Not only has the FDIC terminated business at brick-and-mortar locations, but it has also halted all electronic and online banking. Some analysts are speculating that this banking holiday is a forerunner of a bail-in, similar to what occurred in Cyprus several years ago. If you recall, when the Cyprus banking system froze up, funds from large depositors were seized to provide liquidity to failing financial institutions.
“The FDIC order doesn’t affect credit cards issued through banks that have been instructed to cease transactions with depositors, but all of the largest banks have shut down credit cards as well.
“Credit unions remained open since they are not under the jurisdiction of the FDIC, but like gas stations, which are out of fuel, they quickly ran out of on-hand currency and closed their doors. Credit cards issued through credit unions are still functioning for now, but that status may be short-lived. And to use any form of credit or debit card, you first have to find a merchant willing to accept it as a form of payment. Amazon, eBay, and all large online retailers have shut down. We aren’t aware of anyone in town accepting plastic at this time.”
Everett sipped his coffee. “Did you guys get any cash out of the bank?”
“We took out about three thousand dollars when we bought the supplies to bring up here. We were going to get more out, but never got around to it.”
“That’s okay. Do you have anything left from what you took out before?”
“I think eight hundred.”
“Did you pick up a gun?”
“No. Never got around to that either. Look, I’m sorry I put you in a bad position.”
“Ken, I’m not judging you or scolding you. I’m just trying to assess our resources and put together a mental inventory. It’s okay, really.”
Ken dropped his head into his hands. “But if I had gotten on the ball, we would all be in better shape.”
Everett put his hand on his friends back. “Regret is not going to help anyone. No one knew the attacks would be yesterday. If I’d known, trust me, there’s a lot of stuff I would have bought.
“It’s been less than two weeks since I filled you in on this. I was surprised you and Lisa believed me right away. It took a while to process everything when Jones told me. I don’t know if I was a hundred percent sold on the story when I was trying to convince you. It was because you, Lisa, and Courtney believed the story that I took it so seriously. No one is blaming anybody. We have a plan, more supplies than most people out there, and each other. We’ll get through this.
“Please don’t take this as me ridiculing your decisions, but how much gas is left in your tank?”
“I filled up three days ago, probably half a tank.”
“Do all of your lights and signals still work after the wreck in the parking lot?”
“The headlights work. I haven’t checked the signals. He hit my quarter panel near the wheel well, so I don’t think any of my lights were affected. Why do you ask?”
“Even though your Camaro is newer than most of the cars in town, at least its American made. It will blend in a little better than the BMW if we have to make a trip to Woodstock.”
“Think the townies will kick your butt for driving a German car?”
Everett laughed. He was happy to see Ken moving past feeling guilty. “No, I’m sure they’re great folks, but they tend to be leery of outsiders. Especially the day after doomsday. I want to do everything I can to try and blend in.”
Ken nodded. “That’s smart. What are you thinking of buying?”
“I don’t know. We can start putting a list together after breakfast.”
“Great, let me know whenever you’re ready; I’ll go with you.”
Everett gritted his teeth. “You’ve got that shiner on your eye. It will draw unnecessary attention. You and Lisa should stay here and guard the fort. Courtney
and I will go. Anyway, we’ll probably wait a day or two for things to cool off.”
“Don’t you think that, if you wait, all the good stuff will be gone?”
“The good stuff is already gone. I’d just like to trade the rest of my cash for anything that might be useful or of value.”
Ken took out his wallet. He pulled out all of his cash. “Take this too. Use it to buy whatever you think we can use.”
“Alright. Thanks.”
Lisa called out from the kitchen, “Breakfast is ready!”
The two men joined the ladies in the kitchen for what would be the first of many meals together in the cabin.
Over breakfast, the group discussed a basic security plan. Courtney wrote out a schedule, which would assign one person to be on watch at all times. It was decided that a patrol shift didn’t necessarily mean someone standing guard outside at all times, but it did require one member of the group be awake and checking any noises outside.
Everett finished his plate. “I think each of us needs to be within reach of a weapon at all times. Courtney, would you like to be in charge of delegating a weapon to Ken and Lisa? Maybe you could bring them up to speed on how to operate it as well.”
“I can do that.”
Lisa wiped her mouth with her napkin. “Nothing too loud for me. I’m a recent convert to the world of guns. I thought they should all be banned two weeks ago.”
Ken lifted his eyebrows. “She’s not joking. I had to hide all my first-person-shooter video games under the couch.”
Everett winked. “And now we live in one of those games.”
Lisa chuckled. “Yeah, being attacked yesterday did away with the remainder of my anti-gun convictions.”
Courtney patted Lisa on the arm. “It always does, hun.”
Lisa got up to put her plate in the sink and pour another cup of coffee. “I was against hunting last week too. You know, they kinda go hand in hand. But last night, a deer ran right in front of the car. Ken had to swerve to miss it, and we almost went off the road. I was thinking, ‘Oh great, I’m bleeding to death already, and now Bambi is going to finish me off.’ So, if times get tough, I’d probably eat a deer. I’m not saying I’m going to join the Grand Old Party, but my hard-core democrat days are definitely behind me.”
Everett got up to start washing the dishes. “I’d say the days of both parties are over with. If Jones was right, they’ve served their purpose of keeping people divided while the real criminals masterminded a globalist revolution.”
“Where did you see that deer?” Courtney asked.
Lisa looked at Ken. “On the road to the cabin. Probably a mile or two away from here. Right?”
Ken got up to help Everett with the dishes. “I’d say a mile.”
Courtney got up and handed her plate to Everett. “Maybe we should walk down there with a rifle and see if we find anything.”
Everett washed the plate and handed it to Ken to dry and put away. “We don’t have a hunting license.”
Courtney put her hands on her hips. “It’s the Apocalypse. I think that qualifies for a pass. Anyway, you have CIA credentials. Do you think a Fish and Wildlife warden is going to challenge you?”
Everett finished washing the utensils in the sink. “True, but the freezer chest is full. Maybe we should wait till we need meat and have some room.”
Courtney crossed her arms. “Once again, it’s the Apocalypse. When these good old boys around here can’t go to the Piggly Wiggly, the deer are going to thin out real fast. If we want venison, we have to strike while the iron is hot. For storage, it’s too bad we don’t know how to make jerky.”
“I made homemade jerky for the Super Bowl one year,” said Lisa.
Ken dried the last of the clean dishes and hung the towel on the oven door handle. “It was fantastic. She made different flavors. Spicy, teriyaki, smoked.”
Lisa smiled. “Put the meat in the freezer for a little while so it gets firm, cut it thin, marinate, then put it in the oven on a low temperature. Not much to it.”
Courtney looked at Everett. “So we’ll head out around four this afternoon and look for tracks and trails. We should stay near the road, so we can follow it back up to the cabin when it gets dark.”
Everett replied, “That’s fine. Maybe you should hold off on shooting practice with Ken and Lisa, so we don’t spook the deer.”
Courtney nodded. “Okay. I can go through the basics with them in the house with dry fire training.”
Ken finished his coffee. “I had a rudimentary pistol course with the company, but you’ll probably have to walk me through the specifics of whatever weapon you want me to use.”
“No time like the present.” Courtney went to the bedroom and returned minutes later carrying Everett’s shotgun and her Beretta .380. She directed everyone to the living room and instructed Ken and Lisa on the use of the two weapons, including loading, chambering, and safety features. She handed the shotgun to Ken and the Beretta to Lisa.
Courtney worked with each one on holding and aiming the weapons, then had them switch. Once they were comfortable, she walked them through loading and unloading each firearm. “Feel like you could take someone out if they’re threatening our group?”
Lisa looked much more comfortable with the small pistol now than when Courtney had first handed it to her. “I think I could shoot them in the leg or the foot if I had to.”
Courtney shook her head. “Wrong answer. If you have to pull the trigger, it’s because your life is in danger, and so is everyone else’s. You must shoot to kill. You don’t know how many other threats are around, and if you don’t take out the threat, he’ll most likely kill you. You always aim for the center of mass.”
Lisa took a deep breath. “Alright.”
Ken racked the shotgun. “I can do it if I have to. One thing I remember from training is that you shoot for the center of mass unless you know they have body armor. In that case, they taught us to go for a head shot, even though it’s a smaller target.”
“That’s smart. Thanks for the tip,” said Courtney.
Lisa put the gun on the coffee table. “Do you guys mind if Ken and I go for a walk in the woods? If you two are going out this afternoon, we’ll probably need to be on guard. I’m thinking we should all try to get in as much outdoor time as possible before it gets really cold. If we’re cooped up all winter, cabin fever is going to get to us.”
“Sure thing,” said Everett, “but take your guns.”
Ken nodded, put on his coat, and grabbed the shotgun.
Lisa grabbed her coat and picked the Berretta up off the coffee table. “See you in a bit.”
After Ken and Lisa left, Courtney asked, “Should we try to get the loft organized?”
“Good idea. Let’s do it.” Everett led the way up the ladder.
It soon became obvious that the task at hand was going to be quite labor intensive.
“Where do we start?” Courtney stared at the mountains of supplies.
“I guess we should start stuffing everything that can fit into the areas where the roofline meets the floor. If we put the shortest items in the back and the tallest items in the front, it will be the most efficient use of space, and the taller items will form makeshift knee walls to insulate the room.”
“Good plan. I’ll keep a note of the items going in the back, so we’ll know where everything is.”
“Great.” Everett started moving supplies to the lowest points in the room.
Next, they had to take each item off of the shelves to reposition them.
Courtney grabbed a yellow Pelican case. “Wonder what’s in here?”
Everett shrugged. “Open it.”
Courtney pulled the tabs and raised the lid. “It’s a UHF/ VHF radio.”
“Fantastic. Ken will know how to set that up and operate it.”
Two hours later, they heard Ken’s voice downstairs. “Hello, anybody home?”
Everett called down the hatch. “We’ll be down in a while
. If you see anything that looks good for lunch, go ahead and start cooking.”
Ken called back, “10-4 good buddy.”
Courtney looked at all they had done. “That’s a good start. Should we finish up later?”
“I think we should try to get the mattress up here first.”
Courtney looked at the hatch. “That’s going to be a challenge.”
Everett shook his head. “It’s memory foam. You’d be surprised how compactly it can be folded. I’ll tie rope around it in five or six places and keep tightening it until we get it to fit.”
They climbed down the ladder, went to the bedroom, and started folding the mattress. Ken helped.
Once the mattress was against the wall, Everett noticed what should have been the box spring. “This is a regular mattress. If you and Lisa don’t mind a low rider, we can keep the couch in the living room. As low as the loft is, we need to keep our mattress on the floor anyway.”
Ken smiled. “That’s great.”
The three of them soon had the mattress tied up and hoisted into the loft. Shortly afterwards, Lisa had lunch on the table.
The group sat down to grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup.
“Thanks for making lunch, Lisa.” Courtney took a bite of her sandwich.
“I love to cook. I don’t mind at all. I need something to keep me busy. I’d be happy to be in charge of the kitchen if we’re thinking of delegating specific duties.”
Everett sipped his soup. “I think that’s a terrific idea. Ken, we found a ham radio upstairs. I’ll let you see if you can do anything with it after lunch.”
Ken smiled. “That’ll give me something to do.”
“Hopefully we’ll be making venison jerky tomorrow,” Courtney said.
Ken asked, “What are you going to shoot the deer with?”
Courtney looked at Everett. “Um, I don’t know.”
Everett looked back at her. “What’s best? Would your Ruger be a good gun for deer?”
“It’ll work if you get a head shot. Hollow point ammo will up the odds in your favor. Still, it isn’t the best round for deer. Too bad we don’t have anything larger . . . and quieter.”
Everett finally caught on that Courtney wasn’t sure how much she should reveal about the guns in the safe. “Oh, what about the sniper rifle?”