by P. A. Glaspy
WHEN THE PEACE IS GONE
A Powerless World - Book 2
By
P.A. Glaspy
COPYRIGHT 2016
All Rights Reserved
P.A. Glaspy
1st Edition
No part of this work may be reproduced in any form, except to quote in reviews or in the press, without the express permission of the author. Any unauthorized reproduction of this work is illegal and punishable by law.
This is a work of fiction. Any parallel to persons alive or dead is purely coincidental, and is not intended by the author.
CHAPTER 1
We made it. We’re safe, for now. But how long would it last?
Our arrival at the farm was a bit frantic, with introductions to Millie and Monroe, moving the animals to the pens, and getting everyone fed and situated. We didn’t really have a chance to talk about the encounter on the road with the couple that was killed, though there was no doubt it was on all of our minds. After eating we got settled in a bit; we needed to talk about what had happened. I could tell by the look on Russ’s face it was weighing very heavily on his heart. It was on mine as well, so I knew it was the same for the rest of the group. We weren’t soldiers, trained for that sort of thing. It takes a lot to kill another person, and it was not something any of us had ever done, with the exception of possibly Monroe and Mike. We hadn’t spent enough time with Mike to know what his experience had been, and Monroe never talked about his time in the service of our country. If anyone mentioned war he just got really quiet, and didn’t offer any input. To me, that meant it was a subject that was very disconcerting for him. I think we kind of knew why now.
We sat in the living room with our after-dinner coffee in hand. Surprisingly, Mike spoke up first.
“I know you are all freaked out over the encounter we had on the road today. As a former Marine, I have had to shoot and kill people; people who were attacking me or my team. It is not an easy thing to do, to take a life. I hate that it had to happen but I’m glad you were ready to do what you had to do to protect yourselves, as well as your loved ones, in a dangerous situation. When a gun is fired everyone in the vicinity is in danger. You have to be ready to take out whatever threat that may be present to protect those you love. Your reflexes were excellent. I just want everyone to know you did what you had to do, what you needed to do, for all of our safety.”
Mike looked around the room. I’m sure he saw a myriad of emotions: sadness, anger, guilt, just to name a few, and quite possibly all of those on my face alone. He went on.
“I don’t know what anyone else’s skillset is, but I would like to offer my services for security training. While I am a machinist by trade, I have extensive experience with firearms and safety protocols. I was a range officer for a gun range a few years ago. I have handled just about every type of gun out there. I think we all need to be prepared for any kind of confrontation, and I can help with that. The last thing I want to say is this: none of you should feel guilty for what happened. Those people set themselves up for what transpired when they pulled guns on us. Never point a gun at anything you aren’t willing to shoot. I know you won’t get past it overnight, but it will pass. Sadly, I don’t think this will be a solitary incident. We will have to defend what we have from those less fortunate, less prepared, and more desperate, as well as those who are just too damn lazy to earn anything and choose to use force to take what others have. I for one am very glad to be here and will do whatever you need done to pay my way. That’s all I have to say.”
Wow – I was surprised at the display of passion from a guy we just met a few hours ago. He was a keeper, no doubt about it. Monroe addressed the group from his recliner.
“We are definitely going to need everybody armed and ready to defend this place. We don’t have a lot of neighbors but we have a few. I’m thinking we should probably get out to all of them in the next day or so, to see how they’re doing, what their plans are, maybe even bring them in here. We have plenty of room to set up tents, campers, whatever we need to put folks in. The more the merrier, as long as none of them try to take my bed,” he looked down at his seat, “or this here chair of mine. As long as they understand that, let’s build up our little community and its security team.”
There were giggles at Monroe’s possessive furniture remarks, but we agreed with both men. Security was going to be one of our top priorities in the next couple of days and the unforeseeable future. As we were settling down again, Russ looked at our boys.
“Rusty, Ben, I need to know that you guys are okay. Fifteen-year-old boys should not have to deal with what we had to do today. Hell, thirty-something year-old parents shouldn’t, for that matter. I know it shook me up bad. How are you doing after what happened?”
The boys looked at Russ, then at each other. They had been quiet since it all happened, but honestly I was so freaked myself that I think I tuned it all out. My mind was telling me Just get to the farm, and everything will be okay. Now that we were here I could see we had all compartmentalized it. The shock and awe of the bizarre circumstances were coming home to everyone. We took lives today. For the first time since this whole mess started, we had personally ended two people’s existence. The more I thought about that, the more it upset me. I started crying, and of course when Janet saw that, she started crying as well. That’s what best friends do: if one of us cries, we both cry. Russ saw me bawling, and wrapped his arms around me. Rusty came over and joined the family comfort hug, which of course made me cry even harder, only then it was because I was pissed off. My baby was having to deal with this shit. Rusty pulled back and looked at his dad and me.
“Honestly, Dad, it scared the hell…er, heck out of me when that gun went off.” Russ hid a grin at the cuss word, while I raised an eyebrow at my son, thinking Watch it, buster. You ain’t grown yet.
“Then, when I heard all the other guns going off, I jumped out of the truck. By the time I got out, the two people were already down. I didn’t shoot, Dad. It was over before I even pulled my pistol out of the holster.”
I breathed a huge sigh of relief, as did Russ. Ben was nodding from his mother’s arms, where he had headed when he saw her crying.
“Me either, Uncle Russ. I was too far away. I didn’t even really see anything until it was over.”
Janet hugged her son and Bob ruffled his hair. Okay, they had been exposed to the ugliness that was our current world but they had not been directly involved. Maybe we could maintain their innocence for a little while longer, though I wasn’t sure how long that would be. Russ stood up and addressed the room.
“I think we should try to get some rest, folks. We’ll crash wherever we can tonight, and get everyone more settled in the morning. I’ll take first security watch with…” He looked around the room, and Mike’s hand shot up. “With Mike. Who wants second watch with Bob?” Brian raised his hand.
“I don’t think you should subject the new recruits to Bob yet. I’ll take it.”
Bob jumped up from the sofa, and Brian made a beeline for the kitchen. We all enjoyed their antics, which were some much needed comic relief. We would not forget what had happened, but we had to focus on settling in for the long run. Now that we were here, it seemed a little safer, more secure, and less exposed. But how long would that hold true?
CHAPTER 2
I woke up to the sound of a rooster crowing REALLY loud. Geez, was the bastard on the window sill? I jumped out of bed, ready to shoo him away or ring his neck, since it was about 4:30 in the morning. I made my way to the window which was not that easy – the floor of our bedroom at the farm was covered with…stuff. It was pretty lat
e by the time we finally got settled in bed. Everyone was hyped up about the trip, getting here in one piece, and the new people seeing the farm for the first time. We talked well into the evening about the encounter on the road, as well as some elementary security measures. We had a lot of work to do and probably not a lot of time to get it done. We were not on an island so we wouldn’t stay hidden from the scumbags for long.
We brought a few loads in from the truck and trailer, but we were so exhausted from the tension of the day – hell, the week was more like it – we just couldn’t get more done. We dropped supplies everywhere, dug out sleeping bags, cots, and blankets, and got everybody a place to sleep. We were crowded but everyone had a bed for the night. To make as much room as possible we had Rusty on the floor in our room, and Ben was in with Bob and Janet, which freed up another bedroom with two sets of long bunk beds. We put people in the living room, in the basement, and I think a couple of the guys might have slept out in the cars.
What had started out as the six of us – our family and the Hoppers – had become close to twenty by the time we got to the farm. With Monroe and Millie already there, plus a couple of local boys who had been staying with them since the pulse, we were now over two dozen. Good thing the house was big. Even at that, we would still have to come up with some more permanent accommodations for the new additions. We couldn’t keep two dozen people in a six-bedroom house without constantly invading each other’s privacy, not that there would be a lot of that now anyway. We would have to address living arrangements pretty fast. If we were going to make it together, we needed everyone as comfortable as we could get them.
The guilty rooster was not on the window sill or even that close to the house. The lack of any other noise made him seem a lot louder than he was. Or, maybe he had always been that loud but the background noise of a modern electric world had dulled the sound somewhat. When we’d been here in the past there had been fans, air conditioning, and the hum of electronics everywhere; sounds we took for granted and paid no attention to in our daily lives. The sounds of progress were no longer there. It had been about two weeks since the pulse had taken out the power grid and everything electrical had ceased to work. We had a few electronic items that we had protected in faraday cages at the house and there were some here on the farm as well. Everything else was toast. No electricity meant no lights, no fans, no A/C (that was going to suck REALLY bad in Tennessee, really soon), as well as no late model cars, no cell phones, tablets, computers – if it had been plugged in at the time the pulse hit, or had a computer chip in it, it was a paperweight now. Some appliances that were strictly mechanical still worked, as long as they hadn’t been connected to the power grid when it happened, but that was about it.
I swore at the rooster and gave it a rude hand gesture. I figured I might as well get downstairs and get some coffee going since we had a full day ahead of us. I felt my way around the edge of the bed so I didn’t step on Rusty in the floor, who was still sleeping soundly despite the way-too-early wake-up call from Sir Crows-A-Lot. Kids can sleep through anything. Russ was already up and gone so I needed to check on him as well. I was not surprised, even though he had only gotten about three hours sleep after his security watch. He was extremely concerned about getting the place secured and getting everyone settled. Hmmm, maybe he already had the coffee going. That would be awesome. I grabbed some clothes from a bag on the floor, threw them on, and headed down to the kitchen.
As soon as I reached the top of the stairs, I smelled it: the delicious aroma of coffee. I love coffee just about any way you can create it. I had the means to make coffee no less than six different ways before the lights went out. The pulse only took out one of those – the pod coffee maker. The rest were either stove top, drip, press, or instant. Oh, and open fire which was my favorite way to make boiled coffee, or cowboy coffee as we called it. Since I smelled boiled coffee, I was pretty sure Russ was the one who made it. He loved it as much as I did.
I walked into the kitchen with my nose slightly raised trying to inhale every bit of the aroma of the coffee. Russ was sitting at the table with Monroe, Millie, Brian, and Bob. They grinned at my expression and Millie started to get up to get me a cup. I stopped her.
“No ma’am, you stay right where you are. I can get my own coffee. I think we’re all going to have plenty to do today. Save your energy.”
I went to the counter, opened a cupboard beside the sink, and pulled out a coffee mug. After I had my coffee fixed up, I went to the table and grabbed a seat.
“I can’t believe you guys are all up already. Was it the rooster for you, too?”
Monroe laughed. “Sugar, I get up at this time every day, even before the lights went out. A farm is a lot of work. It starts early and ends not too long after the sun goes down. I don’t reckon that’s gonna change.”
Millie nodded. “Me too, but only because Monroe makes more racket than that rooster out there when he gets up.”
Monroe winked at her. “You know I do that on purpose so you’ll get up and make me a batch of your biscuits, right? I just can’t start the day without my Millie’s biscuits and gravy.”
She smiled at her husband of fifty-odd years. “Of course I do. I snagged you with those biscuits when we were courtin’. Once you had the first one, you were mine, mister.”
Monroe busted out laughing, and the rest of us joined in. Just then Janet walked in, followed by the Lawton brothers. Ryan yawned as he came into the room.
“Man, y’all are having way too much fun for this early in the morning. Can we eat that damn rooster?”
That started us all laughing again. I stood up and headed for the counter.
“No, because we need his sorry ass to make more chickens or believe me I’d stew him up in a heartbeat. You guys drink coffee? We’ve got a couple of pots already done.”
Bill looked at me like I was an angel right here on earth. “Oh my God, yes. We ran out of coffee a couple of days ago. Black, straight up.”
Ryan was vigorously nodding his head next to his brother. I handed them both cups, then gave Janet hers. I knew how she drank her coffee: just like me.
Russ looked at the group around the old worn kitchen table.
“We’re going to need to get everything unloaded and stored away. I want to get those trailers out of the yard and tucked back in the old garage out of sight. They’re like a billboard telling the world we hauled a bunch of stuff in here. Once that’s done we can figure out where everyone is going to sleep on a more permanent basis.”
He turned to Bill and Ryan. “Guys, sorry about the rooster, but I’m thinking we’ll set up a big six-man tent with you single guys for now outside, but close to the house in case anything happens or we get a really bad storm. Once everyone decides if they want to stay or not, we can build a basic bunkhouse. That will put you two, Mike, and Brian in the tent. You think you can work with that?”
Ryan grinned at him. “Man, you saved us out there, probably saved our lives. You think we’re gonna complain about a bed, food, and security, because of an early rising chicken? We’ll consider it a daily wake-up call. Besides, we usually get up by 5:00 AM anyway. Landscaping is hot work. You want to get it done early.”
Russ nodded. “Ok, that’s four. After Monroe and Millie, Bob and Janet, and Anne and I each take a bedroom that leaves 3 more. We’ll put Ben and Rusty, as well as…Monroe, what are those boys’ names? I don’t think I caught them last night, or I was so tired they didn’t stick.”
Monroe replied, “Matt and Nick Thompson. They live the next place over. Not a farm, just a homestead on about an acre or so of land. Their mom and dad were gone to Memphis to see her momma. No way they get back from there with no supplies. That place will be a war zone. The boys help us out here when we need extra hands, so we had them move in after the power went out. I don’t know for sure their parents are gone, but I doubt they’re getting back any time soon. That’s 250 miles away.”
Russ went on. “Okay then, Rusty, Ben
, Matt, and Nick can take the room with the two sets of bunk beds. That’s four bedrooms. One of the spare rooms has two double beds, so I think we should give that one to the Scanlins, if they decide to stay. They should fit in there fine. That leaves one bedroom, but we still have two families – the Raines and the Roushs. Both are three people. We’ll also need a spot for Marietta. Suggestions anybody?”
Millie replied, “The attic has room for a few people but Lord, it will be hotter than the fires of Hell up there this summer. The basement seems a logical choice. Very temperate, not too hot and not too cold. We could move some of the items we have down there over to the barn or out to the yard. It’s just old clothes, gardening tools, that kind of thing. You could possibly put one of those families down there, maybe string a curtain or sheets up to give them a little privacy, but it won’t be much. But then, I don’t guess beggars can be choosers now, can they?”
I chimed in. “We could put Marietta on a cot in the sewing room if that’s alright with Millie. It’s small but it would give her some privacy as the only single woman. Would you be okay with that, Millie?”
Millie smiled. “Of course, child. That’s a wonderful idea. Not like I’m going to be spending a lot of time quilting for a while. We’ll be too busy getting by.”
Bob looked at Russ. “You’re talking like you think the Scanlins are staying. Do you think they won’t want to go look for their friends, what was their name?”
“Luke and Casey Callen. Supposed to live out this way somewhere.”
Monroe’s head snapped up. “Luke Callen? I know him. He lives about four or five miles from here. I see him at the CO-OP from time to time. Haven’t seen any sign of them since it all went down. We should go check on them anyway.”
Russ set his coffee cup down. “So, we’ll take today to get everything unloaded and stowed. We’ll get everyone situated in the spaces we have available in the way we’ve laid it out. If we have any time left, we can try to run over and check on the Callens and let the Scanlins see them. Then we can modify our setup if we need to. Does that sound good?” Nods all around brought the planning session to an end.