A Powerless World (Book 2): When the Peace is Gone

by P. A. Glaspy

  “We know you’re struggling, but there just isn’t anything we can do right now on a large scale. We are doing everything we can to hold the government structure together. We have FEMA camps set up outside almost all major cities now. While our resources are severely limited, you can get some food, water, and medical attention there if needed. Just don’t expect it to be a long-term solution for you. Everyone needs to buckle up and hunker down because this is going to be a rough ride. Martial Law has been in effect for weeks, but it doesn’t seem to be helping with the illegal activities being perpetrated on the American people by their own countrymen. We just don’t have enough men and women to police the entire country. We encourage you to protect your families and to assist your fellow man when you can. While this is not an open invitation to take the law into your own hands, you should defend yourselves. If your neighbor comes to you asking for help, share whatever you have with them. Only together can we come through this tragedy stronger than ever. We also need food and ammunition, as well as working vehicles, for our troops and law enforcement who are gearing up to protect this country from an invading force, so I am enacting the Executive Order for the National Defense Resource Preparedness. If you are contacted by any representative of our government or the United Nations, do not resist them. Provide them the supplies they are there to collect. Without our military, we are open to invasion by other nations who would see us annihilated. We must maintain order in our government and control of our country. With that said, the upcoming elections have been suspended until we get back to some semblance of what we were and what we had. To be perfectly honest, it could take years. The Posse Comitatus Act has been repealed as well, so that our military can protect us here at home. We may have to sacrifice some freedoms to get through this situation. I know you will all agree that these are the best options we have at being successful in returning our country to what it was just a few short weeks ago.”

  The recording stopped and the speaker came back on.

  “Seriously? That’s the solution? Take away our freedom, stick us with your sorry ass for the unforeseeable future, oh, and by the way, give us most of your supplies. There was a guy on here yesterday who lives in Maryland. He said the UN forces came to his house, kicked in the door, and demanded all but three days’ worth of his food. They took every gun except one pistol and one rifle, and all but a box of ammo for each, AND they took his truck. He said before that he had enough food to feed his family for a couple of years, and thousands of rounds of ammo. So, tell me how we are supposed to fend for ourselves with no food and no ability to get more by hunting? If you use the ammo for hunting, what do you have to defend yourself and your family with??”

  “Was he the only one in that area they took supplies from? Do you know?”

  “I do know. He has a prepper group he’s part of in that area. All of them were hit. But none of the other residents, the ones who didn’t have a bunch of supplies stored up. They knew who would have the stuff they wanted.”

  “How’d they know?”

  “Do you buy things online or at warehouse stores with credit cards? They know and track everything you purchase. Specific items like ammo, guns, and mass quantities of food stuff trigger their tracking code. They may not have a gun registration, but they know who buys guns. They’ve kept all that info on all of us, just waiting for something like this to happen, so they’d know where to go to get the things they need. Oh, and they’re probably listening to this conversation.”

  Monroe turned the volume down. We all stood there staring at the radio, then at each other. The UN was in our country, taking people’s food and supplies?

  “I knew about the EO, but I never thought they’d use it.” Mike was looking around the room. “This changes things; this changes everything. Marauders, beggars, and scavengers are one thing. An invading army is a whole other ballgame.”

  Bob looked bewildered. “Would our military do that? Would they take from people who are just trying to get by, taking care of themselves, not asking for help from the government, or anyone else for that matter, for the ‘greater good’?”

  “I don’t think our troops would do that, even if they were ordered to. We all took an oath, and it said specifically ‘all enemies foreign and domestic’. As a former member of that group, I personally would tell them to take a flying fuck if they ordered me to take anything from folks like us and I hope those currently serving feel the same way. That said, the UN ‘peacekeepers’ is a whole other scenario. They want a new world order where there is no local, or even national, law enforcement, but a global police force. They care nothing about our Constitution, they despise us for our Second Amendment rights, and the majority of the countries in the UN want to see us knocked off our high horse. Looks like this is their chance. We need to talk about some things when we get done listening here, but I’d like to hear more, if we can, first.”

  We were all in shock, but definitely wanted to know what else was happening out there. Monroe turned the volume back up.

  “We can’t fight UN forces alone. I strongly urge everyone listening to find like-minded individuals to team up with if you haven’t already. I’m betting if they come up against a force of more than just a couple of folks, they won’t be so eager to exert force and take your things. The guy from Maryland said it was six guys who showed up at his place. I don’t know how we can hook people up with each other without them knowing where we are, but we need to figure that out. I’m completely open to suggestions, people.”

  There were a bunch of people trying to talk at once, so Monroe turned it back down again.

  Russ and Monroe shared a look, and Monroe nodded at him.

  “We’ve been talking and we think we can take at least a half dozen more people, maybe up to a dozen here. With the bunkhouse, and more campers if we can find them, we can beef up our numbers. We can plow more ground for more crops, and put the breeders together in the livestock pens. We need more people. We need to find more folks like you guys,” he gestured to the group, “to maintain this place. If we have three dozen people, I’m betting most outsiders will leave us alone, if they find us. Monroe knows other folks in the area he thinks will be good additions to the group. In the next few days we are going out to see if they want to join us. We will protect this place, and our supplies, against all enemies foreign and domestic. Count on it.”

  We all nodded in agreement to Russ’s comments. We listened to the irate survivors on the radio for a couple of hours. No one knew who had set off the EMP. From what we could tell, we hadn’t been invaded by any forces, outside of the UN. Did it really matter who did it? I mean, we were where we were, regardless of who was responsible. All we could do now was live the life we’d been dealt; take care of each other to the best of our abilities; and get ready for whatever was coming. We knew something was coming, we just didn’t know what it was – or who was bringing it.

  CHAPTER 19

  “The first thing I want to say to all of you is if you have a rifle, you should be carrying it with you at all times. Pistols are for up close, when you can see your target well. Rifles will hopefully keep the target from getting up close.”

  Mike had brought this up over supper the next night. We had spent the day with the standard chores, as well as getting some more food planted in the new garden. Mike had been walking around all day, observing our actions as we went about the daily routine of life on a farm.

  “As I walked the area today, I saw everyone who has them wearing side arms, which is good, but you need to get in the habit of slinging your rifle over your back as well. If something goes down, you don’t want to have to be scrambling around trying to find it. If you’re working the garden, prop it up against a tree. We can put up hooks and nails in them and on fence posts so you can hang them for easy access.”

  “But what about the kids? Isn’t that dangerous, having guns laying around they can just pick up?” Ah Sara – she was trying to get it, but sometimes she still had a hard time
grasping it all.

  Sean answered her question. “You tell them not to touch any gun until they are taught how to use one, and if they do, they get their butt whipped. I’ve already had that conversation with my kids a long time ago. They know better. Tony should probably be learning how to use one now, but that’s yours and Pete’s decision, not ours. Either way, if I see any of them trying to get their hands on one without an adult involved, I’ll whip their butt. Okay with you, Lee?”

  Lee gave a short nod. “More than okay with me. Every adult here has permission to instruct and discipline my children if they see a need for it.”

  Sean nodded back. “Same goes for ours. Kids need to learn respect for all grownups, and that misbehavior will not be tolerated from any of them by any of us. The most important thing to remember is guns protect us from those who would try to harm any of us or particularly our children. They are an important and necessary tool in this reality.”

  Mike went on. “Make sure you have a bag with at least two full magazines for any weapons you’re carrying. We have a bunch of backpacks we brought back from the neighborhood, so we should have extras if anyone needs one. I don’t want us to get caught unprepared like we were when those Glass brothers showed up. If that had been actual marauders, we would have been in real trouble, possibly even losing some people. Bad guys will come in guns blazing. We need to have some firepower to meet that with on our side.”

  Brian looked at Mike solemnly. “What if it’s soldiers? Are they bad guys now?”

  Mike was silent for a moment then stood very tall. “If they come in guns blazing, yes they are, and we will return in kind. If they come in guns drawn, we will match their stance. If they try to take anything, we will resist. This is America. We have rights, we have freedom, and we have a Constitution that lays all that out. NO edicts from a wannabe dictator change any of those things. NO illegal laws can take away our God given rights. I don’t know about all of you, but I for one will go down fighting for every one of those things.”

  To a chorus of “HELL YEAH!” and “AMEN!” it was decided that we would not be able to comply with the requests of the current administration. While Pete and Sara seemed less than confident, the rest of us knew we would do anything to defend the people here from any enemies that came. It was time to find more people we could trust and make them a part of our family, too.

  ****

  With the prospect of more folks coming, we started trying to think of what other accommodations we needed to get set up to handle more people. We were pretty much done washing and drying all the clothes that had been brought back. While the owners took a fair share, they also donated quite a bit to whoever might need them. We ended up with a nice pile of extra clothes, including some from our family and the Hoppers, sorted into totes by size. These were stacked up in the trailers we had brought our stuff out to the farm in, currently parked in the big garage/car shed. No sense wasting good storage space, and they were perfect for this, since we wouldn’t need to be in them on a regular basis.

  Adding another dozen people was going to be challenging in the food prep department. While we concentrated on a lot of one-pot meals for supper now, even that would be harder with three-dozen people. Too bad none of us had ever worked in a school cafeteria.

  We were sitting at the kitchen table the next evening discussing our options while the kids washed the supper dishes. Yep, any of them who were not old enough to stand security watch were now on a dish-washing work rotation. Plenty of work to go around on the farm.

  “We’re using the biggest stock pots we have now. We can use Casey’s water bath canner, as well as mine, if we need them. The challenge is going to be where we do the cooking. With pots that big, my old stove will probably only be able to handle two at a time. I suppose we can fire up the wood cook stove if we need to – no time like the present to learn new skills. I can cook on it, I’m just not as confident of its use as I am my old reliable.”

  Millie was mulling the possibilities over as she spoke. “I think we should keep on the way we’ve been doing it so far: soups, stews, and big pasta dishes with bread. If we happen to get a nice batch of something from the gardens, we throw it in. We just cook half again as much as we’re cooking now. We may have to split it into two pots, but we can do it. I do think we’ll need to use the wood stove to make more bread each day.”

  “Okay Aunt Millie, but you have to take on at least one helper, full time. I’ll volunteer.” Janet was watching her aunt for any signs of resistance.

  Marietta raised her hand. “I volunteer, too. I used to cook for my family, what little we had, so I know how to stretch food. I’ve also been dying to get the secret to Millie’s fluffy bread.”

  She grinned at Millie as we all laughed. Millie smiled back at her. “No secret, dear. Just don’t overwork the dough. Let the yeast do the work. And I would be very thankful for the help, especially with the kneading. My old hands just don’t always do what I tell them to these days.”

  As she said it, she held her hands up. I was shocked to see they looked enflamed and swollen.

  “Millie, why didn’t you say something? Kate, have you seen this?”

  Kate got up and hurried around the table to her. “No, I have not. Millie, why didn’t you tell me your hands were bothering you? We can give you something to help with the arthritis.” Kate was standing there with her hands on her hips, looking every bit the charge nurse.

  “It usually isn’t this bad. I think it’s from the extra bread making, to be honest. I’ve been treating it with an essential oil mixture one of the ladies from church gave me a year or so ago, but I just ran out yesterday.”

  Millie held up a dark glass bottle with a dropper top. Kate took it, took the top off and smelled it.

  “Hmmm. I smell peppermint, eucalyptus, I think, and a slight hint of olive oil. Do you know the recipe, Millie? Does anyone have more of the oils?”

  Janet stood up and headed toward the door. “Yes, we have most of the popular ones in the root cellar. I’ll be right back.”

  Our prepping had included a variety of essential oils, particularly the ones with medicinal or healing uses, but we also had some that would help with dry skin and soothing balms. We had beeswax, shea butter, and coconut oil to use as carriers or to make blends, as well as vitamin E capsules. Janet and I had no doubt the ability to make hand and body lotions would be a valuable asset when the stores were gone. We could also make salves and antibiotic ointment if needed. Supplies were the new currency, and the people who knew how to make things you couldn’t buy anymore, particularly those considered luxury items, would have more bargaining power. And yes, I had quite a few books on the ereader with information and recipes for those things. Did I say how awesome it is to have a device that holds thousands of books?

  “I don’t know the exact amounts, but you’re right about the ingredients. I do know it opens my sinuses up when I use it, so I get a bonus benefit.”

  Millie laughed at her own joke, and we joined her. Janet came back with the essential oils mentioned and handed them to Kate.

  “Great. Anybody have any idea how to do this?”

  I took the bottle. “I think I can wing it. Millie, where are those small funnels we brought you?”

  “Look in the gadget drawer by the stove, Anne.”

  I went to the drawer that every woman has in her kitchen: the gadget drawer. The drawer that holds all the things you use only sporadically. The place cookie cutters and corn holders go to hide. The spot for the nut cracker and picker you bring out only at Christmas. The location of all those things you bought that were cute or cool, or that you really thought you needed, but used only once. I rummaged around until I found the small set of funnels we gave Millie. Janet and I each had a set so we thought Millie should have one, too. Now I was really glad we did.

  The rest of the group gathered around as I set the opaque bottle on the counter. I put in five drops each of the peppermint and eucalyptus oil, then a couple of
tablespoons of the olive oil sitting by the stove. I put the lid on and gave it a good shake. When I took the lid off, I let Kate and Millie sniff test it.

  Kate smelled it first. “Close, but I didn’t get that distinct of a smell of the olive oil in the original. What do you think, Millie?”

  She handed the bottle to Millie, who gave it a sniff. “Yes, Kate’s right. I’d go heavier on the essentials.”

  I added another five drops of each, gave it another swish, and passed it back. Kate smiled when she smelled it. “I think that’s it. Millie?”

  Millie took it, inhaled, and smiled as well. “I do believe you did it, Anne. Do you remember the recipe?”

  “Yep. Ten drops of each, plus two tablespoons or so of the olive oil. Get that on your hands right away, Millie. New meal prep rules, starting now: you supervise. You may participate, but you are not the primary cook anymore. Marietta, Janet, and myself –“

  Kate chimed in, “Me too! If I don’t have any patients, I can help. If I do have patients, I can still help, because this will keep me close.”

  I nodded and went on. “We will take on the cooking duties. There may be some of the guys who want to help, but I know from experience Russ and Bob can barely grill out. We do not want to subject all these people to their culinary deficiencies.”

  Everyone giggled. I went on. “Kate, there are some books on the ereader on essential oils you can use for medicinal purposes. I completely forgot about having those in the root cellar because we haven’t used them up to now. Janet and I have experimented on a couple of things, but it’s been a while and nothing really seriously. She can show you where they are, as well as the dried herbs I told you about. There’s a few big bags of Epsom salt in there as well.”

  “Perfect. We can do a soak in a bit. Millie, I’m going to get you some acetaminophen and ibuprofen to take for now. I’ll be right back.” Kate headed for the basement.

  Millie looked at us. “Both?”