Alpha Farm: The Beginning (Prepper Chick Series Book 1)

by Annie Berdel

  64

  Picking up the phone, Emma knew she had very little time to get her Girls into motion. One by one she made the calls, speaking calmly and clearly into the phone with information on what was possibly coming. They had been running drills for years but it looked like it was about time for everything to go “to the quilts” as Emma liked to call it. She came up with the code from some information she had found when she was gathering information on movement of supplies and people during the Civil War. It was confirmed but there were stories of quilts being used to transfer messages back and forth. Different colors of blocks built into the quilt meant different things. Black was always death, blue meant a clear path and so on. Being that Emma already had a network built with like-minded women across the country, it made sense to form Alpha Farms, as she referred to them, to get loved ones home if something happened while they were out traveling or heaven forbid, a real-life down grid situation. These women had come together and formulated an intricate network of routes to be used to transport their college kids, spouses working far from home, whomever they needed to get from one location to another without having to use the grid. Credit cards, hotel rooms, gas stations were all by-passed within this network to enable the travelers safety and operational security among the Alpha Farms themselves.

  Hanging up the phone after her last call, Emma said a quick prayer. Knowing that the phone chains were now active gave her a small sense of peace as she knew each call she made would branch out to twenty other calls and so on down the line before all the Girls were reached and activated.

  Picking up the phone one last time, she heard the receiver being picked up from the other end.

  “Hey stranger,” the voice said.

  “Time to come home and you don’t have much time left. Before you do, I need you to pick up a package for me so listen up,” Emma said.

  65

  Jay walked into the Sporting Goods store and looked around. What the hell was she even doing here? Black people don’t come into places like this! Grabbing a shopping cart, she figured she might as well hit each aisle to see what she could find even though Emma had sent her a list of essential items that she said Jay needed to get as soon as possible.

  “Alright girl, let’s get this over with,” she mumbled to herself as she felt the stares in her direction. Looking down, she realized it probably didn’t help that she was still dressed in a business suit. “Oh well! Black successful business women can camp too!” she thought with a grin.

  Looking around the store, she was impressed that it was divided into categories much like on Emma’s list in her hand. “These people must all be in cahoots together,” she thought.

  “OK, water. Emma has that as the most important thing,” she said as she turned her cart in that direction. Pushing the buggy to the middle of the aisle, she stopped and looked around. “Mercy. Now I know how men feel in the tampon section.”

  Looking at the list in her hand, she found the type that Emma recommended and threw a couple in her cart and then checked them off her list.

  Next on her list was something called a fire-steel. “What the hell is a fire-steel?” Jay mumbled out loud. Looking around, she finally saw someone who worked there. “Can you help me? I need something called a fire-steel,” she said to the man.

  “I’m sorry, that we don’t carry,” the man said. “But we do have a fire starting kit. It comes with a Zippo sparking wheel and some cotton tinder.”

  The look on Jay’s face must have priceless as the man just motioned her in the direction to find the Zippo kit. “Are you planning on going camping?’ he asked

  “Yes, I am going camping. Do you have a problem with that?” Jay replied a little more tersely than she intended. “Listen, I really could use some help here. Some friends invited us on an outing and I’ve never been off the concrete let alone in the woods,” she finally added as an apology

  “Then let’s get you going. Right this way,” the man said as he motioned her down another aisle

  Jay spent the next two hours in the camping supply store not only buying most of what was on Emma’s list but also listening to the man talk about how to use the items. Exhausted, Jay slid in behind the wheel of her Jaguar and closed her eyes. “Fuck!” she yelled to no one.

  Placing her thumb on the ignition pad, she heard the all–too-familiar hum of her little baby. Damn if she didn’t love that car! “Call Chinese restaurant” she spoke out loud. The car dialed the number to her favorite eating establishment. Pulling away from the camping store, Jay ordered dinner and hoped like hell Emma had a Chinese joint within thirty miles of her house. If she didn’t, life was truly gonna suck.

  66

  Something woke her out of her deep sleep. She lay there quietly, not disturbing the silence. There was something gnawing deep in the pit of her stomach and she couldn’t pinpoint what it was. She rolled over onto her back, noticing the coldness of the sheets on his side of the bed. He would be home soon. He had gone to Washington to give a mother much-needed information. She knew it was the right thing to do, as if she were in the other woman’s shoes, she would be deeply indebted to anyone bringing her information concerning her own children.

  She stretched her arm out under the blankets and rested her hand where his back would normally be. She missed him. He was part of her own being, her own soul. When he wasn’t there, she wasn’t complete. When he was there, she gained not only strength from his touch, but peace also. She was such an independent woman that it had been hard to allow anyone into her life, and he had not been an easy fit. They had struggled for years, pushing against each other to retain their own identity, until finally, they stopped and became as one. They now complimented each other in each attribute of their lives and each became stronger because of it.

  Arguing with herself, she finally relinquished the fact that she was awake, and needed to peel open her eyes. Doing so, she thought, would be admittance of defeat, that she would not being going back to sleep, but she was fast losing the battle. Groaning, she rolled to her side and grabbed for her phone to check the time. Her eyes parting slightly, she realized it was still dark outside. “What time is it really?” she thought to herself. Finally fumbling for the phone, she picked it up and pressed the button. Nothing. No light, no sound. She must have not plugged it all the way in so she reattached the power cord and decided to wait for a few moments to give it enough juice to turn it on. Laying it back on the nightstand, she rolled back onto her back.

  Her eyes fluttered in the night. The moon beams were coming through the window above her bed, making dancing patterns on the ceiling and walls. She hated this the most when he was away, the night. Her mind was being over active and she needed to calm herself.

  Her sense of hearing increased dramatically with the limited vision obscured by the darkness in the room. She could hear the faint barking of a dog, probably from her neighbor’s house miles away. She closed her eyes again and tugged the blanket up under her chin. He would be home soon, she reminded herself.

  She sat upright in bed. A black pit was vastly growing in her stomach. Something was wrong. Her senses fully awake now, she picked up her phone again and tried to turn it on. Nothing. The ceiling fan was not moving either. No sounds. She couldn’t hear anything, there was nothing there to break nature’s sounds. Sliding out of bed, she grabbed her bathrobe and tried to turn on the light. Nothing. She went downstairs and met Dixon at the bottom of the stairs. She tried the other lights. Nothing. She walked into the kitchen. Nothing was working. She picked up the phone. Nothing. Deadly quiet. Looking out the kitchen window, she noticed the security light wasn’t working, just the moonlight danced across the yard. Her heartbeat was increasing, this wasn’t right. There were no storms predicted. There were no scheduled rolling blackouts.

  Grabbing the truck keys from the hook by the door, she ran to the garage. Sliding the key into the ignition, she turned and got no sound. She knew in the pit of her stomach what had happened. Resting her head upon
the backs of her hands still gripping the top of the steering wheel, she prayed. She prayed hard.

  67

  Throwing the two backpacks into the trunk of the car, Jay knew Tiffany would have a fit trying to get all of her luggage in there along with the two bags. “This just isn’t going to work,” Jay thought. Piss off Tiffany or Emma, those were her choices. Not much of a choice as she adored both women for very different reasons.

  Pulling the bags out of the trunk, she opened the back door and shoved them into the floorboards, one behind the driver’s seat and one behind the passenger’s seat. “There, that should work. At least now I can get Tiff’s big suitcases in the back,” Jay thought, pleased with herself.

  Looking down at her watch, she got a little antsy as it was now a half hour past the time she had scheduled them to leave. She wanted through the tunnels and off the island before rush hour traffic. They were going to be cutting it awfully close.

  Walking back into their townhome, Jay yelled up the stairs. “Tiff, come on! We need to get going!”

  “You get me up at four a.m. and expect miracles? Girl! You need to relax!” Tiffany shouted back.

  “I know but I really want to get through the Lincoln before everyone else. Just hurray up.”

  Jay walked into her office and picked up the last backpack. She would wait until they left to take it with them as it had items in it that Jay did not want to forget or risk getting stolen if she left it in the car. Family pictures, important documents like birth certificates and insurance information, both of their wills, address books and a small firearm were all packed in the bag. Emma had talked her into getting the gun even though Jay had argued against it. It wasn’t hard to find in Manhattan but Jay knew Tiffany would have a real issue if she knew it was with them.

  “Come on baby girl, we really need to get going,” she said one more time.

  Tiffany finally descended the stairs, high heels and all. Her Coach purse filled with last-minute items that she forgot to pack but knew she couldn’t live without. Three different types of lotion were poking out from the top since she had so much in there that she couldn’t close it. Around her neck was more gold than was currently stored in Fort Knox, which isn’t saying much. Several scarves were tied around the handles of the purse and flowed backwards as she walked, briefly hiding the crammed pockets of her jacket.

  “You know, those cows aren’t going to care how you look out there,” Jay said, trying to look serious.

  68

  The sun had been up for a while when the first child arrived. Kevin had the look of sheer panic on his face as he yelled out for his Mom. One look at her face and he stopped dead in his tracks.

  “All those stories were true…” he asked, more of a statement than a question.

  “Yes, all those stories were true,” she replied, giving him a hug.

  “But… but…” he stammered.

  “Kevin, just sit down. We need to talk.”

  “What’s going on?” he asked as he slid into a chair at the kitchen table. Emma poured him a cup of coffee and sat down with him.

  “Well, and I hope I am wrong, but here is what I think is going on. By my accounts, some type of EMP has gone off. I woke up last night for no reason. I have to wonder if that’s why but it would explain everything not working. We need to do an equipment check as soon as the other kids get here.”

  “What do you mean ‘that’s why you woke up’? Did you hear something?”

  “I heard nothing… that’s the point. No ceiling fan, no ice maker, nothing. I ran out and checked my truck, nothing.”

  “OK. Wow. All of my life I thought this was bullshit and just played along. Not the prepared stuff, just that someone would dump an EMP off over the US. Out of all the scenarios, that one seemed the least likely. Damn.” His face still held a look of shock.

  “There’s one other thing” Emma added “Tommy and Jack are still in Washington.”

  69

  Before long, the rest of Emma’s kids were settled around the kitchen table chattering and comparing notes and the possibilities of the future. Emma looked at each one individually, silently saying a prayer over them. The future lay in each of their hands, Emma thought. “And my grandbabies” she said out loud, turning back to her task at hand.

  “What, Mom?” Lauren asked

  Taken aback, Emma had not realized her thoughts had escaped her lips.

  “Nothing baby girl, was just thinking out loud.”

  “Come here and sit with us,” Lauren said as she motioned to her mom to sit beside her.

  The kids had papers all across the table, their prepper notebooks opened and pens tucked behind ears. Emma smiled to herself.

  “What do we need to do first?” Lauren asked.

  “Let’s go check on Bertha and see what we need to replace. Not sure the damage but we need to get communications up and running and fast. Dad have his ham?” Connor asked his mom.

  “You know it. He is about 100 miles, give or take. Walking with Jack, he will be lucky to make it 6 hours a day, which is what… almost 3 weeks out before they get here? And that’s with no issues. People are going to start freaking in about 3 days tops which is going to put them in a very sticky situation trying to get home. Jonathan can get his truck up and running but that’s going to make you all stick out like a sore thumb and probably get shot coming through West Virginia.”

  “We can take the horses then,” Jonathan added.

  “Thinking that might be your best option,” Kevin said.

  “Why don’t we just calm down a bit. Your father is with a senator. There might be other options to get him home that we don’t know about. Let’s get comms up and running before we get ahead of ourselves here. Your dad can take care of himself and his grandson, so don’t worry about him. I want them home just like you all do but we can’t do it at the expense of a bad move on our part here,” Emma stated.

  They were all quiet, staring at her. Had she made the wrong move? No. The decision sucked but Emma knew it was the best one. They were safe at the farm and had to get their preparations in high gear here for what was sure to turn into pure chaos around the country. No matter how much her heart was breaking right now, she knew to send the boys out was the wrong move. You just don’t sacrifice the many for the few.

  70

  “You want to take this black woman to go where?” Tiffany asked in disbelief..

  “Chicago. And we will be making a couple stops along the way.”

  “And we can’t fly why?”

  “There’s no airport close to where Emma lives. Come on Tiff. You know Emma and her family. We will stay one night and be in Chicago the next day.”

  “This is insane. A black woman on a farm in the middle of Ohio with pigs and cows and dirty things. I will be the laughing stock of New York City.”

  “No one will know. Just tell them we are going to Chicago. End of story. You can shop your heart out when we get to civilization. Promise” Jay said.

  “These people are going to freak out. Not only two black women driving through the country but lesbians at that. Lordy, the corn is going to wilt!”

  “Tiffany. Emma grows ganja,” Jay said.

  “Oh! Well you should have said that earlier. When do we leave?” Tiffany said as she opened the closet door.

  71

  The shaking was horrendous, like someone picked up the entire earth and shook it. The truck bounced sideways across the road with the trailer still hooked to the back which was not the best combination in a situation like this. The trailer, deciding to go the opposite direction, twisted the metal at the hitch making a high-pitched squeal. The pressure was too much and the trailer broke free, falling onto its side and sliding across the opposite side of the road from the truck. Scott got the truck stopped as it slid into the soft gravel along the pavement.

  “What the hell?” Scott said. “You OK?” looking at Angie.

  Angie was staring ahead. Slowly she pointed and Scott looked in the
direction of her finger. The pavement ahead had buckled making the road look like a cheap piece of ribbon candy in a bag full of Christmas mix.

  Scott tried to start the truck and it wouldn’t turn over. He opened his door and got out, surveying the scene. Grabbing his cell from his pocket, he dialed 911. “Hey Ang…. Your cell working?” he yelled out to his passenger.

  Angie dug around in her purse until she found her phone. Pushing the button, she tried to get it to turn on. Getting out of the truck, she walked over to Scott and handed him her phone. “I can’t get it to work.”

  Scott tried her phone and couldn’t get it to turn on either. Handing it back to her, he put his hands on his hips and took in the surroundings. From what he could remember, they were well into north eastern Tennessee, almost ready to cross back into Kentucky. They had by-passed Nashville after leaving Memphis, instead choosing to get as far east as they could until they headed north again toward home.

  Looking both directions, Scott couldn’t see another vehicle, which was odd considering how busy a road this had been already. While not a main highway, it still was well traveled by local folks. “Someone should be coming along soon,” he thought glancing at his watch. It was 8 a.m.

  “OH NO!” Angie screamed as she ran towards the trailer.

  Lying on its side, the trailer had skidded off the road onto the opposite side of the asphalt. The good thing was, none of the contents had escaped as the back door was still latched tight. Not knowing what they would find once they opened the doors was the only question. Scott walked over and examined the trailer. There was no way he could get it upright on his own. He would need to get some guys with some heavy equipment out here to get it back up on its axles, which luckily were still attached to the base. Glancing up and down the road, he still didn’t see anyone coming.