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

by Annie Berdel

  77

  Twisting and turning, Emma woke in a drenched mess. Sitting up, she reached for him but he wasn’t there. The room dark, she instinctively made her way to the window seat and sat down. Pulling the quilt around her she stared into the darkness. What a beautiful night it was. The clouds danced playfully in front of the moon causing shadows across the open field. “Lord please,” she prayed. “Keep him safe and bring him home.” She rested her cheek against the cold glass of the window. Her eyes began to fill, and slowly overflowed down her cheek, the salty warmth forcing her to confront her own fears.

  78

  Dixon raised his head in a quick jerk, which caught Emma’s attention. A low growl escaped his throat sending shivers down Emma’s spine. Standing up, Emma and the kids quickly scurried up the stairs into her bedroom on the second floor, taking Dixon with them. Handing both kids a flashlight, she opened the closet door and disappeared behind the clothes. Peeking her head back through, she motioned for the kids to follow her. At the back of the closet was a secret door, used back in the times of the Underground Railroad. The door led to several rooms that squeezed under the eaves of the roofline. Emma had the kids sit down with Dixon on a blanket. “Stay here until I come back and get you,” she said as she raised her finger to her lips. “Be very tranquillo.” Patting Dixon on the back, “Protect,” she commanded him. Not wanting to leave her, he whimpered his discord. “Protect,” she echoed.

  Lowering the kerosene lamp she was using to light the room, Emma grabbed her Glock and shoved it into her waistband. Making sure she had her flashlight and knife in her pocket, she grabbed some extra magazines and threw them in her pocket.

  Just as she turned to pick up the Mossberg, making sure the side saddle was full, she heard what sounded like the train that normally ran through her property had jumped its tracks and was coming straight for her house.

  Turning the light off completely, she stepped to the window and looked out. A multitude of headlamps were marching towards the house. Two by two they came until they cluttered her driveway, stopping short of the garage. Men’s voices could be heard over the roar of the engines. Shouting orders back and forth, replies following swiftly.

  Not quite sure what to make of the menagerie below, Emma slowly crossed the room and began to descend the stairs, her mind agitated with the varied scenes revealing themselves in her head. “This is one of those times where reading too much Tin Foil BS is coming back to haunt me,” she muttered to herself. “Remind me to thank Rhonda later!”

  She heard him call out to her, his voice cutting through the deafening clutter of noise. “Emma, put Mossy down before you shoot me!”

  Stopping in her tracks, a smile crept across her face.

  Propping the shotgun beside the door, she realized her hands were shaking as she turned the doorknob.

  Slowly opening the door, there stood her Tommy with the biggest grin on his handsome face.

  “Can I help you? You seem a tad lost,” she asked, barely able to contain how crookedly happy her lips were curving.

  “Yes ma’am, was looking for the hottest Grandma this side of the Mississippi!” he said giving her a wink. “Hiya, Doll” barely escaped his lips as she flung herself into his arms.

  79

  The officer coughed trying to get their attention. “Excuse me?” But nothing was working. Trying again, he tapped the man on the shoulder. “Excuse me, Sir?” Finally the couple separated their faces enough that the officer saw his chance to interrupt again. “Excuse me!” he yelled this time.

  Turning to look at the man, Tom gave him a grin “Yes?”

  “Sir, we need to get the senator in out of the cold” the soldier replied

  Forgetting all that had preceded having his wife in his arms, Tom quickly recovered. “Emma, we have guests,” he said laying his hand on her cheek. “Let’s get them inside and then I can fill you in.”

  Following her husband’s cue, Emma set about putting water on to boil while they started gathering their guests into the house. Tom ushered the woman into the living room and introduced her to Emma. “My dearest, let me introduce you to Senator Nina Varga. Senator Varga, my beautiful wife, Emma.” Both women took a few moments and sized each other up. “I believe you have something that belongs to me?” Nina finally said, breaking the silence. “Oh! Yes!” Emma replied and left the room quickly.

  Moments later, she returned with the children. As soon as Matheo and Alicia saw the woman standing in the middle of the room, they both let out squeals of joy. Nina dropped to her knees and met them in her arms, melting into each other. “Mama! Mama!” They gushed in unison. Taking each of their tiny faces between her hands, Nina kissed each and every inch of their cherub cheeks, feeling their fluttering lashes tickle her lips.

  Emma walked over and slid an arm around her husband, resting her head on his shoulder. They watched the reunion of a mother and her children, forgetting that the world outside was erupting into chaos. Forgetting that the woman on the floor before them, covered in baby kisses, her hair disheveled from tiny hands and arms wrapped around her neck, was the one person who everyone thought could fix the country they all loved so much.

  80

  Shelby turned the damper down on the stove and checked the pot of water on top. Making sure it was filled for the day, she finished up by throwing a couple logs of wood alongside the stove for supper time. It was expected to be colder than normal tomorrow and she wanted to make sure she could get the house warmed up and the stove ready for their evening meal before heading out to the barn.

  Taking a cup from the shelf, she added three teaspoons of dried chamomile flowers into the bottom of it. The yellow of the flowers, even though dull from dehydrating, still brought a smile to her face. “spring couldn’t get here soon enough,” she thought. She had grown this particular strain from some seeds a friend in Ohio had sent her.

  Ladling some hot water from the pot of water on the stove over the flowers in her cup, she sat it down at the kitchen table. Reaching across the wooden surface that had been worn from time, she grabbed the spoon that was in the honey jar and added a heaping amount to her tea. Stirring, she was soothed by the clinking of spoon against the china. This was her favorite time of the day. Chores were done, the children were outside playing and the house was toasty warm from breakfast. She had some much-needed time to think.

  Picking up her cup, she tilted the edge of the porcelain to her lips. Shelby instantly felt the tickle. Looking down into the cup, she realized she had forgotten to strain the flower heads from the water. Rolling her eyes and muttering under her breath, she pushed her chair back and walked over to the sink and picked up the strainer.

  She was about ready to pour the tea into the wire mesh basket when something caught her eye out of the window above her sink. There was her pony Bella jumping wildly around the field. Thinking a snake had gotten into the pen, Shelby picked up her shotgun and headed out. The last thing she wanted was Bella getting bit by a poisonous snake.

  Heading over to the fence, Shelby saw the kids playing with the swing in the tree. Looking past them she noticed the chickens were dashing about aimlessly. “That’s odd,” she thought as she continued towards the pony.

  The high-pitched squeal got her attention and made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Coming from the barn, the sharp groinking bark was coming from the pig pen. Shelby stopped dead in her tracks. Something was wrong and she could feel it riding on the wind. Birds fluttered out of the tree above the kids, sending the sound of agitation through the breeze.

  Turning in a slow circle, Shelby watched as the animals around the farm were acting excited… or maybe nervous, she couldn’t pinpoint it exactly. “Kids, come along with Mama,” she yelled out to them as she waved her arm, motioning them towards her.

  The first rumble knocked her to her knees. On all fours, Shelby felt the warm putrid feeling rising up her throat, her head spinning wildly making her not be able to focus. “Momma!” she heard the ki
ds screaming at her. Trying to focus, Shelby raised her head.

  The next rumble had her grabbing for the kids and pulling them tight. “God, have mercy!” she yelled out. The next few moments drifted in front of her like an old movie being shown at the local theater. The wailing was coming from beneath her as the soil rocked back and forth. It was cutting into her soul and reminding her of when she gave birth to the child she now held in her arms. The pounding against her pelvis as the new life was trying to intrude into the world she lived in gave her pause to think of the damage the earth beneath her could create.

  She heard the glass breaking from the windows in the house before her brain recognized what it was, clear flakes of light splashing out in all directions. The chinking sounds making her think of the porcelain tea cup she was using earlier. Mountain Man had given that cup to her on the birth of their first child. He wasn’t an overly emotional man and had no idea how to swim around with the fishes in the pool of romance, but this gift was priceless to her.

  Mountain Man. Shelby closed her eyes as a prayer left her lips to be carried on the wind. He had left that morning to go into town to pick up building supplies. She had no idea where he was at the moment. She also had no way to contact him. Looking in the direction she knew he should be, she noticed an enormous dust cloud over Memphis. “Sweet Jesus,” she whispered as she stood up, shielding her eyes against the sun.

  81

  They were running away from the falling buildings, those who could run. They were screaming with whimpered groans, those who could scream. The city was now full of collapsed walls, rubble, blood and tears. There was no one coming to help them, they just didn’t know it yet. Their rescuers lived among them, lay among them in the debris. There was just too much damage. A blanket of dust and smoke had been laid over the city, choking off its existence.

  The area nearest the river was the hardest hit. Buildings crashed into buildings with no accounting for the lives that now lay buried beneath them, their cries snuffed out. The ones who were able to stay clear of the debris were walking around aimlessly, confused, not knowing what to do next. Tears were mixing with blood and dust, sending rivers of scarlet mud down their broken faces.

  The Mighty Mississippi, once tamed by the bustle of riverfront commerce, now devoured the intruders who lined her ribs with such velocity that only small deposits of silt remained. Her bones now stretching wide as brackish water roared northward reclaiming all that once was hers. The damage was unimaginable. From the Gulf of Mexico to Lake Michigan, the once-great United States had been sliced in two. Nations watched in awe as the once-powerful, ego-ridden country was brought to her knees.

  The aftershocks were now coming every fifteen to twenty minutes, lasting less than thirty seconds each but causing more chaos as buildings that were haphazardly stacked upon each other continued to fall. Bridges fell like matchsticks being broken and thrown to the wind. The judgment left by the quake was total devastation.

  82

  The wolf watched from the edge of the woods. He had tasted her blood before and it had called him back. This is where he would wait, hidden within the trees. His chest heaved rapidly with heavy panting. He was agitated, unsettled. He would force her to change her habits. He would bring her into the woods, into his domain. Pacing back and forth, he never lost focus of what his intent was. He would taste her blood once again.

  83

  The days ahead were a mess of chaos and confusion. Emma tried to get her new guests as settled as possible but it seemed to be turning into a daunting task. The more Emma did, the more they seemed to want. It was to the point that they had taken over the house, garage and most of the side yard completely and Emma was feeling very uncomfortable about that. Tents were erected around the yard where Emma had her garden last year, which just pissed Emma off since she knew the ground was going to be almost impossible to get air into again with how they were pounding it down with all their equipment. She had spent years getting it to how she wanted it, following the instructions of the Back to Eden gardening method. The success she had seen with her crops was outstanding and now to know all of her work was getting destroyed was playing havoc on her blood pressure.

  Add to that the imperialistic attitude of the woman who had entered Emma’s life. “What was up with that anyways,” Emma thought. Female intuition kicking in overdrive, Emma had a feeling there was much more to this woman than she was letting on. It was probably time that Emma had a conversation with her husband about some of Nina’s behavior. If there was one thing Emma and Tom had learned in marriage it was the importance of communication, even those crucial conversations that no one really liked to have.

  Until then, Emma kept a low profile, mostly just becoming the house maid. Cooking for everyone, cleaning, taking care of Nina’s two children, Emma used the opportunities to snoop. For being military and government people, they had no clue about OPSEC, which Emma could use to her advantage. After all, they just thought she was a farmer’s wife who just happens to own the homestead where her children had crash landed. Little did they know the extent of contacts and information Emma had at her disposal even with the grid partially down.

  84

  Chloe sat upright in bed. Sitting as still as possible, she wasn’t sure if she had imagined anything with as much alcohol as she had in her system. A low giggle escaped her throat as the funny thought entered her head. No, the hairy bloke snoring in her bed right now was just not good enough to make the earth shake beneath her feet. Nice guy and all, but definitely not someone she could see herself living the rest of her life with. His wallet was the best part of him, fake leather and all.

  She slid out of bed as quietly as possible, trying not to wake him. After all, he had paid for an overnight visit. She figured one more good romp between her fancy silk sheets at the break of dawn and she could send him on his way home to his wife with a smile on his face. Walking across the room, she found her bathrobe and slid it on. “What I would give to have a shower about right now,” she thought sighing, but didn’t want to risk waking the man.

  Walking into the kitchen, Chloe turned on the tap. Nothing came out. “That’s odd,” she thought. Reaching into the fridge, she pulled out a bottle of water and took a drink. The cold water flowed down her throat, smashing through the dryness like flood waters crashing through a dam. Moaning, Chloe sat the bottle down and held her head… cold water down a dry throat gives a massive head-rush. Glancing out the kitchen window of her apartment, Chloe noticed how dark it looked outside, odd considering she lived right in the middle of L.A. Walking over, she hit the remote button to turn on the TV… nothing happened. Alarms started going off in Chloe’s head. No water, no electricity. Not good signs.

  Looking at the wall clock, it was 4 a.m. Most of the people she knew were either working or sleeping, there was no in between at 4 a.m. Looking around, she picked up her cell and clicked it on. While it did have power and the light came on, it couldn’t get a signal for some reason. The messages kept repeating that the lines were busy and please try again later. “Maybe it was just a power outage,” Chloe thought, but the pit in the bottom of her stomach told her otherwise.

  Gathering her clothes as quickly as possible, Chloe put her plans into motion. A quick bird bath using bottled water, dressed and out the door with her bug out bags and Chloe headed for her Jeep. Chloe locked the door to her apartment behind her. Locking the sleeping man inside, she left a note to help himself to whatever he wanted, but she wouldn’t be back.

  If what was actually going down was what she thought it was, she needed to get out of town and as fast as she could.

  85

  Angie picked up the map and looked at it. That was one long-ass walk, but it looked like they had no choice in the matter. They had been standing out here much too long and Scott was getting nervous about their exposure.

  Angie took a deep breath. Her life had changed so much over the last year, and she had to wonder how much more it would change before it finally se
ttled down.

  Kicking a rock with the toe of her boot, she glanced out at the horizon. The sun would be setting soon and they needed to find somewhere to sleep where they would be protected. The truck had broken down that morning and they still had not seen another human come down the road. Add to the fact how the road had buckled and the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach that she had been trying to suppress all day kicked in again.

  Lucky for them that they were able to get into the trailer and pull some supplies out in addition to their get home bags. Being able to sleep on the cushions of her couch would be nice for tonight instead of the cold hard ground. “Maybe I’ll get those set up since Scott is busy with everything else. It would be a nice surprise,” she thought to herself. She needed to do something! She was getting irritated and Scott was not being a lot of help. While she understood he had more survival knowledge than she did, she wasn’t exactly stupid either. Or at least she thought so with all the stuff Emma had been cramming down her throat these past months.

  Angie opened the back doors of the trailer and peered inside. She would need to remove anything she needed now before the sun went down or she wouldn’t be able to see. She also knew there was a box with some food somewhere that she could use for a meal tonight instead of digging into their Get Home Bag rations. “Get Home Bags” she mumbled to herself. “If only they would instantly transport you “Back Home they would be even better! And who comes up with these bag names… BOB, Bug Out Bag, Every Day Carry… Everyone had a different name for it. Luckily she had packed hers for the trip home so she knew what was in it and where it was exactly in the bag. Scott said that was important so she could get to the stuff faster if she needed it. She had already taken her hiking boots out and put those on. She had attached the ball-cap to her belt loop for later, but this way she would not misplace it and she knew it would come in handy in the morning without a shower and her hairdryer. Ugh! No shower in the morning already was giving her the heeby jeebies. She tied her jacket around her waist and used the extra space to add some more supplies. Gloves, handkerchiefs and her med kit could now be fitted on top. In the side pockets she knew was her headlamp with spare batteries, spare ammo, a couple lighters along with her magnesium rod, which always made her smile. Lighting a fire without matches or a lighter was one of the first survival skills she had learned.