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

by Annie Berdel

  “Scott,” Angie said with striking amount of dominance in her voice. “I need you to stay awake until I get back. Can you do that for me?”

  Looking into her eyes, Scott was back in Emma’s living room. Back where he realized he first loved the woman kneeling before him. “Pull it back,” he said, hallucinations dominating his mind as he first saw her trying to light a fire.

  Placing a kiss on his lips, Angie made him as comfortable as she could. “Drink, Scott,” she said as she lifted the water to his mouth. “I will be right back so don’t go anywhere.” “Please God, watch over him,” she prayed as she stood up. “This shouldn’t take long.” she said as she ran back to where they had just come from.

  119

  Angie did double time back to the trailer; luckily they hadn’t gotten too far. She had a plan and only hoped she could get what she needed. She slowed as she came to the small hill in the road right before the trailer had overturned. Walking over to the side, she jumped down into the drainage ditch that ran beside the road. Lying down, she edged her way up to the top of the crest of the hill and watched for any signs of movement.

  Nothing. Not taking any chances, she walked a couple feet into the woods and followed parallel to the road until she came close to the trailer. She remembered where she had left the body of the stranger. Hoping to still find him under the tarp, she walked around the corner of the trailer and peeked around. The lump was still there. Letting out a brief release of air, she quickly moved to the back of the trailer. Working quickly, she found what she was looking for. Pulling her massage table from the back of the table, she quickly took it out of the carry bag. Opening it up, she ripped the legs off the bottom, just leaving the bed part itself.

  “This isn’t going to work, damn it. This is too hard to pull,” she mumbled to herself as she glanced around the box. Sticking out from underneath the sofa, she spotted the shiny metal blades of the sled she used to long to use as a child. Sadly, snow didn’t happen often in Tennessee, at least not in the southern part, so the sled was severely neglected. Pulling it out of the trailer, she sat the top of the massage table on the sled. “Better than nothing,” she thought.

  Grabbing the rope that was used to pull the sled, she started back to Scott with her improvised contraption. This would enable him to lie down while she pulled him the couple more miles that they needed to go.

  He needed medical help quickly, she thought. His color was pale and he was beginning to hallucinate. Not good signs. Thinking back to when the truck had stopped, Angie felt a sense of impending doom rise up from the depth of her soul. What the hell had happened? What was going on out there? Quickening her steps back, Angie almost missed the barely visible cloud hovering in the distance. It had to be Memphis, she thought. Oh God, what was going on, she thought. Her steps became more hurried as she got closer to where she had left Scott. Her eyes forward, she should be coming up on him soon. Where did she leave him? Faster she walked, “Where was he, maybe a little bit further,” she thought.

  The flash caught her eye and made her stop dead in her tracks.

  “Oh no!” she moaned.

  There beside the tree, barely visible in the grass was Scott’s metal canteen glistening from the sunlight, but the man she loved was not there.

  120

  Walking Jay and Tiffany into the house, Emma was glad they were there. Even with a house full of people, these two were on Emma’s side, which gave her a sense of relief. While Nina’s people were polite, Emma felt like they were always watching her. Giving her a little chuckle, Emma thought how ironic it was that she felt like they were keeping an eye on her considering how much snooping she had been doing on them. Saps couldn’t find the target if it was right in front of them, Emma thought.

  Seated in the kitchen, the two guests were enjoying the lunch that Emma had quickly put together. “How did you get past the guards at the end of the drive?” Emma asked.

  Jay chuckled.

  “I have my ways” Tiffany said with a wicked smile.

  “Ways? You call that ways? Really? This girl here whipped out a can of Angry Black Lesbian on them like a pro!” Jay said in amusement.

  “I will take that as a compliment,” Tiffany said with a grin.

  “Wish I could have seen that!” Emma added, the three women enjoying the hilarity of the situation.

  “So what exactly is going on here?” Jay asked.

  “There was a small localized EMP that was detonated near Memphis,” Emma answered.

  “What?! Are you serious?” Both women shrieked.

  “I don’t think this is anywhere over yet either. My guess is another one will be going off soon, east coast or west, I am not sure yet but I would pick somewhere in California with all the recent quakes there. They pinpointed the Madrid Fault area to try and cover what it really was with some BS about a quake. Being localized like it was, it knocked power out in a lot of the country but really hit from about here south toward ground zero. Any kind of electronics that were not protected got fried. “

  “Is that why we didn’t notice it was because we were outside the zone?” Tiffany asked.

  “Would be my guess,” Emma replied. “Parts of the country lost power but cars and some electronics would still work. With us being here, we are getting info from our guests,” Emma added using air quotes around the word “guests.”

  “How bad do you think they got hit down there?” Jay asked.

  “No idea for certain but it has to be bad. That area was a mess to begin with and if they hit near the area I think they were targeting, I’m surprised that the Mississippi isn’t flowing backwards.”

  “What? No way,” Jay said.

  “It’s possible. There’s a collapsed salt dome down there in Louisiana that has been leaking methane gas for a while now. They hit that area and it could cause a quake like the one that happened back in the early 1800s that did in fact cause the Mississippi to run backwards. Hell, Tiff, based upon reports that I have seen, it could split the country in half and open up the Great Lakes down into the Gulf if that’s what they really wanted to do,” Emma said.

  “I’m thinking Chicago is out of the question,” Tiffany said to Jay.

  “I’m not trying to cause panic here but I have to be honest with you. I’m thinking if we are this far into the game, New York is out of the question,” Emma added.

  Jay looked at Tiffany. “Mon Dieu,” Tiffany let escape under her breath.

  “Plan?” Jay said, looking at Emma.

  “OH! You know I always have a plan!” Emma said, smiling at her two guests.

  “That’s why you’re the Boss!” Jay replied.

  121

  The pregnant girl looked at the stick protruding from the back of the man. Her best guess was that it had punctured his lung to some degree. Based upon his conditions, he needed medical attention immediately or he would die. Now was her time to show her dad she wasn’t the screw up he thought she was. Her mind drifted back to a few months prior to when she was still in medical school…

  “What the flock of seagulls,” Ridley thought as she received her grade. Seriously?! I wake up at 7 a.m. to walk 6 blocks to sit here and take this bullshit from this over-aged, has been, can’t find a job so I have to teach, Volkswagen-driving lesbian? Hmpf! Well, whatever! OK, ya, so maybe I should have studied a little more instead of…of… oh wait… there’s a party tonight at Elrich Dorm! Yea! My life has been saved!

  Ridley spent the rest of her day meandering from one class to another, much like she did every day. Study? Oh heck no, she was here to socialize, or “network” as she liked to call it. One can never have enough friends, now can one! If her social calendar was not full, Ridley felt more of a failure than when she flunked out of one of the $6,000 classes her daddy spent his money on.

  Lately, though, Ridley has been feeling uneasy… she just couldn’t put her finger on the problem. Maybe a night in would cure what ailing her? It couldn’t hurt. But just one night. Anything more than th
at would be detrimental to her social life. What would people think if Ridley Scott was not out being seen with all the other beautiful people?

  With her last class over, Ridley made her way back to her dorm. Too tired to even eat, she melted into her bed and was asleep almost immediately. Sleep was restless. She tossed and turned for a while and finally fell into a deep pool of darkness… fire flaring all around her… screams… oh the screams… covering her ears, she started to run but the screams kept coming after her. Why wouldn’t they stop? She noticed she was running through a forest… tree limbs stinging her as they whipped against her body. She had to keep going… she had to get away from the screaming. Suddenly the forest opened up into a meadow… there before her hordes of people… aimlessly walking to and fro. Suddenly the screaming returned…Ridley covered her eyes from the penetrating shrill and noticed the zombies were all looking at her now…arms raised they slowly were approaching her…reaching for her…

  Ridley sat upright in bed, hands still over her ears, when she realized she was the one screaming. Drenched in sweat, she fumbled for her phone and dialed. “Daddy, help me,” she whimpered.

  Just days later, her father had her pulled from school and back home so she couldn’t waste any more of his hard-earned money, as he put it. A few days after that and Ridley learned that all of her partying days had come to an abrupt halt. Ridley was with child.

  Now, the soon-to-be mama had to help the man lying on her kitchen table. Her brothers had found him earlier as he was laying along the side of the road almost dead. If she were to redeem herself in her father’s eyes, now was her time to do it.

  “Mom, I need to get into your stash,” Ridley said to her mother.

  “I assumed so. Just tell me what you need, little one,” Ridley’s mom replied.

  Ridley, for once in her life, really saw the woman standing before her. She had always thought her mom was a few screws loose with all her crazy antics and even weirder friends. It hit Ridley like a ton of bricks that everything her mother had been talking about was coming true.

  “I love you, Mom,” Ridley said peering into the woman’s eyes.

  “I love you too, little one,” her mother responded as both women set about saving the man’s life.

  122

  Megan walked through the house she had called a home one last time. Each room held a specific memory, some good, some not so good. Walking into the room she had shared with her husband, she looked at the bed that they had shared since their wedding. Standing at the footboard, she closed her eyes and felt his arms around her. It was hard to let go, even after learning what she had about him after his death. She had married him with the intention of loving him forever. She would, she owed him that. He screwed up. He was human. It was easier to forgive him now than if he was still with them, but forgiven or not, it was time to move on and away from this… from him.

  Walking out of the house, she closed the front door and locked it behind her. She was walking away from everything she had given her life for over the last few years. Taking what little she could with the small amount of room they had in the RV, she knew that in a small way she would miss this place, miss her things.

  She stepped into the RV and checked that each child was securely fasted in their seats. Robbie would be riding right behind her with her mother close by in case he needed something faster than she could get. She would be riding in the front with Chloe driving to help with navigation and directions. Michael was outside getting ready to lead the way on his motorcycle. The plan was to get as far as they could today. That should get them up into the mountains and ready to descend into Colorado by nightfall. They would make the drop down into Denver in the morning, as the RV would be tricky to handle coming down out of the mountains.

  Stopping at the last gas station out of town, the RV, motorcycle and extra gas cans strapped inside the back rail of the motor home all were filled. Chloe was a natural at driving the big rig and Megan had the maps out and highlighted. The trio was off and destined to overtake the mountains as the sun met them as they approached the summit. Pulling over to the side of the road, Megan unloaded the kids for one last look at what lay to the west of the Rockies.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Megan said breaking the silence.

  “Wait until you see what’s on the other side,” Michael said.

  “Never been farther east than this very spot,” Chloe chimed in. “This is going to be an adventure.”

  As everyone was facing west, a bright fireball erupted and sucked everything in its vicinity towards the sky. The enormous mass ascended towards the clouds, rolling over itself until it resembled a mushroom.

  “Get in the RV!” Michael screamed.

  The women were standing there in disbelief, the children oblivious to what had happened.

  “Chloe! Get everyone into the RV now!” Michael yelled again.

  “Chloe!” Michael said, now grabbing her arm.

  “Wha…What was that?!” she said as she snapped out of her trance.

  “It was a nuclear detonation. We need to get out of here now,” he replied.

  Shaking her head in agreement, she corralled everyone into the motor home.

  Putting the large vehicle into drive, Chloe’s hands were shaking as she pulled the RV back onto the road.

  “This is worse than I thought,” she said, looking at Megan.

  Far below them, the city of San Diego lay in ruins.

  123

  “So what’s really the deal here, boss lady?” Jay asked Emma as they strolled out to the barn. “Shit got real, didn’t it?”

  “You know it. At least now you know I’m not completely off my rocker,” Emma replied with a smirk.

  “I’ll admit, I did question what came out of your mouth sometimes, but I figure if I had to have someone’s back, it would be yours. After all, you have one of the best grandma tushies I’ve seen!” Jay said with a laugh.

  “I’ve missed you,” Emma said with a sigh. “Not everyone gets my sense of humor like you do. This has got to suck big time for Tiffany, though. Just don’t let her near the chickens! Remember that time we had her thinking they would peck her toes off and eat them!”

  “Oh ya! I almost forgot about that! I’ve never laughed so hard in my life! The look on her face was priceless when that big old chicken came strolling up onto your back porch! She didn’t wear sandals for months after that!”

  Memories came flooding back until both girls had to cling to each other to stand up. Tears of laughter were streaming down both their faces that if anyone had seen them they might have taken them for being in dire distress. Quite the opposite. Emma started to massage her cheeks as they hurt so badly from laughing so hard.

  “Sucks that it took all this mess to get Tiffany to visit out here, but I know there is more going on than you’re telling anyone. What’s the deal? You have that look,” Jay asked, turning a bit serious.

  “What fricken look are you talking about? The shit hit the fan” and all hell is about to break loose’ look or the ’I’ve got a bitch living in my house that’s putting the moves on my husband look,’ or maybe it’s the ‘My country has gone to shit and I don’t know how to save her,’ look…. Take your pick Jay, few more where they came from too,” Emma replied with a bit more tension then she had intended.

  “What do you need me to do?”

  “Just being here helps. A lot of things I can’t share with just anyone. I’ve freaked a lot of people out over the years just by opening their eyes. Once they go down that path, there’s no turning back and a lot of people can’t handle waking up to the truth that’s out there. It also helps that you have balls of steel!” Emma said with a giggle, breaking the intensity of the moment.

  “Ha! Ha! Yes, balls of steel all right!”

  “Woman, you got bigger balls than most men I know! Glad to have them stationed here!” Emma laughed.

  “I’m thinking that Ms. Senator or whatever her name is needs to feel her balls squeezed for
messing with my boss lady. What does Tomás think of all of this?”

  “Oh, you know Tommy. Ego took a trip but he recovered nicely.”

  “That man loves you and only you, you know that, right?”

  “Yes, I know.”

  “Good, ’cause I’ve never seen a man more smitten in my life. You should work that a bit more, get yourself some diamonds or something, girl!”

  “That might work in your world,” Emma replied, once again the laughter returning. “But I’m not sure how my chickens would react to such flash and glamor. It’s time you lose all that big city attitude and come play in the poop for a while. It humbles a girl’s soul…and from what I hear, it’s good for your complexion!”

  “You can try that shit with Tiffany; don’t forget who you are talking to here,” Jay said as she opened the barn door and gestured Emma inside.

  124

  Ridley finally sat down, her back and legs giving out beneath her. She was still surprised at how carrying such a small being inside of her could zap so much energy from her body. Bending slightly forward, she reached around and started to massage the tension from her back as she stretched upward. Finally feeling some release, she stood back up and went back to work.

  The man who was brought in wasn’t in as bad of shape as she had initially thought. Yes, he had some kind of element protruding from his back but other than that his vitals were strong. Looking more intently at the object, the look on her face spoke volumes.

  “What do you think it is?” Ridley’s mom asked her.

  “If I didn’t know better, I would think that it’s the handle of a toothbrush!”

  “Really?”

  “Problem is how much of it is in his body still. Obviously this is the handle, so is the head with the bristles inside?” Ridley asked more to herself than anyone.

  “Man, I wish we had an X-ray machine here.”

  “Think we can stabilize him and take him to the clinic?”