Once Upon an Apocalypse: Book 1 - The Journey Home - Revised Edition

by JEFF MOTES

  “All right, John, whatever you think is best. I’m with you.”

  For some reason, hearing those words causes me to smile as I open the kitchen door for her to walk in.

  ***

  Rubbing his belly, George says, “Betty, as usual you fixed another fine meal. You fellas, if your wives become as good a cook as my sweet Betty you will be blessed indeed.”

  I say, “Amen!” before I realize what I’m saying. I don’t have a wife. But no one seems to have paid what I said much attention. “Mrs. Betty, this surely was another fine meal. You and George have been good to us. I know God has blessed you both with loving hearts.”

  “Oh yes, you both truly are good people,” Jill chimes in.

  “Since we now have a means of transportation,” looking over at Mark I say, “thank you, by the way. Jill and I plan on leaving for home tomorrow night. Mark, if you’re able to get the things on that list by then, I would appreciate it.”

  “Oh my,” Betty says with some surprise. “Are you sure you’re up to it? I mean, son, don’t you want to give yourself a few more days to heal?”

  “Mrs. Betty, I have thought about this a good bit. The longer we wait, the more trouble we’re likely to encounter along our way. Things in the larger, and even small cities, are going to be getting pretty desperate. Folks are going to be fleeing to the rural areas looking for help. It’s only going to get worse. I’m too weak to leave today, but I think tomorrow I should be strong enough to travel.”

  “We need to get back to our children, Lizzy and Will, and my mother,” Jill says. “We don’t truly know what we will find when we get home. We must leave soon.”

  “Yes, I know,” Betty says sadly. “But in these past few days, I have grown to love you both as my own children. I know you must leave. I pray God will bless your travels and keep you safe.” She rises and heads into the kitchen. Jill gets up and follows her.

  George says, “John, I know you are an intelligent and capable man. Have you thought this through? You both can stay here as long as you want. Maybe let things settle down a little, then return home.”

  “Yes, I’ve thought it through. The road is going to be hard. Heck, we might not even make it. But our children are there. Unfortunately, George, I don’t think things will be settling down for many months. It’s only going to get worse, much worse.”

  “I would do the same thing,” Mark says. “Before you leave, could I bring my wife and the girls over? They all want to meet you and your wife, especially Karen.”

  “Yes, that’s good Mark, anytime. I want to leave after dark tomorrow. And Mark, Jill is very special and dear to me, but she is not my wife.”

  Mark looks surprised. “Are you serious? Sure seemed like she was to me.”

  Steering the conversation in a different direction, I say, “For us to leave tomorrow, there are several things we must do. First, we have to get the Honda ready. Second, we need the items on that list, if possible. Mark, you said you could take care of both.”

  “Yes, I’ll take care of the Honda this evening and get these other things tomorrow.”

  “I appreciate it, Mark. Third, I want to take the Honda out for a ride to see for myself everything is functioning properly. George, I think Jill and I could use it to ride to your friend’s house when we go check out his Ham radios.”

  “Why don’t we go in an hour?” George suggests. “Say, 3:00?”

  “Sounds good,” I say. “Fourth, I need to let Jill shoot the Ruger and drive the Honda. George, do you have a place we can shoot?”

  “Yes, drive to the back of the pasture. You’ll see a little shooting bench set up with steel targets on into the woods. That’s where we practice.”

  “I’d like to take Jill sometime tomorrow morning. Then it's packing our gear and hitting the road after dark.”

  Jill and Betty are in conversation, though I can’t tell what they are saying. I’m tired again. Walking back to the bedroom I retrieve my iPhone and set the timer alarm for forty-five minutes. Then, removing my boots, I lie back down.

  The road ahead is going to be fraught with danger. Here, in this little enclave of community farmers and friends, we have been isolated and protected. That’s going to change once we leave this place. In fact, it will change whether we leave or stay. People are going to become desperate. Across the country, millions will be leaving urban areas thinking they can find food or refuge in more rural areas. What they don’t realize is that most rural people depend upon the same grocery stores and supply chains that urban people do. The art of self-sufficiency has practically died across America. It will take time for those skills and the mindset to be relearned, time that many people won’t have. Millions are going to die from starvation. Millions are going to die from lack of medical care. Millions are going to die due to violent encounters. Yet I see potential hope. What rises from the ashes may be stronger than the stubble that covers the land.

  Our journey is going to be hard. Really, really hard.

  We have to go through or around several small towns. The largest is Montevallo. George says he can give us a map of back roads around Montevallo. Then we must go through or around Brent, Marion, Safford, Catherine, Pine Hill, Thomasville, and Grove Hill before we make it to Jackson. What are we going to find when we get there? Have the citizens been able to hold things together, or is it going to be in complete chaos? How are the perpetual government dependents going to be able to survive when someone isn’t there to provide for their needs? How are those in nursing homes going to survive when there is no more electricity? In this coming new world, those who can’t or won’t provide for themselves are simply going to die. If what I think is correct, there are going to be thousands of people dying in Jackson and its surrounding areas. I hope there is something left when we get there. I have some ideas to help the area transition to a new normal, but something has to still be there when we make it home. What about my own community of Repose? Will my friends and neighbors implement the plans so carefully laid out? If they do, our community has a chance.

  What about Jill, Lizzy, and Jill’s mother? Will I be able to protect them? There is so much to consider, so many different scenarios, many of which have no positive outcome.

  “Dear God. We need You now. We all need You now.”

  I’m tired. This injury has taken its toll on my strength. I hope by tomorrow I will have regained enough to leave. Either way, we must leave. Right now, I need the rest.

  Chapter 40

  John

  The National News

  Day 7

  The room is shaking. I hear rumblings. Is it an earthquake? The sounds become more distinct.

  “John, get up you sleepyhead, it's time to go.”

  I open my eyes. It's Jill. She's standing next to the bed, leaning over and gently shaking me. I sit up quickly, almost bumping heads.

  “Hey! Watch it!” she says, dodging my head. “If you don’t get up, George and I are going over to his friend’s house without you.”

  The cobwebs clear from my mind. “Yeah, sure. Is it 3:00 already? I thought I had set my alarm.”

  “Look out the window. Does it look like 3:00 to you?”

  I look through the window. It’s getting dark. It’s getting dark?! I jump from the bed, bumping into her. I grab her before she can fall. “I’m sorry, Jill. What time is it?”

  She is laughing, as if she’s having fun. She is right next to me, my arm still around her waist as I set her upright. A lump enters my throat and my mind is reeling again.

  Damn it, this isn’t the time for this! I admonish yourself. I remove my arm, and the moment is gone.

  “Are you always this playful when someone wakes you? It’s 7:00 p.m. George says he's ready to go and can’t wait any longer. You did set your alarm. After you didn’t wake up while it was spewing out that loud old car horn noise, which is awful by the way, we decided to let you rest. George cranked his generator up early for Mark, and the ATV is ready. We can follow George over to
his friend’s place, but you’ve got to hurry it up!”

  “Okay, I will. Why did you let me oversleep for so long?”

  “John, you needed the rest,” Jill says gently.

  After putting my boots and Glock on, I get my carbine, and NVD, and follow her down the hall.

  “About time there, son,” George says jokingly. “We thought you changed your mind. Mark just finished up with your ATV, that’s why we woke you. Go check it out, then we can leave.”

  As Jill and I head to the door, Betty says, “Hold on.” She hands me a cup of hot coffee and a large slice of homemade cornbread. This sweet lady is so much like my mom. Nibbling on the cornbread, I walk a little slower in order not to spill the coffee. The Honda is outside. All the reflectors and the bulbs have been removed. There’s a rack out the back with two five gallon jerry cans held in place with bungie cords. I shine my flashlight at the Honda and walk around again. Good, no reflective light. I shake the fuel cans; no rattle. Mark placed some kind of padding between the two cans.

  Grinning, I say to Jill, “This is going to work.”

  I get on and crank it up. It’s much quieter than it was. Mark must have done something to it. I drive it to the shop and back.

  “Will you tell George we’re ready to go?” I say to Jill. “Then come back and get on.”

  When she returns she excitedly gets on behind me. “I haven’t been on a four-wheeler since high school. This is going to be fun.”

  George drives his golf cart down the lane, then turns right at the county road. We follow behind, not able to gun the Honda because of the slow speed of the golf cart. Jill’s hands are resting on my shoulders. About half a mile down the road, George turns left into a wooded lane. Another half mile, and the trees open to a large pasture with a white wood frame house sitting on a hill. There are three tall shortwave antennas standing not far from the house. One must be close to one hundred feet tall. When we pull up, a large German Shepherd barks and comes running toward us. Jill tenses. The dog stops short and continues barking.

  An older man steps out on the porch and hollers, “Rusty! Come here, Rusty! You folks come on in, I’ll put Rusty up.” Rusty runs to his master and goes into the house. Shortly, the man returns alone.

  Jill, George, and I approach the porch.

  “Frank, these are my friends John and Jill,” George says. “John, Jill, this is my longtime friend Frank.”

  Frank reaches out with his large hand and shakes mine. “Nice to meet you, John, and your lovely wife Jill. Y’all come on in. You are certainly going to want to hear what I have been finding out.”

  I look at Jill and she looks back at me. We both shrug. Everybody around here insists we are husband and wife.

  Once inside, Frank says, “Just set your rifle against the wall over there. I’ve been using solar for a number of years. All my chargers, batteries, and controllers are in the metal building behind the house. I don’t know if that’s what saved them or not. My newer radios were all damaged, but I had an older unit stored in the shed. I set it up and have been hearing some amazing things. Amazing.”

  “What have you heard?” I ask.

  “First, late on the day after, the president gave a speech. Sorry, my older equipment doesn’t have recording functions so I can’t play his speech for you. He said the nation had been attacked by an EMP device. The NSA, CIA, FBI, Homeland Security, and the military are working diligently to find out who launched this attack. In the meantime, he said we didn’t need to jump to conclusions and prejudice our thoughts against any group of people or religion. In fact, he signed an executive order declaring attacks or the incitement of attacks or statements deemed to be inflammatory against Islam will not be tolerated. Those that violate this order will be arrested and held indefinitely based upon other executive orders, previously issued, that are being implemented. He suspended the Bill of Rights and all other Constitutional rights until things return to normal.

  “He also declared martial law. The personal ownership of vehicles, fuel, guns, gold, silver, and food supplies longer than three days are now prohibited, and he gave citizens one week to turn the ‘contraband’ items over to local law enforcement officials. He asked that neighbors keep an eye on their fellow neighbors and report any person they suspect is in violation of these new rules. All travel on public highways, other than by walking, bicycle, or other non-motorized equipment, will be prohibited after seven days.”

  Jill starts to tear up. George’s mouth is hanging open. This is not completely surprising to me, but I didn’t think the idiot in charge would go this far.

  “That’s incredible,” I say. “How does the president think he’s going to enforce these dictates?”

  “There’s more,” Frank says. “Using existing agreements which state and local law enforcement agencies signed to receive federal grants, he federalized all state, county, and local law enforcement agencies. Each state will be reporting to a liaison from the Department of Homeland Security. These liaisons will be in place within the same seven days he talked about earlier. He went on to say the military will report to the Director of Homeland Security until command units from the UN arrive and take control of the situation.”

  “War is coming,” I state. “It’s even worse than I feared. In addition to the nightmare caused by the EMP, we have the chains of the federal government to fend off. Incredible. If the military turns against us, it’s going to be tough indeed.”

  “He also said that this event will be used as an opportunity to correct many injustices, including redistribution of money, redistribution of land, and leveling of all pay scales,” Frank goes on. “People will not be allowed to accumulate more than they need until after everyone in their districts have all their needs met. Special aid camps run by FEMA are going to be set up and people will be relocated to the shelters in a timely manner where their needs can be taken care of and their skill sets evaluated. He went on to say the Constitution is a flawed instrument, written by greatly flawed men, and it will be updated for a new modern day world view.”

  George is silent for a moment, then asks, “Is he saying he is going to take our farms? Our property that we have worked so hard to turn into something productive? Is he saying he’s going to confiscate all this?” He waves his hands all around.

  “How can he do this?” Jill exclaims. “How? Why would our soldiers allow him to do this?”

  Frank stands up. “There’s more. Let me fix you all a glass of cold tea first.”

  We all walk to the kitchen. As I pass by a door on the left, I hear Rusty whining to get out. In the kitchen George, Jill, and I sit while Frank pours the ice tea. I drink mine. It’s good; not too sweet but plenty cold.

  Frank takes a long drink and starts again. “Two days later, let’s see, that would be day three since the attack, the president was again giving a speech, this time from in front of the White House. He was talking about the new powers being given to Homeland Security, when gunfire broke out. People were screaming and cursing, there were explosions in the background. I was glued to the radio, I couldn’t leave. After about thirty minutes, General Trevor of the Joint Chiefs came on the air. He said that he and certain other military generals and commanders, along with certain legislators, had taken action to secure and protect the Constitution and the Republic. The president, his entire cabinet, and others who assisted him in carrying out orders detrimental to the Republic and against the Constitution were arrested and are being kept in a secure area pending prosecution at a later time. In the meantime, the Joint Chiefs will govern the nation until a new government can be instituted.”

  Frank takes another drink, sets down his glass, and continues, “General Trevor nullified all executive orders issued by the president. He said the military will protect the country from outside threats and try to avoid getting involved in internal strife. He ordered all National Guard forces that had been federalized to place themselves back under state control.”

  “What does all this mean
?” Jill asks.

  “Hope,” I answer. “At least some hope that America may survive.”

  “Yesterday when I was monitoring a BBC news broadcast from South America, they reported the US has nuked Iran and North Korea,” Frank says. “They also reported some major clashes at the US-Mexican border between the US military and the Mexican military.”

  “Frank, when do you normally pick up these broadcasts?” I ask.

  “It depends on the atmospherics. It’s possible I’m missing a lot.”

  “Any more, tonight?”

  “Maybe. I’ll be scanning nearly all night.”

  I’m trying to process the implications of what I’ve just heard. I don't know what it all means.

  “If I give you a set of frequencies, can you call?” I ask. “I have a friend near my home who has a shortwave that we use as a group. If you can contact them, we might be able to get some help. At least we can find out how things are at home.”

  Jill’s eyes light up. “Oh, yes that would be wonderful if you could!”

  Frank shakes his head. “I wish I could. The reason I bought the newer equipment was because my transmitter went out on this unit. All I can do is receive, sorry.”

  Jill looks very disappointed.

  “Thanks anyway, Frank,” I say.

  As we leave the house, I stop at the bottom of the steps. It’s too dark now to see Jill’s features. “I really don’t know what to make of all this,” I say.

  “Just get us home, John. Just get us home.”

  Chapter 41

  John

  A Starry Night

  Day 7

  “I had no idea so much was happening,” George says, coming down the steps after us.

  “George, bad things are coming to your community,” I say grimly. “Maybe not from the government, but bad things are coming. Make ready.”