The Shelter: Book 1, The Beginning

by Ira Tabankin

  “Alan, it’s hot outside, the sun is strong. I’m going to take some cases of bottled water out to them. They must be really miserable waiting in line.”

  “Reba, don’t go out alone, make sure you have security with you, some of those people have no hope, they have nothing to lose. They may attack you in order to get the water.”

  “I’ll be careful.”

  “Reba, I thought it over, don’t go, I’m worried about your safety. The line of people rings the building three or four times, many have been standing outside all day. They are hungry and angry. When word spreads of water, they will turn into a mob fighting everyone for a bottle of water. I’m surprised they haven’t rushed us to break in here already. The only reason that may be keeping them at bay is they remember us, they enjoy our music, many hold us in a special place. If we weren’t here, I think they would rush the soup kitchen, many would be killed.”

  “Alan, I don’t believe they will act like animals, they are still human, I’m sure there is good within them.”

  “I pray you’re right, the supplies we’re serving are running low. When we run out of food, there is going to be a panic that’ll spread like a wildfire. I’m going to take my family and leave the city tonight.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “I’m hoping we can make it to Canada.”

  “I thought Canada closed their side of the border with us.”

  “The northern border is the over 3,000 miles long, the Canadians don’t patrol all of it. Before the time of troubles started the Canadians didn’t have a large military. Since then they’ve been expanding their military. Canada’s worried about their future since China demanded payment from America and Obama went crazy. Canada worries what the Chinese or Obama may do. They don’t want to be caught in the crossfire.”

  Reba says, “Alan, I think Obama was always crazy.”

  “Reba, when the food runs out, Nashville’s 1.7 million are going to tear the city apart looking for food. Hungry people will do anything to feed their families. Wouldn’t you do anything to feed your family?”

  Reba says, “I have some supplies hidden in the basement.”

  “I wouldn’t say that out loud. Why don’t you leave when I do, I’ll make sure you get home safe and sound?”

  “The shelter’s not going to stay open all night tonight?”

  “Reba, it’ll stay open. However, the kitchen only has watered down soup left to serve. It’s more water than anything else. I’m going to try to slip out when the sun sets. I don’t want to be here when the people learn what the real conditions are.”

  “Thanks, I’ll be happy to go with you.”

  As the sun sets and the sky darkens, the people waiting in line for food and water wonder if they will ever reach the end of the serving line. Many are restless after having waited all day for something to eat. Alan and Reba trade coats with a couple of the serving staff, they slip out of the Music City Center through the basement which exited into a parking garage two blocks away. They found a car that Alan could start by twisting the ignition wires under the dash. He looked at Reba, “We have half a tank of gas, we’re going to try to slip out of the city without using headlights. If we’re lucky, we’ll be able to reach our homes without getting stopped by the crowds of people.”

  “Thank you for taking me home, what about our cars?”

  Alan replies, “I don’t care about mine, I have others. I don’t want to be anywhere near the soup kitchen when the food runs out.”

  Reba nods, “I’m getting very worried about the situation. I thought the government would ensure delivery of food and gas instead they seem have stuck their head in the sand hoping everything will get better if they just ignore it. I don’t think FEMA or DHS has done a damn thing to help out. I haven’t seen a single FEMA truck since the crisis started.”

  “FEMA is most likely waiting until we’re all tearing each other apart, DHS is most likely trying to figure out what color code to use for starvation.”

  Reba laughs, “Thanks, I needed that.”

  “Reba, are you going to be OK?”

  “I have some people who help out around the house. I have a safe room, actually a safe section in my basement, and it’s large enough to hold ten people for a week. We have food, water, and weapons. I hope it doesn’t come to us having to fire on our own neighbors.”

  Alan says, “Frankly, I never thought we’d make it to September. The feds missed the July and now the August welfare payments and if they also miss the September payment next week, nothing is going to be able to hold back the people. Seventy percent of the country is broke, hungry, tired, and scared. At this point in time, they’ll do anything, attack anyone to get a slice of bread.”

  “That’s another thing I’m concerned about, prices are jumping every day.”

  “You mean the loaf of bread that this morning cost $22? Or a gallon of milk, if one could be found, is selling for $45? My wife is going crazy trying to feed us. We’re lucky that money isn’t the problem, finding the food is. My wife told me last night that she saw four people attacked outside of a supermarket. They were pushing their carts out of the store when they were attacked in the parking lot. The store was almost empty. The thieves stole their carts which had only a few items in them.”

  “I didn’t think many people would be in the parking lot, not with gas selling for $50 a gallon.”

  “She told me the store’s shelves were almost empty, there was no meat, chicken or pork, just a handful of canned goods, many of them were out of date. The bread was locally baked, the freezers were empty. The store manager told her he’s going to close the store in a day or two, there’s nothing left to sell. Fewer and fewer people can afford to buy gas enabling them to drive to a store. A few customers rode bikes with a wagon attached to it.”

  “I have a lot of freeze dried food stored away. If I have to, we’ll be able to live on what I’ve stored for almost a year.”

  “I’ve been fishing for most of our food.”

  “That’s a great idea.”

  Before Reba can finish, they see the road is blocked ahead of them with four men standing behind burnt out cars holding ARs or hunting rifles. Alan says, “Not good. Is there another way to your home from here?”

  “Yes, but it’s a long ride. Will we have enough gas?”

  “I don’t think we have another option, we’re going to have to try it.”

  “What do you think those people want?”

  “Anything we have, if they recognize us, they may try to ransom us.”

  “I never thought of that. I’m getting scared, I never thought it would get that bad in Nashville.”

  @@@@@

  By the third week of September, the American dollar is worthless. None of America’s international trading partners accepts it. Every industrialized country has seen their currency and banking system crash or they are experiencing hyperinflation due to the collapse of the dollar and lack of trade. Most governments are watching their people struggle with hourly price increases. Businesses laughed at President Obama’s executive orders freezing prices. The Russian Federation easily moved into every European country with the exception of the United Kingdom bringing food, medical supplies, and hope. Russia placed a friendly national leader in each European country. President Putin conquered Europe without firing a shot. The Russians started to move the European undesirables into forced labor camps, where no one left alive. They were either worked to death or executed in the camps. The Russian leadership decided the best way to improve the lives of the average Russian citizen is to reduce the number of unproductive people looking for government handouts. When the labor camps are filled to capacity, undesirables are shipped to Africa where they’re dumped on the shore and forgotten about. It’s cheaper than shooting them.

  @@@@@

  In Nashville, small numbers of people gather together, five become twenty, which quickly become two hundred, the number quickly expands to thousands, which multiplies to tens of
thousands, all of whom share a common trait, they’re hungry. Tens of thousands demand government help. They realize burning large areas of Nashville didn’t do anything except burn their own neighborhoods down so they decide to change the method of getting their message heard. Thousands march to the exits of Nashville pushing cars and trucks that are abandoned on Interstate 40 and 65 into blockades closing access into or out of Nashville. They loot sporting goods stores for tents. Large tent cities are formed that quickly fill with refugees. Mobile outhouses are placed in a line along the freeways and trees along the freeways are cut down for makeshift shelters and firewood. Many of the campsites resemble those on the reality television program Survivor. Families are scared, they’re hungry and they’ve watched their life savings disappear. They can’t afford to feed their families or pay their mortgages. They demand action from a government that responds with speeches and soundbites. Thousands of people sit down on the Interstate highway blocking traffic into and around the city. Usually, the only traffic is the military escorting or carrying supplies into the cities. The thousands of refugees attack the military convoys stealing the small amounts of food the convoys have. Civilian traffic has all but come to a halt due to the price and scarcity of gasoline. The only civilians on the roads are those walking, riding bikes or motorcycles trying to escape the cities. They’re looking for a safer place for their families. Thousands join the protesters surrounding the cities every day. Others are looking for farms which need manpower in exchange for food. Many small farms have already been overrun by refugees looking for or demanding food. The protesters thought if the fire didn’t bring them help, shutting down access the city will get their message heard. Shanty towns and tent cities spring up at the highway entrance and exit ramps leading into and out of every American major city.

  Hoping to stretch the limited amount of food, President Obama uses an executive order signed in 2013 which gives the Federal Government the power to ration food and water. The average American daily consumption of 2500 calories is reduced to 1200 for adults and 1800 for children under the age of 15. Even at these levels there isn’t enough food to go around. The President faces his cabinet saying, “We don’t have sufficient food to feed everyone. We have to do something very drastic. We have to protect the young and potentially the most productive if we’re going to have a future. In order to provide for the most productive, we are going to reduce the calories to anyone over the age of 70 to 900 calories a day.” His cabinet debates the President’s suggestion for three hours before they finally agree since they can’t find any other solution to the current crisis.

  MSLSD, the progressive channel news station fully supports the President’s new plan. Their newscasters take to the air to spread the President’s message. Their guests spend hours talking about how the rationing should have been done years ago to ensure American’s ate healthily and lost the extra weight so many American’s carried. MSLSD debated among themselves wondering why no one had had the guts to tackle the poor eating habits of the average American. The First Lady went on MSLSD to brag how she and the President were transforming America. She tells the station and their viewers that following the President’s new diet would help American’s live longer and be happier. At the same time, Fox News Network was reporting the President and First Lady was starving America. They were taking another freedom away from the people, they no longer had a freedom of choice of what to eat. Fox reported that even the reduced caloric meals weren’t going to feed all of the hungry people. Fox news questions why the government hasn’t farmed as much of the available land as possible to grow as much food as possible. President Obama responds to Fox by saying, “If we farmed all of the available land, it would increase global warming. We’re saving the planet.”

  Many who were given half an MRE for a day are depressed and hungry. Most felt that something was better than nothing but the majority of people were constantly hungry and getting angrier by the day.

  @@@@@

  US Military convoys bringing food to the shanty town camps outside the cities are attacked by gangs and mobs that steal the MREs in the trucks knowing they won’t be fired on by the US troops. Those waiting in the shanty camps for the food grow desperate when the food convoys don’t arrive. Many decide to leave the camps, they head towards farms which they hope have food and water. Farms have animals to slaughter for meat. Farms have water for their crops. Farms will have barns they can stay in so they can get out of the weather. Hay which is softer to lay on than the cold hard ground. Tens, hundreds, thousands leave the cities looking for food and protection from the elements. The refugees making their way on the nation’s highways are attacked by gangs who steal anything of value the refugees have. Thousands are killed and left to rot on the nation’s roads. The rule of law has broken down across the land of the free. Most of the country’s first responders have left their job to protect their families.

  @@@@@

  Starting in mid-July when the welfare payments were cut off we kept a four-member team on alert 24 hours a day. When we finished the shelter complex, two watched from the security shelter. The security shelter was a separate one built between the main shelter and Tony’s. All of the video, IR and motion activated cameras were wired to display on a bank of monitors watched by two people 24 hours a day. The security shelter had its own generator to ensure the monitors always functioned. Two people made the rounds in our fighting trenches, one walked to the right while the other walked towards the left both completing the entire circle every forty minutes. We couldn’t count on the town provided electricity which became very erratic. We switched our electricity over to that supplied by our windmills and solar panels. We disconnected the junction which transferred any excess power we had to the grid. We learned the grid was sucking most of our generated electricity. Two hours after cutting the line to the grid we got an urgent call from the Nashville power company asking what happened to the electricity we had been supplying. We explained that our windmills were down for repair. The generating manager asked if he could send a repair team to help us, he explained our electricity was very important to the available power in the area. We told the generating manager we were working on it. Randy and Fred asked. “Jay, how long can we go bullshitting them? Sooner or later they’re going to figure out we’ve just cut them off. Isn’t there a way to send them a small amount of power, maybe a fraction of what we used to? What are we doing with the power we’re generating, there’s no way we can be using all of the power we’re generating with the windmill farm.”

  “I’ll talk to Eric.”

  “Eric?”

  “You know Eric, he’s the electrician who’s supervised installing the windmill farm and solar panels. He’s the one you saw wiring the shelters. Let’s check with him. I for one, worry the power company will suck all of our power to feed the city.”

  Fred laughs, saying, “Oh, that Eric, the guy with the mustache and ponytail. Why can’t he set up some phony problem to fool the idiots at the power company? If we don’t give them access, they’ll just show up to see for themselves why we cut power to their grid.”

  I figure there’s nothing lost by talking with Eric. “Let’s see if we can find him, see if he has any ideas to keep these assholes off our back. The last thing we need is for the power company to be looking all over our property.”

  The three of us set off for the shelter complex to locate Eric when our alarm sounds, People drop everything they're holding to grab their rifles, body armor, and helmet. Bags of extra magazines are carried to the fighting trench. Todd runs towards me, “Dad, John said a large group of people is on the road heading towards us. Over two hundred and still counting. He wants a full mobilization.”

  “Shit, don’t stand here talking to me, GO! Get everyone!”

  Lacy runs out of our house carrying my AR and dragging my armor and helmet, “Jay, put this on! Hurry, John said they’re very close, the frontline of them should be here within ten-fifteen minutes.”

  �
�Got it, thanks. Did he say if they’re armed?”

  “Don’t know, he sounded the general alarm for a full mobilization. He wants everyone armed on the front line.”

  “I’m coming! I wish Tony had been able to get us a couple of mortars, we could stop them before they got close to us.”

  Lacy looks at everyone running towards their fighting positions. “Is this going to be bad?”

  Pulling on my vest and helmet, I check my AR to verify it’s loaded. I pull the charging handle to chamber a round and placing the selector on safe, I reply, “It depends on what their intentions are.”

  Our second alarm sounds which mean they are within five minutes of us.