by Pete Thorsen
There was no pursuit which was good but unfortunately they could not see any movement or any people. Not wanting to take any chances they continued out of town using the back way and when they got to the highway they still kept their speed down to reduce the noise they were making. When they got to their dirt road they stopped, looked, and listened for anyone following them before driving up their road. They took extra care brushing out their tracks at the highway and Don tied clumps of brush to drag behind the back of the trailer bringing up the rear. Fate was smiling at them when shortly after getting home it started to sprinkle.
Still worried Don put on a camouflage poncho and taking a rifle he walked well down the road looking to see if anyone had followed them. He walked about three miles back and there was no evidence that anyone had followed them and he neither saw nor heard anything even though he waited for a half hour or more. Don felt much better on the walk back home thinking they had been very lucky. He was not surprised to find Lynn hidden near the turnoff to their driveway and they walked back to the house together.
During supper and after they talked about who could have been on the highway but of course they had no real idea who it was. They did not even know if it was friend or foe but it leaned towards being a foe.
It just seemed doubtful that friendly people were in a group and just driving around to spread good cheer. It was just too hard to survive now for any group just to be out driving unless they were taking from anyone they met. Lynn said the only things worth anything now were food, ammunition, and guns.
Don said there was one more thing that through the centuries as always been bought and sold and that is slaves. Lynn paled at the thought of selling slaves but was realistic enough to admit that it was highly possible.
“Can we go warn our friends by the lake?”
“Even though we really have no information to give them I would be in favor of telling them someone might show up. We could go the back way through the mountains and not have to go out on the highway at all but it all depends on the weather. If we get much rain at all we are stuck here.”
“You know about the back way in to town? You did get around in the short time you lived here. The back way comes out right at our friends houses. We could sneak in and out even if the town was full of people. But you are right about the rain. We would never make it if it was wet.”
“We can only wait until morning and see what the weather situation is then. If we do go we need to go loaded for bear with plenty of ammunition and we’ll take our big packs in case we need to walk back home. We should maybe add some more first-aid supplies to the packs in case one of us gets wounded.”
“I’ll put some trauma supplies in with the first-aid stuff we already have in the packs. If we do go we better leave the truck a mile or so back from the lake and walk in real quiet to check things out.”
They went to bed and would have to wait for morning to see what the weather would do.
It was raining in the morning and light rain continued throughout the day off and on. The next day was much the same keeping them at home and off the dirt roads. The day after was cloudy in the morning but was totally clear by noon. The rainy days never produced much actual moisture but still kept them home. With the sunny and dry afternoon they both thought they could maybe leave in the morning to see their friends by the lake in town.
Day Sixty
With a very sunny morning they took their pickup with a trailer full of wood to drop off at Sam’s place because it was right on the way. At Sam’s they didn’t stay long and he didn’t try to keep them when he heard about what was going on, he only wished them well and asked them to be careful.
The drive to town the back way was about the same distance as taking the highway but required much slower speed. The road twisted through the mountains in amongst the large pine trees. Luckily there were no trees that had fallen across the road anywhere and with Lynn’s experience of the road (Don had only been through there once) she stopped them well before coming to the lake.
Don parked the pickup well back in the trees off the road where it might be missed if someone drove through there. Then they started out on foot carrying their large packs. About a quarter mile from the truck they stashed their packs where they could find them easy enough but others would not be likely to find them. They could have left them in the truck but they wanted them stashed separate in case the truck was found while they were gone.
They moved slowly and carefully well back from the road in amongst the trees. When they came in sight of their friends houses they stayed hidden and just watched for some time then changed positions and watched some more. They saw several people moving about and everything looked normal so they walked up and startled a couple of their friends.
“Boy, I’m glad you guys are friendly, I never saw you coming. Is your truck broke down?”
“No it’s fine but we heard some vehicles on the highway a couple days ago and wanted to warn you that it might be some bad guys heading this way.”
“I think I know who you heard. Come on let’s get everyone together and we can tell you about it.”
A couple shouts and people stopped what they were doing and came to see what was happening. They were all happy to see who had come to visit and soon they were all together.
“So the vehicles you heard were military trucks and Humvees. The military found us here but only stayed a short time. Many groups of military personnel are visiting each and every town and community in the country. They are offering no help other than some of the places where gangs have taken over.
In those places they eradicate the gang element before moving on. Other than that they are basically just giving pointers on how to survive and saying to expect no help from the government at all. Their pointers were pretty much the same stuff you told us. They praised us for what we have done and what we have started here and that was about it.
Then they just moved on to the next town. They really had no news about anything or if they did they did not say anything about it. The only information they told us was that we were not under attack from anyone and that it appeared to be a worldwide event. They were only here a couple hours at most. So that’s the only big news we have.”
“We never saw who it was, we only heard some vehicles and we feared the worst. We are glad that you guys are OK. We wanted to come warn you right away but the rain locked us in on our dirt road.”
“Let us show you all the improvements we have made here since you were last here. We are pretty proud of ourselves. I think we just might make it after all and for a big part of that we have you two to thank.”
Lynn and Don were shown around and there had been a lot of work done. Several houses had various amounts of solar panels on them now and they said soon all would have them. The solar array for the pump had been enlarged and they could draw as much water now as they wanted, day or night.
The gardens had been made bigger and several greenhouses were in various stages of completion. They had put heavy gates across the only road coming in from town in two places so they could at least keep someone from easily driving up amongst the houses.
Most people now were armed all the time and guns were readily available at all times to everyone. They had cut down the old car so it looked more like a very ugly pickup and it now had a trailer hitch on it.
They had sent out teams to visit all the houses and salvage any useful items contained in them. They now had quite a little food and had no worries of making it last at least over winter.
Every single person spent each evening reading books and learning about many different things that were needed if they were going to survive. Everyone was pitching in and they were all building muscles they never had before.
They all now had the confidence necessary to take on any task. Not that they weren’t making mistakes but each mistake was viewed as a learning experience and at worst only caused a little ribbing amongst friends. Both Don and Lynn could see a big change in
everyone there. They looked both determined and content. The change was amazing.
Lynn and Don stayed and visited for some time with their friends. Don told them how they had gathered both propane and firewood for the winter and the group just nodded their heads so Don knew that was now on their agenda also.
With the old car working fine they would be able to hunt a ways out of town to supplement their food supply.
Lynn told them to try to take deer in different areas and try for bucks so not to deplete the population in any one area. She told them rabbits were mighty tasty also and even if scarce nearby right now, they would come back quickly.
Don told them to shoot any dog, cat, or coyote they saw to reduce the competition for game birds and animals. Lynn said they should find a bicycle for everyone to use to get around also.
Finally Don said they had a long way to go and best be heading back home. They said goodbyes to their friends and walked back to their truck, picking up their packs along the way. Both Don and Lynn were very happy to see their friends’ safe and getting their act together so they were ready for the winter that was coming.
They made a quick stop in at Sam’s place to give him the news before getting home at just about dark. They had a fast supper and both were quick to go to their separate bedrooms. Once in bed they did not realize that they went to sleep with smiles on their faces.
Epilogue
Over the next several weeks Don and Lynn spent many days working with their friends by the lake helping them to get things ready for winter. After looking at the greenhouses and doing some reading about green houses Don with Lynn’s help built one on the south side of the garage.
Don had found garden seeds in a couple of the places he had gone through and they were pretty well set to plant the following spring. They also hauled home three more trailers full of firewood and had enough to last many years they thought.
With the help of their friends all the gas and diesel fuel at the gas stations was treated to make it last longer. Hand pumps were left installed at most stations so fill ups were done easily. Sam drove his ‘pickup’ to town and after the first trip often went to visit and lend the considerable knowledge he had with the new friends he found there.
When fall came Don shot two deer and that about filled up their little freezer. They had found a hand crank meat grinder and made a bunch of hamburger out of some of the venison.
Late in the fall Don asked Lynn to marry him and she of course said yes. The wedding was held in one of the churches in town and every person they knew was there. It turned out to be quite a party that lasted all day. On other trips to town Lynn snuck home all kinds of baby things so she would have stuff ready, just in case, of course.
The End
And a new beginning
Dystopia
USA
By
Pete Thorsen
Formerly Published
Under the Pen Name
Jack Forester
Originally Released
On Kindle February 2014
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher, except that brief selections may be quoted or copied for non-profit use without permission, provided that full credit is given. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and events are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead is entirely accidental.
Prologue
How did we get to this? Living in a house that we had started on fire on purpose just to try to hide from our own government. Living on food and water that we at least had the foresight to get ahead of the crash. A crash that was likely started on purpose by our own government.
No electricity because the government shut it off after they removed or killed all the citizens in this area. Wondering if we will live through the coming winter. Wondering if our government will ever come back and find us. Whether if they do find us will they take us by force to their labor camps or just make it easy by just killing us right here.
How could we have not seen this coming? How could we have voted in people that would do this to the very people that had put them into office? How could the military and federal officers do this stuff to honest fellow Americans? Is there a Resistance movement? Will there be another revolution, this time to take back our own country?
Chapter One
Joe Winston was almost a free man. He was walking out of work for the last time. Someone had made an offer on his house and he was just waiting for their reply to his counter offer. He was fifty five years old and about to make big changes in his life. He wished that he could make big changes to his country also because everyday it was less and less the old country he loved. But he could only do so much.
He was now officially retired. He had joined the military right out of high school then after twelve years he quit the service and got a job with the state. After twenty five years working for the state he had retired. The state had included his time spent in the military when they calculated the date he could retire.
Now he still had a steady income and could get medical from the VA hospitals. But as part of an early retirement deal from the state Joe got to keep his excellent state health insurance and the state would pay it in full for two years. Joe had no debt and was soon to have all the money from the sale of his house.
His only regret was that he could not share this time with his wife who had passed away four years ago. But he had two kids who loved him and were grown and had good full lives of their own. Two years ago he had bought a fair sized used motor home which he had done some work on to suit his needs a little better. Joe’s current plan was to travel here and there and try to enjoy all that the United States had to offer.
Shortly after getting home the realtor called to say the buyers had accepted his counter offer. Their only stipulation was the sale had to be closed quickly so they could move out of the temporary housing they were now living in. This was perfect as far as Joe was concerned because he was now ready. Many of Joe’s friends could hardly believe what Joe had planned.
Sell the house you had for so many years? Have no home of your own and just be a vagabond? They just could not understand it.
Three hectic weeks later Joe handed over the keys to his now former house and shook hands with the new owners. Joe had sold everything in his house that he did not want to take with or wouldn’t fit in his motor home. He had used Craigslist for the larger items and had two yard sales for smaller items. What did not sell he donated to Goodwill.
After he left the realtor’s office he walked the block and a half to where his motor home was parked in a large parking lot. It was loaded and ready to go so Joe wasted not a second look behind him and drove out of the city that had been his home for so many years. He thought it was a sign from above that it was such a nice bright sunny day to start his new life.
It is too bad the housing market had collapsed Joe thought or I could have gotten much more money for my house. It was some consolation that the market had come back a little and the bad economy had allowed him to buy this motor home for a very cheap price. The government keeps saying the economy is getting much better but it is very obvious to anyone that it is not any better at all.
Well Joe couldn’t really say that as the Federal Reserve Bank with their huge bank bailout of almost three billion dollars per day had raised the stock market way up to record highs even though many companies were doing poorly and many were going bankrupt. At some point many economists said the artificial high of the stock market would very likely crash but that little tidbit was not mentioned on the ‘nightly news’.
Those in Congress kept right on spending the money like there was no tomorrow with no end in sight. They came out with a big happy statement that the deficit this year would be less than a trillion dollars instead of well
over a trillion as it had been the last few years. Again they failed to mention that was because they raised taxes and the increased tax revenue was what drove down the deficit not any cuts in spending and it was somewhat of a one-time thing with the deficit expected to be higher again the following year.
They sure hinted that it was because of less spending but they did not come right out and say that lie. Not that those in Washington DC are not up to facing the cameras and spouting lies with smiles stuck on their faces. Later when the facts clearly showed that they said blatant lies they just ignored the episode or would say they ‘mis-spoke’.
Of course while most blame all the spending on the Democrats, the Republicans are not any better at all. At least the Republicans talk about cuts to spending even if they don’t do any. Both parties know the simple fact that ‘spending buys votes and cuts lose votes’. And both parties’ only agenda is staying in office. Not the welfare of the country or that of their fellow Americans, no their only thought once in office is how to stay in office and how much money can we make while in office.
The federal debt was seventeen point three trillion the last time Joe checked and no one in DC was concerned at all about the debt being way more than the GDP. The Federal Reserve was doing everything it possibly could to keep the interest rate down because they know perfectly well that if interest rates rise to more normal levels of around six or seven percent it would be catastrophic for the United States. But you don’t hear that on the ‘evening news’ either. We sure don’t want to alarm the masses now do we?
Joe had changed the address on everything he could think of to his son’s house and had the post office forwarding all his mail to his son in case he had missed an address change on anything important. His son would open any mail that was addressed to Joe to see if it was something that would require any immediate attention.