by Miles Maresh
Jim was already packed with the gear he wanted to take to his plane when he got the call from Barry. He loaded guns and ammunition from his extensive supply. He would have to leave some of the guns behind but he had the hidden shelter to store them, and hoped to return to his cabin someday. He did take all the ammunition. There would not being any factories making that for a while, and he knew David was depending on him to help secure his homestead. Jim had reloading equipment in his cabin, but it was too unwieldy to fit in his plane. He knew David had bought his own re-loading equipment and a good supply of gunpowder, He knew David had been an explosives expert in the Green Berets and was likely to be using claymores to help secure his homestead. He planned to pick up the two college students and then head straight to the farm in Pennsylvania. Kaitlyn had agreed to come with him and he also thought she needed the stability of a large group. She hoped the power grid would be repaired soon, but understood it might be years before things returned to normal. Even if it did, with major cities victims of nuclear strikes, and the lack of food, water and medicine, millions of people were already dead, and millions more were unlikely to survive.
Jim headed down the mountain to Durango in his loaded up truck. The city had lost some of its small town character that attracted Jim to the area, but because he lived off the grid and 50 miles away in the mountains he did not have much interaction with the townspeople. He did keep his Cessna at the regional airport. He would have liked to have the plane closer to his cabin but because he lived below the tree line in a thick forest of Ponderosa pines, there was no way he would be able to get a landing strip for the plane close enough to be useful. Because he knew the plane would still work after an EMP, he paid extra to keep it locked up in a private hanger. He was still worried that people might try to break in looking for supplies or the plane itself, but it had only been a few days and Jim expected no one had thought to try that. It was more important to secure food and water and people were more concerned about ground transportation needed to acquire that. Because this was a mountainous area that received a lot of snow, many people had 4 wheel drive vehicles and a few of those were old enough to escape the EMP effects. Jim noticed a few more running vehicles as he reached town, but thankfully no one was overtly trying to take them from others. Even in this small town, that situation would change as shortages became more prevalent. He would have to leave his own pick up behind. He would lock it in the aircraft hangar when he took his plane out, but he was sure someone would find his truck before he returned. He would take a few key mechanical parts out that would not be noticed, and hopefully any intruders would think it was just another vehicle dead from the EMP.
Jim was successful in reaching the airport in his pickup, but the airport itself was in shambles. Several planes had crash landed and debris was scattered over both runways. There was still a skeleton crew working at the powered down airport but they had no interest in trying to clear runways assuming all planes no longer were in the air, and no more could take off. Jim did not want to tell them that he had a working plane He borrowed brooms from a maintenance closet and went out to the clearer of the two runways. Along with Kaitlyn, Jim picked up smaller pieces of airplanes and body parts and then used the broom to sweep fluids and smaller items away. Jim used the winch on his pickup to drag larger pieces of the fuselage out of the way. The workers at the airport were watching and eventually one ambled out asking why he was clearing the runway. “Is a plane coming in” He inquired. People in Colorado, knew of the destruction of the capital and believed that the president was in Cheyenne Mountain. They expected the new capital would be in Denver. He apparently though Jim might be clearing a runway for Air Force One. Jim considered lying to get the runway cleared but he had almost finished that by himself and he ignored the worker. The man continued “Or is your airplane in the hanger operable?” Jim said “What’s it to you?” the man said “I have family trapped in larger cities. I want to get them out here”. Jim replied “Even if I was willing to help, I would not be able to safely land in big cities and make it back out.” The man said “If you are flying out of here, can I use your truck to go into Denver?” Jim said “Denver is a war zone, someone would take the truck from you before you could find your family.” The man did not say anything and Jim realized that once he reached the air the man would take his truck regardless of what he agreed to. He said “Help me finish clearing this runway and I will give you the keys, but I advise you to park in the outskirts of Denver and walk in. I just left Denver, it is a mess and the truck will be taken from you by gangs or regular people that have become desperate.”
The runway was eventually cleared to Jim’s satisfaction. It was not perfect but if he stayed to one side, the plane had enough room to take off. They had spent so long clearing it he knew that Barry and Megan were probably at the landing strip in Utah, so he called them on the sat phone and let them know he would be there in about one hour. They confirmed that they were ready to go and had not seen the biker gang or any other dangerous groups around the deserted airstrip. Jim advised them to stay out of sight. He was not even going to shut the plane off. He would taxi to where they were waiting, pick them up and turn around and take off again. With one refueling stop Jim had already arranged, they should be at the farm within 24 hours. Jim had Kaitlyn fly the plane once they left Durango. She did not have a pilot’s license, but according to Jim that was just a piece of paper, Jim had trained her to fly the plane and he had complete confidence in her. He sat in the co-pilot’s seat where he could take over if necessary, but Jim was concerned about the biker gang and had to be ready to defend the plane and the young people they were picking up. He knew Barry’s girlfriend would probably be of more interest to biker gangs than Barry himself. Even former low abiding citizens were not treating other survivors with respect, and biker gangs were definitely not law abiding. He knew it was illegal to fire weapons out of a moving plane, but he did not think the bikers were going to turn him in. It was going to be difficult to fire accurately out of a fast moving and descending plane, but in the Army Rangers Jim had been trained to operate firearms from moving military transports. He had confidence that he could be accurate enough considering that he would be firing an automatic weapon. Hopefully no one would notice the plane landing and he would not need to act.
As he approached the airstrip Kaitlyn flew over the adjacent highway at a safe elevation. Some of the bikers in the motorcycle gang had returned to the area. If the bikers had looked up they would have seen the plane, but they were focused on the side of the road ahead. At the altitude the plane was at, the sound of the aircraft was obscured enough, especially over the loud noises of the Harley Davidson motorcycles the bikers were riding. Jim saw two pairs of motorcyclists slowly rolling down the road near the airstrip, He did not know why they would still be looking for Barry and Megan but he had his suspicions, and it would not go well if they were caught. They already had his Jeep and most of his supplies. All the bikers he could see were male, armed with handguns and rifles and they no doubt were looking for Megan. Even if they had not seen her, the clothing in the Jeep would let them know that Barry was traveling with a female. Jim knew bikers well enough to know that even in the best of times bikers did not treat women well and abusing them among their ranks was common. He had no doubt that as an outsider they would force Megan into sexual slavery. From the air, Jim called Barry on the satellite phone. He knew Barry had a Sig Sauer because he had given it to him. He was circling the plane high enough to not be noticed and relayed to Barry where the motorcycles were. One of the biker pairs had headed down the access road to the airstrip. Barry was prone behind a tool shed, with one of his recently acquired rifles at the ready, and Megan had another rifle trained on the bikers from the other corner of the shed. He had shown her how to use the gun since her first attempt. She had been successful then, but she had wasted the entire clip of bullets and almost dropped the gun. Of course he had been going 80 miles per hour down the interstate at the time an
d he was proud that she had stepped up. Barry still planned to hide from the bikers and not engage them unless they acted first. One of the bikers spotted Megan peering around the shed and fired at her. Barry decided that was enough and he was sure he would be able to take out both bikers himself who were concentrating on the side of the shed where they had seen Megan. Using hand signals, he indicated that she should crawl to another position and aim for the biker closer to her. From about 50 yards out, Barry gave Megan a silent count of three. He shot the biker closest to him once in the head and then swiveled his rifle a few degrees to the second man who was on the ground still moving. Apparently Megan had fired a non-fatal shot. From the air, Jim realized that the second pair of motorcyclists had heard the gunshots and were racing up the access road. Barry managed to get a head shot to dispose of the injured biker on the ground, but the two other bikers now knew where they were positioned and were trying to flank them. There was a little cover on both sides but Barry and Megan had no other obstacles to hide behind. The remaining bikers were still ahead of his position and Barry fired errant shots but the two bikers were well-concealed. In a minute they would have Barry and Megan in a cross fire. Just then he heard a loud roar and barrage of gunshots from above. Both bikers fell and Barry looked up and saw the plane circling around for another pass. The sat phone rang and Jim said “They had you flanked, I got them, but check to make sure.” Keeping the sat phone on, Barry crept up to where the biker’s bodies both lay with numerous gunshot wounds from Jim’s automatic weapon. “You got them and a half” Barry reported. He was shocked that Jim was able to fire an automatic rifle with such precise shots while flying a rapidly descending plane, but he was grateful. Jim landed the plane and introduced Kaitlyn. He apparently had been teaching her to fly for some time and she had taken the controls while he fired the shots. Jim looked at the four motorcycles with interest and said. “I should have known that motorcycles like these would survive the EMP. I wish I could take them. Instead he disabled the bikes with well place gunshots. Barry was happy to assist in disabling the bikes. The bikers had stolen his Jeep and he wanted revenge. Killing two of the four bikers himself had been a matter of self-defense. He had never killed a human being before this trip and now he had killed at least six and was surprised and a little concerned at how comfortable he was with that knowledge. Jim, who had been in combat saw this and said “You did what you had to do. Protecting yourself and your friend is not murder.” Barry introduced Megan to his friends and all four climbed into the plane before more bikers showed up at the airstrip. They were fortunate to take out the small group but would be overrun if the rest of the gang showed up.
Chapter 11
David received a phone call from Jim. He had successfully picked up Barry and Megan despite some difficulty with a biker gang. At any rate all four were now flying to Pittsburgh. Jim would have to make one stop to refuel in Joplin, Missouri. A prepper acquaintance ran a regional airport there and had agreed to refuel the plane when Jim arrived. Extra fuel tanks had been installed on the plane for the trip. Jim did not want to stop and have to arrange for fuel from people that might want to take his plane. It was better to make as few stops as possible, and arrange for fuel in advance from preppers who had access to it. Jim trusted most preppers, but was a little concerned about ones he did not know personally. The prepper they were to meet in Missouri had agreed to exchange fuel for MREs and gold krugerands. Jim’s Cessna 172 had an extended fuel tank of 56 gallons. The flight from Durango to the farm was about 1500 miles. Keeping the plane at 120 knots (130 mph) the fuel range of the plane was about 960 miles.
When he landed the plane at the regional airport in Joplin, Jim’s prepper friend directed him to the fuel tanks by the small terminal. As the plane refueled the travelers disembarked to stretch their legs and Jim arranged for payment. The airport did not have power but generators were running to keep the fuel pumps and the terminal operational. The prepper in charge of the airport, had several armed men guarding the area. He said there had been some trouble in Joplin, and they were trying to keep the airport as a secure area. He asked where Jim’s plane was headed. Jim did not want to provide the information but the man claimed he was well provisioned and had no intention of joining them. He claimed he just wanted to know what other preppers thought of the crisis. Jim admitted that he was headed north of Pittsburgh and the man said. “You can drive in from here.” Jim did not know what he meant until he noticed the other men were holding guns on him. “What’s the purpose of this” Jim cried in surprise. “Simple, we want your plane.” Jim realized that he was probably wrong to trust this prepper he did not know so well. The man continued “I will give you a truck and you can get home with that. I will need to confiscate your weapons and all your gold.” Jim knew that driving home from here would be extremely dangerous especially if he was unarmed but he did not know what else to do about it. He was being held by four men with rifles and they grabbed his handgun from his holster. Kaitlyn and Megan were also marched up at gunpoint, but Barry had apparently not been found. They were marched out to the tarmac and told to sit on the ground. Jim knew they were not going to be given a truck and would be shot as soon as they located Barry. The prepper shouted out loud “Show yourself boy! I will shoot your friends if you don’t surrender and will start with your girlfriend.” He winked at Megan and said to her “I will actually keep you for myself.” She grimaced and said “Over my dead body, you ugly pervert.” He laughed and said. “If that’s the way you want it.” Just then shots rang out and all four of the gunmen guarding the group dropped to the ground. Jim noticed Barry in firing position at one corner of the terminal, and a man he knew as Clint at the other. Barry yelled out “drop your weapon” to the remaining prepper holding Jim’s Sig. The man surrendered but his friends were not so lucky. Two were fatally hit by head shots and two were seriously injured by gunfire that had come from rifles of Barry and Clint. The other man who had aided Barry introduced himself to Megan and Kaitlyn. He was actually Barry’s uncle Clint. He had been driving in from Texas with his wife Julie, who was David’s sister. They also had 2 small children with them. His Blazer pulled up with Julie driving, and Barry ran out to embrace his aunt. His young cousins were in the back seat with a blanket over their heads, but Barry hugged them anyways. Clint had known from David that they were refueling at this airport and he had been watching from a distance. He did not trust the group running the airport. He had been in Joplin a couple of days waiting for the plane. The gunmen at the airport were terrorizing the town and had raped and murdered many people. Clint was sure they would not be receptive to refueling Jim’s plane without more than just payment. When he saw them pull weapons on the group ,he grabbed Barry before he was seen and they quickly planned and took up firing positions using Clint’s rifles Clint volunteered to execute the prepper so he could not rape and murder more people, but Megan volunteered to do it herself. Clint did dispose of the two injured gunmen making sure his children were under the blanket first.
Jim had a problem. Clint who was an old friend, had saved them from the group at the terminal and he felt obliged to assist his family. However the Cessna 172 he was flying was only a 4 seater, and he had the cargo area packed with provisions. Even if they squeezed in they could not carry any additional passengers as the weight would not allow the plane to take off and land safely. Barry and Megan were talking to Clint and Julie and came up to Jim. Barry said “We want to give up our seats to Julie’s children. The four of us will drive in the rest of the way, but the children have been through a lot, and we need to get them safe. Jim understood and was impressed, but had a counterproposal. “The kids can double up on a seat and I can take Julie as well.” He knew separating small children from their mother was not the best idea and the weight of the two children was about the same as one adult. Julie protested weakly that she didn’t want to take anyone’s seat, but the group insisted and they buckled the children into one seat and their mother into another. Jim pulled Cli
nt, Barry, and Megan aside. “If you run into any trouble, find a safe area and call me on the sat phone. After dropping the others off, I can take the plane back to pick you up.” Clint, who had managed to hold onto his Blazer felt that with Barry and Megan to help him they should be able to keep possession of the vehicle and arrive at the farm in a couple of days. He also did not want to wait at his airport any longer. Some townspeople must have heard the gunshots and were surely to arrive at the airport to see what was going on.
Barry and Megan moved their go-bags and firearms into Clint’s Blazer. Clint was glad to have his children headed for safety, but also felt they were better prepared for the drive with three adults. Protecting his children by flying them ahead was what he had hoped for when he waited in Joplin, and he was glad that they also taken Julie. He knew Barry was an expert shot and had quickly planned with him how to take down the gunmen at the terminal. He was less sure about Megan and thought Barry just liked her for her looks, but as he talked to her he realized she was intelligent and composed. Barry relayed some of their problems they faced on the trip and Clint did the same. He felt better about Megan when she revealed she had never fired a gun before the trip, but now felt comfortable defending herself with one. Her taking the prepper down was due to what he had threatened her with, but she did not have to do it herself and his opinion of her went up. He wondered if she would have any nightmares about the deaths of people she had personally been involved in. It was a new society and people were dying by the millions, but no one wanted to be personally responsible, even if it was a life or death situation. The fact that she gave up her seat on the plane to assist Clint’s family was not lost on him, and he started to see why Barry was enamored with her. They briefly considered waiting in Joplin for the plane to return, but Clint said the slain gunmen had friends in the town and it would better to head east before they came to the airport to see what had happened.