Band of Preppers (Book I)
Chapter 1
Derek Evers was supposed to be putting away groceries, but he was distracted by watching his wife Amy talking on the phone in the living room. It was so easy to just go through a day without really looking at her and with her recent night shifts at the hospital, Derek was starting to feel like he never saw her anymore. She was still wearing her scrubs - pink, with tiny lemons on them - and her red hair up in a messy ponytail.
“Well, I gotta go, Ming,” Amy said, twirling a loose strand of hair. “Derek’s brother is coming over and I gotta start dinner. Yep. Love you too!”
Amy tucked her phone in her pants’ waistband and went into the kitchen. Derek quickly shuffled some groceries around, pretending to be busy. Amy smiled at him and stood on her tippy toes to kiss her husband’s cheek.
“Did I get everything you wanted?” Derek asked. “Ground beef, breadcrumbs…”
“Looks like it. What time do you think Buckle will be here?”
“He said 7, and he’s always right on time.”
Derek finished putting away the groceries, except for what they planned on using for dinner, and called for his son.
“Adam! Come help with dinner!”
The 11-year old came into the room, his eyes glued to a Nintendo DS. “You guys can’t handle burgers by yourself?”
“Hush. It’s good to learn how to cook,” Derek replied.
“Ever hear of a microwave?”
“Well, aren’t we mouthy today!” Amy exclaimed. She emerged from the fridge with an armful of lettuce and vegetables. “You can do the salad.”
Adam groaned and made a face, but he put down his game and obeyed. Derek squished together the ground beef, egg, breadcrumbs, and spices. The meat was chilly on his fingers.
“What horrible thing do you think your brother is going to talk about today?” Amy asked, cutting a loaf of French bread into rounds.
“Not sure,” Derek replied. “He’s been pretty quiet lately. Said he’s been focusing on weaning himself off technology.”
“Was he into technology at all before?”
“TV, I guess. He watched a lot of nature shows.”
“I like Uncle Buckle’s stories,” Adam chimed in.
“Good, well, I’m glad they don’t freak you out.”
“He doesn’t mean to scare anyone,” Derek said. “He’s just a little kooky with all the camping and stuff. Preparing for the apocalypse or whatever.”
“I think it’s smart,” Adam said.
“Oh, really? Are you going to be weaning yourself off technology soon too then?”
Derek chuckled, nudging Adam with his elbow. Adam mumbled and returned to chopping cucumbers very carefully with a large kitchen knife. Derek finished forming the burger patties and went out to the grill. It was a warm evening with some low cloud coverage. Roadie, the family Husky, was sitting on the patio with his lead on, tied to the stack in the yard. He stood and wagged his tail when Derek came out.
“These aren’t all for you,” Derek told him, setting the burger plate on the patio table. “You get one. Don’t be greedy.”
Roadie panted, his ice-blue eyes staring up at Derek as Derek turned on the grill and let it heat. Crickets buzzed in the grass and some birds chattered angrily at one another in the tree. Derek did love the outdoors. Sometimes he almost wished he had done what Buckle did: leave the daily grind behind and gone out to a tiny town to get close to nature. Learn how to chop wood. Hike, fish, and hunt. But Buckle didn’t have a family and Amy’s nursing job paid way better than Derek’s gig as a grocery store manager, so it just made sense to stay closer to St. Louis. Derek always talked about going camping and teaching Adam all those manly skills, but the boy never had much interest and honestly, Derek didn’t either. It was just a nice thought. Amy thought Derek’s unrealistic dreams of becoming Paul Bunyan existed simply because he didn’t want to feel emasculated by Buckle. Not that Buckle ever said anything insulting, but it was just how he was, always knowing about everything remotely outdoorsy and making everyone homemade leather goods for Christmas and bringing fresh-caught fish on ice for dinners. Adam just loved it all and soaked in all of Buckle’ hunting and hiking stories. It kind of stung a little knowing that it wasn’t like Adam wasn’t interesting in camping, he just wasn’t interested in camping with him.
The burgers sizzled. Derek was flipping them when Buckle’s truck pulled up. Derek checked his watch. 7 pm on the dot. Buckle hopped out of the cab and waved. He was wearing a tight gray scoop-neck T-shirt, jeans, and a belt with a large silver buckle, per his nickname. He strode across the yard in his steel-toed work boots and enveloped Derek in a hug.
“How ya’ll doing, brother?” he drawled, thumping Derek on the back.
“Just fine, Buckle! Yourself?”
“Can’t complain,” Buckle replied, adjusting his belt and sniffing.
He crouched down and rubbed Roadie’s face. The dog slobbered enthusiastically and pulled on his lead.
“Work good? Haven’t heard from you much lately,” Derek said.
“I’ve been busy,” Buckle said, standing. “Been into beekeeping.”
Derek laughed out of impulse. “What?”
“Beekeeping. It’s actually real easy. Just some 2x4s, cement blocks, frames. My neighbor and I got a great colony.”
“Why would you, um, keep bees?”
“Why wouldn’t I! They’re great for my garden and honey is a superfood, man. Beeswax is great, too.”
Derek chuckled. Adam came outside, carrying a plate of sliced cheese. His face lit up when he saw Buckle.
“Uncle Buck!” he cried.
“Hey, buddy!” Buckle ruffled Adam’s hair and pulled him in for a side hug. “How’re ya?”
“Good,” Adam replied. “I’m happy school’s out.”
“Summer is awesome! What are your plans?”
Adam shrugged, still holding the cheese plate. Derek reached over to take it from him and lay slices on the burgers. Roadie tried to poke his nose up to the grill only to have his head lightly pushed down by his master.
“Hanging with friends, watching TV.”
“That’s it? I gotta take you out, man, experience some of the great weather! I was going to ask your dad if you wanted to come and stay with me for a couple weeks.”
“Really?” Adam exclaimed. “That would be so cool!”
Derek stared at the melting cheese on the burgers. He felt pushed out of the conversation, but also stupid that he was feeling that way.
“Dad?” Adam asked, breaking Derek’s thoughts. “Can I go?”
“I gotta talk to your mom, but yeah, I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
“Sweet!”
Derek couldn’t help but smile. Adam unhooked Roadie’s lead and the two went bounding into the yard. Buckle watched them for a moment, hands on his hips.
“Good kid,” he remarked.
“Hmm.”
“Hey, I gotta tell you something,” Buckle said, his voice suddenly serious.
He turned to Derek like he was going to spill some deep rooted secret. Derek felt a little nervous.
“What’s up?”
“You know how I track going-ons in the world, y’know? Like weather patterns, government stuff?”
“Oh, I know, Buckle.”
“Well, I been hearing about this virus,” Buckle continued, choosing to ignore Derek’s somewhat sarcastic tone. “Down in Mexico. They thought it was smallpox, but folks aren’t responding to the vaccine. People get real fucked up. Lots of scabs, lots of blood, internal, too, so people get all black. Like five people have died.�
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“I haven’t heard anything about this.”
“The news isn’t talking about it! I saw it on a blog. This dirt-poor family got it somehow and they all died real quick, like all in a week. Could be serious, though. The guy said if it’s like smallpox at all, it means it’s airborne. Those spread real fast.”
“That’s messed up.”
“No duh.”
“So...what’s your point, Buckle?”
“This could be it, bro! The big one! You gotta start prepping.”
To Derek’s relief, Amy interrupted the conversation by coming out with a platter of hamburger buns.
“Hey, Buckle! Thought I heard your voice.”
Amy put down the buns and received Buckle’s kiss on the cheek with a smile. She had changed out of her scrubs and was wearing a pair of light jeans and a yellow blouse.
“Hello, darlin’.”
“Adam!” Amy called. “Don’t get too dirty! Dinner is almost ready!” Amy watched her son and the dog for a moment. “It’s so nice out. Should we eat out here tonight?”
“Great idea, Ams,” Buckle agreed. “Let me give you a hand.”
Derek assembled the burgers while Buckle and Amy set the picnic table with silverware and plates. After calling Adam to wash his hands and put Roadie back on his lead, the family sat down to eat. Roadie waited patiently for his hamburger while the humans served themselves first. Derek held out the pattie with a pair of tongs.
“Roadie, sit,” he said firmly. The dog obeyed. “Good boy. Here’s your burger.”
Roadie practically inhaled the beef and after waiting a moment to see if there was more, settled down on the patio and rested his chin on his paws. Derek ate a forkful of salad, hoping that Buckle would not continue their conversation from before. He was disappointed.
“I was telling Derek about this virus in Mexico,” Buckle began. “Looks real bad. Could be airborne.”
“Oh?” Amy said, glancing at Derek.
“Heard about it last week. I’ve was telling your husband that ya’ll should get to prepping, just in case. You’re a nurse. How fast do you think something airborne could spread?”
“Well, airborne diseases travel in cough droplets, so even if you aren’t directly in contact with someone who’s sick, you could get it by going into a room they were in or if the wind blows it around.”
“When would you know you had it?”
“It depends on the disease.”
“The blog I read said it looks like smallpox, but the vaccines aren’t working.”
Amy frowned. “What blog is this?”
“One of my preppers blogs.”
“Oh.”
Buckle smirked. “You guys don’t think I’m serious?”
“No, no,” Amy said quickly. “The Internet’s just got a lot of crazy stories out there, y’know? It’s hard to know what’s real.”
“There were pictures.”
“Photoshop,” Adam responded, his mouth full.
“Aw, man, you don’t believe me either?” Buckle teased.
“I didn’t say that,” Adam mumbled over his food.
“Sweetie, chew first,” Amy whispered.
“I’m just saying, ya’ll, it’s better to be safe,” Buckle said, raising his hands as if in surrender. “If it isn’t a disease, it’ll be a drought or tornado or something.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Derek said, knowing Buckle was right.
“And it’s not like the government is going to be able to help, even if it wanted to. Who can forget Katrina? People were just fending for themselves down there, and the damn media spinning everything to make everyone look like a criminal. God damn it, people were just trying to get clean water!”
Buckle was starting to get a little agitated. Adam looked worried.
“Ok, Buckle, we get it,” Derek said. “Society could probably stand to get a little more prepared.”
“I’m not talking about society, Derek, I’m talking about you guys. Let me help you get started.”
Amy looked at Derek, who briefly met her eye. All Derek could offer Buckle was a, “We’ll think about it.”
Derek knew it wouldn’t satisfy Buckle, but it was the best he could do for now. The family finished their dinner in relative silence. Amy had made a cake for dessert, and the changing of the plates broke the tension a little. Adam started talking about his friend’s trip to Chicago and everyone relaxed. After dessert, they all went inside and played Trivial Pursuit with Amy and Derek claiming the victory. Adam asked if he could watch TV in his room and was excused, leaving the adults alone. Roadie lay snoring on top of Buckle’s feet, his tail lightly swatting the kitchen floor. Derek and Buckle drank black coffee.
“I do want you to check out the blog, Amy,” Buckle said suddenly. “Cause I don’t know much about this stuff, but you do. And I want you guys to know it’s not like I believe everything I read, but diseases really freak me out. They’re quick and people try to cover stuff up, fix things before the media gets at it, but if they can’t, no one is prepared at all.”
“That’s true,” Amy replied. “I’ll look at it. Write it down for me?”
She retrieved a sticky note from the junk drawer and handed it to Buckle.
“Some of the stuff on there is pretty wacky, so grain of salt, hon,” Buckle advised.
Amy smiled. “Ok, Buck.” She glanced at the clock. “I’m bushed, boys,” she said, yawning. “Been working night shifts recently and just got back on a sort of regular schedule. Gotta get up at 4 am tomorrow.”
“You get your beauty sleep, sweetie,” Derek said, kissing Amy’s hand. “I’ll get Buck settled on the couch.”
“Blankets are in the hall closet, you know.”
“Yep.”
“And please start the dishwasher when you’re done with your cups.”
Amy squeezed Buckle’s shoulder and shuffled off to the bedroom. She looked tiny and exhausted. Derek watched her leave, a fond look in his eyes. Buckle smiled and lightly punched Derek in the arm.
“Aw, ya’ll are so adorable. Just like newlyweds.”
Derek chuckled. The brothers sat in comfortable silence for a few moments, listening to Roadie snore. Buckle reached under the table and stroked Roadie’s ears.
“I should get a dog,” he mused. “A nice big one. Like a German Shepherd.”
“They’re great,” Derek agreed. “Our neighbor who moved had one. Sheila. Real pretty.”
“Good guard dogs, too.”
Roadie snuffled and stretched his paws. Derek took up his mug and walked over to the sink to rinse it before stacking it in the dishwasher. He turned and leaned against the counter.
“Sorry if I seem like I don’t take you seriously. I don’t think you’re crazy or anything.”
Buckle nodded slowly. He took a sip of his coffee and looked inside the mug as if he expected to find something. “I know,” he said, after a moment.
“We just have different lifestyles. Nothing wrong with that,” Derek continued.
Buckle interrupted him. “That’s the thing though, prepping doesn’t have to interfere with your lifestyle. It’s not like I’m asking you to drop everything and move out to Mineral Point with me. You can start preparing now, right here. It’s like buying fire insurance or something, except you’re guaranteed a return.”
“That’s actually a good comparison,” Derek admitted.
Buckle gulped down the rest of his coffee and brought it to the sink. He patted his brother on the shoulder.
“Just think about it,” Buckle pressed. “All I ask.”
After Derek started the dishwasher like Amy asked, he got Buckle blankets and the pajamas that Buckle always left at the house for his visits. Adam came out of his room to say goodnight and let Roadie out one last time.
“Got everything?” Derek asked.
Buckle gave him a thumb’s up.
“See you in the morning.”
Derek went to the bedroom, where Amy was still up in bed reading. Sh
e looked at Derek from over the top of her glasses.
“Hey,” she said. “Settled in?”
“Yep.”
Derek went to the bathroom and wetted his toothbrush.
“I looked at that blog Buckle talked about,” Amy called.
Derek poked his head out of the bathroom, his toothbrush between his teeth. “Yeah?” he garbled.
“Not a ton of info on there, but the pictures definitely look like some kind of smallpox thing. People do still get smallpox sometimes, so it’s not unheard of.”
“Anything to be worried about?”
“It’s just one source and no news for a week, so I wouldn’t think so.”
Derek went back to the sink to spit. He brushed vigorously for a minute or so before rinsing. He splashed his face with some warm water before emerging back into the bedroom, rubbing his face with a washcloth.
“Buckle’s got some good points though,” Derek said, removing his pants. “About anything happening, like a tornado or something. Think about if we lost power for a week or so, what would we do?”
“We’ve lost power before and it always comes back on in a few hours,” Amy countered.
“That was just a glitch in the system, or a thunderstorm. Think about something bigger.” Derek could see Amy’s brain whirring, but she also wore a hint of a smirk on her lips. “You think I’m being stupid,” Derek sighed.
“No, no,” Amy assured him, closing her book and leaning forward. “It’s just funny how convincing Buckle is, apparently.”
“He’s smart.”
“I never said he wasn’t.”
Derek got into bed and looked at Amy. She was wearing an oversized concert T-shirt that had a hole around the collar where it had gotten caught on something in the laundry.
“I just think maybe we should start thinking about collecting some emergency supplies. That’s not crazy, right?”
Amy bobbed her head back and forth. “No, it’s not.”
“Good!” Derek said, and kissed her.
Amy lightly tugged Derek’s earlobe, a move she had adopted when they were first dating. Derek smiled while Amy turned to switch off the lamp light. The couple snuggled, listening to the crickets outside. Warm and happy to be sleeping next to his wife again, Derek fell asleep.
Band of Preppers: A Prepper Fiction Novel (Book 1) Page 1