Trouble in America: Five Apocalyptic Stories

by Pete Thorsen

  They can abandon their post and retreat (only sometimes possible) knowing full well that whatever they were ordered to protect would likely be destroyed. They can continue with non-lethal resistance until they are over run and likely be killed or severely wounded and still lose the protected area.

  Or they can switch to lethal fire and just hope that they did not wait too long for the switch. Most obviously retreated and regrouped in other areas or just disbanded and dispersed to try to protect themselves and those they cared about. But some, out of sheer fear, desperation, frustration or some other darker reason, opened fire on the crowds with live fire.

  In some cases full-auto rifle/machine gun fire which instantly resulted in huge numbers of dead or wounded rioters. Some waited too long and were still over run and in those cases they were mostly all killed. The next day with the dawn, the true horrors of the night were visible for all to see.

  Whole cities were burning with no one trying to control the fires. Dead lay in the streets everywhere for the rioters often would turn on each other or trample those that tripped and fell. Or they’d die from smoke inhalation from all the burning cars and buildings. Helicopters flying over to view the devastation would often be shot at for no reason whatever.

  Often people view the results of riots with morbid curiosity maybe because they think it could never happen to them or even near them. Many found out very different this time because the rioting and looting touched just about all the cities and even larger towns.

  Lee and Meg were surprised at the devastation in the nearby city of St.Cloud. They could see the smoke from their house just by looking to the west and soon smelled it also. They watched some of the news but then shut it off because the deaths and devastation were just too much to take. It was very plain to see that this would last a long time. It would not be over in a week or things back to normal in a couple weeks.

  They knew things might settle down at some point but it would be far from normal. Lee spent a lot of the day on Friday on his tractor blocking their driveway. When he was done no one was driving in or out of their place without a lot of work being done.

  He then spent time in the shop building heavy shutters for the windows on the house, very heavy shutters. He also made covered shooting slots in some of them so they could shoot but still be fairly well protected. Both of them were thankful now for the poured concrete walls of their home, because they were bullet proof and fire proof. They tried several times to call some of their friends but they could never get a call through. In less than one week the world they had always known was no more but replaced by a much darker and very scary place instead.

  Chapter Eight

  For much of Minnesota and the nearby states they received a blessing and a curse with the fall of about 10 inches of snow on Friday. With the snow continuing Friday night and getting another four or five inches on Saturday. This helped smother the fires burning in the cities and provided a ready supply of clean water for just about everyone.

  The snow also slowed or stopped most road travel and with the snow cover, temperatures went down and stayed down. For Lee and Meg it was a blessing as both saw it as a protective blanket and hoped for more. They did not need or want to travel and this snow would help keep others from coming all the way to their farm.

  On Saturday martial law was declared nationwide in the Untied States for the first time in the nation’s long history. The Military started moving right away and set up check points around the largest cities first. Military personnel were recalled from most posts around the world to concentrate on supplying order and assistance back home.

  Many military reserves were reactivated to provide additional manpower. Looting was stopped with lethal force but it was too late for most businesses because they were totally stripped clean and sometimes burned out. The normal warehouses full of food were just sitting and the military seized these food supplies and began transporting these products to the cities and then to the towns for distribution to the masses.

  This certainly did not happen overnight because the amounts were huge. Truckers and trucking companies were urged back to work with promises of security provided by the armed forces, not just for food deliveries but all manor of goods. All essential service personnel were told to return to work. But in the big cities they basically couldn’t do so in many cases.

  Large sections of some cities were burned to the ground. In most cities police cars had been destroyed by mobs and police stations had been burnt down. Most hospitals were still in fairly good shape but many had their pharmacies looted and ambulances had been wrecked in many cases. Many streets and roads were blocked by wrecked and/or burnt vehicles.

  Electric was down in a great number of areas due to human caused damage or from the fires. In some cases people were reluctant to go to work because they thought the dollars they would be paid now had no value (pretty much a fact) or they feared leaving their loved ones or their possessions. Many people had lost their vehicles or had no fuel for them. Many feared the military more than the mobs or bandits. And many people couldn’t go back to work because they were dead.

  The military was trying but they did not have the sheer numbers of manpower needed. They had to leave many on bases to protect their own bases. Many police were dead or missing so they could provide little help. It was the same with a fair sized portion of the state National Guard units, either being dead, missing or having deserted.

  The Military went to all the nuclear power generating plants to provide security and to make sure they continued to operate. This was not too bad because there were only 66 of these plants in the nation. Once the nuke power plants were all safe the military spread out to all the other generating plants in the US which was over six thousand plants.

  But it was vital to the country to keep all these electric generating plants in operation or many people would be lost due to power outages. It was a huge job with limited manpower plus still trying to keep enough personnel in the cities to keep law and order.

  There also was a list of essential places that had to be protected besides the power plants and military bases. Small towns and rural areas were pretty much in good condition with most town police and county Sheriff’s departments maybe not fully functional but way better than large city police forces.

  To make matters much worse, there were hordes of illegals coming across the wide open southern border. With everything in the United States in chaos thousands were coming across hoping to find easy opportunities to loot, steal, rape, and pillage. So the military had to go down to guard the border but just did not have the manpower so they mostly used the Air Force.

  They sent planes, jets, and attack helicopters that were fully armed and they killed anyone they saw move down at the border. Huge signs were made and placed at all regular border crossings that said anyone caught trying to cross the border illegally would be shot. And they did just that.

  Trucks that were stopped on the American side and found to be full of illegals had all of the men killed. Women and children were put back in the trucks and escorted back across so they could spread the word so more would try to come across. Any illegals found anywhere in the United States at any of the check points set up on all the major highways were detained (often under very poor conditions) until they could be brought back across the border.

  Any caught in a criminal act were killed on the spot and often this was done just to those suspected of crimes. The Navy and Coast Guard worked together to stop and search all ships and boats coming into the United States which was much easier now that commercial vessels were almost totally absent. Smaller boats with illegals or contraband were sunk with all hands.

  Any large ship found with illegals or contraband were carefully noted and told to never try to enter US protected waters again or they would be sunk without warning, then they were turned back to where they came from and not allowed into any US port. During this time, more and more of our armed forces were shipped back to the USA.


  Bases on foreign soil were totally evacuated and our equipment sent home or if deemed essential for national security the bases were left with adequate personnel to fully defend itself and the area. Much of the Navy was returned to the US to provide close in security with many left in strategic locations world wide to protect American interests abroad. Soon the United States was more secure than ever before.

  Most other countries were having their own problems. Almost all refused to take American dollars for payment of goods. Causing shipments that were in route to turn around and those not yet shipped to be left on the docks. The US state department urged all US citizens abroad to return as quickly as possible to American soil.

  This stopped all American tourist trade in other countries. Seeing what happened to the US dollar caused many to worry about their countries own currency and the currency of other countries. Many times precious metals or diamonds were asked for in payments. There were bank runs in just about all countries. Once all US money was cut off many countries economies started to collapse.

  Chapter Nine

  Other than one incident the winter was quiet for Meg and Lee, very quiet. They just stayed home, other than the times they snowshoed together mainly to get some exercise but also just to get out of the house. It snowed several times and the road past their place was never plowed out all winter, which they thought was perfect.

  One day two snowmobiles came up their driveway. Lee was just coming in from the shop and heard them coming. Without any hesitation he grabbed the 223 semi automatic rifle that was always near the door and yelled to Meg that there was trouble (though he didn’t know at this point).

  Though he knew it was wrong to leave the safety of his house he stepped back outside and closed the heavy door. The two snow mobiles roared right up near the house and Lee shouldered the rifle and was just ready to fire when they stopped. They each had a long gun slung on their backs along with a backpack. When they stopped, Lee did not lower his rifle and had already released the safety and put his finger on the trigger. One got off his machine and said “Police department, we are checking on everyone to see if they need help.”

  “No help needed here. Get back on your machine, leave, and don’t come back.”

  “No need to be hostile. We are only checking on folks. I see the smoke so how about if you invite us in to warm up?”

  “You can warm up when you get back to wherever you came from. I will not tell you again to leave.”

  The man turned like he was going to get on his machine then whipped back around pulling the rifle from his shoulder. He did this very quickly and had obviously rehearsed the move before many times. But no matter how fast he was, Lee who was already aimed and ready to fire, just pulled the trigger three times before swinging on the other guy.

  Lee heard the roar of Meg’s shotgun from the side and pulled the trigger as soon as he swung on the other guy who appeared to already be falling. Then it was very quiet with the only noise being the tick tick from the cooling snowmobile engines. Lee heard the door open and looked to make sure Meg was OK. Then he walked over and kicked the two guys to make sure they were dead.

  It was decided to use the snowmobiles to haul the dead guys a couple miles away down the road and just leave them there. They did keep the guns (including the pistols the men had on under their snow suits) and the backpacks. They left the men and their machines at a small crossroad a couple miles from their house and snow shoed back home on the machines tracks. After going through the packs it was obvious that they had been stealing small valuables from houses and who knows what else they might have done. Thankfully they received a light one or two inch snowfall that night to at least cover their snowshoe tracks that led away from the two snow machines.

  Through the winter Meg and Lee needed nothing but did regret not buying more books to have on hand. The electric went out several times but always came back on within two or three days. This caused them no real hardship and was instead rather welcomed just for the change. The phones were dead because they could never get a signal. The internet was down (they had satellite internet).

  They tried the TV and the radio just about every day but they did not get any signal either. They were completely cut-off from the world. While they liked being physically cut off by the snowed in road, they really missed getting any news from radio, TV, or the internet. They often thought about all the other people in Minnesota and other areas that must be having a very hard time during this winter.

  While the electric did stay on almost all the time which likely saved many from freezing to death, the closed roads would have caused many to die from starvation and some from freezing. Any rural folks with propane or fuel oil heat required refills throughout the long winters and with snowed in roads they would run out of fuel at some point. Some would likely have a portable electric heater or two which would be a big help but could in no way heat an entire house and the times when the electric went off would have likely been fatal.

  Being snowed in would have forced everyone to eat just what they had stored on hand or could hunt for in their immediate area. Many would not have made it. Many would have likely eaten their pets or in some cases had their pets eat them.

  Then one day they heard something on the radio. It was an emergency broadcast from the President of the United States.

  “Citizens of the United States I come to you with good and bad news about this great Nation of ours. We as a country have suffered a great blow and we have lost many of our countrymen. We have gone through a terrible winter of much chaos and hardship. We have lost many of our loved ones, neighbors, and fellow citizens. Among these was the former President and Vise-President of our country.

  I am now the sworn leader of our country only until we can have the normal elections this fall for you to vote in my replacement. During this time I, working closely with all members of Congress, will do everything possible to rebuild the country back to all its former greatness. We have suffered but we have also learned and in the coming months we will see many changes in our Federal government.

  We hope it will emerge much leaner like our forefathers envisioned when they wrote our great Constitution, not the bloated behemoth that led to our collapse and this chaos. The American dollar is gone. A new currency will rise in its place in the months ahead. Here in Washington we will strive to make this transition as easy as possible.

  Many of you have seen our military in your cities and towns. They are there for your assistance only. There is no martial law though the military will assist local law enforcement but only at their request. The military will be seen less and less as things return to more normal status. Some of our cities are almost beyond repair and the decision to rebuild those areas will be made at a later date.

  Folks living in those severely stricken areas may be contacted by military personnel and be asked if they would like relocation to safer less devastated areas. This is not mandatory and if you are asked this question you can say no and the military personnel will leave you in peace. This offer of relocation is only an offer for a ride not an order.

  Some locations are already starting to return to a more normal routine and as time goes on you will see that happen more and more throughout the USA. The trucking industry is gearing up and deliveries will be gradually retuning to normal. Nothing will happen overnight but the rebuilding of our nation has begun. Radio, TV, and phone are already up in some areas and will be expanding rapidly.

  Internet will likely be somewhat slower but will be up shortly in many areas with more to soon follow. Let me be straight with all of you. The situation is not rosy and hardships remain. Rebuilding will be slow but we have started and it will continue. Much of our Armed Forces have been recalled back to American soil and will be gradually mustered out and returned to civilian life to help us rebuild but as American workers and not military.

  While the tasks ahead of us are daunting we will overcome them and our great Nation will once again stand tall. Maybe it
is fitting that it is spring, the time for growth and rebirth. Thank you and God bless America.”

  Lee and Meg sat in stunned silence as they digested what the new President had said. After talking it over they decided they would just have to wait and see what developed and see if indeed those in Washington did learn anything. Judging by what the President said there might have been some bad feelings about martial law.

  But apparently he was trying to ease any fears Americans might have regarding the military. Again only time would give any true answers. In the short term at least there were no changes for them though it looked like soon the snow would melt enough to travel on the roads.

  The snow melted but Lee had to wait until the ground thawed out so he could remove the earth bank he had put up at the end of his driveway. The radio had some actual news programs on it and soon the TV started working again and seeing the devastation was awful, way worse than just hearing about it.

  They saw several vehicles drive by on their road. One day they decided to go to town and drove to Foley a small town that was only a few miles away. There was no devastation there and it looked perfectly normal. They went to the grocery store and while there were many gaps in the shelves there was some food to buy. They picked up a few things (prices were substantially higher) that they missed eating and drove back home.

  The phones were up and they tried calling all their friends but could only get a hold of about half of them. That did not necessarily mean anything bad had happened to them though so they continued to try them on the phone off and on. Both Lee and Meg called into their work places and got through to both of them. Meg’s place said it would be a little while but they would reopen and would call her soon about when to come in.