by Miles Maresh
By the next morning the water stopped working. The children had filled all the tubs with water. They didn’t know why because they knew about the huge water tank between the basement levels. Emily said “we can’t waste that water. We will use what we need, but clean, drinkable water is going to become rare” She was still surprised it happened as soon as it did, but Mike’s preparations were becoming invaluable to the family. People were going to run out of water much sooner that they were going to be hungry. Like a lot of Arizona houses, most of her neighbors had swimming pools. That water could be used to flush toilets but was too chlorinated to drink. Emily had one of the quiet generators running to provide some light for their prepping activities when they heard a knocking on the door. She hurriedly turned the generator off and told the kids to cover up the trap door leading to the basement levels. She checked the peephole and recognized her next door neighbor, Janet Douglas. The Douglas family had one son about the same age as Sydney. They did not socialize with the Hoffs, but they knew that Mike did business traveling and probably knew he was out of town. Emily opened the door and stepped outside to meet her neighbor. Janet looked surprised to not be invited in but Emily quickly explained” It’s stuffy in there without the power on, we can talk out here”. Janet smiled nervously and Emily wondered if she had heard the generators. Janet asked “When do you think the power will come back on? My water turned off too, and all my food is spoiling”. If I could borrow your generator for an hour or so I could freeze my food again.” Emily felt sympathy for the younger woman. She felt obliged to share information, but not supplies. Emily said “did you see that flash of light yesterday? That was either a solar flare or a nuclear weapon. At any rate, it caused an EMP that shut down the power grid. It will not come back on for a long time. I cannot share my generator. I need to to protect my own family” Janet said “I saw your son arriving home after the flash. Does his car work? My husband works downtown and has not returned. Can I borrow your son’s car to go look for him?” Emily knew that her neighbor realized the car worked but she wasn’t about to share a working vehicle especially to a neighbor without a life-threatening emergency. She was shocked by the gall of the woman. Only a day after the EMP she comes over and wants to borrow everything. While she did not want to be mean to her neighbors they could not enable her every need. She told Janet. “Todd, is walking home right now, it is a 25 mile walk and he should be able to make it in one day. Going to look for him is a longshot and you’re definitely not safe driving a working car around alone.” “How about a ride to the store?” Janet asked. “We are about out of water and food”. Emily said “Wait for your husband, mine is over a thousand miles away and I am not leaving my kids alone until he returns. The generator is for my family’s safety cook your frozen food now before it spoils.” With that Emily turned and walked into the house leaving Janet sputtering “that’s not very neighborly” Trevor was standing inside the door where he had heard everything. And said “That’s pretty cold Mom” Emily responded “Your father always said that the breakdown of society would happen in days. Our neighbor didn’t even take that long. If I had given her anything, the next time I may not be able to turn her or other neighbors away.” Emily really wanted to stay in the above ground house until Mike returned but the shelter was ready if it came down to that. With the daytime temperatures still over 100 degrees in late September the house was hot and stifling. The shelter had air conditioning run by propane. The house was not being cooled and it would take too much power to run their ACs off generators. Already she was planning to spend the nights in the shelter with her children. The shelter was cooled off propane and would be much more comfortable and the camera feeds in the shelter would let her know what was happening above. When they went to the shelter for the nights they would also move the hidden foundation slab back that was weighted to fall back into place. They would then lock the heavy steel hatch door. On the off chance that someone found the shelter they still would not be able to get in.
Chapter Eight
Mike and Dave took off and Dave noticed that the gas tank was only ¼ full. He had left a full tank when he had last landed the plane. He assumed someone had siphoned fuel in his absence. Dave pulled out a topographical map and directed Mike to a regional airstrip near San Antonio. There was no one in the control tower at the airport so Mike landed the plane on a clear runway. With Dave’s direction Mike taxied the plane to a fuel pump. Mike intended to pay for the fuel with cash or gold Krugerrands. Barring that he planned to use his Sig Sauer as a convincing element. He didn’t want to harm anyone but if anyone tried to take the plane or would not sell them fuel it was nice to have options. Dave stayed on the plane with his injured leg as Mike dropped down to the runway. A fiftyish man ambled toward Mike, eyeing the plane curiously. “Should have known crop dusters would still fly. They’re about as low tech as planes get” “That’s true,” replied Mike. “We still need fuel to fly it though.” “Can’t help you there” the man replied “The powers out and the pumps won’t run.” Mike had prepared for that. “We have an industrial siphon on the plane. We can pump fuel right out of the tank.” How are you planning to pay?” The man said nervously looking at Mike’s Sig Sauer on his hip. “I can pay cash” Mike replied. Don’t know if cash is going to have much value very long. Mike was impressed this man seemed to understand what was going on and what the long term effects would be. “What would you like” Mike replied thinking of his Krugerrands. “You have any food” the man queried. Mike had packed the bike and later the plane with 5 cases of MREs. He offered one case to the man along with a one ounce Krugerrand. The man’s eyes lit up on seeing the gold and Mike realized he could have kept the food. However a full tank of fuel and 4 cases of MREs should get them to Phoenix in 2-3 days if they had no further difficulties along the way. Mike was thankful that he only had to pay for the fuel at this stop. Not all fuel stops would be as easy as this one. Dave was grateful that Mike had things the man actually wanted. He had been planning to pay cash or use credit for fuel all the way home. He now realized neither of these options would have worked in this newly transformed society. He was deeply ashamed he had tried to leave Mike. He would probably not even gotten his plane back if Mike had not followed him.
As Mike and Dave continued on their way Mike followed interstate 10 so he knew he was headed in the right direction. Because there was a lot of foot traffic on the interstate especially in cities Mike kept the plane at about 2,000 feet elevation and a couple of miles off to the side. At that time and distance they hoped to stay unobserved. A couple of gunshots were already taken at them when they were flying lower and closer to the interstate. The planes speed limit was about 140 MPH. Mike kept it at 100 to try to conserve fuel. The fuel tank on the plane had a range of about 500 miles with two passengers and a heavy motorcycle in the back Dave calculated they should start to look for fuel around Ozona Texas, again in Las Cruces New Mexico and Wilcox, Arizona. Once they got to Wilcox Mike planned to leave the interstate and head straight to Phoenix in a northwest direction rather than continue south to Tucson.
Dave used his maps to find a small municipal airport outside Ozona Texas. He had never been there but he thought it was large enough to have a supply of aircraft fuel, it had now been several days since the EMP and some people in smaller towns were probably not going to want to give up fuel even at exorbitant prices. The aircraft fuel could still be used to fuel generators and even some EMP free vehicles. The plane Mike and Dave were flying was also sure to gather attention. Anyone working at an airport likely knew pilots who would love to get their hands on a working airplane. When they landed in Ozona, Mike observed a group of 4 men watching them from across the runway. The men were all armed with rifles and handguns. Mike didn’t like the way they were looking at the plane. He needed fuel though and there was a large underground tank of fuel visible by the control tower. Mike decided to taxi close to the men and see if they would agree to exchange some gas for 1 or 2 of Mike’s krugerands, He t
old Dave “if they raise their guns you duck down and I will head for the runway. There’s no way I can win a gun battle with 4 armed men. I just hope they don’t hurt the plane with gunfire. Mike stopped 100 feet from the group of men and hopped down to the runway, in his hands he held one of the few remaining cases of MREs from his storage locker. He placed the case on the asphalt with a Krugerand and a note on top. He then steered to plane back another 100 feet and watched as the men retrieved the note, “What does the note say” Dave asked. Mike responded “I asked for an exchange of fuel for the food and gold. I promised them one more of each after I fuel up.” The men looked at the supplies and the note, picked them up and waved Mike on to the fueling area. One of the men came forward as Mike had requested. He was cordial and kept the gun down as Mike hooked up the siphon. In the plane, Dave had Mike’s Sig Sauer rifle just out of sight in case the man had any ideas. As Mike finished fueling the plane reached in the planes storage compartment and came out with a case of MREs, and a Krugerand. He also grabbed his handgun and placed it in his waistband. As Mike turned toward the man he was reaching for his rifle but stopped when he saw Mike’s Sig Sauer. Mike said “Take your MRE and gold and go. We had a deal. “The man sneered “There’s four of us and only two of you. We want the rest of your food and gold” ‘that’s not going to happen” Mike replied You also don’t have the drop on me” said Mike gesturing to the plane where Dave had the rifle aimed at him “The four of you may rob us, but you will be dead first.” The man grabbed his MREs and Krugerand and retreated to his friends as they protested. Mike waited until the man was halfway back and then he jumped in the plane and headed for the runway in the other direction, They heard a couple of gunshots as they took off but Dave started firing back with Mike’s high powered rifle and the men dived for cover. Mike found a deserted road where he could land the plane. When he did both men inspected the plane for damage. Fortunately none of the gunshots had hit the plane or the men. With a full tank of fuel Dave returned to the controls with some difficulty but the pair did not want to stop. If Dave could fly while Mike slept the trip would continue. Mike had been up almost continuously for over 48 hours and wanted to get a little sleep so he could fly home hopefully by the next day. The two men went to 3,000 feet and headed east toward New Mexico.
Chapter Nine
It had been 3 days since the EMP and Emily and the children had both the house and the shelter prepared. By now most people were running out of food and from the upstairs windows the family observed several people walking around the neighborhood. Some of the people were neighbors but one pair of young men did not look they belonged in the area and were going door to door knocking. If no one answered they were looking in windows. When Emily saw them leave a house 2 doors down with bags of stolen supplies. She said “that’s enough. I’m not to let people rob my neighbors while I do nothing.” Trevor said “ I will come with you” They both grabbed firearms and left through the front door to the neighbor’s house which they knew was occupied only by Janet Douglas and her daughter.
As Emily and Trevor watched from behind a hedge, the two young men knocked on the door. Janet answered and they asked for water. Emily knew that Janet had to be running low on drinking water and was not surprised when she said no. The two men said “Is your husband home?” Janet said “none of your business” and slammed the door. The two men started to circle the house heading toward Emily and Trevor. They were talking to each other “Did you see her daughter? I think it is just the two of them here. I think they need some company.” Emily and Trevor stepped out pointing guns at the apparently unarmed men. Emily said “You need to leave this neighborhood now. I will escort you out and watch you return the things you stole.” One of the men reached behind his back and pulled out a pistol. Emily did as Mike had trained her. With no hesitation she fired her pistol at the center of the man’s body mass. He fell to the ground severely injured and bleeding out. The other man screamed “You killed him!” Emily responded “You’re next. Get out of this neighborhood and don’t take anything you stole.” The man ran away without another word. Janet came outside, saw the dead body on the ground and ran back inside in shock and fear. “She could have at least thanked you.” Trevor said.
After dragging the body to the woods behind the houses, Emily and Trevor returned home. They had no intention of burying the body but didn’t feel right leaving in right next to Janet’s house. As they cleaned up they heard a knock at the door. After checking the peephole they opened to find Janet, an attorney from down the street named Rick, his wife Delores and two other men from the neighborhood Emily recognized but did not know well. Rick said “Janet here tells me you murdered a man behind her home”. Emily tells him “It was self-defense, he pulled a gun on me. I was out there to protect Janet. The men were talking about raping and robbing Janet and her daughter. I told them to leave and they pulled a gun on me.” Rick said “well you didn’t have to kill him. Did you call the police?” Emily said “the police don’t have working vehicles. Why don’t you call them? Oh right you can’t.” One of the other men said “She’s right. I’ve been in town, people are looting grocery stores and the police are nowhere to be seen.” Rick said well we have to organize the neighborhood. No more killing strangers and we need to combine resources. Where is your husband Emily” She admitted: None of your business. And will kill any stranger that tries to steal from and assault my family or my neighbors. Mike has been out of town, but now he is on a working private plane and should be here shortly.” Rick said “Janet tells you have vehicles that work. We need to use those for the community. Most of our cars don’t run. Also we need to combine our food and resources. Those that don’t have enough need to be helped by those that have stockpiled.” Emily replied “You’re not taking resources or vehicles from my family I am willing to help secure the neighborhood but I am not a supply depot for everyone. My family comes first.” Rick said “That is unacceptable, Let me know when the man of the house gets home. Maybe he can talk some sense into you. Regardless we will take all of your supplies and distribute it to the needy”. Emily said “Get off my land you have no right to dictate anything. You are not a government official and you are on private property.” The four people outside the door looked like they might try to push their way in but they knew Emily was armed and they were not. Rick said we are going to come back with weapons to inventory your house and take the vehicles. Have everything ready to go and we will have no problems.” “You will be shot if you set one foot on my property.” Emily said.
Trevor and the girls had heard the conversation. Trevor asked. “Are we willing to get in a gunfight?” “I don’t think I can shoot at people we know.” Sydney added. Cheryl said “Why we don’t just go to the shelter. They don’t know it’s there and they will go away when they find no supplies.” “We can’t lose the vehicles” Emily reminded her children “When Mike gets back we will need them to go to the cabin. We can’t walk there.” Trevor said “What if we secure the vehicles somewhere else. We can put them in storage lockers and retrieve them when dad gets back.” “There’s too much chance someone will find them Emily replied. It will also be hard to not be noticed driving one of the few vehicles that work.” “We have three working vehicles.” Cheryl noted “Why don’t we give them two.” Emily responded “If we give them anything they will just want more. Sydney said “Why don’t we just load all three vehicles up with supplies and go to the cabin now. We can leave a note for dad.” Emily said “We don’t have three licensed drivers. Cheryl said “I can drive, I don’t need a license.” Emily said “Even if I thought you could drive well I am not splitting four people up into three different cars. And if you remember the only one that knows how to get over the landslide is your father. The mustang won’t make it over the rise at all. And I also don’t want to leave dad without a car once he gets here. Let’s call him and see what he thinks.” Mike had been calling every day about 6:00 PM. The last time they had talked he had connected with a crop-duster
pilot and was helping him fly to their homes. Although she didn’t like small airplanes it seemed a lot safer did riding his motorcycle 1500 miles with society breaking down.
Emily called Mike that night. He was in New Mexico and the plane was refueling at a municipal airport in Las Cruces. The airport was still operational and secure although without power they still had to siphon the fuel out of tanks. The airport’s management was very happy to provide the fuel for a case of MRE’s and 2 Krugerands. As soon as the plane was refueled they decided to stop for the night. A monsoon storm was moving in and the crop duster did not fly high enough to make it above the storm. With the dust storms that accompanied monsoons the plane was in danger of sustaining damage. The airport offered to house the plane in a hanger but Mike and Dave did not want to put the plane in someone else’s facility. They chose to park the plane on a distant runway where they could see if anyone was approaching. They could also tie the plane down and stay in it overnight. They would take turns sleeping in the plane until the storm passed. During the night Dave noticed shadowy figures trying to reach the plane. He fired warning shots and the men retreated. With one stop to refuel across the Arizona state line Mike hoped to make it back within the next day or two. He told Emily to loan Trevor’s mustang to the neighborhood. Under no circumstances were they to give anyone food. If you give some they’re going to want more. It’s better to loan then a car so they can look for food elsewhere.” He also told Emily how to disable the other vehicles so they cannot be stolen, but be quickly repaired if you know what to do. Mike’s original plan was to live in the shelter for as long as it was too dangerous to move to the cabin. Once he deemed it safe enough they planned to pack the remaining supplies and move up north where they could hunt and grow their own food. With what he was hearing now they were going to have to move to the cabin up in sooner than he had planned. If his neighbors were already making threats, the family might not be safe even in the shelter and the mustang would never make it there. Mike’s truck and Emily’s Jeep were both 4 wheel drives and would carry the family and most of the gear. The shelters would still have lots of supplies that they would not be able to immediately transport but were deep underground and camouflaged enough to not be found even if the house above them was burned down.