Catastrophe in America

by Pete Thorsen

As spring approached the government saw to it that deals were arranged with farmers for what they needed to produce a hopefully excess amount of food so we had some to use for export.

  The nation’s oil companies were allowed to drill added wells so we could produce more oil domestically. The damaged oil refineries that the terrorists had hit were being rebuilt with one already starting up production.

  At first the excess refined products produced could be used for export and as the nation got back on its feet we would still have ample oil production here to cover our (hopefully) expanding needs though most agreed that we would not likely get back to the amount we had used before the collapse happened.

  The federal government worked with a couple banks and eventually those bank’s branches were opened in all major cities and many larger towns. Per the FDIC promise bank deposits were guaranteed and no matter what bank you had previously, your deposited money was still there in the newly opened banks at least up to the guaranteed amounts.

  By spring most of the illegal aliens had been rounded up and deported along with a very large number that had self-deported. Apparently the FBI and local police had rid the country of the terrorists as there had been no more terror attacks for quite some time. And now with our borders actually sealed pretty well for the first time ever there was much less chance that more terrorists could get in to do us harm.

  But it was not all roses on the news either. During the long winter many, many people had perished, mostly in the northern states and most were weather related. In most areas snow plowing (on other than main highways) either did not happen or was done slowly. This did cause many problems.

  There were still storms that took down electric power lines and crews had to often wait for roads to be plowed so they could access the downed lines to repair them. This sometimes long delay caused some people to freeze in their homes without power for electric heat or to power gas furnaces.

  Propane could not be delivered when roads were not plowed. Ambulances could not reach people in need when roads were not plowed. Lack of money or lack of ability to refill prescriptions led to many more deaths. And there were also starvation deaths and still more suicides.

  Even with the cold and snow there were still criminals that preyed on others weaker than them. This was felt more in the southern states where many criminals had fled to with the onset of the colder weather farther north.

  The National Guard and regular military troops along with the limited police forces did what they could to protect the citizens but the simple fact was that most people had to protect themselves (a fact they often mentioned on the radio). Neighborhood watch programs were up and running in many neighborhoods all across the nation. Even in rural areas people would call a neighbor instead of calling the police for help.

  As spring approached people were urged to take up gardening on their properties to supplement their food supply and many free gardening classes were available in just about in every city or town. Plus at this point most people were used to neighbor helping neighbor and often would help each other with gardening needs or at least shared knowledge.

  By the time the spring came and all the snow was gone it was very plain for everyone to see that the worst was behind us. Yes a large chunk of the population had died but those left were strong and determined to survive. America would survive and be a stronger nation because of what we had been through.

  Chapter Fifteen

  With the coming of spring there was plenty of work to do at the ranch. The relatively lazy days we had in the winter were gone and now each night the three of us all were plenty tired when we got to go to bed. We still listened to the radio news in the evenings after supper and we all found hope and pride in our country in these news reports now. I was working as hard or harder than I had ever worked before in my life and felt good but often I would find myself just staring at the mountains or the tree line in the distance.

  Something was happening with me that I did not fully understand. By the time we had the first hay cutting all done I knew I had to leave. Something was calling me and I knew not what that was but still I felt the need to heed that call. But there was something I had to do first and one evening I asked Lily to take a walk with me.

  We walked a ways without a word being spoken until she started the conversation.

  “You’re leaving aren’t you?”

  “You do have a knack for knowing things about people don’t you.”

  “So why did you ask me to go for a walk with you?”

  “It is obvious that we are not just friends or co-workers and I’m not very sure what you feel but I do know that I in no way want to hurt you.”

  “From that first time we met and I did not even know your name there was something between us that I could feel. All this time we have spent together has certainly strengthened that bond. You are like the brother I never had and I feel at peace or maybe I feel protected when you are near me.”

  “The first time I saw you I first noticed just how beautiful you were and after getting to know you I could then see that you are even more beautiful on the inside. I have little knowledge of these things and at first thought I was falling in love with you but later I realized while that was indeed true it was not romantically but more like a sister. I am so relieved that you feel that same way toward me.”

  “So do you know where you are going or what you want to do?”

  “No I have no plans but just feel something inside that tells me it is time to move. The pull is to west so that is where I will head when I leave.”

  “Let’s go back and tell dad. He thinks the world of you but I think even he could see the change in you.”

  When we got back to the house Ben could see right away something was up.

  “It is blatantly obvious that you have something to say so spit it out.”

  “I am going to pack up and leave in a day or two.”

  Ben looked at me and then looked at Lily. Despite what Lily thought I think what I just said was the last thing he expected. Finally he did speak.

  “I have noticed a change about you but I admit I did not expect that you would be leaving. There was nothing I did that made you make this decision was there?”

  “No you have shown me nothing but kindness and have taught me so much that I could never repay you for it. You took me into your house without knowing anything about me and I certainly thank you for it. It is just something that has come over me and I feel that I have to move on.”

  “You know that you will always have a place here if you ever want to come back. You saved the life of my only daughter not once but twice and for that I will always be in your debt. What do you feel about him leaving Lily?”

  “One less mouth to feed around here will make things easier for me and that’s a fact.”

  Ben looked at Lily and then looked at me and about that time both me and her burst out laughing.

  “You two are two strangest kids I have ever met. And that is a fact too.”

  We talked for the rest of the evening about my plans and their plans for the future before we all went to bed because tomorrow the sun would come up early and find all three of us waiting on it.

  Two days later I was all packed and ready to go. Ben had saved the cash money from the two guys I had shot and gave that to me before I could leave. It was sizable wad of cash. He also had me take one of the pistols and holsters from them also along with plenty of ammunition for it. Even though the nation was not as dangerous as it had been you still had to watch your back.

  When it was time to go Lily and I shared a long hug and Ben and I shook hands warmly.

  “Always remember that you have family here and this house will always be your home. Mail service is up and running again and we expect a steady supply of letters from you.”

  Not wanting any kind of tear filled lengthy goodbyes I got in my old truck and drove out of the driveway. Back in my pickup and driving away I could feel the force pulling me on stronger than
ever. I would miss these two and I too saw them as family and hoped I would be able to come back again someday to spend more time with them. I did not know where my next stop would be and what the future would hold for me but I was anxious to see.

  The End

  From Civilized

  to

  Barbaric

  Pete Thorsen

  Originally Released on Kindle

  October 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.

  Prologue

  The make shift spear was hastily jabbed in the attacker’s direction with absolutely no skill but only fast reflexes. The quick thrust that actually found its mark surprised both the attacker and the defender. It pierced the man’s chest and the blade slid easily between two of his ribs and unerringly went into the attacker’s heart. The defender did not realize the first thrust had been a fatal one as he quickly jerked the spear free and readied it for another jab. But the attacker was already beginning to fall to the ground with a surprised look upon his face at an outcome that he had never predicted.

  Chapter One

  Lee Rosen was living his dream. He was living and working in New York City and was actually making a living. He had banker’s hours at his job because, well, he was a banker. He wasn’t the president of the bank or anything like that but just a worker, still he made enough to live in his very own tiny apartment. Calling it an apartment maybe produced the wrong image in the minds of non-New Yorkers.

  Those living somewhere else likely were picturing an apartment as being several rooms with only one being a bedroom. A tiny apartment in New York was often a single small room with a tiny bathroom. A place where you couldn’t ever pace the floor because a couple steps in any direction would likely bring you up against a wall.

  Though it might be tiny it was reasonably close to work and Lee was used to living in tight quarters and it did not bother him in the least. He even had two windows and neither one just looked at brick wall though the views were certainly not awe inspiring. Lee was happy with his life and at twenty eight years old he was in his prime.

  To look at him many people would be surprised at his line of work. He was not very tall and was rather slim though depending on his attire you could sometimes see that he sported a very muscular body.

  He had a membership at a gym and spent a considerable amount of his free time there. He was not into jogging but did spend time on the Stairmaster and treadmill machines at the gym. He was clean cut and tattoo free.

  He had a couple of on again off again relationships with girls. But he just was not into the club scene and would rather spend the time on a racquetball court. He had his own little world of work and play and enjoyed very few other intrusions into his life which was likely the reason why he had no real full time girlfriend.

  A couple of the girls he had taken out had accused him of being a loner but he could not possibly understand where that came from. He was surrounded with and interacted with many people both at work and at the gym every single day. He thought it more likely that he was just not into everything these girls were into which was fine. ‘Different strokes for different folks’ was the line from the old song and it was a true statement both then and now.

  No one could have convinced Lee that his perfect little world (for him) would soon come crashing down and put him in a world so foreign that it denied all common sense. A world he was totally unprepared for and did not know how to survive in.

  Lee like many people and especially those his age and younger he did not listen to the news and had very little knowledge of current events and the world situation as a whole. And in their defense whether they were current on things or not there was often very little that they could do about most or all of these happenings. There was something to be said for living in blissful ignorance.

  Chapter Two

  It was Saturday afternoon and Lee had just arrived at the gym and was about to open his locker there when the lights went out and he was plunged into total blackness. A moment later the emergency lights came one and while poor the emergency lighting was adequate to get out and finally he got to the front door. By the time he got to the street the cars were all stopped and many people were spilling out of all the buildings in the area.

  At first he could not figure out why the cars were stopped because he could hear some of them running but then realized that the traffic lights were not working and apparently no one could figure out whose turn it was to go so they all tried to go at once. In just a few minutes the intersections and therefore the streets were hopelessly jammed with vehicles.

  Lee just waited on the sidewalk for several minutes waiting for the electric to come back on again. He was not alone as most of the people on the sidewalks were also just waiting. Many were on their cell phones of course although it looked like the internet was down, at least a couple of those near him said that it was anyway. Lee waited about a half hour and there was no change at all so he decided to just start walking back toward his apartment.

  Thinking about the walk he went back into the gym and down to his locker again where he switched into a pair of athletic shoes that he kept there. He also took his gym bag and put his dress shoes in there and took his workout clothes with because he decided he would wash them at home. He also threw a couple bottles of water from the partial case in his locker into the gym bag for the walk home.

  He made his way back to the street again and started his homeward journey on foot. It was not that far only a couple miles or so and it should not take him that long to walk that short distance. He thought it would be very likely that the power would come back on long before he got home.

  The sidewalks were pretty crowded with people that had come out of the now dark buildings and made even foot travel slow. Everyone was talking about the blackout and wondering what caused it and how long it would last. When he was about half way home or so he heard one say that it was caused by a cyber attack and the whole power grid was down across the nation. Lee just shook his head; people would say the strangest things. Like a hacker could shut off the electric to the City; that was just crazy talk and if the internet was really down how would anyone know what caused it anyway.

  Walking along amongst all the people Lee heard snatches of conversations all the way home. Many people were talking about the supposed cyber attack and that the whole United States power grid was down. Some said terror attack instead of cyber attack and that maybe made more sense Lee thought but still did not believe it was true. Lee thought the people were getting crazier by the minute. One guy answered when asked how long until the power would come back on and he said he had heard it might be a month or maybe even more. Oh yeah the power across the whole USA was down and it would take a month just to turn it back on; it showed Lee that people would believe just about anything they heard.

  The intersections sure were a mess and that is a fact Lee thought. He laughed to himself that it might just take a month to get the traffic straightened out again. Like many people in the City he had no car so the traffic situation was not really a big concern of his. He idly wondered as he was walking how the police, ambulances, and fire trucks would get through all the clogged streets and decided they probably wouldn’t. He had seen a couple police cars stuck in traffic just on this little walk he was on so far and it was obvious those police cars he saw were going no where anytime soon.

  When Lee got home the power was still not on. He tried to get on the internet with his phone but could not do so. The phone itself seemed to work fine but he had no one he really wanted to talk to so he shut his phone off so the battery would not drain down.

  He really did not have much to do in his apar
tment while the power was off but the thought of going back down to the street did not have any real appeal to him either. He just walked over to one of his windows and looked out at the City.

  At six that evening the power was still off. Lee had very little food in his apartment but did have the makings for a sandwich so that is what he had for supper along with some wine. Things in the refrigerator were already not feeling as cold but there was little he could do about it. When the sun went down and it got dark Lee saw something that he had never really seen much before- stars, a whole bunch of stars. When it got dark it really got dark tonight with no lights showing hardly anywhere.

  He just stared at all the stars for a long time. It was warm now in the summer and Lee had opened the window. He could now hear not the usual street traffic noise but instead a kind of a hum from all the people talking down on the street below. Finally he had enough and went to bed. Just before going to sleep he thought he heard what he thought were some gun shots.

  Chapter Three

  The morning sun woke me up this morning and I just lay in bed a while longer. I looked at the digital clock by the bed but it was blank. Still no power and it had been about twenty hours maybe since it had gone out. I finally got out of bed and went in the bathroom and turned the faucet on out of habit. There was no water of course. I grabbed a bottle of water and used a little to at least wash my face some to help me wake up.

  I took a look out the window at the street below and it was the same as yesterday with many people but no cars moving. I had some bagels and orange juice for breakfast but I could not toast the bagels. It was still food though. The orange juice out of the refrigerator was not very cold anymore. The battery clock on the wall said it was eight forty and I had the whole day ahead of me. What an exciting Sunday it would be if the power stayed off all day again.