Catastrophe in America

by Pete Thorsen

  Then the fact that his escort was so very alert for trouble as soon as they stepped out of the store could only mean that he had seen trouble in the past and expected it again. If he went to town again Art decided he would go armed just in case though the thought of having to shoot someone was very disconcerting.

  Art had expected prices to be high but they were at least double what they were the last time he was in shopping. No one could afford those prices for very long unless they were very well off.

  He had seen several men with signs that said they would work for food. He had even seen a few women that looked like they were for sale in broad daylight. That was something he had never seen before even at night in this town. At home he also realized he had never seen a cop the whole trip. Not on the highway or while he was driving through town.

  Art checked his propane tank and called his supplier to come and top off his tank. He paid up front with his credit card as he always did because he knew about how much it would need to fill it. The price was substantially higher but he had no choice.

  They said they would be out the next day and were true to their word when the truck showed up the next day. When he had put in the paid for amount the driver said the tank was slightly over full but it should cause Art no problems. When he checked the tank Art saw that it was almost at eighty five percent and they were supposed to only fill to eighty percent.

  Art was worried about what he had seen while in town and decided to go back and buy more groceries while it was likely still available and safe to do so. He put on a holster and loaded a pistol and headed back to town the following day. He again topped off the gas tank on the truck and the five gallon gas can he had brought with him. Even though the truck did not take very much fuel Art wanted it full.

  At Walmart Art placed the gas full gas can inside the cab where he could lock it up. Then he grabbed two carts right away and quickly filled them both to almost over flowing before going to the checkout. He had even filled the bottom tray of the carts. As he again paid with his credit card he asked for an escort.

  The girl called a guard over and Art and the guard (a different one this time) left the store. This guard acted just like the other and was very alert as soon as they left the store’s front doors. Art also kept a wary eye out for trouble. When Art saw two guys jump down from the back of a pickup the guard upped his rifle and pointed it directly at the pair which caused them to jump back into the pickup again.

  Art worked very quickly to stow all the food into his truck when they got to it. This time Art had a ten dollar bill ready to give the guard for which he received a thank you. The guard also watched for a minute until Art drove out of his space and headed out of the parking lot.

  Art half expected the two guys in the pickup to follow him but no one did and he drove home without trouble. He was actually sweating from the stress by the time he arrived home.

  After all the groceries were put away Art took all the guns he owned and loaded every one of them then stowed them in different spots around his house so no matter where he was he would be close to a loaded gun. To say he was totally spooked would for sure be a gross understatement.

  He did not really know if he would actually be able to shoot anyone or not but maybe just the sight of him holding a gun would scare off anyone who came around his place. Not that anyone would come here anyway. Art’s place was not exactly on the beaten path. Three days later while watching the news was when the big announcement came out from the Federal government.

  Chapter Seven

  The announcement when it came was very short and to the point. It was just a news release by federal government so there were no questions and answers or anything; it was just the one short memo.

  “As of midnight tonight all EBT cards will be non-functional. Those citizens needing food assistance can go to federal food centers that will be opened very soon in all larger cities through a joint effort of FEMA and the National Guard.”

  That was it. Two sentences that changed everything. Art could only imagine the chaos that would be erupting across the nation after everyone heard that message. Stores that were open would be flooded with people trying to use up their food stamp cards before the midnight deadline.

  There would be fighting at every open store. Very likely in some areas there would be looting in both the open and the closed stores. Riots would follow along with more looting in the days ahead. Cities would become a no man’s land in a matter of days Art thought.

  Wait why have I gotten that pessimistic he thought to himself. Maybe things will not get that bad at all. This news should certainly not be a big surprise to anyone at this point.

  Everyone could see the situation getting worse every day. Likely there would be some mobs at stores tonight trying to use up any value still on their food stamp cards but that would only last until midnight and then people would know those cards were useless at that point.

  I don’t want to give up hope on the human race that fast. I changed the channel to something other than the news and later went to bed with the thought that maybe things would look better in the morning light.

  After breakfast in the morning I again tried the TV to see if anything had changed over night. There were special news reports on several channels and the news was not good at all.

  There had been fights at many stores and several had led to deaths. Many stores had been looted and riots had run completely through some cities. News commentators expressed worry about what tonight would bring in many cities.

  I shut the TV off and went for a morning run to stay in shape. It was a little different running now because I had decided to always carry at least a pistol all the time; at home or away. When I went for the run I locked the house, something else that was new as often if I was going to just be out running or hiking in the nearby hills I did not bother locking anything up. Now I will anytime I am out of sight of the house.

  I had been running more since I got laid off from work and like today I commonly ran a five mile loop. When I got back I took a quick shower and pondered how to spend the rest of the day. Since I have been off I have been doing a lot of major cleaning.

  I had the house and the garage done and today I started on one of the sheds. When I cleaned I also took somewhat of an inventory of what was around the place. Much of the stuff was the same as when I lived here as I was growing up but I had been away for many years. I had forgotten much of what was here and my folks had also bought things that I had never known about or I had never noticed as a kid.

  I took most everything out of the shed then cleaned it inside completely before putting everything back in the shed again. While it was empty I also put up a couple simple shelves and when I brought stuff back in I sorted it and put it away with an eye to ease of access and space enhancement.

  It took me all day and I was a dirty mess when I was done and it was getting dark. Another quick shower was needed before a late supper and I skipped the news tonight and went directly to bed instead.

  In the morning I had breakfast in front of the TV. The night had been a nightmare in most of the big cities. The news shows aired scenes from many cities of the busted open and looted stores, firefighters still battling blazes started by the many rioters in several cities, and tales of many people being hurt or killed. It really did not matter what city they showed pictures of as most all looked about the same.

  Most cities just did not have enough police anymore to handle big riots and there was no place to put those rioters who were arrested. Many people were already calling for the National Guard to come in to keep order and some even suggested the regular Army. What would they do; shoot fellow American citizens? If they did so would that calm people down or just make things worse? Like many things there was no good answer.

  I tired of the news very quickly and moved to the old barn to continue my cleaning chores. It was dusty work but I thought it needed to be done plus I had nothing else to do anyway.

  It was late fall
and I could not plant a garden now and I had been still working some in the spring when I should have planted. I had plenty of food and with fall here I would start hunting again which would ease my stored food consumption.

  I worked hard in the barn all day and still was not totally done when I stopped for the day. Again I ignored the news and just did a little reading after supper before bed. The next morning after breakfast I took one of my 22 rifles and a day pack and went for a hike of the area.

  I flushed many quail and thought I would take some time soon to shoot a bunch of them to put in the freezer on another trip. There were many rabbits of both jack rabbits and cottontails. On the way back to the house in the afternoon I shot a couple jack rabbits and had half of one for supper and the other I put in the freezer.

  The next couple weeks went much the same with me continuing my cleaning chores intermixed with days when I would hunt all day and try to stock up the freezer. I tried to shoot no birds or rabbits closer than a mile or so from my house to save some nearby in case I got stove up and could not hike far anymore.

  Mostly I hunted three or more miles away. I had nothing but time on my hands and there were no neighbors near my home so I was free to hunt in any direction and the long hikes helped keep me in shape. I did still do runs and other exercises on occasion also.

  It had cooled down some more and one day I shot a small forkhorn mule deer buck which I cut up myself. This was the first deer I had ever shot without a license, something that likely was not even available anymore with the reduction of government services.

  I had found an old fashioned hand meat grinder that my folks had and used that to grind some of the meat into hamburger. It all got wrapped and frozen and when done my freezer had plenty of wild meat that would last me for quite some time and really stretch my food supplies.

  Chapter Eight

  I did watch the news every other day or so and it did get worse and worse. Though the government had stated they would be opening food centers in all the cities so far that had not happened. Not all that surprising as the government often worked very slowly, when it worked at all. The situation seemed to be getting quite dire at least in the larger cities anyway. News coverage seemed to be getting less and less also.

  I think this was for a couple reasons. The cities now appeared to be rather dangerous places and several news crews had been attacked when out filming. Even helicopter news crews had been fired on and though none had yet crashed I’m sure neither the pilots nor the cameramen were very anxious to go flying over the cities anymore.

  Plus it cost a lot of money and that was just not there anymore. There were very few ads on the TV at this point. What was the point of advertising with most businesses closed and the very few open needing armed guards and had very little business from the now non-working public. Several TV and radio stations were now totally off the air at this time.

  Government services of all kinds were stopping all over the nation. Everything took money and there was none anymore. Most city halls were now closed because officials were afraid to show up there. Many city government buildings had been burned to the ground by angry mobs of frustrated people.

  I had no idea what was happening at all the jails and prisons across the nation. They had all been packed full of bad guys and I wondered if all the guards were still there or what exactly was going on with those housed in those places. Maybe I did not want to know after all.

  Roads and even major highways were almost vacant due to the severe reduction in businesses that were open and no one having any money to buy fuel or goods. To me it looked like the whole country was just shutting down. After the last scary day shopping in town I had never went back. I did still get mail delivery but it was only once a week now and I expected that to stop at any time.

  Then one day when I was just heading out on a hike I heard a vehicle pull into my yard. I think it was the first one in a year at least because I had never had many visitors even during good times.

  There were two men getting out of a pickup and heading toward the house. One was carrying a crowbar and I think they were here just to break in to steal from what they likely thought was a vacant place out in the country. I had a 22 rifle with me and I was happy to have it with me.

  “What do you want here?”

  The men actually jumped at my yell. They both spun around to see me standing there with that rifle at point of arms.

  “The cat got your tongue? What are you here for?”

  “Sorry we thought this place was vacant. We’ll just be on our way.”

  “So you are just breaking into every house you can find? I suggest you never show up here ever again or I will bury you both in the old cow yard. Now get out of here.”

  With the last yell I raised the rifle and they ran to the truck and tore out of my yard. I was very relieved to see them go. I talked tough but I don’t think I could have ever shot them.

  I did seem to scare them good though so I doubted they would ever come back. This episode got me thinking and I walked out to the end of my fairly long driveway to where it met the dirt county road. There was an old cattle guard there that had been there for as long as I could remember.

  It was mostly filled in with dirt and sand after all these years and there had been no cattle at our place for quite some time anyway. I looked it over good and walked back up to the buildings with a plan to discourage any more visitors.

  I threw a bunch of tools and such in the back of my truck and drove back to the cattle guard and got to work. First I pried one of the heavy two pieces up that you drove over so I had access under it. I then took the shovel I had brought with and dug out all the dirt and sand first on one side and then the other. With that done and the two very heavy pieces back in place it looked much better without the all the dirt.

  Then I wedged in the old steel fence posts I had brought with so they were all at an angle facing the county road. I had pried up on those heavy bottom pieces so that they were both slightly off the old cement now with their full weight bearing down on those angled fence posts making it almost impossible to pull the posts out without using a long pry bar to lift those heavy bottom pieces. No one could drive over that cattle guard anymore without considerable work.

  It locked me in but I was not planning to go anywhere anyway and with a half hour or so heavy work with the long pry bar I could still remove those posts and leave. Driving back to the house I felt much more secure and a little tired also.

  The episode with those two men about to break into my house still had me spooked and I took to sometimes hiking out to the main road about three miles or so away where the county road that went past my place met the highway. I would always take my deer rifle with me and sit under a small juniper tree and watch the highway and county road junction just to see what was happening.

  Many times I would see not a single vehicle even sitting there for several hours. When I did see a rig on the highway it would just speed past on its way to wherever it was going and not even slow when it went past the intersection with that dirt county road. Then one afternoon things were different.

  Chapter Nine

  A pickup with a bunch of stuff in the back came down the highway slowly and turned on the county road but turned all the way around so it was facing the highway again and then stopped. It sure looked like the truck that had been to my place a few days ago because it had the same heavy grill guard in the front and the same color. As I watched sure enough two guys got out of the pickup and appeared to have an argument for awhile and then they both just sat down next to the truck.

  Some time later we all heard another vehicle approaching and the two men jumped to attention. There was a slight rise where they were parked and so they could see what was coming (it looked to be a single car). One guy got into the pickup and started it while the other reached into the truck and pulled out a rifle then went off to the side where there were a couple of scrub trees that offered some scant concealment.

  Wh
en the car (which was not going very fast) was almost to the intersection the driver in the pickup gunned it and hit the car in the rear quarter spinning it around. The car’s driver managed to keep the car from rolling or even leaving the roadway but ended up turned crosswise in the road when it finally came to a stop.

  The pickup driver had jumped out of the truck and ran up to the car almost before it even stopped moving then he opened the door and yanked out the driver throwing them to the ground where the driver’s hat flew off revealing long hair. The driver turned out to be a woman and the pickup driver who looked like he had been about to deliver a strong kick when he stopped and just looked down at the women on the ground.

  I could then hear him call to his partner to come see what he had nabbed. As the other man walked up the woman rose to her feet facing the two men. Through the scope I could see she had a pistol on her hip which the first man very quickly took from her and stuck in his own waistband.

  They were all talking I think but I was too far to hear what was being said. When the first man went up to the woman again she hit him at least twice before he backed off and I could then see blood was running down his face from his nose and soaking his shirt front. The other man with the rifle appeared to be laughing something fierce at the other’s misfortune.

  The bloody man was not laughing and he went towards the woman again with his hands made into fists. Though the woman dodged his first swing he connected with his second and I could see that it stunned the woman as she sank down to the ground.

  What happened next I am not sure of but I saw a flash of shiny metal as the woman came up from the ground and next the man was stepping back with his hands on his throat and it looked like blood was spraying between his fingers.