by Pete Thorsen
The windows were a weak link she said and brought out the partial roll of one inch welded wire fencing that was left over from some past project. This was cut to size and securely attached over all the house windows.
This would help prevent entry but mainly prevent any thrown objects (like Molotov cocktails) from entering the house. It would also help protect the glass windows from any accidental breakage like a bird flying through them. At this point there would be no way to replace the glass if it broke.
The old doors on the house were solid wood and pretty heavy but we took them off and attached sheet steel over the outside of each door. The sheets of steel we used were just stuff that is often found on old ranches or farms. Most I think was from old barrels or drums that had the ends cut out and the metal flattened. None of the pieces were big enough to cover an entire door but we pieced it and overlapped to get it the way she wanted. The doors were much heavier now and the outside was more fireproof.
On the inside of the doors I made heavy metal brackets so the doors could be barred on the inside to prevent entry (at Bev’s urging). When barred there was no way anyone was going to bust through without using explosives I don’t think. The key locks remained the same as that was all we had so I could do nothing with them at this time.
We were still not done as Bev had more projects for us to do. This time it was simple perimeter alarms using noisemakers. For noisemakers she had found a few old rusty cow bells in one of the sheds and we used those near the house.
For somewhat farther out she used cans with rocks inside and other odds and ends that would all make some noise. This time I helped with placement so some of the normal wild critters would not make them all go off very often. It was not uncommon to see javelina, coyotes, skunks, or deer in close proximity of the house and other buildings. We both assumed there would be some false alarms caused by some of those critters but it could not be totally eliminated.
She said she knew how to make alarms using shotgun shells that caused no harm but were very loud although for now she thought these quieter ones would be adequate. She also said she could make some that were deadly or caused harm but did not want to use them unless we had problems.
Finally she said we were done for the present with security preparations.
Chapter Twelve
It was shortly after we finished the security preparations that the electricity shut down. We had listened for a couple days to the one radio station we could receive just after Bev had moved in until that last station had went off the air.
After that we could no longer find any TV or radio stations that were still broadcasting so we had no news at all. Then about two weeks after that was when the electric power went down. At first I think both of us thought it might be just a temporary thing but it never came back on.
So now we just have power during the day thanks to the solar panels. So far it is working out OK but we will be entering into our regular winter rainy season soon so we might be without power some days if we have heavy cloud cover. We now store some water just in case. Even if it is cloudy we should still get some daily power but I want to use that reduced amount for the refrigerator and freezer. We’ll have to see how it works out I guess.
So now we take our showers during the day when the pump will run. I have some candles and a couple of oil lamps we use at night but we don’t stay up very late ever. My kitchen stove is gas so it works anytime and does not need electric power except for the timer and the clock. The water heater is electric but the water stays hot enough for showers even with it not running over night. I’ll have to remember to shut that down if we get cloudy days as it uses a lot of electric power when it heats the water.
It is pretty chilly here now in the winter and I could heat the house with the propane heater but I am reluctant to use up the propane. I do not know if we will ever get anymore propane delivered. Just using the cook stove the tank will last a very long time, like maybe several years. It will not be very nice cooking if we run out of propane as I have no wood stove and we would have cook outside over a fire like a caveman. Not something I am looking forward to.
So at night we bundle up in blankets and in the morning hover around the kitchen stove if one us are cooking or even just heating water for coffee. During the day when it’s sunny the sun is always warm and we often eat our meals out on the patio in the sunshine.
Occasionally we talk about what life must be like in the cities without any electric power but not to much as we both know the cities would not be habitable without electric.
There would be no water and no sewer, no natural gas for cooking or heating, and no power to pump gasoline at the stations so no driving around when your tank went empty. It would be a nightmare scenario with many thousands or even millions of people dying. And the dead bodies would then lead to diseases and more deaths. Of course we do not know if the power is off in the cities or off in other states or anything. Maybe it is just our power here that is off but neither of us thinks it is just local.
Bev said with no power we are likely safer here because travel will come to a standstill. Everything requires gasoline or diesel fuel to run and without power even if they could pump some out of the stations’ fuel tanks somehow when that ran out there would be no tanker trucks running to bring more fuel.
While people could still walk to get around most would not be in shape to do so and here in the west the distances between places is large when you have to walk. And carry your own water supply, especially here in dry Arizona.
With well pumps not working whether you were in the city or lived in the country it would be the same. No electric equals no water. Some in the country might have a generator to run their well pump for awhile but fuel will run out and then what?
Any surface water found anywhere would have to be boiled before it should be ingested or you would very likely get dysentery. Not a pleasant experience at best and quite possibly a deadly experience in the nation’s current condition.
We both wondered about our government. Whether we still had a government or not. If we did were they working to fix things? If so, where were they? We both thought the government’s first priority would be to get the power grid up again to get people a source of clean water among all the other benefits the power would bring. That would have to be job one.
Getting the nation back up and running would be totally impossible without nationwide electric power. The fact that we saw almost no jets in the air we felt was a bad sign. Many days we saw none and the days we saw a plane were getting farther and farther apart all the time.
So far we were safe and secure and we had food to eat here. I decided I would shoot another deer soon so we at least had plenty of meat to eat, though I still had a bunch of other food including what we got from the bandits and what Bev had in her car.
We tried to vary our diets but meat was still the biggest part due to its availability. Yes I had garden seeds but seeds are not a sure thing and even in a best case scenario that garden produce was a long time away from being ready to eat. So we ate a lot of meat and some other things. Americans even in normal times ate more meat than many other people across the globe. At least Bev was not a vegan.
And about Bev. She really is a nice person and I decided I do kinda like having her around. I never ask her how long she will be staying anymore. We talk a lot and get along fine but she only says the smallest bits and pieces about herself or her life before we met. She is definitely the strangest and most mysterious person I have ever met and I find myself almost strangely attracted to her and the mystery surrounding her.
We often go on day-long hikes together and when I exercise or do my runs she always does the same. Sometimes we hike out by the highway and sit and watch for a spell. We have seen vehicles pass but very few and have also seen one person on a bike and several walking though never more than two walkers together.
Winter is passing and we have received some rain but less than normal I think. We still try the
radio and the TV every so often but neither of us expects to hear anything until the power grid is up again. If it ever is up and running again.
One day we were coming back home from a hike and it was very late in the afternoon when Bev roughly pulled me down to the ground. She clamped her hand over my mouth and whispered in my ear.
“At least two men are approaching the house. Keep quiet and keep your head down.”
I just nodded my head. Bev rose up slightly and I saw that she was looking all around and not just at the house. Then she motioned for me to follow and we crawled and crab walked to a nearby dry wash where the land dipped down. She again put her lips close to my ear so she could be as quiet as possible before speaking.
“I think there are just the two. They both have long guns, likely rifles and are trying to sneak up to the house. I did not see any others and those two never looked anywhere except at the buildings or each other so they are likely alone.
They mean business and we will not be politely asking them to leave. We will follow this wash as close as it comes to the house and then if they are both in sight we will engage them both together at the same time. If we miss and they run you are to do your best to bring them down even if they are fleeing, understand?”
Again all I did was nod though I’m sure I was a white as a sheet. We moved as quickly and quietly as we could to the closest point to the buildings and she again poked her head up just enough to see through the course grass. While we were walking I heard two of our noisemakers go off. Then she ducked back down and whispered.
“One is close to the southwest corner of the garage and the other is approaching the southeast corner of the house. The one by the garage is closer and that will be your target.
Do not wait for me to shoot. As soon as you have a good sight picture shoot him. Shoot until he drops and if you can still see him when he hits the ground put at least one more bullet in him. Get your safety off now and rise up and shoot as soon as you have a bead on him. OK go.”
I nodded once and did take the safety off. She was watching me and as I rose up out of the corner of my eye I saw her do the same. I saw the man by the garage right away and brought my gun up and drew a bead on him. I only had a 22 today and I’m sure that is why she gave the closest one to me.
Following her orders as soon as I got a good sight on the man I fired and with no recoil from the light 22 round I was able to fire several aimed shots into the man before and as he fell. I could still see a little bit of him and I fired two more times at the spot I saw.
While I was shooting I was dimly aware of Bev firing also. She had her own AR-15 that she always carried and shot two or three times I think. Then all was quiet. I started to rise but Bev pulled me back down.
“Look everywhere. There might be more.”
Both she and I scanned the whole area for some time. I wanted to go and do something but after a bit I realized there was no hurry. Those two I was sure were not going anywhere and there was a real possibility that there might be more in this group. If so we would be sitting ducks if we stood up in plain sight.
So we watched and both of us looked in all directions as I wondered about what I had just done. It was different than last time for some reason. Even though what I had done was almost exactly the same. I shot a man from ambush.
A man who did not even know I was around and was not an immediate threat to me. This time someone else had made the decision for me and ordered me to fire. Maybe that was difference or maybe I was becoming callous at killing a fellow human. But I felt way different this time. No doubt about that.
“OK let’s go. You can approach those two and see if they really are dead. Approach carefully and be ready to shoot. I will swing around the house to see if anyone is on the other side. Be alert for others and do not shoot me when I come around the house. Go.”
We both stood and both of us scanned the area one more time from our new higher position. Seeing nothing we separated and went towards our destinations. My head was swiveling everywhere and I was trying to see everywhere at once and at the same time watch for any movement from the two on the ground.
I got up to the first man and gave him a kick but received no response then I did the same when I got to the one Bev shot and got the same response. I was looking around and all at once Bev was beside me without making a sound.
“I think there was only the two. You checked them?”
“Yes they seem dead.”
“You did well and you didn’t hesitate. Good job.”
She bent down by each man and checked for a pulse but apparently found none. Then she found the two noisemakers that had been tripped and reset them both. While she did that I took the two rifles the men had along with the pistols each also carried and set them all by the back door of the house. It was now starting to get dark as the sun had set several minutes ago.
“What should we do with these two?”
“Nothing tonight. We are safer in the house overnight. We will attend to them tomorrow in the daylight.”
We both cleaned up using saved water and candles for each of us. I realized I was hungry and I made a quick meal for the both of us. It was only after the meal that Bev spoke.
“You seem to be handling it well. Do you want to talk about it?”
“I don’t know what was different this time. It was obvious they had only come here to rob us at best, so what had to be done was also obvious. Maybe it was because I had gone through this before or because you basically ordered me to shoot but I feel different this time. I am sad to say I don’t regret pulling the trigger this time and feel no remorse for my actions.”
“You did what you had to do. Your actions tonight might have saved many innocent lives. They came here with evil intent and we stopped them. It is a way different world we now live in. It really is a kill or be killed kind of world. You should have no remorse.”
“I should have seen those men as soon or sooner than you did. I am used to hunting and watching for wildlife. I should have seen them but I have seen no one come here for a very long time and expected not to see anyone so all I was doing was walking. I was not alert for anything and it could have gotten us both killed.”
“Don’t be hard on yourself. I just happened to see movement that did not look natural. It is impossible to always be on constant alert. Humans can do that for awhile but we all need to relax sometimes. While danger can threaten you anywhere and at anytime you can not always be on high alert.
But you can think about where or when you might be at a higher risk and act accordingly. Out in the middle of nowhere when we were hiking was a good spot to see animals but an unlikely spot to be attacked by bandits. The most likely spot where we might find trouble was when we got home.”
“So you were looking for possible trouble as we came up to the place.”
“Like you I did not expect trouble but it was natural for me to keep an eye open when we got to a likely possible bad spot.”
“Thank you. We are now even as this time you saved my life.”
“We are not even. In another couple seconds you would have seen them. This is not a contest. We are both just trying to keep each other safe and alive. We do what we can and do the best we can and hope that is enough for us to stay alive.”
I had a lot to think about and it was only a short time later that we both went to bed.
Chapter Thirteen
The next morning we worked together and after checking for anything else useful on the two men (they each had a knife, some ammo, and some cash) we drug them one at a time quite some distance from the place. That done Bev suggested looking for their camp or their stashed gear. They must have stuff because neither one had so much as a water bottle on them she said.
We found it right away out on the road near my driveway. There were two large backpacks with one of them strapped to a deliveryman’s two wheel cart. Also on the cart was a large square jug about half full of water. We took it all back up to the house and put
it away. Working together I realized that since Bev showed up here we had worked together everyday.
We never fought and were polite and respectful to each other. I had never heard her even raise her voice. We talked often but also we were comfortable with each other when we said nothing and often worked or walked together without saying anything for long periods of time. She was a mystery.
She knew nothing of me and had never met me but moved in with me even over my objections. I resented her bullish behavior at first but at the same time I was surprised, amazed, and drawn to her audacity and friendly demeanor.
We spent a lazy day at home. We cleaned our guns and also cleaned the ones we had just acquired. In the early afternoon we each took a shower and the rest of the afternoon did little other than some laundry. Sitting in the sun on the patio I had a thought that might be useful.
“I’m going to build a solar cooker.”
“Have you seen one?”
“Nope.”
“Did you have some plans from somewhere on how to build one?”
“Nope.”
“But you are going to build one anyway?”
“Yup. How hard can it be? Build a box and put it in the sun and wait for supper to be done.”
“OK, I’ll watch and try to not make too many comments at your progress.”
“It is a little late today but I’ll get stuff ready and build it tomorrow.”
So I got up and started my search for materials that might be useful for my project. The place had a lot of scraps about from various projects in the past both from jobs completed and some that just never got going. I gathered a few things so they would be ready in the morning for me to start my project.
In the morning I started on it right away and soon had a box put together. I sized the box to match the piece of glass I had found. I wasn’t sure if the inside of the box should be a reflective silver or a heat absorbing black. I chose the silver and could always change it later if it did not work.