Catastrophe in America

by Pete Thorsen

  “I still can not believe things could be so bad. This is America for heaven’s sake. You are painting a picture of a third world country where people fight over a piece of bread.”

  “Exactly how it will be here in a couple or three days.”

  “I still just don’t believe it.”

  “Well we will all just have to wait and see. In the mean time we will all have to conserve as much of our precious water as possible and eat what’s in the refrigerator and freezer before it goes bad. The next few days we will be eating like kings using up that perishable food before it goes bad.

  After it is gone we will be on strict food rationing for the foreseeable future. When the water stops coming out of the faucets then we will have to be very careful how much water we use. And I do mean very careful. When the water we have stored is gone there is no more. Just think about that for awhile.”

  “You seem to have everything all thought out about this. Did you know this was coming?”

  “No one knew this was coming.”

  “So how do you know all this stuff?”

  “I also saw that show on NatGeo and I remember some of the things said on there. Also water is a big deal down here and everyone down here thinks about water.”

  Chapter Five

  The next couple days passed not very smoothly. All three kids were going through withdrawal having to do without all their electronic devices. Also when it got dark it was now basically bed time and when the sun came up it was time for everyone to get up.

  Everyone still somehow thought they could still take a shower or wash their hair everyday like they always did. I had to be quite forceful about water rationing. Everyone learned about toilet rationing and the saying ‘if it’s yellow its mello but if it’s brown it’s down’.

  Everyone was bored all day long without anything electrical to occupy their time. Walking was a popular pastime. Unfortunately so was arguing. Only once did I have to say if they did not like my rules they were free to leave.

  By the third day everyone seemed more ready to accept that the world was now a different place. None had ever gone without electricity and running water for such a long a time. On the third day was also when we had our first emergency.

  We allowed the two older kids to go walking as much as they wanted with the only stipulation being that they stay together. It was the third day that Bill came running home and said he could not find Debbie.

  They had been together and had only separated for a few minutes and then she was no where to be found. He said he had called out her name several times but she did not answer. When it seemed hopeless he had ran all the way home to get our help.

  It was decided that Sue would stay home with little Jon and hope that Debbie showed up there. Bob, Bill, Meg, and I would be the search party.

  Meg and I quickly armed ourselves and we left for the search. No one made any comment about the pistols Meg and I now carried. Everyone was very worried about Debbie and I don’t think any of us thought she just left on her own.

  Bill brought us to the spot where he had last seen his sister. Bill also told us what color clothes she was wearing and we split up to look and ask anyone we saw if they had seen her. I had given everyone a loud whistle to carry and anyone who found a clue would blow the whistle to bring all of us running.

  First we just fanned out then when there was no sign of her and we started a grid pattern search but made sure we stayed close enough together to hear a whistle. It was about a half hour maybe when I heard the whistle and went towards it. Bill had asked a lady and she said she had seen a girl with that color jacket being led off by a man.

  She said it seemed like she did not want to go with the man but just thought it was a father daughter disagreement. Once we got a direction we again spread out a little but stayed closer together this time and moved much more quickly knowing Debbie was certainly in grave danger.

  It was a short couple minutes later when we got another tip and knew we were on the correct path. We also remembered to ask for the description of her abductor so we had an idea of who to look for. When the next person we saw said they had seen the pair enter a house just ahead we did not hesitate.

  Bob never even tried the door to see if it was locked but just kicked it open with one enraged kick. I was just behind him and motioned for Meg and Bill to take the back of the house. At this point both Meg and I had our pistols in our hands.

  Bob and I both heard a scream and then heard one of the whistles from the back of the house. We never slowed and ran straight through the house out the open back door to find a man holding a very squirming Debbie. I saw that the man had a knife and I stopped, raised my gun, and tried to get a clear shot. Then the man spoke.

  “This girl is mine. Back off or I will cut her open right here and now.”

  Then I yelled back.

  “Debbie, look at your shoes.”

  She looked at me like I was crazy but she was as smart as I thought she was and dropped her head down after only a second. As soon as her head was clear, I shot one time hitting the man in the face. A split second before the bullet took him he too seemed to realize the meaning of my strange order to the girl he held.

  The knife never made contact with Debbie and the man fell pulling her down with him. Bob was the first to make it to his struggling daughter and he pulled her free of the now dead man’s grip and Bob wrapped his arms around his now safe daughter.

  When I walked up to check on the man to make sure he was dead Bob turned to me.

  “Thank you for saving my daughter.”

  They were simple words but the meaning was indeed great. We all turned and walked back to our home and to a very relieved Sue when she saw her only daughter returned safe and sound even if she was very shook up.

  From that day on Meg and I were always armed.

  Our saved water was going down pretty fast with seven people using it in our house. Meg and I talked it over that night and thought there was little sense in waiting any more and we should think about moving to our Bug Out Location.

  The next morning I took a day pack and my rifle and walked to the ranch. Luckily it was still empty and I was able to make entry to the ranch house without breaking a window. It was somewhat messy inside the old ranch house but beggars can’t be choosers so it would do OK. The big question was the whether the windmill was still functional.

  There was enough of a breeze so when I turned it on it started to spin a little. It took but a moment or so before I heard the water start to flow and I shut it down again. It was a relief to hear the water flowing but I did not want to draw any attention to the windmill in the unlikely event that someone was within sight of the ranch.

  I left the ranch and made my way home as quickly as my old bones would go. When I got home I tried to start my old quad and was not totally surprised to have it start right up. We had all seen a couple other older machines going by on the streets in the last couple days. That evening I told everyone we would start moving in the morning.

  “Why are we moving to an old ranch house that you don’t even own?”

  “Because it has a working windmill and so we have a steady source of clean water. We only have about another three days water left here at the house. And when that is gone we will either move to find more clean water or we will die.”

  “Is the house even livable?”

  “I just said it has a water supply. That makes it livable in my eyes. But you are free to stay at this house if you want too.”

  “Will we have running water in that house?”

  “I would think not but I suppose it might be possible to rig something up at some point. I sure would not plan on ever having running water there. Or anywhere else for that matter.”

  “So the water is the only reason we are moving?”

  “Well seeing how we would all die without water that is a pretty darned good reason I think. With the steady source of clean water we will also have the space available there to plant a
large garden and grow some food to hopefully keep us alive over next winter.”

  “You think things well be the same as now even after the summer?”

  “No I do not think things will be the same by end of summer. I think many of the people you have seen around here will be dead by then. I would guess it is also likely that not all of us will be alive by the end of summer.”

  “What do you think will happen to us?”

  “We almost already lost Debbie. Meg and I knew about that empty ranch house with the windmill and sure as can be other people will remember it also. At some point it is very likely we will have to fight to keep it. There will be bullets flying and people will die.

  It would be very naïve to think our family is totally bullet proof. We will do everything we can to make all of us as safe as possible but the threat of violent death will always be hanging over our heads. It will be up to every one of us to keep a constant lookout for others who could be evil. For this to work at all it will have to be a group effort with everyone on board.”

  “I don’t know if I could shoot anyone.”

  “I saw you when that man was holding Debbie. You will do anything to protect your family, as will I.”

  “So how do we move all this stuff?”

  “I checked my quad and it runs just fine. We will start moving stuff in the morning. On the first run two of us will go and one person will remain at the ranch to protect it. We will have to make many trips and hopefully move what we need in one day. If not we will be split up and have to protect both houses over night until everything is finally moved.”

  “You have enough gas on hand?”

  “We have plenty we can siphon out of our two dead SUV’s.”

  “We brought no guns here with us. Do you have something me and Sue can use?”

  “I have my hunting guns. Plus Meg and I each have a Mini 14 rifle besides our carry pistols. My deer rifle and my shotgun and my 22 rifle plus a small 22 auto pistol are what we have to work with. It would be nice to have more but what we have is what we have.”

  Debbie spoke up for the first time.

  “I have shot a 22 before and I was good at it. I will not let someone grab me again.”

  Bill also said he had shot a rifle and a shotgun before.

  “I would like for just us adults to have to worry about shooting and our security but we do not have that luxury. If the need arises you kids will be recruited.

  As soon as time permits all of you will get familiar with all the guns so if necessary you can pick any of them up and know how to shoot it without a second thought. Seconds may count. For right now we have to start sorting what will stay and what will go.”

  Bob’s family would be taking everything they brought with them except for the now useless electronic items so they helped Meg and me as we went from room to room and set things out to take.

  It was quite a pile and that was just in the house. The garage held much more that we would be taking with us. It was plain the move would never happen in just one day. We all went to bed early and got up early the next morning to start our move.

  Chapter Six

  Bob and I took the first load to the ranch in the morning. Even though I had just been there the previous day we still approached with caution but found the place empty. We quickly unloaded what we had brought with us and I left Bob there with my deer rifle and plenty of shells for it. He would do what he could to start the clean up but at the same time he would keep a wary eye out for anyone else approaching the place.

  On the next trip I brought Bill and left him there with his dad and he had my 22 rifle. There were now two people and I told them to take turns with the clean up and always have one just watching the place. It was slow going driving the ten miles or so each way pulling the trailer. It was a road but most of it was not maintained by the county so the last five miles or so were pretty rough. The quad handled it fine of course but I just had to take it slow on the rough spots.

  Each trip the trailer was way overloaded but I had no problems all day. I kept an eye on the gas tank and filled it by siphoning gas as was needed from our dead cars. I had brought food, water, and sleeping bags for Bob and Bill and they stayed the night at the ranch house. Early the next morning I again started the many trips needed to bring the rest of our gear to our ‘new’ ranch house.

  The two guys had done a fine job cleaning with what time and tools they had so it was not so much of a shock when I brought Sue out with one of the loads. The next load included bringing little Jon. As I expected Sue took the place as it was and started giving orders as to what needed to be done next as far as cleanup to make it livable. I was rather happy that I had to keep up my job of moving supplies.

  With the last load in the fading sunlight I brought Meg with me and the last load. There were still a few things back at our old house that might prove to be useful but we had what we really needed now at the ranch.

  I would likely make a trip or two later but for now all of us would concentrate on cleaning and fixing the old place up for our use. Besides the house there was a barn and several out buildings.

  There was a lot of stuff left here after the owner had passed away. Much was old and old fashioned like tools and equipment that while not very valuable in the recent past would now be priceless in the new world we found ourselves in.

  When Bob finally saw all the food that Meg and I had he voiced his surprise.

  “Man you guys have a ton of food here. You have plenty and could share a lot of it to help others.”

  “When we bought all of this food we had planned on it being just for Meg and I along with the possibility of our two sons. Since then we have decided to share it with you and your family.

  That will be the extent of our sharing. Food was plentiful and everyone could have bought plenty and stock piled some like we did. If they decided not to keep any extra food on hand that was their choice and they will now have to live with that choice.”

  “You mean you will not share any even if someone is starving?”

  “I have some news for you. This is not likely enough food to feed the seven of us. Do you really want to watch your three kids starve to death in front of you?”

  “You mean this really is not enough for the seven of us?”

  “That’s right. We will plant a very big garden here as soon as it is warm enough with the seeds that we had the foresight to purchase but it will be a long time before anything in that new garden will grow big enough to eat.

  Even then we are totally dependent on somehow getting a bumper crop in a part of the country we have never planted a garden in before. Plus we have to hope to be able to protect that garden every single day and night while it is growing from the weather, from wild animals, and from thieving humans.

  And if it all somehow comes together and works out perfect for us then maybe just maybe we will have enough to make it through the long winter and to the next growing season when we can do it all again.”

  That speech gave him a lot to think about and kept him quiet for the rest of the evening.

  The windmill was turned on and left on to help clean out the pipes and well. At least that is what I hoped would happen anyway. Bob and I drew straws to see who would be the guinea pig and test the well water. He got the short straw and drank the first water.

  He drank only the windmill water for one whole day and the next before we all decided it was fine for all of us. By that time it really made no difference because we were about out of the water I had hauled out from our old house. The water tasted fine and none of us got sick from it. Whether the water had bad things in it we would never know but it seemed OK and none of got sick.

  There was a lot of hard work to do to make the place more livable for all of us. The ranch house was actually bigger than the one we had been living in and had four bedrooms. It only had one bathroom but it boasted an honest to goodness outhouse that we would be also using. The inside toilet did work fine as long as we carried in a
bucket of water to flush it.

  Cleaning everything was our first order of business and the place had been vacant for some time and had likely been quite dirty even when the last owner was still living here. I had no idea how long it had been empty. The owner had passed away in a local old folk’s home so the ranch house might have been empty for a very long time before we moved in.

  It took a solid week to get the place cleaned up and some minor repairs done so we could be more comfortable living there. I did make two more trips back to our old house in that time to bring more stuff. I even brought the curtains off the windows in our old house.

  Everything I thought we might ever use I brought to our ranch house. I also drained all the gas from both our SUV’s and brought that to the ranch. Our new house did have an old propane gas kitchen stove and the big propane tank outside had just under forty percent left in it according to the gage. I had brought the propane tank from our gas grill along with the two full spares that I had on hand for it also.

  The kitchen also contained a small wood burning stove with a flat top and enamel sides and front that I had seen before in some homes in Wisconsin. Up there they were commonly called ‘trash burners’ but I had no idea what the real name for them was. It was only about a foot or so wide so it was fairly small. It would allow us to cook on top using wood in the winter and also provide some welcome heat.

  In one of the sheds I found a big pile of hard coal and that could likely be used in that stove also besides just wood. There was a forge on the place and that may have been what the coal was for but we will never know for sure whether the coal was for one or the other or both.

  There had been electric in the house of course and there was a deep well that had provided water to the house. I would start looking at the possibility of running a water line from the big tank near the windmill to the house to make things much easier for all of us when I had some free time.