by Pete Thorsen
Having been inside before we knew what to expect this time, so the dead bodies were not so shocking. More so they just made us sad seeing them again. We each carried a lantern and a small flashlight, though once the lanterns were lit up we had little need for the flashlights we carried.
We each took a cart and split up to opposite sides of the store. We went slowly, looking at everything still left on the shelves. We even looked at items that had been knocked onto the floor that might still be unbroken and usable. Not surprisingly the carts filled up pretty fast. When we filled a cart we pushed it up near the front door and took another cart and went back to where we were last ‘shopping.’
Working towards each other we finally met near the center of the store. By this time there were several filled carts sitting near the front door waiting to be emptied into the truck or trailer. With our shopping about done we again split up, Donna pushing the carts one at a time out to the trailer and packing the stuff inside it. Then she would return the empty cart and grab another full one to repeat the process.
While she was doing that I went into the back rooms of the store to find or rip from the walls some sheeting to cover the broken front doors and the broken windows. That was the plan, but when I got in the back (where I had never been before) I found cases of items still there! It did look like others had ripped open some of the boxes but there appeared to be quite a bit of stuff still unopened and even some full pallets that were still shrink-wrapped and waiting for us to check out!
I opened two of the large overhead doors for added light and unlocked the two smaller entrance doors for us to use to get inside after I closed up the front of the building. I removed some of the heavy sheeting from empty pallet racking and carried that to the front of the store. I told Donna about all the supplies still packaged up in the store rooms in back.
I used my fully charged cordless screw gun and the screws I had brought with to seal the front of the store. It took very little time to do so and I finished shortly after Donna was done loading the stuff in the carts into the trailer. We then drove around to the back of the store and spent some time looking over all the stuff back there. There was quite a lot. It was obvious that we would not be taking all of it this trip.
We loaded what food we found into the truck and trailer until both were full. We then closed up all the back doors after making sure that none of the doors were locked so we could easily get back in. And anyone else could also. This stuff did not belong to us so anyone was welcome to it. With that thought in mind, just before we left we made a few quick signs that we stuck on the wood sheeting that I had put in front of the store. The signs simply read: “Enter through the back doors!” I had brought a staple gun with in case I had to use plastic sheeting to seal up the store and now it came in handy for tacking up the signs we made.
We drove back home but looked along the route and found several covered trailers sitting in different spots that we could use for additional scavenging trips.
Chapter 15
Over the next month or so we continued our scavenging trips into the small town. We did not go in every day but we did make many trips. We found some additional fuel to refill the truck and top off our supply at home after we treated it to last longer.
We now have several covered trailers sitting on our property. We have emptied them, sorted them, and refilled them, taking careful inventories and keeping like items together. I have moved a few lightweight car ports out here and have some of these trailers parked under them to keep the contents cooler, and for added leakage protection.
We both know that there would still be countless items that we could maybe use in abandoned homes in the area but we will only enter those if we become desperate or have some kind of emergency. For right now it looks like we are situated rather well indeed for the foreseeable future.
At least until another emergency arises.
When one of us remembers we try the radio but so far we have heard nothing. We scan both the AM and the FM bands. Sometimes we wish we had bought a ham radio set up but it’s too late for that now.
We are both healthy and we have a huge stockpile of food and the means to grow and hunt for more. We have a lot of canning jars and now a huge supply of extra canning lids. We have dehydrators for drying fruit and garden produce instead of canning everything. We have a large supply of propane (while scavenging in town we brought back every cylinder of propane we found).
We have a good solar setup and many spares for critical items. In a pinch we could easily survive here without any electric at all, though it sure is nice having this solar power.
Two of the covered trailers contain items for kids. From baby stuff on up. Just in case. We are as ready for the future as we can be.
And most of all we have each other.
The End
Thank you for reading this short story of mine and I hope you found it enjoyable. If it was something you liked please watch for more of my stories to follow. Below are some of my already published stories that you might also enjoy. So far I have well over 40 stories published on Kindle with most also in print. My success is totally the result of you, my readers, and you have my most deep felt Thank You!
Pete Thorsen
America on Fire
Four complete stories of apocalyptic disasters that befall the citizens of the United States by one of America’s popular apocalyptic fiction writers. Read how some Americans rise up to meet the challenges and fight to survive when disaster strikes the whole country.
In Finding Hope a deadly pandemic sweeps the globe resulting in the deaths of a large amount of the world population. One man finds a purpose to his life when he finds and befriends a little girl.
In Three Strikes And You’re Out America three nuclear EMP missiles explode high above the United States it causes extreme devastation by taking out the whole electric grid and all electronics.
In An Economic Firestorm the economic collapse of the US Dollar and the economy of the USA are lived through by a family in rural Arizona.
In Thar She Blows see what happens to a few groups of people when the Yellowstone Caldera erupts and devastates a huge portion of the United States.
Disaster in America
Four complete stories of apocalyptic disasters that befall the citizens of the United States by one of America’s most popular apocalyptic fiction writers. Read how some Americans rise up to meet the challenges and fight to survive when disaster strikes.
In What? The sun did all this! a massively strong CME that strikes the earth destroying the electric grid and most electric devices. One man attempts to reunite with his scattered family.
In Surviving in Trying Times one middle aged couple try to cope with what becomes something like the second great depression.
In Relax It’s Just the Flu a massive pandemic of a deadly strain of the flu wreaks havoc to the USA. This story follows a few of the survivors.
In Global Warming (It’s real this time) a young man struggles to survive twenty years after a man made accident actually does cause massive global warming.
Survival in America
Four complete early stories from one of America’s most popular apocalyptic writers.
No Electric Survival is a story of the aftermath of a severe EMP that shuts down the nation’s electric power grid and makes most vehicles unusable.
Rural Dollar Collapse when there is a complete collapse of the US economy this story shows how members of one family cope with what happens in their areas of the once great United States.
Pandemic to a New Beginning is a story that follows the lives of two young people before and after a deadly flu pandemic sweeps around the globe causing a severe drop in the world population.
No Economic Collapse in the Woods centers on three people that are strangers to each other but find strength when circumstances throw them together and they try to live their lives in the bleak new world after the US Dollar collapses.
Trouble in America
How I Survived WW3 is a story that follows a regular working man that happens to survive World War Three after making just a few preparations.
The Carrington Event Revisited is the story of a catastrophic solar coronal mass ejection event similar to the one that hit the Earth in 1859.
A Collapse to a Fresh Start is a story of two young people who make their way out of Chicago and run to a very rural area of Colorado when they feel the United States is about to suffer an economic collapse and possibly change forever.
A Midwest Homestead follows the lives of a young couple in Minnesota who through determination and hard work build their own little homestead that is their salvation in a time chaos.
An Oklahoma Retreat is the story of a widely scattered family that all return to the original family ranch in Oklahoma when the United States falls on very bad times.
The End of America
Five complete early stories from one of America’s most popular apocalyptic writers.
An Arizona Haven is a story of how a will to overcome obstacles and some common sense can mean all the difference in your very survival in this case after an EMP has shut down the whole power grid.
Dystopia USA is the tale of a possible very dark future in the great United States of America.
The Zombie Plague is a story of a plague that is affecting the whole world and changing people drastically into something that is not quite human.
Living Through the Collapse is about the economic collapse of the economy of the USA as lived through by a family in rural Minnesota.
Polar Shift is about two good friends and their lives before and after a major catastrophic event that changes the whole world and causes chaos.
Catastrophe
In America
Four complete stories from one of America’s most popular apocalyptic writers.
Hard Times. After multiple terrorist attacks and a collapsing economy the incoming hurricane is the last straw and a man flees his town for someplace safe to ride out the coming chaos.
From Civilized to Barbaric! When the electric power goes out and does not appear to be coming back on a man tries to flee New York City to try and find a safe haven.
Cruel End to a Great Country. Follow the life of a simple janitor after the nation’s economy gradually winds down to a complete stop.
Just Another Day. While family from another state are visiting an EMP changes everything. See how this now extended family copes with what has happened.
America in Ruins
Four complete stories from one of America’s most popular apocalyptic writers.
The Cruel New World. When a magnetic storm destroys most all electrical equipment in the world it proves to be a severe catastrophic event. This story follows a gun as it changes owners in the violent new world.
Relax, It’s Just the Flu! When a deadly a strain of the flu devastates the population a small band of survivors struggles to survive.
Nice Day for Armageddon. When a foreign country hits the United States with multiple EMP’s the population of this once great nation fights to survive.
A Brutal Reset. When our nation’s economy crashes those people wishing for a re-set of our society get their wish. Now we have brutal violence and starvation where it is a struggle every day just to survive.
Devastated America
Four complete stories from one of America’s most popular apocalyptic writers.
The End Times. Two people from vastly different walks of life do what they can to survive after America tears itself apart from within.
The Good Sam. A young couple living in a small rural community thinks that that they might be immune from the rash of brutal violence that as swept across the whole nation after terrorists take down the power grid but discover the hard way that is just not the case.
Bound for Home. A man finds himself almost two thousand miles from home when a terrorist attack cripples the nation’s whole system infrastructure and he makes a perilous journey back to his home.
One Man’s Path. When the sun cripples all mankind a man loses his family and searches for a new path and reason to go on.
Calamity in America
Three complete stories from one of America’s most popular apocalyptic writers.
Stormy Weather. The story of a young man living in Nebraska on his now small family farm who fights for survival after America falls apart.
After the 2nd Great Depression. Eight years after the fall of our nation America is quite a different place. It’s a place where every person must be hard and strong just to try and continue living.
A Girl’s Gotta Survive. A young girl learns to fight to live in the circumstances she finds life has dealt her. Will her life ever get any better?
Dark Days
In this story a hacker group gives fair warning that they are about to shut down all computers in the USA. All scoff at the warning as being a totally impossible feat. When the grace period ends the hackers shut down America’s power grid and just using computers they are also able to cause severe physical damage to the entire grid system. This story tells of the aftermath of this very possible event on a small family owned ranch in southwestern Colorado.
When the family learns the electric power will not be coming back on anytime soon they think through the awful effects that will befall all the citizens of this nation. They are very grateful that at least they are together to face the disaster ahead.
A Bright
New Beginning
After surviving several deployments in the military and even more dangerous work after leaving the military a man wants nothing more than to live a life of peace and solitude. Moving to the Black Hills region of South Dakota he finds the life he desires until the nation suffers a bleak economic collapse and he again is thrust into yet more danger and a fight for survival.
A
Sunny Disaster
A man living the life of a hermit by choice is surprised when he makes a rare visit to the nearby small town to find that there is no electric power there. He then learns that because of something that the sun did to our world that the electric power will likely not be coming back on for quite some time. He goes back to living his hermit lifestyle but eventually by doing a simple humanitarian act he finds himself smack dab in the middle of someone else’s problems.
Viral Survival
A young couple believes they have the world by its tail as they live happily together in their somewhat rural Minnesota home. Though they see possible economic problems ahead for many parts of the world they are at least somewhat prepared to weather that turmoil. Then they and the whole world are blind-sided by a pandemic of epic proportions. Though they manage to survive the virus they now find they are living in a completely different world. Surviving the virus turns out to be only the first step in their new life.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15