by Cooper, DJ
As an afterthought, he added, “George is vindictive and does not forget a perceived injustice. By looking to him for protection, it boosts his ego and he believes himself as having more power.”
Everyone nodded in understanding. Most of them knew George and he was not very well liked.
Matt continued, “This will make him feel like our poor defenseless women needed his protection and hopefully take Dez off his hit list.
Dez, Toni, and Charleigh began to object and complain about not being defenseless.
Matt waved his hands for them to calm down, saying, “Purely a strategic move on our parts, since our poor defenseless women took out these thugs without the help of anyone.”
Sam was barely paying attention to what they were talking about and stood staring out the window. Turning to face them he said, “You all know that at some point George is going to become a larger problem, right?”
Matt said, “Yea, we know. One thing at a time I guess.”
Tawney got up, “What do you say I make some iced tea and we check out what everyone managed to buy?”
With a look of relief, the nodding in agreement from everyone said that was a great idea. Once the glasses of tea were distributed and the vehicles were unloaded they spent the rest of their evening going over the bounty each had acquired and put everything in its place.
All vehicles had been topped off and were full of fuel which was one of the top priorities for each pair .
Matt and Jeremy managed to get a lot of the things on their list at Home Depot. They bought five large tarps, painters’ plastic and twelve rolls of duct tape. They also got lucky and found 100 packs of various seeds on sale and work gloves for everyone, along with some five-gallon buckets.
Although the varied items were of odd types and quantities, when at the checkout they made sure to go to the lady they frequently saw there.
They knew she would ask about the daily dealings, as she always did to make conversation, and they used Jeremy’s property preservation company as a reason for the odd purchases.
Matt and Jeremy were always buying odd things to correct issues with these properties, and since they did many of them, it was not strange for them to do so. It worked perfectly except she asked if they were planting this late in the season.
Matt said, “I just smiled at her and told her Dez will think I am the king of the world with this score. You know how she’s a plant freak. I’m sure to get lucky tonight,” and winked.
Jeremy told them that the comment actually made the slightly elderly lady blush. After a good laugh, they all scolded Matt for teasing an old lady.
Toni and Dez went to Walmart and found 150 packs of seeds, most of which were hybrid, but at least 50 packs were the heirloom variety. They picked up 6 super squirt guns and 3 of the swim noodles, along with a case of pool shock. All of these were on sale which made them look like off-season bargain shoppers. The pool shock and swim noodles were something of a mystery to everyone, but without explaining it, they continued to reveal their goods.
They also bought twenty-five pounds of flour, thirty pounds of dried beans, thirty pounds of sugar and another twenty pounds of coffee beans; this would make Matt happy because he needed his coffee.
They found a good deal on vitamins, Advil and first aid supplies as well. They split the purchases between them with each buying like items.
On the second trip into Walmart, they got double ought buck and regular birdshot for the twelve gauge, two hundred rounds of nine-millimeter and sixty rounds of thirty ought six, which they figured was not bad since most of the ammo shelves were empty as usual.
They also found seventy-five practice arrows for the compound bow and water purification tablets. Finishing up they picked up six gallons of bleach and two heavy comforters.
Lynn and Sam went to all three of the sporting goods stores in their area. They were pleased when they were able to get five hundred rounds of nine-millimeter, two hundred fifty rounds of ammo for the forty-five, and varied amounts of twenty-two caliber. They also purchased some more thirty-ought-six and twelve-gauge shells too.
For Dylan, they found some of his snare wire. Then they scored with MREs, water purification tablets, twelve camo rain ponchos, and by some stroke of luck they found three wrist rockets. Lynn immediately called Tawny to tell her that she should look for marbles.
Tawny was to go to the various dollar stores. She found ten gallons of ammonia and five thousand marbles. Although she had no idea why Lynn wanted them, she bought all she could. She also got some first aid items like Band-Aids and bandages, antibiotic ointment, ace bandages, iodine, and alcohol. She grabbed some coloring books and every pack of crayons she could find for the kids.
Connor was to go to the feed store and picked up five hundred pounds of chicken feed for their chickens. He also purchased some salt licks. He found some antibiotics and two 55-gallon water barrels. He found a whole box of seeds the store planning to get rid of and purchased the entire box for five bucks. He then stopped and thought to buy some fertilizer. He told them while he was walking down the aisles he saw a solar water pump. He wasn’t sure about the large amount of money it would cost, but he figured it could be returned if it was unused and so he grabbed it.
They all thought they did well, even though they hadn’t included anything further to protect themselves in the event of an Ebola outbreak.
Discussing this they planned to assess the list again tomorrow and try and get anything else they felt they needed and possibly check the army surplus store. After that trip, any left-over money would be spent on more food. The events that already happened made them wonder, and they talked about whether or not they had the option to focus on barter items to add to the list and to not hang on to any spare cash.
That night they sat around the fire pit laughing and joking, enjoying a nice barbeque dinner they’d each helped prepare.
Tawny, still not sure why Lynn had wanted marbles, laughingly said to her. “Oh, hey Lynn, I heard you lost your marbles, so I got you some new ones.”
Everyone burst into laughter as she continued, “What the heck do we need marbles for?”
Lynn smiled raised an eyebrow in a mischievous look and said, “Ammo.”
Tawny still looked confused and shrugged as Lynn continued, “I got the three wrist rockets, a.k.a. slingshots, right? Well, we shoot marbles with them. The best part, or worst part depending on which end of the marble you are on is… upon impact, they can shatter creating shrapnel.”
Tawny smiled ear to ear while nodding understandingly. Pointing to her with her index finger and thumb up she winked, brought her thumb down as though shooting and making a clicking sound she said, “Now this I gotta try out. We should set up a target area to see how our slingshot skills are and test these babies out.”
None of them yet realized that today’s assault was just the beginning; that in the coming days they would face far worse foes than this. That indeed this was just the beginning. The beginning of the end of things as they’d known them.
Connor, who was usually quiet, spoke these very thoughts to them. Lifting his eyes towards Charleigh, he said. “This could get really bad, and we need to be prepared to do whatever it takes to protect this family, and I mean anything. No one will hurt my family.” Looking at her shiner, he lovingly touched her cheek with the back of his hand before turning back to face the others.
It was ominous the way he said it, and although they were all thinking it, only Connor dared to voice it. They all nodded a sober, thoughtful nod. Looking around the small circle of friends, it was Lynn that spoke, “We will handle whatever happens, as it happens. For tonight, let’s enjoy ourselves and relax while we still can.”
Chapter 7
“Bad Tidings”
“If ever again our nation stumbles upon unfunded paper, it shall surely be like death to our body politic. This country will crash”
- George Washington
The next few days offered little in the w
ay of news. There was almost no news on either the banking holiday or the Ebola outbreak. A few weather reports, some financial projections, and news of an Isis cell discovered in North Dakota were discussed. The lack of any real news was what was troubling. The anchors postulated about fall fashion, while others commented on which shows would return in the fall.
While each of them had their thoughts on these things, they tried to keep positive. Mostly, they just tried to enjoy the weekend. The disinformation and news of the moment felt disturbing. They wondered what next week would look like and hoped to gather some small glimmer of hope that their fears were unfounded.
Spending some time harvesting and storing fresh vegetables from the garden, among other tasks, kept their minds occupied. This was one of Tawny’s favorite past times. She said it helped with her anxiety and stress.
Sam wandered out into the garden, glancing across the small but full bounty. He smiled when Tawny emerged from beneath a large green blanket of squash leaves. He’d come to see if she needed help with what she was doing. “Can I help?”
Without looking up she replied, “Sure, I’d love some help. I’ve been on my hands and knees all morning, digging and preparing this section for a few fall crops.” Looking up at him from under her wide-brimmed hat, she smiled at him. She saw him smiling back, standing with his thumbs in the front pocket of his jeans. Awkwardly, she said, “You wanna pass me that little spade?”
He liked this girl, dirt on her face, a single curl hanging down in front; on her hands and knees digging in the dirt. He didn’t realize , he was standing there gawking at her. The statement made him jump, and he hurriedly fumbled through the garden tools.
Earlier in the day, Tawny told Dez how she thought Sam was ‘very well put together.’ She looked up at him standing there, remembering this, and mumbled to herself, “If Dez said anything I am going to kill her.”
She smiled at him hoping he didn’t see the nervousness, “If you want to, you could help me by digging the potatoes.” Explaining how to do it, she continued, “I can fish through the dirt and pick them out as you turn it over. Make sure to give me time between scoops to give me time to pull out the potatoes.”
Sam loved this idea, seeing it as a way to spend time with her and helped all afternoon. They left the pumpkins, kale, and squash for later in the harvest, as these would continue to grow until the frost hit. When they finally came up to the house, Tawny was laughing and noticed Dez helping Lynn organize all the seeds they had acquired.
Sam went past them into the house to find Matt, while Tawny went over to Dez and whispered, “Did you say something to anyone about me liking Sam?”
Dez swore she’d not said a word to anyone and asked why she was asking. Tawny sat down excitedly to presumably help organize the seeds. In reality, she just wanted to talk about their afternoon in the garden. They carried on chatting about Sam, not really paying attention to what they were doing, mixing seeds into a pile that Lynn had already organized.
Watching in horror as they continued messing up her organization, Lynn finally let out an exasperated sigh and said, “Now you ladies do not want me to go OCD on you. If you don’t exit the organizing area, I will march on in there and tell Sam that he has been the topic of lady talk.”
They laughed, but still, Dez and Tawny both knew she would do just that and excused themselves to go find other things to do or at least another place to continue their chat.
Lynn separated the seeds into two main categories; Hybrid and Heirloom. After they were further organized into their respective planting seasons, spring, summer and fall. She then set aside some spices and other seed that they could use for winter plantings inside. She had them all separated for ease and identification in their respective seasons.
Dez and Tawny had only made it as far as the porch where they continued to chat and Lynn could still hear the conversation. Dez swore she had not told anyone anything and assured her Sam had approached her on his own. Dez then concluded by scolding her for not having more confidence in herself.
Finally, Lynn interjected, “Now I know, and I will tell everyone if you two don’t move along.” Smiling she winked at them.
On Sunday they took a drive to Dez’s property that was about an hour away in the Kentucky mountains. Dez had purchased 150 acres a few years back that she’d hoped to homestead on, but for now it was just wide-open property with only a single barn on it.
The thought that it might be prudent to move some of the supplies to the barn made the trip more productive. There was an old saying Jeremy often used, “two is one, and one is none.” If things did get rough, they wanted things to be set up and ready just for back up. What they brought was mostly water purification, some of the seeds, spare canning items, and other things. They also brought tools they knew they would need there but were too heavy to carry if they had to go on foot. They also made sure that they were all back up items for now, just as they had discussed. Trying to move everything in one trip was impossible, so they had to limit it to what would fit in the trucks.
Monday came and went with all the activities that were already beginning to feel like a normal day. Sam and Tawny headed off early for a hike in the woods behind the house. They wanted to check out the area and did not return until late in the afternoon.
Matt gave Sam some ribbing about it; while Dez warned him that he had best be a gentleman. They all had a hearty laugh while Sam urgently assured Dez he was not about to get outta line because she was too scary. “Nobody wants to get on Dez’s bad side.” He winked at her as he walked around the back with Matt.
The evening was cool and the ladies made sure that everyone ate a hearty meal before relaxing. Some of them watched movies but most just went to bed early. It seemed though that no one could sleep. They were all anxious to find out if the banks would open in the morning.
Dez went for a glass of water and finding Jeremy sitting in the kitchen sipping cocoa, she hugged him tightly whispering, “It’ll be ok, I love you, bud.”
Jeremy nodded and smiled a weak smile that they both understood. Jeremy was the oldest and had been the man of the family since he was fourteen. Much of their lives Dez had bought extras during a sale or squirreled away things for what she would say to him was a rainy day. In reality, Dez was simply trying to make ends meet. She would use coupons or buy only sales, scratch and dent, or thrift items to keep the household afloat when the kids were growing up.
September 18th
It was Tuesday morning and everyone was already awake and having coffee as Tawny and Lynn walked into the house chattering away about something.
Toni whispered to Dez, “I’m glad they are becoming friends. We were a little worried about whether or not she would feel comfortable.”
They grabbed a cup of coffee and before Dez could even say anything Lynn was making another pot. She was around often enough to know the rule; if you drain it, you make it.
Thus far there had been nothing on the news at all about either Ebola or the Bank holiday. Matt and Jeremy were speculating about what this meant. Neither of them felt it was a good sign. “A complete lack of news on things as monumental as these could only be bad,” Jeremy said. No one could access their online banking, and there was no news on the internet about it. Once it hit nine a.m,. Sam and Matt headed out the door to go try the ATM. It was just up the road at the corner store and they were curious if they, too, were offline. They wanted to check just to see if it would work.
Getting out of the truck they approached the ATM and there was a crowd around it already and some of the people were quite upset. One young lady was crying that she needed diapers, talking to an older man she explained how she could not get her EBT card to work. Sam felt bad for her, so he walked over to her and gave her twenty bucks.
Afterward, he told Matt, “I know it will do little to ease what is coming, but it felt like the right thing to do.”
They quickly headed back to the house to get everyone moving on what they did no
t yet know would be their last shopping excursion. Pooling all the money they had left to see what extra supplies they could afford.
Some of them had only a little left from the previous trips, while others had more. Matt and Dez, however, still had the money for the mortgage payment. This brought them up to over two thousand dollars. They split it up between all the shoppers, made lists of what each should look for and headed out.
Tawny, Sam and Jeremy went to the Army surplus store and both gun shops in town to see what they could find while the rest went to the grocery stores and to Walmart, except for Matt and Dez who opted to stay with the kids this time.
Their goal was to pick up anything that would be helpful, not caring about what it might look like this time, each of them seeking what their lists required. Some of the things wanted from the grocery store were baking supplies of all kinds, Gatorade and other drinks, beans, peanut butter, oatmeal, Powerbars and Ensure drinks.
The ones who went to Walmart got more medical supplies, alcohol, peroxide and what was left of the ammo. They also hit the sporting goods section and found fishing gear, including the line, tackle, and lures. They also purchased camping equipment, as well as hats, mittens, and gloves, lots of socks, and assorted sizes of thermal underwear.
Toni found totes and began to put everything in them. She was very good at organizing and no one had even thought about their uses other than storage until she began pointing out they could be used to catch rainwater and other things, which then made them think of hardware.
At the hardware store, they gathered up a few five-gallon buckets, various nails and screws, zip ties and two car batteries. Finally, they spotted some cans of black spray paint on the way up to the register and they bought all 12 of them.
When each shopping party had exhausted the cash they were allotted, they headed home. Tawny, Sam, and Jeremy had scored a thousand rounds of nine-millimeter and five thousand rounds of various twelve-gauge shells. There were no gas masks or anything like that to be had, but they already had the N95 masks on hand.