by Cooper, DJ
He didn’t bother to wake Amy, she was never interested in what she called his “conspiracy theories.” As he sat contemplating what this could mean, because to John it all meant something. The “Beep, Beep, Beep” sounded on the TV indicating the news conference was beginning.
He refilled his coffee for what was sure to be another round of useless banter on this or that. But Matt had wanted him to watch and he trusted his friend’s instincts. Not long after the beeping the announcement began; a spokesperson from the Centers for Disease control in Atlanta, appears for the camera and approached the podium. The announcer begins to speak. “Ladies and Gentlemen, Dr. Ralph Sorenson, incident manager for the CDC Ebola response.”
A rather nervous looking and visibly uncomfortable man walked into view. A tiny little man, with a comb over and what looked like glasses from the 50’s took the podium and he began to speak.
“Health officials have confirmed cases of Ebola within the U.S. Patients are being treated at undisclosed hospitals in the following cities, New York, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Denver, Sacramento and Detroit.” There was a long pause as the weary spokesperson continued, “Understand, we know how to stop Ebola. It won’t be easy or fast but working together with our U.S. Government and international partners, we are doing it in Africa and can do so here, but it will take time.” He pauses for the murmuring to quiet and continues. “Ebola is a deadly virus. It is spread through direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of those who are already infected. This is not an airborne virus, I repeat, it is not airborne, you cannot catch it from casual contact. Symptoms, which can begin between anywhere from two to twenty-one days after infection, include fever, muscle pain, headache and a sore throat. Followed by vomiting, diarrhea and rash. If anyone in these cities has been experiencing these symptoms, please report to the nearest health care facility as soon as possible.”
“The CDC is sending workers to the affected cities to fight Ebola’s spread, and while the number of CDC experts may change slightly from day to day. More than fifty CDC personnel are being sent to remain in these six cities continuously.
“Again, the CDC’s public health experts in West Africa and here in the United States are working closely with our U.S. Government and international partners as part of this worldwide emergency response to the Ebola outbreak. Our primary goal is to contain this disease and keep Americans safe, thank you for your vigilance and stay safe America.” He nodded to the announcer, turned and unceremoniously exited the stage.
John laughed out loud saying, “Matt has sure lost it if he thinks this is news.” Something struck him in how antiseptic it all was, and he thought it might be best to keep his ear to the ground. He was amazed at how little else about the whole Ebola thing was not on any channels. It was like a little blurb and then nothing else and this is what struck him as strange.
He was getting ready to shut off the TV when Amy came out of the bedroom saying, “What’s this? YOU… watching the news?” Yawning, she whined “It’s cold in here. Didn’t you make a fire?” John leapt up from his seat, he had fallen into his own thoughts and completely forgotten about the fire. Clamoring over to it, he realized it was but a smoldering pile of newspaper ash, none of the wood was doing anything but smoking. In a flash he had a blaze going and Amy was snuggling next to the stove calling out for coffee.
John wondered sometimes how he and she had managed to stay together. They were nothing alike and she made fun of his theories every time he had anything that concerned him. Luckily, he and Matt talked often, and he could talk about anything with Matt. They had been friends for as long as John could remember. As he was making more coffee, he reminded himself “I need to call Matt and talk with him about all this.”
The rest of that day while Amy watched her shows on the TV, John made a quick inventory of the supplies he had there. He was still concerned about the early cold and worried if things went badly that many would not be ready to brave it. He chopped more wood that day than many others. He didn’t know if it was because of the news or just that those damn shows annoyed him.
Something about the news this morning was really beginning to eat at him and by dinner time he was completely into his own thoughts on everything that could go wrong. He decided that between now and the 11th he needed to do a few things and would start on them tomorrow. He didn’t bother to tell Amy his thoughts because he knew she would just scoff at him.
Chapter 2
“The time draws near”
“I do not believe in a fate that will fall on us no matter what we do, I believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing.”
-Ronald Reagan
The days passed like a blur as John continued his inventory, his thoughts on the anniversary of September 11th. There always seemed to be some kind of threat on this anniversary. He wasn’t sure if it was because of the day that the crazies came out of the woodwork or if there was something about it.
It was another cold day; he wished this cold front would pass. The thought of winter starting already was unnerving to say the least. Amy was already in complaint mode, constantly bitching about the fire. He wished she would get up and just put some wood in the stove instead of crying she was cold.
Sometimes he did wonder why they were together; she was a pretty woman with her nails always done beautifully. She had short blonde hair that sat on her shoulders and perpetually needing some kind of goo or ooze in it.
He on the other hand, was what his friends affectionately called, the “Grizzly Adams” type. Having scruffy hair and beard, he carried a few extra pounds. Which he swore Amy orchestrated with all her good cooking.
Some days he also wished she would live up to her threats to go and move to Florida to stay with her mother. But most days he just loved her and wanted to keep her safe and warm.
Being the day before the anniversary of the fateful day the towers fell, he wanted to make sure his things were well organized.
He looked at this day as his annual inventory and prep check day. It was not that he actually thought there were any threats, but it made a good reason to make sure his house was in order before winter.
He checked his bug out bags and replaced anything going out of date on this day. Being prepared for an emergency was always very important to John, especially living in an environment where a day without heat during the winter could equal death. He had a “BOB” for Amy too, but he doubted she would ever carry it farther than down the long driveway. He began to go through the bags starting with his own. He pulled out a number of smaller bags first each containing different kits. One for medical supplies he set aside this one would need to be updated and another for fishing and fire starting he set aside, these he would just check.
After removing the tent and the space bag holding his dry clothes he began his annual ritual of changing batteries in the flashlights. He exchanged the antibiotics and pain relievers as well as his vitamins. He placed it all back into the pack along with replacements for his freeze-dried foods and edibles. Amy’s bag was far easier to check, as hers contained only her clothes, freeze dried foods and smaller versions of the kits he kept in his bag.
Feeling satisfied with his day he headed to the kitchen to see what she was cooking up. She was a wonderful cook and it was something she loved to do, he did appreciate the good eats.
Tomorrow he will have to work and was not looking forward to it; he hated his job as an electrician. It made him think of Dez and Matt and how they got to choose their own schedules, he thought ‘they sure got it good, what the hell am I doing all this for?’ ‘I totally should have gone into computers instead of electrical.’
Something wonderful was summoning him from his thoughts; it was a terrific smell coming from the kitchen. He recognized it and knew immediately she had made his favorite.
He practically danced into the kitchen singing, “Yay for me, it is lasagne night.”
Amy loved it when he would get excited about what she cooked,
and secretly he knew it and would do it often, so she knew he appreciated the good grub.
September 11th
As the morning sun began to shine, John headed outside to take care of making sure Amy had enough wood inside before he headed to work. As soon as he opened the door, he knew it was much warmer today.
He still wanted to bring in the wood and make a fire for her as she was sure to want one. He dreaded going to work today, and it weighed heavy on his mind. Surely they would make this day a day of remembrance like Martin Luther King Day or Presidents Day.
It puzzled him how it could not have gained such a status and sometimes annoyed him that there were observed holidays for stupid things yet not to remember the fallen on this day. ‘Maybe it is just that I don’t want to go to work that it annoys me.’ Laughing to himself, he fixed his lunch and headed out the door.
The morning was the same stuff he had been doing for the past three months.
He spoke hushed to his friend Lefty saying, “Hell man, you would think working on at army depot today we might get to at least see something interesting.”
Lefty looked at him, saying, “You know, I was just thinking that. It seems too quiet today, usually we see uniformed guys doing this and that. Today, though, there is nothing, almost eerie.”
John nodded and went back to his work thinking, ‘it is too quiet, and eerie was a good word for this day.’ He shrugged to himself and tried to look busy enough to get him through till lunch.
During lunch there was chat about the lack of activity on this date and some speculation, but John just had an uneasy feeling about it all. Looking into his lunch, he could not help but wonder ‘What was I thinking this morning?’ Inside the cooler was a decent turkey sandwich, but he had also tossed in some random junk food. There was some candy, a Swiss Roll, a baggie full of chips, and a yogurt drink.
Lefty looked at his lunch and asked, “What happened to your lunch? Did a nine year old pack it for you?”
John just shrugged and said, “I was a little distracted this morning. I usually put in some leftovers, not sure what I was thinking.”
They both laughed and Lefty stole his yogurt drink, while John headed for the soda machine for something else to drink. The rest of the day was more of the same, John was glad when it was time to go home. He hoped Amy was cooking something good for dinner after the less than appetizing lunch he had. He drove home in his usual mood, with NPR on the radio. However, today he was barely listening to it, his thoughts were elsewhere.
Each day passed much the same and John was finally feeling better about the eerie quiet of the eleventh. Driving to work a few days later he chided himself thinking, ‘I always get these feelings of dread, I should not let them get me all nerved up.’ Amy phoned bringing him out of his self-reprisals.
Answering the phone he said, “Hi babe, what’s up?”
She responded, “Hi yourself, you forgot I had a hair appointment today and needed the truck.”
Sighing, he said, “Be ready in five, I’ll be right back.”
He had forgotten and now this was just one more thing to curse himself over. He would be glad when this week was over.
Chapter 3
“Trouble in the wind”
“Has a remarkable opportunity arisen for President Putin to Bust the U.S. Petro Dollar and collapse the Criminal Banking System behind it?”
-Preston James, Ph.D.
September 14th
John woke before the sun came up; he liked having some quiet time in the mornings. He grabbed himself a cup of coffee and sat down to watch some news, this was unlike him, but lately he had been watching in the mornings. For reasons he himself didn’t know, he felt better after the eleventh was passed, but still had this feeling he couldn’t shake.
He always said, “The news is full of nothing but fluff and circus acts.”
He figured he would watch the circus for a bit before starting the day. He had the day off and planned to make the most of it.
He was half watching the news and half thinking about what he wanted to do for the day. He knew Amy had some plans but couldn’t remember what, he also knew he would catch hell for not remembering. As he sipped on his second cup a line scrolled across the bottom that made him take notice. “Financial markets are experiencing drop today in the wake of the OPEC announcement that the standard for oil sales will no longer be in U.S. currency, all oil will now be transferred in Gold.” He knew what this meant, although most Americans have no clue what the petrodollar is, he knew exactly what this meant…. Hyperinflation was on the horizon.
This changed everything he’d planned to do today, now not only was he feeling like something wasn’t right, he was sure something very bad was on the horizon. His mind began to race, going through all the possibilities of how things could go down. He found himself pacing through the house without direction.
Most people would not think anything of this, but he had done a lot of research on the petrodollar and without the oil to back the U.S. dollar, it would crash, becoming nearly worthless. Since going off the gold standard the only thing propping up the dollar had been OPEC and its agreement to trade all oil in U.S. currency.
John knew deep down, that coming soon would be something that was nothing short of disastrous.
He scolded himself as he did often, “I’m not ready for this!”
Checking things off in his mind, he began his mental list of things he wanted to address. “Cache” he thought, he had wanted to get that done this summer and had been putting it off. The thought struck him like a truck when it crossed his mind, ‘Matt’s parents, I have to go over and see them. I need to see what their situation is.’
John and Matt had been friends since middle school and he was close to his parents. Often just strolling in around lunch time and helping himself to snacks while chatting with them. He decided he would go over this afternoon, coincidentally right around lunch time. He giggled to himself thinking how he would be going to check on them yet helping himself to lunch.
Heading to the barn he got out the fifty-five gallon drums, he’d collected earlier in the summer that he planned to use for his cache. Behind the barn was the chicken pen, he planned to bury them in the far corner of it. With the chickens constantly scratching the ground there was no grass anymore, he figured no one would be able to tell something was buried there.
In one of the three drums, he planned to put fuel, he wanted a diesel truck, but Amy insisted she wanted him to get “normal” gas. She said that she hated the smell of the diesel and said she would not ride in it if he did. Thinking about it, he felt it was a good choice as he would now be able to fuel all the vehicles without the need of different drums. He buried all three of the drums without backfilling until he was done adding the contents. The fuel drum he filled full which took a few trips to different gas stations with his gas cans that each held 5 gallons.
He then began to decide what he should place in the others. He knew that a time might come when his guns could be confiscated so that was one thing he was going to consider for the non-food drum.
The other was a food cache; he lined the drum with a large Mylar bag and placed 2 cases of freeze-dried meals inside along with coffee, sugar, powdered milk and chocolate. He also added canned meats of various kinds and fifteen pounds of beans. There was still room in the drum so he added salt and other spices and ten pounds of rice, topping it off with some flour and powdered eggs and a few jars of canned butter and peanut butter. Not wanting to waste any space he poured a large bag of various packets of things he had collected from all his takeout food to fill the voids. He sealed the bag and closed the lid taking care to make certain it was closed properly.
The final drum was non-food items he placed another Mylar bag inside, but only to make sure there would be no damage in case of leakage.
He decided on fishing equipment, a net and some snares. He added zip lock bags full of matches and lighters along with a whole box of heavy duty trash can liner
s.
He opted for two of his Glock 19’s both chambered in 9mm and five hundred rounds for them. He also had a 12ga that he’d picked up at the flea market and two hundred-fifty rounds of bird shot and another hundred of double ought buck. Finally, John added his old .22, and five hundred rounds of ammo for it. The gun had been a gift from his grandfather when he was nine years old and held a special place in his heart.
Standing back looking at it, he knew he could get still more into this one, so he decided on a hatchet and camp saw. Not knowing what else he could add he began to walk about just looking at different things when it hit him, “Water” he said out loud.
Searching through his closet, he found what he was looking for, he had purchased some time back a Katadyn portable water filter, and it even had two replacement filters for it. As he was headed back to the drums, he remembered his other Med kit and decided to add it as well. Feeling fairly content with his caches he added random smaller items. These consisted of some silver coins, five bottles of varied liquor and a few flashlights along with spare batteries.
Once filled and all were sealed he completely covered the drums and spread the rest of the leftover dirt around the chicken pen. He rolled it with a large, heavy roller he used to mash out the mole trails in the yard; it worked well to pack it down. Afterwards he spread some chicken scratch around to get the chickens moving about so it would look like it usually did
Heading to the house to clean up, he asked Amy if she wanted to go over to Mark and Renee’s with him.
She said, “Babe, you know I always go out with the girls on Fridays.”
John replied, “I know that there, sassy pants, I just didn’t want you to think you were not invited.”