The E.M.P. Chronicles (Book 1): 458 Miles & 24 Days

by McTatey, Zayden (Oz)

  Oz looked at the ladies with worried eyes and told them, “I want you to travel with me. I will do my best to protect you and you’re both welcome at our home. My wife’s name is Nicki and we have three children, BJ, Cali, and Randall. They’re waiting for me. We have food and supplies but being open and honest, you will have to earn your keep. I can’t promise you I will get you home to California but you’re more than welcome at our house.”

  Without thinking, the ladies embraced Oz in a hug and in unison said, “Thank you.”

  “Now,” Oz said. “What skills do you have? Can you fire a handgun? Rifle? Have you ever camped before? Do you know how to read a map? Tell me what you can do.”

  While looking at her mom, Cheyanne said, “I’m on the high school archery team. I’m ranked in the top 50 in the state of California.”

  “Outstanding. We’ll make it a priority to get you a bow with arrows,” Oz said unassumingly.

  Though Oz knew Cheyanne’s skill would be a great addition to the group, he could not rely on her, nor would he want to, to take the life of another individual. One day he knew she would have to kill someone but for now, he was hoping he could rely on her to hunt for food.

  Naomi smiled at Oz before telling him, “I’m a Chief Petty Officer stationed in San Diego. I’m a Master at Arms.”

  “Can you please show me your military ID card?” Oz said.

  Naomi reached into her back pocket and pulled out a driver’s license, bank card, and military ID. She handed Oz the ID and with intent eyes, Oz compared the picture on the ID to that of the woman standing in front of him. With a big sigh of relief, and without a word, Oz reached into his Bug Out Bag and took out the rifle forend assembly and action. He handed them to Naomi who instinctively locked the two pieces together.

  “Ruger PC Carbine 9mm with an Israeli MepPro reticle. Read about these rifles but never shot one. Not a problem though. As long as the MepPro is sighted in, I’m good,” she said as she cleared the weapon and checked for functionality.

  “Magazines, please,” she said while holding her hands out.

  Oz reached into the Bug Out Bag and handed her four Glock magazines fully loaded.

  “A Ruger that takes Glock magazines?” she said with a puzzled look.

  “Yes ma’am,” Oz said.

  In a very fluid motion, she inserted a magazine, pulled the bolt handle to load a round, and then double checked to make sure the safety was on and again pulled the bolt handle to visually check and ensure a round was loaded. She slung the rifle over her shoulders.

  “Now, we need to get both of you Bug Out Bags and a bow with arrows for Cheyanne,” Oz finished.

  Both girls listened to Oz as he explained his plans. It was time to set out on the day’s journey.

  32

  Securing the House

  IT HAD BEEN A ROUGH NIGHT FOR RANDALL. HE AND BENNY had pulled guard duty all night. It seemed as if even Benny was aware the world had changed overnight. He barked most of the night keeping Randall on edge, yet Randall couldn’t figure out or see why Benny was being so aggressive. Nevertheless, he was glad Benny was by his side.

  “Good morning, grandpa,” Randall said as his grandpa approached.

  “Morning, Randall. Thank you for staying up all night. I’m back to my old self so I’ll work with your mom and Cali and we’ll come up with a schedule that involves the four of us. We need a rotation so you’re not always on nights. We all need to pull our weight,” grandpa said.

  “I’m going to bed. Benny either heard or saw something last night but I couldn’t figure out what he was barking at,” Randall said. He then told his grandpa, “We really need to get the food from the garage and shed into the house. It’s something mom, Cali, and I were supposed to do several days ago but, well, things happened.”

  Grandpa hugged him and told him to go to bed.

  Lloyd peered out the window and noticed how beautiful and calm the morning was. It was peaceful. As a Vietnam veteran, he had experienced many quiet, peaceful mornings that ended up in gunfire and death. The difference was he never thought it would happen on US soil.

  The previous evening, Nicki shared with him the actions and behaviors of the men she encountered and the radical behavior of her neighbor. Lloyd knew that he would have to be the one to secure the property and house until Oz returned.

  Nicki approached Lloyd who appeared to be going somewhere. He was caught off guard when she said, “Lloyd, Randall, Cali, and I have a rule. You can’t go anywhere without a buddy. And you have to tell someone where you’re going. So where are you going?” she finished.

  “Headed to the garage. Oz and I made some perimeter security devices several years ago. I thought I’d go find and set them up tonight. It’s not much but they’ll at least give us a heads-up,” Lloyd said.

  “Ok but the buddy system. Benny is your buddy while you’re outside. When he barks, you listen and take a defensive position until clear. Second rule, you go nowhere without a handgun at a minimum and a radio for communication,” Nicki said before handing him a Springfield XDM 9mm handgun and a Baofeng radio with a headset.

  “Here’s your holster and four extra magazines. Remember how to shoot one?” Nicki smirked.

  “Smart ass,” Lloyd said. Lloyd placed the holster on his belt and inserted a fully loaded magazine into the handgun. “Let’s go, Benny,” Lloyd said.

  It took some time to find the perimeter security devices, but Lloyd smiled when he saw them. Oz had purchased thirty hand grenade heads with springs and pins.

  In the military world, the grenade head is the triggering mechanism for the grenade. When the grenade pin is pulled and the spoon separates, a spring is released which generates energy that allows a pin to make contact with a primer causing the grenade to explode and fragment. In the prepper world, the grenade head could be used with a shotgun primer to create a perimeter signaling system or tripwire system.

  Lloyd made sure all devices were free of debris and the spring oiled before testing it. He found the fishing line and cotter pins and set them on the workbench. His plan was to set up all thirty of the security devices tonight.

  “Dark enough,” Lloyd said before yelling for his daughter-in-law. “Nicki, I’m going out alone. I need to get these perimeter security devices set. It will take at least two hours.”

  “Randall and I will provide cover and they’re called tripwires,” Nicki said before yelling for Randall.

  “Randall, get your ghillie suit on. We need to provide cover for grandpa. Cali will watch the back,” she said.

  Ten minutes later Randall and Nicki appeared in ghillie suits.

  “Let me guess. Another one of your dad’s ideas?” grandpa asked Randall.

  “Absolutely, an additional insurance policy for us not to be seen,” Randall said with a smile.

  “Weapons check,” Nicki said abruptly.

  Randall, Cali, and grandpa gave the thumbs-up sign.

  Nicki and Randall headed in opposite directions on the property followed by Lloyd who cautiously made his way into the woods near the drive.

  “Time to set up the first tripwire,” he said silently. He nailed the grenade head to a tree about one to two feet above the ground. He reset the spring and inserted a cotter pin to hold the spring in place. He placed a 12-gauge primer in the modified hole that originally contained the grenade primer. He tied fishing line through the loop on the cotter pin and ran the line to a nearby tree where he tapped another nail into the tree about one to two feet above the ground. He cut the fishing line, pulled it taut, and tied it off on the nail in the tree.

  “Process complete. Tripwire one complete,” Lloyd said to himself. “Only twenty-nine more left.”

  Before setting up the next tripwire he would stop and listen to make sure the area was clear. Except for Nicki and Randall, he knew he should be alone. After all thirty tripwires we
re set up, he entered the house from the back porch door.

  “Are Nicki and Randall here?” Lloyd asked Connie who had also been standing guard duty with Cali from inside the house.

  “They were with you. They must still be outside,” Connie said.

  “Damn it,” Lloyd said. “We had a plan, but we never talked about how I would let them know when I was finished.”

  Several hours later, Randall and eventually Nicki came back to the house.

  “About time. I’ve been done for several hours,” Lloyd said.

  “Seriously?” Randall said while looking at Nicki.

  “Better communication. No worries we’ll get better and better as time goes on. While we’re in our ghillie suits, why don’t we move the food from the shed and garage into the house?” Nicki asked.

  With a worried look, Randall jumped in and said, “It has to be done. The sooner the better. No telling when Frank and his family will be hungry.”

  “Perfect,” said Nicki. “We’ll do it later tonight around 2:30 or 3:00 a.m. We need to be cautious,” Nicki finished.

  Randall was stronger than Nicki and would be given the task of moving the food from the shed to the house. Not only was he stronger but he would be faster. Youth and strength had its advantages and with the heavy five-gallon sealed buckets of food, he would need both. Cali knew she needed to help but hadn’t been asked.

  “I’ll help too,” Cali volunteered. “I can carry the smaller stuff.”

  Nicki would set up a protective position outside while Lloyd would man the front door. If either Nicki, Cali, or Randall needed help he would be available. They had a plan.

  33

  Hungry Neighbors

  FRANK COULDN’T STAND BY AS HE LISTENED TO HIS SON constantly whining because they were out of food. He was frustrated that he had seen Oz’s Suburban pass his house several times and each time he saw different people being taken to their house. It was as if Oz and Nicki had invited the entire world to their house, yet he and his family were not. As if that was not enough, he hadn’t seen Veronica, his wife, in six days and the constant wonder of what happened to her ate away at him.

  He tried several times to walk into town, but stores had already been looted and cleaned out; not to mention the walk took three hours each way. Though Frank thought of himself as strong and confident, in one instance he hid as he watched what appeared to be a gang of some type break into and steal supplies from a preacher’s house. The gang placed the preacher and his wife belly first on the front yard grass and stripped the couple of their clothes all while laughing as if this was some sort of game. They loaded their van with as much as it would hold, including food, and left the couple for dead or alive as fate would have.

  As Frank watched what had just happened, his concern was not for the couple, but how he could become a part of that gang. After all, that’s what he had known for most of his life; at least until he was found guilty of second-degree murder and served seventeen years in prison.

  Frank’s thoughts came immediately back to Oz’s house. He somehow knew Oz and his family had supplies and he was going to find out what they had one way or another.

  As best Frank could tell it was around 3:00 a.m. and he couldn’t sleep. He stepped out onto his back porch looking toward Oz’s house.

  “It’s time,” he thought to himself.

  He walked back into the house, got dressed, and cautiously walked to the tree line. His plan was to walk ten feet inside the tree line to make sure he wasn’t seen. Even though he was confident the McTateys were sleeping, he wasn’t taking any chances. Frank entered the tree line and quickly realized he wasn’t as silent as he should be. About every five paces he would step on a branch or twig and knew if someone was outside, he would be heard.

  He slowed his pace and continued. About five minutes later he stopped and tried to peer through the trees. It was dark and with no moonlight to help, he had to take his best guess. Frank knew that Oz’s shed was to the south of his house surrounded by forest. He felt confident he could get in the shed, steal whatever was in it, and get back to his house without being heard or caught.

  As Frank took a step forward he heard a loud noise and fell to the ground. He had no idea what had just happened. He remembered seeing a small flash and then heard ringing in his ear. Even though his vision was fine, he was unable to hear.

  34

  Protecting the Family

  NICKI IMMEDIATELY FROZE WHEN SHE HEARD SOMETHING WALK across the tripwire. She motioned for Randall and Cali to take cover. Randall and Cali dropped the food they were carrying and hid behind the engine block on the Suburban just as Nicki had taught them.

  Lloyd immediately grabbed the night vision monocular and scanned the area. It didn’t take long for him to see an elongated figure on the ground. Whatever, or whoever it was, was clearly not an animal. As he continued to watch the object, he saw it place what appeared to be two hands on the ground and lift itself up. Though he didn’t have a night vision scope, Lloyd knew the general direction of the person and fired two, three round bursts at whoever was trespassing on their property. He brought the monocular back to his eye to see the figure hobbling. It appeared as if he had shot them in the left leg. They were going away from their property albeit at a slow pace.

  “That will teach them,” Lloyd said to himself. Lloyd walked over to Nicki and Randall and whispered, “Whoever it was is gone. We need to finish getting the food in the house. It’s only going to get worse. Randall, your mom and I will continue to keep watch. Nothing, I mean absolutely nothing, will hurt you and Cali.”

  Shaken by what just happened, Randall and Cali both understood the importance of getting the food inside, and though scared, they picked up the pace and carried the food into the house.

  Frank was in pain and going into shock. He had just been shot twice and had to limp home. He had no idea how much blood he had lost and to make matters worse he didn’t have first aid supplies or pain medication.

  For several hours Frank tried to live with the pain. He did everything he could from not moving to taking Tylenol, but it didn’t work. The pain was unbearable.

  “Buzz!” Frank yelled. “Get in here.”

  Without hesitation, Buzz came running to his dad’s side.

  “Buzz, I need you to go to Oz’s house. Nicki is a nurse. Tell her I need help.” Frank was in a very awkward position. Several days ago, he had tried to knock Oz’s front door down and even threatened Nicki. Tonight, he trespassed on their property, was caught, and shot. And now, he was asking for help from the woman whose life he terrorized.

  “The witch is a nurse. She took an oath. She’ll help no matter what,” he said to himself.

  Without questioning his father, Buzz got dressed and headed down the drive to Oz and Nicki’s house.

  They had finished moving the food from both the garage and shed when Lloyd volunteered to watch the house for the rest of the night. He couldn’t sleep. He had just shot a person. Though he was confident it was for the right reasons, it still didn’t feel right. Lloyd peered through the monocular and noticed someone walking down the drive.

  “This night keeps getting better,” he said to himself before waking Nicki. “Nicki, we have someone walking down the drive,” Lloyd said as he gently woke her up.

  Lloyd went back to the main window and now saw the person about 100 feet from the door. He quickly opened the door and immediately snapped his rifle up to his shoulder.

  “Freeze or I’ll shoot,” Lloyd yelled in his best military drill instructor voice.

  “Sir, please don’t shoot. My dad needs help. He’s been shot. He told me to come get Nicki to help.”

  Confused, Lloyd barked back, “Who are you and where are you coming from?”

  “My name is Buzz and we’re your neighbors at the end of the drive. My dad told me to come get Ms. Nicki. My dad is hurt and says he need
s help.”

  Nicki was standing behind Lloyd and heard the conversation. “Buzz, give me a minute,” Nicki said.

  Nicki needed time to think. As a nurse, she was trained to save lives but she was conflicted. This was the man who tried to break into her house and had she not shown up, may have killed her son. Then he has the gall to trespass on their property, probably to either hurt them or steal their food, got caught, shot, and now is asking for help. This was not about being a nurse. This was about being a parent who protects their family come hell or high water. It went against everything she was trained to do but she had made up her mind.

  She turned to Buzz and said, “Buzz, tell your dad I’m not coming. And Buzz, if anything happens and you’re alone, you’re scared, someone tries to hurt, you’re welcome at our house. We’ll take care of you.”

  That night, at that moment, Nicki vowed to make sure Buzz always had food and water.

  35

  Looking for Help

  TWO DAYS LATER OZ, NAOMI, AND CHEYANNE WERE CAMPING outside of Griffin, Georgia. Up to this point, the journey had been slow but challenging. Water was plentiful due to the numerous streams and ponds they passed but food was now at a critical point. Oz had brought enough freeze-dried meals and energy bars to last him two weeks but with Naomi and Cheyanne traveling with him, they would need to stock up soon.