Next World Series (Vol. 1): Families First

by Ewing, Lance K.

  Sharon had always thought it was amusing when people in town would talk about grassfed beef or organic this or that, free-range cattle and chickens. They had been doing this for 60 years here. They just called it ranching.

  Bill and Sharon needed to sit with the elders of the Ranch before everyone showed up for lunch. The leaders weren’t all old, but they took care of the people here and had long ago earned their respect, much as the elders of a Native American or any other tribe over thousands of years.

  They were able to gather most of them together in about thirty minutes for a meeting in the Pavilion basement.

  The Ranch was run much like a Fortune 500 company. The spiritual leader, John, was the equivalent of the CEO. The others rounded out a board of trustees. John was a confident man with a gentle spirit. With wavy dark hair and piercing blue eyes, he was a born leader.

  Bill started with a question. “Does anyone know what’s happened, beyond the power going out?”

  “Well,” said an older man in the back. “We’ve been trying to get the two generators online, just like always after an outage, but they’re not working. Nothing’s even turning over. So I am a bit concerned about what that means.” “Anyone else?” asked Bill. No one spoke up.

  Bill spent the next twenty minutes explaining what an EMP is and why he thought this had happened today. When he finished his impromptu speech, the room was silent. After almost a full minute the spiritual leader spoke. “OK,” he said. “We need to get a plan together before we address the group.”

  “I’d like to say something first,” said Sharon. “The information we have given you is accurate and will put us miles ahead of everyone else in this Valley and in town that think this is just another power outage. I learned this from my son Lance, who you all know grew up here on this Ranch. I have an idea from our conversations how this may play out here.

  “We will no doubt have to limit those coming here at some point. I want to be clear now. After more than a dozen conversations with my son, I know he will be coming here with his family, and probably some friends as well.

  “I would like your agreement, John, that they will be welcomed, no matter how long it takes them to get here. I have no doubt that anyone traveling with them will be an asset to our community.”

  “Of course they will be welcomed here,” agreed John. “All those in favor, say ‘Aye,’” he continued. All present confirmed with “Aye.”

  “Thank you all,” Sharon said, “and thank you, John. I know you won’t regret it.”

  At the start of lunch John said the prayer. All in attendance held hands at their individual tables, as they always did at lunch and dinner.

  Dear Lord, thank you for this abundant meal we are about to partake in. Thank you for the kinship and close family we have all become, strengthening every day. We thank you for a good harvest in our garden this season and for keeping our livestock strong and safe from predators.

  We ask that you keep watch over us and give us the wisdom and strength to persevere in this new and unknown land.

  We thank you for your ever-present guiding hand. In your name we pray. Amen.

  The nearly 150 people replied, “Amen.” There were a few people with puzzled looks after the prayer, but most just enjoyed their lunch.

  After most people had finished their lunch, John addressed the group:

  “As you all must know by now, the power is out and our generators have not turned on. For the old-timers here, this is a first. I’m going to try and give everyone here the short version of events for now. We will have another talk here at noon tomorrow to go over specific details of our future plans.”

  John addressed the group with a watered-down version of the EMP speech Bill had given earlier. He did not want to incite panic and relayed just enough for concern but with an optimistic plan if they all worked together.

  An hour later John and the other leaders met with Bill and Sharon at John’s home about a half mile south of the Ranch. There were about seven additional properties up and down the Valley, owned by the Ranch. The Valley was shared with a large group of The Church of the West followers, who had about 200 acres of land just north, and there were a few scattered farmers nearby with 10 to maybe 50 acres each.

  “Thank you all for being here,” started John. “I wanted to get some more information from Bill and Sharon and formulate an initial plan for the Ranch and all who call this place home.

  “Let’s start with the positives of our Ranch and this Valley as it applies to survival and self-preservation. Bill, can you give us the top five or ten things we have available that would help us now?”

  “Sure,” said Bill, without hesitation.

  “The four top things we need to be concerned with right now are:

  “Number one: Shelter. We have enough houses, apartments, condos and trailers to house about 250 people comfortably. As of today, we have 156 full-time residents, including 22 kids and young adults ranging in age from 2 months to 17 years. We also, as most of you know, have three pregnant women, the first of which is due in about two weeks. Our adults range in age from 18 to 92, with about 30 people being over the age of 70. This may cause a problem we will get to later. Shelter-wise we can accommodate about 100 additional people if it comes down to it.

  “Number two: Water. We have the canal running behind the Ranch that varies in volume, depending upon the season. It’s a good backup but not wholly reliable on its own. The reservoir that the city put in down the road in our Valley may be an option but we can’t be sure.

  “For anyone who doesn’t know, it was built to provide emergency water to Loveland and the surrounding area. We can expect someone to be keeping a close eye on it sooner than later.

  “We have always relied on our deep well, all the way back to the 1940s when this Ranch was first started. For the last 40 or so years, we have relied on electric pumps to draw the water out of the ground and electric filters to take out any impurities. However, this wasn’t always the case. As some of the older folks here can tell you, it was handled quite efficiently without electricity for years, although only having to supply about 70 or 80 people back then.

  “Lastly the Big Thompson River flows heavy year round and is about three miles down the road, to the southwest of us. This is an option only if we can transport water efficiently.

  “Number 3: Food. Thankfully, we are positioned well with respect to that. We have nearly 120 steers and about 25 milking cows on the property. We also retain three bulls for reproduction. Our turkey population is around 200, and about the same for laying hens. We milk around 20 goats daily and have a few males for reproduction. We have 30 head of sheep and around 10 pigs. Let’s make a note to work on some breeding there. As well, we have a few llamas for protection.”

  Llamas had been used by the Ranch for about the last ten years. It was the only thing to protect the grazing sheep and calves from mountain lions and coyote packs. The llama will deliver a devastating front kick to the predator, without fear of reprisal. The llamas had to be switched out every couple years; they were so protective of the animals that they eventually would not even let a human near them. Some of the farms down the Valley, we heard, would tie their dogs outside to a pole to act as an alarm for their livestock, only to find the dog mutilated the next morning by a mountain lion or coyotes. The Ranch never once lost a llama.

  “We also have our 4.5-acre garden, producing over 80 types of vegetables, fruits and berries,” Bill continued. “I won’t go into each type at this point, but you have been eating the wide variety for years in our Pavilion. As you know, we all pitch in each growing season and can everything we won’t immediately consume. We then store it in one of our root cellars.

  “We have two double-wide trailers that have a year’s supply of frozen food in them, which will feed 150 people. If we can’t get the generators back online quickly, we will have to try and preserve that food by any means necessary and as soon as possible. There are other ways to do this besides
just canning, and we have our senior population that can guide us through the process. It will no doubt be a lot of hard work and will require nearly everyone’s assistance.

  “Number 4: Security. We will be a target, or perceived safe haven, for many types of individuals, as well as groups, in the coming days. Over the years we have welcomed thousands of people from all over the country, and the world, to our church services and to learn our ways. We have hosted a large concert in our fields for the past few years, drawing thousands of people for three or four days. All of these people, most of them good souls with honest intentions, are about to face very hard times where they are now. While others head blindly into the mountains, hoping to hunt for food and just survive, these people will remember a rich Valley, ripe with fruits and vegetables, plenty of livestock, and stored food. Many of these people stood next to each of us and helped can thousands of pounds of meats and vegetables. Some worked in our butcher shop and others in our grain mill. Many worked with our animals, and even more passed through our kitchens and helped prepare our meals.

  “The problem is, we can’t help everyone. If we try, we will all suffer the consequences and none of us will survive this. We need a security plan and quick.”

  Bill added: “I think my son will bring about 15-25 people, including his family, if I were to guess. This leaves us about 80 spots max open to ensure our survival.”

  John continued: “We need to choose carefully who will be asked to stay when people begin arriving. We also must know where and how we will defend our community. We are worshipers of God, we would all agree. That’s why we are here. But God would not want us to lay down and be run over by those who would be intent on taking what we have built here for their own gain. We must continue to serve the Lord, whatever it takes, and mark my words it will not be without bloodshed.

  “Those are the top four and will require much more discussion over the next few days. There are a few other points to be made also.

  “We must try to start every vehicle on the property, as soon as possible. There are some old tractors, cars, and of course our trusty 1950s fire truck that will probably start or be able to be fixed fairly easily by our mechanics. We need to separate these machines and vehicles, as they are now worth their weight in gold.

  “In a pinch, we do have 20 or so good riding horses that have all been broken for riding.

  “We need to take an inventory of any guns on the property. We have a few hunters here and probably some other folks who just have something hidden away, like we do. I’m not saying we should take them from any of our residents, but we need know what we have available.”

  * * * * * * *

  Chapter Five ~ Plano, Texas

  I looked at my map and realized we only had about six miles before we would arrive at Jake and Nancy’s house. I wanted to find out more about them. They were good people and knew how to handle themselves in this crazy new world.

  “So you guys live in Plano,” I remarked as more of a statement than a question.

  “Yep,” replied Jake, “for the past year, since we moved from Colorado.”

  “Colorado?” I asked, surprised. “Why did you leave there?” was the question I always got.

  “Well, we both got hired on with Toyota for their new plant here in Plano. The pay and benefits were better than anything we could find back home, and we could work in the same place.” “Plus, they’re family oriented,” added Nancy, “so I get to spend more time with our son, Danny.”

  “That’s good,” I said. “How old is he, if you don’t mind me asking?” “Not at all,” said Jake. “He will be five in two weeks.

  “You know,” he added, “it’s funny. Since we’re both ex-military, you think you’re hard until a little guy comes along and softens you right up.” “I know the feeling with my guys,” I replied.

  “What do you have?” asked Nancy, sounding genuinely interested. “My wife, Joy, and I have twin boys, Hudson and Jax, who just turned four, and a two-year-old named Hendrix.”

  “That’s a cool name,” acknowledged Jake. “How did you get that one past the wife?”

  “Didn’t have to,” I laughed. “It was her idea. She asked, ‘How about the name Hendrix?’ right after the sonogram showed it would be a boy.”

  I didn’t want to seem pushy or like I had an agenda, though I clearly did, but I had to ask these two some questions before we got to their drop-off. “Where are you from in Colorado?” I asked. “Boulder,” said Nancy. “I really miss it…”

  “I know Boulder well,” I said. “I grew up in Loveland, about 40 minutes north of there, right in the foothills.”

  “Yeah,” said Jake. “We used to go through there a lot on the way up to Rocky Mountain National Park. It’s no Boulder but it’s a cool little town,” Jake joked.

  “That’s true,” I admitted. “My parents and brother still live there and we try to get back to visit every year. Do you guys have family down here?”

  “No,” said Nancy with a sigh. “They’re all back home.”

  “Who’s watching Danny?” I asked, with genuine concern. “He’s with our sitter at our house,” said Nancy. “I just want to get to him as quickly as we can.”

  “Then what?” I asked. There was no response from either of them and I thought I had overstepped my bounds.

  Finally Jake replied, “That’s a good question.” “Yes,” responded Nancy. “We haven’t thought about it, really. I mean, we were kind of prepared if the economy collapsed. We were just going to take a few things we had stored and drive back to Boulder. We didn’t count on this… I mean, we don’t even have transportation anymore.”

  As I was about to answer with a slight upside to her concerns, the low rumble of an engine came from behind us.

  Great, I thought. The one car that works is a cop car coming to arrest us for that earlier incident.

  It was thankfully an old Ford pickup that may have been blue at one time but looked more bondo now.

  There were two guys in the front cab, plus the driver. They were going at least 30 miles an hour. It was impressive, considering they were dodging stalled cars on both sides of the street.

  They roared past us without a glance. “That,” I stated, “is the king of the road.”

  “What’s going on?” asked Nancy. “How can they be driving now?”

  “From the research I’ve done,” I interjected, “there are some cars that can survive an EMP. They were made before about 1978 and don’t have all the modern electronics that newer vehicles have. So they at least have a chance of still running. The only problem is getting gas. The pumps won’t work without power, but you can siphon gas from all these other cars here,” I added, as I pointed to the cars on the road.

  “That’s what we need,” stated Jake. “It could get us home.”

  “Is that your plan?” I asked—“to get home?”

  “I guess so,” said Jake. “What are we going to do here?”

  As Jake was talking, I was formulating a plan. Everything I had read and listened to on audiobooks about the end-time was consistent in one thing. Groups survive and individuals don’t.

  I knew I had to keep these two, and of course little Danny, with us. So I started to slow just a little behind our group to talk to Jake and Nancy in relative privacy.

  “I have been preparing for something like this for a while,” I said. “I have provisions put away for more than just my family. I want to get to Colorado as soon as possible, and I think you do as well. Would you consider gathering your things after you get your son and coming to my house with me?”

  “I don’t want to speak for Jake,” replied Nancy, “but I think that’s a no-brainier.”

  “We need to stick together,” remarked Jake. “We’re like-minded and neither of us is going to get very far on our own.”

  “Agreed,” I responded, relieved to have this behind us.

  “What about the others here?” asked Nancy. “I wish we could help everyone we know and meet,
but I know we just can’t.”

  “We do need to get them home, though,” I said. They agreed. As Jake advised, “Everyone deserves a chance to make it.”

  We dropped our companions off, one by one, veering off course just a bit when necessary. One of the guys lived about four miles east of Preston Road and didn’t even ask us to veer off. He just remarked, “Thank you for getting me this far” and headed east. We were about a mile from Jake and Nancy’s street when the last of our group, two female roommates, came to their crossroad. They lived in Plano. “We’re west, about a couple miles,” they said. “Thank you for your help.” But I couldn’t just let them go. I had made a promise to get females home within that distance.