Society's Collapse: The Bug Out

by Jeremy Lock

  “Are you hungry?” Sean asked. Cassidy nodded her head meekly.

  “I hope you don’t mind but I cooked up some food and coffee, come eat.” He said and she got up.

  Sean started her on some vegetables and bacon as the steak wasn’t totally cooked yet. She dug in with ferocity surprising Sean.

  She noticed him staring and said “I haven’t eaten in 2 days” He poured her some coffee.

  “Eat as much as you like, I’ll keep cooking” he said and turned back to the stove.

  By the time she was done she had eaten a full bag of vegetables, half the bacon and a full steak. Sean cooked himself a steak and another bag of vegetables and he sat down to eat. The both ate with quiet ferocity until both were full. Cassidy poured herself another cup of coffee and sat in front of the woodstove staring at the flames through the front glass. Sean was lost as to what to do or say. He was afraid to scare her. He brought his own cup of coffee to the living room and quietly spoke to her.

  “Are you ok?” he asked. The tears started again and she slightly nodded her head while continuing to stare.

  “I’m sorry that this happened to you, but they won’t ever hurt you again.” He said.

  She again nodded her head and continued to stare. Sean didn’t know what to say so he just stood there for a moment.

  “How did you find me?” she asked after a few minutes of silence.

  Sean gave a quick summary of the day before leaving out the rape and the details of the murders. He also explained his intentions of why he came into the house and that he had no idea she had been here.

  “Where are you going?” she asked.

  “New Jersey to start, but probably will head up into NY state. I have property up there, way out in the middle of nowhere.” He said.

  “New Jersey? That’s like 600 miles away!” she replied.

  “Yeah, probably more than that cause I’ll need to avoid major cities” Sean said.

  “And you’re going to walk? That’s going to take forever.” She replied.

  “Not forever, probably about 6 weeks give or take.” Sean replied.

  “You’re crazy.” was all Cassidy could say and went back to looking at the fire.

  Chapter 18

  Sean brought in more firewood from outside and then went back to sorting and organizing his gear. He knew he still had at least one problem left to deal with, but his original plan of inflicting as much pain on the animal in the den as possible was up in the air. Sean figured he would have to see what Cassidy would want and he also had to figure out what to do with her. He would already have been on the road if Cassidy wasn’t in the picture but he couldn’t just leave her, abandon her, he had to make sure she would be ok. After about ½ an hour of tinkering around Sean decided it was time to get some answers out of Cassidy. He again found her in the living room, staring at the fire.

  “Cassidy can I ask you a few questions?” Sean asked. She looked up and blinked a few times bringing herself back to reality.

  “Yeah?” she replied nervously.

  “Do you have any family around? Friends you can stay with?” Sean asked.

  She just shook her head and started crying.

  “No one? You can’t stay here by yourself.” He said.

  “ I only lived here a few years, my parents were killed in a car accident, and then I went away to college last year. I was only home because Gramma was in the hospital with cancer and I was helping take care of her.” She replied.

  “Where were you in school?” Sean asked.

  “Florida State, horticulture major” she replied.

  “Horticulture?” Sean asked puzzled.

  “Pretty much its learning the science of farming, what the plants need, the soil etc..” she replied.

  “Oh thats useful living on a farm.” Sean replied.

  “Yeah, I planned to take over the farm after school, it’s been in my family for 4 generations.” she replied.

  “If you weren’t so close to DC here I would say you would be in good shape but very soon refugees from the city are going to be flooding this area, it’s just not safe.” Sean said.

  “How do you know all this? What do you do?” Cassidy asked.

  “Well up until 2 weeks ago I was a sergeant in the Marine Corps but now I don’t really do anything.” Sean replied.

  “Did you see combat?” Cassidy asked.

  “I did 3 tours in Afghanistan so yes I saw combat” Sean answered but it was clear he didn’t want to elaborate.

  “Where were you heading?” Cassidy asked.

  “I was heading up to NJ to get some of my stuff and then head up into NY State. When my dad died he left me 200 acres of hunting land up there. It has a lot of game, a good water source and room to plant a garden. I was planning on living off the grid.” Sean said.

  “Off the grid?” Cassidy asked.

  “No telephone, no electricity, no internet… Just me living off the land.” Sean said.

  “Were you going to live in a grass hut or something?” Cassidy asked.

  Sean actually laughed for the first time in his memory. “No, there is a good size camper on the property, two bedrooms a bathroom and shower, all the comforts of home.” Sean answered.

  “That doesn’t sound too bad, kind of sounds like you have planned for something like this.” Cassidy observed.

  “Actually I have. Before I enlisted a couple of friends and I were serious preppers. We didn’t plan on an EMP but we thought the economy would collapse so we stored food guns and ammunition preparing to survive, but this is far worse, I never expected to be without my truck, I could be back to safety in NJ in 10 hours with a car now it’s a 6 week walk.” Sean said.

  “I heard one of the men who attacked me say that some older cars still run, is that true?” Cassidy asked.

  “Yeah it’s true. The older vehicles don’t have computers and sensitive electronics that the EMP would short out” Sean replied.

  “Gramps has an old Dodge pickup back in the barn, he only used it on the farm so it’s beat up but it’s pretty old” Cassidy said.

  “Even if it runs I can’t take it from you, it’s probably one of the most valuable things in the country right now.” Sean said.

  “I’m coming with you.” Cassidy said confidently.

  “Cassidy, you don’t even know me, I’m not the person you think I am. I don’t think you will want to go anywhere with me if you knew who I really am.” Sean told her.

  “I see you as a man who protects the innocent, you’ve treated me very well and you don’t even know me. I don’t care what you have done; I know I’ll be safer with you then with anyone else.” Cassidy replied.

  “Cassidy, I’m a killer. I’ve killed so many people that I lost track of how many. And the worst part is it doesn’t bother me. There is something wrong with me, Cassidy. Something very wrong.” Sean said dejected with himself.

  “You were a soldier in a war, a war we didn’t start, you did your duty, how is that so wrong?” Cassidy replied. Sean was getting frustrated.

  “Cassidy, I nearly beat a man to death with my bare hands, that’s why I had to join the military. I was almost charged with attempted murder but a friend stepped in and spared me and got me into the Marines. I don’t think anyone is safe around me.” Sean nearly screamed.

  “You can say what you want, but I’m coming with you. I know I’m safe with you and you would never hurt me like those animals did. I know that you will protect me. I don’t care about your past, I see who you are now and I know you’re not dangerous to me.” Cassidy replied defiantly.

  Sean stood there for a minute not knowing what else to do or say.

  “Well I guess we have worked to do.” He finally replied.

  “Ok, where do we start?’ Cassidy asked.

  “Well, the first thing we need to do is figure out what to do with him” Sean said opening the door to the den revealing the tied up animal.

  Cassidy almost screamed when she saw the monster
that had killed her family and tortured her for days. But she kept it together.

  “What are you going to do with him?” Cassidy asked.

  “Well, that’s your decision” Sean replied.

  “You mean should we call the police?” she asked

  “There are no police, you know what he has done, you know he is guilty, what should his punishment be?” Sean told her.

  “You mean should we kill him?” Cassidy asked.

  “I mean how painfully should we kill him. Clean and quick or painful and slow.” Sean said coldly.

  Cassidy thought for a minute, the thoughts of painful revenge filling her mind.

  “Just do it quick” she said. “As a Christian I believe in forgiveness and turning the other cheek, but I also believe in justice and I can’t set him loose to hurt someone else. If he deserves torture God will make that decision, not me.”

  Sean just nodded and pulled the man back up to a seated position. Sean pulled out his kabar knife and turned to Cassidy.

  “You can go upstairs, you don’t have to watch this” Sean stated.

  “I think I do, he haunts my dreams and maybe seeing his death will fix my head.” She said without too much confidence.

  Sean didn’t reply, he stepped behind the man and firmly grabbed the head with his left arm. The man attempted to fight, to scream, to do anything to stop his imminent death, but nothing would stop it. Sean’s blade entered the base of the man’s skull and he “pulled the plug” as it was known. It was an instant death. Cassidy stood there staring in disbelief for a moment.

  “Cassidy?” Sean said calmly.

  “Yeah.” she finally replied turning towards him.

  “He did this to himself, now go upstairs and pack some clothes; we need to leave by tonight, Ill clean up this mess.” Sean said to her calmly.

  “Ok” was Cassidy’s reply and she turned and walked upstairs.

  Sean carried the dead man out with the others and then headed out to the barn. Sure enough there was a 1986 Dodge Ram pickup truck there. Sean climbed in and found the keys in the ignition. He tried turning the truck over but it didn’t respond. He popped the hood and checked the battery connections, which were all ok. Next he checked the fuse box. He found several blown fuses and many were important. He switched out unnecessary fuses with more essential ones but he was unable to find a fuse to switch out the bad fuse to the alternator which was essential. He searched through the barn but couldn’t find anything. He went back to the house to find Cassidy. He found her in her room quietly packing clothes into a large duffel bag.

  “Is there a workshop or anything around, I need some parts to get the truck started.” Sean said.

  “In the basement, Gramps was always down there tinkering with stuff.” Cassidy replied as tears came to her eyes.

  Sean didn’t know what to say so he went to the basement. He pulled out his small flashlight hoping to find a door to let in some daylight. Moments later he found the double metal doors to the outside and opened them up. The basement was a do-it-yourselfers dream. He found a full set of wrenches, ratchets, and screwdrivers perfectly aligned in drawers in the big rolling toolbox. He found all sorts of valuable hand tools all perfectly placed on hooks on a far wall. There were several boxes of repair items all labeled with its contents. Sean found a box labeled “Dodge” and pulled it out. He carried outside to get a better look. He found several replacement parts, even some extra fuses for the truck, but none that could replace the 100 amp blown fuse. He was growing frustrated but had an idea. He found a box of home electrical supplies and pulled out a short piece of 12ga wire. He went to the tool bench and found some wire cutters. He stripped about 1 1/2inches of wire from the end and then cut the short piece of wire off. He carefully bent the wire, using another fuse as a template, and made himself a jumper. If the alternator failed and overcharged the system they would be in trouble but this would allow the trucks alternator to provide them power. He walked back to the barn and installed the makeshift fuse into the box and then went to try the ignition. He crossed his fingers and then cranked the engine. It turned over and over and over but didn’t catch. He gave the engine a minute and then cranked again pumping the gas. Just as he was ready to give up the engine finally caught, idling roughly. He gave the engine gas and the idle leveled out. He looked at the gas tank gauge; it was exactly at ¼ of a tank. He knew that would not get them very far. He knew there was an infinite supply of fuel on the road, if it was safe enough to stop and get it. Sean drove the truck to the back side of the house, being sure to keep it out of sight of the road. Sean checked his watch and realized it was after 2pm already. He went inside to check on Cassidy. He was surprised to find Cassidy gathering up food into plastic bins in the kitchen.

  “How much food do we have?” Sean asked her as he walked in.

  “3 or 4 days’ worth if were careful.” Cassidy replied.

  “Ok, good. The other thing we can use is any Jewelry, alcohol and guns and ammunition. Those are excellent barter items. And any medical supplies, hygiene products and cooking implements are worth their weight in gold.” Sean said.

  “Ok, I’ll gather up everything I can find.” Cassidy replied.

  Sean started loading up the food into the back of the truck and then loaded a number of tools that they may need for their trip and their off the grid home. He loaded up wrench’s, a good socket set, pliers, vice grips, wire cutters, several different hammers, an axe, a hatchet, several shovels, hoes, a pick axe, pitch forks and several different hand saws. When he grabbed the metal hacksaw he had an idea. He ran upstairs and grabbed the 2 shotguns and returned to the basement. Both guns were long barreled hunting guns and not designed for personal defense. Using a large vise he first cut the 20 ga shotgun down so the end of the barrel was flush with the end of the magazine chamber. He de-burred the end of the barrel and then moved on to the double barrel 12ga shotgun. He decided that he was going to make the shogun as compact as possible. First he cut the barrels down to only 12” long. Then he cut off the butt stock with a hand cross-cut saw to approximately a pistol grip. Then using some hand files he smoothed out the handle. He grabbed the gun and felt that in a close quarter situation it would be ideal. He loaded a number of hand tools, boxes filled with random boxes of nails, screws and misc. brackets and hinges. He also grabbed the boxes of automotive parts, household electrical parts and plumbing parts and loaded them in the back of the truck. Going back upstairs he checked on Cassidy, who had a good size box of hygiene products and a much smaller collection of jewelry. It was almost 5pm and he wanted to be on the road by dark, hopefully making the 10+ hour drive in the darkness. He knew a major hurdle was going to be fuel. The movie style syphoning of sticking a hose down the filler neck wasn’t feasible in today’s modern cars; they all had devices installed to block a hose from getting into the tank. So the easiest way to get the fuel would be to spike the tank and then catch the fuel. The problem he had was he only had a small 3 gallon bucket and a 2 gallon gas can to collect the fuel and neither would fit underneath a small car. Sean had an idea but wasn’t sure it would work. In the basement he found a short piece of thin walled stainless steel tubing and a piece of garden house. Test fitting the garden house he found that it snugly fit over the diameter of the steel pipe. Using the vise and the hacksaw again he cut a steep taper to the end of the steel pipe. He de-burred the end and made sure it was sharp. Then, using a hose clamp, attached 1 6’ piece of hose to the end of the 18” sharpened pipe. He wanted to test his device and looked around the shop. He saw a few metal cans of lacquer thinner on the metal shelves. He moved the cans down to a shelf about 8 inches off the ground. He stuck one end of the hose into the bucket and then drove the spike into the can. He watched the hose and waited but only a trickle of the fluid was coming out. He raised the can up and it didn’t really improve the flow. He sat there confused for a moment but then noticed the sides of the can were pulled inward. He put the can back on the lower shelf and unscrewed the top of
the can and the fluid flowed freely. He smiled, the test was good and so long as he had the can, bucket and a funnel he would be able to fuel up the car. Now he needed to roughly calculate how much fuel he would need to make the 800 mile trip. He hoped the truck got better gas then he thought. At 12 mpg it would take over 60 gallons of fuel to just get to his storage unit in NJ. And depending on the fuel tank in the Dodge he might have as little as 5 gallons to start. He looked in the glove box and found the original owner’s manual for the truck in great shape for its age. After looking he shook his head: The good news was the truck had the optional 30 gallon tank so he had around 8 gallons in the already. But the estimated fuel mileage for the truck was 15 mpg. That meant just over 50 gallons to make it to NJ giving himself 200 miles of leeway to move around major highways and cities. Sean walked inside and placed his Virginia state map and his US street atlas on the kitchen table and started plotting his route. Cassidy was back in the living room and quiet. Sean had no idea what to say to her. He knew psychologically she was a mess but he had been able to compartmentalize the horrors he had seen in his life but that wasn’t a common trait. Most people lived in a bubble from the horrors of the world at large and the news stories and movie violence could never prepare the average person for the real thing. Sean focused on plotting his route and alternate routes to get north. The wave of refugees would start soon, and he needed to get himself and Cassidy to safety.