Korean Chaos

by Pete Thorsen

  So I closed our gate and wrapped the closing chain around the railroad tie that I had used for gate posts. About half of the two gate posts had been set into the ground to make them very solid. The barbwire fence was wrapped around the posts where the fence ended at the gate. Now with the gate closed I put the cable around the post about two-thirds of the way up from the bottom.

  Next, I slipped the plain end of the cable through the small loop and pulled it tight around the post. Next, I took the hammer and a couple of long fence staples and stapled the cable to the post just to hold it in position. Now I took the plain end of the steel cable and weaved it back and forth through the gate as I kept it pulled as tight as I could.

  When I got to the end of the gate I again wrapped the cable around the gate post but I made two wraps this time, and I kept it as tight as I could. Then two more staples were pounded in holding that cable very tight to the post so it would not slip and loosen. The cable was plenty long, and there was about five feet of loose cable now.

  I brought the cable from the post up to the first wrap and installed a cable clamp to hold them together. The clamp was very close to the post which I used as a makeshift anvil to pound the ends of the bolts so they could not easily be unbolted to loosen the cable.

  The free end of the cable I wrapped a couple of wraps around the end of the gate then used another cable clamp to clamp it solidly to itself. This one I did not bother to peen the ends of the bolts.

  The gate now could not be opened and would take a good hit from any vehicle. Anyone could easily climb over the gate or the barb wire fence if they wanted. I would think about how I could address that issue later. For now, I knew no one would be driving in here anytime soon. Just because our car and truck were dead, I did not think every car and truck would be.

  And anyone with a running vehicle would have free rein to do as they pleased. People did not know it yet, but right now there were no laws anymore. People could do anything they wanted. And soon they would figure that out, and then they would do anything they pleased. At least until someone stopped them permanently.

  I pulled the wagon back to the shop and put the tools away. Then I started on other projects. I was busy working and did not realize what time it was getting to be. At some point, I had turned on the lights above the work bench without thinking.

  When Karen came in, she mentioned the lights.

  “I could see the lights on from in the house. Doesn’t do much good for me to have these blackout curtains up if you are just going to advertise from the shop.”

  “Okay. I know that, and I wasn’t thinking when I was working. You know how I get a one-tracked mind when I am on a project.”

  “I’m sure it hurt nothing tonight, but you will have to take precautions, so it does not happen in the future.”

  “You are one hundred percent right.”

  “And it's time to come in for supper too.”

  We had a meal about the same as we always do. I wondered what other people would be doing now. Where would they get drinking water? The water tower in town might still have a little water in it, but I kind of doubted it. When people realized that the power was still off, they would start to wonder just how much longer it would be off. And the smarter ones would start filling every container they owned with clean water while it was still available. A bunch of people doing that same thing on top of the regular water usage by everyone would drain the water tower pretty fast.

  Then there would be no drinking water for anyone in town. And where would they get any water after that? Many towns and cities are commonly built next to a water source, like a lake or a river. Our closest town is not. Right now it is a dry town, or soon would be. It is spring, and we usually get a fair amount of rain in the spring. Smart people that have some water saved up could maybe also set up some kind of water catchments to save rainwater so they would not run out of their saved water supply. That would work fine in the country, but in town, everyone would see the water catchments and then just take whatever water they wanted. Unless the owner of the catchments was armed of course. There would be no extra water available to wash the blood off the streets from the water fights that would occur.

  Chapter 12

  Karen had put up all the blackout curtains, and we would be using them every night. I went outside to see how efficient they were and I was pleasantly surprised just how well they worked. With the regular window covering closed and now the blackout curtains also there was no direct light escaping at all and only the hint of any light at any of the windows. A small amount of light was fine. Everybody would be using candles or oil lamps or whatever they had for lighting so a small amount of light would be normal for now.

  Over the next couple weeks I spent a fair amount of time out in the shop but never again did I show a light during the day or in the evenings. We did get a couple of rain showers, and the temperatures were starting to go up as spring progressed. We both thought it was too early yet to plant the garden so even though we were both anxious we did wait.

  We had plenty of seeds that we had stored, but we had not yet bought any seed potatoes. We did have most of a ten-pound bag of potatoes that we had bought just a couple of days before the attack. We saved them and will use them to plant instead of eating them. We hope they work out alright for planters and do not have some kind of treatment or something on them to prevent them from growing and producing.

  We have had no visitors here since the attack and had seen no one go past on the road. This is not really surprising when few if any cars are working. Fuel would not be a problem for awhile because a person could get gas from all the now worthless non-running vehicles.

  I have drained the gas from my truck and filled the tank on the buggy and generator. The remainder I just put into our large gasoline storage tank. The fuel in there had been treated so it should last for some time. Maybe as much as a year or so but even treated it will go bad at some point in the future.

  Karen was somewhat surprised that none of our friends had come here. I reminded her that it would be a very long walk for them with no guarantee we would even be here when they arrived. We are all so used to just running here and there in a vehicle that travels a mile a minute that we forget now that when someone would have to walk everywhere things are a lot different. A ten or fifteen-minute drive is now an all day walk and another day to go back home again.

  We do have the buggy that we could use to go someplace, but any moving vehicle would be a very juicy target. Though we have heard no shooting from here at our place, neither of us has any doubts that things are getting violent elsewhere. Too much population for too few resources with no law enforcement would quickly lead to rampant violence.

  Not that the law enforcement people are all gone, but with no running vehicles and no phones, they would have to see the law being broken before they would know anything about it. And if they did see someone steal something then what? Shoot ‘em? Arrest them and walk them to jail where there is no water or food? And thinking of jails have the cops just released all the prisoners they did have in jails? If not how are those prisoners getting food and water?

  For that matter how is anyone getting food and water? In the country, many have generators and can use them to provide water by running them to power the well pump (if the generator is big enough). But even if they drain the gas from their cars and trucks they will still run out of fuel soon. Then there will be no water at all.

  Solar set ups like ours are not very popular around here. The ones who do have solar do not likely have the battery bank and would not likely have any power now even during the sunny days. The panels would likely still function, and if they had a working inverter, then they could have some power during the sunny part of the day. Depends on if they have a working inverter and how big it is for what they could operate. And then only during the sunny days. And if they had the know how to re-wire it to work now.

  We waited another few days and then started planting the garden. I did
go over the entire garden one more time that morning with the tiller to loosen it up again and mix all the soil. It made it much easier to plant everything that way. We planted all the potatoes of which there were quite a few after we cut them up. We have our fingers crossed that the potatoes will grow and produce.

  We did not plant any corn even though we did have some seed. Corn takes up quite a bit of room in the garden for what food value you get out of them. The seeds will still be fine next year, and we can plant them then if we want to try them. We might enlarge the garden even more next year. We will just wait and see.

  I always wear a pistol on my hip every day all day long. Never had any hint of trouble here yet but it is best to be prepared for it if it does come here. I made a gun rack that I put up on the wall in the kitchen. It holds two rifles, so they are handy if we need them. Cassy knows they are only for Mommy or Daddy and she does not touch them. The two rifles are loaded, but the chambers are empty for safety.

  Karen has done plenty of shooting and is comfortable shooting any gun we own. She has not started carrying a pistol yet, but I have mentioned a couple of times that she should. Then one day we did hear a few shots in the distance. A single shot would likely be someone shooting something to eat, but many shots likely meant violence. Karen put her pistol on that day and now always carries it.

  The garden has been in long enough for the grass and weeds to be growing well in it. Both Karen and I spend time in the garden every day. Cassy wants to help, but as of yet, she cannot tell the weeds from the veggies. I have a tough time with the weeding but I do hoe between the rows every day.

  The potatoes are growing! Both of us were worried about whether they would or not, and it looks good so far. Only time will tell if they get new potatoes under them or not but things are looking good. We have had to water a few times, and we have gotten some rain too. Still, we have had no visitors which I think is perfect. I still fear violence finding us even way out here. Hope not but I do expect it.

  We have heard shots a few times in the last week or two. These are usually single shots or occasionally two shots and most often in the early morning or late afternoon. It sounds like someone is hunting around in the area. I am waiting until fall. I just hope there are critters for me left to shoot by that time.

  Our garden is growing well, thanks mostly to Karen. Oh, I do help her but the garden is her baby, and she is the driving force there. I do what she tells me in the garden, but she does way more there than I do. She seems happy enough with that arrangement. I know I am.

  I did shoot two ground hogs that were garden trouble makers. I used a long barreled twenty-two rifle that was pretty quiet. Even though our riding lawn mower still runs, I have not mowed the lawn this year at all. It looks like a field. And I have not driven the buggy either. I do not want to draw any attention to our place.

  We found human tracks in our garden this morning. It scared Karen something fierce when she found them. It was something I had been afraid might happen. There was nothing ripe enough to pick except some radishes and the leaf lettuce. It did not look like they touched anything that we could tell.

  I was ready in case something like this happened. I had made plans for this eventuality. Over the next couple days, I started deploying my defensive measures. This person came during the night. To me, that means they were up to no good. I am taking no chances here with my family’s safety.

  Chapter 13

  Much of the defensive things I had thought of would have been illegal before because they could cause harm. But there were no laws anymore. So that gave me a free hand to do anything I wanted on my own land.

  I did make four signs that just said: “Keep Out.” I placed these at four places around the perimeter of the property where I thought it was the most likely someone might approach. That would be their only warning, and I figured it should be enough.

  In several spots, there were tall enough trees that I made simple traps. I cut down a few small trees, so I had some poles that were at least four inches thick at the smallest end. I cut them to different lengths to fit where they would be going.

  I had a bunch of ten-inch landscape spikes, and I drilled pilot holes through the poles then pounded in the big spikes, so the now very sharp ends were sticking through at least several inches. The poles were not real heavy, but I thought they would be heavy enough, and I tied ropes to each end and to the trees they go between.

  When someone touched the trip wire, the poles would swing down with the sharpened spikes striking who or what tripped the wires. I made sure the swing was higher than Cassy’s head so she could never be hurt by one of these. It would swing harmlessly over her head. And the same way if it was dog or raccoon that tripped it. An adult human would be impaled.

  I found seven spots where this would work, and I set them up in those spots. I cautioned Cassy to stay away from them. Then I turned to the road frontage we had.

  The logical spot to enter our property was to climb over the gate. It was a tube gate and is very easy to climb over. I couldn’t think of any way to stop that from happening. So let them climb over it.

  I had a bunch of round electric fence posts that I had bought at an auction. I did not want them, but they were in with a pile of stuff that had a few things I did want. I bid and got the whole lot. Now I had a use for those posts. They were three-eighths inch diameter and almost four feet long or so. I cut them up with a bolt cutter. I cut them at a severe angle so when cut it had a sharp jagged end.

  I now had a bunch of these, and I pounded them in at a slight angle facing the road just on my side of the gate. I used them all and also put a bunch just past the gate on each end in case someone climbed the gate posts. That done I went and got a partial pail of plain old-fashioned grease. I smeared that grease all over that gate, so every tube was thoroughly and completely covered in grease. Now it would be harder to climb over that gate, and the odds of slipping and falling onto those jagged posts sticking up was pretty high.

  Next up was something if they made it past the gate and they continued towards our house. I had made a few trip wire shotguns in my shop. They were just short pieces of standard three-quarter inch pipe. I never bothered to cut the pipes to all the same length. They were all between a foot and a foot and a half it looked like. This pipe size is just right to hold a twelve gauge shot shell.

  Each pipe had one end with standard pipe threads. On this end was an altered pipe cap. The cap had a hole in the exact center, and I had welded on an extension that held a spring and a pin that fit through that hole in the cap. The pin had a small hole drilled through it. I used a spring clip commonly called a hair pin clip that fit in the small hole in the pin.

  With the pin pulled back against the spring tension and the hair pin clip installed it would hold that pin and spring back. Pull the hair pin clip out, and the spring would drive the pin smartly into the hole in the pipe cap striking the primer of the shotgun shell inside.

  All I needed to do was fasten those pipe guns to something solid and run a trip wire to the hair pin clips. Trip the wire, and the pipe gun would go off. I pounded in heavy wood stakes, two for each pipe gun to hold them. The guns were far apart and in sets that pointed at each other a fair distance apart.

  I made the trip wires so I could quickly and easily disconnect them. The wires were set up fairly high so coons and such would not easily set them off. Deer would and then we would have venison. I would set the guns so they would be live at night and disconnect them each morning, so there was no chance of one of the three of us setting them off and killing ourselves. Each was loaded with one double oh buckshot shell. The whole front section of our property was covered pretty well with these pipe gun emplacements.

  I fully expected anyone coming onto our property to do so from the county road. The back and sides of the property line were pretty well choked with thorny bushes. Not many would fight their way through them.

  Sooner or later those pipe guns would go off. It was likely the
y would not kill a human on the spot so I would have a chance to question whoever was hit. If they were dead, that was fine too. Either way, they would soon be dead.

  It was over two weeks before anything happened. It was the middle of the night when the loud boom woke us all up. Karen went to Cassy to stay with her. I got dressed and went outside. I was armed with a pistol and a rifle. I went out the back door which I locked behind me. And then I snuck around to the front of the house keeping close to one side.

  I heard something but couldn’t place what exactly it was I that I was hearing. It was coming from between me and the road. There was just over a quarter moon, and it gave me just barely enough light to see where I was going. I did not turn on my bright flashlight.

  I swung way wide around the trip wires. Well to one side so there was no chance I would trip one. I moved ever so slowly, and the noise I was hearing was getting just slightly louder. It was coming from the about the center of the area covered by the pipe guns.

  I stopped when I realized I was even with the noise I was hearing. It was just to one side of me. But I could not tell just how far away. I moved the safety on my rifle to off and holding the flashlight tight to the forearm of the rifle and my finger on the trigger I pointed at the sound and flicked the light on.

  There was a man lying on the ground. He was not moving but was the source of the sound. I moved the light to where I thought the nearest pipe gun was and I saw it tipped up out of position. It must have been the one that fired. I moved closer to the road so there was no way I could accidentally get my foot tangled in the trip wire that was now lying loose on the ground. I assumed only one of that pair of guns had fired.

  I advanced toward the man and shined the light on him. He was covered in blood. The noise he was making was because he was gurgling and trying to breathe. As I watched the noise stopped. He was dead.