Adding fuel to the fire of hysteria that was growing and pulsing through the land, the disengagement of people in the natural flow of society only weakened our already unstable economic position. The stock market was starting to reflect the consternation that most people were experiencing. This made other preppers fear that their ideas of the end times were on the horizon.
I really didn't think anyone should get so distressed. The loss of electricity, though annoying and frustrating, was not a world ending event. Even if the stock market did crash, it wasn't the first time and I was certain, it wouldn't be the last time either. Life had existed before the advent of these luxuries and it would continue forward without them.
The scariest part of all of the chaos, for me, was the riots that were popping up all over the place. Even in places that weren't affected by the recent solar event were showing complications because of the way people were reacting to it. People were migrating from their homes to stay with friends and family who had resources they didn't have or were temporarily unavailable in their areas. This just added more strain to the whole deal.
Some people were acting out from the inability to access their bank accounts because they had no means in which to purchase necessary goods. Some tried to trade goods or services for what they needed, but no one was willing to do that because they were afraid of going without themselves. This made citizens more desperate and things worsened the longer time passed with no resolution.
Businesses were being shut down because they were being over-run with frightened citizens who were now looking to stock up on supplies they feared would cease to be available. Others were just no longer able to get enough to keep up with the demand of their consumers due to the high influx of patrons. Still, others were privately owned, so the families were hoarding their products for their own use.
People were fighting over who was next in line for fuel at the working gas stations. Worse were the fights people were having when they had waited in line for hours only to have the fuel run dry before they got a share of it. Police were being called out to monitor and even manage the traffic flow in the most congested areas. This took a toll on our already exhausted law enforcement.
Gasoline was not only necessary for the operation of motor vehicles, but for generators. For those still waiting for energy services to resume operation, generators were vital. When people were bringing huge gas cans with them to fuel up and not just adding petro to their cars, others waiting got worked up into a frenzy. This became volatile when gas ran out and one person had a tank full plus multiple gas cans and others had none.
Limits were being places on everything. You had a limited amount of gas or food that you could acquire. For a country that wasn't used to being told to conserve or to have personal freedoms curbed, this was an insult. Most citizens just couldn't fathom the necessity to control the distribution of resources because they'd never gone without. Instead, they demanded the release of all the reserves they believed the government and big business had hidden away.
I wasn't sure what the government might have stashed somewhere and I couldn't see how big business was even a concern. All the suspicion was deteriorating the system as much as the tangible problems being battled. It was feeding the beast of hostility and anger that was raging in the darkness.
Chapter Twelve
Society really did start to look like it could collapse. It didn't have to and things could be improved if people would just calm the fuck down. However, the festering phobia that imprisoned most people was taking on a life of its own. Its reach was even evident in small settings, such as my once peaceful neighborhood.
People were starting to give up hope of ever seeing our country recovered. This hopelessness corroded our societal bonds further and people were retreating into the places they felt safest. I could only see this drawback of people paralleled with the image my father had so often painted in my mind. They really had become the terrified animals being persistently backed into that corner of despair.
I thought about the stories my dad told my sisters and me. I tried to relay them to all who'd listen in order to try to calm the mounting apprehension around me, but it didn't seem to help. I couldn't blame people though; I was frightened too. The difference was that my parents taught me to control my emotions, allowing my logic to be my guide. Using the tools my parents gave me, I was able to step back from my feelings and see life with a different set of eyes.
Though I was horribly afraid of what was happening and how people were starting to behave, I kept my cool. I focused my attention on things that were helpful in minimizing my own concerns, while still staying informed as best I could about current events. My family helped me a lot because they would talk to me about it all, encouraging me and easing my anxiety.
I was very thankful that I had an unconventional family. Rae's family was freaking out, leaving Rae to be the voice of reason in their household. She was good at easing her little brother's worries, but her parents were too stressed for her to do much good. We both understood that since they were responsible for making sure the family was provided for and protected, they felt compelled to try to fix the situation. Unfortunately, the situation was broken beyond their capabilities.
Rae was staying half her time at home and half her time at my house. She went home to help her family out, but when she got overwhelmed, she came back. I loved Timothy, Jenny, and Zach, but I was troubled by the Rae's predicament.
“I'm glad you're here,” I said, hugging Rae in welcome.
Rae looked exhausted, “Thanks. I just needed to get away for a little while. You know, try to have some fun.”
I nodded in understanding. “Want some tea?”
“Sure,” Rae said. “Thanks.”
“Yeah,” I replied. “So, how are things? Do you want to talk about it, maybe vent some?”
Rae shrugged. “I don't know. It's not like I can really do anything, right?”
“Yeah, but sometimes talking about things can help ease the stress,” I reminded her. I handed Rae her tea and took my seat at the kitchen table by her.
“You know, it isn't a big deal that we can't use the bank because we don't have any money anyway. Like most people these days, my family lived paycheck-to-paycheck,” Rae said in a tired voice.
Rae wasn't complaining, just commenting. She was never one to bitch about what she didn't have because she chose to be grateful for what she did have. One of the things I loved about her was that Rae just took life as it came at her. She tried to make the best of everything in life, regardless of how big or small it might be.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “All this madness can't be helping your parents businesses either.”
Rae took a deep, cleansing breath and said, “Yeah. No one cares about insurance policies for a future that might not exist and families are just staying home together, so there are no kids coming to daycare.”
“That sucks, man.”
“Big time,” Rae concurred. “How are you guys doing?”
I worried how to answer this because I didn't want to seem like I was flaunting my blessings. I knew Rae wouldn't think of it that way, but I felt insensitive talking about how little this mess was really affecting normal existence of my own family. Still, Rae could see it for herself.
“We're good,” I finally said. “With dad being in the military and mom working for a government hospital, they can still go to work. Mom's duties are a little different since this all came about, but nothing has really changed.”
“Can they access their bank accounts?” Rae questioned.
“Not yet, but they don't really depend on that. You know how they are. We usually eat from the garden or things we've hunted,” I reminded her. “With the electricity back on, the fridge and freezer are working, so we're good. Since we're close enough, mom and dad either walk or bike to work so they don't care about using the car.”
“That's good,” she said dully. “It's nice that some of the people I care about are okay.”
“You know, your parents are welcome to -” I began only to be stopped by Rae raising her hand in a halting gesture.
“Stop right there,” she told me. “You know that my parents aren't about to walk anywhere and they most certainly aren't going to eat squirrels and grass.”
I tried not to laugh, but I couldn't help it. “Squirrels and grass?”
“Yeah,” Rae shot me a genuine smile. “That's what they think we eat over here.”
“That's because that's what you told them we ate!” I accused.
“Yeah, maybe,” Rae looked unrepentant. “But it was only that once.”
I shook my head at her with a little chuckle. “That's all it takes.”
It was nice to have a moment of laughter. I knew we both needed it and I wished we could have more moments like it. I just felt that, despite my optimism, things were probably going to get worse before they got better.
After a few moments of silence, Rae announced, “I probably shouldn't have told them about that time we went up to The North Shore to camp and hike. You remember, that time we ate that bear jerky cooked with weeds.”
I tittered at her and corrected her by saying, “They weren't weeds. I told you, that was wild parsnip.”
“I don't care,” Rae confessed. “You'll probably have to tell me what it is like another dozen times and I still won't remember. It was decent eating though.”
I gave her a look of slight derision, prompting her to yelp, “What?”
I shook my head at her, but refused to answer her. She threw her hands up into the air and looked at me in askance. Still, I just got up and walked over to grab a small bowl of tomatoes before I returned to my seat and the conversation.
“See,” she said. “That's what I mean; right there.”
I looked around confused. “These are just tomatoes.”
“Yeah, from your garden.”
I rolled my eyes at her. “Whatever.”
“You know my parents won't eat anything they find in the yard. If it's not at the grocery store or from a restaurant, it isn't real food,” she said with a slight smile.
Rae loved her family. She loved my family too, but I think she enjoyed the extreme contrasts between them. I often suspected that Rae felt fulfilled because she got different things from her association with each individual family. Her family offered her this steady, modern unit while mine offered this alternative version.
I wanted to tell Rae that her family may not have a choice if things continued on their current course, but I didn't have the heart to say it. It had been a really stressful week and Re didn't need me to add to her worries. It was nice to see her smile and even chortle a bit.
What I did say was, “Hey, do you want to play cards?”
“Sure,” Rae replied. “Rummy?”
“Cool,” I answered.
As I got up to grab a deck of cards, she inquired about Chris. “So are the guys still up north then?”
“Yep,” I said returning to the table. “Since so many businesses are struggling, either closing earlier or not opening at all, the guys didn't have to work. They figured they could sit at home just as well as at the lake, so they went.”
“That's cool,” Rae replied. “When are they coming back?”
“I'm not sure. Chris said he'd call me tonight to let me know, but most likely they're heading back tomorrow morning.”
“Do you guys have plans already?” she asked just to make conversation.
“To hangout here, with you,” I smiled brightly.
Rae looked pleased. “Nice.”
I caught movement in my peripheral view. When I turned to look, I saw my sisters, Georgia and Carolina putting their bicycles into the garage. Rae idly followed my line of sight, wondering what had pulled my attention away from our game.
“Oh, cool,” Rae beamed. “Your sisters are here. Do you think they'll join us in a card game? We could play spades.”
“Do they seem upset to you?” I asked confused and a little nervous.
“Who isn't upset these days?” Rae replied.
“No, really,” I pushed, getting up from the table and going towards the door. “They seem… I don't know.”
“Kind of,” Rae said, turning her full attention towards the open backdoor.
My sisters' movement did seem a bit harried. They walked briskly up the back sidewalk and closed the door behind them when they came inside. That was unusual behavior for my family. We usually always left the door open in favorable weather, at least while we were hanging out in the kitchen.
“What's up?” I asked a little worried.
“Why is the door wide open?” George demanded sharply.
“Have you had the radio or television on lately?” Carolina asked abruptly.
“No,” Rae replied. “Why?”
“Why are you so pissy, Georgia?” I asked defensively. “We always leave the door open.”
“Well, not anymore,” Georgia snapped. “Follow me.”
Rae got up from the table and we followed my sisters into the living room. Georgia grabbed the TV remote and flung it at Carolina, telling her to see if she could get anything to come in on it while she checked the radio. They still hadn't told me what was happening and their peculiar behavior was starting to scare me.
“Have you heard anything from mom or dad?” Georgia asked me.
“No,” I replied. “I haven't been on my phone at all today.”
“Well, check it. Now!”
“What's going on?” Rae asked as I immediately grabbed my cell phone to see if I had any messages or missed calls.
“I don't have any missed calls or texts,” I told Georgia.
Georgia exhaled in annoyance. “Check to see if you make a call or even text on it. Try Chris, as I'm sure he doesn't know what's happening.”
“Fuck, Georgia!” I exclaimed. “We don't know what's happening!”
“Yeah, you're kind of freaking us out here!” Rae told her.
“The television is just static,” Carolina said. She tossed the remote back on the coffee table and came over to stand next to me.
“I don't know what's going on,” I announced. “But I can't make any calls out. It says the lines are all busy and to try back later.”
“Shit!” Georgia exclaimed. “Okay, you text Chris and I'll text mom and dad.”
“What am I supposed to tell him?” I was moving beyond fear towards being pissed off. Why didn't they just explain what was happening? “What the fuck is going on?”
Georgia took a moment to breathe. She closed her eyes and rubbed the back of her neck with her hands. After a moment, she seemed more calm and collected. Oddly, her composure offered me no comfort, especially because I could see my sister shutting down her emotional responses.
“Well, first -” she began.
“First?” I asked. “So it's not just one thing then?”
Rae sat down on the couch. “I'm getting a really bad feeling.”
Carolina sat quietly next to Rae, taking her hand as a means to extend comfort. As she did so, Georgia looked at me and said, “No.”
Rae bent over to put her head between her knees. “I think I'm going to be sick.”
“No, you're not,” Georgia said, easily dismissing Rae's self-assessment. “If you do puke, it better not be on my living room floor or I'll kick your ass right here and now.”
“Georgia!” Carolina snapped, pulling Rae into her arms. “There's no need to be rude.”
Georgia rolled her eyes and tuned both Carolina and Rae out, focusing solely on me. “As I was saying, it started with an attack attempt by some terrorist faction on the Texas power grid.”
“Wh- what?” I was shocked.
“Yeah, apparently some assholes are trying to disable our country more than it is so they can take advantage of our vulnerable state. Makes sense, actually,” Georgia pondered the strategy of the attack. “I mean, if they can knock out the power and cause chaos in Texas then they can move in to pounc
e on our energy companies and destroy our oil reserves with little or no detection. Everyone'll be in chaos trying to handle another downed grid.”
“I guess,” I said. “But if that's true, why'd they wait so long? I mean, we were more impaired a few days again than we are now.”
“True, but planning takes time,” Georgia commented. “Anyway, we were able to thwart their attack, but now it's created hysteria along the southern border and throughout Texas resulting in civil squirmiest.”
“Why are people fighting each other over this?” I felt disconnected. “That's crazy.”
“People are crazy,” Georgia said simply. “Honestly, I just think people are so freaked out that they don't even trust their own neighbor; everyone looks like a terrorist these days.”
“Ugh,” I spat in disgust.
“That's not even the worse part yet,” Carolina informed me as she passed me, heading back into the kitchen.
Carolina liked to be busy when she was upset. That usually manifested in some edible delight for the family, but I wasn't sure what it would mean today. We'd been trying to conserve energy and just eat fresh or dried foods instead of things that had to be prepared on the stove or in the microwave.
As Rae came to stand beside me, she nudged me a little
“You feeling okay?” I inquired.
“Yeah, I'm better,” she said slightly embarrassed. “So what's the worst part?”
“Well, where do I begin?” Georgia asked. She had left the radio on, but turned it to a low volume. It was difficult to make out what they were saying, but if an emergency broadcast were to sound out, we'd be able to hear it enough to know to increase the volume. I suspected Georgia had had set tuned the radio and set the volume the way she had for this very reason.
“Shortly after the attempted attack on the oil companies and refineries in the Houston area, someone exploded a truck in downtown Los Angeles.”
“You mean like what Tim McVeigh did in the Oklahoma City bombing back in 1995?” I asked.
A Ripple of Fear (Fear of Dakota #1) Page 19
