by Steven Kagey
Brian hung the clipboard up, looked around, and took a deep breath. He was proud of his group’s accomplishment. No man should be ready for the world to end, but every man should be ready for the end of the world. Brian felt sufficiently prepared to tackle it head on.
The storage room was what was called a cold room, a modern day root cellar. These were typically in the basement and built to be outside the footprint of the house so the coldness of the ground and weather would keep them cooler than if the house was sitting on top of it. They were intended for storage of canned goods and produce.
Brian had insulated their cold room better. He installed a drain and air circulation system to turn it into their survival storage room. In the middle of the floor was a self-regulating dehumidifier that only ran for a few hours a day and had a drain tube that ran to a drain in the floor. The room had remote temperature and humidity sensors, along with water detection sensors on the floor so that the room could be checked even when the door was closed.
Brian had prepared the room to have a hidden door. The adjoining room was wall to wall shelves, and the door was going to look like all the other shelving units with a hidden lock mechanism. It would prevent anyone from finding and accessing the room without prior knowledge or invitation. Brian had been busy lately and had neglected to get the necessary supplies to finish it off. Since most of the prepping supplies were in place, he needed to finish the door project. He’d start working on it this Friday and get Sean and Craig to come over to help get it hung up this weekend, as well as go through all the supplies the group had stored.
Chapter 3
After checking the forecast, Brian saw that it was going to be uncommonly cold for a mid-September night, predicted to be in the upper 40s. He went into the greenhouse to make sure the automatic louvers were functioning properly, and the solar panels that powered the louvers were clear of dirt and debris. The greenhouse itself was a sunken pit greenhouse. The body of the greenhouse was below the surface of the ground with a lean-to glass roof that faced southeast. By having the greenhouse below ground level, the temperature of the Earth kept the greenhouse warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.
Brian had a gravity fed pellet stove in the greenhouse for those colder winter nights to keep the chill out. It wasn’t going to be cold enough to fire up the stove, but he still checked his supply of wood pellets. On his way out of the greenhouse, he grabbed two bushels of produce that were sitting next to the door. Brian had prepared an excellent variety of September harvest vegetables to take over to Craig’s house, with potatoes, peppers, cabbages and some cantaloupes. Craig didn’t have a garden or greenhouse and would appreciate the fresh food.
Craig owned an auto repair garage and lived next to the interstate where business was good. His wife Lillian was a nurse at the local hospital which had a shortage of nurses, so she worked a horrible shift every other day. Craig’s seventeen-year-old son David was a good kid. He was working with his dad in the shop after school and on weekends. Craig and Lillian’s eleven-year-old daughter Patricia also helped out in the shop as much as she could. It was always funny to Brian to pull up and see an eleven-year-old girl standing on the bumper of a truck working on the engine, covered in grime.
Brian’s daughter Avery and Patricia were best friends. It was a shame they went to different schools. Still, anytime they were together they were inseparable. Brian had to keep a spare set of kids’ overalls in the truck because the two girls would always end up under the hood of a vehicle that was in the shop with Avery asking questions and helping Patricia. The girls would be covered in grease and Evelyn was not happy when Avery would come home with her clothes ruined.
Craig had many hobbies, and he recently became the HAM operator of the group. He had a decent radio setup at his house and was working on getting portable radios for everyone. They already had a few of the rechargeable two-way radios that you could buy at the local electronics stores, but nothing long range.
When Brian pulled up to the shop, Craig looked up and saw him coming. He ran over to the garage bay doors and closed all three of them, then turned off the lights in the building to make it look like no one was there.
Brian chuckled. “Jackass.” He got out of the truck and said in a loud voice, “Looks like no one is here, I guess I will take these fresh veggies somewhere else…”
The doors opened and Craig said, “Hey now, don’t do anything hasty.” The two men laughed and shook hands, carrying on with small talk for a few minutes.
Brian motioned to the truck. “I have something for you.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” Craig said. “I have something for you too.”
Brian raised his eyebrows. “Oh really?”
Craig beamed from ear to ear. They got the bushels of food from the truck and headed into the house. Craig immediately beelined for the office with Brian trailing behind him. Once in the office, Craig presented Brian with a desk full of portable HAM radios.
Brian’s heart jumped. “Oh man, I didn’t think you were going to get them yet.”
“They went on sale on Amazon and I couldn’t let them pass by without getting them.”
Brian noticed that there were two different brands on the desk and asked why.
“I bought two different brands and models,” Craig explained. “Baofeng UV-5rs and Wouxun KG-UV6d(x). Some are more expensive than others, and there is some debate on the prepper forums if the more expensive ones are better or not, so I got a mix to compromise with price and possible performance.”
Brian nodded.
“I got four of the more expensive ones, the Wouxun,” Craig went on. “One for your house, and the others for Sean’s, Doc Hughes’, and my family’s house. These all have an extended range antenna on them. We have eight of the Baofeng, the less expensive ones. These will be for the two vehicles in every family.” Craig then proceeded to pull out all the chargers. He also had some regular battery adaptors for each one. “The battery pack adaptors can be used if the rechargeable battery is damaged and cannot be recharged. With the adaptors, the radios can be used with AA batteries.”
“What are we going to do for electromagnetic pulse (EMP) shielding?” Brian asked.
Craig pulled out a stack of Faraday bags, which would absorb and prevent any electrical pulse energy from being able to short out the circuitry in the radios.
Brian was impressed. Craig had indeed delivered on the communications gear for the group.
“How long before they’re ready to be handed out?”
Craig grinned. “They’re ready right now. I finished programming them last night, and they are set up with all the local police and fire department frequencies for the city and surrounding counties. I programmed all federal frequencies that were available to the general public, along with all weather and NOAA radio channels. I also set up ten channels for the group's communication needs.”
While Brian was excited to get out and test them, Craig cautioned him that he needed to get his HAM operator license before he could legally transmit on them without an emergency.
“Let’s get the group together this weekend and I will transmit out to them for some radio checks,” Craig suggested. “I put together some books with code phrases and code words, radio operation instructions, and how to maintain communications security while speaking on the radio.”
Craig learned proper radio etiquette and jargon from books and the internet. Brian knew how to transmit securely and talk over the radio, but no one else in the group had any military experience so the books Craig made would be useful. The men stuffed everything into its Faraday bag, and Brian loaded the gear in his truck.
Another contribution Craig made to the group was to help gather and fix up some older vehicles for the group. Any vehicle older than 1965 did not have a computerized electrical system that could be fried by an EMP blast. Craig had a few older car engines for vehicles he intended to restore. One year while the guys were in high school, Craig had bought a 1978 Fo
rd F150 and the engine had gone out. Craig decided to drop a 1963 Ford Thunderbird engine into the truck. Later that night he called Brian to let him listen to it over the phone and told him that as soon as he revved it up, it broke all the motor mounts in the truck from the amount of torque it had. Craig was hooked and loved that truck. He had helped get a 1965 Ford Falcon up and running for Sean’s parents and was in the progress of restoring a 1962 Chevy C/K 10 truck for Brian’s family. Doc Hughes had found a 1959 Oldsmobile 98 that ran, and Craig was helping him fully restore it.
“Did Lillian come across any prepper doctors at the hospital?” Brian asked.
Craig shook his head. “She hasn’t said anything.”
She had plain out refused to ask any of them if they were preppers because she said it was embarrassing and she would not commit social suicide like that around her colleagues. She was less supportive of the prepping than Sean’s wife. Craig had to tell her that the guys were paying him to help them fix their older vehicles to get her off his back about that part.
Lillian had reluctantly agreed to at least keep an ear out for any of the doctors mentioning that they were a prepper and to tell Brian, but he had to promise to keep her name out of it if he approached them about joining the group. So far she hadn’t discovered any.
“Craig, can you come by this Saturday to help with the stockroom door in the basement?”
“Yeah, sure. Lillian will be at work so the kids will be with me.”
Chapter 4
With a wave, Brian pulled out onto the highway and decided to drop by Doc Hughes’ office to give him their radios. He pulled up in front of the veterinary clinic and walked inside.
“How can I help you?” the receptionist said, then looked up and saw it was Brian. She nervously rose up in her chair to look over the counter at the floor next to Brian. Once she saw he was alone she relaxed and smiled at him. Brian looked confused.
“I’m here to see Dr. Hughes,” he said.
“One moment,” the receptionist said, and stepped in the back, returning a moment later. “He’ll be out in just a minute.”
Doc Hughes opened the door to the office area and stuck his head out. “Hey, Brian. Come on back.”
As Brian got to the door, the doctor looked behind him. Noticing the doctor’s reaction was similar to the receptionist’s Brian asked, “What’s going on?”
The doctor chuckled. “We were checking to see if you had Beast with you.”
Brian laughed as he realized they all were afraid of Beast and that was why they acted so nervous.
“Doc, you know Beast likes you.”
“He likes me when I am at your place, but when he comes here he becomes…well, he becomes a beast.”
Brian smiled. “I’m not too fond of people sticking things in my butt either so he might take after me on that one.”
The doctor chuckled. Then straight faced he said “Seriously, Brian, the last time you were in with him we had to put a muzzle on him. When he growled even with that muzzle while we were trying to examine him, everyone in the office had a little pee come out. After y’all left, it took everything I could do to talk my assistant into not quitting. She said if she stayed she wanted me to drop you as a client. I told her I couldn’t do that because you were a friend. I had to promise her that she wouldn’t ever have to help with Beast again.”
Brian let out a hearty laugh and shook his head. He opened the bag with the three radios for the doc and his wife Janice. “We now have portable HAM radios for the group.”
“Nice.” Doc said as he inspected the radios. “But we need to have a license to use them, right?”
“We can listen and monitor them, but to transmit you need a license, yes,” Brian told him. “If the shit hits the fan, that law becomes null and void.”
Brian showed him the two different models, one for the house and two for their vehicles, and explained all the parts and accessories. Then he showed him the code book that Craig had made up and how to use it.
“Thanks for bringing the radios by,” Doc Hughes said. “I have to go now though, I have a patient waiting.”
The two shook hands and Brian headed for the door. “Oh hey,” he called over his shoulder, “Sean and Craig are coming over to the house this weekend to help with the door and their families will be there too.”
Doc smiled. “That would be great. Janice has been wanting to see the kids.”
“Great, then I’ll see you Saturday.”
Brian had always wanted to have a doctor as part of their group for the obvious reasons. Without knowing any personally and Craig’s wife refusing to introduce him to any, he was not sure how he was going to fill that role. During a routine appointment with Beast, Brian had nonchalantly asked Doc Hughes if he happened to be a prepper or had any inkling to be one. The doctor seemed surprised that his client had asked such a question, then stated that he was a mild prepper and that his wife Janice was always buying extra nonperishable food just in case.
Brian had explained that he was interested in the doctor fulfilling the medical role for the group. The doctor asked Brian if he realized that he was not a people doctor. Brian laughed and said, “We are all animals, Doc. When the world goes to hell, I would rather you pull a bullet out of me versus my wife or friends trying to do it.”
The doctor agreed and had met up with Sean and Craig shortly after and was accepted into the group.
Janice, Dr. Hughes’ wife, had been welcomed by the group with open arms, and she became another grandmother to all the kids. Every year all the kids received birthday and Christmas presents from the Hughes’, and they were at every holiday and special event just like one of the family. Dr. Hughes had given Brian a list of supplies that he should stock up on for their potential medical needs, explaining that if they had to bug out and come to Brian’s house during an event, their top priority was to first stop by his office and grab all the medicine and as many supplies as they could gather as long as it was safe to do so.
Chapter 5
Friday, September 20th
Brian woke regularly at 5:30 a.m., with the stupid rooster crowing out on the front porch, then would spend the next hour trying to fall back asleep. More often than not his mind would start turning and thinking about all the things he had to do during the day.
He got up, made breakfast for the family, and kissed Avery goodbye as she and Beast headed off to the bus stop. Evelyn left to run some errands. Brian got out his table saw and other tools he would need to build the door for the stockroom. He had spent the previous day drawing up plans and measurements, and then ran into the hardware store to pick up the supplies. Taking time to enjoy a coffee and the cold morning air, he got to work cutting and assembling the door.
Around 10:30 Evelyn called. “Okay, baby, before you get alarmed, everyone and everything is okay.”
“What’s going on?”
“Dr. Hughes’ office called and they said that animal control picked Beast up walking down the highway. When they were finally able to see his collar they saw the rabies tag issued by the vet’s office, so they took him there to find the owner. Dr. Hughes told them they could leave Beast there and he would call us to come pick him up. He said he did that so animal control wouldn’t write us a ticket.”
“Alright,” Brian replied. “Is Beast okay?”
“He’s fine. They said the strange thing was that he was carrying a pink lunchbox in his mouth and didn’t put it down until I got there. Doc Hughes said that’s probably why no one has gotten bit, because he had that lunchbox in his mouth.”
Pink lunchbox…oh my God. Avery!
“Evelyn, we have to call the school and check on Avery!”
“Calm down, she’s fine,” Evelyn said. “I already called. They were getting ready to call us and tell us that she forgot her lunch today.”
“You don’t think Beast was trying to take her lunchbox to her do you?”
“That’s what I was thinking,” Evelyn chuckled. “Beast has never
been to her school though, so I’m not sure how he thought he was going to find her, crazy dog.”
After a brief pause, Brian grunted. “That’s weird. If he was, that’s incredible.”
“Yep,” Evelyn replied. “Beast and I are headed over to Avery’s school to let him drop off her lunch now.”
Brian laughed. “Okay.”
After they ended their call, he got a drink and then went back to continue working on the door. He turned the saw on. Nothing happened.
He tried again. Click. Click.
Still nothing.
“What the hell?” Brian said aloud. He checked to make sure the saw was still plugged in and then thought that he must have tripped the breaker. After checking the panel in the garage, he discovered no breakers were tripped. Scratching his head, Brian stepped inside and hit the light switch. Nothing. He looked around, scrunched up his brow. Was the power out?
The house was off the grid and had an array of solar panels on the roof. It was a bright and sunny morning. He stepped out into the yard and looked to the roof to see if there were any visible signs of problems with the panels. Nothing appeared to be wrong, the panels were clean and clear, the sun was hitting them. Brian walked in to go down and check the power inverter. Maybe its breaker had tripped. When he got to the top of the stairs he noticed how dark it was in the basement. He should at least be able to see the red and green LEDs on the panels at the bottom of the stairs, and he saw none at all.
He thought that was weird. Even if the breaker on the panel tripped it would still have the LEDs lit up, they’d just be all red. Brian reached into his pocket to turn on his phone’s flashlight. His phone wouldn’t wake up. He tried pressing and holding the power button for ten seconds to restart the phone. Nothing happened.
