EMP

by Jonathan Hollerman

  “I assume it does. I know Uncle Nathan used it a short while ago to take some round bales into the pasture.”

  “Ok” Sean said a little exasperated. “There is just so much to think about and plan.”

  “I know,” Samuel said with the same tone. “I really feel like a failure. You had been talking about this for a while now and I tried to take the steps needed to take care of my family. I just didn’t think it would happen this soon.”

  “I didn’t either, Dad. It’s hindsight now. We can’t change the past, just the future.”

  “I’m worried about your brother and sister. We never discussed this with them and I hope they don’t wait too long to leave New Castle,” he said concerned.

  “I don’t think they will Dad. I’ve had conversations with Joshua about this in the past. I would guess he’ll be showing up soon. And I would assume he would swing by Faith and Tyler’s place on the way since they live close.”

  “I hope you’re right, son.”

  “Let’s sit down at the table and start getting a plan of action. If they don’t show up soon, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” Sean walked over to the dining room and started removing his tactical vest and coat. He was beginning to sweat in the warm house after spending the last two days in the cold. He removed his boots and outer layers and sat down at the kitchen table in his poly pros as his dad grabbed a couple pens and a notepad. Sean looked over to see his sister reading a book on the couch. “Hey, Allison.” She looked up from her book in response. “I need you to grab a coat and push our supplies into the garage. I don’t like them sitting outside even if they are around the backside of the house, okay?”

  “Okay,” was all she said as she jumped up and headed for the coat closet. Allison was twenty-two years old and the best sister you could ask for. She was selfless, and Sean knew she would be a big help over the coming years. Samuel sat down across from him and slid a notepad across the table.

  “Alright....” Sean started scribbling down notes. “We need to salvage these items ASAP. Diesel fuel: Do you know if the tank is full over at the farm?”

  “Not sure, son. Grandpa usually does pretty well about keeping it full, but I’m just not sure.”

  “Ok, I’m assuming that the old Massey is running. That will provide us with transportation and make our life a lot easier come spring when we need to plant. We are going to need a bunch of StaBil fuel stabilizer if we are going to make the Diesel tank last. Do you know if he has any extra fifty gallon drums in the barn?”

  “Again, son, I’m not real sure. He usually keeps a couple extra for burn barrels, but we’ll have to check.”

  “Ok, I’m just thinking about ways we can store extra diesel if we can get the trailer hooked up and make a run to Sheetz gas station and try to siphon some from the ground tanks. I’m not sure how that will work or if we have a long enough siphoning hose somewhere.”

  “We could always take the pump off the side of the storage tank and rig something up with a garden hose.”

  “Great thinking, dad! Okay, that will take care of our diesel needs. More importantly is ammo. We need to try and hit Duke’s Sporting Goods as well. Maybe we can trade a cow or two for some ammo and an extra assault rifle or two. So here is what I think the plan should be. We should head out to Uncle Will and Aunt Eva’s right away and get them started packing: the same with Danny and Heidi.” Danny was Sean’s cousin and he lived just next door to his parents. From there we should head over to the farm to check things out. We need to get Uncle Nathan on board as well.” Sean’s Uncle Nathan had a house next door to the original farm house. The finished basement of the farm house was currently being rented by little Samuel and Jackson, Sean’s cousins from his father’s side. Since Samuel shared the same first name as his dad, typically he was referred to by his nickname “Bug” to prevent confusion. “We need to get Bug and Jackson to help Uncle Nathan make sure the cows don’t have access to the front pasture near the road. I don’t think it will be long before we start having problems with hungry people from the trailer court down the road.

  “From there we need to hook up the hay trailer to the Massey and make a trip over here and haul some of the supplies from downstairs over to the farm house. Hopefully we can make a trip before dark and get a few hours of shut eye. I want to try and be at Sheetz around 1:00 a.m. and Duke’s by 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. I think we should have Bug, Jackson, and Danny come as well. If we wait much longer, I fully expect those places to be looted. What do you think?”

  “That sounds like a pretty good plan.” His dad paused for a second then continued, “Son, I’m really glad you’re here.”

  “I am too, Dad,” Sean smiled at his dad.

  “We need to really start focusing on security as well.” Sean got up from the table and looked out the front window scanning for any threats while his sister was outside. Samuel joined him at the window. “Dad, we need to make it a priority to make sure every member of our family has a handgun on them at all times from here on out.” With a smile he looked over at his dad. “What do you say we bust into that gun safe of yours and start making an inventory?” They went back to his bedroom and started going through his gun safe.

  Most of his rifles were of the hunting or antique variety and his handguns were mostly revolvers. Over the past year, Sean had convinced his dad to sell a gun or two and invest in a battle rifle. On a budget as everyone was these days, Sean had tried to convince his father into buying a good quality AK. It was the most reliable and simple battle rifle in the world, tried and tested in every war on the planet. But Samuel just couldn’t bring himself to buy a Chinese or Russian rifle. With the unavailability of the Kel Tec SU-16 at the time, he saved up all year and just two months prior had purchased a slightly used Smith and Wesson M&P AR-15.

  One month later his dad surprised him by purchasing a GI Anniversary Edition Springfield 1911. Although Sean would have preferred his dad get a Glock 19 to stay group standard, he couldn’t argue with a good old 1911. They bypassed the rifles in the safe at first and started pulling out the handguns and arranging them on the bed.

  “How ‘bout we give Allison the Ruger LC9 with the crossbreed holster? She’s shot that a few times, hasn’t she?” His dad nodded in agreement. “I would guess that you would be best suited for your new Springfield 1911 with its multiple safeties and de-cocker, etc.” His dad lifted his shirt to show him the 1911 holstered in a CQC Serpa holster. “Great. Now what do you think mom would be comfortable with? How about your long Colt 45 with the western holster?” Sean said jokingly.

  His dad chuckled at that. “No, I don’t think she would care for that. It’s either the .357 revolver or this little snub nose .38. I would prefer she carry the .357, but it’s quite a bit heavier.”

  “Yeah, we need to make it as comfortable for them as possible. If not, they might try and leave it lying about. We need to make sure that they understand that these handguns are now a part of their person. And what’s up with your AR locked away in the safe? You would never get to that in time if someone was crashing through the front door. As for us men, we need to make sure we have a rifle of some sort within ten feet of us at all times. A handgun won’t do any good if the other person engages you from one hundred yards away.” Again his dad nodded in agreement.

  “The only problem with that is I have the six thirty-round P Mags that you gave me but I only have about twenty rounds or so of .223 left from the last time I was at the range with my brother,” Sean’s dad informed him.

  “Randy gave me a bunch of extra ammo, so I can spot you some. All the more reason we need to get to Duke’s tonight before it is looted.”

  Sean’s dad hesitated. “Son, I’m having my doubts about that. I just don’t know if I feel right about stealing. In fact, we’ll be looting ourselves.”

  “I know, Dad,” Sean said regretfully. “It’s hard for me to wrap my mind around it as well. I’m looking at it this way. Two maybe three months from now, you may find you
rself in regular shootouts to protect the farm and the cattle. When you run out of ammo, what then? The lives of our family will be at risk and you’ll have no way to protect them, our food, or the farm. What if the farm gets over run and family members get killed. There is no going back then. There is no way to take back the tough decision we have to make now. It doesn’t make it any easier, but if it’s between my wife and unborn child living or dying, I will do WHATEVER it takes to protect them!”

  “Yes, son, I feel the same way. But at what cost to yourself and your conscience?”

  Sean paused for a moment to think. “I don’t know Dad. To tell you the truth I’m kind of scared. I don’t know what to do sometimes. I’m overwhelmed by the amount of decisions we have to make over the next few weeks, and the ramifications of making just one wrong choice could be devastating to our family. I’m doing my best, and I figure if I just keep God involved in my decisions and try not to do everything on my own, that He will bless us. But it’s hard sometimes...like now. All I know is that Duke’s WILL be looted in the next day or two and we HAVE to get more ammunition! My plan is to go there and play it by ear. For all I know we could be walking into an ambush. But maybe I can reason with the owner.... You and I have a decent amount of silver and gold set aside, so hopefully we can bargain with him. He has to realize that there is no way he can hold that store. There are just too many people that are going to be heading there and it will be over run at some point.”

  “I’m with you son. And I’m WITH you whatever you decide; I’ll have your back. There was a reason God opened the doors for you to became a Survival Instructor and all the preparations you and your friends have done over the years. I’m sure you remember the story your mother has told you numerous times about you being prophesied over as an infant. You were to be a great leader one day...and son I believe that day has come.”

  Sean was a little paralyzed. He hadn’t thought of that story for years. He was uncomfortable thinking about it and wasn’t nearly as confident in himself as his father was. He definitely didn’t think of himself as a spiritual leader. “We’ll see, Dad,” was all that he could muster. His father smiled at him and let it go at that.

  “Let’s get these guns passed out,” Sean said, wanting to change the subject. As they left his dad’s bedroom, he peeked in the guest room to find his mother and Maria fast asleep on the guest bed. They went back out to the living room and found Allison nestled back up on the couch with a book. “Thank you for your help, Allison,” Sean offered his sister.

  “No problem,” she said with a smile, not looking up.

  “Can you come over to the kitchen table please?” his dad asked her. Allison slid a bookmark into her book and took a chair at the table next to her brother. Samuel spent the next few minutes going over the action and breakdown of the Ruger LC9. She loaded both magazines and practiced chambering a round a couple times. When Samuel was satisfied that his daughter was comfortable with the weapon, he helped her with the Crossbreed holster which was a snug fit inside her somewhat tight blue jeans. “From this day forward, this is a constant piece of your wardrobe, okay?” She nodded her head in acknowledgement but Sean wasn’t really satisfied with the exchange so he jumped in.

  “What he means by that is that this is never outside of your arm’s reach at anytime. If you go to the bathroom, you take this with you. When you sleep, it is within arm’s reach. You keep it chambered and in the holster at all times. You need to ingrain this into your brain because it will probably be the difference between life and death or being raped and not being raped. Do you understand?”

  “I got it. I understand,” Allison responded with a sincerity that made Sean confident she grasped the severity of their situation.

  “One more thing, kiddo. The next few months are going to be literally insane. I need you to help out. We are all going to be working sun up till sun down to get grandpa’s farm secure. If you find free time on your hands, look for a way to help out or ask me for something, okay? I know you are a hard worker, and in the next couple of days you’ll understand what I mean. But for now, let’s put the book aside and help dad gather things up downstairs.”

  “I have been helping, I just....”

  Sean raised his hand to cut her off. “I have no doubt that you have been, all I’m saying is that I had hoped that you guys would have been further along with getting supplies ready to go.” He glanced over at his father as he was speaking. “I’m going to go and try and catch a half hour powernap with Maria.” He glanced down at his watch. “It’s almost noon now. Dad, can you line Mom out on the .38 and your shotgun? Then if you could help Allison unload the grocery carts downstairs, that would be awesome. I’m sure Maria is going to want to come with us so she’ll have to ride in the back of mine. Maybe throw some pillows in the bottom or something. Sound good?”

  “Sounds good, son. Go get some rest. When do you want me to wake you?”

  “Next week,” Sean said with a smile. “How about 12:30 on the nose? We’ll try and be out of here by 1:00.”

  “Ok,” his dad replied.

  Sean went back to the guest room and gently woke his mother and helped her quietly out of bed. Once she was out of the room, he quickly undressed and climbed in next to his wife. It was extremely hard to turn off his brain, but eventually he fell into a deep restful sleep.

  Chapter 9

  His father woke him up at exactly 12:30. That was one thing Sean could depend on: his father. He had never met another man with more integrity and work ethic than his dad, almost to a fault. Sean slowly tried to wake Maria up but she was fighting it and pulled a pillow over her head. “Ok, babe. I am more than happy to let you sleep, but I figured I’d let you know I am leaving in twenty minutes to go to Uncle Will’s and then the farm and it may be a few hours before I get back.” Sean smiled as she sat up in bed wiping the sleep from her eyes.

  “I’m coming,” was all she said.

  “I figured you were. Hurry up and get dressed so we can leave. We are running short on daylight.”

  Sean’s mother and his sister agreed to keep going through the house looking for items of value and placing them in the living room to be gone through later and categorized into priority. Once his dad was sure all the doors were locked and barred from the inside, they were quickly on the road with Maria riding in the grocery cart behind Sean and his dad peddling Maria’s bike alongside them. It was only a ten-minute ride before they pulled up to his aunt and uncle’s farmhouse. Sean had a lot of great memories there and it had almost been a second home to him. His cousin Danny had been the same age and they had grown up together playing basketball in the driveway during the summer and pulling the sled behind the quad during the winter. His cousin had built a house on the backside of the property a few years ago. “Let’s check and see if Uncle Will and Aunt Eva are here first.” They knocked on the front door which was quickly opened for them by his aunt. It was warm inside, a direct result of the wood burning furnace in the basement. The smell spurred the memory of many winter hours spent with his cousin carrying and stacking wood in the basement.

  “Hello, Samuel,” she said. “Hey Sean, what’s going on?” she said, obviously concerned at their rifles and Sean’s tactical vest. His Uncle Will walked in from the living room and leaned against the wall in his typical casual fashion. He had a full beard and didn’t talk a lot, but his mannerisms reminded Sean of an old John Wayne type. He had been scared of his gruff uncle when he was young. But over time, Sean learned that beneath that scruffy beard was a big teddy bear made more obvious in recent years when his grandchildren came along. “Did you two get stranded up at your parents’ house?” his aunt asked Sean and Maria curiously.

  “No, we didn’t. We actually just arrived a few hours ago. We rode up on our mountain bikes,” Sean answered his aunt.

  “All the way from Pittsburgh!” his uncle exclaimed loudly. “Whatever on earth would you do that for?”

  “Well, that’s what we’re here to discuss
,” Samuel added.

  “Are Danny and Heidi here?” Sean asked.

  “Dan should be back any second. He went over to his house to grab a lantern for this evening,” his uncle answered. “Heidi is upstairs putting the kids down for a nap.”

  As if on cue, Dan opened the door and stepped inside, quickly shutting the door behind him. “Hey Sean! Hey Maria,” he said a little surprised. “Did you get stuck up here at your parents’?”

  “No... we actually rode our mountain bikes up.”

  “All the way from Pittsburgh! Why would you do that?” Everyone laughed at that since his father had just said the same thing; like father, like son.

  “Well, that’s what we are here to discuss. You wanna go grab your wife and meet us in the living room?”

  He hesitated for a moment, curious, and then said, “Sure.” They took their shoes off at the door before heading into the living room. That was another thing Sean remembered about his aunt and uncle’s house.

  Although he had gone through the information before, it was a lot harder here. This time he was asking his relatives to leave their houses behind to looters. But their house was only fifty yards from the highway, which would soon be teeming with refugees leaving New Castle. It took almost an hour of talking and a few tears, but they all agreed that it would be safest to get the family together over at the farm. They left with a round of hugs and the understanding that they would be back the following night with the tractor and hay trailer.

  Next, the three of them rode over to the family farm. It was another fifteen minute ride but the day had warmed up to a brisk forty degrees. In typical Western Pennsylvania fashion, this resulted in a muddy and slushy wetness where there used to be fresh powdery snow. They didn’t see anyone out and about on the back country roads, but that didn’t necessarily mean that the three of them weren’t being seen. They pulled in the long gravel driveway leading up to the old farmhouse. It had been a few months since Sean and Maria had stopped in to see his grandparents. With the limited supply of insulin, he now wished he had visited more often.