A Powerless World (Book 2): When the Peace is Gone

by P. A. Glaspy

  She grinned at the end. We all knew we had about as sterile an environment as we were going to achieve for now.

  “Thanks, Kate. Prepping is all about trying to think of what you would need if you couldn’t go to the store and buy it or didn’t have the skill to make it. Medical supplies fall into that category, although we have quite a few medicinal herbs growing here, along with bolts of white cotton cloth to use for bandages if needed. We can show you that stuff when things calm down a bit.

  “Speaking of things we can’t buy or make: we are going to need more clothes, a lot more, for all of you and your kids. I know Kate and Sean lost everything in the fire. If we can make a run back to your neighborhood, can you help find clothes for the Scanlin kids, Sara? I’m sure we can get Lee’s kids’ stuff from their house. I’m more worried about Tara and Katlyn. While we can make clothes, it will take a bit to create patterns, and we’ll have to tear down existing pieces for that. Millie has an old treadle sewing machine we can use, and we have piles of material and notions, but we need to start somewhere.”

  Sara was nodding thoughtfully. “You know, Anne, there was a family that lived just a few doors down from us that had two young girls. I’m not sure exactly how old, but I know they were younger than Tony and older than Moira. That should put them in the right age range or close anyway. I never saw them after the pulse, so we can only assume they were all on their way to work or school.”

  She shuddered at a thought that I’m pretty sure crossed all of our minds just then. Dear God, what had happened to those two little girls? For that matter, what had happened to all the kids who were already at school or on their way when the pulse hit? I said a quick prayer for people I didn’t know and probably never would and moved on. We had to make us the priority here.

  “I think we need to suggest that this evening as well. We brought everything we had from our houses, but those won’t last with everyone we need to clothe now, and we have nothing for the smaller kids. We really need to get back to your neighborhood and get clothes for all of you. And we need to do it soon. It’s only going to get more dangerous out there as time goes on.”

  We were all in agreement that clothing was a top priority. We’d just add that to the ever growing list of priorities. No matter how well you try to plan for whatever might happen, there’s always something else you need.

  Millie stood up and stretched her back. “Well ladies, I don’t think there’s much else to do but get some supper ready. It looks like we are going to have another full evening. Might as well get to it.”

  ****

  Of course, the Glass brothers encounter was the hot topic of dinner conversation. We all felt we had definitely not seen or heard the last of them. Russ brought up setting up security details again. There was no doubt after today’s events that he was right about needing to do it immediately. We decided we’d get that laid out after we finished eating.

  The wind had picked up and some dark clouds were rolling in, so we hurried everyone to finish up so we could get everybody and everything inside before the rain that seemed to be on its way got to us. Since we didn’t have a weather app to check the radar on anymore, we had to go back to actually looking at the sky to see if we could figure it out. It definitely looked, felt, and smelled like rain. That would be welcome since we hadn’t had any in a few days and young gardens need water. I hoped this wasn’t a sign of a super dry summer coming. With no power, we would have to haul water to the gardens and the livestock because we couldn’t afford to lose any food source now. We had food stores but we also had three times as many people now as we had when we prepped for this scenario. If we had food to feed eight people for a couple of years before, we now had food to feed 24 for eight months to a year. We could not take the chance anything we were growing or raising didn’t make it.

  We settled in on the screen porch to enjoy the breeze from the storm coming in. Russ talked to the group first.

  “Gang, those fellas today are just the beginning of who is out there looking for someone to ‘help’ get them through this. I know it’s hard to think about other people out there hungry and helpless, but we can’t help everyone. We have to take care of our people first.”

  Sara spoke up. “Couldn’t we help a few of them? What if they have children? I don’t know if I can, in good conscience, stay here warm, dry, and fed if there are children right outside this place starving.”

  Bob stared at her. “So, are you saying you would be willing to sacrifice food for your family, which includes your son, to feed someone else’s kids? It wouldn’t be a one-time deal you know. Feed them once, and they’ll keep coming back for more. You gonna let Tony go without so someone else’s kid can eat?”

  Sara looked indignant. “Of course I don’t want my son to go hungry. But surely we have enough to help some of them. This place is covered in gardens and livestock, plus all the food stores in the root cellar. It seems like we should be able to help others less fortunate than us, to some degree, if only-”

  Mike interrupted her.

  “Sara, WE are those less fortunate people you are talking about. These folks brought us in here and offered us food and shelter. This place was set up and stocked for eight people. There are now 24. What do you think that does to the food and water supplies that are available? How about that nice roof you have over your head? You want to share your room, too? If you want to go out and save the world, you go right ahead, but you can’t do that from a place where YOU are a guest. I’d suggest you let the man finish what he was saying.”

  Sara seemed to go through a few different emotions during that diatribe. She went from shocked indignation, to anger, to perhaps contrition, and then finally to sullen acceptance. Russ waited to see if she had a rebuttal to Mike’s awesome synopsis of the way things were. She sat with her mouth firmly closed, so Russ continued.

  “I understand your feelings, Sara, I really do. But as Bob told you, if you help them once they will keep coming back for more. And as Mike said, there are a limited number of resources here. I would have liked to have added a few more folks for security reasons but I think we are probably at our maximum sustainability numbers for now. That’s why it’s so important that everyone do their part for our survival. That includes keeping out the people who want to take what we have. I hope you can accept that, because it’s non-negotiable.”

  He paused to give her a chance to speak up. Pete did instead.

  “We’re very thankful to be here and we can accept those conditions, Russ. Please go on.”

  Russ gave Pete a quick nod and continued.

  “We are going to have to have 24-hour security details. We have ten men, counting Monroe; four women, not counting Millie, who has offered to stay armed in the house at all times.”

  Millie nodded and smiled at Russ. “I’ll guard the kitchen. An army travels on its stomach, you know. Besides, no one wants to mess with me and Gertrude here.”

  She reached into her apron pocket and pulled out a 38 special. I’d seen her shoot – I’d put her up against most of us for accuracy. She was bad to the bone with that little revolver.

  Russ returned her smile and continued. “Then we have four teenagers who can help. That gives us 18 people to cover 24 hours. I’d like for parents to not be on the same rotations as their spouse so one of them is available to their children if needed. I’d love it if we could have four-man teams, but I don’t see how we can do that and keep everything else done around here. So I’m going to suggest three per shift. That will give us six sets of folks on four-hour shifts. I think we can make that work. I’m going to ask for volunteers for the midnight to four shift and the four to eight shift. Those will be the hardest to do and stay awake, although the rooster will do his part for the second one.”

  Everyone laughed at the comment about the hated rooster. Pete raised his hand.

  “I can take the midnight shift, Russ. As a trucker, I’ve driven many a mile while everyone else was asleep. I will need some training th
ough. I know nothing about what I need to do.”

  Mike looked at Pete and replied, “We’ll take care of that. Firearms safety training’s first class is tomorrow morning. We’ll cover security measures as well. Russ, I’ll take over the security team scheduling for you. I’m sure you have plenty of other things to work on.”

  I saw my opening. “I have an urgent item we need to address. Clothing. We need to get back to their neighborhood and gather clothes for everyone from their houses and hopefully some vacant ones for the Scanlins. I know it’s dangerous to leave, but this is not something we can put off. We have to have clothes for everyone. Seems to me the sooner we go get them, the sooner we can get back and lock this place down.”

  Russ sighed, but nodded in agreement. “You’re right. We’ll go first thing in the morning, before we do anything else. I would rather none of the women go, but I doubt I’m going to get my wish.”

  “I don’t need to go but I think Sara and Kate both need to be in the group. One of the Lawtons, Lee, and Mike should be able to gather from their own homes, as well as keep an eye out for bad guys. This needs to be a grab everything, stuff it in bags and go trip, so we should probably keep the body count down to make more room for clothes. I’m betting this will be a one-time trip, so get it all – clothes, shoes, coats, winter stuff – everything you can get your hands on quick. Oh, and bed linens, blankets, pillows, and sleeping bags if you have them.”

  Everyone agreed this was a priority. Frankly, the Scanlin kids were on a week or so of the clothes they left their burned-out home in, so they weren’t fresh smelling at all, despite Kate’s attempts to wash them out at night. Even then, wearing the same clothes every day, plus the constant daily washings, would wear them out pretty fast, especially with kids. We had come up with clothes for the grownups from our own stores, but those would dwindle as well. We needed more.

  Mike worked out the security schedules so that Ben and Rusty were with their dads. I was still concerned about them working a security watch but a bit less since they would have their fathers by their sides. Mike started on a setup for some solar panels to charge the two-way radios. Monroe had a set here that were linked to ours, so now we had four. Millie would monitor one in the house all day, and whoever was on duty would carry the others. Communication would be huge for quick responses to intruders.

  Russ had offered to take the first shift that evening, so he, Rusty, and Kate started for the front gate. They took a scoped rifle, the tactical shotgun, the binoculars, and Russ’s night vision monocular, along with their side arms. They also grabbed some rain ponchos. The rain had arrived. It looked like our first full night of security would be a soggy one. We just hoped it would be a quiet one as well.

  CHAPTER 10

  Since I would be awakened by the rooster at 4:30 or so anyway, I volunteered for the four to eight shift. That would get my security duty out of the way early so I could work on whatever else was needed for our daily lives. I heard Bob’s SUV being started about seven. They were getting an early start. Good. The sooner they got the supplies, the sooner they could get back here. I hated the thought of anyone leaving the relative security of the farm, but it had to be done.

  They pulled up to the Bird’s Nest and Mike stepped out. Bill Lawton was on security watch with me and Matt. Bill had been walking the front by the Gopher Holes and came jogging over when he heard the car. He looked in to his brother.

  “Keep your eyes open, little brother. It’s only been a few days, but a lot could have changed in that time. Don’t take any chances and watch for traps. And don’t forget my boots.”

  Ryan rolled his eyes at his brother. “Man, I ain’t gonna forget your boots. You’ve only told me like five times since last night. Don’t worry. We’re gonna make this a smash-and-grab, as they say. We’re gonna hit each house together so we can knock it out quick and we don’t have to split up. We’ve got a radio, too, so if we get into any trouble we can call. It’s only about 10 miles. We’ll be back in a few hours, right Mike?”

  Mike nodded at Ryan and looked up at me. “That’s the plan. Anne, if you haven’t heard from us by noon, there’s trouble. I’m going to try to radio in on the hour, but don’t get worried unless we go a couple of hours without contact. Probably just means we’re busting a move to get the stuff gathered. We’ll be back as quick as we can.”

  “Okay, but it’s a waste of time for you to tell me not to worry. I’m going to worry the whole time you’re gone. Hurry back.”

  He grinned at me and got back in the truck. Matt and Bill ran to close the gate behind them. I pulled up the binoculars and watched them until I couldn’t see them anymore. They were outside our security area now. I prayed they stayed safe.

  With about 30 minutes of my shift left, I saw Bob, Brian, and Ben coming down from the house. They were the eight to noon shift. I climbed down and met them on the ground.

  “You guys are a little early. Anything wrong?”

  Bob shook his head. “No, I just wanted to make sure everything was quiet this morning and that the clothing crew got out okay. Oh yeah, and Millie brought up weed pulling in the gardens. I didn’t want to get drafted for that.”

  I laughed at him. “I think we’ve got enough kids to handle that particular chore. Since you guys are here I’ll go back and get them together for the fun. The crew got out fine. They have a radio with them so keep an ear out in case anything happens.”

  I handed him the radio I had and headed back to the house. Ah, weed pulling. What a great way to start the day. Sarcasm off.

  ****

  Lee was driving with Mike riding shotgun and the other three in the back seat. Mike was trying to watch everywhere for anything suspicious. There were no vehicles on the road that weren’t there when we first came in, but, as we had discovered on the way to the farm, any vehicle could be an ambush point. Just being in a car that was running put a huge target on them.

  They exited on the ramp off the highway that would take them to their neighborhood. As they started getting closer, they saw signs of activity that had not been there before. Houses that were broken into, doors and windows smashed. It looked as if someone had gone through and just busted into every house on the street. Mike tensed up and checked his pistol.

  “Lee, slow down so we can check before we go in. Whoever did all this could still be here.”

  Lee gave a quick nod and let off the accelerator. As they turned down their street, Sara gasped.

  “Oh no. We’re too late! Look at this place!”

  The scene was shocking. Every house had its front door kicked in. There was clothing and trash strewn across the yards. It looked like every house had been hit. They were taking it all in when Mike saw a truck down the street he hadn’t seen before.

  “There’s somebody still here. Get us out of here. Now!”

  Lee slammed on the brakes and threw the SUV into reverse. The street was still wet from the night before, so the tires spun loudly. As he was backing up, they saw three guys coming out of one of the houses close to where the truck was parked. The scavengers dropped what they were carrying and reached for their side arms. Another stepped out of the pickup with a shotgun in hand. He raised it and fired at the SUV. While he wasn’t close enough to do any damage, they did hear pellets hitting the front of the truck. Sara screamed. Everyone else pulled their gun. Lee reached the corner, turned, and headed back toward the highway.

  Lee’s hands were shaking on the steering wheel. “What do we do now? We can’t go back empty handed. Hell, we can’t go back to the farm period until we know they’re gone. What if they followed us out there?”

  Mike had the window down, trying to listen for the truck. He didn’t hear it, but Bob’s SUV wasn’t really quiet either. He thought for a second.

  “Keep going. Go past the highway. About a half-mile further is an old gravel farm road on the right. With the rain last night, it should be dust free. Turn in there. Go down that road and around the corner. We should be hidden fr
om this street back in there and we can figure out what to do.”

  Lee found the road Mike was talking about and turned in. It was cut through a stand of trees and made a slight turn that kept them from being seen from the street. He found a wide spot and did a three-point turn to get the SUV pointed back in the direction they had come in. He turned the key off and looked at Mike.

  “Now what? Sit and wait for them to leave? How will we know if or when they do from back here?”

  Mike was pulling out the radio. “We’re not waiting for them to leave. We’re waiting for reinforcements.”

  ****

  I was just finishing breakfast when I heard the radio crackle on the kitchen counter. It was such a shock to hear anything like that now that I think I jumped a foot at the sound. Millie grinned at me, whispered, “Me, too”, and handed the radio to Russ, who was sitting at the table having a cup of coffee with me while I ate. We heard the tension in Mike’s voice.

  “Guys, are you there? We have a situation here.”

  Russ quickly responded. “We’re here, Mike. What’s going on?”

  “We have some visitors in the old neighborhood. They seem to be going through the houses looking for supplies. We saw them, they saw us, they shot at us, we got the hell out of there. It looked like there were only four of them. If we could get some backup, we might still be able to complete this mission.”

  Bob keyed the radio he was carrying. “They shot at you?? Is anybody hit? Did you recognize them? What were they driving? Sons of bitches!!”