Dark Days Rough Roads dd-1

by Matthew D. Mark

  “Damn eBay,” he cursed. He looked it all over and noticed he hadn’t plugged the lamp in. One more try and there it was. It still worked. He turned it off, there was enough light still out and he could see in the house just fine. He wasn’t sure how long the batteries would last anyway, and he didn’t want to waste them. He had a simple outlet in each room and four in the garage. That was the important area of the house.

  He stepped out into the garage, walked over to the back wall and removed a sheet. Under the sheet had been a stack of plywood sheets he had prepared. Next to the sheets of plywood was a large roll of adhesive laminate plastic that printers used on big signs.

  Haliday grabbed the roll of plastic and snagged a utility knife off a nearby bench. The plastic was practically useless for anything other than protecting signs the printers made, but he had a different idea for it. He cut off large pieces, peeled the backing off and placed it on every window in the house.

  This wouldn’t do much other than to keep the glass from getting everywhere in case it was broken. Simply less mess to clean up or worry about later on. It’d be nice not to get cut when it came time to clean that mess up. Might even be an insulating factor, but that wasn’t the reason—he was simply trying to avoid a mess.

  Next was the plywood. Each piece had another one that went with it. On the back of each one was attached a section of fairly heavy wire mesh. Pieces were marked with numbers so he knew which windows they went to. He would put one piece in place, secure it, then put the other in place and not only secure it, but join the two together. He used large doors hinges and hinge pins to do this.

  They were anchored very securely in place. It would stop most folks, but those who really wanted to get in could do so with the right tools. As each room was sealed up, he lit some candles to light the place. No way had he wanted folks to know he had any type of electricity, no matter how simple it may be.

  He finished up the patio door leading to the deck and this left the front door and the garage door. Those would be last, as they required something a little different, not to mention he would still have to get the truck out. It was late evening now and he was anxious to get started very early in the morning, so he locked the front door and secured the garage door.

  He had drilled several holes along the garage door rail and placed six padlocks, three on each side so the door would not roll up. The wheels would stop because of the padlocks. Before he left he would be able to secure it further but that had to wait. He spent the rest of the evening prepping his gear and loading the truck for the next day.

  Chapter 3

  Time was going fast and much faster than he thought. He looked over at the old wind up alarm clock he had kept for years. It was a small reminder of a family vacation home they had just across the border in Canada on Lake Erie. Only about an hour’s drive away, but it was still a totally different world over there. It was almost a different culture and in some aspects it was.

  It was little streets scattered about the beaches along the lake and surrounded by farms. He wondered if they got hit by the EMP as well, but after a little thought figured they must since they were so close to the U.S. With all the farms and few major congregations of people, they should be better off than most. They would be able to avoid the mass gangs and riots. Haliday almost wished it was his destination, but that was not the case.

  Haliday pulled out another Faraday baggie as he had come to call them and inside was an Alinco ham radio. He had talked to quite a few people and explained what his intentions were. He needed a radio powerful enough to adequately reach 300 linear miles. He wasn’t concerned with getting his technician’s license or anything like that. He was not concerned about anything but the fact that it would work and reach to the other radio he would have ready.

  He carried it along with a single deep charge battery to the back of his lot. There he ducked behind his old shed, where he reached up and grabbed the end of an antenna he had set up in the trees a couple years prior. He did this under the guise of trimming the branches hanging over his fence. Since it was a simple wire antennae and nothing fancy, it blended perfectly. He tested it monthly and so far it held up just fine.

  Looking around he could see candles flickering in the windows of the nearby homes. He even heard a generator which sounded like it was on its last leg. Haliday wasn’t surprised by this, a lot of old generators were probably able to run in an event like this, and if the owner was prepared, there was no telling what precautions he took to make sure it ran.

  Of course, it would be drawing a lot of attention and wasn’t the smartest thing to be doing. Give it a few more days and it would be downright dangerous. People wanting power would seek him out. The noise was welcome though; it would help drown out the noise he would be making.

  Seconds seemed like hours as he waited. The designated time was 9 pm. He clicked on the radio about 15 minutes before that and it came on with no problem. It made noise, but not what he wanted. He was tuned into an emergency frequency to make sure he received ok. He played with the antenna connection, but no luck. He started to panic a bit and was trying to think of what to do.

  He grabbed the wire and yanked on it a bit. After a few good tugs he was able to get the signal. He cursed himself for not using a better antenna, because obviously now there was a short in it or more accurately a break in the wire. He held the radio as still as he could. There was no time to try and run a new wire, and that would surely attract the neighbor’s attention.

  Haliday, when he purchased this gear, said screw the licensing, screw the government, screw the hams with their etiquette—this was serious business and he didn’t care who was going to say what. The time was very near and he keyed the mic. “Kaybear are you there?” He waited. This was the nickname they had given his daughter practically at birth. Kayla was her name, but he thought she was cuddly like a little stuffed teddy bear, so thus the nickname. This was his only child and everything in the world to him.

  After graduating from high school she had relocated to a small town in Illinois where her mother lived so she could attend college there. Not a decision he liked, but he had to accept she was growing up and had choices to make by herself. He hadn’t been on the greatest terms with his ex, but they grew to understand and respect each other more than when they were married, so it worked out.

  They were better friends now and she accepted the fact, along with her new husband, that Roger was a tad strange in his ideas of being ready for who knows what. He was sure she had a whole new respect for that opinion now. Right about now, her ridicule was mostly turning into admiration for his foresight.

  There was no answer and his heart dropped. He keyed the mic once more and repeated himself. “Kaybear, are you there kiddo?” Again there was no answer. His eyes actually started to well with tears. They had gone over this time and time again and she knew what to do when the SHTF. Like any parent, he was scared and thinking the worst. Far too many scenarios ran across his mind.

  He reached up and dabbed his eyes with his sleeve and went to key the mic one more time when he heard her voice. “Sorry Dad, I hate this thing; I told you that before.” Now his tears were streaming down his face, but this time with joy. He hadn’t felt this happy in a long time, and knowing his little girl was ok for now, he couldn’t be happier.

  Haliday told her to hang on one second. He breathed deeply and said, “I love you kiddo and I’m glad you’re ok. How about your mom and Mike?” he asked. She replied that her mom was ok, but Mike hadn’t made it home from work yet. They were worried about him. Haliday said, “Give it time, it’s 15 miles from the house to work. It may take a bit to get home.”

  He asked her how the trip from school to home was. Kayla replied like a typical teenager and just said fine. School was only about three miles away and she always kept her bike and get-home bag in the back of her car. She knew immediately what she had to do and did it. He couldn’t have been prouder.

  Haliday asked her if she had any packag
es ready and the answer was yes. He had visited a few times and during the course of those visits he had made some small preparations there. Not much, but what he thought would be enough to get her through until he got there to retrieve her. Up to about a month’s worth actually. This was his planned trip.

  First and foremost, after making sure he could lock his house down, he was going to get his daughter and bring her home. There was no way he could leave her there and at least not make an attempt. He would rather die trying than live and wonder what was going on. He couldn’t torture himself like that.

  In place he had some typical prepper foods and water and even though it was Illinois, he had made sure she was equipped with pepper spray, a small stun gun, a knife and an AR15 he had built for her along with a small 9mm. While there on one visit, he had torn a hole in the drywall, placed the rifle along with the small 9mm in there, complete with some rounds and magazines, and then sealed it up—mudding, sanding and then painting the whole room so it all matched.

  Helping her remodel her bedroom to her liking was the ruse they had pulled to hide the firearms and justify the work. No one was the wiser. Being ex-army, he had always had a love for guns and taught her how to handle them. She was a hell of a shot, in all reality. They would visit the range often so she could learn new techniques and practice.

  He keyed the mic again and said he would be on at 4 am, and to make sure someone answered. Whether it was her, her mom or Mike he didn’t care. He would go over his plans then. Before she said ok, she said her mom wanted to talk to him. He knew what was coming so he told her he had a lot of work to do, and that he would talk to her either in the morning or when he got there.

  They said their goodbyes and he disconnected the radio and headed back toward the house. He was looking around and no one had noticed him out there and that was just fine by him. He could still hear the generator running off in the distance. He said, “Ya, go ahead and waste all of your gas, idiot.” A couple hours a day to keep the fridge or freezer cold was plenty; maybe charge a few batteries, but non-stop was going to run the gas out and the noise would draw too many curious people.

  As soon as he walked into the house, he went in the closet and grabbed two ‘five’ gallon buckets and a box and put them in the truck. He went back inside and grabbed another AR15 and a can each of magazines and ammo and placed them in there too. He had a feeling he would need these to give to his ex and her husband, Mike. He knew the questions were going to be what about them and could they go with him and Kayla.

  He had thought about it, and there were some pros and cons, but right now the cons were outweighing any good that could come of it. The box and two buckets had enough staples inside to feed them for a couple months if they stretched it out, and the guns would help keep them safe. How safe he didn’t know, but this was the best he could do right now.

  It was close to 10:00 pm and he was beat. He double checked the front door and garage door and then hit the sack. Haliday couldn’t even think for a moment; he was out like a light immediately. The alarm went off at 3:00 am and he slowly got up out of bed. He wandered into the kitchen and pulled out a small butane stove and boiled some water.

  A cup of instant coffee, some instant grits and he used the rest of the water for more coffee, which he put in a thermos for the trip. He quickly boiled some more water and put it in another thermos to use later. He tossed the thermoses into the truck. He then went back into the bedroom to change.

  After changing, he did a quick look around and double check. He grabbed the ham and ran back to the shed again. It was 4:00 am; he turned it on, had no issues with the connection this time, and he said good morning. His ex came on and said good morning. Haliday asked if everyone was ok and she said no, Mike was still gone. He asked where Kayla was and she said she was still sleeping.

  He told her that he was heading out and would call back in two hours. He also told her they would talk when he got there. He told her to give Mike more time; he was probably playing it safe. At the moment, Mike was the least of his worries. She said ok and he turned the radio off and ran back to the house. It was time to get moving and he had a lot of ground to cover.

  He stepped into the garage and placed the radio in the truck and quickly connected it to the antenna and power. He went over to the side of the garage and opened up a big oblong box that was sealed up and grabbed what was inside. This was quickly attached to the truck with magnets and then tested. It worked like a champ. It would prove to be very useful on the trip. He was banking on it to make a difference when he needed it. A few more minor details and he would be ready to go.

  Next he slowly opened the garage door. He had oiled the wheels and chain very well and made sure they were as quiet as he could make them. He didn’t start the truck, but he placed it in neutral and pushed it out into the driveway. Thank goodness it was downhill and it rolled easily.

  He didn’t want to alert anyone of his leaving the home and didn’t want to let anyone know what he had. He was taking a big risk with it as it was. He dropped it in park, left the door slightly ajar and stepped back in the garage. He slowly lowered the garage door and then placed the padlocks in place that would keep the door from rolling up.

  The next step was to take some steel grid wall and set it up over the garage door as well. This was 2X2 inch square steel grid that stores used to hang merchandise on. He picked it up at one of the many liquidation sales that he attended for stores going out of business. This was locked in place and added that extra level.

  He stepped back into the house and then placed four locks into hasps that he had to secure it. It was a metal exterior door and would be hard to get through. They’d have to work at it hard, but the windows would be easier if they were smart enough. He left through the front door and stood on the porch. He turned toward the closed door and there again were four more hasps on which he placed locks. These locks were the round style meant for storage units and harder to cut into.

  That was it for now. He went over to the truck, raised the antenna mast and placed it in neutral and rolled it into the street. Looking around, he didn’t see any candles or lights and was fairly confident he was not seen. Now when he started the truck up, if anyone woke up or looked out, it would appear that the truck was simply driving down the street and they wouldn’t know where it came from.

  It was a lot of work for something he expected he would only have in his possession for a couple days max, until it was discovered and taken away. Surely martial law had been declared if the government was still around. That was the 64,000 dollar question. He had taken extreme care in keeping it out of sight until now. Even in the garage it sat under a tarp.

  He had no idea why there had been an EMP. The possibilities were endless. Nuclear war, EMP attack, coronal mass ejection, whatever, he didn’t care at the moment. He turned the key, the magical moment of truth and the truck started and he threw it in drive and took off down the road.

  He didn’t want anyone to see it sitting in front of his house and now it appeared to be just a truck driving down the road. An official government vehicle at that, at least in all appearances that’s what it looked like. It was incredibly easy to pull it off as far as the looks were concerned. The mechanics of it were the hard part. That had taken some doing.

  He had purchased a used Tahoe from an auction of government vehicles. It was white and had been a former border patrol truck. They had stripped the decals off from it, removed the light bars and interior equipment, and put it on the auction block. It was your typical government SUV and all Roger had to do was put it back together with a slightly different design in mind.

  He waited until all of the mechanical work had been done first though. He’d be sitting in prison at the moment if he had been caught. With the right amount of money, it was surprising what you could buy. Doing what he had planned required a lot of under the radar purchases.

  Staging it in a friend’s his pole barn they had taken out the engine and transmission and
left it nothing but a roller. A new transmission was installed with another engine that was about as basic as you could get. Practically no electronics, linkage to shift, carbureted engine, and distributor cap and plugs. It was as EMP proof as you could get. No radio, no air conditioning, no heat, no engine sensors, no emission control─ nothing.

  Anything with wires was shielded, grounded, shielded again, and the whole chassis was grounded inside the garage through a hole in the garage floor and a 12 foot grounding rod. He had been assured this would work the way he had it set up and luckily it did. Haliday’s buddy had helped build it out so it would run. He had no idea what else Haliday was adding to it however.

  On the exterior he put back on the big blue stripe, the federal protective service lettering and the big blue police lettering under that. On the fenders the words “Homeland Security” were present along with the DHS seal. He even added “Supervisor” to the rear quarter panel. On top was the magnetic LED light bar. From a distance you couldn’t tell the difference and up close you couldn’t either, until you looked inside and saw the modifications.

  The choice of grabbing the border patrol truck versus another government SUV was an easy decision for that very reason. The windows were tinted darker than normal due to the southwest climate and blazing sun. On the back hitch was mounted a motorcycle carrier and he used a KLR650 to tuck into the carrier and the bike was painted white with matching logos and lettering. He had to admit the bike was a stretch, a big stretch at that.

  This might not be that easy to pull off, but 24-30 hours was all he needed. Taking this kind of risk was almost as stupid as it was brilliant. If he failed, he would surely be imprisoned or shot, but with the time table he was projecting, he was confident he could do it. The risk was worth it.