The Shelter: Book 1, The Beginning

by Ira Tabankin

  The Sheriff looks at the holes and at me, “Jay, you’re nuts, completely certifiable. I ought to arrest you to protect you from yourself.”

  “Sheriff, I don’t think you can do that. I haven’t harmed anyone or myself, I own the land, I can do anything I’d like to on my own land as long it doesn’t endanger anyone else.”

  “What about the families who used to own these farms, you’ve taken away their livelihood.”

  “Maybe I have, however, you’re free to talk to each of them. I’ve given each family more than enough money to carry them until next fall.”

  “I thought you lost your money in some bank hack?”

  “I did, most of it has been returned by the banks who admitted the hackers found a hole in the bank’s security and I wasn’t alone in the hack.”

  The sergeant looks disgusted, “Jay, when are you going to fill the holes and get back to farming?”

  “A couple of weeks. By the way, would you like to try my metal detector?”

  I hand it to the sergeant who waves it over the driveway, “Sir, you’re a fool. You have the sensitively turned all the way up, it’ll show a positive reading wherever you hold it.”

  “Guess that’s what I get for not reading the directions.”

  The Sheriff and National Guard sergeant shake their heads in disgust as they get into their cars driving off our property. Lacy walks over to me asking, “Do you think they bought it?”

  “Seemed like they did. The crazier they think I am, the more we can get away with.”

  “When are the shelters arriving?”

  “Tony said tomorrow morning, it’s a good thing the fools arrived today. It would be hard to hide the shelters if they saw them being lowered into the holes.”

  “Jay, aren’t you worried the sheriff will see them on the road coming here?”

  Laughing, I reply, “Tony is arranging a little something which will draw all of the police and the Sheriff to the other side of town, he’ll drive them crazy.”

  Laughing, Lacy says, “I should have known.”

  “Which reminds me, Tony promised me he took care of the Guard. I better tell him he didn’t get his money’s worth.”

  Fred and Randy walk across the fields asking, “How did you get rid of them this time?”

  I told them the story, showing them the metal detector. They broke up laughing. Fred asked, “Can they really be that dumb?”

  “They left didn’t they?”

  “What’s the next step?”

  “The shelters are due tomorrow, I’m hoping the crews can get them inserted into their holes in two days.”

  “That’s going to take a hell of a crew to move all eight into their holes.”

  “We’ll have the people.”

  Randy asks, “Have you seen the news from Nashville?”

  “Yes, we saw the smoke on the horizon, it’s getting worse every day. I wonder how long it will be before Nashville and the other cities explode, forcing people to leave.”

  Fred responds, “I hope we get everything finished in time.”

  We all nod our agreement. Looking at the other two, I ask, “How’s the hidden acreage coming?”

  Laughing Randy replies, “Since that land hadn’t been farmed for a very long time, our yields are surpassing our best estimates.”

  “Want to ride over with me? I want to also check on the new home development program that’s going on behind the trees.”

  Randy asks, “Do you think it’s going to stay hidden?”

  “I hope long enough for our new neighbors to get settled and also give us enough time to get another crop in.”

  Fred says, “My fear is the windmills, they’re visible for miles.”

  “I agree, I have no idea how to hide them. Do you?”

  Randy says, “Plant some trees to hide them?”

  “That won’t hide them in winter and spring and will block the wind, plus anyone getting close will see them. If they find the power lines, we’ll be in trouble.”

  “We’ll just have to hope the lines are well hidden. Make sure they’re buried deep, so they can’t be easily pulled to the surface.”

  Randy asks, “Won’t we be OK since Tony’s shelters have generators in them?”

  “Randy, I’ve ordered two generators for our shelter. The issue is fuel storage and exhaust. In the cool months, the exhausts will look like steam coming out of the ground. I’ve asked Jack if it’s possible to cool the exhaust before it leaves the ground.”

  “When will we know?”

  “I’ll follow up with Jack.” Todd joins us asking, “Christ, Dad, it looks like you guys are testing missiles out here. Didn’t the Sheriff wonder what the holes were for?”

  “He did, I told him I was looking for buried treasure.”

  Laughing, Todd looks at the holes, “Dad, where are the tunnels connecting the various shelters?”

  “Christ, now you remind me we’re missing something important, where have you been the past few days when the holes were being dug?”

  “I’ve been sneaking people to the shooting range, making sure everyone can quickly aim and fire every weapon we have. Having the weapons won’t help us if no one can use them or if they’re not accurate with them.”

  “I was wondering where you’ve been, that was a great idea. How is everyone doing?”

  “Ricky is not a bad shot when he allows himself to be OK with the idea of firing a weapon. Everyone else can score 8’s or better. I’m using small targets, so in the real situation they should do well. I’ve had to remind most people to reload, they shoot up a magazine, the bolts slide back, but they continue to pull the trigger. It takes them a minute to realize they’re out of ammo. Paul is a sharpshooter, he has the ability to be our sniper.”

  “Keep them practicing. You’re right, most people are going to forget to reload. That’s a good observation and one that may save our lives. Keep up the great work. The three of us stand in the warm air when two backhoes start digging trenches connecting the large shelter holes together. I smile, saying, “Seems someone else remembered to connect the shelters too.”

  Todd asks, “Dad, isn’t this overkill? How many people are going to be sheltered here?”

  “I really don’t know. There’s our group and Tony’s group. I trying to arrange a joint gathering so everyone can meet each other.”

  Fred replies, “That sounds like a great idea, when are you planning it?”

  “As soon as I can nail Tony and Nancy down. He’s been very busy, he’s been out of town most of the past ten days. I don’t ask him where’s he goes because frankly, I don’t want to know.”

  @@@@@

  At 7:00 AM on Monday, July 13th an unruly group of people starts to gather at the New York City side of the Lincoln and Holland tunnels. The mob starts with two hundred people gathering along the road at the exit of the tunnels. Within ten minutes, the mob swells to 500 people. By 7:30 AM the mob has grown to three thousand. Hundreds join the mob every couple of minutes, by 8:00 AM the mob is ten thousand strong and still growing. At 8:10 AM, the mob moves into the street blocking all of the traffic from exiting the tunnels into New York City. They block all traffic into the city with the exception of the George Washington Bridge. At 8:15 AM two large trucks run into each other on the upper deck of the GWB. Four minutes later, three cars run into each other in the middle lane on the lower deck completely closing the GWB. The two accidents block all access into the city from the GWB. Traffic at the three entrances into the city backed up for more than ten miles. At 8:45 AM the New Jersey State Police closed access to all of the exits leading to the tunnels and the GWB, diverting all traffic to surface streets, back to either the Turnpike or Interstate 80. At 8:50 AM a gasoline tanker truck just inside the Holland Tunnel explodes for no apparent reason. The explosion and fire spread to the cars waiting in the tunnel. The explosion roars through the tunnel burning everyone alive sitting in their cars and buses waiting to enter the city. At 8:55 AM a truck bomb exploded in t
he middle Lincoln tunnel destroying the tunnel and cracking the outside casing, allowing the river to flow into the tunnel. The raging river water drowned everyone waiting in the tunnel to enter the city. The water flowed out of both the entrance and exit of the tunnel causing flooding on the surface streets around the tunnel. The Fire Department couldn’t reach the disaster sites due to the thousands of blocked cars and trucks. While the police started to move the wrecked cars off of the GWB, two truck bombs explode. They are quickly followed by twenty young men firing AK47s at the police and people sitting in their cars waiting for the bridge to open. When the police returned fire, the mob tossed pipe bombs and Molotov Cocktails at the police and the people trapped in their cars. The thick, burning black smoke blinded and choked the first responders who are trying to assist those stuck on the bridge.

  At 9:00 the mobs started building barricades blocking all access to New York City. New York City Police are attacked when they respond to the closure into or out of the City. The mob is armed with AK47s. They open fire on the transit police and NYPD. The mob continues to grow as members send information across every social media website. When the mob reaches 10,000 people, they attack the stores and offices surrounding the tunnels. Large banners are attached to the buildings close to the tunnels and GWB saying, “PAY US.”

  At 9:05 AM television reporters from the three national and three local television stations have finally worked their way towards the front of the chaos to film and report on the mob. The reporters asked who the leader of the demonstration was so they could interview him or her. The front row of people responded, “We the people have had enough of the government’s lies. There is plenty of money to pay us our social security, welfare and retirement payments. We’re not going to allow access to the City until our payments are made. We also want the cost of a gallon of gas back under $3.00 a gallon. We want our food stores restocked, we want our lives returned to the way they were three months ago.”

  The socialist mayor of New York City decides to go to the Lincoln Tunnel to attempt to reason and find a way to compromise with the mobs. Mayor de Blasio approached the mob which has been separated from the rest of the city by police barricades and lines of armed, shield holding police. “Hello, I’m the mayor, please listen to me, I want to help you, I want to find a solution to your grievances. I want you to know I support you, I agree with your demands. Open the tunnels and bridges so we can work together on a solution that meets everyone’s requirements.”

  Mayor de Blasio is pelted with rotten eggs and bottles of urine. The mob turns towards the police barricades pushing them away, thousands of people surge forward while thousands more surge towards the police from their rear. The police are pelted with bottles of urine and bags filled with dog and human feces. Others throw rotten fruit at the police. The on-scene police commander, NYPD LT Gray, orders his officers to fire tear gas into the mob. When the first canisters of tear gas are launched, most of the mob covers their faces with towels, a few put on gas masks. LT Gray is surprised when the mob throws the canisters back at the police mixed with bottles of acid which completely takes the NYPD by surprise. LT Gray orders live rounds to be fired above the mob’s heads. The mob responds by drawing hidden arms, returning fire, aiming at the officers. Most are wearing armored vests, many are hit in the legs and arms. Those wearing vests are surprised the mobs’ rounds are penetrating their vests. Penetrating rounds are illegal in New York State. The mob behind the police attach hoses to the fire hydrants, turning them against the police, who are again taken by surprise. LT Gray quickly realizes he’s outnumbered. With the mob turning violent, he calls for reinforcements. Fifty NYPD police cars start to head toward the scene of the riot. Members of the mob run into the streets laying down sheets of plywood with large nails sticking up. These blow out all of the car’s and bus’s tires going over them. Hundreds of NYC taxis are used to block the streets leading to the tunnels and bridges. Manhattan is effectively separated from the mainland. The police reinforcement cars discover the booby-trapped streets too late. Only five of the fifty police cars that were sent as reinforcements make it to the scene of the riot. These five cars are taken under fire before they reach the intersection two blocks away from the riot.

  LT Gray’s officers are squeezed between both groups of rioters. He’s about to order firing into the mob when his radio reports similar riots taking place at the Holland Tunnel along Canal Street, he’s told there are over one hundred stores looted and burning out of control. He also hears reports that Times Square has been overrun by yet another mob. The hotels and stores are being looted by flash mobs numbering in the thousands. LT Gray calls for air support in the hope that dropping water on the mob will slow them down. The water might have slowed the mob down, however, due to spotty radio communications the helicopter crews only heard the call for help and the word fire. Five NYPD helicopters fly over Times Square firing into the mob. The NYPD by mistake fires on the people standing on the sidelines watching the flash mobs strip stores bare before torching them. The mobs reacts to the attacks by opening fire on the helicopters and every police officer and car they encounter. Anyone wearing any sort of uniform is shot at. The mobs begins taking over the key subway transfer stations completely shutting NYC down. They hang banners all over the city demanding payment. Mayor de Blasio calls a press conference to announce he’s calling upon President Obama to reinstate the welfare payments to the poor people of New York City. He says most are suffering because most New Yorkers only have a couple of days of food in their homes.

  New York City’s electrical workers union demands an immediate pay increase to cover their loss of buying power due to hyper-inflation. Mayor de Blasio issues a press release stating the City can’t afford any pay increases due to the high number of unemployed in the City and loss of tax revenue. He also publicly reminds the unions the terms of their contract are fixed for an additional two years. The electrical workers union President responds by cutting electrical power in New York City, saying, “Maybe after two years in the dark the Mayor will reconsider his decision.”

  People are trapped in high-rise apartment buildings, thousands are stuck in elevators and subways when the power is cut. Tens of thousands of street gang members use the power outage to loot all of the stores in their local area. Many plan attacks against their rival gangs knowing it’s going to be very hard for the police to stop their battle since they’re already tied up with the existing riots and now the blackout.

  Two days into the power outage, large sections of New York City are burning out of control. Mayor de Blasio begs the federal government for help putting down the rioting. The Department of Home Land Security sends twenty MRAPS loaded with armed security officers to assist the NYPD. The convoy is attacked at exit nine on the New Jersey Turnpike just outside New Brunswick, New Jersey. Members of militias standing on overpasses fire stolen anti-tank missiles at the convoy, destroying it on the New Jersey Turnpike. The militia members wait for the undamaged MRAPs to stop and dismount their troops before they open fire with AR15s and AK47s, hundreds of the DHS security troops are killed. The militia leaves them lying on the Turnpike. The attack forces the NJSP to close the turnpike stopping all movement along Interstate 95. When the NJSP approaches the scene of the attack, they come under the militia’s fire stopping them 200 yards away from the location of the attack. Mobs in Newark hear about the closure of the Turnpike, they attack the New Jersey Parkway, closing it just before exit 14 for the Newark Airport. All North-South Traffic through New Jersey is stopped.

  Hundreds of thousands of people watching the news reports coming out of New York City are motivated by the scenes, they too take to the streets. The people are scared and depressed, they are afraid and angry at the system for letting them down. Cities across America watch what’s happening in New York City, they watch the mobs close the tunnels and bridges, they watch the mobs tear the city apart, they see large sections of Manhattan on fire and the flash mobs taking what they want. People copy th
e tactics used in NYC in their local cities. 165 cities across the country are set on fire from unhappy, scared, hungry people demanding the government live up to their commitments.

  President Obama orders the US Army to bring order to the country. The Chairman of the Join Chiefs of Staffs (CJCS) General Dempsey looks at the written order from the President, his aide hears him explode in anger. “Damn him, he caused this mess. If he’d let us take on the Chinese before he shrank our forces, we wouldn’t be in this vise. I’m not going to order US troops to fire on US citizens. We’re the protectors of the people, not their murderers.” General Dempsey composes a message back to the President informing him that US troops are not going to patrol or fire on US citizens. The President sends back a one-word reply, “RESIGN.” General Dempsey looks at the message and smiles, telling his aide to call the remaining chiefs together so he can inform them he’s been fired. Twenty minutes into the meeting with the remaining service chiefs, President Obama receives the resignations of General Dempsey and the resignations of the chief of the US Army, Air Force and the Chief of Naval Operations. President Obama smiles thinking to himself, that’s one way to get rid of these right wing nut jobs. I’ll simply promote someone who agrees with me to run the military and who knows how to take orders.