by Pete Thorsen
Ron then cut the plywood he had purchased earlier and screwed it to the two entry doors. On the outside of each door he used a solid piece and on the inside he used two scrap pieces. With the door much, much heavier he then put heavy brackets on the inside door frames that he could drop a standard two by four into to ‘bar’ the door shut. The house itself was now as secure as he could reasonably get it.
Ann then painted the two doors with the house trim color to look normal, at least from a distance. Though the doors were also partially hidden behind the steel security doors that Ron had installed a few months ago.
Ron had many pieces of scrap plywood left over that were not really big enough to do anything with. He took many of these and pounded sixteen penny nails through them and then gave each a quick light coating of flat black spray paint on the side with the nails sticking through. When or if he thought it necessary he could spread these outside and cover them lightly with grass or leaves making a nasty surprise for anyone running up towards the house. For now he just put them in the garden shed.
There were several large trees in the yard that were big enough for someone to almost hide behind. Ron took some twenty penny nails and pounded them into the side of each tree opposite the house leaving most of the nail exposed. Then he brought out a bolt cutter and first cut the heads off and then holding the cutter pointing at the tree cut each nail to a rough point. Now anyone running up and hiding behind the tree would have to be very careful not to lean against it or they would be impaled on the sharpened nails.
By the time Ron was done Ike and Emily showed up driving both their vehicles and Ike was pulling a trailer. It took some time to unload the two vehicles and the trailer and get everything put away in the house.
They had brought all the food that they had stockpiled at their house over to add with Ann and Ron’s. Besides the food they had brought their clothes, personal items, and bedding. Also guns, ammunition, and many other items that they thought might be useful. They were now all together and they hoped well prepared for whatever might happen next.
Chapter Seventeen
Jason was in agony. His back and arms and just about every other part of his body hurt. He had been very grossed out and had thrown up all of his meager breakfast as soon as he had started working this morning. Now it was late afternoon and he was by now totally immune to what he was doing and what he was seeing.
This morning everyone was woken up and told to be ready for work in a half hour. They were then led to the cafeteria and fed a ‘light’ breakfast. After which they were assigned into work groups. Jason’s group was loaded into a truck, driven a short distance, and then told their work duties for the day.
Basically they were to work in pairs and search each building. They would bring any food that was found down to the trucks and any dead bodies they found down to the street and put into a pile. They were told the food would be used to feed all of them so look carefully but quickly.
Later a loader and dump truck showed up and the loader was used to load the dead bodies into the dump truck which hauled them away. Dragging out the dead bodies was physically hard and quite gruesome work. Some of the bodies had been dead for many days. It did not take long for Jason and his partner to discover that it was far easier to put the body on a sheet or blanket and drag them out with that.
They were warned not to try to hide any items on their person as each would be searched when they got back to the security center. They were allowed to keep and use any gloves they found. Late in the afternoon Jason found some clean clothes that would fit him and he changed out of the filthy clothes that he had worn all day. If it was noticed by the guards they at least did not beat him for changing.
Many of the work group had been beaten during the day. Some for no apparent reason or just for working too slow. They continued to work until close to dark then returned to the security center where they were all searched and scanned.
There was no running water for washing even after handling all the dead bodies that day. Most workers just collapsed on the floor of their sleeping room until everyone was back from working then they were led to the cafeteria and fed supper. No one had a hard time getting to sleep that night.
The next day was more of exactly the same work and again the next day and the next day. Jason was considering jumping off one of the taller buildings like he saw two of the other workers do so far. On what Jason thought was the sixth day everyone was told they would have a day of rest.
They were all packed into the trucks and hauled down to Lake Michigan and allowed to wash themselves and their clothes. No soap or anything else was provided and the water was cold but everyone took advantage of the unlimited water. One person swam out a little too far into the lake and was shot by one of the guards. He had not swum very far and Jason thought the guard just shot him for something to do.
Jason also thought being allowed to wash was not really a humanitarian gesture but more out of necessity. All the ‘workers’ smelled so bad that the guards could hardly stand to be close to them. The last few days the searches of the workers when they arrived back at the security center had been done very quickly with little touching by the gloved guards.
Chapter Eighteen
The four guys living in their little enclave in Arizona were getting somewhat bored. Joe went hiking every single day and was often gone most of the day, taking a lunch with him. He had bought several books on edible plants in the area and spent time finding and identifying plants that could be eaten and found nearby.
He often carried a twenty two rifle with him and he shot two coyotes with the thought that fewer coyotes would likely mean more rabbits and quail for the guys to eat. He used the little twenty two because it was fairly quiet and not very likely to be heard by anyone. It was also much lighter to carry around.
They checked the radio every day to see if the local station would come back on but so far it had not. Pete’s TV still got reception but it was down to just the government station at this point. They watched it off and on just to see what propaganda the government was spouting.
All the guys knew it must be very bad in the urban areas of the country and not much better in rural areas by now. They wondered if the power was still on in the cities because if the power was down millions in the cities would certainly die from the resulting lack of water and sanitation.
Another bad problem in their enclave was the steady dwindling supply of beer but this had been expected and there was quite a large supply of other adult beverages on hand that had a much longer shelf life.
Every one of the four knew they were living like kings compared to almost all the other citizens in the United States. They tried not to think how bad it must be for many fellow Americans. If the power went out very few people would have access to clean drinkable water both in the cities and in rural areas. Electricity was always needed to pump the water. Many would have no food and no way to cook it if they did have food without any electricity.
On the government TV channel they did announce that the President had finally bowed to the wishes of the population and of Congress and had declared Martial Law in the United States. Travel would now be restricted (like anyone could travel now anyway) and there would be a dusk to dawn curfew throughout the nation.
The military would be dispatched all over the United States to help restore order and assist the citizens whenever possible. Anyone caught looting would be dealt with severely. The military would also be fully enforcing the nation-wide curfew. The Department of Homeland Security including FEMA would be visible in many cities and communities helping to distribute food and water.
Distribution areas would be set up in many cities and towns so all citizens would have access to clean water and food. The Department of Homeland Security officers would also be assisting local police and the military to help end all the lawlessness and bring peace and order back to the country.
Citizens were urged to stay in their homes and listen to the TV and radi
o for news and instructions. Homeland Security would be using emergency broadcasts on both AM and FM radio stations to supply local information.
Farmers and ranchers needed to try to produce food and livestock the same as always to feed the nation. They should contact the local military or Homeland Security officers if they needed additional fuel for machinery or farm labor for harvesting crops.
Even though all four guys had expected this none of them could believe just how fast it had all fell apart and how far the United States had fallen and they guessed they didn’t know the half of it. The part about farmers needing laborers for harvest led them all to believe that the farmers would be supplied with forced labor from detention or labor camps that the government had already set-up.
This was certainly not the ‘land of the free’ anymore. With no communications and now ‘restricted’ travel there was no easy way for patriotic Americans to mount an armed resistance movement against the tyranny of the new American totalitarian government.
Though they were safe and ‘free’ at their remote location it started to gall the four old soldiers to be hiding in the hills while the country they loved and had sworn to protect was falling in to a communistic tyrannical government. They all thought they might have to again fight for their country and quite likely die for it.
Chapter Nineteen
Other than the need to fight off boredom Ron, Ike, Ann, Emily, and little Hal were all doing fine. The electric power was off sometimes but so far never for more than about twelve hours or so at a time. Just in case they were eating as much of the frozen food they had on hand as they could with the thought that the electric power could end at any time and not come back on. They all fully expected the loss of electricity.
They all spent a fair amount of time outside during the day but always had two adults stay inside when two were outside. Other than a few people that came around begging for food they had no contact with anyone. They sent the beggars away without giving them any food. Instead they told those begging to try all the local churches for food.
To give out any food would be to invite disaster. When those begging needed food again they would obviously come back for more. They would likely tell others where to go to get the free food. Once some food was handed out if they said no at a later time the beggars would likely assume the group was ‘hoarding’ the food instead of sharing and things would then probably turn violent.
So the beggar you gave food to this week you might have to shoot and kill the following week. How would that help anyone? So the best answer was to turn the beggars away the first time and every time.
They heard the President’s speech about him being ‘forced’ to declare Martial Law. All of them were quite sure that Martial Law had been the plan for a very long time, long before a single riot had started.
They tried both AM and FM radios everyday, more for just something to do than any other reason. So far there had been no broadcasts in their area that they knew of. It was obviously possible that they had missed a broadcast of course. So they just passed the time and waited. None of them talked about the future. In their private thoughts they could not think of any scenario where the future was bright.
Chapter Twenty
Jason was a changed man, both physically and mentally. He continued on the same work crew with the same job everyday. Finding food and finding dead bodies. Even with the short rations Jason was putting on muscles. He could now easily drag the dead bodies out of the buildings by himself. His rations were not always short because he ate as much of the food he found as possible before bringing it down and putting it in the trucks.
He found guns several times when looking for food. He couldn’t keep the guns and he knew nothing about guns (only what he had seen in the movies) but when he found them he hid them and tried to keep track of which room in which building they were hidden.
Once his partner of the day found him hiding a gun and said he was going to tell the troopers. It was last thing Jason’s partner ever said. Jason clubbed the man with the gun several times knocking him out. Then he dragged the man up to the top floor and threw him out an open window. Just another suicide and the next day Jason had a different partner.
Jason’s body was certainly stronger and his mind had certainly changed also. He now hated the Government and especially hated the Army. He also had no regard for human life at all, even his own. He only lived to escape.
Escape and kill the troopers. If he knew anything about guns he would have attacked the troopers already. But the day was coming. Everyday there were fewer people back at the security center. Four times people had tried to escape and were brought back to be killed. The method was very simple. The escapee had their right arm and right leg tied to a rope leading to the bumper on one Humvee and the left limbs tied to another Humvee.
Then the vehicles were started and put in gear. They advanced very, very slowly pulling the escapee apart. Sometimes once there was a lot of tension on the ropes they would just lock the brakes and wait awhile as the person screamed. Sometimes if they advanced a little too fast they would back up slightly with only an arm or a leg pulled out place and wait a little. Eventually it was all the same and the person was pulled completely apart into two or more bloody pieces.
Jason found different clothes just about everyday. He had always worn athletic shoes but when he found some boots that looked like combat boots that fit good he switched to those. He was strong and his legs were strong.
He knew he could kick hard and the boots would both protect his feet and add to the impact if he kicked a trooper. Sometimes when he found a gun and food at same location he would hide them together so if he did ever escape and came to that location he would have both.
Occasionally others talked about escape plans. Jason always listened carefully to these plans without joining in the conversations. So far none had any real plan; it was always just wishful thinking. Everyday when they returned to the security center when they were searched they were also checked with a wand to see who they were and to see if the chip was still working. So far Jason had never heard of a chip failing.
People often talked about using a knife to remove the chip so they could escape but no one knew how deep the chips were in there backs plus you could not do this yourself so you would have to trust your ‘partner’ completely.
Jason knew he would have to come up with some kind of plan of escape soon. The number of people in the security center was falling and Jason knew when the amount of detainees was too low to make it worthwhile for the military the troopers would either consolidate the remaining group with another security center or just kill those remaining.
Jason had a ghost of a plan starting and decided to run a test as soon as possible. There would be a very real risk running the test but it certainly had to be done.
The next day Jason had the chance to run his ‘test’ when he found a very strong magnet in one apartment. In the same building he found a partial roll of a heavy grey tape that was very sticky. Going into a bathroom and looking in a mirror he was able to attach the magnet with the tape over the slight mark where they had chipped him.
He wore the taped on magnet most of the day until in the afternoon when he removed it and carefully cleaned the area of any tape residue. A few hours later he was back at the security center for his normal search.
As was his custom he tried to look completely wore out and only half aware of his surroundings. When they passed over him with the wand something must have happened because then they fiddled with the wand for a couple minutes. He was told to hold up his right hand and they wrote down his tattooed number off his wrist.
He just stood with his head hanging and completed their orders like a robot without even lifting his head or changing his blank expression. Then he was told to continue on. That evening his number was called out and he slowly made his way to the troopers where he was led to a room and again had a chip implanted in his back. The new chip was scanned and passed the test
and he was led back to the sleeping area.
Jason now thought he had a way to avoid being tracked by his implanted chip. This was a huge step in his plan and the test had gone without a hitch. He thought he was very lucky that they re-chipped him rather than just killing him. It was a risk he had taken that had paid off.
Now he just had to wait until he found the right circumstances to risk escape. Now at least he had a chance. His test done he knew he could not wait very long to try for escape. Four days he decided, he would make his escape attempt in four or less days. Before they closed this operation down.
Chapter Twenty One
After well over a month of hiding out in their little enclave the guys decided to at least do some recon. After much discussion it was decided that Joe was the one to go out. His motorcycle was a good choice for a recon vehicle, it was plenty fast, it was small and could be hidden if necessary, and it was fairly quiet.
It could also maneuver through the ‘rock slide’ that they had used to close off their road. And they would use that fact to its full advantage. While Joe was out on recon the rest would be set-up at the scene of the rock slide in case Joe was on the run and being followed on his return.
If he couldn’t lose his pursuers he could come back and get through the rock slide area and when his pursuers stopped at the rocks the other three would open up on them with everything they had. While it wasn’t much of a plan it was all they had.
Between them they had several detailed maps of the area and Gus had lived here for a long time and had a few friends on the ‘outside’. They went over Joe’s proposed route going and coming back. With possible alternate return routes.
