The End of America

by Pete Thorsen

Not much for news in town except that many seemed to have lost their jobs or family members had lost their jobs. We looked at a couple of community bulletin boards and they were just packed with items for sale and people looking for all types of jobs, from handy man type work to seamstress work.

  Gas was now at eleven dollars a gallon which explained the few vehicles we saw. Mac again checked out the internet for news while the rest of us shopped and this time he did find some that was interesting though not directly affecting us. He told us all about it on the ride home.

  “I seems southern California is a war zone, quite literally. The military has moved in to rid the state of illegal aliens and they met with armed resistance. This was apparently expected and they had showed up with a lot of armored vehicles. In some areas they shut down natural gas, water, and electric power before they went in.

  When shots were fired on them, the military returned fire with chain guns, machine guns, or grenade launchers, often cutting whole houses in half or totally demolishing them. They dropped leaflets written in Spanish and English explaining a curfew and explaining how to turn yourself in peacefully. Then the military used snipers at night with night vision equipment and killed anyone out after curfew.

  They rolled down streets during the day in armored vehicles with thermo-detection so they could look into buildings while still safe inside their vehicles to see if or how many people were inside buildings and then would announce on loud speakers for everyone to assemble un-armed on the street or they would be fired upon.

  Any that came out peacefully were hauled away to be deported or released depending on their citizen status. Those that did not comply with the order to step out into the street could be easily found with the thermo-detection and the military would open up with full automatic fire on those that would not comply. Seldom would the military forces leave the safety of the armored vehicles until the area had been fully pacified.

  It is and was slow work going through every neighborhood. Again the government had obviously pre-staged a lot of equipment and manpower before hand. They now have camps set up to help house those citizens that get displaced due to the fighting. The camps are apparently totally voluntary and those inside can leave as they wish and are sometimes even transported to their desired locations if transport is already heading that way.

  This purge is ongoing and likely to last for quite some time. The government is obviously very serious about removing all illegal aliens from American soil. Huge numbers are self-deporting everyday from all states.

  The military is also releasing and deporting many illegals that are now in our jails and prisons also. As long as they can not get back into the United States again after they are deported that seems like a good cost effective solution for the US. The criminals are then the responsibility of their original country’s government. One added note is that all illegals are chipped and told if they ever return they will be executed.”

  We talked about it some and decided that all those illegals would likely be better off back in their own country now because there were certainly no jobs for any of them here now. While here they could only use our resources and if they self-deported they could stay together and take their stuff back home with them. It was hard to find pity for someone who showed no respect for our laws and came here knowing full well that doing so was an illegal act.

  No one ever knew how many illegals were in this country with estimates ranging anywhere from twelve million to sixty million or more. It was always just a guess because there was absolutely no way to do any kind of count. With the borders sealed now there would be very little drugs entering into the United States anymore. That had to be a good thing we all thought.

  On the news the following week we watched shots from many of the Food Distribution Centers that were now open. Most were pictured with long lines out front. There was also a heavily armed police presence at every location.

  Something new being reported was all the dog attacks from dogs that owners could no longer afford to feed and just let them run free to fend for themselves. Many people had been attacked and some were found eaten with just bones left.

  Many farmers had been reporting dog packs attacking and killing their livestock. It was made worse by the fact that many more people were walking or riding bikes everywhere due to the high cost of gas. It was bad enough so they were telling people to travel together if they were walking or riding bikes.

  In a rare show of fast response the Minnesota legislature passed a new gun bill that allowed people to carry guns now without getting a permit. Which apparently everyone just about was already doing anyway to protect themselves from the ‘wild’ dogs and from other people.

  Violence, robbery, and theft were way up throughout the whole country. People were getting desperate and even normally honest people were turning to theft to try to stay alive. Some went to thievery instead of getting the government food and having to get a ‘chip’. But it did come out on the news that anyone arrested for any crime were getting ‘chipped’ as part of the booking process. Also all those currently in jails or prisons were all now chipped.

  Hundreds of businesses throughout the nation were closing their doors. Business and individual bankruptcies had been skyrocketing but officials admitted now that the courts were so clogged that it would take a year or more for new filings to even begin to be processed. Most businesses now just shut their doors and walked away.

  Huge numbers of individuals were still living in their homes and apartments without making rent or mortgage payments. Other than some small local banks that closed the big banks were still doing business but everyone knew they were not solvent. The whole world just about was insolvent with everyone in the same sinking boat.

  With the capital controls in place depositors at banks could only withdraw such small amounts of money each week that there were no real ‘runs’ on the banks. The whole economy was winding down. Large numbers of layoffs no longer even made the news; they had become just a fact of life.

  When watching the news shows sometimes they would happen to pan across state highways or interstate highways while showing other things and you could see almost no traffic on any of them.

  Things were much better at our household. The extra warm weather allowed us to till up the garden and enlarge it substantially, way earlier than normal. We couldn’t plant yet because that would just be too risky but it was great to get the garden ready. The ladies had started a few plants in the house already but not too many as of yet. In Minnesota it can freeze almost anytime so caution about planting early has always been advised.

  On the local radio we heard about the local Food Distribution Center had opened and the first week it was open for three days to get everyone processed then would be open only on only Thursdays. Every one of the surrounding towns were setting up free farmer’s markets or flea markets to allow people to sell or barter items to each other. There was plenty of space everywhere with empty parking lots throughout the towns. The exact locations were listed on the radio and all were open Saturdays and Sundays.

  The weekends had much less meaning now with most people out of work but it was more tradition than anything to have them open on the weekends. We decided to take a load of stuff in on Saturday to set up at the local ‘swap meet’. We had all that stuff I had brought home from work to take and Friday we loaded some of it to bring in on Saturday.

  We really did not need anything but hoped to make enough to pay for our gas anyway. I made it plain to the kids that the stuff we were bringing in belonged equally to all of us so if they wanted to do some trading with other vendors for stuff they wanted that was perfectly fine.

  When we got there Saturday morning there were already many people set up. Some had brought a huge amount of stuff and some just had a small blanket on the ground with a few things on it. There was still plenty of space available for more people to bring stuff. We set our stuff out and then took turns walking around looking at what everyone else had brought.


  We had no real idea what we should charge for what we brought so we decided to just play it by ear. It soon became apparent that most people wanted to barter rather than pay cash. Our two neighbors that we often got eggs from were there and one of them wanted some of our stuff.

  I just let him pick out what he wanted and told him we could run a tab and get eggs as we needed to which he readily agreed to. So that lessened the load to take home and now we had a bunch of free eggs coming.

  Mac brought back a guy and they dickered for awhile and he made a trade with Mac who got what appeared to be a nice older hunting knife with a scabbard and a pair of small binoculars. Towards the end of the day we still had a bunch of stuff so Mac again left and returned with a guy for more dickering. This time the guy took a lot of what we had left and Mac got a pair of used mountain bikes.

  The value of bicycles had gone up dramatically since the price of gas had gotten so high. We all agreed that the bikes could be almost priceless in the future. We had each made a few other little trades throughout the day and all of us went home happy that afternoon. Mac said he would try to buy or trade for extra tubes and tires for the bikes next week.

  He had worn his pistol all day and many other guns were seen carried by a lot of other people. There had been several guns up for trade by some venders and their spots had been some of the busiest ones at the market. Many people were now seeing the value of having guns in their house and on their person at all times now. We had seen no arguments at all at the swap meet. There was maybe some truth in the old saying that an armed society was a polite society.

  Chapter Eleven

  There were changes to the television stations also. Not that any of us cared but there seemed to be very little new content being aired, it was mostly reruns and older movies. Also the news shows apparently were now sharing content from foreign locations to save money as the scenes and reporters were the same from station to station.

  Coverage in the United States was more just talking heads and way less ‘on-scene’ video footage. Again this was obviously a cost saving measure and I’m sure a very necessary one. On the plus side there were way fewer commercials of all kinds. There were few if any new shows or movies to advertise. And who was going to go out and buy a new car? We all wondered how long it would be before the radio and television stations started going off the air; it was obviously just a matter of time at this point.

  We started planting some of the more hardy plants in the garden. We had also enlarged it even more. We all were starting to realize just how bad things would get as time went on and wanted as much food as possible. We had some money yet but with none of us working that would only be getting less and less. Each week we withdrew the five hundred dollar limit and so we had the cash on hand. When they moved here Mac and Amy had on one of their first trips to the local branch of their bank stopped all the automatic payments that would normally be taken from their checking account with the credit card being the only exception. They had also called and stopped automatic payments from being put on their credit card.

  One day Mac set up a cardboard box out about a hundred yards in the field and shot the rifle he had bought. He only shot it three times to check that it was sighted in and was functional. The ammunition was way too valuable now to waste any more than necessary. He had earlier shot the pistol that he now carried everyday.

  Flo and Amy had both shot guns in the past and could do so again. One day we all got together with all the guns we owned and made sure we all knew how to load and fire each and every one and which ammunition fit in which gun. We each spent enough time loading each gun until we were familiar with them enough so there would be no fumbling around if the need arose to load and shoot any of them. We did not do any actual firing of the guns to save the ammunition but now all of us could grab any gun and know how to load and fire.

  When fishing season opened Mac and I walked down to the river from our house and spent some time fishing. We had fair luck and between the two of us got enough northern pike to supply at least two family meals and had fish for supper that evening.

  We walked to the neighbors whenever we were low on eggs. On one of the trips he told us that they had shot six dogs that week alone. They had only lost one chicken so far but were very careful to lock them up tight every evening. He had also did a little work on the hen house to make it more secure from both dogs and other critters. Anyone who has ever raised chickens knows that just about every critter will eat a chicken, from a hawk to a weasel.

  The neighbor both warned us about the dogs and asked us to please shoot any we saw. We all agreed that dog packs were likely eating plenty of the local deer and rabbits also. The neighbor saw that Mac was armed and he said even the women had a loaded gun handy all the time at his place. Those dogs would attack just about anything and anybody.

  On the way home from that trip we decided to keep a couple guns loaded and handy all the time at our place also. Mac said when we were working in the garden we would be the most susceptible to a dog attack. We would often be bent over and appear to be an easier target to the dogs and we would be distracted by our work and could be approached easily without even noticing until it might be too late.

  A larger dog intent on making supper out of you is a very formidable opponent and no one would be able to stand up to an attack from a pack of dogs. Even if you are armed after any attack started it would be difficult or even impossible to come out of it alive. He said when we work in the garden one person should always be on watch and we could trade off often. This would share the hard work but maybe more important it would keep the watcher from getting complacent with their very important job.

  We had our first ‘incident’ at our place. One evening just before supper Amy was outside to get some fresh air after being in the kitchen all afternoon. The rest of us were all inside because we would eating soon when we heard a car horn being honked repeatedly.

  Mac was a blur running out of the house. Luckily he was still wearing his pistol. A pack of dogs had surprised Amy outside but she had caught sight of them with just enough time to run to their car that was nearby.

  The dogs were in a frenzy and all were slobbering and trying to get at her through the car windows. The scene looked exactly like something from a scary horror movie. I could hear shooting before I could even make it to the door. I paused long enough to grab the loaded shotgun that we had only recently placed near the door.

  By the time I got where I could see what was going on Mac had three dogs dead or dying on the ground. That plastic pistol of his held seventeen rounds and he was putting them all to good use. Just then he was aiming at another dog and there were two coming up behind him when I started shooting with the shotgun. I did manage to drop one of the ones behind Mac with the first shot and then with the sound of the shotgun the other dogs turned to run away.

  Neither I nor Mac stopped shooting and the two remaining dogs that were running hit the dirt also. Amy jumped out of the car and ran into Mac’s arms. It took a couple minutes to make sure that she was alright and not hurt. My legs were shaking so bad I could hardly even stand up.

  I did notice that even holding Amy Mac was scanning the whole area looking for more threats. Soon Flo was holding me or maybe I was holding her, things were kind of a blur. All I know is that we were all safe and mighty lucky. We were walking back towards the house before I even noticed that Flo had my old revolver in her hand.

  Mac finally disengaged from Amy and went over and shot two of the dogs that still showed signs of life. We did eat supper that night but it turned out to be much later than we had planned.

  Chapter Twelve

  I built a simple upright gun rack and mounted it to the wall near the door we always used. The guns were now stored there and all of them were fully loaded and ready to be used at a moments notice. I now carry my revolver all the time just like Mac carries his pistol.

  Mac warned all of us that the dog attack would likely not be the last. H
e told us to take no chances with vicious dogs whether they were on four legs or on just two. We knew exactly what he meant and took his warning very seriously. We had skipped one Saturday and we were going in for this one again to the swap meet. We loaded the pickup with more stuff I had gotten out of the home where I worked then we all crammed into the cab of my truck for the trip.

  There were many people at the market just like last time, both sellers and shoppers. On the way in we saw many more people riding in on bikes than we saw riding in cars. The flea market was turning out to be much more than just a market to buy or sell stuff. It was the main meeting place for everyone to see their friends and provided some free entertainment for everyone.

  There was even some live music with several people playing different musical instruments and sometimes two or three would get together to play. Some brought grills and were selling different foods hot off the grill to eat. Even with the economy so bad the market was a happy place for most everyone there.

  In the early afternoon Mac suddenly went to the cab of the pickup and grabbed his binoculars to intently watch something. He seemed very concerned but I looked around and everyone and everything looked perfectly normal to me. He went to Flo and Amy and asked them to sit in the truck cab for twenty minutes or so and if anything happened out of the ordinary to duck down completely out of sight.

  To me he just said if anything started just be ready to take cover behind the truck. With that he just walked away like he had not a care in the world and was soon out of sight.

  It was about ten minutes or so later maybe when two pickups with several guys in them pulled up to the market. All the guys got out but stayed pretty much all together. It looked like they were all very well armed.

  I did not know what was happening but I trusted Mac and slowly slid off the end gate where I was sitting and made my way to the off- side of the pickup. Then I quietly told the Amy and Flo to duck down and stay out of sight but be ready if they needed to help fight but first I had them hand me my old deer rifle. About then one of the group of guys started yelling.