by Miles Maresh
Mary collected Andre and the group quietly left the church through the back door of the rectory. Jim checked on the two they had tied up. They were still bound, but had almost removed their gags. He gagged them more firmly with duct tape. He didn’t need them calling for help as they cleared the area. They crept through some alleys away from the back of the church. They needed to go the other direction to get back to the pickup area, but Megan assured David and Jim that the route was clearer if they retreated first into a more affluent part of the city. With Andre and Mary along they did not feel comfortable going through the gang infested parts where non gang members would be accosted on sight. They did surprise one gangbanger taking a leak in an alley. He started to yell for help but Jim disabled him and threw him on the ground. He waited until Mary and Andre had turned the corner and shot the thug in the back of his head. He could have tied him up and duct tape gagged him, but they could not waste the time and Jim had little patience for gang members who were actively terrorizing neighborhoods. The two men behind the rectory had probably been found by now and the entire gang could be searching for them. David and Megan knew what Jim had to do and Mary suspected, but they didn’t tell Andre who was only ten years old. He was holding up well sneaking through the city, but they needed to go more than 10 miles to the airstrip and it was already after dark Fortunately Megan and her mother knew landmarks from living here so long, and were able to direct the group to a safer area where they could walk together without hiding from everyone they encountered.
There were a lot of people in the street but they did not approach the group. David and Jim kept their guns at the ready and people shied away when they walked by. Megan had hers holstered and her mother looked at that uncomfortably “When did you get a gun?” she whispered. Megan replied in the same low voice “It’s a different world now. I had to keep myself safe in the journey from Stanford to Pennsylvania.” “Is that where we’re going?” her mother queried. “I don’t think I can walk that far.” Megan replied that they had a plane and were almost at the pickup area.” “Planes aren’t flying” her mother responded. “I saw many crashing on the first day without power.” Megan explained how an EMP works and that their plane was perfectly safe. When they approached the landing strip Jim called Kaitlyn and they only had to wait several minutes for the plane to descend. Because it was dark, Jim dropped several road flares to light the runway, then he and David disappeared from sight. “Aren’t they coming with us?” Mary asked. Megan said “The plane only seats four, they will be picked up later. Kaitlyn landed the plane but kept it running as several people from the nearby subdivision ran out. Mary lifted Andre into the plane and then pulled herself up as did Megan. Kaitlyn swung the plane around outraced the foot pursuit, and then rose into the air.
Chapter 20
David and Jim knew it would take a couple of days for Kaitlyn to get the plane back to pick them up. They retreated to the woods where they had stashed sleeping bags and supplies when they first arrived. A few hours later Kaitlyn called on the sat phone and said that they had safely arrived back at the farm. They plane had blown a tire and needed to be refueled and repaired so it would be the day after tomorrow when they would be picked up. The two men had thought they had evaded the gangs, and reaching the suburbs they felt safe, but they used their military training and still took turns staying up through the night. Jim had the second shift from 2:00 to 6:00 and at about 3:00 AM he woke up David. A pickup full of gang members was at the landing strip. Jim had left the burnt out road flares on the runway, but they were still warm and the gang members were looking at them and arguing among themselves. David recognized the gang members as some of the ones that had been in front of the church as well as the two they had tied up in the back. He did not believe they could have followed them with the roundabout way they had taken back to this position. Maybe someone in the suburban neighborhood was gang affiliated and they had put it together when they saw the plane land and take off twice.
Jim and David knew it was just a matter of time before the gangbangers started searching the area for them. If anyone in the neighborhood had noticed, they might even know where they were located. They grabbed their guns and supplies and deserted but booby trapped the sleeping bags as they moved back into deeper cover. They wondered about the purpose of the pursuit. It could not matter so much that a mother and her daughter were evacuated. The one gang member Jim had shot should not be such a problem to gang members that shot each other routinely. They surmised that they wanted to seize the airplane, although they doubted seriously they had any licensed pilots in their ranks. From cover, David and Jim could see about 6 men paw around where they had found their sleeping bags. Another truck with 2 men had already retreated to the city and the pair realized their position could soon be overrun by additional gang members. At any rate, this airstrip was no longer going to be usable. Jim had left a claymore in his sleeping bag and with the automatic weapon he had stashed he unleashed a volley of shots that he knew would ignite the explosives. He thought it was a shame to destroy such a fine sleeping bag but it took out 4 of the 6 men, as David eliminated the other two with head shots. The automatic weapons they were using now, were not suppressed and the pair knew the shots had reverberated throughout the neighborhood. Usually Jim and David would check the scene to make sure there were no wounded men that could still fire at them, but Jim felt the claymore had been so close it maimed the gangsters seriously and David had taken head shots on the other two. At any rate they needed to be out of the area before people from the neighborhood or more gang members showed up, and did not have time to double check their body count. They headed through the woods to the second landing strip. It was 100 miles away from the one they had just left and they did not feel they could walk that far with the gangsters looking for them in vehicles. Once they cleared the area they would call the farm again to see if an alternate landing strip could be located.
David and Jim made it about 20 more miles by midday and because they had traveled cross country, they doubted the gang members had followed them Most did not have tracking skills even if they were willing to leave the roadways and the ex-military men were good at covering their own tracks. They came to a 2 lane rural highway that was almost completely cleared of stalled vehicles. Pushing several more cars off the road made it long enough for the plane to land, they also cleared a lot to the side so the plane could turn around and take off again. With the gang still out there somewhere, Jim and David did not want the plane to be on the ground for any longer than absolutely necessary. They called Kaitlyn who had been briefed about the other landing strip not being viable. She found the highway and mile markers they relayed to her. The farm had put a run on fixing the plane’s flat tire and she wanted to take off again, but it was already darkening and Jim had no more flares to light up the highway. She told the two men she would land at first light in the morning. They spent a restless night with no sleeping bags and only a couple of protein bars to eat. Filtering some semi-clear water out of a nearby spring gave them hydration but both were relieved when the plane landed and picked them up. With a refueling stop, they were back at the farm within 5 hours just ahead of the first serious snowfall of the year.
With two more people at the farm. David had to shuffle the sleeping arrangements. Justin and Mariah were assigned to share a trailer with Jim and Kaitlyn. Mary and Duane moved into the trailer that Barry shared with Megan, which seemed to be an interesting dynamic that no one minded. David hoped that in the spring he could bring in more trailers, or even build an additional cabin. Even though everyone had made it safely to the compound, few people had brought enough clothing with them especially with the Pennsylvania winter starting. Some like Mary and Duane had only the clothes on their backs and most others had not taken enough clothes to last long especially since laundry now had to be done by hand. As soon as the storm broke David intended to go to Pittsburgh to pick up clothing and other supplies. In a storage locker, he had clothing his children h
ad outgrown which he could take for the younger children at the farm Additionally, David knew the stores were looted, but he believed clothing was the last thing the looters were looking for. If he took in enough firepower and a couple of trucks. They should be able to obtain enough winter gear for everyone. David also had left provisions in the shelter at his house and if no one had found the hidden storage area, he needed to take the rest of his supplies. With additional mouths to feed he would need to get all food sources he could acquire, and stores were sure to be out of that commodity.
Chapter 21
On the supply run to Pittsburgh. David decided to take his 4 wheel drive pickup and the trailer he had used when he first moved to the farm. The group would also take the Hummer they had confiscated from the attackers. David had Barry ride shotgun, quite literally in this case, while the Hummer had Jim, Kaitlyn, Megan and Frank. All were heavily armed, they did not know what to expect. Anyone left in the city had to be getting food somewhere and David was nervous about what that might mean. They first went to David’s storage locker. It was in a self-storage facility and many of the doors and rolling gates were open. David only kept clothing and furniture in his locker. The supplies looters were looking for were hidden in his underground shelter below his house, where he would go to later. David’s rolling gate to his locker was bent up in one corner probably by a crowbar. The gap was large enough for a man to slip through. David unlocked the gate, and needed help to roll the gate up. The looters had thrown the mechanism off the tracks when they broke in. David had enough muscle with him to force the door open although it wouldn’t be closing again. As expected the looters had made a mess as they looked through boxes of clothing for the food that was not kept there. Because he had many minor children at the farm, David wanted all the clothes his own children had outgrown. Jennifer had always been after him to give the clothing to goodwill, but David always thought it might come in handy. They packed the clothing into the Hummer as tightly as they could. They had several more stops and they wanted to leave the truck and trailer open for other supplies.
David was not crazy about taking supplies from looted businesses. He had always been law abiding, and regardless of the fact that these business were deserted, it was still stealing. He justified it was well as he could by keeping a tally of supplies they took. If it came down to that, David could always reimburse the stores for supplies he had gathered. They first went to a Wal Mart that had been broken into, and now looked deserted. David was sure all the food and camping supplies had long since disappeared, but he had other things to obtain. He sent Kaitlyn and Megan to find feminine hygiene products and clothing for the females at the farm. He was going to leave the girls behind on this supply run but when they gave him a list of what they needed, David decided it was more practical to take a couple of the women with him. Despite being married for over 20 years. David was uncomfortable gathering some of the supplies the women had requested. They gathered the supplies they needed, but bypassed the diapers and baby products. Both young women thought that the products would eventually prove useful, but they just did not have the room on this trip. David left a couple of men out front to guard the vehicles and took the rest back to the clothing section using flashlights to guide the way. This was Pittsburgh, and many of the winter coats were already gone. David found the stockroom and was able to locate jackets that had not been put out on the floor yet. They took all they could find in various sizes and took those back to the truck. They also grabbed all the Levis, or whatever Wal Mart passed off as blue jeans. Flannel shirts and underwear were also cleaned out and David was uncomfortably aware that he needed another truck to even start on what he had hoped to acquire. Eventually they decided to leave the store although David thought another trip would be needed soon. They still had not seen another survivor but as they exited the lot, three motorcyclists appeared and followed them out.
David’s next stop he had planned was to go to his house and see if his shelter had remained hidden. The motorcyclists following them kept their distance, but they were tailing them and David did not want to lead them to his residence with the cache of supplies. He chose to go to another clothing store as a diversion. As soon as they got in the store, David and Jim headed to the back door. They exited the store and noticed the motorcyclists parked a short distance away, watching the group. Staying in the shadows, Jim and David closed the distance to the bikers and approached them from the rear. He didn’t know if they had nefarious plans, but they were following the trucks and had made no secret of it. All three men were armed but did not have weapons at the ready. When Jim and David stepped out holding Sig Sauers, they were caught completely by surprise. Jim had the young men step away from their bikes, while David disarmed them. He unloaded their guns and put them in a stack by the bikes. Depending on what they found out, he was not necessarily going to take their guns away, but he could not be followed all over town and eventually back to his farm, He asked the men “Why are you following us?” the men cowered a bit but one responded “We’re just looking for food” David responded “Do we look like food to you?” Another man said “No, but we thought you might know where some is. You looked well fed and no one left in Pittsburgh is except for the gangs who are practicing cannibalism.” Both Jim and David were taken aback by that and he wished he had not said it as a joke. They had not expected for society to destruct to that level so soon. He asked the men for details and found there were about 100 cannibals in the city. The three men had been hiding from them for weeks but were out of food themselves. David told the men “You need to get some camping supplies and head away from this town. Go south away from the cold and look for a rural area where you can hunt and fish.” David did not want them to go north, to his area and he knew with no shelter, being caught in winter storms would become a problem.
They returned the guns to the men and he gave them some MREs to hold them over. David warned then to not follow them again, they said they were going to follow his advice and head south once they got camping gear. The men had said the cannibals were not active in this part of town yet, so David headed to his house where he hoped his food supplies were still hidden. Despite the fact that he had shut and locked the doors as he left, David pulled up to his house and found the heavy security door ajar. The house was deserted but intruders had made a mess, ripping out drywall and emptying all closets and cabinets. David’s shelter was better hidden and they had been able to find it, even if they knew it existed. In the garage a section of the foundation would slide away on hydraulics when you pressed two hidden buttons at the same time. Underneath the foundation was a safety door as strong as those in bank vaults. Inputting in the combination, the door opened outward and stairs to the shelter became visible, His friends that had not been to his house yet were amazed at the security an understood for the first time, what a serious prepper David was. The supplies had not been touched and they set up a bucket brigade to bring up the provisions. There was a full pallet of MREs. As military men, David and Jim did not actually like the battlefield rations, but they were nutritious and lasted almost forever. David also had copious amounts of energy bars as well as flour, sugar, rice, and beans in big heavy canvas bags. .they were able to load up about half the supplies in the remainder of David’s truck and trailer. He locked the shelter and allowed the hydraulics to settle the foundation section back into place.
Chapter 22
It was like Christmas back at the farm although it was not even Thanksgiving yet. Having new clothes and warm jackets gave everyone a boost in morale. David did not want the scare the children, but he did tell the other adults about the report of cannibal activity in Pittsburgh. He was not going to be able to do anything about that directly, but Jim had been in contact with the military. The reports was that the military had been unaffected by the EMP because of new technology they had developed. David was amazed that this had not been shared with the general population. Millions of people had died and more would before the winter was over. H
e didn’t trust the government before, but withholding this technology had been inexcusable China had also declared war on the United States after the reprisal against North Korea for their nuclear attacks, and the military was trying to repel any Chinese invasion The government was more involved in national security than worried about rebuilding a technological society. As far as taking care of lawless activity in the cities they only intended to rebuild after the war was over. David’s family and friends at the farm were on their own for a while. At least with the brutal cold of the Pennsylvania winter the Pittsburgh cannibals were unlikely to make it to David’s farm and he hoped they would be eliminated or have their activity curtailed by the cold.
