Chasing the Dark: The Demon Inside

by A. P. Texan

  “You probably should have just knocked on the door and asked. Anyways you seem harmless, so why don’t you help us finish looking around here; then I'll give you a ride back to the house and we can talk about what we think is going on.”

  “Okay that sounds good. What’s the plan?”

  “Well, we have finished up with these two buildings, so we only have the front one left.”

  We move on to the last building where we find four more 5-gallon cans, a soda machine and a snack machine. While Bob and Sandy are taking the cans out to top them off and place them in the trailer, I smash the glass front of the snack machine and begin filling up the Alice pack with the goodies inside. I’m not sure how to get the soda machine open, so I’ll wait until Sandy and Bob get back to see if they have any ideas.

  “Any ideas on how to get this thing open?”

  “No clue” Sandy says

  “Me Neither” Bob adds

  “Well let’s not waste any more time than necessary let’s get out of here and head back to the house.” I tell them.

  1315 11 September 2021

  Keller ISD Maintenance Yard

  We head back to the UTVs and head out the gate Robert opening it as Sandy pulls through and then jumps on the Kubota with me as I pull through.

  “Chase, this was an EMP attack wasn’t it?”

  “Yeah” I answer. ”I actually saw the detonation as I was headed to work this morning. It killed my truck, that’s why you saw me walking in. From what I saw my guess is it probably detonated over Oklahoma somewhere, which was smart on their part.”

  “Whose part?” he asks

  “Whoever did this, my guess is Iran or North Korea. Possibly a terror group but they would have to be extremely well funded and organized to pull this off. It is smart because the more central they get it the more landmass the pulse covers and the more damage it would cause.“ I answer honestly.

  “Yeah, I doubt if it was a terror group, what would they have to gain from the attack?” He responds.

  “Bob, I’m going to tell you something about myself. My brain doesn’t work like most peoples and I have run these types of scenarios through my head a hundred times. First, let me say I agree it most likely wasn’t a terror group. But not because they wouldn’t gain anything but because they don’t have the finances. Most likely it was a cabal of nations with a terror group thrown in the mix. I might be wrong, but I think in the next 6-7 months what used to be the US of A will be invaded by a large land force with one goal, taking over this country. If I was to guess, I would say the terror group will be supplying the soldiers for the first wave. Why do I think this? Because it’s the way I would do it. If I was the leader of a nation, I wouldn’t send my own troops into an unknown such as this. I would use a willing patsy and the fanatics of a fundamentalist Islamic terror group would be just the right pawns for the job. After the Pawns come in and lay havoc on what's left of the population; bring in the professional soldiers to mop up and start to reestablish order under my rule”

  About this time, we come around the corner of our street and see a large group of probably a dozen or so people gathered on the front yard of my house. Sadie, my boxer lab mix, is going nuts barking at them, her hair raised, and teeth barred. She is normally a very happy, go-lucky animal, but she doesn’t like strangers and she is very protective of her house. Rusty is on the front porch trying to hold on to her and get her leash on her at the same time. The crowd is yelling at him and he is obviously very agitated and barely able to control his anxiety of all these people all talking at once. The front door is open, and I see mom standing in the doorway yelling back at the crowd. Her arms motioning like she is telling them they need to leave.

  I floor the accelerator on the Kubota and jump the curb, get airborne and land in the yard. In my haste I was going a little too fast and almost up ended the side by side as well as the trailer. Two of the full gas cans fly out and land in the grass. All of this gets the attention of the large crowd and they all turn to see what the ruckus is. I jump out of the Kubota Drawing the 1911 (the rifle was sitting on the seat between Robert and I).

  “SADIE SIT!!” I yell, while pointing the handgun at the crowd. Being the good obedient dog she is, she sets her hindquarters on the porch, but a low rumble continues to escape her throat.

  Truth be told I don’t think she would hurt anyone, but I have also never seen her this worked up.

  “Next person to take a step forward will either receive a .45 caliber hollow point, a set of canines or possibly both. Everyone needs to un-ass my property and do it now before I get angry.”

  A voice from the crowd pipes up.” Why should we? And where did you get all this stuff?”

  “Yeah” Another voice comes at me.” What’s going on, what happened to the power?”

  The First voice again “Can you tell us what’s going on, and why right after it happened, did you show up armed to the teeth and then with all these generators and stuff, what have you done?”

  I raise the pistol above my head and fire off one very loud shot. This has the desired effect of shutting everyone up.

  “I am not going to say this again, and I am quickly losing patience, which I don’t have much of anyways! GET YOUR ASSES AWAY FROM MY HOUSE! The two of you brave enough to speak up Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb can stay. Everyone else leaves now”

  “1”

  “2”

  I raise the pistol to the person standing directly in front of me.

  “If I get to three there will be some large blood stains on my grass, and I don’t think anyone wants that.

  With that, everyone scatters running like their hair was on fire and their asses were catching.

  Two lone men are standing there looking scarred to death.

  I turn to the front porch “Sadie, inside, go” she turns and walks inside but lays down right inside the door where it can’t be closed and just looks at the two men.

  Robert and Sandy have now joined me in the yard. I safety the pistol, eject the magazine and replace it with a fresh one from my battle belt then place it back in the drop leg. I pocket the Mag missing one round and reach out for Bob to hand me the AR.

  I address Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb while putting the sling around my neck and letting the carbine settle on my chest.

  “First, let me say I didn’t do anything to anyone. However as soon as it happened, I knew what it was because I have some knowledge of this sort of thing. Second, it was an EMP, or in this case a HEMP. Third, the world as we know it has officially ended. No more cars, no more electricity, no more phones or internet. No more running to Wal-Mart or Kroger when you run out of eggs. Hell, unless you have some chickens in your backyard no more eggs.”

  “What is a HEMP?” One of the twin idiots asked.

  “High Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse, someone has detonated a large Nuke high in the atmosphere the resulting Electromagnetic Pulse has fried everything connected to the grid as well as any unshielded micro-electronics.”

  “Oh my God! We have been nuked! What about the fallout, what should we do?” A suddenly more terrified and animated Tweedle Dee asks.

  “Yes and no, A nuke was detonated but we haven’t ‘Been nuked’ per say. A HEMP is so high in the atmosphere. That fallout and typical radiation threats are minimal. We are talking 250-300 miles up when it detonates” Robert chimes in.

  I continue, “As far as what you can do; fill up as many containers with water as you can while there is water pressure, inventory your food and if you have cash you may be able to buy stuff at the grocery store. But I doubt it. Not to be an asshole but if you didn’t prepare for this most of you will probably be dead within the next year. Now leave, tell everyone else leave us alone, and do not come back to this house unless you are invited!” With that they turn and walk away looking very defeated and dejected.

  Robert turns to me, “So what is your plan?”

  I reach out to shake his hand,” Go home to your wife and baby, tell he
r what you know and then bring them back here. I have a plan that could get us through this, I am not helping everyone and their sister; but you had the balls to follow me and then have my back with this crowd so you're okay in my book and you can join us on this adventure, if you would like to.”

  “Thank you for not shooting me earlier. I’ll go get Natalie and the baby and we will see you in a little bit.”

  Robert turns and heads back towards his house where a woman is standing in the yard, looking nervous, holding a baby on her hip. I watch as he gets there, and they embrace in the type of hug where you can just tell two people have true love and affection for each other.

  I go over to the rocking chair on the porch and pull out a smoke. That’s when I notice the shaking of my hands. I didn’t even realize the adrenaline had hit me that hard but now I can barely get a cigarette lit.

  I take a long drag and let the smoke settle in my lungs before an exhale, then I just put my head in my hands and begin to pray.

  “Father God help us through this time of turmoil. Give me the strength to lead this family and the wisdom to make the right decisions. I can’t do this alone; WE can’t do this alone; we need your divine guidance because through you all things are possible. Not my will but your will be done. AMEN”

  “Babe” Sandy says as she walks up. “Are you okay? I’ve never seen you like this.”

  “Yeah, I’m good.” I say lifting my head from my hands and taking another drag.” I just needed to sit and settle down. That crowd got me a little worked up. A Prayer and a smoke and I’ll be right as the rain.”

  “Okay, what do you need me to do?” She asks.

  “Just sit here with me for a few minutes. We have been going nonstop since 4:30 this morning we need to slow it down a bit.” I say to her

  She sits down in the chair next to the rocker and takes my hand. Squeezing it just a bit to reassure me that she is there and with me.

  We just sit there in silence both in our own thoughts for a good half hour. And it is refreshing.

  1400 11 September 2021

  Keller Texas

  “Alright, back to work I suppose. We need to get these trailers unloaded and eat something I am starving” I instruct.

  With Rusty’s help we get the trailers unloaded and everything secure in the garage. Then head inside for some lunch. Cold cut sandwiches and some chips. To wash it down, we get a couple glasses of tea, still cold in the fridge.

  “Mom, we need to clean out the freezers and cook everything so we can preserve it a little longer. Unfortunately, we don’t have a smoker, but cooking is better than nothing.”

  “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that, outside on the grill is probably the best bet don’t you think?” She responds

  “Exactly what I was thinking.” I say back to her as I head back out to the garage. I need to get dad’s concentrator on one of the generators so we can fill up his bottles.

  I open the overhead and drag one of the two generators out between two of the cars in the driveway. The cars will hopefully help muffle the sound and direct it up so it won't travel as far. I then get the extension cord and run them into his room. It takes one of the fifty-footers and then a smaller 10-footer that we had. With everything hooked up, I turn the key on the generator and hope for the best. The starter kicks in and the Honda purrs to life. I set the throttle where I believe it needs to be, then flip the switch to activate the generator. The indicators show everything is working properly so I plug in the extension cord. Nothing blows up so it looks like we are good. Now I just have to pray the power surge didn’t fry the concentrator. Back inside, Dad turns on his machine and it purrs to life like nothing happened. Thank you, Lord, for the small miracles.

  We start emptying the freezers and setting everything out to thaw so that we can begin to cook everything that will spoil. Looks like we have about 4 pounds of steaks, 5 pounds of pork chops, 20 pounds of Fajita, 10 pounds of Hamburger and 10 Chicken Quarters. I did mention a big family outing coming up right. Well, I guess we are set on meat for now.

  All of this is going to take a while to thaw, but at least we will have a few good meals. Once I get the grill going, I will add mesquite from the farm and get lots of smoke rolling. That will help to preserve the meat even further.

  “Mom, with the generator going we could also use the dehydrator. I’ll get it set up for you and we can start dehydrating basically anything you can think of. The more we can preserve the better off we will be.” I tell her as we are setting out the meats.

  1500 11 September 2021

  Keller Texas

  I finished setting up the six-tray presto dehydrator for mom and had my Ammo all out on the table doing an inventory when I hear a knock on the door.

  As if the knock didn’t clue us in. Sadie immediately begins her barking letting us know someone is at the door.

  “Chase, It’s me Robert, I’m here with my wife and our baby. Don’t shoot.” I hear from the other side of the door.

  I open the door to a smiling Bob and his wife. This time he has the baby on his left hip and what appears to be a Glock 19 on his right.

  “Welcome back Bob, come on in,” I say as I step out of the way. “And you must be Natalie, and I’m going to guess this is little Alexandra”

  “Please come in and have a seat,” Sandy says to them. “And let me see this adorable baby”

  Bob and Natalie walk in and I show them where to have a seat on the couch.

  Robert starts the conversation off. “Alright Chase, you said you have a plan, Natalie and I discussed it and if you will allow us, we would like to hear it and help. We all need to survive and sticking together may be our only option. I’m thinking anyone trying to go at it alone, probably won’t make it very long.”

  “Mom, can you come in here please, we need to discuss some things as a group.” I holler down the hall.

  “Be right there, just give me a minute, oh my, Sandy you must let me hold her she is adorable”

  “Yes, the baby is fantastic, but can we stay focused please.” I say with more than a little irritation in my voice. “Here is the plan as I envision it. Let me get all the way through before you ask any questions. First though, let me ask; Bob are you any good with that Glock?”

  “Two tactical training classes and hundreds of hours at the range.” he responds, “I’m not the best but I’m definitely proficient.”

  “Good, that brings us back to the plan. Tonight, Sandy and I are leaving as soon as it gets dark. Three of my four kiddos are at their mother’s house in Euless off HWY 10. We’re going to get them, And possibly my ex and her boyfriend. While we are gone, I would appreciate it if the three of you,” Pointing at Bob and Natalie, “would stay here. I need someone to look after the family and house as well as the gear in the garage. The entire neighborhood knows we are here and what we got. After this afternoon I guarantee they aren’t happy with me. Also, Bob they saw you with me, so you are now guilty by association. Sorry, but I didn’t follow you, you followed me. Phase two after we get back, we need to start hitting up all the stores and Doctor Offices around here for anything and everything that could be useful. Especially now that we have a baby and two more adult mouths to feed. I would recommend bringing all your food, water, and anything you don’t want stolen from your house to here. Phase 3 of the let’s survive the Apocalypse plan is get the Hell out of here. We have a farm we can go to up 114 in Paradise. Fresh water, livestock, farmland, wild game, and housing for everyone. The farm could be our salvation, in a week’s time, this area is going to be nothing but starving desperate people who will do anything for a morsel of food, or a sip of water and we don’t want to be anywhere near that. Any questions so far?”

  “Sounds like you have thought this through pretty well.” Bob says,” but how will we all get to The Farm from here? We can’t all ride on the side by sides.”

  “That is correct, unfortunately some of us are going to have to walk.” I answer, “We will have two elderly, o
ne special needs, and a mother with a baby. They get priority on the side by sides. We will also need drivers that know the route. Mom, I would like you to drive the 4-seater with Dad, Rusty, Natalie, and Alexandra. Bob, I would like for you to drive the two-seater with my son Charles. That will be two able-bodied men to ride in a separate UTV to protect the precious Cargo in the 4-seater. The rest of us will have to walk. It is about 40 miles between here and there so I am thinking we can do it in two days. There is also the option of dropping the first load of people and supplies off at the farm and then bringing the side by sides back and picking more people up. We could do this until everyone is there, the only downside would be using extra gas.”

  Natalie speaks up for the first time, “That would leave us at the farm with no kind of protection. Do you think we will be okay?”

  “You should be fine”, Sandy answers, “The farm is in the middle of nowhere, so there aren’t many people around, plus you can stop by the house and let Calvin and Kerri know who you are and what the plan is. They will probably remember Charles, and they can provide some security while the boys are gone to pick us up.”

  “Actually babe, I was going to suggest that anyways. If we are going to turn their barn into living quarters, they will need to be involved in that process” I add.

  “Sounds solid, I like it, so you are leaving tonight when it gets dark that leaves us about four hours of daylight. We will start packing up the house and bring everything over here. Can we use one of the side by sides to haul everything.”, Robert says.

  “Our stolen stuff is your stolen stuff we are in this together. Sandy and I are going to try to get some sleep before we head out tonight so we will see y’all later.”

  With our plans starting to come together, the meeting broke up. Bob and his family jump in the Kubota and take it back to their house to begin packing up while Sandy and I go back to our room to try to get some rest.

  We lay down on our bed and before we know it, we both drift off to a deep sleep.