Preppers: The Event (The Falling Book 1)

by P. D. Clover

  “Alright, where’s the rest of the monsters?” I said out loud.

  As though I summoned a demon, my other two idiots appeared from behind the newly converted “homeschool table”. They each wrapped themselves around my legs, giggling and laughing the whole time. I started walking with a child on each foot, and one over my shoulder. As I walked, I said, “ahhhh, help me I’m being attacked by three monsters! Whatever will I do!!!!” I grabbed Evie from my shoulder and put her in the floor. Then I started tickling each kiddo, quickly going from one to another so that they didn’t have time to recover. Within moments came the familiar cry, “I HAVE TO PEE!!!”

  I let them go and watched as they fought and climbed over each other to get to the bathroom, as I look to the right, I see Dee in the kitchen, smiling.

  “You just gonna let me face that on my own?”

  “They really missed you.”

  “I missed them.” I let out a short breath, “So, Matt singed us up for the neighborhood watch. He said he thinks we should stay involved. Oh, and Katy apologized for everything. She said Bill was furious after I slapped him around and was ranting and raving. Apparently, he admitted his whole roll in that previous unpleasantness. She said she had no idea and just thought I was lying…. This has been a strange, few days,” I said.

  Dee’s face was slack, “He admitted it? Wait, she didn’t believe us? Why in the hell would we lie about something like that? This really must be the apocalypse.”

  “That is exactly what I said…”

  “Well, I can’t wrap my head around that at the moment. Was there any new information or anything?”

  “No, just that we are officially under martial law, and the government has seized everything: gas stations, grocery stores, hardware stores…oh, they are turning the hospital and community college into shelters for anyone who can’t take care of themselves, supposedly,” I said with a shrug.

  “Shelters? You mean like Hurricane Katrina? That won’t end well,” Dee said with a somber tone.

  “No, it won’t. What I really wonder is, are they gonna move all the elderly from the nursing home in South Baldman to the shelters? There must be 200 elderly and infirmed there.”

  “I didn’t think about that,” Dee said.

  “No one has, to my knowledge,” I said. “But I need to try and get a nap for a couple of hours. Give me a shout if you need me. Love you Boss.” I walked over and gave her a kiss then went upstairs to my room to lay down and rest as much as possible before I had to go on patrol… Fucking Matt.

  Chapter 21

  I awoke to the sweet smell of hardwood smoke, tainted with a hint of bile and old blood. I opened my eyes and the world had changed. It was grey with splashes of floating red. I got up and ran downstairs. There was nothing but shattered windows and the remains of a pillaged home. I walked out of what was left of my house and into the back yard. There were 4 small graves in row, punctuated by one adult sized grave on the far end... This could not be… this would not be. I could feel my heart racing. I could hear it in my ears and feel it behind my eyes. The air was hot and dry. The landscape looked as though it was washed in fire and sorrow… I was dreaming, fuck… I wandered around the outside of my home. It was barely standing, shot to pieces, burned, and a large part of the side porch had collapsed. As I continued around the side of the shell of what was once my home and into the front yard, I saw him... 6 feet 8 inches, 320 pounds of giant. He turned to face me as I approached, still with no eyes and shark teeth barred wide in an inhuman smile. He raised his blood covered hands to the sky, in the large trees that framed-in my front yard like giant living walls. There were dead people, dozens if not a hundred bodies hanging from the trees. They were all upside down and bound. Those who still had jaws were gagged. Some had clearly been tortured; their bodies mutilated and burnt, things were cut off of some and others were just shot in the head. There were so many my vision warped like I was in a fun house looking through funny glass, I became nauseous. I doubled over and vomited with my hands on my knees. I regained my composure and stood back up, I looked directly at the wraith and shouted, “WHAT IS THIS, WHAT DO YOU WANT?”

  The evil shade smiled even wider, got down on his knees and bowed to me. Face to the ground, ass in the air like full-on, Pentecostal snake-handling style praise and worship.

  For the first time, maybe in my life, I was truly scared.

  “BOOM! BOOM!” I opened my eyes. Someone was on the third floor. I jumped up grabbing my Glock and headed to the third floor. I could hear heavy things banging around and being dragged. With my pistol up, I ascended the stairs as silently as possible. As approached the top, I heard, “SHIT!”

  It was Matt. I holstered my weapon continued up the last couple of stairs. I called out as I reach the top, “Hey ass-hole, thanks for the wakeup call!”

  Matt turned grinning to me, then stopped. His smiled faded, “you doing okay Henry? Because you look terrible.”

  “Well, thank you for your assessment Dr. Jack Wagon.”

  “No, seriously. You okay?”

  I let out a long breath, “Bad dreams, that’s all. Probably stress related. I don’t know if you noticed, but things are starting to spin out a bit?”

  “Not according to Hillis. In fact, he will single handedly rebuild the world… He said so.”

  I laughed hard, “I can actually believe he said that.”

  “I was there when he said it, and I can’t believe it,” Matt said, never stopping his work. He was loading mags for the Stribogs which had been fitted with lights and suppressors from the range haul.

  “Something going on I should know about?” I said, surveying the two select-fire weapons that Magnus had ordered as dealer samples, should any local law enforcement agency wish to purchase such an item. None ever did. They didn’t have the budget’s for items like these. Most departments struggled to afford a single week of training for their officers once a year, let alone a select-fire sub-machine gun for said officers. That did not matter to Magnus. He rented them to members at the range. Few things in life are as fun as doing a mag dump on full auto.

  “I would rather us have it and not need it, then need it and not have it… I also need you to grab your black bag kit,” Matt said.

  Now I was concerned. Our black bag kits were for abductions and restraining people, for whatever reason.

  “It’s like that?” I asked.

  Matt stopped loading mags, “I hope not.” Then he went back to diligently loading the magazines.

  I stood up and stretched, then descended the stairs to get my kit in order.

  As I did, I heard Matt call out, “Grab your PVS14s and your spare PVS7 and skull crusher for Ryan… It would be nice to have her somewhat useful.”

  “So, it’s gonna be that kinda of a night. Shit-balls,” I said as I walked down the stairs.

  Fifteen minutes later we in the kitchen grabbing some protein bars and filling our Camelbacks with water and some kind of energy powder Matt got from the GNC… at least it tasted like fruit punch, that was a plus. Better news was if it stained or fouled the camelback’s, Dee had picked up at least two dozen extras from the Five Eleven store. We had a plethora of gear on our side. I decided to run through my breaching kit, which consisted of a plate carrier with Fast Mag holsters on the front for 3 spare AR mags but would work fine with one of the Stribog mags in each fast mag pouch. The friction lock design of the pouch made it versatile. I had my radio, a BoaFeng UV5R on the front that connected to my hearing protection/sound amplification/communication, that was made by Peltor. My comms/hearing protection is mounted to my bump helmet, as I never got around to getting an actual Kevlar helmet. Mounted to the helmet was a shroud that accepted the standard USGI rhino mount for my set of PVS14s, which was one of the best purchases I had ever made. They allowed an average person to go on the offensive, being able to work in the dark with little to no hindrance is a true force multiplier. Once I made sure everything looked right and secure, I double checked my c
amelback attached to the back of the plate carrier. The last thing I wanted was to get dehydrated carrying all this crap around. And the electrolytes and sugar in the drink mix should keep our minds focused and working properly long into the night. I also had my gunfighter belt setup on. It consisted of a safari holster for my Glock 22 with light mounted, four mag pouches, dump bag, knife, and IFAK.

  After checking and rechecking I put it all on and slung the Stribog, as did Matt. The sub gun was a little awkward with the length of the suppressor added, but it would do. I wished we had time to set up red dots on these, but it is what it is for now.

  “I thought you guys were just gonna walk around the neighborhood, not invade a foreign country?” Dee asked with a nervous laugh.

  “Better to have it and not need it Boss,” I said as reassuringly as I could muster.

  Matt just nodded and grabbed the Black Bag Kit off the table and secured it to the back left of his belt.

  “Alright Boss…If you need me, use the radio to call me and we will come running... Everything will be fine,” I said with a big smile.

  “Be safe... And Matthew, bring him back to me.” Then Dee turned and hurried the kids out of the room.

  I sighed and walked out the door, Matt on my heels.

  “She okay?” Matt asked.

  “I don’t think so Bro. She trained with us. She knows what the black bag kit is for. We are loaded for covert shit… She was at those same classes we were man.” As I started toward the park, I flipped down my NODs and turned them on. Then after I made sure everything was adjusted correctly, I flipped them back up.

  “Damn, I forgot the bag with the spare PVS7 and skull crusher.”

  Matt lifted his left hand and had a medium sized, green 5.11 bag.

  “Awesome sauce! I’m glad one of us has his head on straight… Did you grab her an extra radio?” I asked.

  Matt nodded in the affirmative. I let out a breath, “Good… I am still trying to shake off that dream with Diablo in it.”

  “That homeless guy who cut out his tongue?”

  “The very one.”

  “Why in the hell are you dreaming about that guy? What was the dream about? …no… You know what? Never mind… I don’t actually want to know.”

  “No, you don’t. Trust in that…” I said as we reached the park.

  Under the lights of the Gazebo, stood Officer Ryan in her full patrol garb.

  “Why is she standing under the damn lights?” Matt whispered.

  “She doesn’t know any better. She is a cop with basic cop training, man.”

  “I thought you and the guys ran some classes here?” Matt asked.

  “We did. We offered Basic and Advanced SWAT as well as Officer Survival. You know how it is… We spend most of the time getting everyone’s basic marksmanship up to pare. Then run a few drills. Very few are motivated to put in the work to build real skills and keep them sharp. They don’t, on average, make very much money, bro. The additional training and classes have to come out of their pockets. Honestly, the few who do, amaze the shit out of me.” Then I called out, “Officer Ryan, over here!” I called as I briefly turned my weapon light off and on.

  She waived and walked over to us. As she came closer, her eyes adjusted to the fading light of the setting sun combined with the yellow glow of the gazebo and distant streetlights. Once her eyes fully adjusted, she was able to see what we were wearing.

  “Uh… what’s going on guys?” she asked slowly. Her body language immediately indicated she was extremely uncomfortable with the situation.

  “We are here for our first patrol!” I said, trying to dissipate the awkwardness of the situation.

  “I don’t know guys… You know we are not trying to play soldier, right?” she said only half joking.

  Matt chimed in, “You took Henry’s class, right?”

  “Well yeah, but...”

  “But nothing. You know he and the others did that kind of thing for years, right? They trained Law Enforcement Training officers as well as active duty military and security contractors?”

  Ryan didn’t say a word, she just listened.

  Matt continued, “I get that we look a little out-there, but things have changed. The sooner you adapt, the better. The real question is, are you even wearing your vest?”

  Ryan answered a little hot, “Yes, in fact I am! And you’re right. Things have changed. I have been made deputy Sheriff of the neighborhood! And I don’t like your attitude Mr. Holloway!”

  “Wait, what? Deputy Sheriff of the neighborhood? What the hell is that?” I asked.

  Ryan flushed, “Well, its martial law and the county is too big and …”

  “Never mind,” I said. “I understand that you are supposed to put together your own little department for the neighborhood. That’s good thinking... Is this what they are trying to do in the other parts of the city?” I asked.

  Ryan nodded.

  “Smart! That could work… We are small enough. I mean, you couldn’t do that with a real city. But for a small town like ours, this could be a saving grace…. Good luck Ryan, seriously,” I said as I turned and began walking down the path back to the street. Matt followed without saying a word.

  “Wait!... Stop! Where do you think you’re going?” Ryan demanded.

  “We have a thing to do. Good luck Deputy!” I said.

  “I SAID ‘STOP!’” Ryan said, shouting this time.

  I stopped and turned to face her. She had her hand on her gun, and she was breathing hard.

  “What seems to be the problem?” As I asked this, Matt took several steps to my left. We both had our hands on our Stribogs. I knew for a fact Matt could get his gun up and put two rounds into the deputy in less than a second. I also knew that I could do the same thing in .7 seconds. She would be dead before her gun cleared her holster.

  “Ryan, I know things are strange. I get it. I understand you have been put under tremendous pressure, but you need to calm down and take your hand off your pistol,” I said even and calmly.

  Matt continued to move to my left.

  “STOP! I am in charge!” Ryan said.

  “Yes, you are. Absolutely… So, what is the problem?” I asked calmly.

  “You were supposed to help me, but you show up dressed like that! Going to do God knows what. I am the law, and I will protect these people!... Now stop moving!” she shouted looking at Matt.

  Matt and I were now 30 foot apart from each other with clear lines of fire on the deputy.

  “Ryan, let’s just talk. This is spinning out faster than you realize… Now we came here to help. We came dressed to survive an engagement. I’m sorry that bothers you. That is why we were leaving. You are our friend and neighbor. We didn’t want to continue to distress you, so we were leaving.”

  “You said you were going to do something!” she spat.

  “We are… We are going to go check something out. You are welcome to come with us,” I said evenly.

  She relaxed visibly. She had clearly been put under way too much pressure for far too long.

  “I need you to do one thing though Ryan. Take your hand off your gun. NOW!” emphasizing the last word with my command voice. Her hand jumped off her pistol. I don’t know if she was actually aware of what she was doing, but it could have gotten ugly, rapidly.

  “So, you wanna come with?” I asked as friendly as I could.

  “Okay” she said shaking her head and starting towards me.

  “Ryan, when was the last time you ate?” I asked.

  “I don’t know, 8-9 hours ago. I had an Eggo waffle, I think… Maybe that was yesterday?” She sounded confused.

  “Okie dokie then… First stop my house, we need to get some protein bars in you and maybe a camel back with some drink mix. What do you think Matt?” I asked out loud, only to keep the mood light and conversational.

  “I think that’s the right move…” Matt said. He had taken up behind Ryan about five feet. If she got weird again, it would be the last
thing the young deputy would ever do.

  A bit of general chit-chat and Ryan was mostly back to normal. I had her sit on the porch and I asked Matt to go in and get what we needed. I also asked him to see if Dee could grab us a couple of over shirts. The last thing we needed was to get shot by some random person panicking like Ryan did. After my run in with Diablo in the Sam’s Club parking lot, I was well aware that my luck had run out. And with things being as they were, odds were pretty good some random person would catch sight of Matt and I, see our gear, panic…then grab grand-daddy’s ole Marlin 30-30 and pop our grapes. We knew better than to make this mistake, but we were still a bit exhausted from the previous 48 hours. We needed to be better. We needed to focus. Overlooking the small details is what would get us killed. Walking around with our gear easily visible had already caused an issue with Ryan. Who knows how things could have turned out if we had ran into someone else first?

  Matt came back out with most of the requested items. He handed me several protein bars and gel packs, the kind marathon runners or triathletes use during competition. I gave the gel packs to Ryan first and then a protein bar. Matt had dipped back into the house and returned with two large wind breakers and a camelback. He also had a large mason jar filled with a red liquid. I assumed it was the electrolyte drink mix.

  “Here ya go, Ryan.” Matt handed her the drink and sat down the camelback. He then dawned one of the dark wind breakers.

  “You in a hurry, killer?” I asked raising an eyebrow.

  “A bit…I figured I would go get eyes on it and wait. No rush. I won’t do anything until you get there if anything even needs to be done.”

  I nodded, “Alright, be safe... Oh, and leave me the extra kit for Ryan. I’ll walk her through it.”

  Matt dropped the bag and headed for the alley.

  “Where is he going and why is he going down the alley?” Ryan asked as Matt flipped down his NOD’s and walked off into the darkness of the alley.