Fiction - 3 Time Jinx

[Jerry D Young]

3 Time Jinx - Chapter 1

Ramsey shook his head. His friend of many years was going off the deep end. He’d become a survivalist. Rather, according to Ben, a prepper. Not a survivalist. There was a difference. And Ramsey had to admit, he’d never heard Ben talk about things the way the media said survivalists talked about.

“I don’t know, Ben. That’s a lot of money. Janey and I were looking at getting a few niceties now that things are going so well with us. You know how we struggled early on.”

“I know, Ramsey. I know how you feel. But the toys you are talking about getting, especially the boat… the yacht plans you showed me… I just think you could use that money more effectively. In ways that you will be able to enjoy life while things are falling apart around you.”

“Things are not falling apart!” Ramsey insisted. “I’m making five-hundred K a year. And Janey is pulling down almost that much.”

“For now, perhaps.”

“Ben, we’re good at what we do. The sky is the limit. This market… Well, it has slowed down… But we’re still getting new listings every day.”

“More than usual?” Ben asked.

“Many more. We make those sales this year and I’ll clear a million. And if Janey just gets half of them to decorate she’ll top seven fifty.”

“When was your last sale?”

Ramsey frowned slightly. “Well, it has been a couple of weeks. But that really isn’t unusual. We had weeks that went by between sales when we first started the agency.”

“I remember those days. Lots of mac and cheese,” Ben said.

“True. And Janey and I will be in your debt forever for helping us out during those early years. Do you want us to pay yo…”

The look on Ben’s face stopped Ramsey from finishing the thought. Of course Ben didn’t expect to get ‘paid back’ for those times. He was a friend, and friends help out. Just never seemed like Ben ever needed help. He was probably worth less than a tenth of what Ramsey and Janey were, but he seemed happy. It was just this prep thing…

“Okay, Ben. Tell you what. Janey and I will take you out to dinner and listen to what you have to say. For real. Not just to appease you.”

Ben began to smile. “That’s good. Appeasement is usually not a good idea. Look what happened when Hitler was appeased time after time. He nearly wound up ruling a third of the world.”

“Long time ago, Ben. Can’t happen now.”

Ben didn’t argue. Not only was Ramsey his friend, but everyone was entitled to their opinion, whether he agreed with it or not. Besides, it didn’t bother Ramsey or Janey either one to spring for an expensive meal, knowing that Ben would respond with an unexpected pizza and beer night at just the right time to keep them from letting their heads get a bit too big.

Ramsey didn’t think about the promised dinner after telling Janey about it that evening. She’d handle the timing and reservations. He needed to keep busy marketing the properties that had listed with his real estate agency. Janey seemed to be enjoying the break from work she was having. Ramsey preferred to be busy all the time.


It was nearly three weeks before Ben joined them at the swank restaurant Ramsey and Janey favored. Ben thought it was a great restaurant, with great food and impeccable service. It just cost an arm and a leg. Ben didn’t hesitate to get the same thing Ramsey and Janey ordered. Filet Mignon and a Maine lobster tail. It was their celebration meal whenever something particularly good had happened. As always, the menu listed everything about the food, except the prices.

“So, what are we celebrating?” Ben asked as he sipped from his glass of champagne. The good stuff.

“Just getting together,” Janey said. “It’s been such a long time.”

“Well then, I won’t get into the discussion Ramsey and I were talking about having.”

“Oh, no. That’s why we’re here. Ramsey said you were worried about us and had some information that might be of interest to us.”

“That’s true,” Ben replied, taking a quick look at Ramsey.

“She just knows about your concern for the economy. I didn’t go into details.”

“Now, Ben. You tell us what’s bothering you, and between us, we’ll come up with a solution. We always do.” Janey squeezed Ramsy’s hand and gave him a loving look.

“We do, at that, don’t we. To us.” Ben raised his champagne flute again and the three touched glasses.

Then Ben brought up what was on his mind. “You guys are my best friends. Have been since high school. I know you are doing very well for yourselves, but I worry about what would happen if a disaster occurred in the area.”

Gently, Janey said, “Ben, we have excellent financial counselors. I don’t mind telling you we’ve been making money hand over fist in the market, on top of what we make in our regular careers. This housing boom shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. And, in case of a disaster, we’d just come over to your house. I’m sure you have plenty to take care of us.”

Janey grinned.

Ben smiled and nodded. “Of course, if you had no other choice I’d welcome you in a New York minute. But what if that wasn’t possible? What would you do then?”

Janey started to speak, but Ramsey spoke before she did, his words directed at his wife. “That’s really what we’d have to do, isn’t it? Go to Ben’s if there’s trouble. I hadn’t really realized that until you said it.”

“And I’d welcome you with open arms. You guys know that. That’s part of what I wanted to discuss with you. At the very least I want to make sure I have the things you need to be comfortable at my place if things go bad.”

“Oh, a little flood or something,” Janey said, waving a hand negligently. “We have flood insurance. And we’re on that little hill. And we can always cook in the fireplace if the power goes out. We aren’t too bad off. I’ve thought of a few of these things after Katrina. I even have a hurricane box with flashlights and some canned food.”

“I didn’t know that!” Ramsey said.

“It’s that gray case in the front hall closet,” replied Janey. “I thought I mentioned it one time.”

“You may have. You know how I am when I get focused on one thing. Wouldn’t know if the world ended around me until I finished what I was thinking about. Good job, Janey!” Ramsey looked over at Ben. “See. We’re prepared. I just didn’t know it. Feel better?”

Ben smiled. “Oh, a little. Tells me the possibilities are there. Funny you mentioned the end of the world thing, though, Ramsey. You know something I missed?”

All three laughed. Their meal arrived and talk slowed and turned to how good the food was. After a dessert of chocolate mousse and a last glass of champagne, the server came over and put the check on the table within reach of both Ben and Ramsey. As usual, Ramsey snagged it before Ben could get it without causing a scene.

Ramsey’s eyes widened and a low “Wow! Prices are up!”

“I can…” Ben said, reaching for his wallet.

“Of course not, Ben!” Janey said. She looked at Ramsey. “I know some of the groceries are up a bit now, when I go shopping. How much, Ramsey? Two or three percent?”

Ramsey shook his head and handed the check to Janey to look over.

“My Lord! I had no idea!” she exclaimed softly.

“Come on, guys. If it is enough to make you comment, let me pay my share.”

“You know I always treat here, Ben. It’s not like I can’t afford it. I could feed twelve people here the same way without a qualm. It just caught me by surprise.”

“It has been a long time since we were here,” Janey said as Ramsey put his Platinum American Express card in the folder and handed it to the server that stopped to take it.

“That’s true,” Ramsey said. “And Ben, I don’t want you worrying about this. Next time you get pizza just get an extra growler of beer.”

Ben nodded. “Sure thing. Thanks for the supper. Hope I didn’t upset either of you.”

“Didn’t really get into things like I thought you would,” replied Ramsey. “I thought it would be all about BOBs, and INCH bags, BOVs, and BOLs.” He grinned.

“What on earth are you talking about? Not more government agencies, I hope!” Janey said.

“No,” Ben laughed. “Just some buzz words I’ve dropped on Ramsey lately. I won’t bother you with the interpretation.”

“Oh no you don’t!” Janey replied. “You can’t leave me hanging like this.”

“Nothing really important, Honey,” Ramsey told his wife. “He can explain them at our next pizza and beer party. We’ll even turn the lights off and have our own prep party. You can show me what you have in that mysterious Hurricane Kit.”

“Oh, you! You just want to get home for the game!”

“Who, me?” Ramsey laughed loudly. He was a St. Louis Rams fan and Monday Night Football was about to start.

Janey gave Ben a hard hug, and Ramsey shook his hands at the front door of the restaurant before they went to their respective vehicles. Ben shook his head as he watched his friends walk to the brand new Mercedes Benz that was Ramsey’s daily driver. Janey had a classic Corvette, as well as a Mercedes Benz similar to her husband’s.

Ben climbed up into the cab of his recent acquisition. It was now both his daily driver and, to use one of the buzz words Janey was curious about, his BOV, Bug-Out-Vehicle. The truck was the result of a two year project. He’d only been able to work on it when the garage he owned wasn’t full of customer’s cars needing work.

It was several weeks before Ben talked to Ramsey Cook again. It was Ramsey that made the call. “Ben, I was wondering if you’d like to get together again. Pizza and beer this time, but it’ll be on us, since we asked for the meeting.”

“Well, sure,” Ben replied. “But I’ll get the pizza and beer. It is my turn, after all. You sound serious. Almost like this is a business meeting.”

“In a way it is. We need your help. Desperately.”

“Ramsey? Are you and Janey okay? What’s wrong?”

“Too complicated to explain on the telephone. We’re both okay, just stressed. I’d rather wait and explain when we get together.”

“Okay Ramsey. Is this evening too soon?”

“No. That would really be great, Ben. About six?”

“I’ll be there,” Ben replied. He hung up the phone slowly when Ramsey said ‘good-bye’. Ben ordered the pizza and beer immediately so he’d be sure and be able to get it. The pizza place he used tended to get very busy on Friday nights and it wasn’t always possible to get a to-go pizza on the spur of the moment.

Ben put the evening meeting out of his mind and went back to work. He needed to find another mechanic to add to the four already working in the three bay garage. People were fixing things on three to ten year old vehicles rather than trading them in on new, or even newer used cars. His business was booming.

Balancing the pizza box on one hand and carrying two growlers of the micro-brewery beer the three of them liked in the other, Ben stopped on the way up the walk to the Cook’s front door. It was an amazing house, designed by Ramsey and Janey, and decorated by Janey. It was the epitome of the type of houses Ramsey’s real estate business specialized in and Janey was paid to decorate.

Two stories, six bedrooms, seven and a half baths, three fireplaces, fully finished basement… and the list went on. Built for seven-hundred fifty thousand, the last appraisal valued the home and lot at a million six.

Ramsey must have been watching for Ben, for he opened the door before Ben got there. “Ben! It’s great to see you, man! Come on in.”

Janey was smiling when she took the pizza from him and Ramsey took the two half gallon growlers of beer. She gave Ben a hug when he followed them into the kitchen. Ben took a seat on one of the bar chairs at the serving counter of the huge kitchen. Ramsey was already pouring the beer from one of the growlers into ice frosted mugs.

“You guys seem almost desperate for pizza and beer,” Ben commented when Janey slid two slices of pizza onto the plate in front of him.

“Not for pizza and beer,” Ramsey said. “But desperate. Cheers.”

The three touched mugs and took a drink of the beer, Ben watching the other two over the top of his mug.

“You can’t be serious. You guys desperate? For what?”

“Some peace of mind,” Ramsey said. “Some things have happened recently that you said would happen economically. We aren’t broke, by any means, but things are starting to slip away from us.”

“What do you mean, slip away?” Ben asked.

“I haven’t had a sale since that one two weeks before we got together the last time. And only one offer in that time frame.”

“And I haven’t had a decorating job since well before then,” Janey added.

“You guys have saving and such, surely.”

“Yes we do,” Ramsey replied. “And we want to hang onto them. Do you know how much credit card rates have gone up? And certificate of deposit rates down?”

“I’ve seen the figures in the news. You know I don’t use credit cards much… but I’ve noticed more and more people at the garage are paying in cash or with a check, rather than with credit cards.”

“I checked all of our credit cards,” Janey said. “Seven of the nine have raised their interest rates significantly in the last year. Never really paid attention to it before. We’re going to pay off all of them as the bills come in.”

“That’s only good common sense,” Ben said. He was on his second slice of pizza. Janey and Ramsey had barely touched theirs.

“That’s the problem. We haven’t shown good common sense. You know how I said we’d do this by the light of the fireplace?”

Ben nodded and took a swallow of beer.

“Can’t. Someone cut the natural gas line coming into the development yesterday. Gas has been off since.”

“And it doesn’t burn wood, either?” Ben asked.

“Nope. Gas only. I checked on getting it changed so it would. Cost a small fortune. Have to completely rebuild the fireplaces to allow the use of wood.”

“Not only that,” Janey said, leaning forward earnestly. “The storm two days ago killed the power. Only out for about an hour, but on top of the gas being out… What if it had been winter and we had kids or something?”

“I see,” Ben replied. “Well, it’s not too hard to address those elements. I can help you…”

“We want more than just not needing to worry about the gas and electric,” Ramsey said, cutting Ben off. “I’ve been noticing some things since that day we talked. What happens if this little slump in the housing market goes on longer or gets worse? You know that offer on a house I said I got?”

Ben nodded and Ramsey continued. “It’s for this house! And the offer was only six hundred thousand. That’s less than it cost to build two years ago. Already some of my listings are cutting the asking price by large amounts.”

“But this place was appraised at over a million and a half!” Ben exclaimed.

“Exactly!” Janey replied. “And I didn’t really mention before, when I said I hadn’t a recent decorating job, that when I thought about it, the last three jobs I did get were small scale jobs. Only a couple thousand dollars in my fee and less than ten-thousand in actual decorating costs.”

“I take it that isn’t much, compared to what you usually do?” Ben drained his first mug of beer and Ramsey refilled it.

“Not by a long shot,” replied Janey. “Oh, we’re not worried about winding up in the poor house, but we’ve always planned to retire early and if we keep losing equity, and not producing income… well, we’d have to fall back on our retirement funds. We want to avoid doing that. And…”

Ramsey jumped right in. “And I’ve been watching the stock market, especially our mutual funds… The DJIA is on a long, slow for now, decline. What we do have saved is losing value every day. The CDs… Well, they are paying the stated interest, but like you have said, our money just isn’t worth what it was before. I may have more money, but I have less buying power, by far, than I we did two years ago when we built the house and new offices.”

“We’re all in that same boat, guys. Yours is just a matter of magnitude. Now, if I was in your situation, I know what I’d do. But you know how I am. Prepping has become a way of life with me.”

“Tell us what you’d do,” Ramsey said. He and Janey finally began to eat as Ben started talking.

“Well, it’s simple in a way, but complex in others. A great deal of it depends on what lifestyle you want to maintain. Paying off those credit cards is a great first step. If you can pay off the house…”

Ramsey wiped his lips with a napkin and said, “The house is paid for. It was a turnkey job. Would have cost another two-hundred thousand to build if we’d financed.”

Ben was surprised and it showed. “You own the house outright? I had no idea.”

Ramsey shrugged. “Never really came up.”

“Well, that makes it much easier. Even keeping this house and doing some things to improve long term living here, you’ll still be way ahead because you are out of debt. Oh. The boat and things you’ve been talking about getting…”

“On hold until we figure this thing out,” Janey replied immediately.

“Okay. Money isn’t going to be a real problem, looks like. You don’t want to squander, but you’ll be able to buy the best values and can do some things most preppers can’t do for lack of money.”

“What if we sold the house?” Ramsey asked.

Again Ben looked surprised. “You guys love this house! It was your dream home!”

“We thought it was,” Janey said. “And I do love it, but… Well, the community is changing. The city has moved out this way and brought city crime to us. The house three doors down suffered a home invasion. Ramsey and I have already talked about moving. Initially we were just going to lease the house out. But there is a piece of property we have that we planned to retire to in a few years. We could build there.”

“What about your businesses?” Ben asked.

Both husband and wife shrugged. “We can do most anything we set our minds to. Have always been able to do that,” Ramsey said and then smiled. “Works out, we’ll just change our specialty from luxury homes to prep homes.”

“You’re laughing, but you might have a point. Wouldn’t be making as much, but your expenses would be down. Are you sure you want that much change in your lifestyle?”

“I realized after our supper the other day that I’ve fallen into a rut.” Ramsey frowned and continued. “We eat out because we just don’t feel like cooking. Janey is a great cook, and I’m not too bad. But we just seem to not care anymore. The lack of business lately simply hasn’t bothered me as much as it should. Money isn’t that big of a factor. I think I just got tired of people with money and no common sense. I used to have common sense. I think I’ve lost it. I want to do something productive again.”

“All the ladies and most of the men I deal with seem to just want to be a bit bigger, a bit more sophisticated, a bit more expensive than their friends and neighbors.” Janey sighed. “I didn’t really realize how disenchanted I was with my job until our talk the other day. Like Ramsey, I want to do more with my life than help someone choose between sheets that cost a hundred dollars each or sheets that cost a hundred and ten dollars each. I’ve never worried where my next meal was coming from, or what it would be. That dinner opened my eyes.”

“I see. This is a very sudden change. As much as I would like to see you turn into preppers, I think you should think about it. Getting completely away from this way of life could be very… difficult in the long run. I tell you what. I’ll give you some websites to peruse. They are prepper sites and can give you an idea what I’m trying to accomplish myself. You very well may want to look at other things than getting into prepping in a big way.”

“I guess that’s logical,” Ramsey said. “We do have a tendency to jump into things without a lot of thought. Hasn’t hurt us too much, but I think we’ve been pretty lucky.”

“Like the office building. We were perfectly okay renting office space. We didn’t, and don’t, need our own office building. It was just a spur of the moment decision.”

“A case of ‘Keeping up with the Jones’ to be truthful,” Ramsey added. “A major competitor built an office complex and we just got jealous, I think. It was a done deal before we really thought it through.”

“That means you really need to think this thing through before you make any major changes. If you feel like you want to change your lifestyle in another month… get into a prepper mindset, I’ll be glad to help.”

“Fair enough,” Ramsey said. “We’ll take a look at our financial situation, our career situation, and a few other things and let you know.”

“Hate to eat and run,” Ben said, getting up from the counter. “But I want to get back home before the storm breaks.”

“Storm? What storm?” Janey asked.

“That’s kind of a sign we live an isolated life, isn’t it?” Ramsey asked. “Don’t even know there is a storm coming.”

“A big one, as a matter of fact,” Ben told them. Should hit this area about an hour from now. I’ve been keeping track since this morning.”

“Okay, then. We won’t keep you. Be careful going home if that storm hits early.” Janey gave Ben a hug and added, “Thank you, Ben. You’re the rock in our life that we know we can always count on.”

Ramsey shook Ben’s hand at the front door of the house and then looked up when lightning flashed well off in the distance. “I see what you mean,” he said as the lightning continued to flash.


Ben spent the next month, during his limited spare time, developing a game plan for the Cooks. Several plans, actually, each one a bit more elaborate than the last, to give them a chance to decide just how prepped they wanted to get. When Janey called him and asked him to come for dinner at the house he took the information with him on a DVD.

It had been a very long time since the three of them had eaten a home cooed meal at the Cooks’ home. Not since shortly after the house was completed and they moved in. The pizza and beer didn’t count.

“Thought I take a first step and see if I could still cook,” Janey said, taking the bottle of wine that Ben brought with him.

“I’m sure you can,” Ben replied, taking off his coat and putting it in the entry hall closet.

“I hope so. I really haven’t cooked a real supper for months. Oh. Ramsey will be late. He’s got a lead on the sale of the office and wants to follow it up before he comes home.”

“On your offices?” Ben asked. He took the drink that Janey handed him. It was what he usually drank when he did drink. “Thanks.”

“Yes. We’ve decided to sell it for sure, even if we don’t do anything else. We simply don’t need it. Especially the way business is right now. It was a foolish choice to build it in the first place.”

“Hasn’t picked back up yet?” Ben asked.

“No. I’ve not had a single request for my design services. Ramsey did get a couple of nibbles on one of the houses listed with him, but they were real lowball offers. And he has picked up at least a dozen more listings of high dollar homes. People are beginning to realize they overbought. We just realized that ourselves this month as we talked about things.”

“Anything I can do to help in the kitchen?”

“No. Why don’t you turn on the news? We’ve started to watch it more carefully. Not just the national news, but the weather and a couple of the financial channels. And a couple of those prep websites you gave us have as good, if not better, information than the networks.”

“So you and Ramsey have checked them out?”

“Yes. I’ll wait until Ramsey gets here before we go into it.”

“Okay,” Ben said. He turned on the huge high definition plasma screen television in the living room and pulled up Fox news. He kept the volume down.

A few minutes later Janey came in and took a seat in another of the antique chairs the room held. “Just waiting on Ramsey now,” she said. “What’s going on in the news?”

“Nothing good, that’s for sure,” Ben said. “Wait. Here’s something about the housing boom.”

Copyright 2009

[Jerry D Young]

They listened to the news report. The news wasn’t good. Janey looked over at Ben. “You were right. Things are going south, fast.”

Both looked around when Ramsey spoke from behind them. “What’d I miss?”

Janey started to explain but Ramsey was nodding his head. “Yeah. I heard the same thing on the radio coming home. Everyone seems to be putting a good spin on it, but I have a feeling this is just the start of some very bad times in my business. And yours.” Ramsey leaned down and the couple touched lips.

“Give me just a minute in the kitchen and we can eat,” Janey said and got up from her chair.

Ramsey and Ben shook hands and then walked into the dining room where Janey was moving serving dishes from a mobile stand to the table. Both men waited until Janey sat down before they seated themselves.

“Honey, I think Ben here may have made us upwards of twenty or thirty thousand dollars.”

“How’s that?” Ben asked.

“I made arrangements to sell the office building. I suspect that in a few months, I won’t be able to get half of what we got for it today. Fortunately for us, the bank the guy does business with doesn’t seem to have a clue about what is happening and happily gave the guy the money. We’ll get it out of escrow in a month. Got back our original investment, barely.”

“That’s actually better than I was expecting,” Janey said.

The three turned the conversation to the wonderful meal. But afterwards, over coffee, the conversation turned to the economy, the weather, and then to the general ideas of prepping. They moved to the computer in the home office that Ramsey and Janey shared. With Ben in the desk chair before the computer and the DVD in the computer, Ramsey and Janey watched as various scenarios were explained and ways to cope with them were laid out.

“It kind of boils down to some really basic things for almost all disasters, and then very specific things to do for different disasters,” Ramsey said. He swiveled the chair he was in around, tented his fingers and began to muse as Ben and Janey listened.

“Air, water, food, shelter, transportation, medical aid, protection and so on. It is almost overwhelming when you look at all of it at once.”

“I know,” Ben said. “Most of us have achieved what we have over a fairly long time period. Jumping into it with both feet can be a bit daunting. And very expensive.”

“I’m afraid we might not have much time to get ready,” Janey said. She was leaning with her hip against the desk. “Now that my head is out of the sand, and I look at things more realistically, I get scared. I don’t know how I would react to going from very well off to scrambling for my next meal.”

“I would never let that happen, Honey!” Ramsey replied.

“Can you guarantee that, in our current situation?”

Ramsey didn’t answer immediately. Finally he sighed and said, “No. No I can’t. We have a lot of money, but it’s worth less and less every day. And we haven’t made a dime in our businesses in over four months. And the interest on the CDs is down to next to nothing. And our stock portfolio is dropping slowly, but surely. All that has had an impact on even our finances.”

“All I can tell you is what I would do. Look at these possibilities,” Ben said, pulling up an Excel spreadsheet with several tabs. “Now, these represent different levels of preparation. The first one is the basics, like you mentioned, Ramsey.”

Ben rose from the chair and let Janey sit down. Ramsey scooted his chair up and watched over her shoulder as they checked out each tabbed page. They began discussing things and Ben made himself scarce. He needed to go to the bathroom, anyway. He freshened up the coffee cups and then took a seat at the side of the desk, keeping quiet.

“Wow,” Janey said after nearly a half an hour of quiet discussion with Ramsey. “You really know your stuff, don’t you, Ben?”

Ben smiled and waved the complement away. “I’ve been working with this for years. It really is a lifestyle with me. And I’m an inveterate list maker.”

“Some set of lists,” Ramsey said with a chuckle. He looked at his wife. “What do you think, Janey? Small, medium, or large scale.”

“Well,” she replied, I don’t see small cutting it if things go the way they look to me like they are. And large scale… Well, no offense, Ben, but that’s just a bit too extreme. At least for the moment. I’m leaning that way. But I think the middle road would be where we should start.”

“That’s about what I was thinking. We can pretty much do everything in the medium category, and still leave open the possibility of going large scale. At least elements of it. I don’t really see myself as a farmer. But who knows?”

“Go ahead and sell the house, too? Get a year lease on something reasonable?” Janey asked, looking intently at Ramsey. “Take Ben down to the retirement property so he can evaluate it? And start looking for BOVs and get a set of BOBs put together.” She grinned over at Ben. “I’ve been doing research. Can you tell?”

Ben laughed. “Got it down pat.”

“I think that’s the best start we can make. Really hate to give up the Mercedes, though. I love their engineering.”

“You’re in a position to get one of the best off the floor BOVs made, in my opinion. And it happens to be a Mercedes Benz. G-55 AMG. Expensive, but as tough as they come and highly capable off-road.”

Janey pulled up one of the Excel pages again and whistled. Ramsey looked over to see what she whistled about. “That’s not bad, actually. My CL 65 was more than that. Your E 63 was more than half. And the Corvette, well, you know how much that was.”

“I hate to give up my E series,” Janey replied slowly. “But I seldom drive the ‘vette any more. That was kind of a whim at the time.” She had brought up the Mercedes Benz web site and was looking at the various models.

“The G-55 AMG is kind of…”

“Square?” Ben asked.

“Yeah. Squareish.” She turned the laptop so Ramsey could see it.

“I kind of like it. Looks tougher than the other SUVs Mercedes offers. Though I suspect they are pretty good, too. But if it’s Mercedes, it has to be good. And comfortable. Why don’t we go down to the dealer tomorrow and check one out?” Ramsey looked hopefully at Janey.

She laughed and agreed. “Okay! We go BOV shopping tomorrow. And I’ll list my ‘vette on the sports car forums. I think selling it outright will be much better than trading it in.”

“I think you’re right,” replied Ramsey. “Going to be a busy week. I want to go to the range and try out some of the guns. See which ones I like the best. You game on that? We’ve never really talked guns before.”

“I was pretty young when my grandfather died. He taught my brothers, but I never had the opportunity. And you know Jimmy and Jack. No way they’d teach me.”

“Yeah. So, if you’re okay with it, we’ll do that next week, too.”

That was about it for the evening. Ben excused himself a few minutes later to let the couple discuss things privately.


Ben called the following weekend. “How’d it go this week?” he asked Ramsey.

“I’m beat!” Ramsey replied. “It was a rewarding, but tiring week. What say we go get a drink and talk over some more things? Ringos? Eight o’clock?”

“I’ll be there.” Ben went back to work on the old Subaru he was working on. Twelve years old, one-hundred-eighty thousand miles, and it still had a lot of life in it. The owner was one that just couldn’t justify a new car if the old one could be kept running for a reasonable sum.

Ben stopped at home to shower and change clothes before heading down to Ringos Bar. It was a watering hole he and the Cooks had frequented over the years. It had been a while and Ben got several hugs from the female staff, and handshakes from the males.

The same thing happened when Ramsey and Janey came in. Ben waved them over to the booth he’d selected. It was a corner booth, and the most isolated of the seating in the bar. They could discuss things there without danger of being overheard.

“You do look tired,” Ben said after greeting the two. “Both of you.”

“Been an interesting week,” Janey replied. The server came over and the three put in their drink orders, plus a group appetizer.

“We’ve taken the first steps to become prepared for what might happen,” Ramsey said. “Changed some plans, and did a great deal of reading in the forums. Got more information from some of the fiction stories than I did some of the posts.”

Ben grinned. “Hooked on the prep/PAW fiction genre?”

“Wouldn’t say hooked. But some of it is really entertaining while being very informative,” Janey said. “I did stay up late reading every night this week. Not just fiction, but a lot of it.”

“So did I,” replied Ramsey. “But making so many decisions in such a short time has worn me out more than the late nights. This lifestyle change is more difficult than I thought it would be.”

“You want to be careful not to burn out,” Ben cautioned. “Don’t do things you haven’t thought through and discussed. You need to be comfortable with each major change you make.”

Janey nodded. “We are. I think it is more a matter of a bit of shame for ourselves that we’ve squandered so much money over the years that could have been used to prepare for the times we’re heading into. Would have been cheaper than leaping into it all at once.”

“Can’t argue that,” Ben said.

The server was back and Ben paid for the first round of drinks and gave the server money for the jukebox. “Keep it kind of low, if you will.”

“What all did you accomplish this week?” Ben asked.

“Well… Let’s see. Janey will soon own a next year’s brand new Mercedes Benz G-55 AMG with all the trimmings. I’m hoping you’ll help with equipping it.”

“Sure. Not a problem. But you said Janey got one. What about you?”

“I kind of fell in love with it when I tested one out this week,” Janey said. “It’s a dream to handle and once I got over the boxy look, I really like the way it hides an interior the equal to my E-Class. I like being up higher and being able to see all around better, too.” She grinned over at Ramsey. “He, on the other hand, has decided on something totally custom.”

Ben looked at Ramsey expectantly. He thought Ramsey blushed slightly, but couldn’t be sure in the rather dim light of the bar.

“Yeah… Well… There’s a writer on the forums that uses custom Chevy Suburbans in his stories. I was thinking… Well, why not? The G-55 AMG is gasoline and computerized. After reading up on EMP and reading some of the stories, I think we need to have a non-electronic diesel engine vehicle, just in case. And it’s bigger than the Mercedes.”

“And you can trick it out with all kinds of extras,” Janey said, still smiling.

“Yeah. Well, there’s that, too,” Ramsey admitted. He smiled back at his wife. “But don’t forget you’ll be getting a few extras for the Mercedes, too.”

“I know. Just funnin’ ya’ hun.”

“I can get started on one as soon as you bring me a good starter vehicle,” Ben said. “I’m assuming you want me to build it for you.”

“Absolutely. I want to look at your truck to see what you’ve done to it and go from there to whatever degree we can to get as close to the Suburbans in the stories.”

“I’m pretty close,” Ben admitted. “It won’t be a problem. SUVs are dropping in price. You should be able to pick up a good used 2500 series pretty cheap. Doesn’t matter too much which year or engine choice, since most of it will be gutted and custom parts put in. You do understand that this will run up there as much as the Mercedes by the time it is finished?”

“Of course,” replied Ramsey. “And that’s okay. We might get other vehicles in the future if things don’t get as bad as we expect. But these are keepers for years, unless I miss my guess.”

“That’s the way I feel about my Chevy one-ton. We can look it over tomorrow, if you want and start a wish list of items you want on yours.”

The appetizer arrived and the three fell silent until the server was gone. Ben spoke first after each tried the appetizer. “Does sound like a busy week.”

“That’s not the half of it,” said Janey. “We went shooting three times out at the range, choosing different guns each time, based on what was in your spreadsheet and what we’ve read on the forums.”

“And?” Ben asked.

“I’m going with a Springfield Armory M1A and a ParaOrdnance P-14. A Remington 11-87 with modifications for a shotgun, and a Beretta Tomcat .32 ACP for back up.”

“I didn’t like the weight and recoil of the big gun,” Janey said. “So I’m going to go with a Ruger SR-556. I didn’t have any trouble shooting a .45, but the P-14 is a bit heavy for me. I’m going to get the P-10 Warthog model. A Tomcat for back up and an 11-87 12 gauge. I didn’t think I’d like the 12 gauge, but with it being semi-auto and the weight, shooting it was okay. It’s a lot heavier than the SR-556, but the extra weight is worth it for the recoil reduction. I just doubt I’ll shoot it as much as the others.”

“Not bad selections at all,” Ben said.

“Oh, that’s not all!” Ramsey said. “Going to get one of those Barrett Light Fifties, a dedicated hunting shotgun, and a pair of dedicated hunting rifles.”

“No twenty-two?” Ben asked.

“Maybe. The Ruger 10/22 sounds like what we’ll get, but we want to wait and get what we have ordered in and checked out before we order anything else.”

“That’s probably a good idea. What about magazines and ammunition?”

Ramsey grinned and Janey rolled her eyes. “Enough for an armory. All the things you listed in the spreadsheet,” Ramsey said. “Over forty-thousand rounds to start with, not including hunting ammunition. At least fifty magazines for each rifle and twenty-five for each pistol.”

Ben whistled slightly. “Not bad. Parts?”

“The gunsmith at the range is going to put together a package of spare parts and some tools to work on everything. He seemed to know what is needed.”

“Jim knows his stuff,” Ben replied. “Have you given any thought to PMs? Precious metals? Gold and silver?”

Ramsey and Janey exchanged a quick look. Ramsey leaned forward slightly toward Ben before he spoke. “Picked up some here in town, but they got a bit antsy when I mentioned getting a lot more. So Janey and I decided to celebrate our tenth anniversary with a trip across country to break in the G-55 and pick up a little gold and silver here and there as we travel.”

“Sounds like a good way to do it. Not going to get spotted as a multiple buyer that way. Cash and no names, I expect?” Ben asked.

Janey nodded. “Exactly.”

Next, Ben asked, “Have you found someone to do the house and shelter plans?”

“I think so,” Ramsey replied. “If we go look at the property this week, they’ll be ready before we go on our trip and you can take a look. Suggest any improvements and the architect can incorporate them into the plans that should be ready when we get back.”

“You consider him trustworthy? And experienced in shelter design?”

Janey smiled. “Oh, yeah. None of the architects either of us have worked with in the past were suitable. We started looking on-line and found several that can do it, plus a couple of specialized shelter building companies.”

“What do you think about just building a regular basement?” Ramsey asked Ben. “Then installing an outside shelter connected to it with a secret door and tunnel.”

“I think he just wants to have a secret door and tunnel,” Janey said, smiling at her husband.

“Personally, I’d harden the basement to a degree, even with a separate shelter,” Ben said. “Going to need secure storage for supplies that really doesn’t need the same radiation protection that you guys do.”

“See,” Janey said, poking Ramsey in the side. “You can have your tunnel and eat cake, too.”

“Okay, okay. I just didn’t think we’d need to do both. I actually like that idea better than mine.”

Ben smiled and then asked, “What about out buildings? Attached or detached garage? Or both? Workshop? Equipment barn? There is a long list of other things that could make life much easier in the PAW if they are prepared now, even if not used regularly.”

“Well, we were talking about an attached four bay garage, and then maybe a two bay garage slash shop. We’d equip it for your use, just in case something happens to the shop here.”

“I can’t ask you to do that!” Ben exclaimed.

“You aren’t asking,” Ramsey replied softly. “We’re… well… sort of insisting. Some of the things in the PAW literature make a great deal of sense, if they can be afforded. Most people can’t. We can. As for the other buildings, we’d want them connected with tunnels, like in the stories.”

“Remember, that is fiction. The writers usually research things well, but I doubt if any of them have anything like what they are writing about.”

“Some of them seem to have very logical minds. Like TOM. Tired Old Man,” Janey said. “I’ve picked up so much from his stories. Usually his characters have to do a lot of salvage after a major incident to complete their preparations, even if they had preps beforehand. I’d rather do it all up front. The things he says will happen in his stories… Well… I believe it is all possible.”

“TOM hasn’t convinced me things come in groups of threes,” Ramsey said. “But better safe than sorry. Whatever bad that happens that requires us to take shelter, might only be the first of a series of incidents. I want to be able to take shelter more than once, for long periods, protecting everyone that we have on the property after the first event.”

“You thinking of your families?”

“Partly,” replied Janey. “You, as well.”

“You don’t need to do that,” Ben said.

“We know. But you’d let us in your shelter, if needed. We want to offer the same option to you, as well as our families,” Ramsey told Ben. “A half a dozen more people, too, if we can convince them to start getting ready on their own. Everything but a fallout shelter.”

“That’s going to triple the cost. Perhaps more,” Ben said, watching his friends’ faces carefully.

“We know. But that’s what we want to do. And it affects the number, kind, and placement of the out buildings.”

“I’m not sure I want our families in with us in the house shelter,” Janey added slowly. “Is that really bad?”

“You’d have to know both our families,” Ramsey told Ben.

“Well, there are several ways to accomplish sheltering that many, and still have some privacy. One is to simply make one large shelter, divided into small rooms plus common areas. Another is to have separate shelters for each building and have each group occupy one of them. Can be separate shelters or the basements of the buildings can be turned into shelters, or each building could be built as a shelter. Could house a lot of people, but it would cost. Big time.”

“What do you think of the shelter manufacturers out there?” Ramsey asked. “Better to get a series of them or build our own?”

“Normally I’d say build exactly what you want, but as close as your property is to the city, you might need blast protection. That’s doable site built, but a couple of the shelter builders have turnkey shelters that protect for blast as well as fallout.”

“We were looking at the Radius Engineering website. Either the E-10/E-15 series or the CAT-15/CAT-25 series.”

“Well, you can shelter more people for less going with the CAT-25,” Ben said. “But you are talking close quarters even for just twelve or fifteen people that don’t get along well. And there is a factor of redundancy if you have more than one shelter. I’m assuming you don’t plan for more than thirty people total?”

“No. More like the twelve or fifteen you mentioned,” Janey said. “But possibly more.”

“Two of the CAT-15s, which I like better than the E-15,” Ben said, looking off in the distance as he thought about the shelters. “The stairs instead of a ladder. More overall space. A couple of those would hold up to thirty people, and with the basement, you could handle twenty in one of them, if the other became compromised.”

“What about four of them. One extending from each of the four main buildings?” Ramsey asked. “The main entrance from the basements of the buildings, and the regular sealed stair entry as an escape tunnel on the side away from the buildings.”

Ben whistled. “That’s beau coup dollars.”

“Yeah. Over a million, but that’s with full packages. I don’t know if we’d want their selections. I was thinking more of doing our own power, water, sewer, communications, and food, among a few other things,” Ramsey said. He looked earnestly at Ben. “Is that doable?”

“I’m sure it is. But you’d sure want to get right on it to get them ordered. With the way things are going, I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a delay between purchase and delivery.”

“But just getting the basic shelter, and putting in our own equipment would be okay?” Janey asked.

“Up to Radius, but I don’t see any problems with it. What were the other three buildings you were thinking about building?” Ben asked.

“About like you said,” Ramsey replied. “A detached two-bay or four-bay garage/workshop, an equipment barn/power house, and a multi-purpose building set up for storage and work space for whatever we might need to do in the PAW. The basements all connected by tunnels connected with the tunnel to each shelter. Escape ports at each end of the connecting tunnel.”

“Actually, depending on the layout, you could make them camouflaged pill boxes and have a couple of fighting positions out away from the buildings themselves,” Ben said, willing to spend the Cooks’ money if they so wanted. “Some of this is going to be entirely dependent on the property.”

“We haven’t been there for a couple of years,” Ramsey told Ben. “You able to go take a look with us tomorrow?”

“Sure.” The talk turned to more mundane prep topics, such as the state of the economy, politics, and food prices. When the three left, Ben said, “Pick me up at the garage. I’ll be ready at eight, if that’s okay?”

“Absolutely. It only takes about an hour to get there,” Ramsey said.

That rang a little warning bell in Ben’s mind, but he didn’t say anything. Better to wait until he saw for sure what he was thinking.


When they arrived at the property the next morning in the G-55 AMG, Ramsey and Janey were openmouthed. “This was rural area just two years ago!” Ramsey exclaimed.

“Look at all the houses and businesses! Looks like our piece of property is the only one without something built on it,” Janey added, looking all around. “Hey! There’s a post with something attached over there!”

Ramsey got out of the SUV and walked over. He came back a minute later with a large zip-lock bag containing an envelope.

“What’s it say?” Janey asked after Ramsey opened the envelope.

“Looks like someone wants to make an offer on the property. Been trying to locate us… the owners of this parcel…” Ramsey handed the paper to Janey and turned in the seat to speak to Ben.

“Uh… not a really good choice for what we’re planning, huh?”

Ben just shook his head. He’d been right. The city had pushed out this way over the last three years, encroaching on the formerly rural land.

Janey handed the paper to Ben and he took a quick look. “Up to you guys,” he said, giving the note back to Ramsey. “It is doable here, of course, but everybody and their brother will know what is going on.”

Ramsey sighed. “I guess we’ll call this guy and see what we can get for the property. We need to start looking for another piece of property pretty soon.”

“Talk to this guy,” Ben said, taking a card from his wallet. “He kind of wheels and deals, sometimes buying and selling, sometimes just brokering deals. He knows this whole part of the state.”

The three headed back into to the city, rather dejected. They were cheered slightly when Janey pulled in beside a fairly new model Suburban at the garage parking lot.

“All right!” Ramsey said. “Something went right. That must be my new ride!”

“I would think so,” Ben replied, getting out of the SUV after Ramsey and Janey. The three went over the vehicle.

“This thing looks like it’s in very good condition,” Ramsey said after a few minutes. It might not be mine. Unless it’s stolen. And I mean literally.”

“I don’t think so, Ramsey,” Ben said. He’d opened the hood and was standing at the side looking inside.

Ramsey and Janey came around to look, too. Janey laughed. There was no engine or transmission in the vehicle.

“Oh,” Ramsey said slowly. “I guess it is mine. The guy said it wouldn’t run…”

Copyright 2009

[Jerry D Young]

“Not without an engine. But this just saves us the work of taking the old one out so we can put in the diesel. I’ll get on this first thing Monday,” Ben said. “I’ll work on it every chance I get without slowing down the business.”

“Okay, Ben. Thanks.”

The three said good-bye and Janey and Ramsey left. Ben went over the Suburban again, with a pad and pencil in hand, marking down a few things to remember during the rebuild.


It took a week to get the crated non-electronic diesel engine and transmission, with their associated parts. Ben had all ready removed the body sections to work on the frame. Since he wasn’t going to charge Ramsey anything for the work, he did it all himself, with only the occasional third hand help for safety’s sake. But the shop was busy and Ben could only work on the Suburban a few hours a day.

It took six weeks of late hours and working weekends to complete the Suburban and another week to get in some of the equipment Ben would be adding to it and to the G-55 AMG.


During that time Ramsey and Janey decided that Harold Watson was, indeed, a wheeler dealer. Just a couple of days before Ben called and said the Suburban was ready, the two signed the paperwork for two pieces of property near one another. A full section of land that already had a farm on part of it, and a much smaller property that would be the Cooks’ new home. Both backed against one of the parts of the Mark Twain National Forest, with the property for the home nearly surrounded by it.

Both were far enough out that it would be years before development came out to where they were. Access was by two lane county road, then gravel roads to the edges of the property, and finally dirt tracks in to where the new compound would be built in one case, and where the old farmhouse was in the other case.

Only one-hundred-sixty acres of the farmland had been in recent production, and that had been several years beforehand. It also included the ten-acre homestead. Three-hundred-twenty acres was mixed open ground; ground overgrown with brush; and the last one-hundred-sixty acres was second growth forest begging to be harvested.

The open ground would become additional crop land, as would the overgrown ground once it was cleared. Later discussions with a professional arborist and with Ben convinced Janey and Ramsey to clear cut harvest and then clear eighty-acres of the forested ground for more cropland. The other eighty acres would be selectively cut over the years for lumber and replaced with ash and hickory in a coppicing firewood lot.

The clear cut, and the coppicing forest were not in single lots. The eighty acres of continued production forest was in twenty-acre lots checkerboarded with the clear cut new cropland.

The day Ramsey picked up the completed Suburban, he and Janey took Ben out to see the two pieces of property. It seemed to Ramsey and Janey that Ben was just as happy with what they’d purchased as they were themselves.

“You think this is all right?” Ramsey asked anyway.

“Oh, man, yes! I don’t think you could have done any better,” Ben told his friends. “When the farm is completed and in operation, you could very well have a showcase farm. Definitely one that will produce more than enough food for humans and feed for stock, with plenty left over for sale to the public. With several acres in good oil bearing crops and you’ll be nearly independent.

“You are going to put in storage for production needs and storage for harvested crops, aren’t you?” Ben asked.

“Yep. Just like you suggested,” Ramsey replied.

“Going to put in a couple of new wells for the farmhouse lot and several irrigation wells for the fields,” Janey added. “That’ll be ongoing as the woods are harvested and cleared and more ground goes into tillage.”

“I wanted to ask you about what you thought about getting the equipment and doing the logging ourselves, and then get a portable sawmill and making the lumber. And a firewood processor for the continuing production of firewood.”

Ben’s eyebrows raised. “I don’t know, Ramsey. Logging on the scale you’re talking about is a whole lot of work. I think you need professionals to do it. Now… for firewood and lumber… you might want to do that, with experienced hands helping.”

“Oh. Okay. We’ll look into that a bit more before deciding,” Ramsey looked a little disappointed, but Janey looked relieved at Ben’s answer.

“We’ll start looking for a farm manager now, to help supervise the construction at the farm home lot, and get the farming equipment ordered. I all ready ordered the four CAT-15 shelters from Radius. Going to be a wait, but not as long as I was fearing. We’ll need to get some other work done on our home site.”

“You guys are going to be busy, busy, busy, for the next several months. Let’s just hope things don’t get too much worse before then.”

“Man, I sure hope so!” Ramsey said. “By the time we get everything done, all we’re going to have left for money is our new retirement plans.” Rather proudly, Ramsey continued, his voice lowered a notch. “We’ve switched most of our retirement investments into gold and silver, a couple of deferred annuities with hopefully the soundest insurance companies around, and some foreign currency investments.”

“Uh…” Ben looked a bit startled at the announcement. “You might want to think about what you plan to do for a living if that big ol’ balloon don’t go up.”

“Yes,” Janey said. “We are thinking of things. I’m sure we’ll start up some kind of business when we’ve accomplished the bulk of our preps. We just don’t know what it, or they, will be.”

“Okay. That’s good,” Ben said, letting go with a slight sigh of relief. There was no doubt in his mind that that balloon was going to go up, possibly even before the Cooks had what they wanted. But prep planning needed to include planning for things going well, too.


After a couple weekend sessions going over what they might want in the way of the compound construction, Ben had to leave Janey and Ramsey to their own devices. His garage business was booming and he put the crews on rotating seven day schedules. He felt obligated to work the weekends, allowing one person a week to skip a weekend day.

The business was a sign of the times. Ben had thought things were bad when his business had picked up a year ago. It sure looked like it was going into the trashcan now. Only foolish people and people very secure in their financial situation were buying new cars. Some were turning to used cars, and many for just repairing what was wrong with their older vehicles.

Since Ben had arrangements with two of the largest used car dealers in the city to do their used car repair work on trade ins, he was getting income from two different streams. Like Ramsey and Janey, all the extra money was going into preps.

When he had his first real break, on a three day Labor Day Weekend, for which he closed the garage, Ramsey and Janey more or less insisted that he join them for a picnic at the compound still under construction. He thought he’d rather stay home and sleep, but couldn’t really pass up the invitation. Besides, he was curious as to how much progress had been made. Boy, was he in for a surprise.



3 Time Jinx - Chapter 2

Early Saturday morning, with his camping gear loaded into the pickup, Ben headed for the newly facelifted farm, where he would meet Ramsey and Janey. His jaw dropped when he turned from the gravel road to what had been a dirt road deteriorated to little better than a track. It was now a good looking gravel road, in better shape than the county maintained road it turned off from.

It was crowned, twenty-four feet wide with deep ditches on each side for drainage. When Ben reached the parking lot for the house at the farm he looked around in awe. There was construction everywhere, though no one was working the long weekend.

There were silos nearing completion, an equipment barn lacked only a roof, the new house was half completed, row after row of trees and grapevine supports were now in the new orchard, and the animal barn, of earth sheltered design like the house, looked complete from the outside. And that was simply a long dirt mound, with small openings here and there.

Janey and Ramsey were standing by the Suburban, with Ramsey’s arm around Janey. They both were grinning from ear to ear.

“What do you think, Ben?” Ramsey called out as soon as Ben exited from his truck.

“Give me a minute to look around,” Ben called back. He was most interested in the animal barn, for which he headed, Ramsey and Janey on his heels.

The thing was huge. Twelve feet high inside, concrete walls banked with earth tapered to four feet wide just below the ventilation windows. The roof overhung the walls by five feet, and was covered with four feet of earth. The entrances had right angle turns in them outside of the barn itself, leaving virtually all the room inside for the animals. Excepting, of course, the myriad columns that supported the heavy roof.

No animals were inside yet, but there were provisions for beef cattle, milk cows, horses, pigs, and chickens. “There will be a feed storage barn next to it, built the same way, connecting there,” Ramsey said, pointing to a concrete framed opening on the far side.

“Wanted this one first,” Janey said. “The same people will build the other barn when this one is finished. There will be an automatic watering system for each type of animal, with an associated feeder system supplied from the second barn.”

“Going to be great!” Ben said, spotting the areas where the milk cows would be milked with a small vacuum milking system, including a pasteurizer. “The supports on the roof for a PV system?”

“Exactly,” Ramsey replied. “Each building will have its own system and be wired to the main PV system. Regular deep cycle batteries for the individual systems and those submarine batteries you told us about for the primary system.”

Ben nodded. “Looking good. All of it.”

“Come on,” Janey said. “I want to show you the house!”

Janey showed Ben the features already built into the house and what and where other things would go. There was a basement fallout shelter big enough for twenty people, with mandatory escape tunnel. The house would have a regular kitchen, but would have a separate building for use to process the foods the farm would produce. From canning to drying, smoking, to cheese making and so on. The building would house the equipment and have a root cellar and other temperature maintained storage rooms to store the food until it was consumed or sold.

An attached building was the meat processing shed. From butchering to processing to final product storage, the farm could provide meat products from beef, pork, and chicken.

Janey also showed Ben the layout of the bunkhouse they had decided to add. It would have three private bedrooms with baths, four bunkrooms each with a double bath, a large kitchen, dining room, and common room. Another earth sheltered barn was in the process of being built, but it would be used for storage.

There was feature after feature and Janey showed Ben all of them. “Come on back out,” Ramsey said. It was his turn to show Ben some of the acquisitions. “You saw the orchard. There’ll be commercial sized strawberry and blueberry patches. Blackberries will be planted all around the perimeter fence next spring when the fence is in.”

“And look! I made a deal on some new and used Mercedes Benz Unimog U500 trucks and gear!”

Again Ben’s jaw dropped. Sitting behind the beginning of the equipment shed were two Unimog U500 trucks, with all kinds of implements parked nearby, including the farming equipment the Unimogs could use. The majority of the farming would be done with conventional John Deere tractors and implements, and the Unimogs used for utility chores. But the Unimogs could do a respectable job farming small acreages.

“Notice how good the road was?” Ramsey asked. Before Ben could say yes, Ramsey, his eyes sparkling pointed at a long, complex looking yellow contraption parked out of the way. “Carolina Smooth Roads Maintenance Implement. “Couple of passes every so often and the road is kept in perfect shape.

“And recognize these from some of the stories on the forums?” Ramsey asked, placing a hand on the Bobcat 5600T Toolcat utility tractor. Next to it were another Toolcat and three Bobcat A300 skid steers machines. Again there were all kinds of implements for the units. “They’ll work the garden and do other work around the place. Have two three wheel orchard cherry pickers ordered, and a Broderson RT-300 rough terrain crane, and a Kenworth service truck to keep the equipment running in the field.

“The two shrink wrapped things over there are a Hud-son portable lumber mill and a Built-Rite firewood processor. They are stand alone machines. We’re getting a Hahn Harvester firewood processor for the skid steer to do on site firewood processing.

“Let’s see… Oh. The fuel tanks will be in next week. Diesel, gasoline, ethanol, propane, and a mixing tank to make E85 from the gasoline and ethanol. Six commercial greenhouses are on order. Four for temperate climate plants, one each extra tall one for sub-tropical climate plants, and tropical climate plants.

“They’ll have LED grow lights and heaters. We’ll be able to grow dwarf and miniature citrus and banana, regular height coffee and cacao trees, and some spices that only grow in those climates. All that will be mostly for our own use.”

Those were the highlights of the farm. Ramsey and Janey were anxious to go to the home compound and show Ben what had been accomplished there. So the three went back onto the county gravel road, up about a mile, and turned onto another neatly sculptured gravel road.

Ben whistled softly. There was all ready a great deal of work done, but there was much more to be done, Ben could see. Two of the first things he saw were two more Unimog U500 trucks, also with attachments and implements. He stepped around them, and sure enough, there were five more Bobcat units. Two Toolcats and three A300s, with implements.

“You’ve been reading the PAW fiction again, haven’t you?” Ben asked with a smile.

“Yeah. Well… When you consider what they can do…” Ramsey let his words trail away.

“I think they are good choices,” Ben said. “If you get spare parts on hand.”

“Oh, yeah. The Freightliner dealer where we got the trucks from is bringing in a complete selection from a replacement axle to a replacement engine and several pallets of rebuild and repair parts.”

“Look over here, Ben,” Janey called. She was standing at the edge of a long trench. “Part of the tunnel system is already in place.”

Ben walked over and looked down. Sections of concrete pedestrian walkway were in the trench in several places. “The other underground units go where there isn’t any tunnel?” Ben asked.

“Yes. Some of the foundations are in and the contractor is waiting for the concrete to cure before he and his crews continue,” Janey replied.

Ben looked around. “House… Food processing and storage building… Garage… equipment barn with attached power plant building… What’s going in here?”

“It’s another bunkhouse, similar to the one at the farm, but smaller. And the other building will be a multipurpose building, like at the farm, but smaller.” Janey pointed out the other basement foundation. “And the last spot is the storage building to hold our growing supply of prep items.

“I see you have another large orchard and vineyard,” Ben said, looking around the rest of the property.

“Yep. We’ll have berry patches here, too. The blackberries will be part of the compound fencing, just like at the farm. Can’t have too many fruits, nuts, and berries in the PAW.” Ramsey pointed out the excavations for the four Radius Engineering CAT-15 shelters that would connect with the house, garage, equipment barn, and bunkhouse. All the buildings would be connected with tunnels, and the basements would be built as shelters, but only the four buildings would have the separate blast shelters.

“We decided to extend the tunnel system a little more and have five camouflaged fighting positions around the perimeter. Each one will have the capability of being blocked so people can’t gain entry if they are discovered.” Ramsey pointed out the five positions where the fighting positions would be located.

“They’ll have solid tops, covered with earth, that can be jacked up to allow the use of weapons. Jack the covers up a little more and they are emergency exits in addition to the exits from the CAT-15s.”

“You’ve planned well,” Ben said. “Even the landscaping is defensive in nature. No easy approach that can’t be covered from fighting positions in the compound or from the perimeter positions.”

“And each of the buildings will have a fortified fighting position at the highest point of that building.” Ramsey pointed here and there, adding, “The whole area can be covered in cross fires, with each fighting position protected by at least one other, and mostly two others.”

“Very good planning. You guys picked up the information quickly,” Ben said, truly impressed.

“Just a manner of reading the books you suggested, the forums, and the fiction,” Janey replied. “Not only was it enjoyable, it taught us a lot.”

They were still walking and neared the orchard area. “There’ll be a medium sized greenhouse, and a large garden to supply the compound with fresh foods, but the farm will be our primary supply,” Ramsey said, pointing out where the things would be in relation to everything else.

“You have maximized your investments in preps,” Ben said as the three walked back to the vehicles. “I don’t know how you afforded it all.”

“Wasn’t easy,” Ramsey said. “We wound up doing more than we intended, and it’s just about cleaned us out.”

“But,” Janey said, smiling broadly, “we have decided on alternate careers that should give us decent paychecks to continue with our regular lives, and add a few more preps as needed.”

“Really? Can I ask what?” Ben asked.

Ramsey was grinning now. “You notice that plot of ground on this side of the corner where the county gravel road crosses the county two-lane blacktop road?”

Ben nodded. “Looks like it is going to be developed. But that shouldn’t impact on you very much.”

“Going to impact us a great deal,” Janey said.

“Yep. It is what is taking the last of our available funding. “I managed to put together a group of investors, and we put in our share, to construct a strip mall on that property.”

“A strip mall? Out this far?” Ben asked. He didn’t sound too positive.

“Yep. But listen to this,” Janey said. “Tell him the rest, Honey.”

“I found out by accident that the county road is going to be improved because of the new development on the lake. That county road is going to start carrying quite a bit more traffic than now. And the city will continue to grow out this way, if the balloon doesn’t go up. Be years, so Janey and I feel that the property we have is still a very good choice.

“And we were going to put a fruit and vegetable stand there during the season, anyway, to sell the surplus from the farm. But with a service station and an expanded C-store there, we can have a huge reserve of fuel for ourselves, including propane and hydrogen, and have a real store from which to sell the farm products.

“One of the best things is the Committee is going to put in a clinic to support the activities of five doctors, two dentists, one optometrist, and one audiologist. Plus the necessary support staff, including a small but complete pharmacy with a licensed pharmacist.

“There’ll be a full operating room, and an eight bed hospital in addition to your standard general health clinic. Of the five medical doctors, three will be general practitioners, one a pediatrician, and one an OB/GYN to serve this side of town now, the rest as it develops, plus the rural population around here. But we’re not leaving out animal health care. A husband and wife veterinary team covering small animals, exotics, and large animals will be putting in a clinic, too.”

“That’s amazing!” Ben exclaimed. “Couldn’t ask for more than that this close to a retreat.”

“Not all,” Janey said. “Keep going, Ramsey.”

Still smiling, Ramsey continued. “Not all, at all. Besides the service station, enhanced C-store, and clinics, we have commitments for an upscale bar and restaurant, a package liquor store, climate controlled self-store warehouse operation, a sixteen unit motel and a sixteen unit apartment building.

“And there’s more,” Ramsey said, continuing. “A UPS store with private mail boxes, and a small branch of State Bank are planned. And we will still have room for more. Everything will have fallout shelter equipped basements, though certain key people have space assigned here in the blast shelters if there is enough warning.

“All of the businesses will be on that big corner lot. With that deep road ditch along the blacktop, there’ll be two entrances/exits that can have easily closed barriers giving good security. Same on the gravel road side.

“The investors agreed to a tall decorative wall on the other two sides of the property, plus security fencing on the front and side on each side of the entrance/exits. We’ll have our own well and septic system, with commercial power and telephone. Also a backup power system with both generators and PV panels.”

“Janey and I will be the managers of the property, drawing a nice salary, if I do say so myself.”

“You guys have gone far beyond what I ever dreamed of,” Ben said, shaking his head. “I’m in awe!”

“We thought you’d like that part of it,” Janey said. “You inspired us, so feel free to take some of the credit.”

“Naw. I think you two did this pretty much on your own, with just a bit of my influence.”

It was time for lunch and Janey brought out the food from the Suburban as Ben helped Ramsey set up a picnic table and chairs. They discussed other details during the pleasant lunch, but quickly set up their respective tent camps as a rainstorm blew in from the northwest.

Fortunately the rain was light, though it continued through the afternoon and night. Supper was a quick Mountain House backpackers’ set of meals and then the three went back inside the tents for a relaxing evening listening to the rain and reading.

The rain was pouring the next morning and the three decided to call it good and head for home. They did stop at the business property so Ben could get a better idea of the layout Ramsey had explained.

Ben watched the news and the forums closely after his trip to the Cooks’ new places. Things were heating up, politically, and cooling off climatically, despite global warming warnings. The planet itself seemed restless, with earthquakes and volcanoes popping off here and there, all around the globe. Food and fuel prices were up. So were gold and silver. The stock market was up and down daily, with no consistent rhyme, rhythm, pattern, or reason. A few made millions and millions lost thousands.

Even Ben’s business began to slow down. Now it was becoming a choice between eating and fixing the car. People were trying to sell their big, expensive houses and get into something smaller, but the market had dropped continuously from about the time the Cooks took a real interest in prepping. And it looked like a total unknown was going to wind up in the Oval Office. Ben kept his fingers crossed that the Cooks’ timing would not be off just enough to wind up killing them.

The three went to Ringos’ Bar to watch the election results. All three went home extremely uneasy about the future. They watched the housing market continue to plummet, and the Dow do the same thing while gold held steady and then began to creep up slowly again.

It didn’t take long to see the way the country was going after the new president was elected. Apologizing to country after country for what the US had done in the past, appointing blatantly leftist ‘czars’ right and left, being heckled by members of Congress, and having other heads of state refuse to shake his hand did not reassure Janey, Ramsey, or Ben. Apparently it didn’t the general population, either. His approval rating was steadily falling, as he pushed for nationalized health care.

Despite everything, Labor Day, 2009, was a dual celebration for the Cooks. Their building projects were complete, and the carefully selected hired hands were taking up residence at the farm compound, home compound, and business compound.

There would be no crops from the farm until the greenhouses started to produce. Milk, eggs, and cheese would be available in the C-store shortly, as the stock had all been purchased and delivered to the farm. The feed storage silos and buildings were full, the product silos and buildings waiting on a harvest. The farm equipment was being gone over and readied to get the various fields ready for the winter.

The professional timber harvesting was going well, the money a welcome influx for the Cooks sorely depleted accounts. The smaller scale operation the farm was handling on its own of producing firewood and rough lumber was also going well, the firewood being cut to length, split, stacked, and covered for future use. So was the lumber production. It was placed in carefully separated stacks for air drying.

At the home compound, Ramsey and Janey were learning all the various systems installed, and working with the two hands they hired to do general work around the place, in addition to their office duties at the strip mall offices.

Things seemed to quiet down after the holiday on both the world political scene and the domestic political seen. During one of their get-togethers, Ramsey mused, “I wonder if we did all of what we’ve done in vain?”

Ben winced and Janey asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I just think it’s better not to tempt fate, that’s all. According to Tired Old Man, God has a sense of humor,”

Ramsey and Janey laughed, and the three continued their meal in the new restaurant in the strip mall.

None of three was laughing the next morning as they watched the morning news at their respective homes. Ben called the Cooks and suggested they go into isolation, and have the farm and strip mall do the same.

Copyrigh 2009

[Jerry D Young]

Mandatory inoculations for the H1N1 flu had begun the week before. The process, despite fears, had gone fairly well. Some refused and were carted off to the newly opened ‘quarantine’ camps. But the vast majority of those slated to take the vaccine did so.

But, beginning the night before, people from all walks of life, all ages, that had taken the vaccine started dying, one by one. Riots broke out and the government was forced to stop the mandatory program. It was too late.

Though quickly determined, as if known before hand thought some theorists, that the adjuvant in the vaccine was the killer agent, not the vaccine itself, the fear was too deep seated. People refused the vaccine, even when it was announced that only vaccine without the adjuvant would be used in the future.

It never became clear whether or not the plain vaccine would have helped. What was clear was that the H1N1 flu turned out to be even more deadly than the 1918 flu outbreak. And with Americans fleeing the most densely populated areas, the flu spread rapidly around the country, as well as overseas, where it was already spreading from other sources of contamination.

The dying seemed to be slowing, for a while, but the rates picked up again as the Northern Hemisphere warmed up. At the end of the summer of 2010 forty-seven percent of the world’s population was dead.

The majority of the people working for, or with, the Cooks and Ben took Ben’s suggestion to self-quarantine to heart. But not all. And everyone that left was not allowed to return when they realized their mistake.

The strip mall was locked down, the entry/exits blocked, and armed guards patrolled to keep people from entering. But that only lasted for a few days. Two of the doctors and five nurses in the clinic practice insisted they be allowed to use the clinic to help those with the flu.

Ramsey and Janey didn’t quite have the pull to stop it, though their suggestion to maintain control of the access to the mall and the clinic be strictly limited. And all guards and other personnel that might come into contact with the ill, or the doctors, were to wear protective equipment and maintain their own quarantine at the mall.

The doctors were gallant, and did their best. But treating the symptoms of the flu was about all they could do. The eight bed ward held thirteen, and the halls of the hospital section of the clinic held ten more. Supplies were gone in a week. Only a couple more patients sought treatment at the clinic after that. They were let in, but died even before some of those that had been there for a few days.

Ben had sheltered with the Cooks, at their invitation, along with the staff at the clinic. He suited up in protective gear and took one of the Unimogs from the home compound, with backhoe attached and went to the mall to dig a trench grave for the dead, once the clinic was out of body bags.

It was even more disheartening when one of the doctors and two of the nurses succumbed to the flu. The other doctors and three nurses went into separate quarantine after the last of the bodies had been buried. They’d lost friends and co-workers, and had not saved a single life, despite their best efforts.

A month later, with no more reported cases, the three facilities came out of their quarantine. Except for the one doctor and three nurses. They would stay in quarantine for another two weeks.

Even without the isolation, nearly everyone wore a P-100 mask, safety glasses, and exam gloves when dealing with any outsiders. The service station re-opened, as did the bank, motel, bar, and storage place. The restaurant stayed closed.

The apartment building, prior to the flu outbreak had maintained a sixty percent occupancy rate. People filling jobs at the three places for those that had not stayed for the quarantine took apartments at the mall. They all wanted to continue to be as isolated as possible, and the farm and mall seemed a good place to do it and still make a living.

Word went around that the C-store at the mall had safe food, it became something of a booming business. With the continued use of protective gear by the workers, people felt safe doing business at the mall and came out from the city, as well as the local surrounding area for both food and fuel. Some people even switched their banking from what they had before the outbreak to the State Bank branch at the mall.

Most of those that worked at the mall that sheltered at the home compound contributed some to the restocking of consumables when they again became available and the people were able to work again. Strong bonds had been made during the crisis, and many more people believed in what Ramsey and Janey had done for themselves and those around them. Nearly every single person in the three facilities was now a confirmed prepper.

Life slowly came back to normal, if one could say that life with only fifty-three percent of the pre-outbreak population was normal. With much of the city deserted, the strip mall became the go to place for the area. It was safer, and they had things in the mall that couldn’t be found elsewhere. The restaurant re-opened and did a moderate business. The bar was packed every night and often during the afternoons.

There were small wars over the abandoned goods of the dead, especially in the cities. Ben thought about joining one of the salvage companies that had a contract with the government to recover everything they could for distribution to the needy. But after hearing of ambushes and slaughters of the sanctioned teams by the rogue teams, Ben changed his mind.

Ben took the government buyout offered to businesses in the worst affected areas, primarily in the cities, where they were no longer viable. He was able to keep most of the garage equipment, and used some of the cash money to build a smaller, but even more capable garage at the strip mall.

Since he was relocating his business, the government also bought his house. Land was cheap now, with so much of it available. Ben had no trouble picking up eighty acres of land adjacent to the Farm. With the remaining cash from the business buyout, and the money from the home buyout, Ben built a small earth sheltered dome home on the new property, with a deep basement shelter. He built in plenty of storage for preps, and planted fruit and nut trees and berry patches, but decided it was better for all concerned if he helped the Cooks with their operation, in addition to the sporadic garage work, rather than try to become self-sufficient at his own place.

When it was finished, Ben invited Ramsey and Janey over to see it. It was during the farewell conversation that Ramsey said, “I guess we’re ready for TOM’s number two.”

“You just don’t learn,” Ben said under his breath.

“What?” Ramsey asked.

“Just muttering. You guys be careful going home. Precious cargo you’re hauling around now.”

Janey was smiling, her hands cupping her swollen belly. She was eight months pregnant with their first child. Ben followed them out to the Suburban and stood there as they drove away.

“I hate it when he tempts fate,” Ben said aloud, looking up at the sky. It was almost 2012, just a few months until December 21, 2012. “Please just be a crackpot idea,” he said softly, wondering if something would happen before the X-planet, if there was an X-planet, came sailing, hopefully, past Earth.

With a shake of his head, Ben went back into his new home and went to bed, his thoughts no longer on disasters, but on the new nurse at the mall clinic. Long red hair, nice, but not voluptuous figure, smart and witty, he’d been captivated by her from the moment he saw her.

“Probably too young for me, anyway,” Ben murmured and then fell asleep.

Lilly wasn’t the only new person at the clinic. Of the original staff, besides the doctor and nurses that died, the pharmacist left to take care of his extended family down state. One other nurse left, as well, unhappy with the way things had been handled during the quarantine. A few other staff members left and were replaced.

The doctor and nurse positions were no problem to fill. The mall clinic had made a name for itself as being a safe place to be no matter what. The pharmacist was replaced by another, whose wife was an experienced herbalist. She opened a shop in the mall and installed a greenhouse to grow herbs not found naturally in the area.

As time passed and the economy made something of a comeback, the farm complex came into its own. The C-store was expanded to handle the full scale production of the farm, with some products coming from the orchard and berry patches at the home compound and Ben’s place after they began producing in mid-2012.

Nibiru/Planet-X was in the news constantly. Prep sales were a major market as December 21, 2012 approached. Ben’s garage work picked back up, with less than half the vehicle production companies still in business, new cars were scarce and expensive. Once again people opted to repair older vehicles rather to try to buy new.

Having restocked shortly after specialty prep items became available after the flu outbreak, Ramsey, Janey, and Ben were in even better shape than before the outbreak. Almost every cubic inch of storage space was filled. Ben had no staff, but Ramsey and Janey had three families living at the home compound to help with household and compound duties. Janey was staying at home, caring for Sterling, Ramsey’s and her now year old baby. Ramsey was kept busy with managing of the strip mall, doing everything he had before, plus Janey’s work.

As the days counted down to December 21st, people began to stay at home, refusing to go to work until after Planet-X, which was now in sight of the Hubble telescope, was gone. Governments around the world were calling for calm. The trajectory had been plotted. The rogue planet would not hit the earth.

What wasn’t released was the fact that it would pass very close to earth. Close enough to create some of the earth changes long speculated by those that had studied the ancient accounts of like disasters.

On December 17, a Monday, US high level government offices were empty and stayed that way, with not a single leak as to where officials and their families had gone. December 20 saw End of the World gatherings all around the world. Every religious organization facility was packed beginning that morning.

When the first few people showed up at the mall and refused to leave, Ramsey ordered the gates close and the guards put on alert.

Against Janey’s wishes, Ramsey decided to stay at the mall to keep things under control there. Ben joined him, armed to the teeth. Janey and the staff at the home compound occupied two of the CAT-15 shelters.

At the farm compound, Barry Stonehouse, the farm manager, acting under Ramsey’s orders, locked the farm down, with all the stock and people in the farm’s shelters.

Ben and Ramsey waited outside, behind the bullet resistant barricades that were part of the design of the mall buildings, and watched the sky. Suddenly a spot appeared in the sky, grew larger and larger in the matter of a few seconds, and then was gone in a like amount of time.

Ramsey and Ben looked at one another and then grinned and shook hands. It was going to be a non-event. Ramsey was on the cell phone with Janey a few minutes later when they suddenly lost contact. The ground shook and Ramsey and Ben shared another look. This time they weren’t grinning.

It was difficult to stand for a few moments. When the shaking finally stopped, Ramsey started getting radio reports from the various businesses in the mall that though there was some breakage of vulnerable items, all the buildings came through with shining colors.

Ben was on another radio, trying to raise the Farm and the Home compound. But it was no go. Static gradually increased until even the short range radios at the mall were unusable. At the mall, people began to come outside, leaving the shelters to look around. Things looked normal.

“Ben?” Ramsey asked.

“I don’t know, Ramsey. Apparently it came close enough to create some earthquakes because of the gravitational effects…” Suddenly Ben paled.

“What?” Ramsey asked then.

“The oceans… There are going to be some massive tides… and if it triggered the New Madrid Fault Zone, it probably triggered many more. Some of them deep under the ocean. There could be huge tsunamis.”

“Why aren’t the radios working? Why all the static?” Ramsey asked then.

“I’m not sure. If the magnetic field around that planet interacted with the Earth’s, it could have screwed up the ionization levels. I really don’t know. None of the old legends touched on atmospheric phenomena. Well, not radio wave related. There was mention of rain and floods.”

Both men looked up at the sky. It still looked like a normal sunny, cold, December day. What no one knew at the time, was that Planet-X had not actually missed the Earth. It was what could be called a gentle kiss, but the surface of Niribu skimmed across the vast Pacific, south of Hawai’i, vaporizing trillions of gallons of salt water that went into the atmosphere.

Those in Hawai’i soon learned that something severe had happened. The volcanoes went crazy and earthquakes shook the islands. But the real damage came a few minutes later. Not only were there a series of tsunamis caused by deep ocean earthquakes, but what was essentially a bow wave from Nibiru touching the surface of the ocean, slammed into the islands. And did again and again.

The devastation was immense, wiping out ninety percent of the population on the islands in total. On some of the smaller islands, everyone and most of the manmade structures were completely scrubbed away.

The same tsunami waves, and the five hundred foot high bow waves finally reached both coasts of the Pacific. There was no warning. The sensors had been wiped out. The communication system was down anyway. Even had the sensors been operating, the information would not have reached the warning center in Hawai’i, even if it had survived.

The west coast of the Americas was decimated by the series of waves. So were the other islands of the Pacific and the East Asian Pacific coast. Like Hawai’i, many of the other islands were scrubbed clear of humans and their artifacts.

In the Atlantic, the ocean swelled upwards, opposite the gravitational pull of Niribu. Which would have been bad enough, but the same earthquake and volcanic forces being released elsewhere triggered the La Palma Volcano. It exploded with moderate force. But it was enough force to cause the entire mountain side to slide into the ocean. All the Atlantic coasts had their own problems with tsunami waves.

Ben could only guess at what caused the rains to start late the next day. What should have been snow was a warm rain. A heavy, warm rain. Ramsey ordered the people at the mall into the basement shelters until something could be determined. Security personnel would maintain an outside watch to prevent any more than the shelters could hold got inside the mall fences.

Ramsey gave the same order to the Farm. He and Ben headed for the home compound, both worried about Janey. She was pregnant again.

But when they reached the house and entered the CAT-15 shelter, Janey was fine. She and the baby were sleeping. Both men sighed in relief.

“What now?” Ramsey asked.

“We wait. See how long the rains last. How much flooding there is. We should be fine at all four places, but who knows for sure. There might be another Biblical Flood.”

Though they’d kept their voices low, Janey woke up. Groggily she asked, “Is it raining? What day is it? I’ve been asleep for a long time, I think.”

“It’s good for you,” Ramsey replied. He picked up Sterling and headed for the kitchen area of the shelter to feed him while Janey went to the bathroom.

“I’ll go check on the compound. Make sure everything is secure.”

“You’re going to stay here, aren’t you, Ben?” Ramsey asked.

“Only if you want me to. I’ll be perfectly fine at my place, but I’ll stay here if you think I can be of some help.”

“You’re always a help,” Ramsey replied. He handed Sterling to Janey when Janey returned from the bathroom. “I want you and Sterling to stay down here. Ben and I are going to go check on things.”

Janey yawned, but nodded.

“Not much to check on,” Ben said when he and Ramsey walked from one building basement to the other through the tunnels, checking outside each building after going upstairs. The other families were safe and secure in one of the other CAT-15 shelters. They were eager for information.

Ben couldn’t tell them much. Only what was happening locally, but not why.

It was a dreary month, with Christmas celebrated quietly, if at all. Everyone was counting the days of rain, wondering if there would be another forty day stretch, as described in the Bible.

Of course, the rain changed to snow a week into the event. At first it was an ugly gray color, though it changed to white as the sky was scrubbed clean of the volcanic ash and other debris injected into the atmosphere by the volcanoes.

Ben kept checking for fallout, but none appeared, so after a week, Ramsey gave the okay for people to exit the shelters and resume normal operations, just as the rain turned to snow. Normal, being a relative term, meant different things at the different compounds. The Farm pretty much did go on as it had before the event. People just stayed there, rather than venture out to what was left of the city. The food produced was put into storage for the mean time.

It was much the same at the home compound. Both places put their equipment to good use, keeping the compounds clear with the Unimogs and Bobcats. There was little fear of an attack after the snow being dumped outside the perimeter fence became twelve feet deep. Only the main entrance was kept cleared.

Ramsey did the work at the home compound while Ben cleared the road down to the Mall. The mall maintenance staff had their own Bobcats and had the compound clear. Without heavier equipment they couldn’t clear the road.

Several of the people in the Mall had made their way to their homes during the rain. A few struggled back in the snow and took up residence for the duration. With the road from the farm to the mall kept clear, the food was transferred from the farm to the mall, to keep everyone fed.

Though there was much more snow than normal, temperatures were only slightly below normal for the area. But the winter took its toll to the north. Between the tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes, days of rain, and then record snowfalls, sixty-two percent of the fifty-three percent of people that had survived the flu died.

Of the six billion people on earth before the flu, after Niribu’s arrival and passing there were only one and a half billion people left, spread out in various small communities. The coastal cities were gone. Topography had changed. Only local economies remained, and they, by necessity, were based on rural farms.

The fears of a volcanic winter proved unfounded. Besides warmer temperatures and heavy runoff from the snows, Spring brought Jonathon, the newest addition to the Cook family. It also brought what turned out to be a plague. Not a medical plague, but a plague of problems.

Though there were only small self-sufficient communities, some of those communities were comprised of special interest groups. The former government employees and their families were one of them. Though they tried hard, no new massive government came about. Senators and Representatives, and even some High Court Justices became farmers and clerks. It was an eerily reversal of the Founding Fathers situation.

Another group that managed to survive, mostly through luck, and strings to the former government, was made up of a few news people. While the former government tried to become the current government, the News set out on a campaign to help that process.

With the use of what infrastructure was left, the remains of the East and West Coasts were toured and the information broadcast to everyone that had a working television and the power to operate it.

Then they showed up in the much less affected middle of the country, where people were making new lives for themselves, without the hardships that those along the new coastlines were enduring, mostly out of ignorance of the possibilities, or the lack of ability and resources to change things.

Ramsey and Ben were among those watching the weekly broadcasts. It became evident that the News would come to them sometime in the not too distant future. “What do we do?” Ramsey asked Ben.

“We keep it low profile. Show that through hard work and preparation we were able to make it through, and with more hard work, will continue to make it. I think.” Ben shook his head. “This might not be a good thing.”

Ben was right. It was not a good thing. Word had spread far and wide about the Cooks’ operation. An enclave had already shown up and taken up residence everywhere nearby that could accommodate people.

The News people smiled and nodded, took video and asked questions. Unlike Ben, Ramsey, and Janey, all whom stressed the hard work that everyone had done, plus preparations beforehand, just like Ben suggested, many people were ecstatic about how easy life here was, compared to what they’d seen in the broadcasts from other locations.

Ben was with Ramsey and Janey when the piece aired. All three were silent, aware of what the broadcast meant. “We are so up a creek,” Ben said softly after the talking head signed off.

“Is this going to be as bad as I think it is going to be?” Janey asked.

“Worse than can be imagined, I suspect,” Ramsey said.

“Definitely. We’d better get more people trained as security personnel.”

“Will we really need that?” Janey asked then. “With so much that has happened…”

“Where gold and silver flows from hand to hand in the land of milk and honey?” Ben said slowly. “A place of plenty amidst the despair of millions? Where people live good lives through the generosity of a handful of thoughtful people? Oh, yeah. We’re going to need more security. We’ll be swamped with people the Farm can’t support in no time.”

They didn’t waste any time. A meeting at the Mall was called the very next day. And as the News left the area, Ramsey laid out the new plan of action. People looked around at one another. The majority of them saw what Ramsey was talking about. A few objected to the idea of keeping additional people out. They were quickly shouted down. When Ramsey asked for volunteers to increase the ranks of the security force two dozen hands went up immediately.

Ben had called it to a T. Among the two-hundred people or so that showed up in the next month, looking for the easy life, were both Janey’s and Ramsey’s remaining family members. They quickly made themselves known to those of the community that were trying to deal with the influx of people into an impromptu tent camp that had grown up across the highway from the Mall.

“At least they are alive,” Ben said when the word reached the family. He was having dinner with the Cooks, discussing what could be done to get rid of the new people, and feed them in the meantime. So far, the Farm’s reserves were still intact, but that wouldn’t last long.

“You have no idea how our families are. Yeah, it’s great that they are alive. I just wish they’d stayed where they were. That cotton-pickin’ News report could get a whole bunch of people killed.” Ramsey was getting angry.

“Easy, Ramsey,” Janey said, tending to Jonathon. “It’s something we just have to deal with. Somehow.”

“The first problem I see is getting them out of the camp and up here without a riot. So far, we’ve managed to keep everyone in the camp, and under control,” Ben said. He was thinking hard and coming up empty.

“We just go in at feeding time, and take them out of the camp, and bring them up here. No questions answered, if asked?” Ramsey asked Ben.

“Good a plan as any I have,” Ben replied. “First thing in the morning.”

As those distributing the food began their work the next morning, Ramsey and Janey hurriedly found their respective families and began to herd them toward the waiting vehicles.

“Hey!” called someone. “What’s going on? Where are you taking those people? If you let them in you have to let the rest of us in, too!”

That was all it took. Ben keyed his radio and a dozen security personnel stepped into sight as the newcomers became a mob, yelling and shouting and cursing. Several tried to follow the group leaving, but the security team blocked the way, urging people to calm down and get their breakfast before someone else did.

That was a strong argument and the mob quickly broke up. There wasn’t a lot of food, but there was enough, and it was good. Rioting could wait until they had full stomachs again.

Ben immediately saw why Janey and Ramsey had been so reluctant to have their families here. They certainly wanted them to survive, but, while both families were liberal, Janey’s father was much further left than Ramsey’s. The various siblings ranged between the two.

No sooner had both families exited the vehicles at the Home compound than Mr. Highland, Janey’s father, started arguing with Mr. Cook, Ramsey’s father. Fortunately the rest of the two families were more interested in getting something to eat than to argue.

Ramsey physically stepped between the two fathers. “Okay. This is the way it goes. There is space enough here for each of you to keep to yourselves. And this is not a republic, nor a democracy. It is a triumvirate. Myself, Janey, and Ben Sampson here. What we say goes. If we want an opinion from either of you, we’ll ask for it. Do not disrupt this operation.

“We have managed to care for and provide for, a significant population doing it our way. You’re entitled to your political beliefs, and can even voice them, in reasonable tones and without acrimony, with just about anyone that will listen, except each other. Is that clear?”

The triumvirate, and his part in it came as a surprise to Ben, but he tried to look stern and capable.

Both men started to argue the points with Ramsey, but he held up a hand. “We have enough space for a couple of isolation cells.” His voice was cold. “Keep it up and you’ll each be in one for the duration.”

The two men looked over at Janey and she spoke as firmly as had Ramsey. “We love you all. But we’re in a serious situation here. We live by some basic rules. Violate them and you pay a price. Up to and including banishment.”

“Oh, honey!” said Janey’s mother.

“That goes for family just like it does for everyone else,” Janey replied, cutting her mother off.

Everyone then looked at Ben, mostly with scowls on their faces. Ben simply stood there, with his arms folded. Many eyes went to the rifle slung over Ben’s shoulder, and the pistol on his hip. None confronted him verbally, though a couple of the younger siblings did try to stare him down. It didn’t work.

“Now,” Ramsey said, “Let’s get something to eat and get everyone situated.”

By the end of the meal, Ben knew it just wasn’t going to work. The two families seemed to hate each other, and many of them went out of their way to provoke others. A lifted eyebrow was enough to get Janey and Ramsey off to one side to discuss the matter.

“I’m sorry, Ben,” Ramsey said.

“We both are,” Janey added. “We knew there would be problems if our families ever got together under one roof. I don’t know what to do to stop them, other than banishment.”

Copyright 2009

[Jerry D Young]

“I have an idea,” Ben said. It had come on him suddenly. “I think, if we clear half of the apartments at the mall, we can fit both families in. Surely, with the work load that everyone has, they won’t have much time to get in each others’ faces. Much as I dislike asking you to, I think the less you have to do with them, the better. If nothing else, only see them one family at a time. They are bound to want to spend time with the kids.”

Ramsey and Janey looked at one another, and had one of those silent eyeball to eyeball conversations some couples can do. Ramsey spoke first. “It’s better than banning them. Maybe they’ll come to their senses when they have time to think things through.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Janey said. “But Ben’s idea is a good one. Let them argue among themselves all they want. But make it known interfering with other people won’t be tolerated.”

“You want me to tell them, and then take them down to the mall?” Ben asked.

“We won’t put you in that position. What you could do, that would be a great help, is to clear the apartments. I don’t like putting people out for family, but I’m confident you can come up with some way to make it less of a shock to those being evicted. Do whatever you think necessary to make things right.”

“I’ll take that job in preference of dealing with your families. No offense.”

“No offense taken,” Ramsey said. He looked at Janey. “I think we both should talk to each family, one family at a time, to break the news to them.”

Janey sighed and nodded. They went back to the dining room in the house and Ben headed outside to go to the mall.

Ben was thoughtful as he drove down to the Mall. He stopped at the Farm on his way and checked with Barry Stonehouse. There was still room in the bunk house for a few people. That made things easier.

Continuing down to the mall, Ben kept thinking. He stopped at the motel and went in. Though it was still ostensibly an independent entity, the owners were cooperating with the Cooks.

One of the things they did, at Ramsey’s request, was to refuse to take in any of the new refugees that had shown up. Between the empty rooms, and the bunkhouse at the farm, Ben now had housing for all the people in the apartment building that were going to be asked to give up their apartment.

Though a couple of people refused, but enough were willing, with the perks that Ben promised them enough to swing the deals, to provide the space needed for the two bickering families.

One of the hardest ones to deal with was Lilly. Not because she resisted the offer, but because Ben really hated to disrupt her life. She put in long hours at the clinic, and being able to stay in the apartment building made it much easier on her.

“It’s okay, Ben,” Lilly said, seeing the reluctance on Ben’s face. “I know how families can be. I feel for the Cooks. It must be very difficult for them. They’ve always been very fair about things here. They… and you… saved dozens of lives over the years because of this place. I don’t mind helping in this way.”

“Thanks, Lilly. I’ll tell Ramsey and Janey of your decision. And don’t feel bad about taking them up on some of the perks that go with the move.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Lilly said. Seeing Ben’s disappointment, she quickly added, “But, okay. I’ll make a point to enjoy the perks. The extra fruit will be a real treat, I must admit.”

Ben smiled. Things were working out. And he’d manage not to reveal his feelings for Lilly. He’d come very close to offering to let her stay at his place. But he’d managed not to embarrass himself that way.

A couple of days later, Ben was satisfied that the family problem was solved for the moment. But something had to be done about the refugee camp. He, Ramsey, and Janey got together for dinner at the home compound to discuss it.

Janey spoke first. “Things are starting to get violent. We have to do something quickly.”

“I don’t know what, Honey. That blasted broadcast made us sound like the place to be. And we are. For us. Not for three hundred more people!”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Ben said. “Look. You’re exactly right. You set things up to provide for many more people than your immediate family, on a medium scale. What if we do essentially the same on a much larger scale?”

“I’m not sure I get you, Ben,” Ramsey said. “Things were different when we set things up. And don’t short yourself. You were a major part of it.”

“Be that as it may, I got to thinking about all the timbers and lumber we’ve cut and dried. We really haven’t used any. And as far as not like the past, where everything had to be purchased, on a budget, there should be everything out there that we… no… not we. They. The refugees should do the work to set up their own self-sufficient estate.

“All we should do is lend a hand. Do the salvage work, since we have the tools and equipment. Let them get in some sweat equity on their new place to live.”

“You mean… Just build a town and set up some farms around it?” Janey asked.

Ramsey looked stunned. “By George, I think you’ve got something there, Ben! You are a genius!”

“Not quite. And though it sounds simple in theory, it’s going to be a lot harder in execution. For one thing, we can’t just go to each person and try to persuade him or her to help. It should be a town project, overseen by a town council, with one of us on the council to represent our interests.”

“I nominate you for our rep,” Janey said with a big grin.

Ramsey smiled, too. “Yep. You’re it. This is your project.”

“But…”

“No buts, Ben. You’ve already given this some thought, and your thought processes are all ready going down that road to success. Oh, if there is something drastic, get with us, but the way you explain it, the refugees will be doing most of the work.”

“The easy work,” Ben replied. “The salvage work will be more difficult than several other steps that will need to be taken. And I’m thinking, one of my ideas may not go over too well. Possibly even with our own people.”

“What’s that?” Ramsey asked. “I can’t feature anything you’d do that would upset people.”

“Well, as part of the mining operation, and that’s what I see the salvage operation being, I think we should try and grab control of all the gold and silver we run across. It’ll need to be put in circulation, to get an economy started. It’s fine that we use what we bought before the balloon went up, but that’s not enough to circulate with this many people.

“We can either just give everyone an equal share of what we can find, or have some type of criteria to distribute it. Again, if as fair a way as possible to keep both sets of parties happy.”

“I don’t know, Ben,” Janey said. “That sounds rather mercenary.”

“I know,” Ben replied. “But we will need a form of money, and gold and silver just seems to work in these types of situations.”

“I agree, Janey,” Ramsey said. “We would need to do it rather quietly. What if we pay our people to help do the salvage work, and pay the refugees for doing the site work. Through the auspices of the town council. In return, we ask for a mutual aid agreement to help each other out in hard or dangerous times. Once in operation, the town and its supporting farms will be on their own.”

“That’s good!” Ben said, his eyes sparkling. “I think we might just be able to do this before winter sets in. At least, get everyone safe shelter.”

“Individual or great houses?” Ramsey asked.

Janey had to ask, “What’s a great house?”

“Early humans, as well as some later peoples, built long communal buildings that housed many families together, each with their own sectioned off area inside,” Ramsey explained.

“I think we’d be better building apartment buildings. Partly to conserve resources, but because I don’t think this group would be very happy all in half a dozen structures, with little or no privacy, no matter how efficient a system it is,” Ben said.

“Your choice, Ben,” Ramsey said. “Anything else you need from us?”

“I guess not, if the project is to be my responsibility. I’ll keep you informed, though.”

“That’s good enough for me,” Janey said. “Let’s eat.”



3 Time Jinx - Chapter 3

Ben didn’t expect it to be easy, and it wasn’t. Oh, when he called a meeting of the refugees, everyone was wild about building their own town, for the most part. But many wanted their own house and property.

“Look,” Ben said, holding his hand up for quiet. It came after a bit. “I’m not going to demand you build anything specific. That will be up to your town council and individual members of the village.

“What the Cooks and I will do is provide the materials you want, collectively, and will pay a fair wage in gold and silver all those that contribute to the construction of the village buildings, and preparing the surrounding area for farms.

“Once the village is on its own, it will be on its own. We ask only for mutual aid for hard times and if there is ever an attack on our places, and we’ll do the same for the village. Now, I’ll leave you to set up your village council. When they have some preliminary plans, I’ll take a look and we’ll start the acquisition of whatever is needed.”

There was an up swell of noise and Ben made himself scarce, going over to his garage to go over his truck in anticipation of a mining run very soon. He’d already talked to several of those under his and the Cooks’ care and put together a team to do the mining and transportation of whatever the village elders decided was needed. He already had a list he intended to fill as the opportunities presented themselves.

It took longer than Ben expected. He was sitting in the garage office when one of the security guards radioed him that the village council was ready to meet with him. “I’ll come out. This is a village project and I want things done over there.”

Ben’s eyes scanned the faces of seven people. All looked hopeful, with a few looking aggressively so, if that was possible.

“Okay. Got a list for me?” Ben asked. “We’ll leave first thing in the morning, bring back some preliminary tools you’ll need to get started, as well as what we can find on your list.”

“We need to talk about this some more,” said the obvious leader of the seven. We want some assurances you won’t just take what we build and use it for yourselves, like some kind of feudal system with a King, Queen, and High Sheriff.”

“You have my word,” Ben said, his eyes narrowing. “And that’s about the only assurance you’ll get from any of us. The village, once it is built, will be the citizens to do with whatever they choose. We are only helping on humanitarian reasons. We simply cannot house everyone, much less feed them for very long. Anyone coming and expecting a handout should leave now. Let your people know that.”

“That’s pretty hard, mister,” said a second man. Ben had been watching him. The man was armed, Ben was sure.”

“Hard facts for hard times. No one asked you to come here. You’re just as free to leave as you were to come.”

“What if we just decide to take over the mall and the farm?” asked the man. “We out number you by several to one.”

The rest of the group edged away from the man and Ben. “That was your only chance,” Ben said, voice like ice. A group was forming around them. “Do not ever threaten me, the Cooks, or our way of life. You’ll die.”

“You think you can take me?”

“I don’t plan to take you. I plan to kill you, if you mention it again. Or stir up the sentiment in others.”

“You have no right…” yelled someone in the crowd. “Tell him, Judge Myers!”

“Uh… Well… We really don’t have any standing here. It’s the law of the jungle to these people and they have the upper hand for the moment.” It was the leader of the village council.

“That’s not helping that much, Judge,” Ben said, keeping his eyes on the man that looked ready for a fight.

“Give it up, Hicks,” the Judge told the man. “This isn’t the time or the place. We’ve been elected to see to the needs of the village. A gun fight now won’t solve much of anything and could lead to many of us being killed and the rest run off.”

“You and me, one of these days…” snarled Hicks at Ben. Then he turned and stalked off.

“Keep careful monitor on him,” Ben said to Judge Myers. “He could ruin this for all of you.”

“For the moment, we have no real choice but to go along with your plan. But this is America and Americans don’t like being dictated to.”

“I’m well aware of that sentiment. I feel the same. I will reiterate. The Cooks, myself, and the people that work for us, are not responsible for you or your companions. The Cooks and the rest of us feel sorry for you as refugees. We only want to help. But not at the destruction of our own way of life. Now. Do you have a list, or not?”

The Judge nodded and brought out several sheets of paper, with a series of lists neatly written upon them.

“We’ll get started first thing in the morning. I’ll see you then.” Ben turned and walked away, feeling a slight itching sensation up and down his back. But nothing happened and he returned to the garage to get his truck.

He left out most of the confrontation when he filled in the Cooks on where the process stood.

“You want me to go on the mining run with you tomorrow?”

“No,” Ben said. “I think it best you be around home for now. Assuming I’ll be able to get a decent amount of gold and silver coin, you two decide on what different things are worth, besides what we’re already set up on in the mall.”

“Will do, Buddy,” Ramsey said.

“Good night. See you tomorrow evening. Might be late.”

“Stay in radio contact. Just in case,” Janey urged him.

Ben nodded and left to go home to get what turned out to be some restless sleep.


It was cool the next morning when he met up with the team that was going out to begin the salvage and mining effort. One of the first things that was going to need doing, but hadn’t been on the list, was a water well and basic sanitation system. Now the refugees were getting water placed outside the mall fence, and going to the bathroom behind just about every bush in sight.

The convoy set out, and when they turned off the gravel road onto the rapidly deteriorating highway, approximately three hundred pairs of eyes watched. One pair glared more than just looked.

One truck peeled off at the first intersection, headed for a well driller’s place to see if they could score a drilling rig. They had charged truck batteries, fresh fuel, and tools to work on the rig if need be. The rest continued into town.

Not everything on the list was for building up the new village. There were quite a few personal items listed. One of the salvage teams consisted of two women. Ben gave them the list and said, “Focus on women’s hygiene, but get some of the other things if you have room.

With a nod they got back into their truck and headed for the grocery store. Other lists were handed out and the four Unimogs went different directions. Alone, Ben got back into his truck and headed for the small coin shop the town boasted. Ben knew the owner had kept some gold and silver bullion coins in stock. He’d bought a few from him.

As the others were finding out, many places had already been picked over. The same was true at the coin shop. The glass cases were all smashed and coins of all types except gold and silver scattered here and there. But the safe was intact. It took Ben longer to get the portable burning bar equipment from the truck and then take it back than it did to cut the lock out of the safe.

Ben gathered up the gold and silver, leaving the rest. That was the only candidate in town for Ben’s special mining. There might be some gold and silver in either or both of the small branch banks in town, but the effort wasn’t worth the probable cost in terms of the burning bars. Until he could find more, Ben’s supply of both bars and oxygen were limited. They were both on his list to find.

So, as the day progressed, Ben continued to look for things on his and the Cooks’ personal list of items while the other teams loaded up on building supplies and hardware for the most part.

They met at the assigned time back at the edge of the town and Ben did a head count. Everyone was there, and seemed pleased with what they had accomplished. “Any trouble?” Ben asked the group.

One held up a sledge hammer and said, “Nope!”

But another, though he laughed, said, “Had some trouble getting the forklift to run to load the truck. We may want to think about bringing along a good one on these trips.”

“Okay. We’ll come back tomorrow and when we leave, we’ll take the one you got going with us. Diesel or propane or electric?”

“A propane one and an electric that will need to be charged.”

“Okay. So we’re off for home. Good work today.”


When they returned to the refugee camp, there were plenty of willing hands to unload, with many thanks said for some of the items. Ben smiled when he saw not only a well drilling rig, but a water truck, and drilling support truck.

Hugh Vaughn came over and smilingly told Ben, “We got lucky. Well, mostly. It was tough to get everything started and running, but it looks like they’d just loaded up to go put in a well.” The smile faded. “The family didn’t make it. It was bad. Dogs got to the bodies, I think.”

“I know, Hugh. There will be some nastiness like that to deal with every time we go out.”

Hugh nodded and left. Though not a professional driller, he’d worked with the Parkinsons several times as a helper. He was sure he could get a well down and a pump going within three days.

Ben greeted Ramsey and Janey when they walked over to his truck. He was on his way to see them. “How’d things go?” Ramsey asked immediately.

Ben explained what they’d found and delivered and then told them how much gold and silver he’d found.

“Ben,” Ramsey said, keeping his voice low, “Janey and I were trying to set prices for various items, but your idea of a village council handling things kept coming up. We’ll have a set amount ready, every day a convoy comes in, to give to the council for distribution to those that are working. Let them take care of themselves. We don’t want the petty issues of who did how much work.”

“Good point, you guys,” Ben said. “I hadn’t thought about that. I’ll make sure I have enough with me when I leave for those times I don’t find any. Today was a good start. How much a day do you think?”

“Two ounces of gold in fractional ounces and twenty face value silver coins. We’ll keep the one ounce Gold and Silver Eagles out until there’s enough small stuff out there to create a need for the larger amounts. That sound okay?” Ramsey asked.

“Does to me. I’ll go give it to the Judge right now and explain. We’ll explain as much as I want to.”

“You don’t like him?” Janey asked.

“No, I don’t. Things got a bit heated and as Chairman of the Village Council, he did very little to cool it down. More or less promised more trouble when they had the chance.”

Ben made sure there were several refugees around when he gave Judge Myers the gold and silver coins and told him, “This is for the work done today here. It’s up to you and the council to divide it up among those that are helping, and those that are just standing around.”

The Judge turned pink and Ben realized he’d hit a nerve. But those watching surrounded them and Ben slipped through and headed for home. Let the Judge take the heat.

Ben had to admit there were some hard workers amongst the refugees. The next morning there were already areas staked out for whatever the village was going to build. It really didn’t concern Ben and he didn’t pay much attention. He was eager to get on with things.

That day and the next three went very well. The well was in and a solar pump, PV panel, and deep discharge battery provided the camp with their own water without having to carry it across the road.

Since they couldn’t realistically build a waste treatment plant, a series of basic septic systems was put in down slope from where the village would be. A set of bathrooms was built for the interim next to the system, but sewer lines were being laid based on the street plan the villagers had staked out. Ben still wasn’t sure what building was going to be what, but the timbers and lumber that came from the Farm, along with that salvaged, was being used to best effect.

The fifth day of mining and salvage operations didn’t go as well as the first four. Not that Ben and his crews didn’t find anything, they did. Lots. But someone else decided that they owned it, not Ben. Shots were fired, but no one was hit and Ben called for a palaver under a white flag.

“I take it you guys claim what’s here in this town?”

“You got that right, Buddy. Take a hike and leave your gear where it is.”

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Ben replied. “I’m willing to do some trading for salvage and mining rights. What do you say? No bloodshed, you get some things you want, and we get some things we want, and by next spring there will be a village down the highway from which you’ll be able to buy food and a few niceties.”

“You’re that big farm group everyone used to talk about?”

“I assume so. But it won’t be us you’ll be trading with then. We’re just helping a village get started to get them out of our hair.”

One of the men smiled. “Squatters are pure poison. I’d just shoot’em.”

“Hasn’t come to that,” Ben said. And then chose his words very carefully. “But if it does, we have what we need to come out on top.”

“You threatening us?” asked the first guy, standing tall and belligerent.

“Aw, can it, Smith!” said another. “He’s just saying not to mess with them ‘cause they can handle it. Probably got you in the scope of a .50 caliber right now from way out there.”

Smith stared out at where the rest of the convoy was stopped and paled slightly.

“You got a fifty out there?” he asked.

“Do for a fact,” Ben said. “Barrett semi-auto. Don’t spray good, but it’s accurate to fifteen-hundred yards.” Looking back at the leader, Ben asked, “What’s it to be? I’ve got five ounces of gold that I’ll trade you for a week’s worth of salvage. And we’ll give you your pick, reasonable, of what we find, excluding any gold and silver.”

“Twenty ounces.”

Ben shook his head and started to turn away. He turned back, making sure he looked like he was thinking hard about it. “Ten. That’s as high as I can go.”

“We want the gold and silver you find,” insisted Smith.

“Give it a rest, Smith. You know they can’t get any gold or silver. We tried dynamite and didn’t touch that safe of Grubers.”

“I know he’s got gold in there! I seen it one day,” Sith replied, his eyes cutting out to the convoy from time to time.

“Tell you what. For just one time. If we get any gold out of that safe, we’ll give you another full ounce, no matter how much we find. Even if we don’t find any,” Ben said.

“Done,” said the leader and held out his hand.

Copyright 2009

[Jerry D Young]

“Done,” Ben said. “I’ll be back in a minute with the gold.” When the leader nodded Ben, though he had the gold on him, went back to his truck and reached in as the others of the convoy asked questions.

“We’re paying for salvage rights. Not to worry. I think we can trust them. But anyone shows any serious annoyance, we hightail it and deal with them later.”

Ben made eye contact with each person. The last one finally nodded.

With the coins he’d surreptitiously taken from his pocket he went back to meet the other men. He handed to coins to the leader, eleven one-ounce US Gold Eagles.

Smith then said, “Come on. I’ll show you that safe. I want to see what’s in it.”

“Now, now, now, Mr. Smith. Do you really want to know what’s in there? You’d feel like a fool if it was full, and I’d feel like a fool if it was empty. And we both know it only takes one fool to start a fight over something like gold.”

“Leave’em be, Smith. They might not even find that safe!”

Smith suddenly grinned. “Oh, yeah! Forgot about that. It ain’t in no bank! Haw, haw, haw!”

“You idiot, Smith,” said another man. “Come on before you do something to get us all shot.” The man turned to look at Ben. “Don’t worry, Mister. I’ll shoot him myself if he tries to do something stupid.”

Ben nodded and waved the convoy in. As they separated he went to get his truck, wondering where that safe might be. He wasn’t really concerned. One safe more or less didn’t mean much. He wasn’t going to sweat looking for it. That extra ounce of gold was simply the means that got them the rights to mine the town for a week.

Ben went about his normal search routine, finding a local telephone book and going through it for likely businesses that might have things they needed. It was only after he’d made a turn onto another street that the name Gruber’s rang a bell. The name was over a small storefront on a side street off main street.

Ben parked where he was, locked and secured the truck, and walked back around the corner, the Stanley Fatmax 30” Forcible Entry Tool in hand. It had done yeoman duty in the past getting into fairly well secured buildings. Ben didn’t need the bar. The door was hanging off its hinges.

Trying to decide what the place was, exactly, Ben looked around. Apparently part pawn shop, though there was no sign of the traditional three gold balls in evidence, the place probably wasn’t that much more tidy than before it had been thoroughly gone through.

There weren’t any guns in view, though there were racks inside the small teller’s cage. Only really junk jewelry was left, scattered all about, among tools, knick-knacks, and, to put it bluntly, junk.

But inside the cage, Ben saw what Hicks had been talking about. A large, very old safe was on its side. There were burn marks where some type of explosive had been used to try to open the safe door. He had to grin. The safe wasn’t going anywhere. No need to tempt fate, or Smith, until just before the mining crew was ready to leave. Ben left the shop, Entry Tool over his shoulder, whistling.

Back in his truck, Ben moved on to where he’d been heading. It was a small jewelry shop. It looked much like the pawn shop inside. Cases broken open, glass everywhere, cheap stuff on the floor, and nothing to make one think there was anything left to take.

But Ben had learned his lesson early on. Look around very carefully. No telling what you might find under a throw rug, or behind a cabinet. Someone else had thought of the cabinets. They were all tipped over to expose bare walls. But inside a utility closet, containing cleaning supplies, Ben took the time to move a heavy rubber mat that covered the floor.

Sure enough, there was a safe. Actually, it wasn’t even a safe. Just a strong metal box surrounded with concrete, with a standard padlock in a recessed pocket so the top was flat. It wasn’t a great lock. The Entry Bar, with Ben’s one hundred eighty pounds on one end was more than enough to pop the lock.

Ben removed the steel plate lid and looked inside the box. Didn’t really matter what was in Gruber’s safe. What was in this box was justification for Ben’s time. Though there were no gold or silver coins, there were several articles of gold and silver. Nothing had been in evidence in the room used to make custom jewelry, but here were the supplies to make the jewelry.

Gold and silver wire in various sizes, some rods and bars. Ben took everything out, including some carefully packaged gemstones. Most had a GIA certificate, and all the diamonds did. He estimated four ounces of gold, total, and perhaps fifteen or sixteen of silver. Twelve carats of high grade diamonds, and another twenty carats of low grade diamonds and colored gems made up the rest of the haul. Ben slipped everything into his pockets and left the store.

With no other likely places to accumulate gold and silver, Ben pitched in to help load one of the many semi-trucks with trailers that the crews had managed to get into service, that they now took on these journey’s, leaving the Unimogs for Farm and Home site use.

The week passed quickly. Several of the residents offered up items for trade on their own. Ben did all the trading, giving value for value, most of it for the Farm and Home. Making one last stop at Guber’s, Ben quickly assembled the burning bar equipment and had the safe open in just a couple of minutes.

He sat back on his heels after turning off the oxygen to the burning bar. The safe was full. Things fell out because of it being on its side when the door fell open. “Sheesh!” Ben said softly. Smith would have kittens if he saw what was in here.

Ben didn’t bother to count it. He just transferred everything to heavy cloth bags, making three quick trips to take out the loaded bags and to get additional empty bags. Only when he made it back to his place that evening did he take stock of what he had. Gruber had been a miser of some sort. There turned out to be over a hundred gold coins, mostly old numismatic 1800s twenty-dollar double eagles in slightly circulated to uncirculated condition. There were even more private mint coins and medallions of the time of eighteen to twenty-four carat fineness. The same with the silver. Mostly 1800s silver dollars in nearly perfect condition.

But the main items of value were the non-coin precious metals. Mostly ten-ounce and one-hundred-ounce .999 fine silver bars were with ten one-thousand-ounce bars. All were mint marked with weight and .999 fineness.

There were fewer gold bars, and they included one-ounce mint bars and ten-ounce mint bars, but the majority were one-kilogram bars, again, all .999 fine. It was a small fortune. “Not that small, actually,” Ben mused aloud, looking at the metals shining on the table top.

Next, Ben went over the other things he’d brought from Gruber’s safe. Mostly fancy engraved and inlaid firearms and knives. A set of early Browning pistols including a Baby Browning .25 ACP, and a Browning Hi-Power in 9mmP, plus pistols in .32 ACP and .380 ACP. All four were gold plated and engraved from the factory, in matching fancy wood cases.

The seventeen Luger pistols included several engraved ones, a couple of carbines, and a dozen snail-drum magazines, along with near mint samples of other versions.

The knives ran the gamut from factory fresh Buck and Case models, to custom manufactured display pieces, some, like the Browning guns, gold plated and engraved with fancy sheaths and cases.

Then there were the Colt pistols. Mostly Colt Army .45 revolvers and Colt 1911/1911A1s. Many showed some wear, but Gruber was a man that apparently liked high fashion firearms, for there were both a couple of the revolvers and six 1911s in various degrees of embellishment.

There was no telling what the collection was worth previously, when collectors tried to outbid one another when something like Ben was looking at came up for sale. Now, they were only worth what someone would pay for them as tools to be used.

“Best to hang on to them for posterity,” Ben mused. But he couldn’t help himself. He kept for himself one of the heavy gold plated Colt 1911A1s and a Browning Hi-Power likewise plated, engraved, and inlaid. The Browning was an individual piece, not part of the matched set. The two knives he decided to keep were a matched set. Custom Damascus steel bowie knives. One conventional and one Mediterranean style. Both with fancy embellished scales, though the blades were unadorned, except for the magnificent patterns of the Damascus steel.

Ben finally put away those things he was keeping, which always included a portion of the silver and gold, at Ramsey’s and Janey’s insistence, in his gun safe in the underground shelter of his house. The rest he boxed up, in preparation to taking them to the Home site the next day.


It was nearing fall when Ben’s salvage/mining teams began to bring in farming equipment for the new village to use. An eclectic set of various size and style greenhouses were all ready being used by a gardening team the village put together for that purpose.

With the vehicles now available, and a reasonable supply of fuel that Ben had stabilized with Pri Products preservatives found during salvage operation, the village council was anxious to put their own teams out to salvage. Several individuals were, as well.

“I don’t know, Ben,” Ramsey said, when the subject came up at one or their now regular dinner meetings. “It’s worked well up until now, us controlling what comes in and, to a degree, how it is used.”

“I know, Ramsey. But besides it simply becoming something we can’t control, we did say they would be independent.”

“That’s true,” Ramsey mused. “What do you think, Janey?”

“I have to go with Ben on this, Dear. For one thing, we’re at the point now where we’re using more in time, fuel, and supplies than we’re getting back for ourselves.”

“That’s true, too. Okay. Ben, when do you want to meet with the council and turn them loose.”

“We’ve got a trip scheduled for the city. Our first one. I’d like to take a week on our own, and then turn over the entire salvage operation for the Village, to the Village.

“That sounds good,” Ramsey said. “I must say, this entire operation has gone much better than I ever thought possible.”

“So far. Just don’t jinx things,” Ben said.

“Who, me?” Ramsey asked with a laugh. Janey chuckled, too. Ben forced a slight smile.

“Okay, Judge,” Ben said, speaking for Ramsey and Janey, though they were both at the meeting with the Village council and those villagers that wanted to attend the open meeting Ben had asked for.

“We’re going to make one more week run to mine and salvage what we can, this time in the city. After that, we ask that you take over any operations to bring additional improvements to the village.”

It wasn’t quite a roar, but the majority of the villagers at the meeting seemed to approve. Both Judge Myers and Chester Hicks frowned. They much preferred making the decisions in private. They leaned toward each other for a quick private word.

“Just make sure that we have the means to carry it out. We expect the trucks and other gear to be ours to do with as we wish.”

It annoyed Ben, but he didn’t let on. “Of course. We have kept a few things for ourselves, but everything we’ve been using lately is yours, as of the end of next week.”

One of the villagers called out, “What about electricity? When will we get more electricity? Electricity for everyone, not just those on the council.”

“PV panels, batteries, inverters, and generators are all on our priority list. We’ve all ready brought quite a bit in.”

“Yeah, and the Judge and Hicks there, along with a couple more on the council, have private houses that use all the equipment you’ve brought, except that used to pump water.”

“That’s something you’ll have to take up with the council,” Ben said, a bit more loudly than he intended. It had come as news to him, but he wasn’t surprised. But he wasn’t going to get in the middle of something that was obviously the Village’s prerogative to handle.

There were some murmurs from the crowd, but only one more question. “What about concrete? Will we be able to get more concrete for some more permanent structures? For Village infrastructure, not individuals?”

Again Ben saw some pink faces on some of the faces of the council members. And again Ben forced himself to ignore it. “Another item on our list of priorities. The trip to the city may solve that problem. There are three major concrete suppliers in and around the city. I’m fairly sure we’ll be able to get one going so you can then operate it as needed. Once you do, we’d like to contract for additional concrete for our use that we don’t get during the one week.”

“Fuel?” asked one of the non-pink faces on the council.

“There’s enough Pri-D and Pri-G from our salvage/mining runs to keep you in fuel until next winter… not this winter, but next, and you should be making bio-diesel by that time. The equipment is here, as is a large supply of the chemicals needed. You’ll just need to grow some oil crops in addition to food.

“Anything else? I think everyone wants to get home before the rain starts.” A clap of thunder sounded and people began to rise and head for the doors of the new town hall.

But Judge Myers hammered his gavel to get attention back to him. “One last thing,” he said, looking over at the group of villagers. Then he looked at Ben pointedly. “We’re doing a lot more work than we did earlier. I… we want a higher daily rate for this last week.”

“Aw, come on, Judge! They’re providing everything and paying us to use it. If it’s distributed fairly, there’s enough to keep our simple economy going.” Deanna Jacobson was one of the council members that had not had to blush when several of the others did.

“I think we should reduce the amount the council has decided to pay the members, and members serve voluntarily, without pay. That’d go a long way to spread the wealth.”

“I didn’t ask for your opinion, Deanna!” the Judge said.

“Wait a minute!” one of the villagers called out. “You’re getting a salary for sitting around and doing nothing? That’s gonna change for sure!”

There were cries of agreement from most of those assembled. The Judge and Hicks gave murderous looks at Ben.

Ben couldn’t help but grin when he told the villagers, “That’s all up to you all. The Cooks and I have no interest in dabbling in village politics. It’s all up to you all. The payment stays the same.” Ben, Ramsey, and Janey left. They could hear shouting all the way out to their vehicles.

“Ben, did you know the council… Some of the council, were keeping some of the money for themselves?” Ramsey asked.

“No. Didn’t know about them usurping the electrical power, either. That Judge and his buddy Hicks are bad apples. I hope the Village doesn’t let them ruin things for everyone.”

“Yes. But it is up to them. I’m ready to wash my hands of the whole mess,” Janey said. “Taking care of my family and what is ours is enough for me.”

“You don’t want to be crowned Queen?” Ramsey asked. “It did come up once, you know.” Ramsey and Ben both grinned.

“We are not amused!” Janey said in a high tone of voice, making a ‘go-away’ motion with her right hand.

Still laughing, Janey and Ramsey headed for their home, and Ben to his. But before he crossed the highway, now a well maintained gravel road, since the asphalt that had been scheduled for replacement had deteriorated to the point of it being better to crush it up and use the resulting gravel with the Carolina Smooth Roads implement to keep it in shape. Only that portion running between the mall and the new village was kept graded.

Ben had instructed the experienced operator to keep the dirt streets in shape until they could be graveled and smoothed. After that, the village would be expected to pay for street upkeep.

Instead of going home, Ben, on impulse, pulled up to one of the gates to the mall. The guard recognized him and opened the gate. Lilly sometimes ate at the restaurant. Ben decided to see if she was there, since it was just after her shift at the clinic.

She was there, and to Ben’s surprise, she waved him over before he could do more than hang up his hat on the hat rack at the door.

“Hi, Ben! It’s been a long time. Join me for dinner?”

Ben cleared his throat and accepted. Four hours later he climbed into bed, tired, but happy. Morning might come early, but he’d made his first real progress with Lilly at dinner. “Yeah. She did most of the progress…” he thought as he fell asleep.


The rains the following week did little to hamper the salvage mining runs to the city. Things started off well enough. But by Wednesday, the few people left in the city knew what was happening and took objection. Unlike the small town that Ben had negotiated salvage rights with, the people in the city, at least some of them, wanted no such deal. The first indication of a problem was the report of a gunshot and the appearance of a bullet hole in the windshield of one of the semis.

Though it had been a while, defense of the operation had been planned and practiced. Vehicles quickly left the area and an armed team headed in to flush out the sniper. Turned out not to be that simple. There was more than one. The scout team backed off when they discovered over a dozen people, all heavily armed, and indications that there were many more around.

Ben, using the PA system in his truck tried to start up a dialogue and got a bullet past his ear for his trouble. Taking the safe choice, Ben had the convoy reroute to their intended destination in the city.

He radioed Ramsey and asked his opinion on continuing. “What do you think, Ramsey? I think we can continue, by keeping an over watch. But do we have the right?”

“You know my thoughts, Ben. We don’t take things with obvious owners. However, I’m not inclined to extend that to an entire city populated by only a few people. It’s a fine line. What do you think?”

“I say we take only hardware. Leave the consumables to the locals.”

“Sounds good to me. I say do it.”

Ben went over the new instructions with those in the convoy. A few wanted to just fight it out with the residents, and a couple questioned continuing at all. But Ben was firm, and clearly stated their intent. They would not take food or household consumables. Industrial supplies were different. Those they would take up to fifty percent of any single supply and leave the rest.

Enough people were put out as guards to keep an eye on those doing the collection to maintain an early warning if the locals showed up. The guards were to cover a withdrawal of the convoy, with as little fighting as possible.

Ben, knowing it was more than a little fool hardy, headed out on his own. There were three places he wanted to hit. The first one had been completely stripped. The second, Ben added to the Farm and Home sites’ gold and silver coin reserves significantly.

The third he only found a few silver Eagles and hastily beat a retreat when two shooters opened up on him from long distance. He escaped with only two bullet holes in the truck, both in the tailgate of the pickup bed.

On his way back to the location the convoy was going to next, Ben saw a brand new hospital that he had not known existed. Again, knowing it was at great risk, for probably little gain, Ben pulled the truck into the parking garage. He made his way around and around, going up to the fifth of six levels and parked near one of the stairs.

With rifle in hand, Ben went exploring, looking primarily for the pharmacy. The hospital was well marked and the pharmacy happened to be on the third floor. Slinging his rifle, Ben used the Stanley Forced Entry bar to good effect and opened the undisturbed pharmacy. He began to wonder if the hospital had been opened more than a few days before things went south. The pharmacy’s shelves were full.

Taking an empty tote from a nearby stack, Ben began to load up. He did narcotics first, and then antibiotics and finally other medicines he thought would be useful. Two hours later, nearly exhausted, Ben went to move the truck from the fifth floor parking level to the third.

He approached cautiously, but no one challenged him. Taking care not to chirp the tires on the pavement, Ben went down two levels and backed the truck up right to the walkway that led to the hospital from the garage.

Ben was really dragging by the time he had all the totes loaded into the truck. Just as he opened the driver’s side door to get inside, a voice came from behind a support column perhaps thirty feet away. “Step away from the truck and I may let you live.”

It wasn’t a good enough offer. Ben more than just moved away from the truck. He hit the pavement rolling, bringing the M1A up from its slung position. He emptied a magazine at the column, hoping whoever it was believed in working alone.

Ben felt the impact of two bullets hitting him. One low on his left leg, the other one cutting a deep groove from the top of his shoulder down his upper back. It was all he could do not to scream. He laid there for long moments, expecting a coup-de-grâce. But nothing stirred for a long time.

Finally, not able to stop the groans, Ben got up, propping on the M1A. He went over to the column. There was a pool of blood spreading out from behind it. He stayed well away from it and went around. A huge man lay leaning against the column, in line with it.

Twenty rounds of .308 147 grain full metal jacket had chipped away a corner of the column driving the shards of concrete into the big man’s face and throat. At least two bullets, had also hit him, for the right side of his face was missing a couple of chunks.

“Gotta watch that,” Ben whispered. “Shot way too high and just got lucky.” Still with enough thinking ability, Ben stripped the guy of his weapons and pack, with was very heavy. He got the things in the rear seat of the crew cab truck and, finally, managed to climb behind the steering wheel.

Suddenly more shots sounded, and with the adrenalin pumping through his system that brought back a bit of alertness, Ben gunned the truck and headed for the exit. The driver’s door slammed shut and the tires squealed as bullets impacted on all the vertical surfaces anywhere close to him.

Ben knew the truck was taking hits, but he couldn’t do anything about it. His only hope was to get away as fast as he could. He left paint on a couple of corners going down the ramp, and more than paint on a couple, but the truck was still going and he was still breathing as they shot out of the parking garage on the ground floor and Ben headed for the nearest street.

He heard the radio calling his name, but it was all he could do to keep driving. He headed of home by instinct, not where the convoy was supposed to be. Ben was well out of the city and halfway home, stopped on the side of the road when the convoy caught up with him.

The clinic ambulance met them a few miles from home, having been dispatched as soon as Ben was found. Ben remembered smiling when he saw Lilly’s face over him, and from then on, until a week later, that was the sight he kept in his unconscious mind.

It’s was Ramsey’s face he woke up to, in one of the beds in the little hospital section of the clinic.

“Man! You had us scared! What did you mean, going off by yourself like that?”

“Ouch,” Ben said, having tried to move. He was back under before he could respond further.

“Don’t upset my patient,” said Lilly, coming into the room.

“But it was such a ridiculous thing to do. That hospital he mined was only two blocks from the convoy. He could have had guards…”

“Never mind Ramsey,” Janey said, touching his arm and then giving him a cup of the highly rationed coffee.

“I thought we were going to lose him,” Ramsey said softly.

“I know,” Janey replied, leaning against him for comfort as they looked down at their friend.

Ben came out of it the next morning, hungry and thirsty. But that all left his mind when Lilly came in to check on him.

“You have had several people very worried,” she said, adjusting the sheets and pillow. “Myself included.”

“Really?”

“What do you mean, ‘really’,” Lilly asked. “Of course. Oh, some couldn’t care less. Then there are those, like me, that couldn’t care more.”

“Really?” Ben asked again, sitting up slight.

“Yes, Really. Now be still and quiet and I’ll get you something for breakfast.”

“Okay,” Ben said happily. Then he moved a bit more and lost the smile.

Ramsey and Janey came by to see him later that day. “Lilly say’s you’ll be out of here in a couple more days. Just have to come in to have the dressings checked and changed.”

Ben nodded. “How’s my truck? And the stuff I found?”

“Your truck… Well, you’ll have plenty of time while you’re recuperating to patch the holes. Fortunately, only a couple of things were ruined from the gunfire. Besides you, I mean,” Ramsey said.

“Comedian,” Ben replied. “But most of the supplies are okay? Did you manage to get the precious metals out?”

“Sure. No problem there,” Janey replied. “We put your share in your house. The rest went into the home vault.’

How’s the Village doing?” Ben asked. “Not real sure how long I’ve been in here. Have they tried to do any salvage or mining in the city?”

“They have. And paid a price. Lost two good people because they didn’t know what they were doing. I agreed to send a team with them for a couple of runs to do it your way,” Ramsey told Ben.

“And?”

“They’re doing okay. Don’t like the fact that they are taking everything not nailed down and then some. But it is their choice now. Resistance is growing in the city. I think the Village will call off the hard core salvage work and go to more selective choices now, with the loss of the two men.”

“How’s the Village itself? At that one meeting, a lot of things were up in the air. Electrical power usage, the daily payment…”

“Don’t know for sure,” Ramsey replied. “Apparently we did a good job making them become independent. Not a lot of cross information. Though, now with some gold and silver circulating, a few of the Village residents are being allowed into the mall to buy and sell.

“Janey and I were thinking about opening the mall up completely to the Village. With few exceptions…” Ramsey made a sour face. “The people of the Village are just ordinary folks. Though I believe they made the decision in many cases for the wrong reasons, I have to give them credit. They made it this far from where they were, and are making the Village work. All it took was a little help here and there.”

Copyright 2009

[Jerry D Young]

Ben nodded. “I don’t see why we shouldn’t. If the separation of some of the key elements of our survival are maintained, I think the more we cooperate, the better everyone will be.”

“That’s what we were thinking,” Ramsey said. “I’ll let that excuse for a Judge know. He and that Hicks are forever a thorn in my side. You watch Hicks, Ben.” Ramsey was deadly serious. “I wouldn’t put it past him to try to gun you down while you’re in a weakened state.”

“Don’t worry,” Ben replied. “I have no intentions of giving him the opportunity.”

Janey put her hand on Ramsey’s shoulder. “Come on, Ramsey. Let’s let Ben get some more rest. I know he wants out of here as soon as possible.”

“Not necessarily,” Ben said softly as Lilly entered the room. She ushered Ramsey and Janey out and then went over to stand beside the Ben’s bed.

“You think you’re strong enough to walk further than the bathroom?”

Ben nodded. “Uh… Get me some pants?”

“Sure.” Lilly went to the small closet in the room and returned with the clothing Ben was wearing when he was brought in. “I took the liberty of washing them and sewing up the bullet holes.”

“You didn’t have to do that!” Ben said. He slipped on his underwear when Lilly turned her back. With he had his pants on, Lilly turned around and helped him put on his shirt. The shoulder wound was still painful and troublesome.

Ben would have to admit he milked a couple of days extra on his stay at the clinic, simply to spend time with Lilly. But she laughed at his hangdog expression when she told him he didn’t need to stay at the clinic any longer and said, “Shoo! I have things to do. But I’ll be by to check on you later.”

“Check on me?” Ben asked. “Later? I’ll be at home.”

“Yes. I know. Now go on.”

With a huge smile on his face he wasn’t aware of, Ben left the clinic and found his truck. It had been unloaded. His smile faded at the sight of multiple bullet holes. He really frowned when he saw that the right rear tire was down on the run-flat insert. It had been holed. One of the five spares he carried had also been hit.

When he started to get the tools out to change the tire he quickly changed his mind. The run-flat would make it up to his place. He’d change it later. Ben stopped the truck before pulling onto the road up to the Farm, Home site, and his place and looked over at the Village.

He was rather stunned at the sight. What had been only lightly wooded fields a few weeks prior was now a real village. Ben shook his head at the eclectic styles of the buildings. They ranged from neatly constructed apartment buildings to scratch built hovels. At least a few people had used the suggestion of building a cooperative long house.

There were at least three long pole buildings serving the function. Dozens of different sizes and types of solar panels were on the roofs of just about every building.

Ben decided not to just drive in and look around. That would be a bit presumptuous. At least until Ramsey had a chance to let the villagers know they were now welcome, within limits, to visit the mall and take advantage of its facilities.

When he arrived home, Ben looked around and hastily did a cleanup. Not that the place was a mess, but he was a bachelor and tended to be a bit on the sloppy side when it came to house cleaning.

He decided to leave the rest when his wounds began to bother him. He laid down on the sofa in the living room and was asleep before he knew it. He only woke when the perimeter alarm sounded. Ben was smiling when he met Lilly at the front door.

Two days later, at a Village meeting that the Judge called, reluctantly, at Ramsey’s request, it was Ben that announced that most of the restrictions on the Villagers using the Mall facilities were lifted. Gold and silver coin would be the mediums of exchange, though barter and trade were still perfectly acceptable. All monetary transactions were negotiable between parties.

“As far as we are concerned,” Ben finished up with, “everyone is now an independent, responsible for their own welfare.”

The Judge obviously did not like that. “I’m still the Chairman of the Village council. We’ll decide who is responsible for what.”

“No you don’t,” called one of the villagers. “Village business. Cooperative community things, sure. But everything else is up to us as individuals.”

“Look, you…” Hicks said, standing up suddenly and pointing a finger at the speaker. “You’ll do what the Judge says.”

“Let’s make our exit quietly,” Ramsey said quietly to Janey and Ben. The three left the new Village Hall. There was pandemonium behind them.

“Aren’t we all glad not to be part of that anymore?” Ramsey asked.

“I’ll say. Once they get a bit more organized, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Village grow considerably as people find out how well it is doing,” Ben replied. “With the farm equipment and training we provided, they should be able to keep a couple of thousand acres in production, if they are careful. I saw that the section they’ve started on is already prepped for winter and a cover crop sown.”

“Yes,” Janey said. “Barry Stonehouse went all out in getting some villagers trained to use the equipment. A couple of our experienced farm hands moved to the Village to be with new girlfriends and are the core of the farm crews. With a little guidance now and then from our Farm people and the Village should have more than enough crops to sustain them and then some.”

“Didn’t know that,” Ben said. “What about stock? I haven’t really seen any signs of any.”

“They kept that operation away from the Village to avoid the smells and what not a working farm can generate.” Ramsey smiled. “Good move on their part, I think. But they have facilities for twice what we do. We’re going to have some competition with them selling food, unless the population really grows.

“We even insisted on them having sheltered barns like ours. I don’t know how many of the housing units have shelters, but I don’t think that matters much. I mean, what else could happen?”

Ben hung his head and shook it a couple of times. “Ramsey, you just don’t quit,” he said, rather chidingly. “Do not tempt fate like that.”

Ramsey just laughed and Janey smiled. They got into the Suburban and Ben got into his truck to head for their respective homes.

That short conversation came back to haunt Ben less than two years later.



3 Time Jinx - Chapter 4

Things had gone well that first winter after the Village was created. The Farm was able to provide enough food to carry the Village through until their crops came in the following fall. There was plenty of protein from the Farm’s animals and the Village’s stock operation. Things were looking good going into that next winter. The Village had grown twenty-five percent, just as Ben had suggested.

Many of the newcomers came from the local area, and even some from the city. A handful more came from much further distances. But with continued salvage and mining operations, the needs of all of them were met.

It was during that time of plenty that Ben married Lilly. She was pregnant with their first child, and Janey was pregnant with her and Ramsey’s third when disturbing news began to be heard on the various Amateur Radio bands that all the facilities monitored. It was the primary news source of the entire country.

There were, at first, isolated reports of foreign looking troops on the west coast. Shortly after each broadcast report the Amateur Radio Operator that made it was no longer able to be contacted.

Then the same thing happened on the Gulf Coast and the East Coast about the same time. Each time the reports were of non-English speaking troops. Not civilians on the move, but heavily armed troops.

Ramsey, Janey, Ben, Barry Stonehouse, and Judge Myers, now the Mayor of the Village, met at the restaurant in the Mall to discuss the situation.

Barry was quite vocal in suggesting the area put together a volunteer unit and head for the Gulf, the closest of the three incursion points. Judge Myers was almost diametrically opposed. He suggested that the newcomers be welcomed with open arms.

Ramsey and Janey didn’t say much. Ben laid out his recommendation. “I don’t think we can risk having enough people that would be a real fighting force away from the area. And I sure don’t think we should welcome the invaders. The reports we’re getting are suggesting the aggressors are not well disciplined and are committing the usual gamut of atrocities as they spread out on the coast and then move inland. I think we are going to need to add some fortifications to all the properties we have, and train a harassment force to delay and deplete the supplies and personnel of any approaching force.”

“We can’t fight an army!” protested the Judge. “There or here. We either go welcome them or head for Canada for protection.”

Barry was a bit calmer. “Okay, Ben. I get your idea of keeping our fighting ability close. That harassment team idea is a good one. We’re in fair shape at the Farm, and I know your places are partially fortified. The main things would be additional protection for the Mall and the Village.

“We could certainly use some addition shooters at the Farm that the Village can supply, and we can supply more arms and supplies to those that remain in the Village.”

“You won’t be pulling people from my Village!” Judge Myers protested. “If we do stay, and I’m not convinced we should, every person possible should protect the Village. We can let the outlaying places go and then pick up the pieces after the Army has moved through.”

“Won’t happen that way,” Barry said before Ben could. “We’re the best thing going in this entire area. They can and will make it a supply point, if we aren’t able to defeat them early on.”

“We can’t fight an Army!” the Judge roared. “They have tanks and jets and artillery and machineguns.”

“From what we’re hearing,” Ben said slowly, “though heavily armed with personal weapons, the invading forces aren’t being supported very much at all with heavier weapons. Only a few crew served weapons are being mentioned. Mostly automatic grenade launchers and heavy machine guns. There doesn’t seem to be many armored vehicles at all, and no aircraft. Maybe a mortar or two for artillery. That hasn’t been confirmed.”

“So we can fight them. Just a matter of using our people effectively?” Barry said.

“For a time,” Ben said. “It depends on their home countries intentions, and their supply chain. If the goal is to claim a foothold, then we’re probably capable of keeping a small force at bay for some time. But the Judge is right about fighting a full army. I just don’t think we’ll have to.”

Ramsey finally spoke up. “What’s the government, our government, if there is one, doing? Have you heard anything, Ben? Barry?”

“It seems some have come out of hiding and are talking big. But none of the Amateur Radio reports have given much hope that there is an effective fighting force available for a three theatre war.”

“That’s what I’m getting, too,” Barry said.

“Perhaps that’s better,” Ramsey mused, and Ben tensed up, afraid of what he might say further. And he did. “Be our luck they’ll use the only weapons they can control and keep themselves out of harms’ way. Nuke the foreign nations supporting the invasion and let the armed society of America deal with those still on our shores.”

“Aw! Ramsey!” Ben said.

“What?” Ramsey asked.

“That’s not a bad idea, actually,” Barry said. He mused for a moment and then added, “If the invasion supply lines are cut, they really won’t have much of a chance, even as many US citizens there are left.”

“I protest the use of nuclear weapons on humanitarian grounds,” said Judge Myers, suddenly full of pompous importance.

“Not our call, anyway,” Ben said. “We don’t control the nukes. I’m not sure who does. If anyone does. We’ve just never heard much from any government entity, including the military, since Nibiru. I just can’t believe all are dead. There very well could be enclaves of survivors on military bases, set up much like our own.”

“Well, I still say nukes are out. There would be nuclear winter and fallout and mutants and all kinds of disastrous things happening.” The Mayor was white, his abject fear of nuclear war obvious.

“Like I said, I don’t think it’ll happen,” Ramsey said.

“On that note,” Ben said, “I think we might as well break up this meeting and reconvene in a week, hoping to have more information by then. It’s coming up on winter. That might slow the East and West Coast invasions down some. Don’t know about the Gulf incursion.”


It didn’t take a week to find out what the outcome of the invasions would be. It happened pretty much as Ramsey had voiced it. The government, or whoever was in control of at least part of the nuclear arsenal of the US, made the decision to launch ICBMs. Either the ‘football’ was in someone’s hands, or a group had figured out how to bypass the interlocks. At any rate, the US launched.

The part that Ramsey hadn’t voiced, but Ben had feared, was the fact that the other side or sides might also still have nukes of their own. They did. And used them freely and to great effect.

The first warning of what was happening came from an Amateur Radio Operator not too far from an ICBM missile field. She reported six launches near her and then she was cut off in the middle of speaking.

Lilly happened to be the one at home, monitoring the radios when the announcement came. She immediately called Ben on the business band radio they used for semi-private communications and told him.

“Shut everything down and get into the shelter. I’m on my way. Don’t worry.”

Tears in her eyes, one hand on her swollen belly, Lilly followed the instructions Ben had recently given her. Just in case. The house was secure and she was inside the blast/fallout shelter within two minutes.

Ben switched radios after talking to Lilly. He keyed the mike on the Amateur Radio that was kept tuned to the set frequency everyone one in the general area monitored. “Attack Alert! Attack Alert! Nukes have been launched! Go to shelter immediately. Once we have more information everyone will be contacted. This is not a drill. This is not a joke. Nuclear tipped missiles, ours, are in the air. We can only expect a retaliatory response of the same thing. Head for your designated shelter!”

Dropping the mike, Ben slid to a stop at the edge of one of the Farm’s fields he’d been checking on when Lilly called. The hands that were working jumped into the back of the truck and hung on as Ben reversed direction and headed for the main Farm buildings.

Everyone jumped out and headed for their assigned shelters. Ben agonized for several long moments and then headed for the Mall instead of his house. The Cooks’ families were still in residence at the Mall apartment house. Though it had shelter, there were going to be more people than shelter spaces, with all the new people they’d accumulated.

Ramsey was there in the Suburban, arguing with Janey’s father about what they could take with them. “One bag! That’s all! Now get in the truck!”

“I won’t. We don’t know what is going on. We might be perfectly safe here.”

Ramsey turned from Janey’s father to his own. “That goes for you, too. One bag each.”

“If that geezer is staying, we’re staying. The Cooks don’t run.”

Ramsey ran his hands over his head. He saw Ben. “Ben, see if you can lend a hand, will you? They just don’t want to go. And if they do, they want to wait and take everything.”

“Not going to happen, people!” Ben yelled. “The Mall shelter has limited space and other people will need it. You’re going to the Home compound, like it or not, with one bag only.”

“You aren’t family and cannot talk to me that way,” said the elder Cook.

“This says I can,” Ben said, pulling the pistol he never seemed to be without. He fired a shot in a safe direction to make sure he had everyone’s attention. He had it. Not quite pointing the gun at anyone, but generally at everyone, the two families began to get into the vehicles. The Cooks in the Suburban and the Highland family in Ben’s truck, some in the crew cab seat and the rest and the luggage in the back.

Ben waved to a security guard still ushering people into the underground shelters under the buildings in the Mall. “We’ll be in touch!” The man waved acknowledgement and Ben gunned the pickup, following Ramsey in the Suburban. The road was kept in very good shape and the trip took only a few minutes at the high speed Ramsey and Ben were able to maintain.

When the two vehicles slid to a stop near one another, Ramsey pointed to one of the other buildings and guided the Highlands to it and the shelter attached to it. “Why aren’t we with Janey?” asked Mrs. Highland. “If that witch of her mother-in-law can be there…”

Ben cut her off. “They won’t be in the same shelter. Just like you, they’ll being directed to one of the outbuilding shelters. Only Ramsey, Janey, and the kids will be in their shelter.”

“I don’t like it,” replied Mr. Highland. “And I’ll tell you something, Sonny. You ever pull a gun on me again you’d better be ready to shoot me.”

“I was this time,” Ben said coldly. He spun on his heel and went upstairs and then ran to his truck. He made good time to his and Lilly’s place. Lilly ran into his arms when he came through the shelter blast door.

“I was so scared! What took so long?”

Ben sat her down and explained. Then he added, “We need to decide, right now, whether to go stay with Ramsey and Janey, or stay here on our own. Chances are, if there is any fallout, you’ll be giving birth right here.”

Lilly blanched. “I don’t know…”

“Well, let’s just go. No need to wonder about it…”

“No. Wait, Ben. I’m healthy, the baby is healthy, and the women in my family give birth fairly easily. I think I’d rather be here, with just you, than in a more crowded place with so many people to see about. You know Ramsey will be in those tunnels constantly, checking on everyone.”

“I know. I kind of feel bad not being there to help. But you and the baby come first and always will.”

“We’ll stay. Just hold me, please?”

Ben took Lilly into his arms and rocked her until she was asleep in his arms. He carried her to the main bedroom in the shelter and put her to bed. Her eyes were open when he turned to leave, but he kissed them closed before he left.

He spent several hours monitoring the instruments that were installed around the house and the property. No shaking of the shelter or other indication came of any nuclear warhead impacting anywhere close, but after nine hours of waiting and watching, the remote reading radiation meter needle quivered and rose off the zero peg.

Someone, somewhere to their west, had been hit with a nuke. The winds were from the west and were carrying heavy fallout. Ben could tell it was heavy because the meter swung quickly through the lower numbers and he switched it to its highest range. When Ben wrote down the three AM radiation reading he realized that the radiation had peaked and was starting to fall ever so slowly. He went to bed then, not waking Lilly, for a few hours of sleep before needing to get up and deal with the third event they were facing now. Global Thermonuclear Warfare.

Much to his surprise, Lilly was up before him. She had a cup of coffee and a warm Danish waiting on him when he came from the bathroom.

“Did you notice the radiation reading?” he asked, taking a sip of the precious liquid.

Lilly nodded. “It’s down from your last reading at three.”

“Good. Probably means we will just get the one delivery of fallout.” Ben was about to say more, but there was a loud rumbling, accompanied by the noises of things in the shelter rattling as it shook violently for several seconds.

“I spoke too soon, I think,” Ben said, setting the cup of coffee on the counter and taking a shivering Lilly into his arms.

“That had to be close, didn’t it?” Lilly asked.

“Yes. But where? We’re not near a target.”

“I heard you say once that the reason the blast shelters were built, rather than just fallout shelters was in case of a target being missed and a warhead landing close by accident.”

“That’s true. And is probably the answer. For the moment, let’s just be grateful we are safe and sound. If you want to lie back down, go ahead. I want to monitor the radiation for a while.”

“I think I will. That shake didn’t do anything good for my stomach.”

Ben watched the radiation meter for a long time. Though it climbed slightly, it didn’t jump up like it would have if the impact had been to the west of them. So it had landed somewhere in an arc from about due north of them to about due south.

It was two days before Ben hooked up a radio and called for Ramsey. He answered immediately. “You guys okay? Fell that shock after we sheltered?”

“Yeah. At least we didn’t get much more fallout from it. How’s everyone and everything there?”

“Near riots in the shelters our families are in. But we managed to avoid any bloodshed. Sometimes I wonder at how well Janey and I turned out, if I do say so myself, considering the rest of our two families.”

“Well, I know you’re glad to have them okay as not.”

“Yes. Of course. I’m just glad you aren’t afraid to pull a gun on them. Not sure I could do that.”

“Uh… You realize I wasn’t bluffing at the time?”

“I know. I also know it would have taken something totally beyond the pale for you to actually shoot one of them.”

“Good. I’m glad you understand that. Have you talked to the Farm, Mall, or Village?”

“Farm is in good shape. They got all the stock inside the barns and all the people in shelters before the fallout started. We’re one-hundred-percent clean here at the moment. There was trouble at the Mall, but Bernie said it was handled. Don’t know about the Village. Haven’t been able to contact them.”

“We’re good here,” Ben said. “Keep me informed. Tell Janey and the kids Lilly and I said hi.”

“You know it. Check with you at six this evening?”

“That’s the schedule.”


Time passed, slowly, for Ben, up until the time Lilly began to have labor pains. He didn’t panic. He was too competent for that, but he quickly decided training classes were not quite the same as real life situations.

Between his training and innate abilities, and Lilly’s trained coaching, Ben helped Lilly deliver a darling little girl. The first thought that came to Ben’s mind, that he spoke out loud, “We’re going to really have to watch her around the Cook boys.”

“For heaven’s sake, Ben! She was just born. I don’t think we have to worry about boys for quite some time to come.

“Yeah… Maybe… But she’s going to be beautiful, just like you, and that’s trouble.”

“Oh, Ben! You are going to be such a tough father, aren’t you? Is that why you’re crying?” Lilly laughed slightly.

Ben handed Marissa to Lilly and wiped his eyes. Lilly’s eyes followed Ben lovingly as he did the cleanup and put the medical equipment away. When he turned around to speak to ask Lilly what he needed to do now, she was sound asleep, with Marissa curled carefully in one arm.

The birth was the highlight of the shelter stay for Ben and Lilly. But their time was pleasantly spent, caring for newborn Melissa.

It was four months of the anticipated six month shelter stay when Ramsey contacted him well before the scheduled six o’clock radio check. “Trouble, Ben.”

“What’s going on, Ramsey? You guys okay?”

“Oh. Yeah. Okay here and at the Farm. But I had a talk scheduled with Bernie just now and he didn’t answer.”

“Could be any number of reasons,” Ben said. Ramsey sounded upset and Ben wanted to make sure he calmed down and didn’t do something silly. “I wouldn’t worry too much. Besides, there really isn’t much we can do about it until the radiation fades quite a bit more.”

“I was thinking of going down there to see what is wrong,” Ramsey said. It was more of a question than a statement.

Copyright 2009

[Jerry D Young]

Ben quickly responded. “No way, Ramsey! Listen to me. We go out now and we’re going to be very limited later on how much time we can spend outside. We have to conserve our exposure as much as possible. Bernie is quick on his feet. Whatever it is, he’ll handle it.”

“Yeah. I know you’re right. Janey is saying the same thing. I just don’t like being in contact. Even though we wanted the Village to be independent, I’m still worried about all of them. There hasn’t been any contact with them since this started. Not even through the Mall.”

“It is out of our hands,” Ben said. “We might push it a couple of days, but don’t plan on leaving shelter for at least another month, unless something life and death comes up. And don’t even think about going out on your own.”

“No. No. I guess I won’t do that. Janey would skin me alive.”

“Good.” Lilly was signaling Ben and he added, “Lilly wants to talk to Janey, Ramsey.”

“Okay. Here she is.”

Ben checked the radiation level and updated the earliest date they could leave the shelters without getting too much radiation for long term safety. While the plan was to wait until the level was down to less than 0.1r, Ben was willing to risk a couple of hours out of the shelter when the level went below 0.5r.

The two men tried every day to raise the Mall by radio. When the radiation at both places dropped below the 0.5r reading, two anxious wives watched their husband suit up in Tyvek coveralls, respirators, rubber boots and gloves, then leave the protection of their respective shelters. They didn’t like it, but they understood it. Just the same as they did the addition of a rifle and pistol to the equipment.

Ben looked around his place after leaving the house. Everything looked the same as it had through the cameras with which he’d checked every day. “Should be decontaminating now,” he muttered.

When Ramsey pulled up in the Suburban a couple of minutes later, he and Ben discussed the situation and decided to each take in their own vehicle, for safety. They weren’t going to chance getting stranded.

Ben followed Ramsey down the road toward the Mall. As the made the last gentle curve before reached the side Mall entrance, the fact that much of the Village had burned was visible. But the Mall was their first priority.

Ramsey drove through the open side gate, a frown on his face. Like Ben following him, he saw that the gate had been yanked from its frame. The semi truck still sat where it stopped, the chain running from the front bumper to the remains of the gate.

Inside the security fence now, the two saw half a dozen bodies already badly decomposed and ravaged by animals. Cautiously they drove up to the Mall office, avoiding running over any of the bodies.

Both men reacted with rifles when someone stepped through the broken glass of the front door of the office. It was Bernie, in normal clothing. “Saw you coming!” he said. “Hurry up!”

“You go, Ramsey. I’m going to stand guard.”

Ramsey nodded and hurried after Bernie. He picked up a box of radio gear from the passenger seat of the Suburban and took it with him.

Rifle in hand, Ben kept scanning the area for danger, while occasionally looking toward the remains of the Village. There was no movement anywhere.

The fifteen minutes Ben was on guard seemed interminable to him. But Ramsey did come out and waved him over. “Let’s get back home. I’ll fill you in at your place.”

Ben would have preferred to find out what had happened right now, but it would be safer to get back under protection.

Ramsey led the way again, driving at a slightly reduced pace than he’d come down the road. At Ben’s the two men parked the vehicles in the earth sheltered garage, decontaminated, and went down to the shelter.

Ramsey got a big hug from Lilly, and ooh’ed and ah’ed over Marissa for a couple of minutes. But he could see Ben fidgeting and finally walked over to the communications desk in the shelter and sat down. Lilly was occupied with the baby, but Ramsey kept his voice down as he explained what he’d learned from Bernie.

“It was bad, Bernie said, Ben. They were doing okay when the intruder alarm sounded. There was trouble in the Village and a bunch of people wanted entrance into the Mall shelters. The radiation was still really high, and the Mall had already taken in several people from the Village who hadn’t incorporated shelters into their housing, and the shelters there were wouldn’t let them in.

“Apparently things were mostly okay in the Village. Bernie still doesn’t know what exactly happened, but what he does know is there was a big fire and it drove a bunch of people out of their shelters and over to the Mall.

“You should have seen the haunted look in Bernie’s eyes. They couldn’t let anymore in, except for six children and babies. They had to turn the others away. Even letting in the six, there was gunplay when the parents tried to force their way inside, too. Then it got ugly and one of the Villagers tried to burn them out of the shelter. It didn’t make sense to Bernie and it doesn’t make sense to me. Why try to destroy the shelter you’re trying to get into?”

“People go crazy when they’re scared for their lives. It’s like that episode of ‘The Twilight Zone’ when there was a false alarm and the same kind of choices had to be made,” Ben replied.

“I guess so. At any rate, these shelters, as you know, aren’t like ours. They are somewhat vulnerable to attack. Bernie took a team outside, guns drawn and fought off the group before they could do more harm. He doesn’t know how many they injured, but the dead were left where they lay, and Bernie and his people took up shelter again.

“Unfortunately, two of the babies died from the amount of radiation they received while outside of shelter. The other four all got really sick. Bernie and his people showed only the initial signs of low dose poisoning, even no longer than they were out.”

Ramsey shook his head. “I don’t think Bernie will ever be the same. He wants out of the leadership position when we leave the shelters.”

“I can understand that,” Ben said. “I’m not sure what I would have done in the same situation.”

“The exact same thing I would and Bernie did,” Ramsey replied softly.

With a nod, Ben said, “Probably. Well. We’ll get the rest of the story after we can leave the shelter for longer periods and check on the Villagers.”

“Okay. I’m going to head back home. Call Janey and tell her I’m on my way.”

“We will,” Lilly said. She had Marissa in one arm and held out a DVD to Ramsey. “Here. She might want to see some pictures of the baby.”

“Oh, yeah! She’ll be pleased. I didn’t think to bring any of Chester for you.”


The radiation finally fell low enough for people to go out and begin the decontamination work around the Home compound, Ben’s, the Farm, and the Mall. At Ben’s and Ramsey’s suggestion, those from the Mall stayed away from the Village. No one was stirring over there and Ben and Ramsey wanted to be the first on the scene, if possible.

That day finally came and the two men drove down and checked with Bernie. None of his radio reports had indicated any trouble from those in the Village. Wearing their protective gear, and well armed, Ben and Ramsey walked across the highway and onto Village property. They headed for the Village Hall. It was still standing and they knew it had a good shelter.

Like those in the Mall, it wasn’t really set up for high security. With Ramsey covering him, Ben went down the stairs into the basement of the building and pressed the intercom button. No one answered. He hammered on the door with the Stanley 18” Entry Bar he had on his belt.

“It’s Ben! Open up!”

The speaker on the intercom came alive. No one spoke for a moment, but Ben could hear background noise. One voice came through. “Don’t open the door! It’s mutants! They’ll eat us alive!”

“Open the flipping door,” Ben growled into the intercom. “I’m not a mutant or a zombie. It is safe to come out now for short periods of time. We want to know what happened here in the Village.”

Ben heard the latches release and back up slightly, bringing his rifle off sling, and holding it ready. His eyes narrowed when he found himself staring into the barrel of a pistol in the hand Hicks. “Lower the weapon, Hicks.”

Ben didn’t like the look in the man’s eyes, but after a moment’s hesitation, Hicks brought the gun down to his side.

Ben lifted his mask to show Hicks it was him. His nose twitched. There was a terrible stench coming from the open door. A crazed looking Judge Myers edged up to the door and looked at Ben. “You aren’t a mutant!”

“No. There are no mutants, man! Get a hold on reality. And what is that stench? This shelter had a good vent system.”

“We keep it closed most of the time,” the Judge said. “They were going to pour gasoline down it and burn us out!”

“We open it up when the headaches get too bad,” Hicks said. He was looking past Ben, hollow eyed. “You sure there aren’t mutants and zombies?”

“Definitely not,” Ben said.

“Is there someone that can take out the bodies?” came a voice from behind Hicks and the Judge.

“What bodies?” Ben asked.

“The dead ones. The ones we had to kill. They were radioactive.”

Ben felt more than a little sick. “Everyone come out. Get some fresh air and you, Judge, and you, Hicks, tell us the story. The truth. We’ll be checking with everyone.”

Slowly a handful of people followed Ben upstairs and outside. “Call the clinic and get a team over here. Suited up. Same with a burial crew.”

Ramsey nodded and lifted a walky-talky.

Ben’s eyes followed several of the people. “Talk about zombies!” he whispered to himself.

With additional help on the way, Ben and Ramsey cornered Judge Myers and Hicks. “Now give,” Ben said. “What happened here?”

“It was terrible!” cried the Judge, blinking rapidly in the bright sunlight. “People wanted in and we couldn’t let them. They went away but some of us were already contaminated. They got sick. We had to kill them, don’t you see? When we killed them no one else got sick! We cut off their heads and put wooden stakes through their hearts so they would come back as vampires or zombies.”

Ben and Ramsey were stunned. “Wait here,” Ramsey said. He and Ben went down into the shelter and looked around. Both gagged and had to hurry back outside. They had their masks down and couldn’t smell the carnage, but they’d seen it.

“Do you know about the fires and what happened to the others?” Ramsey asked the Judge and Hicks.

Both men looked away, shaking their heads. It was obvious that they did know and weren’t talking. Why they wouldn’t, after to admitting to what they’d already done gave Ben a chill.

The clinic team and labor team showed up and Ben took them to one side and explained what was going on. With the first set of survivors in the hands of the medical technicians, Ben and Ramsey headed for the next building they knew had shelter. It was burned to the ground. One whiff with their masks lifted told both men that people had died inside. It would take days to dig out the place, if they even decided to do so.

They found two more buildings in the same condition. Each one was a building with an underground shelter. The closest ones to the Village Hall.

They found their next set of live people then. It was a single family dwelling and the man must have been keeping watch. He stepped out with his hands up as Ben and Ramsey approached the house.

“You Americans?” he asked, his voice quivering.

“Yes,” Ben said, lifting his mask and dropping it to his chest. “It’s Ben. You know me.”

“Oh, thank the Lord!” The man fell to his knees and began to pray.

“Are you and your family all right?” Ben asked.

“Sick,” replied the man. “The quake half demolished our shelter. I think we got too much radiation.”

“I think you’ll live,” Ramsey said. “The doctors can look at you. Do you have food left?”

“Not much.”

Ramsey and Ben exchanged a quick look. “Well, we’ll make sure you have enough until everyone gets back on their feet,” Ben said.

“Oh, thank you! Thank you!” The man went back to praying as his family edged out of the house. When they looked at it more closely, Ben and Ramsey could tell it had shifted of the foundation.

“Some of these places obviously aren’t up to code,” Ben said dryly.

“Good point. Where do you think that one hit that did this?” Ramsey asked.

“East, maybe south east. We’re a couple of miles closer here than we are up the road.”

Another building had collapsed completely. When Ben called out, never expecting a reply, he was shocked to hear one.

“Help! We can’t get out!”

“I’ll get the truck and some people to help,” Ben said and took off running back to the Mall.

Ramsey carefully began to check on what was solid and what wasn’t. It was going to be tricky to get the remains of the house moved off the basement shelter without collapsing it completely.

“Don’t worry,” he yelled to the occupants. “We’ve got help coming. Anyone hurt?”

“Just some scrapes and all,” came the hollered response. “Might be infected.”

Ramsey lifted the walky-talky and asked for another medical team to come with Ben.

Ben didn’t come alone. Not only did he have a crew to help, he had three, plus three nurses and a doctor. The extra two crews had a Unimog apiece. Ben was in his truck. Sounds of chainsaws soon filled the air, along with the hum of vehicle mounted winches as the debris was cut loose and pulled free.

The work went on into the night, as several different places had the same problem. A few were a gory mess, with bodies long dead and badly decayed. Ben finally called the work off. Anyone still alive would still be alive the next day, and the dead weren’t going anywhere.


It was three grisly days of work before Ramsey and Ben took a break and had a chance to talk to Judge Myers and Hicks again. Both still looked a bit haunted, but both also showed some of the same arrogance and superiority they had before the attack.

Ben and Ramsey tried to get them to explain what had happened and why. Only one of the fires in the Village had been from natural causes. The others were set from outside. “In your area, you are the only shelter that wasn’t fire bombed,” Ben said. “How do you explain that?”

Both men looked away for a moment, but Hicks turned around and cut loose with a string of obscenities. His right hand went to the gun holstered on his hip.

“Let’s go, Ben,” Ramsey said. “This won’t get us anywhere. We’ll talk to some of the other survivors.”

“Don’t you believe what they tell you about me!” The Judge was almost screaming. “We did what we had to do! We’re innocent of any wrongdoing!”

It took a month before Ben and Ramsey were able to piece together the sequence of events that led up to the situation they had found. The villagers that lived, that had their homes destroyed, took up residence in the homes of those that had died. As they settled in and some of the trauma of the recent events began to fade, several of them went to Ben privately to tell him their story.

Ben could understand why many of the people had been reluctant to talk at first, but now felt the real need to get things out of their system. It was an ugly story. Ben decided not to tell Janey or Lilly what he’d learned. He took Ramsey aside one day and told him.

“You won’t like it any more than I do,” Ben said, handing Ramsey a cup of coffee. “But we have to decide how to deal with it. As more of the story becomes known, if we haven’t dealt with it, we’re going to have serious problems, I’m afraid.”

Ramsey sipped the coffee and nodded, his eyes on Ben. He’d never seen Ben look the way he did. Like a caged tiger.

“It was primarily Judge Myers and Hicks. Most of the others protested their actions. The numbers of who protested and who helped don’t add up. Everyone said they protested, but that a handful helped. Some of the ones that are saying so must have actually helped. But I don’t think we can take action on everyone involved. But Hicks and Judge Myers have to be made to face up to the charges others are bringing against them.”

Ramsey let Ben continue at his own pace.

“It apparently started right off the bat. Both the Judge and Hicks tried to limit the number of people coming into the Village Hall shelter. They were simply overwhelmed. Things weren’t too bad, at first, despite the crowding. The Judge and Hicks took advantage of having control of the keys to the food storeroom.

“They would dole out rations only when enough people complained and it looked like they would riot. No one knows for sure how much food the Judge and Hicks were eating, but as time passed it became obvious they were getting much more than the rest.

“That’s when things began to get nasty. To compound the matter, both men were getting paranoid, above and beyond the threats of violence because of the short rations. No one knows, or is telling, how the rumors of zombies and mutants got started. But the Judge and Hicks jumped on the chance to use them as fear factors to try and keep people docile and willing to do their bidding.

“The real problem developed when, for whatever reason, Hicks and the Judge began to actually believe there were real zombies and mutants outside the shelter. So, despite the efforts of some of the shelter inhabitants, Hicks led an armed team outside. That’s where it gets a bit sketchy.

“Were they fired on? Reports vary. Did they fire on other people from other shelters? Yes. Not only did they fire weapons, they literally lit the places on fire with gasoline bombs.”

Ramsey’s breath hissed between his teeth.

“Yeah. No real reason why they stopped where they did. Fear of the radiation, is my best guess. But they hurried back to the shelter. They almost weren’t let inside. Hicks was the only one that had worn any protective gear, since there was a limited amount and it was being reserved for him and the Judge, for later.

“A couple of those that had gone outside began to complain of radiation sickness symptoms. It’s doubtful if they’d received enough of a dose to be more than a little nausea. Hicks either didn’t show any signs, or hid them well.

“At the Judge’s rather hysterical rampage against zombies and mutants, all those that had gone on the raid, except Hicks, were killed. Mostly by Hicks, apparently, though I think some of the others might have lent a hand, though none are admitting to the fact.

“Now, afraid their raid might have stirred up the zombies and mutants, who would use gasoline bombs in their air intakes, the intakes were closed off. Every few hours, out of sheer need, they were opened and the blowers run for a while, but not long. “We came down about two weeks after they started closing the vents.

“We have to decide what to do about the Judge and Hicks, at least. Everyone involved is willing to implicate them, but not one another. The Judge and Hicks have changed their story from what happened having been necessary. Now they are claiming that nothing really happened. It’s all in the minds of the others. That they were the ones that tried to keep things civilized.”

“You don’t believe it?” Ramsey asked when Ben fell silent.

“Not for a New York minute. Hicks and the Judge are the guilty parties. Just maybe it was temporary dementia or something. But with the way they are acting, they know what they did and are trying to divert attention away from themselves. A couple of people have told me the two are now claiming it was you and I that caused all the problems. No explanation as to how, of course. Just that we’re responsible.”

“You’ve got to be kidding! Who in their right mind would think something like that?”

“The problem, Ramsey, is some of these people are not, at the moment, really in their right minds. Some may never get over it. But I think the community can get past it with the banishment of the Judge and Hicks.”

“You think that would do it? And you think they’d go? And you don’t think others would sneak them food and other supplies?”

“The Judge will go. He’d rather do that than risk someone killing him in the middle of the night. Hicks… Hicks will probably try to fight it out. He’s been gunning for me from early on. He won’t miss this chance to kill me and try to get a real position of power. Take a look at both men’s eyes. The Judge’s seem haunted. Hicks look like there is a fire burning inside.”

“You make Hicks trying to kill you sound as if it is nothing,” Ramsey remarked.

Ben shrugged and shook his head. “I’ll simply deal with the situation if it does come up. I’m not going to just kill him outright, though. If I thought it possible to get a consensus to hang them both I’d do that.”

“You don’t think we can?”

“No. It’d be too difficult to set it up and follow through. Only the Villagers would be involved, and I think there is enough shared guilt for what happened, even among those that had nothing to do with it, that they would feel like they were giving themselves the sentence.”

Nodding, Ramsey agreed. “I see what you mean. Better to stand with the ones you know than those that could eject you.”

“Something like that, yes. What do you think we should do?” Ben fell silent and watched his friend mull over the possibilities.

“I think you’re right. Banishment will be a powerful punishment, especially with the Villagers. They’ve already run from places that couldn’t support them. I know how many told me how grateful they were that they were allowed to stay here.”

“I’ll get a meeting set up. I’m not sure if you should be there. I don’t want to risk both of us if Hicks goes wild.”

“I’ll be there. I’m not going to let you take this all on your own.”

“Ramsey, I…”

“Ain’t gonna happen, dude. Leave it alone.”

“Okay. But you make sure you’re ready for anything.”

“Oh, you can bet Janey will see to that.”

Ben frowned. “Yeah. Lilly isn’t going to like it much, either.”

“Have to do it, Ben, much as I hate you going under the gun.”

“One of those ‘A Man’s Gotta Do What A Man’s Gotta Do’ things.” that ended the conversation and each went their own way. Ramsey to explain to Janey what was going on, and Ben to set things up and then face Lilly with what he was planning.

The meeting was set for a Wednesday. It was approaching winter again, but still early on, that day. The weather suited the events. Cloudy, cold, and windy. It was threatening rain or snow, despite still being September. Fears of nuclear winter were growing, and that Wednesday they were the second most important topic of discussion.

Ramsey and Ben entered the Village Hall separately and stayed on opposite sides of the room. Ben had made sure the milling crowd had seen him bring in two large backpacks, obviously heavily loaded.

“What’s going on here?” the Judge asked when he entered. “I didn’t call a meeting. I don’t appreciate being approached on the street by some nobody and told to be here.”

Ben’s eyes went to the young man that had volunteered for the job of informing Myers and Hicks of the meeting. He flushed slightly, but did nothing.

“It’s about something the majority here thinks you might not want to handle on your own. Either of you,” Ben said easily, stepping up to stand by the desk that Judge Myers and Hicks were sitting behind, along with three other council members.

“We’ll handle Village business. Just like we always do,” Hicks growled. “And what’s with those packs? Someone going somewhere? You, I hope.” He grinned a feral grin.

“We’ll get to the packs in a moment. For now, I just need to present a few facts to the population of the Village so they can vote on a proposal.”

“You aren’t a member of this Village!” Judge Myers said, banging his gavel. “Out of order. You are instructed to leave…”

He was shouted down by the crowd. Ben simply started talking when things began to quiet down. Almost immediately Hicks began to protest. And again the crowd demanded to hear Ben.

Ben gave an abbreviated synopsis of what he’d told Ramsey. Absolute quiet fell over the hall. Until the Judge and Hicks both jumped to their feet and began shouting. The other members of the council made themselves scarce.

This time Ben didn’t wait for quiet. He shouted, “I’m calling for a vote to banish these two men from the Village and this area for what they have done! Who is in support of this?”

Other than Hicks and the Judge still trying to get their own stories across, the room fell silent again and every right hand in the crowd went up. Ben turned to the two men. Both were silent now, like the rest of the group.

“There is food and supplies for two weeks in those packs. Take them and go. And don’t come back. You’re banished from these parts for ever.”

The Judge was frantic. Panic was in his eyes. “You can’t! I’ll die out there! Mutants and Zombies! Poisoned food and water! You can’t!” he screamed.

Three of the larger Villagers, close to the stage, ran up and grabbed the Judge. Two more grabbed one of the packs and they managed to get it on Myers. He was forced to the door and literally shoved out into the slowly falling snow.

His screams turned to whimpers and he tried to come back inside, but the Villagers blocked the way, and then even began to throw pebbles and stones from the street at him. Finally he turned and trudged away down the street.

Inside the Hall things were tense. Only the shuffle of feet as those outside returned. No one made a move to do to Hicks what they’d done to the Judge. Hicks was staring menacingly at Ben. “You aren’t forcing me to leave like that Lilly-livered old man. I’ll kill you with my bare hands and then gut you open for the ravens to feast upon.”

“No, Hicks. I’m not going to fight you. Put on the pack and take off. It’s more than you deserve for what you and the Judge did.”

“I’m not leaving! Free your holster. I’m going to give you a chance, but I’m going to put a stop to this right now.”

“I don’t need to free up my hip holster, Hicks. Take the pack and go. I will kill you if I must. Look. I’ll even give you a bit of gold and silver to grease some palms so others might take you in.”

Pretty much everyone that had seen Ben pay for anything knew he kept some coins in his front shirt pocket. When he shifted the jacket he was wearing slightly it seemed obvious that he was going to take the mentioned coins out of his shirt. Hicks knew it, too. He began to draw his pistol, fancying himself something of an old time fast draw artist.

His eyes got wide, and then closed tightly when Ben brought a pistol from the shoulder holster under the jacket and put a bullet into Hicks’ heart, before Hicks could complete his draw. There were gasps and awed looks as Ben re-holstered the gun in the shoulder holster. “Told him I didn’t need to free up my hip holster.” He reached into his shirt pocket, took out a few coins, bounced them in his hand, and then put them back, adding, “Guess he doesn’t need these now.”

“It’s over with, people,” Ramsey said loudly. “A couple of you take the body out. We’ll bury it tomorrow. I’d suggest you get together tomorrow, after the funeral, and choose another Mayor. I’d suggest you not get another henchman. You really don’t need one.”

Everybody jumped when the sound of a shot rang out, outside. Ben was the first one to the door. He saw someone run around the corner of a building and took out after whoever it was. But by the time he got to that building, only footsteps filling with snow were to be seen.

The lone shot from a high powered rifle had taken Myers in the forehead, above one eye, killing him instantly. One of the people that got to him first said Myers had tears frozen on his cheeks.

Ramsey was carrying the pack from the Village Hall and Ben stripped the one from the Judge, leaving the body for the Villagers to attend to. They went to where they were parked and Ben, who had provided the packs, supplies, and equipment, put the one he was carrying in the back of his truck. Ramsey added the one he was carrying. The snow was coming down harder.

“Well, guess that wraps things up. I mean what…”

“No, no, no! Don’t even say anything, Ramsey! You’re a jinx when it comes to disasters. Just smile and nod and we’ll be on our ways back to our wives and families.”

Ramsey smiled and climbed into the Suburban. He rolled the window down. “There’s no such thing as a jinx or things coming in threes. You’re just paranoid.”

“Yeah. I may be paranoid, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t someone, somewhere, out there, out to get me.” Ben got in the pickup and started it. He didn’t look back to see Ramsey laughing.


No one ever admitted to shooting Judge Myers as he huddled against a building not far from the Village Hall. But the events of that night ended the situation in the Village. People began to get back to reasonable lives in the post apocalypse world.


End ********

Copyright 2009
Jerry D Young