Dark Days Rough Roads (58 page)

For the
most part everyone was in rather good shape as far as health or injuries went.
David was a little worse off. He would heal up ok, but the leg injury would
definitely leave him with a limp and the cold winter days would remind him of
the injury. The loss of the leg would have been much worse, so he was lucky.
Both he and his son Bobby would have the battle scars to go along with their
stories. Haliday teased Bobby saying it was Bobby’s lobotomy scar.

Diana was
the one who would get mad at him. Her arm was sticking out in a makeshift brace
so her collar bone would heal. She had about six weeks of being in the
contraption, according to the doctor. Roger would walk up and try to hang some
of his laundry on it to dry. Everyone but she thought it was funny. Once he
taped a piece of jerky on it and she couldn’t reach it to take it off. Since
she’s a vegan it drove her nuts.

Alan’s
face had become infected, but the doctor got it cleaned out and he changed the
antibiotics. The doctor had cut a little tissue away in the process, which was
enough to leave a reminder every day when he shaved. Alan thought they would
nickname him Scarface but they called him Gash instead. He insisted on Scarface
once, but Roger pointed toward Alan’s pants and said in his best Al Pacino
voice, “Is that, your little friend?” He emphasized ‘little’ and Alan never
mentioned it again as they all had broken into laughter.

Alan’s
wife Nancy would set Elizabeth, Bobby, Matthew and Teresa down and home school
them a little bit each day. No one had any idea if or when school would ever be
back in session. They could not afford to have the kids not learn the basics
and whatever else they could teach them. They would all have chores to do in
order to help out.

After a
couple of days, Mike, Linda, Mark and Lisa were packed and ready to go. Roger
made sure they had ammo and sent a couple of welfare buckets along with them
even though Mark insisted they had brought some of their own and had enough at
his dad’s, not to mention what Haliday previously left. Roger told them if they
needed to that they could come back, bring his parents and they would co-op the
house across the street or here at the cabin. Gas would be at a premium and
traveling back and forth would be hard, even if it was only about 20 miles.

Karen,
Rich, and Bev settled into routines playing solitaire, puzzle books, reading
and doing their share around the cabin. They seemed the least affected by the
change so far. They’d miss their Kindles and casino trips and online games, but
that was something they hadn’t had all their lives and could do without. The
kids were the ones who would be suffering technological withdrawals.

Dawn was
overseeing the horses and their care. When Diana was healed, she would help too.
They did a lot of reading all of the time as it was, so they would pop on the computer
and read or play games. The vegan and vegetarian cooking they were used to
would help the group out when meat became scarce, and would it extend their
current stores.

Sarah
took charge of cooking and kitchen duties. Everyone helped and took turns
assisting her. Sarah had long been resigned to the fate of Erik, but didn’t
mention it at all. Elizabeth was told he was still out helping people and she
was content with that. Eventually they would plan on placing a marker by an
empty grave to put him to rest in their hearts.

Kevin and
Randy used the ham to keep in touch with their parents and their other brother
in Texas. It was still puzzling that they had electricity, but as time went on
things were made clearer as to why that was. They kept busy playing video
games, chopping wood and getting more familiar with the toys Roger had around.
They were also learning new tactics just in case they were needed.

Blake and
Kayla always joined Kevin and Randy to keep their skills updated and fresh.
Surprisingly, they were still maintaining nothing but a friendship, which was
fine with Roger. He wasn’t ready for any crib lizards to be crawling around.
This was quite a mix of people here, but they all worked together rather well
too.

Roger had
called Rob to see how everything was going. He asked them about the prisoners
and what had happened with the trials. Rob started with the sheriff who was the
militia commander. He was still in fairly bad shape and they put him under
house arrest. When they went to check on him the next day, they found him hanging
from a rope inside his garage with a note that just said, ‘I’m sorry.’ He would
have been hung anyway.

Chuck had
taken over as the chief law enforcement official for the area. He had made sure
each and every one of the prisoners was tried. Most were assigned to hard labor
on chain gangs performing burials, clearing the roads of cars, chopping wood, and
anything they needed done. If they didn’t work one day, they didn’t eat. The
children and a few of the wives were released.

Some were
allowed to leave the area. Presumably they met with the ones who were waiting
for their husbands who had launched the last attack on the south end of the
airport. Five people were hung for their involvement with the militia, the
torture of the police chief and the other prisoners. It was later found out
that several citizens were summarily executed for almost no reason by the
militia men.

Brad and
a few of the veterans in the area were put in charge of forming a regional
defense coalition group. Haliday made it clear to them to avoid using the term
militia at all costs. They had quite a complement of equipment with what they had
seized, and had already. As word spread they were able to bolster their ranks.
Haliday and Mark would be helping them with training.

Rob asked
Haliday how they had been so fortunate as to take out the militia like they
did. Haliday told him it was one thing to put on a uniform and call yourself
something and it was another thing to gather the people, to educate them, to
train them, to keep up their skill sets and that this was proof of that
explanation. “Rob,” he said, “you can want in one hand and crap in the other
and I can tell you which one will fill up first. You have to not only want it,
but do what it takes to make it happen as well.”

Rob was
heading up the interim governing body and he would see to it that some proper
elections were held and people put in place to help transition the area into
the new rule. Rob would end up doing a great job getting that in place and
getting the area to work together through the crisis. He was their best bet.

A couple
of weeks later Haliday was at the ham again. He had made quite a few contacts
across the entire U.S. The urban areas were in full crisis now. Just about
everyone was beyond hungry. They were now starving. People were pulling out all
the stops and doing what they needed to survive. Looting became scavenging,
self-defense bordered murdered. It was utter chaos.

He took
notes on all of it. His map was just unbelievable to look at. Alaska and Hawaii were fully untouched. Most of California was operational along the coast, as was Oregon and Washington State. The southern border, like he discovered earlier, was intact.
The lower third of Florida was intermittent with functionality. It was almost
as if those areas had been untouched in order to preserve the border control of
the country.

A lot of Canada was fine with the exception of the southern parts of the country bordering the U.S. The U.S. east coast was devastated though as well. It was a weird puzzle to try and
figure out. He had heard most of the navy had been fully recalled and had taken
station off the coasts. Most of the military overseas remained there however.
The U.S. was the only country really hit and nobody could explain it. No
country or terror group claimed responsibility.

Still,
there was no major military movement from the bases, and no federal
mobilization of FEMA, DHS or any other agency. There was actually very little
from the government in the form of communications. Haliday went over his notes
again. He made some radio calls across the U.S. and got some more answers. He
heard information from some other countries as well. He started piecing more
together.

It all
made more sense now. He had heard bits and pieces, but it was clearer now. He never
thought this would have happened. He called the group together for a meeting.
This is what he said. “We all know the SHTF. I think I know who took the dump
and I think I know who turned the fan on high. There’s a lot of manure being
spread around. I don’t think spring is going to be bright and cheerful.

“It seems
we have a civil war here in the U.S. Not north versus south, but large groups
comprised of the military, the government and some other group calling
themselves the Constitution Restoration Army. Right now with all of the
propaganda, we don’t know who is with whom, or who is good or bad. Not sure
which of them popped the nukes or EMP’s over our own country to cripple us, but
we’ll find out eventually. We have a lot of work to do people. I have a feeling
we aren’t out of the woods yet.”

Afterword:

 Although
this is a work of fiction, it is meant to demonstrate how easily the world we
live in can be impacted by those events which we can not control. This is not
to show you what
will
happen, but instead it is meant to show you what
can
happen. The trigger event depicted here has become far too real of a threat in
today’s technological age. There also exists, however, far too many events that
could occur with the same basic ending result.

The
actions of the characters in this story may seem far reaching to most. What we
need to ask ourselves before judging these actions is a simple question. What
will you do to ensure the safety, security and survival of you and your family?
When mass disasters occur it is true that the best in people will shine
through. It is unfortunate, however that others will use the opportunity to
show their worst.

Religious
faiths around the globe teach preparedness to one extent or another. From a few
simple days to a year or more. The government suggests food, water, shelter and
first aid supplies for a minimum of three days for each person in a household;
pets included. Disasters of all magnitudes can happen within seconds. Are you
ready?

About the author:

Matthew D.
Mark was born and raised in Michigan, is a U.S. Army veteran, former police
officer and has worked in private security. He has instructed in self defense,
chemical deterrent and force continuum. He enjoys his family, outdoor
activities and firearms as his main hobbies.

Watch for the sequel,
Dark Days Troubled Times