The Free Republic of Texas 2015 (20 page)

Somebody had armed the rioters with weapons not openly available on the streets regardless of what the fools in DC thought; the police were outgunned in some areas and suffered for it.

Across the entire nation as this was going on, hundreds of thousands of people were getting out while they could, Martial law was declared and the National Guard was called out, a lot of them were engaged in quelling the war on the southern border.

We could only watch it for now as it spread, and one thing was clear it was coming our way, winter in the East was harsh and as the rioters got better organized they would realize they had to head south to stay alive.

We called a meeting of the entire ranch crew, when it started Jody got up one the tail gate of a truck and began to speak.

I looked around at all the faces of the people who had gathered here for just this time, most were young people in their early 20’s that came here to work on green life styles and to give back something, which is a nice thought but not always possible, all were scared and confused.

Jody spoke the plain truth about how the ranch came to be, what the plan was and why we felt it was needed, and that it now looked like everything we had planned for was at the door or coming fast, he explained his thoughts of keeping this area from falling back to the dark ages and how we were going to do it, he talked for almost an hour, then he asked for questions.

At first nobody spoke then when one young lady started they all took to shouting, Jody just stood there not moving not saying a word, and they slowly became quiet, he then looked at the girl who spoke first and calling her by name asked her to repeat her question.

She asked if her parents would be welcome to live here if they wanted to, Jody never blinked, he just said ok, everybody listen up, and this applies to all of you. If you have family who wish to shelter here there are requirements to be met, first what are their life skills? What are they trained to do? If they have no skills and aren’t able to do the work we will all have to do to stay alive then no they will not be allowed in, I’m sorry but that’s the way it has to be.

The outbreak of voices trying to argue went on for several minutes while Jody just stood there and waited. When it died down he looked around and said folks, this is not a democracy, it a dictatorship, I’m the dictator, so is Sam, and so is all the members of the committee, but I’m the last word. So, a question was asked and an answer was given, if the answer goes against the grain then any who wish to can leave now, today, let me know and your pay will be in cash with a bonus for your time and good works, but understand this, the world outside of this area is going crazy, thousands are dying, more will follow, and once you leave you will not be allowed back in, this is in the interest of safety for the whole group.

It is our belief that the entire world will collapse as far as civilization goes, but here in this spot those who remain will keep the light of hope burning and we have the means to not only survive but to flourish and bring aid to those close to us and in time we will move out across the country side bringing that light of hope to all who wish to see it, and we will kill all those who wish to turn it off.

What you see happening right now will only get worse, in time it will spread to every corner of the country and globe, I know how you feel about your family’s, but if they can’t contribute to the general good then we just have no room for them.

This place did not just happen over night nor did it just spring into being with help from the Government, it happened because Sam and I and a few others had a dream and we put our hearts and souls and fortunes into it. We will not allow the light of freedom and liberty and civilization die.

Now it’s up to you, come to me one at a time with a written list of who you want to bring in and what they can bring to improve the place and we will discuss it, but I mean only your immediate family, mother, father, sisters and brothers that’s it unless you have an uncle or aunt who has a really needed skill.

With that he walked away leaving them all talking at once, it was going to be interesting to see how it went. In the mean time we had other things to do, the mall was closed to only locals, and that included the fuel pumps, pre placed logs were pulled from behind the mall  and placed around the front , each connected to the next by heavy chains, each log was big, too big for a vehicle to cross over and then rebar spikes were hammered into the logs pointing outward, then a man with a power grinder put sharp points on them. It would slow down most anything.

The call had gone out to all the store employees and they were told to head for the ranch and the mall, we had a lot of work to do and damn little time to do it, after they started rolling in and parking in back they were put to work.

All the windows and doors were boarded over with one inch plywood with narrow slits in it, and then sand bags were placed against the walls inside up to chest high, all were pre-filled and on pallets ready to be brought out just for this purpose.

In 4 hours time the mall was as secure as we could make it and that was pretty good, any attackers had no place to shelter except behind their own vehicles, and then would be flanked from the ends by people who were going to be using armored trucks to do  so.

As soon as the Mall secured John and Sally told the employees that it was time to head home and load up everything they wanted to keep and bring it to the ranch, the dorms were now open and they could start moving in.

After they left John and Bob settled down out front to answer questions from the locals who were starting to arrive in panic for last minute items they needed, when told the Mall was closed there was some grumbling but nobody was rowdy or loud, most understood and moved on to other places, some seemed to want to hang around but were asked to move on.

Soon Sheriffs cars were racing past with lights on headed to something, the scanners proved to be invaluable, it seemed that people were pouring out of the city’s and the Sheriff had decided to stop all traffic into the county except for residents or family members who were identified by residents and who were willing to take them in, road blocks were set up at places where traffic could be detoured around the county, nobody was coming in.

The folks in the county now understood why they had a Sheriff’s reserve dept with over 100 trained officers, and no body was complaining…yet.

The news was all bad and getting worse if that were possible, the rioting in the major Texas city’s was as bad or worse then anyplace else, all were burning, looting was rampant, old scores were being settled between the inner city gangs, all the gangs were based on race, and soon the gang wars spilled over into the public and from there turned into all out race wars, people were fighting anybody not of their skin color, those who tried to stop it were killed, once started it wasn’t going to stop until only one side was left, and as they fought the city’s burned down around them, many waited too long to run and were trapped,  still fighting as they were swept up in flames.

The news stations still on the air were getting fewer by the hour, the last we heard was that there had been an all out attack on the White House and the other seats of power in Washington DC, from out of no where terrorist armed with heavy weapons attacked, firing RPG rockets at the buildings as fast as they could reload, in less then 5 minutes the entire Government complex was burning, the Secret Service fought hard but were never really prepared to take on this kind of attack.

A Marine one chopper was seen landing and people who looked like the president and his staff ran to it and as soon as they were in it lifted off, and 

As it banked away it was hit by a ground to air missile, it exploded on contact and fell to the ground burning, no survivors, everybody watching this was stunned, how could it happen?

The seat of power of the once greatest country in the world lay in burning ruin, the leadership dead or scattered to the winds of fate.

Not all bad in and of it’s self, they had brought us to this point with their selfish ways, their willingness to be bought and their unwillingness to follow the Constitution as written by men far smarter and honorable then themselves, They had sold the nation out and had now paid the price or would in time.

Nobody could pin down the exact time that the United States died, it just  burned away almost over night, once started it didn’t go on for weeks or months, it was mostly no more then a week, most people didn’t understand that it happened but it did.

Shortly after the collapse started and all eyes were turned inward nobody noticed the old freighters that were sailing 200 miles off both coasts, and very few were aware that these ships carried the newest versions of the older Scud missiles, in all 4 were fired about 200 miles above the US, all four carried nuke war heads that exploded causing an EMP.

Most of the country was blacked out; here and there some things still worked but for the most part the people still surviving were doing so with no power and almost nothing in the way of transportation.

All the people on the ranch could do was settle in and wait for the outcome; it would be weeks before anybody really knew anything. Jim Daniels came by in one of the vehicles that the Jonas brothers had worked on, they were working on all the Sheriff’s Dept. cars and trucks, just having the parts and the ability made it an easier job then it seemed, the way all the buildings on the ranch had been built made them  EMP proof.

It had been policy that all ranch vehicles when not in use would be parked in the protected garages, thank god for pre planning and the money to make it happen.

As it stood now our county was locked down to outside access, getting in was possible but not easy, all bridges into the county were closed, all roads with no bridges had been closed at the county line with manned barricades of deputies and trusted volunteers, Jim had been very busy and had got more done then we had thought, things in this county were going almost too well.

People that were allowed into the county told horror stories almost beyond belief , just the collapse of civilization was bad enough but it was even worse then we had thought, huge gangs were forming behind the worst kind of leaders, nobody was safe, rape and murder were the rule of the day, the outlaws had taken over the  food centers and after only a week were taking females in trade for food and booze and drugs, slavery was one of the new forms of currency, in one week  we had ceased to be  a nation of law, it was now the law of the gun and the strongest.

I believe we were all feeling guilty sitting in our area, almost untouched by the collapse of civilization yet we knew that when the last hand was played then and only then would we be able to begin the job of rebuilding.

As for the ranch it was buzzing with activity, all the gardens were producing, the green houses were now being worked mostly as herb gardens, both food and medicinal, Ellen and her clinic crew were learning all they could about natural healing and were still treating people that could get to the clinic, nobody was turned away and nobody was charged for the treatment.

When word came about somebody needing help and couldn’t make it to the clinic Ellen and a nurse would travel in one of  the armored trucks with a driver and two security people and a chase car just in case, we could not afford to lose Ellen or any of the medical staff.

A month  after the collapse Jody and I along with John and Bob took several security people and armored trucks and made a patrol of the  county along with Jim and 10 of his men, we spent 3 days covering every drivable inch of the county, talking to the people we handed out heirloom seeds and pamphlets made up covering as much survival stuff as we felt the people could absorb, the prep work done in the months before the fall was now paying off, people were digging in and doing all they could to stay alive and just knowing there was a force standing between them and the death outside their small world gave them hope.

It’s been strange here on the Ranch and even in this county, it’s like nothing happened, there is no hunger as everybody has gardens and with the growing season here in this area there really is almost no need for the green houses we built, although in what passes for winter here it is nice having fresh veggies we need with plenty to share with the elderly and shut ins who can’t do for themselves. Most folks seem to take it all in stride, yes most everybody lost family and friends but right here it was so much better.

Oh we do have problems with the gangs, and after training our own version of a home guard and an armed reaction force we have sent out patrols into the areas outside the county, after a few brushes with our patrols the bad guys wisely moved on.

Surprisingly until you get close to the major city areas it seems very peaceful, the rural folks here in Texas just hunkered down and let the worst of it blow over, we found some places burned out with the remains of both good and bad. Most of these rural folks not only have weapons they know how to use them.

Lots of family groups pulled together and formed communes taking in those they could and were doing very well and for the most part seemed happy with the new way of life.

Ellen and her clinic crew helped the doctors in the county to form small clinics like hers and set up classes to teach as many paramedics as possible, some of the Doctors had a bit of a problem with the word “free” care until they realized that life outside our county was not good and that to remain here had a price.