Self Apocalypse: The Beginning (3 page)

I sat down at the small table and watched the storm throw its might upon the campsite.  I couldn’t help but wonder if the hail had dented the truck badly.  I poured a cup of my lukewarm coffee to help pass the time.  The hail stopped and the rain began to lighten up, but the wind and lightning continued to play its part strongly.  After the lightning passed, the clouds and rain remained overhead.  I turned on the radio and found a news station to listen to while I tried to enjoy my rainy afternoon.  At least I had gotten out and gone hiking this morning.  I was even more happy that I had gotten my work in yesterday before all this.  There was always a chance that the rain would stop, and I could still get some fishing in and a fire started before bed.  So I wasn’t too worried about planning a cold dinner.  Yet, things really didn’t look too promising at this point. 

I took a sip of coffee and turned up the radio.  They were discussing something that happened in the market today.  I tried tuning the station in a little better.  I never really cared for the static background sound you get with weak reception.  It’s almost as if the radio is trying to subliminally torture you in the back of your mind.  I got it tuned as best I could then turn the volume up just a bit more.  Something was definitely going on.

The voices crackled slightly as the airwaves were transmitted through the speakers.  “As turmoil continues in the Middle East, oil prices found their way to one hundred and thirty-five dollars a barrel.  The ongoing struggle for new governments have seen the complete destabilization of the area, and is now threatening the oil enriched regions of Saudi Arabia.  This afternoon the president insisted that drilling in the U.S. is not an option, and that our country will continue to seek alternative options and endure.  The House is scheduled to meet early next week to discuss the crisis and our future options.”

This was great news I thought as I realized I had to fill up before going home, and had not planned on being robbed at the pumps.  I thought about the rising fuel costs, as I listened to other interviews discussing how the potential rising of fuel costs mixed with a large natural disaster could potentially bring our country to a halt.  It would have to be big though I thought.  Right now I was more worried about the gas bill on the ride home.  I decided to take a ride into town now and fill up.  I could also solve my possible cold dinner problem by grabbing something to eat in town.

I shut the radio off and poured the rest of my day old coffee down the drain.  I grabbed a light jacket and the truck keys as I headed into the rain.  I thought it might be a good idea to get as much fuel now as I could.  So I took the three five gallon gas cans we had at the camp.  At least I would have an extra fifteen gallons at today’s price.  I hopped in the truck, turned the keys, and started my journey to town.  I decided to keep listening to the news on the way there, so I turned the radio on.  It wasn’t long before I couldn’t take the same monotone conclusions anymore.  So I found some music and just cranked it.

* * * * *

As I drove into the ghost town I was shocked to actually see the town busy.  Maybe everyone came out at night, because it was nearly a ghost town that first time through during daylight hours.  I realized what was going on as I passed each gas station.  The cars waiting in line at the pumps were long enough to reach out into the road.  One gas station had a line that went about fifty yards down main street.  The parking lot at the local diner was almost void of cars though.  So I pulled my truck in deciding to fill my stomach before my gas tank.

The diner was dimly lit.  Maybe they were trying to conserve electricity.  I couldn’t help but notice that the few people who were here were just drinking coffee.  It made me wonder if the poor souls even had a few extra dollars for a meal to go with that cup of coffee.  I was sure most the folks in town were still unemployed.  A majority of those people had probably already stopped receiving benefits from the government.  As I sat and ordered a hot coffee for myself, I couldn’t help but wonder if I was going to be in the same situation soon.  I really had no idea what was happening with my job.

The waitress came out with my dinner.  She was about my age and not bad looking I thought.  She smiled as she placed my plate in front of me, and I couldn’t help but smile back.

“You new in town?” she said still smiling.

“Kind of, I have a camp not too far from here.  I haven’t been here in quite a while though.”

“So what brings you to town tonight?  If you’re looking for fun the theater and bowling alley are out of business, and most the bars are too.”  She gave me my receipt and stood staring with that smile in anticipation for my answer.

I looked at the receipt then back to her.  She was still smiling.  It almost made me laugh.  I took another sip of my coffee, “I came into town for gas and a hot meal.  I guess everyone else had the same idea too.”

“Well, enjoy your meal.” she said.  “Maybe I’ll see you around, if you start visiting your camp more.”  She turned and headed out to the kitchen.

I couldn’t help but watch her as she walked away.  I glanced outside and could see one of the gas stations from my window seat.  The lines were still long, so I just took my time eating my meal.  I left the money for my dinner on the table when I finished, and placed an extra ten for a tip.  “What the heck.” I said knowing very well she probably doesn’t even get tips anymore.  I threw my jacket back on and headed out.

“Bye.”

I turned to see the waitress waving at me.  Her smile still remained, hiding any problems in her life that she might be burying deep inside.  I waved and returned her smile before opening the door to leave.  Outside the town sounded busy, and arguments could be heard from the gas station I had been watching from inside.  I guess I would avoid that one.  I could just imagine how they would treat an outsider in line at their pumps.  When I got to the truck I noticed the gas cans in the back had been untied.  Someone had obviously checked to see if I had gas in them.  I checked the gas cap on the truck, and the ground underneath.  No sign of siphoning.  I got lucky I suppose.  People were obviously worried about hoarding gas now. 

It took almost an hour to get gas before I headed out.  I watched the attendant come out and close two pumps while I was filling.  Gas was definitely going to go up now.  The demand and gas frenzy by us all would see to that.  As I drove back to camp I kept thinking about what had happened in town.  It soon became apparent that the next thing to worry about would be food.  I couldn’t help but think about the long term effects.  Prior military training had taught me that
proper planning prevented piss poor performance
.  So it was time to prepare.  I probably should have seen this earlier, but preparing for something big just seemed crazy at the time.  Even now I couldn’t imagine things getting worse.  I mean sure, our economy wasn’t the best right now, but could it actually have the potential to come to a screaming halt?  Either way I knew I needed to have some kind of plan in place.  Even if it was just a short term deal.  I wasn’t going to be a casualty if something did happen.  Yeah.  It was time for a plan.

Chapter Three

Preparing

“It is better to hear the rebuke

of the wise, than for a man

to hear the song of fools.”

- Ecclesiastes 7:5

The next day found me on the river banks fishing.  I had always found it easier to think things through while fishing.  It was a relaxing way to clear one’s mind.  Not to mention it had its benefits of providing a meal as well.  My mind wandered to the strange dream I had last night.  I was standing in an open field with my father to my right and a small crowd of familiar faces to my left.  My father was telling me to prepare for the coming storm, while the crowd was laughing and continuously saying, “What storm?”  Then I remembered a time as a child when my father had made preparations for a snow storm in November.  Friends of the family had all mocked my father, because we were not even expected to have our first storm until mid December.  That January a fierce storm had devastated the region.  People were without power and heat for almost three weeks.  Some didn’t even have running water.  The stores were mobbed and shelves became bare within hours, and so they remained for nearly a month.  The majority of folks had very little and had to use supplies sparingly.  We on the other hand, were fine due to my father’s early preparations.  He had told me he didn’t predict a big storm.  He just wanted to make sure we were going to be in good standings if something did happen.  He was right.  He was about most things.  Not only did we have enough supplies to last a month, but we also had a generator for power and enough food to help friends and neighbors in need. 

It was a good lesson learned.  Like now, I had no idea what tomorrow was going to bring.  However, I wasn’t going to be the one to show up to a store of empty shelves when something did happen.  I had to come up with a good sound plan.  I wanted to not only be ready for a short term downfall, but I wanted to be prepared in case the gates of hell opened up.  I decided I would have a small ration of supplies in my apartment, but I would begin to heavily supply the camp as my base of operations.  If things got real bad, I could just come here to weather the storm.  I was going to make sure I had six months of supplies.  It was just me, so I wouldn’t need to stalk too much.  Besides, this would give me an excuse to come to camp more often.  Maybe even see that waitress again.  A grin formed on my face as I pictured her in my head smiling at me.  There was something about her that I couldn’t quite place yet.  Her smile and green eyes had given her the look of innocence, yet her red hair told me she meant business.  My mind quickly shifted to my present surroundings as my fishing pole nearly doubled over.  The large trout on the other end of my line definitely meant business.  I fought with him for about five minutes before landing what I knew was going to be a filling lunch.

I headed back to camp and started a fire.  The trout was too big for the pan, so I took out the grill we had always kept for the fire pit.  I burned down the fire into red hot coals, then kept the flames small while my lunch cooked just above.  The smell was enough to make anyone drool.  Which is probably why I soon caught sight of my fat nosy neighbor.  The bear was sitting on the other side of the river watching me.  I banged a couple pots together and yelled towards him.  He didn’t move away as fast this time, but he took off just the same.  Maybe he was starting to size me up, or maybe he felt something coming too and was planning to stock up on my inventory.  Either way, I was going to buy bear spray when I got back home.  I was going to bring my rifle along next time too.

After lunch I started to organize the camp a little better.  I decided to build a small shed for the tools and gear.  I cleared the rest of the tall grass behind the trailer.  I would plant a garden there if ever needed.  I began to make a list of supplies I would need for a long stay, and materials for making the camp a little more suitable for such a stay.  I needed to rebuild the outhouse this fall, but it was still good for now and the camper also had a small bathroom for emergencies.  The shower in the camper would suffice.  I still needed to check the heater and stove, so I was going to have to bring a tank of propane next time.

I turned on the radio after I was done.  It was evening now, and the cool mountain air began to fill the camp.  It seemed like it was going to be a fair night this evening.  I was covered in sweat from the day’s labor, so I jumped into the river and changed into dry clean clothes.  I realized I was going to have to figure a way to clean my clothes if I stayed for any long periods of time.  A small wash tub and board would be in order.  A chuckle rose from me as I pondered on whether you could even buy a washboard anymore.  The radio echoed through the camp while I enjoyed dinner.  The radio reminded me that I needed batteries, and lots of them.  That wasn’t the best solution so I made plans to purchase a wind up radio for the camp.  Something that would run off either batteries or a dynamo, in which case I would be covered in any situation.  That is unless the radio stations were taken off the air.  I laughed at the mere fact that I had even thought about something as crazy as that.  Who knows though, it didn’t have to be a disaster.  They could just lose their jobs too.  Again I laughed.  Well, at least I was finding humor in my worse case scenarios.

My laughter stopped when the emergency broadcast system came on.

The radio beeped for what seemed an eternity before relaying some useful information.  “The National Weather Service has issued a severe…” oh great here we go again.  I looked up at the blue sky then felt the bump that still marked my back from the last attack.  That hail storm was like receiving an air strike from Mother Nature.  By the sounds of it the camp was about to receive another one.  Only they didn’t mention hail this time.  Maybe I would get lucky and the system would pass on by.  I brewed up a pot of hot coffee ahead of time though.  Just in case.

I spent another hour by the fire before I noticed any clouds coming in.  It was getting late out anyway, so I put out the fire and used what daylight was left to pack away the gear I had laying about.  When I picked up the coffee pot I felt the first drop of rain.  Still, the wind wasn’t picking up yet.  Maybe the brunt of the system would indeed pass me by.  I lit a candle and sat at the table to have another cup of hot coffee.  I took out a piece of paper and pen to jot down some of the ideas I had for the camp.  I began to feel the weight of my tiredness pushing down on me.  Not even the coffee could keep my eyes open.  I got my bed ready then blew out the candle.  I laid in bed for awhile with my thoughts until sleep finally found me.