Trouble in America: Five Apocalyptic Stories Read online

  I was more surprised when I saw no one all the way in. Then when I got into the town proper there was still no one to be seen and it was getting spooky. I did see several of the stores had been broken into and instead of being boarded up the doors and windows just remained as gaping holes with broken glass covering the ground.

  Then I finally saw some movement. It turned out to be a pack of fairly large dogs and they were running right toward me. They obviously meant business and though I had a pistol on my belt I knew I would not stand a chance against them. So I just turned and accelerated away but I knew if I had been walking they would have been on me like butter on toast. I realized I would not be talking to any police or likely anyone else in town at that point. After a short distance I checked the nuke alert I carried but it was still silent so there was no large amount of radiation left here or it was broken.

  At that point I guessed my neighbors were not the only ones that were lying dead in their homes. For right then I had seen enough of town and rode back to my house to decide what to do next and come to grips with the current situation that I found myself in.

  I stayed in my own house that night for the first time in two months. I wondered how wide spread the death zone was or if it was just very local to this small area. There was no power at my house of course and it would be unhandy to stay there for very long but I knew I had a comfortable bed there. It was so nice sleeping in my own bed after two months in the mine.

  After riding my cycle yesterday even though I was used to the cool temperature in the mine I thought it was quite cool riding. That was not very normal for this area and this time of year. When I had checked the thermometer at my house it was only sixty five degrees, quite cool for here in the afternoon. I thought I would see if my old pickup would start and make another more thorough search in town.

  I knew there must be people still living there and just because I had not seen any yesterday did not mean the whole town was totally vacant. My truck did start without any problem so that was a big relief. I had read about the EMP effects of nuclear bombs and was concerned about no vehicles running. Maybe the mountains between me and the nuke that hit Phoenix had saved things here from the EMP effects. I figured I would never know the answer to that question but I did know that much of the hype of EMP effects was total supposition.

  That day besides my Glock 19 pistol I always carried I also took my Mossberg 590 shotgun with buckshot loads which would even the odds with any more of those dog packs I saw. From now on I would kill every dog I saw if possible. I decided I also would bring my Mini-14 rifle with because I thought it would be better to have it with me than not.

  When I got to town I stopped in the store where I used to work and unlocked the door and went inside. I only wanted a small fuel transfer pump to get fuel out of other cars and trucks because I needed it though I did also take a five gallon fuel can. I did not bother locking the door behind me when I left because what would be the point? That way if anyone needed anything in the store they could just open the door without busting it down.

  That was much better for everyone because who knew if replacement doors and windows would ever be available again and certainly not for a long time. I then just drove around town for awhile looking to see if anyone was out where I could see them. I did see the same or maybe a different dog pack and was able to kill four of the six dogs in the pack before they got away that time. The dogs looked very bad with patches of fur gone just plain scruffy.

  I drove to a grocery store and went inside. The door was closed but it was not locked. Inside it stunk pretty badly from all the rotten food inside and there was a lot of disarray but it was not totally trashed or anything. The first thing I did was get a flashlight from near the counter and put new batteries in it. It was dark in the store with no lights on. I picked up just a few things to take with me that time. I went in mostly just to see what was in there. I did stop at a couple other stores including one large Walmart store. They were in the basically the same shape as the first grocery store I had stopped at.

  I drove and wandered around town most of the day. I never saw any other people and I had no desire to go into any homes because I did not want to see what I was sure I would find in them. I did see many piles of mixed bones and ripped up clothing which I knew had once been people that had been taken by the dog packs. I thought some of them might have died and been found and eaten after they were dead. I certainly hoped so for the people’s sake as dogs and wolves often started eating their prey when it was still alive.

  In the afternoon I stopped and used the little pump I had to get gas out of another pickup in a parking lot to fill my tank. Again that afternoon I shot five dogs in another pack and was able to kill all of them that time. And these dogs looked pretty awful also.

  I stopped at two gun shops and one was locked up so I left it and the second one was unlocked so I went in and found some more buckshot to fit my shotgun of which I took three twenty five count boxes. I was just wasting my time in town so I drove back to my house.

  I made some supper (I had a gas range luckily) and then I just wandered around my place thinking until it got dark when I went back in and went to bed. Sleep came slowly that night. I had a tough time dealing with the fact that all those people in town were now dead. I was still pretty sure that some were maybe still alive but I just never saw them when I in town. That was my hope anyway.

  After the War

  (getin’ my act together)

  The next day one of the things I decided to do was start this journal. I have never kept a diary or any thing like that before but well, OK the real reason is I think this might help me keep my sanity. Right now logically I know there are many other people alive but I just haven’t found any yet and it’s like real weird so I decided to write this stuff down. Obviously if a nobody like me can live through a nuke war then many, many other people likely have also. See I know that to be a fact but I’m still a little weirded out by all of this.

  So I again went over to my neighbor’s house and dug a rather shallow grave for them. Hey it’s hard digging here. I was able to carry both of them out of the house wrapped in the bedding because they had very little weight left to them at this point. I buried them in their back yard.

  Then I looked in the house near their back door and found a key rack with all their keys. Next I then went out and tried them in their motor home until I got the right one and retuned the others to the rack. I did spend some time removing all their personal items that I found inside the motor home and I put that stuff inside their house. When I had it all cleaned out I drove it to my house and then walked back and drove my truck back to home.

  I spent the remainder of the day cleaning and learning about the large motor home that I guess was mine now. Then I loaded a lot of my gear inside the thing but spent the night in my own bed for what I figured might very well be for the last time.

  This morning I put my receiver hitch mounted cycle carrier on the back of the motor home and loaded my cycle on it. My cycle carrier has a steel mesh bottom and allowed me to carry a few things on it. I took the gas can I had got yesterday along with my new gas transfer pump. I plan to get a larger fuel transfer pump to use for the diesel fuel that motor home uses because it would take forever to fill it with this small one. This rack works well for that because it keeps all the fuel smell outside.

  I then headed back to town and stopped at a few stores where I picked up many things I put in my new rolling home. I put in all new bedding, filled the fuel tank (after getting a bigger fuel transfer pump), and filled the clean water tank using five gallon water bottles. After some effort today I filled the propane tank using the on-board generator to power the propane pump at a RV dealer fill station and now that I did this once it should be much easier next time.

  Now I have food and water to last awhile and I took a very relaxing shower as soon as the water heater had warmed the water enough. That was like heaven in that shower even if it is a little cramped in
there. I got me a few new clothes and a new pair of hiking shoes. New towels, dishes, flatware, pots and pans, everything I could think of I put in that motor home today. I’m sure I have forgotten or missed some things but I can fill in later.

  Like I only remembered a can opener at lunch time, dah. I did put in all my guns and ammo and I made some simple clips to hold my shotgun and the 223 rifle so they would be ready for instant access from the driver’s seat. I got another Glock 19 from the gun shop and fastened a holster for it to the driver’s seat for easy and quick access. I am still upset about those dog packs killing those people and I fully plan on killing all the dogs I see. I also filled the gas can with regular gas for the cycle today after topping off its tank.

  Tonight I stayed in town in the motor home for the first time. I now have electricity and all the comforts just no people to talk to. I even watched a movie from the selection I had picked up today. It was nice just seeing people on the TV screen. The motor home bed is pretty comfy.

  My Search Starts

  Today I left town and headed north away from the nuked Phoenix and towards Flagstaff in the hope I can find other people and also maybe find out the condition of the whole United States. It was very weird driving down the highway with no other cars on the road. But it is just as well because I’m still getting used to driving this big hog down the road. It is also strange with all the scenery and everything looking so normal but with no people around.

  The temperature is definitely not normal; it is way cool for this time of year. I think it will likely be a real winter this year with quite cold weather and I started thinking about how I will get through it. Going north will only make it worse I know but I think I will spend a few days looking for other people before I come back and find a good place for the winter if I can’t stay with the people I hope I find today.

  It looks like all that talk about ‘nuclear winter’ was maybe correct. People alive in more northern areas will probably have a very tough winter with no electric and a longer, colder winter this year. But that is only a guess on my part. I have heard many times about the whole nuclear winter thing and it is certainly much colder right now than it should be.

  My first stop today was the town of Camp Verde. I took the first exit into town and sure hoped to find other people. This time I honked the horn occasionally while I drove very slowly through the small town. I saw a pack of dogs that came running when they heard the noise of the horn. I saw them coming at a distance and I stopped the motor home and jumped out the door with the shotgun.

  They continued to advance on me and I waited until they were about thirty yards away before I started shooting them. That was a big mistake and I was thankful for the nine rounds that my shotgun holds because even after shooting three of the dogs the other one continued to come toward me. I dropped the last dog when it was only a few feet from me and at that very close range the buckshot did not open up at all and virtually ripped the dog in half length wise.

  I freely admit that I was shaking pretty bad by the time that last dog hit the ground dead. I got back in the motor home and reloaded my shotgun. Next time I see them at a distance I’ll use my rifle and start shooting while they are quite a ways away from me. I hope today was my last ‘close encounter’.

  I hadn’t found anyone in town so far other than a few bone/clothes piles and I stopped at the only real grocery store to see if there was any evidence that others were alive here. Walking through the grocery I thought it looked like others had been there ‘buying’ groceries.

  But it was hard to tell for sure. At one of the registers I found a fat magic marker and I ripped down a sales sign and wrote on the white back side that I would be back through town in a couple days or so and would like to meet with anyone left alive. I took this sign and placed it on the floor by the front doors so it would impossible to miss. Then I left the store, returned to the motor home, and left town heading north.

  I drove north on Interstate Seventeen and got to Flagstaff in just over an hour without speeding. I took the exit to go into town and I thought I heard something and by the time I realized that it was my nuke alert it was making even more noise. Without even thinking about it I turned around and headed back south again and the noise from the little nuke alert soon stopped.

  It sure looks like Flagstaff had got nuked also. I do remember that there was a military base out of town just a short distance that was maybe the target or maybe a nuke got off course and happened to hit there. Who knows and it did not matter because it was obviously ‘hot’ there so no one would be alive there anyway. I was very disappointed.

  After driving south for awhile I pulled over at a scenic overlook and stopped to think about what to do next. My big plans of finding people in Flagstaff had fell through and I have to say it didn’t make me feel very happy. I now think that maybe an awful lot of nukes must have hit the United States. The term ‘carpet bombing’ comes to mind. Flagstaff had to be pretty darned low on the list of spots to nuke. I bet Phoenix got hit by several. I still know I am not the only one alive as that is highly unlikely. If I made it through, no doubt others did also I just have to find them. I decided to try Sedona next; maybe I’ll find other people there, I certainly hope so.

  Sedona looked empty when I came into town. Then I saw something different. There was a dead man lying next to the sidewalk which I have seen before but this guy was intact and not eaten by dogs. I stopped to check if he was really dead. The man was definitely dead but he had been shot and the blood was not even dry! As I stood up I heard a scream from somewhere ahead of me and I stopped for just a second and I grabbed my rifle from the motor home and started running toward where I thought the scream came from.

  After running a couple minutes I slowed to listen and thought I heard something down a street to my right. Running down the street I could see a man dragging a woman just ahead me. When they got close to a street sign the woman grabbed on to stop their progress and I saw the man slap the woman to make her let go and that got me real upset. When he raised his arm with a clinched fist to hit the woman again I did not hesitate and upped my rifle and shot the man twice in the chest knocking him down to the ground. Here is the only guy alive I have seen so far and I just shot him!

  I walked up to the pair and I kept my rifle ready but the other man was not moving. When I got close I watched for a minute and could not see any rise or fall to the man’s bloody chest. The woman was just lying there sobbing. Not knowing exactly what to do I walked over to the woman and lightly touched her shoulder and said “Are you OK ma’am?”

  The woman flinched at my touch but did not even look at me and continued to cry. So I just sat down on the curb and let her cry for a few minutes. Then I tried again with “Are you OK ma’am?”

  This time the woman lifted her head and looked at me before lowering her head again and continuing to cry. We happened to be sitting in front of a café and I got up to try the door which was unlocked so I went inside. It smelled pretty bad inside but I only wanted a couple napkins and when I saw a napkin holder I grabbed a handful. Before I walked back outside I also took a chair to the woman and dropped the napkins in her lap.

  At first she didn’t do anything but after a minute or two she picked up a couple of the napkins and wiped her face then blew her nose with another. She then looked up at me without crying and said “Is he dead?”

  “Yes ma’am he’s dead. I brought you a chair. It might be more comfortable than the street.”

  The woman looked confused for a moment then got up and sat in the chair still holding the wad of napkins.

  “Is there anything I can do for you? Are you injured?”

  “I’ll be OK. That man shot my husband before he started to drag me away. Thank you for saving me.”

  “You’re welcome. I’m sorry I could not save your husband. If you want to wait here for a minute I’ll bring up my motor home. You can use it if you want to clean up.”

  “No I think I want to go back to my husba
nd. Could you help me find a spot and bury him?”

  “Ma’am you are the only person I have talked to since this happened. I will do anything I can for you. Do you need help walking?”

  “I think I can make it but I don’t really know where to go. I was kinda out of it when that man was dragging me. Could you help me find my husband? I know he’s dead but I can’t just leave him like that.”

  “Yes I know where he is. I had parked near to check if he was still alive when I heard you scream. Come on I’ll help you get up and back to him.”

  I put my rifle over my shoulder and I stepped up to the woman and she took my arm to help steady herself and we walked back to her husband. When we got back there I showed her my motor home and told her to just go inside and I would get a blanket and wrap her husband up.

  When I opened the door the woman stepped inside and closing the door I walked over to a resort/motel that was close by. I found a blanket right away that I ripped off a bed and quickly went back and wrapped her husband up and laid him in the shade next to a nearby building away from all the blood. Then I knocked on the door once and went inside.

  The woman was sitting on the couch but had stopped crying and it looked like she had maybe washed her face.

  “It is still early in the afternoon. If you will be OK here for awhile, I know where the cemetery is and I can dig a grave for your husband. If it is OK with you I will take him to the cemetery and dig the grave then come back and get you so you can give your last respects before I bury him.”