Looking around he could see candles flickering in the windows of the nearby homes. He even heard a generator which sounded like it was on its last leg. Haliday wasn’t surprised by this, a lot of old generators were probably able to run in an event like this, and if the owner was prepared, there was no telling what precautions he took to make sure it ran.
Of course, it would be drawing a lot of attention and wasn’t the smartest thing to be doing. Give it a few more days and it would be downright dangerous. People wanting power would seek him out. The noise was welcome though; it would help drown out the noise he would be making.
Seconds seemed like hours as he waited. The designated time was 9 pm. He clicked on the radio about 15 minutes before that and it came on with no problem. It made noise, but not what he wanted. He was tuned into an emergency frequency to make sure he received ok. He played with the antenna connection, but no luck. He started to panic a bit and was trying to think of what to do.
He grabbed the wire and yanked on it a bit. After a few good tugs he was able to get the signal. He cursed himself for not using a better antenna, because obviously now there was a short in it or more accurately a break in the wire. He held the radio as still as he could. There was no time to try and run a new wire, and that would surely attract the neighbor’s attention.
Haliday, when he purchased this gear, said screw the licensing, screw the government, screw the hams with their etiquette—this was serious business and he didn’t care who was going to say what. The time was very near and he keyed the mic. “Kaybear are you there?” He waited. This was the nickname they had given his daughter practically at birth. Kayla was her name, but he thought she was cuddly like a little stuffed teddy bear, so thus the nickname. This was his only child and everything in the world to him.
After graduating from high school she had relocated to a small town in Illinois where her mother lived so she could attend college there. Not a decision he liked, but he had to accept she was growing up and had choices to make by herself. He hadn’t been on the greatest terms with his ex, but they grew to understand and respect each other more than when they were married, so it worked out.
They were better friends now and she accepted the fact, along with her new husband, that Roger was a tad strange in his ideas of being ready for who knows what. He was sure she had a whole new respect for that opinion now. Right about now, her ridicule was mostly turning into admiration for his foresight.
There was no answer and his heart dropped. He keyed the mic once more and repeated himself. “Kaybear, are you there kiddo?” Again there was no answer. His eyes actually started to well with tears. They had gone over this time and time again and she knew what to do when the SHTF. Like any parent, he was scared and thinking the worst. Far too many scenarios ran across his mind.
He reached up and dabbed his eyes with his sleeve and went to key the mic one more time when he heard her voice. “Sorry Dad, I hate this thing; I told you that before.” Now his tears were streaming down his face, but this time with joy. He hadn’t felt this happy in a long time, and knowing his little girl was ok for now, he couldn’t be happier.
Haliday told her to hang on one second. He breathed deeply and said, “I love you kiddo and I’m glad you’re ok. How about your mom and Mike?” he asked. She replied that her mom was ok, but Mike hadn’t made it home from work yet. They were worried about him. Haliday said, “Give it time, it’s 15 miles from the house to work. It may take a bit to get home.”
He asked her how the trip from school to home was. Kayla replied like a typical teenager and just said fine. School was only about three miles away and she always kept her bike and get-home bag in the back of her car. She knew immediately what she had to do and did it. He couldn’t have been prouder.
Haliday asked her if she had any packages ready and the answer was yes. He had visited a few times and during the course of those visits he had made some small preparations there. Not much, but what he thought would be enough to get her through until he got there to retrieve her. Up to about a month’s worth actually. This was his planned trip.
First and foremost, after making sure he could lock his house down, he was going to get his daughter and bring her home. There was no way he could leave her there and at least not make an attempt. He would rather die trying than live and wonder what was going on. He couldn’t torture himself like that.
In place he had some typical prepper foods and water and even though it was Illinois, he had made sure she was equipped with pepper spray, a small stun gun, a knife and an AR15 he had built for her along with a small 9mm. While there on one visit, he had torn a hole in the drywall, placed the rifle along with the small 9mm in there, complete with some rounds and magazines, and then sealed it up—mudding, sanding and then painting the whole room so it all matched.
Helping her remodel her bedroom to her liking was the ruse they had pulled to hide the firearms and justify the work. No one was the wiser. Being ex-army, he had always had a love for guns and taught her how to handle them. She was a hell of a shot, in all reality. They would visit the range often so she could learn new techniques and practice.
He keyed the mic again and said he would be on at 4 am, and to make sure someone answered. Whether it was her, her mom or Mike he didn’t care. He would go over his plans then. Before she said ok, she said her mom wanted to talk to him. He knew what was coming so he told her he had a lot of work to do, and that he would talk to her either in the morning or when he got there.
They said their goodbyes and he disconnected the radio and headed back toward the house. He was looking around and no one had noticed him out there and that was just fine by him. He could still hear the generator running off in the distance. He said, “Ya, go ahead and waste all of your gas, idiot.” A couple hours a day to keep the fridge or freezer cold was plenty; maybe charge a few batteries, but non-stop was going to run the gas out and the noise would draw too many curious people.
As soon as he walked into the house, he went in the closet and grabbed two ‘five’ gallon buckets and a box and put them in the truck. He went back inside and grabbed another AR15 and a can each of magazines and ammo and placed them in there too. He had a feeling he would need these to give to his ex and her husband, Mike. He knew the questions were going to be what about them and could they go with him and Kayla.
He had thought about it, and there were some pros and cons, but right now the cons were outweighing any good that could come of it. The box and two buckets had enough staples inside to feed them for a couple months if they stretched it out, and the guns would help keep them safe. How safe he didn’t know, but this was the best he could do right now.
It was close to 10:00 pm and he was beat. He double checked the front door and garage door and then hit the sack. Haliday couldn’t even think for a moment; he was out like a light immediately. The alarm went off at 3:00 am and he slowly got up out of bed. He wandered into the kitchen and pulled out a small butane stove and boiled some water.
A cup of instant coffee, some instant grits and he used the rest of the water for more coffee, which he put in a thermos for the trip. He quickly boiled some more water and put it in another thermos to use later. He tossed the thermoses into the truck. He then went back into the bedroom to change.
After changing, he did a quick look around and double check. He grabbed the ham and ran back to the shed again. It was 4:00 am; he turned it on, had no issues with the connection this time, and he said good morning. His ex came on and said good morning. Haliday asked if everyone was ok and she said no, Mike was still gone. He asked where Kayla was and she said she was still sleeping.