The size of this horde moving northwest didn’t worry John too much. This was precisely why he’d selected a bug-out location that was away from the major highways and thoroughfares. That sort of thing was in nearly every prepper 101 guide. Everyone knew when the cities emptied, people fleeing the chaos and the danger would use the country’s main arteries as their primary routes of escape.
They would move across the land like a swarm of locusts, devouring everything before them. That was the prediction some had made and here it was coming true. He hadn’t exactly witnessed a swath of destruction in their wake, but a group like that needed to eat something and when they did they were liable to empty entire farms in one sitting. It was an army and John was just glad it would surge right past the side roads which led to the cabin.
Chapter 36
Not long after that they turned off Interstate 75 North and followed State Route 63 West. Rocks and gravel crunched under the Blazer’s tires as they travelled along country roads. The scenery in the area was breathtaking. Lush forests and rolling hills. The air warm and clean.
In the past couple of years, the family had been to the cabin about half a dozen times, mostly during bug-out drills when John had timed them to see how long it would take to make the trip from A to Z. During each trip they’d brought up sacks of grains, powdered milk, wholewheat flour, yeast, baking soda and other food they could store. They’d also set up a water filtration system using two fifty-gallon drums and an impressive underground storage unit. The process was simple enough. One drum was placed on top of the other. Holes were poked in the bottom of the top drum and filled with alternating layers of sand and charcoal. These would help to strain the larger impurities. What collected in the bottom drum would then be boiled to kill any remaining harmful bacteria.
Another few minutes up the gravel path brought them to the private road which led to the cabin. It was only one of three cabins on this side of the mountain, which meant very little traffic came up that dirt road. When he had time, John and Gregory would come down and lay some obstacles over the path. A log would work. Either way it needed to be something that could block a vehicle from driving right up to the cabin’s front door. In addition, John would also look at camouflaging the turnoff to his cabin. That way it might hide them from would-be attackers or raiders looking for an easy target to plunder.
Up to now, most of John’s energy had been spent supplying the cabin with food and an ability to filter water. More weekends up here would have meant more time to build defenses and booby-traps. In the end it meant he and Gregory and the girls would need to hustle.
Betsy hummed as she clawed her way up the steep dirt path. A second later the cabin came into full view. A smile spread over John’s face. She was a sight for sore eyes. The eye in the great storm that was tearing the country to shreds. And that was when his smile began to fade.
Diane was already pointing at the cabin. “John, am I imagining things or is that smoke coming from the chimney?”
He slammed the brakes and stared, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.
Before him was a simple, two-story wood beam log cabin. John had liked that idea since the sixteen-inch walls would stop small-caliber rounds. Two windows on the main floor. One on the top floor for each of the three bedrooms. There was room enough for each member of his family, but the smoke coming out of his chimney meant someone else had stumbled onto the cabin and claimed it for themselves.
There wasn’t any sign of a car or even bikes out front, but those things could just as easily be parked in the open space behind the cabin. There also weren’t any police or local sheriffs John could call. It was every man for himself and every prepper’s nightmare. John backed the Blazer up until it was just beyond view.
“What are we gonna do, Dad?” Gregory and Emma asked at almost the exact same time.
Diane was looking at him with a “what now” sort of look. They all wanted to know and their panic and fear was making it hard for him to think straight.
“You three stay here,” John said as he got out and went to the back of the truck. Once there he opened the hatch and removed his tactical vest and two-point sling. In the front mag pouches were four thirty-round magazines for his AR. The S&W was already in his drop-leg holster.
Gregory turned around. “You gonna go blow them away, Dad?”
John shook his head. “I hope I don’t have to. But one way or another, whoever’s in our cabin is about to get an eviction notice.”
He closed the hatch quietly and went back to the driver’s side where Diane handed him the AR which he clipped to the sling.
“Fall back if you’re outnumbered,” she told him.
“I will, honey. You just be ready with that shotgun in case I do. Love you.”
Chapter 37
A million scenarios were running through John’s head as he approached the cabin. The front windows were dark, making it impossible to see how many intruders were inside. He set himself up along the tree line next to a patch of overgrowth and dug around for some rocks. He would start by throwing them at the cabin door and wait to see who came out.
The first two rocks skittered over the front porch. The next two struck dead on, creating a loud bang. A face appeared briefly in the window and John removed the safety on his AR and took aim. Then the face disappeared and the door opened. A single figure stood silhouetted in the doorway. It was a man and he was holding a small-caliber pistol.
“I’ve got you dead to rights,” John said. “Now set the gun down and kick it away before I blow your head off.”
The man hesitated.
“I know what you’re thinking,” John continued. “You’re wondering whether you can slam that door shut in time. I promise that you can’t. Now do as I say before I drop you right now. Do it!”
The man complied.
“Kick the gun away.”
He did.
“Is there anyone else in there with you? And don’t even think of lying to me.”
“Yes,” the man said. He sounded scared. Fear was exactly what John wanted him to feel. Fear was what gummed up all the works in men’s brains, prevented them from thinking straight. Humans tended to fall back on their instinctual habit of following orders when that happened. It was why police stormed a suspect’s house shouting for them to drop their weapons.
“How many others?”
“Three.”
“Men or women?”
“My wife and two kids.”
John wanted to curse, but bit his lip. Why couldn’t it have been a group of bandits instead of a family?
“This is private property and you have no business being here.”
The man in the doorway paused and then said, “John? Is that you?”
Now it was John’s turn to be stunned and surprised.
The man came into the light and John’s jaw nearly dropped.
Standing before him was Tim Appleby.
Minutes later the two families were in the kitchen and the awkwardness was thick enough to cut with a Bowie knife. The only ones who were happy with the present situation were Emma and Brandon. She’d practically jumped into his arms, tears running down her face.
John wasn’t the least bit happy with any of it, especially the long hugs Emma and Brandon kept sharing. The Applebys didn’t seem to mind those. In fact, they thought it was cute. Maybe if it was their daughter instead of his, they might not have been so keen.
The rest of them stood around, Diane trying to catch John’s eye, to tell him as usual to be nice.
“Would you like some coffee?” Kay Appleby asked.