Dark Days Rough Roads (4 page)

This
wouldn’t do much other than to keep the glass from getting everywhere in case
it was broken. Simply less mess to clean up or worry about later on. It’d be
nice not to get cut when it came time to clean that mess up. Might even be an
insulating factor, but that wasn’t the reason—he was simply trying to avoid a
mess.

Next was
the plywood. Each piece had another one that went with it. On the back of each
one was attached a section of fairly heavy wire mesh. Pieces were marked with
numbers so he knew which windows they went to. He would put one piece in place,
secure it, then put the other in place and not only secure it, but join the two
together. He used large doors hinges and hinge pins to do this.

They were
anchored very securely in place. It would stop most folks, but those who really
wanted to get in could do so with the right tools. As each room was sealed up,
he lit some candles to light the place. No way had he wanted folks to know he
had any type of electricity, no matter how simple it may be.

He
finished up the patio door leading to the deck and this left the front door and
the garage door. Those would be last, as they required something a little
different, not to mention he would still have to get the truck out. It was late
evening now and he was anxious to get started very early in the morning, so he
locked the front door and secured the garage door.

He had
drilled several holes along the garage door rail and placed six padlocks, three
on each side so the door would not roll up. The wheels would stop because of
the padlocks. Before he left he would be able to secure it further but that had
to wait. He spent the rest of the evening prepping his gear and loading the
truck for the next day.

Time was
going fast and much faster than he thought. He looked over at the old wind up
alarm clock he had kept for years. It was a small reminder of a family vacation
home they had just across the border in Canada on Lake Erie. Only about an
hour’s drive away, but it was still a totally different world over there. It
was almost a different culture and in some aspects it was.

It was
little streets scattered about the beaches along the lake and surrounded by
farms. He wondered if they got hit by the EMP as well, but after a little
thought figured they must since they were so close to the U.S. With all the farms and few major congregations of people, they should be better off
than most. They would be able to avoid the mass gangs and riots. Haliday almost
wished it was his destination, but that was not the case.

Haliday
pulled out another Faraday baggie as he had come to call them and inside was an
Alinco ham radio. He had talked to quite a few people and explained what his
intentions were. He needed a radio powerful enough to adequately reach 300
linear miles. He wasn’t concerned with getting his technician’s license or
anything like that. He was not concerned about anything but the fact that it
would work and reach to the other radio he would have ready.

He
carried it along with a single deep charge battery to the back of his lot.
There he ducked behind his old shed, where he reached up and grabbed the end of
an antenna he had set up in the trees a couple years prior. He did this under
the guise of trimming the branches hanging over his fence. Since it was a
simple wire antennae and nothing fancy, it blended perfectly. He tested it
monthly and so far it held up just fine.

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.

He told
her that he was heading out and would call back in two hours. He also told her
they would talk when he got there. He told her to give Mike more time; he was
probably playing it safe. At the moment, Mike was the least of his worries. She
said ok and he turned the radio off and ran back to the house. It was time to
get moving and he had a lot of ground to cover.

He
stepped into the garage and placed the radio in the truck and quickly connected
it to the antenna and power. He went over to the side of the garage and opened
up a big oblong box that was sealed up and grabbed what was inside. This was
quickly attached to the truck with magnets and then tested. It worked like a
champ. It would prove to be very useful on the trip. He was banking on it to
make a difference when he needed it. A few more minor details and he would be
ready to go.

Next he
slowly opened the garage door. He had oiled the wheels and chain very well and
made sure they were as quiet as he could make them. He didn’t start the truck,
but he placed it in neutral and pushed it out into the driveway. Thank goodness
it was downhill and it rolled easily.

He didn’t
want to alert anyone of his leaving the home and didn’t want to let anyone know
what he had. He was taking a big risk with it as it was. He dropped it in park,
left the door slightly ajar and stepped back in the garage. He slowly lowered
the garage door and then placed the padlocks in place that would keep the door
from rolling up.

The next
step was to take some steel grid wall and set it up over the garage door as
well. This was 2X2 inch square steel grid that stores used to hang merchandise
on. He picked it up at one of the many liquidation sales that he attended for
stores going out of business. This was locked in place and added that extra
level.