Another SHTF story

[pinshooter45]

Iwas concerned about leaving the Jeep unattended, but these people inside needed our help. I brought my wife to where the cashier and Pharmacist were. I turned around and watched the front door cradling the shotgun in my arms. I heard my wife talking to the victims:

“What’s your name?” “ Laura” replied the cashier. “Ok Laura I’m going to take a look at you right after I check the Pharmacist.” “Ok I’m just banged up; they started to beat me when I fought against them trying to rape me. Fred jumped in to help and that’s when they shot him in the leg and hit him in the head with one of their guns.” “ Mike I’m going to need some gauze, ace wrap, sterile or distilled water, and some big gauze sponges, and whatever else you can find in the first aid section to try to bandage up this bullet wound on the Pharmacist.” My wife said after a quick evaluation. “Damn it’s been so long since my trauma training” I heard her say as I laid the shotgun down beside her. “You’ll do fine” I reassured her. “Keep this handy in case they comeback or someone else tries something. Try to stay in this corner your out of sight of the entrance” “Toss me one of those towels so I can put some pressure on his wound” she said pointing to the Kitchen gadget isle nearby, and find something for Laura to cover up with”. Starting towards the back of the store where the first aid section was located. I passed the “As seen on TV” section. And noticed a “snuggie” still on the shelf. Probably the best I can do at a drug store I thought so I grabbed it and tossed it backtowards them. When I got back to the first aid area things were a mess. Between the earthquake and the looting stuff was strewn everywhere. I found some gauze, bottled sterile water, a couple of ace wraps and some cotton balls. The rest was just band aids and OTC creams and sunburn remedies. Maybe more just did not think I had time to search.

Just as I turned around to get back to them I heard a vehicle speed into the parking lot screech to a halt, and then the opening and closing of several car doors. Damn I thought, just what I feared would happen has happened…More looters! “Don’t frak with that stupid Jeep man let’s go get the drugs” I heard someone say. Then I heard multiple footsteps towards the entrance. Ducking behind what was left of some shelving I peeked around the corner to see three teenagers walking in. One had an AK the other two had semi-automatic hand guns. The one with the AK pointed it at the ceiling and fired several quick shots. And yelled “Everyone on the floor this is a Stickup!...Man I always wanted to say that!.” “Stopwasting fraking bullets one of the other teens said”. I had to think of something quick, they were young amateur punks, but they were armed and still dangerous. Maybe I could use that against them. My wife and her patients had not made a sound and were undetected. And they were walking in such a care free manner I decided I’d give them a little surprise. They were sauntering down the first Isle and were coming up on the cosmetic section where there was a pretty large mirror. I grabbed both my 1911 and the Ruger one for each hand. I popped up and let loose a barrage of .45 & 9mm lead aimed at the mirror. It shattered and sent chards of mirror towards the would be looters. All three of them shrieked in terror, the one with the AK screamed “Fraking Hell man, what the frak is going on!” “Somebody’s shoot’n at us dumba$$” said the one that had scolded him moments before. “Let’s get the frak outta here” Those two turned tail and ran, but the third one had already beaten them to the door. Next thing I heard was squealing tires and the smell of burning rubber. I kind of giggled to myself that the strategy had actually worked. I then performed a tactical reload on both weapons, de-cocked the Ruger before holstering, cocking and locking the 1911, after doing a quick assessment Iholstered it as well. I picked up my supplies and headed to where my wife and her patients were waiting.

 

[9mmfan]

Should have shot them in the **lls. Great read!

 

[EvilBlackGun]

Minor correction

"Aisle" as in a drug-store, ''Isle" as in the Hawaiian ones. Good blending of tactical gun stuff with the plot-line. "your", "you're", "yore" Yeah, I read it really close, very well done. "Frak"... what does that mean? (LOL) MORE!

They were sauntering down the first Isle and were coming up on the cosmetic section where there was a pretty large mirror.

 

[pinshooter45]

"Aisle" as in a drug-store, ''Isle" as in the Hawaiian ones. Good blending of tactical gun stuff with the plot-line. "your", "you're", "yore" Yeah, I read it really close, very well done. "Frak"... what does that mean? (LOL) MORE!

I'm having some pain issues today so I was under the influence of prescrition PK's, plus was in a hurry to get some thing posted since it had been a while. Spell check won't catch correct spelling of wrong words. gotta watch that. And My cat would not leave me alone today kept trying to lie on the keyboard. Frak is the Battlestar Galactica script replacement for the other "F" word. It might be spelled Frack, never seen it in print.

 

[flagtag]

Really enjoying this! Thanks!

 

[Icarry2]

Love the Fracking story..

 

[pinshooter45]

“Here’s what I could find.” I said as I dumped everything on the floor. “There’s no medical tape” Debbie said. “Well everything’s a mess back there” I said. “Yeah they tore everything up pretty good when those SOB’s came in and robbed me of the drugs” came a groggy voice from the Pharmacist as he was regaining conciseness. “Try not to move too much” my wife warned. “You’ve got a through and through bullet wound in your calf, and I’m having trouble controlling the bleeding” I assisted Fred to a more comfortable position while my wife continued first aid on the leg. I offered Laura a bottle of water and one of the unused towels. “You can use these things to clean up some” I told her gently. “Thank you” she said timidly. “I’ll use the employee restroom.” She rose and went to towards the Photo Labroom and disappeared behind the door to the restroom.

“This isn’t working” my wife said. “What isn’t working?” I queried. “This gauze and cotton balls, its first aid stuff not major trauma I can’t control the bleeding. You need to go back and see what else you can find I at least need some medical tape.” “You’re going to have to improvise” the Pharmacist suggested. “You got any ideas?” I asked. “Yes, after you find the medical tape which should be on the end of the aisle in front of the pharmacy counter. Then go to the feminine needs aisle and get some Maxi pads. If you place one on each side of the wound and wrap tightly with the remaining gauze and tape, and then wrap the leg with the ace wrap that should get me by. They are clean and absorbent, and if you wrap the ace wrap tight enough that should help control the bleeding.” I must have had a weird look on my face because my wife shouts out “Get that stupid look off your face and go and get what he said." Just get the plain ones, the deodorant in some might cause an infection or irritate the wound further.” “Wait” Fred said."Take my keys and get into the store room behind the pharmacy counter we have a small supply of premeasured morphine syringes get them and the rest of the pain meds they are in white totes. Those Frakers didn’t get all the pain killers.”

I hurried to the back of the store and quickly picked up all the supplies that they needed. And returned to my wife and watched her go to work with a little coaching from the Pharmacist. The pads worked pretty well as improvised wound dressings. And once the ace wrap was applied it appeared that the bandage would do the job. Fred fished through the morphine syringes and gave himself a shot. By now Laura had finished cleaning up and redressing and came out to join us. All her wounds seemed superficial, except for the emotional ones that don’t show. “Look” John said “I can’t thank you all enough for helping me and Laura. There’s one more thing we need to do. Let’s go back to the pharmacy and split up the rest of the meds. I’d rather a nurse get them than the looters” “You should come with us” I said. “No” Fred replied,“My uncle is a retired army surgeon, and he lives up Fall Creek Parkway just a little way from here. I should be able to make it to his house and he’ll finish this leg.” What about you Laura?” I said. “She’s coming with me we’re friends, and I’ll probably need a driver once the morphine kicks in”. As he reached out to her, she clamped on to him like a leach. So everyone grabbed a cart and went to the back and divided up the meds while I stood guard with the shotgun at the front door.

As they were getting what was left of the medical supplies I looked again to the southwestern sky. The color of the smoke from the downtown area had changed slightly instead of a dark pitch black it was now a very dark grey that hung in the air like a giant curtain. Were they making any progress on the fires? Maybe there would be some news on the radio,or a TV station would be up and running by the time we got home. But one thing was obvious this was going to be a long and tough ordeal.

 

[LockStocksAndBarrel]

Good stuff, Pin!

 

[pinshooter45]

Eventually everyone emerged from the drug store with what was left of the supplies. Although things were relatively quiet, there was still some activity at the grocery store. People were still running out with carts of stuff, but the carts were getting less and less full over the 5-10 minutes it took to gather things from the drugstore. My wife began to load the supplies while I continued my watch. “Did you get enoughto keep us healthy for a while?” I asked. “Yes the looters knew exactly what they were looking for they did not take stuff like antibiotics and heart and cholesterol meds.” She replied. “Did you get any Booze” “No we don’t need any of that right now.” “I disagree it might be useful to have some wine, whiskey, or vodka to use as barter Items. I’d rather trade booze than food or meds if we run short on something,or if we have to go on the road.”
“I don’tthink there’s much left they took some of it, and there is some broken bottles in the aisle probably from the quake. But you’re right I’d rather trade that stuff than other necessities. She returned to the store and a few minutes later with several bottles of various wines, a couple of bottles of Makers Mark, Jameson, Jack Daniels, some Dark Eyes, a few Captain Morgan’s, and some other brands I did not readily recognize. I had to stop guarding and help her get the rest in the Jeep because it was just about crammed to the limit. When we finally got everything in the vehicle I did a quick threat scan as we got in the front seats. I checked the safety on the Mossy and handed it to my wife just in case we encountered any more trouble on the short trip home. As I fired up the Jeep I wondered how well the others made out. I then shifted into drive and tore out of the parking lot towards home.

But just as I hit the road I began to suddenly lose control of the Jeep. Frak I thought what a time for something to break on the fraking car! But when I saw the Speedway sign fall on to the street in front of me I realized we were having an aftershock! Keeping a death grip on the steering wheel I managed to dodge the falling sign, but that just put me in a direct path towards the drainage ditch. I stood on the brakes and the antilock mechanism kicked in immediately, and the shudder of the brake pedal just added another surprise to an already frantic situation. The Jeep hit the shoulder as I tried to maintain control, and the weight of the overloaded supplies caused the body to lean severely towards the passenger side. I felt the steering wheel tug violently to the right, and I pulled almost with futility back to the left thinking I was probably on two wheels and it’s going to roll! I gave the wheel a quick jerk to the right hoping that would right the vehicle, but the right front tire hit the edge of a concrete drainage pipe. That caused the whole Jeep to bounce back to the left. It then felt like we were on a roller coaster as the extra weight caused us to bounce on down the road, but at least now I was regaining control and was on a relatively straight path. After what seemed like an eternity I finally was able to stop, and we rode out the rest of the aftershock in the middle of Shadeland Avenue.

 

[SSGSAD]

Good story, keep it coming !!!!!

 

[flagtag]

Oooooh! So good, I felt I was in the car with you!! Great job!

 

[wsenefeld]

Great read so far, looking forward to seeing more. You've got me curious about what WASN'T said on the fox news briefing. Maybe something the white house knows that we dont?

 

[pinshooter45]

Comming very soon!

 

[sbsg2005]

How soon?

 

[pinshooter45]

 

[pinshooter45]

When he shaking finally stopped I did a quick look around, and the road ahead had a clear path through some of the other cars that were tossed around. I jumped out of the Jeep and did a fast walk around to check for damage. All tires still intact a few scratches but there appeared to be no parts hanging down from under the vehicle. I was glad I bought and old school Jeep with straight axels and no fancy 4WD options. I’m not sure if the newer independent suspension systems would have survived. But I would still need to do an assement once I got home to confirm it came through unscathed. Returning to the driver’s seat I shifted to drive once more and headed for home.

The aftershock had downed a few more trees so I had to zig zag through the neighborhood to reach my home, and it was a relief to finally pull into the relative safety of my own driveway. We looked around the immediate area and noticed that Gary had made it home and was just finishing unloading his truck, but Jim had not returned. As we began to unload the Jeep I whispered to my wife "Let’s keep the information on the medicine we gathered to our selves, except for the OTC stuff." "Why" she said. "It’s not that I don’t trust anyone, but the less people know what we were able to get. The less likely the word will get around and we have to worry about someone trying to come and take it. We’ll share it when needed but you have the medical training and I don’t want to have to justify this to anyone until we have to." She nodded in agreement.

As we brought the first load of supplies to the house, we were nearly knocked down by our dog Buttercup after we opened the front door. But that’s how she usually was always happy to see us. Although she was acting like we had been gone for a week! We both gave her the attention she deserved after we placed the supplies in the kitchen. Sampson was nowhere to be found, probably still hiding under the bed, and Merlin was sound asleep on my recliner. It took about 10 minutes to unload the Jeep, and I thought it’ll take a lot longer to put them away and secure them. When I went back outside to close up the Cherokee I noticed Jim pulling into his drive, and the back of his truck seemed fairly full. I checked the hose going into the trash can and it was nearly full. I pulled the hose out and saw that there was no more water coming out. I checked the valve to see if one of the neighbors had turned it off. But alas it was open the aftershock had taken out the water. What we had would have to do for now until we could find other sources or FEMA and the Red Cross got here, and no telling when that would be. I looked at my watch. 10:25 AM the new conference would be on soon. I needed to start the genny, and get the tube turned on so we would not miss it.

 

[pinshooter45]

I checked the gas and oil in the genny and all levels were good. The initial start earlier was not enough to use much gas. But I realized I may not have any oil for later if it used some. A quick look around my rather messy garage did not reveal any oil. But the quake had tossed everything all over the place. So I dug around near the cabinets where I usually kept automotive supplies and finally found a half full quart of oil for the genny. I’d have to find more eventually but I had just bought this generator about a year ago and had not run it for more than an hour or two, so oil consumption should be minimal especially if I run it only a few hours at a time to conserve fuel. By now the sound of the genny was attracting my neighbors, and I figured they had also looked at their watches and knew it was almost time for the news conference. Gary and Jim were leading the pack. "You guys do ok on your runs?" I asked. "I got as much as I could" Gary replied. "The Kroger did not have power and they were doing the best they could with paper and calculators, but a bunch jerks got impatient and started a riot just as we were checking out. We were keeping track of what we were spending on paper. So I just shoved the money at the cashier and made tracks. It was getting ugly by the time we were out of the parking lot." "Things were a little better at the Marsh." Jim began. "They had a cash only sign up, and people were nervous and grumbling but everyone was pretty much behaving themselves. I got pretty much what I went there for." "Good" I said."Our experience was a little more …eventful let’s say. I’ll tell you about it later after we watch the conference." We all gathered around the TV and I turned everything back on and checked the local channels. FOX 59 had somehow got back on the air so we began to watch to see what they had to say:

We will be joining FOX network news for the White House news conference shortly, but for those of you who are just joining us; if anyone is we are going to recap what’s going on. The earthquake has caused major damage to the downtown area and much of the entire viewing area. As far as we can tell we are the only Television station that has been able to resume broadcasting. Many of the older buildings downtown have either collapsed or sustained major damage, including the City County building. There are several fires raging out of control in the down town area and at various other locations around the viewing area. All police and fire personnel have been called to emergency duty. We managed to get a crew near the downtown area and they managed to shoot this short bit of footage before emergency personnel forced them back.

The camera switched to the footage, and it was devastating. We all had a collective gasp as the video rolled. It reminded me of WWII films I had seen of the bombing of London and Dresden. Some of my Neighbors just turned away and sobbed. The rest of us were glued to the screen. The Newscaster continued:

We have had multiple reports of roving gangs of looters already stealing, causing riots and destroying more property. The Governor has declared a state of emergency and has activated the state disaster protocol. We have unconfirmed reports that the Governor’s Mansion has been declared unsafe and that he has been flown by helicopter to Camp Atterbury to coordinate relief efforts. But we also do not know if he has been in touch with the White House. Citizens are urged to stay in their homes or in the home of a neighbor if theirs in not safe. Every effort is being made to get shelters open for those, whose homes have been destroyed, but Emergency services are stretched to their limits, and it will take time. We urge everyone to remain calm and work together to stay safe. We now take you to Washington were Wendell Goler is standing by in the White House briefing room.

The screen switched to Washington, where the reporter was fiddling with his IBF and asking if they were live yet. When he got the appropriate signal he began:

Bret I understand in a few moments we will hear from the Speaker of the House. We do not know why yet the White House Staff is being tight lipped about the Presidents whereabouts. I can now tell you that Ed Henry has confirmed that VH3D Sea King helicopter has crashed on the Grounds of the US Naval Observatory near the Vice President’s residence. The area has been cordoned off and no one but military personnel has been allowed access, and we have no reports on casualties. I…One moment…I think the Speaker is ready…yes he has just entered the room.

Ladies and Gentlemen I have a statement to give on the current crisis but due to the magnitude and urgency I will not be able to take questions. You all will be notified when a question and answer session can be scheduled. But current circumstances do not allow for that at this time. Besides the earthquake in the Midwest I regret to inform you that during that time the President suffered a major injury to the back of his head and is currently undergoing surgery at Bethesda Naval Hospital. At present I have no further information on his condition. As you know the situation in the Middle East and Afghanistan has recently become more volatile. I am told that the President was working late in the Oval Office when the quake hit, he had got up to leave and lost his balance and the back of his head struck the corner of the desk. He was unresponsive when Secret Service agents went to his aide. He was attended to by the White House Physician and transported to Bethesda as soon as possible. Shortly after that a Marine Helicopter was dispatched to the Vice President’s residence to bring him to the White House to assume the duties of acting President. That helicopter crashed shortly after takeoff killing the Vice President and all on board. At present we have no information on the cause of the crash, but it is being investigated. I was notified at 4:30 AM of the situation and brought to the White House shortly thereafter to assume the duties of acting President under the Constitutional line of succession set by the 20th and 25 amendments. I will remain in this position until the President has recovered from his injuries. This Country has suffered three major incidents in the last few hours I would now ask that we all observe a moment of silence to Pray for our President and the victims of the Midwestern earthquake. The press core went silent as we did to pray in our own way. A few moment later the Speaker Continued.

I now would like to update you on the crisis in the Midwest. We have been able to establish contact with the Governors of Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Tennessee. We are attempting to establish contact with the Governor of Missouri. These governors have all declared sates of emergencies, and requested Federal assistance. That assistance is being organized as was spelled out in the statement released earlier this morning. Due to widespread power outages across the region we have only satellite images available to assess the damage in the region, and situation appears to be grim. St Louis, East St Louis, Memphis and other cities in the Mississippi valley area have suffered damage that would indicate near total destruction of these cities. The Mississippi river appears to have reversed flow and has flooded the area around St. Louis. Major damage exists in the cities of Indianapolis, Louisville, Nashville, Little Rock, and Springfield MO, and to a lesser degree Chicago, Dayton and Columbus OH. We have been in touch with Wright Patterson AFB and the assure us they are fully operation and able to assist with relief efforts. And as many of you can guess some damage has occurred here in Washington and other sites along the east coast. The quake was felt as far north as Maine and south into the northern part of Florida. That is really all I can tell you at present. For now we intend to have daily briefings at 11 AM; however that may change as the crisis changes. That is all I have for you now hopefully I will be able to answer your questions tomorrow. The pressroom erupted in shouts of questions but the acting President left the room without saying another word.

"Does anyone need to see any more?" I asked. A collective no just shut it off came from my gathering of friends and neighbors. "I hate to state the obvious but I think we are all going to be on our own for quite a while" I said sadly. "Let’s all distribute the goods to the other people we bought for and meet out front and figure out a plan. This stuff won’t last forever, so we need to plan for ways to find more water, take care of trash and other sanitary needs, and whatever else you can think of. Just start thinking and jotting stuff down on paper and well discuss what to when we meet again. What time sounds good to meet again we all probably have some clean up to do?" After a short discussion it was decided that 3 PM would be a good time to meet again. So the group dispersed and we all went about taking care of our individual property needs.

Meanwhile in a terrorist camp deep in the mountains of Afghanistan near the Pakistan border…………………

 

[flagtag]

Oooh! You and your teasers!

 

[pinshooter45]

I tend to think of them as cliff hangers. It comes from my wasted years as a youth sitting in front of the TV too much! But at least I learned how to keep an audience. Although I did play a lot of cowboys and Indians with my "Matel shoot'n shell winchester. Plus I thought I was Sgt Saunders many times with my realistic Tommy gun!

 

[Outlaw]

If you keep this going your going to have to publish a book