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Be sure to read this post! Beware of scammers. https://www.indianagunowners.com/threads/classifieds-new-online-payment-guidelines-rules-paypal-venmo-zelle-etc.511734/
Together Again - Buildup to a disaster
- Thread starter longbow
- Start date
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grunt soldier
Master
wow thanks captain obvious. I was simply keeping it at the top and letting him know folks are looking forward to the next installment
CalebToNowhere
Expert
Copyright, Longbow Entertainment a Division of Upland Hills
Inventory Day!
The ladies are doing it this time. Last night the scrabble game was intense with the winner deciding who gets to do inventory.
They took the defeat; like ladies, but reminded us, they are going to hide the good stuff from the men. Our last inventory showed we had 220 days of food. With everyone camped in the houses, and eating less, our numbers should be 190 days of food remaining. Not bad, since it has been 45 days since our last inventory.
Everyone heard it, but it was gone before we could suit up and look outside. It sounded like a snowmobile, but it could have been two of them. Our friends to the south must have a bad case of cabin fever. I hope they don’t have any exposed skin in these -40 temps.
John had “watch” and used the radio to alert the sister survival group they might have a visitor. The reply was the two snowmobiles had already arrived with a trading list. They were going to stop by our place on the return trip and had a list of items they want to trade with us. The first is a radio to talk to our two groups. John had about a dozen extra radios.
Three of us greeted them outside and we told them why. The ladies were afraid they might spread the flu from the other group, so we gave them a radio and took the trading list from them. The southern group told us they had 4 deaths and they didn’t know why 2 of them died. They were pretty sure one was from lack of meds and another was from appendicitis. He took a long time to die and the group took the loss of their leader hard.
The list was more of a skills list or help needed with training. The leader they lost had not yet shared all he knew and they had very few written records or reference books. Most of the groups were not Prep’rs and they wanted at least two people to train them. The deal was they needed at least two people to train them on how to use the gear they already have. To compensate for the instructors time, they will pay with food and fuel. We all shook gloved hands and they were off. The rest of the details can be worked out on the radio.
---
The Captain of the Jin class ballistic missile sub, the pride of the Chinese Navy finalized the target data. The last orders from HQ were cut off before the attack. No missile launches were detected from the United States or the Pacific Ocean, so that leaves Russia or India as the culprits. The attack plan is for 4 missiles to lay out an EMP attack on both nations. The detonations will destroy India electronics and reach most of Russia. Only a small portion of Poland will also be damaged from the attacks. They all wondered if anyone would notice or even be alive to see the electronics go down. 30 minutes later missiles will be launched to destroy Moscow and New Delhi.
The Captain had no clue that the program on the nuclear weapons was corrupted to prevent attacks on the United States. A slight change in weapons safety programs was inserted into the code and no one on the sub even knew what happened. The code was just to make the weapons never arm, but the person that typed the code made one small typo. Instead of preventing the weapons from arming, the programing error detonated the first warhead the instant the launch key was turned. 75 feet below the surface of the ocean, a 400 kiloton warhead vaporized the sub and India and Russia were spared a trip back to the 1700’s.
---
The meeting for selecting the training instructor lasted 5 minutes. None of the wives wanted their husbands to go to the south camp since 70% of the members are female. To prevent problems it was decided that one of the single guys would travel over to the “amazon camp” to train them.
The winner high fived the others and he went to pack and take some books for our southern friends. The old farts just looked at each other and we laughed. His expectations are about to be smashed, but who are we to tell him.
Inventory Day!
The ladies are doing it this time. Last night the scrabble game was intense with the winner deciding who gets to do inventory.
They took the defeat; like ladies, but reminded us, they are going to hide the good stuff from the men. Our last inventory showed we had 220 days of food. With everyone camped in the houses, and eating less, our numbers should be 190 days of food remaining. Not bad, since it has been 45 days since our last inventory.
Everyone heard it, but it was gone before we could suit up and look outside. It sounded like a snowmobile, but it could have been two of them. Our friends to the south must have a bad case of cabin fever. I hope they don’t have any exposed skin in these -40 temps.
John had “watch” and used the radio to alert the sister survival group they might have a visitor. The reply was the two snowmobiles had already arrived with a trading list. They were going to stop by our place on the return trip and had a list of items they want to trade with us. The first is a radio to talk to our two groups. John had about a dozen extra radios.
Three of us greeted them outside and we told them why. The ladies were afraid they might spread the flu from the other group, so we gave them a radio and took the trading list from them. The southern group told us they had 4 deaths and they didn’t know why 2 of them died. They were pretty sure one was from lack of meds and another was from appendicitis. He took a long time to die and the group took the loss of their leader hard.
The list was more of a skills list or help needed with training. The leader they lost had not yet shared all he knew and they had very few written records or reference books. Most of the groups were not Prep’rs and they wanted at least two people to train them. The deal was they needed at least two people to train them on how to use the gear they already have. To compensate for the instructors time, they will pay with food and fuel. We all shook gloved hands and they were off. The rest of the details can be worked out on the radio.
---
The Captain of the Jin class ballistic missile sub, the pride of the Chinese Navy finalized the target data. The last orders from HQ were cut off before the attack. No missile launches were detected from the United States or the Pacific Ocean, so that leaves Russia or India as the culprits. The attack plan is for 4 missiles to lay out an EMP attack on both nations. The detonations will destroy India electronics and reach most of Russia. Only a small portion of Poland will also be damaged from the attacks. They all wondered if anyone would notice or even be alive to see the electronics go down. 30 minutes later missiles will be launched to destroy Moscow and New Delhi.
The Captain had no clue that the program on the nuclear weapons was corrupted to prevent attacks on the United States. A slight change in weapons safety programs was inserted into the code and no one on the sub even knew what happened. The code was just to make the weapons never arm, but the person that typed the code made one small typo. Instead of preventing the weapons from arming, the programing error detonated the first warhead the instant the launch key was turned. 75 feet below the surface of the ocean, a 400 kiloton warhead vaporized the sub and India and Russia were spared a trip back to the 1700’s.
---
The meeting for selecting the training instructor lasted 5 minutes. None of the wives wanted their husbands to go to the south camp since 70% of the members are female. To prevent problems it was decided that one of the single guys would travel over to the “amazon camp” to train them.
The winner high fived the others and he went to pack and take some books for our southern friends. The old farts just looked at each other and we laughed. His expectations are about to be smashed, but who are we to tell him.
grunt soldier
Master
thanks longbow we needed that 
Copyright, Longbow Entertainment a Division of Upland Hills
“Sorry, I tried to get to the bathroom and I’ll clean it up in a few” was all Janet said. That was the start of our flu outbreak. Within 2 hours, four more within our group were losing fluids out of both ends. The five were moved upstairs and we let them share the bathroom. The generator was started and ran a load of laundry for our sick friends. They were separated from the group and even food was left at the top of the stairs. The air in the house is dry so there will not be a humidity issue to help spread the sickness.
By the evening, two more were sick and we gave up on the separation controls and decided to just let it run its course.
An old doctor friend of mine said if this ever happened, just keep giving the sick fluids and it will correct itself. Everyone was sick by the second day and the house was unpleasant. Somehow we kept ahead of the mess and by the third day most of us were feeling better. We fared much better than our neighbors, but we used up most of our diarrhea meds and ran the generator more than any of us liked.
Two more days passed before anyone started to get back to normal. The flu hit each of the living quarters just as hard, and everyone lost between 10 and 15 pounds. The young kids took the biggest hit, but are bouncing back faster than the adults.
At our worst, we could have been taken over with a water gun. No one was listening to the radio and the gun by the front door managed to keep the bad guys away. Our southern neighbors were warned of the brown flu and didn’t want our instructor till he was feeling better. They said the flu that hit them lasted about 7 days, but the symptoms were about the same. It also became apparent that hygiene out our site was several layers better than what they had. That difference helped our group shake it faster than they did.
Winter housekeeping took about 6 hours. We all got rid of as much trash an unusable junk and piled it about 100 feet from the house. Two matches later and all the toilet paper, trash and used up linens were burn and melting the snow. 25 minutes later, the cold took over and it was too difficult to do a fire watch. We should have been routinely burning the trash to help prevent an outbreak that could have killed some of us.
Our stockpile of powder bleach came in handy to keep our place and laundry clean and help kill the critters that made us sick. The 5 gallon bucket of the powder we got on the first day of the panic for $45 is most likely the reason we are alive. It takes up much less space than a few hundred gallons of liquid bleach and we can make fresh batches as we need it.
- - -
“One of our spy satellites detected a nuclear detonation in the Indian Ocean six days prior.” said the security advisor to the President. “The origin of the weapon is unknown and we are checking our systems to see if any other detonations were detected. At this time, no other events have been logged and it looks like an isolated event. The size of the weapon is estimated at 300 kt and we think India took out a Chinese boomer.”
“I don’t think India is looking to start WWIII! Any chance the Chinese or someone else might have had an accident?” asked the President.
“Sabotage Yes, an accident No!” snapped the Admiral. The President just leaned back in his chair and wondered what other disasters are around the bend.
_ _
The spouses where having the sewing circle to repair the worn clothing when they noticed the ice was gone on the front window. The other shock was the temperature readout for the remote was working and showing -20 degrees. The cloud cover was heavy, but it felt like a heat wave. They all shouted “where are the bikinis” and that got the men’s attention.
__ _
Just over Pikes Peak something wonderful happened, but no human saw it. A ray of sunshine cut through the haze for about 7 minutes and faded away.
_ __
On the ISS the husband and wife team were looking down on the Earth from the circular viewing window and noticed the haze was thinning. Sunlight reflecting off the ocean was spotted for the first time since the earth became the great snowball.
“Sorry, I tried to get to the bathroom and I’ll clean it up in a few” was all Janet said. That was the start of our flu outbreak. Within 2 hours, four more within our group were losing fluids out of both ends. The five were moved upstairs and we let them share the bathroom. The generator was started and ran a load of laundry for our sick friends. They were separated from the group and even food was left at the top of the stairs. The air in the house is dry so there will not be a humidity issue to help spread the sickness.
By the evening, two more were sick and we gave up on the separation controls and decided to just let it run its course.
An old doctor friend of mine said if this ever happened, just keep giving the sick fluids and it will correct itself. Everyone was sick by the second day and the house was unpleasant. Somehow we kept ahead of the mess and by the third day most of us were feeling better. We fared much better than our neighbors, but we used up most of our diarrhea meds and ran the generator more than any of us liked.
Two more days passed before anyone started to get back to normal. The flu hit each of the living quarters just as hard, and everyone lost between 10 and 15 pounds. The young kids took the biggest hit, but are bouncing back faster than the adults.
At our worst, we could have been taken over with a water gun. No one was listening to the radio and the gun by the front door managed to keep the bad guys away. Our southern neighbors were warned of the brown flu and didn’t want our instructor till he was feeling better. They said the flu that hit them lasted about 7 days, but the symptoms were about the same. It also became apparent that hygiene out our site was several layers better than what they had. That difference helped our group shake it faster than they did.
Winter housekeeping took about 6 hours. We all got rid of as much trash an unusable junk and piled it about 100 feet from the house. Two matches later and all the toilet paper, trash and used up linens were burn and melting the snow. 25 minutes later, the cold took over and it was too difficult to do a fire watch. We should have been routinely burning the trash to help prevent an outbreak that could have killed some of us.
Our stockpile of powder bleach came in handy to keep our place and laundry clean and help kill the critters that made us sick. The 5 gallon bucket of the powder we got on the first day of the panic for $45 is most likely the reason we are alive. It takes up much less space than a few hundred gallons of liquid bleach and we can make fresh batches as we need it.
- - -
“One of our spy satellites detected a nuclear detonation in the Indian Ocean six days prior.” said the security advisor to the President. “The origin of the weapon is unknown and we are checking our systems to see if any other detonations were detected. At this time, no other events have been logged and it looks like an isolated event. The size of the weapon is estimated at 300 kt and we think India took out a Chinese boomer.”
“I don’t think India is looking to start WWIII! Any chance the Chinese or someone else might have had an accident?” asked the President.
“Sabotage Yes, an accident No!” snapped the Admiral. The President just leaned back in his chair and wondered what other disasters are around the bend.
_ _
The spouses where having the sewing circle to repair the worn clothing when they noticed the ice was gone on the front window. The other shock was the temperature readout for the remote was working and showing -20 degrees. The cloud cover was heavy, but it felt like a heat wave. They all shouted “where are the bikinis” and that got the men’s attention.
__ _
Just over Pikes Peak something wonderful happened, but no human saw it. A ray of sunshine cut through the haze for about 7 minutes and faded away.
_ __
On the ISS the husband and wife team were looking down on the Earth from the circular viewing window and noticed the haze was thinning. Sunlight reflecting off the ocean was spotted for the first time since the earth became the great snowball.
was it that bad?.........lol
grunt soldier
Master
thats what I'm talking about sir thanks for that installment
thanks for that installment
Cpt Caveman
Master
"The air in the house is dry so there will not be a humidity issue to help spread the sickness."
I think you have it backwards. Dry environments are more conducive to virus transmission.
Chiropractic Economics - Print Article
Q&A: Jeffrey Shaman on Seasonal Flu and Humidity: Sim Sickness: Computing Life - National Institute of General Medical Sciences
PLoS Pathogens: Influenza Virus Transmission Is Dependent on Relative Humidity and Temperature
I wouldn't have said anything if I didn't think it was important for folks to know.
Keep up the good work.
I think you have it backwards. Dry environments are more conducive to virus transmission.
Chiropractic Economics - Print Article
Q&A: Jeffrey Shaman on Seasonal Flu and Humidity: Sim Sickness: Computing Life - National Institute of General Medical Sciences
PLoS Pathogens: Influenza Virus Transmission Is Dependent on Relative Humidity and Temperature
I wouldn't have said anything if I didn't think it was important for folks to know.
Keep up the good work.
Copyright, Longbow Entertainment a Division of Upland Hills
“Get the first aid kit” woke us up from our hibernation today. Craig had morning rounds and no one answered at Mail Man Mikes place when he knocked on the door. On his way back he knocked again and went in when no one answered. He saw everyone in the trailer was grey and not responsive.
He knew the warning signs of CO poisoning and left the door open and ran back for help.
Everyone was getting dressed as fast as they could and was heading out the door partially dressed in cold weather gear. The CO drills we did were to grab and drag the people out of the structure and get them outside on a blanket for evaluation. Seconds count in a CO filled room. Holding our breath was not a big issue for entering a 5th wheel trailer. One by one we got them out and checked for heart beats and breathing. Our efforts were fruitless, they had all expired. We wrapped them up and left them on the snow covered ground. None of us were suited up properly and the cold was already starting to hurt.
Craig turned on the propane furnace in the trailer to keep it warm and looked over the wood stove as best he could. The fire in the stove was down to a few hot coals and was not a threat at the moment.
As he was walking out of the trailer he saw the note taped to the side of the door. He read it outside as he walked back to the house.
This is what the note said:
“We did not die from CO poisoning. Nothing is wrong with the trailer, wood stove or propane heater. Everything we had can be shared with the rest of the group.
My wife and I decided the endless winter was too much for us and the kids. We decided we did not want to die a slow death from starvation and took matters into our own hands. Last night I injected all of us with lethal doses of morphine. It was one of many items I acquired as the world was coming apart. Some will say it was wrong to do, but from what I discovered, I took items from a person that was already stealing them from the local hospital and doctors’ offices. Many of the items were packages that could not be delivered due to size and were awaiting pickup by residents who never came.
At the last full day at the post office, we opened the packages that had not been picked up by the due date and shared them. Those items are under the storage area of the bed in the room over the hitch. Please share them equally with the rest of the group.
The trailer is in great shape and we cleaned before our final rest. All the beds were protected with plastic before we died and should be easy to get ready for the next occupants. All the user manuals and instructions are in the cabinet to the left of the sink.
Sorry for taking the easy road out, but we did it as a family. If the weather ever warms up, please give us all a proper burial.”
Craig walked into the house with frozen tears on his beard and we all read the note in shock.
Two hours later everyone was warmed up enough to do the work, none of us wanted to do. It was too cold to bury the bodies so we decided to store them in the covered bed of Mail Man Mikes pickup. Four men went out and moved the frozen bodies the 50 feet from the trailer to the covered parking area for his pickup resting on jack stands. After the forth body was put in the truck everyone went into the trailer to clean the sheets off the bed and get it ready for the new occupants that would move in in the next day or so. It was creepy how clean they left the place and there really was no evidence of any deaths.
Several of us looked at the gear under the bed and were shocked.
We counted 36 large containers of medications that one would see on the shelves at a pharmacy. These containers had from 250 to 2,000 pills in them. It seems the post office “stopped” the theft of medications from the hospital, but did not yet inform them they were stolen. A pill reference book and doctor’s handbook were with those items to help us understand how to use them. There also was a case with several types of liquid drugs in vials with about a dozen boxes of syringes to be used.
Under the medications were county records files and some gold and silver coins. There were some training books and two boxes of numbered keys. Those got our attention. The numbers on the keys were for storage containers the local Emergency Management Office keep gear at. The local EMO was a mix of fire, police and medical staff who were responsible for the emergency supplies for a 8 county area. Several years back the state broke up the central inventory of emergency supplies due to a fire next door that almost destroyed the entire stockpile. The story in the paper said they were relocating gear and supplies from the site while the neighboring building was still smoking.
We now were in possession of the spare keys and the location of the supplies, but they are 15 miles away at a farm that might not even have the gear anymore.
It was decided at that moment, the drugs should be broken up into three more locations, because they are too valuable to have in one spot. The keys and the instruction books were brought back to the house for additional study.
John was shaking his head as he read through the notes. He also said we should not get our hopes up on these supplies since about 40 different people knew the locations of the supplies and had keys. These sites were set up to provide three days supplies to the first responders of a tornado, train accident an airplane crash. Each of the locations had some flexibility on gear and supplies, but most of the items were just spread out from the main state warehouse supplies. The items from the state were tyvek suits, gloves, booties, masks and body bags. The gear included batteries, body bags, note books, temporary shelters and rain gear. Some cold weather gear and blankets are in the mix. Triage items and mre’s are mixed in for keeping the people fed. The best way he explained it was all the consumable items you would burn through in a mass casualty event. Blankets, gauze/first aid items and cheap clothing to replace what was taken away from the people being decontaminated. He thought the southern locations had additional earthquake gear, but that was a local issue.
Everyone talked some more about this new discovery, but knew it would be weeks or longer before we could check this place out.
The talk shifted back to Mail Man Mikes family and what to do about the trailer. Beth Wilken’s said that she would like to move to the trailer with what is left of her family. They would feel better in the trailer than taking up space in the basement. Her kids would be more open and not feel constrained. No one objected and the packing for the move was started.
Less than 12 hours after one family died in the trailer, another family was moving in. The first moving trip brought the clothes and other family items to the trailer. They spread out and thought it was strange that all personal belongs from Mike’s family were boxed up already. It felt more like moving into a rental cabin after the previous occupant had left. The group pickup and carried out the 5 boxes of private items and placed them in Mike’s truck.
Beth and her kids spent the rest of the evening making the trailer their new home.
_ - -
The southern neighbors were very attentive to the new gentleman who was showing them how to work and use the gear at the cabin. The site was well stocked, but the knowledge to maintain it died with the four who passed from illness or health issues. The ladies were taking good notes on how thing worked and were fast learners.
They talked about the owner who died and things were starting to make sense. The owner of the land was a food service distributor for schools and nursing homes. Just before the snowball event, he brought enough food to fill the basement and shop. He traded a truck load of food for a semi-trailer sized propane tank to keep his own propane tanks filled for a long time.
He had put the word out to his kids to get to back to the farm before things got bad. Most of his children and grandkids showed up, but they did not know how all the stuff worked at his place. The four that died did most of the involved stuff and the others did the routine chores.
They knew enough to run the generator 2 hours or less each day, and use the firewood to heat the house. None of them had a clue how to drive the stick shift trucks or the equipment in the shop. They also were smart enough to keep the shop at 35 degrees so the vehicles would not get too cold.
Through trial and error they figured out how to use most of the guns, but did not have any idea how to clean them. They even managed to use the cut off saw to get into the 36 gun safe.
The cabin was clean, but they needed to be pushed to get it in better shape. Hygiene might have been one of the problems that caused the deaths.
The shop was well stocked and the owner had two of key pieces of equipment. Two generators, two identical farm tractors, two ATV’s, two snow mobiles and two Ford diesel pickups, plus spare parts for at least two seasons of maintenance on all that equipment. It looks like when the guy purchased parts he always added an extra. He also has summer and winter tires for his trucks and a full set of mounted tractor tires. The 4 extra ATV tires were not on mounts, but should be easy enough to replace since he had a manual tire change tool in the corner of the shop.
It also looked like the trucks for his delivery operation were service at this shop. He had about a dozen tires, brake drums and other truck parts over on a back shelves. None of the tools were for complex repairs, just the routine maintenance and replacement of items that broke. However, his selection of hand tools and replacement parts was well beyond anything back at the house. A large waste oil tank and a waste oil heater were back in that part of the shop and was 2/3rds full.
It is never a bad thing to have one more source of heat if an emergency happens.
The ladies asked for some help with the short wave radio, and they slowly scanned the frequencies until they found someone in Switzerland speaking English. The national defense bunkers in the country were helping keep many people alive and they had even moved cows and other farm animals into the tunnels and sealed them off. It was proving to be an effective way to keep them alive and moving about. He faded out in a few minutes and at least part of Europe was still kicking.
The cloud cover was heavy today and the high at 2 PM was -19, We are in the middle of a heat wave!. Last night the temperature dropped to just -30. The amount of light is building each day and we know the temperatures are going to continue to rise. We even think last night we were able to detect some moonlight through the clouds. Shortwave radio broadcasts are reporting similar temperature increases, but we have not heard anything from south of the equator.
I went back to putting some thoughts down in the journal and looked at the weather and light readings from the past week. Both show steady increases and in less than a month, the average high could reach zero degrees or better.
“Get the first aid kit” woke us up from our hibernation today. Craig had morning rounds and no one answered at Mail Man Mikes place when he knocked on the door. On his way back he knocked again and went in when no one answered. He saw everyone in the trailer was grey and not responsive.
He knew the warning signs of CO poisoning and left the door open and ran back for help.
Everyone was getting dressed as fast as they could and was heading out the door partially dressed in cold weather gear. The CO drills we did were to grab and drag the people out of the structure and get them outside on a blanket for evaluation. Seconds count in a CO filled room. Holding our breath was not a big issue for entering a 5th wheel trailer. One by one we got them out and checked for heart beats and breathing. Our efforts were fruitless, they had all expired. We wrapped them up and left them on the snow covered ground. None of us were suited up properly and the cold was already starting to hurt.
Craig turned on the propane furnace in the trailer to keep it warm and looked over the wood stove as best he could. The fire in the stove was down to a few hot coals and was not a threat at the moment.
As he was walking out of the trailer he saw the note taped to the side of the door. He read it outside as he walked back to the house.
This is what the note said:
“We did not die from CO poisoning. Nothing is wrong with the trailer, wood stove or propane heater. Everything we had can be shared with the rest of the group.
My wife and I decided the endless winter was too much for us and the kids. We decided we did not want to die a slow death from starvation and took matters into our own hands. Last night I injected all of us with lethal doses of morphine. It was one of many items I acquired as the world was coming apart. Some will say it was wrong to do, but from what I discovered, I took items from a person that was already stealing them from the local hospital and doctors’ offices. Many of the items were packages that could not be delivered due to size and were awaiting pickup by residents who never came.
At the last full day at the post office, we opened the packages that had not been picked up by the due date and shared them. Those items are under the storage area of the bed in the room over the hitch. Please share them equally with the rest of the group.
The trailer is in great shape and we cleaned before our final rest. All the beds were protected with plastic before we died and should be easy to get ready for the next occupants. All the user manuals and instructions are in the cabinet to the left of the sink.
Sorry for taking the easy road out, but we did it as a family. If the weather ever warms up, please give us all a proper burial.”
Craig walked into the house with frozen tears on his beard and we all read the note in shock.
Two hours later everyone was warmed up enough to do the work, none of us wanted to do. It was too cold to bury the bodies so we decided to store them in the covered bed of Mail Man Mikes pickup. Four men went out and moved the frozen bodies the 50 feet from the trailer to the covered parking area for his pickup resting on jack stands. After the forth body was put in the truck everyone went into the trailer to clean the sheets off the bed and get it ready for the new occupants that would move in in the next day or so. It was creepy how clean they left the place and there really was no evidence of any deaths.
Several of us looked at the gear under the bed and were shocked.
We counted 36 large containers of medications that one would see on the shelves at a pharmacy. These containers had from 250 to 2,000 pills in them. It seems the post office “stopped” the theft of medications from the hospital, but did not yet inform them they were stolen. A pill reference book and doctor’s handbook were with those items to help us understand how to use them. There also was a case with several types of liquid drugs in vials with about a dozen boxes of syringes to be used.
Under the medications were county records files and some gold and silver coins. There were some training books and two boxes of numbered keys. Those got our attention. The numbers on the keys were for storage containers the local Emergency Management Office keep gear at. The local EMO was a mix of fire, police and medical staff who were responsible for the emergency supplies for a 8 county area. Several years back the state broke up the central inventory of emergency supplies due to a fire next door that almost destroyed the entire stockpile. The story in the paper said they were relocating gear and supplies from the site while the neighboring building was still smoking.
We now were in possession of the spare keys and the location of the supplies, but they are 15 miles away at a farm that might not even have the gear anymore.
It was decided at that moment, the drugs should be broken up into three more locations, because they are too valuable to have in one spot. The keys and the instruction books were brought back to the house for additional study.
John was shaking his head as he read through the notes. He also said we should not get our hopes up on these supplies since about 40 different people knew the locations of the supplies and had keys. These sites were set up to provide three days supplies to the first responders of a tornado, train accident an airplane crash. Each of the locations had some flexibility on gear and supplies, but most of the items were just spread out from the main state warehouse supplies. The items from the state were tyvek suits, gloves, booties, masks and body bags. The gear included batteries, body bags, note books, temporary shelters and rain gear. Some cold weather gear and blankets are in the mix. Triage items and mre’s are mixed in for keeping the people fed. The best way he explained it was all the consumable items you would burn through in a mass casualty event. Blankets, gauze/first aid items and cheap clothing to replace what was taken away from the people being decontaminated. He thought the southern locations had additional earthquake gear, but that was a local issue.
Everyone talked some more about this new discovery, but knew it would be weeks or longer before we could check this place out.
The talk shifted back to Mail Man Mikes family and what to do about the trailer. Beth Wilken’s said that she would like to move to the trailer with what is left of her family. They would feel better in the trailer than taking up space in the basement. Her kids would be more open and not feel constrained. No one objected and the packing for the move was started.
Less than 12 hours after one family died in the trailer, another family was moving in. The first moving trip brought the clothes and other family items to the trailer. They spread out and thought it was strange that all personal belongs from Mike’s family were boxed up already. It felt more like moving into a rental cabin after the previous occupant had left. The group pickup and carried out the 5 boxes of private items and placed them in Mike’s truck.
Beth and her kids spent the rest of the evening making the trailer their new home.
_ - -
The southern neighbors were very attentive to the new gentleman who was showing them how to work and use the gear at the cabin. The site was well stocked, but the knowledge to maintain it died with the four who passed from illness or health issues. The ladies were taking good notes on how thing worked and were fast learners.
They talked about the owner who died and things were starting to make sense. The owner of the land was a food service distributor for schools and nursing homes. Just before the snowball event, he brought enough food to fill the basement and shop. He traded a truck load of food for a semi-trailer sized propane tank to keep his own propane tanks filled for a long time.
He had put the word out to his kids to get to back to the farm before things got bad. Most of his children and grandkids showed up, but they did not know how all the stuff worked at his place. The four that died did most of the involved stuff and the others did the routine chores.
They knew enough to run the generator 2 hours or less each day, and use the firewood to heat the house. None of them had a clue how to drive the stick shift trucks or the equipment in the shop. They also were smart enough to keep the shop at 35 degrees so the vehicles would not get too cold.
Through trial and error they figured out how to use most of the guns, but did not have any idea how to clean them. They even managed to use the cut off saw to get into the 36 gun safe.
The cabin was clean, but they needed to be pushed to get it in better shape. Hygiene might have been one of the problems that caused the deaths.
The shop was well stocked and the owner had two of key pieces of equipment. Two generators, two identical farm tractors, two ATV’s, two snow mobiles and two Ford diesel pickups, plus spare parts for at least two seasons of maintenance on all that equipment. It looks like when the guy purchased parts he always added an extra. He also has summer and winter tires for his trucks and a full set of mounted tractor tires. The 4 extra ATV tires were not on mounts, but should be easy enough to replace since he had a manual tire change tool in the corner of the shop.
It also looked like the trucks for his delivery operation were service at this shop. He had about a dozen tires, brake drums and other truck parts over on a back shelves. None of the tools were for complex repairs, just the routine maintenance and replacement of items that broke. However, his selection of hand tools and replacement parts was well beyond anything back at the house. A large waste oil tank and a waste oil heater were back in that part of the shop and was 2/3rds full.
It is never a bad thing to have one more source of heat if an emergency happens.
The ladies asked for some help with the short wave radio, and they slowly scanned the frequencies until they found someone in Switzerland speaking English. The national defense bunkers in the country were helping keep many people alive and they had even moved cows and other farm animals into the tunnels and sealed them off. It was proving to be an effective way to keep them alive and moving about. He faded out in a few minutes and at least part of Europe was still kicking.
The cloud cover was heavy today and the high at 2 PM was -19, We are in the middle of a heat wave!. Last night the temperature dropped to just -30. The amount of light is building each day and we know the temperatures are going to continue to rise. We even think last night we were able to detect some moonlight through the clouds. Shortwave radio broadcasts are reporting similar temperature increases, but we have not heard anything from south of the equator.
I went back to putting some thoughts down in the journal and looked at the weather and light readings from the past week. Both show steady increases and in less than a month, the average high could reach zero degrees or better.
Thanks, LB - strong stuff. A thought I had running through many of your descriptions of the deaths was how many of them had been "accidental" CO2 poisoning, and how many may have been conscious decisions. Your treatment of the issue has been superb.
It is probably rude to make a "request" in a thread like this, but I will anyway. As background, in the Clancy book, "Patriot Games," the Ryan family has a dog - a great dog that plays a pivotal role in one scene... then we never hear about it again. That always bothered me.
So, for that and other reasons, I'm painfully interested in the story of the wheelchair-bound deaf boy with the good aim. I would love for there to be, at the appropriate time, a story line about him and his family. Of course, apologies for both the request and if I missed it somewhere.
Keep up the great work!
It is probably rude to make a "request" in a thread like this, but I will anyway.
As background, in the Clancy book, "Patriot Games," the Ryan family has a dog - a great dog that plays a pivotal role in one scene... then we never hear about it again. That always bothered me. So, for that and other reasons, I'm painfully interested in the story of the wheelchair-bound deaf boy with the good aim. I would love for there to be, at the appropriate time, a story line about him and his family. Of course, apologies for both the request and if I missed it somewhere.
Keep up the great work!
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