When The Fault Breaks: Life Will Never Be The Same Page 35

  Motioning toward the ladies, "I would like to say welcome once more to our new residents Nina and Lydia here. They came from the house in Colorado that we found all the stuff that will make all our lives better here. I know you all don't want to hear from me so I will hand you over to our guests."

  Motioning to our new members, "Ladies…"

  Norm said, "Thanks Peter, you're right we don't."

  "Funny Norm."

  Chapter 43: The Mile High City

  Lydia and Nina both stepped up to the front of the amphitheater to tell everyone their tales. Everyone fell eerily silent very quickly. It had been some time since we got any news from the rest of the country or world for that matter.

  "Hi everyone my name is Nina and this is my best friend in the world Lydia. We have been buds since we were in grade school in Denver. We lived there all our lives and were horrified when the quake hit."

  Someone called out, "Did you feel it?"

  Nina continued, "Some people said that they felt it and some said they didn't, neither of us did. Every channel on TV, including the non-network ones, interrupted their programming to tell the world what they knew, but it was not much. The most ironic thing was that we had just watched an episode of 'Doomsday Preppers' about being ready for a major earthquake when they interrupted the show we were watching."

  "Being long time Preppers we looked into each other's eyes and knew this was it. The funny thing about it was that at the end of the episode about a killer quake the supposed experts said 'The chances of it happening were very low', it was just a few minutes later it happened."

  "After that evaluation, Nina told me that their experts were full of shit and sure enough she was right."

  "Thanks Lydia for the confidence, anyway we had prepared for anything and knew what to do in this type of situation, we debated, do we stay and bug in or get the hell out of dodge. We figured that given how far away we were that we might have a few days before the shit hit the fan. It only took one day before things started to go haywire.

  But we didn't wait, we geared up as soon as we heard about the quake. We hit REI and got every freeze-dried item they had. It was funny, the clerk asked us why we bought them out, we told her the truth and that she needed to get ready but she just looked at us like we were insane.

  When I looked back the dumb bitch was shaking her head and pointing to us with another casher and laughing.

  We sure got the last laugh. We knew we needed to get the hell out fast, we maxed out all our credit cards and went nuts getting even better stuff like a real nice light weight tent and negative fifteen down sleeping bags that we could put together. It was not even four hours later that we started seeing things crumble and hauled ass out of there.

  Because we had been Prepper's for a long time, we were already very ready. We had mapped out our escape route and practiced it many times over the years, so when it came time to go it worked like clockwork. We knew precisely which forest service roads to take and had a Jeep 4x4 with nice clearance towing our fully decked out Can-Am Commander with lift kits and the full tilting windshield to get us way beyond the roads.

  We got out of Denver around five that night and headed up I-70 toward the Eisenhower/Johnson Tunnel. The traffic had already starting to slow down but we still made it to our favorite overlook. We both cried when we looked back at our hometown. There were huge plumes of smoke rising from the city.

  We sat and watched for some time and as the sun set completely. We could see the glow of all the fires, and I hated that I was right. But at least we were out of there before it all came apart.

  We turned south heading for Salida, and made it to our jump off point where we had even more supplies stashed for just such an emergency."

  "It sounds like you guys were set for bear. How did you end up in a farm in the south?"

  "That is getting a bit ahead of ourselves. We made it to our bug-out location just after dark and settled in for what we expected to be a very long camp out. We had tons of food, and year ago we had bought a cabin on an incredible lake that was teaming with fish.

  The only road to it was overgrown years before we found it and we did not use it to get there, so we figured we would be isolated from anyone indefinitely. We also figured we could go in once in a while to see if there was anything new.

  We listened to our radio and were saddened by what we were hearing. When we heard that the government had fallen it was too surreal. One day in late fall we returned to the cabin after fishing and found the cabin had burned down. We have no idea how or why only that we lost everything in it. The only thing we had left was our Can-am which we had hidden away from the cabin.

  We decided we needed to move on seeing how we had lost all our food except what we had stored in the Can-am. We had left our tent and sleeping bags in the ATV as well as other things we figured we would need if we had to bug out from the cabin.

  Over the course of fall, we traveled south on forest service roads and off road. In time the gas ran out and we had to pack everything in our pack and continue on foot until we came across the house they found us in. By then it was just a bit before winter. We could not believe our luck when we found it and realized it was untouched.

  The rest of the story is we are now here with you guys looking forward to our new life in Little Haven."

  There were few questions for the ladies and it was getting late, so we decided to call it a night. Before he got away again I asked Doug if he was up for a chat.

  "You did an incredible job again Doug. Fred sure knew what he was doing when he picked you for his team."

  "Thank you Peter, but it's great to be home."

  "You sure found a bunch of cool stuff there. It was real nice of both of you to donate so much of it to those that need it more than others. I hope you kept enough for yourself to make your life more comfortable."

  "We did, and I'm looking forward to having a few of the comforts of the twenty-first century without the rat race that came with it was before the quake."

  "Good for you, I understand I have you to thank for all those appliances."

  "I just showed them to Alex. He was the one who grabbed them and brought them home to you."

  "Well anyway, we will put all of them to good use, just wait for the next potluck. I make some killer baked beans with a crock pot and they will make you drool."

  "I can't wait Peter, I'm glad you will be able to put them to use."

  "I understand that you also found a complete solar power system."

  "I did and my plan is to give it to the village to use with the greenhouse."

  "That will not be necessary Doug, we have plenty of panels to run the green house without the power system. I know you and your ladies do not have power, why don't you install them on your place so you can have lights for your family."

  "Well for one thing Peter, I am a ranger and not an electrician. Give me a target and I will take care of it, but installing solar is out of my league."

  "I will help you install your system, it's the least I can do for you after watching over Alex for us. You guys made quite the haul this trip and its great how much you just gave to the community."

  "It's my pleasure Peter, there is still much more left at the house, but I'm not sure it's a good idea to return. We were lucky to have made it out without any troubles."

  "What are those green sheet-looking dirt things I saw removed from the helo Doug?"

  "Oh those, they are two foot by two-foot bamboo mats. Alex saw the bamboo and said we needed to cut them. There was a huge field of bamboo growing at the farm. Bamboo is a major asset if we plant them right, it can be used in so many ways."

  "He's right there are many uses for bamboo. What do you say about making that your crop for anyone that wants to use it?"

  "That would be great, it will give the girls a good job. Alex told me how easy it is to grow and about the many things that can be done with it."

  "Perfect I will get them all down to your farm on the A
TV."

  With that we both went about our day.

  Chapter 44: The Transmission

  Georgia was on radio duty one day when the normal silence was broken. Everyone in the room sat in silence as they listened to the voice on the radio.

  "Attention, attention. This is the Rocky Mountain Republic broadcasting on 1345.450. We are broadcasting to announce the first regional swap meet located in Aztec, New Mexico at the county fairgrounds. This is a safe zone and security will be provided by the United Aztec Militia.

  We will have all sorts of items available for sale or trade including all sorts of food, ammo, and comfort items. We welcome all who can hear this transmission and we will have a huge BBQ cook out for anyone that attends.

  If you hear this transmission and wish to attend feel free to respond acknowledging your intention to attend. A generalized list of items you can bring will help others know what to expect. If you are maintaining radio silence, we understand your need to remain isolated. The date and time will be on a separate message as well as more details about the event. There will be a meeting after the cookout for all the leaders of any settlements to discuss what is going on around us.

  This message will repeat itself all day.

  Attention, attention…"

  Randy exclaimed, "Everyone come quickly we just received a radio transmission from someplace in New Mexico. They're having a regional swap meet and are looking for attendees. Marty go get Peter, Eugene can you go get Brandon, they both need to hear this."

  "I will head up and get Peter."

  "Thanks Marty."

  Eugene replied, "okay I will get Brandon and anyone else along the way."

  It did not take long before the cave filled up with people wanting to hear the first voice we have heard over the radio in a very long time. They were all even more excited to hear that some semblance of civilization was out there, it was incredible.

  By now I had arrived and the place was packed. Everyone was hollering and laughing and talking about what they wanted and what they had to trade.

  "Hi everyone, this sounds like quite the event."

  "Peter you need to hear this, it's about to start over."

  "This message will repeat itself all day."

  "Attention, Attention. This is the Rocky Mountain Republic broadcasting on 1345.450, … there will be a meeting after the cookout for all the leaders of any settlements to discuss what's going on around us.

  This message will repeat itself all day."

  "Well Brandon we knew the day would come when we would hear something on the radio. It was not what I expected, but it's good news anyway. Fred I see you have made it; I think we need to go."

  Fred replied, "We all need to talk about this and figure out who will get to go because we can only take three people in the helo."

  Brandon spoke up, "Well Alex is a given, I think one of them should be you Peter, as you would represent us at the meeting."

  There was a loud agreement among the large crowd that had gathered.

  "I want to go; I want to go."

  We heard it over and over from all over the crowd.

  Brandon spoke up again, "We are going to have to figure out who gets to go, what we can bring and what we want. How the hell are we going to do that so that everyone feels it is fair?"

  Chloe came up to Fred, Brandon and I with an idea.

  "Why don't we have a lottery? We can put white rocks in a closed bag for everyone that wants to go, and two black rocks. We each reach in and take a rock and the two black rocks get to go."

  "Hold on everyone, we will have to wait for more info about this before we start drawing stones. The council and I will have to sit down and go over whether or not we even want to respond to the broadcast or just show up."

  The discussion went on all day long and did not stop until well after the last of the transmissions. Many good ideas came up about what we could bring including lots of our food stock. But Floyd had one truly intriguing idea.

  "Hey Peter, I have an idea that I think you will really like."

  "Okay you have my attention Floyd, what do you have on your mind?"

  "I have talked it over with the rest of the people I came here with, and we have decided to donate most of the gold we found. We each only want a small amount to keep as a reminder of our experience and we want the rest to be used to get something for the good of the village."

  "Wow that is a really selfless act on all your parts. I'm sure that gold will be the number one item of trade there."

  Brandon joined in, "That will make things much easier and we can send less food for trade."

  Days went by and no transmission, when the silence was broken again.

  "Attention, Attention. This is the Rocky Mountain Republic broadcasting on 1345.450. Plans are still on for the swap meet, it will be held on the thirty first of October starting at eight A.M. Booths will be free to all sellers and there is no admission fee for this event. Check in will be at seven A.M. the morning of the meet and all sellers will be assigned a location based on what they have to trade.

  All, firearms will be checked at the gate and will be returned when you depart. The meet will last three days and there is space to set up camp on the same site as your booth. Water and toilet services will be available but not electricity.

  Representatives from the Rocky Mountain Republic will be present to talk with any interested settlement. Meeting with them is NOT required for attendance, and there will not be any high-pressure sales pitch to join.

  If you are planning on attending key your microphone once at the end of this transmission at four o-clock tonight. Please one key only to tell us how many groups will be coming.

  Attention, Attention…"

  I said, "Well now that we know more we need to figure out who is going. Let's have a meeting tonight and we can use Chloe's idea with the stones. That will be as fair as can be."

  "I will get the word out Peter."

  "Thanks Rodger, I'm sure we will have a good turnout tonight."

  That night I informed everyone about the details and told them all Chloe's idea and that she has already made a bag of rocks to draw from. To my surprise not everyone showed up for the drawing. Many had expressed concerns that it was a setup and that we should not attend. Some feared that if any of us were captured that they would torture us to tell them our location.

  I started it out, "We all know why we are here so let's get this underway." An overwhelming resounding cheer went out by all.

  "Chloe can you join me down here."

  "Coming."

  "While she makes her way here, I want to say I'm happy to see all of you. I want to thank Floyd and his people for the generous offer to give up most of their gold, it will be a great bargaining tool. I'm sure this will be a great experience, and that we will find something good for all. And I know that if we have the opportunity to meet with a new central government we should at least hear them out. Okay Chloe's down here so I will hand you off to her."

  "Hi everyone, this is my first time down here. I'm not used to being up here in front all of you. We had each of you drop a white rock in a bag if you are interested in a chance to go to the swap meet. I know many of you here tonight decided not drop in a stone, but you are still more than welcome to stay and see the results. I have two black rocks to drop in the bag. Whoever draws a black rock will get to go on the flight to Aztec for the meet."

  Chloe dropped the stones into the bag in front of everyone and handed the bag to Fred. He did not want to go so he was a good unbiased person to hold it. One by one each person that wanted to go reached in the bag.

  Elated Bill yelled out, "I GOT ONE, I GOT ONE!" and held his black rock in the air.

  More rocks were removed when David simply raised his hand with a black rock and nodded his head. I made the third passenger so the lottery was over.

  "It looks like we have our three passengers, if you two can join me here we can go over the details of our trip tomorrow. Alex
will be flying in tonight and he will land in my field and stay with us. We already have everything that we will be using to trade and Floyd will bring the gold up in the morning as well. If you guys can be at my place by 0800 we can be on our way by 1000."

  The next morning, we loaded everything in the helo and got off right on schedule, the flight to Aztec was uneventful and we were shown our spot.

  Chapter 45: The Swap Meet

  It took us a few hours to fly to Aztec for the swap meet. As we approached the radio crackled to life.