Matthew Mark - Dark Days Rough Roads

“They are all in the compound right now, Rob. I don’t think they are coming back out any time soon. Too many injured and dead to worry about, and we just handed them their asses. We took hits too, but we hit hard with those planes and that track.

“Is there a place we can go talk?”

One of the guys spoke up. “We can go to my tooling shop just down the street.”

“Ok, let’s go.” They left the burn barrel going and went down to the tooling shop. The barrel might lead the militia to believe they were still near the feed store. As they walked by the feed store, Haliday looked the place over. “We’ll grab our bikes and meet you there.”

The guy unlocked the door; Haliday posted someone near the door to keep an eye out. “Before we start, what’s in the bins and everything over there at the feed store?”

“Oh, it’s corn, wheat and soy. Same with the trucks in the lot.”

“Damn, that’s a lot of food. I’m surprised they didn’t take it.”

“Well, they tried, but no way to move it in bulk. They were trying to find a truck to tow the trailers.”

Haliday was surprised they hadn’t posted a guard there. “I thought it was a feed store,” he said.

Rob said, “No, it’s an elevator co-op, too.”

“Hold on before we continue.” Haliday called the group.

Kevin came on the radio. “We’re all fine. Uncle Roger, are you guys ok? We got worried. We heard them say they took out the leader and thought it was you. Dawn and Grandma are basket cases. Well, they were. Now that they heard your voice, they are ok, I guess.”

“Ya, we’re fine. I’m going to cover a few things with these people here. I have to get them organized so they can handle the militia themselves now. Give them some ideas and plans. We’ll be there soon.”

“Ya, you keep saying that.”

“Ok, ok, we’ll be there when we get there.”

Haliday gathered the guys around. “This shop have any welding tools?”

Andy the shop owner answered. “Ya, we have plenty of tanks and torches. It’ll be old school, but we can manage.”

“You have sheet metal at all?”

“Nothing more than ¼ inch.”

“What about the other shops in the area, there’s a bunch of them I noticed.”

“I’m sure we have quite a bit if we put it together,” the shop owner said.

Roger looked at him, “That’s good to know.

“Anyway, you guys have seen first hand how the militia here is operating right? So you all know first hand along with the rest that those people are not here for the good of the community. You need to spread the word.”

“How do we do that?” someone asked.

“Word of mouth, use markers and write on their bulletins, whatever you can think of,” Rob told him.

“Use the ham, search for others, pass the word about who they are and what they are about. Let them know you do not recognize their authority. Make sure they understand that. Make sure you tell them you are now in charge.” Rob looked concerned. “Not like your pal Jim did, I mean the community is in charge.”

“I told you guys already you need to be teamed up when you are out. I also told you that you need to be armed. That means everyone who can fire a weapon. Power in numbers. Carry as much ammo as you can. Avoid firefights, shoot and run to get the hell out of there. You get out of there as fast as possible. They’ll win a straight up firefight.”

“The gas stations are important. You need to lock them all down and let them know what’s going on. That gas is a precious commodity. You might want to think about treating as much of it as you can. Any stabilizer you can find you should use. Don’t let them get that either. If you place a car over the tank access and take the wheels off, it’s hard to move it that way.”

“Save any canned food for last. Eat what’s fresh first. Use that grain. Hit up the library and check for cookbooks. Same with auto repair manuals, electrical repair, hell, anything you think you might need. Conserve your wood, burn it for warmth, not comfort. There’s a difference. Only burn enough to keep the edge off the cold. Use clothing and blankets to keep warm.”

“Think about teaming up in households. It’ll help save wood and the safety factor is worth it alone. Make sure the houses are secured; keep doors locked, windows secured, all that good stuff. I can’t tell you enough how important it is. Remember safety and security at all times and in all locations.”

“If you guys plan to hunt, try to keep it reasonable. I mean, don’t hunt to eat meat every day. You can overhunt. If you all go out and hunt everything in sight, within a few weeks it’ll be impossible to find game. Ration control is your friend. You’ll be surprised at how little you need to eat. Keep a balance of protein and carbs though. Think about crops next year. That’s all you guys do around here is farm and fish, right?”

“I could go on and on, but it would take weeks. What I will do is teach you some of the tricks I used here and some new ones as well. You have to think guerilla warfare. If you can’t work it out with them and you go on the offensive, you need to go primal on them. You’ve seen how well it works.”

Haliday walked out to his bike and brought in a star jack. “These are also known as caltrops. I’ll leave this one with you. If you are being followed by bad guys, you toss a few dozen of these behind you and they’ll flatten tires. Make as many as you can. Keep them on every vehicle you use.

“Everyone here knows what stop sticks are, right? The cops use them. Well, here’s a poor mans version. You take plate steel and cut it in strips. The longer the better. Six inches wide. Use a torch and cut some very sharp V’s into the middle. Three inches on each side. Bend those up and sharpen the edges and point. Hide them under leaves, loose dirt, lay them down as needed, you get the idea.”

“Don’t try to up armor your vehicles, the weight will kill them. But you can double up this plate steel and make some firing portals. If you build a plate that’s 30 inches wide and 18 inches tall, with a slot cut in it, when you are laying down prone behind it, it’ll provide cover. Except from snipers who take the high ground. But they can’t be moved easily because of the weight, so be careful how you use them.”

“You can take some peppers, grind them down, mix in some boiling water and let it cool. Add oil along with a touch of gas and use it in balloons, squirt guns, water extinguishers or whatever will spray and spread it. Improvised pepper spray. The stores around here might have some they usually sold for key chains.”

“Bug spray and flammables can make some nice little flame throwers. Light it with a match or lighter and spray away. If you feel giddy enough you can tape a candle to the can and light it. Just move slowly so the flame doesn’t go out. You guys have to think outside of the box here on everything. I’ll try to make contact and give you more ideas.”

Rob walked over to him. He extended his hand. “I don’t who the hell you are, but thank you very much. I hope I speak for everyone here.” Everyone was thanking them. “Any parting words of wisdom?”

“Bury your dead, and honor them with the freedom the constitution gives us.”

They peered outside. They walked over to their bikes and climbed on. A quick wave good-bye and they were on their way. The streets were all empty. No one was out. They barely noticed any candles burning anywhere as they rode along. About 45 minutes later they called on the radio. “Open the doors. Stand by. We’re home.”

They put the bikes in the pole barn and walked by the horses’ stalls. He paused to say hello, they knew him well. They locked up the pole barn with the help of Kevin and went to the house. They walked in and were greeted with hugs from everyone. Even Blake who had found a new family. Lots of tears of joy streamed down the faces.