Fiction – Ruth’s Story #47 Finally leaving the Lake City Way barricade after first raid SHTF & TEOTWAWKI zombie fiction

I recognize the voice on the back of my neck as coming from Randy immediately.

“I think Nikola is going to make a funeral pyre for Jonah with this trash filled car.”

I get the average male noncommittal grunt from Randy. I turn around after talking to Randy to see Nikola unwinding the wire from around the Soviet thermite grenade. He works in silence for a few moments laying the thermite grenade in the hollow cavity he created between the seats.

Nikola starts walking backwards towards the barricade playing out the fine black wire from the grenade. Nikola threaded the grenade’s wire through the driver’s door, which he closed carefully.

I follow Nikola watching for any curious zombie or raider as we walk across the intersection towards the barricade. Just as we reach the northern corner we a hollow-sounding whumping noise that shakes the ground under our feet.

Randy who is walking beside me with Sutton on his left side says, “Satchel charge went, that would be propane tanks exploding in the meth lab.”

Pretty soon we can see the fire’s flickering orange glare spreading rapidly through the small wooden building. The bright light and heat emitted by the burning meth lab starts to mess up our NVGs.

As we get to the corner of the barricade, we hear the northern Metro bus gate start and start to roll backwards opening the gate. As the bus gate opens I hear all the other equipment in the convoy start and all of the equipment rolls out of the barricade with the snow plow leading.

I see all the vehicles, including Carol and Nikola’s blue Chevy diesel pick up roll out of the barricade and even the tail end charlie Hummer with its mounted .30 caliber belt fed machine gun. Conspicuously absent is my little Smart car.

Sam leans out of the VW driver’s door and stands up beside the car shouting “Get your ass in your ride and let’s go. Sutt come here for a moment. Ruth go see what is wrong with your car, the kid should have driven it here by now.”

As I turn and lift my NVGs so I can run I hear Sutton get close to Sam and I hear Sutton utter “sweet two boxes of Federal Vital-Shok 180gr Nosler Partitions that brings us up to 104 rounds of .300 Win Mag.” Followed by Sam’s, “don’t waste it.”

Jamal walks past the right side of my car and walks to the front of the convoy, I guess, as I lose sight of him after he passes the humongous HEMTT in front of the VW.

Running for my little car I see there is a young white male sitting in the driver’s seat. I whip the driver’s door open yelling at the young kid “Move your ass boy, we are being left behind by the convoy!”

The kid slides into the passenger seat which I notice has been cleared in my absence. I look around the car and see while we out on a raid the convoy has packed up and left.

I start my little Smart car, the car hesitating a few moments and shaking. A cloud of smoke comes coughing out of the little tail pipe.

As I drive for the barricade gate which is slowly closing, I look at the kid in the passenger seat, an M4 with an ACOG resting muzzle up on the floor between his legs. His left arm bears the Ranger and Mountain tabs as well as the emblem of the 10^th Mountain Division.

“So what the fuck? Why did you not drive my car and remain in position within the convoy. And what is your name, soldier?”

“Ma’am, I am called Shack by most people but my proper name is Meshach.”

“You mean like in the book of Daniel Meshach, and do not call me ma’am, call me Ruth.”

As I drive the little Smart car through the gate and watch it close behind my little car, I ponder the unexpected passenger I now have. He looks like your average white kid from middle America.

“Yes, Ruth I was named after Meshach in the book of Daniel, I am a PK.”

“PK?”

“Preacher’s kid, Ruth, my father is a Baptist minister in Kansas City, Kansas.”

“Oh Ok, so why did you not drive the car out of the barricade?”

As the huge articulated Metro bus settles back in place blocking the street again and its motor stops, I pass the rear guard Hummer and start to overtake Carol and Nikola’s Chevy pickup.

“I am sorry Ruth, but I cannot drive a stick. I did not realize your car was a manual until I was assigned to drive it out of the barricade.”

“So what happened in the barricade, Shack?”

“Well, the colonels decided the barricade members were not likely friendly so they confiscated all the weapons and locked them in the walk-in freezer in the Chinese restaurant. The colonels released the barricade member’s kids letting them figure who they want to release. Everyone we bagged and tagged was dumped in the Chinese restaurant, but we let the four kids loose to decide who gets freed first. I do not think that fat bastard will be running things anymore, the women who were being held in the homes were pretty pissed.”

So I guess the young boy Mal smacked in the head with her door is Ok, that is good news.

We pass the Chevy pickup and I swerve into my position in the convoy. Just as I pull into my spot, the convoy comes to a stop. In my rear mirror I see Nikola run back and pick something up in the street and do something then drop the item and run back to the idling truck.

Over my radio, I hear “Thermite grenade is lit, maybe five-minute time delay.”

A response on the radio comes after a brief delay. “Ok with the meth lab fire and hopefully Jonah’s funeral pyre, that should distract the zombies a while. We confiscated some heroin from the meth lab, and got some supplies although we lost a member. Let’s take a moment to remember our departed soldier.”

I see Jamal walking back to the VW station wagon and climbs in the passenger seat. What the hell was he doing?

“Everybody check your radios for a hot mike.”

Following this broadcast instruction is a whole bunch of clicking as everyone clicks their transmit button (including myself) several times to make sure it is not stuck in the “transmit” position.

“Alright enough clicking let’s get a move on!”

With that we slowly start rolling again continuing east on Lake City Way.

We drive in silence for a few minutes then we swerve to the right shoulder trail along the street. The convoy pauses for a few minutes idling and then we hear a loud crackling ear-hurting bang followed by a bright flash of light.

“Folks we are going to use this nice wide sidewalk along the road on the right shoulder but we have to get the steel pillars out-of-the-way that are supposed to block vehicles from driving on the path like we are going to. To clear the trail along Lake City Way, we are using C4 and det cord to clear obstacles. The noise is likely to attract attention but we hope to travel faster on this trail as no vehicles are in the way.”

After that announcement from Sam we get rolling again and we drive over a small smoking crater that must have once held a steel post preventing cars on the path that we are now using.

Travelling along the cleared path is nice and smooth. The convoy rolls along stopping occasionally to blast another post out-of-the-way, making pretty decent time. Near 2 a.m. in the morning we reach the cement plant that Pete must have been talking about.

We pause for a moment near the cement plant while the det guys blow another post out-of-the-way. While my ears are ringing from the crack of the explosion, suddenly Carol’s voice comes over the radio, “Guys listen to this, Nicky found a transmission. It is on a very low AM freq.”

A brief pregnant pause follows and then a very official government-sounding voice comes over the radio. The voice sounds calm and very distinctly British.

“This is the Wartime Broadcasting Service. This country has been attacked with nuclear weapons. Communications have been severely disrupted, and the number of casualties and the extent of the damage are not yet known. We shall bring you further information as soon as possible. Meanwhile, stay tuned to this wavelength, stay calm and stay in your own homes.

Remember there is nothing to be gained by trying to get away. By leaving your homes you could be exposing yourselves to greater danger.

If you leave, you may find yourself without food, without water, without accommodation and without protection. Radioactive fall-out, which follows a nuclear explosion, is many times more dangerous if you are directly exposed to it in the open. Roofs and walls offer substantial protection. The safest place is indoors.

Make sure gas and other fuel supplies are turned off and that all fires are extinguished. If mains water is available, this can be used for fire-fighting. You should also refill all your containers for drinking water after the fires have been put out, because the mains water supply may not be available for very long.

Water must not be used for flushing lavatories: until you are told that lavatories may be used again, other toilet arrangements must be made. Use your water only for essential drinking and cooking purposes. Water means life. Don’t waste it.

Make your food stocks last: ration your supply, because it may have to last for 14 days or more. If you have fresh food in the house, use this first to avoid wasting it: food in tins will keep.

If you live in an area where a fall-out warning has been given, stay in your fall-out room until you are told it is safe to come out. When the immediate danger has passed the sirens will sound a steady note. The “all clear” message will also be given on this wavelength. If you leave the fall-out room to go to the lavatory or replenish food or water supplies, do not remain outside the room for a minute longer than is necessary.

Do not, in any circumstances, go outside the house. Radioactive fall-out can kill. You cannot see it or feel it, but it is there. If you go outside, you will bring danger to your family and you may die. Stay in your fall-out room until you are told it is safe to come out or you hear the “all clear” on the sirens.

Here are the main points again:

Stay in your own homes, and if you live in an area where a fall-out warning has been given stay in your fall-out room, until you are told it is safe to come out. The message that the immediate danger has passed will be given by the sirens and repeated on this wavelength. Make sure that the gas and all fuel supplies are turned off and that all fires are extinguished.

Water must be rationed, and used only for essential drinking and cooking purposes. It must not be used for flushing lavatories. Ration your food supply: it may have to last for 14 days or more.

We shall repeat this broadcast in two hours’ time. Stay tuned to this wavelength, but switch your radios off now to save your batteries until we come on the air again. That is the end of this broadcast.”

Special thanks to the Freedom Hold Ranch for the transcript of the BBC transmission.