[jboogy]

Dawn of a new day

Tired, dirty and scared, the last vestiges of a poisoned and dead city slowly made their way across the last bridge still standing, occasionally one of them would look back at the tall concrete and steel shells that had sheltered them, monuments and memorials to an age of lightning in a bottle and invisible power in a copper thread. They had been among the few who had heeded the dire warnings of internet sages, while their friends, neighbors and even some of the “technologically aware “ had chosen to laugh or even worse feign understanding and agreement at their warnings of impending doom, they had quietly bought food. Rice in 30 gallon tins, dried beans by the sack full, bottled water, cases and cases of it till they thought surely we have enough to bath in now. Guns, medical supplies, camping equipment, as varied a collection of survivalist stores as could be imagined. They were nothing if not convinced of their righteousness .
They had quietly and invisibly existed in a small house on the edges of the business district, nibbling their grains with curtains drawn , like mice in a baseboard hole watching their feline and human overlords fight each other over scraps of leather and old , rotted bones. They heard the gunfire and screams, saw the flames dance through the curtains like a wispy, ethereal demon as a home across the street was ransacked and then violated. All the while quietly working their way through their stores, gaining hope as the sounds of chaos and violence grew less frequent, until one day they looked around and realized they hadn’t heard anything besides wind and rain outside their door for many days.
With their food dwindling quickly the realization hit that it was time to leave. One minute they were in the midst of their daily routine, Aaron petting his cat, Shannymara reading, Strider and Lateralus playing cards, Holmes looking thru the young mens section of an ancient Sears catalogue for the thousandth time, PMS watching Mercury girl and Threadbare cavort about in their scantilies, hitting each other with pillows while mischievously keeping an eye on his increasingly noticeable arousal ,Plants drifting in and out of conciousness, sometimes in the hear and now, sometimes off somewhere they couldn’t see. And the one who had no name, a man who had one day quietly and then with increasing urgency tapped upon their back window, whispering into the crease in the window jamb with not to be denied desperation; “let me in , I know you are in there, let me in or I’ll bring them all”, the one they had taken to calling the Guest .The next minute Aaron, their pragmatic and morose but natural leader stood and declared what they knew to be the inevitable command,”We have to get out of the city”, they all nodded mutely in agreement. They were mentally ready, it had just been a matter of waiting for it to be spoken aloud .
With heavy packs and heavier hearts they eventually reached the far side of the bridge . Here was more of the same but with one thing extra , the possibility and hope that eventually the asphalt and concrete would give way to green . And surely as the sun still rose ,eventually the shades of gray, black and other manmade colors did give way to natures colors . Their spirits correspondingly rose with the lightness of their step as the miles passed underfoot and the birds occasionally hung with them long enough to join Shannymara in a light-hearted duet of whistles and words. They continued on deeper into the countryside , supplementing their last carton of freeze-dried food with apples , mushrooms and nuts that they foraged ,this they washed down with some of the coldest ,clearest water from a fast-moving stream that had been kind enough to keep them within sight for three days. Even Plants, who Lateralus and Strider pulled on a makeshift gurney like the Indians used, seemed to be coming back from whatever illness had almost taken her from them. She now alternated between conversation and bouts of giggling at PMS’s ham-fisted attempts at magic. Finally they reached the entrance to a valley so green and lush they knew it was home, They all looked at one another with smiling nods before starting down the dirt road towards the bottom , Lateralus couldn’t help verbalizing what they all felt ,”I think this might be it “, Aaron though not given to premature displays of optimism couldn’t help nodding to Plants in agreement , as if to say : he’s right Plants , this may be it. As they descended into the valley they were able to see off in the distance scores of short ,wide telephone poles on either side of the road, “strange “ said Aaron to no one in particular . “what’s strange ?”, Shannymara couldn’t help asking after Aaron offered nothing further. Aaron unslung his pack and removed his binoculars, after adjusting the focus he could see why the distant old-fashioned telephone poles had appeared so strange from a distance, they weren’t poles . Someone or some group had used large wooden crosses as makeshift crucifixes, on each cross was a headless body, nailed upside down.

[Novus]

Good story about post-crisis America. Though it seems to be more of a quick crash and burn apocalypse along the lines a bird Flu pandemic rather than the long emergency of peak oil.

[jboogy]

Novus , feel free to insert a chapter explaining the collapse , what kind and all that , there's no set timeline and nothing is known about this story , past or present , until it's written.

[Plantagenet]

You left out the good part about the nukes and the biological WMDs.

[strider3700]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Shannymara', 'W')ho here has read Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse? The SHTF fast crash in that doomer porn book starts out a lot like what's happening right now in the markets. Financial crisis -> hyperinflation -> gas shortages -> transport and infrastructure breakdown -> grids go down -> rioting -> total chaos. No nukes or bioweapons required.

Sorry to interrupt your story further, jboogy.

[jboogy]

Aaron’s scalp crawled and his testicles withdrew up into his body as he recognized the shapes for what they were .Shanny had a gift for sensing the moods of others and now , looking at Aaron as he surveyed the valley , she absorbed some part of Aarons apprehension … no she was detecting something far worse than that , fear was coming off of him , through his pores almost , and it scared her . “ Aaaaron , ?” Shanny tried to calm her voice and failed , “ Aaron what is it….what’s wrong?”
Aaron , or “the blue robot” (a name bestowed upon him by old college buddies because of his affinity for downers and girls that wouldn’t put out) wasted no time and ordered the group off the road. No one balked or hesitated , in a world gone mad by little more than an absence of petroleum , they had learned to trust their instincts and the one whose guidance had brought them this far. As a group they quickly scurried into a tall stand of weeds and pine sapplings , Lateralus and Strider dutifully bringing up the rear with an ashen faced Plants clinging to her bouncing travois. After going well into the underbrush they came to a spot under an old oak tree that was reasonably open and yet hidden from the road. Aaron crouched and looked at each of them in turn , taking stock while letting them catch their breath .
“We got serious trouble “ , he began . “I got a good look at those poles … somebody hung dead bodies on them”. Like the speak no evil monkey ,three of the girls simultaneously lifted a hand to cover their mouths , a small gasp escaped one of them for emphasis.
Aaron continued ,” it appears they’re reasonably fresh , their clothes were intact and I couldn’t see any evidence that birds had been at them.”
“Who , who …what woo,…woo,would do something li , ly like that?” Holmes was getting set to cry again , even though his watering eyes were the only visible indication of his abject terror , the quavering in his voice let the rest of them know the bawling was about to begin. “ waa….wa , why woo,would they d,d,do it…..Aaron?” Because Aaron looked upon them as surrogate children he felt compelled to offer them comfort and reassurance , so even though every fiber of his being told him to run back out of the valley lickety split , he forced himself to remain calm and make sure everyone kept their wits about them while he decided upon the best way to extricate themselves from the valley .While Holmes softly sobbed into Aaron’s shoulder and the others silently waited , and thought , and prayed , events were taken out of their control . From the direction of the headless , upside down Jesus’es ,an unholy noise rose and then fell .


Mcmasters and the Roccman looked at each other and couldn’t help but break into shit-eating grins. The Boogeyman had uncorked the headers on the charger and the 12.5:1 compression big-block was snapping and cracklin’ like the hounds of hell. They liked to feel the ground vibrate when the charger roamed the RPM range and the Boogeyman was indulging them today .
“Where the f*ck is the little oily dude?”The Boogeyman had warmed the charger sufficiently and even though he liked to feel the car bark and moan as much as the next guy ,there were chores to be done , ethanol to make , and terror to inflict .
“I think he’s dressing out that deer “, Roccman answered and then went back to staring at the engine.
Mcmasters and the Boogeyman looked at each other and smiled . This was a little game Roccman played , he thought that if he didn’t look like he knew he was supposed to do something , then the others would also forget.
Eventually Roccman looked up and with the appropriate clueless look said “What?”
“Could you get him please? And bring the ornament ” Roccman pursed his lips and furrowed his brow for just a moment before turning and marching off , Roccman hated the butchering room but he knew the others hated it more and he liked to think he was an agreeable kind of guy. Sacrifice for the team and all that good shit . Oily or the Oilmaster as he liked to be called ,was their maid , cook , grain distiller , prison guard and all-around slave . He was a completely unctuous little punk and he knew it , wallowed in it in fact . But he could cook grain and he seemed to enjoy blood so they kept him around , truth be told he was just a wispy little slip of a thing who didn’t eat much and worked hard so why not let him bunk in the barn? Roccman and Oily soon returned leading the days festivities , it was an old woman they had captured hiding in a cellar about 8 miles from their valley . When they had pulled open the double doors leading into the cellar ,it was really almost comical how she had smiled and said hello to them , while her lips trembled from absolute terror . Now she had to pay for the offense of living near them .Oily clamped the handcuff to her ankle while the others climbed into the car and fired up a fatty. Once Oily was safely perched upon the chargers trunk the Boogeyman wound the mill up to 4 grand and side-stepped the clutch , they didn’t even feel it when the slack was gone and the blue hair was jerked off her feet . This one would be a pitiful post decoration but hey , beggars can’t be choosers.

[lateralus]

I'm gonna add to this jboogy, I'm just busy chasing morons down all over this forum hahaha.

[jboogy]

Cool , I'm taking tomorrow off.

[threadbear]

That evening, they collapsed in their sleeping bags around a roaring fire. Holmes quietly withdrawing into himself, pulled a cigarette from behind his ear and began to smoke. His brave battle with the twin demons of retarded righteousness and irrepressible flatulence, was over. He was going to end it, he just needed a plan.

Aaron leaned back on his bag of rice, pulled out his harmonica and began playing a sentimental favorite. Penultimate Man Standing tuned up his hearing aid and joined in. Pretty soon everyone was singing along to the doleful tune "I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts".

Resource depletion was challenging, but Merv Griffin, the man who popularized the tune, had recently died, and many thought they would rather die than face an uncertain future without him. Threadbare informed them that indeed, it wasn't just a rumour, Zza Zza Gabor was also fatally ill. They all fell silent.

A little lost dog howled in the distance, a baby cried. An armless doll, tossed into the fire, slowly smouldered, it's acrid smell underlining their misery.

[PrairieMule]

I just finished Lucifer's Hammer last week. Honestly I prefered it over Lights Out. I found Lights Out to suffer from what has been labeled in the action film genre as a "Steven Segal" syndrome. As in the hero is just born perfect and starts out with everything he needed(blackbelt, guns, generator, etc). Lucifer's Hammer showed folks with the shirts on their back running from gunfights.

[jboogy]

The tanker was almost filled . Plantains calculations and his jerry-rigged meter had proven accurate . For the past 26 months the former pipe-fitter at Hugo Chavez’s refinery in Texas had been building the means and then executing the plan to methodically siphon a very small percentage of partially refined gasoline from two main holding tanks into an obsolete ,unused tank on a steady basis. He had found it surprisingly easy to run almost 300 feet of steel water pipe to the underground tank , a simple 3.00 dollar home depot valve and it was done .A gallon of sta-bil insurance every 500 gallons and he was ready for the anticipated end .His friend Pstarr had proven frighteningly correct in his prediction that a cavalcade of resource wars in conjunction with an imploding economy would bring a swift, cataclysmic end to the economy and any semblance of law and order .Their only real concerns were surviving until the city had cleared, and hiding their stash when the authorities made their inevitable visit . They had relied on a clairvoyant acquaintance named Raphael to prepare and fine-tune their preparations for, not only the visit from the authorities , but their long-range plans after the crash .
Raphael , who bore a remarkable resemblance to the movie character Gollum ( pre ring discovery), had built an uncanny record for accuracy regarding future events in the months leading up to the crash. Using reams of aerial photographs of Mayan temples and crop circles ,along with his liberal interpretation of ancient religious texts ,he had forseen when the timeline of events would play out , he had forecast within 1 day when the DOW would crash , he had known that the government was going to permanently suspend trading and order the federal banks to close their doors , he had predicted the ordering of martial law and the suspension of the constitution , all of this and more he had seen in the mish-mash of diagrams and arcane scientific graphs that were his bibles . After the Army and their fleet of tanker trucks had come and gone , after the refinery guards had tired of defending empty tanks and left , after those strong and healthy enough had left for greener pastures , Plantain and his group drove an old Mack to a tanker that had been simply left on the street . They hooked up the trailer ,keeping a wary eye out for non-existent enemies ,closed the valve an opportunistic treasure hunter had left open , and drove to the refinery .
Once the gas had been loaded they wasted little time , heavily armed and heavily laden with fuel, Plantain’s eclectic group of disciples , visionaries , survivors and friends headed northeast . In addition to Pstarr and Raphael ,Plantain had recruited two of his co-workers , The Ferret and MadP as well as a trusted neighbor , Zardoz to round out what he thought would be a formidable yet nimble force should confrontations be required . One thing he and Raphael had not anticipated was the inevitable competition for mating access to the delectable Ferret babe , Oh well , he thought , that would have to work itself out naturally , he had bigger fish to fry . He was determined to not only live ,but flourish in this post-industrial world.
Aaron had thought the camp-fire was a bad idea but the nights could still punish with sharp wind and a dull chill . He had insisted that they move further from the road before lighting the fire and it saddened and cheered him to see the tired smiles that fleetingly danced across their faces when he acquiesced to their pleas . Holmes had never really recovered his equilibrium after the stark reality of the bodies on the crosses , he had whimpered and softly moaned all night and in the morning the evidence of his terror and deteriorated mental state was evidenced by the pungent aroma emanating from the bulge in the seat of his pants . While Strider and Threadbare tended to Plants , and the Mercurygirl and Shanny boiled water for breakfast , Lateralus and Aaron exchanged saddened looks . Holmes had dropped trow right at the edge of camp and was cleaning himself with his fingers while a pitiful sounding chorus of ; lovely bunch of coconuts barely whispered from his throat . Lateralus looked from Holmes to Aaron and with a slight lifting of one eyebrow and a small tilt of his head asked Aaron a question without words , Aaron answered just as silently with a reluctant nod . Lateralus wasted no time , even though he had respected and admired Holmes ,he could not stand the smell of other people’s shit , with a smooth practiced motion he lifted his silenced Walther and neatly placed a round behind Holmes’s right ear . The others never noticed the soft snick of the shot over the crackling of the fire . PMS was the first to notice Holmes slumped over on his face in a pile of his own feces , the others heard his gasp as he inhaled violently , “What the …”PMS exclaimed as he rushed to the fallen Holmes . Before he touched the dead man he noticed the small round hole and trickle of blood and understood . He had briefly entertained the notion of putting the big baby out of his misery himself but he had derived too much pleasure from surreptitiously tossing pebbles at Holmes’s head while they had walked . The small band of companions stood around their fallen comrade and tried to muster a single tear , and failed . This was a cold new world they found themselves in and they were realizing it .
“ Give me a hand getting’ him out of here?”Aaron asked Strider.
“ Sure Aaron sure “ he replied . They each reached down and grabbed an ankle and began dragging Holmes into a copse of heavy juniper and rosehip . Death had finally touched their small ,personal world and none of them would ever be the same again.

[SinisterBlueCat]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('threadbear', 'T')hat evening, they collapsed in their sleeping bags around a roaring fire. Holmes quietly withdrawing into himself, pulled a cigarette from behind his ear and began to smoke. His brave battle with the twin demons of retarded righteousness and irrepressible flatulence, was over. He was going to end it, he just needed a plan.

Aaron leaned back on his bag of rice, pulled out his harmonica and began playing a sentimental favorite. Penultimate Man Standing tuned up his hearing aid and joined in. Pretty soon everyone was singing along to the doleful tune "I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts".

Resource depletion was challenging, but Merv Griffin, the man who popularized the tune, had recently died, and many thought they would rather die than face an uncertain future without him. Threadbare informed them that indeed, it wasn't just a rumour, Zza Zza Gabor was also fatally ill. They all fell silent.

A little lost dog howled in the distance, a baby cried. An armless doll, tossed into the fire, slowly smouldered, it's acrid smell underlining their misery.

[PenultimateManStanding]

I like it. I'm all played out in the creative sense with my doggerel in the poetry thread. Maybe some cats will get on board with some tales of prostate cancer. Time will tell.

[TheDude]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('jboogy', 'R')aphael , who bore a remarkable resemblance to the movie character Gollum ( pre ring discovery)

[jboogy]

"I could have helped him “…. Aaron and Lateralus decided not to meet Shannies eyes . She was starting to feel anger to match her sadness and was not going to let them off that easy .
“ I said I could have helped him” she repeated , louder this time.
Lateralus decided to take the brunt of whatever Shanny was preparing to dish out .
“ No Shanny , I think he was beyond help ….it had to be done , he would have become a liability .”
In spite of her desire to punish those that had taken life , even if it was only with words ,she knew that what he said was the truth , Holmes had in truth been slowly deteriorating since he had first been shut in the house with them . His obsession with the photos of the young boys in the catalogue and his incessant masturbation to the images spoke of someone who was disconnecting from reality . Shanny would never admit it but a part of her was glad they had killed Holmes , along with his sullen and morose attitude he had developed an aversion to personal hygiene and Shanny hated BO . Aaron , sensing that Shanny was feeling ambivalent about the death of Holmes decided to shift everyone’s focus and hopefully put the unfortunate incident behind them .
“ I think that water’s boiling , we got 2 more servings of stroganoff and rice and then we’re out of freeze-dried stuff “. Aaron glanced at Shanny and saw her attention shift to the pot , mission accomplished he thought to himself , Holmes is now archives .
Aaron’s merry band of murdering pranksters ate and then proceeded to police up their campsite , Strider had suggested that the best way to vacate the valley was to follow a nearby stream bed down to the opposite end of the valley and out , while this would probably take them closer to the ;Vlad the impaler wannabe’s , they realized they had been extremely lucky not to have been spotted or attacked on the long , open descent into the valley , they decided not to press their luck twice .
“ Who wants to go a’raiding’ today?” Whoops and hollers answered the Boogeyman’s stupid question .The Boogeyman had to smile , if there was one thing he never needed to encourage them to do it was plunder and pillage . They set out at noon , the charger in the lead followed by the Roccman and Mcmasters in a monstrous suburban , the oily one brought up the rear in the “meat wagon” , a black 1973 Cadillac hearse that oily had decorated with a copy of the shark’s head design popularized by the WW2 flying tigers . It was a nasty looking’ bitch of a car but they all had developed strangely fond feelings for it.They took a right at the second intersection outside their valley and headed towards a small village that they had been thru many times before . Roccman and the others thought they would just be passing thru on their way to juicier pickings beyond so when the Boogeyman pulled off into the village’s only gas station they assumed he was having car trouble or his hemorrhoids were acting up .
The Boogeyman put his hands on his hips and arched his back , he hoped it looked convincing and whoever was watching would be put at ease thinking it was just a leg-stretching break they were taking . He non-chalantly sauntered back to the suburban , nose sniffing wildly , and leaned in the window .
“ Did you guys notice anything strange when we crossed into town just now?” He asked
The Rocc and Mcmasters looked at each other before looking at the Boogeyman and shaking their heads .
“ No “ Rocc answered for the both of them . Oily had made his way to the suburban by now .
“ What’s up ?” he asked .
“ There were two bicycles in front of that pink house the last time we came thru here “ , Boogey told them and then gave them a second to digest what it meant . Oily straightened and looked around slowly as an evil grin formed on his acne scarred face . “ Damn tree-hugging liberal pinkos “ , he stated with undisguised hatred .
“ Relax “ , Boogey cautioned him . “ If they’re watching and they think we’re onto them they might just decide to shoot us and offer us tea afterwards “. He continued , “ what I want is for you “ , he indicated Mcmasters with a nod , “ to drive the charger out of town , I’ll hop out once we get past the railroad hump , you guys drive around us when I jump and maybe they won’t notice we slowed down and I got out , OK?”
His disciples nodded agreement and they rolled away from town at a sedate but not suspicious speed . The plan seemed to work well . Mcmasters slowed as he crossed the railroad hump and the boogeyman rolled as he left the car falling into a natural hiding spot beside the road . He elbow crawled up the grade with his scoped .22 target pistol in hand . He didn’t have long to wait , before his men were completely over the horizon three people came out of a house right across from where they had stopped , it appeared to be two women and a man , all three were armed with what looked like deer rifles .The Boogeyman smiled and quietly sang a line from his favorite song , “ babes … you is meat in my teeth , bop.. Di bop bop ".

[jboogy]

Plantain was pleased to see that the numbers of dead vehicles on route 59 were less than he’d anticipated . Apparently those that had found themselves low on fuel had decided to head for a safe place instead of going on a never-ending fruitless quest for the magic filling station with gas . Behind him were Raphael and Pstarr in an econoline 350 van , in the van was a little diesel , a large still for distilling gasoline and the food and arms . Plantain couldn’t help but smile , the traveling looked like it would be a breeze , the sun was shining and the sky was absolutely filled with those giant , blindingly white puffy clouds that seemed to be the special province of east texas skies . The only thing that momentarily would darken his mood was when he would see the occasional pedestrians , heading God knew where , on secondary roads . These people infuriated him for some reason , he caught himself thinking at one point , when passing a small group of what he affectionately called “darkies”, why couldn’t you’s just die ? Really , he thought , how do they expect to survive ? They had no discernable provisions and probably no ability to produce food , what were they going to live on when the canned goods were all gone? He sincerely hoped he would never have to shoot one of them if ,unfortunately ,they were ever unwise enough to ask him for a handout.
“What the fuck is that?” MadP took his feet off the dash and leaned forward , straining to identify what he’d seen in the distance .
Plantain didn’t answer , he also leaned forward as if the objects would become clearer if he just shortened the distance by a couple inches . “ I don’t know ….it looks like a bunch of silver buildings “ he finally answered . At their speed of 55 mph the blocks of silver soon revealed themselves to be what Plantain had suspected , a group of about 16 Quonset huts arranged in neat rows of four . Even at a distance of what was now about a half mile they could also make out what was most definitely a ten wheeled military troop transport in front of the buildings , olive drab with a canvas top it couldn’t be anything else .
The Ferret-babe was sitting on the edge of the berth now , “ You should stop” , she said “Plantain …I think we should…”
“ I heard you “, he interrupted . He would have liked nothing better than to stop and turn around but that would have been close to impossible on this road and if they’d been spotted by whoever was up ahead , nothing would bring them faster than seeing a tanker trying to avoid them .Providence smiled on them then , Plantain realized that since the their van was reasonably new and painted black they had a chance to bluff their way by , he also knew that the government had commandeered tankers of all types and sizes to empty large holding tanks at refineries and fuel depots to deliver gasoline and diesel to the strategic reserve in Louisiana . All he needed was a clueless grunt guard who didn’t realize in which direction Louisiana lay and they might just roll right by . MadP used their twelve dollar Walmart walky-talkie to tell Raphael that the plan was no plan , just drive right by , both the semi and the van had tinted windows so there was nothing to do except drive and try not to get a flat . When they finally passed directly in front of the camp they understood what was happening . Twelve foot chain-link ,topped by concertina surrounded the encampment. People , Americans milled about inside the wire , many were gathered in the shade of the hut closest to the entrance but others could be seen interspersed throughout the grounds , some washing at outdoor communal fountains , others just gathered in groups in the shade . A line of roughly twenty people stood before an opened gate watching as their companions filed thru into the camp one by one . Four guards with assault weapons stood guard and maintained order from a safe distance from their captives , they glanced at Plantains caravan as they passed but nothing more . After all , no one but government had use for tankers and vans now.

[jboogy]

The subdued group of survivors left their campsite and the smell of Holmes feces and made their way single file down thru the valley . Each of them kept quiet council with thoughts of the death of Holmes while the small gurgling stream provided gentle background music as well as direction . Aaron ,though depressed and melancholy about what he’d had Lateralus do , also felt strengthened and relieved that he’d had the will to do what needed to be done . To the others he was sure he’d presented a confident facade that reassured and reaffirmed their decision to have him lead , to himself he knew it was but an illusion . He was alone with his doubts and fears about what it meant to have others put their trust and faith in him , was he competent and capable or was he a fraud ?The future would most assuredly test his resolve , he only prayed that when his measure was tested he would not be found lacking .
As the group made their way down into the hollow where the stream broadened into marsh , a sour but yet sickly sweet odor first teased their nostrils and then strengthened into a stench that brought their stomachs to the brink of purge . Eventually thru the thickening vegetation they were able to first make out a chimney and then the roof of an old slate-topped faux Victorian country house , the stream was going to take them very close to the farm the house belonged to .
Threads , never shy about expressing her opinion about ,or to Aaron spoke . “ We should cross over or who’s ever home might see us.” Aaron , who had been mesmerized by thoughts of corpses on crosses and an increasingly suffocating sense of impending doom broke out of his reverie long enough to notice their dangerous proximity to the house.
“ Yeah , let’s do it “ , he said . The group crossed at a shallow part of the stream where a small shoal of pebbles and rock made the water dance and shimmer as it sped past . Once on the other side Strider took the lead and broke trail with muscle and sharpened steel . Here , a few meters from the stream bank , innocuous shrubs , grasses and tree root gave way to a smothering blend of kudzu , rosehip and the strange picker-vines that grew straight up like thin stalagmites till they found a convenient tree branch with which to establish a foothold and begin the process of tree strangulation. None were a match for Striders machete .Once they had went deep enough to establish sufficient cover from prying eyes Aaron had Strider turn ,to once again follow the direction of the stream .
“What is that fucking smell”? PMS asked no one in particular .
“ Unless I’m mistaken that is rotting flesh ,….and a lot of it “, Shanny answered . Shannymara had spent two years defending the Buddhists from the military junta in Burma and was well acquainted with the smell of rotting bodies , mostly monks that had been shot and then left to rot in pits and ravines deep within the jungle . She was proud of the fact she had personally avenged the death of 15 of them , most with a silenced Remington model 700 , a few with very satisfying strokes of a vintage samurai sword she had stolen from a blind 97 year-old shogun she had dated in the eighties.
Soon they reached the ground that lay opposite the farm compound , thru the brush they could see a long swath of what was once lawn leading from the stream bank up to the back of what was probably a garage , in the stream and on the bank next to the stream they could see the reason for the stench that by now made their eye’s water , the carcasses and gut piles of countless deer and wild pig had been unceremoniously dumped there. Covering the heads and meaty skeletons was a thick , undulating mass of maggot and fly , wasp and beetle . A slight shift in wind direction brought the full smell of the green and black mass of decaying death to the hidden group , Mercury girl and PMS vomited immediately as it hit them with an almost physical force . Unfortunately Mercury girl was standing behind a crouching Lateralus when she ejected and the dissolving slurry of breakfast and digestive acids hitting him in the back of the head was more than enough to provoke him into a fit of projectile puking of his own .Soon the aroma of the mixture of vomit and rotting flesh got all of them and the air was filled with the sound of violent regurgitation . Aaron felt a quick flush of anger at whoever had caused his group to waste all those undigested calories , their supplies were running out and here was a meal now relegated to nourishing only the soil . The sound of Aaron’s group of gregarious regurgitators carried just barely to the back of the garage and apparently awoke or disturbed something there . Threads was the first to notice movement at the back of the garage. Wiping the bile and stroganoff pudding from her chin with the back of her hand she alerted the others .
“ Guys…..uhhh guys , quiet down , there’s someone up there .” As one entity the others lifted their heads to assess the threat. Aaron acted first and withdrew his binoculars . He studied the back of the garage without comment for what seemed to be an eternity before wordlessly handing the glasses to Lateralus . By now the others were able to see that the movement they had seen was in fact human in nature , but people moving in what appeared to be a random ,stumbling about stupor, almost like they were drunk or had just woken and had yet to banish the last vestiges of sleep from their minds . PMS could no longer wait for a report.
“Well , what the hell’s the matter with them “, he asked .
“They’re girls ,”Lateralus replied , “ young girls , and they look like they’re totally out of it , ….they all have bloody bandages wrapped around their heads and they’re tied to that tree,….but they’re tied with rope I think and it’s just simple knots holding them , ….it doesn’t make sense .”

[jboogy]

They rolled into Arkansas on Rt. 30, just north of Texarkana. Wrecked vehicles had been mercifully scarce and Plantains group had had little trouble pushing what few stalled cars they had encountered off to the side. Happiness and a sense of hopeful optimism had occasionally tried to grab a foothold within their minds in the days since they had passed the Federal concentration camp. But it seemed whenever they were ready to block those images permanently from their memory, a new portent, sign, or some other reminder of the pain and loss that had occurred, would surface and demand their undivided attention once again.

In Livingston Texas, soon after the concentration camp, they had passed through what had initially seemed a piss poor road block attempt. A small group of young, undernourished rednecks had set two pick-ups nose to nose on 59. Unfortunately they had angled the trucks so their noses were aimed toward the direction Plantains semi was traveling. Downshifting, Plantain had slowed to about twenty mph and simply “popped” the trucks open, similar to how I imagine Bruce Lee could have opened a set of those old-style swinging saloon doors with a good front kick. They had whooped and hollered when it had become apparent the road-block was no match for fifty thousand pounds of semi, they had pumped and shaken their fists at the teenage hill-billy boys mostly hidden along the side of the road, peeking out from behind trees and the fenders of other empty and unmovable relics of a carbon-fueled past. They did not see, nor suspect, that young men with rifles were hidden a little better, some laying prone a few hundred yards from the highway, a few more well hidden in trees , with perfect vantage points with which to direct fire down upon the road.

From the econoline traveling behind the semi, Pstarr and Raphael saw the semi crash through the road-block and began their own little celebration. High fiving and shouting they at first did not understand what the THUNK sounds, quickly followed by distant cracks, could be. They knew quickly enough when the little side-vent window shattered inward and a 30.06 round deflected into Pstarrs knee. Screaming in pain Pstarr looked to his friend Raphael just in time to see his friends face change from a grimace of confusion into a quick, fleeting look of blankness. A small chunk of lead traveling at well over supersonic speed had pulverized the motor center in the base of Raphaels brain. Continuing in a slight upward trajectory the lead mushroomed and exited through Raphaels right eyebrow; depositing his eye as well as a good chunk of his forehead onto Pstarrs lap, steering wheel and dashboard. Raphael was gone, his clairvoyance and psychic abilities had apparently not seen this one coming.

In the semi Plantain, Madpaddy and the luscious ferret-babe had fared somewhat better. Plantain, having served as both a CIA “cleaner” and a big-game helicopter hunting guide before hiring onto Hugo Chavez’s refining outfit, recognized the sound of high-powered ordinance impacting steel immediately. “Get down”, he screamed grabbing the Ferret girl by the back of the neck and pushing her head down into his lap. Misunderstanding, the Ferret-girl reacted from a gut instinct level by twisting from his grasp and delivering a backhand karate chop into Plantains throat that narrowly missed collapsing his trachea. “I told you I don’t like you that way”, she cried before the continuing sound of impacting rounds finally made her realize what was happening.
” You silly quiff”, Plantain tried to say but only managed to squeak something along the lines of, “oo illy iff”, before racking spasms of choking threatened to cause an oxygen deprivation blackout.


Ferret girl helped steer the rig, just in case. MadP bent over with his hands cradling the back of his head. Plantain kept one of his hands on the wheel while shooting looks at Ferret girl. Pstarr mourned his friend, and Raphael began the long, slow process of decomposition. Thus this group of four people, two vehicles and twenty-thousand gallons of precious gasoline left the primitive but effective ambush and continued their way northeast through Arkansas, demoralized but ready to hope again.

The Boogeyman decided to tap the male first and see what happened from there, SOP actually. Often all that was required to turn defiant, headstrong females, into compliant, meek orifices was the elimination of their escort muscle. Seventy-five yards, piece of cake for the pistol. One click on the scope and he knew the slug would land within three centimeters of wherever he put the crosshairs. It really was almost too easy sometimes. He laid the barrel along the thick steel train track and sighted in, increasing the pressure on the trigger, he was perhaps one foot-pound from firing when he saw the flicker of a shadow and heard the whistle of displaced air. Shit, he had barely time to think before the steel pipe behind his ear turned the lights out. Pops stood over the assassin with conflicting emotions dueling for dominance. On the one hand he was excited and somewhat happy that he had eliminated a very serious threat, on the other hand he was reasonably certain that had civilization not collapsed that this poor, misguided soul laying prostrate before him, would probably be living an industrious, law-abiding life somewhere. His sidekick was not so sure. “ Nice shot Pops” his friend Gampy opined.
“Yup” Pops replied, not thinking it was a nice shot at all.
“I ‘spose his friends will be coming back shortly, partake of the spoils and what not.” Gampy continued, beginning to think time was perhaps beginning to grow short.
“Yup.”
“alright then, I’ll grab his arms and you can get his legs, okay?”
“Okay”, Pops answered and bent to the task.

Lateralus and Aaron decided to attempt contact with the dazed and injured young women tied behind the garage. When Threadbear told them she and Shannymara should also go simply to put the girls at ease Aaron could not argue the point, as much as he had wanted to. There was something dangerous here he could not put his finger on; something almost feral about the disorganized, reflexive way the captive girls were behaving. The four wannabe rescuers waded across the shallow stream, careful to cross upwind of the stinking, festering gut-piles polluting the stream. Once within clear obvious sight the zombie-like girls began to notice them, one by one. Soon all of them were watching Aaron’s group approach, and they were a little relieved to see that their arrival did seem to be evoking a somewhat more substantial response than the sound of their puking had. But again, the muted response was somewhat disquieting, the prisoner chicks had begun grunting and uttering soft mewling sounds at the groups approach. Surely this was not the reaction their rescuers had expected, these girls had obviously been abused, probably psychologically as well as physically, by rights they should be freaking out with gratitude and relief at the prospect of imminent rescue. But they seemed merely expectent at Aaron’s groups arrival. Slowly inching closer Aaron and Lateralus got within a few feet of the nearest girls and were at first shocked at the smell, and then upon noticing something else. All the girls had flat, glazed eyes, like dead fish. And they all had the distinct smell of decomposing death on them, not the smell of the slaughtered game carcasses down by the stream, this smell was coming from their pores almost. Something was seriously wrong with these girls , something none of them had ever seen before, something dark and wrong and tinged with an evil none of them had ever imagined outside a Stephen King novel. Shanny instinctively backed away, even though she had not gotten anywhere near as close to the girls as Aaron or Strider. She was sensitive like none of the others, receptive to hidden things in a clear,obvious understanding that most barely felt on the edges of their senses. Lateralus turned to ask Aaron something, what it might have been we’ll never know. The girl nearest Lateralus, a tall willowy blond with peach tits and a little boys hips, chose that moment to let just the smallest little smile adorn her dirty acne-scarred face, before stretching her tethers and her body way beyond what even the best engineer would imagine possible. Aaron saw it happen right in front of him and it really did seem like it happened in slow motion. The blond grabbed Lateralus by the hair and jerked him towards her with what seemed super human strength. Lateralus had time for one soft “whuuu” before the blond sunk her filthy, rotting teeth into his neck and ripped out a big, bloody chunk. At this the other girls grunted some slightly more enthusiastic approval and tried to stretch out to perhaps get a snack of their own. But the cat was out of the bag now and the would be rescuers backed away down the hill, Shanny and Threads crying/screaming, Aaron putting round after round into the girls, to no obvious effect, after all, they were already dead.

[mos6507]

This is what people do with their time when gas is cheap.

[threadbear]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mos6507', 'T')his is what people do with their time when gas is cheap.