Countdown to Armageddon (3 page)

     “On the satellite photos I saw on Google Earth, I thought I saw solar panels on the roof and a small wind turbine out back. Does that mean it’s energy self sufficient?”

     “Oh, yes. Mr. Ryan’s children told me that he hated to pay utility bills. The solar panels generate up to two kilowatts per hour on a sunny day. The turbine generates up to four kilowatts an hour when the wind is blowing at five miles an hour or greater. I have a wind survey that says the prevailing winds blow at that rate an average of four hours a day. It does have city power from Junction, but only as a backup. The family said they’ve only had to use it when the other systems were down for maintenance, or occasionally in the dead of winter.”

     “Yes, I’d like to see that, if you don’t mind. Do you have a water survey as well?”

     “Yes, sir. The wind turbine doubles as a water well pump. You’ve got a 4,000 gallon water tank behind the house that will stay constantly full. I’ll have to double check the water survey, but I think it rates the water table as sufficient to provide your residential needs for at least two hundred years.

     “If you bring in horses or livestock, you’ve got a good sized stock tank on the property as well. A stream runs completely through the corner of the property and this is the last privately owned plot in the area. Everything south of here is federal land, owned by the United States government. That means you own the water rights to the stream and can use as much water from it as you choose to.”

     “Do you know the source of the stream?”

     This man knows his stuff, Joyce thought. And she liked that. It meant he did his homework. And Scott liked that she knew the answers.

     “Yes, sir. It breaks off the
Llano River up north of here. And if your next question is, ‘are there fish in it?’ the answer would be yes. Perch and dollies.”

     Scott liked what he saw. And he wanted the property. Now all that was left was the negotiation.

     “Would you pass my offer of a million dollars to the owners?”

     “Certainly. I’ll call them today and let you know what they say.”

     Joyce wasn’t happy that her potential commission had dropped. But at least she had an offer on the place. And at a million dollars, her commission would still be substantial.

     “Is there anything else you’d like to see, Mr. Harter?”

     “Yes, please. The water and geologic surveys.”

     “Certainly. I’ve got them in the back of my car. I’ll give them to you on our way out.”

     Joyce locked the front door and led Scott to the back of her Honda CRV. She opened up the hatchback, and then opened a large metal trunk.

     Scott
noticed that the inside of the trunk was lined with foam rubber.

     As Joyce was leafing through file folders in the trunk, looking for the surveys, Scott remarked, “That looks an awful lot like a
Faraday box.”

     She stopped looking just long enough to eye him. His comment piqued her interest.

     “Oh, here they are,” she said, pulling out three folders. “And the wind survey as well.” She handed them to him and then remarked, “You know about Faraday boxes?”

     “Oh, yes. I’ve been doing some research lately about sun spot activity and such. So that’s what it is?”

     She laughed and said, “Yes. I’m busted. That’s exactly what it is. It’s been in the back of my car since early 2012, when everybody was saying the world was going to end on December 21st. One of the theories was that it was going to be bombarded with solar flares. So I bought this old metal trunk and lined it in foam rubber, and kept a few things in it.

     “Go ahead, you can laugh at me. All my friends did. They called me the ‘doomsday prepper.’”

     Mark smiled, but didn’t laugh.

     “On the contrary. I think it’s very prudent to plan for something catastrophic that might happen in the future. What did you have in the box, if you don’t mind me asking?”

     “I had a spare car battery, ignition and starter solenoid. A spare ignition computer and fuse box with fuses. A two way radio and flashlights with several pairs of spare batteries. Things I’d need to get me to a safe place if my car got fried out in the middle of nowhere.”

     “And the two way radio was to contact your husband and tell him not to worry?”

     “Oh, there is no husband. No, the two way radio would be to contact a couple of close girlfriends who were also preppers.”

     Scott’s eyebrow went up when she mentioned that she was single. She noticed. Both filed away their information for later.

     “I think it’s very interesting, Mr. Harter, that you know what a Faraday box is. Does that mean that you’re a prepper too?”

     “No. Well, at least I wasn’t during the 2012 Mayan thing when the rest of the world was going nuts.”

     He caught himself, and said, “No offense.”

     She smiled and said, “None taken, Mr. Harter.”

     “Please, call me Scott. I didn’t believe in the whole end of the world in December 2012 thing. But I have done some research on sun spot activity since then. And I believe it’s only a matter of time before a major solar storm sends EMPs that are capable of doing great damage to the power grids. In fact, I think it’s inevitable. If I were you, I’d hang onto this Faraday box. Just in case.”

     “Well thank you… Scott. And thank you also for not thinking me looney, like my friends did.”

     “Oh, I don’t think you’re looney at all.”

     He smiled, and wondered… Then he came back to reality.

     “I won’t be home much the next couple of days, but I’ll have my cell with me twenty four seven. Please let me know what the Ryan family thinks of my offer.”

     Joyce held out her hand for his, and once again appreciated his strong grip. She wondered what those hands might feel like exploring her body.

     “Thank you again, Scott. I’ll definitely be in touch.”

-6-

     Scott sat at his desk and looked over the reports he’d gotten from Joyce. Water wasn’t going to be a problem. Neither was electrical power. He had seen an unused room in the partially finished basement. It would be ideal for placing several industrial sized batteries for storing power. He’d looked at plans he found on line for a self-contained power system, and he planned to install one in the basement of the Ryan house.

     His plan was simple. When the wind was blowing, the wind turbine generated more power than the house used. So with battery storage available, the excess could be stored for whenever the wind wasn’t blowing. Likewise, on a bright sunny day, the solar panels generated more energy than the house needed. That excess power could also be stored in the batteries, for use at night and on cloudy days.

     Scott planned to purchase a good sized diesel generator for backup, but according to his calculations, it would only be needed occasionally. When, say for example, there was no significant sunshine or wind for more than two days. By his estimates, that shouldn’t happen more than a few times a year. And it would only be for short periods of time. A diesel generator would ensure uninterrupted power as long as his supply of diesel fuel held out. And he planned to stock a lot of it.

     He got in his car and drove to the Hobby Lobby in the strip mall near his house. It took him awhile to find what he was looking for. But finally, on the bottom shelf of a kitchen nick-knack aisle, he found small tin boxes for holding oversized recipe cards. They were just the right size for holding a walkie talkie and eight AA batteries. He bought three of them, a large sheet of quarter inch thick rubber, a bottle of contact cement and a pair of scissors. And a Snickers bar at the register. Preparing for the end of civilization worked up a powerful hunger.

     He got home and settled in at his dining room table just a few minutes before Zachary walked in the front door.

     “Hi, Dad! What are you up to?”

     “I’m making survival packs for you and your brother.”

     “Oh, okay. What’s for dinner?” Zachary had stopped being surprised years before of his father’s occasional odd habits. If he was at all curious about the “survival packs” he didn’t let on.

     “Call Papa John’s and order a couple of pizzas, will you?”

     Zachary didn’t have to be told twice. His father was a passing cook. But Papa John’s was so much better.

     Scott carefully measured the inside of the small tin boxes he’d bought from Hobby Lobby. Then he cut the rubber and lined the inside of each box. Once pleased with the fit, he glued the rubber into place with contact cement.

     Then he opened up a package of three Motorola 22-channel two way radios that he’d bought a few days before. He set each one on channel 5, and placed one in each of the boxes. Each radio needed four batteries to operate. He doubled that amount and put eight batteries in each box as well. Then he closed the lid. It was a perfect fit.

     He pulled out a large Target shopping bag which contained three identical black backpacks. He placed a tin box within each of the bags. Then he took six bottles of drinking water from an open case behind him and placed two in each backpack. He added four granola bars from a package in the cupboard.

     Lastly, he took a black sharpie and a 5” x 7” index card and sat down to write:

Dear Zachary,

    
“Wherever you are when the power goes out and the cars all stop, take this backpack and make your way home immediately.

     Move only in daylight. If you cannot make it home before dark, spend the night in an abandoned car. They will be everywhere. All the streets and freeways will be covered with them. Find one that is unlocked, crawl in and sleep there. The next morning continue on your way home.

     Do not talk to anyone. You will not know who is friend and who is foe.

    Place four batteries in the radio and turn it on. Do not let anyone see you do this. They might try to take it away from you. Leave it on channel 5 and call me when you can do so without being seen. The best way is to crawl inside an abandoned car and duck down.

     When you get home I may or may not be there. If I am not, wait until I get there. If anyone tries to rob the house, do not resist them. Let them take whatever they want. I don’t want you getting hurt trying to protect the house. The house is not worth your life.

     I love you, Zachary. This will be hard, but we will get through it together.”

     He made a second note, identical except that this one was made out for his oldest son Jordan. He placed one note in each of two backpacks and set them aside.

     He was finishing up when Jordan walked into the house and said, “Hey, the pizza guy pulled up right behind me. All right, no Dad cooking tonight!” Zachary laughed and they high fived each other.

     Scott handed
Jordan two twenties and said, “You guys start without me, I’m in the middle of something. Jordan, let me borrow your car keys.”

     While his sons got into a lively debate at the dinner table about whether Canadian bacon and ham were the same thing, Scott went out to the garage. He rolled a brand new ten speed bicycle into the driveway, took the wheels off of it, and placed it into
Jordan’s trunk. Then he placed the wheels on top of it. He took the back pack he prepared for Jordan and shoved it into the back part of the trunk, where it would be out of the way.

     Then he went back into the house.

     “You guys finished yet?”

     Zachary had pizza sauce on his chin. He wasn’t the neatest of eaters.

     “Nope. Not yet.”

    “Well, then, grab another piece and come outside. I have something to show you.”

     Each of the boys grabbed a slice of pizza for the trip and followed Scott out into the driveway.

    
Jordan looked inside the trunk of his car and saw the new bicycle and backpack.

     “Hey, cool, but why…”

     “Okay, boys, I want you to listen closely, this is important.”

     Jordan and Zachary sensed a seriousness in Scott’s voice and gave him their undivided attention.

     “You guys know I am not the kind of person who freaks out unnecessarily. But I have a very good reason to believe that a major change is coming to the earth sometime in the next year or two. I don’t know exactly when. It could be five minutes from now, or next year, or the year after that. But I am certain it is going to happen. At some point, there will be a major solar storm on the surface of the sun. It will produce  a series of solar flares the likes we haven’t seen in our lifetimes. In fact, these will be greater than any we’ve experienced since man started developing machines.