Original Work The Bug Out - A short story

Discussion in 'Survival Reading Room' started by Halffast, Dec 22, 2005.


  1. Halffast

    Halffast Wannabe Hack Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Joe woke up. He rolled over and looked at the clock. The red numbers glowed 2:35 in the darkness. He normally slept through the night, but knew once he woke up like this, it would usually take a while before he could fall back to sleep. Careful to not wake up his wife, he rolled out of bed and padded to the kitchen where the family’s computer was. The dull hum of the fan and the clicking of the hard drive greeted him as he plopped down in the chair and switched on the device. The flashing lights of the cable modem began and soon Joe was logged on and surfing the web. He was a regular at several of the bigger gun forums and he regularly checked in on a survival forum or two as well. He was paging through and reading some of the new posts on his favorite survival site when a new post appeared at the top.

    “BREAKING RIGHT NOW – TERRORIST ATTACK IMMINENT”

    Joe laughed to himself. The tin-foil-hat brigade was always posting something like this just because gas went up ten cents a gallon or some other meaningless event that they somehow twisted into The-End-Of-The-World-As-We-Know-It. He looked to see who the paranoid loser that posted this at almost 3:00 in the morning was. Joe was surprised to see the handle Ben Franklin next to the post.

    Ben Franklin was a man that Joe admired. He had never met the man, but knew from his posts that he was no kook. Ben was a moderator on this message board and was highly thought of for his fairness and objectivity. Joe knew that he worked at a nuclear power plant, but didn’t know what his exact job was. It seemed that he was one of the top men at the facility, but Ben had never been real forthcoming about his exact title.

    Joe nervously clicked the link and a message that appeared hurriedly written appeared on the screen.

    “I just got a call from my boss. There are confirmed reports that terrorist have bombs with nuclear material that they plan to detonate during rush hour in the morning. They found a dirty bomb in Boston about two hours ago and the guys they arrested told them there were a lot more of them. Estimates are that they are in ten or twelve major cities. It’s possible that one or two of them could be full nuclear devices. Even if they are all just dirty bombs, the panic will be horrific. This is not a joke! My boss only found out because the NRC called and told him to shut down the plant. If you are in a major city, get out now! The information I got is a little sketchy, but New York and DC are sure to get it. I don’t know where else is going to be hit, but any big city will panic whether they get hit or not as soon as word gets out. This may take a few minutes to hit the mainstream media and maybe that will give the members here a few minutes head start. I’ve got to go load up the truck. I plan to be out of here in ten minutes. Good luck and God bless.”







    Read the rest below:
     

    Attached Files:

    Zimmy likes this.
  2. Brokor

    Brokor Live Free or Cry Moderator Site Supporter+++ Founding Member

    I don't like sad endings.
     
    Zimmy likes this.
  3. E.L.

    E.L. Moderator of Lead Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    It does leave a bigger impression though, as to what can happen when you make bad decisions.
     
    john316 likes this.
  4. Brokor

    Brokor Live Free or Cry Moderator Site Supporter+++ Founding Member

    Yes, I read every word of it and I enjoyed it tremendously. The author did a fine job. ;)

    I just don't like the ending. I would have liked to see the hicks get shot by the son who was anxiously watching his father and those suspicious men, and the mother picking up a stick and cramming it in one of their eyeballs. The family would have pulled the jeep out and took off in that and made it safely to the farm where the kids began to help the parents prepare for the nuclear winter and the coming of the ZOMBIES!! [yukface]
     
  5. E.L.

    E.L. Moderator of Lead Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Thanks for the story Halffast. Great work as always. Like usual, you have me thinking................. [camo] [shiftyeyes] [winkthumb]
     
    john316 likes this.
  6. melbo

    melbo Hunter Gatherer Administrator Founding Member

    Glad to see you haven't hung up your writing jacket ;)
    As always... [beer]
     
  7. monkeyman

    monkeyman Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Good work. While I agree we all want the happy endings its good to also demonstrate how quick it can work out like this one did even if you do most things right or at least as close as you can in the situation.
     
  8. melbo

    melbo Hunter Gatherer Administrator Founding Member

    Good point mm. It's amazing how fast you 'die' playing paintball.

    I think most armchair BO artists watch too many movies
     
    john316 and Tully Mars like this.
  9. E.L.

    E.L. Moderator of Lead Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Someone needs to pop in over at AR.com and tell Halffast to stop by.
     
  10. Clyde

    Clyde Jet Set Tourer Administrator Founding Member

    How true it would be.
     
  11. E.L.

    E.L. Moderator of Lead Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    What ever happened to Brokor?
     
  12. melbo

    melbo Hunter Gatherer Administrator Founding Member

    Last I heard, Brokor was moving to TX. Tried to call him and it was a wrong number.

    Maybe he was a Fed? :D
     
    Brokor likes this.
  13. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Dunno about being a fed, but he did [stirpot] some.
     
  14. E.L.

    E.L. Moderator of Lead Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    He was quite entertaining.
     
    Brokor likes this.
  15. Struckin Fuggle

    Struckin Fuggle Survival Grasshoppa

    Great read. Very possible, even likely, storyline. Well developed characters we can all relate to. Most importantly, a not so gentle reminder for the reader to get his/her/our collective sh!t together. The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.

    The ending is harsh but helps to drive the point home. My wife read it also, hated the end, but will remember it forever. She's already said she'll be a little more forgiving regarding the money I spend.

    I hope he copyrights his stuff ... that would make a kick a$$ TV movie. I just found and saved "Lights Out" which I look forward to reading.
     
  16. ricdoug

    ricdoug Monkey+++

    The Moral of the Story is...

    Hold the Fort and Be Prepared. Ric
     
  17. ChrisNuttall

    ChrisNuttall Monkey+++

    Very good story. I like.

    Chris
     
  18. Byte

    Byte Monkey+++

    Brutally possible.
     
  19. moreair

    moreair Monkey+

    Great read! Makes me think traveling in a small group would be better. Or buy a winch.
     
  20. Witch Doctor 01

    Witch Doctor 01 Mojo Maker

    They didn't read the rules for a gun fight...

    21. Be polite. Be professional. But, have a plan to kill everyone you meet.

    [gun]
     
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