Chapter 4

When I pulled up to the pumps there were two cars and one truck in the parking lot. I noticed several vehicles parked to one side of the barrier that shut off the exits from the freeway and the frontage road. They had moved in concrete barriers like the long ones used when they did the freeway construction last year, and they extended clear across the road to the train tracks. Damn, I thought, they were gonna make sure no one could get past the barrier. I was smiling as I slid my credit card into the slot and started the pump. I set it for slow and went inside to see if they had any extra cans. When I walked in, I was greeted by the assistant manager. I noticed that the shelves were stocked full and there were hundreds of those green delivery tubs stacked high in the back where the restrooms were.

"Hey Thom, in to get gas?"

"Yeah, JB, and some other things I was reminded I needed. You got any extra gas cans?"

"Yeah, for some reason we got double shipped on stock this time, just before the highway shut down. We also got full tanks of diesel and gas for a change so we are pretty well set for awhile. We even finally got the parts in to repair the backup generator. I think there are about eight or ten five gallon gas cans and a whole bunch of one gallon ones in the back against the wall."

"Any limit on how many we can buy?"

"Not that I was told, but then again since I am the only manager on duty 'till this is over, I guess it's whatever you can afford."

"Thanks JB, I need two or three to fill, then I will be back in to get some more stuff."

"Ok, just let me know how many you are taking."

I went back and grabbed three of the five gallon ones and showed them to JB as I went out the door. By the time I filed my tank and the seven cans it was well over a hundred dollars. I pulled my car up the front away from the pumps and went back in. I grabbed four twelve-packs of Coke since they were on sale at two for eight dollars, and then walked through the store, getting some other things for the fridge and some frozen items. I didn't eat many snacks, but still grabbed several bags of Doritos and another large can of coffee. By the time I checked out I had another fifty some dollars blown. Carrying it out to the car, I figured I still had about four hundred or so left in the bank so I decided to stop at the other small store in town to see what else I could stock up on. I got everything in the back seat and headed out after saying bye to JB.

I noticed the open sign on the other store was on so I stopped and went in. The owner was there reading a paper so I bought several items to store in case I ran out. When I went by the school, I noticed ten or fifteen trucks and cars parked by the gym so I stopped and went in. I was greeted by several people I knew and noticed a bulletin board set up in the middle of the floor so I walked over to it. There was a long list of commodities that was available if needed, and as I read through the list, I noticed several I knew I didn't have many of. I did notice that every resident was being offered six full cases of MREs. Now unlike some of my friends, I liked some of them and these were the large portion ones. I walked up the lady sitting at the desk and told her what I needed. She wrote it down, asking me to sign her sheet proving I had picked the order up. I explained about not being able to lift a lot so she sent one of the students with the list to get it all for me. I was surprised when she asked for a picture ID but I showed it to her.

"They are restricting the bulk foods to residents only at this time, to make sure everyone have enough on hand so they won't starve till this is over and we get another shipment of supplies. They are supposed to deliver another large order of MREs tomorrow from the Army base by helicopter. You will be able to pick up six more cases when they do and if it were me, Sir, I would get them as they said this would be the last shipment for awhile."

I just thanked her for the information, thinking she was being awful cheerful, especially if it was as bad as Barry had said it was. The student came back with a flat cart loaded with the stuff I asked for, and went over the list with me, checking off the items to show that he had them all. Hell, he even loaded them in the car for me and by the time he did, it was really loaded down. I wondered if I would be able to get back into the cabin with the new improvements on my driveway. Well, I thought, I will soon find out. When we got through loading the car, I called BK and advised him about the food and stuff. I told him he needed to load up all his guns, ammo, and food and come out to the cabin for awhile as things were going to get worse than what I had discussed with him. He said he would borrow the neighbor's trailer and get everything loaded up and be out tomorrow afternoon. He said that Willcox was totally shut down and his sister was worried about what was going on. I told him I would bring him up to date tomorrow and that he was to go real slow down my drive, describing the improvements to him. He got a big laugh out of it.

I made it back in ok, but I noticed that the front end scraped a little harder as I went into the ditch in front of the pile of raised stone. I finally got in and pulled up to the spring with the lights on so I could see to put the gas cans into the enclosure next to the wall by the spring. I was making sure I didn't upset any snakes in case they were up here next to the wall. I put the cover back on and pulled in front of the cabin. I went in, turning on the outside spots so I could see to unload the car. I finally got everything inside, but with all the lifting my back was killing me. I did remember to put a twelve pack of Coke in the small refrigerator for Shelly. I turned the outside lights off, hit the shower, then the bed in that order. I was out before my head settled on the pillow. When I woke up, I could see it was light out but I had no idea what time it was. When I turned the coffee pot on I glanced at the small alarm on the counter and realized it was only five am. What the! I hadn't gotten up this early since I was in the service. The weird part was I was totally awake and my back wasn't hurting me like it normally does after lifting like the night before.