18 September 2012, 16:15
The Retreat
Is it me or is it getting cold in here thought Steve to himself as he realised he was suddenly shivering, Why has the damn greenhouse heating not kicked in? He wandered through the nursery shed to the heater control panel, flicked at the light switch to brighten up this normally dark corner but the light did not come on.
Pulling out his EDC flashlight he peered at the heating controls and realised they were not working, in fact they were not even illuminated. At that he headed for the door. Strolling across the yard he realised that the house lights were not on, “Bugger†he said to no one in particular,“not a power cut I hopeâ€Â.
Before he reached the kitchen door he heard the familiar sound of his own diesel Land Rover coming up the track and clattering across the bridge over the stream that crossed between the farmhouse and the main road. He could not see the vehicle as the access track and main road was deliberately screened by trees and shrubs so the house could not been seen from the road by passing traffic. A mix of coniferous trees, Ivy, Rhododendrons and other plants of a thorny nature like Firethorn was deliberately planted years earlier when Steve first bought the place.
Soon as the 4x4 came round the corner Steve could see his partners face and it was looking distinctly worried, the vehicle rolled to a halt right where he stood and his partner hopped out.
You won’t believe this†said Beverley there’s a huge great rolling power cut spreading from all the main cities of the south east, outwards and across the whole damn country. The lights are going out across Britain and the rest of the world is as well according to the BBC on the radio.
Steve paused for thought for a moment or two then said “Right we will play safe, I want you to go and get the kids from the school and bring them home, I will switch over to the diesel genny until the power comes back on, after I have done that I will try and find out more.†and with that Steve dismissed his partner from his mind knowing she was fully capable of assessing the risk herself.
As he strode towards the generator shed he noticed Bev heading back to the truck after collecting her favourite pump action 410 shot gun and her own farm issue PMR radio which she knew had the range to reach back to the farm from the village school.
Steve checked the oil and coolant on the generator then pressed the starter , within seconds the diesel / bio diesel generator hummed into life and settled down to a steady 1800 RPM. From there he checked the immediate use diesel tank and noted it was totally full. His young son Tom clearly took his duty seriously in ensuring the retreats back up genny was kept topped up from the hidden twin 500 gallon tanks out the back of the shed.
Five minutes later Steve was running up the extension aerial for the Eton world band radio and listening for news, what he heard left him very worried. Spreading blackouts across the world and little or no useable news from government was all he could ascertain. Just local news from radio stations that had their own backup generators and what they had to say did not inspire him.
From what he could make out that the lights went out at about 3.30 pm just as the winter sun slipped away, reports of looting rapidly followed as frustrated commuters and opportunist thieves became ever more aggressive in the growing darkness.
It was reported people were trying to flee the city by any means possible after only a few hours of darkness. According to Radio Five-Live there were no street lights, shop lights or homes illuminated except for candles. Traffic signals were out as was the power for the London underground. They reported that because of some minor crashes and acts of street robbery all buses were being withdrawn.
The Metropolitian Police reported that all patrolling officers had been withdrawn to be deployed on “Special Duties†but no one knew what those duties were; only it was pitch black outside and there were no cops on the streets and no public transport.
30 minutes later Bev returned with Tom and Jordan and she had news “Steve from the bypass I could see down towards the town, it was ablaze and in more than one place, Oh and you could see the headlights of the cars on the motorway were not moving either. A delivery van was coming through the village and the driver asked if I knew of a back road into the town, because all the main roads were blockedâ€Â.
Suddenly Steve’s cell phone chirped once to announce a message awaited him. He was surprised the system was still working; he knew it could not last long if the cell systems back up power supplies failed.
Checking his phones inbox he noticed that in fact he had two text messages, both had the same brief two word messages , they simply said “AB†and on reading them Steve’s blood ran cold. “Bev the messages are from Dave and Nick in the Mutual Support Group they both say ABâ€Â.
The mutual support group was set up by Steve and six other preppers about 5 years previously; they all cooperated in survivalist planning and preparations. On an average of one weekend a quarter the group would gather to plan, practise, train and prepare to survive local, regional, national or global disasters, be they man made or natural.
They did not normally use codes of secret phrases as it was all too easy to forget or mix them up. In most cases normal English was fine for most communications, except for one scenario IE a Global social collapse (cause irrelevant) for that situation they adopted the code word used by the fictitious characters in the famous survivalist novel Alas Babylon by Pat Frank. When they sent out the signal AB it meant they feared for their family’s safety and were declaring their intentions to Bug out ASAP. This meant Dave, Nick and their families were gathering their Bug Out kits, Extra food, fuel supplies and kit and heading as agreed to Steve’s farm.
Steve said to Bev “You have better get the hot water on and make up the beds in the guest rooms we have friends coming and they may be hurt or traumatised when they get here toâ€Â……….. Before he could finish Steve heard another engine grinding his way up the track and by the sound of it, it was struggling with the incline.
“Tom… Crossbow NOW…. front bedroom Jordan go with him. Bev grab your 410 out of the truck and get over by the kennels, stay out of sight until I call you or you hear shooting.â€Â
Steve stepped across the kitchen threshold and reached above the door where his own crossbow was hung, bolt in place but un-cocked. As he pulled the sheepsfoot cocking lever back and readied the cross bow a big silver VW van burst into the yard, Steve was kneeling and aiming before it stopped.
The passenger door of the van cracked open and in a flash out shot a totally demented Jack Russell Terrier closely followed by a flustered woman.
Steve instantly recognised Mary the wife of Nick who had texted him the AB message. “Mary you stupid bloody cow†shouted Steve “You know you or Nick is supposed to radio in or phone from the bottom of the hill.
Mary just looked at Steve and growled “The phones are out and YOU don’t have your damned radio turned on, and Nick is in the van he’s hurt.†At that she headed towards the driver’s door where Nick was trying to climb out of the cab.
Ten minutes later Nick, Mary and dog were in the Kitchen, Bev treating a quite badly beaten Nick and making tea for everyone. Nick explained he was driving home after a trip to Windsor when the lights started to go out and local radio stations along the way reported that the power failures appeared to be total, affecting every system.
By the time he was passing close by Ripon he realised that something big and bad was happening, he could not phone Mary but texted her and gave her the AB message. By the time he reached home 40 minutes later Mary had all the BOBs, boxes and bits n pieces Nick kept ready to be loaded into the van. After a quick check and topping up his fuel tank from his spare stocks kept in the garage he was ready for leaving. That’s when the problems started.
Nicks neighbour had often talked with him about survivalism and preparations, he had expressed a willingness to become part of the community but like so many other people he had never actually gotten round to doing anything practical until now.
The Neighbour saw Nick loading up and quickly realised what was going on. He came over to where Nick was and asked Nick if he could spare some diesel and food as he did not have even enough in his car to leave the town. Nick told him “No, sorry what I have is what I need to get Mary and I to the place we have set asideâ€Â.
Immediately the neighbour had suddenly head butted Nick then kicked him violently to the floor before trying to snatch the van keys from him. He probably would have succeeded but for Mary who was just making Nick a quick hot drink before they left.
As soon as she saw the attack happen she grabbed the kettle of boiling hot water, ran out and threw it into the face of the neighbour. That stopped the attack dead, the neighbour staggered off screaming and she helped Nick up into the van. She only paused to lock the door, go to the utility cupboard and turn off the gas and electricity, before grabbing the dog and following Nick into the van.
After a late night of fixing Nicks bumps and scrapes, talking about the crisis and over reacting two or three times to noises outside the motley crew of survivors finally slept.
Just after 8AM the next day the other families began to arrive, by car, on foot, and on cycles, with two on a quad bike and trailer who rode cross country for over 55 miles along the Pennines, the last two were filthy and exhausted but reported that from Sheffield to Barnsley it was total chaos, violence and anarchy.
By noon everyone was settled in kit cleaned, vehicle checked and stored and supplies offloaded. Dave’s collection of eight large portable solar panels were most welcome as they could be used to recharge lots of batteries, power radios and even run a couple of 12 volt lights, energy much needed in the coming weeks.
During the afternoon the women and kids cooked all the meats that were in the freezer, all the open eggs and flour and mixed fruits were converted into cakes and sealed away in wax paper.
The men folk reeled out a few hundred yards of barbed wire and trip flare wires in the hedgerows by the main road before setting to work on the little wood and metal bridge that crossed the stream on the only access road. With a few chipped nails, a bit of sweat and swearing after 40 minutes the timber decking was lifted from the bridge and the steel supports totally wrapped up in barbed wired.
With the preplaced supplies of flour, wheat, pasta, long grain rice, cooking oils, tinned fruit and vegetables , added to this was the rabbits, chickens, goats and miniature pigs, in theory they would be self-sufficient for at least a year. And with the stream and land they had enough soil and water to grow crops in the spring. Mary had brought with her a fair sized collection of seeds that she hoped would provide food next year. Steve only wished he had finished making a carp pond, but it was too late for now.
By day four the solar panels had been set up on the south facing roof, more radio aerials set up. A wide band scanner was constantly monitored in the kitchen by the girls for any and all news. They cut even more wood for the Aga which could be easily converted from coal when it runs out to wood burning.
Being only 8 miles from the sea and the area being abundant in surface coal as well as wildlife the preppers at the retreat had the means, teamwork and will to wait out the fall of society and hopefully to slowly reach out to other survivalist communities and rebuild a life for themselves.
As the world grew dark man’s inhumanity to man flared up as forecast, the cities became necropolis’s with the lost and desperate fleeing any way they could leaving only the feral gangs to fight among themselves for few remaining supplies.
In Europe ethnic and nationalist tensions rose up again as the various cultures and races fought not only for survival, but also to settle old scores. In Asia just about everyone turned on everyone else with the exception of the subsistence farmers and fishermen who carried on as before, as if nothing has happened.
It took only a few weeks for Africa to go silent, no one knows what happened in the Dark Continent that had in the last ten years seen a resurgence in tribal warfare, droughts, civil war, epidemics etc.
In Britain the followers of socialism waited in vain for salvation from the government. The supporters of diversity, multi-culturalism and appeasement of religious extremists died at the hands of those they tried to help.
In America as forecast the Americans went out with a huge bang. As soon as the lights went out the gangs like the Bloods and Crips kicked off with street warfare, the Hells Angels attacked the Satan’s Slaves. The white rednecks tried to dominate the blacks but it just spiralled into total chaos. Blacks, Hispanics, Asiatics and Whites all took full advantage of their right to bear arms the carnage was terrible. The gun obsessed paranoia that had fuelled American fears for years finally broke though. Some boarded themselves up in their homes and businesses shooting at anyone who came by while others headed out of town heading for their vacation homes.
Hundreds of thousands had the same idea of grabbing a gun, and sleeping bag and heading off into the boondocks to live off the land. Sadly the country boys, survivalists, farmers and native Americans etc did not want the AR15 carrying urbanites roaming the backwoods and wiped out most of the refugees who could not survive in the new world.
Up in Canada where more moderate attitudes prevailed the disaster stuck home but not as quickly as south of the border but eventually they too descended into chaos and anarchy.
As America destroyed itself thousands of Americans tried to force themselves onto the Canadians in vane of course, the Canadians could not contain or absorb the fleeing masses from the south so they took the only option available to them they retreated north leaving a scorched earth policy behind them.
The American arrivals found only destruction and desolation in Canada and died in their thousands from the advancing winter weather. Come spring the hardy Canadians came back and started rebuilding.
No record is known of the fate of the thousands who tried to flee south across the Rio Grande into Mexico and its neighbouring states, but it’s believed that many old scores were settled and many Americans perished.
One day at a time became the mantra of those who survived those initial long nights, but preparedness not paranoia would be the foundation of all future cultures.
The Rifle
Dammit, Dammit, Dammit, he muttered under his breath as he searched by flashlight through the dark recesses of the sporting goods shop, there’s almost nothing I can use he said to himself.
"What good is a rifle or a shotgun without ammunition this is something I should have paid more attention to years ago" he thought to himself.
The problem was the old one of what is the best choice in times of plenty is not necessarily the right choice in times of strife. His .338 Sako was a great hunting rifle for stalking red deer but it is not much use for fending off gangs of displaced refugees especially as he could not source any more ammunition.†I should have invested in a reloading machine†he grumbled to himself. The problem was compounded by the fact that the only other gun he had was a pump action 20 Gauge shotgun also in desperate need of ammunition as well. He decided to move on and try and source other needed items of kit.
After raiding a chemists shop and a Machine Mart for an assortment of tools including a hand cranked fuel lifting pump he headed back to his vehicle and set off the find a gas station that still had some diesel he could salvage for his vehicle.
After much map studying and endless driving around blocked roads littered with abandoned vehicles he found an agricultural supplies depot that had a huge tank of red agricultural diesel that had not been pilfered. He quickly snipped off the padlock securing the filler cap with a pair of bolt cutters and set about refilling his vehicle.
A neat find this vehicle was. It was a forestry service IVECO van converted to all wheel drive by Ferguson, and because it spent so much of its time in remote woodland it had also been fitted with twin 90 litre fuel tanks. With both tanks filled to the brim it gave him a range in excess of over 800 miles. But he needed even more fuel capacity as much of his time was spent exploring out of the way rural locations looking for somewhere to set up as his new home and looking for other survivalists to join him. So inside of the van his improvised camp bed sat on top of a row of 12 x 5 gallon Jerry cans plus another four cans chained to the wide rear step at the back of the vehicle. This gave him a good range and safety margin for his expedition.
Every time he rested his head he thought to himself “There’s no way on earth I would do this if I was carrying cans of petrol instead of diesel, one misplaced spark and the explosion would be heard in the next county.â€Â
By early evening he was back on the road looking for someplace to laager up for the night, he liked to be parked up before dark in case his running lights gave away his position to people with evil intentions. He also liked to be in place and settled down so he could look for lights from houses and buildings after dark in order to spot where other survivors could be living.
As dusk fell he had found a somewhat slightly overgrown lay-by on the side of a road about 150 feet up the side of a hill, it was an ideal spot to back the van into as it was almost completely obscured by vegetation from the main road. 40 minutes later and after a bite to eat he decided on a quick walk around his rest place for the night to not only ensure it was safe, but in order to relieve himself of the 4 cans of Pepsi he had consumed earlier in the day (he no longer trusted tap water and had yet to find a good water filter).
Walking carefully along the lay-by until it re-joined the road he could see quite clearly that no smoke or fires could be seen nearby, but something was not quite right about the layout of the geography in front of him, something seemed not quite natural. Walking along the road edge he realised that the foliage in one spot was different to the rest of the hedgerow, it was not as high and looked as if something had knocked it down at some point in the not too distant past.
Peering through the hedgerow perched about 40 feet down the slope was a power transmission pole, an 11 KV pole to be precise and rammed up against it in quite a bad way was a police car. He clambered through the hedge and work his way down to the vehicle which clearly had been going very fast when it left the road. Were it not for bad luck the car would have probably careered down the slope for another 100 yards and got stuck in the hedge at the bottom. But unfortunately for the car and its occupants it had hit the power pole going from 70 to 0 mph in one second, airbags were no use in that crash.
When he reached the vehicle which was once a pristine POLICE 4x4 BMW X5 Estate car he could instantly see the two occupants were long dead, probably been there since the collapse that brought society down. He clambered over and around the vehicle out of curiosity and was just about to give up and go back to his vehicle when he noticed that one of the dead officers was wearing a tactical leg holster, empty but still a leg holster. This meant the vehicle was a Fire Arms Response Vehicle and this offered our survivor the chance of possibly some useful pickings.
Reaching through the side window he pulled the tailgate release then went to see what the trunk contained, he found a large metal locked box bolted to the floor of the vehicle along with other items such as flashlights, traffic cones, radios and assorted tactical kit. Using a flashlight he soon found the keys for the box as they were on the same ring as the cars keys thus still in the ignition.
On opening the box he found to his delight two 9 mm pistols and two 9 mm carbines, the pistols from SIG and the carbines from H&K. He also found 4 magazines for each weapon and 400 rounds of 9 mm ammunition plus cleaning kits. This was the security concern he had for his safety well and truly covered. He transported the weapons to his vehicle along with the tactical flashlights and spare batteries and spent the night getting use to handling his new found tools. He knew he would soon need to find how to strip, clean and maintain these weapons so at some point he would have to seek out the operators handbooks, but that could wait for now.
After a night’s sleep he woke thinking that actually the 9 mm pistols were ideal for his close quarters protection but the carbines were actually of limited use (but still a 100% better than throwing rocks) but the finding of the guns got him to thinking. Cops have 9 MM weapons, Soldiers on the other hand have 5.56 and 7.62 calibre weapons, and those would be ideal for long range security and hunting. What he needed to do was to find a TA centre or military base that was fitted with armouries, but NOT main large scales bases, and also some place that hopefully other survivors had not already raided. Thus with that thought our erstwhile survivor set off again in search of a safe haven to try and rebuild a life for himself.
The Journey
For the third day in a row they followed the river as best they could moving steadily inland from the coast. Far too many survivors and scavengers were gathered along the coast in groups of various sizes. They appeared to be living of what they could scavenge from the ruins of society or catch from the sea. But most of them were not looking any further forward than their next meal, and far too many were still waiting for the government to send help. Four months on from the collapse and they still could not accept that there was no more government, they could not face the thought that either the EU or US would not send help, indeed most refused to believe that the EU and Americas had also fallen.
So this group of survivors decided to move inland hoping for calmer weather, fewer people, more sustainable sources of food and fuel. By lunchtime on the third day they had cleared the rivers delta and moving up into the low level hilly country that the river gained its water from. The SOLAR PANEL snaffled from a Maplin’s store and fastened to the back of one of the group’s rucksacks provided the group with a steady supply of recharged Ni-cad and Lithium Ion rechargeable batteries, these were used in flashlights, walkie talkies, and a SW scanning receiver used to listen for other groups broadcasting.
All along the bug out route the group had made careful notes about items they could salvage at a later date and the top item was clearly the combined Solar Panel / Wind turbine devices they frequently came across used to power road signs and hazard warning signs along the roads. These devices would be ideal in multiples to provide clean green self sufficient supplies of energy for where ever they finally settled.
One of the group had notice a small but well managed woodland where they chose to laager up one night, in the wood they found rows and rows of cut timber and huge piles of hardwood logs they could use to provide heat with. On the edge of the last large town they found a MACHINE MART, it had already been heavily scavenged by other survivors, but it did still have two very useful finds, one being a very nice selection of wood / multi fuel stoves and ranges, the second was a manually operated log splitter. They took time to disguise the stoves and wood splitter from prying eyes before they went on their way.
Another discovery behind a brick wall not far out of town was a FUEL DEPOT with healthy stocks or red and white diesel, heating oil and kerosene. The main tanks had been drained but there was still a total of over thirty 55 gallon drums full of stuff that a diesel engine could use.
Their walking pace was much slower than they hoped they frequently only managed 5 miles in a day as they stopped frequently to rest or check out places that may be suitable to live on or to salvage stuff from, but by day 5 mid-afternoon they were at last well inland and away from major conurbations.
The Ordnance Survey Land Ranger maps from the bug out bags had proven priceless. Examples such as listing little used bridges or even simple pipe bridges across rivers helped them cross flowing water without having to go back into hazardous towns seeking crossings. All the discoveries of materials found were marked in notebooks and marked on the maps for future reference.
More places were added as the journey progressed, BUILDERS YARDS for materials to repair and rebuild with, PLUMBERS MERCHANTS to salvage tanks and pipes to make DIY water filter systems, water storage tanks and waste water recycling systems. TIMBER YARDS.
MARINAS & BOATYARDS were given special attention as at some point in time most roads would become impassable and the rivers and canals will be the only viable method of shifting bulky materials. Boats and railways if they can find a place served by a PRESERVED STEAM RAILWAY will be paramount if they are to build a sustainable community. Plus many of the items found on boats were ideal for off grid living. FARM SUPPLIES depots were a treasure trove of tools both mechanical and powered plus they also held stuff as varied as fertiliser and animal antibiotics as well as small diesel powered utility vehicles like agricultural quad bikes and trailers.
One step they carried out at every possible opportunity was to open gates and sheds containing animals and livestock, sadly most of the shed housed animals had long since died, but the odd shed still housed a few live rabbits and chickens which were set free along with cattle, sheep, goats, and oddly enough 27 Alpacas, 16 bison and 50 plus wild boar all duly freed in the hope of re-establishing healthy wild stocks the survivors could call on in years to come. In two neighbouring farms they found huge ponds of well stocked trout type fishes, all the sluices were opened over a period of 24 hours freeing the fish into the local river system. It was staged over 24 hours because different ponds held different sized fish and the fear was if all were released at once the big fish would just feast on the small ones, so many hours were used to separate the releases.
Hunters, scavengers and the coming winter would probably see the end of 99% of the freed creatures, but there was a chance however small that enough would survive until people could start to rebuild.
A couple of sporting goods shops were checked but had been cleared out of all fire arms and ammunition but a couple of new air rifles were found plus ammo for them, they provided 5 fat wood pigeon for tea that night, and two portable fishing rod kits were also salvaged. A quick stop off at a CALOR GAS DEPOT saw the group’s members who used micro butane cookers find some refill gas canisters and notes were made that the yard still held plenty of filled butane and propane bottle both 7 and 15 kg types.
By day 7 they survivors were now caching salvaged materials in safe spots they chose because they did not want to carry so much material with them at this time and equally they did not want to have all their salvaged goods taken off them by another group who may have been better armed.
One final place was checked out before the journey moved further towards the uplands and this was one of the big Discount Camping and Outdoor stores where everyone managed to find themselves more suitable and comfortable walking shoes and boots to replace the mishmash of often unsuitable footwear they currently had, and they also found a nice supply of multi tools, compasses, maps, nicer, bigger rucksacks and better quality water proofs. And luck or good fortune shone on them when they found a ½ pallet of Mountain House freeze dried foods completely untouched in the stores goods in area. These assorted long life freeze dried foods could mean the difference between life and death for the group, they packed as many meals as they could into their new larger rucksacks then they manhandled the remaining packs of food and hid them in the back of one of the abandoned vehicles in the rear yard of the van hire depot next door.
They may be walking into the unknown but they had at least re-equipped themselves and laid the foundations for rebuilding a self-sufficient society at some future date.
The Gathering
Darren and Helen had been walking for 3 days now, originally they had been cycling but as they passed through what was once Derbyshire they had been forced to abandon them when they were faced with a river crossing. Already weary from days of walking in their search for other survivalists they were heading through the Peak district with the intention of crossing the river by a small road bridge they had once driven over years before. But as they cycled towards the bridge in the bottom of a steep sided valley Darren decided he needed to pee and called a stop. As he relieved himself by the side of the road Helen noticed something reflecting light from the bridge, so she got her field glasses from the saddle bags and took a peek. On focusing on the flickering light she was astounded to see the reflection coming from the scope mounted on a rifle and pointing at Darren.
“Darren down†she screamed followed by her yelling “Gun†before she dropped to the floor. Looking up she saw Darren reacting instantly to her call and throwing himself sideways to the floor at the same time he was trying to fasten himself up.
Just as he was about to ask her what was up as they peered at each other from either side of the road a shot rang out that knocked his cycle off its side stand. “Oh crap†he said “pull your rucksack and one saddle bag off your bike honey we are going to have to leg it back to those trees, and stay low when we goâ€Â
Five minutes later panting breathlessly and shaking with shock they both found cover in the treeline about 500 yards back up the hill from where their bikes lay.
Pulling out their much annotated Bug out Map they scanned it for an alternative route across the river. Darren could see no more road, pedestrian or rail bridges listed within 15 miles. “Bugger, we will have to backtrack all the way to the other side of Leek the way things are looking, there’s no way over that I can findâ€Â.
“Dope, not everything is shown on a map†said Helen as she focused her field glasses again on a point about ¾ of a mile north of the bridge they had wanted to cross.
“Take a look at that about ¾ of a click up the side of the valley just in front and slightly below that small works site†said Helen “I think it’s our way over but not with the bikesâ€Â.
Darren pulled his compact monocular from the sleeve pocket on his DPM smock and looked at the spot Helen had seen. “ Yes, I see it it’s a pipe bridge, a steel lattice box section of steel carrying what looks like a 36 inch water main. We can use that, well done darling don’t forget to mark its position on the map for future use.
That night after dark the pair emerged from the woods and used the pipe bridge to cross the gulley and river 100 ft below, and by morning they were resting up in a storm drain a good five miles further south.
Eleven days later the couple were sat on top of a hillock near Warminster army camp enjoying a hot stew from a 24 hour ration pack they had collected from another survivalist called Mal who they knew via a mutual friend. Mal had said they were welcome to rest overnight, do their laundry, clean their kit, and have a good meal. When they left the next day Mal had presented them with a 24 hour ration pack each, some climbing rope, some spare carabineers, and a carrier bag of assorted meals from other part used ration packs. Last but not least Mal had been told to give the pair a crossbow from the mutual friend’s cache of gear he left with him. So Darren was now kitted out with an elderly but a still very functional Barnett Wildcat Crossbow with a 4x scope and a small bag with 10 spare bolts and spare two strings.
As they sat enjoying their meal and feeling the sun warm their backs they heard a sound, a very rare sound these days, it was a motorcycle engine. Darren jumped up and using his wife’s field glasses he looked for the source of the sound. Finally he saw the motorbike as it rounded a curve in the road, it stopped and the rider scanned the area ahead of him then he looked up at the skyline, he eyes immediately spotted Darren looking down at him.
The rider swung a pair of field glasses in Darren’s direction stopping briefly on Darren but quickly scanning the rest of the hilltop until he spotted Helen. At that he stopped, waved to ensure Darren and Helen were watching and then produced a large piece of yellow paper with the symbols of RZ=? written on it. The rider held up the piece of paper or card so he could be sure Darren could read it.
At the top of their voices Darren and Helen shouted down the hill to the very large and bearded biker “Rendezvousâ€Â, but the biker waved to say wait and he leant over and turned off his bike engine.
The biker then took off his helmet and then put both hands to his ears to signal the couple to shout again. “RENDEZVOUS†they yelled and this time the biker gave thumbs up in response.
The coupled grabbed their gear and set off down the hill towards the biker Darren keeping the loaned crossbow loaded and cocked as they approached the biker who was by now brewing a hot drink by the side of the road.
After tense introductions all three realised they were among allies from the same preppers forum and Paul the biker had been hoping to find this couple en-route to their destination as he had agreed with quite a few people from the preppers forum to try and help them the first time they came into Paul’s area for the initial RZ.
Paul asked the couple to camp overnight at the layby and promised to come back in the morning, sure as the sun rises the next morning the couple heard the familiar sound of the bike coming back. As Paul rolled into the layby they were tickled to see his motorcycle was towing a trailer. Paul loaded their rucksacks and a bemused Darren into the trailer with instructions to watch in case anyone was following.
Then Paul and Helen mounted the bike and all three rode off to the place Paul and wife Jane had naturally migrated towards in order to set up the southern RZ Glastonbury. Glastonbury was that chosen location a place revered by millions and a place noted since the dark ages as a place that was special. Glastonbury was where the new community in the southwest would do their bit to start rebuilding society.
Next day Darren and Helen found themselves being guided by Jane around the Rendezvous they had set up. Jane was seen by most of the gatherings attendees as an apothecary, she used her years of experience in herbalism and foraging to build up a huge range of potions, lotions and knowledge, and that knowledge was greatly in demand these days.
Helen soon managed to start bartering by trading the climbing rope, carabineers and spare 24 hour ration pack meals for other items they needed. Darren spent the next few days teaching the three R’s to the kids of other preppers and survivalists who were desperate to ensure that even during a crisis their kids got an education. By the end of the week the couple had what they needed and established firm friendships and contacts with other preppers and knew that in 3 months’ time another RZ would be held.
The beginnings of a new dawn perhaps?
The Convoy
The four vehicle convoy was parked up in a layby shielded from the main road by a crescent shaped barrier of trees and shrubs, the crewmembers of the convoy pottered about doing various jobs such as tightening up straps and tie-down ropes, greasing tow-ball hitches, checking tyre pressures and oil levels whilst they waited for the last member of their group who was out ahead of the group on a trail bike checking the route ahead. As always one of the group stood guard with a crossbow and a pair of field glasses.
Just over 2 hours later the guard first heard the little motorcycle’s engine long before he saw the machine itself, and five minutes later the motorcycle was back with the convoy and its rider briefing the group. This tiny little Honda XL125 trail bike had certainly earned its place in the group’s inventory as it was ideal for scouting and patrolling its tiny 123cc 4 stroke engine was very quiet as was its exhaust note.
“As we thought the main roads are blocked with abandoned vehicles, the smaller ones too, but I have found a way through. We will have to move only one vehicle to get by one blockage and a short cross country trip will get us past the other blockage. Its only 12 miles as the crow flies but the trip meter on the bike makes it a little over 22 miles with all the diversions. The Jimny will lead followed by the F150, I want the van next behind the F150 because I reckon there is a risk its 2 wheel drive system will get stuck when we have to leave the road for about 100 feet going uphill until we bypass the landslip on the A689, and before we go across that piece of track I want the F150 set up with its tow rope already attached to the van.
There are signs of people still living in the area so I don’t want us getting the van stuck where we may come under fire. The Landy will bring up the rear. We leave as soon as the bike is reloaded onto the carrier on the back of the van.†Crook should be the last of the larger communities we have to skirt before we are clear of the lowland areas.
The Jimny set off followed a few minutes later by the rest of the convoy, conversation over the CB radios (27FM) was prohibited unless an ambush or other serious emergency occurred, the group did not want anyone triangulating the convoys positions or eavesdropping on the groups plans.
The Jimny had its pre-arranged route to follow and the other 3 vehicles would follow behind a few minutes later, everyone knew where the agreed stops would be and an alternative meeting place should they have to scatter in a hurry.
Just over 12 miles later the main part of the convoy approached the location of the Jimny the little Suzuki was exactly where it was supposed to be and its 3 person crew were out of the vehicle. One man had coupled a steel tow wire to the big old Volvo blocking the road, they had tried to push it out the way but either the transmission or brakes (or both) were totally jammed on, besides the near side from suspension was firmly impaled on the remnants of a steel bollard. The two others from the Jimny’s crew were deployed as guards one by the Jimny itself and the other about 20 feet past the wrecked Volvo.
In one fluid motion the F 150 drove up to the guy with the tow wire and the Landy moved to just behind the Suzuki, it took less than 20 seconds for the man with the tow wire to pass it through the towing eye on the F150, loop it back and fasten it with a shackle. Immediately the girl driving the F150 popped it into reverse and slowly took up the strain on the wire. The Volvo was reluctant to move at first but with a few sharp tugs by the F150 the Volvo was torn free and pulled aside.
With equal fluidity the crew of the Jimny uncoupled the tow wire from both vehicles and stowed in their little 4x4 and re-boarded their vehicle before taking point again. Less than six minutes had passed before the survivors had cleared the blockage and were on their way again.
That evening the 4 vehicles were hidden in an empty and abandoned retained Fire station (retained stations had volunteer crews and were normally unmanned) The survivors took the opportunity to cook a good meal on the gas burning stove in the firemen’s rest room.
The crew of the F150 were especially pleased to be able to cook a meal without it smelling of diesel as up to then much of their food had been prepared by wrapping it in foil and placing it on the exhaust manifold of the pickup, cooking the food with the heat from the vehicles exhaust. The van crew had benefitted from a tiny 12V microwave oven for much of their journey, but the group as a whole all enjoyed eating a communal meal sat round a table. All water supplies were now considered to be risky so by default the water they used in the fire station was first put through the Berkfield filter that was part of the vans fittings.
They rested overnight in the Fire station with everyone taking turn for 2 hours at standing guard, once overnight in the very distance one of them heard two shots, but it was so distant he did not raise the alarm.
Next morning after repacking, reloading and checking over the vehicles the convoy set off again, by mid-morning they had found one extra hazard they had to deal with, it was a minor land slip from a farmer’s field which has deposited a fair amount of soil and turf to a depth of about 12 inches right across the road. Again it was overcome by the convoy with the F150 pulling the van over the land slip. By noon they were in the upper dales and only had one more problem to deal with which was the issue of an entire chunk of the road had slipped away leaving a gap the full width of the road and some 40 feet long. Luck smiled on the convoy though because not 30 feet to the right of the landslip a forestry track paralleled the road and by knocking down a small dry stone wall either side of the landslip the convoy could gain access to the track and also regain access to the road. The diversion would be simply for the 4x4s but a challenge for the van.
The crews of the Landy and the Jimny went ahead and whilst one of them kept watch the others pulled down the dry stone walling, using a few of the rocks and slabs to help level out the incline that separated the road from the forestry track, Knocking down the wall and breaking a few saplings cleared enough room for the vehicles.
First up was the Jimny which went ahead and re-joined the road north of the landslip, its crew took up all round watch, next went the Landy which stopped just on the forestry track, the Landy was then connected by the steel tow wire to the F150, and the F150 was ready connected to the van as agreed earlier. Polypropylene and steel tow ropes had definitely earned their places in the preppers vehicle kits. When the signal was given the two 4x4s engaged low gear and set off making easy work of pulling the van up and onto the track. To prevent van from sliding off the track into the drainage ditches the towing vehicles just kept going along the track they did not pause until all the vehicles were on the other side of the landslip.
After everything was re-stowed and checked the convoy again set off with the Jimny still taking point
By late afternoon they were just pulling up alongside the part concrete block part steel prefab hill-farmers barn the group had leased some years earlier.
Unlike lowland barns these hilltop barns were solid draft proof structures with heavily re-enforced roofs to allow for the build-up of large amounts of snow. The large double door and single pedestrian access door were very close fitting to ensure both snow and vermin could not enter, and being less than ten years old it had a solid concrete floor not dirt like so many old barns.
The group went and unlocked the single door and entered the barn, the structure was lit only by the 10 clear triple wall Polycarbonate skylights set into the galvanised and zinc roof. The barn resembled a modern factory unit more than a traditional barn structure.
The group immediately opened the main doors and started offloading the equipment and supplies they had brought with them, they carried the supplies into the barn where the group had store two 36 foot x 12 foot used but still very serviceable mobile homes.
Over the next few hours they washed down the vehicles by the stream near the barn then reversed them into the barn, each one would be fired up and idled until warm at least once every 5 days. Outside the girls set up a selection of radio receiver aerials and a campers portable satellite dish hidden in a clump of gorse, the boys set up a modest sized solar panel on the south facing rear wall of the barn, it was not massive either in size or power but was enough to provide a healthy charge for various batteries.
Inside in the barn was the equivalent of 4 cords of logs machine cut and split to feed the wood burning stoves set in each mobile home (vented through the roof). Almost twenty x 20 litre water containers were filled from the stream, treated and brought into the barn to ensure they had a good supply of stored water.
Last but not least using a gardeners 4 wheeled cart the group hauled nearly 20 potted shrubs of the same variety and type as those that bordered the B road that the access path to the barn ran from, the group laboriously planted the shrubs across the turn off from the road and spent nearly another two hours brushing, shovelling and locating fauna and flora to disguise the entrance track to their retreat.
Once closed off the only way out from the retreat would be across the ford and up over the grouse keeper’s track that led its way back to the road but nearly two miles further up the hillside. This group could survive here for nearly six months perhaps seven if they were strict with their food rationing.
Now all they could do was wait and pray that things would settle in time and they would not be discovered.
The Old Fort
Roger and Chris crested the hill and stopped for a rest, five weeks after sailing from Whitby and creeping along ever so slowly and never letting the coast out of their sight they visited dozens of likely locations before finally dropped anchor in Cawsand Bay.
They snuck ashore at dusk and rested overnight in a campsite near Millbrook. They had previously spent months travelling across the UK seeking out families and groups of preppers whose details they had collected from the Prepper forums before the collapse. They were the accepted experts on joining up the dots, or more accurately identifying useable and tradable assets that the various groups and factions of widely dispersed survivalists had to offer for barter.
This particular venture came about because the group living in Stainsacre Hall near Whitby had with the help of the folks along the Esk valley managed to get the old Whitby to Darlington Railway line up and running again, they had 6 small steam locos but were currently running a small diesel railcar. It was fuelled by a mix of salvaged diesel from other locos, fuel from Thornaby Marshalling Yard, blended with a whopping great tank of Seed Rape oil they found on a farm. They estimated if they ran one train a day between Whitby up to possible as far as Shildon they had enough fuel to last just over 2 ½ years and this would open up access to a great deal of coal, timber, hill farms and abandoned lowland communities.
When the Whitby group had ventured down to Northallerton to salvage a replacement injector pump from a Pacer Railcar they knew to be stored there they came across a small group from Wensleydale who said if they could get a reliable supply of milk they could start making cheese and yogurt again in largish quantities. Essential nutrition with a good shelf life that is easy transportable was very desirable and the cheese plant they had control of could produce various types of cheese not just the local Wensleydale variety, but it needed milk and lots of it.
Roger and Chris had heard a whisper than some place along the south coast another group of survivalists had survived and had a healthy collection of small animals including apparently a lot of goats. The duo knew dairy cattle would be preferential but so long after the collapse they doubted that there were any cattle left alive in England, so goats would have to do providing they could find them.
So over five weeks previously they had set sail in a 31ft Yacht called ENTERPRISE they had found in Whitby harbour. With the help of the Whitby group they got the boat something close to seaworthy and chose to use it to recce the coast for other communities.
Chris had roughly painted the letters NCC1701 underneath the boats name in homage to the famous spaceship which earned him the nickname of Scottie of Roger. They had supplemented their meagre supplies with produce they found growing wild along the south coast and from line caught fish caught as they cruised down the coast.
For water they used a reverse osmosis filter to convert salt water into fresh water, and they played safe by passing the water through a British Berkfeld filter unit. Four small jerry rigged solar panels bolted to the cabin roof coupled to a small and very noisy micro turbine provided them with power for running a radio, fridge and small sonar unit.
The following day the duo set off west along the coast in the hope of finding a place high enough to give them a panoramic view of the area. Pretty soon they reached the top of one of the cliff side paths, as they paused Roger said “That doesn’t look right†whilst pointing at something in the distance. He got his mini binoculars from his DPM smock and dropped his Eagle Becker Patrol pack to the ground, but kept his BSA Ultra Carbine over his shoulder and focused his attention on a slope about 2 miles away. “Watcha make of that?†Roger said to Chris whilst passing his binoculars to his partner.
Chris peered through the glasses and scanned the area thoroughly then without lowering the glasses said “It’s one of the old Napoleonic era coastal forts I think, yes it must be the old Tregantle Fort that’s listed in the guide book we have been using to seek where preppers could be livingâ€Â
Then Chris froze and turned to look at Roger and said “and if I’m not mistaken that is very closely cropped grass all around the outside of the fort, I can’t see anyone having enough time to be mowing grass any more can you?â€Â
Two hours later they were being introduced to Neil who originated in Exeter who was a long term prepper as well as a noted chef. After a meal and washing up Neil and his people gave the duo a tour of the fort, Neil’s group had managed to get parts of the old accommodation block, offices, workshops and old cookhouse block operational mainly using wood burning stoves they salvaged from B& Q and Machine Mart after the collapse.
The forts old well had been uncapped and a wind driven lift pump brought water up for both the humans and animals to use. The animals were numerous and plentiful and housed in great comfort within the forts walls and gun enclosures. The neatly mown exterior of the fort leading down towards the ranges was through the actions of the goats being allowed out to forage during the daytime.
On top of the central redoubt they found solar panels working next to boards with jerky being sun dried on, shortages of sea salt for also preserving meat were not a problem here by the sea.
Next day they all got down to discussing trade, Yes the Tregantle community were more than happy to trade goats, goat meat, goat milk and goat skins with anyone. In return they had a desperate need for stuff like bitumen to repair roofs with, fishing nets (Whitby was awash with new unused nets) medicines vetinarian and human, a working vehicle, a DIY small scale bio diesel plant, new footwear.
More livestock were wanted to prevent inbreeding among their current stock. The skills of a Blacksmith and Leathermaker for at least twice a year visits. And especially hay and dried grasses for winter feed.
If they could get enough food for the animals they were willing to make the risky journey over to the Channel Islands to trade the islanders for a few of their cattle to start a breeding program again on the mainland.
Neil knew that there were still quite a few ponies alive on Dartmoor and back eastwards in the New Forest, and he had been told by a traveller called Gavin that wild boar were flourishing in the forest. Neil offered some very generous rewards for anyone who could bring him some young wild boars he could start his own herd with.
He was hoping that if he could he would catch some ponies before winter to break and train to pull small wagons from the beach up to the fort and to provide mounts for foraging patrols.
Neil’s people also raised the issue about fuel for the stoves and boilers, finding timber was becoming harder and harder as the months went by, They asked Chris and Roger to see if the people in the north east could arrange to ship coal that was very abundant across the north east all the way down to Tregantle. A stock of coal built up bit by bit over the spring and summer would massively improve the quality of life of the Tregantle community and reduce their workload in the long winter.
So the beginnings of new commercial links that would ensure the continuity and security of the preppers communities may be assured providing Chris and Roger returned safely to Whitby.
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