They called themselves the Army of Progress. They demanded that all the old government programs be brought back like, immediately. Things like welfare and food stamps and lots of government jobs.
They demanded that things like going to the doctor, school and money were human rights and the government had to give this stuff to everyone free of charge. And the government needed to force people to share with those who had less or nothing.
Most of all, they wanted the military to go away and turn the control of the government over to the people.
They felt that the military had ruined the reputation of the United States with the rest of the world and they were the cause of misery here and around the world.
Finally, they said the Army of Progress would fight with force and violence until they got what they wanted.
The fight in New York was the beginning and anyone who did not stand with them was an enemy of the people and would suffer the consequences.
This Army of Progress sounds like a bunch of crybabies.
First up, why should my family have to share our mobile home with anyone else? We lost our house and my mom and dad work their tails off every week to pay for our house on wheels!
They say they want the school system to be like it used to be. Who are they? My old school, before The Reboot (that's what we call the big mess) had a bunch of fat old hags for teachers. All they did was complain about how little money they made and they were just glorified babysitters.
I like my new school. My new math teacher used to be an engineer. My Spanish teacher worked in Mexico for an oil company. My English teacher used to write books. My chemistry teacher did not even finish college! She worked for a makeup company and used to be a professional chef. I have learned more real stuff than I ever learned from my old "professional" teachers.
My parents pay the teachers now and if I don't learn they don't get paid. And if I don't go to school or act up in class, the teachers can fire me and kick me out of the school. And if my parents don't participate, the school can kick me and my brother out.
They want free doctors? My mom says we pay less to see the doctor than we did before the Reboot and we don't even have insurance. I went to the dentist the other day and it cost 3 NuBux for a cleaning. Who can't afford that? A bum that's who.
My parents say that since the doctors and dentists are not paid by the government or insurance, they now have to charge what their patients can pay. Nobody can afford twenty thousand dollars for simple operation so the doctor charges less. Also, we only go to the doctor when we need to because we pay for it ourselves.
Finally, who cares what the rest of the world thinks about us? I am in high school and these Progress people sound more insecure about popularity than kids I know.
Yesterday, when the shooting happened in New York, there was this big fat guy in a baseball cap getting everyone riled up.
Dad said that fat guy used to be famous and since the Reboot, nobody really listens to him anymore. Now he is just a mean old fat guy I guess. Funny how he got everyone mad but when the shooting started, he ran away and let other people get shot. What a loser.
The Army came on TV the next day and said that some people were killed in New York and some got wounded. They caught one of the shooters. He was this nerdy guy who used to work for the government in some department which got closed. Guess he was pretty sore about it.
Either way, my dad says we probably won't see any of those Progress Army people down where we live. But he said they will probably make a mess in some of the big cities up East. Who knows?
The stories here are original and works in progress. Please leave a comment if you like them, hate them, or want more. Thanks
Saturday
Thursday
SHTF Fiction: A Change of Major (Chapter Four)
Chuck had set the place up all right. There were six five gallon buckets with lids full of clean water. There was a sink in the basement as well with little water pressure, but we could use the drain to dump dirty water down. There was another bucket with a toilet seat on top set up behind a screen. Next to it were several rolls of toilet paper (stolen from the restrooms in the school no doubt) and a smaller bucket containing white powder ("Lime I swiped from the chemistry lab" Mike told us, "to cut down on the um, smell").
There was a half dozen car batteries (I found out later they were deep cycle batteries) on the floor which previously had been connected to a wall socket. Next to that was an old bicycle with an auto alternator attached ("somebody put that together upstairs for some project. Pedal the bike and charge the batteries"). The batteries were connected to the strings of LED lights Mike had strung across the ceiling which provided sufficient light in the basement.
There was also a single burner hot plate on a folding table along with a stack of plastic and paper plates, plastic cups, forks and spoons all liberated from the teachers lounge and the school food court.
Chuck had purchased some food from the store the day before and brought more with him today. That and all the food we had taken from the vending machines and our rooms ("Thanks, Allen") should hold us for awhile. There was also a big cardboard box full of paperback books and magazines he had brought from his room and other places.
There was a radio as well. Chuck explained how he had connected the antenna aerial to a pipe which ran through the ceiling and through which he hoped he could obtain a signal. He turned on the radio, and like Curtis' cell phone, had been shielded by the basement from any EMP damage. At first, we could not pick up anything, but after three or four passes through the AM band, found a faint signal from a station further east of us.
What we learned in those precious few minutes changed our lives forever and which led me to where I am today. I don't remember where the station was broadcasting from or who was speaking. The war had indeed escalated and while we were pulling together our stuff and getting downstairs, several cities in the US and around the world had been hit with what were presumably nuclear weapons. It was believed that New York City, Los Angeles, Houston and Seattle had been hit as well as Washington DC. My sister lived only five miles from ground zero and unless she and my parents had made it somewhere safe, there was little reason to believe they were still alive.
Shortly after we found the broadcast, it went off the air without reason. We could never pick up that station again and it was some months before I heard another radio broadcast.
Talking out loud, Chuck made up some story that my family, due to my sister's important job and contacts, were certain to have had notice and managed to get out of town before things went up. He also hypothesized that the overloaded cellular network or even an early EMP negated their ability to phone me before the bombs went off. I knew then he was only trying to make me feel better. In spite of the amount of work needed to unpack our stuff and make our shelter manageable, I took my stuff to the corner of the room, sat down and put my head on my knees. Sometime afterwards, I must have fallen asleep.
Be Prepared For Anything Survival Guide
There was a half dozen car batteries (I found out later they were deep cycle batteries) on the floor which previously had been connected to a wall socket. Next to that was an old bicycle with an auto alternator attached ("somebody put that together upstairs for some project. Pedal the bike and charge the batteries"). The batteries were connected to the strings of LED lights Mike had strung across the ceiling which provided sufficient light in the basement.
There was also a single burner hot plate on a folding table along with a stack of plastic and paper plates, plastic cups, forks and spoons all liberated from the teachers lounge and the school food court.
Chuck had purchased some food from the store the day before and brought more with him today. That and all the food we had taken from the vending machines and our rooms ("Thanks, Allen") should hold us for awhile. There was also a big cardboard box full of paperback books and magazines he had brought from his room and other places.
There was a radio as well. Chuck explained how he had connected the antenna aerial to a pipe which ran through the ceiling and through which he hoped he could obtain a signal. He turned on the radio, and like Curtis' cell phone, had been shielded by the basement from any EMP damage. At first, we could not pick up anything, but after three or four passes through the AM band, found a faint signal from a station further east of us.
What we learned in those precious few minutes changed our lives forever and which led me to where I am today. I don't remember where the station was broadcasting from or who was speaking. The war had indeed escalated and while we were pulling together our stuff and getting downstairs, several cities in the US and around the world had been hit with what were presumably nuclear weapons. It was believed that New York City, Los Angeles, Houston and Seattle had been hit as well as Washington DC. My sister lived only five miles from ground zero and unless she and my parents had made it somewhere safe, there was little reason to believe they were still alive.
Shortly after we found the broadcast, it went off the air without reason. We could never pick up that station again and it was some months before I heard another radio broadcast.
Talking out loud, Chuck made up some story that my family, due to my sister's important job and contacts, were certain to have had notice and managed to get out of town before things went up. He also hypothesized that the overloaded cellular network or even an early EMP negated their ability to phone me before the bombs went off. I knew then he was only trying to make me feel better. In spite of the amount of work needed to unpack our stuff and make our shelter manageable, I took my stuff to the corner of the room, sat down and put my head on my knees. Sometime afterwards, I must have fallen asleep.
Be Prepared For Anything Survival Guide
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