Prepper: Book 2 (PREPPER: A GRID-DOWN POST-APOCALYPTICDYSTOPIAN SURVIVAL SERIES) by Tom Abrahams

Author:Tom Abrahams [Abrahams, Tom]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: EPUB
Publisher: Piton Press LLC
Published: 2023-10-15T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS

DAY FIVE, GRID DOWN

Jack remembered the first time he had spent any time with his neighbors. It had been years earlier, and the community had lost power after a succession of training thunderstorms.

After two days without any electricity, the cul-de-sac residents got together and decided to have a block party. The reasoning, as Betty explained to him, was twofold. Everybody had food in their freezers and refrigerators that was going to spoil if they did not cook it or consume it. As a newly built neighborhood, it was a great opportunity for the neighbors to get to know one another.

They had set up gas and charcoal grills in driveways. Tables and chairs crowded the circle at the end of the street. Kids played ball or rode scooters and bikes. Adults mingled, drank, cooked, and talked about their lives.

Jack was not interested in mingling or drinking. He did both reluctantly. In truth, he only did the latter to make the former more palatable. He stood at his charcoal grill at the top of his driveway, poking at the briquettes with a spatula in one hand and a beer in the other. Blair Stanley stood next to him, drinking a can of Bud Light. Toby Hunter and Mark Radner held bottles tucked in koozies. Ted Sanders was empty-handed.

Blair tipped his can at the grill. “You’re a prepper, huh?”

Jack squirted another shot of lighter fluid onto the charcoal. A short-lived burst of flame sparked and fizzled. “What do you mean?”

“I saw you had some of those food boxes delivered. The ones that have six months’ worth of freeze-dried rations.”

Jack tried to sound good humored. “You stalking me, Blair?”

Blair took a slurp from his can and suppressed a belch. “Naw. They were delivered to my place by mistake. I saw your name on them, and I put them on your porch for you.”

Jack nodded. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

“You are a prepper, then?” asked Toby. “Like a survivalist, end-of-the-world guy?”

Mark Radner lifted his bottle, gesticulating with it. “I’ve seen those television shows. People have underground bunkers. They grow their own food, make their own candles, and have huge stocks of supplies. Sometimes I wish I had a bunker in my backyard. Like a real man cave.”

Jack smiled and toppled the briquette tower. “I don’t have a bunker.”

The men laughed. Jack spread the briquettes across the bottom of the grill and used a gloved hand to set the metal grate on top of them.

“What’s it for, then?” Ted asked.

Jack held out his spatula and gestured to their surroundings. “Stuff like this. We get hurricanes, micro downbursts, freezes. Our grid goes down and we’re without power for long enough, we need a backup.”

“You have a generator?” Ted asked. “I’ve ordered one of those whole-home deals. Sarah insisted we get one. Too bad we don’t have it yet. I would have had you over for dinner in the air conditioning.”

“How much that set you back?” Mark asked. “I heard they’re expensive.”

“Close to fifteen grand,” Ted said.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.