World in Peril: A Post-Apocalyptic EMP Survival Thriller (World on Edge Book 3) by Chris Pike

Author:Chris Pike [Pike, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-04-11T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 15

Once Ethan, Becca, and her kids finished assembling flyers for a neighborhood meeting, they mapped out the houses, then walked their assigned route. They decided to hand out flyers only if the homeowner answered the door, then ask them to notify two additional neighbors. Ethan surmised they could cover around five hundred households rather than if each house received a flyer.

Kinsey ran into several of her friends and spoke to their parents about any news she had. In return, she received other neighborhood news. Most of the conversations turned to food and water. Kinsey did her best to relay the information she had on how to conserve both necessities. Rainwater could be collected in barrels and any type of container. One person had removed the bathtub and put it outside to collect water.

The daily twenty minute shower with hot water was a thing of the past. When the homeowners asked her for advice about bathing, she suggested using a half bucket of water every other day. For privacy, she said she stood in the shower with the cold bucket of water. “It feels somewhat normal, and normal is what we need.”

Conversations turned to waste disposal. Kinsey said her family had dug a deep hole in the backyard to do their business in. Ethan rummaged for wood and had made a bench, similar to park benches, and strategically placed the bench over the hole in the ground. When business was finished, dirt was shoveled over it.

“We can’t do that forever,” one homeowner said.

“Bring up your concerns at the meeting. I’m sure others have your same worries and are wondering the same.”

“We’ve run out of toilet paper too.”

Kinsey hesitated a moment before replying. “I know this sounds unpleasant, but my mom cut up an old cotton sheet into rectangular pieces about six by six inches. She put four plastic bowls of diluted bleach by the latrine. Each bowl has our name on it. When we’ve finished doing our business, we put the used strip in the bleach. When the bowl is full, we wash our used strips in water so they can be reused.”

“Oh,” the homeowner replied, sounding unconvinced. “I’ll keep it in mind.”

Kinsey smiled politely. “I need to meet up with my brother soon. See you later.” She waved to the homeowner, wondering if they would use the “toilet paper” method. It worked for her family, unpleasant or not. She checked her wind-up watch her mother had given her, which was unaffected by the EMP. Unsure of the exact time, the watch would have to do for now.

~~~

In another part of the neighborhood, Tyler was on the last of his flyers. He knocked on the door of one of his friends from high school.

The door swung open. “Hey, Ty. Long time no see. What’s going on?” Adam asked.

“Man, it’s been forever. With everything turning to shit, I haven’t seen anybody except my family and next-door neighbors.”

“Whatcha got there?”

Tyler handed a flyer to his friend. “It’s about a neighborhood meeting later this afternoon.

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