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My attempt at SHTF fiction- Collapse
11/18/2010 5:45:28 PM
Hello,
This is my first attempt at writing any SHTF fiction. I was sitting up in the gunner's hatch on patrol today and came upon this idea to write a story, from the third person about myself in a future shtf scenario. Hope you like it.
The bark of the powerful M1A echoed off into the crisp morning air. Looking down, Charles saw that it's bolt was locked to the rear. Trembling, he fumbled a fresh magazine from his chest rig and rocked it into place, chambering the first round. The ground around him was littered with spent casings. Despite spending a year in Iraq as an engineer, and shooting several looters during the last month, this was his first real firefight. “Is everybody good?” he called out as he shoved his empty mags into his dump pouch, to which he received replies of “Yep” and “I'm good” from Adam and Bobby. The others quickly switched their half-empty AR mags for fresh thirty-rounders. “Let's make sure they're all dead and the gather the stuff and get back to the truck. They had been gathering ammo and other supplies from a small gun shop and sporting goods store in town. That the place had not managed to be looted dry in the first weeks of the collapse was a miracle. The store's inventory was almost entirely intact, save for the amount left by the former owner. But apparently they were not the only ones with eyes on it. The armed band of highway thugs had came up guns blazing, nearly killing the three. They began loading the weapons, parts, ammo, food and clothing they had gathered into the truck, hidden behind the building. The run to the store had netted them several thousand rounds of various ammo, numerous long arms and handguns, magazines, and several cases of freeze-dried food. There was also plenty of winter clothing and boots to be had. As soon as everything they could fit was loaded, they started down the lonely road to home.
It started while Charles was in Iraq. Well, mostly started, as the problems began to escalate soon after Barack Obama took the Oval Office. The dollar had become all but worthless, companies outsourced to China, killing jobs. The new health care laws left many unable to get medical care. The government was unable to pay social security and welfare. Paychecks for the military reserves became sporadic, leading to massive desertion of the National Guard. These events led to massive riots, destroying a good portion of major cities. Massive gutting of defense and the spreading of troops across the Middle East in the wars with Iraq, Afghanistan, and most recently, Iran had left the Armed Forces unable to deal with the riots after the New Great Depression had completely sunk all financial institutions. Then, many of the unprepared “sheep” had begun to starve and die off of simple disease as they had no means of obtaining food and medicine after the government ceased to exist and the dole stopped coming.
Things started like what had become normal in recent times. Charles was home on leave at his families house in Franklinton, Louisiana. He woke up at his usual early hour of 0530, albeit with a slight headache from too much beer with his stepbrother Adam and best friend Bobby the night before. He grabs a bottle of 800mg Ibuprofen and swallows two with a little water. He then goes out to run his daily three miles. He does this in twenty-one minutes. Then he returns and showers, leaving the bathroom and turning on the news. What he sees is shocking: Massive Riots Reported in New Orleans. “Body count now in the thousands” the reporter went on. People had started looting stores, destroying emergency vehicles and burning government buildings. The governor tried to call up the National Guard but many members had deserted after the paychecks stopped coming every month. “Hmm, this is going to be bad” Charles thought to himself. He went to check the family pantry and found there to be little food left. “Way to follow my advice, mother” he mumbled under his breath. Upon leaving for the Army, he had made his mother promise to stock extra supplies for the family in case of situations like this. But she had not heeded the advice.
This is my first attempt at writing any SHTF fiction. I was sitting up in the gunner's hatch on patrol today and came upon this idea to write a story, from the third person about myself in a future shtf scenario. Hope you like it.
The bark of the powerful M1A echoed off into the crisp morning air. Looking down, Charles saw that it's bolt was locked to the rear. Trembling, he fumbled a fresh magazine from his chest rig and rocked it into place, chambering the first round. The ground around him was littered with spent casings. Despite spending a year in Iraq as an engineer, and shooting several looters during the last month, this was his first real firefight. “Is everybody good?” he called out as he shoved his empty mags into his dump pouch, to which he received replies of “Yep” and “I'm good” from Adam and Bobby. The others quickly switched their half-empty AR mags for fresh thirty-rounders. “Let's make sure they're all dead and the gather the stuff and get back to the truck. They had been gathering ammo and other supplies from a small gun shop and sporting goods store in town. That the place had not managed to be looted dry in the first weeks of the collapse was a miracle. The store's inventory was almost entirely intact, save for the amount left by the former owner. But apparently they were not the only ones with eyes on it. The armed band of highway thugs had came up guns blazing, nearly killing the three. They began loading the weapons, parts, ammo, food and clothing they had gathered into the truck, hidden behind the building. The run to the store had netted them several thousand rounds of various ammo, numerous long arms and handguns, magazines, and several cases of freeze-dried food. There was also plenty of winter clothing and boots to be had. As soon as everything they could fit was loaded, they started down the lonely road to home.
It started while Charles was in Iraq. Well, mostly started, as the problems began to escalate soon after Barack Obama took the Oval Office. The dollar had become all but worthless, companies outsourced to China, killing jobs. The new health care laws left many unable to get medical care. The government was unable to pay social security and welfare. Paychecks for the military reserves became sporadic, leading to massive desertion of the National Guard. These events led to massive riots, destroying a good portion of major cities. Massive gutting of defense and the spreading of troops across the Middle East in the wars with Iraq, Afghanistan, and most recently, Iran had left the Armed Forces unable to deal with the riots after the New Great Depression had completely sunk all financial institutions. Then, many of the unprepared “sheep” had begun to starve and die off of simple disease as they had no means of obtaining food and medicine after the government ceased to exist and the dole stopped coming.
Things started like what had become normal in recent times. Charles was home on leave at his families house in Franklinton, Louisiana. He woke up at his usual early hour of 0530, albeit with a slight headache from too much beer with his stepbrother Adam and best friend Bobby the night before. He grabs a bottle of 800mg Ibuprofen and swallows two with a little water. He then goes out to run his daily three miles. He does this in twenty-one minutes. Then he returns and showers, leaving the bathroom and turning on the news. What he sees is shocking: Massive Riots Reported in New Orleans. “Body count now in the thousands” the reporter went on. People had started looting stores, destroying emergency vehicles and burning government buildings. The governor tried to call up the National Guard but many members had deserted after the paychecks stopped coming every month. “Hmm, this is going to be bad” Charles thought to himself. He went to check the family pantry and found there to be little food left. “Way to follow my advice, mother” he mumbled under his breath. Upon leaving for the Army, he had made his mother promise to stock extra supplies for the family in case of situations like this. But she had not heeded the advice.
11/18/2010 6:04:04 PM
Ok, so good so far. Keep it coming I will read.
11/18/2010 7:02:21 PM
Originally Posted By zoe17:
Ok, so good so far. Keep it coming I will read.
Ok, so good so far. Keep it coming I will read.
11/18/2010 8:41:23 PM
Here is chapter 2. I'll try to do a chapter a day as I get the chance.
Upon seeing that there was little in the way of supplies in the pantry, Charles went over to his gun locker. He looked through his ammo and saw that he had about 200 rounds of 7.62 NATO, about 300rds of 1950s Chinese 7.62x54r, and a bunch of garbage .303 British ammo. He also noted about 300 rounds of 5.56 NATO, and some various pistol ammunition. "Man I should have bought more ammo" he thought to himself, loading his Colt LE6520 Lightweight Carbine with a 20rd magazine of 77grain match ammuniton. He removed his Kimber Super Carry Pro and inserted a loaded mag, placing this into an inside the wastband holster which he put in his jeans, stuffing three extra magazines in his pockets He also loaded the two nine-millimeter pistols and the snubby .38 he had in the locker. Charles went to his mother's room to awaken her and her husband, Allen. "Look what's on the T.V." he said to them turning on the news in the master bedroom. "Holy Shit" Alen replied. "And the riots are spreading quickly to outlying areas" the reporter continued. "Let me get the keys to your truck so I can run and get diesel, food, and ammo while we can." Charles said. To which Allen replied "Here take this and get what you can", holding up a wad of hundreds. There was about twenty-five hundred dollars there. Added to Charles three grand it was enough to buy a good bit of ammo and fuel. Nobody kept money in the bank in these times of uncertainty Charles placed the AR-15 and six 30 round magazines in a bag into the truck, and then put two 55 gallon drums and six five-gallon jerry cans into the bed of the truck. Starting the engine, Adam came running out of the house and yelled "Let me go with you" . "Go grab a pistol and magazines and hurry up" Charles hollered back. Adam ran back into the house and emerged seconds later with a pump 12 gauge shotgun, a bandolier of mixed shells, and the Beretta 92FS. "Okay let's go" Adam said climbing into the cab of the Ford. As they pulled out of the driveway, Charles began to speculate on what they needed. First we will get the ammo, because the gunshop is closest. As they pulled into town, they noticed little being different except for lines at the gas stations. The gunshop parking lot was empty except for the owner's truck. The two pulled in and Charles went in to get the ammo. "Hello" he said to the clerk as he walked in. "Man that shit in New Orleans is crazy" . "Yeah, sure is" the older man behind the counter replied in a tone that said he couldn't really care less. I'll take all the 12 gauge buck and slug, two cases of birdshot, and all the .223 and 7.62 Nato you have" Charles told him. "Whoa, trying to start a war, are you" the old man joked. "Nope, just stocking up in case this shit gets out of hand". " I see", said the old man. "I'll also take a bunch of .22LR, and all the 9mm, .45ACP and .38 special ammo you've got." Charles continued. And some .357 Magnum, and some various hunting rifle ammo. Charles also grabbed some extra Sig P228 and Beretta 92 mags, as well as 2 extra M14 magazines. Ringing it all up, the old man said " That'll be $2,566.04. Charles counted out the bills. "Good Luck" said the old man as Adam came in and helped carry the boxes to the truck. The two then left for the gas station.
They sat at the gas station for half an hour, waiting for the diesel pump. They had gotten a good bit of ammo at the gunshop and were now debating on what to buy grocery wise. As the sat and talk Charles started making a list.
Canned Meat, vegatables, fruits, soups made the list. Pasta and beans, rice sugar, salt, honey, tea, coffee, and other staples made the list. Batteries, first aid items, and several prefilled propane cylinders were next. Matches, toilet paper, and bleach were next. So far there was no run on the stores, just high prices as usual. Their turn at the pump was next, where Charles filled the drums and cans with 114 gallons of diesel at a cost of almost $700. They then proceeded to the Winn Dixie, where Charles went in, leaving Adam to guard the truck.
Charles filled three carts with Dry goods, canned goods and extra non-perishable household items. He then went to the checkout and asked for thre propane cylinders. After paying for this huge amount of food, they loaded it into the truck and go the propane cylinders from the cage where they were kept. Charles then proceeded to go into Autozone to purchase some extra Rotella oil the truck and generator. After this the two returned home on what was a quiet ride with no conversation except both agreeing that these preps should have already been made and that they were lucky to have gotten what they needed so easily, if at all. They got home just in time to see the most shocking events on the televison either could remember, even worse than the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Upon seeing that there was little in the way of supplies in the pantry, Charles went over to his gun locker. He looked through his ammo and saw that he had about 200 rounds of 7.62 NATO, about 300rds of 1950s Chinese 7.62x54r, and a bunch of garbage .303 British ammo. He also noted about 300 rounds of 5.56 NATO, and some various pistol ammunition. "Man I should have bought more ammo" he thought to himself, loading his Colt LE6520 Lightweight Carbine with a 20rd magazine of 77grain match ammuniton. He removed his Kimber Super Carry Pro and inserted a loaded mag, placing this into an inside the wastband holster which he put in his jeans, stuffing three extra magazines in his pockets He also loaded the two nine-millimeter pistols and the snubby .38 he had in the locker. Charles went to his mother's room to awaken her and her husband, Allen. "Look what's on the T.V." he said to them turning on the news in the master bedroom. "Holy Shit" Alen replied. "And the riots are spreading quickly to outlying areas" the reporter continued. "Let me get the keys to your truck so I can run and get diesel, food, and ammo while we can." Charles said. To which Allen replied "Here take this and get what you can", holding up a wad of hundreds. There was about twenty-five hundred dollars there. Added to Charles three grand it was enough to buy a good bit of ammo and fuel. Nobody kept money in the bank in these times of uncertainty Charles placed the AR-15 and six 30 round magazines in a bag into the truck, and then put two 55 gallon drums and six five-gallon jerry cans into the bed of the truck. Starting the engine, Adam came running out of the house and yelled "Let me go with you" . "Go grab a pistol and magazines and hurry up" Charles hollered back. Adam ran back into the house and emerged seconds later with a pump 12 gauge shotgun, a bandolier of mixed shells, and the Beretta 92FS. "Okay let's go" Adam said climbing into the cab of the Ford. As they pulled out of the driveway, Charles began to speculate on what they needed. First we will get the ammo, because the gunshop is closest. As they pulled into town, they noticed little being different except for lines at the gas stations. The gunshop parking lot was empty except for the owner's truck. The two pulled in and Charles went in to get the ammo. "Hello" he said to the clerk as he walked in. "Man that shit in New Orleans is crazy" . "Yeah, sure is" the older man behind the counter replied in a tone that said he couldn't really care less. I'll take all the 12 gauge buck and slug, two cases of birdshot, and all the .223 and 7.62 Nato you have" Charles told him. "Whoa, trying to start a war, are you" the old man joked. "Nope, just stocking up in case this shit gets out of hand". " I see", said the old man. "I'll also take a bunch of .22LR, and all the 9mm, .45ACP and .38 special ammo you've got." Charles continued. And some .357 Magnum, and some various hunting rifle ammo. Charles also grabbed some extra Sig P228 and Beretta 92 mags, as well as 2 extra M14 magazines. Ringing it all up, the old man said " That'll be $2,566.04. Charles counted out the bills. "Good Luck" said the old man as Adam came in and helped carry the boxes to the truck. The two then left for the gas station.
They sat at the gas station for half an hour, waiting for the diesel pump. They had gotten a good bit of ammo at the gunshop and were now debating on what to buy grocery wise. As the sat and talk Charles started making a list.
Canned Meat, vegatables, fruits, soups made the list. Pasta and beans, rice sugar, salt, honey, tea, coffee, and other staples made the list. Batteries, first aid items, and several prefilled propane cylinders were next. Matches, toilet paper, and bleach were next. So far there was no run on the stores, just high prices as usual. Their turn at the pump was next, where Charles filled the drums and cans with 114 gallons of diesel at a cost of almost $700. They then proceeded to the Winn Dixie, where Charles went in, leaving Adam to guard the truck.
Charles filled three carts with Dry goods, canned goods and extra non-perishable household items. He then went to the checkout and asked for thre propane cylinders. After paying for this huge amount of food, they loaded it into the truck and go the propane cylinders from the cage where they were kept. Charles then proceeded to go into Autozone to purchase some extra Rotella oil the truck and generator. After this the two returned home on what was a quiet ride with no conversation except both agreeing that these preps should have already been made and that they were lucky to have gotten what they needed so easily, if at all. They got home just in time to see the most shocking events on the televison either could remember, even worse than the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
11/19/2010 10:42:09 AM
nice
11/19/2010 11:27:54 AM
keep em coming
11/19/2010 2:08:58 PM
Good day at the gun store. Looks like our boys know what they are doing (so far.)
Stay safe and keep it coming
Stay safe and keep it coming
11/19/2010 7:37:57 PM
Chapter 3
They could not believe what they saw on the television. It was like nothing ever seen before. Images from across the nation showed people burning every major city to the ground, killing each other in the process. The welfare kings and queens were in the streets in force, destroying every government and civil service building in existence. Others who had lost everything in the depression had taken up the cause with them, destroying what was left of the country in an instant. With many of the National Guard and law enforcement members on their side there was nothing left to stop them.
"Well Fuck!" Charles said. "I guess I can consider my leave canceled" he continued. "Yeah, this is getting ugly, how will you get back?" Allen asked him. "Well I don't know" Charles went on. "I'll wait here for them to contact me but I'm not trying to report back in the middle of this mess."
"And besides, I have a family to take care of, deserter or not, and that's exactly what I'm going to do." He said after some thought. "After this shit storm blows over if there is anything left of the government, I'll go back." "It's not like one man can stop anything anyway" He added.
"But son, you took an oath." Charles' mother pleaded with him. "Yeah, I took an oath to defend the Nation and the Constitution. Not to shoot my own countrymen. It was overdue for a revolution, and there will be order after this mess." Charles explained. Inside, Charles wondered if this was the right thing, but knew that his family meant more than anything to him at this point. "Let's just see how this turns out" Allen added, with everyone agreeing with a nod.
As the next couple days went on, Charles and his family set around and watched as the Images began to be replaced with order as the active duty army put down most of the larger riots, using massive amounts of force. But then the unthinkable happened. People began to fall ill from some strange disease inside what was left of the big cities. The symptoms started much as a normal case of the flu but went on to lead to death shortly after. It was determined to be an airborne disease but it died out as quickly as it started, albeit after killing most remaining inhabitants of many of the cities. The government was gone, no order left, with the smaller, mostly unaffected communities left to fend for themselves. The whole mess somehow took less than a week to go from a failing government to total anarchy. The event that triggered it would later be revealed to be the missed payment of all welfare, social security, and military pay. The disease had come out of nowhere, leaving as quickly as it came up. Things were quiet, but the disease seemed to have struck at random and not at all a few miles away. Many of the residents of South Louisiana had died. But the Armstrong/Beahm family had not been touched. Bobby's family had been away when the collapse occurred, leaving their fate uncertain. As they rode around surveying the damage to the local area, they found Bobby's girlfriend Kasey home alone, not knowing what was going on. She was shocked as they told her of the last week's events.
They could not believe what they saw on the television. It was like nothing ever seen before. Images from across the nation showed people burning every major city to the ground, killing each other in the process. The welfare kings and queens were in the streets in force, destroying every government and civil service building in existence. Others who had lost everything in the depression had taken up the cause with them, destroying what was left of the country in an instant. With many of the National Guard and law enforcement members on their side there was nothing left to stop them.
"Well Fuck!" Charles said. "I guess I can consider my leave canceled" he continued. "Yeah, this is getting ugly, how will you get back?" Allen asked him. "Well I don't know" Charles went on. "I'll wait here for them to contact me but I'm not trying to report back in the middle of this mess."
"And besides, I have a family to take care of, deserter or not, and that's exactly what I'm going to do." He said after some thought. "After this shit storm blows over if there is anything left of the government, I'll go back." "It's not like one man can stop anything anyway" He added.
"But son, you took an oath." Charles' mother pleaded with him. "Yeah, I took an oath to defend the Nation and the Constitution. Not to shoot my own countrymen. It was overdue for a revolution, and there will be order after this mess." Charles explained. Inside, Charles wondered if this was the right thing, but knew that his family meant more than anything to him at this point. "Let's just see how this turns out" Allen added, with everyone agreeing with a nod.
As the next couple days went on, Charles and his family set around and watched as the Images began to be replaced with order as the active duty army put down most of the larger riots, using massive amounts of force. But then the unthinkable happened. People began to fall ill from some strange disease inside what was left of the big cities. The symptoms started much as a normal case of the flu but went on to lead to death shortly after. It was determined to be an airborne disease but it died out as quickly as it started, albeit after killing most remaining inhabitants of many of the cities. The government was gone, no order left, with the smaller, mostly unaffected communities left to fend for themselves. The whole mess somehow took less than a week to go from a failing government to total anarchy. The event that triggered it would later be revealed to be the missed payment of all welfare, social security, and military pay. The disease had come out of nowhere, leaving as quickly as it came up. Things were quiet, but the disease seemed to have struck at random and not at all a few miles away. Many of the residents of South Louisiana had died. But the Armstrong/Beahm family had not been touched. Bobby's family had been away when the collapse occurred, leaving their fate uncertain. As they rode around surveying the damage to the local area, they found Bobby's girlfriend Kasey home alone, not knowing what was going on. She was shocked as they told her of the last week's events.
11/21/2010 3:53:30 AM
I know the last chapter wasn't the greatest, but Chapter 4 will explain the events in more detail. I had to work around giving too much up at once to get the effect that I want with the next couple of chapters. That and being tired after working for 14 hours doesn't help the cause.
12/4/2010 3:48:33 PM
nice
12/5/2010 8:13:07 PM
Good start! Keep it up!
12/14/2010 10:37:56 AM
Sorry about not getting any more of this written. I haven't given up on it. I've just been too busy to think about where to go with it from here and write it. I'll try to write some more this week.
12/15/2010 3:29:27 AM
Perfectly understandable! That being said... We want MOAR!!!! LOL!
It sounds really good so far.
It sounds really good so far.
12/16/2010 7:56:34 AM
Kasey was twenty-four years old. A nurse at the hospital one town over, she worked three weeks a month and got a week off. When she was off, and her friends all had to work, she mostly just stayed at home, sleeping in late. Her parents had been out of town during the outbreak, so she just sheltered in her double wide mobile home. After a long run down of what happened, the three gathered everything of use from her place and headed back to plan what to do from there. As they went, they stopped to see if anyone was left alive at one of her co-workers house. They knocked on the door, to no response. Her car was in the driveway, the door was locked and there were no lights on inside. This was a bad sign. Kasey tried again, this time calling out " Ashley! Are you in there?" After receiving no response, Kasey told Charles to kick in the door. "Alright" Charles replied and then proceeded to kick in the door with one blow. The smell of death and decay was strong. "Oh God" Kasey thought as they saw Ashley's sister Natasha dead in the living room. She vomited uncontrollably, no doubt at the sight as much as the smell. They continued to look through the house, and found Ashley in her bedroom, seemingly unconscious. Kasey, being an RN, went up to see if she was alive. As Kasey felt for a pulse, Ashley came to. She was laying in a puddle of vomit and had defecated all over herself. She was one of the few survivors of the virus, as would later come to be known. The virus had a very near 100 percent lethality rate. "What happened" Ashley asked groggily as Kasey helped her up. "Last thing I remember is I felt like I was getting the flu and Natasha had fixed me tea and told me to get some rest." she went on, looking at the clock and seeing that it had been three days. Kasey told her about the virus that she had only two ours before learned of as she got cleaned up. "Oh my God is my sister okay?" Ashley snapped in a weak but panicked tone. Kasey hesitated for a moment and then broke the news. Ashley began crying. After a while she calmed down and they invited her to come stay with them. She accepted, and after another hour, all items of use were loaded and the group headed for what would now be called home. It was almost dark, and there was sure to be dinner on the table.
The virus had been particularly nasty. It seemed to be carried by the wind, and also transmittable human to human. It had a latent period of about a day, and then the next day the victim came down with flu like symptoms that rapidly lead to convulsions and eventually death by damage to the digestive tract. To put it in layman's terms, you basically shit yourself to death until you died of dehydration or high fever. It struck some areas hard with almost one-hundred percent infection and mortality and others, like the Armstrong/Beahm residence, not a trace it ever existed. It was some unexplainable fluke.
Dinner was good, as it usually was. Charles' mother was a really good cook. Tonight she had prepared a pot roast, with potatoes and vegetables, homemade yeast rolls, and a peach cobbler for desert. What would have been enough for the normal six with a day of leftovers turned out to be just right for the now eight. After finishing desert, and much discussion at the table. It was decided to inventory the supplies and decide what else must be acquired. Allen and Adam were to do the hardware and tools. The women got the food, house wares, and first aid supplies. Bobby and Charles, being the resident gun-nuts, took the weapons and ammunition. They worked into the night, and at the end decide that they had about a week and a half of food. This would be the area that go the most attention, followed by fuel, generator parts, and general hardware. Firearm and ammunition acquisition was a given. The now deserted pharmacy would be paid a visit too, if the surviving pill heads and druggies hadn't already cleaned it out.
The virus had been particularly nasty. It seemed to be carried by the wind, and also transmittable human to human. It had a latent period of about a day, and then the next day the victim came down with flu like symptoms that rapidly lead to convulsions and eventually death by damage to the digestive tract. To put it in layman's terms, you basically shit yourself to death until you died of dehydration or high fever. It struck some areas hard with almost one-hundred percent infection and mortality and others, like the Armstrong/Beahm residence, not a trace it ever existed. It was some unexplainable fluke.
Dinner was good, as it usually was. Charles' mother was a really good cook. Tonight she had prepared a pot roast, with potatoes and vegetables, homemade yeast rolls, and a peach cobbler for desert. What would have been enough for the normal six with a day of leftovers turned out to be just right for the now eight. After finishing desert, and much discussion at the table. It was decided to inventory the supplies and decide what else must be acquired. Allen and Adam were to do the hardware and tools. The women got the food, house wares, and first aid supplies. Bobby and Charles, being the resident gun-nuts, took the weapons and ammunition. They worked into the night, and at the end decide that they had about a week and a half of food. This would be the area that go the most attention, followed by fuel, generator parts, and general hardware. Firearm and ammunition acquisition was a given. The now deserted pharmacy would be paid a visit too, if the surviving pill heads and druggies hadn't already cleaned it out.
