When the Power Is Gone: A Powerless World - Book 1 Read Online Free Page B

I’ll help you build a rocket stove. It’s a small stove built out of a can that produces a lot of heat with just a few sticks. Water is the most important thing, then food. Understand?” He looked at Brian, who was still wide eyed, but slowly nodding his head. He didn’t speak, so Russ continued.
    “Do you have a gun?” Russ looked him in the eye when he asked. Brian hesitated, but finally nodded in the affirmative. He still didn’t speak. Russ gave a slight nod himself, saying, “Good. You need to start keeping it with you at all times. Lock your doors, and don’t let anyone in – I was going to say unless you know them, but you shouldn’t let anyone in, period. People get desperate when they get hungry, and there are going to be a lot of hungry people out there in just a few days. Most people don’t have enough food in their homes to last a week, and this is going to last a lot longer than that. People with kids are even more dangerous, because parents will do anything to take care of their kids. Don’t fall for the ‘do you have a little something you can spare for my kids’ line. If they find out you have any food, they will come in to take it all. Yes, you will feel like a dick, but you’ll be a living dick.” Russ paused again. I think he was worried Brian would have a stroke or something from information overload. Brian just kept staring at him, but stayed quiet.
    “I can’t give you all the information you need, Brian. I have to start getting my family prepared for the coming days. I will tell you this – do not come back here. In the next couple of days, we will be locking down our home and the Hopper’s, and no one will be allowed in. We will be responding to anyone who knocks on the door with a drawn gun in hand. It’s going to get bad, and it’s going to happen pretty fast. I would suggest that, if you manage to make it a couple of weeks, you try to walk out to somewhere with resources. I don’t know where that will be. I don’t care. We should be gone by then. I can’t stress to you enough how important it is that you keep your gun on you. There will be bad people out there soon. After the looters have cleaned out all the food in the stores, then they will go through apartments, houses, and condos in the city. After that, they’ll work their way out to the suburbs, then further and further, to places like this. They will be criminals who have no conscience, and there will be no consequences for their actions, since the police won’t be working either. They will kill you for a can of Spam and not think twice about it. If you have any questions, now is the time to ask them.” Russ waited to see if Brian would speak, now that he had been given permission.
    Janet and I had come down, as we had some time while the water bladder filled. Brian looked like he might laugh or cry, I couldn’t tell which. He looked at Russ, and in almost a whisper, said, “Russ, are you sure about this? Is this really what happened? What’s happening? Could you be wrong? Dear God, is this for real?” Cry it was then. I was shocked. I thought Brian was too into himself and technology to believe it. Apparently not. He rose a few steps in my esteem that morning.
    “Yes, it’s true. It’s the only explanation for everything going down at once. You need to go home now, change into some durable clothes and get busy. Do you want me to help you build a stove to cook on? You need to make plans for a toilet replacement too. If you have a five-gallon bucket, I can help you with that while I’m there.” So many people forget about the toilet. If there’s no water, there’s no flushing. Even if you can flush for a while, eventually the sewers back up and…yeah, that. Nasty, and dangerous. Disease and germ heaven, sanitation hell. I tried hard not to think about that particular item. I mean, the guys can go out back and pee on the fence. Us gals need to have a toilet option when the time comes.
    Brian took a deep