When the stories proclaiming the apocalypse the Mayans foretold would coincide with the winter solstice of 2012 first began to circulate, I wrote them off as hysterical nonsense. Anyone investigating the claim would soon realize the Mayans had several calendars that made up their Long Count calendar, and just like the calendar we use today, when one ends, the next one begins. Therefore, there was absolutely no reason to believe that when the current Long Count calendar came to an end that the world would cease to exist. I was hopeful that most people would see this as sounding as ridiculous as the previous predictions of major calamities occurring on January 1, 2000 or go unfulfilled as the two dates a preacher gave in 2012 that he claimed would mark the beginning of the Biblical Apocalypse. For my part, I was trying to tell everyone I knew that just like the popular Gloria Gaynor song, “I Will Survive” or in this case, we will survive.

I could only sigh and roll my eyes as the multitude of doomsday scenarios continued to spread, including the movie, “2012,” but at least the producers were only out to make money and didn’t necessarily believe this was actually going to happen. In fact, I found it truly puzzling that so many people sincerely believed this was going to take place and there were going to be massive earthquakes, followed by gigantic tsunamis and multiple volcanic eruptions, including the super-volcanoes, such as the one under Yellowstone National Park. If that was what the future held in store for the world, then I’d presume that most of the population would be better off perishing in the first wave of calamities.

I know that statement probably seems harsh, and possibly even crass, but if those events actually came to pass, then the world that would exist in the aftermath would more closely resemble the last ice age, than anything we were currently familiar with. The task of trying to survive in such a demanding and hostile environment would definitely not be for the timid, weak-willed or those lacking in serious survival skills. I believe those who made it through those initial disasters would quickly discover that very few of them possessed the knowledge, instincts or determination needed to live under such primitive and rugged conditions. Even worse, I’d imagine that very few of those who were still alive would be willing to offer a helping hand to anyone else, unless they were related or a very good friend.

Even though I continued to hear these horrific predictions about the future from the survivalists and purveyors of doom and gloom, I sloughed them off as being similar to the fairy tales we were told as children. Neither seemed to have any basis in reality and had obviously been created by those either trying to scare us or hoping to profit in some way from the panic these stories would create. Everything they were claiming was based solely upon supposition and conjecture, rather than being grounded in fact, which meant they were merely the product of someone’s overactive and deranged imagination.

I continued to share my doubts with anyone who would listen, but since most people had already made up their minds to either buy into this idea or not, I quit trying to influence anyone else’s judgment. Instead, I lived my life as I normally would, and since everything was going quite smoothly, I actually forgot about keeping track of the date of this alleged event. It wasn’t until after the date had passed that I realized nothing out of the ordinary had happened and the universe remained unaltered. Suddenly, I felt vindicated and wondered how each of those who had predicted the end of the world was handling their post-apocalyptic depression.

I never gave those dire predictions any further thought until the end of October 2013, when multiple news sources began to break the story of a major scientific occurrence.

“NASA scientists announced today that they have observed a massive disturbance on the surface of the sun,” the newscaster began. “Although solar flares are a normal and fairly common phenomena, NASA has advised various news outlets around the world that the event they recently witnessed was far larger than any solar flare previously recorded. A NASA spokesperson has explained that the largest solar flare ever documented before this event had been classified as X28 in intensity, while the current solar flare is estimated to be a magnitude X42.

“These scientists have also informed us that when a solar flare occurs, a large amount of debris is ejected from the surface of the sun and is then carried out into space on solar winds,” the anchor continued. “The earth’s magnetic field typically deflects the vast majority of the CME, or Coronal Mass Ejection, but the greater intensity of this solar storm also increases the likelihood that more of these highly charge electrons and protons will be able to penetrate the magnetic field and eventually reach the earth.

“We’ve been told that in 1859 a huge solar storm disrupted telegraph service throughout Europe and North America,” the anchor explained, “when electrical charges produced by a similar event overloaded the telegraph lines. This buildup shocked multiple telegraph operators, caused telegraph paper to spontaneously ignite, melted telegraph wires and sent sparks flying from pylons, which caused grass fires to break out.

“Since this solar storm is the largest and most powerful ever recorded, NASA is warning that we may see effects similar to what happened in 1859,” the announcer went on. “The space agency has stipulated that there may be isolated to widespread disruptions in electrical services, as well as disruptions in communication systems, such as telephone, television, radio and the Internet. Unfortunately, they cannot state with any certainty as to where these problems may occur or how long the disruptions in services might last.”

This sounded ominous and I suddenly thought that Instead of focusing on Mayan predictions, we probably would have been better off paying attention to the Greek god of the sun, Helios, and the solar cycle. Solar flares generally follow an eleven to thirteen year cycle and we were now at the peak of the current cycle. The ancient Greeks believed that Helios drove across the sky in a chariot, which was pulled by four fire-breathing horses, and it now appeared as if one of those magnificent steeds had trained its fiery breath at the earth.

During the next twenty-four hours, two additional solar flares were spotted, before the effects of the first had managed to reach the earth. It was reported that the first of these new eruptions was smaller than the initial solar flare, but the second turned out to be even greater in magnitude than the primary occurrence. Even though scientists were currently debating about how devastating the cumulative effects of these flares might be, they suspected it was going to be bad. However, even in their wildest dreams, I don’t think they could have ever fathomed the severe effects these multiple cosmic events would eventually elicit.

Thirty hours after the first eruption occurred, scientists spotted yet another flare, which brought the total of these events to four, and even though it would take three to four days for the CMEs to reach the earth, various scientific groups began urging governments, businesses and individuals to start preparing for the anticipated ramifications. First, they recommended that the government shut down all satellites orbiting the earth and begin powering down all electrical grids to a bare minimum, to limit the potential negative effects. They also suggested that all air traffic should be grounded, all ships should be directed to head to the nearest port and all other forms of transportation should be temporarily halted, but these warnings went unheeded and were ignored.

Unfortunately, most people objected to the potential disruption and inconvenience to their self-inflated daily lives and refused to cooperate. On the other end of the spectrum, those owning or operating the transportation services didn’t wish to comply and inconvenience their customers, although I thought it more likely that their true intent was that they were hesitant to implement these precautions because they felt they would be too costly and deprive them of profits. Instead, these organizations opted to carry on, as they normally would have, which turned out to be an extremely foolish risk to take.

Over the following forty-eight hours, several more solar flares were spotted, which brought the total number of eruptions to nearly a dozen, and then the CMEs began to reach the earth. One of the first noticeable effects was that the auroras in both hemispheres became brighter and more impressive than normal, plus they could be seen at latitudes far beyond their typical range. The Aurora Borealis could be seen as far south as the states of Georgia, New Mexico and Arizona, as well as over larger segments of Europe and Asia. The Aurora Australis not only lit up the sky over all of Australia and New Zealand, but it was also visible in large regions of Africa and South America as well.

While people were outdoors enjoying these brilliant light shows in the nighttime sky, the next devastating repercussion began to occur. Without warning, the highly sensitive electrical systems onboard the various satellites circling the earth were suddenly bombarded by those highly charged particles. This caused the satellites to begin to malfunction, as their circuits became overloaded and the components eventually fried, and this, in turn, disrupted various military functions, television reception and Internet connections.

Since these satellites had lost contact with the control centers on earth, there was no way to send course corrections or make minor adjustments to their positions, so over time the satellites began to tumble out of control. This meant they’d eventually fall out of orbit and burn up in the atmosphere, although there was a chance that parts of these satellites would actually survive re-entry and wind up crashing to earth, possibly with devastating effects.

Shortly after the satellites began to malfunction, radio signals also started to disintegrate into mere static, cell-phone calls were dropped and GPS systems stopped functioning. Although these problems were annoying, the effects of the solar storm became a much more serious problem when the pilots of various private and commercial planes still in the air realized they had lost contact with air-traffic control and all other aircraft in the area. Not only had these pilots lost contact with the outside world, but they also began to notice that their plane’s gauges weren’t working and they had to deal with malfunctions in many of the plane’s major systems, such as the autopilot and in-flight controls.

Although the pilots did their best to adjust for these situations, they were ultimately unable to control their planes. Soon, jets and smaller aircraft began to spin out of control and plummet from the sky, thus resulting not only in the deaths of everyone onboard, but these events would often account for much more loss of life on the ground. All too often these planes fell upon homes and killed the unsuspecting residents sitting inside or crashed into stores and office buildings, killing those shopping or working there. Some of these planes also wiped out large sections of highway or took out bridges, which often killed the inhabitants of the vehicles that were unfortunate enough to be there when this happened or unable to stop in time to avoid the newly created problems.

Ships at sea also found themselves in similar, although not as eminent, dire straights. The crews not only lost radio contact with other vessels and their dispatchers on shore, which was similar to what had happened with the planes, but they also became aware of the fact that their GPS navigational systems were totally useless as well. Shortly after that, they discovered the enormous amount of metal in the ships had attracted vast quantities of the highly charged particles, which in turn caused the wiring to short out and electrical systems to become fried. This shut down the ship’s engines and left these massive vessels dead in the water, so they were drifting aimlessly, without any power or navigational controls, which also made them vulnerable to rogue waves.

The crew was completely in the dark below deck now, except in those few areas that happened to have portholes, while those on the upper levels might have been fortunate enough to have even larger windows that would allow some light inside. Since these ships had only a limited quantity of food and water available, no current contact with the outside world and a very slim chance of repairing the massive amounts of damage that had been incurred, many of the crew quickly began to lose hope that they were going to be able to get out of this mess. Having run out of options, many of the ships’ captains ordered everyone to abandon ship and load into the lifeboats, so they could at least attempt to row to a safe haven.

The captain would generally take with him whatever charts he had onboard, along with a compass, and then he would take command of one of the lifeboats and order the others to follow his lead. This wasn’t exactly an ideal situation, but it would have to do. The problem was that when the captain went to use the compass, he discovered it wasn’t working properly, due to the charged particles still in the atmosphere that were creating geomagnetic interference. The compass needle would merely spin around in the case, unable to point to magnetic north, which meant it was totally useless.

Those in areas where the auroras were lighting up the sky had the brilliant light show to help them maintain contact with each other, but since it also overwhelmed the night sky, it was very difficult, if not impossible, to navigate using the stars. This meant the captain would have to use the sun to determine direction during the day and then continue on blindly after dark, since they were rowing the lifeboats in shifts. The crews that found themselves in areas beyond the extended reach of the auroras could determine direction at night by using the stars, if they had the training to do this, so it was more likely that they would be able to stay on course.

If those problems weren’t bad enough, the solar storms also had a devastating effect on any computer chips used in cars, buses, trucks and trains, which caused those vehicles to also cease operating, which stranded their passengers as well. This mass influx of highly charged particles also began to disrupt electrical power grids and left millions of homes and businesses without electricity, but since most forms of communication were already useless at this point, there was no way of finding out how far reaching this problem was. Even though it wasn’t widely known at the time, it first appeared that only isolated regions were completely blacked out, but the situation continued to worsen.

As electrical, telephone and cable wires became affected by these highly charged particles, many began to melt and became useless. A vast majority of the transformers also overheated and stopped functioning, which knocked out power to even larger segments of the population. Another side-effect from these occurrences was that the electrical wires and transformers often gave off sparks as they failed, which tended to ignite fires in buildings or in the grasses and other dry vegetation in rural areas. Once these items burst into flames, it created an entirely new set of problems.

Since there were no reliable forms of communication to allow anyone to report these fires, many were soon raging out of control and spreading to neighboring areas. Unless a blaze ignited close enough to the fire station, so the firemen could actually see the blaze or resulting plumes of smoke, these fires went unchecked. Even when the fire departments knew about one of these blazes, it didn’t mean they could do anything about it. Since many of the fire trucks were equipped with computer chips that had also shorted out, this left the fire stations without any mobile equipment to use in fighting these fires and had to do whatever they could by hand.

As the CMEs from more of these solar flares began to reach the earth, these problems continued to spread and multiply. Gradually, additional regions began to experience electrical outages and were left without a service that the residents had grown dependent upon. The lack of electricity also created another set of problems, since it not only left people in the dark, but it also left their homes without refrigeration, heat, air conditioning, sewage and running water.

These areas were left without natural gas as well, because the compressors that were used to pump the gas through the pipes also required electricity to operate. This meant that unless the homes had a wood burning alternative, such as a fireplace or woodstove, along with a rather large supply of wood, then they would have no way to heat the place or cook their meals. Even those with an oil or propane alternative, along with a rather large tank filled with fuel, they often found themselves in trouble as well. Unless they had a manual means to pump the fuel where it was needed, since these systems required electric circulation pumps to operate, the were no better off than their neighbors. This was quickly becoming a major problem for those living in the colder climates of the northern hemisphere, since they were heading into the most frigid time of the year, and could soon become a matter of life and death.

Up until now, most people never fully appreciated how much they relied on the electrical power grid and just took it for granted. However, now that it wasn’t working and all indications were that it wouldn’t be repaired soon, people were discovering how much they actually depended upon something they had always taken for granted. Due to this problem, people were no longer able to get money out of banks or ATMs, since those systems were computerized, and EFTs, or electronic fund transfers, were currently unavailable as well. Unfortunately there were absolutely no alternatives that anyone could turn to, since every financial institution, as well as Wall Street, was totally shutdown by this crisis. Some scientists even suggested that it was possible that the massive electrical surges might have overwhelmed computer memories and storage devices, thus erasing or permanently destroying the computerized records previously recorded on them.

People were also unable to buy gasoline to run generators or other emergency equipment, since the pumps needed electricity to operate as well, although some were able to temporarily siphon fuel out of various sources. There was also a sudden run on stores that were within walking distance, as people sought to buy food and other basic supplies, but in areas where the electricity was out, most places had already closed down and locked up, since they had no way to ring up the bill or accept payment. First of all, most of the cash registers currently in use were computerized and needed electricity to operate, but even if the store had a manual system they could utilize, the only payment option was cash. This was due to the fact that EFT transactions were unavailable and the storeowner didn’t want to accept checks, since they weren’t certain if they’d be able to recoup their money later. Any checks written may be basically worthless, due to the problems facing the financial institutions, such as potential loss of data.

Stores that sold food had the additional problem of having no refrigeration to keep perishable items from spoiling. If this had happened a few months later, after the temperatures had dropped even lower or once it had snowed, then those living in the colder regions would have been able to take advantage of the natural refrigeration Mother Nature provided. The rest of the world, however, wouldn’t be as fortunate and would have to turn to more traditional means to preserve meat, such as salting or smoking. They might be able to use springs, streams or other sources where the water was cold enough to keep some items from spoiling, as long as they were stored in watertight containers.

Even if you were lucky enough to have sufficient supplies for your family to survive for now, then the problem became how you were going to prepare it. Since most stoves, ovens, microwaves and crock-pots were useless without electricity, those households suddenly had to find another means to cook their meals. In some instances, people scrambled to gather wood and then attempted to cook their meal over an open fire, while others were able to resort to using kerosene or propane camp stoves, if they were fortunate enough to have one of these items, as well as an appropriate fuel supply on hand. Others were able to use their charcoal grills, providing they had bags of charcoal in storage that they could utilize for now, although they could always collect wood to burn in their grills instead.

These problems proved more daunting for hospitals, nursing homes and other similar facilities, because even though most of these places had backup generators to provide them with a temporarily power supply, those devices weren’t meant to be relied upon for extended periods of time and only accounted for minimal coverage. Since it was suspected that these outages could last for weeks, or even months, then those places would eventually run out of fuel to keep the generators going, and without the ability to replenish their fuel supplies, the patients would be placed at risk in short order.

If that were to happen, then the facility would be unable to cook their meals or run lifesaving equipment, such as respirators and dialysis machines. Operating rooms would also be left in the dark and this would force doctors to perform surgeries in other areas, where they could take advantage of natural light sources. Having to rely on sunlight would most likely make it impossible to focus the light where it was needed the most and in turn make it more difficult for the doctors to see what they were doing. In addition to this, by moving out of the operating theaters it would be more difficult, if not impossible, to adhere to the strictly sterilized environment and maintain the antiseptic conditions the hospital had previously followed, which might result in patients being exposed to a greater risk of infection and other complications.

                                    *            *            *            *            *            *

Since I work from home, I heard the news bulletins about what was happening long before most people had become aware of these reports. I’m employed by a medical billing company and allow myself the luxury of having the television playing in the background while I process records on my computer. That’s how I happened to hear the ‘Special Bulletin’ announcement on CNN and became aware of the initial news reports explaining the situation. Before I get into that, however, maybe I should take a minute to explain a little bit about my partner and myself, as well our unique living arrangement.

My name is Rory McCarthy and I’m 32. I live on a fairly small farm with my partner, Gavin Gilhooley, who is nine-months younger than me. Gavin is an architect and his employer allows him to do a great deal of his work from home as well, although there are times when he has to go into the office for meetings or to make presentations.

Gavin and I have been together for five years now and we jointly purchased this place three years ago, for a number of reasons. First of all, because we’re gay and live in a part of the country that’s not exactly gay friendly, we thought this would be a viable option to help ensure our privacy and avoid needless conflicts. By not having anyone living close by, we could invite friends to our home and throw parties for them, without having to worry about how the neighbors were going to react. Another reason for doing this is that we are environmentally conscious and saw this as a way to limit our carbon footprint, without becoming fanatical about it.

We achieved this goal in several ways, the first of which had to do with using renewable sources of energy. Shortly after we moved in, we had two residential wind turbines constructed on our property and solar panels installed on the roofs of both the house and the barn. One of the wind turbines, along with the solar panels on the house, is connected to a series of batteries that we keep stored in the basement and produces enough electricity to supply our home and personal needs. This system supplies power to the lights, stove, refrigerator, freezer and water pump, as well as the electric baseboard heat and other appliances.

The second turbine and the solar panels on the barn are hooked up to a series of batteries that are stored in a cinderblock room, which we added on to the barn solely for this purpose. They, in turn, supply power to the barn and all of our other outbuildings, as well as operate the water pump that supplies our many needs around the property. As you will soon see, this is important for several reasons.

In addition to our energy production, we also raise a limited number of livestock for consumption purposes, which includes a couple of Angus beef cows, two milking cows, four pigs, a half dozen turkeys and two dozen chickens, half of which are used to produce eggs and the other half for their meat. We also have a couple of horses that we use as transportation around the farm, so we can keep an eye on things without having to use an ATV or the tractor. In addition to everything else, we also have a male chocolate Lab, named Cocoa, that keeps us company while we’re working around the house, but he also likes to follow us when we take care of the other animals or perform various tasks around the farm.

We also maintain our own garden, where we grow most of the herbs we use when cooking and the majority of vegetables we consume, but we also maintain several cornfields that provide food for both the animals and our personal use. We were extremely fortunate that there was also a small orchard that was well established when we bought the property and contained several apple, pear and cherry trees, because we have learned to take full advantage of its bounty. We not only enjoy eating the fresh fruit it provides, but we also turn the excess fruit into preserves, which we utilize throughout the year.

There were also two wells on the property when we purchased it. The first one is a drilled well, which goes down over 300 feet, and supplies our household needs. It is also connected to several exterior faucets, which we use to water the lawn, as well as wash the dog, car and exterior of our home. The second well is an older, hand-dug variety, which was most likely excavated by the original owners and served as the primary source of water on the property. We pump the water from this well to fill the various troughs for the animals, as well as to water the garden, orchard and cornfields. We also have our own septic system, so we’re fairly self-sufficient and have no need to be connected to any of the local utilities.

It just so happened that on the day when I heard the special bulletin, Gavin had driven our high-mileage hybrid into the city to attend a meeting being held at his firm. Since he wasn’t home when the announcement aired, I called him on his cell phone, so I could advise him about the current situation. I also used this opportunity to give him a list of items that I wanted him to pick up at the grocery store on the way home, hopefully before the other shoppers panicked and cleared everything off of the shelves.

We normally limit going to the grocery store to once a month and make a special trip into the city to do this, since the local stores are more expensive and have a much smaller selection to choose from. In between these monthly shopping trips, we occasionally pick up additional items at a local store, such as bread or any item we may run out of in between, but we try to only resort to doing this when absolutely necessary. Since our last shopping trip had been nearly three weeks ago, we were beginning to run low on some items we use frequently, so I wanted Gavin to stop and pick them up on his way home. I asked him to write everything down, so he wouldn’t forget anything, because I wasn’t sure how devastating this situation might become or how long it might last and wanted us to be prepared.

When Gavin got home, and after we’d put everything away, we listened to the news broadcast, to see if there were any updates or additional information being given. The announcer informed us that it would most likely take three to four days before we began to notice any effects from the solar flares and then he described some of the precautions scientists suggested we should take, in order to limit the potential repercussions. Gavin and I talked this over and made our own determinations about what types of things we should do and then set about taking care of these matters.

First of all, Gavin parked our car in the barn and surrounded it with bales of hay, thinking the wooden frame of the barn and large quantity of hay might protect the car from attracting too many of these potentially damaging particles. After sixty hours had passed, which factored in a margin of error for when the CMEs would potentially reach us, we began going from room to room to unplug any appliances that we didn’t absolutely need. We hoped that doing this would keep these devices from being damaged as well, but we couldn’t be certain this would work.

While we were doing these things, Gavin and I agreed that it was fortunate that we had opted to take certain precautions when we’d first installed the wind turbines and solar panels. At that time, we had included top of the line surge protectors in each system to protect the equipment from a sudden increase in power, such as might result from a lightning strike on the turbines. This safety precaution was meant to protect our major appliances, such as the heating elements and the water pump, as well as other items we depended on, such as the computers, which we needed for our jobs. Now, we hoped these same surge protectors would also prove valuable in shielding us from the potential power increases the CMEs might produce. After making sure that everything had been disconnected, Gavin and I just sat back and waited to see what happened next.

We’d continued to work from home during the first sixty hours, since we didn’t want to fall behind, but after we’d disconnected everything and prepared for the worst, there was little for us to do, except for taking care of the animals. We still weren’t certain as to how bad this situation might get, but since we’d probably be less impacted than most other people, we agreed it would be good to occasionally ride out and see how the rest of the area was making out. This didn’t mean that we were only planning to do this with our closest neighbors, but we also planned to ride into the small village that was located a few miles away from our farm. To do this, we would saddle up the horses, rather than take the car, and it was on one of these outings four days later when we began to discover the effects the solar storms had wrought.

Gavin and I had been riding for about a half-hour when we ran across a group of young men, probably in their mid to late teens.

“I sure wish we had horses to ride,” one of the boys mentioned, as we approached. “None of our families’ cars are working because of this damn storm, or whatever you want to call it, so we can’t go anywhere, unless we walk.”

“Yes, the horses are a good way to get around,” I replied, as I wondered if the CMEs were actually the reason that none of their family vehicles were currently operable or if it might be due to other factors.

“So what are you guys up to?” Gavin followed, hoping to gain some more insight into their current situation.

“We’re out looking for firewood,” another of the boys answered. “We were basically told that if we wanted to eat tonight that we had to come up with a shit load of wood to burn. That’s the reason for the backpacks and duffle bags, but we need a lot more wood than we have so far.”

“You guys wouldn’t have any extra firewood we could get from you, do you?” one of the other boys wondered.

“Unfortunately, we don’t. Therefore, we may soon have to start doing the same thing you boys are doing,” I lied, since I didn’t want to let them know we were in a much better situation.

“Yeah, but only the dead wood is worth anything right now,” the first boy responded. “My dad says that any limbs or trees we cut down now would be too green to burn and need time to season first.”

“That’s a good point, but I’m sure that if you go into the woods you’ll find plenty of branches that have fallen to the ground, which you can break into small pieces or chop up for now,” I replied. “I hope we don’t have to go as far as cutting and splitting wood for the long haul.”

“Yeah, I hope they get the electricity up again before we have to do that,” the boy responded. “It sucks not being able to do anything once it gets dark out.”

“My mom says we just have to get used to going to bed with the sun and getting up with it again in the morning,” another of them added. “She says we have to take it easy with the candles and batteries or it won’t be long before we don’t having anything we can use to see in the dark.”

“That’s probably good advice,” Gavin agreed.

After making this comment, we bid the boys good luck with their efforts and then urged our horses on. Once we’d put a little distance between them and us, Gavin and I started to discuss what we assumed must be going on.

“It appears as if we’re really fortunate that we can rely on our set up to still supply us with power,” Gavin stated, while glancing back toward where we’d just left the boys. “Since we basically generate our own electricity, I didn’t realize the rest of the region had gone dark.”

“I know,” I concurred. “It seems as if those families are being forced to cook over an open fire, and with winter coming on, I certainly hope they have a woodstove or fireplace they can use to keep warm.”

“Yes, this could prove difficult for a lot of people, if things don’t get back to normal fairly quickly,” Gavin agreed, as we rode on.

We ran into a handful of other people as we continued moving around the area, but this time Gavin and I were better prepared for what we were about to discover.

“Are you folks doing alright?” I asked the next group we came upon.

“For now,” the man answered, “but I don’t know how long we’ll be able to hold out. We’ve got enough food to last us a few more days, but I’m not sure what we’re going to do after that. I’d suggest you keep your horses locked up though, because they might begin to look pretty tasty to people, once their other supplies are gone.”

Even though he acted as if the last part of his statement was meant as a joke, I was thinking this might actually become a point of contention in the very near future.

As we continued on, Gavin turned to me and posed a question.

“I wonder if our car still works?” he mused. “I thought maybe the barn and hay would protect it, but now I’m beginning to wonder.”

“Yes, me too,” I agreed. “We can go out and see if it will start when we get back, but I wouldn’t suggest that we drive it anywhere. I’m sure doing that would draw a great deal of unwanted attention to us and I don’t think we need that type of hassle right now.”

Gavin merely nodded his head in agreement, as we continued to study the current situation. Before we’d left the house earlier, we were aware that we didn’t have any telephone, television, radio or Internet service, but we had no idea about how bad things really were. Worse yet, we had no way of knowing just how long this situation was going to last.

About this same time, we decided to turn around and head back to the house, since we felt we’d discovered just about all we needed to know for now. After we returned home, brushed the horses down and locked them in their stalls for the night, Gavin went back to the house and grabbed the car keys, so he could see if our car would start. After moving the hay away from the driver’s side door, he opened it, climbed into the seat and attempted to see if it would turn over. Surprisingly, it did, but we decided not to take it out for a spin, which left us to wonder if there might still be any other problems that had been caused by the CMEs.

After this little experiment, we put things back the way they had been and then returned to the house. Gavin and I understood how fortunate we were, because we weren’t experiencing the same types of problems that others in our area were dealing with, but we also knew it would be best to keep this information from getting out. By consciously trying to lower our carbon footprint, we had also, unwittingly, managed to increase our chances for survival.

Since we wanted to keep this fact hidden from the outside world, we decided to take several precautions that would prevent us from drawing unwanted attention to ourselves. To begin with, we would keep our blinds closed and the drapes drawn, but we would also maintain a lower profile by using only a limited number of lamps. We would equip them with lower wattage bulbs, which we thought might mimic the illumination from a candle or lantern. We felt that if others happened to see inside, as we were moving in and out of the house, they would think we were in the same boat as they were. We still didn’t have any radio, television or Internet to entertain us, but we did have a great deal more than nearly everyone else.

We also agreed to keep the animals in the barn and feed and water them there, again to prevent others from attempting to take what was ours. We weren’t opposed to helping those we knew or those that asked nicely, but we were also prepared to let them know there were limits to our generosity, so they wouldn’t push too hard or attempt to bring others into our little circle, without our permission. We would make certain that they understood we were willing to stand our ground and defend ourselves, if they went too far in their demands or became too aggressive.

Since we lived out in the country and on a very lightly traveled road, the only people that knew about the various advantages we enjoyed were people we’d previously invited to our place for social occasions. Since they were our friends, we trusted they wouldn’t divulge our secret and we would be able to continue living a fairly comfortable existence for however long it took before crews were able to repair the electrical grid and power was at least partially restored to the area.

A few days later, we decided to take another ride into the village, so we could assess how the others were doing. We wanted to see if things had improved, were approximately the same or if the situation was deteriorating, so we saddled up the horses and made our way there. Shortly after reaching one of the small stores, we ran into a couple of guys who were just climbing out of a really old Chevy.

“I’m surprised your car is still running,” I observed, in an effort to break the ice. “Most people haven’t been so lucky.

“Yeah, it’s a pretty old and fairly simple beast, made back when cars were mostly mechanical,” the one guy replied. “No high tech gadgets on this baby, but I also think it helped that we’d kept it in a large storage shed that was filled with a whole bunch of other stuff too. I think that helped to protect it.”

“Could be,” I half-heartedly agreed. “So I guess you must have decided to drive it here and pick up a few things then?”

“Actually, we just got back from making a run into the city,” the other man responded. “We’re neighbors and Charlie here invited me to ride in with him, so we could pick up some things from the larger stores there, but it was a wasted trip.”

“So all of the stores were closed and you couldn’t get what you wanted?” I asked.

“Nah, worse than that,” he replied. “It was horrible. Most places had been broken into and everything was pretty much gone. It seems that after going more than seventy-two hours without power, the people in the city began to panic. Since they had no way of knowing how long it might be before their electricity would be restored and things would get back to normal, I guess they decided to do a little unauthorized shopping.”

“Most places we saw seemed pretty much trashed,” the guy named Charlie added.

“Wow, it was that bad, huh?” Gavin followed.

“The city people broke windows and doors to get into these places and then took pretty much everything inside,” Charlie added. “I guess that after they started running out of food, or maybe it was just when supplies started getting low, they went out to stock up again, anyway they could. Hell, some of the people we saw were even eying this old clunker, since nothing else was running, so we hightailed it out of there before someone tried to carjack us.”

“So they just took food or were they taking other stuff too?” I pressed.

“From what we could tell, they took all of the food, drinks and anything else that wasn’t nailed down,” Charlie’s friend answered. “Hell, they might have also pried off some of the shit that was nailed down too. As far as we could see, they were taking everything. We even spotted one fella carrying a flat-screen TV that was still in the box, like it will do him any good without electricity or cable.”

“We also saw another group of guys pushing a new car down the street,” Charlie added. “I’m not sure if it was theirs or not, but I kind of suspect they’d stolen that too, since it still had the dealer’s stickers in the windows. It certainly wasn’t running though, so I’m not sure why they wanted it.”

From what they told us, it seems as if this desperate situation had prompted these people to resort to all kinds of desperate measures, along with a few deciding to become opportunists. I was fairly certain that those taking these things knew that they were breaking the law, but felt they had no other option, at least for those taking the food and drinks. I could understand people helping themselves to the things their family might need to survive, and maybe even some of the other stuff too, like medicines and first aid supplies that their loved ones required, just not those other items.

It seemed as if these people assumed, and probably with good reason, that there would be no deliveries to any of these places in the very near future. It seemed reasonable to assume that nothing would be coming in until the electricity was restored and companies could get their trucks repaired and secure enough gasoline or diesel needed to keep them running. These people also appeared to have concluded that they were now living in a dog-eat-dog world and opted to put their families first. This meant they were prepared to do whatever was required to take care of their own, no matter how ruthless they needed to become or what extreme measures they had to employ in order to achieve this goal.

Even though this might be the case with those taking the items they needed to survive, I still had to wonder how those people were able to justify stealing televisions, cars and other things of that nature. This went far beyond the primal portion of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, which covered the physiological and safety requirements, and jumped up to the self-esteem level. It seems as if those individuals were merely taking advantage of this crisis for personal gain, so they could secure items they had desired, but had been unable to previously attain. Even though these items weren’t currently functioning and were basically useless, it seems that the people taking them were focused solely upon securing items they had desired prior to this event. This included such things as iPhones, top of the line computers and gaming systems, as well as the other items Charlie and his friend had seen them making off with.

We eventually concluded that even though they might not be able to currently use these items, the people taking them must have felt that they could eventually use them or be able to get them fixed, once this crisis had ended. We also suspected that they hoped that when the electrical grid was restored and life returned to normal that law enforcement would find it difficult to prove how they had obtained these items. These culprits might have even counted on the possibility that the electrical surges had erased, or at least made unusable, any records that could trace these items back to the businesses from which they had been stolen, so they’d be in the clear.

As you might suspect, however, since there were many more people than supplies, fights started to break out. This basically meant that the strongest members of society, or possibly just the best armed, could take what they needed away from those weaker than themselves, such as the young, elderly, disabled and infirmed. It was truly becoming a Darwinian struggle of the survival of the fittest.

As we discovered later, there were other individuals and groups that saw this as their opportunity to get rich and would take more supplies than they needed, so they could sell the excess at exorbitant prices later. Since no one wanted to take a check and electronic payments were impossible to make, because the banks were shut down, this meant that only those with cash or something valuable to barter with would be able to buy anything from them. Seeing most people had a very limited supply of cash on hand and very few had huge quantities of precious jewelry or other valuable items these people would accept in trade, these schemes were only meeting with minimal success.

Others had a more direct way of coming up with additional cash, which was by breaking into banks and large businesses, so they could pilfer whatever money was being kept there. Since there was no power, this also meant there were no security cameras, alarms or any way someone could report this activity, even if it was observed, so the culprits thought they would have all the time they needed to pull off these heists. Even those who were successful in these attempts often discovered their plan didn’t work out exactly the way they’d intended. In some cases, the people who saw what these people were up to would grab weapons and then rob the thieves as they were attempting to make their getaway. These clashes often turned bloody and resulted in deaths on both sides.

Still others were breaking into stores that sold or might contain guns and ammunition, so they could arm themselves to protect their loved ones and their belongings. Others were busy collecting weapons in preparation for attacking others, so they could take what those people had. Gun battles were rapidly breaking out all over the city, as those defending their property clashed with those trying to take advantage of the current situation. Most cops and soldiers gave up trying to protect the public and stayed at home to protect their own families instead, so incidents of this nature were gradually increasing and the situation was becoming more lawless as time went by.

Communities all across the country were deteriorating into something resembling a mixture of Wild West gunfights, gangster battles from the Roaring 20s and violent attacks similar to those carried out by drug cartels. It wasn’t a pretty picture and humanity seemed to be devolving to their basest instincts. It appeared that in this current version of the world only the fittest, best armed and most ruthless would survive.

Thinking about the current predicament made Gavin and I begin to wonder about how our friends and families were doing. Since our parents and extended families lived so far away, we had no way to contact them, so we could discover this information. Therefore, we turned our attention to those living closest to us and began to discuss various ideas about how we might be able to rescue some of these people and bring them back to stay with us. We still took into account that we had limited resources, so this number would have to be kept small, but we eventually concluded that we might be able to assist at least a few of these individuals. Now, we attempted to determine which of our friends would be the beneficiaries of our generosity.

Once we decided whom we might be able to help, Gavin and I rigged up a way to hook the horses to the hay wagon and went off to pick up some couples we knew and had interacted with socially on previous occasions. Gavin had met one of these guys at a company he’d been designing a new building for and we quickly became friends with him and his partner. They introduced us to this other couple, who lived a mile or two away from them, and we got to know that couple as well. They had two children, a boy eight and a girl six, so we were worried about how they were making out as well. We felt these two couples were the only ones we trusted, felt comfortable with and were close enough to do this.

When we reached the first house, we saw their vehicle in the driveway and suspected they were home, although no one came to answer the door when we knocked. Since we felt they were just being cautious about responding, because they thought it might be someone they didn’t know and was possibly trying to do them harm, we began yelling out their names and attempting to let them know it was us. Eventually, they responded and came to the door.

“Damn, we’re glad it’s you,” James said, as he let us in. “We didn’t want to open up for anyone else, because there have been groups going through the area and robbing places.”

“We heard they beat up the guy down the street so badly that he died from his injuries,” Dan added. “Thank God we had a couple of shotguns in here, because we kept them handy just in case they tried to break in here next.”

“Well, grab your shotguns and any ammunition you have, along with any food, your clothing and anything else that we might be able to use,” I urged. “We’ll help you load everything onto our wagon and then we’ll get you out of here. I think we’ll all be better off sticking together at our place.”

“Thanks and I think we’ll feel safer being away from here,” James replied. “I believe it was the people who killed our neighbor that were knocking on our door earlier and trying to fool us into letting them in. I’m not sure why they gave up, but I was afraid they’d come back again later and just break in this time, if they didn’t get a response.”

“Then you won’t be here if they return,” Gavin responded. “If you have any sheets of plywood or any boards we might be able to use, then we’ll put them in the wagon too. I think we should board up the windows on the first floor of our house once we get back, just as a precaution.”

After loading up all of their belongings and supplies, we made our way over to pick up Andy, Bryan and their two kids. We told them the same story we had told James and Dan, and then we loaded everything they had onto the wagon as well, before setting out for our house. When we got there, Gavin offered to rub down the horses and put them in the barn, while I got the others settled inside.

When we entered the house, Cocoa ran to greet us and I saw Amy, Andy and Bryan’s daughter, stiffen slightly as he approached.

“Don’t worry, honey. He won’t bite,” I assured her. “He just wants to sniff you, so he knows who you are, but he might also want to play.”

The kids seemed to like this idea and broke out in broad smiles. Before I closed the door, I turned on a lamp, since we had the drapes tightly closed on all of the windows, which left the house dark.

“Hey, you’ve got lights!” Jonas, Andy and Bryan’s son, observed. “How come yours come on when ours weren’t working?”

“It’s because they have a windmill and solar panels on the house, so they produce their own electricity,” Bryan explained.

He and Andy had been to our place for a couple of parties previously, so they were familiar with our set up.

“I’m glad,” Amy agreed. “I didn’t like having to be in the dark so much.”

Seeing we had so many visitors now, I was thankful we had purchased this huge, old farmhouse, even though it was more than we needed at the time. It had six bedrooms in total, so everyone would have a room, which was primarily due to the fact that in the previous centuries, such as when this place was constructed, farm families often had a lot of children, so they would have plenty of help to do the chores. This meant they also needed plenty of room for them too, so there was loads of space for all of us to move about. Fortunately, the house had been modernized at various times over the years, so now there were three bathrooms in the house as well. Two of them were located upstairs, for the occupants of the five upstairs bedrooms to use, and there was another bathroom downstairs, across the hall from the bedroom Gavin and I shared.

Since Amy didn’t want to sleep alone, her parents allowed her to stay in the room with her brother, so we told them we’d move things around so they could use the other room as a playroom. They immediately liked this idea, and since we had assigned them to the two bedrooms at the back of the house, I wasn’t worried about them doing anything that a passerby might observe from the road. Andy and Bryan also agreed that they would share one of the upstairs bathrooms with their children, so James and Dan could have the other one to themselves.

As soon as Gavin finished taking care of the horses, we talked Andy, James and Dan into helping us board up the windows on the first floor, as an added precaution against intrusion. While we were doing that, Bryan remained indoors and kept an eye on the kids, who were busy playing with Cocoa.

Gavin and I led our volunteers outside and took the wood they had loaded onto the hay wagon, along with the various pieces we had retrieved from the barn, and began cutting them into appropriate sizes, so we could nail them over the windows. It took quite a while to complete this task, but then we all felt safer once we had finished. Before we went to bed each night, we would also place large items of furniture against the front and back doors, to make it more difficult for someone to slip inside while we slept.

Over the next couple of weeks, whenever we were outdoors, we would occasionally hear the sound of gunfire in the distance. We weren’t positive if this was the result of someone hunting for food or if it was due to another reason, but we hoped for the best.

“Damn, I’m so grateful you came down and got us,” James announced, after hearing the latest shots ring out. “Things were beginning to get really dicey in our neighborhood before you showed up, but I’m afraid the situation might be even worse now.”

“Yes, if you hadn’t brought us all up here,” Andy added, “I’m convinced we would have ended up getting shot at, sooner or later.”

“I’m not so sure we’re much safer here,” Gavin countered, so they didn’t begin to feel too complacent.

“At least this is more out of the way than where we lived,” Dan pointed out, “so hopefully it will take longer for someone to find us and try anything like that.”

We merely nodded in agreement.

Adjusting to living together in this new lifestyle presented us with many challenges. Although Gavin and I had raised some livestock for food, we had originally planned to take the animals to the nearby slaughterhouse to be killed and cut up when the time came, but this option was no longer available. Fortunately, both Gavin and Andy had hunted with their fathers when they were younger and had helped to butcher the deer they’d killed, which meant they had at least a general idea about what needed to be done.

To our benefit, their fathers had taken time to instruct them on this process and made certain to ingrain in them the basics, such as being extremely careful when they were gutting the animal, so they didn’t perforate the internal organs, especially the intestines. If that were to happen, it would contaminate the meat and make it useless for consumption, however that wasn’t our only concern. Cutting up the various animals into usable portions also became a trial and error process, but Gavin and Andy remembered enough that it wasn’t a huge problem. It was, however, a bloody and somewhat repulsive process, but we all chipped in and did our part, except for the kids, and were able to come up with a fairly acceptable outcome.

Things went on like this for another couple of weeks, but we also noticed a few minor changes occurring during this time. For one thing, it seemed as if the gunfire we were hearing was getting closer to our location, so we began keeping our weapons handy at all times. We never left the house without carrying a rifle or shotgun with us and when we were inside the house, we made sure that each couple had at least one handgun in their possession. We assumed the situation for most people must be getting fairly desperate by now, since we were hearing more weapons being fired than before, but we still weren’t sure if these people were hunting game or each other. It also seemed as if those events were occurring more frequently, so we wanted to be prepared, just in case this problem showed up at our front door.

I was out working in the barn one day, when I spotted two guys riding slowly down the road on bicycles. They stopped at the foot of our driveway and were eyeing the place, when one of them spotted me. He quickly pulled out a pistol and fired a shot in my direction, which caused me to dive for cover. After I scrambled to retrieve the shotgun I had taken out with me earlier, I looked to see what they were up to. That’s when I noticed they had gotten off of their bikes and were moving in my direction.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing,” I yelled out, as they drew closer.

“You fags don’t need what you’ve got here, but our families do,” one of the guys shouted back.

“What the hell do you think we’ve got here?” I challenged, since not many people were aware that we were fairly self-sufficient.

“Don’t play fucking dumb,” the guy yelled back. “I worked on the crew that put up your wind mills and installed your solar panels, so I know you’ve got power here, when the rest of us don’t.”

That’s not what I wanted to hear, but he was obviously fully aware of our situation, except that he didn’t know I was armed. Trying to improve my odds of survival, I lifted the shotgun and pointed it at them, while keeping most of my body shielded inside the wooden structure. As soon as they saw the barrel of the shotgun aimed in their direction, they immediately scurried for cover.

“I don’t want to kill you, but I will if you don’t leave,” I warned, while hoping that might be enough to scare them off.

My threat was answered when several bullets struck the barn near me. Although I ducked down even further, in case the bullets penetrated the barn’s siding, I managed to keep my shotgun aimed in their direction. When I saw one of them make a sudden move toward the barn. I fired and the slug hit him in the shoulder. The blast knocked him backward and he dropped to the ground, while also crying out in pain.

“Son of a bitch,” he swore. “I didn’t think you fucking homos knew how to shoot a gun.”

“Then I guess you know differently now,” I offered in reply.

While I was taking a shot at him, I’d unfortunately lost sight of his buddy, so I wasn’t sure where he’d disappeared. I was searching the area and trying to locate him, when I heard another gunshot. Since no bullet struck the area near me, I wasn’t sure whom he’d been shooting at, unless someone had come out of the house after hearing the initial gunfire. A few seconds later, I had my answer, when Dan made a mad dash into the barn to join me. When the guy I’d shot saw Dan, who was carrying a rifle, he fired off a couple of rounds in Dan’s direction, but Dan was able to rush past me, unharmed.

“Did the other guy take a shot at you too?” I asked, once he was inside.

“Not exactly,” Dan replied. “Cocoa had started growling before we’d heard you guys begin shooting at each other, so we knew something was up. Andy and I immediately grabbed our guns and came out the back door after we’d heard the first shots, but the others stayed inside to protect the kids. I saw the one guy take up position behind the maple tree, although he hadn’t spotted me, and when he lifted his gun to fire at you, I shot him.”

“How badly did you injure him? Is he still a threat?” I wondered.

“I’m pretty sure he’s dead,” Dan confirmed. “That means we should probably kill this other guy too or he might go back and get others, so they can try this again.”

“I hate to take a life, but I suppose you’re right,” I said. “I’ll get ready to shoot from a prone position and you can fire while standing, but we need to finish this quickly.”

Since the guy was still lying on the ground and we didn’t have a very good target, our shots merely hit the dirt near him. However, that was enough to cause him to jump up and try to run for his bike, which gave us time to fire off another round. This time, both of our bullets struck him and he fell dead in the driveway. Seeing this guy drop, Andy stepped out from the shadows and joined us.

“It looks as if they’re both dead, so I think it would be best if we got rid of the evidence,” Andy offered. “Unless these guys told someone where they were going, no one close to them will be able to figure out what happened here.”

Dan and I quickly agreed, so I went inside to get Gavin, so he could give us a hand. We grabbed a pick and two shovels from the barn and then draped a dead body over each of the horses. Dan and Andy grabbed a bicycle each and carried them behind us, while Gavin and I led the horses across the road and into the wooded area beyond. Once we found a large enough clearing, we dug a big pit and tossed the bicycles and bodies into it, but we kept their handguns and remaining ammunition for our own use. No sense wasting something that might come in handy later.

After filling the hole and tamping the dirt down with our boots, we led the horses back to the barn and put them up for the night. When we went in the house, Jonas rushed to his father’s side.

“Are you ok?” he wanted to know.

“Yes, we are all fine,” he assured him.

“Did you kill those men?” Jonas followed.

“Let’s just say they won’t be shooting at us again or causing any other problems,” Andy answered, while trying to shield his son from the harsh reality of what actually happened.

I think we all felt badly that we had killed those two men, since their families were probably counting on them to increase their chances of survival, but they’d left us no choice. They’d shot at me first and seemed bent on taking over the farm, so it appeared that it was either going to be them or us. It’s the chance they took when they tried to take what was ours, but I’m glad this time it ended in our favor.

As the amount of time that most people had been living without power grew from days into weeks and then finally into months, the northern hemisphere had slowly slipped into winter. Even though there was no running water for most homes, due to the fact that there was no electricity to run the pumps, those in the colder climates could at least melt snow to meet their needs. The snow could also be used to provide them with the refrigeration they required to keep their food from spoiling, which meant they now had a way to preserve any fish they might be able to catch or game they could kill. Some even tried to steal farm animals to slaughter, if they were lucky enough to live close enough to a place that could provide them with this option, even though the farmers were doing their best to keep this from happening.

Even though they might now have these limited advantages, those in the colder climates were experiencing another problem, which was keeping warm. Those with limited means to heat their homes, because they previously relied on natural gas or had run out of fuel oil or propane, now had to seek other ways to stay warm. Those struggling with this were beginning to show signs of hypothermia and frostbite, while others were dying. Without large supplies of wood, coal or other fuels to burn, they were forced to rely on layered clothing or multiple blankets to stay warm, but those methods had their own limitations, especially when the temperatures started to drop even lower.

While the entire northern hemisphere was coping with situations such as I had just described, the southern hemisphere had their own set of problems to contend with. Those living south of the equator had been heading into the summer season when this first occurred, so they had to contend with the heat, as the temperatures rose and eventually skyrocketed into the 100s, as they had the previous summer. Since there was no electricity to operate the air conditioning or fans, people in these regions began to die from hyperthermia, or elevated body temperatures.

The people south of the equator also had to deal with a limited supply of drinking water and were forced to collect rainwater or draw their drinking water from the local rivers and streams. Whichever source they ended up using, it had to be boiled first, before they could safely drink it. Some people, however, were either too lazy or didn’t like the inconvenience, so they decided not to take this simple precaution, which was a huge mistake.

Due to the lack of sewage disposal and proper sanitation protocols, those failing to heed these simple precautions started to become ill. Most of the diseases they were contracting were a direct result of these unsanitary conditions, but some of the problems could also be attributed to the increased numbers of disease-infested insects and animals as well. As a direct result of being forced to go out to collect water and forage for food, humans were more frequently coming into contact with these creatures and confrontations ensued. On occasion, these incidents would even result in the loss of life.

The overall worldwide death toll was reaching astronomical proportions, so it was becoming increasingly difficult to dispose of the bodies quickly enough or in acceptable ways, such as burial or cremation. Some of these bodies were merely left where they had fallen, and this along with the other factors, were increasing the problem of disease even further. When you combined this with a lack of medical treatment for the sick and injured, along with a limited access to medical supplies and prescription drugs, the situation quickly turned critical. Even if they managed to find a hospital or clinic, they might then discover there was no doctor or medicines necessary to treat them, so many of these people still expired.

Exacerbating this problem even further were the roving gangs and other individuals that were committing murder to either get what they wanted or to settle old scores. When that body count was added to those dying of natural causes and the others who had perished in the plane crashes and other accidents that occurred when this situation first began, it meant a large portion of the population was no longer around and a great number of others were still at risk.

Even though there were limited pockets around the globe where the electrical service had been restored, which meant some limited radio communication had become available again, it would take many years to restore things to anywhere near the levels they were before this incident began. This was due to many factors, such as the lack of vehicles available to move goods around, a limited labor force and an inability to get crews where they were needed, plus a severe lack of replacement parts required to correct the various problems.

It was a long and extremely slow recovery, once the worst of the storm had passed. During this time, those of us holed up at our place had to fend off another group of outsiders, although this group merely seemed to be traveling from place to place and scavenging what they could. Once they discovered there were several of us and we were fairly well armed, they moved on to look for another location, which had either been abandoned or was easier pickings for them.

At one point, Dan and I saddled up the horses and took a ride to check on his place and see what, if anything, had happened to it after he and James had come to stay with us. We each took a handgun and shotgun with us, in case we were attacked along the way, but the journey there was quite uneventful. However, we were sadly chagrinned when we saw the damage that had been wreaked upon their former residence. It was obvious that people had been going through there looking for anything valuable and had taken whatever they found.

A couple of days after we took our trip, Gavin and Andy rode down to check out his place and discovered much the same thing. It was discouraging, but it helped us all decide that it would probably be best if we all continued to stick together, so we made long-term plans for how we were going to handle the situation from here on out. It was fairly obvious that our previous jobs were either now obsolete or in very low demand, so we turned to a more grassroots approach for survival and returned to a lifestyle more in line with how people had survived a century or two earlier.

Since we’d slaughtered most of the animals for food already, we had to look for other options. Since spring was just around the corner, we decided that we would not only expand the garden, but we’d also have to increase our corn production, so we could grind some of it into flour. We’d also have to do some hunting and fishing to replenish the meat supply, at least until we could find a way to secure more livestock. That should be sufficient to keep us going, at least in the near-term.

The biggest problem we faced was replacing our worn out clothing and footwear. To do that, we hooked the horses up to the hay wagon again and started making our rounds going through the abandoned properties near us. Since most of those who went through these places previously had been looking for food and valuables, the clothing, shoes and boots had been mainly left untouched. This allowed us to collect vast quantities of these items that we might be able to use or that the kids might grow into in the future. This took away another problem we were facing, since we had no way to make cloth that we could turn into clothing or a way to create additional footwear.

The road to recovery was a very long and tediously slow journey. As some of the electrical grid was repaired and brought back online, we were beginning to discover that our worse fears were coming to pass. Although some institutions had data recovery systems that had weathered the storm, many of the businesses and financial institutions were discovering that their backup procedures had been either seriously flawed or woefully inadequate. This threw a wrench in the recovery process, since people were unable to recover much of what they had prior to this crisis.

Once the phone service and other communication systems had been partially restored, we all tried to contact our families, so we could see who had also survived this semi-apocalypse. I was unable to reach my parents, but was eventually able to get in touch with a female cousin. She told me that she and her husband had survived, but it appeared that both sets of parents had not. We weren’t sure if they’d passed due to hunger, illness, disease or another scenario, but we were now alone.

Gavin discovered a similar fate had befallen his extended family and only heard back from his younger brother, who called as soon as he was able. Andy, Bryan, James and Dan all had similar experiences, which only reinforced our previous decision about remaining together, at least until the situation had vastly improved. We were facing a brave new world, although we were about to face a future more alone than we had ever experienced. All we had was each other, since most of our families had been wiped out over the past few months.

Over time, we also began to discover how far-reaching and devastating this crisis had been. Although it hadn’t become common knowledge until well after things had started to return to normal, we discovered this had been a global phenomenon and we were among a very select group that had survived this dark period in history. During the sixty-day period that followed the initial massive solar flare being spotted, seventy-nine more had occurred, of which thirty-two of them would be classified as mega solar flares. These produced cumulative effects across the globe and accounted for similar problems throughout the civilized world. Only the more primitive societies were able to carry on as they normally would have, since their lives didn’t revolve around the use of electricity or modern conveniences, but the rest of the world was still in chaos and there was no end in sight.

Although this wasn’t the type of mega disaster those focusing on the Mayan, Hopi and other apocalyptic prophecies had originally predicted and didn’t seem to fit into the various scenarios that most people had envisioned, this situation was no less devastating. Chances are that it may take years to determine how many more people may perish as a direct result of these occurrences or if the human race will survive and overcome this setback. It is very clear, however, that whoever is left will find himself living in a world that is much different than what he had been accustomed to before these events took place.

It is possible that the less developed nations may stand a better chance of overcoming the many obstacles the world is currently facing, since they have always had to provide their families with most of the basics and weren’t as used to relying on stores and others to fulfill their needs. That leaves the question of whether those segments of society that had become the most dependent on technology and having others do things for them would now be able to fend for themselves. Only time will tell.

Estimates were that between 50 to 60% of the world’s population perished during this disaster and a minimum of another 20% was still at risk. Out of the seven billion people that were alive when these problems began, only God knows for sure how many will still be alive when things completely settle down and order is once again restored. This may not have been the end of the world as everyone thought the Mayans and others were foretelling, but it was certainly the end of the world as most of us knew it and had grown accustomed to.

THE END

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