The Bug Out - A short story

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***?!?! Dammit, the hero isn't supposed to die half way through the story!

What would prompt you to take that turn at that point in the story?
 
***?!?! Dammit, the hero isn't supposed to die half way through the story!

Sometimes the hero dies. Besides, I don't think Joe was a hero. He was just some guy who could be any one of us, faced with an extreme situation and failed.

It was not a "bad" ending. It was a tragic ending.

The story really pointed out that all the stuff we talk about (9mm vs 45, AR vs AK, Glock vs 1911, how much ammo, gear, etc etc) is not worth squat if you are not prepared and/or make bad decisions.

It may not be been a popular ending, but it is a plausible ending.

P.S Thanks Halffast
 
I re-read the story last night, and two points struck me, outside of the general "ill prepared for the situation" theme of the entire work.

1. Commo gear. Two vehicles, yet no communications equipment between them. Bad move. Even a pair of FRS radios would have made a big difference. Could have co-ordinated the move of the two vehicles to the exit, which would have saved time, which may have gotten them to the bridge before the truck crash...

2. Bad decisions. Our hero seemed to be making a steady stream of bad decisions. What do I see as bad decisions.

- he didn't dress to survive. What do I mean? He put on clothes. Period. He needed to strap on the pistol, spare ammo, and some other basics so that he was prepared to address problems with what he had on his person, not having to rely on what was in the truck. Even at the gas station, he had to go to the truck for his Kimber. Good thing the guy with the tire iron wasn't really intending to do harm.

-he panicked under pressure. When the bridge was "closed," he panicked and made bad choices based upon his need to get to the farm. The long way around may have taken more gasoline, but it would have been safer that trying to forge a stream in an overloaded truck.

- he lost his common sense. The guys who ended up taking out the family were predators. They were predatros long before the first bomb went off. Our hero lost his judgment in his desire to get the truck freed, and it cost he and his family everything.

Thanks for making us think abut these things. Thinking ahead will help us make it through should it happenm for real.
 
Enjoyed your story. The only thing that seemed pretty improbable to me was the scope of the initial attack, which really set an unrealistic tone. Nuclear materials and bombs are just not that easy to come by in the real world not to mention going undetected while they were positioned in place and coordinated. Having an attack of that scope as the centerpiece requires too much "suspension of belief" by common everyday citizens that might read this.
 
I'd differ here...

Dispersal of a few hundred or thousand pounds of radioactive waste (not the stuff that's safe behind plexi - the more hardcore stuff...) so the wind can catch it could render a large area dangerous to inhabit... And while it's in the air, it's breathable... These guys didn't need to build/buy a cruise missile - they stole it. They don't need to build/buy an atomic bomb - they can just make fallout.
 
bogie said:
I'd differ here...

Dispersal of a few hundred or thousand pounds of radioactive waste (not the stuff that's safe behind plexi - the more hardcore stuff...) so the wind can catch it could render a large area dangerous to inhabit... And while it's in the air, it's breathable... These guys didn't need to build/buy a cruise missile - they stole it. They don't need to build/buy an atomic bomb - they can just make fallout.

That would be true if it were limited to dirty bombs, but there is a specific mention of a mushroom cloud which suggests something entirely different.

Again, even with a backpack bomb and "dirty" nuclear material, you're dealing with a number of realities. That material is tracked, getting a sufficient amount of it for numerous attacks, as well as transporting it safely (without killing you before you get to your target) and undetected are pretty daunting tasks. Even if you did, a blast of that type of material in order to have an effect over an appreciable area would have to rise to the altitude of low level winds...somewhere typically in the range of 3,000 - 5,000 feet...that's one HECKUVA blast!!!!

It's the science behind what would be required here that makes it lose credibility. I'm not saying it's a bad story, but it would be better if the attack were more scientifically probable.
 
Hey, enough of it is missing to be interesting. Plus, the Russians had a buncha small nukes. And with Iran developing 'em, hey... Yeah, it'd be rough smuggling it, but stick a lead box in the middle of a cargo container full of something messy, and you're there...
 
Damn good story, particularly how it deals with almost every aspect of bugging out aside from medical supplies and a couple of other things. I liked how they had to sweat paying for everything and how everyone raided their BOBs over time (who hasn't done that??).

Heh heh, what I'd like to see now is the same situation with a more successful protagonist!
 
bogie said:
Hey, enough of it is missing to be interesting. Plus, the Russians had a buncha small nukes. And with Iran developing 'em, hey... Yeah, it'd be rough smuggling it, but stick a lead box in the middle of a cargo container full of something messy, and you're there...

That's quite an operation to pull all of that together. Considerably more complex than the 9/11 attack. A lead box thick enough to contain radioactive leakage would require a pretty significant blast to blow it apart. We're talking 2 - 3 inch thick walls.

I just think that the storyline, in particular, the ending is pretty believable and not "hollywood." It would be better if the originating scenario was just as plausible.
 
Another eminently readable story from Halffast. Good job.

I'm a fan or noir film and fiction, so I loved the ending. :p
 
We are in more of a BUG-IN situation, but I do need to get more ammo and gas on hand. We always keep lots of food on hand. Should also get more kerosene for the campstove.

TThanks for giving us a wake-up call.
 
A lead box thick enough to contain radioactive leakage would require a pretty significant blast to blow it apart. We're talking 2 - 3 inch thick walls.

Unlike the movies, one cannot outrun a blast wave, and jumping down a manhole or turning a corner or slamming a door ain't gonna cut it.

You take a suitcase nuke, put it inside enough lead shielding, and it can go anywhere. And that lead shielding ain't gonna matter when it goes off.
 
Since Joe was planning of bugging out to his in-laws he should have stored 95% of his “stuff” with them. No need to go shopping at the last possible second and waste valuable time.

Joe should have had a plan to check everyone’s BOB every six months, so they were ready to grab and go. He also should have had the 6 5 gallon can of gas already stored in his garage (and rotated every six moths at the same time the BOB’s were checked.

3:00AM read note on internet. 3:01AM wake up wife and argue to 3:05AM.
3:06AM wake up kids and argue with them to 3:10AM.
3:30AM have BOB’s, spare gas, guns and ammo in one vehicle and be on the road
6:00AM arrive at in-laws.(150 miles in 2.5 hours at an average of 60MPH).

Knowing alternate routes to in-laws and having all family members at least farmilar with firearms and good idea too.
 
Good story.

Being a country boy, I want to take this opportunity to pass along a rule of thumb. If a farmer is farming on both sides of a creek, he will have built a place (bridge or ford) for getting his equipment across.

Bugging out means just that! He could have had everyone stay at home and in thirty minuets had everything loaded in the vehicle with the most gas. If he just had to go to Wal-Mart, it should have been as a family/team. Did you all notice the time wasted on both sides (at home and Wal-Mart) because of lack of manpower?

Its kind of ironic, he was trying to catch up with what should have been done yesterday and neglected the thing that needed done in the hear and now. It would have been better to be the brother who bugged out at the drop of a hat, and had never prepared.

I guess that the moral of the story is if you find yourself behind the curve, consolidate the family and evacuate the city…. You can do the squirrel thing after you get the family to safety.
 
If you want BS happy endings where the undeserving live happily ever after then besot yourself with Disney.

What we have instead is a parable for today hitting on every failure to be prepared.

Nicely done.
 
Good story. Only thing I found improbable was the timeline for everyone else. Most folks are sleeping until after 5. So, a news story about a dirty bomb plot in Boston hitting the air at around 0400 wouldn't have much affect. I don't think our hero would have had big traffic troubles when he hit the road.

This doesn't change the message of the story though, I think it would be better set in the afternoon though, or a little bit later. I like the comments about "dressing to survive." A holster and spares would have been a very good thing to have.
 
One aspect of bugging out is even realizing (before most others) that the situation is bad. In general, road hazards would exceed most hazards from terrorist action, IMO.
 
How many of us know someone, through the internet only, that we trust enough to bug out based on one of their posts? Sorry I frequent this and another dozen boards on a weekly basis and don't know anyone who is credible enough to make me bug out.
 
Lee F said:
How many of us know someone, through the internet only, that we trust enough to bug out based on one of their posts? Sorry I frequent this and another dozen boards on a weekly basis and don't know anyone who is credible enough to make me bug out.


There are a few here that I would trust. There are 1 or 2 over at Glocktalk that I would trust. There are a few at FrugalSquirrels that I would trust as well, and a few others that if they said something was up, I would listen and atleast raise my alert level.

I.G.B.
 
if you can't get out of town before the roads are closed, does anyone have a viable strategy for leaving on foot?

or do you think that if it reaches that point, staying put would be a better option?

it's a good story and makes some good points about preparedness.
 
Arguing? Waiting? Batteries??? Getting stuck? Hahaha, it's a plausible comedy! I can see this circus happening to someone. Maybe lots of someones :D

Did they even bother to take wind direction into account? They probably drove right into the fallout. That would have made a better "tragic ending" IMO. I believe they deserved to come out better in the gun battle since they did try to help themselves.
 
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