THE DAY: A Novel of America in the Last Days (The End of America Series) (17 page)

Lee’s
Gas Station and Food Mart

Abilene,
Kansas

              
Harry
Weaver left the Abilene State Savings Bank through its alley door, still
munching on what the bank’s manager had just said about the worthless
dollar. Whatever happened, Harry thought, to the ‘almighty dollar’?
Didn’t seem very almighty now.
But, Harry had
just over a thousand dollars in his pocket, so he decided to test what the bank
manager had just said. He didn’t want to get rid of too many dollars, as
he expected they would come in real handy in the days following The Day, but
the only way to find out was to find out. He walked the seven blocks to his
modest home, entered the garage and grabbed his red metal five gallon gasoline
can, which he used when he needed to fuel his 4000W generator, when the power
was out. He shook the can, realized he had a small quantity of gas still left
and poured the balance into the tank of the generator.

              
Harry
then walked two blocks over to Lee’s Gas station where he always bought
his gasoline, not only for his generator, but also for his Toyota. Walking up
to the station, Harry saw that the owner, Lee, whom he had known for several
years was working today. He also saw that Lee was in what appeared to be a
heated argument with a customer, whose car was parked in one of the two fill
lanes. Just as Harry approached the two dueling men he heard the customer say
words that no businessman ever wants to hear, "Well, then, I’ll
never
do business at this dump
again….
never
….
never
." The irate customer jumped
in his car and peeled out of the station, leaving a small cloud of exhaust
fumes and burnt rubber.

              
Harry
said, "Lee, sorry about that hot head. You can’t please everybody,
I guess." Holding out his gas can, Harry said, "I need to buy some gas
for my generator. Never know when the power may go out. I expected quite a few
cars would be here buying gas, what with the nuking on the coasts, and
all."

              
"Oh,
hi, Harry, yeah, well, we did have a run there for a while late yesterday, but
it slowed down
considerably
once word
spread in the area about our
new
policy."

              
"
Oh
, what policy is that, Lee?"

              
"No
more cash or credit sales."

              
"Oh,
okay….No, wait….I understand no credit sales. Who knows
what’s
gonna
’ happen to credit cards,
right? But,
cash
?
No cash sales?
What does that mean? How
can you sell anything if you don’t take cash or credit?"

              
"Barter."

              
"
Barter?
"

              
"Un-
hunh
.
Barter only. I got
the gas. Folks are going to need gas. I don’t want their worthless
dollars. Nobody else will be taking dollars, soon. Don’t believe me? Try
getting anybody in town to sell you anything of value for dollars. You own an
appliance store, right Harry? Will you sell me a new refrigerator for worthless
paper that’s no good to buy anything anywhere? I didn’t
think so
. If you want gas, I’ll
trade you for something that’s actually
worth
something, you follow me?"

              
Harry
couldn’t get his breath he was so taken aback. When he tried to respond
to what he had just heard, he couldn’t get his words out. After wiping
his forehead, he gulped twice, saying, "But, Lee, I’ve done
business with you for years,
lots
of
years. We’re like….you
know
….
friends
."

              
"Really?
Friends
?
That’s what the guy who just ripped out of
here said when I told him his worthless money was no good here. You
wanna
’ yell at me too, or do you have something you
can
trade
for gas? What kind of watch
is that you’re wearing?"

              
"I’ll
pay you later, sign a note, whatever, but I’m not giving you my watch.
No way
."

              
"Harry,
Hunh
?"

              
"Are
you
nuts
? Do you think I’d
trade in my generator for gas to use in the
generator, that
I’d just traded to you for the gas?
Get
real
, Lee. Your gas fumes are going to your head.
Just
sayin
’."

              
"OK,
you’re a businessman. A bargainer, I see that. You own a Toyota. I fill
it for you every two weeks, give or take. It holds about sixteen gallons.
I’ll trade you a full tank of gas for the car in exchange for your
generator. What do you say?"

              
"WHAT?
Sixty bucks of gas for a four hundred dollar generator? As I just asked, are
you
nuts
, Lee?
Bonkers?
Who
would do that?"

              
"Lots of people, Harry.
My repair bay over there is
full of things I’ve traded to folks for gasoline. Harry, in case you
haven’t figured it out, they won’t be making no more gasoline, no,
not for a long time.
Maybe
never
.
You like walking, Harry? You
wanna
’
walk two miles, ten miles? Places you don’t think twice about driving to
now. When your Toyota is empty Harry, how
ya
’
gonna
’ get around? I’m your last hope Harry. I
just stuck my tanks. I’m down to a quarter of my supply left. When
that’s gone,
it’s gone
.
What do
ya
say, Harry? Do we
gotta
’
a deal?"

              
Harry
studied the sky, thought about it and said, "
Two
tanks of gas for the Toyota."

              
"No.
It’ll be
gone
before you use up
the first tank and come back for a fill up. Don’t
wanna
’
cheat
ya
, Harry," Lee said with a sardonic
smile.

              
"Hum….
Fill
the Toyota….
plus
this gas can."

              
"
Done
….Bring
the generator when you come back in your Toyota."

              
"Bandit.
Thief.
"

              
"Then
don’t
come back. In tough times
a man’s
gotta
do what a man’s
gotta
do….
Harry,
ya’ll
do what
ya’ll
gotta
do.
You’ll
see
."

              
"I’ll….be….
right
….back."

Columbia
Food Distribution, Inc.

Columbia,
Missouri

              
Thad
Stevens was worried. His concerns weren’t for his business, as he knew with
nearly 100% assurance that his business was gone, over, done. With no diesel
fuel he couldn’t haul food products to his grocery store customers, nor
could his suppliers bring food products to his warehouse. In addition to which
he was about to find that when he flipped a light switch he would have no
electricity.

              
Thad
was worried that his warehouse would soon be overrun by hungry people who knew,
or who learned, what his large aluminum building actually held. He looked out
his interior window at the warehouse. Stacked on pallets for the length of the
warehouse were hundreds of boxes of canned food. He pulled out the inventory of
food products currently in-house. He calculated that in the warehouse he had at
least thirty-two semi-trucks of food. He punched the inventory numbers into his
hand calculator, concluding that what he had on hand was a normal nine to ten
day supply. So, after about a week and a half his warehouse would be empty,
that is if he were able to haul food to grocery store customers from Kansas
City to St. Louis.

              
Thad
couldn’t decide what to do with the food he still held in his warehouse.
He knew he could load it up in the eighteen semis at his docks and ship the
food to his best customers, using what fuel he still held in the storage tanks
behind the warehouse, and then bringing most of the trucks back, filling them
with the balance of his supplies and delivering the last of the food to the
closest customers, using what was left of his fuel. He could pay his employees
with food to encourage them to come in to load and haul the food. His emerging
plan struck Thad as the most humane way to dispose of his food supplies.

              
However,
as he mulled it over he realized that even though he would be pushing food
supplies out into Missouri grocery stores, the stores wouldn’t really be
benefitted by the food. Thad knew that marauding gangs would quickly grab the
food, most likely without paying for it and probably before the semis could
even be unloaded. So, he could help thieves, but not his good customers. Thad
wasn’t satisfied with his first plan, so he mulled over his other
options.

              
Why
not just open the front door and trade people cartons of food for silver coins,
or gold jewelry or other tangible assets, he asked himself. He could then take
the metals and other assets and….what….do what with them? Use it to
buy fuel? There won’t be any soon. Buy electricity? Same answer. Buy
someone’s house? Why? I have a house, so owning somebody else’s
house made no sense. Buy another car?
Dumb thought.
The only thing that would make any sense at all, he eventually concluded, would
be to use the assets to buy….food…..
Humh
….Food
is what I have
now
, so why should I
get rid of it, and then
hope
I can
get food later, trading for food with what I get from people who buy….my
food? His circular reasoning made his head hurt.

              
Thad
was not a religious person, but he finally came to the realization that he
needed some divine wisdom. What to do with a warehouse three-quarters full of
food? He whispered,
‘God….I’m
not on a first name basis with you….so you’re probably wondering
why I’m bothering you, but I’ve got a problem…I’ve got
all this food out there….you know….out in the warehouse. But,
because of the nuking of America it’s pretty obvious that there
won’t be much food available to people….real soon. I don’t
know what to do with it….I can haul a few cases home in the
car….But there’s no way I can store enough to keep us fed for as
long as it will take before food supplies are restored….I know the food
biz….so I know that we’re toast as a country….So, God, what
should I do?

              
While
Thad’s head was in his hands, a soft knock came on his office door.
Wondering who it could be, Thad said, "Who’s there? Come on
in."

              
The
door opened and Nick, one of the two employees who showed up for work this
morning after The Day, opened the door slightly and stuck his head in, saying,
"Sorry to bother you, boss, but I wondered if we could pray
together?"

              
Thad
wondered why Nick would even ask, as they had never discussed anything religious
and he didn’t know Nick all that well. But Thad was struck by what he
thought was a coincidence that Nick would ask right after Thad finished
stumbling through his prayer. "Uh, yeah, uh, Nick….have a seat.
Uh….is Jim still here
?…
.You want him to
join us?….Uh….I guess prayer is a good idea….what with
everything that’s happened."

              
"Yeah,
Boss. Jim went home, but I was in the break room
praying….and….uh….you know I just felt like I should come up
here and ask you if you were interested in
praying
together?"

              
"Funny
you should ask, Nick. I’m not much into religion, but right before you
knocked I was asking….you know….like….asking God….for
help.
We’ve got a warehouse out
there mostly full of food, but I don’t know what to do about it.
We’ve got just enough fuel, I think, to get it all delivered.
But….well….just to be honest with you, I was just thinking about
trading the food out there to people who have silver coins or some gold or
whatever."

              
"
Really?
How
would that work? What would you
do
with the…."

              
"Already
been there, Nick. Trading food for assets that could later best be used to
trade for food is….kind of….not too smart. Once I figured that out
I realized I needed help.
Wisdom
.
You know. God and I aren’t too tight….know what I mean? But I
didn’t know what else to do. I guess I didn’t know you were a
religious man."

              
"Oh,
boss, I’m not….I’m not a religious man. Nope, I’m just
a
Jesus
man."

              
"
Hunh
, Nick? I thought Jesus
was
a religion. What am I missing?"

              
"Jesus
is my
savior
. He gave His life for a
really good reason….to cover my sins….and everyone else who accepts
Him as
their
savior."

              
"I’m
not sure I’m getting what you’re saying….Slow up a little
bit. Why did you need….what did you call Jesus?
A
savior?
Saved you….
from what
?"

              
Nick,
realizing that he was sharing with a man who had almost no foundation in
Biblical truth, took a deep breath and slowed up, saying, "OK, boss,
here’s the deal. When we’re born we have a genetic flaw. We not
only sin, we do things God doesn’t want us to do, we also
want
to sin. It’s in our nature.
Adam and Eve.
You know.
The fall.
We all have the nature now to sin. And, we’re all going to die, someday.
But, God had
a plan
to handle the sin
problem and the death issue."

              
"
Really
?
I’ve never heard any of this….at least….not like that.
What’s the
plan?"

              
"God
sent part of Himself, His son, Jesus, to the world. He came as a man, who was
also God. He lived a sinless life. He did tons of miracles.
All
to
prove
who He was."

              
"OK,
I get that, Nick….But how does that get rid of the sin and death problems
you mentioned?"

              
"As
you can imagine, His message went against the prevailing religious and
political grain. He irritated the powers, to say the least.
Neither
the religious leaders or
the Romans thought much of Him. Eventually,
when it was time, God allowed the forces in control to
execute
the trouble-maker.

              
"I’m
with you, now. I know that they….what’s it called….they
crucified
Him?’

              
"Right.
If that had been the end of it, then we
wouldn’t be having this discussion. But it wasn’t the end of it.
Jesus told His followers that He would be in the grave for three days, then He
would come back to life….And He did it,
just
as He said. The proof of His divine nature was not only His
many miracles, but also His resurrection. He walked the earth for several days
after He had been killed and put in the tomb.
That’s pretty impressive
, and frankly, boss, that’s
what led me to do it."

              
"Do
what?
"

              
"Oh,
sorry, Jesus coming out of that tomb of death is what led me to ask Him to be
my savior, to cover my sins and make sure that when I’m no longer walking
around that I will be alive with Him, in heaven. That was a little over six
years ago. It’s been a much better life since I turned it over to Jesus,
I’ll tell you that
."

              
"Nick,
you don’t know how much I appreciate you telling me what you did. What
would I have to do….to….you know….to do
the same thing
? I know I won’t be around
forever
….what with the effect of the nukes and all….I
don’t know if
any
of us will be
around a year from now?

              
"Boss, just pray with me.
Lord Jesus, I confess my sins. I know I need a savior. I thank you for
dying on the cross for my sins. I invite you to come into my heart as my Lord
and Savior. I thank you that no matter what happens in the days ahead, that I
know that at the end of my life, I’ll be with you in heaven.
Thank you Jesus.
That’s it, boss. From now on
you’ll find that you look at this world and what’s in it a lot
differently. Do you have a Bible?"

              
"Unh….probably….yeah,
I think so.
Somewhere
.
Pam’ll
know where it is."

              
"I
suggest that you start in the book of John, that’s in the New Testament,
in the back part of the Bible. After you read John, then read the rest of the
New Testament and then the whole Bible. If you’re right about our not
being around in a year," Nick said with a slight chuckle, "you
might want to read several chapters a day."

              
Thad
smiled, replying, "Probably a
good
idea. Thanks again Nick. You’ve been very helpful."

              
"One more thing boss.
You said you were praying
earlier for wisdom on what to do about the food in the warehouse. I’ve
got an idea, since hauling it to stores isn’t a real practical idea. Why
not call in the employees, while the phones are still working, and
give each one
a few cases of
food?"

              
Thad’s
eyes lit up as he saw an answer to his dilemma. He picked up his calculator
again, punched in some numbers and said, "Nick,
great idea
. Let’s give ten cases of food to each employee
who’s single. Twenty to each married employee and a couple cases for each
child. Let’s see, that will still leave us about forty percent of
what’s in the warehouse, that is if every employee shows up to pick up
the food."

              
"They’ll
show up. Why not call some of the churches around this area and offer them a
few cases each to help them with their church members who will soon run out of
something to eat."

              
"Do
you have any contacts with the local churches?"

              
"
Sure do
, boss, I’ll give you a
list of phone numbers."

              
"Nick,
as soon as you get the list, come back in and
help
me
call the employees and the churches. I want to get the food out of here before
somebody figures out what we have here and they break in and loot the place.
And….
let’s
not forget our
own
families while we’re passing
out food. Be sure and get your cases, Nick.
Let’s
get to work
."