Read Self Apocalypse: The Beginning for Free Online

I arrived at the unemployment office that I understood how messed up things were.  There were just so many people there all trying to save their homes and feed their families.  After a couple of hours I decided to apply online and save myself the torture of standing in the summer heat.
     
    The city was different today.  There were no friendly faces to be seen anywhere.  Everyone seemed depressed and upset.  I stopped by a café to grab a cup of coffee before going home.  While there I overheard someone on their cell venting about how the barrel just topped at one-hundred and eighty dollars.  I almost vomited when I heard him.  There was no way oil was at that price, he must be mistaken.  As soon as I entered my apartment I turned on the news to verify what I had heard.  I almost fell to the floor when I saw the price floating around a hundred and seventy-nine a barrel.  What was going on?  I quickly took care of my business online then took off to trade in my truck.  I was able to find a small pick-up of a lot less value, and the dealership insisted on an even trade.  I didn‘t get the best deal in town, but I didn’t have to worry so much about fuel now.  Anyways, at this moment the bigger trucks were definitely worth less because of the energy costs.  So I didn’t let the barter get to me.
     
    As days went by things just got worse everywhere.  I had my benefits for now, but it was barely enough to survive on.  Jobs?  Forget it.  Businesses were shutting down, not hiring.  Everything was messed up.  It really was a jungle out there.  I spent my days looking for employment and continuing preparations for the camp.  I had gone up a few times and things were looking good.  I had seen that waitress a couple more times too.  That was always worth the trip up.  The last time I was at the diner, she sat down and had coffee with me.  It was amazing how much we had in common, even though we came from two different worlds.
     
    The days slowly crept into weeks, and soon the crisp cold air of fall descended upon us.  I made a trip to the camp one more time to lock things down for the winter.  I hadn’t built the shed or food storehouse yet, but the material was all there under a tarp.  I would have to get right to it when spring came.  The camper was now full of supplies, and ready to be used as a long term refuge.  Maybe I had gone a little overboard with all this, but at least I had a place to live with provisions if I lost my apartment.  I stopped into the diner on my way back for one last coffee and to tell her I’d be out of town until spring.  I finally got her name.
     

 
     
    Chapter Four
     
    Falling Apart
     
    “All these things are the beginning
    of sorrows”
    - St. Matthew 24:8
     
    It had been a long winter, and spring was finally at our doorsteps.  My unemployment benefits along with hundreds of thousands of other desolate workers had been loss.  Already I had been dipping into the food storage I had prepared the summer before, but was careful not to place a sizable dent.  The whole matter at hand was now maddening, and the smell of our failures and those of our elected officials now fragranced the air with fear and worry.  Crime was rising with the diminishing of our law-enforcement.  Most of the officers still on duty were merely volunteers still working short hours in order to keep their neighborhoods safe.  I had already pawned off just about everything I owned, and in many cases in trade for food or gas.  I learned quickly that gas was kept in cans secured inside at night, and only placed in the vehicle’s tank when needed.  Siphoning had to be the number one crime now with prices over seven dollars a gallon.  I should have invested in oil years ago, as the barrel was at an unprecedented high of two-hundred a barrel.  It was just too much to bear.  Families were now moving in together to support one another.  I had none left, and had no trusted friends, so I