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

the patio, with a pitcher of clean water this afternoon, but for now, we still have water coming from the faucets, so march.” Man, I was Betty Bad Ass. Cool.
    Russ grinned, the one that said, “That’s MY bitch.” He walked into the kitchen, smacked me on the ass, and kissed me on the cheek. He looked at Rusty and Ben, and said, “Mom’s right. Let’s get washed up.” They headed to the sink, while Janet covered her mouth to hide the laughter. We got some food in us, and I for one felt much more energetic after lunch. We had talked while we ate about what else we needed to get done.
    Russ looked around with a satisfied smile. “I think we can slow down a little for now. We’ve gotten pretty much all the preliminary chores done. I’d say take it a little easier for the rest of the day. We are going to need to get a good night’s sleep, because after tonight, we will be posting a watch around the clock. The longer this situation goes on the worse things will get. We need to be ready for whatever may come.” Nice, Russ. Way to bring us down off our food high. But he was right, and we all knew it.
    He looked at Rusty, and said, “Son, I’m going over to check on Brian. I want you to come with me. Go out to the shed and grab a five-gallon bucket. Grab an empty number 10 can, with its lid, an empty soup can, and a pair of tin snips. Drop them all in the bucket, get your pistol, and let’s go. I want to get back here before dark.”
    Rusty ran out and got the things his dad had asked for, grabbed his 9mm S&W with its paddle holster, and followed his dad out the door. Rusty might not have had to go to school today, but I think class was about to start.

Chapter 4
     
    Brian Riggins had grown up dirt poor. His “sperm donor”, as he thought of his biological father, had run out on his mom when she was still pregnant with him. His mom had just turned 18 when she found out she was pregnant. She got WIC and AFDC. She applied for and got all the “government assistance” she could. She didn’t work but always had money for beer and cigarettes. She made sure there was food in the house, but not quite enough for a growing boy. She added another brother and a sister when Brian was a teenager. Brian thought she had figured out she was going to lose her benefits in a few years when he turned 18, so she hedged her bets. With 12 years’ difference between him and his brother, Brian was not close to his siblings. At 14, he got a job bagging groceries at Grand’s Market, a small local grocery store. He took his first paycheck and bought a bike to ride back and forth to work. From that point on, he always had a job.
    Brian left home when he was 17. He graduated early and started taking classes at the local community college. He got a tiny apartment within walking distance of school. He still worked at Grand’s and was now the assistant manager. Mr. Grand had sort of adopted him and was teaching him how a business worked and ran. The Grand family had owned the grocery for 50 years, and Theodore Grand was in his 60’s. He had an idea to turn the store over to Brian when he finished college. Brian had other plans.
    Growing up with nothing, he wanted everything. The best of everything. He put himself through UT, majoring in business management. He graduated with honors, and started his career with a small local bank. Within five years, he was the head of the financial services division of the largest bank in the South. He had completely remade himself, from a white trash boy living in Section 8 housing, to a senior executive with a fancy sports car, a big house and pretty much anything he could want within his grasp. He played the part of the rich playboy (well, rich to him, and the people he grew up with), but inside he was still the little boy who wasn’t sure if there would be food in the house tomorrow. Because of that, he tended to “horde” food. Every time he went to the grocery store, he bought peanut butter and