TEOTWAWKIAIFF

TEOTWAWKI has come and gone. You have been hunkered down in your retreat for a couple months as the cities burned and the human locusts ravaged the countryside. You have been lucky so far, whether by blind luck or faith you cannot say.

You and your regular squad are out on patrol. You are definitely within the retreat’s area of influence – say a 1/2 mile away as the crow flies. While crossing a large, open area multiple shooters fire off at least a dozen rounds between them.If your a suburban prepper, you were crossing a wide boulevard or park, if your retreat is in the sticks, then you were crossing a large field or meadow.

After hitting the deck and scrambling for cover, you verify no one is hit. You know that it is at least two shooters, and they are pretty far away – 400 to 600 yards. As one of your team pokes their head out to scramble for better cover another staccato of shots ring out, with bullets hitting about 30 feet away.

They seem to be firing from the same spot, a brushy wood line, as before. Muzzle flashes as they shoot at a nearby stone wall (or abandoned car) confirms their location. Any attempt at verbal communication results in 2-10 shots being fired.

What do you do?

For this, use whatever  personnel you have available at your home or retreat.

For this scenario, it is 6-8 months in the future. The Euro has blown up, Germany left the EU, and the PIIGS have defaulted, leaving the rest of the EU in chaos. The US was a refuge for investors, but chronic unemployment and a stagnant real estate market left us in a weak position. Three months ago, the commercial real estate market went supernova and many hedge funds collapse. the Derivatives bubble burst, which caused a sudden deflation event. The Fed, always willing to print money did so by the trillions, claiming they were re-inflating from the quadrillion dollar loss of the derivatives market. In the span of two weeks, Goldman Sachs, Citibank, BoA, etc. were all taken over by new management teams from the Treasury Department as each bank tumbled from over-exposure to derivatives and euro-debt.

The “official” unemployment rate is 8.1%, but so many workers have dropped off the rolls the real unemployment number is closer to 30%. City, county, and a few states governments are only being kept afloat by one of three multi-trillion dollar programs the Fed is running to dump freshly printed dollars into near-zero interest rate loans to keep local governments from defaulting.

The USPS is only open twice a week, most banks have limits on withdrawals — even for commercial accounts. Officially, the interest rate is 3%, but a 20oz soda costs $9, and a gallon of milk is going for $12. Penny candy is $1, and no one bothers with change anymore. The police have laid off a lot of officers, administrators, etc. The average response time was 5-10 minutes, and that’s gone to 30 min plus – even for a violent crime.

You had to go into town for a doctors appointment, and while there you was on the way to the bank to do your max withdrawal for the week, when you decided to splurge and buy yourself a treat. While in line, you see your mailman talking to someone in the corner. The conversation is quiet and intense. After you pay, you walk over towards the table when you hear the Postman say “.. they have all kinds of food and stuff, you have to hit them soon, before the <insert local gang here> does!”

The fellow the UPS guys is talking to is covered in tattoos with big spiderwebs covering both elbows. As the mail guy introduces you to his cousin, the cousin’s eyes go wide. This guys poker face could use some work.

A week goes by with nothing going on, except you have a new mailman, he was shot while stealing livestock (a goat and 4 chickens) in the next town over. While in town for the next weeks withdrawal, a police man waves you down, and asks to meet him in the station in 20 minutes. He’s happy he didn’t have to make the drive up to see you guys — you saved him a trip.

The cop says he has some info that a group of convicts they had to let out of jail because of the shrinking budget and overcrowding has organized around The mailman’s cousin. He knows your fairly well armed, but he can’t do anything, until he has some proof. His hands are tied, as he’s the only patrol for the area and the eve shift guy called in sick because his wife and kid are really ill. He thinks they are going to go after you tonight, after dark.

The cop gets a dispatched to a store robbery, but leaves you several folders of information. One of witch is the police report from the farm the group attacked last week where your old mailman was killed.

There were 10-12 attackers, mostly pistols and knives, with the a couple shotguns. The farm was hit just after dark, shortly after a large warehouse fire went up across town.  The men were beaten, almost to death if they resisted, and tied up in a back room. The women were herded into the basement where they were raped in shifts while the rest loaded a couple pick-ups with any valuables. A neighbor saw the strange goings-on and called the cops, they responded 90 minutes after the call. The Mailman surprised the responding officer, but missed with his pistol, the officer didn’t. The rest of the group fled into the woods and fields and escaped.

So what are you going to do? Be as detailed as possible. You don’t have to share details, but there is a lot going on in this one, so an overview might be helpful to others.