Worst Case Scenario Read Free Page A

they had tacked to the wall several years earlier.
     
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    Six years ago she had approached her husband with her concern that their family was ill prepared for disaster.
    “Disaster?  What kind of disaster are you thinking about?” Ian asked her as they sat on their back deck enjoying a summer weekend.
    She had been thinking about broaching this subject for some time and this afternoon seemed better than any other.  “I don’t know,” she swallowed hard and pressed on.  “Things like tornados, hurricanes, the power going out or…or terrorism,” she said, feeling better about getting it out in the open.
    Ian nodded, thinking about her concerns before answering, something he did before making decisions.  He could tell this was leading to a greater conversation or a family policy shift.  “I’ve been thinking about some of the same things,” he admitted.
    “Really?”  The tension seemed to melt away from Leah’s shoulders.  She backhanded his arm.  “Why didn’t you say something earlier?” 
    “Oh, I don’t know, with the new position, I guess I’ve been busy or whatever.”  Ian had actually been thinking more and more about this very subject.  Everyday there was footage on the news about killings from terrorists or the government overstepping its bounds to control people.  He hated that he had actually put terrorism and the government in the same thought, but times were different now, and it caused him to question everything; regardless of whom he or Leah worked for.
    “I really think it makes sense,” he rubbed the spot on his shoulder where she had hit him with a little too much drama.  “I mean to prepare for whatever,” he added to recapture his seriousness.
    “It does doesn’t it!” she answered.  “I’m not so much worried about an invasion force, I think we can handle that,” she said with a wink to her husband.  “But with the tornadoes coming through town last year we got lucky that the power was out for only a day, but in reality, it could’ve been a lot longer.”
    Ian nodded.  “It could have been a lot longer,” he admitted.  “Also, with my new job, I’m going to be traveling a lot more, and it will make me feel better knowing that you and Grace have a plan no matter what happens.”
     
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    And so, a decision to store a few gallons of water and some extra food had evolved into a second profession for both of them.  They were officially ‘preppers’; a position they didn’t speak about in public.
    Besides Grace, no one else knew that they had an entire room dedicated to the survival of their family.  The room was only the start.  During their spare time Ian taught Leah about security and how to survive different scenarios; all skills he had learned as a former Army Officer. 
    The most important thing they did was to devise a plan for the survival of their family.  No matter the situation, they had a plan for it. 
    Leah looked at the plan, stuck to the wall of their ‘special’ room.  This was her baby; her strong suit, she was the plan maker.  The plan was very clear and very simple:
     
    Establish family communication, if possible.
    Assemble the family to one of two locations.
    Perform a security and survival assessment.
    Assess the risk of bugging out or staying home.
    Make a decision and implement the plan.
     
    Leah keyed the mike to the two-way radio again.  “Tardis Blue this is Momma B, what’s your location? Over,” she said, starting the first item on the plan: establish family communications, if possible. 
    The situation seemed bad, but she was still not convinced that the situation was the worst case scenario that she and Ian had conceived.  Although, with the three columns of black smoke surrounding the city, things were looking bad.  
    But, for this to be their worst case scenario, there had to be more.  Their idea of it all hitting the fan was that of a large-scale terrorist attack or enemy invasion.  Was this