PART 1

                “Honey, I’m home!” shouted Mark as he walked through the door of his semi-rural home, 30 miles from the city center. “Where are you?” he shouted again, now worried, because his wife usually greeted him as he walked into the house. Walking through the foyer and towards the living room, he heard the sound of a male voice speaking in a monotone. Walking quietly towards the noise, he then saw that it was the television. Looking across the room, he saw his wife, motionless, curled up under a blanket on the couch, staring at the still talking man on the television. Now content that his wife was alright, he turned his attention to what the television announcer was saying, which was really nothing much of all that was of substance. What really got his attention was what was being scrolled along the ticker at the bottom of the screen. In the place of what was usually the rise and fall of stocks, or the results of professional sporting events were two words, written in all capital letters: “PEAK REACHED”. Now intrigued by the change from the normal, he wordlessly sat down next to his wife on the couch and continued to watch the television.

                “As we have been repeating for the past few hours, we have just receive word from the leaders of OPEC that peak oil was reached early this morning, and for the first time in decades, the production of oil has started to slow” silently, Marks wife, Jill, slowly turned towards Mark and asked “What does this mean?” in a low, timid sort of voice. “Dear, this means I have to go buy gas, diesel, whatever, and quick. I’m going go soon, but I need you to go get the gas cans from the garage and load them into the back of the truck.” Jill hurried off to load the cans, but Mark had something a little more serious that he needed to do. While he did carry concealed, he had never been a fan of carrying a “truck gun” rifle idea, feeling that for a man who commuted 30 miles each way to work in the city, it was unnecessary, and he was also worried about it being stolen while he was working. Now, however, he realized the necessity of a rifle while getting gas, as there was bound to be a line that would be a mile, if not more, long. If there was a single person out of the hundreds or even thousands in that line that would be stupid enough to try to use force to cut the line, there would be pandemonium, and he would need all the protection he could get. After going to his gun room, he returned with the most compact rifle that he had. A 16” barrel Vepr AKM with a folding stock chambered in 5.56, he thought that it was the best compromise between AR accuracy and AK reliability, and was sure that this was the right gun for the situation.  He took the five 30 round magazines that he had for the gun and loaded them all, giving him a total of 150 rounds of ammunition, should he need them. Feeling like he was prepared and wouldn’t be under gunned if it became necessary for him to escape in a hurry; he walked to the door that separated the house and the garage. Opening the door, he saw his wife sitting patiently in the front passenger seat. Without a second thought, he said “Oh no, I’m not taking you on this. No. You just stay here, stay safe. If anything happens, go hide in the bedroom with a shotgun and lock the door.