Things are even worse than I imagined. The gangs have already turned to highway banditry. Any vehicles that are found capable of traversing the deteriorated roads are attacked. Anything of value is seized and the occupations are either killed or kept as slaves. By keeping to back roads and cutting through lawns I’ve been able to avoid much of the danger. But even on these back routes violence is a constant threat.
The first firefight happened as I was cutting through the backyard of a burning home. Seeing the house ablaze I assumed the gangs had already killed the inhabitants, taken anything of value, and moved on. I was wrong. A shot rang out from the direction of the house. Ditching my bike I raise my LR-308 and ran behind a shed for cover. All the time I spent reading gun boards on the Internet paid off. Using what I learned from those message boards I was able to identify three threats and their approximate locations. As they unloaded on the shed I was hiding behind I sneaked into the woodland that bordered the property. From here I was able to move, albeit slowly to maintain stealth, into a better firing position.
One of the gang members crept out of his hiding spot and made a beeline for my bike. He obviously believed it to be of value and wanted to grab it before one of his fellow gang members did. I almost felt sorry for the stupid bastard as I put a .308 into his skull. Before he even hit the ground I was already moving to a different position. I learned from the movie Red Dawn (the original, not the new one) that you never fire from the same location twice otherwise the enemy will be able to zero in on your location. By the time I found my second firing position the two remaining gang members were already blindly firing into the woods.
My second firing position gave me a perfect shot at the other two gang members. The first one I drilled in the head with my .308 again but the second one I shot in the knee. If I was going to learn about the gang’s current activities I needed to interrogate one of its members. Walking over to the screaming gang member I quickly took the pistol from his hand and dropped my knee onto his chest. Using one hand I hit his blasted knee with the grip of his own pistol. He howled in pain. Then I put the pistol to his head and demanded he tell me the location of his friends. Just as he was about to spill the beans I heard more gangs heading in my direction. The sounds of gunfire had probably piqued their curiosity. Knowing that my odds of surviving another firefight were slip I collapsed my prisoner’s throat with his own pistol. Seeing that the gang members were carrying 9mms, and remembering what I read on the Internet about 9mms being too weak for effective combat, I tossed their weapons into the burning home. Then I grabbed my bike and pedaled off in the opposite direction of the approaching gang.
I’m now making my way towards the police station. If I make it there and I’m lucky I’ll find some government. Even if I don’t I’ll be able to acquire better equipment.