Dave

Dave was a prepper.

He had 500 gallons of water and enough food to last him for a year.

Dave was a prepper.

His coworkers though he was crazy. they had given him the name “prepper” as an insult, but he wore it with pride. He was a prepper because he was prepared. When society went to shit, which it would, he would survive.

Dave was a prepper.

Of course, when society collapsed, those same coworkers would be at his door, looking to take the supplies he had worked so hard for. He had to be prepared for that too. So he also had enough guns and ammo to supply a small army.

Dave was a prepper.

Until everything came crashing down. He didn’t know exactly what caused. Perhaps it was the pandemic. Or maybe it was the famine that followed. Didn’t matter. Society collapsed, just like he knew it would. He was vindicated!

The first time one of them came knocking at his door, it felt pretty good. It felt even better to turn him away. By the fifth one, it got annoying. They all came to him with the same sob story about how their family was starving. He turned them all away. It wasn’t his fault they didn’t have the good sense to prepare like he did.

Dave was a prepper.

So, when he heard a suspicious noise in the middle of the night, he was prepared. He grabbed his trusty Glock 19 and quietly made his way toward the source of the sound.

He saw someone at the front door and quickly, but steadily, fired two rounds into center mass. Two should do. Didn’t want to waste ammo, after all. They went down.

He stilled, waiting. After the other didn’t move for several seconds, he approached the body. It was one of the yuppies he had turned away, still holding a kitchen knife. Brave but stupid. He had enough ammo to last him for years. Nobody was taking his stash.

Dave was a prepper.

He would defend himself against anyone who would take from him. Those without the good sense to prepare. They had no chance with whatever improvised weapons they brought to bear.

Something flitted across his vision and he readied his gun again. A noise behind him. He glanced back just as the front door burst in. He swung around and fired at the new intruder, quickly, but much less steady than before. The intruder yelped, hit, but probably not fatal. He aimed for the kill shot.

“You bastard!” came a roar from behind.

Dave spun to find another intruder charging him with yet another kitchen knife. He lined up his shot and-

Red.

Everything went red and he was blind. Then a searing pain that seemed to come from everywhere.

When the red cleared, he found the one in front of him with a wild look in their eyes. He tried to yell, but all that came out was a soft gurgle. Something warm was running down his chest. The one in front shoved the knife into his belly. The edges of his vision went black and he let the gun tumble from his numb hand. He doubled over. They let him fall.

As he lay bleeding out, another joined the first two and told them what kind of supplies Dave still had. They all agreed that they would be a huge benefit to the community.

Dave was a prepper.

He was prepared for the collapse of society. But society doesn’t collapse, not really.

Dave was a prepper.

Was.