Contingency Plan

The world plunged into darkness. But the Beaufords managed to keep the lights on. They didn’t venture outside. They didn’t need to. They had each other and they had their supplies to ride out the catastrophe that had enveloped the world.

Their days were spent in isolation, but that was better than what was out there beyond the shelter’s massive doors. The children, Clemons and Purity played to their heart’s content throughout the halls and rooms of the bunker after chores. Sabrina Beauford busied herself with inventories and meal preparation while Arthur, the mastermind of this underground utopia, farmed in the hydroponic room before calling it a day and crashing onto his favorite chair to watch something from their massive DVD collection.

There were other daily routines. Make sure the generator was running, check the fuel and food storage, prep the weapons, in case they needed it, and train for survival and defence. Arthur once served, yet never forgot his training. And now, he passed down his expertise and experience to his family.

That was the plan. And that was the way things went. Nobody really asked to go outside, but when that time came, they had suits ready. In the meantime, the days were laborious and redundant. But, they were content. They were alive and they were together. This was the plan Arthur dreamed of. Most importantly, this plan gave him a bonus: the knowledge that he protected his family in the darkest of times.

And after every busy day of surviving, Arthur sat on the couch, watched his children be children and took the concoction Sabrina made with a passionate devotion.

He smiled, he always smiled. These were the best of times, despite the reality of the outside world’s condition. Who knew such a calamity could bring his family closer than ever?

In the back of his mind, Arthur always knew that they would have to face the world outside. They couldn’t stay here forever and despite the abundance they had, he knew it would eventually run out in a year or two. For now, though, this peace in the middle of chaos was like heaven.

It was on one of those mundane days that Arthur and his family did their usual ritual. Dinner was finished, plates cleaned. The children sat down on the rug getting ready for a movie. Sabrina crashed on the couch, expecting for the fun to happen.

Arthur picked up a clipboard with a checklist on it from the coffee table. Seeing that everything was completed he exchanged it for a remote and clicked the TV and DVD player on. Afterward, he reclined in his seat to enjoy the entertainment.

That was the plan. But not all plans run smoothly.

Arthur heard something he didn’t expect to hear. The clang of somebody pounding on the metallic blast door reverberated from the upstairs entrance to the living space below. Everyone froze as the pounding continued.

“Damn that camera!” Arthur uttered, realizing that he should’ve ventured out and swapped the broken one damaged in the blast for a working one. There was no way to see exactly who or what was up there pounding away.

“I think,” Arthur said, as he glanced at his frightened family. “I think it’s time to go into our contingency plan for this.”

Upon the words uttered from Arthur’s scraggly, bearded mouth, Clemons, Purity and Sabrina darted for their rooms. Moments later, they emerged in their protective suits and AR-15s, locked and loaded. Arthur donned his suit and firearm. He was ready to face this threat.

“Take your position,” he ordered.

Without a hitch, the Beaufords did as they had done when they drilled relentlessly for a moment like this. Arthur’s heart swelled upon seeing this. He taught them well.

Satisfied, the patriarch cautiously made his way up the stairs within the carved out granite tunnel.

All the while, his trusty AR,nicknamed Mabel, was out and ready. This girl’s business end will take care of this unexpected intruder, he thought. But, while Mabel gave him courage, there was still a lingering fear within him.

What was on the other side? A mutated beast? Zombies? The enemy combatants that started this war (or did his side start it, he wondered at times)? His apprehension knew no bounds. Outside those doors was a new and dangerous world for him and his family. Nobody in the shelter, including Arthur, was sure what they’d see out there.

Now that time finally came.

“Be cool ole Arthur,” he whispered to himself as fear penetrated his stomach. “Be really cool.”

He climbed the steps, taking deep breaths to calm down. All the while, the knocks came hard and persistent. It was a combination, Arthur surmised, of pounds and slaps. This person was desperate. And desperation bred fear and terror.

Either way, this person was going to get a stomach full of lead. Arthur had no intention of playing nice. The rules have changed. Everyone was an enemy. He gripped his gun tightly as his mind ran amok on the possibility of what was behind that door.

Finally, he reached the door and took a few deep breaths as he worked the locks. The massive bolts clanged loudly, reverberating down the hall toward the living space of the shelter.

Finally, the brief action of the door unlocking came to an end and the moment of truth was about to come. With one hand on the door and the other holding his weapon, he completed the process. He stepped back and readied the rifle. His eyes widened at the sight he saw.

“Well, hey there, Mr. Beauford, I reckon!” The cheery man within a yellow suit exclaimed. Behind him were 10 suited men with rifles pointed at Arthur. And they were less than cheerful.

Arthur was dumbfounded: “How do you know who I am?”

“Oh, we know. We have our ways,” The man said with a gleeful wisp. “Mind if you lower your gun. We mean no harm. I promise.”

Arthur was the type that always believed he’d never back down from anything; however, this sublime moment made him do just that. He lowered his rifle. The soldiers behind him did the same. He peered behind the group and his fear shot up with a vengance. An assault copter and three vehicles backed them up. Mabel had no chance against this arsenal.

The grinning man's grin widened. It reminded Arthur of that car salesman in town before the world went down the toilet. Or worse, the rusty red sky that he saw for the first time made this man appear to be the devil, himself.

“Rest assured, Arthur, we’re not here to take over your domain,” the man said, waving his head to the soldiers behind him. “That’s not what we’re here for.”

“Well,” Arthur asked hesitantly “What the hell are you here for then?”

“It’s tax season, of course,” he confidently said, “and we need all the help to get this country back up and running in no time.”

“There’s still a country?” Arthur asked, dumbfounded.

“Well, barely, but none-the-less, it still exists.”

“How?”

Arthur sensed that this man was happy to share a vague response. He didn't sway from his expectation as the man said: “There was always a contingency plan in place. And we’ve followed to the tee.”

Arthur had no idea what to say or do. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Who are you?” Arthur finally muttered.

“Franklin Crashman!” the man said enthusiastically. “ IRS agent for the United States of America! And these gentlemen are from the United States Army, ready to assist in getting this great country up and running. And they’re security since we do have a shortage of armed agents, police officers, these days.

“You work with what you have.”

Arthur felt dizzy as the notion swam around in his head.

“But,” Arthur blubbered, “You said IRS?”

“That’s right,” Franklin boasted. “ Think of that old saying: The only sure things in life are death and taxes. We’ve had plenty of deaths. Now, you can guess what time it is.”

In all of Arthur’s planning for the apocalypse -- and Arthur did a thorough job -- he never thought once about currency of any sort. Who needed it at a time like this? And, for that matter, who cared about paying taxes; this was something he was confident would not happen in this new reality.

He never expected that the US would hang onto life, thanks to some super secret contingency plan.

“You don’t have to say anything,” Crashman said. “By the look of things, this wasn’t your plan. We know. We get it. That’s why we have another plan.”

“What is that?” Arthur asked.

“Step aside,” Crashman said as he waved his hand to his team.

Arthur managed to overpower his shock with a heavy sigh. He knew resistance was not the right choice in this matter. Thus, he stepped aside and watched the invaders casually enter his domain. All he could do at that moment was to beat himself up for being a coward, even if being that was the right choice.

“Dad!” Purity said in shaky voice. “What do we do?”

The moment of failure soon subsided with Purity’s plea. He raced down the stairs after slinging his rifle on his shoulder.

“Don’t shoot,” he snapped as he reached the living space. “Lay your weapons down. We don’t stand a chance!”

The Beauford family complied, albeit resentfully.

“Honey,” Sabrina managed to say as her voice cracked. “What are they going to do?”

Despite her confusion, Sabrina did what she needed to do at that moment, she grabbed her children and prepared to protect them.

The party went through the bunker, raiding the weapons cache and the pantry. Mercifully, they left the fuel for the generator alone. Arthur felt helpless, seeing half of what he collected and stored over the years vanish before his eyes. Shame drowned him from within when his gaze fell upon his frightened family. They were the reason he collected all this stuff in the first place.

He peered at Crashman. The taxman managed the loot with his clipboard and paper in hand. Arthur watched in disgust as Crashman checked the soldiers’ bounties and nodded with approval as he checked the items off.

“We need this,” Beauford said through clenched teeth.

“Oh, don’t worry,” Crashman said with a hearty smile, “we don’t need all. Just enough to supply our troops for the reestablishment for this great country of ours. Soldiers need to eat and be armed. I reckon we will not have it easy as we did here when we go visiting other bunkers.”

Anger filled Arthur. He gripped the strap for Mabel. The thought of going out in a blaze of glory was very tempting. But, again, he saw his family; the children huddled under Sabrina’s arms. He released his grip. He had to find another way to resolve this issue.

“Now, Mr. Beauford. You have a lovely family.” Crashman said softly.

Arthur froze. And as this was uttered, the men dropped what they were doing and took their guns off their shoulders to be placed in the ready. Did this dude have that telepathic gift? Arthur wondered.

“You appear to be really good with guns,” Crashman finally stated, relaxed and seemingly enjoying the exchange.

“I, uh…” Arthur said, disarmed by this exchange. “I served. Not only that, I hunted for years and even taught my family how to survive.”

“Yes, I see that,” Crashman said as he turned his gaze to the nearest child and smiled warmly. “You know we need a few good men and women. And if that’s the case, well, we could put back half of what we’ve taken so far, if you allow us to recruit…”

“I’ll go with you,” Arthur blurted out. He knew what Crashman was getting at. He glanced at his children and his wife. “Just leave my family alone.”

Crashman smiled: “You’re a man who makes quick decisions, I see. Well, I wouldn't dream of taking your children. Besides, you’ve proven your worth to the state.”

He flipped through the paper on his clipboard and stopped at a particular one.

“Ah,” he said with a tremendous smile. “ I do have a paper to sign to finalize the deal!”

If Arthur was a quick thinker as Crashman stated, then he’d realize that the taxman was extremely proactive. Was this happening? Arthur pondered for a moment if he made the right decision at that moment.

“How long will I be gone?”

“Just a year or so?” Crashman said in his most nonchalant style.

“Or so?”

“Yep, you never know, but at least you’ll have a year. And who knows? There will be more like you ready to rebuild this country.”

Crashman held out a pen and clipboard for him to sign.

But, Arthur paused. Instead, he peered at his wife and children. He could see the fear in their eyes. And, this nearly broke him.

He loved his family and would defend them at all cost. But his hands were tied. Hope for resistance in the face of the smiling taxman was too much for him. There had to be something they could do.

“Wait,” Arthur asked. “When do I have to report if I sign this?”

“Once you sign it,” Crashman said, simply. “It’s all part of the plan to make this process as easy as possible.”

“Will I have time to say good-bye to my family?”

“Sure, I’m not a monster,” Crashman answered. “I’d give a little time, but not too long. I realize it’s not easy to be separated from your family after all this time together.”

Arthur bowed his head and approached the taxman and took the pen. He perused the legal document and with a sigh of disappointment, he signed.

Crashman held up his hand and the soldiers turned their attention to their boss..

“Change of plan, gentlemen, from here on out we have enough items to take. The rest can go back.”

Crashman glanced at Arthur: “We have what we need. They’ve paid their taxes.”

With that, the soldier began putting the items they had in their hands back where they belonged and started to exit the premises. Crashman stayed behind.

“Well, make sure to gather what you need and join us.”

“That’s the plan?” Arthur asked.

Crashman made his way toward the stairs leading up to the bunker door. He turned around one last time and smiled.

“Yep, that’s the plan.” And with that, he trotted up the stairs. Leaving the Beauford family alone.

The children, sobbing, ran to their father and embraced him. Soon, Sabrina joined them. All of them were in tears.

“What are we going to do?” Sabrina asked through tears.

“We stick to our plans before all this and do so in my absence.”

He glanced at his children: “You understand?”

“Yes,” said Clemons.

“Yes, dad,” said Purity.

Again they embraced each other tightly. Arthur didn’t want to let go as did Sabrina, Clemons and Purity. And during this somber moment an idea formulated in his head.

“It’s time to talk about another plan. Another contingency plan.”

And the family listened to it and agreed to do it.

***

After all was said and done and Arthur, Crashman and the small army left, the light shone brightly in the bunker while the world darkened.