Bug Out Bag Guide and Prepper Fiction: The Journey To The Safe Zone

By K.C. Stephens

©2013 K.C. Stephens

Table of Contents

Disclaimer / Introduction

Chapter 1: The Unthinkable

Chapter 2: Tense Situation Just Got Worse

Chapter 3: The Detour

Chapter 4: B.O.B. Gets Put To Work

Chapter 5: Going Off To Get Help

Chapter 6: How Prepared Are You?

Disclaimer / Introduction

For entertainment and practical purposes, a fictional short story starts this book to simulate what could happen during a disaster situation, in this case, a nuclear reactor meltdown. At the end of this short story, you will find information useful in building your own Bug Out Bag, including hints and tips that could help you in an emergency.

This manual suggests information, only. It makes no claims that the information given is the only way you should prepare, or even the best way. Whether you decide to heed all, part, or none of the information offered in this book is strictly up to you, and any benefits or consequences that you experience from doing so is strictly your responsibility, as only you can ultimately decide what is best for you and your family – and no blame shall be directed at the author, publisher or seller of this book.

Chapter 1: The Unthinkable

James Smith, a local insurance salesman, was sleeping peacefully at his computer after a long Friday night of tracking down receipts so that he could start on his taxes the next morning. A not-so-glamorous night filled with checking his wallet, his car’s glove box, the kitchen counter, the trash, and any other place he could think of where a little piece of deductible receipt gold could be found, eventually took its toll, and James nodded off while calculating them up in front of his computer terminal. Things were a bit tight this year, so why not save a few bucks by doing his own taxes this time, was his thinking.

But before dawn had a chance to even create a glimmer of a new day on the horizon, James was roused by the sound of horn-like sirens blaring in the darkness. Still mostly asleep, he reached out groggily, slamming his fist into what he thought was the alarm clock repeatedly to stop the annoying sound. But when it continued despite his efforts, and realizing to his dismay that he just broke his calculator instead of turning off his alarm, his eyes shot open, and he finally grasped that the ungodly noise wasn’t coming from within his house at all.

The realization slammed into him like a diesel truck. He jumped up in a panic, grabbing blindly for his glasses. He vaulted out of his computer room and in his haste tripped over Duke, the family Lab. Duke yelped and Jim let out a frustrated, “Dammit!”.

Suddenly, down the hall, a bright light filled the master bedroom. Emily Smith, James’ wife, was sitting up in bed, eyeing him as if she were worried that he had gone crazy.

“What’s wrong?”

“Listen!”

It took her a moment to realize the sound she was hearing was the alarms from the nuclear plant that was only a few miles from their home. She got up and wrapped her robe around herself in an irritatingly calm manner.

“Where’s B.O.B.?”

“Entrance hall closet,” James mumbled as he tried to tie his shoes. Emily quickly turned on the radio. The sticky note on the wall told her which radio stations to turn to in case of a nuclear plant emergency. She surfed among the channels until she heard the familiar beeping noise that she had come to associate with those annoying Emergency Broadcast System tests, always played on the radio during her favorite songs. She never thought that she would be so glad to hear that noise. It was followed by the announcer’s voice.

This just in, the B.C. Springs Nuclear Power Plant has issued an official warning for residents in the Springridge county area. There has been an accident at the plant, details are unconfirmed, but residents in the following areas are strongly urged to evacuate: Winchester, Columbus, Spring Valley,…

Emily and James exchanged worried glances. Emily’s eyes traveled over to the window where the Nuclear Plant could be seen in the distance. Lights were flashing in unison with the alarms and it was an eerie sight to behold.

Emily flew out of the room, calling out for the children while James started to get ready. He threw on his clothes and a warm jacket and ran down the stairs. He put his hand on the knob and stopped. They had practiced for such a situation before. He knew he shouldn’t go outside until the very last minute, in case there was any radioactive material in the air. Instead he reached in the hall closet and pulled out B.O.B., the emergency Bug Out Bag they had prepared for just such a situation. Within 5 minutes the children were waiting by the door, each with their own pre-made book bag that contained a few supplies and entertainment items. Mrs. Smith gathered up Duke the dog and his bag of essentials, and they all waited for James.

Their youngest daughter, Claudia, was frantic.

“But I can’t find Nemo!” she cried.

Nemo was their cat. She tended to wander and loved to sneak out. James hesitated. Nemo was just a kitten and hadn’t been involved in the last evacuation plan. She was a fairly new member to the family, and Mr. Smith wasn’t sure what to do. His young daughter clutched Nemo’s cage protectively.

He dropped his supplies and looked under the cabinet. There was hardly any dry cat food left. He cursed and was trying to think how to deliver the hard news when he caught a flash out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head to find the kitten shivering in the back of the cabinet. He reached for her and she hissed, something that was unusually out of character for the cat. But he wasn’t prepared to leave her behind. He may not have been a huge fan of cats, but he knew that she could be in great danger if left alone. Besides, his daughter would be devastated. He closed his eyes and grabbed the cat by the nape of the neck. Thankfully she did nothing and as he pulled her out, his small daughter Claudia squealed in delight. She held Nemo close and then deposited her safely in the carrier.

James stood up.

“Alright guys, this is not a drill! This is what we have prepared for, despite all of you grumbling and telling me I was crazy.” His wife rolled her eyes and gave him an apologetic smile.

“Now, does everyone have on their coats?”

“YES SIR!” his son shouted as if he was answering a drill instructor. James let the sarcasm slide.

“Is EVERYTHING off, all lights and appliances, computers and gaming systems?”

Everyone nodded and James couldn’t help but notice his son’s pouting face. He knew it was killing him to leave his video games.

“Everyone’s windows are locked? All doors?”

Emily ran to check the back door and the children stood impatiently. James’ youngest daughter looked up at him and with her child-like innocence asked, “Daddy, are we going to die?”

Her father hesitated before answering. He didn’t know the situation. He had no idea what they would run into when they left. As if it were some kind of ominous warning, the streetlamps outside flickered and went out. His daughter’s eyes widened with fear. He took her arm gently and pulled her to him.

“Sweetheart, we are in a dangerous situation right now. I don’t know how bad it is. It could be nothing. It could be pretty serious. But I promise you this; we have practiced for this before, we have our special equipment, and we have B.O.B. to help keep us safe. You just do what I tell you, remember the things we did when we practiced, and we should fine. Ok?”

Claudia nodded, but her eyes showed her fear. James only hoped his eyes didn’t give away his own fear. Mrs. Smith came back just in time and the family gathered by the door. James reached into the closet over to where B.O.B. had sat and pulled out a large blanket, some smaller rags, and a white handkerchief. The family huddled together and James threw the blanket over the whole crew. He handed each person a rag. His son, Paul, tied the rag around the dog’s mouth. Duke didn’t like it, but since he was so big it was impossible to hold it there and walk at the same time, so he had to tie it on. Emily covered the front of the cat cage with the cloth.

“Alright, gang, here we go. Keep your cloths over your mouth!”

As James opened the door, the distant sirens screeched surprisingly loudly through the dark air. He huddled closely to his family, wrapping the thick blanket protectively around them. They walked calmly towards the car and James opened the back door first, allowing the children to get in. He then opened the door for his wife, making sure she was properly inside before slamming the door. Finally he ran back to the front door of the house, tying the white handkerchief to the knob to signify that they had evacuated, and ran back to the car. He threw the blanket down to the ground quickly, as it could have had some radioactive contamination, and entered the car as fast as he could and slammed the door. The family was quiet for a moment. James wiped off the sweat that had accumulated on his brow.

“Ok, gang, here we go.”

He started the car, making sure the vents were closed and the air was off. As he pulled out of the driveway he saw his neighbors rushing to pack their cars as he passed. Part of him wanted to stop and help, but he knew that it would only expose himself and his kids if he opened the door any more than necessary. As they drove away he sighed in relief. He couldn’t help but feel a little smug as he drove off towards the highway, remembering all those times he had been ridiculed for making such preparations. But now that there really was an emergency, he knew that it was all worth it. His family was safe, they had everything they needed to last them for the next three days, and they were well on their way towards safety.

Chapter 2: Tense Situation Just Got Worse

As they drove along the dark back roads, James’ wife reached out and fumbled with the radio. Her hands were trembling slightly and she changed it from station to station, listening for further information.

“So dad, where are we going?”

His twelve year old son Brandon leaned against the window, breathing on it to make fog and drawing little squiggles. He seemed bored and James preferred the idea of his children seeing this as a boring exercise, rather than the possibly dangerous predicament it really was — or could be.

“I think we should go to the school first. That’s our safe stop number one,” James said.

While preparing his disaster plan, James checked the internet at resources like Ready.gov and the CDC for information on where to hunker down in an evacuation situation. He still didn’t know how serious the threat was, so he decided the school was their closest and best bet. Then a voice rang out from the radio, and Emily stopped to listen.

“Nuclear Plant officials have ordered an immediate evacuation of a minimum 10 mile radius, warning civilians that they should leave their homes immediately with a supply of bare essentials. If possible take your pets with you and do not leave anyone behind. The situation is currently being investigated to determine how serious the threat is. According to one spokesman, around 3:49 am a malfunction occurred within the plant’s cooling system, causing it to overheat. Officials are not sure why the system is malfunctioning, but have a plan of action and are taking all necessary precautions while they look further into the situation.“

Suddenly, a loud explosion sounded off in the distance. Everyone turned around to see a huge cloud of smoke erupting from the area where the plant sat. Mr. Smith had to turn his eyes back to the road, but his heart began to race.

“Whoa! Cool,” exclaimed Paul.

“That was NOT cool,” scolded his younger sister. “Daddy, what’s going on?”

James glanced in the rearview mirror and saw his daughter’s eyes begin to fill with tears, a terrified look on her face.

“I’m not sure honey, but we will be ok.”

“I heard about this at school,” Brandon gushed, as if this was the coolest thing he would ever get to see in his life. “That was a hydrogen explosion! The nuclear plants have hydrogen in them to help their cooling systems so there’s not a meltdown.”

“What else did you learn about them?” His mother said in a low voice, unable to take her eyes off of the smoke cloud that was barreling outward from the plant.

“When it explodes, it releases a cloud of radiation that can go on for miles! That’s what happened when that plant blew up in Japan.”

“The plant didn’t blow up,” James said, trying to remain calm as he pushed down a little harder on the pedal. The street was eerily empty, even though it was fully daylight now. There should have been many more cars on the road by now, shouldn’t there?

“Yeah huh! And that’s radiation, like what happened to the Hulk, or Spiderman! If it touches us, will we get cool powers?”

Emily shuddered. As a nurse, she had once seen a patient come in with severe radiation poisoning. His skin had turned red and was covered with boils and blisters. Tests revealed massive amounts of cancerous cells already attacking his thyroid, cells that had not existed when he had been tested a few weeks earlier in a routine checkup. His hair started to fall out and every time he was moved or touched clumps of hair fell onto the bed. He died within three days.

“Hey, do you think anyone was in there,” asked Claudia.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith looked at each other in horror. They hadn’t even considered the fact that people may have been there when it exploded. Emily covered her mouth as if suppressing a scream of horror.

“Mommy, did anyone die back there?”

Claudia was only six years old, but she was a very perceptive child. She looked as if she were on the verge of having a panic attack. Emily reached back and smoothed her hair.

“Those people are very well trained on what to do in an emergency, honey. I’m sure they have it under control.”

Emily felt that it wasn’t a total lie. Claudia seemed to relax a little bit, but she gripped the cat cage closer to her. Brandon was still turned around watching the cloud behind them.

“Dad?”

“What?”

“It’s coming closer real fast.”

James looked back and saw that Brandon was right. The cloud seemed to be gaining on them, and he knew that if they were exposed to those radioactive isotopes…

“Everyone hang on.”

James pushed the pedal down as far as it would go. The old Buick picked up speed, charging forward through the early morning light. Emily put her hand on James’ leg and squeezed.

“Honey, slow down.”

“If I slow down and that cloud reaches us, it would be very bad.”

She knew he was right, but years of living in the country had made her very cautious about driving anywhere over the speed limit. Deer seemed to have a strange attraction to cars and she had hit 3 in the past two years. That was actually saying a lot considering she had missed hundreds more. It was almost every night on her way home from work that a deer leapt out in front of the car, usually followed by three or four more. She closed her eyes and prayed as the speedometer passed 100 miles per hour.

They drove on like this for another fifteen minutes. The cloud was farther behind them, but James knew even though it seemed to be thinning out, it was still spreading, racing on the back of the high winds. Finally they started to see other cars, all heading towards the school. Traffic wasn’t bad, but James knew it was going to get worse.

Suddenly there was an explosion of lights from up ahead. Mr. Smith blinked, trying to refocus his eyes and not really believing what he saw. There was a long stretch of emergency vehicles; ambulances, fire trucks, police cars, state troopers, even a few DNR vehicles. Behind them was a line of military jeeps and trucks. Armed soldiers stood on top of the vehicles while others went up and down the line of cars, pausing to speak to each driver. They all wore suits and masks and some carried rifles. It was a frightening sight. Claudia sank back into her seat while Brandon leaned forward.

“That is so cool,” he said under his breath. Mrs. Smith shushed him and a soldier approached their vehicle. James started to roll down the window but the soldier shook his head.

“Sir, please keep your window up, turn off all air conditioning or heat, and turn your vehicle around and proceed to the next destination.”

“What?”

“This is not a safe zone. Please proceed to a safe destination at least fifty miles from here, and do so quickly.”

The soldier started to turn away but James knocked on the window to get his attention.

“What is going on? I live near the plant, we saw an explosion.”

“You say you are coming from the plant?”

“Well, no, we live close to it. About four miles away.”

“Sir, do you have a supply of potassium iodide?”

“Yes.“

“Then I suggest you and each member of your family start taking it as directed on the prescription. Try not to get out of your vehicle until you are at least fifty miles away from the plant. There’s a stadium near Augustus that is being set up as a bunker.”

Mr. Smith nodded, trying to take in the whole situation. He thought he was ready for everything. But now that this was all really happening, he felt unprepared and a little frightened. He was determined to keep his family safe, no matter what the cost was.

“Any advice?” James said to the soldier in an almost pleading tone. The soldier looked into the back seat and saw the two children, then looked back at Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

“We are trying to keep everything as calm as we can, but already people are starting to panic. I suggest you get your supplies quickly if you need any and get on the road. And be very vigilant. People can act a little crazy when they are afraid. Just keep that in mind, sir.”

Chapter 3: The Detour

Mr. Smith gathered the secret meaning that the soldier was trying to convey. They were afraid of people rioting. If they were evacuating everyone within a 50 mile radius of the plant, it was much more serious than he had initially thought. And people would be scrambling to evacuate and get supplies.

He looked down at the gas gauge and sighed with relief. They had a full tank and all the supplies they needed. As he turned the car around he reached in the back and pulled at the top right zipper of his Bug Out Bag.

Inside that pocket he had put two walkie-talkies with a 37-mile range, a crank radio, and a satellite GPS. When he had been packing his bag, he had tried to present himself with every situation they might encounter and had purchased a tool for each circumstance. He then reached into another pocket, where he had packed maps and pamphlets that showed shelters. Batteries, trash bags, zipper bags, water bags, and any other “bag” that he needed were also in there. He called this zipper B because nearly everything in there started with the letter B.  He handed the map and GPS unit to his wife with instructions on finding the location the soldier had told him about. Then he gripped the wheel, preparing himself for the chaos that would await him.

And chaos it was. Traffic going into town was at a standstill. They crawled past the stores that lined the road to the highway and the passengers watched the scene in stunned silence. People could be seen rushing into the stores and coming out with armfuls of supplies, shoving into each other.

“Mommy, I thought they weren’t supposed to get out of their cars?” Claudia asked from the backseat. Mrs. Smith didn’t say anything, fully aware that the crowds outside were probably being exposed to radiation. She knew soon the hospitals would full of sick people, presenting with symptoms of nausea and vomiting, weakness, dizziness, headache, and some would probably find it hard to stay conscious.

“Why are they getting out of their cars?” Claudia reworded her question, waiting for her mother’s answer. Emily cleared her throat.

“They might not know they aren’t supposed to get out.”

But James and Emily knew the truth. A few people might truly remain ignorant of the danger they were putting themselves in, but he was sure that most of them didn’t care. It was an even greater risk to be without supplies than it was to try and evacuate with nothing. James was also sure that there was the occasional looter in the crowd, taking advantage of a situation where everyone was in a panic and more concerned about getting in and out safely than to worry about someone stealing a television. James reached over and pressed the automatic locks, images being conjured in his mind of movies where panicked crowds started carjacking people. He knew he was probably being silly, but when it was time to turn off of the main road and onto the highway he couldn’t help but feel relieved.

Thankfully all of his preparations had paid off. The highway wasn’t crowded yet and they found themselves moving at a steady pace towards Augustus. They drove with the radio on for a few minutes, but the grave announcements about the explosion from the plant and its casualties were too frightening for the kids to be listening to, so James eventually reached down and cut it off. It was silence for the next forty miles.

After they had passed into the safe zone and were fifty miles from the plant, a collective sigh of relief passed through the car. Everyone relaxed a little bit, but they couldn’t help wondering how bad the damage was back home, and if they would ever be able to go back there safely. Nuclear meltdowns could take years to clean up and such areas were usually deemed unsafe for people to live.

When they were about twenty minutes from the exit, Claudia announced that she had to use the bathroom. James took the next exit and saw an old, decrepit sign pointing the way to a gas station. It was freezing outside and since they still hadn’t turned on the heat for fear that stray particles could be lurking in the air, everyone in the car was cold and stiff.

“Daddy, I have to go really badly!” Claudia whined.

“I know, honey, I’m working on it,” he assured her. He sped up a little bit, sure that on a long, backwoods country road such as this he would not find any police to pull him over.

Then it happened.

The streak of brown and white came out of nowhere. James yanked the wheel hard to avoid hitting it. Emily screamed, followed by the screams of Claudia and even Brandon. The car spun wildly and veered off the side of the road.

It hadn’t been clear before, but now James could see the road had been situated along a steep ridge. The car careened down the hill, barely missing trees as it picked up speed. James tried to pump the brakes but something must have ripped the line because the car didn’t slow in the least. The vehicle hit something hard and the car began to tilt, rolling over one, two, three times, before finally coming to a halt.

James was disoriented and couldn’t tell which way was down. It had seemed to take forever for the car to stop. It was upright but halfway on its side, leaning up something outside. James waited to make sure they weren’t moving before he himself attempting to move. He looked around frantically.

“Everybody OK?”

Claudia was the first to answer. Her dad desperately tried to turn and see if she was hurt.

“We’re fine, daddy,” she said, trying to fight back the urge to cry.

Brandon poked his head out from behind the seat. He looked shaken and Mr. Smith could tell that Brandon finally realized the seriousness of their situation. Emily lifted up her head and James felt his heart drop into his stomach. She had a large gash on her head with blood leaking from the wound. He scrambled to get to his bug out bag, pulling it free from the backseat and forcing his door open. He ran around to the other side and opened her door. She fell out into his arms, her eyes darting around frantically.

“What’s…what happened?”

“Damn deer,” James muttered as he opened up his pack. He fished around for the first aid kit inside. He opened it up and started to work on the wound. It looked worse than it was. He bandaged her up as well as he could and then helped her out. He set her down gently, cupping her face in his hands.

“Are you ok?”

“Yes, I’m alright. Help the kids,” she said, positioning herself against a tree.

James opened the back door and the children climbed out. Claudia opened the cat carrier where a very angry Nemo hissed. The cat allowed Claudia to pull her out and growled discontentedly in her arms. Duke, their chocolate Lab, jumped out, his tongue lolling and a silly grin glued to his face. Leave it to Duke to think it’s all fun and games, James thought to himself.

He got up and pulled his phone out of his pocket. Thank God he had charged it the night before. He tried to dial 911, but to his dismay his phone seemed to have no service. He cursed and slammed the phone shut, then looked around him at their surroundings. The car had careened down a steep hill and crashed sideways into a tree. The ground beneath them sloped sharply and James looked behind him to see that the hill went on for another fifty feet before ending in a plateau.

He knew that even though they were a good seventy miles from the plant, the radiation could possibly reach them, especially considering how hard the wind had been blowing. He figured they had probably been about two miles from the gas station when they crashed and couldn’t see up to the road. He turned to his family who was watching him expectantly.

Chapter 4: B.O.B. Gets Put To Work

“What do we do now?” Brandon asked. Mr. Smith looked down at the bag at his feet. Now it was time to see if he had done everything right.

“Now we set up camp.”

James knew that it was important that they establish some kind of shelter. He was still fearful that radioactive material could be floating on the winds and coming towards them. He thought perhaps they could use the car as a makeshift shelter, but he knew they would be very uncomfortable.

James decided to pull out his tipi tent. He had chosen this particular tent for several reasons: it was extremely lightweight and durable, made of the type of paraglider fabric that was proven to be highly effective in studies in keeping out the elements, it was puncture proof and sturdier than regular nylon tents, the aluminum pole in the middle was lightweight and folded easily to fit inside of his backpack, it was extremely roomy considering its size, and was considered a four season tent, which meant that it was able to withstand almost any temperature and weather conditions. When he had done his research on choosing a tent, it had been his wife who suggested he look into tipis.

“After all, the Indians used them for thousands of years. They must have found them useful or they would have changed up the design, wouldn’t they?” she had said.

And she had been right. A little bit of research unveiled some interesting facts about tipis. Their conical shape had no big flat sides to catch wind or snow, so it whirled around it and not against it. Tipis have been able to hold out against gale force winds when other types of tents were flattened far too easily. As a matter of fact, tipis were the tents of choice for explorers, even having been taken to Mount Everest.

It was fairly easy to set up, with Brandon helping and Claudia curled up in her mother’s lap. Once it was erected, Mr. Smith went back for his wife, who stood unsteadily to her feet. She followed him into the tent which was surprisingly roomy. He helped her to lie down and began pulling supplies out of the back: mylar blankets, some pots, a few ready-to-eat meals, and two bottles of water.

Even though the others each had a bag with a few supplies, James knew that water was most important for them to get right now. After covering his wife, using an extra two blankets for a pillow and winding up the crank radio for her so that she could listen for further information, he and Brandon went out to scout the surroundings. There was now a full morning sun, which was a relief to James because it meant he did not have to use his flashlights or batteries. He knew that they had to preserve everything they had.

He pulled from his pocket three maps, two plastic bags (a special kind called water bags), a compass, and a small satellite GPS. He used the GPS to find his coordinates then turned it off quickly to conserve battery power. He then tried to use coordinates to place their location on one of the maps, the topographic map that was a little more difficult to read but already seemed to come in handy. The other two maps were an ordinary map of his state like you could find in any gas station or store, and a special map used by hikers and campers to find camping sites and hiking trails that the salesman had referred to as a “green map”.

Comparing the topographic map to the regular map, he found that they were not far from their destination, perhaps only a few miles, nine at the most. Unfortunately, the exit they had gotten off of seemed very rural. The green map claimed there were several camping sites around the area and (thankfully) a water source very close to where they were. It seemed that they were just outside of some type of forest or state park.

He wondered if it was best for him and Brandon to try and search for the gas station that the exit sign had claimed was only a few miles from the highway. But he decided against it, consideringhis wife’s injury (he was worried she might have a concussion and didn’t feel safe leaving her alone just yet) and thought it was most important to first set up a proper camp for his family. After all, there was no guarantee that the gas station wouldn’t be deserted.

He and Brandon started walking towards the stream he had heard when they first got out of the car. When they found it, James noticed it was pretty shallow, perhaps only two or three feet deep, and about seven feet wide. The water was flowing west according to his compass, which meant that it was flowing towards the site of the nuclear accident. He felt relief, knowing that it was unlikely that this water was tainted with radioactive material. He and Brandon started filling up the two canteens as well as the water bags he had brought along. Then they went back to the tipi and James began unloading more tools from his backpack.

First, he started pulling things out of the main part of the pack. Here is where he kept the larger items, such as the portable wood-burning stove (it had come with the tipi at a very fair price), the ready-made meals, the first aid kit, a small metal pot, two metal cups, the mylar blankets, a tarp, his folding shovel and axe, and a few bottles of water. At first, he was not sure he would be able to fit so many items into his bag, but it had been surprisingly easy. The stove and pipe, pot, folding shovel and axe had been the heaviest of the items. The tipi itself (including the aluminum pipe) had only weighed about 6 pounds. He was able to fit it into the top where the sleeping bag would normally go. He began to assemble the stove and was surprised at how easy it was.

He opened one of the side bags which contained the tinderbox (including a small box of strike anywhere matches), a few lighters, and most of his multi-tools, including a miniature multi-tool with needle nose pliers, wire cutters, fine edge knife, serrated knife, three types of screwdrivers, bottle opener, hand saw, signaling mirror, snare wire, emergency cord, waxed thread, fishing and sewing kit, and even came with a nylon waterproof bag. The whole thing weighed only 9 &frac12; ounces and fit so well inside the side pocket that it left room for several other items.

He and Brandon went outside and gathered some small pieces of wood and dried leaves. They came back and started a fire in the stove. James was concerned because he has never used any of this equipment before and cursed himself for not trying it out beforehand. But his concerns were unfounded and everything seemed to work perfectly. The pipe that led into the stove unfolded exactly as it was intended to, and no smoke came out of anywhere except for the top which protruded through the hole in the tipi. He couldn’t believe his luck. He poured some of the water he and Brandon had gotten from the stream into the pot and the two metal cups and set it on top of the wood stove. Mrs. Smith had taken two aspirin that she had found in the first aid kit and was starting to feel somewhat better. Even Claudia’s mood had lightened, and she seemed less afraid.

“This is kind of like camping, isn’t it dad?” she said. Mr. Smith smiled at her.

“Yes sweetheart, think of it as an unexpected camping trip. That way it might seem a little less scary and you can actually start having some fun, like me and Brandon.”

“Yeah, if you think gathering wood and hauling water is fun,” deadpanned Brandon.

The family laughed and for the first time in several hours James felt content. He was glad he had thought ahead and packed the perfect bug out bag. So far, everything they needed had been in the bag. He can only hope his luck would continue as it had been (minus the whole deer into the car and rolling down a hill thing).

It wasn’t long before the water started boiling. Mr. Smith removed it carefully from the top of the stove and dropped one water purification tablet into each container of water. He dispensed the potassium iodide tablets and everyone took one. Then he sat down and clapped his hands together.

“Well, we need at least 1 liter per person per day to last us. So far, everyone has two bottles of water in their bag, plus what we have here makes about a gallon. That stream seems pretty fresh, and I wonder if it comes from an underground spring.”

“Yeah, I saw that if you’re lost in the woods that’s the best way to get water.” Brandon replied.

James suddenly realized that Brandon would be their sort of pseudo-expert. He was always watching the nature channel and shows about survival. One of his favorite shows was the one where people prepared for some kind of doomsday event. He was always bugging his father, asking him to build a bunker of sorts just in case there was an apocalyptic situation. Before, Mr. Smith had only scoffed at him, thinking of this as a silly idea. Now he promised himself that if they were ever able to go back home, he and Brandon would start on a bunker right away. This situation had taught him that you can never predict what’s going to happen, and it’s best to be prepared.

“Dad, I’m hungry,” Claudia whined. James pulled out some ready-made meals and held them up.

“So do you want beef stew and rice or chicken alfredo?”

“I want chicken nuggets.”

“Well you can’t have chicken nuggets, stupid.” Brandon grumbled.

“That’s enough you two,” warned James. “We don’t have a lot to work with right now. I packed enough to last us three days. Come on, we can make some rice and eat it with the stew.”

Emily helped prepare the rice while James boiled the water for the stew. Within twenty minutes, they were all eating voraciously. No one had realized how hungry they were. Even Claudia ate most of her food, making sure to put some aside for the cat and dog. When they were finished, Mr. Smith realized how tired he and the rest of his family were. They only had a few hours of sleep, and the excitement from the night before was finally catching up to them. He suggested that he and Brandon gather some more wood for the fire and then they all take a nap. Everyone wearily agreed.

Brandon and Mr. Smith went out of the tipi, collecting firewood. Soon Claudia joined in and before long they had a large pile of wood set up outside the tipi.

“That ought to hold us for a while,” James said with satisfaction.

They went inside the tent and Emily passed out blankets. There was enough for everyone to have two; one to cover up with and another to use as a pillow. Before drifting off to sleep, James tried to use the phone again, but it still had no signal. His last thoughts before he fell asleep were that he should have opted for the HAM radio instead of relying on his cell phone. But then again, he never truly thought he would be stuck alone in the wilderness with no contact to the outside world.

When he awoke, it was late afternoon. Brandon and his mom were outside and James could hear them talking. He stepped groggily out of the tipi and the two looked up at him with grave looks on their faces.

“What’s wrong?”

“We’ve been listening to the radio. Apparently it’s pretty bad out there. People are leaving the state if they have relatives they can go to,” said Emily.

“I thought the radiation was only supposed to have a 50 mile radius?”

“Fifty miles in every direction is pretty far, honey.”

James looked at her and could see the fear in her eyes. Their house had been so close to the reactor, he knew that there was a possibility they wouldn’t be able to return. That meant there was a good possibility they were now homeless. He walked over and pulled her close to him as she started to cry softly on his shoulder.  Brandon reached up to pat his mother’s back reassuringly. Claudia came out of the tent, rubbing her eyes. Everyone quickly tried to act more relaxed for her sake.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing sweetheart.”

“Can we go home now?”

For a moment no one answered. Then Brandon saved the day.

“You know, maybe this stream gets bigger a little ways up. I saw some minnows when we were getting water. There might be some fish.”

Claudia immediately forgot about her unanswered question.

“Ooh! Can we go fishing daddy? Please?”

Mr. Smith smiled, relieved that she had been momentarily distracted. He gathered up his bag, taking with him the tool kits, the shovel, and one of the walkie-talkies. He left the rest with Mrs. Smith, who asked to stay behind. She claimed she wanted to read Brandon’s survival book that he had brought. James tried to coax her into coming, afraid that she would start to get upset again. But she insisted, pointing to her head and saying that she probably shouldn’t overdo it. He left the other walkie-talkie with her along with the cell phone, telling her in a hushed whisper to keep trying to make a call.

The three set off and despite the gravity of their situation, James couldn’t help feeling a little adventurous. The children ran along ahead of him, Claudia daring Brandon to jump up and tap this branch or jump over that rock. Finally, after about 30 minutes, they came to an area where the stream widened out. Mr. Smith took a stick and tried to reach the bottom. From about 2 feet off the bank, the stick finally hit bottom about 2 inches from the tip. The stick itself was about 6 feet, so James figured that in the middle of the stream, it was probably kind of deep. It started to look more like a river than a stream.

He used his multipurpose tool to cut some branches off of the nearby tree and opened the pouch that contained the fishing line and the lures. He secured some line onto each tree branch, tied the lures onto the ends, and gave one to each child. Then he saved the last bit for himself, tying only a hook onto the end. Brandon started to fish while Claudia helped Mr. Smith dig for worms. They were easy to find under the dead dried leaves and soon they had a whole handful. James had brought along some Ziploc baggies and took one out. He filled it with soil and dropped the worms in except for one. The last one he put onto the hook.

Inside the fishing pouch he had also found some weights which he had put on each of the children’s makeshift rods. He put one on his own line and started to fish along with Claudia and Brandon. The sun would be setting soon, and James knew that this was an ideal time to catch fish. Sure enough, after only a few minutes Claudia giggled and squealed as something pulled sharply on her line. Brandon helped her to pull in the line and she clapped her hands in delight at the fat trout on the end. Brandon took the fish off the hook and used the stringer in the toolkit to secure the fish to a shallow area of water. He then found some rocks which he used to build a sort of makeshift dam so that the fish had plenty of water but could not escape back into the stream. After about 30 minutes, they had caught 10 fish altogether. Brandon put each one on the stringer and James untied the lines from the makeshift poles.

“This should be better than beef stew over rice I imagine,” he said to the children. They began making their way back to the camp and got back just in time before the sun finally set over the horizon. Emily came out of the tipi, her eyes brimming with redness. James knew she had been crying. He decided to wait until after the children were asleep to ask her what further news she had heard. He and Brandon started to fillet the fish while Emily and Claudia dug a hole in the ground for an outdoor fire pit. It was starting to get cold, and the heat from the extra fire pit gave the campsite a cozy, warm feeling.

Nemo was extremely pleased when they tossed her a few fish heads and Duke, who had stayed behind with Emily, was overjoyed when they threw him the leftover pieces of fish that didn’t go over the fire. After they had eaten their fish, Mr. Smith looked down at his watch. It was surprisingly late and he suggested they all turn in. He sent the children in first, then asked Emily what she had heard. She shrugged.

“Pretty much the same. Everyone’s been evacuated within a 50 mile radius. They’ve called in the National Guard, the Red Cross, and FEMA. They are declaring it a national emergency. And…” she hesitated, as if saying it out loud might make it true. James waited until she continued, “they are saying that those that live within 10 miles of the plant may not be able to return home due to the radiation.”

“Don’t they have people cleaning it up?”

“They are trying, but apparently it’s going to take a long time for the…the area to be livable again.”

James leaned forward and kissed Emily on her forehead.

“Look at it this way – we’re safe, healthy, and pretty happy considering our circumstances. Hell, if things keep going the way they have the kids might not want to leave. We can camp like this forever.”

Mrs. Smith laughed, but then her face grew serious again.

“We’re running low on supplies. The fish helped, but we can only last two, maybe three more days before we are out of food. We need to get to the evacuation shelter. Maybe once we get there, we can call some of our family and let them know that we’re okay. I’m sure they’re terrified, not having heard from us.”

James knew she was right. His own mother was probably on the verge of a heart attack.

“Tomorrow, Brandon and I will try and find that gas station. Maybe we can call a tow truck. Until then, I know it’s hard, but please try and enjoy it. I mean, look at those stars. Have you ever seen so many?”

Together, they looked up at the star-filled sky. They lay back on the ground, James holding his wife lovingly in his arms. It’d been a long time since they had looked at the stars together, and even though their situation was dire, he was not about to let this opportunity get away.

Chapter 5: Going Off To Get Help

“Well, this ought to be enough water to last you girls until we get back.” James said as he stood up, having hauled in a few more bags of water. Emily had already boiled some, added the purification tablets, and was getting ready to boil more. Claudia gave him a troubled look.

“But daddy, where you going?”

Mr. Smith looked down at his young daughter and smiled reassuringly. He patted her on the head gently.

“Brandon and I are going to search for…help.”

“What kind of help?”

“Well, at this point, any kind of help. Maybe, if we can get to that gas station that was supposed to be off the exit, we can find somebody there who can help us get our car back on the road. It seems to be okay, just a little fender damage.”

Mrs. Smith looked as if she wanted to say something, but stopped. James looked at her questioningly. She smiled and pulled Claudia to her.

“Claudia, why don’t you help me here at the camp? You can start by taking the dog and cat down to the stream to get something to drink. When you get back, we’ll get some more wood for the fire.”

Claudia seemed excited at anything that had to do with her and the animals. She had long since put the disgruntled cat back in its cage, and it was meowing furiously, as if angry at being put back in the small confining cat carrier. Claudia jumped up and ran towards the carrier, pulling out Nemo and calling a very excited Duke to her side.

“Don’t go too far!” Shouted Mrs. Smith, but it was too late. Claudia was already running at top speed towards the stream. James told Brandon to go and try and crank the car, telling him there was no point in trying to get a tow truck if the car wouldn’t even start. James and Emily knew their children well and knew exactly what to say to get them out of the tipi so that they could have a private conversation. Emily got to her feet, much more steadily than the day before.

“I want you to take Walter with you.”

James was shocked. They had argued many a night over including Walter in their bug out bag. Eventually he won the argument, but not before spending a few nights on the couch. Walter was the nickname they had given the Walter P 22 that James had bought a little less than a year ago. Even though crime was almost nonexistent in their tiny town, it was around that time that one of their neighbors was robbed. This had frightened James. He had immediately gone to his father’s house and borrowed a 12 gauge shotgun. When he came home with the gun in his hand, Emily had a conniption fit. She was terrified of guns and refused to allow any firearms at all inside her house.

James had argued the fact that everyone around them owned a gun, either for hunting or protection purposes. But Emily did not want them around her children. She was too afraid that someone could get hurt by accident. James, though upset with her adamancy, knew that she of all people had every right to fear firearms. She had once had a cousin who had been showing off his father’s gun to a friend. The gun had been loaded and upon trying to spin the gun on his finger like an old Western cowboy, shot himself in the head. The event traumatized her deeply and she had sworn to herself that she would never have a gun in her house.

“I know what I said before, and even though I still don’t like it, I never really thought that we…” Her voice wavered and Mr. Smith pulled her into a tight embrace.

“I know, dear. But we are all together and so far we’re doing pretty good, don’t you think?”

“Yes, I have to admit that so far so good. But I can’t stop thinking about the crowds we saw as we were leaving town. I’ve never actually seen a mob before, but I’m pretty sure that’s about as close to one as you can get. I’m afraid the people are panicking.”

James laughed. “You’ve seen far too many movies. Emily forced a smile.

“All the same, it would make me feel better if you had something just in case.”

James nodded. He kept the gun locked in the glove compartment of their car. It had been part of their agreement, and he had pointed out that being in the glove compartment, the gun would technically not be in the house. He handed her the phone and told her to keep trying to dial out. Maybe at some point the phone would pick up service. He gave her a swift kiss and walked out of the tipi, off to find Brandon and be on their way.

Mr. Smith and Brandon had been walking for what seemed like a very long time. No cars had passed, and they had yet to see any signs of civilization. He had marked the spot where the car ran off the road, even though it was hard to miss due to the black tire marks. Brandon had brought with him his survival book. He was constantly reading aloud from it, informing his father of all kinds of hints and tricks that would help them while they were in the wilderness.

“Hey dad, did you know that you can use pine sap to start a fire?”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, you could also boil the needles to make a kind of tea that’s supposed to be very good for you. Not only that, it can also be used as an antiseptic.”

Mr. Smith made an interested noise, reminding himself to make a note of this information for when he got back to the camp. They had some hydrogen peroxide and alcohol wipes in the first aid kit, but every resource was precious. He knew he needed to use as little as possible if it could be helped. Brandon had just gotten to the section on snares (he was begging his father to help make a snare so that they might catch a rabbit to eat for dinner when they got back to camp), when they saw the gas station sign.

It was very close, and James realized that it must’ve been hidden behind the many trees. As they approached the old gas station, James was relieved to see a car and an old beat up truck in the parking lot. They walked towards the gas station and saw a man standing inside the store. They went inside. The man behind the counter looked up, and gave a stubbly grin. He was a little older than James, probably in his late 40’s or early 50’s. He smiled at them and asked if everything was okay.

“Noticed that you walked here. Stuck on the side of the road?”

“You could say that. We were actually heading towards your gas station when a deer ran out in front of us. I tried to avoid it, but I didn’t realize that the road was built on top of the hill. Our car needs to be towed. Do you by chance know of any tow companies nearby?”

“I’m surprised to find you folks out here. I hear it on the radio that there some kind of drama going on in the city. Something about a nuclear reactor going off. Supposed to be all kinds of folks panickin’. They are telling people to head to the old stadium just a few miles east of here.”

“Yes sir. We were heading there ourselves when we wrecked.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. I got a phone you can use and the phonebook’s over ‘neath it. I reckon you might be able to find someone to help you get back on the road. Is it just the two of you?”

Something kept nagging at the back of his mind. James nodded his head.

“Yes sir, just us.”

Brandon looked up at his father in surprise. He had never heard him blatantly lie to someone before. Mr. Smith took Brandon’s hand and squeezed it, hoping that he would understand and not say anything.

“Well, we called the police after the accident but they said it might be a while before they get to us. Then again, that was a few hours ago, they might be there by now.”

“Oh, I don’t know. From what I hear things are getting pretty crazy out there.”

James forced a smile and walked over to the phone. He picked up the receiver and waited for the dial tone, but none came. He clicked the receiver a few times but still there was nothing. He was starting to get extremely anxious. Something was very wrong.

“Say, why don’t I get my buddy to grab a chain from the back. Maybe he can pull you out.”

James forced another smile.

“No, that’s quite all right. I’m sure the police will be along shortly.”

“Oh, it’s no bother at all. Perhaps we can even make a trade.”

Mr. Smith took his son by the shoulder and took a step backwards towards the door.

“I’m sorry, we really don’t have much. Except for a hyperactive dog and an ill tempered cat, I haven’t really got anything that would be of any use to you.”

Suddenly, James felt something jabbing into his back. He looked behind him and saw a younger man, probably in his mid-20s. He was grinning maniacally and holding a rifle.

“I’m sorry sir, but I’m afraid I can’t let you leave. You see, this ain’t my store, and you might go tellin’.”

Just then Mr. Smith heard a groan come from behind the counter. He suddenly realized what was going on. These people were looters, taking advantage of the fact that the police would be incredibly busy and unable to quickly respond to every call. They must’ve cut the phone lines before storming in and surprising the gas station clerk. James realized that he and Brandon had walked in on them right as they were in the middle of robbing the store.

“Please sir, at least let my son go. He’s just a kid.”

The man looked at Brandon and then back at James.

“He seen just as much as you.”

“We have no way of contacting anybody. You could tie us up and leave. I obviously don’t have a phone, or else I wouldn’t have asked to use the phone here. It might be a long time before anybody comes. You could be long gone by then.”

The man seemed to consider his offer for a moment. He skewed up his face hard, as if it took every ounce of concentration for him to consider what Mr. Smith was saying. James could tell that this man was not very bright. If only he could stall for time, maybe he could outsmart him. Brandon stuck his hands in his pocket nervously as they waited for the man to answer.

“All right. I wouldn’t feel right hurting a little kid anyway. Tie ‘em up Henry.”

The younger man, apparently called Henry, nodded and backed out through the door. James could see him through the window heading towards the truck. He knew if he had any chance to act, it would have to be now, while Henry was out of the building. The man behind the counter didn’t seem to have a weapon. James prayed that he was right about that.

“Do you mind if I take off my coat? I’d hate to have a heat stroke while I’m all tied up.”

The man nodded and James proceeded to take off his jacket. As he reached behind him to pull his arm out of the sleeve, he grabbed his gun and pulled it out quickly. The man’s eyes widened in surprise, but he had no time to react as James pulled the trigger. He shot the man in the shoulder, then pushed Brandon onto the floor.

“Get behind something and stay down!” he yelled. The man cried out in pain and fell to his knees. James walked over to him and used his foot to push him onto the ground. He saw an older man behind the counter, his head bleeding badly, likely from some sort of blunt force trauma inflicted by the robbers. James glanced out the window and saw Henry running back towards the store, a rope in hand. James quickly grabbed the man he had just shot and held the gun to his head. Henry came into the store and stopped abruptly, shocked at the scene before him.

“Put down the gun, Henry, or I will shoot him.”

Henry looked unsure of what to do.

“For God’s sake Henry, put the damn gun down!”

“But Joe-”

“Put it down!”

Henry did as he was told and dropped the rifle, kicking it to the side. Brandon jumped out from his hiding spot and grabbed the rifle, aiming it at Henry.

“Okay, now toss me the rope.”

Henry threw the rope and James caught it in midair. He started to tie up Joe, then ordered Henry down on the ground so that he and Joe were back to back. When he had finished tying them up, he looked over at his son who held the rifle expertly against his shoulder.

“Keep it on them, and if they try to move, shoot.”

Brandon nodded and Mr. Smith was surprised at how calm his son was. He knelt down to the old man and picked him up, throwing him over his shoulder. He came back around the counter and backed up towards the door, his pistol trained on the two men tied together on the floor. He set the old man down gently, they went over and rifled through the men’s pockets. He found a cell phone, a large wad of cash, and a tin of chewing tobacco, as well as two sets of car keys: one for the truck, and the other for the car.

“Now don’t you boys worry. I’ll make sure you get the help you need.”

Henry let out a string of cuss words as Mr. Smith followed Brandon out the door, the old man slung over his James’ shoulder. He quickly put the man in the truck and tossed the keys to the car to Brandon.

“Remember all those times I let you practice driving on the back roads?”

Brandon nodded, his eyes wide with either fear or excitement.

“Well, now you’re going to have to do it for real. Just follow me and everything will be okay.”

James got into the truck and turned the starter. The truck roared to life and James backed quickly out of the parking space. He drove so fast onto the highway that he spun tires, leaving a trail of smoke in his wake. He looked in the rearview and saw Brandon following, driving along the road as if it was something he had been doing for years. It only took a few minutes for them to get back to the stretch of road where they had crashed. He thought for a moment, not wanting to leave the car or the truck on the side of the road where, if the two men were able to escape, they could easily find the vehicles and possibly even the campsite. Then he had an idea. He reached over and gently shook the old man who groaned but opened his eyes.

“Sir? Are you alright?”

“I think so. Where are we?”

“You were attacked. Two men came into your store and tried to rob you. Apparently one of them hit you on the back of the head with something. Are you hurt badly?”

“I don’t think so, believe it or not I’ve been through worse.”

The old man sat up and rubbed his head. When he pulled his hand away and saw the blood, he looked as if he might faint again.

“I’m going to go get my wife and daughter. Stay here”

The man nodded and James leapt out of the car. Brandon rolled down the window and Mr. Smith shouted, “If I’m not back in five minutes, get on the interstate and drive towards the stadium, understand?”

Brandon nodded and quickly rolled up the window. James raced down the hill to the campsite. To his relief, he saw his smiling wife and daughter. They had repacked everything. James skidded to a halt and grabbed Claudia in his arms. Mrs. Smith started excitedly, “I was able to get a signal! I called the police and they’re on their way with the tow truck.”

“I’ve got something better. Hurry!” James exclaimed.

James snatched up the backpack and put it on his shoulders. Fully packed, it weighed about 75 pounds, and with his daughter’s additional 60 pounds, he was carrying a lot of weight. But his adrenaline was pumping and his body did not seem to notice.

They were almost completely up the hill when they heard a car door slam. James stopped and dove down to the ground, pulling his wife down with him. They were about 15 feet from the top of the hill. Mr. Smith heard the sound of scrambling and a cry of pain. He pushed Claudia out from under him into her mother’s arms and held his finger to his lips for them to be quiet. Emily looked at him as if he were crazy, then realized that Brandon was nowhere to be seen. James removed the pack from his shoulders and crawled up the hill. He heard the old man shouting and reached for his gun. As he drew it out, he heard another voice yell, “Drop your weapon! Put your hands up where I can see them!”

He set the gun down and put both hands in the air. He just knew that any moment he would see Joe or Henry’s face grinning down from him at the top of the hill. He closed his eyes and waited.

“Sir, are you okay?”

James looked up and to his relief saw a state trooper standing over him. He quickly told the man about the two robbers. The trooper ran back to the top of the hill where another officer was trying to tend to the old man’s wound (which explained why he had been yelling). The other officer sped down the road towards the gas station. The trooper helped James and Emily and Claudia up the hill and led them to the trooper’s car.

“We’ve got an ambulance coming for the old man and a wrecker coming to pull your car out. We spoke with your wife about an hour ago. Sorry it took us so long, we’ve had a lot of craziness going on.”

The wrecker came and pulled out the car, which started immediately. The ambulance took the old man to the hospital and the Smiths loaded up in their own car. The officer who had gone to arrest the two men came back just as they were about to leave, a smile on his face.

“I can easily say in all my years I have never had a bad guy tied up so pretty for me. You did a good job sir. And you too, young man.”

Brandon beamed at the compliment. The first trooper got into his car and led the way. In less than 20 minutes they were at the stadium. It wasn’t nearly as crowded as they had thought it would be. They were given a warm welcome and offered a hot shower and a meal. The owners of the stadium had given FEMA and the Red Cross permission to use whatever they needed and Brandon was delighted to see football players helping out. He ran off to get autographs while Mr. and Mrs. Smith sat down on a cot.

They still had a long way to go as far as getting their lives back together, but their friend B.O.B. had definitely taken care of them. James was thankful he had made the bag and sure that if he hadn’t, there was a very good chance that he and his family would be FAR worse off than they now were – maybe even tragically worse.

Chapter 6: How Prepared Are You?

Have you ever wondered if you were thrust into an emergency situation if you would be prepared? Would you be able to file out calmly, knowing that you had everything you needed and were totally prepared for just about any situation you might possibly encounter?

With the help of this guide, you too can prepare your own B.O.B., also known as a “Bug Out Bag”. This bag holds all of your basic necessities for survival – typically for the initial 72 hours of an emergency situation, after which most emergencies usually pass. However, some disaster scenarios can last longer than 72 hours (if your home gets destroyed or uninhabitable, for example), so you would be well-advised to have a long-term plan in place for those situations, too.

The things inside the Bug Out Bag can range from items useful during a nuclear meltdown emergency, such as the Smith family encountered in the story above, to natural disaster preparedness, like a flood or hurricane, to a bag filled with the items you might need if you were lost in the woods. Throughout this manual we will go over the different options available to you. We will go over the weight and dimensions of each object so your bag will be fully stocked, but not so heavy that it cannot be carried fairly easily. There are thousands of options available to you that are easily available and fairly priced. By the time you have finished this manual, you can have your very own B.O.B. packed and ready to go, as well as have a plan prepared if an emergency arises.

What is a Bug Out Bag?

A Bug Out Bag, or B.O.B., is a bag that is packed with enough tools and equipment to last you a certain number of days in case of an emergency. For the purpose of this manual, we will use a bag with enough to last this family of 4 (plus their cat and dog) for 72 hours. This can be altered to meet the needs of a larger or smaller family, a different situation (such as what you would need to survive during a hurricane evacuation or being lost in the wilderness), and hints and tips should you have to evacuate your home.

Understanding the Basics

Before we begin, you need to understand the most basic and important fact about Emergency Disaster Preparedness. In the medical field, there are several facts that medical personnel are taught relating to your body’s most basic needs. Before you start packing your bags (no pun intended), there is a little background information that is helpful to know

Maslow’s Hierarchy

The first thing you need to understand about preparing for a disaster is what is most important for you to have. The physiological and safety needs are the most important. If your body is lacking food or water, you cannot hope to satisfy the longer term need of finding a suitable shelter or making new friends. In a true emergency the most basic needs will need to be focused on for an indeterminable amount of time. The reason this information is being presented is to help you focus on the main things you will need to pack in your bag. Do they satisfy the basic needs of your body? If so, you are heading in the right direction!

Which Bag?

Before you begin, you will need to decide which bag to choose. There are several important factors to consider before choosing a bag. How big of a bag do you need? How much weight are you prepared to carry? Should you have just one bag?

Compact Bags and Duffels

Compact bags are the less expensive choice when choosing the right Bug Out Bag. They are lightweight, inexpensive, smaller, and easier to carry. That being said, the disadvantages of the compact bag are the fact that they have a much more limited capacity than your other types of bags. They are not usually very weather resistant either. If you plan on making a Bug Out Bag for your children (such as Mr. Smith did), a smaller bag would be perfect for just such a situation. But for the main bag, a regular compact bag is not the best choice.

Duffel bags are lightweight, hold large loads, and are inexpensive. But they are not a very good choice for your main bag. If you have to walk over a large area, are you prepared to lug your duffel bag along behind you, or even have all the weight slung across just one shoulder? They are impractical mainly because of the weight distribution and the fact that they take a lot more energy to carry. It is a fact that holding an object below the waistline with your arms straight requires much more energy on your part than carrying a backpack, which distributes weight across both shoulders.

That being said, a duffel bag isn’t completely useless. If you are lucky enough to be able to use your vehicle in an emergency, it is a good idea to keep extra clothing, trash bags, or blankets in your duffel bag. Just keep in mind that if you do have to go on foot, it is likely that you will eventually leave your duffel bag behind.

Internal Frame Bags vs. External Frame

Internal frame packs are used for heavier loads (15 lbs and up). The frames are located within the backpack and (when fitted correctly) hug the contours of your bag, making for a more secure and snug fit. The purpose of the internal frame pack is to transfer a majority of the weight to your hips (which as any woman has been pregnant will tell you is where humans are most capable of bearing such added weight). This makes a good hip-belt very important to your decision making process.

In warmer weather, internal “trampoline style” packs with breathable mesh are available, which gives the pack an almost cotton like quality in terms to its ability to “breathe”. Internal frames are also narrower and provide better arm clearance in the event that you have to do such activities as hedge clearing. This also makes the internal frame the better choice if you have to walk over mountainous terrain or in situations where your body will be doing a lot of climbing or bouncing. However with heavy loads, you may have to lean forward to counterbalance the load.

External frame packs, by contrast, are also used for heavy loads and are the better choice when you may be confronted with walking on steady terrain. The pack is hung off of a simple exterior frame, making the load positioned further away from your back. They also have a higher center of gravity which provides two advantages over other types of bags: excellent weight transfer to the hips and a more upright posture. They usually have loads of pockets, but can be a bit trickier to load. They also tend to snag on branches. The external frame does have many advantages over the internal bag. For one, you can hang all sorts of gear from the frame that will save you space in your bag, such as axes, fishing poles, and some even have places for walking sticks. One of the best features of the external frame pack is that you can remove the frame and use it to pull heavy loads like wood for a fire.

Capacity

Next you will want to know about the capacity of the bag you choose. REI, a popular retailer of outdoor gear, has written up a handy chart on their website to tell you the capacity your bag will need depending on the amount of time, or “kit duration”, you will be packing for. These are for CAMPING BACKPACKS ONLY and should not be used with other type of bags, like military bags. According to REI’s chart, for a 48-72 hour venture your pack should have a capacity of 50-60 liters and an empty weight of 2.5-5 lbs. Keep in mind that when filled to capacity a 5 lb bag is going to be much heavier than a 2.5 lb bag, but the amount of weight in your bag will also depend on how many people you are supplying and how many days you can live off of the bag.

Pre-made Bags:

There are several pre-made Bug Out Bags available for sale. But there are pros and cons when choosing one of these pre-made bags. Their contents are usually pretty generic, whereas you may decide to use different items or may require more or less of a certain item. In our story, Mr. Smith has four mouths to feed, not including the dog and cat. Many of these premade bags are usually enough for only 1-2 people. Some may include more, some may include less. But it is a good idea to make your own bag that is specifically loaded to your needs.

Sometimes these “ultimate kits” aren’t really any less expensive (probably even more so) than making your own. For example, one website we found at the time of this writing offers  a huge Bug Out Bag available that is actually stocked very well. But the price is over $1000! You can put one together yourself for much less with almost the same equipment.

Your Fit

The key thing to remember when choosing a bag is the proper fit! Backpacks are based not on your height, but your torso length. An uncomfortable bag, even if it is top of the line, can make your day miserable. To find the correct size, measure from the base of your neck to your hip bone.

Also, make sure the items in your bag are accessible! Can you imagine what a pain it will be to have to unload your bag completely every time you need something? Put the most used equipment or food (and especially water) where you can get at it readily. Also, if you are in the wilderness where dangerous wild animals are known to be a threat to humans, make sure you put self-protection (mace, anti-bear spray, firearm, etc.) in a place where you don’t have to go digging to find it. The animal may not be polite enough to wait until you’ve found it to attack you! (same thing goes for human aggressors, by the way).

First Things First: The Most Important Things in Your Bag

Drinkable water is the most essential component to your basic survival. Water bottles or water boxes should be a part of your pack, but there are other options that should be a part of your pack as well. Water filtration systems have become compact and could be very important to your kit.

Water purification tablets are not only an excellent thing to keep in your bag, they take up very little space and weigh next to nothing. It is suggested that you boil water first, then add the tablets to ensure extra filtration. If you run out of bottled water or are extremely low, sometimes the water sources you come across may be pretty gross, and the more purification options you have, the better!

Heat, Blankets, and Firestarter

-          Mylar blankets (pack of 10) – Instead of lugging around multiple sleeping bags, Mylar blankets are an inexpensive alternative that are lightweight and highly effective. They provide compact emergency protection in all different weather conditions, are made of durable, lightweight material, retain up to 90% of your body weight, and are waterproof and weatherproof. Product package dimensions are typically  9.4 x 6.5 x 2 inches  and 1 lb for the package. Each blanket is typically 52×84 inches.

-          Include at least 3 ways of starting a fire (such as matches, lighters and firestarter kit)

Minimize Your Packing

These are items that you would find in any well-prepared Bug Out Bag. But these items are cost efficient and offer several tools in one. For example, instead of having a knife, basic fishing box, compass, screwdriver set, and signal mirror, you can easily buy a kit with all of these items. It is small, lightweight, and takes up little space in your bag!

Survival Kit Knife – This is an extremely handy kit to have and includes a knife (about 5 inches long), and in most kits the hollow handle usually contains a fish line, hook, sinkers, bandages, small harpoon, signal mirror, finger tip saw, pencil, and more. The knife includes an accessory sheath, which additionally has a peg for use as a wire-cutter. The handle’s screw-off top has a compass, as well, and helps keep all of the valuable contents dry. These are lightweight, usually around 12 ounces.

Ultimate Survival Kit – This is yet another kit that is very handy for your bag (similar to the one Mr. Smith had) and includes many of your essentials, including a miniature multi-tool with needle nose pliers, wire cutters, fine edge knife, serrated knife, Phillips screwdriver, small flat driver, medium flat driver, lanyard ring, bottle opener, and tweezers. They are even available in a water proof bag with miniature lights, hand saw, signaling mirror, survival blanket, fire starter, waterproof matches, cotton ball, fire tinder, snare wire, emergency cord, waxed thread, fishing kit, and sewing kit. It includes a lightweight, ripstop nylon bag with waterproof zipper, land to air rescue and SOS instructions, and the Priorities of Survival pocket guide.

Radios

Every prepper will tell you that your most basic and necessary electronic device is a radio. Whether it be for communications or listening for updates that may help you in your situation, a radio could be one of the keys to saving your life. Radios are essential to your bag! Mr. Smith had walkie-talkies as well as a crank radio. Before deciding on the product that is right for you and making it a part of your bag, it is highly recommended that you TEST IT FIRST! Call the manufacturer to have them describe what exactly the warranty covers. For example, maybe it claims that it is water resistant, but you may want to make sure that water damage is covered by your warranty. You may even want to videotape yourself testing these products. You can post them to suggest them to others, or have evidence if a manufacturer refuses to cover a warranty saying that you went outside the warranty limits. After testing these products, either put them back in their original boxes, or if you feel the original packaging takes up too much room, wrap them up in heavy duty plastic baggies. If there are any parts that could be broken or crushed, you may want to put this in a pocket depending on which bag you went for.

Hand Cranks

There are several different types of hand crank radios available. They are affordable and some offer many neat extras, such as cell phone charging capabilities and USB port access so you could even charge your handheld electronics! They range anywhere from the smaller, more basic Emergency hand crank, which often includes a LED flashlight/AM/FM radio, to the ultimate Emergency Solar Hand Crank AM/FM/NOAA Digital Radio, which includes a flashlight, cell phone Charger with NOAA Certified Weather Alert & Cables. If you have access to an outlet you can plug it up and not even have to crank it. But keep in mind that there is a good chance you will be without electricity in the case of a genuine emergency. It is even possible the EMP pulses could kill many electronic devices, and then what? Hand cranks with solar options are your best bet. Of course there are other options depending on your budget.

Shortwave Radio

The idea behind a shortwave radio is that in the event of an emergency you can listen to stations far beyond your local stations, even picking up stations in different continents. The problem with shortwave radios is the high level of electrical noise and interference. If there was an EMP incident that knocked out many communicative devices, the electric grid would go down and the interference would be much less. These radios are much more expensive, but would be helpful in an EMP emergency where common radios become useless. These are lightweight and easily stored in your B.O.B.

HAM  Radios

These are basically the same kinds of radios that truckers and emergency personnel use. Many people use these as a hobby to talk to truckers passing through. Unfortunately, unless you are willing to spend a lot of money, they don’t have a lot of reach. But in an emergency situation it might just save your life!

Baggies, Containers, and Tarps

Many different types of baggies are available and very important to your bag. Water bags (either collapsible, plastic, or fabric), re-sealable bags (all sizes, the more the better), and a tarp or two (to help keep your tent dry as well as your equipment that you unpack) are very important. You can use them to store your items that aren’t waterproof as well as collect items you find on the way, such as tinder, any small spare item you may come across that could help you along the way (you can even start a fire with a 9 volt battery and some sheep’s wool pads or wire).

Batteries

Batteries of all shapes and sizes are essential. You will always find they come in handy and you don’t ever want to be without a battery when you are in dire need of one! Always keep a few extra packs and do some research to figure out which brand is best for you. Try to keep at least twice as much as you might need, three times is better. You will have a few items that need batteries to work, such as radios or flashlights.

Flashlights and Glowsticks

Some of your kits may include flashlights and you can easily buy a crank radio with a flashlight. Flashlights are essential as you never know when you will be without electricity or light. Candles are also a good idea and can be used to start fires. Glowsticks are good to have and can even provide entertainment for the kids. Some people choose to have flares or a flare gun. This is up to you, but the last thing you need is for a flare to set off by accident and catch your pack on fire!

Clothes

A change of clothes is always good to have. If you have others in your group and decide to make them each a smaller bag, it’s best to have them put their clothes in their own bags so that you can have room in your main bag for other items. Bring at least one extra set of clothes. Keep in mind that when worn wet, cotton can pull heat away from your body. It’s best to prepare for cold weather. You can always layer and remove clothing as necessary if it gets too hot. Also, it is best to stick to clothing that can keep you safe from insect bites, such as dark clothes that are long sleeved or pants that will help you avoid ticks and mosquito bites.

First Aid Kit

Everyone needs a basic first aid kit, and the more you have the better. You don’t want to run across an emergency without one! Good items to include in your kit are: anti-diarrheal medication, potassium iodide tablets (these can be obtained for free at your nearest pharmacy if you live in certain areas, especially close to a nuclear plant, as well as at your local health department. Most pharmacies carry this and if you don’t qualify for the free ones, they are fairly inexpensive and have a long shelf life), baby aspirin (very important to have, these can prevent a heart attack or reduce the effects significantly if you are unlucky enough to experience one), regular aspirin or ibuprofin, hand sanitizer, multivitamins (which will help greatly if you have to ration food to ensure you are able to get your proper nutritional needs) and YOUR PRESCRIPTION MEDICATIONS OR COPIES OF PRESCRIPTIONS. You don’t want to be in an emergency and without your insulin or, if you found yourself in such a dire situation as needing EMT assistance, you can give copies of your prescription to medical personnel. It makes it easier to get the medicine you need as quickly as possible and could save your life!

Paperwork

Always have copies of important paperwork if you have to leave your house. One thing that Mr. Smith did in our story and seems to be gaining in popularity is people scanning important documents into their computers and saving it onto a flash drive. This greatly reduces space and since they can hold so much you can put practically anything on them.

Keep in mind that some people may not accept the uploaded copy, but if you are truly in an emergency you can always hope that they will make an exception (as most people usually do from the experience of others found online). This can be anything from drivers licenses, prescriptions (don’t expect to be able to use a digital copy to get one filled, but at least you will know what you need and be able to show it to medical professionals), marriage licenses, insurance paperwork, deeds, etc. You will also want to bring some cash and keep it in a re-sealable plastic bag. Smaller bills are best ($10s and $20s), and some coins like a roll of quarters for the occasional vending machine or for parking if you are lucky enough to be bugging out with your car.

Compass or GPS

While the compass will never go out of style, some people prefer to have a GPS as part of their bag, though once again bear in mind you may be without electricity for some time. A compass is a good fail-safe and is easily and inexpensively obtained. GPS satellites may be accurate, but what if the satellites are out or you can’t get a signal? They are also MUCH more expensive than a basic compass. But they do have their uses and some people might bring one just in case (most smart phones also have them, but again, your phone service may be down).

Survival Guide

A handy survival guide will always be helpful. It can give you hints and tips that will greatly improve your chances and is truly an invaluable tool. While it is best to include something smaller for your bag, some people like to include an entire series on some sort of electronic device. If you can download these onto a flash drive, you can bring a whole bunch of different survival books. Just make sure you have a way to read them!

Other Helpful Items:

Other items you may find come in handy are: bug repellant, sun block, emergency whistles, signal mirrors, fishing lures and line, camping axe or hatchet, folding shovel, ponchos, playing cards (for entertainment), paper and writing utensils, and anything else you might think will help. The essentials are covered above, but if you find something you like that isn’t listed and want to include it, by all means! Ways to fight boredom, for example, aren’t an essential but will help pass the time.

Protection

This is completely up to each individual. Some people prefer a weapon in their bag for safety or hunting while others have no inclination for such a thing (although I might suggest AT LEAST some pepper spray). Others might include rifles or shotguns and plenty of ammo – depending on them to provide food for their dependents.

You could very possibly find yourself in the middle of a crisis, and people tend to panic and do crazy things when there is such a situation. Be sure if you decide to use a gun of sorts that you always have any licenses you may have been issued on your person at all times. If you have a license to carry a concealed weapon, you don’t want to be caught without that license. More than likely law enforcement will be aware of the state of panic around them and you could easily have your gun taken away if you don’t have the proper permits.

Ammo and guns can take up a lot of space and weight, so if you decide to use them choose carefully and get the advice of an expert. It is also recommended that you take any safety classes necessary to keep you and your family safe. An example has been shown in this story with Mrs. Smith’s cousin that should be taken as a serious warning that those who do not practice gun safety can seriously injure or even kill themselves or someone else, and you don’t want this to happen to you!

Some people rely on a large knife for safety and knife classes are usually available to help you better learn to use your knife. But always be careful with what you decide and make sure everyone in your group follows the same safety rules so that no one gets hurt!

Finally

I hope that you have enjoyed and also have been enlightened by both the short prepper story and the Bug Out Bag preparation guide portions of this book. My main goal is to give you the mindset that we often cannot predict the future, and being prepared for disaster at a moment’s notice can mean the difference between life and death! Use this opportunity right now, while you are thinking about it and hopefully motivated, to start building your Bug Out Bag. It doesn’t matter if it isn’t perfect right away. Just have one ready to take care of essentials, should something unforeseen happen tomorrow. God willing, you will have time to upgrade it over time, but a basic one NOW (with whatever bag and supplies you can find around the house), could make all the difference to you tomorrow!

I wish you peace and good luck.

Here are several pages of Bug Out Bag Supplies (click here) from Amazon.com that you can pick from, if you want to get started on your BOB right now! (note – this is an Amazon Associates’ link, and may result in a commission being paid to the publisher, should you happen to buy something).

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Author’s Personal Request – Did you enjoy this book? If so, would you do me a HUGE favor and write a review? It would mean the world to me!

Thank you so much,

K.C. Stephens

Table of Contents

Bug Out Bag Guide and Prepper Fiction: The Journey To The Safe Zone

Table of Contents

Disclaimer / Introduction

Chapter 1: The Unthinkable

Chapter 2: Tense Situation Just Got Worse

Chapter 3: The Detour

Chapter 4: B.O.B. Gets Put To Work

Chapter 5: Going Off To Get Help

Chapter 6: How Prepared Are You?