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remember?”
    “Samantha, you need to get her to come home. It doesn’t matter who she is with if things are serious enough to move to Eddie’s ranch. I’ll call her after you do if I have too, but she’ll come home if you explain everything to her, okay?”
     
    The Store
     
    I turn to Hannah with a great deal of concern on my face. “Hannah, I’m not going to open the store today, and I have to go and tell those people out there. They might get angry and try to force their way in, but most likely they won’t. Just in case they do, take this Ruger and be ready to shoot anyone that comes through the door without me. If they knock me down to get in, they could hurt you and your brothers and sisters. Do you understand?”
    Hannah’s eyes go wide but she nods.
    “Good girl, Hannah. This is just like the riots we have looked at on the news, but it is coming here now. This is just like when we practiced for someone trying to rob the store.”
    I have a concealed gun under my shirt, but put an exposed Kydex holster on my belt and put my five-seven into it. In this situation, I want my ability and willingness to use force to be plainly visible to the people outside. I walk to the door, unlock and slide the security gate open, and some of the people outside start crowding in and pressing against the glass, so I yell through the door for them to back up. They don’t back up right away so I draw my gun and tap it on the glass at face level. This has them backing out quickly into the parking lot, with a few of them falling down as they stumble backward in their haste. I open the door and step outside to speak with the crowd, sliding the security door closed behind me.
    There is grumbling in the crowd, and you can tell these people are agitated—and not just from me pointing my weapon at them. There is a desperation etched in their faces, and I can’t let this get out of control. At least there are a couple of faces out here that I recognize that seem calm. They are standing off to the sides and scanning the crowd like I am, rather than staring at me with angry or fearful eyes.
    Addressing the small crowd, I keep my gun at the ready in my hands in front of me pointing down. “I am sure all of you are frightened of the news and want to rush in here to get something to make yourselves feel more safe and secure. The time to prepare for potential problems is not today however, the time to prepare was yesterday. I am not opening the store. All of the supplies inside have been requisitioned by the government to assist the local populace if things get out of hand. There will be military forces here within the next few hours to collect everything inside and take it to a holding facility where it will be distributed to you, if and when you need it. Please go home and keep yourselves safe and secure, and if things get out of hand, the government will let all of you know what you should do.”
    “We just need a few supplies,” one guy yells, and a chorus of yeahs erupt from the crowd.
    “I understand what you believe you need at this moment, but these supplies are no longer available for sale. I and those inside have been ordered to protect them for government collection using any means necessary. There are about thirty of you out here, and my gun holds thirty rounds. Do not make me use it, but understand that I will if you do not leave.”
    “This isn’t right,” one lady yells.
    “We need to take care of our families too,” another says, but most of the crowd starts to head back to their cars.
    I try to give an extra reassurance to those who are lingering instead of going back to their vehicles. “The local government is prepared for problems such as this and has stepped up preparations since the riots in the larger cities began. Your local leaders will tell you what steps you must take, if any. Just return to your homes and everything will be all right. You have put your faith in the government to protect you up until now,