Roaring Thunder, Silent Lightning

Chapter 1
Boys Will Be Boys

It was a beautiful sunny Friday morning as Dan looked over the placid lake from his front porch. What a great idea it was to rent this cabin for the summer he thought, if only he know what was about to happen he would be even more thankful. His timing in renting this cabin has impeccable and its soon to be worth was without value. He looked out, watching a group of vacationing college student’s jet skiing on the lake, as he sipped his natty light. Dan was thinking about how lucky he was that he finally talked his brother James and his two best friends, Aaron and Thomas, into going on this vacation and how much fun they had already had. Dan played back in his mind how Aaron and his brother had gotten in that bar fight at the White Owl the night before and how they were both still recovering in the cabin. He laughed to himself as the thought how lucky they had been in not getting caught by the cops in the ensuing chase that had ended with the cruiser sliding into a ditch. Just then Thomas walked up behind him with a Corona in his hand. “How do you drink that shit?” Thomas asked Dan. “I don’t know, it’s cheap as shit and gets you drunk just like your shit. Except it’s not Mexican piss.” Dan said before chuckling at his buddy. Thomas jokingly punched Dan in the shoulder, “Did you hear that Philip, Hardy, and Katie might be coming down for the weekend?” This was a surprise for Dan since he dropped his phone in the lake two days before and had been too lazy to pick up a new one in town. “I thought they were too busy going to Montana for that ski trip.” Dan said as he took another sip of his lukewarm beer. “Yeah, they went on that ski trip but decided to extend their vacation a little.” Thomas said as he finished off the rest of his beer. This was looking more and more like it would become an epic experience they would not soon forget.
Three hours later James and Aaron painfully ate their breakfast preparing for another day in the small town of Flakewood. Dan and Tom laughed as their friends dutifully finished off the rest of their breakfast and stumbled out of their chairs ready to start the new day. “What do you guys want to do today?” Dan asked as he opened up another beer in the hopes to improve his worthlessness state of being. “How about we take out the boat, and not forget the two cases of bud light this time.” Aaron said as he starred at James. “Don’t get your panties in a bunch. That shit you brought down put the thinking part of my brain out of commission.” James chimed in as he grabbed a beer out of the fridge. “Lets get this party on the road!” Thomas yelled as he opened another beer on the corner of the table. The four friends got into Thomas’s Land Rover and headed down to the docks to continue their exploitation of mother nature.
After trying to fish, drinking, and hitting on anything with a bikini for over four hours, the four decided it was time to go in shore and grab something to eat. As they were approaching the dock something like a sun gave a flash in the horizon. “Do you see that bright light to the South?” James said as he almost fell off the side of their rented speed boat in his drunken state. “That’s coming from the East you dumb ass!” Aaron said before almost being thrown over the boat by James. “What do you think that was?” Thomas said with a look of confusion and fear on his face. Daniel looked upon the horizon with fear and terror upon his face saying, ‘I could be wrong but that looks like a nuke just went off…let’s get our shit together before shit gets crazy!” As this reality sank into these friends minds they understood action was a necessity in this reality.
Chapter Two
As these friends entered the town their dominance followed them. As James and Dan walked by side to side the town seemed to bow before them, needing a basis of leadership. These friends understood the necessity immediately, seeing their connection necessary for a fruitful community. As these friends followed the news frequency they understood the pure isolation they were in. With an almost animalistic demand of pure followership James showed his brother and community the anarchy that was necessary to exist as a power. With Dan as second in command, being 6’2” and 215Lbs, this command seemed the most legitimate in the area offering a community of activity and prosperity. There first priority laid on claiming nearby oil and other necessary resources.
As James and Dan thought about the primary targets, which included nearby BPs and Exxon’s and primary targets such as gun shops and food markets to prove economic dominance of the arms, food supply, and oil supply of the nearby territories, by any means necessary. These brothers understood the necessary sacrificial and the need for collectivity to become a power to become recognized by others.