Lamp Black: Second Edition, Disaster, Preparedness, Survival, Awakening (The Gatekeeper Book 2) by Kenneth Cary Read Free Book Online
Authors: Kenneth Cary
braces and connected them to the door brace with hinge plates. When complete, John had a two-stage door brace. With stage one, he would lift the hinged short braces that would allow the door to open to no more than twelve inches. In stage two, he could lift the entire brace free of the door and open it completely.
John called Jenna and Abby to the entryway and asked them to test the door brace. Abby wrinkled her brow at the sight of the wooden monstrosity sitting in front of the door. Jenna’s response was much more obvious. She gasped when she saw that John had drilled through their red oak hardwood flooring. She exhaled, crossed her arms over her chest, and said, “What have you done to my floors?”
“I know it looks ugly, Jen, but it will keep us safe,” replied John. “Adam, show ‘em how it works.”
“It’s easy, mom. Watch this.” Adam easily lifted the first part of the brace away from the door. “Now watch this,” he said, and then lifted the heavier, second stage, of the door brace back on its hinges and laid it on the floor well clear of the door. “Pretty cool, huh?” he said with a smile. John winked at Adam, and Adam quickly returned the door brace back to its fully secured position.
“I want to leave it in place at all times,” said John, as he patted the brace with his hand. He liked the smell of the new cedar posts, but decided to keep that thought to himself given Jenna’s displeasure over the hardwood floor. John scanned their faces and said, “All I ask is that no one move the brace, or open the door without someone standing as backup.” They all nodded in unison. John watched as Jenna and Abby took turns moving the brace. Once they were comfortable with it, everyone returned to their tasks at hand.
John and Adam cleaned up the mess in the entryway and moved to secure the backdoor. The brace for the backdoor was much less elaborate, mainly because John didn’t plan to use it. He was very glad it wasn’t a sliding glass door, they were much harder to secure, even with expensive security film. But for the backdoor, John used heavy lag bolts pushed through pre-drilled holes in three two-by-fours. He anchored them firmly to the door frame.
“Now for the clean room,” said John. “Adam, go get the six foot ladder and meet me in the laundry room.” John quickly surveyed the laundry room while Adam went to fetch the ladder. The laundry room was located between the kitchen and the mudroom, just to the left of the garage door and pantry. The space was just large enough for a washer and dryer, a utility sink, and an assortment of cabinets. The mudroom was smaller yet, about six by six, and equipped with a sturdy wooden bench and two rows of coat hooks. Four metal gym lockers were anchored on the opposite wall, one belonging to each member of the family.
The mudroom door, or the side door, as John liked to call it, was windowed, so John replaced the original glass with ballistic glass thatcould defeat ammunition up to .44 magnum. He also installed a complete door frame armor kit to prevent forced entry. It looked like the weakest point of entry into the house, but it wasn’t. And that’s exactly how John wanted it to be. The side door would be their main access door as long as the ash was present. John recognized the need to have a quick exit in case of an emergency, and the side door was the best choice given their current security situation. He also really liked the side door, mainly because it had a window that allowed him to see outside without exposing himself to possible danger.
Adam set the ladder up in the laundry room and they immediately got to work constructing the clean room. John measured off several lengths of clear four-mil plastic and hooked them to the ceiling with carpet-tack strips and duct tape. He then hung plastic wall sheets from the tack-strips, and sealed all the seams with more duct tape. For the floor, John taped plastic to the tiles and closed the seams
John called Jenna and Abby to the entryway and asked them to test the door brace. Abby wrinkled her brow at the sight of the wooden monstrosity sitting in front of the door. Jenna’s response was much more obvious. She gasped when she saw that John had drilled through their red oak hardwood flooring. She exhaled, crossed her arms over her chest, and said, “What have you done to my floors?”
“I know it looks ugly, Jen, but it will keep us safe,” replied John. “Adam, show ‘em how it works.”
“It’s easy, mom. Watch this.” Adam easily lifted the first part of the brace away from the door. “Now watch this,” he said, and then lifted the heavier, second stage, of the door brace back on its hinges and laid it on the floor well clear of the door. “Pretty cool, huh?” he said with a smile. John winked at Adam, and Adam quickly returned the door brace back to its fully secured position.
“I want to leave it in place at all times,” said John, as he patted the brace with his hand. He liked the smell of the new cedar posts, but decided to keep that thought to himself given Jenna’s displeasure over the hardwood floor. John scanned their faces and said, “All I ask is that no one move the brace, or open the door without someone standing as backup.” They all nodded in unison. John watched as Jenna and Abby took turns moving the brace. Once they were comfortable with it, everyone returned to their tasks at hand.
John and Adam cleaned up the mess in the entryway and moved to secure the backdoor. The brace for the backdoor was much less elaborate, mainly because John didn’t plan to use it. He was very glad it wasn’t a sliding glass door, they were much harder to secure, even with expensive security film. But for the backdoor, John used heavy lag bolts pushed through pre-drilled holes in three two-by-fours. He anchored them firmly to the door frame.
“Now for the clean room,” said John. “Adam, go get the six foot ladder and meet me in the laundry room.” John quickly surveyed the laundry room while Adam went to fetch the ladder. The laundry room was located between the kitchen and the mudroom, just to the left of the garage door and pantry. The space was just large enough for a washer and dryer, a utility sink, and an assortment of cabinets. The mudroom was smaller yet, about six by six, and equipped with a sturdy wooden bench and two rows of coat hooks. Four metal gym lockers were anchored on the opposite wall, one belonging to each member of the family.
The mudroom door, or the side door, as John liked to call it, was windowed, so John replaced the original glass with ballistic glass thatcould defeat ammunition up to .44 magnum. He also installed a complete door frame armor kit to prevent forced entry. It looked like the weakest point of entry into the house, but it wasn’t. And that’s exactly how John wanted it to be. The side door would be their main access door as long as the ash was present. John recognized the need to have a quick exit in case of an emergency, and the side door was the best choice given their current security situation. He also really liked the side door, mainly because it had a window that allowed him to see outside without exposing himself to possible danger.
Adam set the ladder up in the laundry room and they immediately got to work constructing the clean room. John measured off several lengths of clear four-mil plastic and hooked them to the ceiling with carpet-tack strips and duct tape. He then hung plastic wall sheets from the tack-strips, and sealed all the seams with more duct tape. For the floor, John taped plastic to the tiles and closed the seams
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