Chapter 2: Empty Shelves

The main Character John goes into more detail about what caused the collapse, and he also talks about how the events are affecting him and the people where he lives.

I woke up at a quarter past 6:00. The sun was already shining in through my window. For a few brief moments I had forgot about yesterday, but then it all came back. I wondered if my uncle was awake.
He had an odd sleep schedule, which resembled that of a cat more than of a middle aged man. But he has no job and is on social security for different physical and mental issues. He's not crazy or anything, but he's a bit of a hermit. So am I, to a lesser extent.
I walked towards his bedroom and looked in. His door was open as always, and he was asleep, still wearing his pants and t shirt. I don't know how someone could sleep like that.
I walked towards the kitchen and made myself a bowl of cereal. I could hear my dog Bentley jump off my uncle's bed and run to the kitchen. He was happy to see and began jumping up at me. So I pet the little guy. He looked like a mini Rott Weiler, but was actually a Chiweenie, and super hyper and stubborn.
I then sat down in the couch and turned the TV onto CNN. It seemed like the appropriate network to watch during the impending apocalypse. Wolfe Blitzer was standing in the situation room regaining us with all the details. What I'm hearing is that Iran along with some other oil producing Arab nations have stopped buying and selling oil using the Dollar. Normally this would be crazy for these countries to do, but according to the the news China and Russia have pledged their protection if the United States decides to retaliate militarily.
So this is why the Market is crashing. "I wonder why this wasn't talked about yesterday." That being said, on top of the stock market crashing, so was the U.S Dollar. It looks like we are headed for hyperinflation and I don't even have a wheel barrel.
It was now 8 AM. I figured I would walk to the store, see the reactions of people inside the store was just a 15 minute walk from my house.
The parking lot was packed. I could see people pushing shopping carts packed with groceries. Some carts were completely filled with big jugs of water. As I walked inside people were moving frantically, trying to buy as much food and water as they could before the prices went up. That wouldn't be long. Since I was here, I figured I should buy some food too. As I pushed the shopping cart down the aisles, I couldn't help but notice the shelves as they got emptier by the minute. It dawned on me that if I keep acting detached and relaxed, there wouldn't be anymore food to purchase.
So I put my mind in gear and started grabbing bread, cheese, and deli meat, along with a bunch of cans of beans; and scores of packages of Top Ramen. I knew I should have boughten that storable food from Alex Jone's website. If only I was more paranoid.
I was never good at buying groceries for my uncle, but I tried. I blame it on my anxiety disorder. I could never relax enough to methodically plan out my grocery list. It wasn't until I started taking Zoloft that noticed a difference. I was more calm, and less irritable. But it made me gain weight, so I stopped taking it.
My uncle and I were not rich. We were quite the opposite. I worked part time at minimum wage, and would probably lose my job now that the economy is going down the toilet. And as far as my uncle's social security, I don't see how the government will be able to maintain that. I don't even know if the U.S government can remain intact!
When I got home, my uncle was sitting in the living room with his eyes glued to the tv. "When the hell did this happen?" " "Yesterday," I said. " Jesus!, Their saying that the President is going to make an announcement in a few minutes." "Do you know how this happened?" I asked. My uncle shook his head. " Basically OPEC stopped selling their oil in U.S Dollars, and they stopped buying U.S securities, which means that our dollar is fucked." "And Russia and China Vowed to fight back if our military tries to do anything.
My uncle looked at me with his jaw to the floor. "Are you kidding me?" " No, I am not. Keep watching the news, they'll mention it again." I said. "Oh, by the way, I got some groceries; they could be the last ones we get for a while." As soon as I said that, I could feel the dread of that reality. No food? Nothing to eat? Maybe I was wrong about celebrating all this s**t.