The Trigger by L.J. Sellers

got a lot going on right now and have to get back to it.”
    Dallas touched his arm. “Preparations for your wife’s passing?”
    “Yes, but that’s only part of it.” Spencer drove down a dirt road leading into the fields behind his house. “We think something major is coming, and we want to be ready.”
    A shiver shot up her spine. What were they planning? “It sounds like I came here just in time.” Dallas had to press. “I heard buzz on the internet that the next asteroid could cause climate change if it hits us. Is that what you think it is?”
    “Not really. We’re seeing financial activity that indicates the banks are ready to panic.”
    The bureau kept abreast of those things, but she hadn’t heard a word. Was he referring to hacker activity? “That’s not good. I’m so glad I’ve been buying gold.”
    “Where do you keep it?”
    “In a safe deposit box in Phoenix. If I’m accepted here, I can have the trustee transfer it here.”
    Spencer patted her leg. “You’ll be accepted. I can tell you’re a good fit for us.”
    They drove past barns, storage buildings, and a corn silo, with fields and pastures behind every structure. Spencer kept up a running inventory of everything they had stocked and planted. Corn crops would be processed into biofuel, which they would use to run tractors, chainsaws, and other gas-powered equipment. They also had five hundred gallons of gasoline stored, along with a supply of diesel and propane. Dallas was blown away by the extent of their preparations.
    “You said there are other communities like this around the world?”
    “I wish.” He shook his head. “Other groups are out there, but none that I know of with this much land or biofuel planted. I believe we also have the only large-capacity hydro-generator. But other futurists are prepared enough to survive.”
    Dallas took a risk. “What about a nuclear event or a major ice storm? Don’t serious futurists have underground bunkers too?”
    Spencer was quiet for a moment. “We have one planned, but it’s hard to build something big enough for all our members. So it’s politically sensitive.”
    Dallas interpreted that to mean Spencer and his brother had probably built a bunker but didn’t want anyone else to know about it. “You’ve got enough land, but the excavation would be overwhelming.”
    They were traveling up a gradual incline, and Spencer glanced out to the right where the ground rose more sharply. A rush of adrenaline made Dallas almost giddy.
    The bunker was in the hill.

Chapter 10
    Wednesday, May 8, 6:35 p.m.
    Randall showered and dressed for the gathering at the community center, annoyed with the intrusion. Why had his brother invited a new member into Destiny just as they were planning to trigger the collapse? Spencer needed a new partner, of course, so he could finally have children, but with Emma missing and the FBI still snooping around, it seemed damn risky. His brother was thinking with the wrong head at the wrong time.
    Earlier, he’d watched Spencer take Sonja on a tour of the property, and he’d been hit with a pang of jealousy. She was so young and pretty, and he could tell by the way she looked at his brother that she was into him. Randall hoped she wasn’t an idiot or a flake like so many of the women who found their website and wanted to join. Most of the female applicants were running from something or looking for someone to take care of them. The few men who applied were usually angry, immature, or trying to avoid paying taxes or child support.
    Randall felt lucky to have had a sexy wife like Emma in his life for a few years. He’d first met her in a restaurant in Redding, and it had taken a while to convince her to marry him. But she’d come to love Destiny and see it as the perfect place to raise the kids they wanted. Randall’s first wife had left him after a short time on the property. The other homes hadn’t been built yet, and she’d grown bored, then angry at all