Any self-respecting prepper keeps a bug-out bag ­loaded with survival gear near the door, and the characters from The Cowboy and Vampire Thriller Series are definitely used to dealing with the worst.

The rationale behind a bug-out bag is simple — it’s a backpack or some other form of personal conveyance loaded with all the stuff necessary to survive the first few days after some kind of catastrophic event. Say a meteor hits — doesn’t seem so unlikely now, does it Russia? — or there’s a huge, city-leveling earthquake or solar flares disrupt earth communications and turn half the population into solar zombies. Whatever the cause, when (not if) disaster strikes, a bug-out bag provides careful planners with a head start that won’t be enjoyed by his or her neighbors who will be wandering around wringing their hands and wondering what to do. And probably becoming zombie food.A bug-out bag is basically the first step of survival 101. A typical starter bag might have some waterproof matches, a pocket knife, a couple of ponchos and a few granola bars. Moving up the scale of sophistication, start thinking about adding a first aid kid, some duct tape and a water purifier.

We have a modest bug out bag (see picture). And so do the characters from our books, The Cowboy and the Vampire and Blood and Whiskey. Here’s a rundown of what our characters keep close at hand for when the Juan de Fuca plate drops open and a tsunami wipes out have of the west.

Tucker: He’s a tough, resourceful, perpetually-broke cowboy living in LonePine, Wyoming who falls for a vampire (Lizzie). His bug-out bag, kept in a pair of saddlebags in his truck, is pretty simple:

*  Duct tape
*  A folding knife
*  A pair of fencing pliers (sort of the cowboy multi-tool)
*  A bottle of whiskey
*  A bag of snack cakes with enough preservatives to withstand the end of times

Lizzie: She’s a newly turned vampire queen in love with a cowboy (Tucker). Her bug out bag, though she would be loathe to admit she has one, is focused more on intellectual rather than physical survival. Now that she’s a vampire, she could survive just about anything anyway, except for direct sunlight, which is why she only keeps a few things in her purse:

*  A copy of Anna Karenina
*  A notebook and three pens
*  A juice box of blood
*  A body bag (in case she gets caught out doors at dawn
*  A corkscrew (hopefully there will be wine after the apocalypse)

Lenny: He’s Tucker’s best friend and a way-off-the-grid-survivalist who practically invented the concept of bug out bags. He lives in a hidden bunker with stockpiles of guns, ammo and freeze dried meals. But Lenny, who has never met a conspiracy theory he didn’t like, knows all too well that a single bunker-buster dropped from a drone would leave him homeless. That’s why he has a bug-out bag by the exit of the escape tunnel from his bunker. Actually, it’s more like a bug-out trunk, with a bug out bag in it, as well as:

*  Shelf-stable food and water for five days
*  A collapsible assault rifle with 500 round of ammo
*  A Geiger counter
*  A first aid kit and mobile surgical operating suite
*  Bio waste bags
*  A hand crank power generator
*  Solar chargers
*  An emergency radio
*  Lanterns
*  Flares
*  A kindle loaded with every how-to book ever printed
*  A tool kit, U.S. and metric
*  Fire starter tablets and matches
*  A wire saw
*  A tent
*  Sleeping pads
*  Night vision goggles
*  A collapsible commuter bike
*  A water filtration system
*  Much more

Elita: She’s a sexy, powerful vampire who has lived through all manner of catastrophes. No matter the challenge, from feuding vampire species to angry villagers with torches, she always lands on her feet. It doesn’t hurt that she’s painfully beautiful and sexually insatiable. Her bug out bag fits neatly in one pocket:

*  Lipstick
*  A matching bra and panty set
*  A fresh pack of clove cigarettes, but no matches— she can always find someone else to light them

With all the bad stuff going on in the world, a focus on self-reliance is on the upswing and blissful ignorance is waning. People are taking survival preparation more seriously — there’s even a show about it—and after a few killer storms, it doesn’t seem quite so crazy these days to hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

Some people choose to assemble their own bug-out bags, others buy them fully assembled online to save the time. No matter the source, one thing is clear, no bug-out bag is complete without a copy of The Cowboy and the Vampire and Blood and Whiskey.  It can get mighty boring in a nuclear winter, so bring some good books. Actually bring a couple copies. They can be bartered for supplies.aracer