by Vince Byrd
“There’s not much out here. We would have to break down in the boonies,” David complained. “Nobody has a clue as to what’s going on. Bud is the only person we’ve met that had any suggestions, but I don’t know about him. He seemed a little too relaxed about the whole thing, and he just up and left.”
“He does live around here, so he would know where to get some assistance or where to find a hotel,” Emily pointed out.
“Yeah, you’re right. We should be getting close to his place. I wonder what all those other people are going to do. Everyone seems to be staying close to their cars. Did you see those two families who were setting up tents in the median like it’s some tailgate party? Why are we the only ones walking?” David questioned. “Do they think their cars are going to magically start working?”
“Dad, they don’t know what’s going on; neither do we. That’s why we need to get to someone who does,” Ethan advised.
“Who, Bud?” David asked condescendingly.
“He was nice enough to offer his place to us, and I don’t see much else out here,” Ethan reminded.
“Smith, right? That must be his mailbox there.” Paige pointed to Bud’s last name in large, bold white letters. The box post sat crookedly in the ground next to a gravel driveway that led up to a doublewide mobile home. The home appeared to be larger than the average doublewide.
Makayla followed as Emily and David walked up the drive. Her left heel sank into the gravel causing her to lose her balance. She let out a squeal and began to fall. Ethan seeing her start to fall reached out and caught her in his arms. “I can’t walk in gravel with these heels,” she admitted.
David and Emily stopped and looked back. Ethan scooped Makayla up and carried her to the front porch, sitting her down onto the bottom step. “There you go. Now, you don’t have to,” he declared.
“Thank you, but you didn’t have to,” she gasped.
“It’s no problem; you’re light as a feather,” Ethan admitted.
Paige was a little put off, and somewhat jealous by the kindness Ethan had shown Makayla, but she didn’t say anything. She walked up the steps past them and knocked on the door.
The door opened, and a little boy stood there licking on a candy cane with sticky all around his mouth. “Hello there. Is your dad home?” Paige asked. The boy nodded his head and continued to lick his candy. “Wow, that candy cane must be good.” The boy nodded again. “Can you go find your daddy and bring him here?” The boy turned and disappeared into the home, leaving the door wide open. Emily and David stepped up onto the porch with Paige, but Ethan stayed below by Makayla.
After several minutes, Bud came to the door. He looked out past them like he was looking for their van. “Hey, you made it. Come in, come in. Betty! David’s here with his family,” he called.
Betty stuck her head into the room as they stepped in and said, “Welcome! I’m Betty. Would you like some water or a Coke? I think we have a couple of beers also if you want one of those. Better drink them before they get hot, right?”
“Water is fine for me,” Paige said.
“I’ll have one of those beers if it’s not too much trouble,” David accepted.
“Water will be just fine Betty for all of us. I’m Emily; would you like some help with that?”
“That’s okay, hon. I can manage. You folks make yourselves at home,” she said. “Bud, show them to the living room.”
The room they stepped into from the porch was a large foyer with stone-like linoleum and shoes of several sizes lining one wall. Coats and shirts hung on a rack over the shoes, and a large, metal, black and white, paint-chipped milk jug served as an umbrella stand in the front corner. Full glass-paned French doors swung into the foyer and were opened wide. A large wagon wheel also hung in the foyer with mirrors between each spoke. The walls were old, barn wood planks showing signs of worm holes and a century of age. But as they stepped into the living room, it was vaulted ceilings, lush beige carpet, and eggshell-colored sheetrock decorated tastefully in an old country style. Two brown sectional sofa sets were positioned toward a sixty-inch flat screen TV. There were lit candles arranged all around the room, and as the flames danced, the flickering light bounced off the large, dark TV screen. “We’d watch the game, but the EMP took out the power,” Bud explained.
“You don’t have any power?” Makayla asked with surprise.
“Nope. Probably the whole town is out. I don’t know how big the EMP was or how far it reached, but it will be like the old days for a while, horses and candle light,” Bud acknowledged.
“What does that mean?” Makayla asked. “I don’t ride horses.” How am I going to get home?”
“On those heels, I suppose,” Bud answered, pointing at her feet with a chuckle.
“So, how long will it be before my car can get repaired?”
“I’m not sure, maybe never. The only way to fix it would be to replace the computer and all the electrical components. At that point, it would just be easier and maybe cheaper to buy another car,” Bud explained.
They each found a spot on the sofas as Betty brought in water bottles for everyone. The little boy who answered the door came and sat next to Paige, still licking on the stub of a candy cane. “What’s your name?” Paige asked.
“Levi,” he answered, offering her a lick.
“Oh, thank you, but I don’t really like candy canes,” she admitted, scrunching up her nose. Levi shrugged his shoulders and continued to suck on his peppermint. “And, how old are you, Levi?” He held up four fingers and then added his thumb. “You’re five?” she concluded. He nodded in agreement.
“He just turned five last month. He still forgets to put his thumb out,” Tim announced, pushing buttons on his video game controller, pretending to play, but only staring at his own reflection on the TV.
“Where’s the closest hotel?” David interrupted.
“There’s Pete’s Weeks Inn on Lafayette Street about seven or eight miles west. But, he might not rent you rooms without power. If they wanted to hit the naval base and Fort Rucker, we’re in the center of the EMP. There might not be power for twenty to forty miles from here. Like I said, you’re welcome to…” Bud stopped speaking as Paige cut in.
“Jacob!” Paige exclaimed, jumping up. “My brother—he’s in the Army in Germany, and when I spoke to him this morning, he said the officers were scrambling and that something big was coming. Could this be bigger than just here? They’re sending my brother to Texas.”
“Maybe, what does your brother do in the Army?” Bud asked.
“He’s in transportation logistics; he moves vehicles and other stuff. He said they were loading old trucks and a lot of MREs on a naval ship and sailing for Jacksonville, then driving them to Texas. He said something big was coming and to watch my six, meaning to watch my back.” she explained.
“There’s no way to know how big this is. We have no way of communicating,” Bud acknowledged.
David and Emily were whispering to one another, and Ethan overheard something his dad said. “We have to take Paige home, Dad. Mr. Gibson will be worried about her since we can’t call him.”
“Son, I’m sorry but when we get to Columbus, your mom and I are going home. Paige, you’re welcome to come home with us; you know that. We don’t know what’s going on, and I need to check on the lots,” David fretted.
“I have to get home to my dad and let him know what Jacob said. He’ll have an idea of what it means, I hope,” Paige decided.
“I’m going with you, Paige, just like we planned. Now, how do we get to Columbus?” Ethan asked, turning to Bud and David.
“I’ve got some bicycles,” Bud announced.
“Wait a minute; this can’t be happening right now. Are you guys for real? I was just at a sunrise wedding this morning, and now I have to ride a bike all the way home? Not in these heels, I’m not,” Makayla
declared. “I have to go back to my car and get my suitcase.”
“Where’s home?” Ethan asked.
“Lagrange, Georgia,” she answered.
“Once we’re outside of the EMP strike zone, we can rent a car or Dad can have one of his salesmen pick us up. Lagrange is not that far from Columbus,” Ethan offered.
David stood up and patted Ethan on the shoulder for him to follow. “Excuse us for a moment.” Ethan got up and followed his dad into the foyer. “Son, we don’t know that girl. Why are you offering a ride to her? You have the hots for her or something? Trying to play the hero?”
“Dad, come on, look at her; she’s gorgeous. I think Paige and I could be on our way out anyway,” Ethan admitted.
“You’re asking for trouble here, son. You don’t know anything about her, and Paige sees you drooling all over her. Paige will whoop your tail, boy.”
“I’m just keeping my options open. I thought Paige was the one, but she doesn’t feel the same way, so…,” Ethan shrugged. “Maybe a little jealousy will open her eyes a little.”
“You are messing with fire, you know that?”
“I know, but this way I’ll know for sure.”
David shook his head and walked back into the living room, “Let’s see those bikes, Bud.”
Eight
Jesse Day 6
Jesse, Kat, and Ava followed in their truck behind as Thomas drove Stan’s tractor to his uncle’s house. Thomas looked a lot like Stan and Brian. He was in his mid-fifties and balding. He had a leathery face like he’d worked in the sun all his life, but he had kind eyes. He was missing some back teeth and you could see the gaps when he talked. He was about medium height, slim, and operated the tractor like it was second nature.
Brian sat on the side of the bed in the back with Stan’s body. Larry and Ginger rode in the hay wagon, sitting on some luggage with a few of the men. The others rode horses trotting behind. The ride was slow but not very long since they were right next to Stan’s farm. The tractor pulled into a fine gravel drive and up to a big, white Victorian-style home with a large, covered porch. Open pastures and a wooden fence that split off in several directions surrounded the home. Horses and cattle meandered around behind the fences, and a big, white stable sat off in the distance. The screen door opened, and three women stepped out onto the porch. Jesse looked back at Brian and pointed toward the steps. Brian nodded.
The tractor rolled by the steps, circling around and slowly coming to a halt, facing the road. Jesse eased the truck up to the porch and stopped. Jenny and Jenna pulled up behind the truck. One of the women started to gasp for air and clutched her chest, letting out a long scream. A couple of the horses neighed at the sound. Seeing the side of the truck peppered with bullet holes and recognizing the boots of her husband, Stan’s wife collapsed to her knees. The other two women tried to console her as they too tried to fight off the raging flood of emotion. Brain climbed out of the truck and walked up to the porch. He got down and hugged his mom as she wept in his arms. “What happened? I heard all the shooting,” she asked, whimpering.
“Some of those men came back. Dad took one in the leg, and he bled to death so quick, Mom. These people tried to help him, but…it was just so quick. Take her in the house,” he said, motioning toward the door. Brian’s wife and sister took her into the house and the twins followed as he sat on the top step.
One of the farm hands stepped up with a tarp in his hand and began to spread it out on the ground behind the truck. Jesse let down the tailgate. A few of the men stepped up, Thomas among them. “We’ve got this, Brian. It might be better at the stable. We’ll clean him up. Why don’t you go find a suit for him?”
“Thanks, Thomas,” Brian said. He turned to Jesse, “Thanks again for the help.” He rose to his feet, turned, and went into the house.
Thomas closed the tailgate and asked, “Can you take him to the stable? We have a well hand pump there. The house’s well pump is electric, and the power is off. The house doesn’t have any water.”
“Sure,” Jesse answered.
Thomas ordered one of the men to take the luggage to the school and come right back. Then, he climbed into the back of the truck.
Jesse sat down behind the wheel, and Kat noticed some steam coming from under the hood. “Jesse, the truck is smoking.”
He got out and popped the hood and saw that a bullet had penetrated the radiator, which was leaking. “That’s perfect!” he said, slamming the hood shut.
“What is it?” Thomas asked.
“The radiator was hit,” Jesse announced.
“We might be able to find something around here to fix it,” he offered. Larry and Ginger climbed into the back as well being careful to avoid the blood, and then they rode to the stable.
The group hopped out and waited a few minutes for some of the men to return after putting their horses away. Once the men came out, they removed his body and carried him into the stable with Thomas delegating tasks to them.
Jesse opened the hood of the truck again and inspected the damage. Larry stepped up and said, “How hard is it going to be for us to find a flux capacitor?”
“I don’t know, but we sure could use a time machine right about now,” he admitted. “Let’s wash the blood out of the back with that hose over there. I’ll pump while you guys wash.” They removed the food and ammo boxes from the truck bed. Jesse walked to the well and pumped the handle several times before water gushed out of the hose. It ran for a few seconds and quit. He continued to pump until they had washed all of the blood away.
Kat pointed south and said, “Hey, look! You can see the plane from here.”
“Do you think they saw it crash?” Ava asked.
“I’m sure they heard it, if they didn’t see it. Wow, it really tore up that field. I’m having
flash-backs,” Ginger said.
“It was only a week ago, G. At least theirs stayed in one piece,” Larry pointed out.
“And, nobody died,” Kat affirmed.
“There is that,” Ginger agreed.
“How many people died in your crash?” Ava asked curiously.
“Hundreds, Ava. It was catastrophic,” Jesse disclosed, as he put his hand on her shoulder.
“You were the only ones to live through it?” she asked.
Jesse looked up at Kat and then to Ginger with sadness in his eyes, “Yes, we are all that’s left of flight 829, minus Henry.”
Thomas walked out and overheard what they were saying, “I had no idea what you’ve been through. My buddy, Landric, has a salvage yard with an old truck that’s not running. I doubt the hoses will line up, but there should be enough room for the radiator to fit. We might have to zip tie it in, but it will get you down the road, provided we get the hoses to fit.”
“Sounds good, when can we go?” Jesse asked.
“Well, we can go on horseback or take the go-carts.”
“I think the go-carts will be easier, don’t you?” Jesse asked.
“We’ll have to ask Jenny and Jenna, but I think they will be okay with it. Let’s go find out.”
“What are we supposed to do while you’re gone?” Kat asked. “We need to know exactly where you’re going; can you show me on a map? Just in case,” Kat insisted.
“I’ll write it down for you, and I can draw you a map,” Thomas reassured.
Thomas and Jesse walked to the house to get the go-carts, returning in them in just a few short minutes. Thomas retrieved some tools from the stable for removing the radiator and secured them to the back of his go-cart. Thomas also had a piece of paper and leaning on the hood of the truck, proceeded to draw Kat a map while explaining it to her. He labeled each street and noted landmarks to look for if there was a need for her to follow. He circled Landric’s house on the map and handed it her.
“Thank you,” she said.
“We shouldn’t be gone long, just long enough to remove the radiator and come back,” Jesse assured.
“Oh, and Landric’s going to want something for it. He’s not going to let it go for nothing,” Thomas informed.
“How much, you think?” Jesse inquired.
“I know, let’s trade a part off of that station wagon,” Thomas suggested. “I know the car’s pretty shot up. But we can look anyway to see if we can find something to use.”
Kat and Ginger told Jesse to be safe, and Ava hugged him and said, “Come back to us.”
“I will, as soon as I can,” he hugged her back. “You and Kat check out those horses and tell me when I get back what their names are, deal?”
“Deal.”
“As quick as you can, Doc, because I don’t know anything about motors,” Larry revealed.
Jesse and Thomas sat down in the go-carts and took off up the drive. Kat watched as they rode out of sight. Ginger, Larry, and Ava entered the stable to check out the horses.
Nine
Paige Day 1
Bud pulled the last bike out of his shed and flipped the kickstand down. “I just aired the tires up last week. We were going to go on a ride together when we got back from the beach.”
“You’ve only got four?” Makayla asked.
“Yep. There’s only four of us,” Bud answered.
“But two are kid bikes,” David chuckled. “You expect us to ride all the way to Columbus on those, the five of us on four bikes?”
“Well, it’s all I have to offer you. Maybe you can ride up the road and buy a couple more. What else are you going to do? You can always walk. Makayla said she needed to go get her stuff…” Bud reasoned.
“Thank you, Bud. You have been a big help to us already. We can use the bikes,” Paige accepted. “Let’s ride to the closest fire or police station and see what they know about what’s going on.”
“There’s a fire station about three miles straight up the highway here, just past the Dollar Bin. You might stop in there and get some gear for your trip,” Bud advised.